North St. Paul City Council — Transcript
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Community Center RFP Review Update
Commission Workshops, Meetings, and Recording Discussion
2025 Enterprise Fund Budgets Overview
Votes (3)
Community Center RFP Review Update
The council received an update on the Community Center RFP, noting that six submissions were received. An internal committee of five employees has been formed to review these submissions. The evaluation criteria include the consulting firm's experience, proposed project approach, schedule, key staff experience, proven track record, and cost. The committee will score all submissions and bring a recommendation to the council on the 15th for a decision on which contractor to move forward with.
Commission Workshops, Meetings, and Recording Discussion
Dissent: Council Members Cole and Wong voiced concerns about transparency and accessibility if recordings were discontinued. Council Member Nordby was in favor of discontinuing for cost savings.
The discussion centered on the proposal to cease recording commission meetings and workshops to achieve an annual saving of approximately $19,000. Staff noted that many cities do not record such meetings, particularly if they are less formal and don't follow Robert's Rules of Order. Council Member Cole argued against discontinuing recordings, citing concerns about a 'step back in transparency' and reduced public access to information, especially for Planning Commission meetings. Council Member Wong echoed the importance of transparency and accessibility, particularly for individuals with visual or auditory impairments. Council Member Nordby supported the savings, suggesting that commissions only make recommendations and that unrecorded sessions could foster 'greater open dialogue.' Mayor Mongi advocated for continuing recordings for council workshops for note-taking and suggested flexibility for certain commissions (e.g., Parks Committee) to use audio recorders for off-site meetings.
2025 Enterprise Fund Budgets Overview
Finance Director Dan Winnick presented the 2025 Enterprise Fund budgets, defining Enterprise Funds as those with external revenue. Key points included: Water Fund (2.2M revenue, no rate change, 8% personnel cost increase), Wastewater Fund (2.6M revenue, no rate change, capital reductions), Electric Fund (12M revenue, no rate change, stable budget due to power agency rates, shift to CIP for infrastructure upgrades, supply chain lead times improved but prices 'new norm'), Surface Water Fund (1M revenue, 2.5% rate increase proposed due to significant costs from Watershed District requirements on road projects, e.g., bigger pipes, ponds), Solid Waste Fund (1.1M revenue, no rate change, 3% increase in hauler contract, fund balance used to offset costs), and Fiber Optic Fund (220K revenue, -2M negative fund balance, projected 20+ years to positive). A significant discussion arose regarding the Fiber Optic fund's negative balance, with a proposal to transfer $2 million from the Electric Fund to zero it out, which would also positively impact Surface Water and Wastewater financial plans. Council members expressed strong interest in exploring this transfer, contingent on a resolution for potential future repayment.
Notable Quotes (12)
so we've formed a committee uh internally of five employees that we will be going over um the submissions we'll be looking at um consulting firm and key project and staff experience um proven track record proposed approach for completing the project um proposed project schedule and then the cost and we'll score all these and then we'll bring that back to you guys on the 15th um to make a decision on who you'd like to move forward with uh that contractors
we would save about just under $19,000 a year if we did that
to me for the savings of 19 Grand I don't think I'm for it um a I think it's a step back in transparency um and I I think it makes it harder to access the information
from a commission's and committee standpoint they can bring recommendations to council they're not setting precedence they're not passing anything
I would like to have a little bit of flexibility sometime where we could say we're going to have a meeting at a park or somewhere else and then just have an audio recorder with us and be able to do that
difference between the Enterprise fund and internal service fund is an Enterprise fund the fees are coming from external sources where internal service funds um fees are coming from uh the organization itself
this would require a 2.5 U perc increase in the rate um as you can see um surface water gets hit quite a bit by um and we'll see it a little bit more later on when we start looking at our financial plans um but water we water and surface water are all all hit by um preventative maintenance on the streets and in major reconstruction projects
this one has a truly a negative fund balance it'll take a number of years to ever pay that off
the prices I think have kind of established a new norm and I don't think they will be reverting or it'll be basically fluctuating with the cost of uh raw materials
The Watershed dictates what we have to do to upgrade our storm system might be bigger pipes or you might have to put in a pond and these road projects get really expensive
if we were to make that find a way to make that fiber optics hole that $2 million hole... turn around and transfer the2 million from the electric fund into the um fiber optic fund
I'd like to make that whole because you know we can come up with an idea to use the infrastructure we have and be able to rent it out or do something but you know pay back what ex was taken if we can generate more Revenue with it
Ordinances & Resolutions (11)
Request for Proposal for the Community Center project.
Procedural guide for formal meetings, contrasted with less formal workshop settings.
Proposed budget document for various city enterprise funds for the year 2025.
Capital Improvement Plan, referenced for funding infrastructure projects and capital reductions in budgets.
Audited financial reports mentioned in relation to fund balances and cash positions.
System used to monitor lift stations and wells in the sanitary sewer and water departments.
Study conducted by WSB regarding the city's water tower capacity.
Data mapping of sewer lines, including camera videos and service connection footage.
Request for Proposal planned for a new solid waste hauling vendor in two years.
Long-term financial projections for the Enterprise Funds, impacted by proposed transfers.
Proposed formal document to authorize the transfer of funds for the fiber optic debt and outline potential repayment.