04-26-05 Worksession-2
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
Special Worksession
April 26, 2005
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Kirsch at 5:34 p.m.
Members Present:
Martin Kirsch, Mayor; Bill Kilian; Susan Rosenberg; Fred Wroge; and Sue
Sandahl.
Staff Present:
Steven Devich, City Manager; Bruce Palmborg, Community Development
Director; Kathy Farris, Human Services Planner/Coordinator; and Cheryl
Krumholz, Recording Secretary.
Item#1
City Manager Devich explained tonight's discussion regarding the Hennepin South Suburban
Collaborative (HSSC) is occurring sooner rather than later because of the resignation of the
Executive Director and Team Coordinator and the estimated loss of federal local collaborative time
study (LCTS) funds over the next two years. The HSSC Board should re-evaluate the Family Service
Collaborative (FSC) and the research planning and coordination (RPC) functions related to the
reduction of LCTS funds.
City Manager Devich stated the HSSC Board needs to address the following questions at their
May 11, 2005 meeting:
1. Do cities want to spend dollars to support a RPC? If so, how much?
2. Do cities want to begin spending dollars to support the FSC?
3. Should a new Executive Director be hired, or should another alternative be explored to
and/or 1) fulfill the RPC contract for the rest of 2005 and/or beyond, 2) maintain the
required FSC status in order to earn LCTS for as long as possible?
In 2005, the RPC function is funded by the cities of Richfield ($22,848), Bloomington
($23,795) and Eden Prairie ($23,036), and a grant from Hennepin County ($64,741). The Hennepin
County grant requires specific activities be performed, such as a demographic study and a needs
assessment. The RPC dollars staff part of the Executive Director, Administrative Coordinator,
Coordination Team Facilitator, and IT positions, as well as contract planners from time to time.
The FSC is funded through local collaborative time study (LCTS) funds, generated by area
schools and public health. LCTS draws its funding from federal entitlement programs. The estimated
earnings from the FSC in 2005 is $1,500,800, of which $224,742 is targeted to serve Richfield
children and families. Twenty-five percent of the LCTS collaborative earnings currently support
HSSC staff ($370,000), which includes a portion of the Executive Director, Administrative
Coordinator, Coordination Team Facilitator, and IT positions, and three FTE Community Resource
Special Worksession Minutes
-2-
April 26, 2005
Coordinator positions for each of the three communities. The remaining LCTS dollars are used to
provide prevention and early intervention services for children and families within each community.
Kathy Farris, Human Services Planner/Coordinator, explained the background of the HSSC.
The City of Richfield has had a joint and cooperative agreement with other south Hennepin cities for
the past 32 years to provide human service planning in south Hennepin, and for the past 11 years to
provide family services collaborative activities. In 1991, this agreement was reorganized to establish
the SOl.lthHennepin Regional Planning Agency (SHeRPA). The South Hennepin Family Services
Collaborative, per Minnesota Statutes Section 124D.23, began in 1994 to more effectively meet the
needs of families and children in South Hennepin. The Family Services Collaborative, formerly
incorporated in 1998, consisted of participating cities, schools, and social service agency partners
and contracted with SHeRPA for the provision of administrative and fiscal services. In August 1999
the two organizations merged into one entity called Hennepin South Services Collaborative (HSSC) to
provide both research, planning, and coordination functions (RPC) and family services collaborative
functions (FSC). A joint powers agreement between the cities and school districts of Bloomington,
Eden Prairie and Richfield was revised in February 2003.
Ms. Farris added the main function is to coordinate human services to avoid duplication to
ease the accessibility through networking and meet the demands of the residents.
Council Member Rosenberg stated Edwina Garcia, Richfield Community Resource
Coordinator, is Richfield's representative who coordinates the contacts and is the way in to human
services.
Council Member Wroge asked why Hennepin County is not the first contact and directing
residents to services.
Camillo DeSantis, Community Council Member, explained how the HSSC agreement originally
began. Direct service is not the RPC function; that is for others to do. Some restructuring is needed
to return to the original focus during this time of transition.
Beth Fagin, Storefront staff and Community Council Co-chair, explained the funding impacts.
The City may need coordination to serve as a broker for services. Outreach is more effective than a
phone bank.
Mr. DeSantis said relationships with organizations have been developed and maintained with
fewer resources.
Council Member Kilian asked why Edina is no longer part of the organization. He aslo asked
about funding for direct services.
Ms. Fagin explained LCTS funds generated by area schools and public health provides for
direct services. RPC funding is provided by the cities and county and cover some administrative
costs.
Council Member Wroge asked about research and planning.
Ms. Fagin explained the county grant requires specific activities be performed to forecast
services to meet resident needs.
Council Member Wroge asked about Hennepin County already providing that service.
Ms. Fagin explained there are some duplications but the services need to be tailored for each
community. The emphasis has been on LCTS but now the focus needs to be on RPC.
Mr. DeSantis explained that Edina had some dissatisfaction with how the organization was run
and they thought they could do it better on their own.
City Manager Devich stated this topic is very complex but the two key points are research and
planning coordination and family services. The funding from Richfield is leverage money to
administer planning and research services. If one of the three cities drops out of the organization, it
will disintegrate and Richfield will lose its leverage. It may be time for a change. It may not be a
Special Worksession Minutes
-3-
April 26, 2005
good idea to hire an Executive Director but rather work with the current staff. The structure should be
whatever is best in serving Richfield.
Mr. DeSantis stated stability needs to be considered. There needs to be a vision for the
research and planning function. A head person needs to be in place, not part-time consultants, to
keep the core function.
The City Council asked for a chart indicating the different levels of the HSSC and also the
planning documents so they could become more familiar with the organization.
The City Council agreed to conduct another worksession to discuss the HSSC.
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 6:22 p.m.
~--- " /f
Date Approved: May 10, 2005
c~krz/AAk{
Recording Secretary