City Council Worksession

South St. Paul MAYOR/COUNCIL WORKSESSION SSP City Hall 125 3rd Avenue North Training Room Monday, November 26, 2018 7:30 p.m. AGENDA: 1. Comcast Franchise Renewal Briefing – Jodie Miller 2. Request Dakota County to develop a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of evaluating the integration of the South St. Paul Library into the Dakota County system 3. Police Department Body Camera Policy/Implementation 4. Discuss Police Officer Candidates 5. Discuss revised Communication Support Services Proposal 6. Discuss Council Board/Committee Appointments for 2019 7. Discuss Revised City Council Meeting Schedule for 2019 8. Council Comments/Questions 9. Closed Session Labor Negotiations A COUNCIL WORKSESSION REPORT DATE: NOVEMBER 21, 2018 2 DEPARTMENT: ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR: JRH AGENDA ITEM: Dakota County Library Integration Study ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: Request Dakota County to work with us to develop a Memorandum of Understanding detailing the parameters of a study to evaluate the possible integration of the SSP Library into the Dakota County system. OVERVIEW: The South St. Paul Library provides an important public service to the community. However, the current building has deficiencies in terms of deferred maintenance and adequate space for service delivery. An additional issue is the possibility that Dakota County could integrate our library into their system thereby eliminating City levy while also funding a new building to meet the service demands of SSP residents now and into the future. The difficulty in evaluating this option is there are many questions/issues that need to be answered to enable a sound decision to be made. Therefore, we need to request Dakota County to work with us (City Council, City Staff, Library Board, and Library Staff) to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that defines the scope of the study to ensure all reasonable questions are addressed. Some of those questions/issues are as follows: ➢ How might programs/services be changed for SSP? An overriding goal associated with this type of change should be an equal or greater level of service to Library patrons. ➢ What is the Financial Impact to SSP taxpayers? • City Levy Impact – In 2018, the city levied $751,580 for the library operation. If Dakota County assumed that levy and spread the same amount over its tax base while the City eliminated the levy, the net change to SSP taxpayers would be a savings of about $364,000. That amount could be available for property tax reductions and/or other services. • If the City were to bond for $10,000,000 to construct a new or renovated library, the debt service for the next 20 years would be about $700,000 per year at today’s interest rates. ➢ How would our existing staff be incorporated into the Dakota County System? How would pay, benefits, pensions, work hours, work locations, etc. be affected? City Council WS Report – Date Page 2 of 2 ➢ How soon would a new or renovated library be constructed? ➢ Can architectural features be incorporated that would make the facility “unique” to SSP? ➢ How can we ensure Dakota County does not close the SSP Library in the future? It must be understood that while Dakota County is willing to work with us on this issue, the study request must be initiated by the City of South St. Paul. They are not interested in “taking over” our Library. Rather, they are willing to evaluate a partnership that is of mutual benefit. From staff’s perspective, decisions need to be made to ensure the wise use of resources, to resolve space/building issues, and to eliminate uncertainty for Library Staff. Ideally, the study and associated decision can be reached by late spring/early summer to bring this issue into clearer focus. The South St. Paul Library Board has been invited to attend this work session to offer their perspective on this matter. SOURCE OF FUNDS: Not Applicable  City Council Worksession Report Date: November 26, 2018 6 Department: Administration Administrator: JRH Agenda Item: Council Appointments to Boards/Commissions in 2019 Desired Meeting Outcomes: Discuss Council appointments to Boards/Commissions for calendar year 2019 Overview: Discuss 2019 City Council appointments to various boards and/or commissions. The 2018 council appointees are: • Central Square Board Councilmember Bill Flatley • Dakota Communications Center (DCC) Board Councilmember Lori Hansen Councilmember Tom Seaberg (alternate) • NDC4 Councilmember Todd Podgorski • Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Councilmember Joe Forester • South Metro Fire Board Mayor James Francis Councilmember Bill Flatley New or renewed appointments to the above boards or commissions will be effective January 1, 2019. Budgetary Implications: N/A  City Council Worksession Report Date: November 26, 2018 7 Department: Administration Administrator: JRH Agenda Item: City Council Meeting Schedule for 2019 Desired Meeting Outcomes: Discuss revising the City Council meeting schedule for 2019 Overview: The City Council currently meets on Monday (4 times per month) for EDA, City Council and Council Worksession meetings. EDA meetings start at 6:30 PM and City Council and Council Worksession meetings start at 7:30 PM. At times, the EDA meetings end prior to 7:30 and regular City Council and/or Council Worksession meetings cannot start until 7:30 PM. Staff is proposing some changes to the meeting schedule that will hopefully reduce downtime between meetings and free up the fourth Monday of each month for Council and staff. Staff proposes the following changes: First Monday of each month: • City Council business meeting will commence at 6:30 PM, immediately followed by the EDA business meeting. Second Monday of each month: • A joint EDA/Council Worksession will commence at 6:30 PM Third Monday of each month: • City Council business meeting will commence at 6:30 PM, immediately followed by Council Worksession meeting Fourth Monday of each month: • No scheduled meeting. This Monday will be reserved for an additional council meeting, if needed. Budgetary Implications: N/A