2019 Staff Proposed KFS Goals

1. Study and consider inflow and infiltration (I&I) initiatives. Staff plans to study methods for reducing I&I of groundwater and storm water into the sanitary sewer system, educate the public and council on the importance of reducing I&I, and develop a plan to address issues and reduce I&I. This goal should only take one to two work sessions.
   
   
2. Review the practice for addressing citizen requests for traffic safety concerns. Staff would like to discuss current practices and standard traffic safety measures with council, and discuss whether changes need to be made. Once completed, staff and council will have the same procedure and standard responses so that residents hear a consistent message from all city sources. This goal should take one to two work sessions.
   
   
3. Short-Term Rental Ordinance. Staff would like to create regulations and enforcement mechanisms in order to help manage short-term rentals in properties throughout the city. Any outcomes would be communicated to all staff, law enforcement, and council so that enforcement and communication will be consistent. This goal could take up to four months. 
   
   
4. Full classification and compensation study. The City of Chanhassen has committed to reviewing salaries every three years in order to be competitive with the market, and this will be the third year since one has been completed. In addition, with the high rate of turnover, staff would also like council to consider undertaking a classification study to ensure that positions are correctly classified and job descriptions are up to date. This has not been done on a large scale since 2001 and many positions have been changed, created, and eliminated since then, so it would be wise to revisit all positions at this time. This goal is likely to take around six months.
   
   
5. Increase staffed fire department hours (duty crew program). The Chanhassen Fire Department has experienced a steady increase in call volume over the past several years, creating an increased demand on the 45 paid on-call firefighters. Currently duty crews are utilized primarily between 5pm and 10pm, and the program has been well-received by the department. Firefighters are essentially able to schedule their response times by signing up for duty crews, and then spend evenings off not worrying about responding to fire calls. Staff would like to consider expansion of this program to include overnight hours, as that is one of the highest risk times and often some of the lowest response times. Scheduling shifts would improve retention by decreasing “all calls” during overnight hours, and ensure that there is always a set crew available to respond overnight. This goal could be accomplished in as little as three months.
   
   
6. Address trail gaps and trail crossing safety issues. During the Parks System Master Planning process, 34 trail gaps and 16 trail crossing safety concerns were identified in Chanhassen. By addressing these concerns, the overall pedestrian safety and mobility throughout Chanhassen can be greatly improved. This would be a long-term goal as there are a number of concerns. Staff proposes to plan for two to three projects annually until all safety improvements are complete.