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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes i� ��tJV� �ri°t � y � ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ���� �ri e ar�d PC�� t MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL February 1 , 2017 COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on February 1, 2017, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, Mayor, and City Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL The following were present: Mayor Myron Bailey, Council Member Steve Dennis, Council Member Wayne Johnson, Council Member La Rae Mills, and Council Member Dave Thiede. Also present were: Charlene Stevens, City Administrator; Bridget Nason, City Attorney- LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Ryan Burfeind, Assistant City Engineer; John Burbank, City Planner; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Sharon Madsen, Communications Coordinator; Rick Redenius, Fire Chief; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Craig Woolery, Director of Public Safety; Gary Orloff, Streets Foreman. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey asked if anyone in the audience wished to address the Council on any item that was not on the agenda. As no one wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the open forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Dennis, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried: 5-0. CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE • 12800 Ravine Parkway • Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottage-grove.org • 651-458-2800 • Fax 651-458-2897 • Equal Opportunity Employer City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 2 6. PRESENTATIONS A. 2016 Photo Contest Winners Communications Coordinator Sharon Madsen stated this year they had 43 entries in the Photo Contest. There were six categories: Celebrations & Events, Historical, Nature, Parks & Trails, People, and Streetscapes. The winner of each of the six categories receives $50 and a certificate. • The Celebrations & Events winner was Russ Stoeckel; he had taken a photo of the holiday tree with its lights, right outside City Hall. • The Historical category winner was Bill Pohlmann; he had taken a photo of an old barn near Keats Avenue, by Cottage Grove Middle School. • The Nature category winner was Gene Smallidge; he had taken a photo early one morning at his farm. • The winner of three categories was Nathan Klok: Parks & Trails, an aerial photo of Hazen P. Mooers Park; People, a photo of people on the 80th Street Bridge, waving flags; and Streetscapes, a photo of police cars driving underneath the 80th Street bridge. All winners were invited to come forward to receive their awards, were congratulated, and had their photos taken with the City Council. Coordinator Madsen thanked all those who participated and encouraged everyone to participate this year, as they'll also be adding a youth category, for those under the age of 15. She stated the winning photos are displayed at City Hall, and they're put in the print and Web publications, including the next newsletter, and will be featured on SWCTC in the Cottage Grove spotlight news, in the March edition. B. South Washington County Watershed District Annual Update Staff Recommendation: Receive annual update from the South Washington County Watershed District (SWWD). Matthew Moore, the administrator of the South Washington County Watershed District, stated the Board had asked him to give everyone a brief update on completed 2016 activities and those planned for 2017. Mike Madigan, a manager on the Board, was also present. Mr. Moore stated 2016 was a pretty big year, with completion of the following: • The 10-year Watershed Plan had been updated by their staff. He encouraged everyone to look at the plan, which is all online, on their website. • They completed design work for Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the overflow project, which they'd been working on for 20 years. Those two phases are the pieces that go up through Ravine Park and will be constructed in 2017. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 3 • The Grey Cloud Crossing Project is opening up the backwaters of Grey Cloud and reconnecting to the main channel of the river; that will also be constructed in 2017, most likely starting in August. • Water quality projects were put on the ground in 2016. • Continued work on open space on 70th Street and vegetation management; they've also been working on invasive vegetation (buckthorn) control in the park. They're working on 40 acres, in conjunction with Washington County. • Supported the Hy-Vee project by working on storm water management. • Continue to work with the Dodge Nature Center, as they think they can do some programming and connect their site with the Watershed District's prairie site. • Assist Cottage Grove with erosion control inspections; • Water quality projects, called Living Streets, to narrow some streets where there's wide right of way and use that for water quality improvements. 2017 will be a big construction year: • The Grey Cloud Crossing Project and also construction of the overflow projects in the park, with a new outlet to Ravine Lake, as well as stabilizing the channel and the ravine going up through the park. • There's also the Trout Brook Project in Afton Alps, on which they're working with the DNR. • Sub-watershed assessments in Cottage Grove to line up the water quality projects that can tie into things the City's doing. Mayor Bailey stated the South Washington County Watershed District is great to work with, and Hy-Vee was ecstatic because of the help and support they were given, which made that project become a reality. He stated there will be a lot of work taking place at Ravine Park, which will be a win-win for those who use that park but will also make sure the flow of water going through that park is better, with better quality, and smooth. He thanked them for being such a good, strong partner in managing the storm water. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the January 18, 2017 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. B. Receive and place on file the approved minutes from the November 28, 2016 Planning Commission Meeting. C. Receive and place on file the approved minutes from the October 11, 2016 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation. D. Adopt Resolution 2017-005 authorizing renewal of an on-sale intoxicating liquor and on-sale Sunday liquor license to Links on the Mississippi, Inc. DBA Mississippi Dunes Golf Links for the remainder of 2017. E. Authorize Public Works to advertise and sell surplus property. F. 1. Appoint Jennifer Raymer to fill the unexpired term on the Planning Commission effective from February 2, 2017, and ending February 28, 2019. 2. Appoint David Lutchen to a term on the Planning Commission effective March 1, 2017, and ending February 29, 2020. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 4 G. Approve the Cooperative Agreement between the City of Cottage Grove and Washington County for construction cost of County Road (CR) 74 H. Adopt Resolution 2017-006 approving Aggregate Industries 2017 mining permit to continue their mining operations at 11250 Grey Cloud Trail South on Lower Grey Cloud Island. I. Approve the South Washington County Watershed District Erosion & Sediment Control Inspection Agreement. J. Authorize issuance of a single occasion gambling permit to Kylie's Hope to conduct a raffle at River Oaks Golf Course on August 12, 2017. K. Adopt Resolution 2017-010 approving the plans & specifications for the Central Fire Station and setting a bid date of March 9, 2017. L. 1) Adopt Resolution 2017-008 awarding the quote for the 80th Street/East Point Douglas Road — Signal Material Project to Valmont Industries, Inc. in the amount of$27,346 for signal poles and mast arm. 2) Adopt Resolution 2017-009 awarding the quote for the 80th Street/East Point Douglas Road — Signal Material Project to Traffic Control Corporation in the amount of$53,071 for signal cabinet and video detection. Council Member Thiede wished to pull Item K for discussion and a separate vote, and Council Member Dennis wished to pull Item F for further comment and/or discussion. Mayor Bailey stated he wished to pull Item L just to explain what they're going to be doing; he asked Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt to speak on that. Council Member Dennis spoke on Item F; he stated he was now the Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, and there are two positions on that Commission that need to be filled. He stated he worked with Commission Chair Ken Brittain, and they interviewed some people. They were happy to recommend appointment of Jennifer Raymer to fill an unexpired term, from February 2, 2017 and ending February 28, 2019. They were happy to recommend appointment of David Lutchen for a term effective March 1, 2017, until February 29, 2020. These people seem to be committed, as they are volunteers and citizens, and will bring some of their expertise to the panel. Mayor Bailey stated on Item L, the 80th Street/East Point Douglas Road Signal Materials Quote Awards, he would turn the explanation of that to City Engineer Levitt. Engineer Levitt stated one way to accommodate Hy-Vee's opening, which has been accelerated, is to actually construct the right-turn lane at 80th Street and East Point Douglas Road, which will be constructed in front of Noodles and Chipotle and AT&T. In order to facilitate that, there are traffic signal improvements that need to be done; the new signal arm will alleviate any traffic congestion associated with Hy-Vee's opening. Mayor Bailey stated they're trying to be proactive, even before Hy-Vee opens, because they know that will generate more traffic at that intersection. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Council Member Mills, except for Item K, which will be a separate discussion and vote. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 5 Council Member Thiede stated on Item K, he had no issue with the new fire station; however, his issue was purely monetary. They looked at the Capital Improvement Plan a few weeks ago and all of the commitments for money; in his opinion, the increased percentage in taxes for homeowners and taxpayers in the City was too high. He hadn't yet seen any resolution to that, so while he had no problem approving plans and specifications, he had a potential problem with setting a bid date; if they do that, they have bids come in, and the City should be fully prepared to commit the funds. He felt if it got pushed out a year or so, it might or might not make a significant difference but he didn't know that yet. He stated his position was if they wanted to separate the Item and approve the plans and specifications, that would be fine, but he was not quite satisfied with some of the costs to actually go out and commit to having a bid date and committing funds. Council Member Dennis stated he respected some of the points Council Member Thiede made; all of us were respectful of the taxpayers' money, and we wanted to see the cost be reasonable. He stated he felt they should provide services and tools to create a safe and secure environment for people who live here. This plan predated him, but there's been a lot of work that's gone into it, and he believed there's a legitimate need to make this investment. He stated they also wanted to provide great service to the community, and this project was worth the money that would be spent. Council Member Mills stated she felt if this project was pushed out, it would not help anything as the cost of the project might increase. She felt there was a lot of work done and that it was the time to go ahead and do it. She stated they'd make this work, and it's very important. As the City grows, the public safety needs will need to be met with Fire and EMS. She felt they should move forward with it now. Council Member Johnson stated at the latest meeting on the fire station, it's a big number; however, we also have to realize we deal with big numbers. He felt we need to move forward, and they won't know the final number until the bids are in. As we look forward to building the community, they're going to look for infrastructure; one of the key things is safety of the residents, their homes, and the businesses. He felt there'd been a lot of time spent to get the most bang for the buck. Mayor Bailey stated what staff had done for years was to give us all of the numbers, and there could be a tax increase, and the Council is always very conservative when it comes to the costs of things. If they could do this without a tax increase, that would be ideal; however, they're responsible for the core operations of the community, and building a new fire station with sleeping quarters is one of those core functions of government that we need to provide to our citizens. Mayor Bailey stated he felt this was something they had to have. Council Member Thiede stated he didn't want to necessarily postpone the fire station; he stated the numbers for the tax increases were higher than the past few years he'd City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 6 been on the Council. We'd have to sharpen our pencils and really take a look at what money is being spent, as he knew citizens would not be happy with the percentage of tax increase. Motion by Council Member Dennis to Adopt Resolution 2017-010 approving the plans and specifications and establishing a March 9, 2017 bid date for the new Central Fire Station project, second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 4-0; Council Member Thiede abstained from the vote. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payment of check numbers 199611 to 199806 in the amount of $649,288.28 and EFT Payment of$96,294.32. Motion to approve disbursements by Council Member Mills, second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS — None 10. BID AWARDS — None. 11. REGULAR AGENDA— None. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Mills stated the next Fare For All will take place on February 9 at All Saints Lutheran Church; it's a chance to get some discounted meats, fruits, and vegetables. They're always looking for volunteers, so if anyone's able to help out, please go to �r�r�r...��.r��r�.r�.11.11....r�r�.. Council Member Dennis stated The Eagles Bar and Grill is open at the River Oaks Golf Course; there have some people who've expressed concerns that they could only go there if they're a member. It's open to the public, everyone is welcome, as it's a community-owned business, so come down and enjoy some great food and a good time. Council Member Dennis stated he'd noted while driving through the City that a lot of garage doors are being left open; they want to try to avoid crimes of opportunity where premises and vehicles and other pieces of property are left unattended. He encouraged everyone to take steps to ensure they secure their property, thereby preventing crime. Council Member Johnson stated he wanted to let the veterans in the City of Cottage Grove know about Beyond the Yellow Ribbon; they are looking for new members for the council of that organization to attend the monthly meetings, held at the Cottage Grove Armory. There are services available to veterans that they might not be aware City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 7 of, and there's more information on the City website. Mayor Bailey stated the Watershed District will be working in Ravine Park. Later this spring and summer, the City will be working with Washington County on some new roadways and entrances into the park and the new roundabout off of County Road 19 and Highway 61. Because of the construction in Cottage Grove Ravine Park, it's been determined that they're going to close Ravine Park to the public, starting in March, for one year; access into the park and all walking trails will be closed. He stated information would be in the paper, and Washington County will be sending out information, as will Cottage Grove through Facebook and various communications to the public. The purpose is to fix and upgrade the park, remedy some water quality issues within the park, perform tree removal, etc. They definitely don't want anyone to get hurt, so you might have to find another park or trail in the community while Ravine Park is closed. 13. WORKSHOPS — OPEN TO PUBLIC A. CSAH 22 Management and Safety Project Staff Recommendation: Receive information on the CSAH 22 Management and Safety Project. Mayor Bailey stated this workshop was regarding 70th Street, and he asked Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham to begin. She thanked everyone for attending and felt introductions should be made; the following were present: Mayor Bailey, Council Member Mills; Council Member Dennis; Council Member Thiede; Council Member Johnson; Marc Briese with Stonebrooke Engineering, who's assisting Washington County with this project; Wayne Sandberg, Washington County Engineer; Ryan Burfeind, Assistant City Engineer; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Frank Ticknor, Design Engineer, Washington County; Nick Costello, Assistant Traffic Engineer, Washington County; Charlene Stevens, Cottage Grove City Administrator; Bridget Nason, City Attorney's Office; Zac Dockter, Director of Parks and Recreation; Craig Woolery, Director of Public Safety; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Katie Nelson, South Washington County Bulletin. Commissioner Bigham stated they're here to talk about County Road 22 and the poor pavement situation; this project will improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. It's a multi-phased project, as last year they'd worked on the Highway 61 and 70th Street interchange. This year they'll begin there and go east, just shy of Hinton Avenue. In 2019, they're looking at a roundabout on Hinton Avenue at 70th Street. She turned the meeting over to Engineer Ticknor to give further details. Engineer Ticknor stated Marc and Nick are the Project Managers. He asked everyone to feel free to ask questions. He gave a quick background of the project, which covers Highway 61 all the way to Highway 95; since it's such a long distance, it's been broken into phases. They did signal work in 2016. The 2017 project is a management and City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 8 safety project, which extends to Hinton Avenue. The roundabout project at Hinton Avenue is slated for 2019. There are other phases, from Hinton to Jamaica Avenue; that stretch of road has a newer pavement but it still lacks left-turn lanes and has access issues that need to be addressed. There is also a pedestrian-crossing issue at Highlands Park, so that will be covered in the future. Another future project is from Keats Avenue to Highway 95 (Manning Avenue), which is a more rural section but it also lacks turn lanes and has some access issues. In the long-term future, as traffic volumes grow, they'll be looking at a four-lane roadway, divided in different portions; most likely it will be Highway 61 to Hinton Avenue and then, beyond that, it would be Hinton Avenue to Keats Avenue. The 2017 project cost is estimated at $4,500,000; that is planned in the CIP and includes design, right of way acquisition, and construction, and shows a $500,000 local contribution. The overall goals were to address the pavement, roadway and trail, which are old and in disrepair. They'll also address the trail user experience; in some cases the trail is right up next to the roadway edge or the back of the curb, which can be unsafe or unsettling for users. They're looking at ways to move that trail. They're also looking at ADA standards for all of the crosswalks, as they currently don't meet those, so those will be revamped. They want to also improve vehicular safety and mobility. Prior to three years ago, there were right-turn lanes at most cross streets; those were restriped because there were not left-turn lanes, which had become a safety concern. By widening the overall roadway with this project, there will be both left-turn and right-turn lanes. Engineer Ticknor showed photographs of pavement distress, restriping changes, old seams in the road, the intersection at Hinton, current trail location, and the lanes at Hardwood Avenue. He stated there will also be upgrades to the traffic signal at Hardwood Avenue. Mayor Bailey asked if Goodview Avenue would have a signal; he was advised it would remain an uncontrolled intersection. Engineer Ticknor was asked if the lights would be timed, as right now they're not; he advised they both had loops in the pavement, but right now they're not coordinated, which is something they can take a look at doing. Engineer Ticknor stated they know they can't deliver a successful project unless they provide information for residents, elected officials, City staff, and answer questions. They want to make sure they're educating citizens, providing information, and helping them through the process. They want to gather their issues and concerns so they can come up with a solution that makes everyone comfortable. There have been two public open houses and a number of resident meetings for this project, with positive feedback from the residents. There were also property owner meetings regarding the retaining wall, which is crumbling and needs repair. They learned about the retaining wall in the open houses, so they knew that needed to be added to this project. There have also City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 9 been utility coordination meetings, one in August 2016, and another today. There have been a number of project newsletters sent to residents to provide information on how the process and progress of the project has gone. He showed photos of the timber retaining wall, which will be repaired. They worked with the resident and found a solution that will work. Engineer Ticknor summarized the project scope: • Roadway and trail pavement from Highway 61 to Hinton Avenue, addressing pedestrian and bicycle accommodations with a new trail; • A trail the length of the project on the north side, but between Goodview and Meadow Grass, there isn't any on the south, but there's a desire to have a connection from Meadow Grass to Goodview on the south, so that's being added to this project. • Widening boulevards where possible, pushing out the existing trail to make it more comfortable; • Widening usable shoulders; • Improving safety and mobility by adding back the right-turn lanes at Hardwood and Granada; • The new steel pole at Hardwood Avenue; • A temporary retaining wall west of Goodview. He noted a number of these improvements were required to do some drainage improvements. Construction staging: Oltman Middle School is being constructed on County Road 74/65th Street, so they've been coordinating with the School District and the City on that roundabout project; they've been able to stage the work so that the detours work better together. There's also the County 19/Keats Avenue roundabout project to the east, which has less interaction, but it causes trouble for residents, so they want to coordinate those properly. • Stage 1: Highway 61 to Hinton Avenue; the contractor will be allowed to close down that entire stretch of road. By August, we need them to have Highway 61 to Meadow Grass open, so the west end will be open to allow people to get in and out. That will allow a detour on 65th Street to work better in coordination with that project, as the roundabout work will start in August. • Stage 2: Meadow Grass to Highway 61 will be open and used for the 65th Street roundabout project detour. The detour uses Hinton Avenue and 80th Street. Local access will be provided at all times for residents along the corridor. Council Member Thiede asked if Hardwood Avenue would be able to be used; he was advised that they're going to work to keep both Meadow Grass and Hardwood Avenue open as much as they can. They'll allow the contractor to close them when work is being done right there, but they're told they can't close both Meadow Grass and City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 10 Hardwood at the same time. At Granada, they need to keep that open, north-south, because residents on the south side don't have any other way in and out. Engineer Ticknor stated at this time the engineers' estimate is $4.16 million for design, right of way, acquisition, and construction, with a $470,000 local contribution based on cost participation. The local share included in this project involves a new trail section, new Hardwood Avenue steel pole signal, curb and gutter, additional curb and gutter and storm water treatment; smaller items include mobilization of erosion control and traffic control, as well as some right of way acquisition. There were two parcels where there were some sections of right of way acquisition. The Cooperative Agreement is currently being drafted, and it should be done and presented very shortly. Communications Plan: Pre-construction open house in April, 2017, before the contractor begins work in May. There is a project website, and they will encourage everyone to visit the website often. There will be regular updates on there. There will be construction newsletters at appropriate times. Inspection staff will have direct communications with residents on a daily basis so there will be communications there. They'll be utilizing social media and news releases to give major stage shifts and closures. Inspectors will provide a brief weekly update to the County Commissioner and will be happy to share that with the City Council also. Engineer Ticknor reviewed the project schedule; he stated final design on the plans is underway but is about 95% done. The Cooperative Agreement should be presented in February, possibly early March. There will be an open house in April, and then bid opening will occur in the spring. Hopefully construction will be complete in October; however, they want to have it completed before school starts, so they're shooting for Labor Day. Commissioner Bigham asked if weather is good and there's not a snowy spring if there's a chance that this could start in April; she asked Engineer Ticknor to talk about those options. He stated if that's, what happens, they're set up to do that. She asked if the public open house would then be in early April and he confirmed that. Engineer Ticknor stated he'd be happy to answer any other questions. Council Member Dennis stated he appreciated the way the project had been structured and that Washington County had done a fantastic job with it. Engineer Briese stated he's a Cottage Grove resident so he'll also be affected by the project. He mentioned that uvuvuv...�r�.�a.r���h.ii.�huv��22e�r�r� is set up for all of the planned work that has occurred and will occur along 70th Street. He added that ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act, so they'll ensure that anyone with disabilities will be able to use the facilities. Engineer Briese stated there were a couple different budget amounts; $4,500,000, which is budgeted, with plans for about a $500,000 City contribution. Based on 95% of the plans that have now been completed, the project cost looks like it will be less, so it would be about a $470,000 contribution for the City. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 11 Council Member Johnson asked who would reach out to the businesses that are going to be affected; namely, the new restaurant, Junction 70. He was advised Washington County would connect with them. Commissioner Bigham stated part of the new communication position is outreach to our businesses as soon as possible, especially since the customers will now all be coming off of Hinton Avenue to enter the businesses. Engineer Ticknor stated they'd been working with the utility companies so people might see some work being done by them, perhaps in March or April, as they try to get their work done ahead of the construction. Mayor Bailey thanked all of them for the information and stated he'd be looking forward to the project being completed. B. Classification and Compensation Study Workshop HR Manager Joe Fischbach gave the history of the Classification and Compensation Study project. It was identified in the Strategic Plan in 2016, as one hadn't been done for a number of years; $25,000 was budgeted and we spoke with some other cities that had done those studies. The cost was put in the 2017 budget with the expectation that some of the work would be done in the fall of 2016; then, everything would be ready to go in 2017 when the budget money was ready. There was an Employee Group, which also included management and members of the different unions, and a Request for Proposal was issued. Three firms that we thought were comparable and could do the work were interviewed, and there was a preferred vendor. We brought that to the City Council, and there were questions and concerns from the Council regarding the cost, as it was $13,500 over the budgeted amount. There were even some questions what the Classification and Compensation Study would entail and what that would mean going forward if there were significant changes to the plan. There were a couple of options put together after the Council tabled it; we got back together with the committee, discussed some different options, went back to the consultants to see what they could do, and that's where we're at now. A couple options were given to the Council yesterday, and we will take any questions Council might have. Questions were posed to Manager Fischbach and Administrator Stevens on various topics, and Council was informed the City's in compliance with pay equity, as pay equity is an important one, with which every public organization in Minnesota has to comply, and we've always been in compliance. Obviously, some individuals thought that they were not being paid as much as they think they're worth. Manager Fischbach explained that the Stanton Group had produced a salary survey every year and basically were paid by the League to do it, so each City would get a copy of it. Administrator Stevens stated that information is voluntarily reported now; City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 12 some cities report, but some cities don't. Manager Fischbach stated some employees have left, and salary was one of the reasons they had left. Concerns about the study were raised by Council Members, including after the study is done, perhaps only minor changes will be made; we might pay the money just to have somebody state that we're doing things well, and if what we're looking for is validation, maybe it could be done a little differently. Also, needing to pay $14,000 more than what had been previously proposed, and if we're prepared to look at a significant increase in labor costs as a result of the study. Administrator Stevens stated it's a difficult question to answer because we don't know, as we've not done market studies consistently. She and Manager Fischbach sense is we're probably pretty close to the norm. There are some positions where there's a large classification; police, for example. Because they do labor negotiations every three years, they're probably not far off; if we were, then that would have been resolved through labor negotiations, through arbitration. There may be some individual positions that we might be off on; it's a little hard to tell, but she didn't feel it's the bulk of our positions. Administrator Stevens stated the challenge with any Classification and Compensation Study is there tends to be people on both ends of the spectrum, either overpaid or underpaid. She felt there were two pieces to this: The market study piece, which is where you sit in the current market for pay; and the classification piece, trying to make sure that our positions are correctly classified. Sometimes jobs evolve over time and they may not be in the right class anymore where they're classed in the pay plan; they may not be where they should be. Pros and cons of doing the study were discussed, as follows: Since they hadn't done this since approximately 2012, when a market adjustment was done, if we do this and get some data back that says we have some issues, then those could be addressed. Making sure that our job descriptions are accurate and that we haven't varied too far off the scale. If it's all done internally, you don't get the validation of having someone tell us that we're where we should be. We should get a clear understanding of what the different classifications are; it's not been done in approximately 20 years, so we're probably overdue. Administrator Stevens stated three different firms were interviewed; it was the preference of the committee to go with Springsted, which was not the lowest cost. The sense was that they were the best qualified and had the most experience. They were willing to have a number of ineetings with employees. If we keep to the $25,000 that was budgeted this year, we've talked internally, and we could certainly begin the work later in the year, as this was timed to be completed for the 2017-18 budget process; if it was begun later in the year, we would then look to add the remaining funds in the 2018 budget, which means we really wouldn't have results until approximately the spring of 2018, so we'd be looking at the 2018-19 budget for making any adjustments or having discussion about those adjustments. It would be delayed a little bit, but that was something we felt we could do. Manager Fischbach indicated Springsted can do a market study, the PAQs, but employees wouldn't have any input on the PAQs. Basically, they'd do the job classification and market study based on our job descriptions, so we'd probably change the job descriptions a little bit. However, City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 13 employees wouldn't be able to list all of their duties that they do, all the factors that go into theirjob, decision making, physical exertion, things like that. When we talked with the group, that was something that we weren't really interested in just because employees wouldn't have as much engagement in the process as we'd thought they would. The option of doing the study internally was discussed, as follows: A market study could be done internally, which would be a lot of work and hours for Manager Fischbach and others in Administration. It would be purely a market study, gathering market data from the cities based on position, etc., what we get from the League. It wouldn't be a position review analysis, so the description wouldn't be really on the classification side so we wouldn't be able to do that internally or that it would have a lot of additional value if it was done internally. Again, that would lead the classification issue set aside. Instead of doing the classification part, the other option would be to just go back to Springsted or a firm and just say we want a market study done; we'd pay them to just gather the market day, which would cost less, but it would just be getting position titles and pay ranges and not a position to position review or looking at our position to make sure it's classed correctly and what the position did versus the other positions. You'd then come back with what the market average said. Council Member Dennis queried of staff present, who were represented by unions (Police and 49ers) if they were provided with some data regarding what others in their positions were paid. Police have a federation attorney, who is paid for his work and his labor, which includes collecting that data. As the police union, they know that they're not that far off. They felt the biggest thing that they were hearing from their members was they just wanted to feel like they're being treated fairly and that the City values them as employees. Council Member Dennis stated he knew this Council and the previous Council has been very fair and very supportive to our friends in public safety; he would hope that, depending on what they decide to do here, that public safety members would have a good feeling about that. He was advised that they absolutely would. Council Member Dennis asked if the employees with the 49ers had any materials that were supplied, along the same lines, to help them know where wages were; he was told they kind of know what the market's doing, in terms of percentage, and some comparison to the neighboring communities, which lets them know if they're where they want to be. They don't feel like they're way underpaid; there are some positions, due to restructuring years ago, that are below market, based on what they do, compared to other cities. They knew there'd be some of that, but overall they were going to be pretty close. Just a review of job descriptions, what they do, how they do it, how it's labeled, to make sure that it is what it is; everyone's looking to the same thing and that's validation. We all want to be on the same page to make sure we're all doing the right thing. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 14 Council Member Dennis asked Manager Fischbach what percentage of overall staff constituted organized employees; Manager Fischbach stated organized employees comprise approximately 60% of total employees. Council Member Dennis felt that the greatest asset any company has is its staff, its people. Council Member Dennis stated he struggled a little bit with the cost in the value factor. We authorized $25,000 for the project; now it's probably going to be $39,000. If he had to make that type of expenditure, he'd rather reinvest that money into the staff than into what we need here for tools. He proposed doing some of the work internally. He would personally like to see Cottage Grove get to 100% because that's a fair thing to do and it sends a good message. On the League of Minnesota Cites' webpage was a Compensation and Classification Study for a small city, so we could probably look at that. After looking at what Springsted had, he thought there were some pieces in there that just added to the cost. Council Member Dennis stated he was in favor of doing a hybrid; he has asked Manager Fischbach if he could do it, and he said he could. Council Member Dennis felt it was something they could do as a team, with a member from each Department having a chance to be part of the process, provide input, and be engaged as a team. As far as the classification, there's some value in working with a consultant; they could come in and at least get us started and pointed in the right direction, check in midway, and then come in at the end of it to make sure that they certify that the work that we did was adequate and fair. He felt we could deliver a lot better value to the community and still treat everybody here the right way. He felt $39,000 could be could be used in better ways for the community. If we could lower the cost and make it more reasonable, that would provide us with a chance to do something else with the money. He'd be happy to vote for that. Council Member Johnson stated a concern he had with this was how long was this study good for? Does this information change? It's a good snapshot, but then does it pigeonhole people or does the description change? If the description changes, does that automatically make the wage study not valid, as different duties come into play, etc.? If we're looking at this kind of money, it should have more of a long-term value. Administrator Stevens stated with any consultant group with whom we'd work, the question would be whether they could train you internally or a simple fee to them when you have a job description that changes or a new position. You give them a job description or you change a job description substantially, and you want to see if that value changes or if the extra duties really change the value of the job. Most times there are points assigned to a job, so if you add new duties, you go back and see if that changes the point system. You can administer that internally; some cities do that. There might be a somewhat nominal fee of$250 or $500 for an outside firm, that same firm, to take the job description and assign the points, so there's value in that third party sometimes, and there's less dispute over it. Any of them have long-term staying ability, whether you do it internally or go to them to say this position's a little different, a little unique, so we want you to do the points on it. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 15 Administrator Stevens stated the other issue is you have to go out and do the market survey regularly; whether you'd gather that data internally or whether you use a company, it's only as good as going out and getting that data. Council Member Johnson asked what was the overall purpose when this all started, as far as the employees, was it to provide confidence and belief that the City cares? Is this part of the impression that we're doing our due diligence to take care of the people we say are here and we want to take care of? If you now don't do it, what impression does that give to the employees? There must have been value decided upon at one point that this was something we wanted to do. We're having this discussion now because it came in over budget than what was originally planned. Now, we're questioning whether or not we should have done it to begin with; he stated he's coming in after the fact, so that's why he's asking. Council Member Dennis stated he doesn't want to walk away from this; he wants to see us go through a process, but he wants that to represent a fair value to the community. Last year during the Strategic Planning, this was a piece that former Council Member Olsen had worked on and suggested, and as a group, we all bought into it and thought it was a good idea to do. Being fair and equitable and having people feel good about being part of the team was what we tried to do in improving our culture; that's just one aspect of it. Council Member Thiede agreed. Council Member Mills stated one of the values of this tool is it brings a lot of equity to all of the employees. If we put a lot of this on Manager Fischbach's shoulders or the City staff to do it themselves, what job duties are they not going to be doing because you're paying someone to take on this work, and they have other responsibilities that are set aside? The expense came in above what was originally planned, but there's a lot of value in this. Letting City staff know that this is important, we want to make sure that we're handling this correctly with pay, with the job description, that they're set in the place they should be, she felt was of huge value to the employees. She thought this also would set the City on the right course for the future, and we can move ahead with this help. She felt it was going to be a difficult task to take on and determine if we're at the right place and that's its value. She stated she didn't want to put any more money into the next budget. If the funds are available in a different category, she felt we should move ahead. Council Member Thiede stated there's currently an ongoing process, so maybe we should have somebody evaluate our process and just say okay, here's what other places are doing. We validate the process, and then we essentially use that process to verify the position. Administrator Stevens asked if Council Member Thiede was suggesting we take our existing compensation system with the jobs and the points assigned and ask an outside company to just review that system to ensure that the positions are pointed correctly within that system; Council Member Thiede stated we went out and verified that that is fair pay right now. If the process in place now has been validated, then the outcome should be validated. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 16 Manager Fischbach stated he thought we did that to a certain extent; for example, for the position of Finance Director, we rely on the League of Minnesota Cities salary survey for anybody that reports data, and we use that because it's readily available. If we determine that we want the cities between 10,000 and 85,000, if there are no cities on there, that's where they would call each city that's not on there and put that into the spreadsheet. We would have to call each city for each Finance Director plus essentially 81 other positions to make sure that we have all of the data. To be honest, we'd have to follow up with them if they didn't respond, and some of them won't respond the first time. Council Member Thiede stated maybe someone would tell us there's another source of information that we could use, too, of which we're unaware. He didn't feel that everything had to be done immediately, all at one time. There are probably some job descriptions that are pretty much rock solid, and our margin of error is very low on that. There might be some others that maybe aren't so solid. If we do it over time and look at every opportunity, everything we need to be looking at to do this right, when we look at a job description maybe we can pay somebody that's in the know that says I've done these in umpteen different cities and I know all the places to get that information. That enhances our process; down the road we can then come up with what we feel is accurately a good compensation and job description. That way we're not laying out so much money right away. Administrator Stevens stated that's maybe more the market study. Council Member Thiede stated it's finding out where to go to get the information that we need and how we're doing it. Manager Fischbach stated from his experience, the only way to get the data is to go to the source, so you'd have to contact every city. Springsted or Flaherty & Hood might have the data, but they have to update it every year because obviously salaries change each year. So, you could purchase it from them, but he didn't know how much that would be. Administrator Stevens stated if they're selling that data, that would kind of defeat their business model; she doubted they would sell us that data. She stated we could hire somebody to scope down the work to just a market study, which is then just gathering the data, taking the data that's maybe available from the League, and then determine what that market is; communities of 10,000 to 85,000, or 10,000 to 80,000, or 20,000 to 60,000, but it would be gathering that data. Council Member Thiede stated if they have proprietary data that you can't have unless you pay them for a study, then it's really a static system. Administrator Stevens replied that no, it's not. There's the market piece, where we know when comparing Finance Director to Finance Director to Finance Director, we're comparing the same thing. We're not comparing what we call a Finance Director to what somebody else might call an Administrative Services Director. Or, if we are comparing those two, the title might be different, but the job is the same. So, that's the piece of it where the position is correctly classified and it's correctly given points in that system. The other piece is with that kind of market study, you have to update that regularly. Some of that is available City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 17 from the League when communities report and then it's filling in gaps of those that don't report. The piece that Springsted does that we don't do and are probably less prepared to do or it's more hours is that we might call a position; you have to do some work with position titles, but if you're just looking at data and titles, then you're just going to assume that an analyst is an analyst and they're not always the same in everybody's system. They're not the same in the scope of the work they do or scope of responsibility. Some of the value of that is to weed out those variations to make sure you're comparing an apple to an apple, if that makes sense. Mayor Bailey asked if the police officers wanted to comment. They voiced the following concerns: Retention: Nothing frustrates them more than seeing people leave for other Police Departments. Finding a way to retain officers and giving them opportunities to move into different areas, including Investigations, is important, especially for the younger officers. Hiring: It's not that you choose from a pool of candidates and say, okay, you're the next police officer, you're starting Monday. There's such a process involved; the City loses out on the time involved to do a background, the time involved to do a psychological exam, medical exam, and the cost of uniforms. That's now kind of lost and we have to pay that again to fill that position. We don't know why people leave, as everyone has their own reason. We thought this study would send a positive message to the employees that here's where you are. Validation: They hear a lot that they only view us as less than average, yet they expect first-class service. They've fought over negotiations, there have been some pretty good battles, and they try to make it fair. They try to be realistic; we'd never say we're slighted at 3% so we're going to ask for 6% this year, as that's not realistic. They really feel it boils down to having that good faith effort to your employees to validate them and say we want to keep you here, we really do. Like another officer said, we're tired of having officers go to Woodbury or somewhere else. Importance of the Study: The longer this process gets put off, the more expensive it's going to be. We all talked in the committee about the $13,000 difference; there's money there from other sources, the insurance fund they were talking about. There's never been a study like this done while most have been here. A previous officer had done one and it took him seven months, every day, every night, going through stacks and stacks of contracts to try to do apples for apples. It was exhausting, and when that got brought up in the committee, he understood wanting to do some of this internally, but he truly thought the City would be losing value by doing that. That also takes time away from Manager Fischbach or anyone else, as it would take time away from what they were supposed to be doing. Council Member Thiede stated he agreed that we had to make employees feel like they're wanted, and money is part of it. Let's look at why people leave. From a money standpoint, maybe it's the 3%, or maybe it's the motivation; the 3% actual monetary amount may not even be that significant. If our goal is to increase employees saying that they wouldn't leave the City, it's a great place to work; the other thing is you would have people saying, gosh, I wish I could work for Cottage Grove because it's a fantastic place to work, etc. Maybe we change the focus of it a little bit. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 18 A 49er commented that it's the effort; it's going to be a big morale thing. Two of us have been here for 20 years, we were hired a week apart, and a study's never been done since we've been here. People from other cities talk about salary and benefits; employees just want to know where they're sitting. If we do something in house, I think employees are going to think they got slighted; that's their belief. Another 49er stated it's also validation. You talk about how to get people to say this is the best place; we did that, it was called "Good to Great". We wasted three years, a lot of money, and a whole lot of staff time on it. So, let's bring in an outside source, let's go through this thing, and let's get it done. If it ends up being that we do part of it at the end of the year, budget a little bit next year to finish it off and get it done right, let's do it. Let's not say let's change the belief and we can make this great; we already did that. It didn't change it. We did a lot of things that changed some little things, some low-hanging fruit was reached and grabbed, and everyone felt good about it, but in the big picture, a lot of things stayed the same. It's time that we just do it. In the big picture of money, it's not that much money to bring morale up to where it should be. Mayor Bailey stated if we do the study, it will make sure that all job descriptions are accurate. The classifications from those job descriptions from a pay standpoint are accurate. It will be up to staff to tell us when it's all done what changes, if any, need to be made. What might happen is there are probably some people who might have to get bumped up in pay, and there will be some people who are over the current number. The question becomes what do we want to do, but that will be a decision the Council will ultimately make. Administrator Stevens stated Council Member Thiede had asked if there were better ways to benchmark, and that is a piece of this, too. So, do we compete with every city in the metro? Maybe they're not the right comparisons, but that's part of that benchmarking and the value of a third party is they help you determine that in a more neutral way. On the class side, is the job description correct and also within that class, is this job weighed appropriately against another? Some jobs seem very similar or have similar titles, but they have different weights, and helping people understand why that's weighted and why the system weights things this way and that way. That adds a little more validity to that process, too. Administrator Stevens stated if the $25,000 was a concern, this could certainly be spread out over two years, but that might also involve potential limitations. Mayor Bailey thought with some of the thought processes for the budget next year, depending on which direction Council wants to go, if we ended up doing the study, he wouldn't want to push it off until next year; however, he didn't want us to react to the results this year or next year. He stated Council had to decide on that. Mayor Bailey said he knew it was a lot of money, but one of the things we always get talked about is doing things cheaply. You might say we do it frugally, and that's okay, but we get that stigma. However, this is one of our core goals of making Cottage Grove a place where City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 19 people want to come to work and that we be known for that. He'd like to get clear data from a third party. He thought it would be good money spent. Council Member Thiede stated he felt the key thing was that employees say they like working here, they feel that they're respected, and also having fun. If you're not having fun in yourjob, that's one reason that you'd probably leave. Council Member Mills stated if the employees had to do this study themselves, they might not be having so much fun anymore. It would be a lot more work to do and something else might have to be put aside that they had been hired to do; so, that's a concern that she has with doing the study in house on top of their normal duties. Council Member Dennis stated that's participation and buy in, which is worth an awful lot because we're a team. Officers felt when you have a neutral party do the study, they're not on the City's side, they're not on any union side; the facts are facts, it is what it is, and they do their report. They've talked with officers and told them there's a chance their salaries might be above the norm and their salary could be frozen, so that's the price of doing business. If you want validation, that we're average, you have to take what comes with it. Administrator Stevens stated they've done a lot of work to try to bring down the price of Springsted but still have value, but they can take another look at that. Council Member Dennis asked if there are any other companies that could be looked at because of employee concerns. He asked if we could go through the League and ask if there were some other companies. Manager Fischbach replied they'd sent them an RFP, and they didn't respond. He stated they sent the RFP out to 10 or so companies. Administrator Stevens stated they looked at another company, who wasn't well received, as they were data driven and their data was so technical. Those on the committee had their eyes glazed over quickly with that presentation, and we couldn't imagine them working with our employees. Manager Fischbach added that their price was $42,500. Mayor Bailey thanked everyone for attending the Workshop. C. Water Meter and Radio Transmitter Replacement Project Director Les Burshten gave the history of how the City had gotten to this point with water meters needing to be changed out again due to a problem with the previous company; they went back out for bid again in December and rebid for replacement of meters for the water utility. There are radio transmitter and water meter replacement bids; the two companies that bid were Ferguson and Dakota Supply Group. The way the specifications were written was based on a 25-year life cycle. The bids received were as follows: • The radio transmitter bid received from Ferguson was $240,548.67. The bid received from Itron was $278,722. The radio transmitter bid with a 25-year life cycle cost from Ferguson was $342,850.77, and Itron was $663,180.57. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 20 • There were two water meter replacement bids, one from Ferguson, who supplies Neptune meters, for a two-year cost $645,083.10; the other was from Dakota Supply Group, who supplies Hersey meters, was $544,995.95. • For the 25-year life cycle for the water meter replacement, Ferguson had a bid of $1,333,636.05; Dakota Supply Group's bid was $1,460,471.76. Bid prices for the two-year meter replacement program, exclusive of the 25-year replacement program, were from Ferguson, whose bid was higher with the initial bid at $645,083.10, and from Dakota Supply Group, at $544,995.95. When you did the 25- year life cycle, Ferguson became a little bit lower than Dakota Supply Group, but that's based on a 25-year life, a $128,000 difference. If we did the two-year replacement program, that's about a $92,000 difference, but after 25 years, it drops off a little bit. Their suggestion was that the bid be awarded for the radio transmitters to Ferguson and also award the bid for the water replacement through Ferguson, based on the 25-year life cycle. That's how the specifications were written, and that's what's been done in the past. Director Burshten introduced people present to field questions, including: Vern Jacobson, our consultant with TKDA; Harry Taylor; Rich Moon, who installs most internal meters; Rick Alt; and Jonathan Bradley, with VSG Supply Group, a bidder in the program. Much discussion ensued amongst staff and Council Members regarding: Costs, number of ineters used, the 25-year price guarantee, various ways to read the new meter proposed and how that's accomplished, current cost of drive-by readings, budget implications with the CIP, the possibility of better pricing in the future, and legal ramifications of a two-year contract only and then rebidding versus life-cycle contract. Council Member Thiede asked if the City had ever had a 25-year contract with water meters. Administrator Stevens stated they've had the same process where it's been awarded as a two-year contract, with 25-year pricing. Council Member Thiede asked how many years of history we had of actual water meter and radio pricing costs. He was advised we put radios in Cottage Grove beginning in 1990; he thought we should look at that data to learn whether the prices had been going up and down. Director Burshten stated he wanted them to understand that Neptune was the supplier of the radio and of the meter, which is apples to apples, so for the City's benefit that's fantastic. He felt it was good to have the same manufacturer for both of these because they should always support each other. Administrator Stevens stated the information Council Member Thiede had requested on water meters and radios would be provided to him. City Council Meeting Minutes February 1, 2017 Page 21 14. WORKSHOPS — CLOSED TO PUBLIC — None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Dennis, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 10:17 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk.