Minutes - Council Work Session - 03/22/2016

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Acting Mayor LeTourneau asked how the fund is repopulated annually and to what degree. The Finance Director replied that the landfill fund only has interest earnings at this time. She stated that last year the $2,000,000 balance earned $26,000 in interest. Acting Mayor LeTourneau confirmed the consensus of the Council to amend the policy to outline the annual capital improvement plan with no cap and no restrictions. The Finance Director reviewed the park maintenance fund and asked for direction. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood explained that the intent of the fund was to be used for maintenance related items similar to the street maintenance fund/program. He stated that the funds have been used for the reconditioning of sports courts. Finance Director Lund explained that the large cap allowed for the larger projects. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood explained that the fund was created during the busy development times when there were more funds being generated. He stated that the intent would be for the interest earnings to eventually cover the annual maintenance needs. City Administrator Ulrich stated that this account was meant to handle large capital expenditures, which will grow as miles of trails continue to be added and noted that the account is currently not large enough to handle those types of expenditures. He noted that the account would be sufficient to continue to handle the smaller maintenance issues identified by Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood. Finance Director Lung asked if there should be a cap on the fund and what the Council would consider maintenance. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood replied that he would suggest that the fund handle maintenance or replacement in the capital sense and would not divert the items that currently fall under the general fund such as contract services or labor. Councilmember Williams stated that she was struggling to understand why there should continue to be two separate park accounts, especially when it appears that the fund is not sufficient. Finance Director Lund explained that because the trust fund was obtained through outside contributions the funds cannot be used for maintenance. Councilmember Riley stated that there are not separate accounts for the maintenance of City Hall of the fire station. He stated that perhaps there would be one fund for the maintenance of capital assets such as parks and other elements such as City Hall. Finance Director Lund stated that the fund could become a general maintenance fund or the language could be changed to incorporate the maintenance and improvement, similar to the facilities fund. City Council Work Session / March 22, 2016 Page 2 of 6