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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 02.02.2021MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 A Council Workshop was held via Zoom and called to order by Council President Eaton at 6:44 p.m. on February 2, 2021. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x_ Emelie Eaton _x Heidi Sparks x Bruce McGee x Richard Herr x Scot Stokes x Iiv Wilke x Richard Klose x Don Nelson OTHERS PRESENT: Nick Altonaga, Planning Director Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director Stan Langve, Police Chief Public Input: There were none. General Items Executive Review Resolution - Fees for Hall Rental in Riverside Park Park Board sat down last Wednesday evening to discuss possible rental fees for renting the hall. See attached proposed rental fees. It was questioned if the City Clerk would take care of the fees. It was clarified an agreement would be set up and need to sign. Eventually would like to go to a website where people could rent it through the website. They would like the camp spots, Thompson Park Pavilion, and Lions Park Pavilion rented on the website as well. It was questioned if they will require a $500 deposit if people are going to have alcohol. It was further questioned who is going to monitor whether they have alcohol or not. What's to stop them from saying they are not going to have alcohol and having it anyways. It was clarified that that is what a lot of rental halls do. That they don't know if they will have to trust the people renting, to be honest about alcohol consumption. By reserving through the website, a credit card will be on file and could be charged for damages. It will be on the honor system. It was questioned why there is a $75 fee for the use of the kitchen. It was further questioned what someone would get for $350 per day. It was clarified that they would have use of the bill hall. If you bring your own food and don't need the use of the kitchen, you would not be charged $75. The $75 fee will be used to maintain and replace kitchen equipment such as a stove or a fridge. The example of someone having a reception. Everything is being brought, but they need to put the salads in the refrigerator. It was questioned if they would be charged $75. It was clarified that is correct. The kitchen will be closed off, so they can't get into it if they don't need it. It was questioned if the building is referred to as the old Jaycee Hall. It was clarified that is correct. It was further clarified that the refrigerators and stove are quite old. They are still working very well. At some point in time, they will crash and need to be replaced. We need to have a mechanism to have the money set aside to replace or repair those appliances as needed. Some Council Members noted that it was not clear what people would be charged as there are so many variables. It was questioned how much time Staff has to refund a deposit. What if someone comes in the next day to get their deposit, and they get their deposit back, and someone goes down to check it, and they did not clean it up and should not have gotten their deposit back. Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer, stated no deposits would be refunded until whoever is in charge of checking out and signing off on that building had done so. It was questioned if the person checking the building had been identified yet. It was clarified that had not been decided. All the rules have not been established yet, or who will be taking care of that. The goal was to get the fees added to the schedule as soon as possible. The fees are lower than what the hall was rented before. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, encouraged Council to look at what the Joliet Community Center rents their building for. The Rules and Regulations still need to be established. They will be discussing at the next Park Board. It was questioned what the rush was to get it on the Fees and Schedule. It was clarified there are groups requesting to rent out the space. The goal is to generate revenue from this to put money back into the parks. Council Issues 2. Personnel Handbook Update Council had asked for this to be a follow-up update to this. In November 2019, there was a discussion about updating the handbook. Pages 40, 41, and 42 were handed out about internet usage. There was some confusion if the handbook applies to volunteers. There were some posts on Facebook. Some Council Members were approached about these posts at the time. The result was that the Personnel Handbook needed to be updated. The Mayor had stated he would have Staff update the Personnel Handbook. Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer, stated the Personnel Handbook is currently being updated. Some of those requests are fi-om the Mayor, and some are from MMIA. The MMIA updates are verbiage requests. Such as referencing the collective bargaining agreements in various sections of the Handbook or Police Disciplinary Policy. Once those updates are done, they will go to MMIA for a review then it will go to the City Attorney for review. She doesn't expect much to change in the Personnel Handbook. Right now, these changes are on hold. We need to wait and see what the legislature does, especially with Unions. It is not clear how that will affect the Personnel Handbook. Once that happens, MMIA will send out memos on what needs to be updated. Once it goes out, Council and Employees will see all the changes. The Council Member who requested the update will not ask for any more updates unless asked by his/her constituents. The Personnel Handbook really falls under the Mayor's purview. Discussion on Emergency Services Community Survey The Emergency Services Committee Chair requested its committee members to take the survey handed out by the Fire Chief a while ago. He will type up the responses in an easily digestible format. 4. Discussion - Traffic Study on W. Main and 5th Ave. Nick Altonaga, Planning Director, a few months ago he had a conversation with the Police Chief regarding a traffic study at W. Main Street and 5th Avenue. He spoke to Rod Nelson with MDOT. The City will need to submit a letter to the State requesting the traffic study. Stan Langve, Police Chief, stated the speed limit has not changed from 35 mph. With increased traffic and the new development coming into the west end. It is time to get the speed reduced to 25 mph. Would like the 25 -mph extended to Wood Power Grip. E. Main is four lanes and still 25 mph. It was questioned what the next step would be. It was clarified that Council would review and approve a letter requesting the traffic study. It is not clear when that will come before Council. After Council approval, it will be sent to MDOT. There is also discussion about the type of intersection at W. Main and 5th Avenue. It was questioned if there is a cost associated with this request. It was clarified they do not be there is a cost associated, but it would be double-checked. Emergency Services Committee has discussed this a little bit, especially with the new interchange. There are times of the day the intersection is difficult to cross. Don't want something tragic to occur before this intersection is addressed. Other Items Review of Draft Council Agendas There were no changes. Attendance at Upcoming Council Meeting All in attendance will be at next week's meeting. Announcements The council workshop adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brittney Mo rm Administrati Assistant NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. Riverside Hall Rental Hours and Fees $350 per day(7am-10pm) and each additional day is $175. $175 per half day for the following times lam-2pm or 2pm-10pm. $75 fee for the use of the kitchen. $200 deposit for non -alcohol rentals that will be returned if the hall is cleaned and picked up. $500 deposit for alcohol served that will be returned if the hall is cleaned and picked up. Renters must comply with state alcohol statues. $30 fee for the meeting room for a maximum of four hours at any given time if the hall is available - no deposit required. Laurel non -profits will receive a 50% discount on rentals excluding deposits. The meeting room has no discount. Youth meetings are free. Rental Agreements are required to be signed and approved prior to your event or meeting.