06-4-14 Council Work Session
June 4, 2014
A Work Session meeting of the City Council was held on the above date. Mayor Simonson
called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. The following were present: Mayor Randall Simonson,
Council members Dan Lee, Chris Ness, Jim Schneider and Sally Swanson. Staff present: City
Administrator Kristina Handt, Attorney Mike McCain, City Engineer Ryan Goodman, Fire Chief
Mike Hinz, Director of Public Works Tim Kieffer and Deputy Clerk Brenda Eklund.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Ness, seconded by Lee, moved to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried 5-0.
TH
HELMS LAND PURCHASE REQUEST ON 196 STREET
At the March Work Session, Ron and Vicki Helms presented a request to purchase a small city-
th
owned parcel 0.13 acres in size that abuts their property at 12160 196 Street. The Council
delayed a discussion until a site visit could be done, which the Council conducted just prior to
the Work Session.
Public Works Director Kieffer presented a recommendation if the city were to sell the parcel to
the Helms. He explained that an easement of at least 15 feet off the bituminous should be
acquired for road maintenance tasks such as snow removal, tree trimming and ditching that could
extend from Maxwill Avenue all the way down to the Big Marine Lake.
Mayor Simonson and Council members Ness and Swanson agreed that acquiring easements for
road maintenance as a condition of sale of the property would be a good idea for the city.
Council member Lee stated he was not comfortable voting away the city’s land because things
can change in the future and this could limit the city’s ability to develop a use for the property.
Council member Schneider stated that he’s okay with it if the city gets what it wants, otherwise
the land could be offered for sale to others.
Mr. Helms stated that his initial question was sale of the parcel, and the concept of easements to
clear cut trees and ditch along the roadway was a separate issue. He said that he would be open
to further discussion about this.
Administrator Handt recommended that staff meet with the Helms to draw out the proposal on a
map and further discuss the ideas. The Council was in consensus to continue in this manner.
BIG MARINE LAKE STORE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL ON-SALE LIQUOR
LICENSE
Pat Reicherts, co-owner of the Big Marine Lake Store, was present to explain a business
expansion idea that would have his business serving alcohol on-site. Administrator Handt
explained that the city’s ordinance limits the number of on-sale liquor licenses to 3 (the number
that was in place at the time of its adoption in 2007) and the number currently licensed by the
city. State statute allows for cities with a 2,500-5,000 population to issue no more than 5 on-sale
licenses. If Reicherts were to apply for an on/off sale license, the Council would need to amend
Ordinance No. 93.
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Council member Swanson stated that it seems to be a great idea and she would be agreeable to
amend the ordinance to allow up to the state statute limit of 5 on-sale licenses.
Lee, seconded by Swanson, moved to direct staff to amend Ordinance No. 93 to the number
of on-sale licenses that is consistent with state statute. The motion carried 4-0, with
Schneider abstaining from the vote.
Handt stated that the ordinance amendment will be scheduled for the June 17 Council meeting,
and that Reicherts could apply for a license after publication of the amended ordinance.
COMMUNITY SOLAR – SANDRA GOODYEAR
Sandra Goodyear introduced Peter Teglund and Steve Coleman of MN Solar Communities to
explain the structure of a community solar project initiative. They would be asking the City to
serve as a host site for the development of a solar collection system that members would
purchase subscriptions to and gain credit on their utility bill from Xcel Energy, based on the
electricity generated by the community “solar garden”. The city would enter into a 25-year lease
agreement with their business and all maintenance of the solar array would be the responsibility
of the company. Mr. Teglund estimated that they could develop the project on a ½ to 5-acre
parcel of land.
Mayor Simonson stated that this is an interesting venture and he would encourage more
discussion of the project. Council member Lee noted that community input and interest could
advance the proposition. Sandra Goodyear offered to serve as a community contact on the
partnership.
2015-2019 DRAFT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Administrator Handt presented the draft CIP that plans for capital expenditures over the next five
years. The Planning Commission reviewed the plan at their May meeting and had no
recommended changes.
Fire Chief Hinz explained the department’s requests. Replacement of Tanker 5177 is scheduled
for 2015 at a cost of $230,000 to be funded from the Equipment Replacement Fund. Twelve
SCBAs, 30 masks and a SCBA compressor are scheduled for replacement in 2016. Hinz
explained that civil defense sirens remain as an active project because improvements to early
warning should stay on the radar.
Public Works Director Kieffer described his recommendations to replace the Sterling plow truck
in 2016 at a cost of $200,000 and to purchase a utility truck with crane in 2015 at a cost of
$76,500. Since the truck and crane will be used for sewer maintenance work, part of the funding
would come from the 201 enterprise fund.
The Quinnell Avenue road project is scheduled for 2015 to tie in with the Log House Landing
Improvement Project. A mill and overlay is assumed, but Engineer Goddman reported that soil
borings will be evaluated soon to determine the degree of project. Goodman also noted that the
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soil boring report will determine the extent of roadway improvements and project costs for the
2016 Street Improvement Plan. If the soils are favorable, costs can be saved by doing overlays
versus full-depth reconstruction.
Handt stated that this CIP will be used to put together next year’s budget which will be reviewed
by the Council beginning in August.
DRAFT PERSONNEL POLICY ADDITION: USE OF CITY VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT,
SUPPLIES, TOOLS, UNIFORMS AND FACILITIES
For the past few months, the Council had been discussing use of public equipment for private
purposes. At the last meeting, the Council asked for legal input from the City Attorney on the
draft policy addition to the personnel policy that was prepared for review. Mike McCain, an
employment law attorney with Eckberg Lammers was present to discuss the issue.
McCain explained that the draft policy prohibits any use of public equipment for private use and
is important to have in place from a liability standpoint. He stated that the risk exposure to the
city is high if department employees doing light maintenance on their personal vehicles is
allowed to continue. McCain listed three criteria that must be met to justify a public purpose
activity: 1) The activity must benefit the community; 2) The activity must be directly related to
functions of government; 3) The activity does not have as its primary objective a benefit to a
private interest. McCain stated that washing vehicles is not a public purpose that the city can
allow under state law. McCain said there is no evidence that having members at the station on
their own time is a benefit.
Council member Ness asked if employees could sign a liability waiver while at the station on
their own time. McCain replied that state law does not allow rights to workers compensation be
signed away, and then there are issues about the definition of employees being on or off the job.
McCain recommended a straight forward policy with no exceptions.
Much discussion continued with fire department members contributing statements of their in-
kind contributions, such as cleaning the station and maintaining equipment. Fire Chief Hinz
explained that this policy would not contribute to the betterment of the department.
Council member Swanson stated that ignoring the attorney’s advice puts the city in a bad
position and in jeopardy of breaking state law.
Former Fire Chief Jim Finnegan explained that when members respond directly to an emergency
situation in their personal vehicles, it should be viewed as a benefit. McCain stated that this is
new information to him and he could see it as a compelling reason of meeting the factors, even
though there still is potential exposure. Public Works Director Kieffer explained that his
department also directly responds to callouts for downed trees and sewer alarms.
Council member Lee questioned if the city could proceed with adopting the policy but follow a
“don’t ask don’t tell” approach. This was countered with explaining that the city cannot adopt a
policy it will not enforce.
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Further discussion ensued about finding common ground on this issue, including if using the
exercise equipment is a benefit to keep department members in good health for the nature of their
job. Kieffer stated that he had been using the torching and welding equipment on his own time.
Administrator Handt noted that, although some see this as having gray areas, the city needs a
black and white policy because there is uncertainty and much concern about what happens when
rules are not clearly stated. Swanson and Lee agreed that there should be no exceptions, as
department heads could interpret the rules differently.
Lee made a motion to adopt the policy but delete “washing vehicles” from the second line
in paragraph 4), and add a sentence that reads “One exception is that employees may wash
and do minor maintenance on their personal vehicles at the Fire Hall/Public Works
building”. The motion failed for lack of a second.
McCain advised that language should be added to explain the public safety purpose, as it puts the
city in a more protected position. Consensus was to direct the attorney to draft a policy in this
manner.
The Council will review the policy at their July Work Session, with evaluation by the department
heads prior to that.
ADJOURNMENT
Ness, seconded by Lee, moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 5-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda Eklund
Deputy Clerk