[00:00] Mayor Monge: The meeting is called to order. Let's do the Pledge of Allegiance, please. Thank you. Jennie, can you please call the roll? [00:45] Jennie Kloos: Council Member Cole? [00:46] Council Member Cole: Here. [00:47] Jennie Kloos: Council Member Schweer? [00:48] Council Member Schweer: Here. [00:49] Jennie Kloos: Council Member Wong? [00:50] Council Member Wong: Here. [00:51] Jennie Kloos: Council Member Nordby? [00:52] Council Member Nordby: Here. [00:53] Jennie Kloos: Mayor Monge? [00:54] Mayor Monge: Here. Thank you for calling the roll. Can I get a motion to adopt the agenda, please? [00:58] Council Member Cole: So moved. [01:00] Council Member Schweer: Second. [01:02] Mayor Monge: All those in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Thank you. Presentations—I’ll be right there. We could bring Barb up first. So, this is for the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, presenting this Award of Financial Reporting Achievement to Barb Heelsman, Utility Billing Coordinator, City of North St. Paul, Minnesota. The Award of Financial Reporting Achievement is presented by the Government Finance Officers Association to the department or individual designated as instrumental in the government unit achieving a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting. A certificate of achievement is presented to those government units whose annual financial reports are judged to adhere to program standards and represents the highest award in government financial reporting. Congratulations. [01:50] Barb Heelsman: Thank you. [Applause] [02:05] Mayor Monge: Thank you. And Jackie, could you come up, please? Afterwards, we’ll get some pictures if you’d like. Way to go! Again, this is a Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada presenting this Award of Financial Reporting Achievement to Jackie Lutmer, Finance Coordinator, City of North St. Paul, Minnesota. The award of financial reporting achievement is presented by the Government Finance Officers Association to the department or individuals designated as instrumental in the government unit achieving a certificate of achievement for excellence and financial reporting. A certificate of achievement is presented to those government units whose annual financial reports are judged to adhere to program standards and represents the highest award in governing financial reporting. Would you be better this time? Thank you so much for all you do. Appreciate it. [02:45] Jackie Lutmer: Thank you. [Applause] [03:00] Mayor Monge: One more. Dan, can you join us please? [Laughter] [Music] All right, Dan. This is for the Government Finance Officers Association certificate of achievement of excellence in financial reporting presented to the City of North St. Paul, Minnesota for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 2021. It’s a pleasure to have you here at the city and the way you have taken control of that department, and you have just great employees that back you up. This is well deserved. There you go, sir. [03:30] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): Thank you. I’m accepting this on behalf of the city. He’s working the room! So we started on July 12th of 2021. The significance of that year to me is huge for this organization, and the reason why is because the city had adopted a zero percent tax levy at the end of 2021 and cut four positions. The chief of police had retired. Unfortunately, the city manager had left. We had a great interim city manager, Brian Frandle—to those who may know him. I’d like to thank the individual who hired me, although I never got to work with that individual, Scott. And then we didn't have a permanent Public Works director, and the finance director had left. I’m thinking when I got here, "I don't know why I took this job," but it was kind of interesting that quickly, even on the first day when I got home, my wife asked me, "So what do you think about the decision that you made?" and I said, "Wow, I made the right decision." Why? Because everybody in this organization is amazing. Barb and Jackie are just two of the amazing people. Everybody is so welcoming and everybody here is a dedicated professional. But what really was a key to it all was the leadership of this organization. It’s now this group here that's the city council. At that point in time, it was Mayor Furlong, who really did an amazing job and deserved so much credit. And there were four other individuals—Andy Peterson, Scott Thorson, Council Member Wong, and Mr. Tim Cole—who are our council members and who for some odd reason trusted me. We made it through the 2021 market. I guess what really hit me at the end was at the end of November, what is considered a finance director’s right-hand person—your accountant—left. Now I've only been here for four months and I'm going to go through year-end close on a system I've never done before. Well, guess what I found out? I found out I didn't have just a right hand; I had a left hand. Barb and Jackie are my right and left hands. It’s almost been two years; I wouldn't trade a moment of that time. You two are some of the most impressive people. You deserve the honor and the recognition. My understanding is you haven't gotten a lot of recognition in the past, but you will in the future. I thank you. I know this from an organizational standpoint: this is a great organization. We have a great leader now in our Mayor, we have a great leader in our City Manager, and we have a fabulous City Council. The future looks bright. Thank you. [Applause] [06:45] Mayor Monge: We knew Barb and Jackie were doing all the heavy lifting for years! [Laughter] Can we move on the consent agenda, please? [07:00] Brian Frandle (City Manager): Thank you, Mayor. First up on the consent agenda: Item A, April 18th, 2023 Workshop minutes. Item B, April 18th, 2023 regular meeting minutes. Item C, General claims of $770,815.83. HRA claims of $1,941.94. EDA claims of $444,000. Item D, Neumann Fest 2023 special event permit. Item E, Resolution changing the location of the polling place for elections. Item F, Approval on-sale and Sunday liquor license for Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant. That is it. [07:45] Council Member Cole: Mayor, can I pull item G? That’s what I'm asking. Does anybody want to pull anything? [07:50] Brian Frandle (City Manager): G is actually the polling place... I'm sorry, Item E was the polling place. [07:55] Mayor Monge: What do we do after we pull it? We’ll move it into City Business. [08:10] Council Member Schweer: Motion to move the agenda forward. [08:12] Council Member Wong: Second. [08:14] Mayor Monge: All those in favor say aye. (All: Aye). And for clarification, the item that's been pulled will be Item D under City Business. [08:30] Mayor Monge: Meeting opened to the public at 7:12 PM. We have Pat Ely. Full name and address, please. [08:45] Pat Ely: Pat Ely, 2580 15th Avenue East. I've had that parking spot right next to my garage since 1987. Why change it now? There are tons of spots in North St. Paul that are the same as mine. You even have parking lots right here next to Sidewinders that aren't blacktop or gravel. If someone complains that everyone has to put down blacktop, is that the ordinance right now? [09:20] Council Member Nordby: Just a little bit of input on that—I think several years ago there were several houses where front yards were filling up with parking places. To address that, the city required hard surfacing for designated parking. That was probably eight to ten years ago. People had issues with it at the time, but they did pass it. [09:45] Pat Ely: My sister moved in about six months ago, so she's been parking her van there too. My driveway is just dirt with a skirt around the outside. If I have to blacktop it, I have to pay for it. If you're going to make me do it, you have to make everybody do it. I see gravel driveways all over. [10:15] Mayor Monge: We’ll look into it and talk to Code Enforcement. We’ll get back to you. Thank you for coming up. Next, Mr. Schmall. [10:30] John Schmall: Mayor, Council, it’s John Schmall—no 's' at the end. 2750 Chisholm Avenue. I had spoken with the assessor at the open book. As of today, I have confirmation that after 47 years, I no longer have a front porch on my tax description. Next year I will actually see a change in valuation. I recommend everyone check the website because it’s strange. Regarding construction on 11th, North St. Paul has yellow pedestrian crossing signs but no crosshatching. Maplewood has crosshatching but no signs. It's confusing. Maplewood said North St. Paul runs that show. Also, the website notifications: I stopped receiving them. I had to have friends forward the agenda to me. The links didn't work the first time. The link worked this time, but the workshop time was listed incorrectly. [11:55] Mayor Monge: Thank you. Anybody online? Okay, thank you. City Business. First up is Item A, Blue Nile Encroachment Agreement. Randy—excuse me, Brandi Harter, Community Development Director. [12:15] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): Good evening, Mayor and Council. We received a building permit for a new restaurant at 2649 7th Avenue East, the former Brothers Bistro site. The expansion of the interior footprint triggered a zoning review. Based on the floor area, they need 14 parking stalls. The site isn't large enough. Options were shared parking with a neighbor, a parking variance, or an encroachment agreement to use a portion of Seppala Boulevard. Six of the proposed stalls are within the right-of-way. Legal has prepared an encroachment agreement. Staff recommends approval. [13:45] Council Member Nordby: Brandi, on the parking—does the 14 spaces account for the hair salon in the other side of the building? [14:00] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): It does not, but they are open at different times. This brings up a future Planning Commission issue regarding downtown parking as occupancy changes. [14:20] Council Member Wong: So moved. [14:21] Council Member Schweer: Second. [14:22] Mayor Monge: All those in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Thank you. Next is the resolution to approve the ball field rental policy. Brandi. [14:40] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): At our last workshop, there was a discussion about modifying fees. The decision was to continue existing fees except for certain non-profits serving North St. Paul youth, who would have practice for no charge. We developed this policy to provide better guidance to staff. There is a new line item for lighting at $25 per hour. Priority is given to the high school and the American Legion. The city manager has the discretion to revoke permits for misuse. [15:45] Council Member Cole: On the previous tournament fee of $300, did that include the lights? [16:00] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): It did not. We didn't charge for lights previously, so this is an additional fee. [16:15] Council Member Schweer: I'm curious about the snow piece in the policy. [16:25] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): We’ve had questions about whether Public Works would remove snow from fields so they dry out faster. They don't have the capacity, so the policy clarifies that the city does not provide snow removal. [16:45] Council Member Wong: And that applies to individuals trying to remove it themselves as well? [16:50] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): Correct. [17:00] Council Member Cole: This gives priority to the Legion but maintains the existing agreement for them to use it at no cost? [17:15] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): Yes, under an old resolution. We are currently negotiating a more formal agreement with them. [17:30] Council Member Wong: Is there a deadline for the high school and Legion to give you dates? [17:40] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): February 1st is the deadline for priority scheduling. [17:50] Council Member Wong: I move to adopt. [17:55] Council Member Schweer: Second. [18:00] Mayor Monge: All in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Next is the ordinance to amend the 2023 fee schedule. [18:15] Brandi Harter (Community Development Director): This amendment simply refers the user to the newly approved ball field policy. [18:25] Council Member Wong: So moved. [18:26] Council Member Nordby: Second. [18:28] Mayor Monge: All in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Next up is Item D, the pulled item: Resolution changing the location of the polling place. [18:45] Council Member Cole: I was the one that asked to pull this. I know we are legally required to give 25 days' notice, but I ask that we go above and beyond to notify residents well before that deadline. [19:00] Brian Frandle (City Manager): Absolutely. [19:10] Council Member Cole: Motion to approve. [19:12] Council Member Wong: Second. [19:15] Mayor Monge: All in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Next, reports from the City Manager and Departments. Finance Director Dan Winnick. [19:30] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): Thank you, City Manager Frandle, Mayor, and Council. I want to thank you for your leadership. I’ve enjoyed being part of this organization. I’ll introduce our staff: Barb Heelsman, Taylor Lilly, and Melissa Alicia handle utility billing and customer service. They do a fabulous job—I’ve never seen customer service done the way they do it, especially with difficult situations. Jackie Lutmer and Angie Molner are instrumental in payroll and accounts. Our newest addition is Mary Kay Heenan, an accountant with ten years at the State Auditor's office. This year we are working on Capital Improvement Plan enhancements, a payroll conversion to ADP, and more public engagement. We are also implementing a mandatory purchase order system for anything over $20,000. This protects the City Manager and the Mayor. We are also focusing on staff redundancy and succession planning. Regarding utilities, we handle about 1,300 calls a month. We process 7,400 bills monthly with $20 million in annual revenue. We assist with energy assistance programs and payment arrangements for about 164 customers a month. [28:00] Council Member Schweer: Thank you for the presentation. Are there specific rebates that people are more interested in? [28:15] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): There’s interest in water rebates for toilets or washing machines because of Met Council funding. We also get many inquiries on the electric side. [28:45] Council Member Wong: I have a question regarding the $20,000 sign-off. Do departments have specific amounts they can spend? [29:00] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): Department heads have authority up to $20,000. Anything over that goes to the City Manager and then the Mayor if it’s on the CIP. Regarding your other question about paperless billing, we are looking at options to see what the cost savings would be. [30:00] Council Member Schweer: On the utility statements, is it possible to format the consumption data more visually, like a graph? [30:20] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): We have some software limitations, but we can look into that. I agree that visual aids are helpful. [30:45] Council Member Wong: My parents in California even have comparisons to their neighbors on their bills. [30:55] Dan Winnick (Finance Director): That spurs some healthy competition to drop usage! [31:10] Council Member Wong: Dan, you make finance understandable and even bring some fun to it. Thank you. [31:30] Brian Frandle (City Manager): A few quick updates: Public Works is working with the new SCADA system and street sweeping is mostly done. Patching is underway. Fire is dealing with code compliance and the old Tap and Grill site is being cleaned up. Electric is working on undergrounding for the Lily project. Community Development had 200 permits in April. The City Garage Sale is May 4th-6th and the City Cleanup is May 13th. [32:30] Council Member Wong: The Arts and Culture Commission meets tomorrow at 6:30 PM. We have winners for our utility boxes project which engaged over 200 residents. [33:00] Council Member Schweer: Parks and Rec met last Wednesday. Dan gave a great budget presentation there. A resident proposed a little library in a park in memory of her mother. [34:00] Council Member Cole: Next EDA meeting is May 9th at 3:00 PM. I also want to thank the History Museum for the recent event—it was great to get out from behind the dais. Also, St. Mark's Church is looking for snack and soda donations for the police officers who use their fellowship hall for breaks. [35:30] Mayor Monge: I want to address some disturbing news. We had an issue today with a person sending threatening voicemails. I had to bring the police in for my personal safety. I take this very seriously. We are public servants, but we should not have to deal with threatening calls or coarse language. We speak to each other with kindness and an open mind. If it escalates to safety concerns, it will not be tolerated. I appreciate the support of the council. [37:30] Brian Frandle (City Manager): I’d like to add one thing. Jim Bowers, my predecessor in the Electric Department, passed away a week ago. He worked here for 35 years and was instrumental in upgrading our system to what it is today. Hats off to him. [38:15] Mayor Monge: Last is our closed session for attorney-client privilege regarding water appropriation permits. [38:30] Council Member Cole: Motion to close. [38:32] Council Member Schweer: Second. [38:35] Mayor Monge: All in favor say aye. (All: Aye). Thank you everyone. Are we changing rooms?