City of RE rall NG The City of Red Wing is dedicated to creating, preserving and enhancing the quality of life for all." TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Council Administrator, Kay Kuhlmann DATE: Monday, RE: Agenda Item 4: Report and Discuss Potential Projects & Goals Identified by Council Members Introduction Over the last six months, and specifically during the January Annual City Council Workshop and the April 30, 2018 Budget Workshop, City Council Members identified several ideas that would have a financial impact on the 2019 budget and beyond. This memo will report on each idea brought forward and ask for Council' s direction on how to move forward. Background The City Council and Mayor have been provided with background on department services ( see April 30 Budget Memo), the City' s 2016 Strategic Plan, and information provided by citizens 2017 Community Survey, 2017 Citizen Assembly Report and a Draft of 2040 Goals as of April 2018). At the April 30, 2018 Budget Workshop, the Mayor and Council identified a variety of projects, initiatives, or service -level changes that would impact the budget. Below is a snap analysis of costs associated with those items and a staff recommendation on each. The recommendation can be categorized as the following: 1. Implement these projects are being build into the 2019 budget 2. Develop Policy/ Establish Priority to determine if it should be included in 2019 budget 3. Analyze/ Monitor these projects are not ready to be included in the 2019 budget because they require additional study and/ or should be monitored for future action by the City. 4. Strategic Planning these projects are either futuristic or have long term policy and budget implications and should be part of a broader Strategic Planning process. The opinions/ ideas expressed that do not necessarily have a fiscal impact, usually have an impact on staff time. I have not included these ideas in this memo, but have kept this list and will present as concepts to be discussed as part of the 2019 Strategic Planning Process. Page 1 of 5
Ideas from the January 2019 Annual City Council/ Mayor Workshop 1. Drug Court. The Council was supportive of this new initiative and indicated interest in supporting. Currently the County has led the effort and with the cooperation of other law enforcement agencies like Red Wing, applied for grant funding. Depending on the success of the grant, Council may be asked to consider a contribution. Staff recommends Council be open to a request for funding, but not budget at this time. 2. Columbarium Construction. Proceed with Columbarium construction in 2019 and lower fees for the less desirable niches to fill current columbarium this is in the draft 2019 CIP budget. 3. Purchase MetroQuest as a Community Engagement Tool. This year- long subscription to MetroQuest, an online engagement tool, was purchased in 2018 due to the many planning projects happening in 2018 such as Red Wing 2040, Old West Main/ Upper Harbor, the Library' s Strategic Plan, the 2019 Budget, and more. This annual subscription cost of $21, 000 was made with the understanding that the tool would be evaluated in late summer/early fall to see if another year' s subscription would be recommended. Staff has scheduled a discussion of MetroQuest for an August City Council meeting. Funding will be included in the draft Community Engagement 2019 budget for an additional year, but funds could be used for an alternate engagement tool if 4. the Council decides not to renew the MetroQuest subscription. Create Budget narrative document. The Council has agreed to hire a Finance employee who will be able to complete the desire goal of creating a budget narrative document. The Business Services Director believes this document will be completed by fall of 2019. 5. Funding of Non -profits. Discuss at a policy level, whether the City Council should continue Contracts for Services with non -profits staff believes this is a policy decision that should be made. The financial impact for those that have an ending date in 2018 is roughly $ 85, 800 ($ 24, 000 each of 2017 and 2018 and $ 37, 800 for 18 month in 2017 and 2018 to the Chamber of Commerce). In addition, the City contributes $ 50, 000 a year to 6. Red Wing Unite and offers free or reduced rental rates to Red Wing Ignite, the Red Wing Seniors for Anna Dee' s and Every Hand Joined. Single Sort. Council determined in a policy decision to proceed with Single Sort. Staff has incorporated this effort into the 2019 Capital Plan and is planning for implementation in late 2019. Ideas from the April 30, 2018 City Council/ Mayor Budget Workshop 7. Street Lighting. There are three efforts being pursued on this topic. First, we are attempting to do a better job of communicating with citizens about who to call when street lights are out. The lights are owed by Xcel; we are paying the electrical fee for the lights regardless of whether they are working so it' s in our financial best interest to report lights that are out. Second, we are testing some of the lights that appear to be dimmer than others. If we find that Xcel owned lights are not operating properly we will contact Xcel. If we find that lights are not having the impact necessary to keep the streets well lit, we may recommend the City Council initiate tree trimming in the heavily treed streets. Third, Chief Pohlman has research the correlation between crime and street lighting. He believes there may be a request for additional street lights. Council would be asked to establish a policy for which conditions will trigger a street light and increase the street lighting budget to cover the costs. Page 2 of 5
8. 9. Street Lighting on Hwy 61. The Street lights on Hwy 61 will be converted to LED and turned back on at HWY 61 between Old West Main and Cady Street and North and South Tyler Road. This is in the Capital budget for 2021. These are City Lights fixtures and therefore the City will cover the additional costs. Snow Removal on Trails. Staff will prepare a map of trails in the City and identify those that are being plowed. Policy options include the Council designating which trails will have snow removal in the winter, if property owners should be required to remove snow in the winter (just like sidewalks) and whether trails should be replaced ( as needed) with sidewalks. 10. Organic Composting. Organic composting is an initiative that has been identified as a project by members of the Sustainability Commission and staff. This initiative requires additional analysis. The ideal staff support person is Jeff Schneider who is over busy with the reconstruction of the solid waste campus facility and implementation of the single sort collection plan. Organic Composting should continue to be developed by staff and reviewed by the Sustainability Commission and City Council before being incorporated into a future staff work plan and a Capital budget. 11. Housing. The Council has had considerable discussion on housing in the recent months. Tax Increment Financing, and the Housing Trust Fund are tools currently available for Red Wing to encourage housing. No specific funding is identified in the capital budget for housing incentives. Staff recommends the Council allow additional housing incentives to be developed by the HRA and that a shared understanding of Housing incentive policies be developed by both entities. 12. Skating Rinks. Skating rinks are requested by neighborhood on an infrequent basis. They are difficult to create by residents and expensive to create and maintain by the City. Council is asked to discuss how this project should be prioritized. If the Council feels this is a priority staff will work to develop plans that will be shared at the Joint Recreation Board before coming back to the City Council for final approval. 13. Transition Plan for Electrification of City Fleet. Staff believes this project should be studied in some detail to determine the extent that electrification is possible of the city' s fleet, the cost of transitioning into an electric fleet and the overall rate of return. Staff recommends the City Council discuss this topic during the Strategic Planning Process or direct staff to incorporate the costs of a study into a future capital budget year, depending on the level of support and priority of this project. 14. Additional Community Garden Space. Staff anticipates requesting Council approval to place a community garden near the site of the previous one in the East End. Costs associated with this will be incorporated into the budget based on the year the land will be available, following the completion of the bridge. 15. Youth Council. Staff supports this idea but believes it is going to require a commitment of funding and programming development. Our recommendation is that this topic be discussed as part of the Strategic Planning process and that a partnership with other organization be created to look at youth opportunities in regard to government leadership positions and training. If Council desires this to be a 2019 initiative, staff will develop a budget for programming and staffing costs. At a minimum, we believe cities who have developed and supported Youth Councils invests in excess of $ 35, 000 annually. 16. Old West Main Street Capital Project. Old West Main Street is a complex project with several phases and funding sources. The project has been incorporated into the five year capital improvement budget and council will be asked to make a decision in the near future about the first phase, siting and construction of the pedestrian bridge. Page 3 of 5
17. Levee Wall Project. The Levee Park Dockage and Improvement Project is also a complex project with multiple funding sources. At this time, the primary portion of the project has been funded. This project is in the capital budget and planned to be implemented over the next two years. A new project will be necessary for a future phase to place a larger dock that will accommodate more recreational boats. 18. Fiscal Transparency Tool. The City has explored OpenGov as a tool that provides citizens with great access to city budgets, and great flexibility in how to analyze data. Originally the cost quoted the City was $ 75, 000 annually. In addition to the hard costs, the City will need staff support to provide and maintain the data on the system. We are unsure as to how much staff support will be needed. Currently we are analyzing this request. Staff will have a detailed report to the City Council prior to the 2019 budget approval so that Council can determine the priority of this project. 19. School Referendum Plan. Council discussed whether the City could play a role in the school referendum discussion. The City has a partnership with the school in several areas including the Joint Recreation Board and the Student Resource Officer. The City has extended an invitation to School Superintendent Anderson to attend a City Council meeting to explain the school' s financial situation and the question( s) to be placed on the ballot. Staff seeks direction as to whether there are additional steps the City Council/ Mayor would like to pursue. 20. Storm Water Projects The City has scheduled a major Storm Water Project in the next five years including the recent addition of storm water tunnel repair in conjunction with the Levee Park project Cherry Street. Funding and staff resources limit our ability to complete more projects soon. Staff does not recommend an increase in the storm water management fee at this time, nor would we recommend modifying the current rate structure. Staff have attached a map that identifies all the storm ponds and identified ownership of each. The ponds that the City maintains generally are those that are for multiple users ( regional ponds) or were constructed by a residential housing developer who has no ongoing connection to the neighborhood, nor does a homeowner's association exist. 21. Trail Connections. The City continues to be represented in discussions on various trail connections outside of Red Wing, including work on the Cannon Valley Trail, and the Trail from Red Wing to Hastings and the Mississippi Blufflands State Trail from Red Wing to Lake City. Currently there is funding in the Capital Budget for only one trail that is outside of the City and that is the money dedicated to the 10 year capital improvement plan on the Cannon Valley Trail. Of note, the Cannon Valley Trial will receive 1, 055, 135 in FY 2019 funding from the State Legacy Regional Parks and Trails Fund for bridge work. City representatives continue to participate on all efforts to create trail connections. 22. Mississippi National. Council is aware that the Management Contract with the Red Wing Municipal Golf Corporation ends in December of 2018 and that efforts are being made to renegotiate the agreement. A full presentation is planned for June 11, 2018. Council decisions will determine the future of the Management Contract which will impact the 2019 and future budgets. 23. Marinas and Future Operations. The City Council has leases with several non- profit private marinas and will not expire until 2039. The leases with two for- profit, private marinas are nearer their expiration date ( 2027). In addition the City operates marinas out of Bay Point and Colvill Parks. A discussion on the future of the City' s marina and the Page 4 of 5
long term plan for ownership and/ or expansion should be part of the Strategic Planning Process. 24. Consider Battery Powered Buses. The City has shared this idea with the Hiawatha Transit Bus Division of Three River and trusts that they will explore this initiative. The City contributes approximately 20% of all bus costs, so there could potentially be a cost impact to the City. 25. Determine Downtown Infill Plan. The City has set aside funds for the Downtown Investment Partnership. A pilot program is being launched to create a vital downtown. Staff is not requesting any additional funding for this program at this time. 26. Encourage Commercial Development. This topic is large and should be studied to best determine a wise investment. Staff recommends the topic be added to the list of items to be explored as part of the Strategic Planning Process. 27. Create Marketing Budget for Airport to Promote Asset. The Port Authority provides materials that identify the Airport as a community Asset for business location and expansion; the Board will continue to evaluate improvements to its marketing material, including highlighting the airport as an economic asset to Red Wing. Implement these projects are being included into the 2019 budget Projects listed above that fall into this description include: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 17, and 20 Develop Policy/ Establish Priority these projects need additional study or Council Policy direction to determine if it should be included in 2019 budget Projects listed above that fall into this description include: Projects 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 21, and 22 Analyze/ Monitor these projects are not ready to be included in the 2019 budget because they require additional study and/ or should be monitored for future action by the City. Projects listed above that fall into this description include: 10, 13, 24, 25, and 26 Strategic Planning these projects are either futuristic or have long term policy and budget implications and should be part of a broader Strategic Planning process. Projects listed above that fall into this description include: 15, 23, and 26. Summary The Mayor and City Council Members identified ideas for consideration on city services and projects. Staff has reviewed projects and categorized each with the goal of requesting Council direction. Please review the lists above so that at the budget workshop we can received direction from the Council on our recommended action. In conclusion, I think it' s important to mention that 2019 is the second of a two- year budget effort and is the last year of the planned implementation of the previous Strategic Plan. The Mayor and City Council Members are supportive of initiating a new Strategic Planning process early in 2019 so that the 2020-2021 and the five- year Capital Improvement budget will be more aligned with the Mayor and Council' s vision for our future. Page 5 of 5