JOINT ADMINISTRATION/CITY COUNCIL MEETING

JOINT ADMINISTRATION/CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MINUTES

JULY 31, 2006

The meeting was called to order by President Gore at 6:00 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Gore, Mr. Reams, Mr. Burke, Mr. Fogt, Mr. Pleasant, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Sellers

OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Kruse, Kathy House, John Morehart, Tracie Davies, Gary Johnson, Floyd Golden, Eric Phillips, Brian Dostanko, Phil Roush, Tim Aslaner, Connie Patterson

Sub-committees presented their objectives as a result of their sub-committee meetings.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE– Committee members: Eric Phillips, John Morehart, David Burke, Ed Pleasant, Tim Aslaner.

Objectives were presented by Eric Phillips.

Objective #1 – Adopt Marketing Strategy promoting the community.

Action Steps

1. It was requested that the committee finish the final development of the team Union County Marketing Strategy. This has been finalized. Economic Development Director and Director of Administration are responsible for this.

2. Adopt a Marketing Strategy which would come before the Mayor and City

Council for approval.

3. Implement the marketing strategy. A consulting firm was hired to develop a marketing strategy on how the City attracts business, how the City attracts visitors and how we (City) promote ourselves within our community.

4. Encourage employers to have employees reside in Marysville.

Mr. Phillips reported an update since the committee met on June 7^th. Christy Clark at the Chamber of Commerce will start full time on August 1^st. She will become the PR person for the City of Marysville, as well as the Tourism Director for the Chamber. She can help with news releases, etc. Her job will be to implement the strategy along with Mr. Phillips and Ms. House’s assistance. This change will affect the Communication Sub-committee as well.

Mr. Gore asked if the City was going to share in her salary. Ms. House stated not for the balance of this year.

Objective #2 – Retain our current business and corporate base.

Action Steps

1. Visit 23 companies in Union County to see how they are doing, how we can assist them, if they have any major issues with anything that’s being provided, how we can make their lives a little easier. Joe Clase at the Chamber is starting a retention program for Uptown Marysville. Every six months he will visit every business in Uptown Marysville to see how they are doing and see how we can assist them, etc.

2. Work to streamline and improve the development review process. Currently there are issues regarding building inspection and how all that works together. Also, the Design Review process has just been updated. Currently working with the Building Department to get an on-site plans examiner in Marysville versus someone in Columbus. This would help to expedite the process.

Objective #3 – Attract New Businesses – focusing on the Diversification of the Business Sector.

Action Steps:

1. Identify using the Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP) to the desirable uses, basically identifying those uses we want to target.

2. Use direct mailing, ads and company contacts to be more pro-active in attracting business in the community.

Objective #4 – Assist Local Companies in Maintaining and Developing our workforce.

Action Steps:

1. Continue with Business Education Workforce Team (BEWT). This is a Chamber committee. This will establish a better relationship between businesses, education and the City. One of the issues is having the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Ohio. That’s a great thing, but it also limits the City for large businesses that want to come in because we don’t have a workforce for their facility. BEWT is working on numerous things, ranging from interview contests, how to improve interviewing skills, as well as how to do resumes. They also are working on developing a salary wage and benefit survey that will be sent out to approximately 100 companies throughout the County, existing companies and those companies looking to locate here. They also do a grant program where they award grants to teachers in the classroom to do projects that normally are not funded through the school districts. Marysville, Fairbanks and North Union are all taking advantage of that. That is money donated by the business community. $5,000 in grants go out each year.

2. Pursue training and educational opportunities. Columbus State offers higher education in the City, but would like to see a larger presence. Hopefully the Armory will result in classroom space and a larger presence of higher education.

Chamber is creating a brochure on employer benefits of having their employees reside in the community. Those will be distributed to all HR Managers, CEO’s and Presidents in the community. The ultimate goal is to have more top level managers and top executives live in the community. If they reside here, they will be more engaged and more involved in Marysville.

Mayor Kruse stated that is particularly important where the business isn’t inside the corporate limits. For instance, Honda, the only income tax the City derives off that is from people that live in the City limits and work out there. We’re not getting our full benefit. Mr. Gore stated there are not a lot of Scotts executives that live in this community. Mr. Phillips noted that Honda pays more income tax to Dublin and Columbus than any other communities.

Objective #5 – Revitalize Uptown Marysville

Action Steps:

1. Develop a resource guide of all entities that provide business service and assistance. This goes hand in hand with the retention program for Uptown Marysville.

2. Work closely with URT to accomplish its goals. The City provided funds to URT which resulted in the most successful Honda Homecoming ever. URT will continue to work closely with the City.

3. Develop Community Development Block Grant Fund allocation each year to Uptown. Possibly a percentage of that money would go to Uptown Marysville to help revitalize the City. The Town Run would be a great project.

4. Adopt and implement Uptown Improvement Plan. That plan is scheduled to be completed in the next couple of months. Goal is to have it to Council for adoption sometime in December. Feels it’s critical for Council and the County Commissioner’s to adopt the Plan.

Mr. Phillips shared the Honda Homecoming successes. There was more participation this year than ever before. There were more vendors this year. There were 891 motorcycles as counted by a resident. Honda’s count was 860. Bellefontaine parade count was 300. Made more profit from beverage sales than ever before with a gross profit of $7500. Vendor space was sold. Reagonomics was outstanding. Mayor Kruse said we need to do something different with electric next year. The generators are noisy and detract from the event.

LAND USE SUB-COMMITTEE – Committee members: Mayor Kruse, John Marshall, Leah Sellers, Tracie Davies, Eric Phillips.

Objectives were presented by Eric Phillips.

Objective #1 – Review and Consider the update of the Comprehensive Plan

Mayor Kruse referred to Page 3 and 4 of the Retreat Summary Report stating that the EDAP would be the basis for this Land Use Plan. This is the direction that was followed:

Action Steps:

1. Hire a City Planner. This process has begun.

2. Review the 1999 Comprehensive Plan and potentially update it. After looking at it, committee felt it was imperative to hire the city planner to allow him/her to review it and make recommendations. Land Use and Transportation were the two critical issues of all the components in the Plan that needed to be reviewed. Recommendations are to be made to Planning Commission and City Council.

3. Include Paris Township and designated growth area in future plan. We need to make certain to include all those areas where we plan to expand our water and wastewater throughout the County.

4. Prioritize Comprehensive Plan recommendations and review/update Comprehensive Plan every five (5) years.

Ms. Davies commented that the committee reviewed the Comprehensive Plan and was surprised at how many of the recommendations had already been done. Mr. Phillips is going to review the Comprehensive Plan recommendations and list the status of everything.

Objective #2 – Improve relationship among City Council, Planning Commission and Administrative Staff

Action Steps:

1. Appoint City Council member to Planning Commission as an Ex-Officio member.

2. Establish bi-monthly joint Council-Planning Commission meetings.

3. Consider requiring sketch plan or preliminary plat review of large residential subdivisions by City Council.

4. Consider Charter amendment that will assign four (4) Planning Commission appointments to the Mayor and three (3) appointments to City Council.

Mr. Phillips stated most cities divide the appointments.

Objective #3 – Consider the Development of a Planning Accord for the US 33 Corridor.

Action Steps:

1. Continue involvement with the 33 Corridor Group.

2. Consider a Planning Accord with US 33 Corridor jurisdictions

Mr. Gore commented that he’s not opposed to the US 33 Corridor Group, but is not sure where we’re going with it. He noted $1,500 was spent to become a member of it. He wonders whether we want to continue to do that, what we’re getting out of it and where it’s headed, etc.

Mr. Reams stated the last several months have been informational on the Accord, the process for the Accord and trying to find out what everyone is expecting from it, and what each jurisdiction wants to get out of it. They met with the townships separately, the two cities that were involved and the County as well. The end result of that Accord would be a development plan for the Corridor that everyone can live with.

Mr. Gore asked with the Accord approach, if a township somewhere between the County line and the City of Marysville chooses not to participate in the Accord, what impact does that have on the ability to have a plan. Mr. Reams stated the Accord, if similar to others, would give a recommendation to a local planning board, but it’s still up to that jurisdiction to make the final decision. If one township didn’t participate, they are still going to get a recommendation and they can choose to follow it or not follow it. The risk of not following it is you may not have the infrastructure in place to accommodate (inaudible). Your land uses may not be compatible.

Mr. Gore confirmed that an Accord that’s not fully participated in by all entities, that in fact a township could chose to do it their way, and the other members of the Accord could choose not to provide the services that they bring to the table as a part of the group. Mr. Reams stated that could happen.

Mayor Kruse stated he’s unsure where this is going at this point. It could take up to two years before an Accord is finalized. They are still talking about what that area may be that’s incorporated into this Accord. The County would like to see it much broader, but just about everybody else is looking at a much more narrow scope to this, including the townships. The Mayor and Dublin feels this way. When they started talking about this, Rt. 33 and Industrial Parkway was the spine of this whole thing and how that area would develop. The County Engineer would like to see that on a much broader scale. The City’s feelings on this is that’s not what we’re dealing with. The broader that area gets, the more issues are involved and the more personalities and potential opposition that you’ve got to deal with. He would like to keep it very, very narrow and as few jurisdictions as possible. That doesn’t preclude at some point having additional Accords which would incorporate larger areas and more jurisdictions. Whether this will happen is yet to be seen. Dublin and Marysville would like to see it. Jerome Township seems to be moving in the direction of working together in order to make something beneficial to all of us. He’s unsure of where Millcreek stands. Administration took two steps a couple of weeks ago. They made it as clear as they possibly could to everyone that the City does not want to deal with that Hall’s Corner area, the whole area east of Rt. 33, north of 161 and South of Rock Road. Dublin is already in there. They have better water pressure down there than we do. There are a lot of technical issues that we have to deal with that we don’t think are in the City’s best interest. That was not included in our Wastewater Master Plan. We’ve told the Duke Company, Dublin, County Commissioners and Jerome Township that we don’t want to serve it. It’s not in the City’s best interest to do that.

Mayor Kruse said that Glacier West met with the City. Attorney Dennis Schulze represented Glacier West. Mayor Kruse told him that the City cannot make that work without an agreement with Jerome Township at the very least. If we provide the sewer and water, somebody else has to provide the fire, police and road service. City does not have the ability to do that. Up to this point, nobody has talked to the City about how that is going to be accomplished. City is more inclined to look at this from the standpoint that if you want to do that, annex it. Jerome Township and Glacier met with Mr. Burke and they want to meet with Administration and City Council and try to work something out. Mr. Phillips noted that Glacier cancelled their Inter-governmental meeting last week. Mayor Kruse believes Jerome Township has come to the conclusion that they probably need to work with Dublin on the south and Marysville on the north.

Mr. Gore noted that he is not inclined to throw another $1500 into that group next year unless we start seeing some things happen and get some results out of it.

Mr. Reams commented that when the meetings started a year and half or so ago, there was a lot of distrust. People wondered what this group wanted from us and what do they want to get from it; what’s behind the scenes that they are working on trying to get. He feels the meetings over the last year and a half have been a huge benefit in breaking down some barriers among the various entities. There is a lot more trust now than there was before.

Mayor Kruse feels the group of people that are going to be talking to each other in this whole process in trying to do an Accord will be a smaller group. He noted Washington Township in Franklin County is not going to a part of it; Plain City will not be part of it, Darby Township probably won’t be part of it. He feels it will be a very small focus group. Mayor Kruse agreed that some of the distrust has been broken down.

Mayor Kruse met with Kathryn Crowley from Jerome Township. She thinks that all of the Union County entities should withdraw from the LUC and form a Union County Regional Planning group. It’s something that should be discussed at some point.

FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEE - Committee Members: David Burke, Dan Fogt, John Gore, John Morehart, Kathy House

Mr. Burke presented the objectives: Three areas of interest: Income tax, Budget and Fees

CITY INCOME TAX:

1) Is this what we want to do when it comes to raising the income tax?

2) If so, how much?

3) What to do with the money?

Purpose: To strive to maintain the lowest required tax burden possible to meet the needs of citizens in a form consistent with our vision statement. To seek additional sources of revenue beyond income tax.

Objective: Increase commercial growth for a better tax base.

CITY BUDGET:

1) Any additional sources of revenue?

2) Cost cutting?

3) Correct debt structure?

Purpose: To provide the most productive use of tax dollars.

Objectives:

· Fixed vs. variable investments

· Proper investing of encumbered/unencumbered funds

· Discuss investments/grant assistant – A potential position within the City for somebody who would assist the Finance Department with its

investment needs and nuances with intergovernmental and governmental investing, as well as grant writing.

· Identify areas for donations and community involvement

FEES:

1) Water and Sewer

2) Impact fees

3) Other

Purpose: To implement a fee structure that allows for growth to pay for growth without additional cost burdens to current residents.

Objectives:

· Funds beyond income tax such as additional closing cost on house. It was noted that some school districts add on additional closing costs to new homes, and those would be used to help fund their school district. That may be used for an impact fee for new homes. That rolls into creative financial fees.

· Property tax levies vs. income tax

· Divide levies/percentages to individual needs so that higher users end up paying more than the lower users

· Impact fees for street/fire/police etc.

Mr. Fogt stated that he is supportive of impact fees. Columbus has “Pay as We Grow” fees which are different for each area. They take a new development and get a little extra property tax from that area. That way the other citizens don’t have to pay to upgrade the streets, etc. He is not supportive of raising property taxes to current residents and is not supportive of raising income tax until we get the impact fees.

Mr. Gore asked Mr. Morehart how competitive the City was when it comes time to invest or do we deal strictly with Fifth Third. Mr. Morehart stated we have some investments with Fifth Third Bank, some with Fifth Third Securities and some with Star Ohio. Brian Carter and Brian Lee are brokers for the City. Mr. Gore asked if we go out to bid for competitive rates. Mr. Morehart said he doesn’t competitively bid the investments primarily because he feels comfortable with the current services and strategy and he feels their rates are competitive. He said he could bid out and probably get a little bit more. Some cities have a third party that works with the finance person that acts as a go between between the brokers that he would deal with and the City. They will tell you that they can shop and get more of a return, but they will charge a fee to do that. He has considered that option but decided to continue working with the aforementioned individuals. Mr. Morehart said we have quite a bit invested in our current investment companies now. Probably within the next two or three years, that investment number will be coming down because we’re using those dollars and we’ll be spending those dollars for the wastewater plant. There will be opportunities for investment with the reservoir coming up. As we grow, we’ll have more ability to invest, and there will be more reserves to invest as well. Mr. Gore noted that he has nothing but the utmost confidence and trust in Mr. Morehart. That was not the point to his question.

INFRASTRUCTURE SUB-COMMITTEE - Committee members: Phil Roush, Gary Johnson, Floyd Golden, Mark Reams, Dan Fogt

Mr. Johnson referred to Page 8 of the Retreat Summary. Infrastructure got the most votes as far as having the highest priorities. It also noted that infrastructure issues by their very nature also require financial commitment. Infrastructure issues were sub-divided as follows: Stormwater System, Neighborhood Design Standards assigned to Mark Reams. Public Transportation such as streets, bus system, sidewalks, bike trails, traffic patterns, etc. as well as public safety facilities to include Fire, Police, Municipal Court, joint mixed-use facilities assigned to Floyd Golden. Parks and cemetery issues assigned to Dan Fogt. Buildings and grounds, excluding water, wastewater, cemetery, parks and rec, as well as Technology improvements assigned to Gary Johnson. Water treatment facility and reservoir and wastewater system assigned to Phil Roush.

As Chairman, Mr. Johnson asked all members to do a PEST analysis, which means you are looking at political, economic and social issues, not only externally to the public but also internally with the City employees, and technology based issues.

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT:

Mr. Reams presented the objectives.

Objective: Manage stormwater in a way that protects lives and property.

Action Steps:

1. Study stormwater flows to identify requirements and actual situation. Phase 1 has already been done. Phase 2 should be finished in December 2006, Phase 3 in December 2007.

2. Identify potential solutions to problems and estimate costs, Phase 2 and 3, similar to what was done on first stormwater project, what kind of projects needed and ballpark estimate on cost.

3. Prioritize stormwater projects, all three phases basically covering the City.

4. Develop a 20-year plan to fix those problems, including a financial plan. The idea of a 20-year plan was to try to develop a plan that would fix the identified problems “within one generation.”

Mr. Gore commented that although it wasn’t to the degree that we wanted it to be, stormwater planning was put in place. He has heard of no flooding in the last couple years and we’ve had some pretty strong storms recently. There has obviously been some success in the plan already. Ms. Davies said a lot of work has been done internally with staff. They just have not been able to do the larger projects. Ms. Davies stated ORW has made a big difference by doing a significant amount of work. That has helped a lot in the Barrhaven area.

Mr. Brian Dostanko asked about needed resources. City currently has one stormwater operator. He asked if there was a plan for an increase in stormwater staffing for stormwater operators. Due to lack of funding, one operator was postponed from 2007 to 2009. Ms. Davies stated stormwater is supplementing with a Street Department man. It’s very difficult for one person to do a job by themselves for stormwater.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN

Objective #1 Develop neighborhood design standards that promote healthy family living.

Objectives #1 and #2 are based on the Vision for Marysville – The safe, friendly hometown where families and economic opportunity grow together… We are committed to community pride, healthy families, well-planned neighborhoods and a vibrant economy.

Action Steps:

1. Create neighborhood design standards committee to study and recommend design standards (street lighting, sidewalks, open space, neighborhood parks or recreation facilities, traffic patterns, bike paths, lot dimensions, etc.)

2. Review recommendations – Planning Commission and Council would give input and review the recommendations and then forward on to City Council for approval.

Objective #2 Update City’s comprehensive plan to promote healthy living, coordinating neighborhood design plans and connecting infrastructure.

Action Steps:

1. Update comprehensive plan to show the street plans, the connected bike paths, open spaces, school sites and recreation facilities. We have pieces of this, but nothing in a global plan. They exist independent of each other. We need to put it all together.

TRANSPORTATION

Chief Golden stated all you have to do is look downtown when you have the least little bit of disruption to see a big traffic jam. Need to come up with some type of plan. Should follow the Thoroughfare Plan and update as needed.

Political Issues:

· Inefficient or inadequate traffic flow can present the perception of a lack of planning by the governmental unit (ourselves)

· A tremendous need for adequate parking, especially during special events such as Honda Homecoming.

Economic Issues:

· As we continue to grow, increased use of streets will require additional maintenance.

· Ways of funding is through borrowing money versus tax increases (and not many people want tax increases)

· Possible State Funding Issue 2 Money.

Social Issues:

· Traffic congestion causes negative feelings among the drivers as well as the average citizen around town.

· Impact on business and residential property owners if Delaware Avenue is upgraded to five lanes.

FIRE DIVISION

There is a current need in the Fire Division for a new station at a location away from the uptown congestion. It is difficult for the fire trucks to leave the station and to get back in the station. Have looked at a site at ORW for relocation of current station. Also looked at the possibility of a second station.

Political Issues:

· Effects on existing Fire and EMS agencies in the annexation area.

· Failure to adequately provide Fire and EMS services to the annexation areas would have a negative reaction from the public.

Economic Issues:

Funding:

· Continue with funding through the general fund.

· Income Tax increase

· Public Safety levy

· Impact/User fees

Personnel:

· Additional personnel would be needed for a second station but not additional equipment. Equipment could be split between the two stations.

Social Issues:

In talking with various people, some like having the fire station downtown. Some don’t see a need for another fire station. There is a reluctance to pay increased taxes whether it’s through an income tax increase or public safety levy.

Technology Issues:

· In-vehicle computer systems

· Automatic vehicle locator system

· IT connectivity with rest of city buildings

POLICE FACILITIES

Police Division is presently located in a building that is not suitable for its needs. Chief Golden feels strongly about this. They have about 2400 sq. ft. for the entire police force. In the last 30 years, the Police Division has only gained 700 sq. ft. There are 29 people in the Police Division which share this space and always have less than 100 sq. ft. in which to operate within a day.

There has been discussion about relocating to the current fire station if and when it’s vacated. This would require renovation of the old Fire Station. There has also been discussion of building a new facility. If such a building is constructed, it should be part of a justice center or in close proximity of Municipal Court. As annexation takes place, and/or a second fire station is constructed, consideration should be given to locating a sub-station in the second fire station.

Political Issues:

· New facility vs. renovation of vacated uptown fire station.

· Would municipal court agree to share a building with the police division?

· Should it be a municipal complex including the majority of city offices?

Economic Issues:

· Borrow money for construction?

· Increase city income tax

· Public safety construction levy

Social Issues:

Internal:

· Reluctance of police personnel to move into another old building that is not designed to be a police station. This has always been the case. Some feel the police just receive hand-me downs.

· Employee morale can be adversely affected by working in a building that is not designed for efficient operations.

Chief Golden added they can still do their work efficiently, but it’s just not a very nice place, particularly when it comes to people touring the facility.

Mr. Dostanko added if a new justice center were to be built, there would be IT connectivity issues again.

Chief Golden commented that building security is a real problem in this building. There is not much building security.

Mr. Dostanko stated a security assessment was done in September of last year. Every facility was reviewed from a security perspective, and this building has a lot of issues when using the standard state checklist. This was identified as a very high priority.

The metal detector has never been connected. If connected, it would have to be staffed.

External:

· Most citizens do not realize the conditions the police personnel work under in the current building.

Mr. Gore stated about three years ago that he felt it was a sad statement that a community this size calls that a police station. With everything that has been reported so far, with all due respect to the Fire Department, the Police Department needs to be at the top of the list as far as trying to do something to upgrade those facilities.

Mayor Kruse expressed concern that we’re living on borrowed time with respect to social issues. He feels at some point the economy is going to tank around here, particularly at Honda, possibly at Scotts. The issues that we’re going to have in terms of law enforcement and some of the other associated issues are going to be horrendous, and we’re no way shape or form doing anything to think about these issues and how we’re going to deal with them, the domestic violence, the burglaries, etc. It will be massive as the town grows.

Mr. Aslaner stated he feels security in this building should be a top priority. He’s been in a lot of court houses and can’t remember walking into a court house or court room with a lot of people with a wide array of crimes being handled and not having any security whatsoever. Mayor Kruse stated it’s not only our problem. He’s heard nothing out of the court as far as security in this building. He feels the court should take the lead role in the security issue.

CEMETERY AND PARKS & REC

Mr. Fogt discussed the proposed cemetery improvements as follows:

· Building addition $50,000

· Expansion to Oakdale $175,000

o Engineering

o Tiling

o Utilities, plots, water lines

o Streets

o Landscaping

o Automatic gates

· Mausoleum $300,000 to $750,000

· Bridge repair $25,000 to $50,000

Mr. Gore suggested selling the cemetery. It was the consensus of group that it would not be easy to sell. There is not much room for expansion. City should not consider expanding it in the future. Mayor Kruse suggested talking to the funeral directors about the idea of selling the cemetery.

Mr. Fogt presented the 5-year improvement plan for Parks & Recreation.

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

City administration, court, police building. Chief Johnson reported that the current needs are critical. Current City Hall is in poor shape. This building is an old grain elevator. There is grass seed for insulation in the walls on the third floor. This is a maintenance nightmare. There are multiple code violations in the walls and chases because the heating and ventilation system has been routed and re-routed. Asbestos is an issue as well.

Municipal Court needs a lot more room. Police Dept. is scattered throughout the building and space is very limited/cramped. Storage space at City Hall (and all fixed facilities) is very limited. Municipal court has serious security issues as well as pressing needs that have (state/federal) mandates outside of our control. Feeling is that the Police Department and Municipal Court should be located in a Justice Center.

The Public Service Center – The current Public Service Center does not provide the area and service needs for both the Water and Street Department. With the relocation of a water facility on the grounds of the future reservoir, the city could free up space at the current facility for more equipment storage/use. Another option would be to relocate the Street Department to the current wastewater treatment facility site once the new facility begins operation. Possible elimination of the sanitation/yard waste pickup would free up other resources for critical infrastructure needs. All divisions lack a functional vehicle replacement plan that regularly replaces worn apparatus on a regularly scheduled basis. This places a serious financial strain on other areas of budgets in that it takes necessary fiscal resources from needed infrastructure improvements. We are continually playing catch-up and pushing vehicle service life far beyond normal limits. This is something the City should consider in the future.

Technology – A movement towards fiber optic connectivity between city facilities is currently under way. Wi-Fi interconnectivity for the downtown area is currently being explored through the Chamber. Chief Johnson said we should coordinate those efforts to possibly expand on that and maximize economies of scale.

Currently the City’s in-house finance system software and human resource software are incompatible. The data mining capabilities between the two systems are extremely limited. Mr. Dostanko cited one example. Sick-leave usage by Fire Division cannot be retrieved from a query; must look at payroll records manually. HR does use the payroll system, but HR has developed their own database using Access.

The current in-house phone system contract expires in 2007 and options will be explored at that time.

Current efforts should focus on “immediate connectivity” between different structures in the City. The Code Red system should be pursued in concert with the county. This system can make 2500/3000 calls a minute. Chief Johnson stated Homeland Security Funding has been identified for this project.

A group of individuals is working with other County public safety services, i.e. EMA and the Sheriff’s office, on a low-cost, very effective system to integrate the GIS technology, Pictometry and Automatic Vehicle Location devices in all public safety vehicles.

Mayor Kruse asked about Homeland Security money for the security issues at City Hall. Chief Johnson said there is money; you just have to go after it.

Mr. Fogt asked about the Public Service Center building and the construction issues with it. Chief Johnson stated there is diesel exhaust that filters through the walls into the offices. There is a mezzanine used for storage, and because of the design of it, the load limit is 100 pounds per square foot. There is no insulation. Mr. Gore noted there was a report generated about three years or so ago identifying those problems. Clerk Patterson will look for that report. Chief Johnson noted there was a design for that building, but they kept cutting and cutting, so cheaper is not always better because sooner or later you end up paying for it. Mr. Gore said the City ended up doing most of the work themselves instead of contracting it out. Chief Johnson stated he just received a Homeland Security Grant for exhaust removal for the old bay side of the Fire Station. The primary reason they got that money is because diesel fumes are loaded with carcinogens. There is no vehicle exhaust extraction system in the Public Service Center. Mr. Dostanko also stated there is lack of storage for archiving. Storage in the mezzanine is very limited.

Mr. Marshall asked how much money in the last two to three years has been put into the City Hall building. Ms. Davies estimated about $250,000 within the last five years.

WASTEWATER AND WATER SYSTEM

Mr. Roush reported that in the wastewater priority area there were three objectives:

1) Keep adequate capacity to accommodate growth, particularly in regards to the size of the Wastewater Plant

2) Keep infiltration and flow out of the collection system. Annual programs for that are in the budget.

3) To build trunk sewers in the growth area to accommodate the growth that will happen, whether that is financed by the system as envisioned in the Wastewater Master Plan and/or by development-driven projects.

Water System priorities:

1) Have adequate capacity to accommodate growth

2) Maintain adequate raw water resources, the reservoir phase. City expects to enter into a contract either late this year or early next year.

3) To provide adequate pressure and flow at all points in the distribution system. The Master Plan calls for a two-tiered system because of a pressure area in the west side of town which has a lower pressure than the east side of town.

Mr. Fogt asked if the City has the raw water capacity. Ms. Davies stated we do. Right now they are using quite a bit of well water, which is more costly; it takes a lot more to treat the well water. With the reservoir we’ll be able to get away from using as much well water. The City is in the process of re-rating at the Water Plant so that EPA will agree with the City that we can actually produce more water than the 3.18 that they are giving us credit for. Want to get it upgraded to 4.33 mgd.

COMMUNICATION SUB-COMMITTEE: Committee members: John Gore, John Marshall, Brian Dostanko, Kathy House

Objective #1. Identify all current City communication processes or capabilities.

Action item:

· Create a matrix detailing major communications capabilities regarding the “four Cs” (City Administration, Citizens, Council and City employees)

Objective #2. Examine current City organizational infrastructure for possible improvements to City’s capabilities regarding communications. He noted on Pg. 12 of the Retreat Summary Report about developing a constructive media strategy.