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04/15/2004 - Operations CommitteerofVNIC, AGENDA FINANCE, PERSONNEL AND COMMUNITY CENTER OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY APRIL 15, 2004 4:15 P.M. CONFERENCE ROOMS 2A & AB I. v�- ROLL CALL AND AGENDA ADOPTION H. ✓ FINANCE COMMITTEE a.) Water and Sanitary Sewer Infrastructure Leaseback b.) Schedule Date to Review Cedar Grove TIF Financing III. ✓PERSONNEL COMMITTEE a.) Review New Position Classification to Replace Time Spent Profile (TSP's) IV. COMMUNITY CENTER OPERATIONS COMMITTEE ,,ol'a.) Fitness Memberships for: Full-time, part-time, regular employees, volunteer firefighters, Discuss Medica / Health Partners approach and the fitness class offerings / demand , �Ab.) Fourth of July Fees FQ� "" � --� o�� -t a•� 8 --� �) Eagan Foundation Event / Liquor Provider VY) Proposed Snoopy Statue Lobby Plantings and Furniture Arrangement ow o � � f.) Other Business / Updates 1.) Maps at Civic Arena and City Hall ,y C V 2.). Naming of the Teen Center V. OTHER BUSINESS �a+s VI. ADJOURNMENT TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: MEMO City of Eagan HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBER CARLSON CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES APRIL 13, 2004 CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETINGS / APRIL 15, 2004 Prior to the advisory commission interviews on April 15, 2004, three City Council Committee meetings have been scheduled—Finance, Per and Community Center Operations. As the agenda indicates, the Finance and Personnel committee meetings are needed to obtain direction on three straightforward items, and thus should only require a few minutes. The balance of the agenda is dedicated towards the Operations Committee, which includes numerous agenda items that have been prioritized. Should the committee find that there is not enough time to discuss all of the items and if it is the desire of the Committee, a subsequent Operations Committee meeting could be scheduled on April 19 prior to the advisory commission interviews. The following committee items are scheduled to be discussed at the April 15 meeting. Finance Committee Water and Sanitary Sewer Infrastructure Leaseback At the January 6th Finance Committee meeting staff was directed to: 1.) get more information from cities that are participating in the transaction to determine "the what and the why" of their processes; perhaps inviting them to a joint meeting; and 2.) to further research the question of whether or not the leased assets would be removed form the financial statements of the City, since it appeared to be an issue for Minneapolis, and what the implications of that removal might be for Eagan. At the January 6 meeting, the Mayor also agreed to engage in a conference call with the Office of the State Auditor to directly get the position of that Office on this potential transaction. With the negative publicity swirling about the potential transaction, staff has not proceeded to complete the above referenced research noting that the time spent may not be beneficial and that available time is better allocated to other projects. At this time, staff is requesting that the Finance Committee 1.) reaffirm the previous direction with a priority established to it; 2) recommend to the full City Council that the plug be pulled entirely on the City's interest in pursuing the potential transaction; or, 3) place the entire project including the previous direction in a "wait and see" mode to be addressed at a later date. Given the continued publicity, most of which is negative and critical, and potential action regarding both State and Federal concerns over lease/leaseback transactions for tax benefits, staff is recommending the second course of action; that the Finance Committee recommend to the full City Finance, Personnel, and Operations Committee Meetings April 15, 2004 Page 2 Council that the plug be pulled entirely on the City's interest in pursuing the potential transaction and that the appropriate parties be notified of this action. Schedule Date to Review Cedar Grove TIF Financing At the Special City Council Meeting held on March 9, 2004 the Cedar Grove Redevelopment District Funding Discussion was on the agenda. The City Council directed the item to Finance Committee per the following minutes. VI. CEDAR GROVE REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FUNDING DISCUSSION City Administrator Hedges introduced the item, noting that the City Council previously gave direction to staff to prepare a summary of the financial information associated with the Cedar Grove Redevelopment District. Community Development Director Hohenstein provided the City Council with a presentation on the background of the Cedar Grove Redevelopment Area financing. Hohenstein added that the current development finance model for the Cedar Grove area projects the tax increment may be able to support about $3 million of the public improvement costs, and added that it will be necessary to find other sources to fund the balance of the project costs. Hohenstein then provided a list of options that the City Council may wish to consider, including: 1.) improvement bonds, 2.) major street fund, 3.) tax increment, and 4.) tax increment bonds. The City Council discussed the options and noted that they had some questions on the assessments. Council provided direction to refer the discussion on the Cedar Grove financing to the Finance Committee. Staff is requesting that a date be set for a Finance Committee meeting to discuss the Cedar Grove financing. Personnel Committee Review New Position Classification to Replace Time Spent Profile (TSP) In response to concerns regarding the current job evaluation system utilized by the City—the Time Spent Profile (TSP) --staff has been exploring other approaches to better evaluate positions. Staff is seeking committee direction to further pursue the job evaluation system that has been developed by Rod Kelsey, Principal Consultant and Vice President of Riley, Dettmann, and Kelsey, a consulting firm that focuses on compensation strategies, particularly within local governments. 0 Finance, Personnel, and Operations Committee Meetings April 15, 2004 Page 3 Community Center Operations Committee Fitness Memberships: ❑ For Full-time. Part-time, Regular Employees. and Volunteer firefighters City staff has been in communication with the City Attorney regarding whether City employees would be eligible for fitness memberships at the Community Center. Enclosed on pages _E through Lo is a memo from the City Attorney, which states that the City is legally permitted to pursue an arrangement with the Community Center whereby employees could become members. In summary, the City Attorney has stated that fitness memberships could be offered to City employees that receive health benefits from the City; however, employees' dependents would not be eligible for paid fitness memberships. The Attorney also noted that volunteer firefighters could be eligible for the fitness memberships, particularly since the membership would provide the firefighters with the facilities to ensure they are meeting the physical requirements to be a volunteer firefighter. Currently, numerous cities within the metro area are offering such fitness memberships as a health and wellness initiative. Enclosed on pages -1 through 14— are survey results from eight communities regarding employee fitness benefits. Through the survey, it was found that, cities that offer fitness memberships to their employees experience a healthier work force, which in theory, results in lower health care costs and premiums, less absenteeism, and more productive workers. ❑ Discuss Medica / Health Partners 41, r� oach Currently, Medica and Health Partners offer a program wherein their clients can receive discounted fitness memberships at various fitness clubs. Medica offers the discount for membership at Lifetime Fitness, and Health Partners offers the discount for membership at the YMCA or Northwest Athletic Clubs. Under both programs, the monthly fitness club membership fee is reduced by $20 provided that the member attends the club a minimum of eight times per month. If it is the desire of the Committee, staff could further research the City's options regarding employee fitness memberships, including whether Medica and/or Health Partners would be interested in pursuing an arrangement with the Community Center similar to the relationship they currently have with other fitness clubs in our community. ❑ Fitness Class Offerings /Demand Community Center Manger Breuer will be present to provide an update on the current fitness classes being offered, as well as the current demand for group fitness classes. Fourth of July, Fees In preparation for the Fourth of July festivities at the Community Center and Central Park, the Committee is asked to discuss the fees that will be associated with the various uses and whether it is the Committee's recommendation to waive any or all fees associated with the Forth of July festival events. 3 Finance, Personnel, and Operations Committee Meetings April 15, 2004 Page 4 Eagan Foundation Event / Liquor Provider The Committee is asked to discuss the recent request by the Eagan Foundation to use a different liquor provider—other than the one contracted by the Community Center—for their annual Wine and Cheese Event this May. Proposed Snoopy Statue There has been interest expressed by the ECVB to sponsor a Snoopy statue in what will be the final Peanuts on Parade exhibit in the City of St Paul this summer. If it is the desire of the ECVB Board to sponsor a Snoopy statue, it has been suggested that the Snoopy statue be displayed at the Community Center once the Peanuts on Parade exhibit has ended. The Committee is asked to discuss whether the Snoopy statue should be displayed at the Community Center if the statue sponsorship is approved by the ECVB Board. Lobby Plantings and Furniture Arrangement Per the request of the Operations Committee, efforts have been made to add plant materials at the Community Center, predominantly in the upper entryway. Recognizing the value of seeing plant and furniture layout designs first hand, the next Operations Committee meeting is planned to be scheduled at the Community Center. In preparation for the next meeting, the Committee is asked to review drawings of potential lobby layouts/designs and offer further input. Other Business / Updates: ❑ Maas at Civic Arena and Citi° Hall It has come to the City's attention that there is some confusion due to the similarity on names of the Eagan Civic Arena and the Eagan Community Center. To assist residents, a large map has been prepared and will be posted at the Civic Arena and at City Hall to guide residents to both facilities. ❑ Naming of the Teen Center , Per the request of the Operations Committee, the Teen Advisory Board has been soliciting suggestions for the future name of the Teen Center at the Community Center. Cherryl Mesko, Parks and Recreation Office Supervisor, will be present to provide and update on the teens efforts thus far. /s/ Thomas L. Hedges City Administrator �ir SEVERSON, SHELDON, DOUGHERTY & MOLENDA, P.A. TO: Michael G. Dougherty FROM: Terry A. Merritt RE: Gene VanOverbeke Draft Memorandum DATE: April 13, 2004 Community center employee memberships could be determined by the City Council to provide for a healthier, more physically fit workforce, which is a benefit to the city. Thus, a reduced cost or free membership to employees working at the community center could be an appropriate benefit. Of course, since this is a benefit to the employees, it should be considered as part of their compensation package and discussed at budget time. For the full or reduced cost membership to not be included as taxable compensation, the benefit must fall into one of the following categories: 1. No additional cost service; 2. Diminimus fringe benefits; or 3. Discount of no more than 20% of the price at which the employer is offering the service to customers. For the no additional cost service, the use of the facility by city employees would necessarily need to avoid the prevention of its use by a paying customer. This raises an issue when an employee arrives at a slow time, but as the place fills up, the person's presence prevents a paying customer from being admitted at a later time. Historically, airlines have allowed workers to fly for free under this provision, only if there is space available, that space being available immediately before takeoff. While it is justifiable to allow the city employees a full or discounted membership, it would appear that they would not be able to extend that same benefit to spouses or dependents. A measure of the effectiveness of the benefit would be whether there is a reduction in sick days used. r In response to issue Paragraph No. 3, is there a job component in both the firefighters and police officers concerning fitness? If there is, a fitness requirement, and failure to meet that fitness requirement results in loss of the position, it would appear that the use of the community center athletic equipment, would provide the necessary opportunity for the employees to remain physically fit in compliance with the specific job requirements. The city would not need to worry about monitoring usage, since the failure of a police officer or firefighter to meet the job requirement would result in that person no longer being a member of the user group thereby no longer a cost to the city for the community center use. In response to No. 4, the city may wish to include as a part of its request for proposal the inclusion in any healthcare submission, the inclusion of the city's community center as one of the recreation facility along with other private facilities, such as Lifetime Fitness, YMCA, or Northwest, that would be used by the providers' members.. Further, the city may wish to investigate whether some form of discount to those insurers would motivate them to include the city's community center as an option for its members. FOR UI I. 2 4 GNU of ea4an To: Sandy Breuer, Community Center Manager Ken Vraa, Director of Parks and Recreation FROM: Beth Wielde, Parks Research and Special Projects DATE: January 8, 2004 RE: Employee Fitness Center Benefits Survey SURVEY RESULTS 16 municipalities were contacted to request information about their employee fitness benefits; specifically whether employees receive memberships to their municipal fitness facility for free or at a discounted rate. Eight municipalities (50% response) were able to share their information, communities that operated a community center with a fitness element. The community centers were generally from the Metro area, with two exceptions, Waconia and LeSueur. But both these non -metro facilities operate a fitness component, and were therefore included in the analysis. The eight communities participating in the survey are: • Chaska • Maplewood • Eden Prairie • New Brighton • LeSueur • Shoreview • Maple Grove • Waconia A -Mow= lip v! Y Q 1. Do employees receive memberships or discounted rates to your fitness facility as an employee benefit? City Employee Fitness Memberships Discounted Rates 0% WA 0% Chaska Family membership is discounted. Eden Prairie Eden Prairie indicated "Other" as their response to this question. "Free use of fitness center, swimming pool during open and lap swim, and ice arenas during open skate. Free use of the racquetball courts for walk-on times (when not reserved by public). Employees can reserve courts at resident rate (participation in a league requires full payment). Employees have access to classes offered at the Communitv Center. Maple Grove Maple Grove was the only facility who indicated "No Discounts." City employees receive corporate rates at the Northwest Athletic Club since they do not have a fitness component to the City -operated facility. 2. If City employees receive a benefit or discount, is it applicable to all City employees, or only certain departments, such as Police, Fire, or Community Center employees? Note: The only respondent who was unable to answer this question was Maple Grove, who does not operate a fitness component. They have instead partnered with Northwest Athletic Clubs. Which Employees Get Discount by Department Other 0% Community Center Only 0% Police Only 0% Fre Only 0% Police and Fre 0% 3. Are fitness benefits restricted to full-time employees only, or are all employees (part time, seasonal) allowed to partake in the benefit? Note: Maplewood had two responses. Fitness Benefits Extended to Which Employee Groups WA 13% FT Only 13% Fr and PT 37% Only Full -Time Full -Time and Part -Time Full -Time, Part- Time, and Seasonal Other N/A Eden Prairie _ Chaska Shoreview Maplewood Maple Grove Maplewood Waconia (paid per call fire fighters) LeSueur New Brighton Note: Waconia seasonal employees receive the benefit only while they work for the City. 4. If part time and seasonal employees are allowed to partake in the benefit, what are the conditions they must fulfill? Chaska- part-time employees must work a minimum of 10 hours per week. New Brighton- they must work at least 20 hours per week. Maplewood- "Full-time and regular part-time employees and paid -per -call firefighters have their membership paid by the city. Regular part-time meaning `benefit -earning' employees working minimum of 15 hours per week. Temp/seasonal and casual part-time employees can obtain a pass plus $1 for a one -day visit. These must be signed by their supervisor. The passes are obtained from the HR Dept. Shoreview- "As long as an employee is active on our payroll system, they can access these benefits. That could mean if they only work a few hours a week they can still use these benefits." w:uKti�v'ibA�.. SY. ar ... .. .. �Yp`, .. ...offNbat�u mak. ateW .,'�: WYsJK.. #9 vii�tb4, '. Np1�i! .:. .0 ... .. .:.".�aw,r. �w ? . ��ak � �:.r.-'-�..i, Mwn-i(oVJ. xr .�.., i%�� .e.. •6E..> •� F Fia �:': .._ .. •� F 5. Is the benefit part of a formal employee Health and Wellness initiative your city is undertaking through Human Resources, or is the benefit through Community Center policy? Chaska. and Waconia have indicated their employee fitness program is a benefit offered through the City. All others have indicated it is part of a Health and Wellness initiative. Origin of Employee Fitness Benefit HeaIth and W&kwas trdliait % Maple Grove Through Medica Maplewood Through Human Resources Shoreview Will be reviewing the program for updating and revamping. Waconia Started as benefit through Community Center policy. Justified as part of a health and wellness initiative just implemented. 6. Are employee family members permitted to add onto the employee membership? If so explain the added fee structure if there is one and criteria. Other o% Chaska Adults free, famly membership is discounted. "No, employee benefd only." "Employees can upgrade their memberships to family status by paying 1/2 the normal Eden Prairie LeSeuer family membership fee." No fitness center Maple Grove "If the employee wants his/her family to join, they would pay the difference between the Maplewood employee rate which is the single resident rate and the resident family rate." Yes. Family members living in the same household can be added for no additional New Brighton charge. "All employees are given an individual membership, but only full-time empoyees are allowed to add family members onto memberships. Either a Family or a Dual Membership can be upgraded for a fee. To determine the add-on fee, we take the cost of a single adult membership from the family or dual rate." To upgrade to a Family Membership, take Family Membership cost ($495), subtract Individual Member Cost ($290), leaving an upgrade fee of $205. To upgrade to a Dual Membership, take the Dual Membership cost ($440), subtract Individual Membership cost ($290), leaving an upgrade fee of $150. Shoreview notes that there are both resident and non-resident Shoreview membership fees, and when calculating the fees for employees, they use 'resident' rates. Waconia FT employees may add family at discounted rates. PT and Seasonal may not. /6 va� �4 7. Is the benefit provided by Council decision or authorization, or was it an internal decision to offer the benefit? Chaska Intemal decision Eden Prairie Been in place for 20+ years, unknown who initiated it. LeSeuer It was an intemal decision made by the City Administrator Maple Grove Maplewood No fitness center Intemal decision New Brighton A Family Service Center membership is approved on an annual basis as part of our employee compensation resolution. Shoreview Council decision Waconia _ Ct Council decision at the beginning of operations. 8. What percentage of employees would you estimate take advantage of the fitness benefit? y ESTIMATES Chaska 99% Eden Prairie 5% or less LeSeuer 40% Maple Grove - No fitness center Maplewood 72% FT and regular PT, 40% ofper-call firefighters. New Brighton 25% Shoreview 50% Waconia 50% AVERAGE 49% ,:. �; ,�.:: .. .. �.:..� ,,„;.....:...: ...�.:. ��„ ,� .....; .�::.... � � Vit,.