The City Council convened a study session on October 14, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. to discuss three major topics: a citywide fleet evaluation recommending centralization, a transit operations study presenting four service models, and the Link Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project update. The session concluded with announcements on the next study session schedule and an executive session on property acquisitions. No formal votes were taken, but council members provided directional feedback.
Recording in progress. We're not in the EI CD. Nope. I just want to make sure if Alice and Zelms has something, just president. I think we are ready to go. Welcome everyone to our City Council of Studies session for October October 14th, 2024. Great to have you all here. I will turn it over to Administrator Alison Zelms to start us off. Thank you, Council President, Council members, members of the public. We are going to kick this off with a discussion about our citywide fleet evaluation. So I would want to welcome up Jessica Schuler, our management analyst who uh worked through this to talk about what some of the findings were and um able to get some feedback from the city council about the feelings on that. So as she is getting ready, there she is. Uh members of the council, council president, I'm excited to be speaking with all of you today. I will be uh sharing the findings of the citywide fleet evaluation. My name is Jessica Schuler. I'm a management analyst in the administration department. Um so jumping right in. Um the evaluation included several different components, including connecting with department heads, mechanics, fleet supervisors, and vehicle operators. The evaluation also included connecting with Dakota County. Uh we utilize them as a guiding example of best practices. They were awarded number one fleet in the nation by the National Association of Fleet Administrators, and so really uh what was uh fortunate enough to sit down with them and connect with their fleet manager and tour the facility to understand their best practices. So jumping right into key findings. So departments are currently operating independently within their departments for fleet operations. Um overwhelmingly, uh, we heard that um there's a lot of appreciation for staffing, that our mechanics are very skilled, they do a lot of great work, and our support teammates also do a great job of supporting fleet operations. Um that being said, there's a lot of work that can still be done to uh improve our technology, facilities, maintenance, and budget. Um with technology, all of our departments are currently currently utilizing separate fleet management softwares to track work orders and uh fleet health. Um so with that technology, with it being in separate systems, it really does limit our capabilities and reporting. Um in fact, we do some sustainability reporting, but it's very difficult to get those numbers uh with all the systems being separate. In terms of facilities, um, currently uh facilities, it's a common theme that uh there's limited storage space for vehicles, equipment, and parts which can negatively impact operations. For example, our police department is divided between two facilities, and so with that there are inefficiencies with traveling between locations. Um in terms of maintenance, departments uh vary in the use of in-house services versus vendors, and there's a growing interest in utilizing more in-house capabilities. Uh and then finally, budget, securing funding and managing buzz budgets are ongoing challenges. Uh, for example, some teammates are tasked with ordering vehicles and managing fleet without the specialized knowledge that can guide decision making. Um, and that can cause challenges and ensuring the right choices are made for operational needs. So, jumping right in, the recommendation from the fleet evaluation is to centralize our fleet operations, and that includes centralizing our team and facilities. So you can see uh here are all the different departments that are operating independently. And so um a thing to note here is that with centralizing our mechanics would continue supporting their originating department to help with continuity of operations. So, for example, the fire mechanic would continue up uh supporting the fire fleet, uh again, keeping that specialized knowledge, and then over time you can do cross-trainings to make sure that we're uh keeping that continuity of operations. Um a few notes here. Uh RPU fleet is not included in this recommendation at this time. Um that being said, it would it should be considered for future uh centralization. Currently, they're on a different ERP system, and so with that project coming in 2026 or 2025, that there will be opportunity there to evaluate that in the future. And then the other note is that transit and parking, which we will be hearing more about today, is still operated by a vendor. Our public works manager helps with those, but just noting that they're not in that centralization at this time either. So jumping right into the centralization components. So there are several different components with that centralization, including unified team, centralized facility and budget, unified fleet management software, and standardized processes. And so with that centralized team, the recommendation there is to have a fleet manager that can serve as the supervisor for the mechanics. They would be able to serve as a subject matter expert, supporting budget requests, and being an advocate for departments. Again, we with that centralized team, there's more opportunity for cross-trainings. And you know, if someone is taking time off or if there's a vacation, it really helps ensure that we have that continuity of operations.