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8.g administrators report� c CANDIA Staff Report Date of Meeting: July 17, 2018 To: City Council From: Neil Soltis, Administrator Re: Administrator's report Elections - Looking at the dates in which the City Council must canvass the results of the November 6th election at some point between November 9th and 16th). We will need a special Council meeting since there are no regularly scheduled meetings in that time frame. A suggestion would be at 6:30 p.m. on November 13th, just before the Planning Commission meeting. Building Inspection —Through the end of June, 212 permits with a total valuation of $17,573,781 have been issued. The 2018 totals include the permits for the elementary School improvements and for 6 new homes. The compares to 129 permits with a total value of $4,854,439 with 7 new homes for the first six months of 2017. Of the 212 permits issued in 2018, 126 are for reroofing or residing. Small Cities Assistance Program - The omnibus transportation bill passed in 2017 provides $8 million per year for the Small Cities Assistance Account for the biennium beginning July 1, 2017. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has released city aid amounts for 2018 and Scandia will be receiving $39,716. The program received one-time funding of $12.5 million in 2015. The 2017 transportation bill provides two years of funding from the general fund for the account, but it does not provide a dedicated revenue source for future years. Funds are distributed through a formula to the 704 Minnesota cities with populations below 5,000. May Township Fire Agreement — The agreement approved by the Council in April was sent to the Town following the meeting. The agreement has been on Town Board agendas for discussion. In a recent email from the Town Chair there are still issues with how to define a household and whether population should be used as a factor. 2019 Budget — At initial presentation on the 2019 budget will be at the August 1 work session. The Parks & Recreation Committee and the Wastewater Committee have reviewed and commented on the Departments requests. At the initial meeting we will review the impacts of the requests and focus on the non -inflationary changes. 2020 Census — Based on the census information submitted I am working with Washington County GIS staff to identify those cabins / houses along the river that do not have addresses in order to establish GIS coordinates. In the past this has been an issue for the Sheriff Department dispatch. 2040 Comprehensive Plan —As a part of the review process we have reviewed responses from Chisago County, Chisago Lakes Schools, Forest Lake School, Stillwater Schools, Chisago Lakes Township, and MnDOT. There are been no substantive comments. A copy of the plan was sent to the Met Council for preliminary review but no feedback has been provided. MnDOT Landscape Partnership project — Public Work Director Adam Hawkinson has worked with Todd Carroll & MnDOT staff to lay out the planting areas on the 4 quadrants of the Olinda / Scandia Trail intersection. To date the planting beds have been sprayed to kill the grass and tilled. Over the next weeks the beds will be resprayed, amended with compost, and then mulched in anticipation of planting in late July or August. Blandin Foundation Robust Network Feasibility Fund grant application — A grant application to cover 50% of the cost for the Fiber to the Premise Preliminary Design Estimate to be performed by CTC. Since 2007, the Robust Network Feasibility Fund (RNFF) grant program has provided matching funds to eligible applicants to support the implementation of feasibility studies designed to provide factual information about market demand, technology alternatives, deployment and maintenance costs, network operations and marketing. The Foundation will review the grant application at its July 181h meeting. Tourism Assessment — The Community Leadership Team will have its initial meeting on Monday, July 16. The initial meeting will cover the following topics: • Program goals and responsibilities • Scandia and tourism - community values, current and desired visitors to Scandia, etc. • Community Tourism Development manual - discuss how it can be used as a resource • Timeline and logistics Holiday lighting — The holiday decorations for 15 poles have been ordered and are expected to be delivered on July 16th. Crystal Springs SNA — MnDNR is working with the Trust for Public Lands to acquire a parcel to the north of the current SNA and a portion of the Zavoral property. We are evaluating the impacts of the transaction as it relates to the Development Agreement and Condition Use Permit for the solar farm and issues related to creating nonconforming parcel(s). It is likely that action on this acquisition will be on the August City Council agenda. GreenStep Cities — At the League of Minnesota Cities meeting Scandia was officially recognized as a Step 2 city in the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program. Resolution 05-20-14-01 authorized the City to participate in the GreenStep Cities program and resolved that the City "will claim credit for having implemented and will work at its own pace toward implementing any GreenStep best practices that will result in energy use reduction, economic savings, quality of life improvement, reduction in the City's greenhouse gas footprint, and recognition by the League of Minnesota Cities as a Step Two GreenStep City." Administrative Citations — City Attorney Dan Burns has updated the draft of the Administrative Citation and Civil Penalties Ordinance to reflect the procedures to be followed in the issuance of a citation. A review of the draft will be on the August Work Session agenda. City email accounts — The 2018 budget provides for transitioning the City's email accounts from Berry Brothers to GovOffice. The issue holding up the transition was determining who had authority to unlock the City's domain. Colleen has made progress on this front so the change is forthcoming. Veterans Memorial - The Scandia Veterans Memorial Dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 291h at 10:OOam. A reception will follow in the Scandia Community Center. The reception will feature a display of biographies and a video of the memorial construction. A short program will be held and will include time for the public to give their own testimonials.