Buffalo City Council Meeting, June 7th 2021

Councilman O'Rourke is sick today and not present
00:01:54 - Start, Buffalo Days Announcement
00:03:23 - Concerts in the Park - July 1st
00:04:55 - Last two Concerts in the Park will be offsite due to work in Sturges Park
00:05:29 - Going to be tiering the hill in front of the bandshell
00:05:45 - Buffalo Triathalon was last weekend
00:07:45 - Kathy Lang - Made afgans for the victims of the Allina Clinic Shooting
00:09:20 - Corey Brown - Manager of Buffalo Bulldogs, town baseball team manager. Fox 9 is coming to Buffalo this Wednesday
00:12:35 - Young Girl (can't make out name) - Asking for Chickens to be allowed in Buffalo
00:14:05 - Petition on Change.Org to get chickens to be allowed
00:14:33 - City's Position is that they are allowed in Agricultural zones only.
00:15:07 - Jennifer Nash - Monticello has a fowl registration system. It's continually debated
00:17:44 - Jeremiah Patrick (Audio is muted) - In previous years, respondants to the city's polls were about 10-15%. In the last budget meeting, a FlashVote response was cited as a way to direct city found and financial choices. How will the city engage with people who do not engage online often?
00:19:20 - Mayor Lachemeier - There are a lot of people who don't use technology, I'd hope there's a way we can reach out to them
00:19:28 - Alison Matthees - FlashVote is a cool tool, but it's just a bonus this year
00:19:37 - We're not undoing any methods we've used in the past, we are still using other engagement methods
00:19:50 - Many cities don't have the financial resources to have a giant survey every year - those are rare things that happen once per 5-10 years
00:20:00 - We encourage residents to call in to city hall, engage with City Counselors and the Mayor
00:20:24 - FlashVote is not replacing or removing anything
00:21:23 - Jeremiah Patrick (Audio is muted) - The golf course has taken $7M from the utilities funds and it needs more money. Will that funding be open to a referendum? How will you inform the public on increasing taxes to support the golf course?
00:21:38 - Ashley Hansen - Over the course of 2021 we are exploring the feasibility of continuing to fund the golf course
00:22:10 - We have been looking into buisness plans, other use of the property
00:22:19 - At the current time we are under the assumption that the golf course will remain operational and planning the budget in accordance with that
00:22:35 - If the city council decides to do something different, we can take that into account
00:22:39 - We will be having another budget workshop in August where we present the preliminary budget and levy (taxes). It would be approved in September. These discussions are public
00:23:11 - Jeremiah Patrick (Audio is muted) - Smart grid/radio read water meters are being rolled out in the city. We've seen the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack, JBS attack, and the Biden Administration is saying that we should expect for this to be normal hereafter. Can we move away from a smart grid?
00:24:30 - Mayor Lachemeier - It's very labor intensive to have people go read the water meters, we would prefer to look at security to make sure that what we can provide to our citizens is safe.
00:24:55 - We have talked about this for many years, it'll loosen up a lot of things for the city in terms of labor-intensive work
00:25:16 - At this time we are moving forward with AMS because it's the right thing for our city, but being cognizant of security
00:25:31 - Administrator Lundeen - In the past we've taken great measures to train people on security, that's not new
00:25:57 - Councilman Downer - We're going to hire a new utilities director, that person's knowledge and opinions will be considered moving forward.
00:26:10 - I would say that AMI, Automated Metering Infrastructure is one of the city's top priorities. A lot of advantages to it
00:26:23 - Your point is well taken, it's a real concern
00:26:32 - Lakeland Florida's water system got hacked a few months ago. No damage
00:26:49 - We are well aware of it, there are other infrastructure that we have that I would be more concerned about than an individual house meter. Smart refrigerators and doorbells
00:27:20 - Ross Miller - My concerns were brought up here, people are discussing these issues outside of these walls. Golf Course, dumping of money into it
00:28:00 - Ross Miller - AMI, security issues with highly connected utilities
00:28:58 - Additions/Deletions - HR system software, Planning Commission Vacancy
00:29:25 - Reports/Recognition
00:29:50 - Councilman Downer - Library Board meets next week, Utilities Director recommendation next meeting
00:30:10 - Consent Agenda Items
00:30:22 - Motion to Accept Consent Agenda - PASS
00:30:42 - Approving findings for Johnsonville for Administrative Penalties
00:31:03 - Resolution 2021-24; Approves findings for Johsonville, LLC
00:32:16 - Motion to approve 4 AYE, 0 NAY
00:32:26 - Hearing has been filed for injunctive relief re:Johsonville LLC
00:32:42 - Johnsonville will be cited $200/week until the flag issue is resolved
00:33:20 - If there are fines and he doesn't pay, assess the property or take other action
00:33:37 - Going through the courts, what would be procedure
00:33:50 - OLD BUISNESS: Agreement with Wright County for Roundabout Dague Ave/Hwy 35
00:34:33 - Justin Kannas - Agreement replaces memo from December, includes additional information
00:35:09 - City will pay for 1/3 of the roundabout, county will pay for rest
00:35:27 - Scheduled for Summer 2022
00:35:53 - Motion to Approve
00:36:10 - Property owner is asking about stakes placed in their yard
00:36:38 - Stakes are proposed right of way/easements
00:37:06 - Property owners who have stakes in their yard should have been contacted already. Please contact city hall if you haven't yet been
00:37:58 - Motion to Approve, 4 AYE, 0 NAY
00:38:09 - Fire Chief John, Officer Appointments
00:38:42 - Recommendation to appoint officers (listed by Fire Chief)
00:39:45 - Councilman Anderson - How will staggering appointments work?
00:40:07 - Fire Chief - I'm not certain how the city wants it to work, we recommend if a place needs to be filled, get applications. Reappointment details
00:43:50 - Ordinance about being able to hit qualifications to be able to fill a position (Fire Captain/Lieutenant), reappoint every year
00:45:42 - Councilman Enter - Motion to Table
00:45:50 - Countilman Downer - I want to acknowledge appointments, and if we made a mistake review next year
00:46:50 - Mayor Lachermeier - Ordinances help us make decisions, we rely on staff to make good decisions
00:48:23 - Councilman Enter - I want to investigate this a bit, I'm an advocate of term limits, we don't want a good old boys club
00:49:40 - Fire Chief John - The police department doesn't have term limits, why should fire department?
00:49:50 - Councliman Enter - I withdraw my motion
00:50:10 - Motion to Approve appointments, 4 AYE, 0 NAY
00:50:40 - Got a grant for additional equipment
00:50:50 - Fire station's roof should be coming up this week, 3 months behind
00:51:16 - Won't likely make open house this year
00:51:34 - NEW BUISNESS: Liquor Store Annual Report
00:52:59 - Overview of 2020 to today
00:55:20 - Record sales year over year
00:57:00 - Face Masks were the 3rd most sold item last year, accounted for 1.5% of total sales
00:58:05 - Now have an app for curbside delivery
00:59:40 - Updated HVAC of facilities
00:59:56 - Customer count is up 3.2% vs 2020
01:01:05 - Beer is biggest seller, Seltzers are a coming out, expecting growth
01:01:50 - Decline in whiskey, gin and tequila is up
01:02:10 - Wine down, possibly due to seltzer
01:03:40 - Market outlook - Coborn's being next will help bring in customers
01:04:31 - Further down the road, cannabis is coming, the city might want to get into it
01:05:00 - What about having a public restroom downtown, what about the liquor store?
01:05:16 - The restroom is limited to store hours, public is free to use the current one
01:06:04 - Improvements and future projects: Last year replaced roof
01:06:23 - Next year, upgrade surveillance and add shelving
01:06:38 - 2022, remodel, add beer cave downtown. 2023 e-commerce
01:07:12 - Buildings will have to be upgraded at some point, new Highway 55 store in 2023?
01:07:32 - Mayor Lachemeier - Employees from the stores have brought up issues about parking/traffic issues
01:08:24 - The second entrance, do we need it?
01:08:35 - Jason: I don't think so, but I'd prefer not to lose it
01:10:58 - Councilman Enter - Don't worry about things
01:11:13 - Councilman Downer - Staff issues?
01:11:22 - Yes, but we've filled those slots
01:12:20 - Ashley Hansen - Purchasing Card issues
01:12:44 - Currently, any purchase over $200 requires going through finance and admin approval
01:13:04 - No longer works with current environment, size of budget
01:13:21 - Policy was created to reconcile with reality
01:13:48 - Highlights - establishes levels of requirements
01:15:15 - Implement purchasing card program, currently work with checks and electronic orders
01:15:45 - Purchasing cards are a best practice, we'd give cards to dept heads
01:16:45 - Purchasing cards are different than credit cards - amount is due in full at end of cycle
01:17:15 - Mayor Lachemeier - Is this similar to gas cards? Ashley: Yes
01:17:55 - Gas cards will still be used, but P-cards would be used at places like Menards
01:19:17 - Motion to approve both Policies 4 AYE, 0 NAY
01:19:30 - Alison Matthees - City Website Update
01:20:19 - CivicPlus was determined to be the best choice for Buffalo
01:20:50 - 6-8 month to get the site up and off the ground
01:21:44 - CivicPlus is a "cooler" platform, we might be able to get other websites (Wild Marsh, Liquor Store) onto this platform
01:22:25 - Councilman Downer - Staff will be able to make updates?
01:22:40 - Alison - CivicPlus is going to be training staff, should be the easiest to remember when it's time to update
01:23:45 - There is a cost (in thousands) for maintenance
01:24:20 - Motion to Approve 4 AYE, 0 NAY
01:24:30 - ADDITION: HR Software - NeoGov
01:25:18 - Will streamline hiring process, planning to roll this out in 2022, purchase in 2021
01:25:50 - First year cost is $5500, $11k/year for maintenance costs
01:26:16 - Mayor Lachemeier - We have a lot of part time staff, Wild Marsh alone has 50 summer workers
01:27:03 - Motion to Accept NeoGov 4 AYE, 0 NAY
01:27:20 - Planning Commission Appointment to fill hole
01:27:45 - Jennifer Nash - 2 applicants: Susan Mattson and Paul Olson
01:28:16 - Councilman Downer - It's my least favorite thing to do to pick one person, I choose Paul
01:28:50 - Councilman Anderson - I think it's the time for Sue Mattson to take the stage
01:29:14 - Sue is currently on our Library Advisory board, it's been practice to keep people on a single board
01:29:45 - Councilman Downer - Do you foresee having a heritage comission? Mayor: It's happening
01:30:10 - Councilman Downer - There's another opportunity there
01:30:24 - Councilman Enter - I've worked with Paul, I like his background and knowledge
01:30:50 - Motion to accept Paul Olson 3 AYE, 1 NAY
01:31:17 - Staff Updates
01:31:30 - Justin Kannas - Regarding security, Kara is working on Response plan & we are working on plans
01:32:17 - Jennifer Nash - There will be 8 items on the agenda for the next planning meeting
01:32:39 - Alison Matthees - Lee (Park and Rec Director) the civic center will be hosting the Lion's Craft and Rummage Sale
01:33:00 - Griffin Park Boat Rentals are open
01:33:32 - Alison Matthees - Second FlashVote of 2021 will roll out tomorrow
01:34:20 - We've got almost 600 people on FlashVote now
01:35:00 - Administrator Lundeen - After June 14th the emergency may end. Should that happen, Mayor/Council will be required to be here in person.
01:36:02 - We would like to phase out Zoom
01:36:15 - Councilman Downer - Zoom was useful, but in certain circumstances it was hard to get things done well
01:38:21 - Adjourn