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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2022 Special City Council Meeting MinutesSPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING City Hall —Council Chambers, 590 40th Ave NE Thursday, January 13, 2022 4:00 PM MINUTES Mayor Amada Marquez Simula Councilmembers John Murzyn, Jr. Connie Buesgens Nick Novitsky Kt Jacobs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois The following are the minutes for the Meeting of the City Council held at 4:00 pm on Thursday, January 13, 2022, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 401" Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hybrid meeting was held both virtually and in -person. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor MArquez Simula called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Present: Mayor MArquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember Murzyn, Jr.; Councilmember Novitsky (via Zoom). Also Present: Kelli Bourgeois, City Manager; Jesse Hauf, IT Director; Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary; Joseph Kloiber, Finance Director; Peter Leatherman, CEO Morris Leatherman; Ben Sandell, Communications Coordinator. WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. Award Contracts for Microsoft 0365, and Review Information Technology (IT) Plans. IT Director Jesse Hauf introduced himself to Council and gave a brief overview of his background. He is excited to be returning to Columbia Heights where he first started his IT Career. Overall he would like to focus on forward thinking technology, and getting ahead of the existing aging network infrastructure. Director Hauf stated that he is looking to update systems and utilize a mobile architecture, making it more user friendly throughout every city location and allow for telecommuting if needed. Director Hauf gave an overview of Microsoft 0365, it is cloud based and able to be used where the user is. This would allow the City to move email to the cloud and Microsoft would be supporting the storage and support. Microsoft Teams would be a great option for using video conferencing, messaging, and teleconferences. The H Drive and G Drive would be moved to the shared drive, and there are discovery options built in to the programing. Director Hauf stated that his recommendation is to purchase the software, via state contract and utilize the recommended contractor for implementation as this is a large process. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she is very excited about these new options. She is also thankful for the IT team for what they have done supporting 20-year-old programs. She was curious where the funds were coming from to fund the project. Director Kloiber addresses the concerns of where the funding for these programs would be coming from. He stated that the actions today are just to record the contracts; there are City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 13, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 2 funds from 2020 and 2021 to be utilized for these projects. We will need action from council to carry over funds from 2021 to 2022 in the near future. Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs to award the professional services contract for the migration to Microsoft 0365 to Paragon Development Systems in the amount of $20,460.00. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Murzyn Jr. to award 0365 subscription contract to SHI, Inc. at state contract pricing. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. 2. Citywide Survey Questions Review. City Manager Bourgeois gave an overview of the purpose of the Citywide Survey. There are 133 numbered questions, and Council has had an opportunity to review the draft questions in advance of today's meeting. She would like to review questions and concerns from the Council with CEO of Leatherman Morris, Peter Leatherman who joined the meeting via Zoom. In previous work sessions the process of how the survey is completed was reviewed. Council proceeded to review the survey questions for corrections, clarifications, and updates to wording. Councilmember Buesgens inquired about Question 12, she would like the wording to include sports and athletic fields. She also inquired about Question 132, as she would like to expand male/female wording to be more inclusive to the LBTQ community. Mr. Leatherman stated that sometimes this question can create issues on how the information is collected. Mayor Marquez Simula requested that the question be asked of the participant (instead of observation) male/female or non -binary. City Manager Bourgeois clarified to Council that she wants to make sure the questions are reflective of what the City can take action on. Council then proceeded to review questions from the beginning. The following updated and changes to the survey were discussed: Question 19, clarify that this is asking about properties and maintenance. Not sure that people can identify if property is a rental and owned property. Update this question and clarify that this is multifamily rental property. Question 20, would like to see this item have a follow up question to clarify if residents feel that there is too many large apartment buildings or single family homes. Question 22 to 30, add clarifying information regarding items parked in lawn. Question 34, update to clarify that the question should include garbage, recycling, compost and yard waste. City Manager Bourgeois stated that we want to get very detailed information to use when considering the upcoming Waste Management RFP, and find out specific issues and concerns that residents have regarding their current service. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 13, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 3 Question 37, should be plural. Question 50, further clarifying the question to make sure the community knows that the liquor store is a City business and that the profits directly benefit the City. Mayor Marquez Simula inquired about updating the name of the liquor stores to include Columbia Heights to instill community pride. Question 57 has a typo in "facilities" that needs to be corrected. Question 58/59 and 60, Councilmember Jacobs stated that she likes these questions. Question 70 needs to have the word "with" added. Question 82, Councilmember Buesgens asked for the addition of "used for" prior to soccer and football fields. Question 83, add ice-skating rinks to lists of amenities. Question 84, Councilmember Buesgens was glad that this item was added. Question 99, 100, 103 and 104, 105, City Manager Bourgeois inquired if these questions need to be included. She specifically inquired if 105 should reflect commuting or possibly retail services instead. Councilmember Jacobs feels that commuting is not something that can be controlled, but retail services and restaurants is a good follow up questions. Question 105, 106 and 107, 109, 110, Mr. Leatherman confirmed that 105 to 107 should come out, and 109 and 110 should stay. City Manager Bourgeois confirmed that we are not in a position to provide internet to everyone but the survey question is to quantify the need for people in the community and there are grants for getting this for residents. Question 115, would like to clarify that the question is in regards to the new website, and who has accessed the new updated website in last 4 months. Question 117, has a typo that needs to be updated. Councilmember Buesgens asked a follow up question regarding park amenities. Residents do inquire about additional amenities like skateboard parks. She also inquired about follow up questions regarding native prairie grass and dog parks / bike paths. She is curious about adding a question about programs available to home owners and renters. Mayor Marquez Simula asked if there were any questions regarding food insecurities. She was concerned that this was a question that the City cannot specifically address. City Manager Bourgeois responded that SACA has this information. There was a discussion regarding adding a question as to residents being aware that there is home energy City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 13, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 4 assistance, and sewer televising. She plans to follow up with Public Works Director if there are any other issues that could be included in the question about services. Mr. Leatherman gave follow up information about the timeline for completing the survey. He thinks the week of the 315t the work on completing the survey could begin. It could take two to three weeks to complete the survey with residents, and there would be results available in March. Councilmember Buesgens inquired about a smaller follow up survey with 10 to 20 questions that any resident can complete online. She also wants to make sure that there is a big push on social media and the website to make sure that the residents know to expect a call and complete the survey if they are contacted. City Manager Bourgeois stated that staff will make sure that we ask for residents to complete the information and that their input is needed. We will miss the newsletter timeframe, but we may do a newspaper ad, and a code red blast. Mayor Marquez Simula asked about using municipal parking ramp and making people aware of the parking in the area. Councilmember Jacobs was very excited about the sign and the updates. She inquired if there would be permitted parking for snow emergencies, and if permits would be issued to a household or a vehicle? City Manager Bourgeois stated that there are still some projects that need to be completed for the ramp and it will need to be discussed at an upcoming work session. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Marquez Simula adjourned the meeting at 5:26 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary