City Council Minutes 2014 10 14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes October 14, 2014 Page 12 of 23 Council member Stolzmann agreed with providing sufficient support for the Building Safety Division. She noted the funding requests from 2011 to 2015 have shown significant growth. She requested information on why the increases have increased 80% over the past four years and why the significant resources have not been able to sufficiently support the Department. Mayor Muckle supported the staffing plan, the Historic Preservation Plan and implementing some parts of the parking plan before pursuing the permit process. City Manager Fleming inquired about Council member Stolzmann's projection of the Planning Divisions' budget increase. He stated the overall budget reflects a 7% increase in funding in the 2015 budget. Council member Stolzmann stated she was referring to the departments' actual line items in the budget. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Council member Lipton inquired why the $20,000 funding for special events parking is in the Economic Development Department budget. Economic Development Director DeJong explained it was put into one budget as opposed to fragmented between two budgets. Planning and Building Safety Director Russ explained many of the special events are managed by the City Manager's office, but the analysis would be led by the Planning Department. Council member Lipton asked if this was in addition to the other parking study. Planning and Building Safety Director Russ explained there are a number of parking studies to manage the parking in Old Town. The special events parking study is the $20,000 amount. Council member Stolzmann thought it was odd to see the special events parking in the Economic Development budget. She felt the goals for economic development were excellent, but suggested the focus be on business development and retention. She stated the following goals should not be in the Economic Development Department: parking improvement, the patio project, special events and the preservation of the grain elevator. Council member Keany explained the grain elevator is geared toward getting a commercial tenant. He felt the reuse of the building would fall under economic development. Council member Lipton would like to see more resources in the Economic Development Department. Mayor Muckle agreed. Council member Stolzmann stated the request for the Downtown Business Association funding is for facilitation for economic development. She felt there should be some goals and metrics measured in the Economic Development Department to show the money given is tracked and measured in the downtown area. In order to be transparent,