City Council Workshop

WORKSHOP OAKDALE CITY COUNCIL November 9, 2021 The City Council held a workshop on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at Oakdale City Hall, 1584 Hadley Avenue North, Oakdale, Minnesota. The meeting began at 5:02 PM. Present: Mayor Paul Reinke Council Members: Jake Ingebrigtson Susan Olson Colleen Swedberg Kevin Zabel Also Present: Christina Volkers, City Administrator Susan Barry, City Clerk Nick Newton, Police Chief Kevin Wold, Fire Chief Jason Zimmerman, Finance Director Holly Wilson, Human Resources Director Shannon Reidlinger, Sr. Community Development Specialist Jim Thompson, City Attorney CODE AMENDMENT: CHAPTER 12 – UTILITY TASK VEHICLES (UTV) Proposed ordinance amendment was presented. Council member Zabel would like to revisit the speed limit. He believes 35mph is ok. Council member Ingebrigtson asked about golf carts. Mayor Reinke said golf carts don’t have safety equipment. Council member Ingebrigtson said UTV’s are very fast - he’s driven one. He supports the ordinance and agrees to revisit the posted speed limit. City Administrator Volkers suggested that we can put a sunset period on it and repeal it after a year or we could let it continue. Council member Olson is okay with the posted speed limit. Chief Newton doesn’t have an issue with it. He said that he would argue that a UTV is not safer than a motorcycle. If people abide by the speed limit there shouldn’t be safety issues. Wording needs to be included that restricts them from certain roadways. Provide maps to the public of all speed limits and where the UTV could be driven. Council member Swedberg agrees with the posted speed limit, but suggested we track it and look at issues if they arise. She supports a one-year sunset. This is a permit, not a license like a motorcycle. Mayor Reinke said to go with a one-year review and the posted speed limit. There’s no county and state application. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Two PROPOSED POLICY: DONATIONS TO PARKS; MEMORIALS IN PARKS; INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE; NAMING FACILITIES AND EVENTS City Administrator Volkers presented a proposed policy that’s very comprehensive. Council Member Swedberg would like to remove section 10.1 (5) which is the two-year wait after someone passes away. She has been working on a committee to memorialize Jane Klein and doesn’t think they should have to wait two years. We didn’t do that with others. She believes it’s not needed. Council member Olson said she was not opposed to section 10.1 (5) but maybe make it one-year instead. She thinks there should be a more formal process in the future. Council member Zabel thinks it would be helpful for historical reasons to wait sometime after the person passes and suggests that we would explain the reason. Requests for a memorial should provide the details and the criteria for having been memorialized. Volkers asked if the policy should include an allowance/exception “at city council discretion.” Council Member Swedberg would like to move forward with the Jane Klein matter and not wait two years. Council Member Zabel said that we didn’t have a policy in place in the past, but things were named. He likes a waiting period of one-year or two. Council Member Ingebrigtson is good with a one-year waiting period. Mayor Reinke supports a one-year waiting period. Council Member Olson believes the Jane Klein request and others should come from residents and not the council. Mayor Reinke said the council would still decide. The majority of the council support a one year waiting period. POSSIBLE APPOINTMENT TO THE EMC Discussion continued on the recent application for EMC appointment City Administrator Volkers stated that if he fills the seat of the person that vacated, he would be there until 2023. The council voted 3-2 not to appoint. CONVERSATION WITH THE CHIEF OF POLICE Chief Newton provided a brief overview of what’s going on in the police department as follows: Personnel Update: There have been some promotions to Captain and Sergeants. There were three applicants for Captain and four for the Sergeants positions. Steve Goodwin got a Captain position and Sean Coffey is on the agenda tonight for the Sergeant position. Next year they will be adding an investigator. This will help/focus on property crimes. Body Worn Camera Pilot Study: This is a long process. The Department has identified three different vendors. We will do a field study ourselves to see how they work. Checking with other agencies to see how their product is working for them. Digital Evidence Upgrade: Currently have a server that stores digital evidence. It’s housed locally. If there were a fire they’d lose everything. They are moving to a cloud based server which will save monies in that the need for an additional server will be eliminated. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Three Special Units: There are three members of the department that are part of the SWAT Team. SWAT has shifted its duties from kicking down doors to more skill sets, resources and technology. They are a valuable resource for the department and the community. So far this year they have responded to 21 call-outs in Washington County. Two of those calls were in Oakdale. They assist other agencies. A discussion was had regarding a possible need of an SRO in the middle schools. This summer Chief Newton will meet with the school district to tighten up the contract language and to expand the program. Facilities: The chief appreciates the support of the council on updates to the police department facilities. A lot has changed in the last 30 years. They’ve outgrown the current facilitys. It’s not as safe as it should be. If they stay in current space adjustments need to be made. Volkers brought up one option that the sales tax can be adjusted if the city needs additional funds but timing is critical. This happens frequently and we would need to go to the legislature for approval and only if a tax bill is being considered this next legislative session. If not, then we would need to wait. Chief Newton provided an overview of the issue of drag racing in the middle of the night. Racing groups in the metro are racing against groups from Chicago. It’s sporadic. Neighboring cities are working collaboratively to take care of the issue. Council Member Zabel asked about the agreement with the Hero Center. Newton responded that it’s going well. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND FUNDING Finance Director Zimmerman asked the council if the information he provided is acceptable to the council. In response to a question, City Administrator Volkers said ARPA funds are not off the table. They’ve been moved to reserves after being allocated to lost revenue Zimmerman suggested road escrow would go to the CIP which is used to fund road reconstruction. The park land escrow would go to park capital improvement and the park tool land proceeds would go to vehicle improvement/replacement fund. This is the conceptual model. Fund by fund discussion: Utility System Replacement Fund – Increased transfers from the water and sewer fund to $500,000 in 2023 as part of the rate increase. This will require water and sewer rates to WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Four increase by 1.5% and 1% respectfully, in both 2022 and 2023. This is in addition to the annual 2.5% increase that was recommended in the 2020 rate study analysis recommendation. Parks Capital Improvement Fund – Transfer $317,000 from the park escrow and a $50,000 annual increase in 2023; then $75,000 each year thereafter in the CIP Capital Improvement Planning Fund – Used to help out with street reconstruction. Transfer from road escrow into the CIP and an increase annually of $25,000. This will bring the fund out of its current deficit position and be sustainable through 2026. Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund (VERF) – Is proposed to close out park tool. Debts and obligations are satisfied. No additional levy increase is being proposed at this time to sustain this program. Future Building Fund – For 2022 there is a $60,000 transfer built in from the building fund into the general fund. The recommendation is to eliminate that in 2023 and increase the levy by that amount in the future building fund and then $75,000 thereafter. The goal was to try by the end of 2026 that the $1.2M for city hall renovation would not assume the date, the amount of proceeds from the Tanners Lake sale. ADJOURMENT The council workshop adjourned at 6:52 pm. RECONVENED The council workshop reconvened at 7:20 pm CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND FUNDING, CONTINUED Zimmerman recommended some shortfall options. MSA advance is up to 5 years of current year allocation. They are state approved requests. Or, CARES/ARPA. Zimmerman provided a spreadsheet prepared by Brian that recommends MSA advance, not MSA bond. If the state doesn’t authorize MSA advance, a bond can still be obtained. Advances are not guaranteed. Council discussed and supports the MSA advance request. Zimmerman suggested an increase in Water/Sewer rates. The utility billing software the city is currently using is outdated. He will continue to study and evaluate new software options and bring those to the council. He recommends that the city consider technology that is on the exterior of the structure. A determination needs to be made whether to replace meters or new technology with exterior meters. Water meters will need to be replaced at some point. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Five Council Member Zabel supports an exterior meter. It would eliminate the need to estimate usage. He would like to know the administrative costs of doing the work. Volkers relayed that staff will do a thorough review and analysis in 2022 on options and cost/benefit. Zimmerman stated that the upfront costs of new technology would be more expensive. 6-7% of accounts are being estimated for consumption use now. In 2022, the city would only replace the bad meters. The current system identifies abnormalities. Zimmerman recommended a 4% increase. The council supported a 4% increase. Debt Service Fund – Zimmerman recommends these funds be closed out to the Closed Bond Fund, which currently has a cash balance of $254,491. Fund 456, which is the Debt Service Fund for the 2011B debt issuance, is projected to need approximately $185,000 to complete the funds final debt service obligation in February 2022. Zimmerman anticipates recommending a transfer from the General Fund for this purpose. The council supported the recommendation. Construction and Capital Fund – Zimmerman provided options for closing the gap; CARES, Levy 2023 or borrow. The options were discussed. Zimmerman will come back to council to discuss at a later date. All projects within the CIP, Parks Capital Improvement, and Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Funds can be completed as presented, with the funds maintaining a positive cash position. The city will not need to issue Equipment Certificates to fund any of its vehicles and equipment for the life of the 10-year CIP. Council Member Swedberg would rather protect the park tool not designated for vehicle, thinks the city should look at other???? Mayor Reinke believes the city should preserve the park tool fund. Council Member Zabel thinks the city needs to determine when the park development will occur at Willowbrooke. He’s open to using the park tool for vehicles. If we’re investing in the park it doesn’t matter where the funds come from. Council Member Swedberg is concerned the city will spend the money with the caveat that it will be replaced, but then it might not be. She wants the council to be careful about that. Volkers said [the issue] will come back to the council with a plan for the timing and factoring in the Willowbrooke park development. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Six Levy Increase Recommended – Zimmerman said there would be annual increases. Council Member Zabel felt the council should wait to get buy in from the new Community Development Director. Volkers said she was close to hiring a new CDD. CIP Project’s – Painting the historic schoolhouse. Council Member Swedberg said Washington County would pay for the paint and it could be a nice project for high school students to do as a service project. Volkers confirmed that the county would pay for the paint. Other Zimmerman said there is no change for the 2022 street project. Battery powered meter change out program in 2022 will be budgeted at $50,000 but an analysis of other options must be done. Lift station #6 will stay. Watermain crossing Hwy 694 will stay. Hallmark tower painting will stay. Guthrie Park reroof is ok. Skate Park is ok. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Seven Park Commission to identify a playground to replace per year. City Hall metal roof for $60,000 is ok. Pond restoration – ponds are identified/determined by the watershed district. Hudson and Helmo signals; the city has no financial obligation for signals. Budget – Volkers would like direction on the 6.99% regarding potential reductions. Zimmerman needs some guidance on that. There’s a lot of work to do before the next city council packet. Council Member Zabel believes that at the November 23, meeting the council will have a draft budget to revisit. He thinks the council is 90% there with the CIP. The council can use Federal monies to bring down the budget if possible Volkers would like input from the council. COUNCIL TOPICS Council Member Ingebritson – Will be meeting with someone from the school district. A student is looking to do an interview. Council Member Olson – Advisory commissions need to know about the new dais, security, off camera. WORKSHOP November 9, 2021 Page Seven Council Member Zabel – Resident shared their concern regarding the Hy-Vee carjacking. ADJOURNMENT The council workshop adjourned at 8:58 pm. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Laur, City Clerk