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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-11-2020 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh and the following members appearing remotely: City Council Members Richard Crosby, II, Matt Johnson,Aaron Printup,and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief, Finance Director Ron Olson, Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart,and Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 27,2020 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF APRIL 27, 2020 3. CLAIMS/BILLS 4. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS—HEALTH INSURANCE This item was removed from the Consent Agenda. 5. COVID-19 LEAVE POLICY REVISION 6. ACCEPTANCE OF SMITH AVENUE CUL-DE-SAC EASEMENT 7. WOODHILL AVENUE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT This item was removed from the Consent Agenda. 8. APPOINTMENT OF 2020 SEASONAL EMPLOYEES 9. APPROVAL TO ACCEPT DONATION FROM DONALD KNUTSON 10. LA20-000023—WEIS BUILDERS,2635 KELLEY PARKWAY,RPUD AMENDMENT, RESOLUTION 7094 11. LA20-000025—JOHN KRAEMER,855 OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD SOUTH, VARIANCE,RESOLUTION 7095 12. LA20-000032—STEVE EGGERT O/B/O RUSSELL KOCON AND JACQUELINE GIBNEY AND LAKEWEST DEVELOPMENT,LLC,3570 IVY PLACE,FINAL PLAT APPROVAL—RESOLUTION 7096 Page 1 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Crosby moved, Seals seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as revised,with Item Nos.4 and 7 being removed from the Consent Agenda. Roll Call Vote: Ayes 5(Crosby,Printup, Seals,Johnson, Walsh),Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS Matt Peterson, 1255 Woodhill Avenue, asked the reason for No. 7 being taken off of the agenda. Walsh explained that No. 7 was taken off the Consent Agenda, which is an automatic vote where the Council approves everything under it. He stated that the Council wants to discuss it and there are people in attendance that want to talk about it, so he knew it would be taken off of the Consent Agenda. PRESENTATION 13. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL PRESENTATION BY THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT Marge Beard,District 1 Representative,thanked the City for giving them the opportunity to share some important information. She said there was a kick-off the past fall at Orono City Hall. Council member Seals, City Administrator Rief,herself, and Staff members were in attendance.There has been a lot of progress made, including a February meeting with the Park Commission where they worked through some potential trail routes. She said they would discuss trail background and potential trail routes and are asking for Council feedback. Danny McCullough, Regional Trail Manager,stated he would go over the regional trail system and display images of how they envision particular areas of the trail such as the width and environment of the trail. He displayed the 2040 Regional Trail System Map and said the dotted orange lines are Planned Regional Trails,which are identified future trails they want to develop, while the solid blue lines are the existing regional trail network. There are 165 miles of existing regional trail and 58 miles in the planning process. There are also 172 miles of search corridor. He noted the orange dashed line that goes from Crow River to Lake Minnetonka is the Diamond Lake Regional Trail (DLRT) corridor. The future regional trail will cross 7 communities--Dayton, Rogers, Corcoran,Medina, Long Lake, Orono, and Wayzata--and is approximately 21 miles long.As part of the master plan process,they are looking for one final preferred route. When they create the master plan,they may be in a position in the future where they need to acquire land or right-of-way. The trail will be developed as funding allows,opportunities arise,and a cooperative agreement with the City is created in 2021. He displayed several slides and said the intent of this corridor is to be a destination trail, which is more wooded with a park-like setting throughout the route. While displaying photos,he said at some points of the route they will advocate for a separated grade crossing like a bridge or tunnel. It will also be necessary to build boardwalks when going through low-lying areas. Although it is a bit more expensive, it gives the user a very cool experience. He showed examples of infrastructure along the system, explaining they typically place kiosks every 1-2 miles with maps, information,and amenities like a bike repair station.All regional trails are paved, and they strive for a 10-foot wide path with a 3-foot wide clear zone on each side. Stephen Shurson,Project Manager,reminded the Council that the project was introduced to them in January. They have been working in partnership with all 7 cities along the corridor. They met with the Orono Park Commission in February,who helped them evaluate the routes in and around Orono. They also met with Staff to confirm what they heard from the Parks Commission to make any necessary Page 2 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. refinements. They would like to review potential routes with the Council to make sure they are okay with Three Rivers Park District(TRPD)going public with them,which they will do after they meet with all of the City Councils involved. He asked for feedback, comments, and support from the Council.As far as public engagement,they will try to get out as they are allowed and engage in community events if they occur. The public engagement process will be oriented more online and on the website due to COVID-19, especially if community events are canceled or restricted.The website will include a map where people can make comments, similar to placing a pin on a Google Map, which TRPD can preserve. After the public engagement process,they will create what they think is the best route for the community,bring it back for Council approval, and draft a master plan document,which will include a 30-day comment period containing a resolution of support from the City Council. After that process, TRPD will go through approvals with its own Board and the Met Council.He then displayed potential routes through Orono and stated when the route comes out of Medina,they are looking at 3 alternatives. With the northwest route, they are not able to go through properties such as Wolsfeld Woods due to SNA regulations, but they hope to be adjacent to it because it would be a scenic area.The middle route coming out of Medina would be road-based along Tamarack Drive within the road right-of-way. The easterly route would come down Hunter and also be road-based but would connect to the Holy Name Lake area and head north into Corcoran.Moving south on the map, he said they would like to utilize Spring Hill Road either on the west or east side. If the route is on the west side,they would look at a potential underpass on Highway 6. There are trail options along Spring Hill Road to East Long Lake Road; and he understands the City plans on reconstructing that portion of the now-abandoned East Long Lake Road into a trail. TRPD would like to take advantage of that route because there are not any good ones that could bring the trail to the south. They would prefer to be along the east side of Long Lake. The trail route would go to Summit Park, which would be an area they would consider as a trailhead,which consists of some signage,a parking lot, an access for the trail,and information about the trail. Heading south, along East Long Lake Road,they understand the area will be a challenge given the steep and narrow road. They have looked into going through Summit Park, but the topography does not allow for that on the western side.An alternative would be to secure an easement from the property owners in order to build a trail adjacent to the road; but if that cannot happen, consideration may be given to a shared-road situation: cars,bikes,and pedestrians would share the road for that distance until reaching the park. He said there are 5 homes and the park that the road would access, so it would not be much traffic volume. He discussed the option of going along Old Long Lake Road through the SNA property using the road right-of-way, so people could experience it but not be on it. He noted there is a small parking lot in the area so people could get off the trail,park their bikes,and walk through the SNA property. He said that this corridor is one of the nicest areas to get to Dayton. Another route could take users to Wayzata Boulevard,to the existing trail that was built with the reconstruction of the highway,and then come back to the Luce Line and utilize the trail that is there now. Other trail options moving east would be to either stay on Luce Line all the way to Ferndale or go on Old Long Lake Road to Wayzata Boulevard. Using another map, he discussed utilizing the existing bridges crossing over Highway 12,whether it is along Wayzata Boulevard, which is an 8-foot paved path on the north side,and/or Ferndale. There is an option in the future to make improvements to the bridge structure deck to accommodate a wider trail crossing over. He stated the trail could continue south into Wayzata, continuing down Ferndale to Dakota Rail, and staying on Wayzata Boulevard over to Barry to Lake Street,which is where the Dakota Rail project is being constructed, and extending the trail to Broadway. He stated that although it was not part of the trail project,he wanted to let the Council know, panning to the east and south on the map,that there are a couple other search corridors in the area. He said they are looking at a master plan that would extend Dakota Rail all the way through Wayzata to the Minnetonka City Hall/Community Center,which would connect to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail. They are also looking at a search corridor that would go along Bushaway Road and over to Central and work its way north, essentially parallel with the DLRT but farther east. Page 3 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Marge Beard said that Three Rivers Park would like thoughts/comments/feedback from the Mayor and Council before the next step, which is public engagement. Walsh stated the City is always supportive of trails. He said Hennepin County just came through and put trails along the Old Highway 12 corridor and there are trails along East Long Lake Road. They are positive about trails and connecting them as much as possible if it makes sense. Seals requested to see the map which shows where the trail would be along East Long Lake Road,which was complied with. She said she would be conscious of the trail's location with the neighbors. The age- old tale is that people are happy about a trail coming in but not on/next to their property. She felt easements on people's property should be avoided as much as possible and noted the neighbors are fairly vocal about change. She stated digital outreach is nice and some people will be reached,but it will not provide the interaction/feedback the group wants. She suggested extending the feedback period, as some events will eventually be rescheduled where a lot of interaction can occur like the Fire Department's pancake breakfast. Minnesota will not be shut down until 2021, and hopefully some events will happen later this year. Crosby agreed with Seals as far as getting residential feedback and not necessarily having it in a digital format, even if it delays things slightly. Mr. Shurson/McCullough said his group agrees that it is much better to connect in-person than virtually. They will keep in touch with Staff as things develop.They will keep the feedback component open as long as they can to get good feedback and are not opposed to having individual listening sessions if there are areas of special concerns, such as the neighborhood along East Long Lake Road. They are in the middle of forming how public engagement will look. Even when they are not able to meet personally, they will take a look at measures to make sure people are safe and health restrictions are adhered to.They value the personal, one-on-one contact. Don Haberman said he and his wife are building a home at 2799 Pheasant Road. They understand they need to have a framing inspection done and be approved before they can put in their dock. They have the house framed, contractors are pouring the basement soon,the windows and doors are in,but the HVAC and plumbing are not in.They are wondering if they can get approval by the City to put the dock in as soon as possible. Walsh stated it did not sound like an unreasonable request to him. The normal process is to go to Barnhart; he noted that Barnhart would need some direction from the Council. Crosby said he would give full support to the request and appreciates Mr. Haberman coming to the Council and asking first. Seals agreed with Crosby. Johnson also agreed and stated he would get rid of the ordinance if it was up to him. Walsh indicated Mr. Haberman had the Council's support. Page 4 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. 4. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS—HEALTH INSURANCE Printup stated he would like a brief rundown of why this is being looked at and why the Council decided to move forward with it so that the public knows the Council is always trying to peel back the layers of the onion as much as possible. Walsh noted the Council thinks costs have gone up 10-20%for many years and they want to go out to the market, which requires the City to terminate the agreement they have, but the City feels they can do better. The Council decided to move forward with that decision at the last Work Session. He thanked Printup for pulling it off the agenda so everyone can have a good understanding of the what/why. He said the City always looks at the dollars for efficiency but at the same time makes sure to get the best product. Printup stated the City also does not want to be held hostage. Crosby said there is nothing like competition in a free market. Johnson asked why the City is utilizing Paychex to do this, if there is a charge, and if there is a benefit. Olson said approval for use of Paychex for payroll services was made at the last Council meeting.He stated Paychex can also act as the City's insurance broker. They would receive their money in an agent fee directly from whatever insurance carrier the City ends up with,just like Gallagher was the agent when the City was with LOGIS and LOGIS/HealthPartners paid Gallagher. The City does not get billed separately for Paychex to be the agent,but the agent fee/cost is buried somewhere within the premiums. If the City gets better premiums than currently, it is a good thing. Paychex will also handle the City's electronic benefit enrollment. Currently,the City uses a third party for electronic benefits,but they still have to manually enter those deductions and payments into the system. With Paychex,those changes will be made automatically to each individual's paycheck. This will make it more efficient in getting employees enrolled in the right benefits and the right payroll deductions set up, and will eliminate one more spot where an error could creep into the system, as there will be no manual entry after this point. Seals asked Olson if there were benefits to Paychex that he had not planned on. Olson answered that this component was an unexpected benefit they found when talking to Paychex. Seals suggested the next time she and Printup push to make changes,that Staff not be so defiant. She said it is not meant to be an"I told you so,"but at times it feels like Staff felt like they had bad intentions. She noted Printup was fighting for this long before she joined the Council. She said she is pointing it out to let Staff know there is rationale behind some of the things they push. She asked Staff to give them the benefit of the doubt. Printup said he was going through some old emails from when he was first on the Council, around 2011- 2013.A common theme in some goal-setting sessions was Council-trusting-Staff issues. He laughed when he read that because now it seems like there is a Staff-trusting-Council issue. When the Organizational Committee was formed, it was not to start cutting and pushing people away and getting people out, it has always been to serve the residents as best as possible, because that is everyone's job. He said the public is at the top of every organizational structure/chart the City has. If the Council can do it in a lean and mean way,that is what they will do. If it means moving around the shells in a shell game or rearranging the deck chairs, it will happen every quarter if necessary,because things change,times change, and Councils change. He understands change is scary,but this Council is becoming established Page 5 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. and has good direction and goals in mind for the benefit of Orono and its residents.There is a good plan and momentum going, and he wants to keep the good trajectory going. Walsh stated he agreed with Printup. Crosby noted change for the sake of change is not always good,but the City always wants to be going towards positive change. Seals moved,Crosby seconded,to authorize Paychex to conduct a Retirement& Survivor Benefits (RSB) process for employee health insurance. Roll Call Vote: Ayes 5(Printup,Johnson,Seals, Crosby,Walsh),Nays 0. 7. WOODHILL AVENUE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Edwards said for a number of years the Public Works Department has installed a set of 2 seasonal speed humps on the road. Over the last couple of years,they have gotten complaints about them and a request for them to be removed. He stated there were speed humps in place as part of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in 1999. After the road was rebuilt in 2012,those speed humps were removed and the City put in seasonal ones every summer. The number of residents at the end of the road has changed since then. Also, the City's understanding of speed humps and their effectiveness has grown:they are one of the least effective traffic management tools the City has. They don't slow people down except at the speed hump, and there are studies that show people speed up beyond the speed limit immediately after speed humps. He said particularly in a situation like the Woodhill area,where there is a low-density, straight, long road, they are not a very effective method of controlling speed. The installation/removal of the speed humps costs about$900 in labor and replacement parts annually. He checked with the City Attorney to make sure removing them did not violate the CUP, and the advice was that the CUP requirements were met in 1999 when the applicant of that CUP installed speed humps. He stated he received an email from a resident at the end of the road along with input from a couple other residents over the weekend,all of which are in the packet Council members received. He is asking for permission or concurrence from the Council that speed humps no longer need to be installed in that location. Walsh noted the conditions of the CUP were met in 1999 and asked Mattick if that meant the speed humps could be put in one year and taken out and then they were done with it, or if there was something that said they were required for a number of years. Mattick indicated the CUP said the speed hump had to be installed but there is no language saying it had to remain forever. It was basically a public improvement.The terms of the CUP were met and it is up to the City to manage it going forward. Printup said this reminds him of an issue on Crystal Bay Road years ago where residents requested speed bumps/humps and there was a long conversation about it. The City installed them,things were okay, but there was a private place on the other end of the street and neighbors were concerned about it being a shortcut. He does not know what went on in the 90s,but it is a City street that comes to a dead end and it looks like it was punched through for use of the private place at the end. He does not know if this is an area where the City would want to see if a cul-de-sac can go through and close it off. He is guessing that was talked about and then some agreements/deals were made. It seems to him that putting in a speed bump for a year and calling it satisfied seems like a loophole. He is in favor of speed bumps when neighborhoods ask for them. He knows it can be an emotional issue for everybody that has to drive over Page 6 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. them or whose driveway or house it is near. He thinks there is value because it gives a sense of security for the neighbors and he is in favor of leaving well enough alone. If necessary,the City could learn where it came from and why, because there is a lot more behind the issue than meets the eye. He does not think leaving it alone for now is harmful. Matt Peterson said he believes he is the only resident at the end of the street,and he has to go over the speed bumps on a continuous basis because that is his only exit point. He suggested closing it off if the plan is to have speed bumps to keep people from using the street to get into Woodhill. Other than the people that are coming into Woodhill,he is the one driving over them. He said it is a Band-Aid if the goal is to have people stop using it as a backdoor entry to Woodhill. He agrees 100%that the speed bumps don't do anything, in addition to being irritating for him to drive over them. There is nobody else there to have a different opinion. McGuire destroyed all the other houses, so it's just basically him there. Walsh indicated if it is just a pass-through, it would make sense to close it off and put a cul-de-sac there. Mr. Peterson said it is an entry point for the Woodhill grounds crew. People use the road to go into Woodhill because it is a shortcut. He is in favor of shutting down the road into Woodhill so they do not use it anymore. He is sick of the speed bumps. Crosby asked Mr. Peterson how long he has lived at the property. Mr. Peterson said it has been a little over a year. He drives a truck, and it is easier for him to go fast over the speed bumps than slow because there is less rattling, and so he does go faster. Printup asked if he wanted a police presence there. Mr. Peterson said he would not mind a police presence if it got rid of the speed bumps. Printup stated he thinks there is an easy solution; he just does not think it will be made right now. Mr. Peterson said, at a minimum, getting rid of the speed bumps would be a big help. Crosby stated unless he heard from a citizen that really wanted the speed bumps in and could give a valid reason to keep them,he is in favor of removing them. He does not think they help with speed. The City has Police Officers that can do that if there is a speeding issue or safety concern in the area. Johnson and Seals noted there are a couple residents who requested they not be removed. Walsh stated Janie Delaney was attempting to speak earlier, in addition to a couple of letters received. He said the City should talk about the area at some point as far as what is there and why. Printup suggested looking into the history to find out why the City is in its present situation. He understands that somebody has to drive over them,jam on the brake, make noise to crawl over them, and then hit the gas to get moving. It's annoying and rattles things,and it's similar to stop signs that get put up in weird places. Page 7 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mr. Peterson said he understands what Printup is saying when there's a neighborhood with multiple residents and the speed bump is supposed to reduce traffic and speeds, but he is literally the only resident that has to drive over the speed bumps on a day-to-day basis. Walsh stated he appreciates Mr. Peterson's feedback and wants to get everybody's feedback,as it is a complicated situation. Richard Anderson,Orono LMCD Representative, said he thought there was a case where Woodhill sued the City of Orono for passage through the area and the speed bumps were probably a condition of the CUP. He also believes there is more to the issue. Printup noted it was a"crapshell"back in the day,where there are flare-ups in neighborhoods,and that was one of them. Walsh suggested to bring the matter back in a few weeks after they learn more information about the issue as far as why it is there, and if there is a different solution versus taking them out or not taking them out. Printup said there are more houses there now than there used to be. He also noted it would be beneficial just for history's sake, as far as learning more about the City and how the City got here. Mr. Peterson stated Printup does not have to drive over the speed bumps. Printup said he was in that area today. Crosby thought it would be okay to table the matter, and unless there were some really good arguments about keeping them,he would be in favor of getting rid of them. He agreed the Council could look at the history and learn what the intention was initially and see if the intention is relevant today. Johnson suggested having Staff contact the Country Club. He said both of the residents' letters indicated their concern was not just neighbor traffic but also delivery traffic.He thought Staff could talk to Woodhill to find out how and when they are using it, because there could be another solution. He said they may not use it like they used to and do not care about it like they once did, and then they can close it down or put a gate up. Walsh commented that is what the City did with East Long Lake Road; it was a cut-through and its purpose did not serve anymore, and it made sense to move on.He felt it would be good to get the information and make a decision with all of the information in-hand, whether it is taking the speed bumps out, leaving them in, or a different solution. Printup moved,Johnson seconded,to table the Woodhill Avenue Traffic Management matter. Roll Call Vote: Ayes 5(Crosby, Seals,Johnson,Printup,Walsh),Nays 0. 14. TOUR DE TONKA—TIM LITFIN Tim Litfin said he hopes there can be a Tour de Tonka event that can go through Orono in 2020;they are planning the event because they have not been told otherwise. Last year 179,936 miles were ridden at the 2019 Tour de Tonka; and riders were from 166 Minnesota communities,44 counties, and 30 states.He discussed the top communities that participated in 2019 and age groups involved. The event raises money for the Intercongregation Communities Association(ICA)Food Shelf who help families, especially at this Page 8 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. time, in need of support. There are 17 cities involved in the route, down from last year due to the Narrows Bridge being out of commission. He displayed the names of Fire and Police Departments involved in the event. There are ride distances from 16 to 100 miles available this year, and the 62-, 71-, and 100-mile rides will go through Orono. He displayed the 2020 map of the route and the communities and rest areas, and also displayed a list of sponsors involved.The group did a survey asking people if they would participate if Tour de Tonka took place; 67%said yes and 33%said no. They also asked how the riders felt about COVID-19 as it related to the event;most people indicated they would still participate,trusting event leaders would keep them safe. He also discussed survey responses,some of which included holding the event no matter what and encouraging lobbying efforts. They will hold the event August 1,fingers crossed. Walsh said Tour de Tonka is a great yearly event and it is fun to see everyone cruising through Orono. The City appreciates the work done to keep the event rolling and moving forward. Mr. Litfin stated Orono has a great City Staff and asked the Council to give them a high-five while maintaining social-distancing. CITY ENGINEER/PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR REPORT 15. PUBLIC WORKS SUPPORT AND UTILITY BILLING SPECIALIST Edwards said No. 15 is a request to begin the hiring process to fill a vacancy with outlined changes to the existing position.The Utility Billing and Payroll Specialist retired last fall and the position has gone unfilled since then. There have been some opportunities to outsource some responsibilities.As far as Public Works,that presented an opportunity with this position. One of the longstanding issues in Public Works is the lack of a unified Administrative support position/system for the department. Although they get Administrative support, it is spread out as a secondary duty to Administrative Staff from other departments. He proposed to the Administrator and Organizational Committee to consider the consolidation of the administrative tasks into one position,which would take about 50%of the position's time, and the other 50%is the traditional Utility Billing Specialist role.The position changed somewhat. It used to be the Payroll and Utility Billing Clerk,which was a Grade 6 position that reported to the Finance Director. The new position would be a Grade 5 and would report to him, although also supporting the Finance Director. The position would work at the front desk and back up the other front- desk position and centralize the other Public Works/Administrative support. There are impacts to the other Administrative positions. In particular,the Management Assistant position that provided some support to the department would shift to providing some Finance/Admin support,the HR benefits liaison for the items the City is outsourcing could fill some of the Public Affairs/Communication roles, and also outsourcing other tasks.As presented,the position is a Grade 5, and with the outsourcing and other things,represents a cost-savings of about$14,500 a year. Similar to the old position,the new position would be funded by the General and Utility Funds. He reiterated that the position replaces an existing position; it does not equate to an increase in full-time Staff at the City. He has a timeline to advertise and seek to fill the position. Johnson noted the$14,500 savings is from what the position was previously coded as,the City outsourced what the position was doing with Paychex,so the savings does not represent the capturing of the new expenses the City incurred with using the outside source. Edwards stated that it does. Page 9 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Rief said with Paychex outsourcing,the City capitalized on some savings related to multiple brokerages and combination of streamlining for different softwares the City had and will no longer need.The City captured$24,500 of the$31,000 expense. The City also captured$14,000 in this situation, so there is a positive net gain on the cash side and a positive net gain on the total number of hours of work being able to be provided to the City. Johnson said it would be helpful to see the numbers, noting he has requested that any time a position is presented to the Council,he would like information such as the background of the position, what it was doing,what has been eliminated because of outsourcing, and where the deficiencies that the City currently has exist. He said a few hours before the meeting there was an email sent out,he was not able to go through it,and asked Rief to discuss it. Rief said this has been vetted through the Organizational Committee a number of different times. What he sent out was related directly to the impacts this unfilled position has had on the Finance Department over the last 4 months, and the duties that were not being completed versus the duties that were being completed by the Accountant and Finance Director.The primary challenge the Finance Department faces is that they can only handle the operations mode; and the City is struggling to get to budget,long-term finance,etc.,to keep the City going. The biggest challenge the Accountant has is, she is stuck being the Utility Billing Clerk. She is being paid as an Accountant and cannot get her daily duties done. The City is 41 days into this quarter and cannot yet present the Council with a first quarter financial report.That will now be pushed to the end of the month. Ung and Olson have been working extra hours,but high-level accounting duties are not being completed.The position handles the lower-end duties but they are essential, such as payroll and creating/collecting utility bills. The longer-term things such as audits and account reconciliations get delayed.The Auditors have given them a deadline that if the City does not get them information this week, the audit will be late. He said today was the first day they were even able to address the audit. Typically,the documents for the audit are done mid-March. They are putting in extra hours,but they can only put in so many hours without burnout. Printup stated it is important to note that had this process been approved 1-2 years ago, it would have looked very different. He said that Seals touched on it earlier; by keeping the pressure on and not just saying, "We'll approve it and replace the position because that is what we have always done,"he believes customer service and the support gaps are being improved. He reiterated that when he and Seals are putting pressure on, it is not to be jerks or eliminate positions, it is to make something that they see and hear about in the community better. They restructured things, and he thinks it will be a better position rather than saying, "Okay,we will just go with the half-time status that it used to be,"etc. They will keep exploring options and also push Staff to explore them.He said the committee was focused specifically on reorganizing to try to make things better for residents.He appreciates the comment about looking at where the capturing of dollars are. He suggested using the money saved by not replacing the position right away for a fall clean-up for residents, because it is something residents can see,feel, and utilize. The Council knows how successful the spring clean-up is,so a fall clean-up could be added. Seals said when Edwards met with Printup and herself, it made sense. She has been frustrated because the person that got beat up the most is Maggie Ung,because comments were made like,"Maggie is doing all of this extra work. Maggie is under water. We don't want to lose Maggie."When you are the department head or CEO of the City,your job is to take on the weight and lift the pressure off of your teams. She did not hear that as much as she would have liked to. Although it sucks,that is the job. She is sorry for Maggie Ung if her superiors did not support her in this time, because it never should have happened. "All Page 10 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. hands on deck from up above"should have been the theme, and it does not sound like it happened that way. She stated the summer of 2018 is when Printup noted there needed to be a plan. There was plenty of time where many different things could have been investigated. She noted that was a failure to support City Staff,because it was pinpointed that was something Staff needed to keep in mind and nothing happened until that person retired.There was an opportunity to have a seamless transition with lots of options on the table. She knows Printup and herself pushed Staff a lot,but Staff could have made it easier on themselves if the department head would have taken it to Staff and said that Staff had 1 %2 years to figure it out and they should put some plans together. She would not like to repeat that again, because it sounds like the individual contributors at City Hall are the people who pay for it and it is not fair. Johnson said Seals touched on what he was trying to articulate.He wants the City to be very strategic with its labor,and when the City asks to spend taxpayers' money on additional labor, a Council member needs to have data that helps them know that the City is utilizing existing resources to the fullest before adding more. He stated the position might be very needed,but he does not feel like he has the tools/data to evaluate where the City's labor is at,that the City is utilizing that labor to the best of its ability, and that it justifies asking the taxpayer to spend more money on labor because they will benefit in some way. He does not have the visibility at this point to support the request, but it doesn't mean he does not think it's the right thing to do. Crosby indicated it sounds like Council members feel they do not have enough information to vet the position. The Council is spending taxpayers' dollars, and if they do not have the proper information to vet the position and its necessity,the Council cannot make an informed decision. Johnson stated Crosby correctly stated the issue. Walsh said he will put his faith in the Organizational Committee for their recommendation because that is what they put them there for, is to bring a recommendation to the table based on all the knowledge they can get, even though the Council may not have all the information to see the issue as clearly as Seals and Printup. He said he looks to Printup and Seals to give a recommendation. Seals stated she supports the position after talking to Edwards and learning more. She noted that this process does not need to happen this way going forward;there is a better way, with more information. She said Printup and herself were asking the same questions Johnson was asking the whole way through and it was clear as mud. She noted it is similar to when the Council asks for data on complaints and the response is,"Complaints have gone up,"and the Council needs to know if it went up from 2 to 4 or 10 to 500. Crosby asked Seals what type of data she felt would be helpful in this case. Seals said, ironically, she is in a process with her boss,who told her to put together a plan to show she needs more headcount. She is putting together a plan saying this is what they are doing now and what they cannot do because there is not enough time. There is a list of things, and if the company is willing to not do those things,that is fine. Printup stated Seals and himself have been immersed in the process for 2 years and apologized if he didn't explain it better. He noted this would not be increasing Staff. They are moving things around to make things better, because,with time,things change,and it is okay to move things around. He is not convinced the City needs to add anything,but he recommends hiring. Page 11 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Crosby asked for a clarification,noting Printup said he does not want to increase Staff but he is for the hire, which would be increasing Staff. Seals indicated the position is a headcount they already had for the woman that retired last year. Johnson noted the City outsourced some of the functions of the job. Walsh indicated some was being done with Paychex. Johnson noted it sounds like half of the person's job was eliminated by outsourcing, so instead of a part- time position it would be a full-time position by providing extra support,which was not there prior,to Public Works. With respect to Public Works,what hasn't been getting done will start getting done now because the position is there. To him, a half-person is being added because the other part is outsourced. Rief stated the payroll portion of the position was about 25%. The backfill being taken is from the Management Assistant position.Part of the challenge is that it is a Grade 7 position and a front-line position so they are first to answer the phone, whereas the previous position was a back office position because of the nature of payroll and the HR-related duties. They have rearranged how it works and were able to reduce the responsibility level of the position,which is where some savings came from. When the whole package is looked at,part of the data that is not presented in the Memo but that the committee was aware of is the amount of backlog on daily tasks; for example,recently they had 1,300 open tasks in Public Works. A majority of their Administrative support is reliant on the working supervisors. His and Edwards' intention was to get them back in the field more and shift some of the administrative work away from there and the other position and combine it into one position so everything Public Works-related is in one position. Right now, it is supported by 3 positions, plus the extra time taking supervisors off the street to complete some of the work. The Management Assistant position will now be able to support part of the communications portion. The City does gain value. Currently he is not able to get what he would expect from his Management Assistant because that position has to answer the phones because of the way it was set up.The majority of calls are either Planning or Public Works-related. The call would go to the front desk, and the Management Assistant is able to help support all of the department heads on projects and those kinds of administrative tasks.He said that she will be able to manage better without the primary group of phone calls hitting her desk; she will be a second-tier rather than a first-tier phone answerer. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to approve the Revised Public Works Support and Utility Billing Specialist Position and initiate the recruitment process to fill the position.Roll Call Vote: Ayes 4 (Crosby,Printup, Seals,Walsh),Nays 1 (Johnson). Johnson noted the wrong time to hear about shortcomings is when they are asking to fill a position. The City Council has to have better visibility to where their shortcomings are so they can work together to solve them. He wants to get away from hearing about the backlog of Public Works at the time a position is being added, because the City is reacting and they need to be proactive. Rief is seeing the challenges, shortcomings, and where the City is falling short on customer service to its citizens. If Staff gets information to the Council,there will be tremendous support. He has a difficult time with the way it is presently being done. He values Printup and Seals' position on the issue. It was not a vote against what he thinks they are doing; his vote was against how it is being done. Seals stated she agrees with Johnson. She was a"no"until last week because how things are being done is the exact opposite of a"best practice."It is not smart and there are so many things where the City is Page 12 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. stumbling over its feet. The wheel does not need to be re-created; best practices are out there. Orono is doing it the hard way; Orono can copy from people who are doing it right. The City is kind of creating their own problems in many ways with the way things come to the Council. If the proposal had been put together with"These are the issues all the way up to this point,"the decision becomes easy and probably would have happened well before this time. Crosby said the Council wants to be proactive rather than reactive. He added he believes Rief received the message. Rief agreed that he did. 16. TERMINATION OF CLEANING CONTRACT Edwards said that for a number of years the City has had a cleaning contract, which, since 2012, has been with Vanguard Cleaning. The performance of the current contractor is subpar and has been declining significantly over recent months.The City required the overarching contractor to change out their crew to try to address the issue. The City is now on the third crew in the last 12 months;this crew has been cleaning the last month or so. There has not been an improvement in performance; in fact,there have been more issues such as lack of vacuuming. He noted Seals asked Rief to put the item on the agenda. He stated most of the department heads concur that the contract should be terminated. The discussion or disagreement will be what the City should do to move forward. Staff recommends termination of the contract. The contract has a 30-day termination notice built into it. If Council approves the termination, notice would be given the following day. The Staff member who manages the contract within the City has been considering ways the City might improve how cleaning is conducted. He said Orono has such a small number of facilities that it is not anyone's first priority when it comes to providing a service. In addition, having a Police Department attached is somewhat unique in the cleaning world,and having people cleared to enter, unescorted, into the Police Department has provided challenges. In addition,the scope of work outlined is perhaps too much and more than what the City needs. He proposed,as an interim solution with the possibility of it becoming permanent,that the City absorb the cleaning responsibilities within one of the seasonal positions, which is a Parks Maintenance worker, by changing that position from a Parks Maintenance seasonal position to a part-time Custodian and Groundskeeper position. It would amount to taking the existing Parks Maintenance position and adding some cleaning tasks to it. They believe the cleaning level needed in the facilities could be handled by a person in about 2 hours a day if the tasks were distributed throughout the day. Currently,the City pays$33,000 a year for the cleaning contract. Eliminating the contract by using a part-time person could be a potential savings achieved of roughly$12,000 a year. He has been talking with several department heads for a while, and as they were soliciting for the regular seasonal positions,they included the position in the solicitation. If the Council is amenable,the current Parks Maintenance worker could be moved to the new Custodian/Groundskeeper position, as he was selected for the Parks position with the thought he might perform both positions. Printup said he supports the plan; it is a good and solid plan. It is not increasing anything; it is moving things around.He asked why this well-developed plan was not brought up earlier. The Council recently learned the cleaning problem is 10-20 years old, and he can remember talking to a past Administrator and trying to figure out what could be done to mitigate some things about the cleaning services. Many years later, a well-thought-out plan is falling into place. As Johnson indicated,he would prefer the proactive piece rather than the reactive piece and succession planning that was talked about. He said the plan fits the City well and there are cost-savings. He suggested again the savings could go to a fall clean-up. Page 13 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Seals stated she trusts Edwards' approach and noted there would not be a headcount increase, it would save money,which are the Council's favorite things to hear. It is another topic that is frustrating because literally last week they were talking about this issue and it came out of the blue that this has been a problem for a long time. She told Staff that if it was not on the agenda, she would add it herself as far as firing the cleaning company. She understands that Printup and herself are the Organizational Committee, but they are not the eyes and ears of everything that goes on in the City. She expects the head of the City to bring this kind of stuff to the Council proactively, as Johnson said. If the City is having people that do not have background checks as problems in the police station, it makes her sick to her stomach. She thinks this is another example of,the Council had no idea it was a problem; and when it was brought to them,they had to make a decision really fast. That is not good,thoughtful planning. Even though there is a good option,the way the City is getting to these decisions is not a"best practice." She is in support of the plan; it is a nice plan that makes lots of sense. She wonders how many bullets the City is dodging by not having these sorts of things in front of the Council sooner. She expects the head of the City to make the recommendations or do them. If the head can make the change,they should make the change. Johnson agreed with Seals' comments. He added that he likes this way of thinking for a position. Orono is not a big enough city where they can have specialists.To find somebody who can work in multiple areas is a level of creativity a city of Orono's size needs in that there has to be some flexibility regardless of what your position is when you are in a smaller city. He said they discussed at the Work Session that the City has to cross-train and be flexible of what a job description looks like. He likes the idea of finding ways to provide a better product,save money, and expand job descriptions of employees. Crosby said he is comfortable with the plan. He said the Long Lake Fire Department(LLFD)recently changed their cleaning crews. He asked if the City compared costs to the crews that have taken over, because he understands LLFD has had fairly good success. Walsh stated he has no problem with the plan, it seems very creative, and he agrees with what everybody is saying. He said because the cleaners have not gotten their background checks like they are supposed to, among other issues,they could be terminated for cause immediately and not given a 30-day notice. Mattick said he agrees with Walsh. He was made aware of the situation,and if they have not done one of the fundamental things to make the contract go,the City should be able to terminate the contract immediately. Crosby asked if City Staff did any comparisons to the people handling the LLFD's cleaning. Edwards stated the answer was no,that Staff had not begun a solicitation process prior to Council action. He noted that reaching out to other public entities to see who their cleaners were would have been part of the solicitation process. Crosby said he agrees with Walsh,that it is a big concern if they have not had background checks. The last thing the City's Police Officers need to do is babysit cleaners. Johnson and Seals agreed with Crosby. Page 14 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Printup moved, Crosby seconded,for the Termination of the Cleaning Contract and approval of the plan as laid out in the Memo. Roll Call Vote: Ayes 5(Seals,Printup,Johnson, Crosby,Walsh), Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals stated it is a weird time; she has been home since March 12. She does not mean to be political, but what the Governor is doing does not make a lot of sense to her right now. She thanked all the First Responders, Policemen,Firemen,Nurses, Paramedics, and others for staying out there because they are the true heroes in this situation. Printup asked the City Administrator/Public Works to thank Hennepin County. There are a couple of digital speed signs on South Brown Road which are super helpful where it drops from 40 to 30. He hopes it doesn't glare into anybody's windows at home; he does not think so. He mentioned Rief could let people know if Spring Clean-Up is going to happen on the weekend. He thanked Tour de Tonka for their presentation. He agreed with Seals' comments regarding the Governor. He said over the last month or so the Council has been hammering on communications and asking how the City gets things out.Also,the City has been bombarded with phone calls and emails about the utility bills, and he thought maybe the City needed better communication in notifying residents of why that was happening. He said he had another example of what is going on with the utility bills and the pass-down and the unfunded mandates: Because Orono is in the 7-county metro area,the City is required to have recycling services. If people do not recycle,they pay. If they do recycle,they pay.As far as the sewer bill, it is not the City that is applying these fees to residents, it is being imposed upon the City. He stated the Met Council, his not-so- favorite bureaucracy, is now talking about a 13%increase. Crosby asked if the Met Council members were elected. Printup said the reason they are his not-so-favorite bureaucracy is because its members are unelected. He is proud of the Orono City Council for sending a letter 2-3 years ago and making a resolution saying they do not agree with what the Met Council does,adding that may be why Orono is getting all of these hikes. He suggested Rief could elaborate more on the unfunded mandates. It pains the City when they have to do that, but sometimes the City's hands are tied. Otherwise, it is like the Whac-A-Mole game, because the City can whack it down there,but then all of a sudden,the City is having to talk about easements,which is another resolution the City Council did, saying it did not agree with that. Johnson mentioned there was a drowning on Lake Minnetonka in the last week or so when 2 people were on a boat and ejected and one of the occupants drowned. Tonka Dock's Crew Chief,Jake, who does a lot of work in Orono, was there with his barge. They rescued one of the people out of the water and used the barge to stop the boat that was driving around on its own, all of which happened before any emergency response. He said it turns out dock guys are essential workers. He noted it was nice to hear a good story about local people sticking their neck out to help, although it was a tragic situation. The crew consisted of some ex-military guys,and they all played a role to help out. He thanked Richie Anderson,the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District(LMCD)rep. He sat in on the last LMCD meeting, and there was an Orono resident who needed to get a variance to get his dock put in because he had to go out 180 feet to get into 4 feet of water. Mr.Anderson is only one of 14 votes, and he went out and verified the distance so that when he was at the meeting,he could confirm the resident needed to get this done. He commented it is nice to know the amount of effort the City is getting out of that position. He said he was in Florida the past week, and there is definitely a different take on how to deal with COVID-19 there. Page 15 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Crosby said all businesses are essential and he believes the lock-down has been overplayed. Citizens need to get back to personal freedoms and have the responsibility of handwashing and distancing. Losing freedom for a virus is not something he is in favor of at all. To say that one business is more important than another is ridiculous because you cannot tell that to the clients, families,and so forth,that those businesses are supporting. There are a lot of people that are making no income whatsoever,they have not gotten a stimulus check or unemployment check yet, and the government needs to think about them. For some reason,government businesses always seem to be essential. Liquor stores and grocery stores are essential, and they can operate without them imploding upon themselves. He would love to see the City get back to business.He asked Mattick if the City does not get the green light soon,what avenue, if any, does Orono have as a city to move forward and get back to work 100%and get back to normal. He knows people are okay with"twilight zone living"; but he is not, it is getting old. He thanked the Police and Fire Departments for all the great work they have done and keeping residents and themselves safe. He also thanked City Staff,because people working at home with small children definitely makes for trying times, especially in close quarters. He wished everyone the best of health. Mattick said there is not an order that says the City Hall has to be closed. The City has been following its emergency response guidelines at this point. The Council could hold its meetings at City Hall; it is being discussed in some places. Items to review are social-distancing and how many people are in a room, etc., but the City can open things up more than they are right now if that is the direction of the Council. Crosby stated that is his direction; he would like to see things get back to normal. Walsh commented that it will be a great discussion point if the State is not there in 2 weeks. He agreed with other members' thoughts; his kids are stir-crazy and his wife is over it. His hair needs to be cut really bad. He is following the 20/20 rule with local businesses: he tips 20%plus an extra$20. He noted The Narrows delivered recently and the food was absolutely fabulous.He said the last 2 weeks have been a blur because he tore his rotator cuff in 3 places and ripped his bicep tendon off his shoulder. He is off pain meds after surgery except for Tylenol. He agrees that the world needs to get back running because otherwise too many people's lives are going to be destroyed by the time things get opened up. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Rief noted the Orono Spring Clean-Up is scheduled for Saturday. Staff is working on social-distancing procedures and there will be a bit of a change when people come into the parking lot. They will receive a sheet for each of the stations that will be put underneath their windshield wiper. He believes what is being discussed is that none of the residents will be required to leave their car. Staff will work a little harder to help make sure that happens. There will be a single pay location for all the City-related stuff and one pay location for anything that Randy's takes in. He referenced Printup's comment about the recycling/sewer Met Council increase. Unfortunately,there is another 13.1%increase for the Met Council,which equates to about$80,000. They are kind of hoping for a drought this year so they can say no to increases for 2022. The City is also required to recycle. The City went through the Request For Proposal (RFP)process last summer. The City had a good rate for a long time. Unfortunately,there were no more extensions left on the contract with Waste Management. When Staff went through the RFP process, Waste Management was the cheapest.He was recently contacted by a Minnetrista Council member to discuss the same subject because they are going through the process and are having to deal with the new normal,what the new cost is,because they were in a similar type of contract. The City saw an increase in recycling,but it is a pass- through cost.The City adds on a little bit for administrative costs,but ultimately it covers only what the Page 16 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. City needs;there is no profit margin in recycling for the City. He said the City does the best it can to keep it as low as they can; unfortunately,the City had to take an increase last year. He stated there is a lot of discussion between himself and Chief Farniok about what can and can't be prosecuted and what is legal. There is a lot of gray area in what has come out in the Executive Orders, and he said City Staff is working through that on a regular basis. It is way beyond the capacity of what the police forces of all of the State of Minnesota can handle. There is a lot of concern about what is going to happen with the Stay-at-Home Order supposedly ending. If that is not the case,there will be another discussion in 2 weeks, if not sooner. He stated Staff has been working with some local businesses in regard to a discussion about expanding potential outdoor seating and things such as that. Staff has had questions, and they are helping work through a process that works for them,trying to keep them going. Orono does not have a large business base,but Staff is available to serve them if they need anything. Printup noted there was a new pizza place in Navarre and suggested Rief welcome them. Rief stated they would try to contact and welcome them. He said he would like to follow up on the communications as far as where the City was,what the City is looking to change and some of the weaknesses identified,and specifically what happened with the miscommunication related to utility billing increases.A couple things identified were redundancy and things not getting communicated from out of the department into Administration,where communications are handled.A number of circumstances happened at the same time which left the City with one Staff member in the Finance Department, and the information did not get relayed. He said it is kind of a team effort,but he would take responsibility for not having the proper process in place. They are trying to formalize a process. They established a new email and calendar, and there will be 4 people monitoring it on a regular basis to ensure that all communications get out in a timely manner and as soon as possible. He indicated one of the challenges is that there are a limited number of people accessing City information online through the notification process and Facebook, and it has been a struggle to grow that. They are trying to figure out a way to do more engagement within the neighborhoods to get the neighborhood leaders to emphasize that if people sign up for the notifications,they will find out about water main breaks, etc. They are trying to figure out a process to develop a system based on streets and neighborhoods rather than just relying on Facebook and email feedback. It seems to be a pretty big undertaking;they are asking for Council support to help with the engagement process.National Night Out was going to be one of the components.Now that it has been moved to October, it gives Staff more time to make sure there is a good process in place to engage Police Officers and get people interested in being a part of getting communications timely through the digital process.He said in the past they have always relied on the newsletters. They are slow and costly; it costs about$2,400 every time one is sent out. A postcard is$1,600-1,800. The City does not have a large budget when it comes to communications/publications; it is about$22,000. The City is limited in terms of newsletters but is working on more online communications. Printup asked if there was an ability to work with the County to include an informational piece from the City when the County sends out their once-a-year proposed tax statements. He noted there is a lot of unused space on the utility postcards and wondered if messages could be written on them as well. Rief said his next challenge is the conversion from paper to digital.The City consistently sends out on utility bills requests for people to sign up for online information. They have realized that residents might think it is a good idea,but they set things on their counter and somehow it ends up in the trash.The challenge is to get residents to sign up for events when it is given on a piece of paper with a link on it. He said they could look into the inserts idea and also may look at changing how the utility bills are done. Page 17 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Johnson indicated it is not the City's responsibility to make sure people read what they are sent.The City needs to brand themselves so people know where to get information,and the City needs to communicate to people how they are communicating with them. The City needs to have an article in the newsletter, front and center, about the City's communication plan: where people can go to get information from the City. The City needs to advertise about where people should go to get information but is not responsible to make sure people read what is sent. If somebody calls in and says they did not hear anything about the huge increase,that's when Staff says that it was put on Facebook, it was in the newsletter,there was a mailing, etc. Residents have to take some responsibility;the City cannot spoon-feed it to people. Seals agreed with Johnson that the City is not taking advantage of all of the avenues available. She would argue that$22,000 is more than enough to take care of the issue in this digital age. She indicated Staff would not get more money from the Council because they are cheap when it comes to that. When she ran for Council, she remembers telling Printup to do Facebook and do the paid posts which are pushed out to thousands of people for about$25. She said there are simple solutions,but people have to be willing to say what was done yesterday did not work, so how can we do it better with what we have. Johnson said it goes back to Rief tapping into the resources available on the City Council. Printup and Seals have ideas and experience. Rief should bring forward a plan and get feedback so everyone is in it together, so when complaints come in everyone is unified in saying,"We are doing everything we can." Rief stated a couple of other things they are doing internally are weekly communications/emails from departments to Administration so they can have a discussion about it at their Tuesday Staff meetings. They will add bi-weekly communication meetings with Administration to their agenda,which is not something that was focused on before.They will work on a standardized form so there are not any misses regarding putting something in the newspaper and also in X, Y, and Z. He understands communications need to go through every avenue,but they want to standardize how that looks rather than a standard email. They have an email that is only for communications and all those emails go there. They will establish a protocol on how they answer phones. When people call in for a utility billing,they are going to figure out a way to work in questions like, "Would you like to sign up for more communications?"He said they had a conference call with Wayzata, who recently changed how they are doing their communications.They support a full-time person for communications;they have a lot of businesses and Chamber-related events. One good idea they had was a community survey on communications. Orono will look into how that works. Since it is an election year,they are looking at offering that as a kiosk or a business card.He noted there are rules around elections so they will need to work through that. They have emails captured, but they may be confined to one of the software programs related to Citizenserv. The emails are not getting over to the notification side so there is a disconnect,and it maybe could be worked on. They will work on different ideas over the next couple of weeks. Johnson asked if Rief could commit to a time period for the Council such as giving them a specific meeting date with the comment that he would have an outline of the communications. Rief agreed and said the meeting after Memorial Day he would commit to bringing forward an outline for all of their ideas for the Council's input. Johnson suggested that it could be done at the Work Session. Rief said he would double check but felt it could be brought to the Work Session. Page 18 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Printup asked Rief to make sure he hit all of the updates so the Council can see where the City is at and follow up on things as far as formal Council reports,Friday updates, or City Administrator updates. Topics could include what triggers a review for when positions are retired or efficiencies,follow-up and updates on the software platform committee or succession planning. Rief agreed and said he has the email he sent to Printup and Seals and he was going to formalize and at least discuss it with the Organizational Committee and then bring to the Council what would trigger the review of an actual position. It is not something that has ever been formalized as a process.There are a couple items that would trigger it in the handbook or in a union agreement,but it is not as fully flushed out as it could be.After the last 4-5 months of working through the process, he has a much clearer idea of what needs to happen and where. He said he would formalize that as well as things related to budget. Printup asked, with regard to the budget, if he meant sharpening his pencils. Rief responded that it would be with regard to sharpening his pencils. He believed by mid-June he would have a good gauge of where the City is at. The Governor's decision plays into the time frame,but once the City starts receiving tax payments,they will be able to better gauge and have a pretty good idea where the City stands, by mid-to late July. Seals gave a shout out to the Orono Lions for picking up the trash along 15,which they did out of the kindness of their hearts. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT None. Crosby congratulated the 2020 college graduates, especially Taylor Johnson. Janie Delaney, 1315 Woodhill Avenue, said she did not think it was fair for her to go into her presentation and it was a good thing the matter got tabled, because she wanted to talk about the history of what happened with Woodhill Country Club and Woodhill Avenue. She has most of it prepared and is willing to email everyone copies of her perspective. She said she has about an 8-inch stack of papers and documentation from 1998-1999, before pdfs were invented. Seals asked if Ms. Delaney was related to Printup, because he keeps stuff like that,too. Printup noted he does not keep it all. Ms. Delaney said she keeps it all, and thankfully so as this matter comes up. There is a huge history to the Woodhill Avenue situation that she thinks needs to be considered before any decisions are made. It was not a pretty year of litigation. Gabriel Jabbour was the Mayor. The Club deliberately opened in the middle of the night; and there was a lawsuit which everyone in the neighborhood,the City, and the League of Minnesota Cities spent a lot of money fighting. That is how the resolution came about. She has a lot of details and she is sure her perspective will be totally different than the Woodhill Country Club's perspective. She said the facts and how the resolution came about are in the documents, and she thinks that is what the decision should be based on. She was disappointed to see the item about the CUP and speed bumps being fulfilled in 1999. It did not make any sense to her, because why put something in a resolution if it can just be taken out. Page 19 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Walsh asked Ms. Delaney to give the information to Staff so it could be part of the report for the packet so everyone could review it. Ms. Delaney agreed to do so. She said initially she included that in her letter to the City and then was discouraged by some people that know the history who said that City personnel would never read it all. It reads like an interesting novel. She is sure the City has records,too,because the City was copied on a lot of the documents. She said the City could do their research, she could give the City her research,the Club can give the City theirs, and they can go from there. She would be disappointed if any Council members decided to make a decision without knowing the history. Walsh stated that is why the matter was tabled. Ms. Delaney said she appreciates it and that she was freaking out on the other side. Seals told Ms. Delaney she did not need to freak out. Ms. Delaney asked if she should send the information in the form of an email to everyone. Walsh told Ms.Delaney to do so and asked her to copy the City Administrator so it could be included in the packet for the public record. Mr.Anderson said he has been dealing with Hennepin County on a bridge project for Tanager, and he told them from day one that whatever they take on one side of the road should be given back on the other side. Everyone agreed and said that sounded good. Then he found out they cannot give him the easement they are vacating;they have to vacate it to the City of Orono.He needs to find out if the City of Orono is going to give up the land to him that is now his property but Hennepin County has an easement on. He does not care what way the City goes,he just needs distinction,because if the City decides not to give it back to him, it is going to be a different number. He said if he does not have continuous shoreline there, it is a different situation for him getting a permit. Currently,he has a continuous shoreline; it goes from Tanager through the bridge, around his breakwater, and back to his office. He put the onus on Hennepin County and said if that is the truth,get it done. He stated he saw information from Mattick and thought it was going to come up at a meeting,but he has not seen it yet.He does not need a favor; he needs a resolution.They are taking property on the west side to put the bridge in to straighten it out. If the City does not want to give it back to him and cannot make that declaration now,then he is in different discussions with Hennepin County. He commented that maybe the City cannot do anything now. He stated he was going to sign a deal with them, and he has to subrogate to his lender.He told the County to give him the parameters of what they are working with so he can see it.They cannot give him the parameters on the side that they are going to give back to Orono. He has been upfront with them, and they have told him whatever they take on one side they will give back on the other side. He does not know what the City Attorney's position is, but he is not going forward right now. He can live without it, but the number will be different. Walsh said the Council would have to defer to the City Attorney. Mattick said Edwards made him aware of Mr. Anderson's negotiations with the County and the County's position that if they vacate it, it comes to the City, and would the City be willing to vacate it once the City came into contact with the land. He stated he was unfamiliar with the County's process. He thought the Page 20 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. County vacated it just the same as the City. He thinks what Mr.Anderson is asking for is that once the County vacates it and it comes to the City,the City will vacate it. He prepared a proposed resolution for the County to review, and he believes he sent it in at least a month ago for them to review to make sure it satisfied what they needed. He has not heard back. He noted it is Edwards' position that the City does not need the right-of-way and it would be a Staff recommendation to the Council to vacate it. He would let the Council weigh in on their thoughts beyond that. His position is that it is in Hennepin County's court; the City has given them what they have asked for. He wanted to make sure the resolution would satisfy the County before the Council passed it so the City would not have to keep redoing resolutions. Mr.Anderson stated he agreed with what Mattick said and noted he is not moving forward until he gets a 5-0 vote type of thing because he wants to make sure it goes through. He indicated he saw the verbiage Mattick put forward. Crosby noted the process seems a little convoluted; but from what he is hearing, he would be in favor of vacating it back to Mr. Anderson. Mr.Anderson stated it seems to him the resolution needed to be done and asked Mattick if he was right. Mattick agreed that is the step to give Mr. Anderson the assurance he needs. He does not mind putting the resolution on the agenda at the next council meeting. He wanted to be clear that the resolution is a statement of intent. The City cannot vacate it now because the City does not have it. Mr. Anderson said he understands, but he is willing to go forward if it gets passed that the City will give it back to him because the City has no use for it. He noted there may be other Council people that might say a fishing dock could be put there. He reiterated he is not going anywhere until he gets authority from the City Council that that is what the Council is willing to do. Walsh stated the resolution needs to come to the next Council meeting. First, somebody needs to get back to Mattick that the resolution will satisfy Hennepin County. He suggested that between Mr. Anderson and Mattick,they can track down whoever Mattick gave the document to for some feedback. Johnson suggested Edwards might have the document. Mattick stated he would follow up with the attorney he was speaking with. In his opinion,there is no harm in putting the resolution on the agenda for the Council's consideration, and, if necessary, it could be modified down the road. He told Mr. Anderson that if it helps him,the City could move forward with it. Mr. Anderson said he would appreciate it. He thinks he knows how the vote will go, but it could be a nice fishing dock for John Q.Public. Until he gets assurance, he does not feel very assured with Hennepin County. Page 21 of 22 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 11,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. ADJOURNMENT Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 8:39 p.m. VOTE: (Seals,Printup,Johnson,Crosby,Walsh),Nays 0. ATTEST: Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 22 of 22