HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-23-2020 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
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,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,Acting Finance Director Maggie Ung, and City Administrator Dustin Rief.
Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The Agenda was approved by consensus as presented.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. City Council Meeting Minutes of November 9,2020
2. Council Work Session Minutes of November 9,2020
3. Claims/Bills
4. 2019 Transfer—Pavement Management
This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.
5. Approval of Proposed 2021 Official Meetings Calendar
This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.
6. Approval of Proposed Council Liaison to Planning Commission Meetings in 2021
7. Approval of Annual Liquor Licenses
8. Approval of Rental License
9. Approval of Resolution No. 7139 Designating Polling Locations for 2021
10. Approval of Recording Secretary Service Agreement—TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial
11. 2021 Public Works Plan
This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.
12. Bederwood Park Sports Field Contract Closeout and Pay Application 5—Final
13. Hennepin County Assessment Services Agreement
This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
CONSENT AGENDA—Continued
Crosby moved,Johnson seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as revised,with Items No.4,5,
11, and 13 removed.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
16. SECOND AMENDMENT DEDICATED CITY
Mattick stated this is an item the Council discussed at their previous meeting and at the study session earlier
this evening. He explained that the resolution for Council consideration expresses support for the second
amendment in its fullest sense and supports the rights conferred by the second amendment.
Walsh noted there was a member of the public that was here to comment on this item and asked them to
come to the podium and state their name and address for the record.
Brad Evans, 6041 Hermitage Trail, Minnestrista, thanked the Council for considering adoption of this
resolution because, in this day and age, it takes a lot of guts to do something like this. He stated that they
are law abiding citizens and as a member of the Minnetonka Sportsmen's Club,he wanted to let the Council
know that they appreciate and respect what this Council is doing with this resolution.
Crosby read aloud the resolution language.
Crosby moved,Johnson seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 7140,a Resolution Declaring
Orono a Second Amendment Dedicated City.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
Walsh noted, as suggested by Councilmember Printup,every month the Council pulls up an item under the
Bill of Rights,talks about it a little bit, and has a Resolution in support of each item.
2019 TRANSFER—PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT(formerly Consent Agenda item#4)
Walsh stated that he is assuming the overage is what was planned for the roads budget for 2020 and asked
if he was mistaken and it was actually for the roads budget for 2021.
Edwards stated that the overage would be for the 2021 roads budget.
Walsh stated that would mean the City is already starting out with $717,000 and then has about $125,000
with the cell tower revenue and about$641,000 in the pavement management levy.
Rief noted there was$717,000 in the pavement management levy.
Ung clarified that this is for the roads budget for 2020 and not 2021.
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
2019 TRANSFER—PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT—Continued
Walsh confirmed that the transfer then is for the 2020 roads budget and noted that he believes for this
situation, the City had planned for about $630,000 and this is an extra$80,000 or so above what the City
thought they were going to have in the pavement management fund. He reviewed the funding included in
the pavement management plan.
Crosby moved, Printup seconded, to approve the 2019 Transfer—Pavement Management Plan, as
presented. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED 2021 OFFICIAL MEETINGS CALENDAR(formerly Consent
Agenda Item#5)
Walsh noted spring break happens the week of March 22, 2021 and proposed that the March Council
meeting be changed to March 29,2021 so it wouldn't overlap with spring break.
Walsh moved,Printup seconded,to approve the 2021 official meeting calendar as amended to
change the March 22,2021 Council meeting to March 29,2021 to avoid spring break. VOTE: Ayes
5,Nays 0.
2021 PUBLIC WORKS PLAN(formerly Consent Agenda Item#11)
Walsh noted that this is a large document, but wanted to make sure that everyone recognized certain items
within the Public Works budget. He stated that under the Capital budgets, the Pavement Management
budget that is proposed for all the roads that the City is working on, is slated at $1,123,000. He stated the
City is just a few hundred thousand dollars short of this amount and is hopeful that when revenue from
permits and tax dollars come in, that will allow the City to get all the roads done. He noted that he would
also like to touch on the metrics on page 5 of the plan where it discusses the goals to preserve and improve
the City transportation system. He stated he would like to remove the target regarding miles of chip seal.
He stated that, in his opinion, if the City is going to chip seal,they will do new roads.
Walsh moved, Printup seconded, to approve the 2021 Public Works Plan and accept the attached
proposals,as revised, removing the chip seal from the metrics. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
HENNEPIN COUNTY ASSESSMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT(formerly Consent Agenda Item
#13)
Walsh stated when Hennepin County was brought in,they talked to the City and then the City went out for
bid, but because Orono is a little bit bigger city, there are not a lot of others that provide this service. He
stated that just because they don't exist now,does not mean there won't be others,over time. He stated one
`heartburn' he had with this is that the County said they could do a one-year or a five-year contract and
when asked what benefit there would be in doing a multi-year contract., the County replied there was no
benefit to a multi-year contract. Walsh explained this is why he questioned why the City would sign a
contract that was longer than a year. He stated at the time,no one else on the Council agreed with him,but
he would like to revisit this issue. He would like to propose a one-year contract since there is no benefit in
the pricing for signing a four- or five-year contract. He stated this gives the City the opportunity, if other
services become available,to outsource and not be locked into a long-term contract with the County. Walsh
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
HENNEPIN COUNTY ASSESSMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT—Continued
stated the County charges based on taxable value and not the amount of work that it takes. He suggested
the City look at what other services and options may be available to the City next year and beyond for
assessment services.
Rief noted he had looked at the licensing requirements to be an assessor and there is only one other firm in
the metro area. He noted this firm only has five employees and already services seven other cities. He
explained that the City of Long Lake and the City of Medina uses this other firm and knows that they charge
on a flat fee basis. He stated his concern is that the City keeps two County assessors busy 365 days a year.
Walsh stated he understands those concerns because they are the same as they were when the previous
contract was signed. He still feels that because there is no reason or benefit to signing a multi-year contract,
he doesn't think the City should lock itself into something rather than keeping its options open. He noted
the City can keep renewing a year at a time, if necessary,because there is also no penalty for proceeding in
this matter.
Walsh moved, Seals seconded,to approve the Hennepin County Assessment Services Agreement for
a term of 1 year.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
16. SECOND AMENDMENT DEDICATED CITY(continued)
Walsh noted a visitor had just entered the room and asked if he was here for a specific agenda item.
The gentleman stated he was from the Minnetonka Sportsmen's Club and had received a notification that
the Council was going to discuss the Second Amendment.
Walsh explained that the Council had passed the resolution in support of the Second Amendment earlier in
the meeting.
FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT
14. THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT
Ung gave an overview of the Third Quarter Financial Report for 2020. She explained the City is on track
to meet revenues for the year at 71.4%. She noted as a comparison, for 2019, at the end of the 2' quarter,
the City had revenues at 72.5%. She stated it is similar for the tax revenues with it being 48.8% of the
budget for 2020 as compared to 52.1%from 2019. She noted typically,by the third quarter,Licenses and
Permits have exceeded the budget; however, due to COVID-19,the City has only collected 76.42% of the
budgeted revenue. She stated the Other Government Revenue is currently at 161% as compared to 53.1%
in 2019, which is due to the CARES Act Grant funding that the City received in July. She explained that
the Golf Course Revenue has also exceeded budget at 189%as compared to 98.8%in 2019. She stated the
assumption is that COVID-19 played a big role in this change because of the restrictions on indoor social
gatherings. She reviewed a graphical representation of the issued Building Permits issued and the Plan
Check/Site Exam fee and noted that they had decreased this year.
Johnson noted you need to take into account that the City had a big year both last year and the year before.
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
14. THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT—Continued
Crosby asked if the revenues were calculated for Building Permits at the time of the application. He would
like to see how many dollars of open Building Permits there are in the City that have not yet been closed.
Ung stated this information has not yet been collected.
Crosby stated he thinks the vast majority are gathered at the time of application,but he would like to know
how many open permits are still out there.
Walsh stated the information in the report just goes through the end of September, so there will still be
October,November, and possibly December for the fourth quarter.
Johnson stated he would like to see how long the City's permit cycle is because that may be a better indicator
to help the Council forecast. He stated this information shows when the permits originate,but lots of things
can happen and the permits are staying open. He noted this information will also speak to the workflow
because this current information is not necessarily indicative of workflow since it only shows when they
pulled the permit.
Crosby stated he assumes this data would be fairly easy to pull through Citizen Serve.
Ung reviewed the revenue comparison by quarters and explained that the City is just a little below last year
for third quarter and reiterated they are still expecting to meet budget. She reviewed the expenditures and
noted there are two departments that are trending over budget which are Mayor and Council, which is due
to a change in cost for producing meeting minutes, but noted that it is a relatively small line item.
Johnson noted he feels the new minutes vendor does not do a super job.
Seals asked if that meant he wanted to investigate other possibilities for the minutes.
Johnson stated the Council just renewed the contract on the Consent Agenda.
Rief noted there are not a lot of options out there for contractors to take minutes in this capacity.
Ung reiterated the Golf Course is over budget which is due to more maintenance and bank fees, but those
expenditures are off-set with the higher revenue intake. She stated overall,the third quarter is looking good
and she expects the City to finish the year off under budget. She reviewed the top vendors for the third
quarter as well as year to date.
Seals noted the Parks Commission has asked for a Master Plan for the golf course and suggested a meeting
to be scheduled regarding this issue.
Edwards noted they did one about four years ago but can revisit the issue if that is the desire.
Walsh reviewed some of the items included in the master plan.
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
14. THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT—Continued
Seals suggested a work session meeting be scheduled to brainstorm and discuss what is already in the master
plan and the business plan and see if the Council would like to change anything. She stated she would
personally like to have a driving range but that would probably require buying land.
MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT
Johnson reminded residents the City will be starting the time of sale sewer inspections soon. He stated he
knows a letter has gone out but is not sure how widely this information has been communicated to the real
estate community and hopes there will not be too many surprises.
Crosby thanked City staff and the City Attorney for helping out with the Second Amendment resolution
and thanked the Council for their support. He wished everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Seals stated that she had nothing to report.
Printup also wished everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. He stated a few years ago, around
Thanksgiving,he told a story that is one of his favorites in American History that proves to him that God's
hand played a large part in America. He explained that pilgrims, around 1620, were not doing well and
survival rates were low from the horrid conditions. When an American Indian boldly approached the
pilgrims,they expected a fight was coming but instead he said, "Welcome! Do you have any beer?" The
Pilgrims stress level went down and they realized that this was going to be a friendly encounter and replied,
"No,but we have brandy." This started the events of what led to what is now called Thanksgiving. Printup
recommended people look up the American Indian called Samoset who was the one who approached the
pilgrims and later brought his friend,Squanto to the village who spoke better English than he did. He stated
that helped lead to the Declaration of Independence,the American Revolution,the beautiful Constitution,
as well as the beautiful Bill of Rights. He stated that he felt the Council had a really good conversation
surrounding the Second Amendment. On another note, Printup asked if staff could contact the local
Chambers, including the Twin West Chamber, to find out what local government can do to help the local
businesses right now. He would like to know what kinds of things can be done that go beyond the "Shop
Local"mantra.
Seals noted she read an article outlining ways small businesses can apply for local grants. She stated the
soccer club has applied for one during the lockdown.
Rief explained the article that came out today outlines that the County just approved$15,000,000 in granting
for small businesses. He stated the City sent that information to business owners in the community so they
will be aware of the options.
Walsh also wished residents a happy and safe Thanksgiving. He stated if people have three families or
twenty people over to their home for Thanksgiving,the Orono Police Department will not come knocking
at their door and arrest residents. He stated they will not even be looking for that type of activity and will
not be enforcing the edicts from Governor Walz. He stated normally he is traveling over Thanksgiving and
this is the first year in a long time that he will eat at his own table with his children and is looking forward
to that. He stated there appears to be snow and rain coming towards the end of the week and encouraged
residents to drive safely.
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,November 23,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
15. APPROVAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL AGREEMENT FOR CITY ENGINEERING
SERVICES
Rief explained the City had engaged in a Request for Proposal (RFP)process for engineering services. He
stated there were three applicants and the top two were WSB and Bolton&Menk and their proposals were
very similar. He noted staff feels it makes the most sense to continue with Bolton&Menk and recommends
maintaining their firm as the City's partner for these services.
Walsh stated he feels Bolton&Menk has done a good job with the City and staff seems to like the services
that they have provided.
Crosby moved, Printup seconded, to approve the Engineering Services Contract with Bolton &
Menk. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
Rief noted with regard to video services,the City has recently struggled with some issues. He noted there
was a lightning strike in late summer that impacted some video issues. He stated the City has done an
upgrade due to the lightning strike, which means the City now has the capability to utilize YouTube or
Facebook live video, which staff is exploring. He stated the cost with Granicus is around $7,500/year, so
they are looking into alternative ways to handle video services which may be a cost savings for the City.
Seals noted YouTube has just changed all their client agreements, which means they can literally do
whatever they want with the videos. She stated her company had to cut ties with YouTube because of this
change. She suggested staff look deeply into this issue and noted that, in general, if it seems like a good
deal, it is not.
Crosby noted much of tonight's meeting probably would have been censored through that platform.
Rief stated staff will take the Council comments into consideration as they review options.
Johnson asked if the City had put out any RFPs for building inspections.
Rief stated the RFP has been sent to six companies and he believes three or four potential firms have
contacted the City.
ADJOURNMENT
Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to adjourn the meeting at 6:48 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0.
ATTEST:
d172Zt-
Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor
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