Loading...
4.1. DRAFT MINUTES (2 SETS) 11-18-2013 VA City of Elk Meeting of the Elk River City Council River Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, November 4, 2013 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Westgaard,Wilson,Burandt, and Motin Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Community Operations and Development Deputy Director Manager Jeremy Barnhart,Park Planner Chris Leeseberg, City Attorney Peter Beck,Economic Development Director Brian Beeman, Police Chief Brad Rolfe, Police Captain Bob Kluntz,Interim Street Superintendent Mark Thompson, City Engineer Justin Femrite, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker,Building Maintenance Supervisor Gary Lore,Parks Maintenance Supervisor Rodney Schriefels, Community Operations and Development Director Suzanne Fischer, and City Clerk Tina Allard Call Meeting to %%, Pursuant to due call and notice thereof,the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:55 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. , 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. .Consider 11 /04/2013 Agenda Moved by Councilmember Motin and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve the November 4, 2013, agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consider Consent Agenda Mayor Dietz questioned a check written to Gray, Plant and Moody for legal services. Staff explained that the services were to finish up on some microloan projects that hadn't been completed at the time the city changed to new legal services. Moved by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve the following consent agenda: 4.1. October 21, 2013 regular minutes. 4.2 Check register as outlined in the staff report. City Council Minutes Page 2 November 4,2013 4.3 Massage therapist license to Hannah Anderson for John Joseph Salon valid to December 31, 2014. 4.4 Hire Jonathon Christie as patrol officer. 4.5 Resolution 13-64 Providing for the Redemption of Certain Outstanding General Obligation Sewer Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2005B of the City. 4.6 Position descriptions for Environmental Technician and Planner I. Motion carried 5-0. S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 Introduction of New Employee-Amy Humphrey Chief Rolfe introduced Amy Humphrey who was hired as the police administrative assistant. Mayor Dietz welcomed Ms. Humphrey. 6.2 Certificate of Appreciation for Street Maintenance Employees Chief Rolfe presented certificates of appreciation to street maintenance employees Chris Teff and Mike Zappa for their prompt action in a crisis domestic situation. Mayor Dietz thanked staff for their response. 7. Public Hearings There were no public hearings. 8.1 Surface Water Management Plan and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program Ms. Fischer presented the staff report and introduced Consultant Pete Willenbring. Mr. Willenbring reviewed in detail the Surface Water Management Plan in the staff report. Ms. Fischer stated staff would come back with better budget numbers at the November 18 worksession. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and Seconded by Councilmember Burandt to accept the Surface Water Management Plan and the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program. Motion carried 5-0. p 0 W I R 1 0 0Y NATUREI City Council Minutes Page 3 November 4,2013 8.2 Kliever Lake Fields Model Home Agreement Mr. Barnhart presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Motin and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to approve the Kliever Lake Fields 4th Addition Model Home Agreement. Motion carried 5-0. 8.3 Comprehensive Plan Update Mr. Barnhart updated the Council about the progress of the Community Advisory Committee. He noted an open house is planned for December with a review to Council in Februarys. He stated they would roll out some community outreach in the next week through social media and community engagement on the website. 8.4 Economic Development Specialist Position Description Mr. Beeman presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Burandt to approve the economic development specialist position description. Motion carried 5-0. 8.5 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. The Council agreed a worksession wasn't needed for November 12 and the personnel budget item could be discussed tonight. 9. Council Liaison Updates The Council provided updates of the work of the various boards/commissions. Moved by Councilmember Motin and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to call a special meeting for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 12, 2013 to discuss personnel for the 2014 budget. Motion carried 5-0. The City Council recessed at 7:40 p.m. in order to go into worksession. The City Council reconvened at 7:44 p.m. 10.1 Houlton Property Trunk Utility Assessments Mr. Portner presented the staff report. POW € R10 AY NATUREI City Council Minutes Page 4 November 4,2013 Bill Houlton family representative - Stated the family has options on what they can do with their property but they want to have it be part of the community as a park. He stated there is an outstanding assessment on the property and noted the property would never be developed if the city acquires it so it doesn't seem fair for them to have to pay the assessment when there is no benefit to the property. John Houlton stated they never had intentions to develop the property. He stated he thought there may have been a handshake agreement between the city and his dad that the city would be open to considering a donation in lieu of charging assessments if the property became a park. Attorney Beck stated he would have had no right to make decisions about waiving assessments. He stated he might have said something to the effect that if the property became a park, then the City Council might consider waiving the assessments. He further stated he doesn't recall hearing anything from an elected official at the time that would've made this type of promise but he can't say it didn't occur either. John Houlton stated he understands and noted he was not involved in all discussions of an agreement back then. He further stated he thought it would have been a discussion with the city administrator and the City Council. Mayor Dietz stated the issue he has is with setting precedent and keeping fairness between the other property owners who already paid their assessment. He also questioned how the city could forgive the interest. He noted the city only assessed 37 of the 330 plus acres of the property. He further stated these funds would be used to help pay for the sewer plant expansion. Bill Houlton stated the property would not be developed and the city would be getting a wonderful asset at no cost. He stated this request is different because the other assessed owners have developed their property. John Houlton stated this property will never use the infrastructure so it wouldn't set a precedent. Councilmember Motin stated he doesn't think the entire assessment should be waived. He further stated the property never would have been assessed if it were a park so he could consider forgiving some of the assessment. Councilmember Westgaard stated there have been valid points made all around. He questioned what it would cost the city to go out and purchase land for a park and stated he agrees with Councilmember Motin on reaching an arrangement to settle this matter. He noted this is a unique parcel and many groups want to see it preserved. He suggested appointing a Councilmember to be involved in working out the assessment payment. P O W E R E D 0 Y 1`4M City Council Minutes Page 5 November 4,2013 Councilmember Wilson stated this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire this parcel and believes the city would regret letting it slip away so the Council should explore how to resolve the issue. Mayor Dietz suggested Mr. Portner and Attorney Beck negotiate the assessment. Mr. Portner stated the city should maintain the integrity of the assessment process and staff will need feedback from Council on whether the fees and assessments should be paid as they have been done. He clarified with Council that they want the city to become a financial participant in the purchase of the land and instead of waiving the assessment;the city would pay it from a funding source. Mr. Portner stated typically park dedication funds are used to acquire park land but currently funds are not available due to lack of development. Councilmember Burandt agreed with paying the assessment in some way in order to maintain the integrity of the assessment process. Attorney Beck stated staff needs to discuss the matter further and will need direction from Council. He stated staff will explore the possibilities and bring back the matter for further Council direction. 10.2 Urbanized Area Expansion and Associated Transportation Planning Ms. Fischer presented the staff report. Councilmember Motin stated a concern was noted to the Met Council that this agreement only covers a portion of Elk River. He stated the Met Council noted the city could petition to have the rest of the city included at any time. 10.3 Wastewater Treatment Expansion Site Options Mr. Femrite stated that since his staff report was written, Great River Energy (GRE) has changed their minds and wants to keep the city on the 1.4 acre parcel instead of the 5.5 acre parcel. He noted the city does prefer the 1.4 acre parcel. He stated staff will proceed with the current expansion plans. 10.4 2014-2018 Capital Improvement Plan Mr. Simon presented the staff report. Mr. Lore presented the Building Reserve Fund. Mr. Hecker reviewed the Park Improvement Fund. Councilmember Westgaard questioned how the Houlton property acquisition could affect the prioritization list of the Parks and Recreation Commission. P O W E R E D 0 Y 1`4Af- City Council Minutes Page 6 November 4,2013 Mr. Hecker stated the property is not included for improvements in 2014. Mr. Simon stated there is some flexibility in the plan to make changes if needed. Councilmember Westgaard questioned if additional funds should be budgeted to get buckthorn under control. Mr. Hecker stated they'll never get buckthorn under control. He stated there is $10,000 in the parks operating budget. Mr. Hecker and Mr. Simon reviewed the lighting request for Oak Knoll Fields and some options for payment. Mayor Dietz stated the city should reward organizations that are willing to contribute some funds to a city asset. He said these requests should rise to the top of the priority list and he recommends the lighting project be done in 2014. There was discussion on the size of the youth football program. Councilmember Westgaard stated the Mayor has a good point in that when there are organizations that come forward with financial commitments to make park improvements, then the city should make it a priority as well. He further stated the city should determine the funding for the $62,000 balance from the park improvement operating budget rather than taking extra from the Capital Improvement Plan. He stated other projects should then be moved into 2015. Councilmember Motin stated he thinks this is a good opportunity and he would prefer to see the money come out of designated funds that were supposed to go to the arena (option 2 in staff report) versus taking it out of surplus. He stated he doesn't like the idea that because an organization comes forward and is willing to pay for a project,then all of a sudden the city should change its priorities and is concerned with the precedent it sets. He further stated shifting other projects to later years affects other groups as well. It was noted that each request would need to be considered carefully and other factors, such as participation,would need to be considered. The Council concurred with Option 2 as outlined in the staff report.Which will be a budget amendment to adjust a budgeted transfer from the liquor store fund to the Ice arena that will not be needed in 2013 to fund the difference between the cost and the donations. The $30,000 in donations that will come in 2015-2017 will go back to the liquor store fund and not the park improvement fund. Michael indicated an agreement will come back outlining the donations and official acceptance of the donation. 10.5 2014 General Fund Budget Update P O w E R E U 9 1 1`4 U City Council Minutes Page 7 November 4,2013 Mr. Simon presented the staff report. Health Insurance Mr. Portner discussed the city's health insurance costs and trends. Mr. Simon stated the city received one-time funds of$16,000 from the federal government for a retiree program that is required to be used to offset employee benefits. Mr. Portner requested Council to utilize these funds to offset health insurance costs. Mr. Portner asked the Council to consider using this money to offset the costs a little to bring to marginal rate. Councilmember Motin requested employees be updated to know this is a one-time increase of 2.5% additional due to the federal funding available. Council consensus was to use the federal funds for to offset health insurance costs. Personnel Mr. Portner asked for clarification regarding two positions: fire department deputy chief and police drug task force detective. He further stated the other position to be considered is the human resources technician,which is undergoing an evaluation that isn't quite finished yet. It was suggested to pay for the human resources position from council contingency if it is needed in 2014. Mayor Dietz asked for confirmation on how the Council feels about the positions in the 2014 budget. Councilmember Motin stated he is okay with the positions that are currently proposed in the budget. Councilmember Wilson concurred. Councilmember Westgaard noted that it is a lot of positions and more than what we've added in recent years. He stated he understands that we went down on staff in recent years and understands that as we are starting to grow,the city wants to add some staffing back. He stated he is concerned about how fast the city and staffing is growing because it is more difficult to adjust the budget once staffing is onboard. He stated looking at the numbers and listening to the police chief,he felt the drug task force detective is a needed position. Councilmember Motin stated he doesn't disagree that there should be a person on the drug task force but the question is,is who should be paying for it. He noted that 1`4M City Council Minutes Page 8 November 4,2013 Sherburne County is not paying for any other city's staff to be on task force. He understood that we have 25% more crime but that the city also pays that much more in taxes to Sherburne County. Councilmember Burandt stated it would be a nice position to have but believes the county should pay for it. Councilmember Westgaard stated he didn't realize other cities weren't contributing and thinks the task force position should not be in the budget. Mayor Dietz stated it is too soon to add the deputy fire chief of operations position based on fire task force comments. He noted the city recently changed officer job descriptions which will take time to work through. He stated he is nervous about trying to do too much at one time in the Fire Department. He further stated he would like to replace the fire deputy chief of operations with the task force detective. He further stated he doesn't believe there is a need for a full-time parks maintenance employee and he would like to see it placed at 6-7 months. Councilmember Burandt stated the parks maintenance employee could assist with managing buckthorn in the winter months. Mayor Dietz stated there is no need to have the special meeting on November 12 with the Council being comfortable with the positions proposed in the 2014 budget. Excess Funds Mayor Dietz questioned if the Council agreed to remove the $79,500 excess in the budget from the final tax levy. Mr. Simon noted the Council may want to consider the stormwater management plan when discussing the excess amount. Councilmember Motin noted it could be difficult to find a person who can for a 6-7 months per year. Mr. Schreifels stated it would be challenging to find an employee for a 6-month position and the person would most likely have a different skill set. He stated this position could assist with snowplowing and tree maintenance in the winter months II. Adjournment There being no further business,Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 9:34 p.m. John J. Dietz,Mayor P O w E R E U 9 1 1`4 U City Council Minutes Page 9 November 4,2013 Tina Allard, City Clerk POWERED 91 1`4 U City of Elk Joint Special Meeting of the Elk River City Council River and Housing and Redevelopment Authority Held at Elk River City Hall Monday, November 4, 2013 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Westgaard,Wilson,Burandt, and Motin HRA Commissioners Chuba,Knester, and Toth Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Community Operations and Development Deputy Director Manager Jeremy Barnhart,Director of Economic Development Brian Beeman, Finance Director Tim Simon, Community Operations and Development Director Suzanne Fischer, and City Clerk Tina Allard I. Call Meeting to Order -X N, Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 5:50 .,m..b._Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Discuss Tax Increment Financing Housing Policy Mr. Beeman presented the staff report. He introduced Springsted Consultant �.Mikaela Hout. Ms. Hout discussed the following: • Role of an HRA/EDA. • Mission/objectives for tax increment financing. • Importance of establishing criteria/policies based on what the market will support. • Public purpose benefits. • City's policy for use of Tax Increment Financing • City's project qualifications. • What drives the need for public financing assistance. • What role the community wants to play to encourage development. • Development efforts a city makes may affect the city's financial reputation. Ms. Hout reviewed a survey that was sent our earlier to Council and Housing and Redevelopment Authority members. Joint Special City Council&HRA Minutes Page 2 November 4,2013 Councilmember Wilson questioned the minimum numbers and when they were established. Ms. Hour noted the policy was amended in May 2006 but adopted in 1991 and stated staff could check on how reasonable the numbers are for current tax increment financing projects. Mayor Dietz questioned Council and HRA on whether and how TIF should be used for housing. Ms. Hout stated they should consider if it is their objective that TIF be used for housing. If so,then the policy should have some language to allow the city to explore options. If no,then this change should be made clear in policy. She further stated the city could limit the types of housing they would like to consider, such as making it available only for senior housing. Commissioner Toth questioned the criteria for the scoring sheet and had concerns with it being too flexible and setting precedence when allowing exceptions. Ms. Hout stated the policy acts as general guidelines for the city and would be flexible and dependent upon community need. Mayor Dietz suggested the policy be flexible enough so each project can stand on its own. Councilmember Westgaard stated he is not opposed to keeping housing as a consideration in TIF districts but he is not sure if the city should narrow down to development versus a redevelopment scenario. He'd like to allow for TIF for housing but put it as a lower priority over other types of applications. He'd like to stay more on the conservative side from the risk component. Commissioner Kuester stated the commission hasn't covered much with housing and believes the current project is an opportunity to go to market when there is a need in the community for senior housing. She stated the Mayfield Study backs up the need for senior housing. Commissioner Toth commented he likes the set up the city has with the MN Central Housing Partnership. He agreed on the need for some housing work done in the city. He stated TIF may be an avenue worth exploring but it needs to be done carefully with a new evaluation criteria and looking to the long-term benefits for the community. Commissioner Chuba stated he feels it is important for the city to have life cycle housing with a range of affordable housing for the young and elderly. He stated the TIF financing should be flexible, but issues need to be worked out, such as how much TIF to allow,how long it should be good for,and how much increase in value is expected. P O W E R E D 0 Y 1`4Af- Joint Special City Council&HRA Minutes Page 3 November 4,2013 Councilmember Motin stated he would not like to see TIF for housing purposes but if the city votes to have it,then the developer would need to meet some other need such as being in an area that also needs redevelopment or close to where it will help a commercial area. He stated the Maxfield Study was done from the viewpoint of,if you build it, they will come,rather than based on a community need. He also noted there are other funding options available for developers. Councilmember Burandt concurred with Commissioner Chuba regarding life cycle housing and felt the need for having different types of availability for all income levels. She felt there is a need to be flexible with the TIF policy and that TIF for housing should be included. She stated there will be more seniors in the near future and the city needs to plan for them coming back to their community. Councilmember Wilson stated housing has not been addressed over the years by the HRA. He stated he would like to address the city policy and limit TIF to senior housing. He stated there is a gap between what Guardian Angels offers,which is low income housing,versus affordable housing. Roger Derrick stated people are already here and they need help now. Commissioner Toth stated he has no issue with using TIF but the city needs well maintained criteria. Ms. Hout stated they would look at the changes that are needed to the existing policy and prepare a new scoring worksheet based on the discussion tonight. 4. Adjournment There being no further business,Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m. John J. Dietz,Mayor Tina Allard, City Clerk P O w E R E U 9 1 1`4 U