07-26-2022 CCMHUTCHINSON CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022
CITY CENTER — COUNCIL CHAMBERS
(The City Council is provided background information fog° agenda iten2s in advance by city staff, committees and boards.
Many decisions regarding agenda iten2s are based upon this information as well as: Citypolicy andpractices, inputfi^on2
constituents, and other questions or information that has not yet been presented or discussed regarding an agenda iten2)
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER — 5:30 P.M.
Mayor Gary Forcier called the meeting to order. Members present were Mary Christensen, Chad
Czmowski, Pat May and Dave Sebesta. Others present were Matt Jaunich, City Administrator,
Marc Sebora, City Attorney, and Kent Exner, City Engineer.
(a) Approve the Council agenda and any agenda additions and/or corrections
Motion by Christensen, second by Sebesta, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion
carried unanimously.
2. INVOCATION — Hutchinson Evangelical Free Church
(The invocation is a voluntary expression of the private citizen, to andfor the City Council, and is not intended to
affiliate the City Council with, or express the City Council's preferencefor, any religious/spiritual organization. The
views or beliefs expressed by the invocation speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the Councilor
staf� f}
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. RECOGNITION OF GIFTS, DONATIONS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE TO THE CITY
(a) Resolution No. 15475 - Resolution Accepting Donations from Mary Laatsch Sara
Ms. Laatsch Sara donated to the City items such as an 1860-1870 blanket and a tea set,
along with other historical items.
Motion by Christensen, second by May, to approve Resolution No. 15475. Motion
carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(This is an opportunity fog° members of the public to address the City Council. If the topic you would like to discuss is on
the agenda, please ask the Mayor if he will be accepting public comments during the agenda item if not a public hearing.
If you have a question, concern or comment, please ask to be recognized by the mayor —state your name and address fog°
the record. Please keep comments under 5 minutes. Individuals wishing to speakfor more than five minutes should ask to
be included on the agenda in advance of the meeting. All comments are appreciated, butplease refrain f oni personal or
derogatory attacks on individuals)
5. CITIZENS ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL
Dawn Gillman, endorsed candidate for US House of Representative Seat 17A for McLeod
County, introduced herself to the Council.
6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
(a) Council Workshop of July 12, 2022
(b) Regular Meeting of July 12, 2022
Motion by May, second by Sebesta, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES —July 26, 2022
unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA
(The iten2s listedfor consideration will be enacted by one motion unless the Mayor, a member of the City Council or
a city staff member requests an item to be removed. Traditionally iten2s are not discussed)
7. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA I
(a) Consideration for Approval of Riverside Church Event on July 29, 2022, in Library
Square/V Avenue SE
(b) Consideration for Approval of Reaffirmation of City of Hutchinson Data Practices Policies
(c) Consideration for Approval of Improvement Project Change Order No. 2 — Letting No. 6,
Project No. 21-06 (Water/Wastewater SCADA System Improvements)
(d) Consideration for Approval of Improvement Project Change Order No. 4 & 5 — Letting
No. 1, Project No. 22-01 (2022 Pavement Management Program)
(e) Consideration for Approval of Resolution No. 15474 — Resolution Adopting Findings of
Fact and Reasons for Approval of a Conditional Use Permit for an Addition to an Existing
Building in an I/C Zoning District Located at 110 4th Avenue NE With Favorable Planning
Commission Recommendation
(f) Claims, Appropriations and Contract Payments — Register A
Motion by Czmowski, second by Christensen, to approve Consent Agenda L Motion
carried unanimously.
8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA II
(a) Claims, Appropriations and Contract Payments — Register B
Motion by Czmowski, second by May, with Forcier abstaining, to approve Consent
Agenda IL Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARINGS — 6:00 P.M. - NONE
COMMUNICATIONS, REQUESTS AND PETITIONS
(Thepurpose of this portion of the agenda is to provide the Council with information necessary to craft wisepolicy.
Includes iten2s like monthly or annual reports and coniniunications f on2 other entities.)
9. DISCUSSION ON POLICE FACILITY PROJECT FUNDING, DEBT LEVELS AND
RESERVES
Andy Reid, Finance Director, presented before the Council. Mr. Reid explained that staff is in
the process of structuring the 2022 bond issuance to provide sufficient funds to complete the
police facility project. The new debt will increase the City's debt tax levy which is assessed
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -July 26, 2022
and paid by property owners over a 30-year debt term starting in 2022 through 2051. Staff
and the Council need to discuss several considerations in order to structure the debt in the
most prudent manner to minimize the financial impact to the City and taxpayers. These
considerations include: 1. Increased policy facility project costs due to soil corrections and
other change orders (estimated at an additional $575,000 from the December 2021 estimate —
fund with higher debt or reserves?); 2. Rising interest rates on bonds issued to finance the
project (increase the cost of debt and ultimately the City's debt tax levy); 3. Proceeds from the
sale of the existing police station and EOC (reduce debt issued by "borrowing" an estimated
amount from city reserves and replenish the reserves when the proceeds are received — this
has the lowest debt level and debt tax levy, use proceeds when received to reduce future debt
levies, use proceeds for other projects by increasing debt); 4. Other projects currently in
progress or desired by the City Council in the near future (Civic Arena roof project requires
approximately $1.3 million of city reserves to complete, Council has a desire for a splash pad);
5. City reserve funds available to offset current project costs or finance future projects (review
available reserves and discuss potential impacts to the City and its bond rating); 6. The
funding shortfall for heavy equipment and potential debt in the near future (essential snow
plow trucks and fire trucks are too expensive to fund with the annual $350,000 budget); 7.
Ultimate impact on the City's debt tax levy based on the City Council's decisions regarding
debt levels and the splash pad.
Mr. Reid reviewed the police facility construction project which has an estimated project cost
of $14,800,000. The funding sources for the project include net bond proceeds, $3 million
from community improvement funds and other cash reserves. Mr. Reid noted that the existing
police department and EOC cannot be sold until after the new facility is complete and after the
final debt is issued. An option is to use city reserves temporarily as a way to use the sales
proceeds to reduce the City's debt and ultimately reduce the debt tax levy. The reserves
would be replenished when the police department and EOC are sold. Mr. Reid reviewed
other items such as the facilities plan and projects scheduled through 2025, the City reserves
available, and the fleet plan.
Mr. Reid then reviewed three options to consider for the tax impact of the new police debt:
Option 1: December 2021 debt plan revised for higher police department cost and use
reserves to lower the debt until the existing police department and EOC are sold; Option 2:
Use police department and EOC sales proceeds to reduce tax levy over life of new debt (still
have higher cost of debt); Option 3: Issue additional $1.3 million of police debt to avoid using
City reserves (dedicate those reserves to other projects). Mr. Reid also provided three
different options with various debt levy increases ranging from 2.3%-9.0% and how they
impact the overall total levy percentage increase. All three options assume a general fund levy
increase of 4%. Option 1 has the least impact on tax levy; Option 2 has the least impact on
reserves; Option 3 is a combination of the two. The Council has concerns about using too
much from reserves for other projects, such as the splash pad project. Overall, the Council
wishes to keep the total levy increase as low as possible and not use too much of reserves.
More formal action will be taken on this item at a meeting in August.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
10. APPROVE/DENY ORDINANCE NO. 22-830 — AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 94 — CEMETERIES (SECOND READING AND ADOPTION)
No changes have been made to this ordinance since the first reading held at the last Council
meeting.
Motion by Czmowski, second by May, to approve second reading and adoption of Ordinance
No. 22-830. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES —July 26, 2022
NEW BUSINESS
GOVERNANCE
(The purpose of this portion of the agenda is to deal with organizational development issues, including policies,
performances, and other matters that manage the logistics of the organization. May include monitoring reports,
policy development and governance process items.)
11. MINUTES/REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS
a) Liquor Hutch Quarterly Report for January -June 2022
b) City of Hutchinson Financial Report and Investment Report for June 2022
c) Public Arts Commission Minutes from June 8, 2022
d) Hutchinson Housing & Redevelopment Authority Board Minutes from June 21, 2022
(e) Planning Commission Minutes from June 21, 2022
MISCELLANEOUS
12. STAFF UPDATES
John Olson — John Olson, Public Works Manager, presented before the Council. Mr. Olson
mentioned that there are households using irrigation systems and some systems' heads are
pointed towards the street. When these dry up, areas under the curb on the street settle and
cause uneven pavement. He asked that homeowners with irrigation systems make sure the heads
are pointed in the yards and not towards the street. Mr. Olson also spoke about some projects
that his department is working on.
Lynn Neumann — Lynn Neumann, PRCE Director, presented before the Council. Ms. Neumann
provided an update on activities at the aquatic center, which is scheduled to close August 21"
with morning lap swimming staying open until August 26th. Ms. Neumann also noted that anew
playground was installed at Kiwanis Park (Rocket Hill).
Matt Jaunich — Mr. Jaunich reminded the Council that the August 9th meeting will begin at 4:00
p.m. due to the primary election.
13. COUNCIL/MAYOR UPDATE
Chad Czmowski — Council Member Czmowski asked about political candidates speaking
during the Public Comments section. Mr. Jaunich noted that several candidates request to be
placed on the agenda as an agenda item but staff informs them they can introduce themselves
during Public Comments as no one can really be denied to present during that time.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by May, second by Christensen, to adjourn at 6:35 p.m. Motion carried
unanimously.
ATTEST:
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -July 26, 2022
Gary T. Forcier Matthew Jaunich
Mayor City Administrator