07-14-09 CM Minutes
Council/Manager Meeting Minutes
July 14, 2009
Present: Mayor Loomis and Council Members Freiberg, Pentel, Scanlon and Shaffer,
City Manager Tom Burt, Public Works Director Jeannine Clancy, City Engineer Jeff
Oliver, Finance Director Sue Virnig, Director of Park and Recreation Rick Jacobson and
Assistant City Manager Jeanne Andre.
The meeting began at 6:43 pm in the Council Conference Room.
2009 Pavement Management: Request for Secondary Driveway
The Council reopened discussion of its policy of allowing only one driveway cut for each
property and not allowing surmountable curb in response to a request from Glenn Fuller
of 2224 Windsor Way to change the policy to allow him to have a surmountable curb for
rear access to his property in addition to his front driveway apron for access to the
street. At its May 12 meeting the Council asked staff to work with Mr. Fuller to regrade
his yard to allow him to drive his car from his front driveway to the rear of his home.
The Council discussed the advantages and disadvantages of a policy change and
decided not to change the policy this late in the Pavement Management Program. Staff
will still work with Mr. Fuller on regrading his property to allow auto access to the rear
entrance.
Theodore Wirth Park
The Council reviewed a letter outlining concerns regarding maintenance and lack of
capital improvements to Theodore Wirth Park. Wording changes were suggested and
the Council asked that a meeting with Minneapolis officials be requested. It was
recommended that a second letter requesting a meeting be sent to the Minneapolis
Mayor, Council President, Council Members who represent the districts adjoining the
park and the President of the Minneapolis Park Board.
Best Practices on Waste Handling
Council Member Pentel noted that the City's recycling contract extends for two more
years. She recommended that this period of time would allow for a thorough study of
best practices related to waste handling. She recommended that the Environmental
Commission be requested to take on this task. The Council agreed with this approach
and discussed the topics to be included in the study. Suggested topics include:
contracts for single haulers with consolidated services which could include: garbage,
recycling, organics, large items and lawn waste. The Council asked the study also
address commercial recycling and construction waste recycling and to look at the
cost/benefit of various options.
Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) Funding
Tom Burt explained that through increased marketing for home remodeling
consultations with CEE the number of consultations has significantly increased in 2009.
In addition, staff would like to use CEE to help with inspections for the new Neighbors
Helping Neighbors pilot program. He noted that if the funding is exceeded, the overall
City budget can be kept in line for 2009, but the proposed budget for CEE consultations
in 2010 has been reduced. The Council supported reduced marketing for the program
Council/Manager Meeting Minutes
July 14, 2009 - Page 2
with more directed marketing to homes that have maintenance violations and the
Neighbors Helping Neighbors pilot program. The Council directed staff not to stop
providing consultations in order to stay within this year's budget.
Biennial 2010-2011 Proposed General Fund Budget
Representatives from the Home Free Shelter were at the meeting to request that the
Council keep the City's allocation for the 2010 budget at $20,000, the same as in 2009.
Home Free also received $2500 through the Golden Valley Foundation in 2009. The
Manager's budget recommendation is to reduce the payment to $10,000 in 2010 and
zero in 2011.Home Free would still be able to request funding through the Golden
Valley Foundation. The Council discussed the services provided through its agreement
with Home Free, which are separate from the battered women's shelter it operates. The
contractual services include: assistance navigating the legal system, crisis and safety
planning and support groups. These services are provided only to residents of
Plymouth, Golden Valley and New Hope, which have contracts with Home Free. The
budget for this service is $300,000, of which $80,000 is provided by the cities.
Council directed staff to meet with representatives of Home Free to gather more
information about the services provided, number of Golden Valley residents served, and
police and prosecutor concerns about the level of service provided and report back to
the Council by September when the levy is set.
Tom Burt explained that a two year budget was developed to help the Council
understand the difficult financial environment that staff expects to continue beyond
2010. However the Council will only be asked to approve the 2010 budget. The Council
then reviewed the following budget categories and asked questions: Revenues, Council,
Managers, Administrative Services, Transfers, Legal Services, Insurance, Planning, Fire
and Inspections, Park and Recreation, Park and Recreation Administration, Community
Centers, and Park and Recreation Programs. There were no suggested changes. The
staff agreed to provide historical data on the use of skating rinks.
The meeting adjourned at 8:54 pm.
Jeanne Andre
Assistant City Manager