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CCM 07/08/2013 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY JULY 8, 2013 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:33 p.m. ROLL CALL : MEMBERS PRESENT : Mayor Lund Councilmember Barnette Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT : David J. Mol, HLB Tautges Redpath, Ltd. Darin Nelson, Finance Director/Treasurer Wally Wysopal, City Manager James Kosluchar, Public Works Director Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Darcy Erickson, City Attorney PRESENTATION: HLB Tautges Redpath, Ltd., Audit Presentation David J Mol , CPA, presented a slide summarizing the reports issued at the completion of the audit. He stated there is the opinion on the financial statements, a report on internal control, a report on Minnesota legal compliance, and the communication to those charged with governance. Mr. Mol stated as the primary reason they are here is to address three questions: What did they do, how did they do it, and what was the result? Simply put, they audited the City’s financial statements that are the responsibility of the management. As with most professions, there are standards they are required to follow. They are generally-accepted audit standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Then the Government accountability office at the federal level adds government audit standards. Mr. Mol stated the result is a clean opinion on the City’s 2012 financial statements. Recognition for the City’s participation in the National Award program offered by the Government Finance Officers Association. It is an award for excellence in financial reporting. The City submitted its 2011 comprehensive and financial report for the program and was awarded a certificate of excellence in financial reporting. In their opinion, it demonstrates the City’s commitment to adhering to accounting standards and producing a comprehensive financial statement. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 2 Mr. Mol stated the report on internal control again addresses three questions: What did they do? They gained an understanding of the controls that are in place as far as for them to assess what risks of misstatement may be working. How did they do it? They take narratives of different classes of transactions. They select a sample of transactions for compliance. For instance, in dollars out the door, they looked at wire transfers, expense reimbursements, payroll, accounts payables checks, etc. The result of that is there is one item noted. A few years back there was a change in the auditing standards that required whenever there were adjustments to the financial statements, they be identified in the report on internal control. That is the one item noted in the report on internal report. Mr. Mol stated the next is report on compliance with Minnesota legal compliance audit guide. In 1984, the State Auditor’s Office issued the guide and the contents have been added to over time. It is updated annually for changes made by legislative action. It currently consists of seven categories. How do they do their work? They select a sample of transactions and test for compliance with statutory provisions. For example, under depositories of public funds and investments there is a statutory requirement, Chapter 118, that requires city deposits to be secured either by FDIC insurance or collateral provided by the banks set at a couple of points throughout the year. They select times when they think there may be a risk of that which is generally provided right after receiving a tax remittance. Mr. Mol another one, contracting bid laws was selected. There were a couple of contracts and tests for compliance there. There are notification requirements. There are publication requirements. Notification in the newspaper. Maintaining bids on file. Obtaining sealed bids. That type of thing. What is the result? Based on the items they tested, there were no findings of non-compliance in 2012. Mr. Mol stated the final report is referred to as a communication of those terms with governance. It includes items that are not in the previous reports he just talked about. They are required to communicate to the governing body about changes in accounting policies used by the City noting no changes for 2012. They are required to communicate where there are estimates in the financial statements. The two most significant ones is OPED obligation which refers to other post-employment benefit obligation which is about $500,000 at the end of 2012. That is based on an estimate done by an actuarial valuation and depreciation on capital assets as well. Mr. Mol stated as to financial statement adjustments, he has discussed that briefly in the internal control section of the presentation. There is one immaterial adjustment that was not recorded relating to bond premiums and discounts. Current standards require that you put that on your balance sheet and amortize it. A new standard, which becomes effective next year, eliminates that need. Mr. Mol stated looking at some financial results with first summarizing the governmental funds, which includes the general fund (the primary operating fund) that is maintained by the City; $19.7 million in for 2012 and almost $18 million out. An increase fund balance of $2 million. The capital project fund increase of $1.3 million relates primarily to unspent equipment certificate proceeds that were issued. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 3 Mr. Mol stated looking at general fund budget performance, there was a budgeted decrease in fund balance of $64,000. The actual results were an increase in fund balance of $896,000. Revenues outpaced estimates by $296,000; expenditures were less than budgeted by $724,000. Permit revenue exceeded estimates by $113,000; charges for services, $46,000. A number of different reporting categories had favorable budget increases. Mr. Mol in the end, at the end of 2012, there was a general fund balance of $7,669,000. By policy, the City of Fridley has a targeted fund balance of 35-50 percent of its next year’s budgeted expenditures. At the end of 2012 the fund balance was 52 percent. The City has that targeted unassigned fund balance primarily because of working capital needs. Month-end cash balances of the general fund vary throughout the year. It starts out at the high point, and cash is consumed. The City gets its first paycheck from property taxes in June, at which point cash balance goes back up. Then, there is the impact of the final tax remittance in December as well. This really illustrates the need for working capital reserves. Mr. Mol stated as for the enterprise funds, the water utility had operating revenue exceeding the expenses. There was an 8 percent increase in rates and then consumption was higher because of the dry year. For storm water in 2011, the expenses were a little bit higher because of storm repairs. As to liquor operations, since 2003, the operating expenses have exceeded the cost of sales, allowing the City to transfer funds annually to the general fund. Sales decreased for 2012 slightly primarily due to the construction activity. Mr. Mol stated as to the history of the tax levy and different components of the tax levy, the operating levy portion obviously is a large component of it, but Springbrook and debt service are also a piece of the levy. Mr. Mol stated as to components of a property tax bill, oftentimes you hear of people who are not happy with their property taxes first pointing to the City. He presented a pie chart which shows about one-third of the property tax bill is attributed to the City. Of the property tax bill, 31 percent is related to the City; 33 percent is related to the school district; 29 percent to the County; and 7 percent to all other. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Mol whether they do any projections in their audit looking forward on behalf of the City as far as revenue streams or expenditures to any extent or is it just reporting on the past. Mr. Mol replied it really is just historical reporting. There is a proposed standard that would require governmental entities to provide in their financial statements a projection going out five years. A projection of tax levies, building permit revenue, charges for services. The Minnesota GFOA responded to that, and the response was negative. It was believed, and he shares the belief, that projection information, although valuable, is not a component of a historical financial statement document. Doing a five-year projection is difficult, because councils can change. Mayor Lund stated they already see and do those types of projections although they are very fluid. One or two things can drastically change those numbers rather quickly so it is always a FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 4 readjustment. The only reason he asked is because in auditing if there is an outside look at the City’s projections they might do them internally. Councilmember Bolkcom stated related to the HRA financial statements, there is a comment/recommendation about strengthening the City’s controls. She asked whether this is something similar to what they had last year with the HRA, and what are they doing to strengthen the City’s controls since they are becoming more familiar with what they are doing. Darin Nelson , Finance Director, stated this is a specific item related to land values which really only happens every once in a while. The person handling it had not experienced that adjustment before and now realizes the City needs to look at not only the purchase price of what the City paid for the land but really the resale value of what the proposed lots are. They are two different things. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she understands that is what is said on page 26 related to land values. She asked if it was similar to the printout that is on the last page which says, ‘We recommended control in this area to ensure financial statements reporting elements are reviewed for accuracy.” Mr. Mol replied he believed the other item that was included in there had to do with the coding of the receipt into one fund where it did not belong. However, governmental accounting and governmental accounting standards are very complex and, when you have certain transactions such as what Mr. Nelson mentioned, errors may occur in that area. He does not view that as alarming. For instance, the receipt was recorded but just not in the right area in the accounting system. It eventually got into the right spot. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether that was something the City’s attorney for the HRA overlooks? Mr. Nelson replied that would just be the Finance Department. Councilmember Bolkcom stated as a Council, they expect to see the losses in the enterprise funds every year and are still trying to catch up on those. Mr. Nelson replied that is right. The City had the three or four year plan it started. The year 2013 is the second year of the implementation of that plan. That was a plan to increase the rates a little higher than what they had in the past just to get ahead. They want the production of water and the MCES charges to be the driver of the rates. They looked at the historical data and we are catching up. Councilmember Varichak asked regarding page 14, in the capital credits, the last comment is a statement stating they had $893,000; however, the majority of the fund balance, $827,000 is restricted to future capital equipment purchases, is staff concerned about that? Mr. Nelson stated that the capital equipment fund was created a couple of years ago which is FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 5 strictly used for the certificates that were issued this year. In 2012, they issued $1.2 million or so and this is the residual of that. At the end of the year, they had $827,000 left to spend. Mayor Lund said they did that biannually rather than annually because it is more cost effective to have bonds issued every two years rather than every year. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES : 1.City Council Meeting of June 24, 2013 Councilmember Bolkcom referred to page 5, paragraph 7. She asked it be noted she would like the City to have a workshop regarding discussion of storm damage and policies. APPROVED AS CORRECTED. OLD BUSINESS : 2.Second Reading of an Ordinance under Section 12.06 of the City Charter Declaring Certain Real Estate to be Surplus and Authorizing the Sale Thereof Generally nd Located at the Corner of 52 Avenue and Taylor Street N.E. (Ward 1). WAIVED THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1306 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. NEW BUSINESS : 3.Resolution Providing Approval and Certification of the Adequacy of the FMC Site Development Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the Property Located at 4800 East Fiver Road (Ward 3). Mr. Wysopal , City Manager, stated the AUAR is a public document which guides the redevelopment of the contaminated site in cooperation with the developer and the City. The document is the result of the public awareness and participation process and, as prescribed by Minnesota law, administered by the Environmental Quality Board, a State agency. The public comment period, as well as the specific agency comment on the proposed AUAR, were completed on June 24. All development scenarios presented and reviewed are considered consistent with the City’s comprehensive plan. The resolution affirms the City’s obligation under State law that the AUAR document for the FMC Site is considered adequate, and the intended redevelopment for the 122-acre site is 1.59 million square feet of mixed use, with land use requests beginning several months from now. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2013-33. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 6 4.Motion to Approve a Purchase Agreement with Loffler Companies, Inc. for the Purchase of Two Konica Minolta Copiers, and a Five-Year Guaranteed pricing Maintenance Agreement. Mr. Wysopal , City Manager, stated this replaces two high-volume copiers used by City staff, doing about 40,000 copies a year. They are nine years old and are experiencing frequent breakdowns. These items were not a part of the 2013 budget; however, a staff committee concluded, through a needs analysis, they needed to be replaced, and determined the types of copiers that would work best for the City’s needs. The funding source is unspent equipment notes and primarily is the result of a fire truck coming in about $70,000 less than expected. The cost of the new copiers is $27,827 plus the maintenance costs which are guaranteed for five years. Later in the year, the City will provide budget reappropriation for that expense. APPROVED. 5.Claims (160105 – 160227) APPROVED. 6. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 7. Estimates. Ron Kassa Construction th 6005 East 250 Street Elko, MN 55020-9447 2013 Miscellaneous Concrete Project No. 429 Estimate No. 2.............................................. . $ 8,430.11 Northwest Asphalt Corporation 5929 Baker Road, Suite 420 Minnetonka, MN 55345 2013 Street Rehabilitation Project No. ST2013-01 Estimate No. 1 ............................................. $111,822.64 APPROVED. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA : MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the proposed consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 7 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA : MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM : No one from the audience spoke. NEW BUSINESS : 8. Receive Bids and Award Base Bid and Alternative Bid for the Oak Glen Creek Erosion Control Project No. 380. James Kosluchar, Public Works Director, stated this project addresses the erosion conditions on lower Oak Glen Creek. That is an area from East River Road to the Mississippi River. The Anoka Conservation District (ACD) working with the City of Fridley has been successful in obtaining funding for this project in the amount of $339,700 from the Clean Water Legacy Grant. ACD is responsible under an agreement with the City to provide up to $320,800 for eligible costs that includes construction and staff coordination. Mr. Kosluchar stated the City held a public hearing for special assessment on July 9, 2012. The City Council ordered the improvement on December 3, 2012. Easements have been obtained to complete this project. This project includes a wide variety of corrective actions including installation of rock check dams, installation of rip rap along stream banks, boulder walls, brush bundle walls, etc. Mr. Kosluchar stated staff concluded that bidding over the winter would not provide good pricing. The most recent construction estimate was $304,987, including alternate work so they were right where they needed to be. After a preconstruction meeting, the bids were opened on June 27. Six unit price bids were received. The low bid was provided by Blackstone Contracting in Corcoran, Minnesota, in the amount of $263,516. Blackstone Contracting regularly performs the type of work the property requires. They could start as soon as August 5; June 30, 2014, will be the substantial completion date; and should have basically everything in place with a final completion date of August 31, 2014. Mr. Kosluchar stated approximately 80 percent of the project cost will come from the Clean Water Legacy Grant, and the remainder will be funded equally from the City’s stormwater fund and special assessments to benefiting property owners. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 8 Mr. Kosluchar stated according to the joint powers agreement with the Anoka Conservation District, savings from the low bidder are shared proportionately among the funding services. In other words, if they do not spend it, the money goes back proportionally to those sources. However, staff does believe there is supplemental work that is warranted. Staff recommends Council move to receive the bids and award the base bid and alternate bid for the Oak Glen Creek Erosion Control Project 380 to Blackstone Contractors of Corcoran, Minnesota, in the total amount of $263,516. If approved tonight, the contract for the work will be signed, and the work schedule will be developed with the contractor that is specific. Staff will then provide a project notice to the affected residents prior to construction. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how long have they been working on this project. She thanked the residents who helped spread the word about this project and for their many years of patience throughout this process. Mr. Kosluchar replied approximately six years. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if there would be a link on the website. At the last meeting, there was some discussion about what they could do to help hold the soil there--some of the plantings and seeding they could do, some resources, etc. Mr. Kosluchar replied, it is not on the City’s website yet, but he was working with ACD to consolidate their information also. Councilmember Bolkcom asked as far as the assessments coming back to the residents, this would not come before the City Council until 2014, after the completion of the project and they would have a special assessment hearing. Mr. Kosluchar replied that is the City of Fridley’s process. After the completion of construction, or when they get to the point of substantial completion. Councilmember Bolkcom asked as far as the bidding process, does this include changing the flow. Mr. Kosluchar replied there is actually one location where they had an alternate, $2,000 by a low bidder and that is for relocating the channel to a new location. They are going to discuss with ACD about when they can expand this to three locations that are really ideal. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether there is any opportunity for any of the residents to do any of this work. Mr. Kosluchar replied no. Their only requirement they have for them is they do not throw debris over the slope. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how many trees that have been marked have been cut down. Mr. Kosluchar replied of the original markings, there is probably 10 percent that were marked by owners not to cut. Maybe 5 percent have been cut already. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 9 Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Kosluchar is it fair to say one of the big things after the project would be the maintenance of the property--not throwing things over the edge, and keeping your own property maintained. Mr. Kosluchar replied, yes. Keep the canopy thinned out. Councilmember Bolkcom stated there has been some discussion among the residents about those who are upstream. Doing this project puts them in a better place as far as getting more grants. Coon Creek is well aware of this and is working with the City in trying to seek some upstream maintenance things that will also help the flow of the water. Councilmember Saefke stated he looked over the bids, and it really surprised him that for the two-year warranty and maintenance it ranged from $2,500 to $54,000. He suspects the one for $54,000 did not have confidence in the original construction they would do or just did not want the bid. He asked if that was a good assessment. Mr. Kosluchar replied, he thinks sometimes contractors put in a bid just to see what everybody else does. He was surprised the low bid for maintenance was so low. Mayor Lund said grant money covers 80 percent of the cost and 20 percent of the cost is covered by funds and assessments. Is it 10 percent from the benefitting properties and 10 percent from the City’s internal funds? Mr. Kosluchar replied that is what staff presented to the property owners. That model has been used in the past, where amounts not paid by outside funding are split between the benefitting owners and the City. Mayor Lund stated the low bidder has had properties like this in the past. They have not done any of these types of projects in the City but are there any projects of similar size and scope the low bidder has done? Mr. Kosluchar replied there are two referenced projects in other communities staff reviewed. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to receive bids and award the base bid and alternate bid for the Oak Glen Creek Erosion Control Project No. 380 to Blackstone Contracting in the amount of $263,516.00. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. Informal Status Reports. There were no informal status reports. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 8, 2013 PAGE 10 ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:31 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Denise Johnson Scott Lund Recording Secretary Mayor Lund