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10/16/2001 Minutes I I I OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION October 16, 2001 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Study Session of the City Council of the City of Grand Island, Nebraska was conducted in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 100 East First Street, on October 16, 2001. Notice of the meeting was given in the Grand Island Independent on October 10,2001. Mayor Ken Gnadt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following members were present: Councilmembers Pielstick, Seifert, Hornady, Whitesides, Haase, Murray, Walker and Sorensen. Councilmember Ward and Larson were absent. The following City Officials were present: City Administrator Marlan Ferguson, City Clerk RaNae Edwards, Public Works Director Steve Riehle, City Attorney Charlie Cuypers and Finance Director David Springer. "Purple Hands" Presentation. Vicki Duel, Principal Walnut Middle School, students from Walnut, Barr and Westridge schools presented "Purple Hands" an anti violence campaign. A video presentation was made and Councilmembers, Mayor, City Administrator, staff and audience made the "Purple Hand Pledge". Update and Discussion on Odor Control. Steve Riehle, Public Works Director, reported that the Odor Committee appointed by the Mayor last year had met throughout the year and conducted a survey recently. Reviewed were the results of that survey. Mr. Riehle introduced Betty Karle from the Odor Committee. Ms. Karle thanked those people involved on the committee and the City for taking steps to solve the odor problem. Suggestions were to cover the slug lagoon and move the compost pile outside of the residential area. Ron Miller, Odor Committee member, stated that he felt the smell was getting a little better since the committee had been formed. Councilmember Walker asked where the problem of the smell was coming from. Mr. Riehle stated that both the Waste Water Treatment Plant and ConAgra were the problem and the committee is directing their efforts in that direction. David Eastlack, 922 East Phoenix A venue, Odor Committee member, spoke concerning the efforts that are being taken by all parties. Ron Gould, General Manager of ConAgra, stated the improvements that had been done at ConAgra to help solve the odor problem. Presentation by Redistricting Committee Regarding Redistricting Options. Cindy Johnson, Community Projects Director, updated the Council on the committee's work on redistricting. Background, options and recommendations were covered. Chad Nabity, Regional Planning Director, spoke about the process that was taken for the redistricting committee. This process has been done every 10 years and by law has to be done because of the 2000 census. The GIS system was used for boundaries, population, demographic I I I Page 2, City Council Study Session, October 16, 2001 data, including ethnic and age. Mr. Nabity stated that if annexation occurs and the numbers change more than 10%, redistricting has to be done at that time. Bill Giddings, 2311 Viking Court, committee member, spoke about the Council make up and ward boundaries as being a topic that was dealt with at length by the committee. Mr. Giddings also stated that the committee looked at the option of decreasing the size of the Council and that this would be the time to do that if the Council wished. Councilmember Pielstick stated that she is concerned about the at-large members. Councilmember Whitesides stated that he felt we needed to have a balance and felt that we have that now. Councilmember Haase stated that Councilmembers represent not only their wards but all of Grand Island. Councilmember Hornady questioned the legalities of elections if the City were to decrease the size of the council. Charlie Cuypers, City Attorney, passed out the election laws that dealt with that issue and explained the process. Councilmember Whitesides stated that Council should look at the boundaries and not reduce the members of council. Lewis Kent, 624 East Meves, stated that he was against reducing the number of councilmembers. Glendale Reiss, 910 North Boggs, stated that there should be some town hall meetings. Cindy Johnson, Community Projects Director, stated that this issue would have to go to a public hearing and be approved by Council before the end of the year. The committee is looking for direction from the Council as to the Council's wishes. City Administrator Marlan Ferguson, recommended that the committees proposal had the least amount of changes and felt that the committees recommendation should be looked at. It was the consensus of the council to look at the boundaries and not decreasing the number of Council members. Discussion Concerning Updates to Personnel Rules. Brenda Sutherland, Personnel Director, reviewed the updates to the personnel rules. Ms. Sutherland stated that part of the purpose was to develop personnel rules that were easier to understand by all employees. Mentioned were the notable changes including: Drug-Free Workplace: Adds drug testing for new hires. Councilmember Pielstick requested that random drug testing be required for all employees. Discussed were costs, policies and union issues. Discipline and Appeal Procedure: Removes verbal reprimands and would be replaced with written reprimands. Councilmember Haase asked whether these reprimands would be able to be appealed. These would not, but would be put in the employee's personnel file. Employee Grievances: Employees in a bargaining unit would have to use the grievance procedure provided them by their unit's contract. I I I Page 3, City Council Study Session, October 16,2001 Political Activity: Employees would not be allowed to represent themselves as employees while involved in outside political activities. Residency: Expands residency requirements from 2 mile jurisdiction zone to a 10 mile jurisdiction zone for Directors. Councilmember Haase mentioned that she felt the Directors should live within the 2 mile jurisdiction zone. Steve Paustain, Parks and Recreation Director spoke in favor of this change. Employment of Relatives: Tightens the policy by removing "household" and defining family members. Dress Code: Adds a dress code. Employment Categories: Changes "probationary" to "introductory" and "permanent" to "regular status". Hours of Work: Defined hours to be used for overtime calculations. Councilmember Haase asked about the use of time clocks. Overtime was discussed with regards to pay. Holidays were discussed briefly. Promotions: Allows a person who has been promoted to move a step after successfully completing the introductory period in the new position. Benefits: Vacation and sick leave on a prorated basis for employees who work at least 30 hours. Sick Leave: Removed the word "household". Administrative Leave: Removed seminars and meetings. Added Benefits Section: Included Life/Accidental Death Insurance, Cafeteria Plan, Pension Plan and Long Term Disability, which had been provided but were not listed in the Personnel Rules. Tuition Reimbursement: Added level for Master's study and added percentages for grades. Bilingual Pay: Increased bilingual pay to $500.00 to match union pay. I I I Page 4, City Council Study Session, October 16,2001 Ms. Sutherland stated that some items that are not included in the Personnel Policy would be in the Standard of Operations (SOP) manual. It was stated that this would come before Council after Council had time to review this in depth. Ms. Sutherland stated that these rules should be reviewed every couple of years or so. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Qcf\c.a- ffiw~ RaN ae Edwards City Clerk