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Home My WebLink About1982/02/16 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Joint MINUTES JOINT CITY COUNCIL-POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA February 16, 1982 • 1 . Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Phyllis McQuaid at 6:30 p.m. • • 2. Roll Call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call : Ronald Backes Keith fleland • • Lyle Hanks John Ralles Jerrold Martin Richard Strohl Phyllis McQuaid The following Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) members were also present at roll call : Tom Duffy, Virginia Johnson, Reva Gould, LaDonna Reynolds , Betty Bothereau. Also present were the City Manager and the Assistant Director for Com- . nunity Education. . 3. 1.982-83 Comuni ty Education Goals . Followinn introductions of the PAC members , Betty Bothereau stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Community Education Goals in ad- vance of the preparation of the 1982-83 budget. She said that the Community Education budget wotrlri be forthcoming in the sprinn, but emphasized the im- portance of discussing program levels that will he the basis for the budget. Councilman Martin referred to the budget discussion worksheet which had been distributed to the Councilmembers. He noted that one of the questions con- cerned the G.E.D. program. He asked if this program was being duplicated by County pronrarrs. He also questioned if Community Education should become more of a referral agency in some instances as opposed to a provider. Betty Bothereau replied that the Community Education program is consciously r►rininizingl its cost wherever possible. She said that the program makes every effort to avoid duplication and promotes pooling of its resources with other agencies involved in similar services. She cited the English As A Second Lannuaoe program as an exanple of how resources could be pooled with other entities. The Assistant Director for Comunity Education told the City Council that investigation is presently underway to determine if a cooperative relation- ' ship can he established between the Hopkins and 'linnetonka G.E.U. programs to realize some program efficiencies. Counr:ilman Martin noted that another question nn the discussion worksheet asked if the Community Education program should find ways to lessen the in- -cl - Joint PAC/City Council meeting minutes February 16, 19R2 - Pg. 2 fluences of crime, drugs and delinquency which were cited as major con`�cerns of St. Louis Park residents in a recent Community Education survey. Councilman tlartin said that he did not believe this was an area into which Community Education should expand. He commented that professionals are having difficulty in solving teselnreoblems'anthis d recommended that the pro- fessionals he allowed to continue Councilman Ralles asked a question about the budget information which was provided. He asked if .an additional coordinator had been hired last year noting that this line item had increased by fourteen percent. He also noted that there had been a decrease in the cost of instructors and asked if there were any relationship between these two items. Betty Bothereau said that there had been no additional hiring of coord- inators last year and that merit increases and various starting salaries for positions in the existing complement accounted for the increase. She also stated that a conscious effort was being made to keep down the cost of instructors. She discussed how this was being done. She added that the cost of the instructors was related to the fees charged for individual course offerings. Councilman Strohl asked about the purpose and goals' of the Community Ed- ucation pronran. Reva Gold read to hin the statement of purpose and the definition of the Cormunity Education program that are contained in the Advisory Board hand- hook. In reviewing sone of the 1982-23 budget assumptions , Councilman Hanks asked if the School Board had decided to provide a ten percent increase over the present year's budget. He asked how many of the projected school cuts would affect the District's contribution to the Community Education program. Councilman Backes also commented on the budget assumptions . lie noted that the City has atsolutely no idea of what its 1983-84 financial situation will he so that it is difficult to say presently if a nine percent increase over the previous year's contribution would he possible. He recommended that the Community Education program look at contingency funding plans so that it could he ready for any eventuality. Councilman tieland emphasized that the discussion was about budget assumptions and not the budget itself. He said that the PAC needs to have an idea of where the City stands in order to develop its 1982-83 budget. Betty Bothereau commented that the reason for inclu'iina a 1983-84 projection is because the School District requires the submission of two-year budgets She added that the budget will reflect a chanaino role for the Comrwnity . Education program because it is being asked to pick up more traditional pro- grans that can be offered on a fee basis. She said that •this will definitely affect the Community. Education Midget. Councilman Hanks' said that he has heard increasingly fron people in the • -52- Joint PAC/City Council meeting minutes February 16, 1982 community who are having a very difficult time understanding some of the changes contemplated in the delivery of school services. He said that nano people are asking why teachers are being cut at a time when the Com- munity Education program appears to be Browing. Mayor McQuaid said that she has heard the same concern voiced regarding the Community Education Centers. She said that many people feel it would be better to sell these buildings and- provide some additional money to the School Board funds. ilayor McQuaid requested that each of the questions appearing on the budget discussion worksheet be taken in order so that the PAC would have the in- formation that it needs to begin its 1982-83 budget development. The Time Out program was discussed. Betty Bothereau explained fees for this program and participation rates. Councilman Meland asked if the effects of this program were known since it has been in operation for several years. Betty Bothereau replied that the kindergarten teachers have noted that better parent involvement has been produced as a result of this program. In response to another question, she said that the largest amount of funding for the Tine Out program comes from a S60,000 grant from the Council on Quality Education. She indicated that a change in program fees could jeopardize the grant. She indicated that the State Council on Quality Education does not like to see program fees because its goal is to maximize participation. Mayor Mcfuaid noted that one of the options for funding the Time Out program involved a subsidy from the Community Education fund. She questioned how this would be done. Betty Bothereau said that a subsidy from the Community Education fund would essentially result in a trade-off. If the Time Out program was viewed as a priority, another program of less importance might be dropped. Mayor McQuaid said that she would be in favor of increasing program fees. Councilman Backes suggested that an increase in fees could be combined with a partial subsidy from the Comunity Education Fund. Councilman Strohl asked who would be hurt if the program fee was raised to an equivalent, of 53.00 a week. Betty Bothereau said that people who would have difficulty with an increase in fees would include larger families with one or more children participating in the Time Out Program, single parents and low-income families. Councilman I1Pland ;aid that others in the community benefit from these services and that the burden of payment should not be exclusively for those people par+.iriiiat.ing in the program. in response to a survey result indicating the need for more activities for retired adults, Councilman Ralles commented that he believeithe Senior Citizen -53- Joint PAC/City Council meeting minutes February 16, 1982 program to be very well-rounded. He asked what was lacking. Betty Bothereau said that pre-retirement onmenaprograms basWsere inlacking. to Goverin- dicated that these offerings would costs from these new programs. ttavor McQuaid said that she was in agreement with Councilman Martin re- garding the Community Education program's role with respect to problems of crime, drugs and juvenile delinquency. She said that she did not believe that the community could expect different results from programming in this area. Councilman Meland added that these concerns were better addressed to other jurisdictions , such as the County. Betty Bothereau asked if there were any specific areas where the Council desired Community Education programming. Councilman Meland said that there had been no real discussion of this question among Councilmembers. Betty Bothereau asked that the Councilmembers feel free to contact members of the PAC if they had any suggestions for Community Education programming. 4. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. 0 2_2 �iK��GL-fi7[� Mayor Sharon G. Klmpp. Recording Secretary • -54-