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2022-11-22 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 22, 2022 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Ray Salazar; Council Members Paula Larson, Sherrie Pugh, Phil Velsor and Jason Holt Members absent: None Others present: City Manager Eric Hoversten, City Clerk Kevin Kelly, Barry Blievernicht, Kim Blievernicht, Logan Velsor. Consent agenda: All items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature by the Council. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence. 1. Open meeting Mayor Salazar called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Salazar said he received comment from the public about standing for the pledge of allegiance. Salazar asked Hoversten about his posture during the pledge at the beginning of each meeting. Hoversten said the reason he does not put his hand on his heart is due to his long career in military service. Hoversten said he would salute the flag when in uniform. Hoversten added that when he is not in a military setting and in uniform, he continues to use flag customs. Hoversten said he is standing at attention during the pledge and to him this is the most meaningful posture and is his chosen flag decorum for Council meetings. Hoversten added he will continue to exercise this custom in which he adhered to from his service in the military. 3. Approve agenda Hoversten said there was an error on page 2774 of the packet in which the correct address was in the title of the claims but was not in the memo. Hoversten said the address, 2232 Commerce, was amended in the memo. MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to approve the amended agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $282,612.17. B. Approve minutes: 11-09-22 Regular Meeting 11-15-22 Special Meeting Mound City Council Minutes — November 22, 2022 C. RESOLUTION NO. 22-102: RESOLUTION APPROVING STATE OF MINNESOTA JOINT POWERS AGREEMENTS WITH THE CITY OF MOUND ON BEHALF OF ITS CITY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY D. Approve Pay Request in the amount of $1,324.00 to Norling's Lake Minnetonka Landscapes for the 2021 Lift Station Improvement Project, PW 21-03 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. None were offered. 6. City Manager Eric Hoversten summarizing process to solicit candidates for anticipated City Council vacancy Hoversten said due to the General election results Council member Holt will resign his position at the end of term and take on Mayoral duties in 2023. Hoversten said this will leave a vacancy on the Council. Hoversten said the memo in the packet outlines a process to fill the Council seat. Hoversten added the process to fill the seat is at the discretion of the new Council which will be sworn in at the January 10 meeting. Hoversten said staff thought it appropriate to share with the Council and the community the process that staff recommends to begin the advertising for applicants. Hoversten said the process includes a letter of introduction from candidates in a narrative form instead of question and answer to avoid unnecessarily shaping the process. Hoversten said staff would like to have something for the Council on January 10th to choose candidates to interview. Hoversten said the January 24th meeting of the Council will be set for interviews. Hoversten stated the Council will choose the appointee with the intent to swear in the new Council member on February 14. Hoversten noted the appointee couldn't be sworn in until the end of February if the application process isn't started in 2022. Hoversten said staff will prepare to advertise in the Laker for applications to be returned no later than January 6th. Hoversten said this will allow the Council to possibly use the letter of introduction to determine whether or not to interview all candidates. Hoversten said the Council then will come up with interview questions. Hoversten said when the Council chooses the interviewees staff can publicize those individuals in the Laker so the community is appropriately notified. Hoversten said the Council can finish the interview process on January 24th or elect to hold a special meeting for a second round on January 31". Hoversten said this process was used in two previous Council vacancies, both of which were appointed to complete the remainder of the term. Pugh asked about announcing the resignation before the seat becomes vacant. Hoversten said this was reviewed by the League of Minnesota Cities and is allowed. Salazar said there were at least 10 candidates in 2019 and are you thinking about the Council interviewing a lesser number. Hoversten said this is the decision of the new Council whether to narrow the field of interviewees. Hoversten said staff is asking the Council to rank choices at the January 2411 meeting. Hoversten said a Council member's first choice would get three points, their second choice receives 2 points and one for their third choice and the one with the most points will be the highest ranking from the Council. Salazar and Larson discussed the voting for two Docks and Commons Commissioners and how a second vote was arranged due to their being a tie vote for the second open seat. Larson said she wanted to clarify that the first time through the Council would rank 1, 2 and 3. Velsor said the process states voting for up to three candidates. Hoversten said the Council can finalize the rules at the January 10th meeting. Mound City Council Minutes — November 22, 2022 Larson asked if the applications are going to be available online and handed -in in person. Hoversten said the applications will be available online and will be required to be turned in at City Hall in person or via fax. Larson asked why would the Council reduce the interviewees to five people. Salazar said this will be the third time a vacancy has occurred in the last 10 years, adding how the candidates are chosen is for the Council to decide. Salazar said the new Council can determine the work rules and in the past he wanted to hear from all the candidates in person and not whittle down the applicants before the interview. Larson asked whether the Council will see the candidate narratives at the meeting on the 1011. Holt said the Council will review the materials from the candidates and the in -person interviews will be on January 24tn 7. Evaluation of the performance of the City Manager Eric Hoversten MOTION by Holt, seconded by Velsor, to approve closing the meeting. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Salazar announced that the meeting is being closed for the performance evaluation of City Manager Eric Hoversten at 7:20 p.m. MOTION by Holt, seconded by Velsor, to approve opening the meeting. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Salazar opened the meeting at 8:11 p.m. 8. Discussion and possible action on City Manager Employment Agreement Salazar said the Council has made an amendment to the Employment Agreement with City Manager Eric Hoversten. MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Velsor, to approve the Seventh Amendment to the City Manager Employment Agreement reflecting a 3% merit increase in addition to the cost of living adjustment negotiated by the bargaining units effective January 1, 2023. Salazar, Velsor, Holt and Pugh voted in favor. Larson abstained. Motion carried. 9. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from Council members/City Manager: Pugh said she appreciated the snow removal memo from Hoversten. Pugh said last year the City did the snow cleaning on the Dakota Trail and wondered if the City needs to approve matching funds with the Three Rivers Park District. Salazar said the decision to clear the trail from Westedge Blvd. to Spring Park was agreed to in 2020. Hoversten said this is a three-year agreement with Three Rivers. Hoversten said there was a snow removal equipment issue on the first snowfall and the crew was not able to do their normal maintenance but the equipment is repaired and the crew will be back to regular maintenance. Larson said what the Council should do about snow plowing complaints. Hoversten said there is a pattern the crews follow and some streets are left to natural conditions. Hoversten said the plowing crews aren't done with plowing until the job is finished which is based on many Mound City Council Minutes — November 22, 2022 variables. Larson said she would inform residents to wait an hour or two to call back to see if the crews will be plowing their street. Larson said she was listening to WCCO radio and there was a Mound constituent on the program who gave a high five to the City of Mound for its snow removal. Hoversten said the City crews were very happy to receive this positive feedback. The Council looked at a couple of photos of the decorated trees and the city entrance monument. Larson said the new City entrance sign looks beautiful and complimented the City crews work on making the City look more beautiful. Salazar said there is a lot going on in the City with the Artessa project, city -center park in the Harbor District, and the Shoreline Drive/Dakota Trail crossing improvements. Salazar said since March of 2021 the Council and staff have been advocating for the funds to build a water filtration plant. Salazar said it is time for the State to allocate funds to Mound. Holt asked if the parking lot at Surfside Park is done. Hoversten said for the winter the base coat of asphalt is placed to tease out defects and the final wear course will be applied this spring. Hoversten said that work is being bundled with the crosswalk at Tuxedo and Brighton for the spring which will result in a cost savings by a factor of four. Hoversten added: City Hall closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving City Hall closed for Christmas on the Friday before and the Monday after Council Final Budget meeting December 13tn B. Reports: Liquor Store — October 2022 Finance Department — October 2022 C. Minutes: D. Correspondence: 15. Adjourn ACTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to adjourn at 8:29 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Raymond J. Salazar Attest: Kevin Kelly, erk