11-09-10 Special Budget Meeting
November 9, 2010
A special meeting of the Scandia City Council was held on the above date. Mayor Dennis
Seefeldt called the meeting to order at 6:43 p.m. The following were present: Council members
Connie Amos, Dolores Peterson, Chris Ness, and Mayor Dennis Seefeldt. Staff: Administrator
Anne Hurlburt and Treasurer Colleen Firkus. Also present: Mayor Elect Randall Simonson.
CANVASS RESULTS OF NOVEMBER 2, 2010 ELECTION - RESOLUTION 11-09-10-01
Council was presented with a resolution declaring the results of the November 2, 2010 municipal
election. Randall Simonson was elected to a two year term as Mayor, and Sally Swanson and
James Schneider were elected to four year terms on the City Council. Councilmember
Peterson, seconded by Councilmember Amos, moved to adopt Resolution 11-09-10-01
Certifying the Results of the November 2, 2010 City Election. The motion passed
unanimously.
2011-2015 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP)
The CIP as approved and recommended by the Planning Commission was presented. The eight
items listed slated for 2011 were reviewed. It was decided to leave all eight items in the CIP for
the next Council to act upon.
Seefeldt and Peterson noted the City Meeting/Office Space Study project was not popular with
the public and Ness said it should be left in for long-range planning purposes. Simonson
indicated office and storage space was an issue for the Community Center building, and he felt
qualified people from the community would be eager to perform a space study for a substantially
lesser amount. Seefeldt and Peterson said to leave it in the budget since it did not affect the levy.
It was a consensus that the flooring in the Community Center needs to be replaced, which could
also help reduce maintenance costs. Funding for Lilleskogen and Wind in the Pines Parks does
not affect the levy and is paid from the Parks Capital Improvement Fund and any grants that can
be obtained.. It was clarified for Ness that the line item of $12,300 was for vegetation restoration
in Lilleskogen. The other $2,000 is for signage, trail markers and benches at Wind in the Pines.
There is money budgeted in the General Fund for signage at Hay Lake and the lighted ballfield;
signs with a common logo to identify them as city parks. There is an adopted Park Plan which
guides the development of all of the city’s parks. Simonson suggested all funds be diverted to the
completion of one park, then move to the next park. Hurlburt indicated there wasn’t much left to
do in Wind in the Pines as it is a natural park, while Lilleskogen has multiple uses being in the
village center.
The Street Maintenance Program is $50,000 more in 2011 in order to get more contractual
repairs accomplished to the city’s streets. There was a consensus that it is necessary to replace
the dump truck this snow season and the mower and pickup truck with plow in 2011 as it is a
matter of worker and public safety.
The CIP, with no further changes made by the Council, is set to be adopted December 21, 2010.
November 9, 2010
Scandia City Council
Page 2 of 2
2011 BUDGET
After asking if there were any questions on the 2011 Budget, Administrator Hurlburt pointed out
the major expenses budgeted in each department. While health insurance will increase 20%
(18.5% of which was initially budgeted), the Council has already accepted the plan for next year
and staff does not anticipate shopping for reduced rates this year. The new part-time position for
Public Works was discussed and how it may reduce contractual janitorial costs to the city. In the
City Council department, training was increased previously to $2,000 and wages will be
decreased due to action by the Council to eliminate a wage increase in 2011. An increase will be
shown for Planning Services due to an anticipated change order by AECOM to reflect their
increased expenses on the EIS, all of which will be paid for by Tiller. Uptown Sewer needs the
Master Plan done to identify maintenance and long-range planning issues. Costs to users are
expected to increase significantly to pay for this plan. Seefeldt and Peterson asked that
Gammelgarden be sent an invoice to pay the connection fee that was not paid when they hooked
up their new building several years ago. In the Parks budget, the open gym program will now be
handled by the Scandia PTO thereby reducing the city’s expense. The Community Center is
budgeted to get new landscaping in the front, with a minimum of paid labor. The Equipment
Replacement budget will be changed to reflect the shifting of funds to pay for the needed plow
truck. Finally, there was discussion on the 201 Sewer System and the desire of staff to get
contractual costs reduced and plan for more preventative maintenance.
The CIP and Budget will be presented at the 12/7/10 Truth in Taxation Public Meeting, the
adopted by the Council at the 12/21/10 meeting.
Peterson, seconded by Ness, moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Colleen Firkus
Treasurer