Posted: 8/27/03

Wyoming Council hears library update

Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

At the Wyoming City Council meeting Aug. 18, Rick Olseen, county commissioner, shared his plan to jump-start fund raising for library construction in Chisago County.

In his proposal, the county would sell bonds to raise funds for library construction, with cities to provide land for the buildings and pay for subsequent maintenance. He estimated about 10,000 square feet for the Wyoming branch library; 14,000 square feet for a North Branch facility and a Chisago Lakes area branch of 12,000 square feet.

The estimate for the building projects, associated with three libraries, is about $6.5 million, excluding bonding costs. There is time to develop the plan by Sept. 3, 2003. A special levy, such as the library bonding, is outside the levy limits.

ìIf we had to do this alone, we could not get this done,î Olseen said.

Lindstromís library, built in 1973, is the newest in the East Central Library System. Plans are to construct a library in North Branch about three to four times larger than the one there now, which would be adequate for about 20 years.

The location for the Wyoming library is on land donated by the city, south of the city hall.

Tax impact of bonding for the library on a $200,000 home would be about $40 a year.

Financial consultants have been asked to estimate impact on homes about $100,000 in value, as well as those $150,000, commercial land, and agricultural land. Those figures were not available Aug. 18.

Work session review

There were differences of opinion by participants about the results of discussion at the Police/Best practices workshop Aug. 11.

These differences are related more to the difference between the spirit of cooperation and adherence to the chain of command.

Brad Kollman, who conducted the study, led the meeting for council, Administrator Dennis Coryell and Police Chief Mike Temte.

Coryell said he and Kollman are completing a narrative report, to cover the main ideas and conclusions.

This should help all employees know what is expected of them and council. Coryell said this is nearly complete.

Council member Ted Phillips thought the follow-up with Kollman was a good session. In his opinion, chain of command is clear.

Council member Sandy Standridge thought ìparts were good, parts were terrible,î noting some wheel spinning.

She felt some things still needed to be aired, and referred to the flow chart that was refined at the meeting. She appreciated Temteís attendance at the council meeting, and thought other department heads should also attend.

She did raise the question: ìHow far can we go (with directives) if we are fearful of a grievance anytime someone disagreesî with what he/she is asked to do?

ìDo the job your supervisor tells you to do,î she said.

Martin English said the personalities involved make it difficult. He believes more needs to be done to improve working relationships. He is puzzled why it is ìso hard to understand the chain of command.î

However, with the city still in union negotiations, this may need to wait until this is all organized.

Council member Lynn Koalska said the best practices review was very helpful, yet did not resolve everything. She felt there was a need for follow-up and time to ìheal wounds.î

While Kollman is a good resource she did not believe he would want to be placed in the position of mediator. Issues need a fresh look, but things remain unsettled because of un-negotiated contracts, she said. ìWe need to do something soon,î Koalska said.

Mayor Vern Haag expressed an eagerness to get beyond conflict and on with city business.

Attorney Tom Miller said ìthere is no other way to deal with employees except through the union.î

He hopes to see some comments from them soon. Contracts were given to union representative in early July for some bargaining groups and there has been no response.

By unanimous vote, a special meeting was scheduled Aug. 26, for further discussion on best practices and for discussion related to Polaris budgetary issues.

Other topics

Water use is up during this dry spell in Wyoming.

Maintenance Supervisor Bill Eisenmenger attached a report of water usage in the city for the eight consecutive days leading up to the Aug. 18 meeting.

During these days, the daily use ranged between 705,000 and 1,140,000 gallons. Average water use is about 375,000 gallons a day.

Residents are reminded that the city adheres to an odd-even schedule, corresponding with odd-even address numbers. In addition, lawn watering is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The police department has issued several warnings to residents who have been watering in the middle of the day, according to Temte.

Matt Engstrom told council the city failed to obtain a grant to complete a portion of the work on Goodview Park. He wants to see momentum attained at completing improvements maintained.

Wyoming Township is also contributing to the park. Engstrom estimates about $200,000 to complete the first phase, which includes irrigation for the soccer fields. The park board is seeking bids for the work.

Engstromís suggestion is the sale of municipal bonds to cover cost of the work.

Parks is also seeking financial contribution from FLAA to complete the soccer fields.

Wyoming Township board chairman Larry Parker attended the meeting in anticipation of a discussion of annexation of the wastewater treatment site for the Polaris project.

A special meeting with township supervisors and city council members is scheduled 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11.

Other business

In other business, council:

ïLearned from Koalska that copies of contracts for the three police bargaining units (chief, sergeant, and officers) were given to the union Aug. 18, for consideration.

ïLearned that proceeds from the sale of a recently forfeited vehicle will be used to pay part of the cost of the new police squad car.

ïLearned from Coryell that Stacyís wastewater treatment may not be able to operate much longer because of excess nitrates discharge. That city may need to use a force main pipe to connect with the Wyoming plant, until the area-wide system is operational.

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