City Council Meetings

Watertown City Council Mayor Steve Washburn Deborah Everson Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters 9/22/2020 - Minutes 1. Call To Order And Roll Call Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the Watertown City Council was called to order at 6:31 p.m. Tuesday, September 22, 2020 in the Council Chambers of City Hall by Mayor Steve Washburn. Council Members present: Washburn, Michael Walters, Deborah Everson, Lindsay Guetzkow, and Adam Pawelk. City Staff present at City Hall: City Administrator Shane Fineran and Lynn Tschudi. Guest: Tammy Omdal with Northland Securities. 2. Adopt Agenda GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consent Agenda Discussion And Approval PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3.A. Adopt A Motion To Approve City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes Of September 8, 2020 3.B. Adopt A Motion To Approve City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Of September 8, 2020 3.C. Consider Resolution #2020-110, Approving Election Judges For General Election 3.D. Consider Resolution #2020-111, Approving Peddler, Solicitor, Transient Merchant Permit For Garett Salonen Dba Farmers Insurance 3.E. Consider Resolution #2020-113, Accepting Resignation Of Fire Fighter Anastasia Schawnkl 3.F. Approve Pay Application #1 For GMH Asphalt For The 2020 Mill & Overlay Project 3.G. Approve Pay Application #2 For GMH Asphalt For The 2020 Mill & Overlay Project 4. Open Forum 5. New/Old Business  3.G. Approve Pay Application #2 For GMH Asphalt For The 2020 Mill & Overlay Project 4. Open Forum 5. New/Old Business 5.A. Refunding Of 2015A And 2010A General Obligation Street Reconstruction Bonds. Tammy Omdal said the City has two bonds outstanding that could be refinanced and potentially save the City $86,450 for the 2015A bonds and $27,365 for the 2010A bonds. Omdal explained that the current interest rates are very low. The 2015A bonds would be refunded as a taxable GO advance refunding and would be placed with investors. The 2010A bonds would be refunded and placed with a private investor starting with interest with local banks within Watertown. Pawelk asked if there is a chance the private placement bonds would go unpurchased. Omdal explained that local banks will hopefully offer market rates. If they do not, Northland will open it up to the broader market to obtain a better rate. Guetzkow asked what the current coupon rates are. Omdal said on the 2015A series the rate is 3.7% currently estimating a new rate of 1.6%. She explained that these are just estimates. Guetzkow commented that she is pleased to see that the City is continuing to save money on the bridge and round-a-bout bonds. GUETZKOW MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2020-114, APPROVING THE ISSUANCE OF TAXABLE GENERAL OBLIGATION CROSSOVER REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2020A. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.B. Microsoft Azure Server Proposal City Administrator Fineran said the current server hardware at the city was installed in 2013 and is end of life. The managed IT provider, Loffler, has identified a server upgrade product called Microsoft Azure. Fineran said the Coronavirus Relief Funds are available for this purchase being that it allows employees to telework. Fineran explained that the migration would cost $15,000 with a three-year usage agreement of $26,000. After the three years, the City would incur a monthly fee to access the server. Guetzkow asked if the connection speed would be faster than a VPN. Fineran said the speed would be as fast as the internet being used. Steffan Caldrin from Loffler explained that any outage would be due to the internet rather than the cloud. Walters asked if it would have been more beneficial to look at a five-year contract. Fineran explained that the contract is based on usage and five years felt too far too long to estimate the usage. Pawelk asked about security. Caldrin explained that the data will be virtualized. He said if the City were to break the contract early, there would be a fee due to the special pricing received. EVERSON MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2020-115, APPROVING MICROSOFT AZURE SERVER SOLUTION. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.C. 2021 Preliminary Levy City Administrator Fineran said the preliminary levy is due to the County by September 30, 2020. The budget planning has been on going since July 2020 for the General Fund and will continue to be fine tuned once the City receives exact data for 2021. Fineran recapped the preliminary levy increase of 3.1% increase to the average value home. The preliminary levy can never go up, so the final number in December will likely be smaller than the 3.1%. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2020-112, ADOPTING A PRELIMINARY 2020 TAX LEVY FOR THE CITY OF WATERTOWN FOR COLLECTION IN 2021. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.D. Dollar General Land Use Application Extension City Administrator Fineran said the Dollar General has asked for an extension to develop their plans and would like to be heard on October 13, 2020. Guetzkow noted that this extension is a formality. Washburn is asking staff to request a sign other than a large yellow Dollar General sign in their plans to be presented. Guetzkow explained for residents that if a business meets variances and the required zoning ordinances, the City does not have the jurisdiction to reject the business based on whether they like the business.  5.D. Dollar General Land Use Application Extension City Administrator Fineran said the Dollar General has asked for an extension to develop their plans and would like to be heard on October 13, 2020. Guetzkow noted that this extension is a formality. Washburn is asking staff to request a sign other than a large yellow Dollar General sign in their plans to be presented. Guetzkow explained for residents that if a business meets variances and the required zoning ordinances, the City does not have the jurisdiction to reject the business based on whether they like the business. WALTERS MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO GRANT THE REQUESTED EXTENSION FOR DOLLAR GENERAL SITE PLAN & VARIANCE. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6. Other Reports Fineran updated that Community Clean-Up is this Saturday at Industrial Park from 8:00 am – 11:00 am. There will not be household hazardous waste at the event. Fineran updated the hockey rink and the Luce Line trail have been paved. He reminded residents to bring their leaves to the compost site. Guetzkow said the Watertown Lions will be offering a grab and go burger meal at the Community Clean-up day. This is a free will donation. The EDA is meeting on September 24 to review Coronavirus Relief Applications. Guetzkow said if residents have concerns about the Xcel Gas Line project, call City Hall for the Xcel complaint line. Walters updated the Chamber of Commerce updated their bylaws to reflect online meetings. Pawelk updated the Park Commission met to discuss the Capital Investment Plan for 2021. Mayor Washburn informed residents that there are programs available through the County relating to mental health, transportation and lost income. Washburn said he would like to conduct a virtual State of the City. 7. Claims 7.A. Approve September 22nd , 2020 Claims Roster GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2020 CLAIMS AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 8. Adjournment EVERSON MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:28 PM. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388