Work Session

CITY OF MARSHALL WORK SESSION MINUTES Tuesday, August 8, 2023 The work session of the Common Council of the City of Marshall was held August 8, 2023, at City Hall, 344 West Main Street. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 P.M. by Mayor Robert Byrnes. In addition to Byrnes the following members were in attendance: Craig Schafer, Steve Meister, Amanda Schroeder, John Alcorn, See Moua-Leske and James Lozinski. Absent: None. Staff present included: Sharon Hanson, City Administrator; E.J. Moberg, Director of Administrative Services; Jim Marshall, Director of Public Safety; Jason Anderson, Director of Public Works/City Engineer and Steven Anderson, City Clerk. UTV Permit Ordinance Discussion Clerk Anderson gave a brief update on the Legislative and Ordinance Committee meeting that had already met on the topic and couldn’t come to a recommendation. Clerk Anderson stated that 51 UTV permits have been issued in 2023. Director of Public Safety Marshall spoke about youth and accident statistics in the younger demographic with allowing golf carts. Alcorn questioned what the advantages of a golf cart would be over a UTV that has additional functions. Meister provided background on the original ordinance and that golf carts gave people more choice options for shorter trips around the city. Councilmembers talked about how more and more things are becoming electrified and are allowed on streets and sidewalks such as e-scooters and e-bikes, which has less safety features than a golf cart would. Councilmembers suggested that if golf carts were to be allowed the same safety equipment that are required for UTVs would be extended to golf carts as well such as seat belts, blinkers, and mirrors. Licensed drivers would only be allowed to drive golf carts in city limits and would need to be more heavily enforced than they are with the rental scooters that require the rider to be 18 or older. Council suggested the ordinance be looked at to add golf carts with required safety equipment. Enterprise Vehicle Leasing Moberg showed a presentation on the financials of the cities current fleet of vehicles, 18 of which are leased through Enterprise Fleet Management and one (1) vehicle is still in transit. With the 18 vehicles currently leased the city has a yearly cost of $120,873.48 in principal payments and $44,269.44 in interest and management fees. Based on the original agreement the interest rate is fixed at the date of delivery at the 3-year T-Bill rate plus 3.50%. Moberg pointed out that even with higher interest rates the budget impact of leasing is still lower than purchasing and will cause the total levy to increase less purchasing vehicles outright. Schafer delved into the history of the Equipment Review Committee and why the prospect of Enterprise was considered and eventually approved. Councilmembers discussed other leasing company options, if any local vehicle dealers would do a similar program, and coming up with a vehicle procurement policy that would rotate vehicles every 10 years. Police Department vehicles would be exempted and would follow a different schedule as vehicle use is much higher. Moberg suggested that council wait until after the first budget discussion to make an informed decision on whether to pull away from Enterprise. Adjournment At 5:08 P.M. Mayor Byrnes adjourned the meeting. Attest: _________________________ _________________________ City Clerk Mayor