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01-08-24 CC WS MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2024 6:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING Mayor Labadie called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Labadie; Councilmembers Labadie, Callies, Maddy, Sanschagrin, and Zerby; City Attorney Shepherd; City Administrator Nevinski; City Clerk/HR Director Thone; Planning Director Darling; Director of Public Works Morreim; and, City Engineer Budde Absent: None B. Review Agenda Zerby moved, Sanschagrin seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 2. DIRECTOR POSITIONS City Administrator Nevinski explained that Finance Director Rigdon will be taking a leave of absence that staff was recommending working with a consultant to cover his duties. He stated that the Park and Recreation Director has also resigned after spending about a year in that position. He explained that he would like the Council to have a discussion about whether they felt that position was heading in the right direction or if they wanted to prioritize certain duties over others and make some changes in the position. Mayor Labadie explained that she had suggested that this discussion take place at a Work Session because she wanted to ensure that as they move forward and recruit for this position that the message they are giving the candidates matches what the Council envisions for this position. Councilmember Callies asked if there was an exit interview with Ms. Crossfield and if she had given any input on the position and the direction things were moving. City Clerk/HR Director Thone stated that they had not conducted an exit interview. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he had some informal conversations with Ms. Crossfield and thinks that a year in a position was not enough, because it takes that much time to get to know the community and the players. He stated that they were working towards tightening things up and putting policies in place in order to help guide the Park and Recreation programming. He referenced some of the programming partners that Ms. Crossfield had worked with and noted that he felt she was trying to grow that service and market the SCEC so they had renters and income. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 8, 2024 Page 2 of 4 Councilmember Zerby asked if they had look at the leadership roles in places like Mound, Wayzata, and Excelsior. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he had not taken a close look at that and tried to make comparisons. He stated that he believes the question, to some extent, is where Shorewood wants to go in this area. Councilmember Zerby stated that there was a lot of discussion in the job description about managing staff and asked how much staff was needed to run the SCEC. He noted that some of the feedback he got `was that Ms. Crossfield seemed to be focused on managing staff rather than managing the facility. He stated that in his opinion, he does not think there is the room or need for that much staff to run the SCEC and believes that this position needs to be more of a `worker bee' and less of a top level boss. Councilmember Callies stated that she agreed and noted that it seems as though one of the problems may be the title of `Director', because that implies that you would be the administrative manager, which she did not feel was what the Council was expecting. Mayor Labadie stated that she agreed that the focus became trying to delegate and manage. She noted that the first word in that positions title is `Parks' and she feels that the focus on the City parks was lost. She stated that if the City hires someone in a director role, she thinks that means something different than the actual role is for the City. She stated that she feels the City needs someone that can help manage the parks, the recreation, the facility, but also help prepare the Parks and Recreation budget and the SCEC budget. She stated that she also feels that this person must be in attendance at the Parks meetings including when they have meetings in the parks related to the buckthorn or the pond. She stated that she also felt the Council needed to be cognizant of the fact that Shorewood is the perfect sized city for someone to come and get some experience under their belt and then move on to a larger city. Councilmember Zerby stated that he sees the SCEC as part of the park system and felt that the goal for all of the parks system was for the highest and best use. The Council discussed details in the job description for the Park and Recreation Director position, job title, candidate pool, and potential salary differences between job titles. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he would like to get information from the community on this position and not have the Council make the decision on if the position should be changed. Councilmember Zerby noted that he was not sure how the City could get that information from the community. He stated that he has looked at Indeed job listings and the term `Coordinator' and "Manager' are frequently used. The Council discussed past budgeting duties for this position and other positions within the Parks and Recreation Department. City Administrator Nevinski stated that from the Council discussion he believes he is hearing that making sure that the next position understands the importance of being a 'worker bee'. He stated that he believes it is important to have someone capable of building relationships with the athletic associations, senior citizens, and members of the community. He stated that he is also thinking that it should be someone that can lead the City through future conversations about the parks and CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 8, 2024 Page 3 of 4 facilities and gave the example of doing planning for Southshore Park or the nature area improvements. Mayor Labadie stated that she felt that the City needed to get someone into this position as soon as possible and suggested that they give some feedback to staff so this process can begin. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he felt the job title of `Director' was very important in the park and recreation world, but noted that the City can be very clear on the duties and expectations for the position to get things done. Councilmember Zerby stated that he would like to take a look at `Manager' versus `Director' from a salary standpoint and explained that he felt, in looking through Indeed, that manager seemed more fitting with what the City's role actually was. He noted that he would not `die on a hill' in a fight over director versus manager, but felt it was worth exploring. Councilmember Sanschagrin suggested that perhaps the position could begin as "Manager' with the possibility for being promoted to `Director'. He noted that he also felt that public relations was an important aspect to this position. Mayor Labadie stated that she really liked the concept of the position potentially moving from Manager to Director because it also may promote some longevity. Councilmember Callies stated that she could support that as long as the tasks are beefed up a bit in the description again so it is clear that the duties involve actually doing the work and not just oversight of the work. The Council discussed details within the job description that they felt could be changed or moved elsewhere to other positions. City Administrator Nevinski stated that if the Council decided to move to a Manager position that could move into a Director position they would need to decide on criteria and some goals and determine how they would know if it had reached that point or not. He stated that staff can wrestle with a that question a bit internally and report back to the Council. Councilmember Maddy stated that he would like there to be more emphasis on the financials of park staff and SCEC staffing so it is clear where the money is coming from and where it is going. Mayor Labadie asked staff to bring this information back to the Council at a future meeting. City Administrator Nevinski explained that he believes that filling this position will end up being about a three month process. Councilmember Callies asked what would be happening with these duties in the interim. Councilmember Zerby stated that he would like to see a revised job description at their next meeting. There was Consensus of the Council to direct staff to bring back a revised job description for the Park and Recreation Director, that includes what was discussed at the Work Session meeting. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 8, 2024 Page 4 of 4 Mayor Labadie encouraged the Council to contact City Administrator Nevinski or City Clerk/HR Director Thone if they had any additional input or questions related to this position. 3. ORGANICS COLLECTION City Administrator Nevinski stated that this item was informational for the Council in order to let them know what is going on. He gave an overview of the history of the MPCA ruling, the City drop site, and cost for curbside organics collection. Councilmember Callies suggested that this be put on the regular agenda for discussion and stated that she would also like an overview of what had happened with prior discussions about single hauler services. There was Consensus of the Council to have additional discussion about refuse and organics collection in the City at a future meeting. 4. ADJOURN Zerby moved, Sanschagrin seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of January 8, 2024, at 6:49 P.M. Motion passed 5/0.