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Thursday, January 4, 2018
Agenda
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What was on the agenda.
Packet
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The supporting materials council reviewed.
One-line summary
At the January 4, 2018 City Council workshop, Nowthen discussed planning items, 2040 open house materials, official newspaper concerns, road overlay feasibility reports and assessments, capital funds, fire-service billing, COLA timing, and clerk hiring, with no formal votes recorded in the provided transcripts.
15 items as recorded in the minutes, each with a plain-English summary of what was at issue.
1Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance
The workshop opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and was identified as a City Council workshop on Thursday, January 4, 2018.
Workshop opening; no formal action recorded in the transcript.
2Planning and zoning item: Jarvis Street road easement and subdivision findings
The council reviewed a planning and zoning item involving soil borings, flood protection elevations, and a change to findings of fact to require dedication of road easement for Jarvis Street before the item returned for formal action.
The council reviewed a planning and zoning item that had been waiting on soil borings and elevation information. Staff said flood-protection and lowest-floor information was satisfactory, recommended replacing one finding with a requirement to dedicate 33 feet of road easement for Jarvis Street, and noted the formal decision would occur the following Tuesday.
The transcript says the formal decision would be on Tuesday, not at this workshop.
32040 comprehensive plan open house materials
The council discussed final display details for a Monday open house on draft 2040 land use planning, including possible commercial and industrial expansion areas, traffic maps, and whether to distribute reduced-size copies.
The council prepared for a Monday open house on the draft 2040 plan. Members discussed showing land-use maps with possible commercial and industrial expansion areas, aerial and traffic maps, and decided it was better not to distribute small copies of maps while the plan was still changing.
The council gave informal direction for the open house; no formal vote was recorded.
4Code enforcement update
Code enforcement was briefly updated, with staff noting a few items to address after the holidays and that one situation appeared under control.
Brief update only; no formal action recorded.
5Consent agenda and financial report items
Under consent agenda and financial-report discussion, the council was told that a light-duty rescue truck had been purchased and that the recycling center was nearly complete; garage-door repairs were also discussed.
Workshop discussion of consent/financial items; no formal vote recorded.
6Resolution designating official newspaper
The council discussed the official newspaper resolution, including costs charged by the Union Herald compared with the Record and concerns about whether the paper covered city issues constructively or thoroughly.
The council discussed whether to keep the same official newspaper. Members balanced the lower cost of the Record against concerns that the city’s official newspaper had not covered major land-use issues or positive city events well, and discussed submitting city-written articles to improve coverage.
The discussion identified cost and coverage concerns; no formal vote was recorded in the workshop transcript.
7Responsible authority, commissions, and committee liaison discussion
The council discussed liaison assignments to committees, including a request to serve as liaison for the Road and Bridge Committee and the idea of asking committees for feedback on council liaisons.
Workshop discussion only; no formal action recorded.
8Other commission and annual event items
The council briefly discussed annual permissions or reports related to city activities, including a fish tank use, city planning/commissions, and the ice fishing contest.
The transcript is unclear, but no formal action was recorded.
9Pinnacle Lake Estates feasibility report
The council reviewed a feasibility report for a Pinnacle Lake Estates overlay project, including driveway treatment, shoulders, estimated project cost, possible financing methods, and special-assessment hearing timing.
The council reviewed a two-mile, two-inch overlay feasibility report for Pinnacle Lake Estates. The estimate was $146,500, with a possible $2,930 per-unit assessment if the city paid 50 percent, but members wanted more information on financing costs and whether to use local bank financing or a larger bond approach before calling hearings.
The council discussed financing and hearing timing, with no final action recorded in the workshop transcript.
10Old Viking Boulevard feasibility report
The council reviewed the Old Viking Boulevard feasibility report, including the proposed overlay width, street approaches, aggregate shoulders, ditch conditions, parcels to assess, possible Green Acres deferrals, tax-exempt properties, and whether to study paving the Fort Brooke cul-de-sac while the project is underway.
The council reviewed the Old Viking Boulevard overlay, discussed reducing the width to 22 feet, adding approach overlays, parcel-by-parcel assessment questions, possible Green Acres deferrals, tax-exempt or religious/cemetery properties, and whether Fort Brooke should be paved while equipment was nearby. Members asked for more information before finalizing the feasibility work.
The council identified questions for further work and possible Tuesday direction; no formal action was recorded at the workshop.
11Funding capital improvement funds
The council discussed setting up capital-improvement funds for buildings, parks equipment, technology, digitization, road improvements, and road equipment, while asking the treasurer to evaluate effects on reserves before action in February.
The council discussed creating or funding building, parks equipment, technology, digitization, road improvement, and road equipment funds using current cash and a 2016 road-fund remainder. The treasurer cautioned about maintaining at least six months of reserves, and the matter was expected to return after financial review.
The expected next step was to direct the treasurer to investigate and bring the matter back; no formal workshop vote recorded.
12Hockey rink cost reporting
The council discussed whether hockey rink costs should be reported quarterly or only during seasons with activity, with members noting that tracking costs was reasonable but the reporting frequency needed clarification.
The council discussed tracking hockey rink costs. Members agreed that cost tracking was reasonable, but questioned whether quarterly reports made sense when there is no rink activity during parts of the year.
The council discussed bringing the topic forward; no formal action recorded at the workshop.
13Fire and emergency service billing policy
The council discussed whether the city should continue billing residents for fire and emergency service calls, including possible exceptions for illegal burns, uninsured or improper commercial uses, fire insurance reimbursement, and medical calls.
The council discussed whether residents should continue to be billed for emergency-service calls. Members raised concerns that billing can discourage residents from calling, while also discussing possible billing for illegal burns, improper business uses, commercial risks, and insurance reimbursements.
The action discussed was to authorize a later, focused discussion; no workshop vote was recorded.
14Cost-of-living adjustment review schedule
The council discussed setting a schedule for staff to gather surrounding-city cost-of-living adjustment information by October and for the council to decide by the first November meeting whether to approve an increase.
The council discussed a process for cost-of-living adjustment decisions. The idea was to have staff gather surrounding-city information by the October meeting, discuss it then, and decide at the first November meeting whether to approve an increase.
Direction for a later process was discussed; no formal vote recorded at the workshop.
15Clerk salary range and hiring authority
The council discussed the clerk position salary range and hiring process after receiving 12 applications, with discussion of applicant current wages, requested wages, and whether the interview team could negotiate outside the existing range for the right candidate.
The council discussed the clerk hiring process after receiving 12 applications. Members considered whether the interview team should have flexibility to negotiate and recommend a final offer above the existing range if a strong candidate required it.
The transcript records discussion of interview-team authority and salary range; no formal vote was recorded in the workshop transcript.
Documents and recordings archived for this meeting, when available.
City Council Workshop — 2018 01-04 Workshop Approved (2018-01-04)
Minutes · Thursday, January 4, 2018
5 pages
City Council Workshop — 2018 01-04 Workshop Minutes (2018-01-04)
Minutes · Thursday, January 4, 2018
5 pages
Meeting recording
YouTube
Transcript · 516 segments · 1:36:15
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