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Council Minutes

MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Monday, November 24, 2003 - 7:00 p.m.___________

The city council met as the Committee of the Whole on Monday, November 24, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers in City Hall with Mayor Brown presiding. Present at roll call were Council Members Brooks, Hamerlik, Glassheim, Gershman, Christensen, Kreun - 6; absent: Kerian – 1.

Mayor Brown made the following announcements:
1) He was saddened to say that our community seems to have suffered a terrible violation over the weekend. He displayed a photo of Dru Sjodin, a UND student who has been listed as missing and possibly abducted. She is approximately 5 foot 7, 130 pounds, has blond hair and blue eyes and was last seen in or near Columbia Mall early Saturday evening.

He stated that the investigation is ongoing and our compassion is with Dru’s family and friends and our thoughts and prayers are with them all. He stated that we are a safe community and take pride in that. Our police department is working with several other law enforcement entities and have placed all appropriate city resources at their disposal.

He asked that anyone with information call the tip line at 701-780-8213. Search parties are being coordinated and information is posted on the city’s website, www.grandforksgov.com. City employees have been authorized to assist with any official function that will help with the investigation.

2) This Thursday is Thanksgiving, City Hall will be closed but buses will run on regular schedules. City Hall will reopen on Friday and, again, busses will be running on regular schedules.

3) He extended a welcome to the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation President, Claus Thiessen. He stated that this will be a very positive time for economic development tools and establishing a clear and successful direction for our community’s economic development efforts.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE DISCUSSION ITEMS

2.1 University of North Dakota Faculty Research seed money and student outreach programs.

UND President Charles Kupchella addressed the committee and thanked them for the support that has been provided to the university in the past. President Kupchella, along with Dr. Bob Boyd and Prof. William Sheridan reviewed with the Committee the information that was provided in the packets as well as a handout that detailed the impact that the previous allocations have affected on the community.

The committee discussed whether these requests should first be directed to the Growth Fund and/or the Finance/Urban Development Stand-by Committee. The committee discussed that there had been other requests for assistance from the university as well, for example assistance with payment of the dike special assessments on the Barnes and Noble property, from the Ralph Engelstad Arena for Special Events, etc. They expressed a desire to evaluate all requests for assistance from the university as one package, not piecemeal. They expressed appreciation for the detailed layout of how the $100,000 was used and benefits to the community from that allocation. The presenters also explained briefly the emphasis of the two existing programs – one for reaserch and development for faculty and the second for student enrollment recruitment. President Kupchella informed the committee of a new program that they are working to begin which is a Technology Transfer Program which would deal with the commercialization and development of university projects. There is currently a request which was made to the Regional Economic Development Corp. for $154,000 in funding to help establish this program.

The committee continued to discuss the appropriate forum to evaluate these requests. Discussion included that previously the focus of the Economic Development Corporation has been very narrow mainly in the manufacturing and major corporate areas, and whether the Economic Development Corporation would have the appropriate interest and expertise to evaluate this type of request and its community impact, and that with new director and new Urban Development Director that perhaps can look at broadening that focus. Committee members suggested that perhaps in the future all requests for funds for special events and even funding for the arts and those type of groups should first be sent to the EDC for review, then Growth Fund and Urban Development.

The committee discussed that perhaps it is also time to look at the City’s policy on economic development and how it’s being delivered, now that the recovery phase for the City appears to be over. They suggested that perhaps quality of life events were appropriate to fund from 2163 in the budget, but maybe some other projects would be more appropriately handled through the Growth Fund. Some members expressed an interest in seeing actual job creation numbers for some of the university projects, similar to the information that was provided on Professor Sheridan’s report and that perhaps if this item was referred to the Growth Fund or Stand-by Committee that the information could be gathered and provided to the committee members.

2.2 Matter of establishing appropriate capitalization threshold for fixed assets.

There were no comments.

2.3 Plans and Specifications for Project No. 5458, Sanitary Sewer on 6th Avenue (I-29 to North 43rd Street) and 43rd Street (6th Avenue N. to Boyd Drive).

There were no Comments.

2.4 Amendment No. 27 to engineering services agreement with GFEG for Project No. 5240, Project Management Services for the Permanent Flood Protection Project.

There were no comments.

2.5 Matter of holiday bonus.

There were no comments.

2.6 Highway Patrol lease for period ending June 30, 2004.

There were no comments.

2.7 Review quotations received for purchase of four (4) dispatch consoles, to be located in Grand Forks 911 Dispatch Center.

Mr. Schmisek stated that the Committee received on their desk tonight copies of the bid that was received and opened earlier in the day. Council Member Gershman inquired as to the publication of this Request for Quote in the light that only one bid was received. Al Morken, Director of the Public Safety Answering Point, stated that the quote had been advertised by the Finance Department. Mr. Schmisek stated that the normal procedure is to advertise in the paper of record, which is the Grand Forks Herald. Mr. Morken informed the committee that this is specialized equipment for the dispatch center and there are only a limited number of vendors that provide this type of equipment. Council Member Gershman inquired whether there is a time sensitivity issue with this proposal or if there would be time to research if this is the best bid we could get or if the items need to be rebid and possibly advertised more extensively. Mr. Morken stated that he would like to finalize the bid as soon as possible, as this furniture needs to be in place prior to the installation of the equipment in the next item on the agenda.

Council Member Brooks stated that included in the packet is a copy of the minutes from the 911 Authority Board who approved this purchase. He stated that it is his understanding that they have the final authority on the purchase, and Council approves based on the fact that the transaction runs through our accounting system.

Council Member Christensen referred to a section in the authority board minutes of a potential move of the PSAP center to the current municipal court location and inquired if this would be the court room area or office area or both. Mr. Morken stated that they would be interested in both areas, as the space that they currently occupy is very crowded and could use the extra area. Mr. Morken stated that he does not know the status of whether municipal court will be moving into the County Courthouse. He added that there has been talk in the minutes for several years of the desire to find a larger site for the PSAP center, but as yet no firm plans have come into place.

2.8 Sole source procurement purchase of $92,870.00 for upgrades to the current Positron phone equipment within Grand Forks 911 Dispatch Center from Qwest and Positron.

There were no comments.

2.9 Purchase of Class 400 transit vehicle.

Council Member Christensen stated that for the public’s information the vehicle that is being considered is a smaller size bus. He then commented that Mr. Feland and Mr. Foster should be commended for working with the downsizing of the vehicles within the Public Transportation fleet to better meet the needs of the City.

Todd Feland, Public Works Director, thanked the Council for the recognition. Mr. Feland stated that he wanted Council to be aware that this item will not be moved forward to Monday night’s Council meeting, but rather will be brought forward to the January 5, 2004 meeting, as the vehicle will be funded within the 2004 budget.

2.10 Surplus real property.

Council Member Gershman inquired if there were any protections that could be taken in these sales to ensure that the properties were rehabbed to fit into the neighborhood and that they would not turn into multi-unit properties or properties with construction ongoing for extended periods of time.

Keith Lund, Community Development Manager, stated that there could be provisions written in the sale documents that would state the units were for owner occupied single family usage only. He stated that it is harder to handle the construction type issues, as once title to the property is transferred, we have no control. He did state that as a part of the conditions of sale there could be a reference to verification of the resources available to complete any necessary rehab of the property in a timely manner.

2.11 Annual Plan for 2004 State HOME funds.

There were no comments on this item.

2.12 Fannie Mae loan.

Council Member Glassheim requested more details on this proposal. Mr. Lund stated that these funds would be used to assist the low and moderate income families in home ownership programs, and could also potentially be used for infrastructure in the affordable housing districts. He stated that the city would be securing the loans at a 2.22% rate and then reloaning them at 5% to be repaid over five years with a balloon payment at the end of the 5 year time period. Mr. Schmisek added that in regard to the infrastructure projects, the funds would be used as interim funding for a two year time period until bonds were sold.
Howard Swanson, City Attorney, stated that the committee will find a draft ordinance in the packet of information. He informed the committee that there is no basis in state law to authorize the type of transactions that Mr. Lund has explained to committee and that the ordinance, if approved, would grant the city’s ability for those types of transactions, based solely on its home rule charter authority. The proposed ordinance is very broad and similar in nature to ordinances used by other cities, such as the City of Fargo. He stated that the committee should be aware that this indebtedness will be reported on the City’s annual financial statements.

Council Member Christensen referred to minutes from the September 10, 2003 Finance/Urban Development Stand-By Committee. He commended staff for the initiative on this project, but would like to see this item come back to committee for more discussion and will be asking for that on Monday night. He stated that they may need to look at some controls, defaults, policies, etc. in regards to this item prior to moving ahead.

Council Member Glassheim stated that the correspondence from FannieMae stated that the current agreement was requested to be completed prior to the end of the year and inquired whether there would be time if this item went back to committee. Mr. Swanson stated that given his past dealings with FannieMae and the required procedure to reach a closing on a loan agreement, it would be highly unlikely that any deal could be closed within a few weeks. He added that given the past relationship between the City and FannieMae there would be the probability that a later closing date could be arranged.

2.13 2004 chemical bids for water treatment plant.

There were no comments on this item.

2.14 Matter of fourth amendment to the Defined Contribution Pension Plan.

There were no comments on this item.

2.15 Matter of seventh amendment to the Defined Benefit Pension Plan.

Council Member Brooks inquired whether for both of these amendments the no fiscal impact meant that there was no cost to the city. Mr. Schmisek stated that there is no additional cost to the city by the passage of these amendments.

Council Member Christensen made a motion to suspend the agenda for the purpose of moving Information Item 3.1 related to the Disposition of Riverside Pool to become Action Item 2.16. Second by Council Member Glassheim. Aye: All. Motion carried.

2.16 Disposition of Riverside Pool relative to flood protection project.

The committee discussed that this item relates to the matter of approving the bid package for the next phase of the flood protection project and includes items related to the conversion of Riverside pool to the volleyball facility. Council Member Glassheim asked whether or not this portion should be deleted from the current bid package, since a final determination on how that facility will continue has not been made. Mark Walker, Assistant City Engineer, stated that if the item was deleted at this point in time, and the City later wanted it added back in, there would need to be Corps approval which may or may not be given to add it back and if no Corps approval was given, then the City would be responsible for the cost.

Maurice Bushaw, 1601 University Avenue, addressed the committee. He urged the committee to look at all options for saving as much property in the Riverside area as possible. He encouraged the committee to look at ways to save the pool and not destroy more historical property.

Council Member Brooks requested that an updated staff report be put in the packets giving a recommendation on options to the Council. Mr. Walker stated that the staff report in this packet outlines the options that are available to Council. Brooks inquired if any report had been received from the committee that was established to work on the Riverside pool issue with residents. Mayor Brown responded that the committee was a Park District committee and he was not aware of any reports or meetings that had been given to the City. He stated that Council Member Glassheim had been appointed to serve on that committee.

The committee discussed that there are still aquatic recreation needs on the northend and that perhaps further research needs to be done on that prior to a bid package for removal of the pool components being bid.

CITIZEN REQUEST

There were none.

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR COMMENTS

There were none.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS

Council Member Brooks stated that he had received a call from alumni that were interested in viewing the football game this coming Saturday and were very appreciative of the efforts made to broadcast the games that have been aired so far this year. He expressed compliments to the WDAZ staff for their work in this area.

Council Member Hamerlik congratulated the Sioux on their football victory and wished them luck in the rest of the tournament.

Council Member Gershman stated that the downtown area looked terrific and expressed appreciation to the staff members and property owners who have worked hard on these decorating efforts. He also expressed his concern for the missing student and words of comfort for her family.

Mayor Brown reminded the public of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance and possible abduction of Dru Sjodin, UND student and encouraged anyone with information to call the tip line.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Council Member Gershman, second by Council Member Brooks to adjourn. Aye: All. Motion Carried.

Respectfully submitted,

John M. Schmisek, CPA
Director of Finance and Administrative Services

SL