Working Session

Mayor and City Council Work Session
January 18, 2006 – 5:00 p.m.
A101

Present: Doug Christensen (joined meeting in progress), Hal Gershman, Eliot Glassheim, Dorette Kerian, Curt Kreun, Mayor Brown (joined meeting in progress).
Absent: Bob Brooks, Gerald Hamerlik.
Others Present: Rick Duquette, Al Grasser, Wayne Lembke, Pete Haga, KJ Kjelmstrom, Roxanne Fiala, Kevin Dean, Brad Gengler, Don Shields, Pete O’Neill, Mike Yavarow, Todd Feland.

Gershman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.

(Kreun out for phone call.)

1) Update on Government Access Channel.

Kevin Dean stated that when the latest franchise agreement was signed with Midcontinent Communications it included a provision that a channel, Channel 2, would be made available to the City as a government access channel. He explained that Channel 3 will remain in its current educational channel and UND will be able to manage that as they see fit and we will control Channel 2. Dean continued that the city has been paying $8,000 per year to have the Council and COW meetings broadcast on Channel 3. Kerian asked whether that cost was offset by the revenue from sponsorships. Dean responded that the revenue generated from the sponsorships goes into the General Fund as revenue.

(Christensen joined the meeting.)

Gershman inquired how much is generated each year from the sponsorships. Dean explained that we bring in about $6-7,000 per year and that each sponsorship slot costs $600 for a quarter. He continued that we also have some combo packages available for sponsorship of the broadcasts and a slot in the City Calendar. Dean shared with the group some of the businesses that have purchased sponsorships this year as well as some of the interest that they have gotten from new potential sponsors.

(Kreun rejoins meeting.)

Dean stated that with Channel 2 coming on line we will increase our opportunity for being able to share other information with the public and may be able to generate some revenue from airing broadcasts for other governmental entities such as the county, school or park district. He continued that there are some restrictions on what we will be able to air on the channel and on what we say in the sponsorship ads that are listed. He stated that we will have a notice on Channel 3 stating that the Council broadcasts have changed stations, as well as placing notices out in the various media venues to get the word out to citizens that would be interested in watching.

Kerian inquired whether there will be any additional costs that we will now incur from administering the station ourselves. Dean responded that we will have some additional administrative duties that we did not have before, but otherwise we will be handling all costs out of the existing Public Information Center budget.

Christensen inquired as to why we were choosing to take this on, when it appears that it would only be for our use as the other entities thus far have declined to be broadcast. Dean responded that this was made available as part of the franchise agreement that was renewed last year and we chose to utilize the channel for a number of reasons besides the broadcast cost saving. He continued that we have potential to generate additional revenue from broadcasting for others, the ability to broadcast other meetings or information to the public. Kerian commented that in the past there have been times where we have been hindered in when meetings could be held based on available broadcast time slots and that will not be the case any longer.

The group continued to discuss various possibilities for information to be placed on the channel and a variety of formats that could be used. Dean encouraged the Council to continue to forward any thoughts they had on channel usage to him as the process continues.

Kreun inquired what limits there are for advertising on the station. Dean stated that we can not use ads that typically appear on a commercial channel and specifically no wording endorsing a particular business can appear. He continued that we can say factual information about the business such as “has been a restaurant for 10 years” but can not say “the best restaurant in town”.

Christensen commented that we should try to incorporate some other things onto the channel to build some optimism in, such as maybe broadcasting some school plays or concerts as some other communities with government channels do. Dean stated that he will explore those areas and do further research into what types of programming we can do on this channel. Kerian inquired whether we will have background music like channel 3 does. Dean stated that part of the deal providing the channel gives us the opportunity to use any of the DMX channels on the Midco network and we will select an easy listening broad appeal channel as background for ours, with maybe a switch to seasonal music during the holidays. Dean commented he also wants the Council to understand that at this time they are not looking to do anything beyond the scope that they can handle with available personnel and equipment and that specifically we are not intending to be taping for other entities, but if they bring us their tape we can air it. Glassheim stated that he would not worry about any negativity from citizens or talk shows, as most will see this as a great opportunity for us to bring more information to the public on additional government topics and more meetings that we currently are unable to get out there. He added that Bismarck broadcasts a talk show on their government channel which he has found to be very interesting. Dean responded that offering some type of satellite programming is also a possibility and they are looking into that.

(Mayor joined meeting.)

Christensen suggested that perhaps if there were some segments that we want to do and can’t do on our own, then see if there are some journalism students that would be interested in doing the project, as there may be some that aren’t able to be a part of Studio One and still want an opportunity to work on their practical skills. Kreun agreed that there are a number of opportunities to explore now that we have the channel and encouraged Dean to continue work on this.

Dean commented that these are all good suggestions and some others that have been brought up are a monthly visit program that would highlight a department a month, but many are beyond what we could do with the current equipment and staff that we have but will continue to explore opportunities. Dean stated that there will be a soft opening of the channel the end of January, with the first televised City Council meeting being on February 6.

2) Stormwater Program Update and Draft Ordinance.

Al Grasser introduced Wayne Lembke, who currently is the city’s traffic engineer but has been working on the stormwater program for the last couple of years. Lembke stated that this item stems from the storm water act set by the EPA. He continued that in 2003 we received our first permit which is good for five years. He stated that in order to meet the control measures set forth in the act we need to meet six minimum control measures and that today we will be talking mostly about the one that deals with construction site runoff, which we will need to pass an ordinance by March, 2006 to address how we will be handling it.

Lembke continued that we have been working within this act for the past three years and have submitted two annual reports on our compliance so far. The compliance process requires that we hold an annual public meeting prior to submitting our annual report and we have this years meeting scheduled at the end of February 2006. He continued that the next step in the process requires that we adopt an ordinance by March 11, 2006 dealing with construction sit storm water runoff. He added that we have already been monitoring the sites in our jurisdiction and that contractors have been operating under the state requirements for the last couple of years and they now will need to also comply with our rules as well. Grasser commented that included in the packet is a page of photos that show different ways that contractors can handle runoff. He continued that this ordinance has been reviewed by Howard Swanson once already and that the format and wording are mostly set by the state, and that our intent has been to meet the minimum requirements as set by the state so as to not be overly cumbersome for contractors to comply with. He added that no decision is needed at this time and that the item is being brought to the Council so that they can begin thinking about this.

Gershman inquired whether this is a brand new type of inspection. Grasser responded that yes it just started with the passage of the storm water act by the EPA. He continued that one item that is incomplete in the ordinance is the fee. He stated that we will be looking for direction from the Council on whether this fee should be set at a limit so that it covers the cost of inspections 100% or if it should be set at a lower level and then rest of cost will be covered as a general fund expense. Christensen requested that the appropriate statute information be provided to him for review as well. Grasser stated that this is an unfunded mandate of the EPA and that larger communities nationwide were hit first and we are just now being impacted as we are a Phase II city based on our population. Christensen stated that he would also be interested in reviewing the ordinances that are being used by cities that are currently under this now.
Grasser stated that the largest impact will be on developments over one acre. Christensen inquired which consulting firms are prepared to work within these regulations to make sure we are staying as business friendly as they are. Grasser responded that all should be, as most are also licensed in Minnesota and they are more stringent than North Dakota and were mandated to comply by the state before we were.

Kerian inquired whether this will impact individual homeowners that are looking at remodeling projects. Grasser stated that it impacts all because a homeowner would be part of a subdivision so would need to be comply with those rules and referred the Council to page 6 section 3a of the ordinance. He continued that the main impact on the homeowner will be that they will need to make sure their work does not change the drainage that the subdivision was designed for. He stated that the main impact of the act is to give us greater enforcement against things like trucks leaving sites and trailing mud on streets and then requiring more work for City on getting those cleaned up. Christensen commented that if we need to do this then he would like to see us do it with as little problem for the citizen and maybe slanted more for the builder or developer. Kreun suggested that perhaps this could be included in the packet that inspections hands out with the permits. Lembke responded that we have to provide notice of these requirements.

Grasser reiterated that we have been doing most of this already for about a year and when we get to the site, we actually are can be helping the contractor to remedy things that they could get fined for very heavily by an EPA or State inspector as has happened in Fargo. He continued that he agrees that we do not want to make this overly cumbersome for the homeowner doing minor projects on their lot and are considering whether this could just be included in the building permit process for those types of projects and in that case the small fee attached could also be seamlessly written right in with the building permit fee and most won’t even notice the addition to the process. Gershman suggested also putting this information in with what is on the internet as part of our business friendly information. Lembke stated that there is also a coordinator position that is grant funded in the valley to help contractors in dealing with differences in regulations between states and cities.

Grasser inquired whether further updates on this should come back to a Work Session or if Council would prefer to address it at a COW. Consensus of the group was to bring the item directly back to a COW.


3) Other.

The group discussed briefly an e-mail from Brooks regarding the frequency and purpose of these Wednesday meetings. Consensus of the group was that a meeting should be called as needed to discuss budgetary topics, as well as any other topic that may need more time for discussion than a regular COW meeting would allow for and that this decision should be at the discretion of the Mayor and staff. The group stated that there will be a meeting next

The group requested an update on the wireless system. Fiala stated that bids are currently out for parts for Police Department should be up and running by mid-summer and with other equipment that are getting the $3 million and that will be bid within next two months and trying to time so can work them at the same time and still working too on fiber optic. Christensen inquired about the wireless like Moorhead just got up and running. Fiala responded that there were some conversations about that, but that type of project is cost prohibitive for us at this time.

4) Adjournment.

Meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.


Respectfully Submitted,

Sherie Lundmark
Admin Specialist Sr.