HomeMy Public PortalAbout02.17.2015 City Council Special Meeting PacketMEDINA►
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
6:00 P.M.
Medina City Hall
2052 County Road 24
I. Call to Order
II. Five Year Staffing Plan
III. Discuss Building Code Section 1306
IV. Adjourn
Posted 02.12.2015
MEMORANDUM
TO: Medina City Council
FROM: Scott Johnson, City Administrator
DATE OF REPORT: February 5, 2015
DATE OF MEETING: February 17, 2015
SUBJECT: February 17, 2015 Work Session — 6:00 PM
Work Session 6:00 PM
5 year staffing plan (20 Minutes)
A first quarter 2015 Goal is to put in place a 5 year staffing plan. Attached is a draft plan for
City Council discussion and direction.
Discuss Building Code Section 1306 (40 Minutes)
Staff was directed by Council at the December 12, 2014 Work Session to look into this item
further and find out if lenders that finance renovation of existing facilities typically require
sprinkling. Staff contacted three local banks with this question and all three stated sprinkling
was not required as a part of the lending agreement. Attached are the three responses.
Also, further study was requested on Code Section 1306 and zoning tools. Attached is a memo
from City Planner Dusty Finke providing the requested information.
DRAFT
Introduction
Medina Department Heads have been working to put together a staff needs analysis to determine
the needs of each department over the next five years. The plan is flexible and dependent on
economic conditions, continuation of the same level of service to residents, and staff workloads.
The report has been prepared to demonstrate the needs for staffing resources over the next five
years. The plan acts as a road map for future staff additions. The timelines are also flexible and
any staff additions would be approved by the City Council through our budget and recruitment
processes.
The primary recommendations for staffing have been founded on evaluation of existing
conditions, projected levels of service (based on current service levels), and projected growth.
Budgetary conditions and desired service levels, including non -essential services yet determined,
will be determined by future City Councils. The proposed plan has been based on the
philosophy of the current City Council, which values a smaller staff that fulfills a wide variety of
roles in the organization. Discussions have been held with Department Heads to evaluate future
needs and the primary recommendations in this report are supported by the Departments.
The City of Medina's historical approach to staffing has involved recruiting and retaining highly
qualified, highly productive, dedicated employees to the workforce. Historical retention efforts
have included exceedingly competitive compensation, utilization of new technologies to provide
better efficiencies, and providing a quality work environment. Consultants have been used
frequently to assist staff and Council to achieve goals and meet demands for services. The result
of this strategy has allowed for a smaller team -oriented and efficient staff by comparison to
similar municipalities in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. The
recommendations outlined in this report incorporate the continuance of this historical strategy.
Administration (includes Clerk's Office and Finance)
The city administrative area consists of a City Administrator -Clerk, Assistant to City
Administrator -Deputy Clerk, Finance Director, Assistant Finance Director, Accounting
Technician, City Attorney, City Assessor, Building Inspectors, Fire Marshal, and City Engineer.
All positions are filled by city employees or professional contracted services.
General responsibilities are as follows:
City Administrator — serves as the chief administrative officer for the city and oversees all city
departments, consultants, contracts, and day-to-day administrative operations of the city. Also
serves as City Clerk.
Assistant to City Administrator — provides administrative and project management support to the
City Administrator and oversees the city's elections, human resources, IT/communications,
licensing, recycling, city ordinances, etc. Also serves as the Deputy Clerk.
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City Attorney - provides legal counsel for city council and staff. The city contracts this service
with Kennedy & Graven.
City Assessor - views each parcel of real estate in the city to determine its market value. Also
determines the classification or use of each parcel. This information is the basis for property tax
assessments. The city contracts this service with Southwest Assessing.
Building Inspector — provides building plan review and approval as well as physically inspects
structures to ensure compliance with building permit specifications. The city contracts this
service with Metro West Inspection.
Fire Marshal - Medina is served by four volunteer fire departments. Most of these serve other
cities as well. Metro West Inspection is appointed as the Medina Fire Marshal.
City Engineer - provides a variety of civil engineering services including the review of land -use
plans and submittals involving engineering issues, public facility infrastructure design, and
transportation planning. The city contracts this service with WSB.
Financial Consultant — provides debt service, budget management, long-term planning, and
training. Erin Barnhart transitioned to the Finance Director position on January 1, 2015. KDV
transitioned from the Finance Director role to a financial consultant role on January 1, 2015.
This role will provide oversight and answer questions as needed. The consultant will come to
City Hall once per month and on an as -needed basis
Finance Director — manages day-to-day finance operations, payroll, special assessments,
compliance reporting, and general fund accounting, quarterly reporting, tax reporting and filing,
cash management, benefit management, workers compensation and insurance policy
maintenance, capital asset management, and co -coordinator elections.
Accounting Technician — processes utility billing and maintenance, accounts payable and
receivable, general fund accounting, billing customer service, credit card payment management,
contract management, elections, and land -use management.
Recommendations for Staff/Support/Resources:
Receptionist/Billing Clerk (Part-time position 2015, possible promotion to full-time 2019) — This
newly created position would assist the Finance Department with utility billing, billing/receipts,
and payroll. This position will report directly to the Finance Director. As the City will continue
to grow, more accounts for utilities will be prevalent, as well as payroll processing. A larger
population and business operations will also require more daily administration of general
invoicing and collection of receipts. Staff also supports evaluating the use of technology and
outsourcing to reduce the burden on staffing resources if feasible and without sacrificing
customer service.
Assistant City Administrator/City Clerk (Promotion — January 2020) — The Assistant to City
Administrator/Deputy Clerk position would be promoted to this position. The position would
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report directly to the City Administrator position. The position would be responsible for election
coordination, intra-office communication, assisting the City Administrator in various
duties/responsibilities (specifically taking over all clerk responsibilities), contract administration,
public relations/web site management, human resources, Hamel Community Building liaison,
general project management, master filing system maintenance, record retention, event planning,
employee training/recruitment/retention, etc.
Planning & Zoning
The Planning Department consists of a City Planner, Planning Assistant and shared
Administrative Assistant with the Public Works Department.
City Planner — oversees day-to-day functions of the Planning department including
administration of zoning and subdivision ordinances and the comprehensive Plan. Manages land
use application review and development processes. Coordinates City's Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) and mapping activities. Acts as department head, responsible for
management of department personnel, coordination with consultants, and budgetary matters.
Planning Assistant — coordinates building permit process and code enforcement activities, and
assists with the processing of land use applications. Collects and reports City and agency (Met
Council, Department of Labor and Industry) fees. Provides customer service for general
planning/zoning matters. Conducts review of land use applications such as variances and
conditional use permits.
Administrative Assistant to Planning and Public Works — provides clerical and administrative
support through answering phones and counter traffic, mail distribution, and ordering supplies.
Assists the planning department with building permits, septic system inspection reports, packets,
mailings, and filing Assists the Public Works Director with all yearly reports, bid process and
agreements with vendors. Also plans and coordinates City Celebration Day and Clean-up Day.
Recommendations for Staff/Support/Resources:
Planning Assistant (Restructured position 2016) — This restructured position would focus
primarily on coordinating the building permit process and providing administrative support to the
Planning Department. This restructuring will allow the City to move a part-time administrative
position to Public Works. Reducing some responsibilities will allow the position to back -fill the
responsibilities of the Administrative Assistant to Planning and Public Works when the position
no longer supports the Planning Department. Such reduced responsibilities will likely include
plan reviews, zoning administration and code enforcement in order to allow more time for
administrative support.
Associate Planner — (Part-time to full-time position, elevated 2016) — This position would report
directly to the City Planner and would provide professional service including review of
subdivision and land -use applications. The position would provide zoning plan reviews for
building permits, GIS assistance, code enforcement, and assist with implementation of
comprehensive plan and zoning code. In addition to replacing the loss of the part-time
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Administrative Assistant to Planning, the Planning Department currently has an unfilled and
budgeted part-time position. The City will be spending substantial efforts on updating the
Comprehensive Plan, and it is expected that requests for development will continue at a steady
rate over the next few years. Maintaining the city's technology on a regular basis through the
use of GIS allows for better efficiencies as it benefits all departments. Additionally, new
environmental regulations such as wetland buffers and water quality improvements require on-
going monitoring.
Planning Technician (or Planning Intern) (Part-time 2017) — This position would report directly
to the City Planner and would provide entry-level professional assistance with Planning
Department activities. It is possible that this position would be temporary in nature, assisting
with the Comprehensive Plan and other special projects. In this way, the position could be
budgeted and staffed when appropriate from a workload and funding perspective.
Public Safety
The Medina Police Department has organizational responsibility for all public safety activities in
the City, including police, fire and emergency preparedness.
Fire: The Public Safety Director serves as the City's primary liaison with volunteer fire
departments that serve Medina. City Code, Chapter 210, authorizes the City Council to contract
for fire protection services with other municipalities (Long Lake and Maple Plain) and volunteer
fire departments (Hamel and Loretto). The City Administrator administers the contracts.
Emergency Preparedness: The City has an Emergency Operations Plan that details City policies
and procedures for responding to emergencies such as train derailment, airplane crash, epidemic,
terrorist attack, tornado, etc. The City is also part of the Lake Minnetonka Regional Emergency
Operations Plan, a joint powers agreement with other communities in the Lake Minnetonka area.
The Public Safety Director is the City's Director of Emergency Preparedness and is responsible
for overall direction and control of City resources in an emergency.
Structurally, the Police Department includes the Public Safety Director, City Prosecutor, Police
Sergeant, Police Investigator, Police Officers, Police Administrative Assistant, Transcriptionist,
Community Service Officers, and Police Reserves. The City Prosecutor is an attorney in private
practice whose services are contracted by the City. Police Reserves are non -paid positions. The
balance of positions in this department is paid positions, hired by the City.
General Public Safety responsibilities are as follows:
Public Safety Director - serves as department head performing executive and administrative
work to manage the daily administration of the police department and provide leadership for the
City's law enforcement, crime prevention, and community policing efforts. Serves as City
Emergency Management Director; and, staff liaison to coordinated fire services.
Police Sergeant - provides leadership and supervision to assigned officers and personnel, works
directly with citizens and staff to resolve problems/conflicts, performs all the essential duties and
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responsibilities of a patrol officer and during the absence of the chief, the sergeant shall be
designated as the officer in charge of the Department.
Investigator - investigates assigned cases for prosecution or other clearance. This position
coordinates investigations, prepares and/or reviews investigative reports, and makes
presentations to the appropriate prosecuting attorney for appropriate charging action.
Administrative Assistant - performs non -supervisory administrative, secretarial, and clerical
work to assist the Police Chief with the department's daily administration. Processes a variety of
reports, related documents, and correspondence. Receives visitors at the front counter and on the
phone. This position serves as a confidential employee and currently holds the designation of
Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC).
Transcriptionist - performs non -supervisory transcription duties and clerical work to support and
assist the administration of the police department. Processes a variety of reports and related
documents for the police department. This position serves as a confidential employee. This
position is a part-time position and will back up the full time administrative assistant.
Seven Patrol Officers - performs non -supervisory, patrol and police work in support of law
enforcement, crime detection/prevention and investigation, traffic control, emergency response,
and public assistance activities. Responsible for minimal administrative functions; assists with
some educational and safety programs in public schools; and provides law enforcement at
community functions. Majority of time is spent responding to calls to enforce laws and
patrolling to protect the property and serve the residents of the community
City Prosecutor - prosecutes misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors on behalf of the City (Note:
the office of the Hennepin County Attorney prosecutes felonies). The city currently contracts
this service with Tallen & Baertschi.
Part-time Community Service Officer - enforce parking and other City ordinances, respond to
non -emergency calls, and participate in community and public education programs, such as
Operation ID, bicycle safety, and Neighborhood Watch.
Six Police Reserves — volunteers that assist police and community service officers with non -
emergency calls, represent the city and provide manpower for department or special details, such
as the Hamel Rodeo.
Recommendations for Staff/Support/Resources:
Community Service Officer (Part-time 2016) — The new part-time position would be responsible
for general patrol of roads, community service activity, general administrative tasks and
responding to calls as needed. With the population growth in the city, the position will be
realizing more demands for services. Community service will become more vital in crime
prevention and awareness. General office administrative tasks will also become more prevalent
in response to the growth of the community and department.
Patrol Officers (Full-time 2018 and 2021) — Both positions would report to the Police Chief, and
Sergeant. The positions will be responsible for general patrol of roads within the city and
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responding to calls as needed. With the increase in residential population and likelihood of
increasing commercial and office suite construction, the department will have more areas to
patrol and respond to calls.
Police Transcriptionist (Part-time to Full-time in 2020) — The position would continue to report
to the Police Chief, and Sergeant. The position will continue to conduct various administrative
tasks, including database entry from calls, customer service via phone and walk-in traffic,
processing reports, transcribing reports, and delegated responsibilities from the Chief and
Sergeant. With the population growth in the city, the position will be realizing more demands
for services.
Public Works
The public works department consists of a Public Works Director, shared Administrative
Assistant with planning, a Public Works Foreman, two Public Works Maintenance Workers, and
one Public Works Maintenance Worker/Field Inspector.
The public works department is in charge of all public facilities in Medina, including city roads,
parks/trails, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water system (including wells, water distribution
networks, water treatment facilities, and water storage).
Public Works Director - directs the daily administrative, technical, and supervisory operation of
all public works functions that includes the Water and Wastewater Systems, Stormwater, Streets,
and Parks Departments.
Public Works Foreman - responsible for assigning/prioritizing daily work tasks to the Public
Works Department employees and the safe operation of the shop, as well as City infrastructure.
Performs supervisory, manual and skilled work to assist in maintenance tasks performed in all
public works areas and responds to emergency situations.
Maintenance Worker - responsible for maintenance of municipal water and wastewater systems
and components, safety committee coordinator, operates a variety of equipment, snow
plows/sands, performs routine maintenance on City -owned buildings/facilities, and responds to
emergency situations.
Maintenance Worker - operates a variety of equipment, snow plows/sands, performs routine
maintenance on City -owned buildings/facilities, and responds to emergency situations.
Field Inspector/Maintenance Worker - Conducts field inspections of designated city projects,
operates a variety of equipment, snow plows/sands, performs routine maintenance on City -
owned buildings/facilities, and responds to emergency situations.
Recommendations for Staff/Support/Resources:
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Maintenance Worker (Part-time to Full-time 2015; new Part-time position in 2017 and Part-time
to Full-time in 2019) — Both positions will report directly to the Public Works Director. Both
positions will be responsible for assisting the Public Works Director and existing street/utility
maintenance crew in the street, water, sewer, and park functions. The City's water utility
continues to grow with housing and minimal commercial development. Staffing will be needed
to operate and maintain facilities and infrastructure. Roads, sidewalks and trails will also
continue to be constructed and turned over to the City through subdivision development.
Additional staff resources will be needed to maintain and replace the growing infrastructure.
Part-time Administrative Assistant — Public Works (Part-time 2016) - This restructured Part-time
position will focus on providing staff support to the Public Works Department. The position will
provide a high level of analysis and assistance to the Public Works Department and be
responsible for providing daily customer service and receptionist duties for the department. The
Public Works Department needs administrative assistance in preparing reports for the City
Administrator and Council, completing delegated tasks, as well as processing necessary
annual/quarterly reports, paperwork, applications, etc. The current customer service
responsibilities places a high demand on the position and significantly limits administrative
assistance and analysis to the Public Works Department.
Conclusion
It is an honor and privilege to serve as the Medina City Administrator and to provide the staff
Needs Analysis report. The report reflects the historical staffing philosophy which values a
smaller staff that fulfills a wide variety of roles in the organization. I am confident the proposed
plan will provide the staffing levels necessary to provide the customer service levels expected in
our community and to also be good stewards of our tax levy. I request your acceptance of the
report and understand that implementation of the recommendations may be influenced by the
economy and other unexpected variables.
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Mitchell and Members of the City Council
FROM: Dusty Finke, City Planner; through City Administrator Scott Johnson
DATE: February 10, 2015
MEETING: February 17, 2015 - City Council Worksession
SUBJ: Minnesota Rule Code 1306: Special Fire Protection Systems
Background
The City Council has discussed Minnesota Rule 1306, an optional building code provision
related to Special Fire Protection Systems. In 2004 the City adopted 1306, subp.3. The full text
of 1306 is attached, but generally requires two things:
1) Lowers the square footage amount at which fire sprinkling is required for most
commercial uses to 2000 square feet. This would be required for new buildings and
additions onto buildings.
2) Requires fire sprinkling when a change of occupancy occurs in an existing building (for
most commercial uses). For example, if an existing building is warehouse and it is
converted to office, a sprinkling system is required to be installed.
Since adoption of 1306, the City has received complaints from owners of commercial properties
related to the requirements of 1306. The City Council requested more information on the
subject. The intent of 1306 is to, over time, increase the number of commercial buildings that
have fire sprinkling systems.
As staff noted in an earlier report, 1306 triggers many new buildings to be sprinkled which
would not be required with the general building/fire code. The City Council specifically
requested that staff investigate if zoning regulations could offer similar public health and safety
protections.
Potential Zoning Regulations
Existing City regulations already include some zoning regulations that are based upon fire
protection. Most districts include a maximum height of 30-32 feet, unless the structure is
sprinkled. Sprinkled buildings are allowed additional height.
This regulation has largely become moot because of other regulations (1306, sprinkling
requirements for larger residential structures, etc.). If 1306 were not effective, it may come into
play.
Similarly, staff could discuss with the fire departments whether other types of zoning limitations
made sense in unsprinkled buildings. Square footage or building width limitations could be
discussed. Staff believes that if the zoning regulations are based on reasonable characteristics
(such as equipment limitations), the limitations would be appropriate and enforceable. However,
staff believes it would be inappropriate to use zoning as a general substitute for 1306.
Minnesota Rule 1306
Page 1 of 1 February 17, 2015
Discussion City Council Worksession
Jodi Gallup
From: Ann Smith <Asmith@Icbankmn.com>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 1:30 PM
To: Scott Johnson
Cc: Marcia Plotnik
Subject: FW: Commercial Loan Question
Hi Scott,
We do not have specific language in our loan documents requiring borrowers to install sprinkler systems. We do have
the following language regarding compliance with governmental requirements:
"Compliance with Governmental Requirements: Grantor shall promptly comply with all laws, ordinances, and
regulations, now or hereafter in effect, of all governmental authorities applicable to the use or occupancy of the
Property, including without limitation, the Americans With Disabilities Act. Grantor may contest in good faith any such
law, ordinance, or regulation and withhold compliance during any proceeding, including appropriate appeals, so long as
Grantor has notified Lender in writing prior to doing so and so long as, in Lender's sole opinion, Lender's interests in the
Property are not jeopardized. Lender may require Grantor to post adequate security or a surety bond, reasonably
satisfactory to Lender, to protect Lender's interest."
I'm wondering if this would be more of an insurance issue? Would the property owner qualify for commercial property
insurance if the building wasn't up to code?
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Thank you,
Ann Smith
Sr. Vice President Commercial Lending
NMLS ID: 823767
1964 W. Wayzata Blvd.
Long Lake, MN 55356
952-475-5841 (Direct)
952-449-6356 (Fax)
asmith@Icbankmn.com
Ie►K
OMMUNII
ILAN
From: Marcia Plotnik
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 8:13 AM
To: Ann Smith
Subject: FW: Commercial Loan Question
Marcia Plotnik
i
Lake Community Bank
Relationship Manager
Direct # 952-475-5821
Fax 952-449-6352
NMLS ID: 410688
From: Scott Johnson [mailto:Scott.Johnson@ci.medina.mn.us]
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 7:50 AM
To: customerservice
Subject: Commercial Loan Question
To Whom it may concern,
The Medina City Council discussed Building Code 1306 at our Work Session on Tuesday night. During the discussion
Council Members asked if new commercial/industrial property owners who purchase existing buildings without sprinkler
systems are required under the terms of their bank loans to install sprinkler systems?
Do you know if there are any requirements under bank loans to put in sprinkling systems for existing
commercial/industrial buildings? Please let me know if there is someone else at the bank that I should contact with this
question.
Thank you,
Scott Johnson
City of Medina
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Jodi Gallup
From: Gregg Klohn <gklohn@21stcenturybank.com>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 5:24 PM
To: Scott Johnson
Subject: loan question
I am not familiar with any clause in our loan documents that would require buildings to be sprinkled. I believe the only
clause we have is that when we do the initial loan that the building must be up to and comply with all building codes at
the time of the loan. If a new code changes that requires a building to be upgraded this would not put a borrower in
default of the bank loan that would be an issue that the city would have with the building owner. I hope this helps. If
you have any additional questions please let me know
Gregg Klohn, CPA
Senior Vice President
17 Washington Ave N. Mpls MN 55401
Direct 612-372-4324
Cell 612-229-0227
Fax 763-479-6118
`Before printing this e-mail, think if it is necessary. Think Green.
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Note: The information in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the
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i
Jodi Gallup
From: Rick Traut <RTraut@fsboh.com>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 3:23 PM
To: Scott Johnson
Subject: RE: Commercial Loan Question
Scott,
The simply answer to your question is the only time that I am aware of that a bank would require a sprinkler to be
installed is when it is required by code/ordinance.
Richard "Rick" Traut
President
NMLS ID: 684110
145 Hamel Road
PO Box 236
Hamel, MN 55340
763-231-3540 (Direct)
763-478-6611 (Main)
RTRAUT@FSBOH.COM
FARMERS
,9.,&
From: Scott Johnson [mailto:Scott.Johnson@ci.medina.mn.us]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 3:02 PM
To: Rick Traut
Subject: Commercial Loan Question
Hi Rick,
The Medina City Council discussed Building Code 1306 at our Work Session on Tuesday night. During the discussion
Council Members asked if new commercial/industrial property owners who purchase existing buildings without sprinkler
systems are required under the terms of their bank loans to install sprinkler systems?
Do you know if there are any requirements under bank loans to put in sprinkling systems for existing
commercial/industrial buildings? Please let me know if there is someone else at the bank that I should contact with this
question.
Thank you,
Scott Johnson
City of Medina
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