Report from Admin and Fin Committee
7.1 Adopt the Commissioners budget priorities for the 2006 budget (
based on surveys turned in by 7, vs the 4 last meeting, commissioners )
GM for Administration Don Siggelkow
The duty of the board is to..
Decide property tax policy
Set fee policies
Define services we will provide
Define service levels
Set salaries and benefits
How these policies are then implemented are up to the superintendent
and staff to work out (I hope that there are SOME boundaries on how )
Do you have a line item budget? yes Can you have one? just ask ( Can
the public ask??? I am asking!!!!)
He then showed the compilation numbers that staff arrived upon from the
7 commissioner surveys they received
Commissioner Hauser asks for the differentiation in Fees 1 and Fees 2
1) what the MPRB presently collects ( as a percentage of the total
cost) and 2) the average % the commissioners would like to see
recovered
Commissioner Young asks how the MPRB is dealing with increased costs
for energy, health insurance and pensions and where would these costs
be found
GM Siggelkow points out the healthcare will rise 20% this year ( 1/2
million ) but there is a one time increase in LGA this year so the
board is not facing budget cuts. Energy costs are expected to increase
between $150,000-$175,000 and pensions are handled by the city and
historically have not been an issue for the MPRB
Commissioner Young as head of the Operations and Environment committee
notes that Maintenance seems to take big hits when the staff chooses
where to cut. How can the Commissioners vote to keep more maintenance.
GM Sigglekow responds that they need to specify this and pick a
different area to cut
Commissioner Erwin points out that the top 10 are in pretty basic
categories like tree removal and replanting, youth sports and
supervision and building and field maintenance he also mentions some on
the bottom like the horse patrol and storm response (gee, just after
the last meeting storm response was very important in reality) he then
asks when the there will be specific discussion and if the board will
meet as a committee of the whole to do this?
Commissioner Dziedzic points out that when they we last elected there
were 137 parkkeepers and now only 115, can the dept absorb more cuts
GM Schmidt admits it could be done but the system would have to change
(Hey Mike... are you talking about outsourcing union jobs here????? )
Commissioner Dziedzic and President Olson have words over how long
Commissioner Dziedzic has been speaking
Commissioner Mason states that in her 8 1/2 years there have never been
discussions about the specifics in regard to budgeting (amongst the
commissioners) and that it mostly came to picking where to do
eliminations. She then makes a motion for a meeting of the board as a
Committee of the Whole where the budget talks will be the only agenda
item.
Commissioner Berry Graves seconds the motion and would like more
details from GM Schmidt about his last statement ( Liz would too)
She is hearing that we are maintaining at the current level and that
people want it better so what options would be needed.
OPEN TIME
President Olson has 11 people signed up for OPEN TIME and 15 minutes
available so doing the math comes up with 1 minute 20 sec per speaker
(but there were not 11 people and he should maybe have confirmed that )
Barb Stevens of the West Calhoun Neighborhood shows maps of Lake
Calhoun and points out where they need Stop signs for safety. There
are 5 stop signs on the other side of the lake along the Parkway and
they have ZERO. She mentions petitions ( 95% of those asked, signed )
Mary Tate presents the resolution and the signed petitions requesting
stop signs at W 36TH ST, W 32ND ST, and at the exit for the parking lot
at the Lake Calhoun Executive Center. They would like to prevent a
tragedy from happening in a 25mph zone where speeds average nearer 40
mph
Meg Fourney
In light of the Board recently taking the initiative for a
comprehensive look at Lake Calhoun, and now taking into account these
residents' comments, I would like to remind the Board of 3 items:
1) In 1997, appointed to the Park Board's Parkway Traffic Study, I
served to address effective and consistent traffic calming methods.
Clearly West Calhoun is inconsistent with East Calhoun, as they have
stop signs at every intersection and West Calhoun has none. The 2004
Traffic Study Addendum suggests raised pedestrian crosswalks are
effective.
2) The Chain of Lakes Study, with architect Michael Van Valkenberg,
addressed commuter use of the Parkways through the continuous parkway
intersections, and suggested breaking the continuous path with
t-intersections. Commuter traffic has seriously increased since his
recommendations. Breaking the pattern is essential. These
t-intersections, as well as other alternatives to decrease commuter
traffic need revisiting.
3) The shared private-public parking lot at the Lake Calhoun Executive
Center, although it is seriously under-utilized-still after a dozen
years of this shared use agreement, the use has significantly increased
in the amount of pedestrian crossings from that lot to the lake, across
West Calhoun Parkway. This is a serious "blinded" crossing. the
elimination of parking bays should be examined.
I hope the Board will address the West Calhoun inconsistencies and be
pro-active in setting a balanced comprehensive plan for Lake Calhoun
that re-evaluates the public's use and enjoyment in light of private
use and development.
(text provided by Ms. Fourney)
Liz Wielinski
I would like to thank you for again providing me with this OPEN TIME
opportunity to address the board.
In 2004 while setting the budget for the current year the
superintendent recommended the following to balance the budget...
1) Current positions that will be held vacant during the transition
and historical ( $353,000 )
But then Mr. Hokeness and Mr. Oyanagi were hired (apprx $90,000
each)
2) Eliminate contributions to Midtown Greenway ($20,000) and Brain
Coyle ($18,000 )
On March 2, 2005 the funding for the Midtown Greenway is
restored.
3) Contractual reductions for public relations, archives, historian
and youth sports ( $28,000)
We now have the talented Ms. Sommers ( approx $13,000 for 1/4
year)
By my reckoning cuts of $419,000 are now down to $215,000. Where
did the $200,000 come from?
The other part of the 2005 budget that has me concerned is the 1/2
million dollar Superintendent's Innovation Fund. It was billed as a
fund for one time investments that could produce long term savings. I
would like to have an accounting of the Innovation Fund from January to
the present given by the accounting staff, maybe Rich Theis the Finance
Manager could bring everyone up to date in a staff presentation. I
think it would serve everyone well to see how last years budget
decisions have panned out going into this years plan. Hopefully at
that time he could also report on whether the
Park Permanent Improvement Fund deficit fund balance as of Dec. 31,
2004, was paid back with capital program money and/or private
contributions in 2005 as stated in the 2004 Annual Financial Report.
Commissioner Hauser makes a comment about the Innovation Fund being
tabled ( since when does that mean you folks aren't spending the
money???? )
Joan Berthiaume and Ted Wirth offer an open invitation to all board
members and the public to the Historic Theodore Wirth House in Lyndale
Farmstead Park on Saturday the 8th of October from noon to 4pm
Brad Pass
Mr. Pass lives one block south of East Phillips Park and also served on
the Cities' Long-range Improvement Committee (CLIC)
After having seen the MPRB's requests for funding from CLIC he was mad
that the kids of East Phillips Park who are some of the poorest in the
city were once again passed over for a recreation center and that the
MPRB felt that $1.2 million dollars for astro turf at Parade Stadium
was a more worthy project
Carol Pass
Mrs. Pass protested the plan for expenditures at CLIC and is ashamed
and embarrassed that the MPRB keeps passing over the very deserving
kids and adults of the East Phillips area and thinks the MPRB
priorities are bad. Unlike other parts of town, the parents from her
area are often single parents working more than one job and do not have
the time to come to these meetings and state their opinions. She will
be letting everyone including the media know how she feels about the
rotten priorities this board has set in regards to her neighborhood.
Bill Zeigler, Executive Director , Little Earth United Tribes
Mr. Zeigler thanks the MPRB police for their stepped up patrolling of
Cedar Fields. He then goes on to say that Mrs. Pass has hit it on the
head. 75% of the population in his area is under 18 ( 500 kids ) and
most are from families living on less than $18,000 a year. ( Mr.
Zeigler, Mr. Pass and Mrs. Pass are directed to Judd Rietkerk of the
planning dept )
End Part 2
more about the budget and renting out the Stone Arch Bridge still to
come....
Liz Wielinski
Columbia Park
www.mplsparkwatch.org
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