02-13-2024 Work Session CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
City Council Work Session
February 13, 2024
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Pro Tempore Trautmann called the work session to order at 5:08 p.m. in the
Bartholomew Room.
Council Members
Present:
Council Members
Absent:
Simon Trautmann, Mayor Pro Tempore; Sharon Christensen; Sean Hayford
Oleary; and Ben Whalen
Mary Supple, Mayor
Staff Present:
Katie Rodriguez, City Manager; Sack Thongvanh, Assistant City Manager;
Melissa Poehlman, Community Development Director, Jay Henthorne,
Public Safety Director; Kristin Asher, Public Works Director; Karl Heumiller,
Recreation Services Director; Mike Dobesh, Fire Chief; and Chris Swanson,
Management Analyst
ITEM #1
PRESENTATION OF THE 2023 STRATEGIC PLAN PROGRESS REPORT.
City Manager Rodriguez introduced the topic and Management Analyst Chris Swanson.
Analyst Swanson presented the progress on the 2023 Strategic Plan Progress Report. He talked
about the history of how the report was created, the input from the community, staff, and council that
went into the report and what the report measures. Analyst Swanson spoke about the progress that
has been made on the five strategic priorities. He specifically detailed some of the successes of the
past year and some of the areas of disruption that staff is experiencing, specifically with staffing, in
accomplishing those goals. He talked about what the next year will look like for the strategic plan
work.
Council Member Whalen asked to define the progress bar and what that percentage captures.
Analyst Swanson said the progress bars show the number of tasks completed for each initiative and
priority. He said staff are still working to capture all the work done in an effective manner. He noted a
majority of the tasks are still undone but that this shows some of the initial planning work that is being
completed.
Mayor Pro Tempore Trautmann thanked staff for the work on the plan and asked if the
dashboard, specifically the progress bars, were helpful metrics for staff. City Manager Rodriguez said
that those are the conversations staff are having now. She noted that staff are still evaluating and
learning the software. She noted that there were more actions early on so the progress may seem a
bit further along. Analyst Swanson mentioned that he thought this was helpful in guiding staff work
and that it does help show the community the progress.
City Council Work Session Minutes
-2- January 9, 2024
Analyst Swanson presented on the public facing dashboard and talked about some of the
targets that council have set in the past year.
Council Member Whalen asked how the city has been promoting the dashboard to the
community. Analyst Swanson said that staff have been promoting the progress in the Richfield Recap
after the quarterly presentation to council. He noted that there were 4,596 visits to the dashboard in
2023 and many of those visits are driven in the quarterly updates.
Council Member Hayford Oleary asked if the KPIs will be updated if it is recognized that some
may not be attainable. City Manager Rodriguez said that is something staff are talking about now and
can plan to discuss more at the two-year mark.
City Manager Rodriguez went over the full report with council. She did not the 39 percent listed
as done in the report may be overstated due to the way the action items are reported. Said this is
something staff will be reviewing in the coming weeks. She talked about the progress made and
where there are disruptions. She had the various directors provide updates on the specific items. This
included updates on finances, community development, human resources, and technology.
Council Member Whalen asked about updates on the economic development work being done
by the economic development manager. Director Poehlman outlined the work being done. She talked
about the business and housing inventory currently in process and about the sewer access charge
(SAC) program recently created. She spoke about how the staff is meeting with the Richfield
Chamber and Visit Richfield and is also working on redevelopment projects.
Mayor Pro Tempore Trautmann said he is excited to hear about the SAC program and would
like additional information. Director Poehlman said she will send the HRA report on the item.
Council Member Whalen asked about the new housing sales tax and when it needs to be
spent. Director Poehlman provided a timeline regarding the funds. She talked about how staff is still
catching up to a lot of the legislation that was passed last year.
Director Asher talked about the progress on the assets management plan. She noted this work
has been delayed due to the GIS coordinator position being vacant. Council Member Hayford Oleary
asked what was included in the inventory. Director Asher said this encompasses all assets in parks
except buildings as this is part of a larger planning process.
Director Huemiller talked about the focus work in Parks and Recreation, specifically the work
around the Climate Action Plan. He spoke about the work that has been done on LEDs in city facilities
and looking at electrifying the fleet. Council Member Whalen asked if anyone besides Xcel Energy
provides fleet review. Director Huemiller said they are the main players in this work and that he will
follow up if he gets any more information.
Assistant City Manager Thongvanh talked about some of the training programs being
evaluated and what the next few years will look like in terms of recruitment, retention, and staffing.
City Manager Rodriguez talked about some of the staffing graphs and what they show. She outlined
some of the disruptions from staffing being seen in this area.
City Manager Rodriguez presented on the equity initiatives. She talked about how most of the
disruption was a delay in getting the Equity Coordinator onboard. She spoke about some of the work
being done by the new coordinator and how this is driving progress. She did note staff are not
meeting some of the targets but are making progress. Council Member Whalen asked when to expect
the equity toolkit, staff noted the plan is 2025. Mayor Pro Tempore Trautmann said he appreciated the
truthful response about hiring in equity. He talked about how the city is building these systems.
City Council Work Session Minutes
-3-January 9, 2024
City Manager Rodriguez provided some final comments. Council Member Whalen asked if
there was any disruption we cannot recover from. Director Poehlman did note that some of the
community development items may be less likely to be accomplished as much of this work if
dependent on outside forces. She specifically talked about the current office space market and the
volatility. City Manager Rodriguez said staff would have to evaluate that around the two-year mark.
Council Member Hayford Oleary noted that he liked the detail in the reports and that the narratives
were very helpful when talking with the community.
City Manager Rodriguez moved the discussion onto the policy proposals. The Council
presented their various policy proposals including regulating short-term rentals, evaluating ways to
better support housing efficiency upgrades, defining “Downtown Richfield” name use in official
contexts, consider establishing official boundaries for the area, clarify and establish liquor store
names, and updating the city brand and website. Staff were able to ask questions of the council on
the various policy proposals. City Manager Rodriguez talked about the next steps in the process as
staff will provide additional information on the feasibility of each policy and the group will discuss what
the council wishes to prioritize for the coming year.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Pro Tempore Trautmann adjourned the work session at 6:56 pm.
Date Approved: February 28, 2024
Mary B. Supple
Mayor
Chris Swanson Katie Rodriguez
Management Analyst City Manager