Minutes - Council Work Session - 04/28/2020

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Councilmember Musgrove thanked Fire Chief Kohner for the work he has done. She noted that it seems most of the hotspots for the virus are in higher density residential, specifically care facilities for the elderly and asked how those facilities are doing in Ramsey. Fire Chief Kohner replied that Ramsey has a few congregate care facilities. He noted that the City received 780 masks during the mask drive the past weekend and the fire department worked to distribute those to the different care facilities in Ramsey. He stated that as of now, the congregate care centers in Ramsey are not listed in the centers that have been infected in Anoka County. City Administrator Ulrich complimented Fire Chief Kohner on the work that is being done by the duty crew, which has proven to be a good model. He noted that response times have been significantly reduced and the City is experiencing lower costs with the potential for long-term savings. He stated that he surveyed neighboring communities and there is a variety of different levels of what remains open and what is closed. He noted that everyone is awaiting to hear if the Stay at Home Order remains in place next week, or whether that is lifted. He stated that staff is preparing to bring additional staff back into the building along with various policies and procedures to address sanitizing, social distancing, and public facing services. He stated that Anoka County intends to open license centers, but that is a concern to the City Hall building. He stated that as long as social distancing continues, there will continue to be some form of telecommuting and modifications to the front counters. He stated that staff is gearing up for the transition to being more open. He commented that the remote meetings have been going well but welcomed input from the Council. Councilmember Heinrich stated that she likes the plan of staff to implement additional social distancing when the transition occurs that would allow staff to remain safe. She stated that she has heard concerns from residents that City Hall is shut down and the lack of ability for residents to voice their opinions publicly in that type of setting. She stated that she would prefer to get back to face to face meetings with social distancing. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she also agrees that there are options for social distancing within the Council Chamber. She appreciated the work that staff and the administration have done to prepare a transition plan. She asked how employees are doing with productivity in terms of people working from home and whether they have enough work to do. She noted that the Consent Agenda for the regular meeting includes the hiring of two seasonal workers and wanted to ensure that there is sufficient work for those employees and the regular employees. Public Works Superintendent Riemer stated that currently the full-time public works staff are busy doing their jobs. He noted that the seasonal workers would be responsible for mowing, which will soon begin. He noted that there were two offers for employment, but one refused the offer because of the COVID-19 situation. He noted that staff will be interviewing another candidate the following week for the other seasonal position. City Administrator Ulrich stated that employees are being kept busy. He noted that although there is less over the counter work, some staff have been working on items that were previously backlogged, such as scanning files. He stated that he has not received complaints related to City Council Work Session / April 28, 2020 Page 2 of 6