City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes

May 11, 2015

 

1.         Roll Call

Mayor Roe called the meeting to order at approximately 6:00 p.m.  Voting and Seating Order: Willmus, Etten, McGehee, Laliberte and Roe.  City Manager Patrick Trudgeon and City Attorney Mark Gaughan were also present.  Mayor Roe noted that Councilmember Laliberte had previously advised she would not be available due to scheduling conflicts.

 

2.         Pledge of Allegiance

 

3.         Approve Agenda

At the request of staff, Business/Action Items 14.c and 14.d were removed from tonight's agenda as violations at 2241 had been resolved and violations at 959 Brenner Avenue were substantially completed, bringing both properties into compliance with City Code nullifying the need for a City abatement process to proceed.

 

Due to a recent resignation on the Community Engagement Commission, City Manager Trudgeon requested the addition of Consent Item 8.f to initiate the advertisement for candidates to fill the unexpired term, as detailed in the Request for Council Action provided as a bench handout.

 

Willmus moved, Etten seconded approval of the agenda as amended.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

4.         Public Comment

Mayor Roe called for public comment by members of the audience on any non-agenda items. 

 

a.            Georgeann Hall, 385 Transit Avenue

Ms. Hall read a written statement regarding solid waste ending up in landfills, and encouraged the City Council to be proactive in addressing this situation now to determine how solid waste will be disposed of over the next 15-20 years rather than letting someone else end up responsible for doing so.

 

b.            Dee Kennedy, representing residents at 405 Brooks Avenue, Barbara Anderson (her sister) and Bert Lindberg

Ms. Kennedy brought to the City Council's attention the status of her sister's home that had recently been put on the market.  Ms. Kennedy expressed concern that a sale of the home would be delayed due to the ongoing code enforcement issues at an adjacent home.  Ms. Kennedy noted that she had made the City Attorney aware of this long-term situation with six vehicles parked in the adjacent home's driveway, a boat stored in the front yard, and numerous items stored in the back yard.

 

At the request of Mayor Roe, City Attorney Gaughan responded that he had brought the issue to the attention of the City's code enforcement personnel for resolution.

 

Ms. Kennedy noted that she had spoken with Brian Englund from the City, and had been advised that the adjacent property owner had been notified in accordance with the legal process for code violations and had until May 20, 2015 to take action prior to the City pursuing an abatement or citation process to resolve the violations.  Ms. Kennedy asked for assistance in getting the immediate problem resolved, and opined that the situation should not be allowed to continue in this neighborhood of other well-kept properties.  Ms. Kennedy advised that she had spoken to the owner of the property who admitted he does not live there but only used it for storage; and while he was nice and agreed to resolve the situation when asked by Ms. Kennedy, he had yet to do so.

 

Ms. Kennedy also noted an apparently broken water main in front of the home she has for sale and asked the City's attention to this as well so it did not serve as a further detriment in selling the home.

 

Ms. Kennedy, noting the current physical and emotional health of her sister, asked that City staff not communicate in any way with her sister or brother-in-law, but only directly to her as she has Power of Attorney for them, and should be the only point of contact.  Ms. Kennedy provided her business card to each Councilmember as well as City Manager Trudgeon and City Attorney Gaughan.

 

Councilmember Willmus asked staff to provide an update to the City Council as this process continues.

 

City Manager Trudgeon duly noted that request; and reviewed the detailed breakdown of the process with the adjacent property owner to-date, confirming that the second violation notice had been sent out and the property owner had until May 20, 2015 to resolve the violations, following the normal process.  Mr. Trudgeon advised that the next step, if violations remained unattended to, would be to proceed with a request to the City Council for a Ramsey Court citation; and agreed the City Council would be advised of the process as it continued.

 

In addressing Ms. Kennedy, Mayor Roe noted that usually when something is scheduled before the City Council for abatement or Ramsey County citation, it provided sufficient incentive to get the issue resolved, but assured her the City would make sure the process was used to its fullest effect.

 

Ms. Kennedy advised that she had spoken to Public Works Director Marc Culver who had been very helpful and had assured her that the City could cooperate with her attempts to sell the home and not leave the water main excavation area open on weekends when she schedules showings.

 

5.         Council Communications, Reports, and Announcements

Mayor Roe announced the upcoming Open House by the Greater Minnesota Housing Corporation (GMHC) to present an updated proposal for the Dale Street Project to residents for their information and feedback; two Special City Council meetings scheduled this spring for budget presentations by various departments as part of the 2016 budget process; and a free Shredding Day in Roseville for residents to discard of documents in a secure manner, shredded on site and then recycled.

 

Mayor Roe announced that the Police Department was conducting a toiletries drive for students in need at the Roseville Area High School, as a supplement to approximately ninety families who use the area food shelf, by providing youth with personal hygiene products.  Mayor Roe noted that a donation box was located outside the Police Department office lobby, and cash donations could be paid to the Police Department in their office during regular business hours.  Additional information was available from the Police Department by contacting Kelly Roberto at 651/702-7204.

 

6.         Recognitions, Donations and Communications

 

a.            Proclaim Public Works Week

Mayor Roe read a proclamation declaring National Public Works Week on May 17 - 23, 2015 in the City of Roseville; recognizing the hard work, dedication and importance of all City, County and State Public Works employees and the work they perform in service to the community.

 

McGehee moved, Etten seconded, proclaiming May 17 - 23, 2015 as National Public Works Week in the City of Roseville.

 

                                    Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

7.         Approve Minutes

Comments and corrections to draft minutes had been submitted by the City Council prior to tonight's meeting and those revisions were incorporated into the draft presented in the Council packet.

 

a.            Approve City Council Minutes from May 4, 2015 Meeting

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approval of May 4, 2015 Meeting Minutes as amended.

 

Corrections:

·         Page 3, Lines 33 - 34 (McGehee)

Remove this paragraph in its entirety

·         Page 13, Line 11 (McGehee)

Typographical correction from "ant" to "and"

·         Page 15, Line 23 (McGehee)

Typographical correction from "changed" to "changes"

·         Page 23, Lines 3 - 4 (McGehee)

Typographical correction from "while noting the need [to] [for] condition[al] uses to provide a buffer for the lake as one example."

·         Page 31, Lines 1 - 3 (Willmus)

Correct paragraph to read: "Mayor Roe clarified that it was a P use with conditional uses applied." (Delete remaining verbiage).

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

8.         Approve Consent Agenda

There were no additional changes to the Consent Agenda than those previously noted.  At the request of Mayor Roe, City Manager Patrick Trudgeon briefly reviewed those items being considered under the Consent Agenda; and as detailed in specific Requests for Council Action (RCA) and related attachments, dated May 11, 2015.

 

a.            Approve Payments

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approval of the following claims and payments as presented and detailed.

 

ACH Payments	$483,712.49
77333 - 77399	142,889.88
TOTAL	$626,602.37

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

b.            Approve Business and Other Licenses and Permits

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approval/renewal of business and other licenses and permits for terms as noted.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

c.            Approve General Purchases and Sale of Surplus Items in Excess of $5,000

At the request of Mayor Roe, City Manage Trudgeon clarified that this contracted amount was only a portion of the total stormwater budget shown on Attachment A.

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approval of general purchases and contracts for services, and where applicable, trade-in/sale of surplus equipment as noted in the RCA and Attachment A entitled, "2015 Capital Improvement Plan Summary," updated April 30, 2015.

                                   

                        Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

d.            Approve St. Christopher Property Assessment Request

Mayor Roe noted a typographical error on the draft resolution in the first "WHEREAS," correctly identifying the PACE program.

 

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, adoption of Resolution No. (Attachment A) entitled, "Resolution of the City of Roseville adopting the Assessments, Levying the Assessments and Adopting the Assessment Roll for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Charges for St. Christopher's Church, located at 2300 Hamline Avenue;" as amended.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

e.            Request by the Community Development Department to Hire Sambatek as the Consultant to Draft Amendments to the Existing Tree Preservation and Replacement Regulations and New Planned Unit Development Regulations

Councilmember McGehee thanked staff for taking action to address these issues through use of a consultant as applicable.

 

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approving Sambatek as the consultant to complete the Planned Unit Development (PUD) and Tree Preservation Zoning Code processes; to enter into contracts for each service; with the contract for PUD services not to exceed $9,401.00 and the contract for tree preservation services not to exceed $7,905.00, unless the scope of services changes after the Consultants meet with the City Council on June 22, 2015; and authorize execution of the necessary documents by the Mayor and City Manger.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approving S & S Tree Service as the consultant hired to complete all tree preservation plan reviewed, approvals, inspections and enforcements consistent with existing requirements of Roseville City Code, Section 1011.04, enter into a contract for this service; and authorize execution of the necessary documents by the Mayor and City Manger.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

f.             Community Engagement Commission Vacancy

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, declaring a vacancy on the Community Engagement Commission, direct staff to advertise for applicants to serve to pursue the process for subsequent appointment as outlined in the May 11, 2015 RCA.

 

                        Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

9.            Consider Items Removed from Consent

 

10.         General Ordinances for Adoption

 

11.         Presentations

 

a.            Receive the 2014 Audit Report and Financial Statements

Finance Director Chris Miller introduced Matthew Mayer to provide the annual audit presentation, and recognized Assistant Finance Director Jason Schirmacher, who had taken the lead role for this team-effort in this year's report.

 

Mr. Miller referenced three bench handouts provided at the dais tonight representing various components of the audit, entitled: "City of Roseville, MN Comprehensive Annual Financial Report;" "Reports on Internal Control and Compliance with Government Auditing Standards and Legal Compliance;" and Communications Letter; all for the Fiscal year Ended December 31, 2014.

 

Matthew Mayer, with the firm of Kern, DeWenter, Viere (KDV) provided an overview of the Annual report, components of the audit process itself and any required disclosures or findings.  Mr. Mayer reported that his firm was providing a clean opinion on the 2014 budget report and the City's basic financial statements based on testing in accordance with Minnesota Legal Compliance and involving the report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and compliance and other matters based on an audit of the financial statements performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.

 

Mr. Mayer reported that the only finding this year was related to Material Audit Adjustments, and addressed in their Management Letter under Financial Analysis and Required Communication; and noted the finding had already been corrected by staff.

 

Mr. Mayer provided a brief overview of various funds outlined in the reports, including the General Fund and each Enterprise Fund with an without depreciation figured in.  Mr. Mayer addressed the results to those funds of recent utility rate adjustments made in recent years; suggesting caution about the sustainability of continuing to use reserve funds in the Golf Course Fund.

 

Mayor Roe and Councilmember McGehee thanked Mr. Miller and his staff for the excellent report and work indicated.

 

 Mr. Miller noted that, as the council has time to absorb the report outside of the meeting, staff and/or Mr. Mayer would stand for questions as they arose.

 

McGehee moved, Etten seconded, accepting the 2014 Annual Financial Report as presented.

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

12.         Public Hearings

 

13.         Budget Items

 

14.         Business Items (Action Items)

 

a.            Request to Purchase Parcel ID #1429232400029 for Stormwater and Wetland Mitigation Purposes

Public Works Director Marc Culver summarized the request as detailed in the RCA, as well as providing a brief overview of the upcoming reconstruction of Victoria Street and wetland and stormwater requirements and a proposed mitigation design.

 

As outlined in the RCA, Mr. Culver reported that the appraised value property needed for the stormwater easement was $57,900, and the total market value of the parcel was appraised at $96,500.  Mr. Culver advised that staff had met in a preliminary manner with the current property owner who had expressed their willingness to sell the entire parcel.  Mr. Culver stated staff's recommendation to acquire the parcel to provide a buffer to existing wetlands as further detailed in the RCA.  In discussion with the Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD), Mr. Culver advised that their Board of Directors had recently approved a grant to the City of Roseville for up to 50% or a total of $38,600 for purchase of the parcel that addressed the gap between the easement cost and entire purchase price.  If acquisition was approved by the City Council, Mr. Culver advised that funds were intended to be used for the purchase from the Stormwater Utility Fund.

 

As part of the conditions for the grant funds and participation from the CRWD, Mr. Culver advised that the land must remain in public ownership in perpetuity for primarily wetland protection and buffer purposes via a conservation easement or similar instrument granted to the CRWD.  Mr. Culver noted that the conditions also provided that the City remain responsible for all future ownership, maintenance and land management costs; and further noted that the CRWD seemed amenable to the addition of a future trail adjacent to the park.

 

Willmus moved, McGehee seconded, approval of the purchase of Parcel ID #142923240029 in the amount of $96,500 with cost participation from the Capitol Region Watershed District, as detailed in the RCA dated May 11, 2014.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

b.            Request by the Community Development Department for Approval of a Predevelopment Agreement with the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (BMHC) for the Dale Street Fire Station Site

 

Community Development Director Paul Bilotta briefly summarized this requested action as detailed in the RCA.  Mr. Bilotta noted a bench handout had been provided consisting of a corrected draft Preliminary Development Agreement and language as pointed out by Councilmember  Etten during his review, correcting language previously attributed to the City's Housing & Redevelopment Authority and changed to the City as applicable.

 

Etten moved, McGehee seconded, adoption of Resolution No. 11221 entitled, "Resolution Approving a Predevelopment Agreement between the City of Roseville and the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC);" for the Dale Street Fire Station Redevelopment Project Area; authorizing performance of all necessary actions to meet the City's obligations as identified in the executed Predevelopment Agreement; as amended.

 

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

 

c.            Community Development Department Request to Perform an Abatement for Unresolved Violations of City Code at 2241 Oxford Street

As previously noted, this item was removed from tonight's agenda.

 

d.            Community Development Department Request to Perform an Abatement for Unresolved Violations of City Code at 959 Brenner Avenue

As previously noted, this item was removed from tonight's agenda.

 

e.            Request by the Community Development Department to Approve the Roseville Environmental Review Worksheet (RERW) related to the HR, LLC 9TPI Hospitality) Project at 2750 Cleveland Avenue

City Planner Thomas Paschke summarized this request as detailed in the RCA and attachments.

 

As she'd previously raised to staff, Councilmember McGehee questioned wetlands located west of Langton Lake Park and their drainage, as well as Little Johanna and its identification as an impaired water, and asked that staff keep those issues in mind going forward.

 

Councilmember McGehee further questioned the apparent omission in the RERW form, as she'd brought to Community Development Director Bilotta's attention,  related to any testing done for TCE in the aquifers, one of the most worrisome of pollutants in that area

 

Mr. Paschke clarified that in the review of this particular site (the former Old Dominion property), no TCE was noted, nor was it found during development of the Metropolitan Council's Park & Ride facility, as it had been found at the Wal-Mart Development (roadway) and former PIK sites.  Mr. Paschke assured Councilmember McGehee that this and any future developers would need to continue to work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) directly on any contaminated soil monitoring, remediation and/or removal.

 

Since the City had changed the format of the voluntary RERW form, Councilmember McGehee sought clarification from the City Attorney as to whether any apparent absence of adherence to MPCA requirements caused the City additional liability.  Councilmember McGehee suggested erring on the side of caution to ensure required testing was ongoing.

 

At the request of mayor Roe, City Attorney Gaughan advised that, since the City was not the owner of the property, and the city's requirement for environmental review was voluntary, and not mandated by State EAW rules, he was not aware of any additional liability the City would be taking on in this attempt to simply hold developers to a higher standard than required by State law.

 

Mayor Roe concurred, clarifying that this RERW was not  a mandatory EAW. 

 

Councilmember McGehee expressed her concern that developers and/or contractors continue to be held accountable.

 

At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Mr. Paschke offered to be the point person or liaison person managing environmental aspects of this project moving forward.

 

Community Development Director Paul Bilotta further expanded staff's response and clarified that the MPCA would continue to handle environmental issues for developers and their various engineering firms.  Mr. Bilotta further noted that the City was developing its own Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to establish qualified consultants to review developer environmental issues, in addition to the normal review by the City's Building Inspection and Engineering/Public Works Departments as part of the plan approval process and their oversight of how materials are disposed of, all part of staff's oversight of construction sites.

 

Also in response to wetland concerns, Public Works Director Culver noted on preliminary maps the location of smaller wetlands shown on the west side of Langton Lake Park and addressed current drainage of the site into the Iona and Mt. Ridge drainage systems, as well as other areas, with runoff from the site currently flowing to that system north and west along Iona and north into the existing Wilson Pond in the northeast corner of County Road C-2 and Cleveland Avenue.  Mr. Culver advised that drainage of this site was currently and would continue to flow there; however, as part of the development, he noted required stormwater features including an underground stormwater storage system.  Mr. Culver noted this would result in less overall runoff from the site, which would of course be rate controlled, but not flow into Langton Lake Park or its adjacent wetlands.

 

In her role testing the water quality of Langton Lake, Councilmember McGehee noted that the lake was fed largely by stormwater, and questioned if future runoff was filtered into an underground tank system, would future levels on the lake be negatively impacted.  Councilmember McGehee suggested some consideration be given to maintaining a reasonable level for the lake in the future, rather than capturing it all and sending it elsewhere.

 

Mr. Culver duly noted that suggestion, clarifying that proposed stormwater management would be addressed around this site as well as if and when future development occurs in the area.

 

As often seen with construction projects and a material handling plan addressing how to deal with dust (e.g. watering it down to minimize it), Mayor Roe questioned who would be responsible for street sweeping as trucks leave site, since he did not see that addressed in the RERW.

 

Mr. Culver responded that, as part of the City's normal erosion control permitting process, the developer had to maintain construction entrances to prevent that material getting into the streets, addressed via sweeping requirements.  Mr. Culver advised that staff made periodic inspections, and developers were required to 'sweep on demand,' and if they did not comply, the City held an escrow account allowing reimbursement if the City was required to perform that sweeping.

 

Etten moved, McGehee seconded,  accepting the HR LLC (TPI Hospitality) Environmental Review Worksheet (ERW) requirements established by City of Roseville Resolution No. 11198; and directing staff to approve permits when such necessary information and project details comply with City and State Code.

 

In general, Councilmember McGehee stated that she appreciated this document and developer responses, and the way staff reviewed it.  However, Councilmember McGehee stated that her only caution is to have the form's future format not indicate a developer didn't have to answer a question without a further explanation of rationale in not requiring them to do so (e.g. traffic study).

 

Mayor Roe suggested stating, as an example in this case, that the traffic study existed elsewhere to address the rationale in not requiring a response from the developer.

 

Councilmember McGehee suggested, whenever something was referenced by the RERW, it become part of the document or at a minimum a summary of the referenced material.

                                                Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.

 

15.         Business Items - Presentations/Discussions

 

a.            Review Draft Policy Priority Planning Document

City Manager Patrick Trudgeon provided an overview of this first look by the City Council of staff's attempt to identify strategic initiatives as part of the City Council Retreat held in February and five strategic priorities, key outcome indicators (KOI), and targets it had established, along with Department Heads, at that time.  A Summary Document (Attachment A) and Retreat Facilitator Craig Rapp's Summary Report (Attachment B) were referenced by Mr. Trudgeon, as outlined in the RCA. 

 

Mr. Trudgeon noted that this first look at strategic initiatives developed by staff was intended to provide talking points for further discussion and a general overview of those initiatives. Mr. Trudgeon advised that the intent was to provide check-in and reporting opportunities by staff to the City Council on those efforts over the next two years.  As noted on Attachment A entitled "City of Roseville Strategic Plan Summary 2016 - 18," Mr. Trudgeon noted the KOI and Targets were broken into different subgroups, with Department and Assistant Department Heads in attendance tonight to speak to each of the areas they'd worked on, even though the entire group had addressed all of the initiatives from an organizational standpoint to determine if they were feasible.  While this is only a summary, Mr. Trudgeon expressed staff's excitement in working with the City Council on their direction over the next two years.

 

Mr. Trudgeon suggested, after the City Council had time to provide feedback and further consider the documents and staff's presentation tonight, the draft plan be brought forward at the June 8, 2015 City Council meeting for final consideration and approval.  However, Mr. Trudgeon recommended that the City Council receive public input on the draft document at tonight's meeting as well as at the June 8, 2015 meeting.

Strategic Priorities

Effective Governance

Staff assigned: City Manager Pat Trudgeon and Fire Chief Tim O'Neill

City Manager Trudgeon briefly reviewed the strategic initiatives outlined on Attachment A for City Council consideration and feedback.

 

Councilmember McGehee expressed appreciation for the template idea, recognizing that it would require a lot of work but also provided an automatic guide internally and externally as staff guided changes, or for new people coming into the process.  However, Councilmember McGehee questioned how and at what point additional information was provided to the City Council, or how moving from presentation to action was anticipated and in what format it would come forward.  Councilmember McGehee expressed her interest in receiving more information sooner rather than later and in advance of a meeting.

 

City Manager Trudgeon responded that the format would depend on the specific topic, whether bringing information forward for a first look as a preliminary presentation and then subsequently for action at a future meeting, either on the Consent Agenda or Business/Action Item, depending on the topic.  Mr. Trudgeon noted some initiatives would be more straightforward and require less review, while others would be more involved and not as routine in nature.  Mr. Trudgeon noted the need for the City Council to make that determination and provide staff with sufficient feedback as to what information they were seeking to be included on future RCA's depending on the particular topic.

 

Councilmember Willmus expressed appreciation for City Manager Trudgeon's comments, opining that often staff looked at issues differently than the City Council, but at the end of the day the elected body was accountable to the voters.  Councilmember Willmus noted that this often created a messy, sloppy process needing to be muddled through.  However, Councilmember Willmus opined that this City Council had been effective in working through a myriad of complex issues, and while not always pretty or on the proscribed schedule they remained accountable to their constituents.  Under that scenario, Councilmember Willmus noted that often things may come up during a City Council meeting that staff had not previously thought about and therefore additional information and time was required to resolve a particular issue.

 

Regarding the strategic initiative identified as "establish framework for respectful dialogue and exchange of ideas," Councilmember Willmus opined that there would always be Councilmembers who were passionate about a particular issue and who may disagree.  However, Councilmember Willmus questioned the benefit for staff to spend too much time attempting to address that concern.

 

Recognizing how much additional preliminary work may be required of staff to get information to the City Council ahead of time and how that may dramatically change the current operating procedures, Councilmember Etten cautioned creating additional work for staff that may not prove useful to the City Council.  Regarding timeframes, Councilmember Etten expressed appreciation for those times staff clearly laid out in the RCA the "next steps" and a proposed timeframe (e.g. Dale Street Project).  Using the Dale Street Project as an example, Councilmember Etten suggested pulling some of the pieces from the Development Agreement for that timeline to provide a direct target or window for presentations or action by a Commission or the City Council, since staff often has that information available without causing them too much additional work.

 

While recognizing that the strategic initiative identified as "establish framework for respectful dialogue and exchange of ideas," may be tough to maintain a continuum for respectful meetings, Councilmember Etten suggested each new City Councilmember packet include a refresher from the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) materials for discussion.  Councilmember Etten agreed that, while the body could agree to disagree, there should always be a reminder to remain respectful with no need to go for blood.

 

Regarding that referenced initiative, Mayor Roe opined that respect went beyond the City Council, but also the City Council's respect of staff, and also to everyone participating in a meeting.  Mayor Roe further opined that it was the City Council's role to set a good example for everyone else, otherwise it became easy for a member of the community to follow the Council's bad example.

 

As part of that respect initiative, Mayor Roe suggested a trial period providing an opportunity for anyone participating in a meeting to turn in a response at the end of that meeting as to whether they found the meeting respectful or not, with a tally of those responses to see if it matched the impressions of the City Council.  Mayor Roe suggested this would provide a chance for feedback, whether at the end of the meeting, or reported at the next meeting, and if tracked for awhile, it may provide enlightening.  Mayor Roe recognized that there would always be issues where someone was passionate, and regardless of how the discussion went, if the decision didn't go their way, they may feel it wasn't a respectful meeting.  However, overall, Mayor Roe noted the desire was to do public business in a respectful manner.

 

Regarding getting preliminary information earlier under the strategic initiative to "improve meeting management," Mayor Roe noted this was of benefit to the public as well as the City Council by involving them earlier in the process.  Mayor Roe noted there would be obvious exceptions when negotiations were underway or developments not yet ready to make a formal application.  However, Mayor Roe opined it would be beneficial to have mechanisms available if they didn't become overly cumbersome or burdensome to staff and as things were ready to be moved to a public forum.

 

Councilmember McGehee opined that to here there seemed to be two points to consider under that initiative: that of the City Council as addressed, but also from staff's perspective.  Councilmember McGehee noted there were times when staff brings things forward and the City Council didn't respond in a timely fashion, or the City Council didn't provide the information staff needed.  Councilmember McGehee stated that this seemed, from her perspective, to be part of being respectful of each other and how the groups reacted to one another; but also opined that they were all adults and vigorous discussions should be available without showing any disrespect.

 

City Manager Trudgeon admitted there were often challenges, especially when things were on a meeting agenda for discussion or action, but due to longer-than-anticipated discussion or time constraints, the item may be deferred to a future meeting, even though staff made themselves available at that time.  Mr. Trudgeon recognized the improvements of the City Council in bringing questions or concerns to staff's attention prior to a meeting allowing them to address those questions or remove or deferring an item if information was not immediately available.  However, Mr. Trudgeon stated that the more that could be emphasized, the better, allowing staff to respond and the City Council to be better informed to make a decision.  If the City Council could alert him or identify any problem areas earlier in the meeting, Mr. Trudgeon noted he could release staff rather than having them sit through an entire meeting without their agenda items being addressed.  Mr. Trudgeon noted that this also involved managing agendas to make sure there was not too much business anticipated for a meeting, while allowing sufficient time to take care of business as needed.

 

Councilmember McGehee opined that she had noticed an improvement in staff RCA's allowing for topics being more fleshed out, as well as allowing sufficient time on the agenda for discussion and to complete the agenda.

 

Mayor Roe clarified that all of the strategic priorities, KOI's and targets had been developed from joint discussions by the City Council and staff at the Retreat and were not just staff observations, but involved all participants in that conversation.

City Manager Trudgeon sought to clarify that staff was not intending to communicate that they were making any attempt to force decisions, but for those actions needing more discourse and discussion, staff recognized delays were necessary versus those that allowed for immediate decision-making by the City Council without the need for further consideration.

 

As an example, Councilmember Etten noted the Twin Lakes Redevelopment Area discussion that involved complex and important decisions, but got delayed by a variety of issues.  Councilmember Etten opined that this, in part, also involved the need for maintaining respectful dialogue rather than people using their positions to make personal points, whether to each other, staff or commission members.  Councilmember Etten opined that this was the part for him that came off poorly as a result of such dialogue that put people in poor positions.

 

Councilmember McGehee noted the positive steps staff has been taking with those complex issues in breaking them into more manageable chunks versus the City Council attempting to address the broader picture involving too many moving parts; opining that was a big improvement.

 

With a municipal election held every two years that may influence how a position or issue is approached, Mayor Roe noted some things are entirely out of staff or the public's control, a reality that needed to be acknowledged as part of this discussion.  However, Mayor Roe agreed that it was up to each Councilmember and the corporate body to manage things to get the business of the city accomplished.

 

Mayor Roe reiterated the comments of City Manager Trudgeon that this was the first look at this draft summary, and would include public feedback prior to approval.

 

Civic Engagement

Staff assigned: Police Chief Rick Mathwig, Assistant Parks Director Jill Anfang, City Planner Thomas Paschke

Chief Mathwig provided an overview of the proposed strategic initiatives.

 

Specific to the initiative to "establish community-oriented outreach program," City Manager Trudgeon identified an awareness of three new segments of the community, with others were yet to be determined.  Mr. Trudgeon noted that further work would involve plugging this initiative with the Community Engagement Commission's (CEC) Neighborhood Group Task Force and Renter's Notification Task Force.  Since this was still a work-in-progress, Mr. Trudgeon advised that this was only a portion of segments needing focus and identifying other groups and how to further plug them into the process would require additional review for implementation.

 

Specific to the initiative to "create a strategy for use of volunteers," City Manage Trudgeon noted staff's initial review of the "Service Enterprise Program" certification for improving strategies for using volunteers and coordinate ideas, even above and beyond those initiatives already implemented by Volunteer Coordinator Kelly O'Brien.  Mr. Trudgeon noted the improved ways staff was pursuing a more organizational approach and way of thinking about volunteers, and anticipated ability through using this program to cast a wider net and more effectively engage volunteers and manage them.  Mr. Trudgeon noted that this "Points of Life" initiative was well-known within non-profit agencies and was just starting to become incorporated in the government sector; with the next level for volunteer engagement made more feasible through this certification program.  Mr. Trudgeon reported that the City's management team and Department Heads were committed to and all actively engaged in performing a strategic look at how to use volunteers through a more systematic approach.

 

Specific to the initiative to "conduct regular community surveys," Councilmember Etten referred to a question he'd received from a member of the CEC about whether the community survey was actually related to community engagement or simply a tool to measure organizational effectiveness.  As related to him by the CEC member, Councilmember Etten suggested the goal was actually to increase the target for the number of volunteers involved in the community, seeking another potential target for involving more people, not just for events and/or activities. 

 

Specific to the decision-making process, Councilmember Etten opined that the under-reported population and CEC task force addressing renters was an excellent example for him in addressing new segments.  However, Councilmember Etten suggested changing that target some to address what was being done by other communities as well for comparison purposes to improve efforts in Roseville.

 

At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Councilmember Etten clarified his remarks about measuring or engaging through the community survey, suggesting further discussion may be prudent in defining whether the survey's goal was a measurement of organizational effectiveness or how it was involving people.

 

Mayor Roe suggested is may be both, including a way to measure engagement as well.

 

Councilmember McGehee expressed her appreciation for the community survey and its usefulness to her, depending on what questions were asked and how they were asked.  While agreeing with the need for clarification, Councilmember McGehee suggested the need to determine whether or not the City had been communicating effectively and providing the opportunities people were seeking.

 

Councilmember Etten opined that the initiative also went to the priority of "effective governance" as well.

 

Mayor Roe opined that it helped inform the engagement process.

 

Councilmember Willmus agreed with Councilmember Etten, that the community survey tool provided a metric for various issues, which could then be used as a basis to see how the organization was doing versus the organization's effectiveness.  While he could see an engagement component of the community survey, Councilmember Willmus opined that it was probably not the best tool available to facilitate what was needed in that regard.

 

Mayor Roe recalled previous discussions at the Retreat that the survey was intended to measure satisfaction with engagement.

 

City Manager Trudgeon concurred with Mayor Roe's recollection of those discussions, noting the KOI identified at the Retreat served as a driver for that satisfaction and could be moved down to the other priority.

 

Mayor Roe clarified "measuring satisfaction with our engagement in the community."

 

Councilmember Willmus stated that he may have additional questions and/or need clarification on some of the proposed strategic initiatives, since the City Council had yet to be involved in that portion of the summary.  Even though the City Council had helped develop the KOI and Targets at the Retreat, Councilmember Willmus noted that this is their first look at the draft Strategic Initiatives.

 

City Manager Trudgeon duly noted that this was the first look for the City Council and intended for their feedback as well as that of the public.

 

Councilmember Etten noted the changes already being implemented to engage the community more deeply in the City Council's decision-making, as noted in the "Effective Governance" priority.  While questions remained in how to do it, Councilmember Etten questioned if it needed to be included in this priority as well or something continually looked at and systematically included in the process early on.  Councilmember Etten noted this included continuing to maintain and improve the city website, printing communication in a timelier manner and getting information out in a more timely fashion by using other media options (e.g. NextDoor.com) to target specific neighborhoods.  Councilmember Etten opined this involved continually looking for new ways to improve those communication and engagement efforts.

 

Specific to "Civic Engagement," Mayor Roe expressed appreciation for staff's comments regarding involving advisory commissions, recognizing that their feedback would be helpful as they had insights to offer beyond those of the City Council and/or staff.

 

Councilmember McGehee suggested incorporating various templates for decision-making (e.g. next steps and timelines) to enhance communication efforts and ways to memorialize communication in the decision-making process providing fewer concerns for residents.

 

Housing & Redevelopment

Staff assigned: Community Development Director Paul Bilotta, Battalion Fire Chief of Operations David Brosnahan, and Deputy Fire Chief Chris Snyder

Community Development Director Bilotta summarized the strategic initiatives drafted for this priority.

 

Specific to the initiative to "establish a move-up housing program, Councilmember Willmus referenced the many discussion held at the Retreat regarding this KOI and Target, and questioned how to facilitate this and how it related to high density residential (HDR) and/or medium density residential (MDR) zoning designations.  Councilmember Willmus questioned if MDR was the buffer between single-family residential and HDR or what specific things needed to be looked at, since he didn't see that addressed in the strategic initiative.

 

As a first step, Mr. Bilotta advised that staff would be presenting this first look of the summary document to the HRA at their meeting next week, along with a list of target properties for them to consider as MDR sites as a preliminary for their consideration and discussion to address at the upcoming joint meeting of the HRA and City Council.

 

Councilmember Willmus questioned if the intent was to lump rezoning with move-up housing as one and the same thing.

 

Mr. Bilotta clarified that the main question was how to facilitate either or both beyond simply setting a goal.  Mr. Bilotta opined that a first step would involve identifying MDR as an untapped need in the community and potential sites and whether they may need rezoned or other ideas on how to achieve that priority and target.  Mr. Bilotta noted this may include determining the HRA's role and that of the City Council: whether acquisition, marketing, incentives or other means and all part of the programming process.

 

Specific to other metrics listed under the Target category, Councilmember Willmus opined that he didn't recall discussion at the Retreat about putting out specific numbers on the number of living-wage jobs, owner-occupied, housing value rentals and other targets identified and questioned whether those numbers had come from.

 

Mr. Bilotta stated that staff had simply attempted to predict what a reasonable number of living-wage jobs may be in the two-year time frame for discussion purposes only.

 

Regarding owner-occupied housing and rental value changes, Mr. Bilotta noted that these estimates were for five years, through 2020, with considerable fluctuation being seen at this time across the City, and staff's attempts to compare it with inflation over that same five year period, again hard to predict and depending on the numbers impacted by all units for that type of housing stock.

 

For clarification, Mayor Roe noted that the targets would become part of the discussion for anything the Council eventually adopted.-,

Specific to the KOI for SE Roseville, Councilmember McGehee congratulated staff and the working group on their efforts to-date in starting from the bottom-up to achieve a good plan for that area rather than trying to force it in one direction or another, which she found to be a new approach for Roseville.  However, Councilmember McGehee cautioned that the efforts of the working group not become so formalized as to become a rigid extension of City government. 

 

While supporting all of the strategic targets proposed by staff, regarding the initiative to "establish a Twin Lakes economic development program," Councilmember McGehee expressed her anticipation of what was projected.

 

Councilmember Etten echoed the comments of Councilmember McGehee specific to the SE Roseville working group, as well as questioning long-term economic development plans for the Twin Lakes area.  Councilmember Etten stated that his questions regarding move-up housing and rezoning had been addressed by Mr. Bilotta's response to Councilmember Willmus's similar concerns.

 

Specific to the SE Roseville working group, Mayor Roe clarified that those efforts were and should remain open to general public participation as well as that of the neighborhood.  Mayor Roe stated that he envisioned involving feedback from people living and/or doing business there as well to make sure they were part of the process.  Mayor Roe also noted the need to look at a long-term redevelopment plan for the area as a more formalized process as well as short-term efforts.

 

Specific to move-up housing, Mayor Roe stated he was leery of tying that to MDR zoning, since he wasn't sure the values would be $350,000 or more; and opined that multiple strategies were needed, with the MDR serving as only one tool.  Mayor Roe noted that single-family homes, similar to those having gone up over the last few years, could also help to accomplish that goal, such as facilitating that type of development in single-family designated zoning areas or pockets throughout the community as long as they were not out-of-character with the rest of the neighborhood.

 

Councilmember Willmus agreed with Mayor Roe's comments, opining they were valid and well-taken, as long as the target thrown out was understood to be casually estimated at 50 units at $350,000 or above.

 

Mr. Bilotta expressed appreciation for Mayor Roe and Councilmembers touching on the "bottom up" aspect as a continuing consideration by the CEC and Neighborhood Association endeavors in deferring some items until seeing what comes out of the SE Roseville working group and then plug it in to various subgroups as specific topics came forward.  Mr. Bilotta noted that it was anticipated that additional members may come and go, but also that it was anticipated that a core group would remain long-term to address this target and various initiative.

 

Mayor Roe suggested an inter-jurisdictional role as well to involve the communities of Maplewood and St. Paul.

 

Mr. Bilotta advised that to-date the working group had not brought those cities in, but the Police Department was approaching them, and the little seed continued to grow into other areas as efforts progressed.

 

Mayor Roe advised that he had planted some seeds with the Mayor of Maplewood several months ago.

 

Organizational Effectiveness

Staff assigned: Assistant to City Manager/City Clerk Kari Collins, Information Technology Network Manager Terre Heiser, (then) Public Works Director Dwayne Schwartz

City Clerk Kari Collins provided an overview of the efforts for this priority.

 

Specific to the survey topic, Mayor Roe stated that the more he considered resource allocation, the more he found it as a tool providing a metric as to whether citizens felt their priorities were being met versus how those resources were being allocated.

 

As part of the initiative to "conduct annual review of organizational interdependencies and collaboration opportunities," Councilmember McGehee suggested including external opportunities in surrounding communities as well.

 

Ms. Collins assured Councilmember McGehee that would be a part of the discussion, noting the work already underway by Volunteer Coordinator Kelly O'Brien in pursuing public/private partnerships.

 

Councilmember McGehee expressed appreciation for this part of the presentation, opining that she was unaware of any opportunities in the past to conduct a satisfaction survey for employees, which she found to be a good idea and providing an opportunity for employees to see if their job descriptions resemble the job they were actually doing.

 

Regarding collaboration opportunities, Councilmember Willmus noted in the past discussion had been held regarding looking to other local government units (e.g. Ramsey County, MnDOT, and others) on a broader basis.  Councilmember Willmus expressed his concern also that, initially starting from Retreat discussions as what was desired over the next few years, had now expanded to 5-6 years, and suggested being cognizant of how to bring that all together and tie it up. 

 

Regarding an employee satisfaction survey, Councilmember Willmus admitted he wasn't quite sold on how that tied to other items being proposed as initiatives, opining that it could take him a while to get to that.

 

Councilmember Etten suggested a different KOI for this priority entitled "Building Organizational Strength," and several targets, one of which could be "employee satisfaction."  Councilmember Etten noted the value and importance of the City Council listening to those performing the City's work day-to-day, but not necessarily as a separate KOI, but in order to develop and nurture succession planning and develop staff skills.  As an example, Councilmember Etten noted there should be more than one staff person skilled to serve as a liaison to an advisory commission, addressing development of more depth and strength for employee skills moving forward.  Councilmember Etten stated that he could support including another KOI for staff development in a different format, or remove "employee satisfaction" and add his suggestion, allowing initiatives to flow from that and include additions.

 

Mayor Roe opined that sounded familiar to him from Retreat discussions as well.

 

Councilmember McGehee disagreed, opining that she found it important to have an employee satisfaction survey to find out if they had sufficient training for the jobs they were performing and if they felt they were in a safe environment to work, and there was enough flexibility for them to grow within based on the strength of the organization from their perspective.  Councilmember McGehee opined that, in many ways, the City's employees were customers, and if they felt they had no advancement opportunities or no succession planning was in place, or not enough depth was available in their jobs, or if they felt unable to respond to certain situations, she thought those were important things for the City Council to be aware of.  As the City Manager became aware of those issues as well, Councilmember McGehee opined that it would provide a pool of information to build a more effective organization.

 

Councilmember Etten clarified that he felt an employee survey was important, but not as a KOI, but as one of the targets from building organizational strength.

 

Mayor Roe noted that clarification provided a level of agreement between Councilmembers Etten and McGehee.

 

Mayor Roe suggested referencing the meeting notes from the Retreat to determine the discussion on this KOI and how it had evolved to this, and whether employee satisfaction was originally part of organizational strength.  Mayor Roe opined that having a handle on the needs of the organization was a key part as well as employee satisfaction, and suggested moving the "employee satisfaction" KOI further right on the summary.

 

Councilmember Willmus concurred, opining that it was currently weighted too heavily.

 

Infrastructure Sustainability

Staff assigned: Public Works Director Marc Culver, Parks & Recreation Director Lonnie Brokke

Public Works Director Culver provided an overview of this priority.

 

Councilmember McGehee questioned the status city-wide of the asset management software program.  Councilmember McGehee opined that when the City Council agreed to initiate the program some time ago, it was her understanding that all departments would be on it; however, after another two years, it was her understanding that was not the case, and she questioned why it seemed to be so difficult to get all city assets catalogued onto this software program.

 

Mr. Culver responded that the Public Works Department had embraced the program and catalogued its assets and was also documenting time and maintenance on spent on those assets.  While the program was really borne out of the Public Works Department, Mr. Culver advised that discussion was ongoing for implementation with other departments, with the Parks & Recreation beginning to use it, and another review being done city-wide to see if there were ways for their departments to make use of the software program.

 

Councilmember McGehee asked City Manager Trudgeon for clarification if it had been the intent, when the City Council supported the software, that every department become engaged, at least at a minimum to catalogue assets.

 

City Manager Trudgeon confirmed that intent, advising that it was still in process, but was not there yet, and would continue to be a continual process for some time, recognizing that the Parks & Recreation Department had recently made substantial progress, and other departments were still coming.  With reorganization efforts recently implemented, Mr. Trudgeon advised that staff was now in a better position with time and resources to get everyone on board eventually.

 

At the request of Councilmember McGehee, City Manager Trudgeon responded that it was the goal to have everyone on board and organized by the end of 2016.

 

Mayor Roe clarified that it was a goal, while recognizing work efforts would and could shift as well.

 

In his previous discussions with Finance Director Miller, Mayor Roe noted one challenge may be to link the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) document to the infrastructure management and financial tracking documents, as well as getting the park program into that CIP system allowing them to show on the same report.  While understanding it was just a spreadsheet that needed to be managed through some expertise, Mayor Roe expressed his desire to be able to track infrastructure with CIP dollars to make sure the money set aside in Enterprise Fund areas was the right amount and being spent in a timelyfashion, or if it needed reallocated elsewhere.  If tracked well and dollars clearly identified, Mayor Roe opined that the City Council may be able to look at rates and only address inflationary pieces for a few years without continuing to adjust those rates.  However, until known for sure, Mayor Roe noted the difficulty in tracking that information.

 

Conclusion

City Manager Trudgeon, in conclusion noted that this was the point where staff exited the process and this draft became a City Council working document.  Mr. Trudgeon stated the reason for tonight's presentation was to populate ideas on how to achieve priorities and KOI, and various targets.  While appreciating feedback so far, Mr. Trudgeon suggested the need for the City Council to determine its comfort level and how to express their various components.  Mr. Trudgeon clarified that staff was reliant on the City Council saying what they wanted to do and how to do so; and suggested if something didn't make sense or a change was needed to a previously-stated KOI, they provide that additional feedback.  Mr. Trudgeon further clarified that the strategic initiatives on the summary plan were only intended as suggestions from staff to begin discussions, and in the meantime, he sought additional feedback from the City Council before bringing the document back on June 8, 2015.

 

Councilmember Willmus noted several areas that would benefit from feedback from the CEC or HRC; and questioned how City Manager Trudgeon saw that fitting into the timeline for City Council action proposed for June 8, 2015.

 

City Manager Trudgeon stated that was entirely up to the City Council, whether they wanted additional time for vetting or discussion, even though staff was eager to begin work on some of the initiatives if directed to do so.  If the plan changes, Mr. Trudgeon stated that staff was comfortable deferring action or taking action on June 8, at the discretion of the City Council and at their lead.

 

Discussion ensued regarding upcoming advisory commission meeting schedules and how that aligned with proposed action on June 8, 2015.

 

In general, Councilmember Etten suggested shrinking the timeline to only cover 2015-17, depending on the outcome of the next election and potential new Councilmembers, but to cap it at 2017.  Even though some goals may be longer than those two years, Councilmember Etten suggesting keeping that limit, and project those necessary for a longer-term, with a review every January of each new year to see progress to-date.  Also, Councilmember Etten suggested staff report back periodically (e.g. every six months) on these items, and expressed his preference if possible that it run parallel with the annual budget calendar to determine after one year whether or not this has proven helpful, whether it was working or not, and providing check-ins on its overall effectiveness.

 

Along those lines, Mayor Roe suggested similar reports or updates on a quarterly basis or even more frequently as currently done for other staff reports provided as part of the Consent Agenda.  Mayor Roe opined that a six month period for reporting seemed a little too long to him, but agreed that regular updates were essential.

 

Councilmember Etten expressed his willingness for shorter timeframes as applicable, as long as an overall look was provided for those items listed.

 

While this is a City Council document, Councilmember McGehee noted the last column for "strategic initiatives" at this point was only staff input.  To the extent those have been discussed and additional tweaking and wording revised, Councilmember McGehee questioned City Manager Trudgeon's intended schedule if planning to bring this back on June 8, and how and when public and advisory commission input would be heard.  Councilmember McGehee expressed her interest in a list of actual items after tonight's discussion and a timeframe with implementation dates, not only for 2015-2016, but also sustainable beyond that.

 

In response, City Manager Trudgeon explained his thought process was that at some point the City Council would approve the document, and then loop the advisory commissions in.  Mr. Trudgeon cautioned doing so before the City Council had provided a clear context and direction.  However, if the City Council determined it was important to communicate this draft with advisory commissions and bring them into the loop now that could be accommodated, even though Mr. Trudgeon recognized that several of those commissions had already met this month and may further delay the process.  Mr. Trudgeon noted that a lot of work was intended for the first two years, with half of this first year already gone, prompting the need to look at dates again.  Mr. Trudgeon clarified that staff was open to the process dictated by the City Council, but also cautioned that by bringing more people into the loop at this point, it would create a much larger need for context.

 

While recognizing the benefit of tonight's discussion, Councilmember Willmus questioned how to bring Councilmember Laliberte into that discussion prior to taking formal action.

 

In fairness to that desire, City Manager Trudgeon suggested perhaps another discussion on June 8, perhaps a summary plan not fully ratified would suffice for the HRA's joint meeting with the City Council on June 15, provided the City Council was comfortable with the housing and redevelopment aspect and any other priorities involving the HRA directly that would serve to facilitate that conversation.

 

Councilmember Etten agreed with City Manager Trudgeon that this document involved a lot of work for the City Council, and there would be many additional opportunities for staff to involve the community and/or advisory commissions.  Councilmember Etten also recognized that 2015 was half over before this document was going to be adopted, and therefore, he expressed his support for a final touch on June 8, followed by formal action at the next meeting to move it forward.  Councilmember Etten also noted that this was a living document and should be flexible enough to allow revisions based on the six month updates "or quarterly if applicable" but would still allow those changes and the process to move forward sooner rather than later.

 

Based on his perception of discussions to-date, Mayor Roe stated he considered these strategic priorities as the focus indicated by the City Council for the next few years, in addition to other items that are standard operating or special circumstance issues. 

 

Therefore, Mayor Roe opined he didn't see a need at this time to seek agreement from advisory commissions with the Strategic Plan Summary, but instead to make sure they have an opportunity to engage and provide additional suggestions to the mix, with this document serving as a starting point.  Based on that general understanding apparently shared by the body, Mayor Roe suggested coming back to the June 8 meeting to incorporate Councilmember Laliberte's feedback with staff providing this original draft document, and a revised red-lined copy as well incorporating tonight's discussion; with final adoption slated for adoption on June 15. 

 

Mayor Roe further clarified that future joint meetings of advisory commissions and through their feedback to staff liaisons, they would be plugged into the process, starting with the first joint meeting with the HRA, and provide additional input to the revised strategic initiatives.  However, Mayor Roe supported going ahead with further discussion on June 8 and adoption on June 15.

 

Councilmember Willmus agreed with Mayor Roe's proposal, recognizing that the City Council was under the time constraints due to their own doing.  While valuing the opinions and thoughts by advisory commissions on the issues, whether he agreed with them or not, Councilmember Willmus suggested beginning the process by June 15.

 

Councilmember McGehee agreed with Councilmember Etten and Mayor Roe that this was a living document, but it was important to get it going. Toward those efforts, Councilmember McGehee noted that this discussion was available to Councilmember Laliberte via various means and providing her with the ability to respond to the discussion for the benefit of the City Council and staff, not delaying the process any further.

 

Mayor Roe thanked staff for their participation throughout this process and for their presentations tonight, expressing appreciation from the City Council for this team effort between the body and staff.

 

Mayor Roe opened the meeting for public comment at this time for those in attendance at tonight's meeting.

Public Comment

Lisa McCormick, 2612 Wheeler Street

Ms. McCormick apologized for her comments at the last meeting if she had come across as being harsh with the City Council, stating that was not her intent.  Ms. McCormick opined that the City Council and her neighborhood were closer in their thinking than being farther apart.  Ms. McCormick noted her frustration was in part with the process.  Ms. McCormick stated that, seeing this report was a good example of that frustration.

 

Ms. McCormick stated her initial excitement about this Retreat and what the City Council might come up with for their community priorities moving forward.  Ms. McCormick stated she was further heartened when attending the Retreat and hearing the City Council's earnestness in engaging the community, and therefore, she was eager for those results.  Ms. McCormick, in watching the Retreat afterwards and reading the meeting notes and hearing City Manager Trudgeon's summary in his closing comments, stated that she found them moving, in addition to Councilmember Laliberte's comments about community building community and working together in partnership.  In that way, Ms. McCormick noted she had first heard about customer intimacy; and clarified that she did not view herself as a customer, but wanted to feel she offered a contribution and wanted to participate in her community.

 

However, in reading this report, Ms. McCormick noted her concerns, since she had paid attention to the other aspects, and the results portrayed by staff.  Initially, Ms. McCormick stated she thought this was a mistake, especially when the summary says staff's desire is to move toward operational excellence, which she found in direct conflict with her notes and recollection.  Ms. McCormick opined that clearly the move was for staff and the City Council to move toward customer intimacy, not operational excellence, as was being portrayed in this report.  Based on the ranking in Mr. Rapp's report, and in her watching the video again to make sure his summary was accurate, Ms. McCormick noted his verbal summary was for the City to move toward a culture of collaboration and customer intimacy, with no one contradicting him then, and obviously therefore, not in error.

 

Ms. McCormick noted her frustration stemmed from residents attending and listening because they cared, and then even though things may be delayed, when they come out, such as this report, they are in direct opposition to what was heard previously.  Ms. McCormick expressed appreciation for the  City Council's willingness to make public information available, and thanked City Manager Trudgeon for his commitment toward those efforts and the City Council for their efforts towards transparency.  However, Ms. McCormick questioned if everyone was actually on the same page in this matter.

 

In his review tonight of the summary report, Mayor Roe concurred with Ms. McCormick that it appeared incorrect.

 

City Manager Trudgeon apologized and advised he would check it out.

 

If it is in error, Ms. McCormick questioned how the results affected the credibility of the report.

 

Mayor Roe expressed his hope that by fixing it, it would serve to establish that credibility.

 

DianeHilden Hilden , 466 Bayview Drive

Ms.  Hilden agreed that she was a citizen, not a customer, and having reviewed the meeting notes from the Retreat, expressed her trouble in being called a customer.

 

Along with the efforts of the CEC and HRC, Ms. Hilden noted that everyone was trying to change culture, and it could often take a long time.  In the City Council using verbiage to describe things, Ms. Hilden opined that it often came across that residents were customers and the City was a business, which she did not find true.  Ms. Hilden opined that the  City was an entity, and the CEC was trying to be a proponent of having people look at becoming better and more involved citizens, even though the road may be bumpy and some things difficult to achieve.

 

Ms. Hilden encouraged the City Council to give this more time, and send this document to its advisory commissions and the public, since their input also had value.  Ms. Hilden opined that this was an amazing document, and she gave credit to the City Council for producing it, but also noted it may have many unforeseen consequences and needed the extra time.  Ms. Hilden questioned if one more month would seriously impeded the document, while noting it would provide advisory commissions and citizens time for review, comment, and grant them validity in providing that input.

 

Ms. Hilden opined that taking the extra time was worth it, and expressed her enthusiastic interest in moving forward with this culture change.   However, Ms. Hilden underscored that she was a citizen and found it offensive to be called a customer.

 

Gary Grefenberg, 91 Mid Oaks Lane

Mr. Grefenberg stated he was speaking personally, but basing his comments on his six years in developing civic engagement in the community.  Mr. Grefenberg stated dialogue needed to begin, and opined that instead of continuing to have staff involved the next meeting to discuss this should include advisory commissions.  Mr. Grefenberg further opined that no staff, with the exception of Mr. Bilotta understood the goal and perpetuated the "top down" approach to these priorities through their proposed strategic initiatives.  Mr. Grefenberg stated he too was offended to be called a customer, opining that the City Council was not a Board of Directors for a business; and had no desire for them to be intimate with him, but wanted instead their respect and to provide him with an opportunity to participate.  Since the CEC was set up by the City Council for just this purpose, Mr. Grefenberg opined it seemed an end-run to adopt the strategic plan without receiving any input from them.

 

Mr. Grefenberg asked two specific questions: 1) A description of what was actually meant in establishing a community-oriented outreach program; and 2) How will this strategic plan be used and how flexible will it be?

 

Mayor Roe responded, as previously noted in staff's presentation earlier in this meeting, there remained a lot to flesh out in the plan at this point, and the City Council still needed to figure out what that was going to be.  Mayor Roe clarified that the involvement of the CEC would play a key role in the future in figuring that out.

 

Mr. Grefenberg responded that staff concentrated or focused on in-reach versus outreach, opining that this caused him to see the old culture based only on those staff-identified strategic initiatives versus the actual work of advisory commissions.  Since no one as yet was aware of this 2016-2018 strategic plan, Mr. Grefenberg questioned why communication efforts could not be undertaken to promote that understanding before adoption.

 

Regarding how flexible this document would be and how it would be used, Mr. Grefenberg opined that it was very disrespectful of the City Council to take action without first talking to the CEC, noting the commissions and general public were part of the process, not only staff.

 

Using Councilmember McGehee's recent issue related to garbage collection, in order to come up with ways to engage the community from the ground up versus from the top down, Mr. Grefenberg opined that the community outreach aspect needed more fleshing out and determine what was meant.  Mr. Grefenberg expressed his unwillingness to be part of a commission that came in after the fact and rubber stamped what staff had put together.  While it was within the City Council's authority to proceed, Mr. Grefenberg encouraged them to not only talk the talk but walk the path of civic engagement and seek more input from commissions and the public.  Mr. Grefenberg further opined that another format was needed beyond that provided by this type of public comment opportunity.  Mr. Grefenberg suggested that the City Council meet with advisory commissions as they had already done with staff 3-4 times; and asked that the Mayor and City Manager meet with the CEC rather than have the staff liaison to the CEC serve in that role, since he hadn't been present for any of these discussions.

 

Sharon Sanders, 363 S McCarron's Blvd.

Ms. Sanders also noted her status as a citizen not a customer; and agreed with previous speakers and Councilmember Willmus on the need to push the time back and seek public feedback as well as have six month reviews moving forward.

 

Ms. Sanders noted her attendance at the Planning Retreat and hearing the City Council and staff state their desire for community engagement.  However, Ms. Sanders opined there appeared to be confusion city-wide about the definition of civic and community engagement.  Ms. Sanders advised that she had joined the CEC because she wanted to help, and thought at least they would be reviewing this strategic plan.  Ms. Sanders asked for that time to allow the CEC to review the plan and offer their suggestions before adoption.  Since the draft notes are public, Ms. Sanders agreed with the suggestion of Mr. Grefenberg, that citizens be given time to become aware of the discussions and in the interest of community engagement, see what feedback was forthcoming toward that cultural change.

 

Donna Spencer, 2267 Laurie Road

As a recent, three-year resident of Roseville, formerly living in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Ms. Spencer admitted she had not read this report in full yet, but sought the opportunity to do so.  In agreement with previous speakers, Ms. Spencer opined it would be ideal to provide the CEC and Task Forces serving under the commission to review this document and provide their feedback and comments, further opining that there was already work underway in those groups that could serve to improve the document. 

 

Ms. Spencer also agreed with the sentiment for giving the public a chance to review the strategic plan and have advisory commissions meet with the City Council as they had provided for staff to do.  Ms. Spencer opined that the CEC's Neighborhood Engagement Task Force would have relevant comments for this document, specifically related to civic engagement and ideas for strategic initiatives, since the task force would not be concluded until mid-summer.

 

In response to concerns raised about being considered customers versus citizens, Mayor Roe assured that this term had come up as part of Mr. Rapp's work involving a goal of becoming "customer intimate," and the City Council certainly didn't think of its citizens as customers.  Mayor Roe clarified that the point was to make sure the organization was paying attention to those  participating in what was happening and being provided an opportunity for feedback to that process, not only upfront, but also afterwards, to ensure things were continuing to improve.

 

Mayor Roe clarified that the process had always involved advisory commissions participate as well as seeking public involvement.  Mayor Roe further clarified that the five strategic priorities and KOI's were mostly the City Council's part in the process and intended to reflect what the City Council had already heard from its constituents through the election processes, the Imagine Roseville 2025 community visioning process, and ongoing and constant contact with residents; and was certainly intended to be reflective of the community.  Mayor Roe noted that the feedback from the public would serve to support whether or not the City Council heard those five community priorities correctly, while recognizing they were not all-inclusive; and the KOI's, when adopted, would provide direction in achieving those priorities, and further feedback and adjustments would be ongoing.

 

Mayor Roe reiterated that this was a living document, and agreed that, now that the draft plan had been established, the idea of a Town Hall meeting made sense going forward with the process.  Mayor Roe noted that part of the role for the CEC would be to provide that type of feedback, and therefore, opined that the process was in good shape from his perspective. 

 

Mayor Roe thanked the public for the corrections brought to the City Council's attention as well, and expressed appreciation for the community support and hoped it would be reflected in the feedback received going forward.

 

Mayor Roe encouraged this draft plan get to residents by whatever means were available; and also encouraged public participation at the June 8 and June 15 meetings.  At that time, if the City Council determined more time was needed, or if it was found that the five strategic priorities were inaccurate, Mayor Roe advised additional time would be taken.  If the five priorities were deemed accurate by the community, Mayor Roe then noted that the KOI's could be fixed and/or adjusted with the targets and strategic initiatives.

 

From her perspective, Councilmember McGehee stated it was her understanding of the process was that the City Council set up the strategic priorities and then handed them off to staff, and now the next phase was to get feedback from the public, providing an entirely additional column.  Councilmember McGehee further clarified that staff's involvement was not to change the City Council's five priorities, but to look at their role in how they would address those priorities from their perspective, and how they would parse out those details.  Councilmember McGehee stated that, now the next role was for the public and advisory commissions to state their responses, ideas and feedback for those priorities, continuing the evolution of this living document and allow their voices to be heard.

 

Mayor Roe concurred with that synopsis by Councilmember McGehee, agreeing with the ongoing need for input.  Mayor Roe noted that the strategic initiatives were simply ideas proposed to achieve those priorities, and would continue to change going forward, reiterating that this is only the first stab with the draft plan. 

 

If this is ultimately identified as what was needed by the community, as it evolved, Mayor Roe noted this would then go forward.  However, Mayor Roe noted that the City Council needed to remain true to the mission they'd established for themselves, and realize that as a body of five, the majority ruled and they would need to accept those consequences as well.

 

Councilmember Willmus expressed his agreement with much of what had been stated by his colleagues.  However, Councilmember Willmus also noted the value in having other sets of eyes weigh in and review the draft plan, since it was also their document and their feedback was important.

 

Mayor Roe clarified, that from his understanding that was also the consensus  of the Council.

 

Councilmember Etten questioned if more time should be allowed before adopting the document, suggesting additional discussion on June 15, and allowing all advisory commissions a review.

 

City Manager Trudgeon cautioned that the June 15 meeting already had a full agenda, including time allotted for the joint meeting with the HRA.

 

City Manager Trudgeon asked for specific direction from the City Council on how to proceed, and the timing for getting the draft document to advisory commissions for feedback.

 

Councilmember Etten clarified that this was a City Council document, and he had originally pushed to have the Retreat based on his meeting with representatives of the Village of St. Anthony, and their retreat model to go off to a hotel by themselves with staff and create similar documents, and subsequently publishing them at a future meeting  of the Council and allowing for zero public input.  Councilmember Etten noted the lack of desire by the Roseville City Council in following that model, and allowing public input.  Councilmember Etten noted the question at this point appeared to be how the process would now unfold.  Councilmember Etten recognized the need for feedback from staff, advisory commissions and the public; and in response to concerns expressed during public comment, noted the first strategic priority listed was "civic engagement," that should serve to alleviate those concerns, and had been addressed with various ideas during the Retreat itself.

 

Regarding "customer intimacy," Councilmember Etten noted that this was a term brought up by Mr. Rapp in his framing discussions and desired goals, and clarified that the City Council hadn't spoken that term at all, and certainly were not looking at anyone as a widget or customer; and stated that  he personally certainly didn't feel that way, and it only represented the framing of terms used by Mr. Rapp at the Retreat, and subsequently in his report.  Mr. Etten apologized to Ms. Hilden if this was not clear on his part, and reiterated that this was Mr. Rapp's framing, and not that of the City Council or their intent.

 

Councilmember McGehee agreed on the strategic initiatives proposed, and agreed with the bottom up approach to reorganize and solve problems in SE Roseville.  But when it comes to the sustainability of the community and its infrastructure, resting on the City's finances and CIP, Councilmember McGehee opined that this was part of the local government mission individual Councilmembers were assigned as elected officials.  However, Councilmember McGehee agreed that there was room for many lenses in reviewing whether or not the City Council had been accurate in designating the five strategic priorities for the community, welcomed scrutiny of those priorities going forward and as part of the process. However, Councilmember McGehee opined that the City Council at a minimum needed to approve its own document before having it further critiqued.

 

Mayor Roe observed that there appeared to be at least three voices for not seeking advisory commission feedback prior to June 8 or June 15; but indicating participation by those advisory commissions was intended going forward.

 

Councilmember Willmus stated his preference for having the CEC, HRC and HRA provide feedback on those areas falling under their roles and providing validity for proposed targets and strategic initiatives.

 

Mayor Roe suggested then looking at discussion on June 8 and June 22 to allow for that process and in light of other agenda items.

 

City Manager Trudgeon sought further clarification on the actual direction being given to staff from the City Council, opining that he was hearing mixed messages as to involvement at this time by advisory commissions and prior to City Council adoption of the strategic plan.  City Manager Trudgeon noted previous discussions for involvement of advisory commissions at some point in the future, but not for adopting the underlying strategic priorities developed by the City Council at their Retreat.

 

Mayor Roe clarified that the intent was for involvement of advisory commissions as things proceeded, but focus discussion and approval on the Strategic Priorities and KOI's themselves; and revise the draft document to identify staff's proposed strategic initiatives as "Preliminary Strategic Initiatives."  Mayor Roe opined that this should make it easy to receive feedback from anyone on those first two columns for Strategic Priorities and Key Outcome Indicators (KOI's).

 

Councilmember McGehee suggested that tomorrow, every advisory commission chairperson send a link with this document and any other applicable information provided in tonight's agenda packet, for circulation to their members, but not necessarily for feedback.  Councilmember McGehee further suggested providing the information on the City's front page website.

 

Mayor Roe concurred; however, corrected the process for disseminating that information to advisory commissions through staff, not by chairpersons; and suggested instructions for them to provide their feedback on or before June 8 and anticipated adoption by the City Council.  Mayor Roe noted this would allow them to determine if they wanted to provide any feedback.

 

City Manager Trudgeon opined that a lot of context needed to be given beyond just the document itself; opining that it would lead to discussion at those advisory commission meetings that staff would need to address.

 

Mayor Roe opined that the context could be obtained by commissioners or the public through their own review of the retreat materials and meeting videos at their option.

 

City Manager Trudgeon responded that it could be provided with substantial staff time.  City Manager Trudgeon apologized for his continued attempts to get clear direction.  However, Mr. Trudgeon noted that, while the strategic plan summary was in writing, it still needed some context, and if the intent and direction was for staff to be responsive to advisory commissions, the strategic plan should be an agenda item for their meetings.

 

Mayor Roe clarified that the intent was for advisory commissions, just like for any other member of the public, have this information and be given the opportunity as individuals to respond with their feedback, and provided the dates for those opportunities.  Mayor Roe further clarified that it was not intended as an advisory commission agenda item, but intended for the awareness of commissions and the opportunities available for their personal feedback.

 

Councilmember McGehee concurred, opining that she did not think staff should have to spend a lot of time, since the February Retreat meetings were archived and available for advisory commissioners to review, as long as staff provided them with the links to do so.  Councilmember McGehee opined that she was not asking staff to provide a summary at each advisory commission meeting.

 

Mayor Roe requested staff to provide those links to meeting minutes and the Retreat, the same as the public would receive, not as a commission, but as individual commissioners and residents.

 

Willmus moved to bring this item back to the City Council at the June 22, 2015 meeting, and in the meantime to disseminate via links and applicable electronic documents to advisory commission members or via the City's website.  Councilmember Willmus opined this would provide those advisory commissions over a month to provide desired input.

 

Mayor Roe declared the motion failed for lack of a second.

 

Without objection, the direction to staff as previously outlined by Mayor Roe was approved.

 

16.         City Manager Future Agenda Review

City Manager Trudgeon briefly preliminarily reviewed future meeting agendas.

 

17.         Councilmember-Initiated Items for Future Meetings

 

 

18.         Adjourn

Etten moved, McGehee seconded, adjournment of the meeting at approximately 9:27

p.m.

                                    Roll Call

Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee and Roe.

Nays: None.