8.g Staff Report-administrators report
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: May 17, 2016
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: March report
ISO REVIEW OF BUILDING INSPECTION: Representatives of the Insurance Service Office are
scheduled to meet with Chuck Preisler and myself on 5/24/2016 to evaluate our building code
enforcement. The last review of the building inspection program was completed in 2011.
PAYROLL AUDIT LOCAL 49: The union completed an audit of the payroll records to ensure the
City’s compliance with the labor agreement. This will occur on a biennial basis in the future
IT RESPOND TO LEAGUE SECURITY REVIEW: Updates of the City’s employee handbook and
additional policies recommended by the League are in process. We have met with a company
to regarding relocating the internet and phone connections from the mechanical room to a
secured space. The company’s cabling tech is scheduled to look at the project on May 12 to
develop a quote for the work. During the meeting we also discussed converting the City’s email
service and file sharing capabilities from the current provider to a Microsoft platform. Funding
for that will be identified for the 2017 budget process.
BROADBAND – FRONTIER UPGRADE: We have received a number of calls regarding the
proposed upgrade from residents from within and outside of the City. The project has been
approved for 2016 construction but the plans have not yet been released to the field to begin the work.
Frontier will provide notification when the plans are released for construction.
LOT SPLITS & ACCESSORY BUILDINGS: With the summer season there has been a major uptick
with inquiries regarding lot splits and accessory buildings. From my notes I have recorded 15
inquiries in the past month.
SUBDIVISION LANGUAGE: Andy Pratt, Sherri, & I have been dealing with a proposed lot split on
an 80 acres parcel where due to the definitions of a lot there is a conflict between State
statutes and the City’s development code. In this instances it is Andy’s opinion that the statute
as written trumps the development code and allows for the lot split with less regulations than
the development code would allow.
SOLAR – DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS: Andy is working on the development agreements for
the Forest Lake Holdsco and Sunrise Ventures solar farms that have been approved by the
Council. Those agreements should be ready for review at the June Council meeting.
FIRE HALL SOLAR: The solar array at the Fire Hall / Public Works building went on-line on
April 22. The net result will be a 15% saving on electrical use at the building.
KITCHEN USE POLICY FOR NON-LICENSED USERS: Based on an inspection of the Community Center
kitchen facilities by the Washington County Health Department, Brenda has updated the policy
regarding non-licensed users. Non-licensed users will be required to receive trining before using the
facilities.
COUNTY HRA TO CDA: The effort to transition the Washington County HRA into a Community
Development Authority has been approved by the legislature and is awaiting the Governor’s
signature. After that the County Board will need to approve a resolution.
VOLUNTEER POLICY: At the Parks & Recreation committee meeting there was a discussion of
how to identity and process volunteer opportunities in the City. Currently the City dos not have
a policy. I am working on a draft for discussion at the June 1 work session.
WIND IN THE PINES: We received a complaint regarding the use of Wind in the Piines from a
neighbor citing fires, litter and trespassing. That complaint was forward onto Deputy Yetter to
meet with the resident.
LOG HOUSE LANDING: After the work session the plans have been updated and will be further
revised based on product specifications provided by Ryan Goodman.
GOOSE LAKE LANDNG: I met with Jed Chestnut and Jim shaver regarding a Watershed district
proposal to reduce the sediments entering into Goose Lake. Options were discussed for using a
portion of the City property is access cannot be attained using the existing drainage way which
is located on private property.