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012306 CC WS Min CITY OF SHORE WOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 8:00 PM or Immediately Following Regular Council Meeting MINUTES 1. CONVENE WORK SESSION MEETING Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 9:08 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Love, Councilmembers Callies, Lizee, Turgeon, and Wellens; Administrator Dawson; Attorney Keane; Finance Director Burton; Director of Public Works Brown; Planning Director Nielsen Absent: None B. Review Agenda Mayor Love reviewed the Agenda for the meeting. Lizee moved, Turgeon seconded, Approving the Agenda as Presented. Motion passed 5/0. 2. CITY ENGINEER POSITION Administrator Dawson stated during the concluding discussions regarding the 2006 Budget in December 2005, Council requested to revisit the plan to have a full-time, in-house City Engineer, and specifically to review the costs associated with it compared to outsourcing the engineering services. He stated Council had authorized separation of the Director of Public Works/City Engineer position into two full-time employee positions with its approval of the 2005 Budget. Dawson stated the City had made two offers in 2005 that had been accepted, and in both instances the applicants had later withdrawn their acceptance. He then explained the demand for engineers was very high which made for a tight market from an employer's perspective. Administrator Dawson stated the engineering work load was extensive enough to warrant a full-time engineer on Staff. He explained the justification for a full-time engineer position and a full-time Director of Public Works had not changed since the justification was originally prepared in 2004 (as outlined in the Restructuring within Public Works Department memo dated August 5, 2004). Administrator Dawson explained WSB and Associates, Inc., had submitted a proposal to provide the City with Consulting Engineering services. The proposal states the City would retain the services of Mr. Steve Gurney with WSB to work on City business at City Hall four days per week for a cost of $7,500 per month (which calculates out to be $90,000 per year for an 80% full-time equivalent). He stated the fully- burdened annual cost for a full-time City Engineer would be $90,000. Director Brown related the extensive overtime hours he had worked over the past three years, and noted that because the City Engineer position is an FLSA-exempt position he is not compensated for the overtime hours. He also stated he had forfeited weeks of vacation for a number of years because of his work load demands. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING January 23, 2006 Page 2 of3 Director Brown explained prior to his joining the City Staff, the Public Works/Engineering services full- time headcount was 12, which included the two Munitech, Inc., utility operators, plus three part-time seasonal employees. He stated his addition to the staff brought the full-time headcount to 13. He then stated today the Public Works/Engineering services full-time headcount was 10 plus 2 part-time seasonal employees. Brown explained utilities services were now provided by City, and there were additional workload demands that had resulted from things such as homeland security and NPDES II mandates. Director Brown then listed a few of the proj ects that had consistently been postponed because of the lack of staff. Director Brown stated contracting with WSB for engineering services on a retainer basis was an interim solution to the workload issue. Mayor Love stated the discussion before Council was the city engineer position, how to fill the position, and whether Council should to change the direction it had previously set. Councilmember Turgeon stated she supported separate City Engineer and Director of Public Works positions. She suggested the City retain the contract services ofMr. Gurney (who knows the Staff and the needs of the City) for one year and at the end of the year evaluate what, if any, adjustments should be made in the responsibilities of each position and determine if the workload warrants a full-time City Engineer on staff. Councilmember Lizee expressed her confidence in Mr. Gurney. She thought Council should honor its commitment to a full-time City Engineer position. She stated Council needed to consider the value of a full-time staff City Engineer versus the value of a four-day work-week commitment from WSB & Associates. She then stated there would be a demand on Director Brown's time to train the new City Engineer, but the benefits in the long-term would be significant. She suggested the City consider a search firm and that the search be expanded. She also stated the interim solution for outsourcing engineering services to WSB still needed to occur. Discussion ensued with regard to the potential longevity of a full-time employee position and a contracted part-time position. There were no guarantees with either approach, and any investment into the contract position would be lost if/when that individual or firm chose no longer to continue with the contract. Councilmember Callies stated Council needed to rely on the experience of Staff in determining what was needed are to satisfy the workload demands, and the City needed a permanent solution to the workload problem. Councilmember Wellens stated he would support the 6-month contract proposal for engineering services from WSB. Administrator Dawson explained the intent was to expand the search for a City Engineer to a broader area, and to contact a search firm with the possibility that the firm would assist with the search effort. Councilmember Turgeon stated if the demand for engineers was that high the salary requirements for the City Engineer position may need to be increased. She suggested the proposal for retaining Mr. Gurney's services be executed immediately. Mayor Love stated the process of justifying and hiring a full-time City Engineer had been in the works for two years. He then stated the improved efficiency and accountability of the Public CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING January 23, 2006 Page 3 of 3 Works/Engineering services started when Director Brown came on board. He also stated there had been problems associated with contracting Utilities services out to Munitech. Love stated there were greater efficiencies with performing the engineering services internally than with contracting the services out. He then stated he would prefer the search for a full-time City Engineer continue. Councilmember Lizee stated that in addition to Mr. Gurney starting in the retainer capacity immediately, the search for a full-time City Engineer should continue. Mayor Love stated Director Brown's dedication and commitment was greatly appreciated. There was Council consensus that WSB & Associates be retained to provide increased City engineering services effective immediately. Mayor Love stated there seemed to be a commitment from the majority of Council to continue with the direction previously set to hire a full-time City Engineer. He then stated if the hiring process did not yield any results then Council and Staff needed to identify what the obstacles were in bringing the full-time position to fruition. 3. OTHER There was no other business for discussion. 4. ADJOURN Lizee moved, Turgeon seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of January 23,2006,9:38 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. /)/ /l fl... 'f I. i /i I i. / j i' ,&:~~/ oody Love, Mayor RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: