City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes City Council Workshop While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for City Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Monday, December 6, 2021 6:00 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Sanders at 6:00PM. 2 Roll Call PRESENT: Mayor Tim Sanders, Councilmembers Wes Hovland, Julie Jeppson, Chris Massoglia, Richard Paul, and Jess Robertson. ABSENT: Councilmember Jason Smith. Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Michelle Wolfe; Community Development Specialist Elizabeth Showalter; City Planner Sheila Sellman; Public Works Director Jon Haukaas; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Brian Podany; Deputy Police Chief Dan Szykulski; Finance Director Joe Huss; Deputy Finance Director Ali Bong; City Engineer Dan Schluender; City Attorney Chris Nelson; Communications Manager Ben Hayle; Deputy Fire Marshall Todd Miller; Accountant Dalton Larson; Senior Parks and Recreation Manager Jerome Krieger; Captain Matt Carlson; Police Officer Joe Matzke; Fire Chief Charlie Smith; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 6 - Councilmember Robertson, Councilmember Paul, Councilmember Hovland, Massoglia, Sanders, and Councilmember Jeppson Absent: 1 - Smith 3 New Business City Manager Wolfe introduced newly hired City Planner Sheila Sellman to the city council. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2021 3-1 Proposed 2022 Facilities Management Fund Budget Attachments: 2022 Facilities Budget - Executive Summary 2021.12.03 2022 facilities fund deck Deputy Finance Director Bong stated the Facilities Management internal service fund was established in 2019 in an effort to stabilize the City’s general tax levy and to provide a mechanism for ensuring that long-term funding of facilities improvements is in place. Internal service funds are used to account for the financing of goods and services provided by one department or activity on behalf of other City departments or activities. Costs are then distributed to those departments or activities on a cost reimbursement basis. The facilities managed under this fund include City Hall and attached garages, Public Works and the cold storage facilities, the Police training facility, Mary Ann Young Center, and the former fire station #5. Staff reviewed the proposed revenues and expenditures, while also providing a five year outlook in further detail with the Council and asked for comments or questions. Deputy Fire Marshal Miller discussed the improvements that were needed to address the city’s servers, water pumps, roofs and brick on city hall. Councilmember Robertson requested staff create a maintenance plan for the city’s facilities. She explained that she could support spending the money needed to make improvements but wanted to see dollars set aside for future maintenance as well. Ms. Bong discussed how Gaughan Companies was working with staff to address maintenance issues at city hall and noted staff would be setting aside funds for future maintenance. Councilmember Paul questioned how long it took to complete the facilities audit for the city. Mr. Miller reported it took four days to inspect the city’s six buildings and that further work was still needed to investigate the city’s HVAC systems. Councilmember Robertson asked why the city’s card reader system needed to be replaced. Police Chief/Safety Service Manager Podany explained he recently found out the city’s system was susceptible to cloning. He indicated staff completed research and found this was a legitimate concern. Public Works Director Haukaas discussed the requested lights for the parking lot noting his staff works all hours of the day and night. He noted these lights were needed for employee safety. Councilmember Paul inquired if there had been any break-ins at city hall. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2021 Police Chief Podany reported Captain Boerboom looked into this and determined that no break-ins had occurred to date. Councilmember Robertson questioned how many electric vehicles the city had at this time and asked if any grants were available for electric charging stations. Mr. Haukaas stated the electric charging stations were common. He noted the city’s sweepers and fork lift were electric. He reported as more equipment ages out, he would continue to be purchasing electric. He noted he had spoken to Connexus and Xcel Energy and they do not have grants available for charging stations that would be used internally by the city. Councilmember Massoglia asked why the cost for supplies was projected to raise so significantly in 2022. Accountant Dalton Larson commented there were a few high cost items carried over from 2021 such as carpeting and chair replacement and city hall. He noted this amount could be less depending on how the renovations go. Councilmember Massoglia stated he did not support using so much of the reserve funds for 2022 as there were a number of requests for the coming year. Mayor Sanders thanked staff for their detailed presentation on the proposed 2022 facilities management fund budget. Discussed 45 Minute Discussion 3-2 2022 Capital Equipment Fund Attachments: 2022 Capital Equipment Fund Budget 2022 Capital Equipment Request Details 2022 Capital Equipment Presentation Ms. Bong stated the City’s Capital Equipment Fund is designed to provide a funding source for the annual purchase of computers, vehicles, capital equipment, and other improvements that have a useful life of two years or more. The Capital Fund does not provide funding for equipment and capital project improvements that have a dedicated funding source in place such as water, sanitary sewer, or storm water utility systems. Staff reviewed the proposed revenues and expenditures, while also providing a five year outlook in further detail with the Council and asked for comments or questions. Councilmember Robertson requested further information regarding how City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2021 the Tyler Technologies software would assist the city and asked for clarification on the price. Ms. Bong described how the new program would benefit administration and finance staff. She reported the cost would be a one-time fee of $45,000 and maintenance costs of $1,200 per year. Further discussion ensued regarding the benefits of purchasing the Tyler Technologies software. Councilmember Hovland asked at what point vehicles are replaced by the city. Deputy Police Chief Szykulski commented on the how vehicles were currently being replaced for the department and noted a fleet study was being completed for the city which would provide valuable information on cost effective measures the city could be taking. Mr. Haukaas commented further on the city’s primary life and secondary life for its vehicles. Ms. Wolfe commented the SBM fire department was requesting a capital purchase for a tender. She noted this one piece of equipment would be replacing two existing pieces of equipment. She anticipated it would take 16 to 18 months to build this piece of equipment. Finance Director Huss explained the SBM fire department was looking to have this purchase approved this evening in order to secure the purchase price. Councilmember Jeppson asked if public works has completed a staffing study or staff retention study for its equipment. Mr. Haukaas stated he did not believe a study had been completed on the city’s equipment but noted he had completed employee engagement studies and how staff appreciated how the fleet has been changing over the years with more modern equipment. He stated the quality of equipment is often shared between groups or other cities. Ms. Wolfe explained staff had voiced concern about being asked to reduce the capital equipment purchases for 2022. Councilmember Hovland questioned what condition the overhead cranes were in. Mr. Haukaas stated the mobile and overhead cranes were inspected annually and he was comfortable with their condition. Councilmember Robertson asked where the additional expense for long-term vehicle maintenance was included in the budget for items such as insurance, maintenance, etc. Ms. Bong commented that would fall under the general fund and were not included in the capital equipment fund. Discussed City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2021 45 Minutes Discussion ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:24PM. City of Blaine Page 5