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01-02-2019 Work SessionJanuary 2, 2019 The City Council conducted a Work Session on the above date beginning at 6:30 p.m. Judge Susan Miles administered the oath of office to Mayor Christine Maefsky and Council members Patti Ray and Jerry Cusick. Mayor Maefsky was re-elected to a two-year term of office and Ray and Cusick were elected to 4-year terms at the November 6, 2018 General Election. The following were present: Council members Jerry Cusick, Steve Kronmiller, Chris Ness, Patti Ray and Mayor Maefsky. Staff members: City Administrator Neil Soltis and Deputy Clerk Brenda Eklund. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Ness, seconded by Kronmiller, moved to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried 5-0. DISCUSSION ON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS The Council reviews City Council committee and commission appointments at the first meeting of the year. By consensus, the Council made the following appointments: Economic Development Authority Council member Kronmiller will continue his appointment to the EDA Board. Council member Ray will fill outgoing Council representative Hegland’s vacancy on the Board. Wastewater Advisory Committee Council member Ness will serve as the Council representative on the Wastewater Advisory Committee, with advertisement for an Anderson/Erickson “201” user committee member. Planning Commission Council member Cusick will serve as the liaison to the Planning Commission for 2019. Parks and Recreation Committee Council member Ray will serve as the Council liaison to the PRC for 2019. Acting Mayor Council member Ness will serve as Acting Mayor for 2019. Appointments will be formally approved at the January 15, 2019 Annual meeting. APPOINTMENTS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND WASTEWATER ADVISORY COMMITTEE In December the City advertised for openings on the Planning Commission and Wastewater Advisory Committee for terms ending on January 31, 2019. The following applications were received by the December 27, 2018 deadline: January 2, 2019 Scandia City Council Page 2 of 4 Planning Commission • Dan Squyres reapplied for his position on the Commission (5-year term) Wastewater Advisory Committee • Doran O’Brien reapplied for his position on the Committee as the Uptown Sewer System representative (5-year term) The Council was in consensus to appoint Squyres and O’Brien to their respective positions, with terms ending on January 31, 2024. DISCUSSION ON COMPOSITION OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE Administrator Soltis explained that review of the 5-year Capital Improvement Plan is done on a biennial cycle by a committee of staff and appointed citizens. The composition of a committee to review the 2019-2024 CIP was discussed. It was determined that the Capital Improvement Committee will be comprised of the Public Works Director, Fire Chief, City Administrator, a City Council representative, a Planning Commission member, and 3 citizens at-large. Staff would be non-voting members of the CIP Committee. It was agreed that Council member Kronmiller will be the Council representative, with a selection from the Planning Commission being made at their next meeting. Openings for three citizen members will be advertised on the website, with appointments made at the February 19th Council meeting. Meetings are proposed to begin this spring so that the Planning Commission can review the plan in July and presentation made to the Council at their August Work Session. AMEND APPLICATION TO SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT FOR MINNESOTAN CUP HOCKEY TOURNAMENT Organizer Corey Roberts was present to request an amendment to the Special Event Permit issued for the Minnesotan Cup Adult Hockey Tournament, approved by the City Council on November 20, 2018. The tournament is scheduled for Saturday, January 26, 2019. Mr. Roberts stated that he has had strong demand for additional teams and asked that the permit allow for starting the tournament on Friday, January 25th from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The tournament (previously named the Scanley Cup) had been run on Friday nights, as well as Saturday, for three of the last five years. Kronmiller, seconded by Ray, moved to approve an amendment to the Special Event Permit to extend the hockey tournament to begin on Friday, January 25, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The motion carried 5-0. AMEND TEMPORARY LIQUOR LICENSE FOR VINTERFEST – MEISTERS BAR & GRILL Meisters Bar & Grill had been approved for a temporary Off-Premises Liquor License to sell beer and liquor during Vinterfest on Saturday, January 26th from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. With the request to begin the Minnesotan Hockey Tournament on Friday, Meisters is seeking to amend the application for liquor sales to include Friday evening as well. It was noted that no incidents have been reported in past years of this activity. January 2, 2019 Scandia City Council Page 3 of 4 Kronmiller, seconded by Ray, moved to approve the request for Meister’s Bar & Grill to begin alcohol sales on Friday, January 25, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The motion carried 5-0. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO DOG ORDINANCE Administrator Soltis explained that the current dog ordinance references gross misdemeanors in Section 20, Penalties, but State statute limits the penalties for ordinance violations to misdemeanors. A draft ordinance was presented striking “gross” where it appears in Ordinance No. 185, Section 20, paragraphs D, E, and F. Council was in consensus to prepare the ordinance amendment as presented for action at the January 15, 2019 Council meeting. DISCUSSION ON POLICY ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR RECREATION PROGRAMS Discussion on a policy for offering financial assistance to participants to the city’s recreation programs was continued from the December 5, 2018 Work Session. Mayor Maefsky prepared a draft application and guidelines based on models from other communities. Discussion of the eligibility requirements determined that applicants having outstanding balances with the City would not be eligible for aid. Maefsky proposed that program fees be reduced by 2/3 the cost, or $50 maximum per person per year, with a family receiving a maximum annual discount of $200. Maefsky questioned if a total limit of funds available for assistance should be determined at the start of the program, but it was decided to leave this open-ended because its unknown how many will apply. Administrator Soltis said it would not be a huge dollar amount; if all participants requested aid based on current enrollment numbers, approximately $1,500 would be offered as assistance. In response to Council member Cusick’s question on what prompted this discussion, Mayor Maefsky replied that 19% of students attending Scandia Elementary are on the reduced lunch program and there is potential to add adult programming that may be difficult for seniors living on fixed incomes to participate in. Maefsky felt there is a need to assure that everyone can participate in the program offerings. Council member Ness asked who will determine eligibility and how will it be fairly applied. Maefsky said that household income, number in the household, and evidence of other public assistance will be gathered on the application, but noted that it may be a subjective determination. Maefsky added that earlier discussion referenced the income basis for the school lunch program, a qualifier that could be looked into for setting income level criteria. Administrator Soltis said that income determination will be worked out, along with who will be determining eligibility for further discussion at the next work session. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSALS FOR BROADBAND ASSISTANCE Council member Kronmiller explained the figures he provided on a handout which broke down the costs for providing high speed broadband service to Scandia households. Based on Consolidated Telephone Company’s total construction estimate of $13 million, and assuming January 2, 2019 Scandia City Council Page 4 of 4 DEED grant assistance for installation in non-Midco territory and applying reserve funds, total cost per household resulted in $2,459, including those households in Midco territory. Kronmiller noted the benefits to market values that result from having access to high speed internet; much of Scandia is now considered unserved with slow download speeds averaging 2 Mbps. Cable providers are offering speeds up to 1,000 Mbps. He asked the Council if they would consider spending the money to improve a segment of the population that is unserved. A Request for Proposals for a Fiber to the Premises Partnership was prepared to scope and evaluate proposals from providers who can get Scandia fast, reliable internet speeds through their design and engineering, and partnering with the City for ownership. Kronmiller explained that there would be no obligations in doing this research. He said he doesn’t know the right answer and this would be helpful to figure out if it could be done and how to do it. Council member Ness asked why Midco customers having great service would be obligated to pay the $2500 cost when they do not want or need broadband. Council member Kronmiller said that it needs to be communicated that all citizens have to pay for a public good; special assessments cannot be done with this project according to state law. Administrator Soltis added that Midco service may not be state of the art 10 years from now and old technology would affect home values. By networking all of Scandia at once, it’s the least expensive route in the long run. Council agreed to distribute the RFP to service providers with responses sent to Administrator Soltis by a February 1st deadline, to allow for a DEED grant submission by the fall. ADJOURNMENT Ness, seconded by Kronmiller, moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Eklund Deputy Clerk