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2025.08.04 Special City Council Meeting MinutesSPECIAL OTSEGO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MOIVDAY, AUGUST 4, 2025 12:00 PM OTSEGO PRAIRIE CENTER Call to Order: Mayor Stockamp called the meeting to order at 12:04 PM. Roll Call: Mayor Jessica Stockamp and Councilmembers: Ryan Dunlap, Tina Goede, Michelle Lund, and Corey Tanner. City Staff: City Administrator/Finance Director Adam Flaherty, Assistant City Administrator/Human Resources Sabrina Hille, Emergency Services Director Daryl Rausch, IT Manager Ben Boyd, Streets Operations Manager Kevin Lamson, Parks and Recreation Director Nick Jacobs , and City Clerk Audra Etzel. 1. Budget Review —Draft of the 2026 General Fund Budget. City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty reviewed the budget meeting materials included in the packet. Staff are seeking Council input during these budget review meetings to move the budgeting process forward effectively and efficiently. Police Services Flaherty said the police services per hour rate will increase from $110 to $115 in 2026, the hours of coverage will be the same. CM Dunlap asked if the increase for 2027 was known? Flaherty said staff have not received any contract rates beyond 2026. CM Lund asked if contracts are typically for two years. Flaherty noted the contract is usually for one year. Public Safety Commission Flaherty said no change proposed to the budget. CM Tanner asked if all commission members are paid $20 per meeting. Flaherty said Planning Commission members are paid $30 per meeting and all other commission members are paid $20 per meeting. Fire Protection Flaherty reviewed the proposed fire department contracts. CM Dunlap asked how much the tax capacity for Otsego has increased in the Albertville area. Flaherty reviewed the numbers. CM Dunlap asked what the reasoning was for the large increase to the Albertville contract. Flaherty said their budget increased 48% for capital vehicle reserves, to account for crossover wages for succession planning of their Fire Chief, and to account for shared service and facility planning studies. CM Dunlap asked what the next steps were to accept a 2026 contract from Albertville. Flaherty said he would be reaching out to Albertville to setup a meeting to discuss next steps. CM Dunlap suggested a 2027 contract with Albertville to cover a portion of Otsego and feels this could be used to negotiate the 2026 budget. Mayor Stockamp said they have presented their budget and do not see room to negotiate short of asking not to cover their studies. Flaherty said he has discussed the studies with Albertville. Rausch explained how fire districts operate and are funded and noted now that Otsego will have a station and equipment sharing a Page 1 of 6 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 41 2025 district would make sense. Hilles said districts create a regional response. The Council would like staff to reach out to Albertville to be considered part of the shared services study. CM Tanner asked when the career employees will start. Rausch said the paid -on call (POC) staff will start in August of 2026 and the full time will start in November of 2026. CM Lund asked about training. Rausch said training is already scheduled. CM Dunlap asked about the training expenses. Rausch said the training is about $25,000 for the first two years and will be expended in 2026 and 2027; the training will be reimbursed in future years for actual cost. Mayor Stockamp asked who will be responsible for applying for training reimbursement. Rausch said the Fire Chief would most likely apply for the reimbursement. CM Dunlap asked if the CRR is included in the budget. Flaherty said the CRR is included in the part-time staffing budget. CM Lund asked what else is reimbursed back to the City. Rausch said State Aid funding will be received when the department is up and running. CM Dunlap asked about the funding. Flaherty said the start-up funding will be through the fire reserve and equipment has been funded through capital funding. CM Tanner asked if the Fire Reserve Fund will continue. Flaherty will set up a new capital reserve funding process once the department is operational. Fire and Emer�ency Services Facility Flaherty noted this is a new budget department and accounts for'six months of operating costs and is estimated based on existing buildings such as the Prairie Center and City Hall/Public Works facilities. Emergency Management Flaherty reviewed the budgeted items. Information Technology IT Manger Boyd reviewed the IT budget and presentation. CM Dunlap asked if the security system will be updated at City Hall. Boyd said staff is able to track the logs and access cameras if needed. Boyd noted security gets added to sites and going now under one system for tracking. CM Dunlap asked about the ticketing system. Boyd said he set up a ticket system when he was hired to track IT requests. Mayor Stockamp asked about computers without domain access. Boyd said the computers are being updated per the schedule. Council asked why the W-WWTF will need a new server. Boyd said the servers were purchased in 2022 and the warranties have already been extended; staff will need to replace them sooner than expected. CM Lund asked Boyd when he would like to be involved in new projects. Boyd said from the beginning of a project. City Hall &Public Works Building Flaherty reviewed the City Hall &Public Worl<s Building budget. CM Tanner asked if more funds were needed for space needs. Flaherty said this budget is for operations of the facility, and that any capital expenditures would be from a capital project fund. Page 2 of 6 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 41 2025 Old Township Site Flaherty reviewed the Old Township Site budget. CM Dunlap said it is time to discuss the site; he would like to preserve. Flaherty said Wright County is planning a future improvement to CSAH 39 which may result in street realignment on the site. The Council had a lengthy discussion on what to do with building. Street Maintenance Streets Manager Lamson reviewed the Streets budget and presentation. CM Dunlap asked about the manholes. Lamson said staff recently completed over 100 ahead of the mill and overlay street project. CM Lund asked if the manholes is an ongoing project. Lamson said it will take staff a few years to replace the old-style manholes. CM Dunlap asked about the increased cost of composting. Flaherty noted the 2026 budget reflects actual costs in the current year. Lamson said Wright County is looking into a piece of equipment that could be used by the cities to break down the materials. Mayor Stockamp asked about the cost to cities. Flaherty said the concept is very preliminary and those details are not yet available. CM Dunlap asked if the compost would need to have material processed again this year. Flaherty said the compost material has been processed once this year and it is unknown whether an additional service will be needed this year. CM Tanner asked what quantity of snow is required to qualify as a snow event. Lamson said the policy reads 2" of snow, sometimes less depending on the weather. The Council agreed to include dust coating on all gravel streets. Lamson explained the dust coating application and said a possible second coating may be needed in certain areas. Mayor Stockamp asked how any residents requested and paid for dust coating. Lamson estimated about 5 to 6 residents would annually. Lamson said the residents not typically receiving the Just coating will appreciate this. Street Lights Flaherty reviewed the Street Lights budget. CM Lund asked if any streetlights need to be added for the newly approved trails. Flaherty will ask the City Engineer if any additional lighting would be required. Fleet Maintenance Flaherty reviewed the Fleet budget. Prairie Center Flaherty reviewed the Prairie Center budget. Park Maintenance Maintenance Parks and Recreation Director Jacobs reviewed the Parl<s and Recreation budget and presentation. Page 3 of 6 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 4, 2025 Jacobs said many of the courts are reaching the end of their life and staff are doing their best to maintain them for safety. CM Lund asked about the dock installation. Jacobs was not on -site during installation but is aware they use a barge for a portion of the installation. Jacobs said staff does the installation and removal of the other docks. CM Tanner asked about shelter rentals. Jacobs said Prairie Parl< and Norin Landing have shelters available for rent, the parks are a first come first serve. CM Dunlap asked if renting snowshoes has been considered. Jacobs said staff have discussed different rental options. Recreation Flaherty reviewed the Recreation budget. CM Dunlap asked where the Raptor Center event is coded. Jacobs said the expense comes out of the community events line item. The City Council had discussion about a library drop box service through Great River Regional Library System but agreed that the cost was higher than expected and that public access was not ideal with the current facilities. Parks and Recreation Commission Flaherty reviewed the Recreation budget. CM Dunlap asked if there are any conferences for the commission members to attend. Jacobs said the MRPA conference would be the recommendation if requested. Administration and Elections Etzel reviewed the Administration and Election budgets and presentation. Staff noted a revision of an updated Data Practices Policy will be presented at a future meeting for consideration. Human Resources and Communications Hme reviewed the Human Resources and Communication budget and presentation. CM Lund asked what number triggers a large employer for health insurance. Hille said 50 employees move Otsego to a large employer insurance plan. Mayor Stockamp asked about the earned sick and safe time. Hille said not all employees have used it and are providing proper notice when used. CM Dunlap asked about the new resident packet. Hille said staff have condensed the majority of the information into a guide to be included in the packet. The Council agreed the new resident guide has been a great resource for the community. The Council also discussed the business directory on the website. Hille said the ADA compliance to the website needs to be completed by April of 2027 for Otsego's population size. The Council discussed the opportunity to publish the City's Newsletter in-house, allowing for publication and content flexibility at a lower cost. Page 4 of 6 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 4, 2025 Building Safety Flaherty reviewed the Building Safety budget. City Council Flaherty reviewed the City Council budget, noting the telephone and contracted services for strategic planning have been removed. City Council agreed to add strategic planning back into the 2027 budget after the next election. CM Lund asked about the strategic planning cycle. Flaherty said staff is recommending odd years following an election to allow for incoming Council to provide input. City Administrator Flaherty reviewed the City Administrator budget and noted there are no significant changes. Assessing Flaherty reviewed the Assessing budget and noted there are no significant changes. CM Lund asked about the cost. Flaherty said the cost is based on type and quantity of parcels. Flaherty said a staff person from Wright County does office at City Hall and works closely with the Building Safety Department. Finance Flaherty reviewed the Finance budget and noted there are no significant changes. Le�a1 Flaherty reviewed the Legal Budget. Animal Control Flaherty reviewed the Animal Control budget. En�ineerin� Flaherty reviewed the Engineering Budget and noted that the Hal<anson Anderson has provided notice of rate increases for future City Council consideration. Heritage Preservation Commission Flaherty reviewed the Heritage Preservation Commission Budget. Planning Commission Flaherty reviewed the Planning Commission Budget. Planning Flaherty reviewed the Planning Budget. Economic Development Flaherty reviewed the Economic Development Budget noting the marketing has been removed and any needs can be accommodated by Communications staff and budget. Page 5 of 6 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 4, 2025 Interfund Transfers Flaherty reviewed the interfund transfer budget and that there are none proposed for 2026. Revenues Flaherty reviewed the revenue budgets for the General fund. CM Lund asked about the interest earned. Flaherty said interest earned is allocated over many different funds. CM Tanner asked about the funding agreement with Vireo Health. Flaherty noted staff will follow up with them about that agreement to determine if funding is available. Flaherty said there is a special revenue fund that accounts for that activity and will be reviewed at the next budget meeting. Fund Balance Policy Flaherty reviewed the calculation which provides a possible transfer of $169,237. The City Council decided to evaluate further once all budgets have been reviewed. Flaherty asked Council for input for future budget presentations. The Preliminary Levy will need to be adopted in September. Flaherty noted that the Council will review the funding components of the CIP at an upcoming meeting and that the Subcommittees will review the proposed expenditures, and that additional review will be included as part of a budget meeting later in the process. Flaherty said the budget includes a COLA of 4.00% and that evaluation of the increase will be ongoing throughout the budget process. 2. Adjourn. CM Tanner motioned to adjourn at 6:19 PM, seconded by CM Lund. All in favor. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes prepared by City Clerk, Audra Etzel. City of Otsego: r Jes's,i�a Stockamp, Mayor ATTEST: Audra Etzel, Gity Clerk " � ,' Page 6 of 6