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2023-06-21 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 21, 2023 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in special session on Thursday, June 21, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers of the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Jason Holt; Council Members Sherrie Pugh, Paula Larson, Kathy McEnaney, Kevin Castellano Members absent: None Others present: City Manager/Public Works Director Eric Hoversten, Administrative Services Director Catherine Pausche 1. Open meeting Mayor Holt called the meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. 2. Approve the agenda Motion by Larson, seconded by McEnaney, to approve the agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 3. Discussion and possible action on responses to a Request for Qualifications for Strategic Planning Facilitation and a Citywide Long Range Financial Plan Hoversten summarized the RFQ process to solicit proposals from strategic planning consultants, noting the option was given to split the RFQ based on company expertise. Hoversten said the key to the process is to develop a strategic plan that is grounded in a financial foundation and that of the four responses, two were for the full financially -guided strategic planning effort and two were for strategic planning only. Hoversten said choosing strategic visioning only would suggest there would be some duplication of effort in order to complete the financial plan separately. Hoversten noted of the two firms offering strategic visioning and financial planning, Barry Dunn does most of the work virtually whereas Ehlers is located in the metro. Hoversten noted Ehlers currently is the city's financial advisor for bonding which gives them background in the city's current and historical financial position. Hoversten said this is the Council's opportunity to forge a relationship with an outside consultant that will include one -on -ones, workshops, and data analysis. Mayor Holt asked for Council comments. McEnaney wondered whether the Council knows what their priorities are. McEnaney said the emphasis seems to be on the financial aspects and she has other priorities. McEnaney said Ehlers hits all the buttons but wonders whether they are too familiar with the City or is it time for a new vision. Holt said he thinks this process will help create the vision. McEnaney noted $55K is enough to hire a communication person. Castellano said he agrees it is a lot of money but thinks we probably need it now more than ever with a new City Manager and Deputy City Manager. Castellano said they did a similar exercise at the Wayzata muni and it paid for itself even though they thought about spending the funds on advertising instead. McEnaney said she feels it is necessary but questions the timing. Mound City Council Minutes —June 21, 2023 McEnaney said she talked to the League of MN Cities about the benefits of a Statutory Plan A City vs Plan B and thinks all issues need to be on the table. Castellano said he likes Ehlers is local and does not subcontract work. Castellano said the muni analysis provided fresh eyes on the back -office administration and served as a good sounding board. Castellano said any new Council is going to need a plan to reference. Holt said he liked the Mejorando Group's brochures and any communications person should be tasked with developing similar content. Larson said Ehlers is the obvious choice since they won't have much of a learning curve but with regards to cost, Larson noted we are much smaller than Burnsville and Minnetonka and she thinks the Council has to be in control of the direction on where we need to go. Larson said she thinks we need more workshops. Larson said 2018's plan was supposed to have 5 years left but she understands the financial environment has changed. Larson said she thinks the Council should wait until the new staff are hired to consider conducting this process. Pugh said the City is in a period of transition and a planning process can help guide strategy but to be effective requires participation from all of us. Pugh said when it comes to hiring a new City Manager, the Council would probably differ on what we want and it will be critical for the Council to be on the same page. Pugh said she always marveled at Eric's broad understanding of the City and relevant issues. Pugh said the Council can't just let things happen and need to work through a process. Pugh said $55K seems consistent with what she knows other entities have paid for similar services. McEnaney said her hope is for a communications position to be added and she has a presentation for the Council on that topic. Pugh said she wants a parks position added. Hoversten said organization design will be part of the process and a strategic plan is a way to go from hope to how you are going to get there. Hoversten said he understands the challenge of the Resident — Council — Staff hierarchy. Hoversten said he senses there is concern about the appearance of the City Manager driving the responses to constituents. Hoversten noted any successor of his is going to want to know what they are getting into and what the expectations are. Pugh said she went on the Minnetrista Mayor's Bus Tour and the Mayor explained why they don't foster commercial development and Pugh said that Mound's relationship in what the community provides to Minnetrista residents should be part of the conversation. Castellano said he feels a study is important as we make decisions on the General Fund and tax levy. Larson said she feels the Council is jumping the gun as Council members have a lot of experience in budgeting and financial planning. Larson said she feels the Mayor should head up the process and the Council should hold more workshops to share information. Larson said she looks forward to the fresh ears and eyes of the new City Manager and Deputy City Manager and we should delay this process a year. Discussion ensued about the recruitment status of the Deputy City Manager. Hoversten said this is the opportunity to re -chart or revalidate the City's strategic vision. Hoversten noted some of the bigger issues since 2018 include how many positions are needed to replace Eric and Catherine who serve in multiple roles, the loss of LGA, inflation and water treatment. Holt said multiple workshops may never result in agreement and this process may help get to consensus sooner. Holt said this is an opportunity to have an outside facilitator, noting part of Mound City Council Minutes —June 21, 2023 the problem is the City is too thin right now and he wants to expand in the most efficient way possible. Holt said all of his new clients have plans but he brings the plan to the next level by setting goals. Holt said this plan will help him be a better Mayor as well as the new and existing City staff be better. Holt said good planning always pays for itself. Holt said the organizational structure and levy increases will be a focal point. Larson said the Council does not know what they want yet so this is premature. Pugh said while her priority is being an age friendly city and Kathy's is communications, there are other things going on like the water issue so this process will help facilitate a plan. Hoversten said the consultant will meet with the Council individually and will then pull the group together in a workshop to guide and coach the Council through the process. Hoversten said it provides structure to an intentional process. McEnaney said she just questions the timing but if it goes forward, it will be important that each Council member makes a commitment to fully participate and fully prepare for the one on one interviews. Holt said he liked the timeline proposed by Ehlers as it will help with the 2024 planning process and move the priorities like communications forward sooner rather than later. Holt said the departure of the City Manager and Administrative Services Director creates a lot of turmoil and this will help the successors know what the Council agrees on and where we are headed. Holt likes it is driven by an outside organization and not by Staff. Holt said the Council sets the policy and relies on the professional staff to implement it. Holt said it is not the Council's job to do the work. Hoversten said the main difference between a Plan A and Plan B City is who reports to the Council. McEnaney asked about the ability to fine and do nuisance enforcement. Hoversten said that is a Charter City, noting the new City Attorney is working on a code enforcement policy with fines as he has a different interpretation of the statutory authority to fine than the previous City Attorney. Hoversten said he sees this process resulting in a type of Venn diagram where the concentric circles overlap and someone has to mediate the differences in expectations, noting it is awkward to put the mediator's role on staff which is why outside firms are often brought in. Hoversten concluded the timing is important to achieve consensus in order to be able to give the new City Manager a list of priorities and assist the Council in assessing the applicant's ability to further those priorities. Larson reiterated this seems to be creating bureaucracy. McEnaney said she came into this meeting not having a problem bringing someone in and if this is the way to get something going she votes for Ehlers. Pugh said she feels we need to move forward sooner than later and this brings both pieces together. Pugh said she looks forward to determining the shared objectives. Pugh said her first four years on the Council seemed set on the status quo with change and innovation pushed to the side. Pugh said she hopes the community can tap into volunteerism. Pugh acknowledged the open meeting law is frustrating. Hoversten said the legislature does not have the same constraints and they would be the ones to change the requirements of open meeting law for municipal governments. Castellano said he votes for Ehlers. Holt said Ehlers was a clear winner but he sees concepts from the other proposals he would like to incorporate. Holt said this is an opportunity to facilitate the process of transitioning the new City Manager. Holt says he sees this as a parallel to what he does in his profession, noting he is already is doing a lot of work as Mayor behind the scenes. Hoversten said constituents are Mound City Council Minutes —June 21, 2023 appreciative of what is getting done. Holt said he has tried to ensure the Council serves as a collective body and this will assist. Holt said the City has to meet people where they are at which is on social media and he feels the newsletter should be bigger and include Council updates. Hoversten said the objective of this process is to create an intentional and sustainable plan. Holt acknowledged there have been wins in the past five months and we are already achieving positive outreach. Discussion ensued on whether the Council should host a booth at the Spirit of the Lakes Festival and Holt directed staff to put that topic on a regular Council agenda for discussion. Motion by Pugh, seconded by Castellano, to direct staff to negotiate a contract with Ehlers consistent with their proposal. The following voted in favor: Holt, Pugh, McEnaney, and Castellano. The following voted against: Larson. The following abstained: None. Motion carried. Hoversten noted cancellation of the June 13' regular meeting will result in a healthy agenda on June 271h, including the Bluebird appeal, a new development concept from T. Cody Turnquist and the audit presentation. Holt reiterated that at the end of each regular meeting during the Council reports is an opportunity to propose a workshop topic or regular agenda discussion item. Hoversten was asked about the monument sign and said they are thinking they need a more substantial tree in the fall when conditions will allow a transplant. Larson said the two existing trees need to be replaced and the weedy grass needs to be removed and replaced with mulch. 4. Adjourn MOTION by Larson, seconded by McEnaney, to adjourn at 10:01 a.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Jason R. Holt Attest: in Kelly, Cler