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02/16/2019 MinutesCITY OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION (RETREAT) February 16, 2019 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Special Study Session (Retreat) of the City Council of the City of Grand Island, Nebraska was conducted at the Bosselman Community Room, 1607 South Locust Street, Suite A, Grand Island, Nebraska on February 16, 2019. Notice of the meeting was given in the Grand Island Independent on February 8, 2019. Mayor Roger G. Steele called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. The following Councilmembers were present: Mitch Nickerson, Jason Conley, Chuck Haase, Jeremy Jones, Mark Stelk, Mike Paulick, Vaughn Minton, Clay Schutz, Michelle Fitzke and Julie Hehnke. The following City staff were present: City Administrator Marlan Ferguson, Assistant City Administrator Brent Clark, City Clerk RaNae Edwards, City Attorney Jerry Janulewicz, Public Works Director John Collins, Finance Director Patrick Brown, Utility Director Tim Luchsinger, Parks & Recreation Director Todd McCoy, Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity, Building Deparlrnent Director Craig Lewis, Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund, Library Director Steve Fosselman, Human Resources Director Aaron Schmid, Fire Chief Cory Schmidt, and Police Chief Robert Falldorf. WELCOME AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE DAY: Mayor Steele welcomed everyone. The expectation was to learn more from each of the departments and the roll of Councilmembers. Introductions were made by those present. DIRECTOR'S STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT'S: Human Resources — Aaron Schmid stated his department had four employees and commented on the five core functions of his department. Explained were Employee and Labor Relations; Workforce Planning and Employment; Compensation and Benefits; Risk Management; and Employee Development. Health Insurance and high cost of claims were a challenge. City Clerk — RaNae Edwards commented on her duties as City Clerk. Covered were Council agenda's and packets, liquor licenses, document archives, purchasing, and managing official records. Mentioned was the importance of having a Deputy City Clerk. Legal — Jerry Janulewicz stated there were three employees in the Legal Deparhnent. The Assistant City Attorney was the City's purchasing agent, worked on code enforcement and juvenile court cases. Their office handled all the public records requests, tort claims, and assisted all departments with contract matters, personnel matters, and union negotiations. Mr. Janulewicz answered questions regarding public requests. Utilities — Tim Luchsinger stated the Utilities Department had 140 employees with three Assistant Director's. He commented on the two power plants within the city. The gas/oil-fired Burdick Station with three gas turbines and the coal-fired Platte Generating Station. The City was also involved in renewable sources such as wind and solar energy. The Electric Utility paid Page 2, City Council Special Study Session (Retreat), February 16, 2019 approximately $2.3 million annually to the General Fund in the form of city sales tax and $1.4 million annually to support the Finance Department Information Technology Processing Division. Mr. Luchsinger answered questions regarding meter readers and going to electronic meters. Cost was an issue as well as ownership of the meters. Future generation was discussed. There was 10 to 15 years of use left at the Platte Generation Station. Streets — John Collins mentioned the Metropolitan Planning Organization Division (MPO) was a new division since the city became a MSA. Transit was another new division within his department. Briefly reviewed were: Engineering Services, Fleet Services, Solid Waste, Streets & Drainage, and Wastewater. Mr. Collins answered questions concerning the Sycamore Street Underpass and roundabouts. Parks & Recreation — Todd McCoy stated the Parks Department had five divisions: Parks, Recreation, Cemetery, Golf Course, and Heartland Public Shooting Park. They were looking at getting grant dollars for more trails. Planning for the armory was in the works. Mentioned were several parks they were working on. Pickleball courts were in the works and would be coming forward for Council approval. Mr. McCoy answered questions regarding cemetery expansion and finding funding. Trail systems and splash pads were mentioned. BREAK: 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Emergency Management — Jon Rosenlund stated the Emergency Management Department was created by an Interlocal Agreement between Hall County and the City of Grand Island. There were 16 dispatchers and all expenses were divided between the City and Hall County. Mr. Rosenlund explained the revenue funds such as Special Revenue, Landline E911, and Wireless E911 Funds. He stated the new facility was almost complete and tours were welcomed. Mr. Rosenlund answered questions regarding 911 calls from cell phones. He stated they were working on that ability and would have that software installed before they moved to the new location. Building — Craig Lewis stated they had nine people in the department. Codes that were enforced, regulated, and administered by the Building division included: Model Codes, City Codes, and State and Federal regulations. Reviewed were the number of permits, inspections, and the number of construction dollars. Reviewed was a graph showing construction and the growth within the community over the past few years. Mr. Lewis answered questions concerning the Grand Generation Center. Planning — Chad Nabity stated the Planning Department was a City/County funded department established by an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement in 1967. Explained was the Regional Planning Commission and their responsibilities. Mentioned was the Grand Island/Merrick County Interjurisdictional Pla.nning Commission. Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) and Community Development Division were also a part of the Regional Planning Department. Mr. Nabity answered questions regarding filling positions on the boards. Fire — Chief Cory Schmidt stated his department provided ambulance service, fire service, and hazmat services. Tke majority of their time was spent on medical calls. There were four fire Page 3, City Council Special Study Session (Retreat), February 16, 2019 stations throughout the City for a response time of four minutes. They had a total of 70 staff members but needed more. Last year they had 71 recalls. Explained was the reason why fire trucks go on ambulance calls. Chief Schmidt answered questions regarding overtime for recalls and expenses within his department. Police — Chief Robert Falldorf recommended changing the structure of the Police Department from three Captains to two Captains and creating three Lieutenant positions. Mentioned were Strategic Policing, intelligence led policing, offenses, calls for service and sworn officers per 1,000 residents. Chief Falldorf answered questions concerning School Resource Officers (SRO's), drug use as it related to property crime in Grand Island, and gangs. Staffing issues were mentioned. They were currently short one officer as there had not been the number of applications submitted from which to hire from. Substations were discussed. Chief Falldorf commented on the airport duty and the number of hours it took up for their officers. Library — Steve Fosselman commented on the services the library offered. Mentioned was the renovation of the library. Mr. Fosselman commented on the maker space in the library. He stated the new renovation would be opened the first part of March. Explained were the e-book and overdrive services. OPENGOV PRESENTATIONBUDGET TUTORIAL: Nate Olson, Account Executive; Daria Brainerd, Customer Services Manager; and Charlie Francis, Sr. Director, Government Finance representing OpenGov gave an overview on budgeting performance. Integrating information for budgets and then communicating that information was what OpenGov does. Reviewed was Management Reporting. LLTNCH: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. DISCUSSION ON FTE'S IN GENERAL FLJND: Finance Director Patrick Brown stated the Finance Department had the following six major areas: City Accounting, Utility Accounting, Utility Support, Risk Management, Cash Management, and Budgeting. Reviewed were the accomplishments for 2018. The Finance Department hoped to accomplish the following for the 2018-2019 fiscal year: • Implement the MUNIS electronic timesheet functionality instead of spreadsheets and manually entering hours. • Implement a Work Force Planning module into OpenGov for workforce budgeting purposes since personnel costs are our highest cost categories. • Implement MIJNIS's Cash Management Module for bank reconciliation, cash tracking, forecasting, and investment and debt management. • Continue our efforts in improving the budgeting process. • Look at each position in Finance to determine if efficiencies can be gained. • Continue the cross training Finance is currently doing. • Increase our proactive work (analysis) and decrease reactive work (chasing). Mr. Brown reviewed the sales tax and motor vehicle taxes received by the City. He stated sales tax was trending down from previous years. Currently the City had approximately $13 million in cash reserves. He stated cash reserves should never be used for personnel but for possibly a Page 4, City Council Special Study Session (Retreat), February 16, 2019 onetime purchase. The new sales tax would start on April 1, 2019 and was estimated at $5.5 million which would go into a separate account and not the General Fund. Discussion was held concerning Cash Reserves, Capital Projects, FTE's, and the Wheel T� sunset. CITY COUNCIL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES, FORM OF GOVERNMENT, EXPECTATIONS: City Administrator Marlan Ferguson explained the following kinds of governments: Commissioner Form of Government, Village Government, Mayor-Council Form of Government, and City Management Form of Government. Mr. Ferguson introduced Lynn Rex, Executive Director from the League of Nebraska Municipalities (LNM). Ms. Rex gave an overview of LNM which started in the late 1800's. Mentioned were conferences and training, technical support, and lobbying that LNM provided members. One of the most important programs offered by LNM was the League Association of Risk Management (LARM). Reviewed were several major legislative bills that LNM was working on that were currently being heard in the legislature and would affect the cities across Nebraska. DISCUSSION ON UPCOMING STUDY SESSI The following dates were set for upcoming Study Sessions: • March 5�' Infrastructure Needs • Apri12"d Electrical Utility Department Overview • May 7�` Sales Tax, Food & Beverage Tax, Wheel Tax Assistant City Administrator Brent Clark stated he would schedule tours of city facilities for those Councilmembers interested. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 p.m. •� . , , � � RaNae Edwards City Clerk