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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-2023 City Council Work Session Meeting Minutes CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula Councilmembers Connie Buesgens Kt Jacobs Rachel James Justice Spriggs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois Public Safety Bldg—Training Room, 825 41st Ave NE Monday, April 03, 2023 6:00 PM MINUTES The following are the minutes for the Work Session Meeting of the City Council held at 6:00 pm on Monday, April 3, in the Public Safety Training Room 825 41st Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Márquez Simula called the meeting to order at 5:35pm Present: Mayor Márquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens (arrived at 6pm); Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember James; Councilmember Spriggs Also Present: Lenny Austin, Police Chief; Kelli Bourgeois, City Manager; Renee Dougherty, Library Director; Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary; Tim Noll, Police Sgt; Matt Markham, Police Captain; Sulmaan Khan, Assistant City Engineer; Joe Kloiber, Finance Director; Dan O’Brien, Assistant Fire Chief; Charlie Thompson, Fire Chief. WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. De-Escalation Documentation Overview. Police Chief Austin introduced Sgt. Noll to the group. He recognized the work that he did on this project for his master’s degree. Officer Noll presented the information on the de- escalation program that the department is using. He stated that the data allows for the Department to have additional transparency for the community and training to maintain the culture of community policing. Councilmember James asked if adding “how much time to the form would be helpful” It was clarified that this is tracked on the report. Mayor Márquez Simula and Councilmember Buesgens discussed that this is a shift in thinking and the community will hopefully start to have a shift in thinking in the process that the police use. Sgt Noll stated that we are one of the agencies in the State of M innesota to be using this type of tracking. He hopes the data that he is able to collect will be valuable to other agencies as well as they start to utilize this type of information. 2. Police Vacation Accumulation Discussion. City Manager Bourgeois stated that she is looking for consensus from the Council on moving forward with this item that was briefly discussed with the Council at the last Council Corner meeting. Overall the City is looking to attract and retain officers to City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 2 Columbia Heights and to have a bank of vacation and sick time when they begin their tenure with the City. There is a draft MOU included in the packet that front loads a week of vacation for Officers. We would be rolling this out with our Police Officers first as we have not had any qualified candidates with our last two job postings. This would be something we would look to rolling out with our other employee groups if this was successful. Councilmember Buesgens inquired what the staffing was looking like with CSO’s. Captain Markham mentioned that many CSO’s want to be a part of culture change in policing. We are currently over staffed by one CSO, and they are very interested in the incentives that we are offering for reimbursement and retention programs. City Manager Bourgeois stated that the department is very committed to recruiting and retaining Officers by thinking outside the box. 3. Consideration of Amending the Library Meeting Room Usage Policy. Library Director Dougherty presented the information related to this topic to the Council and stated that the Library Board wants to keep the hours in alignment with the hours of the library, but to drop the fee. Mayor Márquez Simula clarified that the space is cleaned on a daily basis. She sees no difference between the history room and the community room. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she is concerned about scheduling and cleaning, and she is not in favor of dropping fees. She felt that the last council made this update to the policy with a lot of good discussion and thought. City Manager Bourgeois stated that there is a difference between library city services and renting the room as a service. There is an offer from the Lions to give a scholarship for community groups that cannot afford the space. She thinks that $25 is very reasonable to cover the wear on the building and janitorial services. Councilmember Spriggs feels that removing the fee is something that the Library Board has wanted to do for a long time. Councilmember James would like to see the space available as a “third space” and have the fees eliminated. Councilmember Buesgens would like the space to be available after hours and before hours, even if it is just still until 9pm. She would like to see the fees waved. She has concerns about the process for the Lions sponsoring space. She wants to move back to what the space looked like when it was first opened. Director Dougherty will take the issue of opening before and after hours back to the Library Board for their review. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 3 4. Financial Hurdles to Replacing the Public Works Building and Related Financial Matters. Finance Director Kloiber led the presentation on this item to the Council. He stated that unfortunately, many items have changed since some of the plans have been proposed related to the structural issues at the Public Works Building. There are concerns with inflation that need to be factored into the equation. We do not know th e exact amount of time that the building will be safe for the storage of vehicles. This project could be approximately 23 million dollars. He highlighted all of the great infrastructure items that the City has been able to achieve. He has received quotes related to borrowing, and borrowing at this rate is a twenty four percent tax increase on a fifteen-year bond. There will need to be further analysis of these numbers prior to the plan being put in place. Councilmember Buesgens clarified what the life of the floor would be. Director Hansen stated that there were repairs completed several years ago. The general estimate for the length of these repairs was 15 to 25 years. Mayor Márquez Simula clarified that there is no action that the Council can take at this time and that the information given by Director Kloiber was purely informational at this time. Buesgens asked if we can refinance if rates can go down in the future. She inquired about the cost of building the Public Safety Building, as well as potentially LGA money that will be coming to the City. She stated that there is one option of hope for funds from the State. She wants to know if this is a one bump of taxes or would this be every year. It is upsetting to her that the parks and Murzyn Hall will not be updated if we must do this repair. Councilmember James appreciated the information in a historical context. She also asked what portion of the State bonding bill this is requested from. Director Hansen stated that they will have more information when this prepared in eight to ten weeks and will have more information as to where this request falls specificly in the State bonding bill. 5. Board/Commission Ordinance Amendment Update. City Manager Bourgeois reviewed the final draft of the Ordinance Amendment with the Council. The first reading will be scheduled for April 24 th, and second reading for May 8th. There were no additional changes requested and the reading will proceed. 6. Sustainability Commission Draft Interview Questions. Assistant City Engineer Kahn lead the presentation on this item and his focus on the interview questions and the specificity. The council overall would like the questions to be less wordy, easier to understand, and less intimidating. They would like to see Question 2 and 5 combined and the volume of Question 1 reduced. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 4 Councilmember Buesgens and Spriggs would like personal experience and background related to sustainability incorporated into the question (i.e. your yard, research into the topic, education, volunteer experience). Councilmember Jacobs wants questions that find passion from potential sustainability commissioners. City Manager Bourgeois clarified that the sustainability questions will be used in June for interviews and reviewed at the next Work Session meeting. 7. Board/Commission Interview Process Recap / Interview Question Review. City Clerk Ion inquired about the items that the Council would like to see improvement on in updating the Interview Questions. Councilmember Buesgens does not like the repeat in things, from the application to the oral interview questions. Councilmember Buesgens especially did not like question one. Councilmember James wants to clarify what motivates people as well as their experience and background. She wants to keep question one, and to inquire what is particularly relevant to the Board or Commission. Mayor Márquez Simula feels that this is an ice breaker question. However, it could be rephased to capture more information in a more concise way. City Clerk Ion will make sure that the questions are simplified and made more concise. She will combine questions 1 and 3. She will reduce question 2 to “why did you apply”. She will work on capturing information from people in both an oral and written fashion utilizing the written application and the interview format. 8. Mayor’s Monarch Pledge a City-Sponsored Event. (Started with this item) City Manager Bourgeois introduced this item, and asked the Mayor to Speak about the event that she has developed. Mayor Márquez Simula would like this to be a City event that continues to have the same sponsorship opportunities that she has developed. She will work with Community Engagement Specialist Will Rottler to get this event ready as a City event for August 9th. Overall the cost of event is $2,000, she is positive that the same people would want to be involved on a volunteer and sponsorship level. Councilmember Jacobs had a question regarding if this would be included in the upcoming budget and if there would there be one in the future. City Manager Bourgeois stated that the City budget would cover Will’s time as well as Public Works time related to how other community events are executed. There would still be a large portion of volunteer positions that would need to be filled. Councilmember James is in support and is very much in favor of this becoming a City event and feels it is very generous of the Mayor to move the event to a City event. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 5 Councilmember Spriggs stated that he is also in favor. 9. Mission Statement and Strategic Plan Final Review. City Manager Bourgeois led the presentation on the final review of the mission statement. The packet contains the final copy, and the Council will adopt the statement and plan at the next Council meeting. Mayor Márquez Simula felt that part of the statement was clunky. She wanted to clarify “Build new and reinforce existing connections.” Jacobs likes the way the statement currently reads but likes clarifying and would like to add “ensure Columbia Heights is a Great Place for everyone.” Spriggs recommended “Strengthen” and further clarified “Build and Strengthen”. The final edits were made for the final cohesive statement for the upcoming Council meeting. 10. City Council Compensation. City Manager Bourgeois introduced the item for Council review. Currently the Council earns $7800, and the Mayor $14000 annually plus the same insurance benefits as all of the City full-time employees. The last time this was updated was in 2009. The additional insurance benefits this year equal $12,000 for a single employee or $16,000 for family. Staff completed a review of similar cities’ pay and benefits; and 4 of the 15 cities receive the same benefits as full-time staff, 9 of the 15 cities do not receive any benefits. The average annual base salaries for these cities’ Council were $10,767 and Mayor $14,609. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she does not want the insurance benefits eliminated until she is no longer on the Council. City Manager Bourgeois stated that if the council chooses to change compensation it does not go into effect until after the next election. She asked for direction leading into the next election. She recommended that an ordinance change be made this year. Councilmember James stated that she feels very well compensated, and that her concern was that we do not promote the health insurance component of the position. She feels that the position is out of step with inflation, and that it is out of date and clearly it is not as important as a new public works building. She is also concerned about the fact that there is no systematic review per the City Charter. She recommends a salary committee to independently review these things. She is concerned that the Council will trend towards white, older and wealthier. Councilmember Buesgens would like to see funds set aside for training and at tending the National League of Cities. We are not a full time Council and it is not something that can be compensated for in a manner that some people expect like Minneapolis. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 6 Councilmember Spriggs stated that there is an outside group that recommends salaries for government officials at a State level. Councilmember Jacobs would like to see an automatic cost of living increase. Mayor Márquez Simula feels like there is a stigma in asking for pay increases. There was just a pay study for the City, and there were many staff who received pay increases but there was nothing done for the Council. She feels that this is negligent for the City not to do this for the Council. Mayor 4 Year Term and Oversight of the Police Department. City Manager Bourgeois led the discussion on this item. She stated that a two-year term for a Mayor is not unheard of, however it is short. It is hard for staff to onboard a new Mayor in this short amount of time. In addition to this she would suggest that the Police Department management and oversight should be moved to the City Manager from the Mayor. The best way for the Council to hold the Police Chief accountable is to hold the City Manager Accountable. Councilmember James clarified that the next step wou ld be to have the Charter Commission take up these topics. City Manager Bourgeois clarified with the Council that they were all in support of her discussing these Charter amendments with the Charter Commission President and getting it to the Charter Commission for their review and approval for a unanimous Council vote. Council Coordinated Iftar. Councilmember James stated that there is a Iftar on Wednesday April 12th (Columbia Heights Mosque) if the Council would like to attend. She would like to see if the Council / City could host / support the cost of $1250 for an Iftar in the future. We could invite other elected officials to increase community engagement. Individuals are invited every single night at the Mosque regardless of if the event is sponsored by a community organization. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she felt that there is a bit of a conflict with sponsoring these events because of the expense and the concern that it would be over five dollars per person. She is concerned with holding one religion over another. Councilmember Jacobs is in support of attending, but she does not feel comfortable paying for the event with City funds. Mayor Márquez Simula felt that the item was not something that would be moving forward at this time but could discuss again in the future. Malcom Watson Bench. Councilmember Jacobs would like to proceed with a bench paid for by the City for Mr. Watson. She felt she was operating under good faith by bringing his item to the family. The City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 03, 2023 City Council Work Session Page 7 cost is $1500 plus staff time to install the bench. City Manager Bourgeois stated that she does not feel that there should be further commemoration for someone that was a staff member. There is already a plaque for a garden at Hussett park commemorating his service, and this was paid for by Gary Peterson. Mayor Márquez Simula would like to see a continuation of the bench in memorial program, where family members pay to have it installed. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Márquez Simula adjourned the meeting at 9:25pm. Respectfully Submitted, ______________________________________ Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary