City Council Worksession

Watertown Minnesota City Logo Watertown City Council Work Session Mayor Steve Washburn Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters Dan Schuette 9/28/2021 - Minutes 1. Call To Order And Roll Call Mayor Steve Washburn called the Watertown City Council work session to order at 5:31 p.m. on Tuesday September 28, 2021 in the council chambers of City Hall. Council Members Present: Washburn, Michael Walters, Lindsay Guetzkow, Dan Schuette and Adam Pawelk. Staff Present: Administrative Services Director Lynn Tschudi. Those who signed in: Scott Qualle 2. New Business 2.I. Building Services Request For Proposal Administrative Services Director Tschudi said at the September 20 special City Council meeting it was desired that a request for proposal (RFP) be drafted for building services. Tschudi said an RFP has been drafted and she also prepared documents to show the potential cost of hiring an internal building official. Tschudi reviewed the number of permits issued since 2013 and the associated revenues and costs as well as the percentage of cost to the revenues. Tschudi shared the average pay of a building official, building inspector and permit technician according to the League of MN Cities salary survey. Schuette asked about how much time office staff are spending on permit now. Tschudi estimated an entire staff person is committed to permits each day between phone calls, research, and issuing the permits. Schuette calculated a rough cost for an in-house staff to be around $160,000 annually. Washburn asked Tschudi to read through the RFP and highlight the important points. Tschudi read the RFP for council. Washburn asked approximately how many hours the current building official is in the office. Tschudi said between 3.5-4 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he is out doing inspections  Schuette calculated a rough cost for an in-house staff to be around $160,000 annually. Washburn asked Tschudi to read through the RFP and highlight the important points. Tschudi read the RFP for council. Washburn asked approximately how many hours the current building official is in the office. Tschudi said between 3.5-4 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he is out doing inspections and at the other location on other days. Washburn would still like a presence in the office if a service is used. Council offered edits to Tschudi on the RFP. They changed the 10-day permit turn-around time to 5-7 business days. Council also changed the maximum lead time for scheduling inspections from 48 hours to 2 business days or less. Council discussed the insurance requirements of a service. Tschudi stated that the City Attorney had reviewed the RFP for accuracy and any changes from him were previously made. Council stressed the importance of quick call back time and added language to state as such. Schuette asked for additional language on electronic to print costs as well. 3. Adjournment Washburn adjourned the work session at 6:30 pm. 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388 __________________________________________________________ Steve Washburn, Mayor ATTEST:__________________________________________ Lynn Tschudi, Admin. Services Director