City Council Worksession

Watertown City Council Work Session Mayor Steve Washburn Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters Dan Schuette 1/25/2022 - Minutes 1. Call To Order And Roll Call Mayor Steve Washburn called the Watertown City Council work session to order at 5:39 p.m. on Tuesday January 25, 2022, in the council chambers of City Hall. Council Members Present: Washburn, Mike Walters, Adam Pawelk, and Lindsay Guetzkow. Staff Present: City Administrator Jake Foster and Administrative Services Director Lynn Tschudi. 2. New Business 2.I. 90 Day Check-In From City Administrator City Administrator Jake Foster addressed council and said he would like to have an informal discussion regarding his 90-day check in. This will include what has been done, what should be done and what will be done in the future. Foster said the first large project has been the transition to MNSPECT including the implementation of Community Core software. The Senate and the House bonding committees visited the wastewater treatment facility this fall. An open house for the second water tower was held in January. City Administrator Foster summarized the performance review process that is completed for employees and the City Administrator. He asked council if the past process has been helpful, and he mentioned he would like to receive a 360 review from his staff for his personal file. Foster also reminded council and staff that communication from council to staff should go through the City Administrator. He mentioned the open meeting law as it relates to texting. Foster said the Developer’s Day for the EDA is scheduled for May. Foster asked for feedback from council on specific topics such as communication, technology, weekly updates, delivery of council packets.  mentioned the open meeting law as it relates to texting. Foster said the Developer’s Day for the EDA is scheduled for May. Foster asked for feedback from council on specific topics such as communication, technology, weekly updates, delivery of council packets. Council Member Walters said he can retrieve documents from the website and sensitive documents can be emailed. Pawelk said he is unable to access large files on the website and would like to be able to download files prior to the meeting which is easier to do with Dropbox or a similar resource. Foster asked council if they are interested in using an auto attendant when residents call into city hall. Guetzkow said if people have an easy way to get to a person right away, she would be fine with it. Walters said he would rather have a person answer the phone. Washburn suggested pushing this idea down the road until the community adapts to the change in the building inspection service. Foster asked if it is beneficial to continue to publish summary minutes in the newspaper. Council agreed that it is not economically beneficial. Tschudi said residents will be able to request a copy of the minutes from staff. Foster asked council if it is necessary for staff to present to council to solicit bids for CIP items under the public bid threshold. Mayor Washburn said he would like to continue to have staff present to council to solicit for quotes, present the quotes, and accept the quotes. Pawelk explained that there have been instances where quotes were brought forward that needed to be addressed for missing information. Foster asked council for feedback on the Commission on Aging and the hard to fill vacancies. Washburn asked Foster to check with Carver County to see if other communities are struggling in this area. Washburn said he would like Foster to work on the possible retirements in the organization and the needed cross training. Pawelk suggested scheduling joint commission meetings early in the year. 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 ATTEST:__________________________________________ Lynn Tschudi, Admin. Services Director