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09-25-23 CC Reg Mtg MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 MINUTES `NEEK9167,11►1F/:Ikil*0111yKeelliIMNIN0*111A_1 :ALTil44111,11 Mayor Labadie called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M. A. Pledge of Allegiance B. Roll Call 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Present. Mayor Labadie; Councilmembers Callies, Maddy, Sanschagrin, and Zerby; City Attorney Shepherd; City Administrator Nevinski; City Clerk/HR Director Thone; Finance Director Rigdon; Director of Public Works Morreim; Park and Recreation Director Crossfield; City Engineer Budde; and Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson Absent: None C. Review Agenda The Council discussed the feedback that had been received regarding portions of the agenda that were not available on-line. City Administrator Nevinski noted that the full agenda was available under the `packet' tab. Mayor Labadie noted that she just saw a note on the Zoom feed that stated that the audio was not working. There was a brief pause to allow staff time to address the technical issues. Zerby moved, Maddy seconded, approving the agenda, as presented. Motion passed, 5-0. 2. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Labadie reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Sanschagrin moved, Callies seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolutions Therein. A. City Council Work Session Minutes of September 11, 2023 B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of September 11, 2023 C. Approval of the Verified Claims List CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 2 of 14 D. Approve Public Works Custodial Services Agreement E. Approve SCEC Custodial Services Agreement F. Accept Donation for Oktoberfest 2023, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 23-099, "A Resolution Accepting Donation to the City of Shorewood 2023." G. Personnel Policy Updates, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 23-096, "A Resolution Approving Shorewood Employee Personnel/Employee Handbook Updates." H. Approve Right of Entry Agreement with Arvig I. Authorize Execution of Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority Permit (HCRRA) For Freeman Park Trail Improvements Motion passed, 5-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR John Hasselbach 26350 Peach Circle explained that they have some concerns about the cut that was made in the woods from Strawberry Lane to the stormwater ponds. He read aloud a letter that he had submitted to City Administrator Nevinski that outlined his concerns about unrestricted access to their property because of this cut. He explained that all of the neighbors agree that this is a problem and were asking the City to provide a solution that delineates public property from private property, such as split rail fencing and some signage. Mayor Labadie stated that her understanding was that staff would be working on this issue with Mr. Hasselbach. Nancy Westman, 19515 Vine Ridge Road, expressed concern about what she feels is enormous debt for the City. She stated that she wanted to urge the Council and staff to address the current debt before they make a move to expand the budget. She noted that before her taxes were raised, she would like to see a transparent discussion been the City departments, staff and Council, that can be shared with the residents so they can be part of the decision making process. She shared examples of specific concerns that had been brought to her by her neighbors related to things like, requests for additional staffing, excessive education travel expenses, potential pay increases without performance benchmarks, excessive/oversized projects, and hiring a consulting firm to serve as City Engineer. She clarified that she was asking for greater transparency as well as ease of access to budget details, and participation in ongoing conversations between staff and the Council on how they will address the debt. She noted that she would like the City to hire their own engineer and not utilize the services of a consulting firm. Mayor Labadie noted that the City holds extensive budget discussions including some during work session meetings. She stated that all of these meetings are noticed and are open to the public. She noted that residents could also contact members of the Council or staff if there are specific items they would like to discuss. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 3 of 14 Debbie Siakel 25680 Birch Bluff Road expressed her appreciation to Council and staff for the beautiful job they are doing on Birch Bluff Road. She noted that she understands that the Council was following a process and doing their job as an elected body. She stated that this will provide benefit to residents long after they are gone and noted that the utility improvements have been huge. She admitted that there had been some errors that have happened as part of the building process, but also noted that this project means that they will have curb and gutter installed. She noted that she has lived here for over thirty years and in that time there has not been any significant road improvement projects done and feels what is being done is a vast improvement and will provide huge improvement for drainage in the area. She stated that City Engineer Budde has been out to the site and answered questions that have arisen. She stated she would also like to respond to comments made by Ms. Westman and noted that she wholeheartedly disagreed with her statement. She stated that she had served on the City Council for twelve years and would agree that others, before Ms. Westman, had raise similar concerns, but noted that she feels the City's financial management has been top notch. She explained that many other cities do not ask residents to give input on road projects and instead come in, do the project, and then ask the residents how they want to pay the city for doing the work. She stated that the idea that the City does not listen to residents is, in her opinion, malarkey. Rich Siakel 25680 Birch Bluff Road stated that he had attended the open house meeting on the improvements planned for Eureka Road. He stated that Eureka Road has been in a state of severe disrepair for quite some time and explained that the traffic for vehicles and pedestrians in the area has greatly increased. He stated that there are people traveling through this area to get to the trail and feels that anybody who says that traffic is not increasing is simply a misnomer. He stated that he understands the City has a choice between two projects and noted that the impact to residents will be minimal and will all be done on City property with the existing easements, which is not the City 'taking' their land. He explained that he would support the choice for the larger improvement with the six foot wide trail/sidewalk. Alan Yelsey, asked if the Council was planning to proceed with a vote even though residents did not receive a copy of the full agenda. City Administrator Nevinski reiterated his statement from earlier in the meeting that the agenda tab was missing some pages from agenda, however, the full agenda was available under the `packet' tab and noted that the agenda was also posted here at City Hall. Mr. Yelsey thanked the City for hosting the open house meeting last week. He expressed concern about the City's processes related to the budget and explained that he did not feel it allowed the opportunity for the residents to talk and review the budget items with the Council, which he feels is not democratic. He stated that he was not aware the Council was planning to vote on the budget tonight and was not interested in reading the long, large agenda available on the website. He explained that he felt the City was taking every non -democratic step possible, to allow them to do whatever they wanted to without resident input. He noted that he had not seen the most recent version of the budget that was presented at a Council Work Session in August and feels what they are doing is intolerable. He requested that the Council stop, wait, and have an open discussion with the residents about the budget. He stated that he agreed with the concerns raised by Ms. Westman regarding the budget and those raised Mr. Hasselbach regarding property rights. He asked City Attorney Shepherd to provide him with the legal opinion on why the City is not accountable to follow the tree preservation and replacement policy with regard to the cut through and why restoration was not being practiced. He clarified that he would like a formal legal opinion on this matter that he can share with the citizenry. He stated that he would also like to formally CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 4 of 14 request that the City allow a number of residents to hire a third party, a University of Minnesota civil engineer to evaluate the $25 million in projects being conducted in the City, to let them know if their money has been well spent. Mayor Labadie noted that Mr. Yelsey had exceeded his three minutes and asked him to wrap up his comments. Mr. Yelsey stated that he did not need additional time. Mayor Labadie explained that City Attorney Shepherd was present tonight and has heard the concerns raised by Mr. Yelsey. Mr. Yelsey asked if he would be receiving communication from City Attorney Shepherd. City Attorney Shepherd explained that if the Council would like him to research or respond to an issue they can ask and clarified that he did not take direction from residents, but from the Council or City staff. Mr. Yelsey clarified that he was told by City Administrator Nevinski that the City was not subject to the tree preservation policy and he was just looking for the written policy that showed the City was not accountable to it. Mayor Labadie stated that if the Council directed City Attorney Shepherd to respond to this item, Mr. Yelsey would be informed. 4. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. 2023 Tree Sales Update Eric Wilson, Communications and Recycling Coordinator, noted that the 2023 Tree Sale had been completed with 126 trees delivered. He reviewed some of the survey responses from those who purchased trees. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he feels this is a great program but noted that one of the comments he has gotten from residents is that there could be additional thought given to selection of the trees that are best for the environment, for example, more likely to survive in local conditions. He noted that he had been informed that, for example, maple trees are ones to avoid planting due to various diseases. 5. PARKS A. Parks Commission Update Park Commissioner Garske gave an overview of recent Park Commission discussions and actions as outlined in the meeting minutes. He encouraged residents to come out over the weekend to the various Oktoberfest activities at Badger Park. B. Emerald Ash Borer Treatments CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 5 of 14 Public Works Director Morreim reviewed details of the Integrated Pest Management workplan and potential injection treatments in City parks for the emerald ash borer. He noted that the chemical recommended for this treatment is called TREE -age R10 which would be applied in a targeted manner by Davey Tree. He reviewed the general cost parameters for this application and treatment and noted that this week is the last week that injections can be done and explained that if the Council decides not to do this right now, it will have to wait until next year. He noted that if it is approved, they will do injections on trees located in Cathcart, Manor, and Silverwood that would happen this week and next year the trees at Freeman Park would be due for their three year rotation of treatment. He reviewed the three options for Council consideration including: no injections; injecting high priority trees on a three year cycle; injecting low and high priority trees on a three year cycle. He explained that staff recommends the option where high priority trees would be injected every three years as a way to prolong the life of the ash trees and allow the City time to plant new trees to replace these when they are removed. He reviewed the budget considerations and explained that the funds would come out of the Park Maintenance budget. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked about the history of disease within City parks and if there have been a lot of issues. Public Works Director Morreim stated that they do have some `dying' ash trees and explained that the emerald ash borer has been found in the City. He stated that the prominent trees in the City were inspected a few months ago and were found to be good candidates for it. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked for a percentage of the amount of trees in the City are ash trees. Public Works Director Morreim explained that it varies and, for example, the high priorities areas of Freeman Park probably have forty to sixty percent ash trees and within the other City parks it is probably around forty to fifty percent ash trees. Councilmember Sanschagrin noted that the more he learns about the treatment, the less favorable he believes they are for the City because it is not a permanent solution. He explained that he also had concerns about the cost and feels this money would be better spent simply planting new trees. He stated that he would like to get the new trees in place so the City can remove the ash trees as they become sick. He reiterated that he would be in favor of not doing any injections and saving those funds for other purposes, such as planting trees. Councilmember Callies stated that she was in favor of the option recommended by staff and noted that the Council had just discussed the budget and had eliminated some of the expense associated with replacement of trees because of the cost. She stated that she thinks they are discussing the more prominent trees and noted that the more she learns about the treatment, the more she is in support of this treatment, despite the fact that it is not a 'permanent' solution. She stated that a frequent message they hear from the citizens is concern about elimination of trees within the City and she believes treating these prominent trees is a useful expenditure. Mayor Labadie asked about the specimen trees in the City parks and whether they provide a large amount of shade. Public Works Director Morreim stated that they do and noted that in Cathcart they are in the middle of the playground, at Freeman, most of the trees near the baseball fields on the south and around the playground are ash. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 6 of 14 Councilmember Zerby mentioned the Urban Forest Management Plan that was approved in 2016 and noted at that time, it said that there were five -hundred and sixty-seven ash trees located on City property. He asked if this proposal was in alignment with the Urban Forest Management Plan. Public Works Director Morreim explained that the Urban Forest Management Plan allowed for a lot of removal of the ash trees and to his knowledge, most of that has not happened, unless they died. He noted that the City has applied for a DNR grant that would update the Urban Forest Management Plan and the City's tree inventory and reiterated that there had not yet been any coordinated removal of trees that was called for within the Urban Forest Management Plan. Councilmember Zerby stated that he believed the idea behind the Urban Forest Management Plan was to start getting rid of the ash trees and start replacing them with other varieties. Public Works Director Morreim referenced Manor Park who has had a lot of trees planted there and noted that the idea is to sort of replicate what has been done there throughout the City. Councilmember Callies asked Councilmember Zerby to explain what he was referring to since she was not on the Council in 2016. Councilmember Zerby explained that the City had inventoried all the trees on City property and the idea then was that the Emerald Ash Borers were coming and the City needed to work to diversify the types of trees in the City. He stated that the determination was that the City should basically start weeding out the ones that were less significant or at risk of disease and replace them sooner, rather than later. He stated that he wants to make sure the City has a plan moving forward because right now they are just talking about a few trees in the parks, but there are hundreds of trees located throughout the City. Public Works Director Morreim noted that regardless of whether or not the City receives grant funding for updating the Urban Forest Management Plan, staff will be coming back to the Council with a tree planting plan, it just may be on a smaller scale. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he believes it makes sense to talk about planting and asked about the costs associated with planting a more mature tree rather than just a sapling. Public Works Director Morreim stated that there would be a significant difference in cost. Councilmember Sanschagrin suggested that the City could plant the more mature trees in this prominent locations even though it would be a bit more expensive rather than spending the money to treat the trees that will ultimately die would be a way of investing in the future. Public Works Director Morreim explained that the plan is to plant mature trees with the proposed funds, but noted to get to the point where they are the size of the trees in Freeman Park will be twenty to thirty years. He noted that the plan is not simply to cut the trees down because they are ash trees but explained that the injections were a way to extend the useful life of those trees. Councilmember Callies asked about the cost of cutting down one of the large trees. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 7 of 14 Public Works Director Morreim stated that there are many things that factor into the cost such as location and utilities, but it can cost between three and six thousand dollars for a single tree to be taken down. Councilmember Callies stated that she felt another reason to move forward with these treatments would be to space out the cost of having to take down these trees. Mayor Labadie reviewed the options laid out by staff and asked for Council input. Callies moved, Maddy seconded, Approving Option Two for Emerald Ash Borer injections in 2023 and 2024, as presented. Councilmember Zerby asked what treatment would be used and noted that he understands some are better for the bees than others. Public Works Director Morreim reiterated that the plan would be to use the TREE -age R10 chemical and noted that there are two other treatments that are part of the IPM recommendations which would be releasing wasps in the targeted areas which has to be coordinated with the DNR because there are no contractors that really do it so they would be on their own and the other treatment is a chemical that is sourced out of Canada that has no known contractors in the Metro area and would need to be done annually. He explained that this was why staff was recommending the option of using the TREE -age R10 chemical and clarified that if those injections are done safely and effectively, it will have minimal effects on bees and other insects. Councilmember Zerby stated that he has seen this chemical called Tree-azin and asked if it would be used. Public Works Director Morreim stated that it is called TREE -age, but noted that there were some ellipsis' that he was not sure how to type within his report, but noted the chemicals were the same thing. Councilmember Zerby stated that he believed that they were two different products. Public Works Director Morreim explained that it is possible that the active ingredient name may have a different brand name. Councilmember Zerby explained that he would be in favor of treating them as long as they use the least toxic approach for the bees. Public Works Director Morreim explained that the option he is recommending would not be the least toxic approach and noted that the other two options he reviewed would be. Councilmember Zerby stated that he was not referring to the wasp treatment, but rather the least toxic chemical treatment option. Public Works Director Morreim noted that option would be an annual treatment and right now he would have no idea of what that cost would be. Councilmember Maddy stated that he supported the motion on the table but explained that he did not like the idea of poisoning trees. He stated that follows their earlier discussion about the CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 8 of 14 cost and the liability the City has for all the standing trees that will eventually have to go away is substantial and this action just pushes it out a few more years. He stated that he is very interested in what the City will do to begin planting and noted that he believes that the City will eventually move to Option One as they are replaced by a more diverse urban canopy. City Administrator Nevinski noted that it appears as though there are two different chemical products and read aloud their full names. He stated that what he recalls from the IPM report these chemicals were discussed. He explained that as he looks at the Bee Safe resolution that was updated last year, one of the goals was to gradually reduce the use of these chemicals. He stated that what he feels has been brought forward is a plan to target key trees and not a plan to deal with all of the ash trees within the City. Public Works Director Morreim noted that TREE -age is the chemical that was also used two years ago. Councilmember Sanschagrin explained that he would be voting against this because he would like to reallocate these funds for future tree planting of mature trees. Motion passed 3/2 (Sanschagrin and Zerby opposed). 6. PLANNING A. Planning Commission Update Planning Commissioner Gorham gave an overview of the recent Planning Commission meeting, as reflected in the minutes. 7. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS 8. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. 2024 Preliminary Budget and Levy Finance Director Rigdon gave an overview of the past meetings and discussion surrounding the proposed 2024 Preliminary Budget and Levy. He explained that in its current form it shows about a 9.3% increase over the 2023 budget. He gave a brief overview of the personnel -related assumptions within the budget and the General Fund revenues/expenditures. He reminded the Council that they were not being asked to approve a final budget tonight and would basically set a maximum budget and levy amount. He explained that the final budget and levy would be adopted in December and can decrease from what is approved tonight, but cannot be increased. He reviewed the taxable market value, tax capacity, the proposed property tax levy and shared examples of how that would affect tax payers based on the valuation of their home. He explained that this resolution must be submitted to the County by September 30, 2023 and reiterated that the Council could choose to decrease the budget and levy, but cannot increase it after this this approved tonight. Mayor Labadie thanked Finance Director Rigdon for his work on the budget and levy. She explained that the Council had a Work Session on August 14, 2023 and on September 11, 2023 where they discussed the budget and levy in great detail. She stated that the Council had thrown CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 9 of 14 a lot of ideas at staff and noted that all of these meetings were open to the public and she felt they involved very fruitful discussions. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he would agree that a lot of work has gone into the budget and appreciates the work that has been done by staff. He explained that he had one more suggestion of a place that the City could cut their budget a bit more. He noted that the City usually budgets about $100,000 for legal fees, but historically only uses about $85,000. He suggested that the City make this change and use the difference as either a reduction in the levy or reallocate it to something like Public Works for investment in trees or parks. Councilmember Zerby asked City Clerk/HR Thone how much a tobacco license costs. City Clerk/HR Director Thone stated that a tobacco license is two -hundred fifty dollars and noted that the City had five licensees within the City. Councilmember Zerby stated that he believed it was only shown as a revenue of five hundred dollars in the budget so that should be changed to reflect the accurate number. Councilmember Callies noted that just because something was in the budget did not mean that the City had to actually spend the money. She explained that things like legal fees can be a bit unpredictable and asked City Administrator Nevinski to weigh in on the idea of Councilmember Sanschagrin's proposed change to legal fees. City Administrator Nevinski stated that if the Council wanted to move some funds around, this would be a good time to do it. Mayor Labadie explained that she was opposed to reducing legal fees because it was not a fee that the City `must' spend. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he thought the City was insured against parties litigating against the City. He stated that he felt the legal costs were more about administration of the code and having the attorney available. City Administrator Nevinski explained that part of their insurance does cover legal fees and, in some cases, settlements. He noted that there are deductibles that need to be paid in some situations. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked how much the City's deductible was. Finance Director Rigdon stated that he believed the deductible was five -thousand dollars. Councilmember Zerby asked if there was more travel anticipated for this year than there was last year. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he was not sure that there was a lot more travel anticipated but noted that they wanted to make sure that the City is investing in staff in terms of professional development. He noted that people are once again starting to gather back together again, but the pandemic did demonstrate some areas of efficiency with on-line options. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 10 of 14 Councilmember Zerby noted that the City has spent less than four -thousand dollars for the last six years on training and travel but have budgeted eight -thousand -five hundred dollars for 2024. He noted that amount would double what it has been over the last six years. He stated that absent any planned travel, he thinks the City could trim a bit from that area of the budget but clarified that he did not want to affect employee morale or their opportunities to travel. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he believed this line item also included money for fireworks. City Clerk/HR Director Thone stated that the fireworks was included in the City Council budget. City Administrator Nevinski noted that he would have to go back and look through the details. Councilmember Zerby noted that he feels in some areas the City just has a cut and paste approach to moving things year to year and reiterated that the actual use was significantly less than what was budgeted. City Administrator Nevinski noted that he believed this encompassed the entire training and travel budget for the Administration department. He cautioned that for the last few years there has not been a whole lot of training or travel for education and conferences due to the pandemic. City Clerk/HR Director Thone explained that this line item also funds the City's education reimbursement program which is up to three -thousand dollars per employee. She noted that this budget item encompasses all the training and education for the entire administration and finance department staff. She agreed that they did not use much of it over the last few years, for several reasons including the pandemic, but staff feels the proposed amount is a fair and adequate budget to cover the expenses and employees included within it. City Administrator Nevinski stated that this is the preliminary budget and levy and the City had also set the Truth in Taxation hearing for December 11, 2023, 7:00 p.m. at City Hall which would be when the Council sets the final budget. He reiterated the point made earlier by Finance Director Rigdon that what is approved tonight can be decreased at that time, but cannot go any higher than its current amount. Councilmember Zerby noted that this information is listed on the City website under `City News' and includes the timeline and dates for discussion and lists what action the Council would take. He expressed his appreciation to staff for their work to make a bit of a dent in the numbers. Zerby moved, Maddy seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 23-097, "A Resolution Adopting the Preliminary 2024 General Fund Operating Budget and Property Tax Levy." Motion passed, 5-0. B. Website Proposals and Recommendations — CivicPlus Presentation Staff resolved an audio/video interruption to the Zoom component of the meeting. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson explained that the City's current contract with Revize will terminate in March of 2024. He noted that staff took a look at what they felt were the strength and weaknesses of the existing website and also reviewed various other providers to CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 11 of 14 explore options for updating the City's website. He stated that after much consideration, staff was recommending that the City contract with CivicPlus and introduced Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Ortega of CivicPlus. Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Ortega of CivicPlus gave a brief presentation on their company and what the City can expect from using CivicPlus and their platform. They shared examples of other city websites they have been involved with including Woodbury, Golden Valley, and St. Pete Beach. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson explained that staff was asking for Council authorization to begin working to update the City's website with CivicPlus which will be about a five to six month long process and would allow the new website to be ready to launch by March of 2024. City Administrator Nevinski explained that staff would come back to the Council at a future meeting with an actual contract for these services. Councilmember Maddy asked how the pricing was developed for this and asked if the pricing was determined by population or per whatever modules they choose. Mr. Ortega explained that the pricing was population based and noted that they take care of all of the hosting, security, and maintenance. He noted that one of the things that he feels is a big differentiator between CivicPlus and others is that for every four years of continuous service, the City will receive a completely refreshed website. Mayor Labadie asked Councilmember Zerby for his input based on his experience in this field. Councilmember Zerby stated that he and Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson have had conversations about some of the limitations of the City's current website. He stated that he felt this proposal was a good fit and believes CivicPlus has a lot to offer. He noted that they appear to have possible cyber-attacks under control as well. He stated that he feels this is a worthy endeavor and noted that the website is the number one way most of the residents initially engage with the City. Councilmember Sanschagrin noted that he had gone to some of the cities that have utilized CivicPlus on his phone and found them to be quite mobile friendly. Councilmember Callies noted that she had taken a look at some of the other options and asked if the annual renewal cost for Granicus was correct because it seemed out of line with the others. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that he checked with others that used Granicus and they confirmed that the price point compared to others was significantly higher. Councilmember Callies stated that the websites for the cities that use Granicus are quite user friendly, but agreed that their price seemed pretty high. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson noted that with Granicus there was more ability to do some design components in house, however, that also takes a lot more staff knowledge and time to be able to do the work. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 12 of 14 Councilmember Callies noted that one of the advantages with CivicPlus is ease of registration for activities, classes, and facilities management and stated that she thought the City had just bought a software upgrades in order to do those things separately. City Administrator Nevinski stated that they had purchased the CivicRec software to operate the Park and Recreation facilities. He noted that he was not sure if there would be further integration of those as part of this change or not. Mr. Wheeler stated that CivicRec is a much more advanced platform and will be integrated with the website which means the calendar can easily be shared and available within the portal. He noted that there are other things within the CivicPlus `family' that can be taken advantage of that are along these same lines. Councilmember Callies stated that this appears to be a duplicative service, but noted that relative to the other proposals, the cost from CivicPlus is comparable. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he believes the CivicRec module is more advanced than what they would get with the website. He noted that the City had purchased that module a few months ago because they really needed assistance in scheduling their usage but stated that as things move forward they can evaluate if making a change would make sense. Zerby moved, Sanschagrin seconded, to Accept the Proposal by CivicPlus and Authorize Staff to begin the work to update the City's website. Motion passed, 5-0. C. Approve Recruitment for LEO — Utility Lead Position Public Works Director Morreim noted that included in his staff report was an overview of the duties for this position in the Public Works Department and what has happened over the last few months. He explained the reasons he was proposing to internally recruit for the Utility Lead position as a promotion. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked if this position would report to Public Works Director Morreim or the Public Works Supervisor. Public Works Director Morreim stated that this position would report to both of them. Councilmember Sanschagrin suggested a word change on the second page of the essential functions of the positions to say that this person must work well and communicate with others `especially' during emergency situations. He asked what the plan would be for interviewing for this position. Public Works Director Morreim noted that he and City Clerk/HR Director Thone had not discussed those specific details yet. He noted that he expects the two of them will meet over the next week or so while the position is being advertised to determine the interview process. Councilmember Callies stated that she thinks this is a really good idea and appreciates that Public Works Director Morreim was looking out for his staff and allowing the opportunity for people to advance internally. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 13 of 14 Callies moved, Labadie seconded, to Approve Internal Recruitment for the Utility Lead position, as presented. Motion passed, 5-0. 9. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Staff 1. Newsletter Plan and Content Calendar Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson explained that due to some changes with the budget for the coming year, the Shore Report would be moving to a bi-monthly schedule. He reviewed the proposed draft schedule and encouraged the Council to let him know if they have ideas or comments. 2. Website and Social Media Stats Report Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson reviewed some of the basic information gathered related to the website, e-mails, and social media statistics since he has been with the City. Mayor Labadie noted that this is the first time the Council has gotten this kind of report and explained that she found it very interesting to see how people were engaging and interacting with the City. Park and Recreation Director Crossfield stated that last week the City had students from Students Achieve Independent Life (S.A.I.L) out doing park clean-up at Freeman and Badger Park. She noted that it was a very busy weekend at the Shorewood Community and Event Center and reviewed the various rentals which totaled thirty-seven hours and explained that staff all pitched in and helped get everything done. She noted that, so far, they have 60 rentals scheduled for the month of October. She encouraged everyone to remember the various Oktoberfest events that will take place on September 30, 2023. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he felt this past weekend demonstrated the need for the City to have building attendants at the Shorewood Community and Event Center, because it put a big tax on staff. Public Works Director Morreim stated that last Thursday, the drought forecast was released and the County was fully within the `severe drought' category but noted that may change this week because of the recent rain. He stated that the Public Works Department has been working on crack filling and sealing which will be an ongoing/annual activity. He noted that he has gotten two quotes for Buckthorn removal and hopes to bring a recommendation to the Council at an upcoming meeting. He explained that the DNR grant that he had mentioned earlier in the meeting is not a matching grant. City Engineer Budde stated that they held the Open House on the Eureka Road project last week which was well attended. He stated that the Freeman Park trail project is getting underway and noted that they were doing a lot of the removal work and will pour concrete later this week. He CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 Page 14 of 14 stated that the Strawberry Lane and Birch Bluff projects were basically rained out today, but were making good progress. City Clerk/HR Director Thone expressed her appreciation for staff and volunteers who helped at the recent shred event and noted that there were about seventy cars that participated. She explained that on October 26th they will participate in the Minnetonka High School Fall Volunteer Event, which is similar to a job fair for high school students, to recruit for various city opportunities available including student election judges for the 2024 election season. She stated that she specifically wanted to thank Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson for the time and energy he put into securing a new website proposal for the city and for his work on the projects he reported on this evening. City Administrator Nevinski reminded the Council that their next meeting would be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 because of Columbus Day. He stated that there will be an upcoming EDA meeting and also a Park Commissioner interview. B. Mayor and City Council Councilmember Maddy noted that October 5, 2023 the Excelsior Fire District will hold an Open House beginning at 5:30 p.m. Councilmember Callies stated that she planned to attend the Excelsior Fire District Open House and noted that her husband would be there cooking hot dogs. Mayor Labadie noted that all five members of the Council were in attendance at the Eureka Road Open House and expressed her appreciation to City Engineer Budde and all the various staff members who were on hand that evening as well. 10. ADJOURN Sanschagrin moved, Maddy seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of September 25, 2023, at 9:28 P.M. Motion passed, 5-0. ATTEST: tt(" DAL= e nifer abadie, Mayor Sandie Thone, City Clerk