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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 10-27-2009 SpecialAdopted Minutes Special Council, Meeting October 27, 2009 Mayor Slavik called a Special Meeting of the Plymouth City Council to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Medicine Lake Conference Room, 3400 Plymouth Boulevard, on October 27, 2009. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Slavik, Councilmembers Black, Murdock, Stein, Willis, Johnson, and Bildsoe. ABSENT: None. STA IFn PRESENT• City Manager Ahrens, Administrative Services Director Portner, Comm>>nityLJ1ll111VL1. V1L 1 Development Director Juetten, Park Director Blank, Superintendent of Recreation Evans, Superintendent of Parks Peterson, Fire Chief Kline, Public Works Director Cote, Police Chief Goldstein, Finance Manager Bursheim, Accounting Supervisor Mastey, and City Clerk Engdahl. 2010/2011 Budget City Manager Ahrens stated the preliminary budget adopted by the Council on September 8 eliminated the proposed $100,000 in athletic field maintenance fees. She provided a handout that contained a list of proposed expenditure reductions in that amount. Park Director Blank stated that eliminating a seasonal park maintenance position is on the list that City Manager Ahrens referred to, and if one to possibly two seasonal positions would be eliminated, there would be an impact to the extent of the field maintenance. He stated staff would still groom and line the playfields, but there would be an issue for the extra maintenance calls that staff receives and likely no tournament servies. Councilmember Stein stated if the $100,000 in revenue from participation fees isn't received, the Council would be penalizing neighborhood parks and other areas. Therefore, the athletic associations need to present to the City a proposal to generate $100,000 in value in the maintenance area or be advised the cuts will be made in that area. Councilmember Willis agreed with Councilmember Stein's comments. Superintendent of Parks Peterson cautioned the Council in allowing athletic associations to perform all maintenance on the playfields as there could be damage. Councilmember Bildsoe stated he somewhat agrees with Councilmembers Stein and Willis. He noted one other item that has caught his attention is not funding the Fire Department's duty crew on Sundays. He stated this $50,000 expenditure is a safety and priority issue. Adopted Minutes 1 of 5 Special Meeting of October 27, 2009 Mayor Slavik asked if the $100,000 can come out of the park maintenance budget. Park Director Blank stated that is very difficult, and he presented a handout to the Council that showed an approximate expenditure of $564,350 for maintenance by the City for athletic fields. This figure is half of the maintenance budget for seven months of the year. Staff feels the maintenance for the weekend tournaments is discretionary. Councilmember Murdock stated she agrees with Councilmembers Willis and Stein's comments. She stated it is reasonable to request that the athletic associations pay a fee to cover a portion of the cost of the maintenance. She stated that she could support elimination of a park maintenance seasonal employee, reduce athletic playfield lighting, and eliminate park sealcoating. Councilmember Willis stated he doesn't support any of the cuts listed on the handout that staff provided this evening as the park user fees weren't going to be that big of a burden, and if those fees aren't imposed, the burden would just be shifted to someone else. Councilmember Black stated she doesn't view the proposed $100,000 list of cuts on the handout as a hardship. Councilmember Willis disagreed and stated the elimination of park sealcoating contributes to the City's assets deteriorating. City Manager Ahrens added at this time, she recommends not making any more position 1 eliminations. Many positions have been eliminated for 2010, layoffs are occurring, and departments need an opportunity to adjust to the new workloads and service levels. Councilmember Bildsoe asked what measures would be taken if the City and the police unions can't reach an agreement on a near zero increase. Administrative Services Director Portner replied if the final agreements include an increase, the Council would need to look at further reductions in the general fund budget. Councilmember Johnson asked how the City will end this fiscal year. Administrative Services Director Portner replied revenues are on target and expenditures are slightly under budget. There could be a surplus of $500,000. Councilmember Johnson asked if those surplus funds could be used for the 2010 budget. City Manager Ahrens replied the City needs to meet the 40% cash balance first. In previous years, surplus funds were transferred to the street reconstruction fund. Staff has tried to make the budget sustainable on its own each year without any short-term fixes. Councilmember Bildsoe cautioned the Council in being careful in not making the cuts too deep from the budget as he doesn't want the Council to cut services that are the very reason people want to live in Plymouth. A discussion was held on benefits for City employees; for example, what how much is paid by employees for their health insurance and the City's contribution to PERA. City Manager Ahrens Adopted Minutes 2 of 5 Special Meeting of October 27, 2009 stated it's important that the non -represented employees not fall behind with benefits, as two of the unions are receiving a two percent pay increase in 2010, but the non -represented employees are receiving no pay increase. Councilmember Black, who is a State employee, compared the benefits that State employees receive to the benefits that City employees receive. Councilmember Black stated she supports the proposed cut to the annual employee recognition events. She supports purchasing coffee for the public but not the employees. Councilmember Murdock asked if the City has considered voluntary furloughs. She stated Hennepin County implemented voluntary furloughs which saved $5 million. Councilmember Johnson also mentioned two weeks of forced furloughs that Anoka and Sherburne Counties are implementing in 2010. City Manager Ahrens stated staff has considered that option. However, it's only a one-time fix. She stated in some departments, such as the water and sewer and police, this doesn't work as you have to backfill and pay overtime. If this type of measure would be implemented, it would need to be non -represented employees and some office positions. If necessary, this could be considered in mid year 2010. Councilmember Johnson stated there are individuals present this evening that would like to address the Council regarding funding REACH. Superintendent of Recreation Evans reported on the staff recommendation to not participate in the REACH for Resources Consortium at a cost of 17,000. She explained that the Consortium consists of eight cities, and each city is provided adaptive services and has the option of paying for inclusion services. Currently, the communities of Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, and Maple Grove will be continuing with the services in 2010, while the cities of Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale, and Plymouth have chosen to drop out of the service and rely on other agencies to provide like services. She stated residents could still participate in the program, but they would incur a $5 service charge. There are currently 82 Plymouth residents who participate in this program at,a City cost of $17,000. Councilmember Bildsoe asked what the $17,000 is for. Superintendent of Recreation Evans replied the formula covers the number of participants times how many programs they participate in. The more the programs are used, the more the City pays based on their formula. There are program costs, as well as organization administrative costs. Mary Jo Parker, 14625 44th Avenue North, stated that it isn't exactly correct that there are other agencies that would provide these services if the funding level is cut. She agreed that this program costs a lot but the residents who use this service have a number of disabilities, and the programs are staffed according to the disability and function. If Plymouth isn't part of the Consortium, the residents can only participate if there is room in the classes. She requested that the Council fund $10,000 rather than the $17,000. She noted that REACH will also be contacting the cities of Crystal, New Hope, and Robbinsdale. She stated if the funding isn't there, REACH will need to reduce the number of employees and the programs that they offer. At 6:53 p.m., a motion was made by Councilmember Stein and seconded by Councilmember Willis to reconvene this meeting until after the Regular Council Meeting this evening. With all J members voting in favor, the motion carried. Adopted Minutes 3 of 5 Special Meeting of October 27, 2009 The Council reconvened the meeting at 7:37 p.m. The Council continued the discussion on the REACH program. Councilmember Bildsoe suggested reinstating $10,000 in the 2010 budget to REACH and to cut 10% from the other social service agencies. Motion was made by Councilmember Bildsoe and seconded by Councilmember Murdock, to fund $10,000 for REACH in the 2010 budget and to cut 10% from the social service agencies. In addition the REACH Program would be removed from the park and recreation budget and moved to the social service funding in the General Fund. REACH needs to present their annual request for funding and provide verification of the participant numbers to substantiate the funding. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. The Council reopened the discussion on participation fee for athletic field maintenance. Councilmember Stein suggested that the athletic associations could assume the task of field painting. Councilmember Bildsoe stated that there would be issues with the associations performing that work as well as potential liability issues and missing equipment. He stated he is reconsidering the participation fee since he has reviewed the maintenance costs by the City for the athletic fields. He stated the City could either cut the service or institute the fee. Councilmember Black stated she hears many complaints from residents complaining about fees or an increase in their taxes. The Council could always institute the fees in 2011. Councilmember Johnson stated one option would be to bill the athletic associations for the field maintenance. Park Director Blank suggested that the Council adopt one of the proposed fee schedules which would be the easiest to manage from the staff's perspective versus tracking and billing for actual maintenance costs. Mayor Slavik stated she would like the opportunity to meet with the athletic associations before this fee is reconsidered on December 8. The Council discussed the Plymouth Creek Center senior administrative fee, and they recommended option 1 in the staff report: 1. $8 per year for residents ($10 non-residents) for the first two groups or clubs. Additional participation in three or more groups is charged at a rate of $4/year. Estimated cost recovery is $10,600. Adopted Minutes 4 of 5 Special Meeting of October 27, 2009 Discussion was held on the cost of paper photocopies versus black and white copies, and the Council requested that wherever possible to eliminate the colored copies. In addition, the Council requested that they receive the weekly Council Information Memorandum electronically. Councilmember Bildsoe led the Council in a discussion regarding funding the Fire Department's duty crew on Sundays. There wasn't a consensus of the Council to suggest cuts totaling $50,000 to fund this expenditure at this time. Adjournment Mayor Slavik adjourned the meeting at approxi tely Sandra R. Engdah , City Jerk Adopted Minutes 5 of 5 Special Meeting of October 27, 2009