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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP January 10, 1989 .~ d ~~ CITY of ANDOVER ,;. ,., Special City Council Meeting - January 10, 1989 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Accept Resignation/M. Perry 3. Swearing-in Ceremony 4. Fire Marshal Discussion 5. Goals & Objectives for 1989 staffing & Salaries 6. Building Permit Fees 7. CDBG Budget 8. Water Tower & Treatment 9. Adjournment <.,... "(i\ Y ï'\.. CITY of ANDOVER \.: ",em em eOUNen N"UNO - JANUARY 10, 1989 - "'NO'"~ A Special Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor James Elling at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 10, 1989 at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard N.W., Andover, MN. Councilmembers Present: Knight, Jacobson, Orttel, Perry Councilmembers Absent: None Also Present: James Schrantz, City Administrator; Bob Palmer, Fire Chief; Shirley Clinton, City Treasurer; Frank Stone, Public Works Supervisor; Dave Almgren, Build- ing Official; others Agenda Approval Mayor Elling suggested that the agenda be amended as follows: Add Items 6.a., Appointment of Acting Mayor and 6.e., Appoint Special/Standing Committees. He also suggested that Item 5, Staffing and Salaries be moved to the end of the agenda and that Item 8, Water Tower and Treatment be omitted. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Knight to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried. Accept Resignation/M. Perry MOTION by Knight, seconded by Orttel to accept the resignation of Marjorie Perry from the planning and Zoning Commission. Motion carried. Swearing-in Ceremony City Administrator James Schrantz swore in Majorie Perry as Councilmember to fill the vacancy created by Mayor Elling. Fire Marshal Discussion Mayor Elling explained that one of the reasons for having a part time Fire Marshal is so that fire inspections can be done during business hours rather than in the evenings. There is $17,000 in the budget for this position. Councilman Jacobson asked if this position would be a Fire Department position or a city employee. Mayor Elling noted that it would be a city employee and that Mr. Schrantz should write a job description for the position. He also noted that the Fire Department bylaws need to be amended. Councilman Orttel also noted that it would be a half time position at 20 hours per week. Special City Council Meeting January 10, 1989 - Minutes Page 2 (Fire Marshal Discussion, cont.) Councilman Orttel noted that it would be a half time position at 20 hours per week. Discussion continued on whether this position would be accountable to the Fire Department or the City administration with Mayor Elling stating that if it's a Fire Department position we could be sending someone to school every two years as it's an elected position. Councilmember Perry asked what other functions the Fire Marshal could perform if Council authorizes 20 hours per week. Fire Chief Palmer noted that it all depends on what needs to be done. It was suggested that this position be under the supervision of the Building Department. Chief Palmer noted that in other cities the position is under the Fire Department. Mr. Schrantz asked how many of the people who signed up for the Fire Marshal position are qualified. Mr. Palmer felt that they are all very knowledgable; however, Joyce Noyes has the most schooling for the job. Mr. Schrantz noted that previously Council discussed other duties Ray Sowada could perform if he were the person selected, such as code enforcement. If somene else had the position, they might only want to work 20 hours per week. Councilman Orttel asked if it would be acceptable to have a half time person as a city employee and half time as Fire Marshal. Mr. Stone stated that it is not acceptable to him as he needs people who are going to be there fulltime. Councilman Jacobson asked about job sharing with our Fire Marshal also working for other cities. Mr. Palmer thought there might be a legal liability with our Fire Marshal going to other cities. Mr. ortte1 also felt that other cities might not want an outsider doing their inspections. Glen Smith, Assistant Fire Chief, felt that for at least a year that person is going to have more than enough to do here. We're lacking in a lot of areas such as hazardous material. Councilman Orttel stated that we need to set a position, set the salary, change the bylaws and once this is finala1ized, the individuals involved could be discussed. Mayor Elling suggested that the Fire Department set the education requirements for the position and also select the person and bring their recommendations to the Council. _.. Special City Council Meeting January 10, 1989 - Minutes Page 3 (Fire Marshal Discussion, cant. ) MOTION by Knight, seconded by Orttel to approve the position of Fire Marshal to a maximum of 20 hours per week; the salary to be determined by the personnel committee; a job description to be drawn up by the Fire Chief and City Administrator and that two candidates be recommended for the position by the Fire Department on a rating basis with candidates one and two to be presented to the Council at the first meeting in February. Also, that this be a permanent parttime position answerable to the City Administrator during the day and the Fire Chief at other times. Motion carried unanimously. Building Permit Fees Building Official Dave Almgren explained that the purpose of this is to begin using the 1985 fee schedule for building permits. At the present time we are using the 1982 fee schedule along with Ham Lake and East Bethel. Anoka, Blaine, Champlin and Coon Rapids are using the 1985 schedule. The ci ties all try to keep their rates the same. He noted that the fee schedule is part of the building code and that a city can charge more than the fee schedule listed in that code. At the present time, the plan check fee is $20.00 for residential permits, but the State is recommending that we charge 65%. Councilmember Perry noted that Andover has many more fees that are assessable than other cities. She asked if it would be possible to eliminate some of those other fees that are currently being charged if we increase building permit fees. Mr. Almgren didn't feel we could eliminate other fees because there are separate permits required, such as for a "footing to grade" permit. Councilman Jacobson asked if it would be possible to charge just one fee for the building permit which would include the plumbing, heating and other permits that are required. Councilman Orttel felt that we couldn't do that because the plumbers, heating contractors and other contractors need to come in to get their permits. Mayor Elling noted that the only concern he has is that the Park Board is thinking about raising the park dedication fees and he didn't want to discourage development. Councilman Jacobson asked if the reason for this is to make more money. Mr. Almgren explained that it is to get in line with what other cities are doing. Councilmember Perry asked why Blaine and Coon Rapids went to the 1985 schedule. Mr. Almgren noted that Coon Rapids did it to fund another attorney and a secretary. .. Special City Council Meeting January 10, 1989 - Minutes Page 4 (Building Permit Fees, Con t. ) Councilman Knight asked that if we raise the fee schedule we should remove some of the other fees. Mayor Elling asked how this affects commercial building permits. Mr. Almgren explained that the fees for commercial permits are based on the contract price. Mr. Schrantz stated that if we don't raise these fees then we won't be able to do some of the other things we might want to do. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Knight that the Council take the present UBC which is $433 per house and for 1989 index that by the rate of inflation (4%) and every year thereafter on December 31st, index that by the CPI to agree with the national rate of inflation. (See R002-89) Discussion: Councilman orttel stated that before 12 months passes, we're going to be in dire straits for city funding. The one justification he can see is that it's a one time thing. A lot of cities subsidize their building departments and it won't be long before we end up subsidizing ours. Therefore, Mr. Orttel felt that it's probably reasonable to raise these fees. Mayor Elling noted that Council is in agreement that we should raise the fees but not as much as has been proposed. Mr. Almgren suggested that we go 50%. Councilman Jacobson withdrew his motion and Councilman Knight withdrew his second. Councilmember Perry felt that if we go with the 1985 UBC she would like to look at eliminating some of our other fees, such as the Certificate of Occupancy and Plan Check fees. She noted that the cities that are using the 1985 UBC have eliminated some fees. Mr. Almgren stated that we could start charging for reinspections, which is something that is allowed but we have never done. MOTION by Jacobson that we adopt for the year 1989 the 1982 UBC permit fee schedule plus $100 effective January 1 and then on January 1, 1990 go to the current UBC 1985 schedule. Motion dies for lack of a second. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Knight to authorize staff to prepare a resolution to adopt the policy of the difference between the UBC 1982 rate and the 1985 rate and that 50%, the difference between the two, be the rate for 1989. Motion carried unanimously. .,.- Special City Council Meeting January 10, 1989 - Minutes Page 5 CDBG Budget Councilman Orttel asked what the human resources departments are that are requesting funds. Jay Blake, City Planner, noted that they are Rise, Inc. , Alexandra House and Mediation Services. He noted that we should use a specific dollar amount and request applications from the agencies requesting funds. Councilman Knight felt that we should look at the efficiency ratings of some of the agencies. Mr. Blake explained that the funds can be used for human service programs that serve lower income individuals; economic develop- ment; planning purposes for the community; physical facilities for handicapped people; purchase of land for parks, etc. Mayor Elling noted that our Capital Improvements plan needs to be redone along with the Comprehensive plan. He felt that we could use CDBG funds for these items. Councilman orttel suggested reserving some of the money for the purchase of the junkyards. Mr. Blake also noted that we are required to have a public hearing and at that time we have to open up for public comment what our plans are for the money. Councilman Orttel felt that we should use a certain percentage for human services and the residue for other purposes. Council- man Jacobson agreed, suggesting 30% for human services and 70% for planning. Mayor Elling asked Mr. Blake to put something together for the next meeting. Goals and Obiectives for 1989 Staffing & Salaries Mr. Schrantz explained that last summer Todd Haas was going to leave and Daryl Morey left and the Council said that they would like to become competitive. Also, our benefits are falling behind what other communities are paying. Mayor Elling asked how much money is in the budget for this. Mr. Schrantz noted that when we started the budget there was enough money for his proposal, but a lot of it was taken out for other things. There is $21,300 left for salaries. Frank Stone, Public Works Supervisor, noted that he surveyed the supervisors in other cities and they are only supervising two or three departments and Mr. Stone is supervising thirteen. At the present time he is supervising 16 people and it gets to be a lot of time. Councilman Orttel asked how many dollars it will take to bring these salaries up. Councilman Jacobson noted that if we need .... Special City Council Meeting January 10, 1989 - Minutes Page 6 (Staffing and Salaries, Cont. ) $21,000 for salaries and $12,000 for benefits, you only will end up with $10,000 and that is not enough to do what you want. Mayor Elling asked if Ginny VanVleet's position in the building department should be full time. Mr. Almgren stated it should not be full time. Mayor Elling then asked if Charlene We1u's position should be fulltime. Shirley Clinton, Treasurer, noted that she needs a full time person either above or below her and she also needs Charlene. Mayor Elling felt that they should sit down and see what we need for people. He also stated that we need to figure out where we're going to get the money. Mr. Schrantz noted that he gave the Council several ways to get the money such as raising the building permit fees and raising the administrative costs for improvement projects. Mr. Schrantz also explained that another problem staff has is credibility with the Council. We waste a lot of time doing things over and over again. He then noted that $37,200 is what is needed to bring the salaries up and this does not include his salary or the public works people. Counci1member Perry asked if we could get all of these numbers on paper for the meeting on the 17th. Jack MCKelvey suggested that the Council wait until the union contract is settled before giving raises. Councilman Orttel asked that Mr. Schrantz put together the exact cost of all employee raises, the overhead with medical benefits and where the money is coming from. Apointment of Acting Mayor MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by perry to appoint Mike Knight to the position of Acting Mayor. Motion carried. Appoint Special/Standing Committees Mayor Elling suggested the following committees: Road Committee- Marge Perry and Jim Elling as Chairman; Community Develobment Committee - Don Jacobson and Mike Knight as Chairman; pu lie Safety - Ken ortte1 and Jim Elling as Chairman; Personnel - Mike Knight and Don Jacobson as Chairman; Hazardous Waste - Marge Perry and Ken Orttel as Chairman. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Knight to accept the above names for appointment to the committees. Motion carried unanimously. MOTION by Jacobson, seconded by Knight to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:20 P.M. M,tù-SUbmitted' ic i Volk Acting Secretary