Informational Meeting

MINUTES Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Informational Meeting 4:00 PM at Carnegie Town Hall Sioux Falls City Council 235 West Tenth Street Members Present: Sue Aguilar, Kenny Anderson Jr., James Entenman, Michelle Erpenbach, Greg Jamison, Dean Karsky, Rex Rolfing, Kermit L. Staggers, Mike T. Huether Members Absent: None Staff Present: Denise D. Tucker, CMC, Assistant City Clerk; Lorie Hogstad, CMC, City Clerk; David Bixler, Budget Analyst; and Jim David, Legislative/Operations Manager 1. Call To Order Council Chair Jim Entenman called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 2. Staff Report A. Lorie Hogstad, City Clerk Lorie Hogstad, City Clerk, provided a recap of the recent Election. She said the voter surveys were not ready and the information would be provided as soon as possible. Hogstad said the information, that she has seen, is positive. The Election canvass will be presented at tonight's City Council Meeting. Hogstad focused on the following four areas: a voter received an incorrect ballot; long lines at the Vote Centers; ballot allocation; and the length of time to count ballots. These were items that she was frequently questioned about. She said one voter did receive an incorrect ballot at one of the Vote Centers. He received a School Only ballot instead of an At Large Only ballot. Hogstad spoke to him and apologized for the mistake. Jason Gant, Secretary of State, also spoke to the voter and was able to resolve the issue. This is the second time that ePoll books and Vote Centers were used for a City/School Election. David Bixler, Budget Analyst, provided charts to compare voter turnout at the Vote Centers, versus the 2012 Election. Hogstad explained the preparation for the large voter turnout; and the changes made to Faith Baptist Church Vote Center to accommodate the numerous voters. She added that additional Vote Centers are needed. Hogstad said she thought they did a great job with ballot allocation. She explained how there was one incident at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, where they ran out  of Southeast/School ballots. Hogstad said when that call was made, the Election runner was already enroute with more ballots; it was about a 10 minute delay. Overall the ballot allocation was better than the 2012 Election. There were several factors regarding the length of time to tabulate ballots, including: most of the Vote Centers not closing until 7:30 p.m.; the late turn in of ballots from a Vote Center; processing one Vote Center at a time; counting the Absentee ballots, which are folded and hard to run through the machine; and issues with two of the counting machines. Hogstad explained some ideas for future Elections and thanked people who assisted with the Election. Discussion followed. B. Jim David, Legislative/Operations Manager Jim David, Legislative/Operations Manager, discussed the three minor amendments being made to the Vehicle for Hire ordinance at tonight's meeting. He spoke about the amended City Council Travel Policy, which is also a meeting item. 3. Fiscal Committee A. Report on the meeting held on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Council Member Sue Aguilar said there was a presentation by Chad Huwe, City Engineer, on the planning and scheduling of street construction projects. Prior to his presentation, Huwe displayed an award received by the City of Sioux Falls from the Associated General Contractors of South Dakota. 4. City Council Open Discussion Council Member Greg Jamison announced that there will be an Audit Committee Meeting tomorrow at 4 p.m. 5. Presentations A. Indoor Aquatic Center by The Administration Mayor Mike Huether provided opening comments and a brief introduction of the proposed plan for the Indoor Aquatics Center. Don Kearney, Director of Parks and Recreation, spoke about the Aquatic Facilities Master Plan. Mike Cooper, Director of Planning and Building Services, discussed access, which included parking, for the facility.  Tracy Turbak, Director of Finance, spoke about financing and the operating budget for the Indoor Aquatics Center. He also discussed public/private partnership opportunities. Kendra Siemonsma, Special Projects Manager, discussed the schedule/timeline for the construction of the facility. She said it would open in the Fall of 2016. Discussion followed. B. Adaptive Traffic System Results by Heath Hoftiezer, Traffic Engineer Heath Hoftiezer, Traffic Engineer, shared the results of the East 26th Street Adaptive Traffic project. He discussed the results from the project goals, which were: Reduce travel times and stops on East 26th Street; Reduce delay on side streets; Adapt signals to variable traffic patterns and conditions; and Reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. Discussion followed. 6. Executive Session A. Consult with legal counsel pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(3) and personnel matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(1). A motion was made by Council Member Rex Rolfing and seconded by Council Member Dean Karsky to go into Executive Session at 5:50 p.m. to consult with legal counsel pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(3) and personnel matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(1). Council Chair Jim Entenman called for a voice vote. All members present voted yes. Motion Passed. The Executive Session began at 5:57 p.m. A motion was made by Council Member Dean Karsky and seconded by Council Member Kenny Anderson Jr. to go out of Executive Session at 6:34 p.m. Council Chair Jim Entenman called for a voice vote. All members voted yes. Motion Passed. 7. Adjournment Council Chair Jim Entenman adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m. Denise D. Tucker, CMC Assistant City Clerk