I'm going to call the Friday, May 16th, 2025 meeting of the economic and community development planning committee to order. Uh the clerk will please call the role. Councelor Kazinsk present. President Tyrus present. Councelor
present. Is anyone here recording today's meeting? There's nobody here. So no one's recording today's meeting except for staff. Review and approval of meeting minutes of February 18th, 2025 and March 14th, 2025. Is there a motion, Councelor Heath? Yeah, I'd like to make a motion
to wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as presented. Second. Motion made by councelor Heath, seconded by councelor Tyrus to wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as presented. Is there discussion on the motion? All those in favor say I. Those oppos say no. Motion passes.
First time on the agenda items in subcommittee item 11454, a report on the investigation of the Mackie Park project. We did receive a um overview and an update
from director Stevens at our previous meeting on the progress of uh the completion of Mackie Park regarding the changes that need to be made and that as we know um there's
funding involved in that. Uh the funding remains that uh they need to Uh there the Park Street Park has uh poles there that Verizon need to take care of. There was actually work being done there as of our last meeting. Um
and I in my opinion the director has a documented history of emails and communication has reached out uh to uh Verizon uh and uh National Grid I believe was the other I don't want to misspeak but I believe that was the
other one. uh their company involved and so he's on that following up. I have actually spoken with him individually since then and I know that he is continuing to follow up with them. He has a contact there. So once that whole project there is completed as we had
been informed before the funds will be encumbered from uh the remainder of that piece and that will be go over to Mackie Park and that will be able to cover the necessary changes to Mackie Park that need to happen to make it accessible. Um
and I believe is any questions comments from the committee on that. I think that's a good summary of it. So, and following up with the director, he again is still um well aware and would he would like that project to be underway and completed as the weather is nicer out. We want people to be able to use
Mackie Park and so we'll follow up with them again at our next meeting on that. Um but in terms of an update today, I do want to acknowledge that I was aware that the mayor and the director were unable to attend uh this meeting. Uh the mayor was unable to send someone from
his office today. So the items that we can cover that we do have um narratives submitted for which I had requested we will cover but I did not expect to be able to cover the Mackie Park project today and down the road item 11529 the discussion for the regional planning
commission I do not expect to be able to cover that today as well as we had said at our last meeting um at the suggestion of President Tyros that we should you know send our questions to the mayor we need to continue this discussion we kind of had a time interest of time at our previous meeting and so I think I would
like to keep item 1154 I'm sorry 11454 and 11529 on in the committee on our agenda and we will be sure to receive updates and hold discussion on those items at our next meeting. Any objections, comments, questions from the committee
on that? I have not. Okay. U so we will keep item 11454 and 11529 on the agenda. that we will address them at our next meeting. And um and again today I did um I was aware that the director and the mayor were not
going to be present at the meeting. So um had we had any updates on Mackie um I would have requested those to be included here from the director and in my discussions with him um there wasn't anything more on the progress other than it is being worked on and he again he
has a good record of the communication and then we had said for the regional planning commission for item 11529 we had said that we would continue the discussion so and and communicate with the mayor um our questions so we could have that discussion before we meet again. So, we'll do that for our next
meeting with him when he's going to be here. Okay. Moving on to item 11510, an order authorizing the creation of an economic development and finance manager for the position for the community development and planning department and approving the job description for said position. I'm going to take this one
separate from the next item. We've combined them previously. Um, and I do want to acknowledge that this item and the next item 11511 were previously already in finance committee as we have acknowledged at our city council meetings that was referred to our committee um when it had come out of
finance. So, beginning with 11510, any comments from the committee? Madame Chair, I'd like to move the committee recommend approval and to the full council for this item. Um don't believe it needs for
first printing. Doesn't need for first printing as well or well it is it's not an ordinance amendment. Um so I think we should check on what the exact motion is but I think we should recommend approval and suggest the appropriate council
action. Agree motion approval and appropriate council action for this item. I second that discussion. Madam chair present. Thank you madam chair. Uh so this is uh one of the first times I think the council's approving a
job description posting uh this item not to be confused with the next item. Uh the committee's met on this item multiple times. It's also been reviewed by the finance committee. Uh we've met with the director um Stevens and the mayor on this position. uh the purpose,
the responsibilities, um job functions, titles, uh makes complete sense and I have no further comments or concerns with the job posting or sorry, the job description. Thank you, Mr. President. Comments.
Um I just thank you, Madam Chair. Um the only thing I really have to say is u you know um thank you to Director Stevens for uh you know, putting this in front of us. Um, I think it's great. I think it only makes sense and um, that's all
really I have to say. Thank you, councelor. You know, I just I think uh, you know, I I looked through it. I don't see anything that needs to change. I wouldn't express any amendment changes. Um, we've had it in front of us for a while now as it is anyways. Um, with all of the um, you know, this is with all
the different responsibilities and information. You know, this is a new position. So I think it's really important that we keep our eyes on it. But uh in the same sense too, we want to be efficient with our time as the director does have a uh bare bones
skeleton crew in his department right now since he's taken over just a little over 3 months ago. Uh he is one staff member in his department and then he's got um besides that he would be waiting on this position if it is approved or not. And then he is hiring for his assistant director position. Uh
and so it is with the council right now. I I want to do a thorough job. I think that we are uh and I but I want to be mindful of his time and what his needs are and he's communicated really well with me when I've asked him for that. So
uh looking at this as thoroughly as we have, I don't see any changes that need to be made. And again, it's been this for a while in front of us. I've received no other, you know, real feedback from him or from, you know, the public or anything on it. Um, so, you
know, it's I think the job description is pretty clear and I think it covers everything pretty pretty clearly. So, I will be uh I'll be supporting it as well. So the motion made by C by President Tyrros, seconded by councelor Heath to recommend approval
uh to the full council and um suggest the appropriate council action on it and we will get verified whether that is to send it to first printing or to um approve the item up front before the next meeting. I will check in about that. Um is there any further
discussion? All those in favor say I. I post say no. The motion passes. Item 11511, an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Gardner, chapter 171 thereof entitled personnel to amend schedule E thereof entitled
non-UN compensation schedule to add the position of economic development and finance manager. So this has to do with the previous item um by ordinance. We this uh any changes to the uh
compensation schedule need to be approved by the city council. Um this item which I I think that's what councelor Ty was going towards cuz there is two items on the same uh um position. this piece would need to go to first
printing and then to second printing in order for it to pass. Uh, and so because the item does not I'm sorry because the position does not already exist in the compensation schedule by ordinance, we have to we have to approve to add it to the schedule. So that's why this has
been broken up into two pieces just for the public watching. Uh, and so that's kind of the summary of of it. Um the director of the economic and community development department uh
director Stevens has submitted a narrative which is in our packet uh and it will go in the oh I mean I'm sorry it's also in the council packet uh for Monday's meeting of the full
council. uh the narrative goes through the details of um justification for his suggestions for this position regarding compensation. Uh I I did request that of him and I do um
you know thank him for that because he gave a very comprehensive overview of why the position is important, where the position has been. it was two previous positions that are being combined. Um, and it gave it really a full out written narrative um of that.
So, that can be found in our packet for today's meeting. It it's also in the council packet for Monday. That's for us here, but also for the obviously for the um public watching if anyone wanted to look at it. Uh, but the full council will also see it before this goes to them depending on what we
recommend. and uh you know just kind of going through going through it. I just wanted to kind of start up with the discussion before we go to a motion. Is there any discussion on the are any um comments from the committee on the item?
Madam Chair, like to lead to a motion. I'd like to um begin discussion with uh you know as the chair said this is tied to the previous item that I just recommended and the reason uh that's important to discuss is that in looking at that job description the responsibilities uh that this position
will be undertaking are now actually quite complex compared to the two previous roles that it replaces. Uh there's multiple aspects of this role. Needing more skills when it comes to project management, uh financial acumen, uh working with stakeholders both internally, externally to the community
and with state and sometimes federal uh agencies, which can always be complex. So, uh the director submitted a very professional and thorough uh narrative. Uh so, I'd like to thank director Stevens for that. a very quick turnaround for that as well uh to get some of this information in front of us
because it's it's critical I think that we acknowledge where this department uh had fell down in the past and where we can better support them that's our role in the council make sure they position best for success going forward uh and in order to do so I do agree uh you know I
propose and I think the directors also agree now that the salary should be commensurate with the responsibilities for the role um the salary salary was proposed at $75,000. Um, which is important to acknowledge that that is a substantial
savings still from taking two full-time employees down to one full-time employee, combining those roles. I'd like to move that we recommend approval uh and to send this item to first printing with the amendment of section three uh to chapter 171 which would
um change the total compensation and adjust it to increase it by $10,000 to a total of $85,000. Um that that would be my motion with amended second. Okay. And so just a question would we and then we would say
as amended send it to first printing. Right. Okay. Uh seconded by councelor Heath. So the motion is to recommend to [Music] approve the item. Well, let me put this the right way.
Um, so recommend to um to adopt the or well to adopt the ordinance with I'm sorry, I'm getting myself confused here. Okay. Recommend to approve the item with the amendment in section three regarding total compensation to
$85,000 and send the item to first printing. Correct, Madam Chair. Thank you. Okay, so that's the recommendation of the committee. Thank you. I was scribbling some things while you were talking. I confused myself. I apologize. So item uh motion was made by council by President Tyra, seconded by councelor
Heath. Any discussion on the item? Councelor Heath. Thank you, Madam President. Um just a couple notes. I just like to go ahead and reach over. Um you know, the proposed structure strengthens the DCDP by um integrating financial and
developmental oversight into a single leadership role. It provides cost savings, improves coordination, and positions the department to better meet the city of Gardens's long-term planning and development goals. Um, I think this also helps enhance team communication,
cohesion, and collaboration. Um, aligns with gardener strategic priorities, economic growth, uh, downtown um, and housing uh, rehabilitation. So, um, that's all I was going to go ahead and add. So, I'll
definitely be supporting this as I said, you counselor. Uh, I just kind of further uh I think the big there's a lot of there there's a lot to this uh as we've been meeting with the director. We've established this committee
obviously as the uh president had said, you know, for oversight purposes. I think councelor Heath summed it up really well with kind of what the point is moving forward, but also what this role, this new position could bring to it. Uh, you know, I
think setting the salary of $85,000 makes sense. And, you know, this new role has two really big responsibilities, economic development, financial management, puts those into one. Um, this is going to be a lot more efficient
setup as the counselor had said. Um, the person who has this job has to have a pretty unique skill set. Um, they're going to be handling, you know, everything from the economic development side, also managing grants, overseeing finances, um, helping out with projects,
and it's a lot of really important work. These, it deals with state dollars, federal dollars, city dollars. Uh, and I think 85,000 is a more realistic number. If we don't offer a competitive salary, then we might hire somebody who's not
qualified or has a bigger learning curve. And then we end up dealing with turnover, which this department has seen a lot of turnover in the past few years. That's kind of how we got where we got. So that we basically started from there. We want to move on from that. Um, and
that ends up costing the city more money and it basically delays the projects and things that need to get done. Uh, and then you know we've dealt with that time and time again in that department and we are trying to break that cycle. So I'm
definitely in understanding where this fits in the department and also given and director Stevens explains it very well in his narrative that this was two positions, you know, this is going to be now one position that's benefited, not two positions that are benefited. Um it it combines really important aspects of
it so that they're in one person's um on one person's desk and that person should know to do those things. They can be held accountable and responsible for those things. uh and you know I just um commend him for really laying that out in front of us and and how the position
is funded and where it comes from. I think it really aligns with uh you know other efficient ways that we try to do things here in the city. Um and so kind of by adjusting the department by removing other positions
we can have this one combined position. It ends up saving over $30,000. uh in the long run and having one person who's qualified to do the work that actually needs to get done and it's now defined in this description that you know we looked at we had talked about in the previous
item. Um and then that money can go into investing into projects from the department or the city and the services that are expected to be given. Uh and so really at the end of the day it plays a big role in helping gardener to
grow and you know then we can bring the right person in to do the job, do it well, help move the city forward and keep them there and help keep make this this department solid. Um, I think this is one of the
departments that justifiably it can literally in black and white on paper you can see the work that it does does help locally bring in money to the city. Um while all of the job functions of departments are important in the city of
Gardner, um this is one of the ones that has documented revenue generation um in order to help all the other departments, you know, thrive and the city thrive and our tax dollars be best used. So that's how serious I think it really is.
Um, and so I think, you know, I just wanted to I I understand that $75,000 is a lot of money and I get that $85,000 is too, but I think when you put it in perspective of the $30,000 and and the benefits and, you know, the things that
come into it that are going to be saved because of it. Um, not to mention getting a qualified person who can get in the position and be quality in the position and and really get to know what they do and um are doing for the city. Never mind the grant funding and all
those other opportunities that they can be part of. Um, it really helps the position pay for itself in a way as we've talked about so many times recently with um the grants and grant funding and writing and the sources that we have for for those projects for the
city. So, you know, I'm I'm in I'm in favor of this. I think with the new structure of the department, it just makes sense. And um I think starting off this way, we're helping the department become stronger in supporting it in the way that we should because in the end,
we will see the receipts from the for the whole city in the end. And that's what we're here to do. And I feel really strongly about that. And I again, I can't thank Director Stevens enough for the information that he thoughtfully submitted uh to us in a short amount of time. I did request it from him telling
him I was going to be holding this meeting and knowing that he wasn't going to be able to be here. Um but I can't stress enough that I think uh he he really gets it. He knows what he needs in that department. He's doing the job of three people right now. um and and
he's he's got to get some support, but I think he's ready to get the support that he needs and we're going to help him be able to do that because I think we're going to have a stronger applicant pool if we really if we if we I do believe in in you know supporting um that for him,
helping him to have a you know he doesn't have to come back to us and say when we already feel like you know this is a little bit underpaid this should be a little bit more and I think all the justifications are there because of all the other adjustments that has been made at the department in the last three and a half months. So, um that's my
narrative. President Tyrus, thank you. Merry, I just want to emphasize something you said because I think it's really important uh because there is a lot of discussion going around around salaries and compensation. And I think it's important to note that this is a net new position for the city. It's the removal, it's the combination of two positions into one. And the reason I
want to bring that up is um you know $30,000 that director Stevens um has has stated in his narrative uh the city would be um quote saving is actually going towards CDBG funding. So it's funds that can be applied into our city
helping remove light, helping fund infrastructure projects and local social services. Um so that's going to be a factor too paying back to the city. And also uh you know just kind of a little history on this. The director proposed changing the structure of his department after reviewing uh the things that were
working, the things that weren't working. This council spent a lot of time last year going through the Nike Park project and identifying the the issues that went on there. And I just want to point out it's not always the council's job to, you know, say when something's wrong. In this case, we're
saying we want to support you more. Are you sure that $75,000 uh you're going to get a candidate that really needs to hit the ground running? Director Stevens is uh kind of carrying the weight of the entire department right now on his shoulders. So, we want to show that no, this is an important uh this is an
important position in the city that we're creating. We want to make sure it's going to hit the ground running and give the director the support he needs to be successful because uh the more successful he is, the more successful Gardner will be as well. So, just want to point out um some of those points that you made to emphasize that importance. Thank you, councelor uh
president. I you know I think that when when it comes down to it, Director C Stevens has been incredibly responsive. When we've asked him what he thinks, what he he provides it, we talk about it, we discuss it in these meetings. Uh he's doing a lot of work
that he did not start any of these projects. He has to finish them. And the issue was they weren't being finished. We don't know what's going on. We want more information. he's he's providing that on a regular and very consistent basis. So I you know when looking at this breakdown this overview I quite
frankly was not surprised by it at all because he's been so thorough with a lot that he's done and I think because he's had to take on so much from the beginning. I mean he did have an assistant director at the beginning who's recently vacated the position. He is he is interviewing for for that position and that's important. He will have that support hopefully sooner than
later with a good qualified candidate. But I think um he's been very clear that he understands the value of being proactive. And so I think as you had just talked about the reactive approach that the council had to take because of the mistakes that were made at the one
example of the Mackie Park project. Um he director Stevens has in my opinion has has clearly taken our feedback and said like okay I get it. This can't happen again. So moving forward, how can we make sure this doesn't happen? Because especially it's kind of, you
know, he's been thrown into the fire. All these things have gone on his shoulders and he's had to do the work for them. And you know, now being one, you know, two of of of the um five people in that department. Well, I'm sorry, three of the five people are in
that department right now. He's taken on the position of two more. I mean, of the role of of of two more for at least the time being. he doesn't want anyone else in his department to be that way. Um, and to find themselves overwhelmed like that. Um, and
so he really uh he's just continued to move forward with it. And I appreciate how he's been so communicative about it. But I find this to be a proactive approach. And when I went over the narrative, I couldn't agree with him more. I just said I just think the $10,000 difference is going to make a
much bigger financial difference for this city and for that department if we do raise it. Um and it's and you know I just think the applicant pool that it could attract and again in the long run the quality person in that position the amount of money that they could save us by applying for grants and getting
projects done and knowing what they're doing and moving everything forward. I just think I think it's going to be, you know, I like to be positive and realistic, but I do think it's going to be something that we haven't seen from that department in a very long time, and I'm excited to see it. Uh, and so he has
done nothing but show he's done nothing but provide to us what we've asked for so far and be transparent and upfront. Um, and like I said, I do connect with him often to to to check in as the chair of this uh committee and as well as the
city councelor, but I don't want to see any of this stuff happen again. I Gardner is is better than that. And I I think that Director Stevens really is invested in making sure that that happens. And like you said, just offering him all the support. He's got to have that support moving forward. Uh
because right now he's got a lot going on. But I he's looking forward to getting these positions. um you know the right people in those positions and working with them and getting the training and doing all the things to see how this machine can really really work. Uh so I'm very excited about that. Um any further
discussion? No, I haven't. No. Good. Okay. So on the motion to recommend approval with amending section 3 to chapter 171 total compensation to $85,000 and then setting the item to first printing. That is a recommendation
from the committee made by President Tyro, seconded by councelor Heath. No further discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Those oppos say no. Motion passes. Uh item 11529 I alluded to earlier a discussion of the regional
planning commission. We will continue that discussion as we've decided as a committee at our next meeting uh with Mayor Nicholson. And there isn't anything further. I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. So move second. Motion made by
councelor by councelor he seconded by councelor heath. No we can't do that. Motion made by president Tyro seconded by councelor heath to adjurnn. All those in favor say I. I I post say no. Motion passes.