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Home My WebLink About01-11-10 WSMinutes Lakeville City Council Work Session January 11, 2010 In attendance: Council Member Laurie Rieb Council Member Mark Bellows Council Member Kerrin Swecker Council Member Kevin Miller Absent: Mayor Holly Dahl Staff: Steve Mielke, City Administrator Tom Vonhof, Police Chief Keith Nelson, City Engineer Dave Olson, Community and Economic Development Director Judi Hawkins, Deputy City Clerk The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Acting Mayor Rieb. ITEM #1 Take Heart MN Initiative Update Police Chief Tom Vonhof presented the Lakeville Heart Restart program to the Council. The objective of the community initiative is to increase the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest victims by providing bystander training in CPR and the use of an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED). The current survivor rate for sudden cardiac arrest is less than five percent. The goal of the program is to increase that rate in Lakeville to 17 -20% by training at least one quarter of the population including students and members of civic organizations, businesses, and churches. Trainees will be at a "bystander" level, and not certified. The program is a collaborative effort with the City of Lakeville, ISD 194, Allina Ambulance, the Fairview Foundation, and Take Heart Minnesota. The program will be supported by private donations, with Fairview Foundation, a non profit 501(c)3 organization, acting as the fiscal agent. A kick -off event will be held on February 11` at City Hall and a Town Forum is planned for April 8` Council members asked about participant liabilities; Chief Vonhof stated that the Good Samaritan Law would pertain. ITEM #2 Cedar BRT funding discussion City Engineer Keith Nelson provided a project overview. Dakota County Commissioners Paul Krause and Will Branning were present, along with Transportation Director Mark Krebsbach and Dakota County staff Kristine Elwood and Todd Howard. Council is being asked to consider entering into a Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County for the construction of bus shoulder lanes, additional through lanes and access modifications including traffic signal additions for the Cedar Avenue BRT project, from 160th Street south to 181st Street. The project will create exclusive bus lanes between 138th Street in Apple Valley and 181st Street in Lakeville. Cedar Avenue Project Manager Kristine Elwood highlighted various aspects of the project which will also include improvements to several intersections along Cedar Avenue. The design portion of the project has been done with Federal and State dollars. Dakota County is cost sharing 55/45 with the City of Lakeville for the transportation component of the project and is proposing a new policy of an 80/20 cost share for the transit components. Lakeville's portion of the project is estimated at $358,000 for construction costs and right of way acquisition, plus an City Council Work Session Minutes January 11, 2010 Page -2- estimated $100,000 for contract administration and inspection costs. No property tax dollars will be used. Funding for the City's portion will be through grants and Municipal State Aid funds. The County has offered to advance fund the City's portion of the project without interest until 2014 when the City will have State Aid funds available. The timeline is to complete the appraisals and acquisitions of right -of -way properties in spring 2010, put the project out for bids in the summer, and commence work in the fall of 2010. Project completion is expected in 2012. Council directed staff to place the Joint Powers Agreement on the next regular meeting agenda. ITEM #3 Legislative Policies and Priorities Each year a slate of policies and priorities is prepared for the purpose of expressing to the State Legislature, residents, and other agencies the Council's position on various issues which affect the City of Lakeville. Several organizations in which the City has membership also adopt policies on issues of state -wide or regional significance and advocate for a wide variety of legislative initiatives. These organizations include the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), the Municipal Legislative Commission (MLC), and Metro Cities. Policies on the proposed list include abolishing levy limits, eliminating the MVHC program, opposing sales tax for local government, basing the property tax credit on individuals' ability to pay, state funding for tree maintenance and planting, etc. Metro Cities is proposing policies on the selection process for Met Council, suggesting staggered terms would create greater stability. Council members felt the number one priority was to eliminate the entire Market Value Homestead Credit program. Council directed staff to place the list of Legislative Policies and Priorities on the next Council agenda for adoption. ITEM #4 Fire Chief Recruitment Process Fire Chief Scott Nelson recently submitted his resignation, effective July 10, 2010. Staff is asking Council to provide direction in order to begin the selection process for his replacement. The process is anticipated to take approximately 90 days to recruit, interview, and make the selection. Staff outlined the process used in 2006 for the Police Chief vacancy and suggested that it be used as an example. City Administrator Mielke stated that prior to hiring the Council should determine if the current organization model is the most appropriate, indicating that there are other models including consolidation or merger, a public safety model or the current structure. Council Member Bellows stated that this might be a good opportunity to look at alternative models and possibly reorganizing or restructuring of the department. He felt there might be some options for merging positions. Staff will research these options and prepare a report for Council's review at the February work session. ITEM #5 Advisory Board and Commission Appointments Council members received information regarding existing vacancies on advisory boards and committees. Reappointments have been made to Planning Commission and Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Committee members whose terms expired at the end of 2009, however, reappointments have not been made to other committees. Current vacancies have been advertised and several residents have expressed an interest in serving. The future of the Telecommunications Commission was discussed. Their current role is to monitor customer service and regulate rights of City Council Work Session Minutes January 11, 2010 Page -3- way. There has been some discussion about either disbanding the group or altering its job description and responsibilities. Council members agreed that this should be determined prior to filling the commission's vacancies. The addition of broadband into the Telecommunications' job description would give the commission greater responsibility. Council suggested reducing the number of members from nine down to seven or five. Members will be contacted to inform them of impending changes and ask for their input. Staff will begin setting up interviews with advisory committee applicants. ITEM #6 Council Committee Appointments Annually, Council members are appointed to various city committees, joint powers agreement committees, and a variety of other committees requiring city representation. Council members suggested staying with the current appointments, since adjustments were recently made when Kevin Miller joined the Council. Staff will ask for the Mayor's opinion when she returns. This item will be placed on an upcoming Council agenda for consideration. ITEM #7 Other: ISD 194 City discussion on former Police Department building Staff has been informed by ISD 194 that they have decided to decline the City's lease or lease/ purchase offer for the former PD building. Options which exist include exploring alternative uses by community groups, leasing the space to a for profit group; or disposing of the building through a sale. Interagency Committee and Board Reports Council member Swecker asked that HiPP be added to the list. Personnel Committee The Personnel Committee is recommending additional leave hours be given to non -union employees in lieu of wage increases. Council directed staff to prepare this item for consideration by Council at a regular meeting. Discuss cancellation of the January 25, 2010 Work Session Council members felt that since there are no pressing issues, the January 25th work session could be cancelled. ITEM #8— Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Iraur ✓V� Hawkins, Deputy Clerk ayor