City Council Agendas & Packets

AGENDA OF THE WORK SESSION CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2024 – 5:00 PM CALL TO ORDER: CALL OF ROLL: DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM: 1. Presentation from North Star Neighbors/Community Land Trust – Reid Huttunen 2. Commercial Use of City Brand – Paul Gorte 3. Accounting Technician Position – Karla Anderson ADJOURN: Upcoming Meetings Council Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 – Council Chambers – 5:00 PM Work Session – Tuesday, April 23, 2024 – Training Room – 5:00 PM Council Meeting – Tuesday, May 7, 2024 – Council Chambers – 5:00 PM Work Session – Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – Training Room – 5:00 PM Individuals with disabilities, language barriers or other needs who plan to attend the meeting and will need special accommodations should contact Nancy Ellis, ADA Coordinator at (218)-773-2208. Please contact us at least 48 hours before the meeting to give our staff adequate time to make arrangements. Also, materials can be provided in alternative formats for people with disabilities or with limited English proficiency (LEP) by contacting the ADA Coordinator (218)-773-2208 five (5) days prior to the meeting. 1  AGENDA ITEM #_1______ Request for Council Action Date: April 9, 2024 To: East Grand Forks City Council Mayor Steve Gander, Council President Mark Olstad, Council Vice-President Tim Riopelle, Council members Clarence Vetter, Ben Pokrzywinski, Dale Helms, Brian Larson, and Karen Peterson. Cc: File From: Reid Huttunen, City Administrator RE: Presentation from North Star Neighbors, a community land trust Background: The Northwest MN Foundation has formed a Community Land Trust program, titled North Star Neighbors. North Star Neighbors is within the Community Land Trust (CLT) model to find solutions to recreate affordable home ownership opportunities in our community and across NW Minnesota. Their Executive Director Cory Boushee and Homeownership Coordinator Emily Contreras will be joining the meeting to present the CLT model with you and discuss potential opportunities for expansion of this program into East Grand Forks. Recommendation: Presentation and discussion on the CLT model. Enclosures: North Star Neighbors general information PowerPoint. 2 A long-term solution for affordable home ownership opportunities in Northwest Minnesota Cory Boushee, Executive Director Emily Contreras, Homeownership Coordinator 3  Northwest Minnesota Foundation has been working towards housing solutions since 2018. Much of our effort has been spent on coordination of homeless housing services. In 2022, a renewed effort into creating housing units led us to Background research approaches to addressing appraisal and affordability gap issues in workforce housing. This research led us to Community Land Trusts and a partnership with Grand Forks CLT. In 2023 Northwest Minnesota Foundation created North Star Neighbors, a subsidiary organization to begin work in housing development. 4   A CLT creates quality, affordable homeownership opportunities by retaining ownership of the land on which a CLT house is located, and preserving the affordability of the home for generations What is a CLT? through a shared-equity ground lease.  The CLT can accomplish this goal through new construction, acquisition and rehab of existing homes, or homebuyer-initiated purchase programs. 5  1st Mortgage Principal Reduction - Land Retention - Ownership Tools to Create "Gap Subsidy" • Subsidy utilized is similar to traditional 1st maintained by CLT • Reduction of purchase price associated with and Maintain Time Homebuyer programs, generally in the form of a forgivable 2nd mortgage with no monthly payment land value • b. Triggers CLT Ground Lease including shared-equity resale formula Affordability This step creates affordability for the This step creates long-term affordability first buyer from one buyer to the next 6 7  RESAL E CALCUL ATIO N $340,000 - $300,000 Appraisal INITIAL PURCHASE: APPRECIATIO N = $40,000 Based Shared INITIAL FEE SIMPL E HO ME VAL UE: 25 % O F APPRECIATIO N = Equity Re-Sale $300,000 $10,000 Formula INITIAL CLT BUYER INITIAL CLT BUYER PURCHASE PRICE: PRICE: $180,000 $180,000 FO RMUL A PRICE = FEE SIMPL E VAL UE AT $180,000 + $10,000 = RESAL E: $340,000 $190,000 8 9 Market-Rate vs. CLT Price Evolution over 10 Years 10 Market-Rate vs. CLT Price Evolution over 10 Years (Graph) 11   In Minnesota, CLT's are required to serve households below 80% of Minnesota Housing's Income Limits. In Greater Minnesota, this is currently $89,400 gross annual income  In 2024, NSN's target market will be households with approximately $70,000 - $89,400 in annual income Eligibility &  25-30% of household's gross monthly income will go toward Lending mortgage payment  Buyers purchase with a mortgage through a lender and must meet credit and debt-to-income requirements, as required by the CLT and lending products. In line with NSN's commitment to affordability, NSN's requirements are generally more strict than typical lending requirements. 12   Starting Summer of 2024 North Star Neighbors will also launch a Homebuyer Initiated Program  This program will assist households to purchase a home on the 2024 Plans: open market with significant affordability gap subsidy, adding the home to NSN's portfolio at the time of sale Homebuyer  This program will be available across the entire Initiated region. However, it will be limited to 6 home purchases unless more gap funding is secured. Program  As long as funding is being made available, this program will continue to operate with a certain amount of home purchases available on an annual basis for the foreseeable future. 13  Cory Boushee Emily Contreras Executive Director Homeownership Coordinator North Star Neighbors North Star Neighbors 218-556-4202 218.791.4668 Thank You! coryb@nwmf.org emilyc@nwmf.org 14  AGENDA ITEM #_2______ Request for Council Action Date: April 9, 2024 To: East Grand Forks City Council Mayor Steve Gander, Council President Mark Olstad, Council Vice-President Tim Riopelle, Council members Clarence Vetter, Ben Pokrzywinski, Dale Helms, Brian Larson, and Karen Peterson. Cc: File From: Economic Development Director RE: Commercial Use of City Brand A short time ago the Mayor referred Scott Reinhart, CEO of Integrity Fundraisers, to the Economic Development Director regarding a potential business collaboration to establish a City merchandise store. The Director met with Mr. Reinhart to learn about his idea. Attached is his proposal to use the City brand on various items of merchandise, examples attached. The following are the key points of Mr. Reinhart’s proposal. He will provide a platform for local businesses to sell EGF merchandise, increasing their visibility and promoting the City. He would provide a commission of 15% to the City on all items sold through the with the brand. He would provide EGF- branded merchandise to businesses for sale at their locations. Reinhard will create a website for the sale of merchandise with the EGF brand. He will provide an opportunity for EGF staff to wear branded apparel The brand was not trademarked. There are branding guidelines, attached, that were included in the Marketing and Communications materials. This request provides the City Council with an opportunity to promote the brand and obtain some revenue from its use. The request poses several questions. Among the questions are the following: Should the City allow its brand to be used by commercial enterprises? Should the City have a written agreement governing the use of its brand? Should the 15% return be based on the net cost to the seller or the selling price of the product? Should the City approve the list of products where the brand can be used? The staff needs guidance from the City Council regarding the commercial use of the brand. Recommendation: Discuss and provide direction. -1- 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27  LIVING THE EAST GRAND FORKS BRAND The East Grand Forks Economic Development Authority (EDA) brand was developed with both the community and target audiences in mind. The brand was derived from the results of a series of community leader and citizen surveys and discussions. This original research uncovered a strong sense of community and purposeful life; connected to family, business, school, and the environment which ultimately informed brand development. In essence, living in East Grand Forks offers its residents and potential target audiences a Life Connected. The Brand Consistency Guide provides direction for the use of the visual identity of Life Connected across all mediums. Having a consistent experience (look, feel, etc.) across materials builds familiarity and trust among your audience(s). Having a consistent and distinctive brand also creates opportunities for greater awareness long term. This brand may also transcend the EDA to the City of East Grand Forks and its departments. Consistency creates a unified voice among all entities using this brand. 2 28 ARTWORK The Life Connected artwork reinforces the Brand’s message while providing a visual identity that is both distinguishable and recognizable. The design is intentionally simple and easy to read, allowing it to be used alongside other brands within the community. When used within a sentence, make sure to capitalize Life Connected. LOGO VARIATIONS COLOR VARIATIONS With Department For use when the supporting content is department- Each of the logos shown to the left are available in specific. The department name can be changed to the following color variations. The correct usage is include departments within the City. indicated below. Full Color For use on white or light-colored backgrounds. Without Department For use when the supporting content is not department-specific, such as alongside a local business or event. Black For use when full color printing is not available. East Grand Forks EDA Without Minnesota Mark White For use when Life Connected needs to be shown prominently, or if options with Minnesota mark are For use on black or dark-colored backgrounds. too busy. 3 29 COLOR PALETTE The Brand’s primary colors are East Grand Blue, Sunrise Red, Greenway Green, and Star Gold, with secondary colors chosen as complements. CMYK values and Pantone colors have been provided for print media. Use Pantone colors when applicable to ensure colors reproduce the same. RGB values have also been provided for digital media. PRIMARY COLORS SECONDARY COLORS East Grand Blue Dark Blue CMYK PANTONE RGB CMYK RGB 87, 66, 37, 20 PMS 7545C 49, 81, 110 100, 90, 40, 40 22, 37, 76 Sunrise Red CMYK PANTONE RGB Medium Brown 7, 84, 76, 23 PMS 180C 181, 63, 55 CMYK RGB 35, 75, 90, 40 116, 61, 34 Greenway Green CMYK PANTONE RGB Light Beige 57, 26, 60, 4 PMS 556C 118, 152, 120 CMYK RGB 20, 17, 35, 0 206, 198, 169 Star Gold CMYK PANTONE RGB Dark Gray 6, 27, 68, 0 PMS 156C 238, 188, 106 CMYK RGB 0, 0, 0, 90 65, 64, 66 4 30 TYPOGRAPHY The typography used includes a mix of typefaces that are common and uncommon. Common typefaces, such as Trebuchet MS and Garamond, are widely accessible and allow for easier implementation. More uncommon typefaces, such as Pacifico, are less accessible and help distinguish the Brand. Pacifico can be downloaded for free online. Pacifico | Regular Trebuchet MS | Regular Headings WELCOME TO THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TREBUCHET MS BOLD Location: All Caps | 13pt Minimum Located where the Red River of the North and Red Lake River meet, we offer recreational opportunities along the Greenway and a wide variety of restaurants where you can enjoy a great meal. Subheading/Call Out Box You can shop for gear for your next outdoor adventure, or for Trebuchet MS Regular whatever else you may want or need. The city is easy to get to from Title Case | 12pt Minimum all directions, including along Highway 220 North, Highway 2 East and West, DeMers Ave, Business Highway 2, and Highway 220 South. Paragraph Garamond Regular Recreation: Sentence Case | 11pt Minimum If you enjoy camping, the Red River State Recreation Area campground is open from early May until mid-October. It is close to all the action, including more than 40 miles of recreational trails, Sherlock Park, and great fishing spots on the two rivers. Or maybe you would rather take in a movie or enjoy a meal on a raining evening, or take a plunge in our newly renovated public pool on a hot summer day. Accent Font Pacifico Regular Sentence Case For use as an accent font. Should be kept to one word or short phrases. 5 31 CREATIVE TREATMENTS Creative treatments help make the Brand stand out by supporting a cohesive visual identity. Below are some examples of treatments you can apply to your content. STAMP EFFECTS COLOR BLOCKS The artwork was intentionally designed to resemble the irregular look of a stamp. A similar effect can be applied to other design elements to give them a cohesive look. This effect can be applied to text, images, and graphics. The artwork for the stamp effect was created in Adobe Illustrator and is used as a clipping mask. This means the stamp artwork masks other artwork so that only areas that lie within it show. The use of color is extremely important to the Brand’s visual identity. Above are a Mask few examples of how to use the Pacifico and Trebuchet MS fonts together on top of solid blocks of color. These blocks can be used on their own or on top of images that support their message. 6 32 PHOTOGRAPHY The best camera is the one that’s with you. Whether you have a professional camera or a cell phone, capturing as many original photos of the community is crucial to telling its story. Subjects should be in focus and well-lit, and images should be high-quality. At times it may be necessary to supplement with stock photography, keeping in mind it is important to only use high-quality images you have the rights to use. 7 33 DIGITAL MEDIA Whether creating content for your website or social media platforms, it is important to follow the branding guidelines including the use of correct colors, fonts, creative treatments, and photos. SOCIAL MEDIA Visuals Visual images grab attention quickly and are a key element to successful social media posts. The overall look of your visuals should be consistent across all platforms, however it’s important to use a variety of different types such as photos, banners, video and infographics. Content Content should be thought out in advance as often as possible to make sure your posts are strategic and targeting the right audience. Whether you use text or video to share your message, keeping it short and to the point will help audience members remember it more easily. The tone, or voice, of all marketing efforts should be consistent, including social media. When possible, try to use the term “connected” or other variations. Hashtags Use original or popular hashtags. Original hashtags specific to the Life Connected Brand and the EGF community help build the Brand and help followers find specific content more easily. It’s also important to use hashtags other people can support by using with their own content. Examples of hashtags specific to EGF include: #EGFLifeConnected, #EGFPride, #NorthlandProud Popular hashtags reach a wider audience and aren’t tied to a specific brand or community. They also help further posts reach into potentially new audiences. Examples of popular hashtags for Economic Development include: #EconDev, #Jobs, #Startup, #WkDev, SmallBiz WEBSITE The website’s content needs to be updated as often as possible, especially if content is included or a page is linked to in a social media post. Images should be high quality, and all hyperlinks should be working as intended. 8 34  AGENDA ITEM #_3______ Request for Council Action Date: April 5, 2024 To: East Grand Forks City Council Mayor Steve Gander, Council President Mark Olstad, Council Vice-President Tim Riopelle, Council members Clarence Vetter, Ben Pokrzywinski, Dale Helms, Brian Larson, and Karen Peterson. Cc: File From: Karla Anderson RE: Accounting Technician Position The City received notice of the City Accounting Technician resignation in April of 2023. This position has remained vacant since then. Recommendation: Start the hiring process for City Accounting Technician. -1- 35 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Classification: Accounting Technician Department: Administration Reports to: Finance Director Location: East Grand Forks City Hall Grade: 11 FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt Supervises: No Supervision Adopted: _______, 2024 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Position Summary Performs intermediate to complex technical accounting and clerical duties involving the maintenance and reporting of financial records and accounting following standard accounting practices. Responsibilities include verifying transactions, processing cash receipts, accounts payable, payroll, or accounts receivable transactions. Supports and assists the Finance Director in reconciling accounts, preparing, reviewing, and submitting routine statements and reports, maintains accounting records, and responds to a variety of inquiries about financial information. Work is performed under the general direction of the Finance Director and Human Resources Generalist. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Professional Duties • Maintain accounting records. Reviews, verifies, codes, and reconciles accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash deposits, and other accounting functions. • Process and record accounts payable. • Prepare and enter data for receipt processing and balance bank statements. • Receive, verify, and reconcile deposits, ensure proper support documentation. • Assists Finance Director and supports other Dept. Heads with budgets, audit reporting, and accounting processes. • Support and assist with processing payroll; reviews and maintains payroll records. • Maintains and reconciles subsidiary ledgers and accounts. • Serves as signatory authority with financial institutions for the transfer of funds. • Respond to city related finance inquiries and budget questions from employees, citizens, and outside vendors/companies via telephone, email, and counter transactions. Ancillary Duties • Participates in a variety of meetings and trainings. • Performs other duties as assigned or apparent. The incumbent may encounter non-public data in the course of these duties. Any access to non-public data should be strictly limited to accessing the data that are necessary to fulfill the employment responsibility. While data are being accessed, incumbent should take reasonable measures to ensure the non-public data are not accessed by individuals without a work reason. Once the work reason to access the data is reasonably finished, incumbent must properly store the non-public data according to the provisions of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13). If a new work assignment requires access to non-public data, the incumbent is permitted to access non-public data for the work assignment purposes only. Any access to non-public data must be strictly limited to the data necessary to complete the work assignment and after the assignment is completed, the employee’s work assignment no longer requires access. Qualifications Education: Associate degree or Two-year technical certificate in Accounting, Finance, or related field and experience in financial record keeping, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Requirements: • Valid driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle in the State of MN. 36 • Applicable position, department, organization, and professional training will be provided and must be completed upon hire and on an ongoing basis. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities • General knowledge of Accounts Payable/Receivable systems. • General knowledge of recordkeeping procedures • General knowledge of financial software. • General knowledge of tax forms and data. • Ability to follow established procedures and to perform work requiring considerable detail. • Ability to operate standard office equipment and related hardware and software. • Skill in utilizing mathematics and analytical skills. • Ability to handle monetary transactions, • Ability to generate applicable records, reports, and files. • Ability to analyze service problems and participate effectively in solving them. • Skill in communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interact with other employees and the general public to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction. Physical Demands and Working Conditions • This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force; occasional exertion of up to 25 pounds of force; work regularly requires sitting, speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel and repetitive motions, frequently requires reaching with hands and arms and occasionally requires standing, walking, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, pushing or pulling and lifting; work has standard vision requirements; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data; operating equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work has no exposure to environmental conditions; work is generally in a quiet location (e.g. business office, light traffic). Equipment Utilized • General office equipment. • Use of Computer, Microsoft processing equipment, and related software equipment. • Computer word processing and spreadsheets. 37