City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Dr Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final City Council Workshop *While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Thursday, January 21, 2016 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Clark Arneson; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Services Manager Bob Therres; Finance Director Joe Huss; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Chris Olson; Economic Development Authority Coordinator Erik Thorvig; Interim Information Technology Manager Paul Grosse; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Senior Engineering Technician Jason Sundeen; City Clerk Catherine Sorensen; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 5 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Bourke, and Councilmember King Absent: 2 - Councilmember Clark, and Councilmember Herbst 3 New Business 3-1 WS 16-04 IT BUSINESS ANALYSIS AND REVIEW Finance Director Huss stated staff contacted six vendors and received three responses. He stated Technology Management Corporation (TMC) was selected as the vendor to conduct a business analysis and review of the City’s Information Technology department. He stated TMC concluded IT staffing of four FTEs is lean and efforts to outsource would not be cost-effective; voice cable and structured cable are antiquated and need an in-depth review; fiber and WiFi are adequate; LAN/WAN/Firewall age of equipment and ability to procure support needs an in-depth review; servers are near their end of useful life and need an in-depth review and UPS replacement (battery backup) plan is recommended. He stated TMC is preparing a proposal and cost estimate to City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final January 21, 2016 provide more in-depth review to design an IT infrastructure with a five year IT Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) with a purchasing and implementation schedule. Councilmember Swanson asked if the City is using the County’s fiber system. Finance Director Huss replied yes and also uses Roseville’s internet system. Councilmember Bourke asked if TMC will propose a long term plan. Finance Director Huss replied yes for equipment, security and backup systems. Councilmember King asked if TMC’s review included all of the City facilities and inquired about TMC’s cabling recommendations. Finance Director Huss replied the review included the Public Works facilities. Interim Information Technology Manager Grosse replied the cabling closets need clean up/organizing in preparation for the new phone system. Finance Director Huss stated staff will evaluate proposals and return to Council with next steps recommendation. Councilmember King asked if this effort will be coordinated with the security upgrade. Interim Information Technology Manager Grosse replied yes. Discussed Other Business Lever Street Utilities City Manager Arneson gave an overview of a handout distributed to the Council on Lever Street and a draft petition for local improvement. He noted that any work on Lever Street north of Main would require new road design and the Watershed District and Army Corp of Engineers approval could take a full year to complete. He noted the City has 66 feet of right-of-way north of Main Street and the City will have to work through storm drainage issues. Councilmember Bourke asked about the cost to complete Lever Street north of Main Street. City Manager Arneson replied 10% of the road cost. Councilmember Hovland commented he does not understand the reason for the discussion of road work north of Main Street. He stated he is concerned about completing the road south of Main Street. Mayor Ryan commented it is all about timing if the project is done this year or next year. Councilmember Bourke asked if the whole road design would have to be done. City Manager Arneson replied the City would have to have a preliminary design for the entire road. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final January 21, 2016 Councilmember King inquired about the draft petition. City Manager Arneson replied the draft petition and memo is how the petition process is structured. Councilmember Hovland stated at the neighborhood hearing the residents did not understand that they do not have to hook up to the utilities right away and that it would not cost the residents anything. Councilmember Swanson stated he is not willing to pay for the utilities to be brought to 125th Avenue unless the residents petition for the utilities. He noted Paxmar can complete the work cheaper than the City. Councilmember Bourke asked if the Watershed District and Army Corp of Engineers have approved the design on the south side. City Manager Arneson stated the road’s design, grading and wetlands are complete. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied Paxmar’s preliminary design is done. Councilmember Bourke stated he is most concerned about the road and utilities being done up to Main Street. City Manager Arneson commented Paxmar is in full compliance of the development agreement for this project. Future Workshop Topics City Manager Arneson stated the Workshop topics going forward include the Sunset Avenue roundabout and Coon Creek Watershed District discussion. He noted Coon Creek nominations are due by March. Planning Commission Board Interviews City Clerk Sorensen stated Planning Commission Board interviews are scheduled for February 2, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. She noted there are three applicants for the Ward 3 Planning Commissioner. EDA Business Visits Economic Development Authority Coordinator Thorvig stated the first quarter Blaine Business Council meeting is scheduled for January 28 and a business visit to Blaine Brothers is scheduled for February 4, 2016. Blaine Airport Mayor Ryan stated the Blaine Airport is requesting help with funding for their Aviation Days event. He noted the Civil Air Patrol will be hosting an overnight event in the future on the third floor of City Hall. Councilmember Hovland suggested Aviation Days organizers contact the Blaine Festival committee to see if they would help support their event. Discussed City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final January 21, 2016 ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 4