League of Women Voters

Jane McWilliams, LWV Observer

All members were present except Councilor Jim Pokorney.

First on the agenda was the report of the city’s safety center space needs group led by Wold Architects & Engineers, a consulting firm. The core-planning group included the interim city administrator, police and fire chief and other staff. Wold representative John McNamara explained the study design.

The group examined the condition of the present facility and projected it would cost $3,268,700 to correct the present problems. These changes would not address the space needs identified by the fire and the police departments, estimated to be 39,362 square feet.

The report identified 3 potential sites for consideration:  the current site; the MNDOT site at the corner of Highway 3 and Woodley Street; and a site further south on Highway 3 and the rodeo grounds on Highway 3. Several building options were suggested including retrofitting the existing site for police only and constructing a fire station at the Woodley site; constructing a combined public facility at the Woodley site and constructing a combined site at the Highway 3 site.

The report presented a potential schedule for designing and constructing facilities – roughly two years in length.  The council asked about the best location of the fire department to assure quick response time, and Walinski said while it is an inexact science, location affects insurance rates. He remarked that the present facility is actually in the center of town! According to the police and fire chiefs a combined facility has efficiency benefits, as does developing a regional facility. The council agreed that that a combined facility should be explored.

The council will appoint a committee, recruited and led by the chief of police and Wold representative McNamara, with Councilors Kris Vohs and Jon Denison serving as council “champions”. They will have 60-90 days for their work. Vohs noted it would be good to include a “PR type person. Local media can help with recruiting.” This group will design a plan for gathering additional information and report back to the council the results of their analysis. Pownell stated that this is more of an educational than a study committee.

Community Development Director Brian O’Connell reviewed the steps taken which have resulted in an “Orderly Annexation Agreement in Principle”.  With the assistance of the law firm  Flaherty and Hood, a formal draft was presented to the Supervisors for their signature. O’Connell expects this will be completed sometime this month. In February, the council will approve it and the annexation request is then forwarded to the Minnesota Boundary Adjustment Board.

Significant features of the agreement include:  city reimbursement to the Township for 5 years of the amount of tax revenue the township would have collected annually and in the 6th year, a “balloon” payment equal to 20 years of the average tax payments during the previous 5.  The total cost to the city is estimated to be $100,000. The agreement, which spans 25 years, also provides for road maintenance, zoning authority and future annexation. The council noted the clause providing that the city has reserved the possibility to have up to 20% of the developable area in residential development. Councilor Betsey Buckheit said that this is a good feature, that while it won’t be needed now and there is no obligation to create housing, in 25 years, it might be needed. Councilor Rhonda Pownell complimented the staff on the diplomatic way it had handled the annexation negotiations process.

Meanwhile, the Economic Development, assisted by the law firm Campbell & Knutson, has been working with the landowners on an agreement which outlines the responsibilities of the landowners once the annexation is complete.  The staff summarized the base content of the agreement in the packet information: The city will not fund the cost of installing infrastructure without recovering costs and standard development fees and water and sewer charges must be paid prior to or as part of the development process; the council must approve a master plan guiding the development of the property.  Certain features are enumerated including:  consistency with the 2008 Comprehensive Plan; land uses limited to those accessory to primary principle use – business and industrial park;  there must be a mix of land uses; and the plan must show phasing of how and when development will occur.  O’Connell said the cost of designing the plan has been borne by the EDA. If the city and the landowners cannot agree on a plan, the city then will have annexed agricultural land into the corporate limits and has ultimate jurisdiction over future use.

The council had a difficult discussion on the next item. Just prior to the discussion, Human Resources Department Manager Elizabeth Wheeler distributed a sheet for council consideration which had not been in the packet. It outlined three options for the hiring of a city administrator.  They were:  extending the current situation, with Interim Administrator Joel Walinski serving; offering the position of permanent administrator to him; or, initiating a full search.  Walinski noted that in the capacity of interim, he is reluctant to make significant changes in staffing. This could create instability if he were to leave later and another person comes in and create another reorganization. Finance Director Kathleen McBride urged stability, reminding the council that there will be serious decisions ahead with the anticipated legislative funding decisions. Councilor Denison stressed the importance of making a decision “before the economy takes this out of our hands.”

Mayor Mary Rossing asked staff what kind of direction was needed and asked council to list what they consider to be important qualifications and skills for city administrator adding that the question of stability should be considered as well. The discussion became sidetracked with several councilors offering what was instead a performance review of Walinski. Rossing redirected the discussion to her original charge. As new councilors, Buckheit and Zweifel acknowledged that they didn’t feel ready yet to say what is needed for the position.  Pownell said she’d like someone with vision, people skills and compassion, but that she is not ready to jump into the process.

Wheeler noted that a 12-month contract for an interim could be designed with review points along the way, along with the understanding that at an agreed time, the council would initiate a search. Pownell said she was not ready for this yet to agree on a contract. Buckheit remarked that a contract for a year would provide stability. Finally, the council agreed to take this matter up at their next work session (January 26) and that the staff should provide a current job description and a sample contract.

In addition to backup material for the safety center discussion, and the annexation process, the packet included a list of the 19 city boards and commissions on which councilors serve as liaisons and her recommendations for appointments.  Some adjustments were agreed to, but it is clear that each councilor is committing to many hours of service in addition to the weekly council meetings.