DEEPHAVEN CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY,
DECEMBER 18, 2006
7:00 P.M.
1.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Mayor
Tom Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Tom Anderson, Councilmembers Keith Kask, Paul Skrede, John Wheaton and Kim Crockett
STAFF: Police Chief Virgil Gustafson and
City Administrator Dana Young
2.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to approve the consent agenda, consisting of the
following items:
A. Minutes of December 4, 2006
B. Approval of the 2007 tort
liability limits
C. Adoption of the 2007
Investment Policy
D. Approval of the 2007 Set-Up
License for Minnetonka Yacht Club
E. Hiring of 2006-2007 Warming
House Attendants
F. Approval of Payment No. 1 to
Infratech for the 2006 Sewer Main Project in the amount of $48,058.70.
Seconded
by Councilmember Wheaton. Motion carried
5-0.
3.
MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR
Mayor
Anderson presented Certificates of Appreciation to George Haworth, Patrick Noll
and Matt Sorenson for their time and effort in completing several Eagle Scout
projects this year on behalf of the City of Deephaven.
4.
PUBLIC HEARING
A.
Adopt Resolution No. 34-06,
Adopting the Final 2007 Levy
Mayor
Anderson called the public hearing on the 2006 Tax Levy, Collectible in 2007 in
the amount of $1,784,344 to order at 7:06 p.m.
Hearing no public comments, the hearing was declared closed.
Motion
by Councilmember Crockett to adopt Resolution No. 34-06, A Resolution Approving
the Final 2006 Levy, Collectible in 2007 in the amount of $1,784,344. Seconded by Councilmember Skrede.
Mayor
Anderson opposed. Motion carried 4-1.
5.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A.
Adopt Resolution No. 35-06,
Adopting the 2007 Budget
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to adopt Resolution No. 35-06, A Resolution Adopting
the 2007 Budget in the amount of $3,398,839.
Seconded by Councilmember Wheaton.
Mayor Anderson opposed. Motion
carried 4-1.
B.
Adopt Resolution No. 36-06,
Approving 2006 Transfers
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to adopt Resolution No. 36-06, A Resolution Approving
2006 Transfers. Seconded by
Councilmember Kask. Motion carried 5-0.
C.
Adopt Resolution No. 37-06,
Resolution of Appreciation to Ron Liners
Councilmember
Skrede and Police Chief Gustafson presented a plaque to Lieutenant Ron Liners
for completing nearly 25 years of service with the Deephaven Police Department.
Motion
by Councilmember Wheaton to adopt Resolution No. 37-06, A Resolution of
Appreciation to Ron Liners who is retiring after 25 years of dedicated service
with the Deephaven Police Department.
Seconded by Councilmember Kask.
Motion carried 5-0.
D.
Adopt Resolution No. 38-06,
Resolution of Appreciation to Mayor Anderson
Councilmember
Skrede presented a plaque to Mayor Tom Anderson thanking him for six years of
outstanding service to the City of Deephaven.
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to adopt Resolution 38-06, A Resolution of Appreciation
to Mayor Tom Anderson who is stepping down as the Mayor of Deephaven after
serving two years on the City Council and four years as Mayor. Seconded by Councilmember Wheaton. Motion carried 5-0.
E.
Adopt Resolution No. 33-06,
Approving EFD Refinancing Bond
Councilmember
Skrede stated that Paul Donna, with Northland Securities, is present this
evening to answer any questions regarding the refinancing of the Excelsior Fire
District Facility Bonds. Councilmember
Skrede stated that the Excelsior Fire District Board is proposing to refinance
the outstanding Fire District debt by issuing a Public Safety Fire Facility
Lease Revenue Crossover Refunding Bond.
He stated that the bonds would be issued in 2007 with the proceeds
placed in an escrow account until they can be used to retire the current
outstanding debt beginning in 2010.
He
stated that the City Council adopted a preliminary resolution on November 20th
that required Northland Securities to proceed with a bond sale only if the refinancing
would obtain a total net savings of approximately $328,000. He stated that the actual total net savings
from today’s bond sale were $409,000,
approximately $81,000 more than what was originally hoped.
Paul
Donna stated that one of the reasons for the increased savings, other than the
historically low long-term interest rates, was due to the AA2 bond rating
achieved by the City of Deephaven. He
stated that this is an extremely high rating for a city of Deephaven’s size and
that the City should be very proud of obtaining that rating. He stated that with that rating, they were
able to purchase insurance on the bonds that increased the overall bond rating
to triple A. As a result, the net
interest rate for the Series 2007C is 4.09% and 4.15% for Shorewood’s Series
2007A-bond issue.
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to adopt Resolution No. 33-06, A Resolution Approving
the Refinancing of the EFD Bonded Debt.
Seconded by Councilmember Crockett.
Motion carried 5-0.
6.
NEW BUSINESS
A.
Discuss Alternate Dates for
2007 Council Meetings
Motion
by Councilmember Skrede to approve the following alternate dates for Council
meetings due to conflicts with major holidays.
Seconded by Councilmember Kask.
Motion carried 5-0.
The
following Council dates have been rescheduled:
Monday,
January 1 New
Year’s Day Wednesday,
January 3
Monday,
January 15 Martin
Luther King Day Thursday,
January 18Work Session
Monday,
February 19 President’s
Day Cancelled
Monday,
September 3 Labor
Day Thursday,
September 6
B.
Discuss 2007 Prosecution
Rates (Steve Tallen)
City
Prosecutor Steve Tallen was present to propose an increase in prosecution rates
for 2007 from $2,425 per month to $2,597.50 per month. Mr. Tallen stated that through October 2006,
the City has received $39,670 in fines and forfeitures from Hennepin County and
paid $26,665 to his firm for prosecution services and $710 to Hennepin County
for jail fees. He stated that 2006 has
been a busy year for prosecutions but there has not been any one large case as
there have been in prior years.
Mr.
Tallen explained that the Council had agreed last year to an increase in his
fees for 2006 but that he had neglected to bill for that increase this
year. He stated that he was not looking
to recover the lost fees but would like to propose a 3.9% cost of living
increase from the approved 2006 rate up to $2,597.50 per month in 2007.
Councilmember
Skrede asked Mr. Tallen where he obtained the 3.9% cost of living figure? Mr. Tallen stated that he obtained the
percentage from the Bureau of Labor statistics.
Councilmember Skrede stated that although he realized that it wasn’t a
significant difference, he would prefer a 3% increase rather than a 3.9%
increase in order to keep Mr. Tallen’s fee increase in line with salary
increases given to other Police Department employees. Mr. Tallen stated that his request for a 3.9%
increase was a request only and that he would be comfortable with a 3.0%
increase.
Councilmember
Kask stated that he does not oppose a 3.9% increase for 2007 but would also
like to see any future increases tied to what our Police Department is
earning. Mr. Tallen stated that the pay
scale for lawyers is somewhat different from what police officers are making and
that the City would not be able to hire a decent entry-level attorney at the
hourly pay that he currently receives from the City.
Councilmember
Crockett agreed with Mr. Tallen that it is not appropriate to tie his
compensation to the compensation received by our Police Department.
Motion
by Councilmember Crockett to approve a 3.9% increase to $2,597.50 per month to
Tallen & Baertschi for 2007 prosecution services. Seconded by Councilmember Kask. Councilmember Skrede opposed. Motion carried 4-1.
7.
REPORTS FROM STANDING
COMMITTEES
A.
Public Works Committee
Administrator
Young stated that the Public Works Committee met on December 6, 2006 and
reviewed a complaint regarding the removal of boulevard trees, an update on
OSHA compliance, the installation of barricades at Walden Beach, the relocation
of a street sign on Minnetonka Blvd and storm water projects.
B.
Park Committee
Administrator
Young stated that the Park Committee met on December 6, 2006 and recommended
the repair of the wooden swimming dock area at the Main Beach
in 2007, discussed the location of the tennis court backboard at Village Hall
and Thorpe tennis courts and recommended canceling the Skating Party scheduled
for January 6th to allow for better planning of the event.
Councilmember
Wheaton stated that the Park Committee would appreciate any direction given by
the Council regarding the paddletennis court.
Mayor Anderson stated that earlier Councils have discussed the
possibility of relocating the court to Thorpe Park but found out that the cost
would be extremely high due to the fact that the court is erected on
piers. Councilmember Skrede stated that
there has also been some discussion about using volunteers to assist with the
repair of the court at a cost significantly less than purchasing a new court.
Councilmember
Crockett inquired about the Park Committee’s recommendation concerning the Main
Beach swimming dock. Administrator Young
stated that the Committee recommended replacing the existing swimming dock with
another wood dock of the same style and footprint. He added that the Committee felt that there
would be too many complaints from the public if the dock were not replaced.
8.
ADJOURNMENT
The
meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.