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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCouncil Minutes 1998 09/03CITY OF MC CALL MINUTES Special Meeting McCall City Council Thursday - September 3, 1998 Table Of Contents Call To Order And Roll Call 2 Business 2 AB 98-114 Land Acquisition2 Budget 1998-1999 3 Adjournment 5 Council Minutes - Sept 3, 1998.doc Page 1 of 5 MINUTES Call To Order And Roll Call o The meeting was called to order by Mayor Eimers at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Arp, Mr. Colton, Mr. Eimers, Mr. Muller and Mr. Venable answered the roll call. A quorum was present. Members of the staff present were City Manager Brian Olson, Treasurer Ashley Royal, City Attorney Dave Bieter and Susan Buxton and City Clerk Cherry Woodbury. ILand Acquisition i AB 98-114 Mr. Eimers moved to deal with the land acquisition first and the budget second. Mr. Muller seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Olson stated that several public meetings had been held on this issue. He reported that all written documents necessary to make a purchase offer had been received. The offer had been presented but declined. He stated hopes to still work out some sort of purchase agreement with Bezates during the condemnation process. Dave Bieter commented that the City had made a good faith effort to locate the lagoons on the Seubert property and investigate other appropriate sites. Despite such efforts, the City determined the Seubert and other sites were unsuitable or unavailable. Thus, a resolution had been prepared. Susan Buxton spoke on the time constraint concerns and the need to file a complaint and to proceed to work out an arrangement on the Bezates property. She stated that the firm of Wlilliam McCurdy had been contacted since they have experience with condemnation. The condemnation process could be initiated next week. Mr. Eimers moved to approve the resolution authorizing acquisition of property for City's sewer system. Mr. Muller seconded. Mr. Colton state that he was going to vote no because he felt other sites for the lagoons had not been thoroughly investigated. Secondly, he was concerned about contracting without going out for bid. At a roll call vote Mr. Eimers, Mr. Muller, and Mr. Venable voted "aye". Ms. Arp and Mr. Colton voted "nay". The motion carried. Mr. Olson spoke on the engineering contract with RH2 and Kleinfelder. He Council Minutes - Sept 3, 1998.doc Page 2 of 5 recommended these be approved and noted that they qualify for grant funding. Mr. Olson commented on the cost savings of contracting direct with Kleinfelder. Ms. Arp stated she would like more information on the Kleinfelder firm. Mr. Olson commented that they had worked with DEQ and BOR and had been to McCall. He noted that the Kleinfelder cost for geotech work was significantly less than that paid for the work on the Seubert site. Mr. Olson reported that the design build documents currently available could be carried over onto the new site. Mr. Olson was not sure what the exact cost of the RH2 contract would be as the project will now require to be on a fast track process. Mr. Colton stated he was uneasy with the contract because it was again a situation of going ahead with an engineering contracts without owning the land. Mr. Beiter supported dealing direct with Kleinfelder because the City staff and Council could work closely with the firm. Mr. Eimers moved to approve the RH2, Kleinfelder, and special attorney contracts. Mr. Muller seconded. At a roll call vote Mr. Eimers, Mr. Muller, and Mr. Venable voted "aye". Ms. Arp and Mr. Colton voted "nay". Budget i Mr. Olson presented budget accomplishments and noted the proposed budget cut of about $100,000. He reviewed deficits of various funds, carry over cash deficits, deficits budgeted for 98/99 fiscal year, probable amendments to the budget, and other uncertainties. Mr. Olson spoke on the meeting with IDT and noted that it was the first time IDT had agreed to provide funding for the Deinhard connector. IDT was willing to provide $100,000 with a deposit from the City in the amount of about $7,000. Mr. Olson spoke on building cash reserves in the various funds. He stated that if the City could get the bond indebtedness in order, the bond interest could potentially be reduced by 1 % which would equate to about $1.3 million in savings. Mr. Eimers opened the meeting to public comment. Thad Duel inquired about the golf course expenditures and its overall financial stability. Mr. Eimers commented that the golf course was running in a deficit this year and projected deficit for next year. This deficit will be identified as a loan from the General Fund to the Golf Fund in the budget. Mr. Olson noted that most of the deficit was depreciation, but it was the goal to figure a way to cover this in the future. Mr. Duel wondered what value the course was to the City if it was not making money. Mr. Muller stated that the golf course provides an economy base for the community. Council Minutes - Sept 3, 1998.doc Page 3 of 5 Mr. Venable stated that the goal was to get enough income from the golf course to cover all expenses plus depreciation. Mr. Colton noted that within the next year or two the Clubhouse should be paid off and income from the golf course will have a real impact on profitability of the fund. Mr. Muller commented that the 3`d nine hole course was hard to play and there may be an opportunity to investigate some way so it becomes a better asset. Mr. Colton stated that last year play was down. The floods, highway wash outs were contributors. Also the new course irrigation system impacted revenues. Mr. Colton stated that the fund operating in the red was a fairly new situation. Mr. Muller definitely felt that the golf course was self-sustaining. The expenditure of the Clubhouse and irrigation system and depreciation were the contributing factors to the deficit. Bill McMurray agreed that the golf course was an asset. He stated that it was even a bigger draw that the lake in the summer. The rounds of golf played amounted to 25,000 to 30,000 and he stated this was definitely a positive impact on the community. Covey Ruyle expressed concern about the 3% increase in property tax. He commented on the platform of the new Council members during the election and the goal to cut government spending. He urged that Council explore every avenue available to reduce spending. He also noted the increase in the Police Department budget. Mr. Ruyle stated he did not see any reason to spend $5,000 on the proposed jail renovation. He requested that the Council really consider what the voters said at the last election. Discussion followed regarding the calculation of the property tax, the City's portion, the mil rate, valuation assessment, etc. Mr. Olson suggested that clarification of this matter be presented at the next regular meeting. John Parker stated his opposition to the tax increase. He asked about how the reserves would be replenished. Mr. Olson explained the auditors' recommendations for replenishing the reserves. Mr. Olson reiterated the goal to get the bond rating up and refinance the debt, thus realizing a substantial savings. Mr. Eimers noted that the budget revenues vs expenditures adds about $210,000 to reserves. Without a tax increase, this would be $150,000. In either case, with no surprises, the would be adding to the reserves. Mr. Royal commented that there potentially would be some surprises, like the high increase in health insurance. Mr. Olson stated that expenditures could be further curtailed, if it was the Council's wish not do any projects such as the Downtown Improvement. Pat Fraley stated that in most cases there is the goal to stop incurring expenses when get into a financial bind. She suggested that maybe for a year the City does not incur Council Minutes - Sept 3, 1998.doc Page 4of5 any further expenses. Ms. Arp stated that she did not want to pass the budget ordinance at this meeting. She noted the differences in the fund figures from what was shown on the proposed ordinance. Mr. Colton stated he felt that some of the comments heard were creditable, but the bottom line was that to decrease the budget would mean a decrease in services. Mr. Colton gave an example of previous situation where there were fewer Police officers, but the paid overtime actually cost the City more. Discussion followed on options such as the Option Tax previously considered, the use of the $1.8 million to lower the water bond indebtedness, etc. Mr. Colton moved to suspend the rules and read by title only Ordinance No. 726 setting the budget at $13,320,632 with the appropriate fund expenditures. Mr. Muller seconded. At a roll call vote Mr. Colton, Mr. Muller, and Ms. Arp voted "aye". Mr. Eimers and Mr. Venable voted "nay". Mr. Eimers noted the savings in the current budget and staff direction to seek cost savings wherever possible. There was discussion on the transfer of costs between Parks and Golf Course and the potential of realigning responsibilities. IAdjournment i Without further business, Mr. Colton moved to adjourn. Mr. Muller seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The council adjourned at 9:10 p.m. ATTEST: Cherry dbury, Deputy City Q1j✓rk Ak Kirk Eimers, Mayor Council Minutes - Sept 3, 1998.doc Page 5of5