Kathryn Summa, LWV Observer
All city council members present; all newly elected council members in audience.
After the Roll Call, the agenda was amended to include two discussion items, and then approved.
Minutes of three meetings were presented, November 3, 10, and 17, and approved with one unanimous vote.
Councilor Dixon Bond then declared that he intended to step down to allow newly elected council member Rhonda Pownell to assume that seat, the 2-year , At -Large position vacated by Noah Cashman last July. Immediately following was the Resolution 2008-141, which declared a vacancy to exist, and appointing Rhonda Pownell to fill that vacancy. The packet information submitted by City Clerk Deborah Little, contained an opinion as to the Charter Section 3.5 which deals with vacancies. Although not credited to the City Attorney in the packet, Maren Swanson spoke to the issue in comment on this item.
Resolution 2008-141 Vote: All Aye.
Ms. Pownell was sworn in by the City Clerk immediately after the adoption of the resolution, and will be sworn in again in January as the newly elected councilperson.
Open Mic: Judy Dirks (Human Rights Commission) spoke to last year’s council appearance of a group of Hmong students who asked the Council to support the public outrage resulting from the desecration of Hmong graves in Thailand. Ms. Dirks asked the Council for continuing support on this issue by attending a reception and lecture next week hosted by Senator M. Moua with the participation of a representative from the United Nations.
Consent Agenda : There were 7 items on the consent agenda including the previously removed item, re: the Water Division’s proposed cold storage building (see last week’s report). Perhaps the most important was item #2, “Approve Fiscal Year 2009 CDBG Grant Application”. In past years the Community Block development Grant Funds, which are Federal funds coming to Northfield through Dakota County, have had diverse uses; supporting the Historic District, and the NCRC, as well as some Housing and Redevelopment Authority programs. These funds, totaling approximately $73,000, will be allocated solely to the HRA this year to support three of their housing programs.
Public Hearings: Item #8 on the agenda was the first of two Public Hearings: “Public hearing on the 2009 Budget and 2008/payable 2009 Property Tax Levy”.
Interim City Administrator Joel Walinski turned this presentation over to Kathleen MacBride, the City’s Finance Director, who gave a power point presentation to clarify the purpose of the public hearing as well as selected information on the proposed tax levy. This public hearing is to solicit public input relevant to the tax levy only, and is not intended for public comment on property tax evaluations which is a function of Rice County.
The total proposed 2009 levy in its final form increases by $363,505, or 6.25%; $90,388 less than first approved by the Council in September. The projected tax rate for 2009 is an increase of 4.27% over the 2008 rate, again down from the initially approved September rate of 5.8%.
The General Fund Budget initially projected a shortfall of nearly 800,000 but has been balanced by two rounds of internal cuts. The budgets for the City’s major capital needs funds (Transportation, Parks, City Facilities , and Vehicle Replacement) remain flat in 2009.
The future could look somewhat bleak; levy limits remain in place through 2011. Northfield’s state aid equals 27% of the General Fund , keeping Northfield vulnerable to further cuts in Local Gov’t Aid. With the state facing a budget shortfall, more LGA reductions to Northfield will necessitate cuts to the City’s core services, which affect service to the public.
The second Public Hearing , item # 9(a&b), dealt with the “Vacation of Drainage and Utility Easements for the Gleason Second Addition” and the “First reading of Ordinance 886″.
The Community Development Director, Brian O’Connell, gave a brief history of the ongoing development of this property, stating that the first reading of the enabling ordinance (not usually done on the same night as the public hearing) was an effort to move the project along in a customer friendly process. C. Arnie Nelson stated twice that new easements needed to be accepted, with a final plat, before the old easements were taken off the property, feeling it was not clearly enough stated on the ordinance 886 language. C. Nelson was assured by the City Attorney that the process would be correct, and Staff would not let Council proceed with a second reading of the ordinance without perfect language.
Vote : All Aye.
Regular Agenda: Item # 10: Resolution 2008-146 “Award the Sale of G.O. Bonds for 5th/Water St. Reconstruction” . Mark Ruff, of Ehlers Associates, financial consultants to the City, presented to the Councilors. The bonds will total $1, 530,000 and exist until 2020. They will be paid back by a combination of TIF funds, storm water fees, special assessments to property owners, and a portion of the 2010 tax levy. Ehlers Associates received 4 bids for the bonds, and Mr. Ruff commented that a ‘benefit’ of the credit crisis is the increased placement of dollars in municipal bonds.
Vote: All Aye.
The added Discussion items were then begun:
11. Re; the interim City Administrator’s “informal” review. The council will use a form for this process; C. Pokorney said it was meant to be a “tool for the incoming council”. C. Davis felt it was “just a favor to them … a courtesy”. there was some discussion of whether this would be an open or closed discussion at the future meeting review.
12. The next discussion item re: the makeup of the Rental Board of Appeals was initiated by C. Kris Vohs. This board, and its ordinance, was initially constructed to have a six member board which is considered to be a problem because of possible tie votes. C. Vohs recommended that the ordinance be rewritten to create a five member board. (5 members are currently appointed)
Supported by consensus.
After Council reports, Joel Walinski reviewed progress in City Goals, which included comments on the Greenvale Annexation process, the City’s fiber optic study and survey, and the presentation of seven liquor store proposals to the Council. This last comment was a bit of a surprise as only five of the original seven proposals were scored by EDA members and Staff at the November 20th rating session, two proposals having been ‘pulled’. The re-inclusion of the two proposals was not explained.
Motion to adjourn at 8: 24 pm.
2 Comments
Thanks, Kiffi. Good idea to include consent items! Was the list of liquor store sites distributed? Any comments about V. Gleason’s offer to sell her property for $1? Other comments?
When will the recommendation come to the council? Will the current council act on the recommendation?
Jane; Answers: No, the list of liquor store sites was NOT distributed. But it has been on both Locally grown and in the newspaper.
No, there was no comment specifically about the Gleason property, except for it being said that all the original seven proposals would go to the council, although the ‘rating group’ only had access to five.
I think the council will see the seven RFPs at a special closed session ( 6pm ?) before the 12.8 work session.
I also believe it is the intention of the current council to take some action; (not sure whether the rating group actually developed a ‘recommendation’, that all very hush-hush) but can’t predict what council’s action will be.