Loading...
12/15/2008 - 29219CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY DECEMBER 15, 2008 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember-at-Large Barnette Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager James Kosluchar, Public Works Director Fritz Knaak, City Attorney Richard Pribyl, Finance Director Scott Hickok, Community Development Director PRESENTATION: Rachel Harris, Recycling Coordinator, presented an overview of the City's recycling services. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA NEW BUSINESS: 1. Resolution Certifying Final Tax Levy Requirements for 2009 to the County of Anoka. William Burns, City Manager, said this resolution certifies the final tax levy to Anoka County. The levy for 2009 covers the following: 1. General Fund - $8,352,474 2. Capital Project Fund (Parks) - $107,300 3. Six Cities WMO - $6,200 4. SNC Levy - $302,900 5. 2005-2007 GO Bond Issues (streets) -$523,613 Dr. Burns said the final tax levy for 2009 was calculated as follows: 1. $9,527,433 (2008 levy) 2. + $247,713 (2.6% inflation amount) 3. $9,775,146 (2009 proposed tax levy) 4. +$147,500 (2008 Street GO bond levy) 5. $9,922,646 (2009 total levy before State levy limit) 6. $9,472,487 (20091evy per State levy limit) FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 2 Dr. Burns said the levy for 2009 is $54,946 or about .6% less than the 2008 levy. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-60. 2. Resolution Authorizing the Final Budget for the Fiscal Year 2009. William Burns, City Manager, said this resolution authorizes the final budget for 2009. The resolution is required by law to be submitted to the County within five working days of December 20, annually. The resolution approves the General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Capital Projects Fund, and Agency Fund budgets. It does not apply to the City's Enterprise Funds. Proposed budgets were reviewed in detail in the City Manager's annual budget message. The budgets include the following amounts: 1. General Fund — $14,920,090 2. Special Revenue Funds — $1,253,482 3. Capital Projects Fund — $1,497,000 4. Agency Fund - $6,200 Staff recommends Council's approval of the 2009 budget. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-61. 3. Resolution Authorizing a Change in Mileage Reimbursement Rates for the 2009 Calendar Year. William Burns, City Manager, said this resolution increases the mileage reimbursement rate for City employees in conjunction with IRS rulings. Under their latest ruling, the mileage reimbursement rate was changed to $.550/mile. Based on past practice, staff is recommending that Council increase the City's current rate from $.505/mile to $.550/mile to conform to the current IRS rate. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-62. 4. Resolution Approving Special Legislation (2008 Second Tax bill) (Laws of Minnesota, 2008, Chapter 366, Article 5, Section 23) William Burns, City Manager, said this is a"do-over" of a resolution adopted in June. The resolution provides for Council's acceptance of special legislation approved by the legislature to assist Fridley with the Northstar project. In accepting the State legislation in June, our resolution referenced Section 24 when it should have referenced Section 23. This new resolution will be submitted to the Secretary of State to replace the old one. Staff recommends Council's approval. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 5. Resolution Ordering Preparation of a Preliminary Report and Preliminary Plans and Specifications for Street Rehabilitation Project No. ST. 2009-1. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 3 William Burns, City Manager, said that this project includes the University Avenue West Service Drive between 85th Avenue and 69th Place. It also includes 2.1 miles of streets in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood. Implementing the Sylvan Hills portion of the project will depend on the price of oil and asphalt. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-64. 6. Approve Agreement for Legal Services between the City of Fridley and Newquist & Herrick Law Offices, P.C., and Carl J. Newquist. William Burns, City Manager, said the City decided to do a Request for Proposal and Qualifications for prosecution services in the years 2009 through 2011. We received ten responses. The ten respondents were rated on eight different factors including capacity, experience, technology, and compatibility. We also analyzed the costs and fee proposals. Dr. Burns said three firms were selected for interviews. The members of the interviewing panel were the Public Safety Director pon Abbott, Captain Bob Rewitzer, Lieutenant Mike Monsrud, Bloomington's Associate Attorney Torrie Schneider, and the City Manager. Carl Newquist was selected based on his proposed retainer and fees and on his track record as the current City Prosecutor. Carl's retainer for 2009 is $272,850, and we anticipate $10,000 in fees for subpoena service and $3,000 for cases appealed beyond the District Court. These costs compare with a budgeted amount of $320,000 for prosecution services in 2009. We have also negotiated a 3% increase in Carl's retainer and fees for 2010 and 2011. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-65. 7. Claims (138973 — 139076). APPROVED. 8. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 9. Estimates. APPROVED THE FOLLOWING ESTIMATES: Midwest Asphalt Corp. 5929 Baker Road, Suite 420 Minnetonka, MN 55345 2008 Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2008 — 1 Estimate No. 7 .............................................................................. $ 288,185.01 Standard Sidewalk 10841 Mankato Street N.E. Blaine, NIN 55434 2008 Miscellaneous Concrete Repair Estimate No. 5 .............................................................................. $ 7,885.01 FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 4 APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: Councilmember Bolkcom asked for Item 4 to be removed. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the Consent Agenda with the removal of Item 4. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the Agenda with the addition of Item 4. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM (VISITORS): Mayor Lund responded to an open forum item from the last Council meeting regarding the way a citizen was addressed by police officers on an issue regarding signing, freedom of speech and the political process. The issue has been brought to the attention of the City Council and Police Department. NEW BUSINESS: 10. Resolution Approving Recycling Service Fees. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said this resolution would increase the recycling service fees by 2.6% which is the maximum in which a fee can be raised according to Charter. The increase would amount to 68 cents per year for residents. Mayor Lund asked who is responsible for the shortfall in the difference between what is collected from residents and what the City pays for the recycling service. Mr. Hickok said staff has asked the County for help with the shortfall, but it looks like the City will absorb the shortfall. The way the formulas work together, revenue funds are not able to be used to help with the shortfall. Because of the Charter law, the City is unable to increase the fee's enough to cover the total increase. Mayor Lund asked if it would be less of a burden in cost if people were better at recycling. Mr. Hickok said the goal is to help people be better at recycling. The fee is something that will increase in the future depending on the market and the ability to negotiate a good contract. Staff will try to negotiate to the best of their ability but do not anticipate any revenue sharing from the County. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 5 MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-65. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. Resolution Providing for Sewer Structure and Rate Change. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said that utility rate discussions were part of the 2009 Budget process. As part of the 2007 Charter change in which utility rates were removed from the restriction, a rate study had been mentioned. During 2008, a rate study was commissioned and a new rate structure emerged. Mr. Pribyl said the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services budget for 2009 is $3,136,698, and it represents approximately 75% of this total budget. A fixed charge would be $7.12 per customer, a volume charge would be $3.01 per 1,000 gallons. The water meter is used both for water sales and sewer sales. Mr. Pribyl said the recommended rate structure for 2009 would include a fixed charge of $7.12 per quarter. The volume charge would continue to be $3.01 per 1,000 gallons. Minimum consumption amounts were eliminated and the Qualifying Disabled and Senior max of $30.10 was eliminated. The rate change implications for the average customer using 96,000 gallons per year would increase by $16.44 a year. The rate change structure would be effective for the first billing period in January of 2009. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adopt Resolution No. 2008-66. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. Resolution Providing for a Storm Water Drainage Rate Change. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said staff indicated the Storm Water Fund would require an increase for 2009. Staff recommends that the Resident Equivalent Factor (REF) be increased to $10.35 per quarter. This increase would be effective with the first billing period in January 2009. Staff recommends Council's approval. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-67. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. Resolution Providing for Water Structure and Rate Change. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said the rate study previously mentioned has evolved into a much more complicated process for water sales. The water rate portion of the study had three FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 6 base rate structures to study. As with the sewer rate structure, a fixed and volume based component was evaluated for the water rate structure. Mr. Pribyl said the elements needed should provide for sufficient revenue to support the annual operating expenses, support the increase capital items needed to keep the infrastructure running, and have adequate cash flow in order to pay bills throughout the 12-month period without any borrowing. Mr. Pribyl said we were told by the Department of Natural Resources that the conservation rate structure as should have a rate differential that would discourage large volumes of water use by a customer class. Staff discovered that within the residential customers, our volume bands were narrow as compared to our commercial customers. Most of our residential users were in the 20,000 to 60,000 gallon bands. Mr. Pribyl said after studying in excess of 15 to 20 structure and rate variations, staff settled on a conservation rate structure that was also reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources for compliance. The new fixed cost will be $9.50 per quarter. Volume charge step feature that is conservation based which was reviewed by the DNR. The minimum charge and the senior rate were eliminated. The charge is now fixed and volume based. The rate change implications for the average residential customer using 96,000 gallons per year would have increase the cost by $21.94 year. This rate change structure would be effective for the first billing period in January of 2009. Total cost of water and sewer changes for the average customer is estimated to be $38.38 per year. Councilmember Saefke said the fixed rate was paid no matter how much water was used, and you would only be charged for the actual amount of water you used. In other works, if you only used 3,000 gallons a quarter, you would only be charged for the 3,000 gallons. There is no minimum charge any longer. You would be charged at the lowest rate, which is actually less than the current rate. If you use 20,000 gallons or less per quarter, it is $1.08 per thousand gallons. Mr. Pribyl said that is correct. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if staff was still trying to catch up from the money lost with the Charter restriction and if that has an impact on the larger increase. Mr. Pribyl said that is correct. Mayor Lund said that although the rates are lower for the smaller users, the first 20,000 gallons will be charged at $1.08 and once 20,000 is reached, the rates will be increased. This is a good plan and the rates are tiered to encourage conservation. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2008-68. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2008 PAGE 7 4. Resolution Approving Special Legislation (2008 Second Tax Bill) (Laws of Minnesota 2008, Chapter 366, Article 5, Section 23). Councilmember Bolkcom said there was no reference in the presentation as to how the error was found. She was concerned if the lawyers did not look closely this may not have been caught. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said this is much like when the City does ordinance work Many times codes and sections may shift. This type of error happens at the State level as well. Based on modifications, only the section number was changed. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if in any way this would affect the City's ability to create these districts. Mr. Hickok said that the intent was clear and this is a numerical correction and nothing else. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-63. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 14. Informal Status Report. William Burns, City Manager, said City offices will be closed on December 26 and January 1 and at 2:00 p.m. on Christmas eve and New Year's eve. City offices will be open on January 2. Mayor Lund said they received an email from the League of Minnesota Cities which said the Governor is likely to use the unallocated funds and withhold payment of Local Government Aid (LGA). Cities are expected to receive their second payment of LGA funds on or about December 26. If these funds are not received, it will throw Fridley's budget off with the likelihood of unallocated funds. If the LGA funding is cut, it will further put the City of Fridley's budget in the hole. Fridley is much better off than other cities in Minnesota as Fridley has about 5 to 6 years before the savings account funds are depleted. There will have to be significant changes to the City's budget. The State needs to find a better way to balance the budget rather than taking away the LGA payments. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:36P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Krista Monsrud Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor