HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-25-19CITY OF LAKEVILLE
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES
March 25, 2019
1. Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. in the Lake Marion Conference Room.
Members present: Mayor Anderson, Council Members Hellier, Lee, Volk, and Wheeler
Members absent: None
Staff present: Allyn Kuennen, Assistant City Administrator; Jerilyn Erickson, Finance Director;
Shayne Ratcliff, Arenas Manager; Ralph Vetter, Information Technology Manager; Tamara
Wallace, Deputy Clerk
2. Citizen Comments:
There were no citizen comments.
3. Heritage Library Update
Stephanie Opstad, Branch Manager of the Dakota County Library, provided an update to the
Council on the construction status of the library. The library (and motor vehicle department) are
currently utilizing space at City Hall while the building is being renovated. The library is on
schedule for completion before the start of the next school year.
Ms. Opstad also reminded the Council of the upcoming "One Book/ One Lakeville" event held at
the Lakeville Area Arts Center on Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. The featured book is "Bettyville"
by George Hodgman. Free tickets are required for this event.
4. Lakeville Arenas Financials
Mr. Ratcliff and Ms. Erickson provided an update on the Lakeville Arenas current operations and
future needs, as the facility continues to grow with expansions in the Learn to Skate programs
and more demand for ice time. A recently approved Facility Use Policy will allow staff to better
use ice hours, while renewed agreements with both the Lakeville Hockey Association and
Heritage Figure Skating Club will generate an additional $80,000 in annual revenue.
To keep up with the demand for the facility, staff has identified several capital improvements
needs to the mechanical equipment. This equipment includes ice plant, ice floors, dasher boards,
and dehumidification systems at Ames Arena which must be addressed to ensure compliance
with federal mandates as well as safe conditions. In 2018 the Arenas consulted with APEX
Efficiency Solutions to perform a Directed Engineering Study that would realize various building
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efficiency improvements to include: upgraded lighting, building management controls, and
building envelope improvements that would reduce annual operating expenses by over $100,000.
The Council reviewed the proforma completed by APEX, as well as the arenas cashflow and 2019
budget/ capital reserve fund projection, which all indicate a deficit to finance these necessary
capital improvements. The Council clarified whether funding of these projects could be more
aligned with a potential park referendum in 2020, and the ability to phase the projects in over the
period of a few years. Staff will research additional information on possible financing options/
rates available, as well as the ability to obtain grants to cover project costs after funding options
have already been identified.
5. Debt Policy Amendment
A copy of the proposed amended Debt Policy was provided to the City Council, to ensure it
reflected current statutory authority, expectations for debt/ capital improvement planning, and
expectations/ benefits of maintaining credit quality. Finance Director Jerilyn Erickson, as well as
a few members of the Finance Committee, were present to answer questions/ provide clarification
on the document.
Bruce Rydeen, Chair of the Finance Committee
Thanked the Council for their general support of the document and wanted to point out that
Barry Fick played an instrumental role in putting the Debt Policy together.
The Council reviewed the revised Debt Policy and clarified variable rate debt, the use of footnotes
in the document to further explain a policy, and changes to verbiage to make it easier to read.
6. Preliminary Yearend Financial Report
Ms. Erickson presented the preliminary 2018 year-end financial report which shows the variances
between the amended budget as well as the budget estimate.
The estimated addition to the General Fund reserve at 12/31/2018 is $437,022. This results in a
50.3% fund balance ratio, which is higher than the 40-50% range established by City policy.
Given the net change in fund balance was anticipated to be significantly less than what was
budgeted in 2018, Council previously approved a planned use of the reserves for the one-time or
long-term purchases as part of the 2019 budget; the use of reserves would reduce the fund balance
ratio down to 47.9%.
As staff begins budgeting discussions, and in anticipation of the 2020 tax levy, staff brought
forward some potential uses for General Fund reserves that were identified in the 2019 budget
and the 2019- 2023 Capital Improvement Program. These areas included: the street
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reconstruction projects, debt levy management, and severance payouts, as well as the equipment,
building, park improvement, trail improvement, and pavement management funds.
The Council thanked staff for their transparent work on preparing the financial analysis; the
official Yearend Financial Report will be presented at a City Council meeting in June.
7. Tech Taskforce Update
Mr. Vetter provided an update on the current focus of the Technology Work Group. Based on
prior feedback from both the City Council and City Administration, the work group has
primarily concentrated on no -cost/ low-cost initiatives for 2019-2020. Potential initiatives
included: examining ways to integrate internal data sources into the City's existing website,
possible development of a Citizen Web Portal, and strategic department tactics to address
collaboration and process improvements. Before breaking for the summer, the group has now
focused discussion to reviewing the revised IT Policy/ employee forms and developing
department Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) for emergency preparedness. Staff asked feedback
from the Council on future topics/ areas they would like the work group to explore.
Some suggestions the Council discussed included: the ability to stream the meetings live on
Facebook, commercial network (C -Net) programs for the Dakota Broadband Board, as well as
looking at innovative, undiscovered ways to integrate technology into the community to stay
ahead of the curve.
8. Regional Comparable Cities
During the development and/or establishment of policies, ordinances, development fees,
community amenities, staffing levels, and operational procedures, Lakeville has used other cities
of similar size and demographic to compare. However, though these comparable cities have
traditionally been within the metro area, staff would like to begin looking at growing and
developing cities outside of Minnesota as Lakeville is projected to be the 116 largest city in
Minnesota by 2040. Staff compiled a list of other comparable suburban cities within the Midwest
that had growing populations with similar public amenities such as parks, community centers,
and high performing schools.
The Council reviewed the list and discussed cities they felt would be of better fit, acknowledged
some cities would be used on a more situational basis depending on the context or policy being
discussed, and asked staff to evaluate the current amenities/ average age/ debt to per capita ratio.
Staff will evaluate a few more cities and look to bring the list back to a future work session for
further discussion.
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9. City Council Rules of Procedure Update
The Council reviewed staff edits to the City Council Rules of Procedure, which were previously
updated in 2011, and asked questions/ provided feedback on the document. Specific areas
discussed included: defining an emergency versus special meeting, who would call an emergency
meeting, and the use of social media to inform the public of meetings.
Staff will make the changes identified to the City Council Rules of Procedure and bring it forward
to a future City Council meeting.
10. Committee/ City Administrator Updates
Council Member Wheeler attended the Fire Relief Board where they discussed upcoming events.
Council Member Lee went to the I -35W Solutions meeting which provided an update on
anticipated flooding of the I -35W bridge, construction of a 2 -level parking ramp at the Cedar
Avenue red line, and micro -mobility. The liquor committee announced that the Dunkin Donuts
coming in near the Kenrick Liquor Store would also include a Baskin Robbins.
Council Member Hellier has been testifying at the legislature on lifting the municipal
compensation cap; his philosophy is that the State should not regulate what a city can pay out to
an employee.
Mayor Anderson recently attended a League of Minnesota Cities meeting at the capitol where
they discussed Metro Mobility as well as a bonding bill. Also passed out some information on the
background of the Regional Council of Mayors; the Mayor was recently appointed to the
executive committee. Finally, reminded the council members of the upcoming League of
Minnesota Cities 2019 Annual Conference to be held June 26 — 28 in Duluth.
9. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
submitted,
Tamara allace, beputy City Clerk Douglas P. Anderson, Mayor