The St. Paul Park City Council approved a series of personnel, public safety, utility and technology measures Monday, Aug. 17, while the city also reported progress on Highway 61 interchange funding, a return to full police staffing and a successful Heritage Days celebration.
The measures were included in the council’s consent agenda and approved unanimously, 5-0. They included modifications to City Administrator Hugo McPhee’s employment agreement, creation of a second police sergeant position and elimination of the Community Service Officer position, a joint powers agreement with Cottage Grove for utilities serving the Geneva Meadows Second Addition and purchase of new city financial software.
The police department restructuring comes as the city faces what staff described as an increasingly serious and complex police call load, particularly after hours. According to the council packet, mental health calls, complex investigations and weapons-related calls have increased, creating a need for another street-level supervisor. Police Chief Scott Whiteford recommended promoting Investigator Fridstrom to the newly created sergeant position.
The change is expected to result in a slight overall budget savings because the additional cost of moving an investigator to the sergeant position will be offset by eliminating the part-time Community Service Officer position. Ordinance enforcement previously handled by the CSO will be shifted to police officers. Whiteford is also restructuring officers’ responsibilities to include community problem solving and nuisance abatement while developing a plan to re-establish a Police Reserve function.
Mayor Keith Franke later reported that the department was also nearing full staffing.
“We also met with Fairview, and happy to announce, as of next week, we should have a full contingency of officers, and we will be welcoming a new officer to our staff, so we will be full,” Franke said. “So that is exciting, and I’m very excited about where we’re going.”
The council also approved changes to McPhee’s employment agreement following his first-year performance review. The Personnel Committee met with McPhee Aug. 6 after his probationary status ended July 28. The packet described McPhee’s initial-year performance as “exemplary.”
Under the modified agreement, the city’s obligation if McPhee is terminated without cause drops from six months of pay and benefits to three months. In exchange, the agreement clarifies McPhee’s ability to accrue compensatory time for work outside normal hours. He may receive payment for no more than 80 hours of comp time during a calendar year, and unused comp time cannot be carried into the next year.
Franke said the Personnel Committee was pleased with McPhee’s performance.
“We’re completely happy with him,” Franke said. “We approved the contract change for Hugo, and we’re happy to have him, and he’s doing a great job, and I think everybody would agree.”
Franke also reported that he and McPhee recently met with representatives from Cottage Grove, Newport, Washington County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation concerning funding for the Highway 61 interchange.
“We had a little get-together on the 61 interchange funding and where that’s going to go, and kind of explained our situation,” Franke said. “And it seems like we’re possibly getting some headway on that.”
Another consent agenda item established a utility arrangement with neighboring Cottage Grove for Geneva Meadows Second Addition, a development located in Cottage Grove immediately east of the existing Geneva Meadows development in St. Paul Park.
According to the city planning memo, no other utilities are available to serve the site, meaning water and sewer service will be extended from St. Paul Park into Cottage Grove. Cottage Grove will provide St. Paul Park staff access to meter-reading equipment for monitoring purposes. St. Paul Park will provide water and sewer service and be reimbursed by Cottage Grove, while Cottage Grove will handle customer billing and other administrative responsibilities.
The agreement also calls for Cottage Grove to pay St. Paul Park applicable sanitary sewer and water main trunk charges and local water and sewer availability charges. Monthly water payments will be based on St. Paul Park’s approved rates or Cottage Grove’s rates, whichever are higher, while sewer payments will be based on St. Paul Park’s rates.
Council members additionally approved a $70,250 first-year investment in an Enterprise Resource Planning system from Edmunds GovTech. The replacement became necessary because Microsoft will end support for SQL Server 2017 in October 2027, creating future security, compatibility and support concerns for the city’s existing financial software.
The city previously set aside $60,000 for accounting software conversion, with the remaining $10,250 to be budgeted in 2027. The new system is expected to expand electronic workflows, reduce paper processes and allow utility customers to access account information and make payments online. The package includes finance, payroll, human resources, utility billing and other functions.
Council reports included an update from Councilmember Charlene Whitbred-Hemmingson on the community garden. She estimated the garden had produced about 500 pounds of food for Basic Needs and said volunteers had continued helping with picking and weeding. The Pine Ridge Garden Club was also scheduled to visit the garden.
Much of the council’s closing discussion centered on Heritage Days, held over the preceding weekend.
Councilmember Tim Conrad thanked city staff, administration, police and community members who helped with the celebration, which marked its third year at Heritage Park. He said the move to the park had proven successful, pointing to participation from both event organizers and spectators.
Conrad particularly highlighted the drone show, saying organizers had high expectations and that the visual presentation synchronized successfully with music.
“They literally got to a countdown and said, ‘Go,’ and they hit it, and it just synced fantastically,” he said.
Conrad said community suggestions over the previous 12 months helped shape the festival and indicated planning for the next Heritage Days would begin again soon. He also thanked the St. Paul Park Fire Department for returning with its taco stand, which he said drew a steady line.
“We had minimal weather effects on us. We made the most of it,” Conrad said. “Huge thanks to our city staff, the city administrations, our police departments, and everyone in the community that helped make this weekend’s Heritage Days a great success.”
The council also announced upcoming commission meetings. The Public Works Commission is scheduled to meet Sept. 1 at 3 p.m., the Public Safety Commission Sept. 3 at 6 p.m., the Parks and Recreation Commission Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. and the Planning Commission Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.
With no members of the public signed up to speak and no further council business, Franke adjourned the meeting.