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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-06 Special Work Session Meeting MinutesPage 1 MINUTES OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION COMMUNITY ROOM, CITY HALL TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 5 P.M. 1.0 CALL TO ORDER Council Member Pierce called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. 2.0 ROLL CALL Answering rollcall were Members Agnew, Pierce, Risser and Mayor Hovland (arrived at 7:10 p.m.). Absent: Member Jackson Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager; Zoe Johnson, City Management Fellow; Pa Thao, Finance Director; Todd Milburn, Police Chief; Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications Director; Chad Millner, Engineering Director; Perry Vetter, Parks and Recreation Director; Brian Olson, Public Works Director; Ryan Browning, IT Director; Cary Teague, Community Development Director; Kelly Curtin, Human Resources Director; Rebecca Hardel, Human Resources Assistant Director; MJ Lamon, Special Projects & Community Engagement Manager; and Jennifer Garske, Executive Assistant. 3.1 BUDGET WORK SESSION City Manager Neal introduced the presentations by directors on each department in the City and mentioned that staff did similar presentations at the Tues., Feb. 4, Work Session. Director Vetter presented an overview of the Parks and Recreation Department. He said the mission of the department is to be inclusive and creative, sustainable and responsible, and collaborative when possible. Vetter shared information about the organizational chart and staff roles; service summaries and highlighted longer-term revenue opportunities; as well as the department’s liaison duties with city organizations, such as the Garden Council, Edina Historical Society, and athletic associations, as well as City commissions. He shared information on special events; printed activities directories; safety and security issues; adaptive, youth, adult and senior programming; park buildings, shelters, turf management and skating rinks; climate impacts on outdoor activities; the forestry program and related issues; snow removal in parks and trails; and challenges in many areas. Vetter outlined cost drivers and values impact across the department and enterprises, and highlighted an organizational assessment conducted for Public Works and Park Maintenance in 2021. He shared information on conditions at facilities and about aging infrastructure and equipment. He highlighted the impacts of climate change; summer and winter seasonal staff and challenges with recruiting; and the safety and security blueprint Parks staff is working on with a consultant. Council asked for more information on revenue versus expenses and pointed out that many of the parks infrastructure is supporting the region and not solely Edina. It was suggested by Council this information should all be easily accessible on the website for residents. Director Olson gave an overview of the Public Works Department. He shared information about the organizational chart and staff roles; service summaries and details about snow plowing, hiring challenges, fuel consortium and street maintenance, including working with the Engineering Director to improve the City’s Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score. He highlighted that much of their work is responding to resident and business requests, which the goal is to respond to requests within one business day. Olson gave information on cost drivers and other information including the staffing analysis; service requests and responses; equipment and vehicles; and PFAS concerns. Director Millner gave an overview of the Engineering Department. He shared information about the organizational chart; staff roles; and service summaries and details about street reconstruction; storm, sanitary sewer and water utility projects; the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) fund and projects; site permitting; water resources; private wells; and natural resources management with Parks staff. He highlighted Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/February 6, 2025 Page 2 staff’s work as liaisons with City commissions, the Climate Action Plan (CAP) and Climate Action Fund; sustainability education and outreach, as well as grant writing; facility management; and maintenance at 50th & France. Millner talked about cost drivers and other information including staffing, expectations for PACS and CAP projects and funding challenges. Council asked for clarification on private wells in the City and staff’s role in management. At 6:45 p.m. Lenz offered a break and discussion continued at 7:00 p.m. Director Teague gave an overview of the Community Development Department. He shared information about the organizational chart and staff roles; service summaries and details about building and sign permit review; land use requests; Comprehensive Plan; programs within the Affordable Housing Division; residential and commercial assessing services; and all the boards and commissions that staff support as liaisons. Teague talked about cost drivers and other information including consultant fees, especially for the Comp Plan, Small Area Plans and historic reviews in the Country Club District; credit card fees for assessments; and adding efficiency with the zoning code update. Assistant City Manager Lenz gave an overview of the Administration Department. She shared information about the organizational chart and staff roles and highlighted that the department is both an operating department and internal services department. Lenz shared service summaries and details about the increase in data practices requests; records retention; licensing and fees; elections; city code management; special events coordination; and City Council support and meeting management. She highlighted strategic and financial planning; organizational development and performance; community engagement across the organization; special projects; managing legal services and contingency funds; and staff’s roles not only as liaisons to City commissions and task forces, but also on many metro and regional boards and organizations, as well as coordinating legislative affairs. Lenz talked about cost drivers and other information including that Administration is both a department and oversees day-to-day operations and strategic planning of all eleven City departments; workload of elections, though moving to every-other- year elections for the School District is helpful; and being the catch-all for new things, such as Sustainability starting in Admin and moving to Engineering eventually. Council asked a clarifying question about fees, and when they are set by staff to cover cost vs. by statute. Lenz indicated it depends, and looking at fee structures will be part of our budgeting process. Neal shared that there are statutory limits about how much the City can charge. Director Browning gave an overview of the IT Department, including the divisions and staff’s roles in each, GIS, Support and Servers/Systems. Browning shared service summaries and details about storage management; end-user support; network infrastructure; security and technology across the City, but especially in public safety vehicles, and now adding technology in Public Works vehicles as well. He also highlighted that his team supports and trains staff on the many kinds of software and point-of-sale systems used across the City, including Microsoft 360, which is key to our business. IT staff also take part in audits, have an important role in helping with elections, create GIS tools to collect and share data internally and with the public, handle document management and are on call 24/7 for events or emergencies. Browning also pointed out that the IT Department has to use innovation to figure out with other staff the most efficient way to get from point A to point B on many projects. Browning also talked about cost drivers and other information such as increasing cost for technology, including how most new projects have a technology component; understanding and integrating new technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI); subscription models that increase each year; and retaining talented staff, along with finding the time to train staff in updated or new software or technology. Council asked questions about the City’s data centers and the fiber networks. They wanted context around what services are required vs. statutory vs. quality of life for residents. Council wondered about the future needs of the IT Department and what kind of increases in cost and staffing to expect in keeping systems secure, and how to leverage AI for more efficiency. Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/February 6, 2025 Page 3 Director Curtin gave an overview of the Human Resources Department, including the functions and staff’s roles in each, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, employee and labor relations, Risk Management and Safety, and payroll. Curtin shared service summaries and details about all these services, and highlighted the number of employees across the City, as well as the number of labor bargaining units; and the advancement in the Risk & Safety area with a dedicated staff member. She gave information on the challenges with recruitment, retention and training in recent years, as well as the department’s work in employee relations, performance management, employee recognition and wellness programs. Curtin also talked about cost drivers and other information such as the challenges of a tight labor market and staff turnover, and wanting to prepare by working on succession planning; and increases in cost of insurance, labor attorneys and technology. She talked about new laws in Minnesota also presenting challenges to HR staff as they implement them, in addition to equal pay, pay equity and job classifications. Curtin highlighted the City’s compensation strategy, but studies have shown Edina is falling behind other cities in compensation. Council asked about the new Minnesota Paid Leave Act and what impacts that has with what the City is already doing and from the operational side. Director Thao gave an overview of the Finance Department, including the divisions and staff’s roles in each, Finance and Utility Billing. She shared service summaries and details about the different financial reports the Finance Department produces, including the annual audit; and that Finance staff works on the biennial budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Finance also provides services such as Utility Billing, ambulance service billing support, debt management, management and reporting of federal grants and funding, and is the treasurer/financial manager for several groups, such as the South Metro Public Safety Training Center, Southwest Suburban Cable Commission, Minnesota Task Force One, East Edina Housing Foundation, in addition to all the City’s enterprises. Thao also talked about cost drivers and other information such as staffing and training, rising cost of operations, repayment obligations and aging infrastructure needs. Director Bennerotte gave an overview of the Communications Department, including the different buckets of work and staff’s roles in each, media and public relations, digital communications, print publications, video production and advertising and marketing for General Fund activities. She shared service summaries and details about media relations; public relations from the front desk receptionist to coordinating events and recognition programs; logo and trademarks for the City; publications; video production that includes televising or recording meetings in Edina and elsewhere, videos for the website or social media, and management of SWTV; websites, social media, email and text systems; advertising; and internal communication to City staff. Bennerotte talked about cost drivers and other information such as that not all the Communications budget comes from the General Fund, they also utilize PEG fees, which are decreasing every year; the many communications methods and preferences, yet there are no free ways to communicate except word of mouth; challenges with increasing costs, including of translation services, but the City is committed to these services; and that requests for City services and projects have continued to grow, along with communication needs. Lenz talked about next steps in the process, and that the presentation was available for Council and the public to access. Council wanted further discussion on next steps, and needing City Manager input for the budget. Council expressed appreciation for the overview of each department. Lenz asked if all of Council were in agreement on a target number as the budget process goes forward. Council raised questions and concerns about the budget numbers projected beyond 2025 during the last budget process, and there was discussion between Council and staff about proposed budget numbers vs. projected budget numbers. Council shared they want the City Manager to come to them with how we get Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/February 6, 2025 Page 4 the budget to something similar to comparable cities. Lenz shared that staff is working on a document with information from Edina and comparable cities on full-time staff. Council discussed cutting CIP items vs. services and whether they were in agreement related to a target and priorities. Council will share ideas about budget adjustments or revenue increases with the City Manager. Council also suggested staff be mindful of what is important to residents, and that residents should contact Council with ideas for the budget. The City Manager will work on putting together recommendations for Council to consider. 4.0 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 8:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kari Sinning, Deputy City Clerk Minutes approved by Edina City Council, February 18, 2025. James B. Hovland, Mayor Audio copy of the work session available.