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Home My WebLink AboutSP January 13, 1976 CITY 01 ANDOVER SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING - JANUARY 13, 1976 MINUTES A Special City Council Meeting for the purpose of discussing employee replacement, was called to order by Mayor Richard J. Schneider, 7:35 P. M., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard N. W., Anoka, Minnesota. Councilpersons present: Holasek, Rither, Vander Laan, Windschitl Councilpers Ons absent : None Also present: City Administrator, Norman Werner; City Clerk, Patricia K. Lindquist; and City Building Inspector, James E. Thur ston. Agenda Approval MOTION by VanderLaan, seconded by Rither, to approve the agenda to include only Item No. 1 (Employee Replacement); and after completion of discussion, the Council will decide on what other items to take up. Mayor Schneider stated that Item No.6 (Use of City Hose) was very important and needed action tonight. Councilperson Rither read the motion passed unanimously at the Januar~ 6, 1976 Meeting, which stated that this meeting was to only contain the question of administrative staff. Councilperson Windschitl stated that the agenda must re approved at this time per the "By-Laws". Motion withdrawn. MOTIONby VanderLaan, seconded by Rither, to approve only Item No) 1 (Employee Replacement. Councilperson Holasek objected in that if the diJcussion on Item No. 1 ended quickly, no other business could be handled. Vote: Yes - Schneider, Rither, VanderLaan, Windschitl; No _ Holasek. Motion carri~d. Employee Replacement After some dlscussion it was agreed that the Council first must establish whether an additiona1employee was needed at this time; and the possibility of re-working the present staff insofar as duties for the Building Inspector and Admini~rator. The emPloyel structure of the City of Ramsey, ie., Mr. Walker carried\the titles anddulies of Assistant Administrator, Clerk/Treasurer, Ordinanc~' Enforcer, Assistant As essor/.Building Inspector; with an additional Building Inspector/Assessor, . D.p"" el1:'IT...."... . M."".=n.. S"p'."..nd... .nd .m". =d.. ,..I-Hm. girl to aid in the assessing and Building !inspection Thpartment bookwork', with a consulting A ministrator w / secretary was discussed. It was noted that Ramsey had a population similar to Andover, however, they did not have the improvement , projects as did Andover. I I Special City L.vuncil Meeting - 1/13/76 Minutes - Page 2 Employee Replacement (continued) Councilperson Rither stated that it would be a definite economy measure, which was of the utmost concern in view of the new budget shortages, and inasmuch as he did not feel that the Administrator was being utilized to get full value for the City, that the City consider not having a full-time Administrator and suggested the following alternatives: Alternative A - 8 staff members I. Administrator lRoad Supervisor / Zoning Enforcer 2. Building Official/Assessor 3. Assistant Building Inspector/Assessor/Shade Tree CO:ltrol 4, Clerk/Treasurer 5, Deputy Clerk/Treasurer 6. Clerical I 7. Clerical II 8. Maintenance Man/Weed Inspector Alternative B - 7 staff members I. Administrator / Building Official 2. Building Inspector/Assessor/Road Supervisor 3. Maintenance Man/Weed and Tree Inspector 4. Clerk/Treasurer 5. Deputy Clerk/Treasurer 6. Clerical I 7. Clerical II , I Duties as performed by the Administrator with reference to those duties assumed , to be executed when the position was created and the Administrator engaged, were discussed at length. Also covered was the expected increase in workload with the , onset of the improvement projects requiring additional inspections, and the newly , established energy requirements again requiring additional inspections. The economi~ benefits to the City of each alternate was discussed ascpposed to the present staff situation, both with regard to the Administrator and as a total. MOTION by ~indSChit1, seconded by Holasek, to include in the Administrator's duties, those lof Road Supervisor, Zoning Administrator, and Supervisor of Maintenance. Review of the required hours in the Inspectional Department indicated that this are still had an overload. Mentioned was the possibility of leaving the assessing under outsidecontract. Note was made of the benefits received by having this done "in housf"; and the fact that the City did have a Certified Assessor on the staff. Motion withdrawn. Special City Council Meeting - 1/13/76 Minutes - Page 3 Employee Replacement (continued) MOTION by Holasek, seconded by Schneider, to assign to the Administrator, the additional duties of Zoning Administrator, Road Supervisor, and Supervisor of Maintenance Man; promote James Thurston to the position of Building Official, with the stipulation that he become certified within a reasonable length of time, and only to include building inspection duties-not assessing; do not fill the position of Building Inspector at the present time; keep the present Maintenance Man, and add Tree and Weed Inspector and other duties that the Administrator feels necessary to delegate to him; and leave the clerical help as they are now. Discussion On the overloading of the Inspection Department and the utilization of Mr. Thurston as City Assessor. Vote: Yes - Schneider, Holasek; No _ Rither, Winds chitl, VanderLaan. Motion defeated. Councilperson Rither stated that he did not feel that this proposal would not utilize the staff to the fullest- not the right combinations. Councilperson Windschitl noted that he opposed the proposal inasmuch as he felt the Inspection Department was not being covered properly, and that he did not feel it to be realístic to appoint someone to al position before they were qualífied. I MOTION by YanderLaan, seconded by Rither, that the City Council accept "Alternate B" establishing the following positions: I' I. Administrator/Building Official/Road Supervisor/Zoning Administrator 2. Building Inspector / As se s sor 3. Maintenance Per son/ Weed Ins pector / Tree Inspector 4. All c~erical positions to remain as is. Vote: Yes - Rither, VanderLaan; No - Schneider, Holasek, Windschitl. Motion defeated. Discussion on the earlier proposal to hire an administrator with engineering I background, and action following prior to the establíshment of the present City Administrator position. MOTION by Rither, seconded by VanderLaan, that on an interim basis, the City Administrator be assigned the duties of Road Supervisor, and that James Thurs on continue to be assigned the duties of Building Inspector. Ordinance No. 31 statesl that the Administrator is responsible for enforcing ordinances. Motion carriJd unanimously. MOTION by ~ither, seconded by VanderLaan, that the City Council meet on January 15 (a:nended to February 2, 1976) at the Andover City Hall for the express purpose of discussing, reviewal and consideration of the City Staff _namely the City Administrator, and related duties and how it relates to the other staff positions. Special City C, .ilcil Meett..g - 1/13/76 Minutes _ Page 4 Employee Replacement (continued) Rither motion (continued) _ In addition, the questions will be raised.D..is the position that was created providing the optimum return in benefits to the City of Andover. The City Council requests the Administrator provide us with a recapitulation of the activities in which he is engaged on a day to day basis, and the approximate expenditure of effort to those duties so we may have some idea of the spread of the work that is accomplished. Motion carried unanimously. Suspension of Rules MOTION by Windschitl, seconded by Rither, that the "Rules be Suspended" and that an additional 10 minutes be spent on other items of business. Motion carried unanimously. Deputy Clerk/Treasurer.- MOTION by Windschitl, seconded by Holasek, to appoint Janett Eveland as Deputy Clerk/Treasurer. Motion carried unanimously. Ordinance 26A I MOTION by Rither, seconded by Windschitl, to adopt Ordinance 26A, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 26, Combining the Offices of Clerk/Treasurer for the City of Andover, and Providing for an Annual Audit. Motion carried unanimously. , I Public Property for Private Use I Mayor Schneider reiterated, at the request of the Council, action preceding the , letting out of the City riEk hose to a resident to flood a rink on private property. th UÞt:'f. ð It was noted at severa IIC ildren would be using this rink, however, the Policy Staterrient from the City Administrator in September, 1975, stated that , City property: could not be used for private use, and all borrowing must be approved by ;be Assistant Administrator. Mayor Schneider informed the Council that he had c6ntacted the City Attorney in this regard, and was told that there was no violation in permitting Mr. Carlson to use the hose. Discussed wa1s 1) Violation of the Administrator's Statement (Exhibit "A", attached), and 2) the pr'oblems that could arise relative to what could be loaned out and to whom. It was agreedl that inasmuch as the Administrator drew up the policy, he would , be responsible for enforcing same and deciding the disposition of the matter. Adjournment MOTION by yanderLaan, secnnded by Rither, to adjourn. Vote: Yes - Rither, VanderLaan, Holasek; No,- Schneider, Windschitl. Motion carried. t tin:~ou (}f/"~ PKL