04 17 23 Work Session MinutesCity Council Work Session April 17, 2023
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City of New Hope
4401 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, Minnesota 55428
City Council Minutes
Work Session Meeting
April 17, 2023
Northwood Conference Room
CALL TO ORDER The New Hope City Council met in work session pursuant to due call and notice thereof;
Mayor Hemken called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
ROLL CALL Council present:
Kathi Hemken, Mayor
John Elder, Council Member
Andy Hoffe, Council Member
Michael Isenberg, Council Member
Jonathan London, Council Member
Staff present:
Tim Hoyt, Acting City Manager
Jeff Alger, Community Development Specialist
Brandon Bell, Comm Dev Coord/Mgmt Analyst
Erin Enstad, Abdo
Vicki Holthaus, Abdo
Rich Johnson, Director of HR/Admin. Services
Valerie Leone, City Clerk
Jeff Sargent, Director of Community Development
Stacy Woods, City Attorney
REVISED AGENDA Motion was made by Council Member Elder, seconded by Council Member London,
to approve the revised agenda adding Item 11.7, Discussion regarding city manager
recruitment process. All present voted in favor. Motion carried.
PLANNING
COMMISSION
UPDATE
Item 11.1
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.1, Update by Planning Commission.
Mr. Jeff Alger, community development specialist, reviewed the role of the Planning
Commission. He explained the members of the Planning Commission also serve on
subcommittees. The Codes & Standards Committee reviews text amendments, and the
Design & Review Committee reviews land use requests before matters are formally
presented to the Planning Commission and City Council.
Mr. Alger stated the planning commission currently has eight members: Roger Landy
(chair), Ray Alkalai, Don Collier, Howard Kaplan, Heather Koshiol, Matt Mannix,
Michael Redden, and Mike Terres. Persons in attendance were recognized (Roger
Landy, Ray Alkalia, Don Collier, Howard Kaplan and Matt Mannix).
Chair Landy reported on the planning commission’s activities in 2022 and 2023.
Planning commissioners and staff responded to questions from Council including the
number of vacant industrial spaces, status of St. Therese’s project, and recent business
relocations.
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Council thanked the Planning Commission for their important work with reviewing
planning cases before the issues are brought to Council.
Chair Landy credited Al Brixius, city planner, for his expertise and assistance.
ELEVATE HENNEPIN
Item 11.2
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.2, Discussion of possible contract
with Hennepin County to become a partner in Elevate Hennepin.
Mr. Brandon Bell, community development coordinator/management analyst,
described the Elevate Hennepin program offered through Hennepin County. He stated
the program is offered to businesses at no cost. If New Hope desires to be a partner,
the county is requesting a financial contribution of $5,000 per year to support the
program. He explained New Hope businesses can access the program even if the city
does not provide funding. He noted the city previously supported “Open to Business”
through Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) for $3,750
annually. The contract was not renewed as Open to Business is one of the advisors
available under the Elevate Hennepin program.
Ms. Mary Matze, Hennepin County, was recognized. She explained the Elevate
Hennepin initiative was launched in 2020‐2021 to help stabilize businesses. She stated
the advisor services include business planning, legal, marketing, financial
management/projections, and lending and preparation to access capital. Ms. Matze
explained that the program helps connect business owners to various resources and
over 1,400 businesses have already received technical assistance. She stated the
advisors are contracted through the county.
Council Member London commented that Elevate Hennepin has a broader scope than
the Open to Business program. He indicated it would be helpful to know the
effectiveness of such programs.
Mr. Bell explained that as a partner city, New Hope would be provided with quarterly
reports.
Mayor Hemken pointed out the savings of not funding Open to Business could offset
the $5,000 contribution for Elevate Hennepin. She noted the Business Network Group
expressed enthusiasm for the program.
Mr. Jeff Alger, community development specialist, stated a link to the program is on
the city’s website. He indicated county staff may conduct site visits to businesses to
proactively raise awareness of the program.
Mayor Hemken thanked Ms. Matzke for the presentation.
Council expressed support to fund the program and directed staff to place the item on
a future council agenda for formal approval.
ENTERPRISE
RESOURCE
PLANNING
SOFTWARE
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.3, Discussion regarding the
replacement of the city’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and Abdo’s
proposal to assist the city in this effort.
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Item 11.3
Mr. Rich Johnson, director of HR/admin services, explained the city has been using an
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system known as JD Edwards by Oracle through
LOGIS since 2001. LOGIS has implemented a new ERP and staff believes there may be
better options at a more reasonable cost in the marketplace.
He stated Abdo has submitted a proposal to evaluate various ERPs and assist the city
in its selection of software. The software review will include finance programs such as
accounts receivable, accounts payable, financial reporting as well as payroll, human
resources, special assessments, recreation, license/permits/ inspections, and utility
billing. Key stakeholders will be included to identify the city’s needs. Abdo has
submitted a proposal to evaluate various ERPs for $22,500 and for chart of accounts
mapping for $7,500. It is recommended to fund the project with IT Reserve Fund
budget and include funding in the 2024 budget.
Ms. Erin Enstad, Abdo, shared the financial implications of continuing with LOGIS.
Discussion ensued regarding potential cost savings, involving key stakeholders to
identify needs, migrating data from the PIMS software to retain historical information,
the need for modules to work together as one database (general ledger must be a true
accounting solution), and continuation of hosting software on a server at LOGIS.
Ms. Vicki Holthaus, Abdo, explained the reason LOGIS was formed in the 1970s was
because there was no full ERP software at that time. She stated Abdo will request
proposals from 30 vendors that serve the local government sector. She explained that
Abdo believes the city will be able to secure comparable or better services than what
LOGIS is offering at a lower price and without a 10‐year commitment. She commented
it is important to determine what functionality is offered in the marketplace.
Mr. Johnson stated the ERP software implementation could take 12‐18 months. The city
will issue a RFP in May and conduct demos with various vendors and stakeholders.
The goal is to go live by calendar year 2025.
Council expressed its confidence in Abdo’s capability to assist the city with the
evaluation process. Staff was directed to place the item on a future council meeting
agenda for formal approval.
JUNETEENTH
Item 11.4
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.4, Discussion regarding Juneteenth
(June 19) which will become a state holiday effective August 1, 2023.
Mr. Rich Johnson, director of HR/admin services, stated on June 17, 2021, President
Biden declared June 19th a federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of
enslaved African Americans. The holiday references June 19, 1865, which is the date
slavery was outlawed in the State of Texas. On February 3, 2023, Governor Tim Walz
signed a bill into law making Juneteenth a holiday in Minnesota. This law is scheduled
to go into effect August 1, 2023. He pointed out there is currently legislation at the state
level that could change the effective date to June 1, 2023.
Mr. Johnson explained that city employees currently have 10 holidays and two floating
holidays. He shared information from the city’s 12 comparable cities and asked Council
for its input regarding implementing Juneteenth for the city of New Hope.
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Council was supportive of adding Juneteenth as an additional holiday effective in
conjunction with the date it becomes a holiday in Minnesota. Staff was directed to place
the item on a future council meeting agenda for formal approval.
ADVANCE
RESIGNATION
POLICY
Item 11.5
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.5, Discussion regarding
implementation of an advance resignation policy.
Mr. Rich Johnson, director of HR/admin services, requested feedback from Council
regarding the possibility of implementing an advance resignation program. He stated
in an effort to provide smooth transitions and adequate time for recruitment, training,
the transfer of institutional knowledge, etc. staff believes it would be in the best interest
of the city to implement a program to provide an incentive to staff members who are
contemplating resignation/retirement from the city to provide a significant advance
notice.
Mr. Johnson pointed out there are several potential retirements in the next three years.
He explained the incentive could be health insurance coverage or a monetary payment
based on the length of notice. He commented that the topic was asked at last week’s
labor management committee meeting.
Council expressed support for the concept but expressed concern regarding the cost.
Mr. Johnson stated he wanted to start the dialogue to see if Council had interest in such
a program before exploring other cities’ policies, creating a draft policy, or reviewing
costs of a program.
Mayor Hemken noted actual costs would be helpful to determine the feasibility of such
a program.
COMPENSATION
STUDY
Item 11.6
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion item 11.6, Discussion regarding conducting
a compensation study update.
Mr. Rich Johnson, director of HR/admin services, explained the city’s 2011
compensation study was updated in 2017. He stated it is typical for a study to be
conducted every five to seven years to ensure that the city’s compensation plan
remains competitive with the market. He stated if Council supports proceeding with a
compensation study an RFP will be drafted and sent out in the near future. There is
$30,000 in the 2023 budget for the study.
Mr. Johnson stated staff will continue to carefully examine each vacancy that occurs to
ensure that position continues to be needed and whether or not any sort of revamping
of the position or reorganization of that department would be beneficial.
Council supported a compensation study update and directed staff to place the item
on a future council meeting agenda for formal approval.
CITY MANAGER
RECRUITMENT
PROCESS
Mayor Hemken introduced for discussion, Discussion regarding city manager
recruitment process.
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Item 11.7 Mr. Tim Hoyt, acting city manager, reminded Council of the May 2 interviews with the
city manager candidate finalists. He asked Council to notify Pat Melvin of DDA if any
additional interview questions were desired.
Mr. Rich Johnson, director of HR/admin services, informed Council it is common
practice, especially with high‐ranking positions, to require a management assessment.
He recommended utilizing Martin‐McAllister Consulting to perform an assessment
and noted the cost is $2,000. He indicated if there are two candidates with high scores
at the May 2 interviews, the Council could choose to have both candidates undergo the
management assessment prior to making an offer. The assessment could assist Council
in selecting a candidate.
Council asked Director Johnson to have Martin‐McAllister hold two spots for New
Hope.
Next Mr. Johnson indicated Council may wish to form a two‐person subcommittee to
negotiate terms of the employment contract with the finalist and the assistance of DDA.
The employment agreement would require formal approval at a council meeting, but
a subcommittee could expedite the process and avoid the need for special council
meetings. It is recommended that the mayor and one council member be appointed to
a subcommittee.
Council agreed to Mayor Hemken and Mayor Pro tem Isenberg serving on the sub‐
committee.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. as there was no further business to come before
the Council at its work session.
Respectfully submitted,
Valerie Leone, City Clerk