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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 03/24/1987 - Special Meeting x : ti APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1987 3 : 00 PM, CITY HALL LUNCHROOM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mayor Gary Peterson, Richard Anderson, George Bentley, Jean Harris and s Patricia Pidc oc k CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J . J ullie, Assistant to the City Manager Craig Dawson, and Recording Secretary Jan Nelson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: Councilmember Pidcock arrived at 3 : 15 PM . I . CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 3 : 05 PM. II . APPROVAL OF AGENDA (,r MOTION: Harris moved, seconded by Anderson, to approve the Agenda as published . Motion carried unanimously . III . DISCUSSION ON ROLE OF DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Peterson called attention to the memo of March 20th from City Manager Jullie with recommendations regarding the Develop- ment Commission. Bentley asked if we will be able to take action on this today . Peterson responded that we probably can take action on this as it has been fairly well publicized ahead of time, unless Councilmembers would want more time to review the materials. Bentley then noted that the memo is quite explicit . MOTION: Bentley moved, seconded by Anderson, to adopt the following recommendations regarding the Development Commission: 1 . Direct City Staff to prepare an amendment to the City Code which deletes the Development Commissions 2 . Direct Staff to send a letter to Me . Bolene, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Opheim explaining the Council ' s actions and expressing our appreciation for their service on the Development Commission; 3 . Let the record show that it is the Council ' s intent to consider reactivating the Development Commission if in the future issues arise which would warrant such action. l City Council Minutes -2- March 24, 1987 Harris asked what the traditional role of this commission has been and if it has ever played a major role in the City. City Manager Jullie said there are a number of different projects the Commission has worked on over the years, such as the Star City issue, review of a proposed policy with respect to sprinkling systems in office buildings, the Major Center Area tax increment financing program that was responsible for finally getting the Ring Road project underway, and studies on property taxes . Bentley noted that the Commission was in- volved in a housing study in 1981 -1982 . Anderson asked what is the difference between deleting the Commission or disbanding it . Jullie said he recommended deleting the Commission as a cleaner process, in order to avoid a confusing situation where the Commission is not de- leted yet no one is appointed to it . He said if it is reacti- vated , we would need to look at a whole new definition of what it does . Harris said she had always been concerned that the definition of the Commission did not coincide with the City ' s current needs . She asked what kinds of support had been given to getting citizen input into the City' s planning for long-term growth. She said she thought the Planning Commission is doing a tremendous job in terms of the immediate needs, but she doesn 't see a body that is giving advice for the long term. a Peterson said that might be more appropriately called a long- range planning commission, rather than a development commis- sion. Councilmember Pidcock arrived at 3 : 15 PM. City Manager Jullie said Ann Bolene of the Development Com- mission had suggested that if special projects come along, we select people who have expertise in that area to serve on a committee for that specific project . Peterson said that would be similar to an ad-hoc committee and would get commit- tee members who have the right expertise for the issue . Anderson said he definitely wanted to avoid the situation where we eliminate the Commission and then turn around and appoint another in a year to two . Peterson said the ordinance as it presently reads refers to broad-based economic develop- ment , and he was sure any future commission or task force would be narrow-based, with a single-function purpose . 3 Bentley said at the time when the Development Commission was most recently put together, the Chamber of Commerce was just ' really getting on its legs and there was no organization in the City that could take input from business or deal with the City Council Minutes -3- March 24, 1987 issues of advocating development of the community. He said in 1978 it was a campaign issue that the role of the Develop- ment Commission was not strong enough . Since then the Chamber has become a much more viable and assertive entity and has assumed some of the roles that were originally envisioned for the Development Commission . Bentley said , however, that he thought it was important to not view the Chamber as• an extension of the City, as that isn't their role . He felt , therefore, that it was important to not rule out the possibility of ever reactivating the Commission. Harris commented that she felt the letter of resignation from Don Opheim showed some discomfort in his resignation . Jullie said Mr. Opheim didn 't choose to share anything with him be- fore that letter came along . He would suggest we contact Mr. Opheim for any further explanation desired . Peterson said he thought it was sufficient to say that it probably has nothing to do with the Development Commission, rather it is in response to other things . Pidcock noted that she had talked with Mr . Opheim about his ' letter of resignation . Peterson said he didn't think this needs to be part of a public discussion; however, other Councilmembers are also free to contact Mr . Opheim. Pidcock said she would like to bring this up at the next meeting for discussion and determination of policy. Harris said that the letter bears follow-up to determine the circumstances; but that this does not have a direct bearing on the issue on the table at the moment . VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried unanimously. 1 IV . CITY MANAGER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FORM - GOALS Referring to his memo of March 20th and the attached list of goals, City Manager Jullie said he thinks each one of the goals is important and they all fit together. Peterson noted that No . 4 on the list , regarding an approp- riate recycling plan for the City, should be started very quickly. He said he would like to change the wording of that to "Determine and recommend an appropriate recycling plan g for the City ." 4 Bentley asked how many specific goals we are looking at to be put on the performance review. Harris said, while there is no set number, she would suggest two or three that the Council would see as essential . She said it was important to look at something we could evaluate . j City Council Minutes -4- March 24, 1987 r Bentley said there are some that are non-measurable goals . He said Nos . 2, 3, 4 and 5 appear to be good, measurable goals . He suggested that we could identify the basic goals , ask Mr. Jullie to refine the language so that they fit into the performance review, and then have him bring them back for Council approval . 41 Peterson said he had some reluctance to focus in on three or four goals and presuppose that they are quantifiable . He said he didn' t believe that all the goals we have for the City Manager fit that narrow definition, yet are very impor- tant goals . He said that No . 10, regarding pursuing the City' s best interests in the Flying Cloud Landfill expansion issue, is one of those that would be difficult to measure . Bentley said lie had also checked Nos . 10, 11 and 16 as being good goals; however, he thought No . 10 has political over- tones that are not measurable and that could impact the scoring. 4 Harris said in order to designate a goal such as No . 10 , the specific steps that are in the best interests of the City would have to be defined since the City Manager has control over certain things and not over others . She said in this case we would have to have already defined what the City' s posture is regarding the landfill expansion and then charge the City Manager with carrying out that policy. Peterson noted that we have defined at least two facets of a good goal -- that it is quantifiable and that it is some- thing over which the person has nearly absolute control . He asked if there are more items that should be included in the definition. Harris said it should benefit the City and help the City actualize its policies . Peterson said to was reluctant to say let ' s just have these four goals and minimize the importance of several of the other 14 on the list . Harris said it would not necessarily mini- mize the others, as some of those should be part of his posi- tion anyway and may be covered in another section of the performance evaluation. Anderson said he thought Nos. 12 , 13 and 14 could be condensed into the area of communications . Bentley noted that those are already addressed in other parts of the assessment . Regarding Items 10 and 11 which appear to be similar in nature , Bentley asked what happens if wet identify one of these goals and for some reason the landfill people withdraw their re- quest or the Federal Highway Funding bill does not get passed . z City Council Minutes -5- March 24, 1987 He said he thought it was important to specify something that is within the control of the Manager to attain and that is Z not subject to a number of outside influences . Pidcock said this can be measured through his involvement with or support of the different groups that are pushing to get these items accomplished ; for example , his support of the lobbying effort to get the road improvements . Bentley said he would suggest Nos . 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 as the four goals to be listed . Pidcock said she would like to see No . 11 (MnDOT follow-through on T .H . 5 and T .H. 169 improvements ) included . Harris said that she would prefer to keep the number of goals at four . Bentley said he had suggested those four goals because the attainment of those goals can be measured and would also be C> a significant accomplishment from the City' s perspective . Peterson asked if No . 3 (completion of the Comparable Worth Study) would involve a considerable amount of Mr. Jullie ' s time and talents . Jullie said he would not have to be in- volved intensely in the completion of the study. He noted that we have retained a consultant to help with that . Peter- son then said we might want to consider replacing No . 3 with either No . 11 or No . 9 , as he thought No . 9 (MCA Tax Incre- ment Financing for road improvements ) was also worthy of consideration. Harris said she thought No . 9 was a good suggestion. Sh4* said Mr. Jullie 's involvement in No . 3 would be primarily in the area of implementation. She also said she felt that No . 11 is going to be very much a political and financing decision; therefore , she was not sure Mr. Jullie can ensure that MnDOT can follow through. Anderson asked if the possibility of including some of the others should be considered , perhaps as subgoals . Peterson said he thought some of the specific things can be included, such as employee safety . An informal vote was taken on the goals suggested . The following four goals will be this year ' s stated goals for the City Manager: 1 . Update the City ' s Capital Improvement Program. 2 . Work with Director of Human Resources to bring to completion the Comparable Worth Study and implement compensation plan. 3 . Determine and recommend an appropriate recycling plan for the City . Study and make recommendations on utilizing Reuter facility, curbside collection, organized collection, etc . City Council Minutes -6- March 24, 1987 4 . The City' s budget process will continue to be re- fined . Two-year forecasting of expenses and revenues will be explored . Peterson then asked for discussion relative to other items on the list or any other goals that would be important . Pidcock said that if it is the City' s policy to have better roadways , she thought it would be very important that the City Manager give his support to the liaison bodies involved . She said if we do not show our interest in improved roadways, we may lose one of the biggest employers in this area . Peterson said he thought the City ' s position is very well conveyed and expressed by the active involvement of one or e more Council members in the groups or task forces involved . Pidcock said she was suggesting that the City Manager show his interest by such means as notifying Council members of meetings, being aware of what the groups are doing. and letting the rest of us be aware of what' s going on in such groups as the Southwest Corridor Coalition. Bentley noted Y that, while the City has sent representatives to meetings, we haven' t yet signed off on a Joint Powers ' Agreement or anything that gives the Coalition our official "stamp of approval . " Peterson said none of us disagree with the importance of the highway efforts, but he felt that at this point we are trying to identify critically important subgoals . Pidcock said she did not expect Mr. Jullie to attend the meetings, but rather she was suggesting that he communicate with the Council regarding the time and place of meetings of the various groups . Regarding Mr . Anderson' s concern about other important issues, Harris said there was nothing that precludes the City Manager from having goals over and above those the Council sets for him, and we should encourage him to have those extra goals . Anderson said it is important for the Council to know specifi- cally what some of those extra goals are, as we want to know wnere our manager is going. He said those subgoals should be listed for each year so that the Council can add or sub- tract from the list and determine how successful we have been in the evaluation process . Bentley suggested that we direct the redrafting of the list to Mr. Jullie and, within the framework of the Evaluation Form, have him list the four goals defined . He also suggested that he include a separate sheet that would show some of the -u= City Council Minutes -7- March 24, 1987 measurable steps along the way towards those final goals and include an attachment that outlines the additional goals that he and the Council feel are of equal importance to those listed on the evaluation. Anderson said he would like to be sure to have something that is definable , something that someone can take a look at and live with . Bentley said he hoped our choosing four goals that are quantifiable will set a precedent for the future . Harris noted that some of these goals will require rework to make the role of the City Manager in that goal more spec i.- f is . p{7 d V . OTHER BUSINESS Anderson said some of us wanted to ask Mr. Lambert about the Park Bond Referendum results . Jullie said they had discussed Mr. Lambert ' s preparing something on our options within the next 60 days . A discussion followed regarding the timing for a possible second referendum. s Bentley noted that he, Mrs. Harris, and Mayor Peterson meet last Friday to certify the results of the referendum, and at that time asked Mr. Jullie to go to the Staff and determine our options . Pidcock said she would like to have a discussion regarding Mr. Opheim' s resignation on the Agenda for the next Council meeting. Peterson said he was very uncomfortable with this situation and was reluctant to put it on the Agenda. He suggested that Mrs. Pidcock could discuss this with Mr. Jullie . Pidcock said she believed she had the right to include it on the Agenda. Harris suggested that Mrs . Pidcock meet with Mr. Jullie in order to determine if Mr. Opheim wishes to have his concerns made public and if it is something that concerns a policy decision . She said discussion of that policy could then be brought to the Council . V I . ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bentley moved , seconded by Harris, to adjourn the meeting at 4: 15 PM.