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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-28-2020 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dermis Walsh, City Council Members Richard Crosby, III, Matt Johnson,Aaron Printup and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick, Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards and City Administrator Dustin Rief, Finance Director Ron Olson. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Before the approval of the agenda, Edwards noted regarding Crystal Bay Park there is a$300,000 placeholder in 2028, he asked the Council to re-prioritize that and bring it to 2021,as there is dire need of playground equipment,which he thinks is more important. His guidance would be to look into a playground structure similar to what Navarre has. Walsh stated that would be something to bring back to the Park Commission with instruction to re- prioritize. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 14,2020 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF AUGUST 14,2020 3. CLAIMSBILLS 4. SET SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TO CANVAS ELECTION RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER 13,2020 AT 9:00 A.M. 5. PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE WORKER RETIREMENT AND RECRUITMENT 6. SECURITY AND ACCESS CONTROL FOR CITY FACILITIES 7. APPROVAL OF DATA PRIVACY PROGRAM 8. APPROVAL TO ACCEPT DONATIONS Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS Adam Edwards, Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, Retired, 5113 South Lake Shore Drive, Independence, said the reason he wants to address the Council with his former title is to discuss a particular consternation and trouble over the last couple weeks. He is here to request that the Council restore the honor to the National colors that flies in front of the City Hall,above the Veteran's Memorial Page 1 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. and at the entrance to a polling place. He believes for two weeks they've been violating U.S. Code for the way the flag is to be respected and dishonoring the National colors. He said he's spent his entire life respecting that flag and what it stands for, it's been fundamental in how he's live his life. From raising that flag in his hometown in Michigan as a Boy Scout,to taking his oath at West Point,to administering the Oath of Enlistment to hundreds of soldiers throughout his military career,that flag has always been present. It is the same flag he wore on his shoulder as they went into Bosnia in 1995;the same flag that flew over Ground Zero right after 9/11 when he took soldiers there to restore power;the same flag that was flying when he landed in Afghanistan for the first time at the air field;the same flag that was draped over caskets during his two tours in Iraq as they loaded their fallen onto the back of aircrafts to be flown home. It is the same flag that was handed to him on his last day in the Army when he retired and left active service and one day,he hopes it will be the flag handed to his next-of-kin. Mr.Edwards stated the flag has importance as a symbol and there are certain rules of etiquette and a number of laws have been passed at the National level in the Flag Code,which specifically speaks in the Section on Respect for the Flag, Sub-paragraph G, "The flag should never have placed upon it,nor on any part of it,nor attached to it,any mark, insignia, letter,word,figure,design,picture,or drawing of any nature."In Sub-section I it states,"The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner. Advertising signs should not be fastened to the staff or the halyard from which the flag is flown." Mr. Edwards continued saying he is 100%behind supporting other uniformed services, including Police and Fire, and the U.S. Code authorizes the wearing of the patch of the American Flag on the shoulder of their uniforms. He said there are a lot of good intentions in the community, if someone took the American Flag and took the Thin Blue Line Flag and superimposed the two of them,they created this(image showed onscreen),which many people are referring to as the Blue Lives Matter flag. He said personally, as a piece of art or something to hang on the wall, it is fine,but he doesn't think this meets U.S. Flag Code and has any place on the flagpole that flies in front of Orono's Government Building, above the Veteran's Memorial and in front of the polling place. His plea is to honor the Police Department,but to do it in another fashion and in another way that isn't on the same flagpole flying a device that doesn't meet the U.S. Flag Code. He said he'd be happy to help in finding other ways to do that. Printup agreed,noting it doesn't mean the Council is against anything or for something more,he thinks with a very simple amended motion it can be fixed that gives the integrity to the American Flag which they all absolutely love and cherish,just by moving it somewhere else. Crosby stated he never thought by extending support for their Police Department,who to him are under tremendous strain right now, denigrates the American Flag in any way. To him, if one denigrates the American Flag,they're denigrating the exact flag. He said he's taken Mr. Edwards' comments to heart and reached out to two Veterans he knows; one is a gentleman that his daughter is engaged to, and he replied if Crosby was asking if the Blue Line Flag is offensive, of course not, but he's also a cop(MP). He said he loves that flag, and it represents the sacrifice police officers make to keep us and the American public safe every day. People understand what that flag means and that it is support for the Police Department, and he doesn't think necessarily all Veterans view it as a degradation of the American Flag. Crosby asked another gentleman who is dating his youngest daughter who served several tours in Iraq as a Marine, and he replied it does not offend him. Crosby noted he politely disagrees with Mr. Edwards, he's not opposed to taking the flag down and replacing with the one that was purchased,but it has symbolism of a City Council that supports its Police Department, it was a gift to their Police Chief to hang at Orono City Hall. He said it's no disrespect to Mr. Edwards' service or anyone serviceman's service. Crosby has the highest and utmost regard for the people who serve this country, so much that after 9/11 he felt he had to do something to show his respect and that was Crosby serving as a firefighter for 10 years and risking his life to honor the people that died on 9/11, and he also lost a friend on that day. Page 2 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. He respects all servicemen and women and in everything he does and with his actions; he thanks them when he sees them, if they're at a restaurant, he often buys them lunch anonymously and walks away after thanking them. If he sees someone with a Veterans hat on,he pays them the due respect, and gives the Vietnam Veterans the respect they deserve that they never received and noted he was unfortunately too young during Vietnam, but he did recognize what those Vets had to go through. Crosby stated he loves Veterans in the deepest core of his soul so flying this flag is no disrespect to the American Flag,and no disrespect to any Veteran; it is simply letting our Police officers know,both men and women,that the City of Orono supports them in what they do,the City cares about them,and their lives are important. He said there is no other ill-will or ill-intended message sent with this flag. He is sorry something that was supposed to be positive is being looked at in a disparaged light; however,he stands behind it, as it was a gift from Crosby to the Police Chief in showing support from this Council. He said he does not disrespect the American Flag. Johnson said in his dealings with Mr. Edwards,he doesn't find him very loud or opinionated,so for him to stand up and let the Council know his feelings is really appreciated. Speaking for himself, when the Council took action at the time, he honestly didn't give it much thought, but thought they'd show support for the people they ask to go out into the field and service the City. He would like to separate the emotion from the reality because he knows it's coming from Crosby's heart,but in Johnson's opinion, he didn't ask any questions before he agreed to pass the motion and if he had to do it over again,he would've asked more questions. The first question he would have asked is if the Police Department wanted the show of support from the Council, and noted he has a son in the Army right now. If he could do it again, he would've said"no, let's keep that separate." He also noted a logistics component of having two flags on the flagpole at the same time. He would be in favor of taking down the Police flag/blue line flag, and would like to come up with a specific time and policy—one or two days a year that are police recognition days,the anniversary of the passing of Officer Matthews—to fly the Police flag proudly. Mr.Edwards asked to clarify one thing to Mr. Crosby, stating his intention in standing up today was not to disparage the offer or the support for both service members as well as other uniformed services. His concern is not with showing support for the Police Department; he wholeheartedly agrees with that. However,his concern is the way in which they are displaying a flag on the City-owned and maintained flagpole over the Veteran's Memorial,noting it's the one place they should strictly follow the Code and etiquette. Mr. Edwards said he was heartened by what Crosby had done, in fact they went out and bought other flags for the other organizations,the Fire Department, etcetera, so they'd be available to honor those folks, as well. He said on the Public Works side,they installed brackets around the tall light poles in the parking lot so different commemorative flags could be flown in and around City Hall. Crosby said he wouldn't be opposed to transferring the Police Flag to another pole and meeting halfway, if Mr. Edwards feels that it is important to him. Mayor Walsh said he agrees with what everyone is saying;he likes the policy part, and they can put the Fire Department Flag up, also. He thinks the country is at a crossroads of some very spooky situations and he doesn't think it's the time to start backing down,as he's not about to do that for anything at this point. He stated he'd like to be very careful about just taking the Police Flag down,because it would also send the wrong message. Crosby noted he's received many positive emails and phone calls. Page 3 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mayor Walsh noted there are a lot of things going on that don't meet policy or procedure anywhere right now and it's all about destruction and non-support, and the Council's support is vitally important to make sure the service members and citizens understand where they stand unrepentantly. Crosby and Mayor Walsh discussed having flags for the services the City provides, which are Police and Fire. Printup can absolutely support that, saying God Bless America; God Bless the Police; God Bless Veterans. The Council agreed to move the flag to another pole, and work on creating a policy in the future. Crosby asked the Police Chief,who was present at the meeting, if he's okay with this consensus. Police Chief Farniok answered in the affirmative. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER REPORT 9. Winter Maintenance of Three Rivers Park District Regional Trails Edwards said over the last year they've talked about taking on portions of the Three Rivers District Trail network and it is that time of year to send the paperwork in to them for the upcoming season. He wants to reconfirm what the Council has talked about in work sessions and this is indeed something the City wants to spend resources on. If so,Edwards made adjustments to the City's snow and ice policy and as they talked about in today's work session there is a piece of equipment recommended on the Capital Improvement Plan(CIP) in 2021. He stated if the Council is amenable,they'd like to pull the procurement of that equipment up so they'd have it for at least part of this season. Edwards said he took away from recent meetings that the Council would like to take on the Dakota Regional Trail within the City boundaries, and sections of the Independence Trail. Crosby asked if Edwards factored out the cost structure for Spring Park and Minnetonka Beach. Edwards replied no,but the City gets $500 per mile, per season from Three Rivers Park District. If Orono plowed regional trails through other communities,they'd still qualify for that;the part they'd need to discuss with sister communities is whether they will help contribute to make up the difference between what Three Rivers reimburses versus what it would actually cost to do that work. He noted he hasn't calculated those numbers yet. Printup said he loves the idea. Seals agreed. Printup is glad Johnson brought it up in the past, and said this is a great way to give back to residents and offer something more for them. Johnson stated he thinks Orono doing this will put pressure on the other cities as well,because people will be using the trails. Page 4 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mayor Walsh noted it will be interesting to see how it goes. Johnson asked if it will be a singular pass on the trails. Edwards replied he thinks it will be a down-and-back, and in a typical snow they do a pass with the blade to get the bulk of the snow off and because it's a walking surface,they often come back a couple days later with a broom to try and get some additional materials off to encourage melting and reduce slip hazards. Johnson recommends that Orono should publicize what the snow removal policy is going to be in the newsletter,to advertise that they're doing this as a service to the community and to outline what the removal schedule might look like to set some expectations. He noted that it's not a City street and will be de-prioritized, as public streets and sidewalks are priority, and this trail will come after those. Edwards said in the amended policy,they adjusted the re-gain time from 24 hours to 36 hours(the time in a typical storm they think they can get everything cleared. He also laid out in the policy that the trails would be done during normal business hours(they wouldn't necessarily pull crews in at 4:00 a.m.to work on trails or on a Saturday or Sunday). Johnson noted when they advertise,they should call it a pilot program so people know the City is trying to see what resources it takes and what use the trails receive from it. Crosby said they should definitely reach out to the sister cities to see what kind of cooperation and budgeting they can get. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to approve Winter Maintenance of Three Rivers Park District Regional Trails.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. FINANCE DIRECTOR'S REPORT 10.Adopt 2021 Preliminary Tax Levy Finance Director Ron Olson gave a presentation for the next two agenda items(10 and 11)noting the Preliminary Tax Levy will be set tonight and once it is set it cannot be increased; it can only be decreased. There are two resolutions for the Preliminary Tax Levy tonight one being what was presented to the Council at a work session in August and the second regarding the discussion about letting the tax rate go up a bit in order to properly fund infrastructure needs. The Council will need to let Staff know which resolution they will be acting upon. Olson stated the final levy and budget will be adopted on December 7, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. and public input will be allowed at the meeting. Olson said the major revenue source for the General Fund, at about 53%of the budget, is Property Taxes. Governmental revenue will be going down because of the Toward Zero Deaths grant, a program the Police Department participates in and noted in years when Orono hosts the program,they record the revenue and expenses and next year it will be someone else's agency so Orono won't have that in revenue,but also won't have expenses in regards to that. He said total general government services is also decreasing and public safety charges are going up. Crosby asked when comparing Orono's property taxes to other cities, which cities are typically 65% revenue source from property taxes. Page 5 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Olson said that would be any of the cities surrounding Orono, some of them are in the 70%range for property taxes. Crosby said the comparison to other cities might be something to put in the newsletter to show the public that Orono is holding their Tax Levy down. Seals noted they've hesitated to do that in the past,and her Dad showed her what he gets from Edina and they have no problem putting it out there; she reported Orono was the lowest, so she thinks they shouldn't be afraid to,because the numbers are a data point. Crosby said they do strive to keep taxes down. Johnson said Orono is 53%of their budget at a reduced percentage compared to neighboring cities, on top of that. Olson noted some of those other cities receive State aid and Orono does not, other than for Police State aid. He summarized the expenditure budget by department,pointing out the Police budget only increased $16,000,which is only approximately one-third of a percent. He stated he wants to give Chief Farniok credit for keeping his budget under control and noted he's worked for some cities where Police Chiefs were very egotistical and just want to see their budget increase and increase. He said Orono does not have a Chief like that. He continued saying street maintenance is budgeted to increase$32,000(with wages and benefits driving most of the increase); Parks wage, step increases and the new position split between janitorial and parks are$49,000; Golf course is $13,200, noting in the 2020 budget they didn't have part-time wages, and this is just making the budget match the reality of what is happening. Crosby asked if the Council got a raise. Seals replied no, but you do occasionally get a sandwich. Crosby asked why the Mayor/Council budget is up and has increased. Rief believes it was related to one of their memberships. Olson continued in talking about governmental services and wages, and that wages are basically the budget as there is very little discretionary spending that doesn't involve personal services and especially when adding in the $1.5 million in professional services. He noted$7.45 million of a$9.2 million budget has to do with whether people are employees of the City or services that are contracted out. He likes to point that out because two departments have money that isn't wages(streets as they have street supplies; and Police because of training, uniforms, etcetera). With many of the other departments it's pretty much employees and some training. Olson continued the presentation saying if they look at the school, County and City portions of property tax bills,normally it's right around 27-29%and they're all pretty equal. Looking at the City's portion in Orono, it's only 15%of the property tax bill. Olson noted there are two resolutions tonight. The first increases the tax levy to $6.485 million which would keep the tax rate pretty much equal (decreasing it by .009%). The second resolution has an additional $125,000 in the levy, 16.512%to 16.821%(increasing it by .3%). Olson explained what that means for a home; if they go up to$6.485 million, and the levy is at 16.503%, people would actually see a slight decrease in their City property tax, assuming that their property value did not change. The second resolution is$6.6 million and on a$2 million home,that would increase someone's City portion of property taxes by$73.00; on a Page 6 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. $250,000 home it would increase$7.27. Olson noted it would be a 1.87%increase in taxes with the additional levy, and even if they went with that additional levy the tax capacity is back where the City was in 2017,which would still be a significant decrease from 2014. He stated keeping the rate flat for four years is something to be proud of. Mayor Walsh added they should also be proud of paying off millions of dollars in debt and bringing the road pavement levies up at the same time. He noted on the slide onscreen,he asked Olson to use 2014 (his first year on the Council),2017(his first year as Mayor),and he wants people to understand in 2014 if they owned a$300,000 house,they were paying$534 in taxes to Orono,and in 2021 if they choose option B,they would only be paying$504. In essentially 7 years on the same value home,homeowners are paying less in City taxes. He noted the Council has lowered taxes, payed off$7 million in debt since 2014,taken the pavement management levy from$0 to $750,000, is starting the parks budget at$50,000 and is starting/supplementing the building fund as well as lowering everyone's taxes. He said what people see in the paper,which can be a bit misleading, is that this might be an 8%increase in the general levy,but it's less than 2%of their taxes going up. From 7 years ago, it's still 5%less or more. Seals said she feels the City Council can do a better job of communicating this to the public,because she understands when people receive their property tax bill it has gone up,but they're not just looking at the City portion,they're looking at the County and the Total,which will change. On a good note,their home values most likely went up, but they may not be isolating the portion where they're actually being charged less per their dollar. Seals stated they have multiple avenues to communicate and give the facts over and over. Mayor Walsh noted in his newsletter column,he points out often that they're paying off millions of dollars and have not taken on any additional debt,while increasing fund balances to take care of the City. He reported past administrations have said they didn't raise the levy at all...but they borrowed$2 million dollars and then they'd borrow another$1 million dollars and just kept adding up the debt load. Crosby said they really need to strongly identify the other pieces of the pie, i.e.Hennepin County and perhaps including graphs going back in time to see where the County has gone percentage-wise, noting he'd hate to see what happened in Minneapolis... Printup said one thing they've talked about are the utility bill postcards that go out and he wonders if there is something else,they can use rather than the same redundant postcard. He thinks they could explore what other cities do, and look at a full-size mailer with lots of information, including the graphs, the information on the debt and a look behind the scenes. Seals noted they could do a fact of the month, something super clear that catches people's attention, but over time gets the message out. Crosby said it would be educating the public and giving them the facts. Mayor Walsh said people should know the success that their City is having. Printup said part of the reason he is comfortable with the levy is that they don't know what next year is going to hold, noting Hennepin County is identifying a 0%levy and they don't usually do that...he asked what does that mean a year from now; what will they do? Page 7 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mayor Walsh said it means Hennepin County could be bonding millions and millions. Printup noted that trickle down affects Orono greatly, so if they can start identifying and planning for the next budget and the one after,to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Mayor Walsh said one of the good things from this Council and the previous one is that they've begun looking at the numbers a lot more, looking at the permanent revenues per month and tracking things to understand where they're at each month. Crosby said just think of the billions of dollars the State could have saved by having the proper action early on. The taxpayers will be saddled with bills. Seals asked Olson if they paid $30,000-plus for outside services(janitorial/maintenance), is the $17,000 over and above that. Olson said he was just pointing out that wages and benefits went up by$167,000 and that was part of the increase, noting in Central Services they were paying for janitorial services. He clarified that one did go down as they took janitorial out of Central Services. He said he wants to make sure everyone caught in the memo that the$125,000 is set to go into the General Fund levy and then they can transfer it out to wherever they want it to go. If the Council knows tonight where they want it to go,they could designate that. Mayor Walsh noted he believes they want$50,000 in the Parks Fund, and another$100,000 in the Building Capital Improvement Plan(CIP). Olson said they could put the additional $125,000 all into the Building Fund. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to adopt the Resolution setting the Tax Levy to$6,610,620,as amended to put the additional$125,000 into the Building Fund. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 11.Adopt 2021 Preliminary General Fund Budget Mayor Walsh noted this would be Resolution B $9, 385,500. Olson said the Council could still choose Resolution A because the$125,000 is not there as they put it into a different fund. Mayor Walsh said they would look at Resolution A $9,260,500. Seals moved,Printup seconded,to adopt Resolution A for the 2021 Preliminary General Fund Budget. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. Crosby said Happy Birthday to his big sister. Johnson had nothing report. Page 8 of 9 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 28,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Printup said they received positive feedback regarding the Salvation Army at City Hall next month on October 17,2020 from 8:00 a.m.—Noon for the City's Fall Clean-up, and the bike people would be there receiving donated bikes. He noted the City is getting things done for the people. Seals reported they decided to go ahead with the Christmas Tree Lighting because by the time December hits, she thinks people will feel pretty cooped up and may want to be outside. She said they will try to keep as many people outside of the clubhouse and will be proposing doing the Tree Lighting and Sliding, multiple fires so they can have North Mallow(a gourmet s'more bar who will be sponsoring the event) there and try to get donations from other companies to have hot dogs and brats. She will find out if the Boy Scouts are willing to help create a cool Christmas village, hoping to have reindeer,and she's trying to find a sponsor for winter fireworks. They're trying to keep costs in check so are looking for sponsors to help. Mayor Walsh noted everyone should watch the Presidential Debates, and he is surprised it's the end of September already. He said they had a bunch of great emails from Orono citizens regarding the Blue Line Flag,thanking the Council for doing that and noted Crosby even called many of the citizens to talk to them. CLOSED SESSION Printup moved, Seals seconded,to close the Orono City Council meeting and go into a Closed Session at 7:11 p.m. as permitted by§13D.03 to discuss the City's labor negotiation strategy related to the City's negotiations with Local No. 12 Union. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. AT ST: L Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 9 of 9