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09-14-2015 CCM SPECIAL JOINTSpecial Joint Meeting of the Elk River and Ramsey City Councils Held at the Ramsey City Hall Monday, September 14, 2015 Members Present: Elk River: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Burandt, Westgaard, and Wagner Ramsey: Mayor Strommen and Councilmembers Johns, Kuzma, LeToumeau, Riley, and Williams Members Absent: Ramsey Councilmember Shryock Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Planning Manager Zack Carlton, Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen, Fire Chief John Cunningham, City Engineer Justin Ferrite, and Recreation Manager Steve Benoit Ramsey Staff Present: City Administrator Kurt Ulrich, Fire Chief Dean Kapler, Police Chief Jeff Katers, Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Mark Riverblood, Community Development Director Timothy Gladhill, City Engineer Bruce Westby, City Planner Chris Anderson, and Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Patrick Brama 1. Call Meeting to Order Mayor Strommen called the meeting to order at 6:43 p.m. 2. Introductions Mayor Strommen thanked everyone for attending. Mayor Dietz thanked the Ramsey for hosting the meeting and thought it was a great opportunity for the two cities to get together and discuss common interests. Following introductions, Mayor Strommen asked staff to make their presentations on the agenda topics. 3.01 General City Updates Mr. Gladhill presented the group with updates for Ramsey. Councilmember Wagner asked if the apartments in The COR were owner occupied units or rentals. Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes September 14, 2015 Page 2 Mr. Gladhill stated they are apartments. He noted they do not have any multi -story condominiums. Ms. Othoudt presented the group with updates for Elk River. Mr. Ulrich wondered if there was anything Elk River was doing in terms of workforce development. Ms. Othoudt stated they have been working towards a workforce development initiative and it is an item she has discussed with Mr. Brama and Anoka Technical College. She thought there may be an opportunity to work together to assist businesses with workforce issues. Mayor Strommen stated Ramsey has been very proactive about marketing to potential new businesses and she inquired about Elk River's strategies. Ms. Othoudt stated they have shovel ready land available which they are marketing to data centers. She noted developers like to see land ready to go. She stated they have also been attending some marketing data events. She stated they have other specific industries they target through trade shows, which play a huge role in how developers view Elk River and its business friendly philosophy. Mayor Strommen indicated she would be interested in marketing events with Elk River because she thought they could be stronger together without being in direct competition. She indicated she liked the idea of workforce development in the city. Mr. Carlton updated the group on the residential market in Elk River. Mr. Ulrich asked about the detached townhome market and if they have sold well in Elk River. Mr. Carlton stated detached homes have done well. He reviewed some of the neighborhoods in their city and what attracts people to them. Ms. Othoudt stated they are completing an update to their housing study, which should outline the current demands in the housing market. She expects to see more residential development happening in the next year. 3.02 Jarvis Construction Update Mr. Femrite updated the group on the Jarvis reconstruction project. 3.03 Whistle -Free Zone Status Mr. Femrite updated the group regarding the whistle -free (quiet zones) zone for trains. r0WERIa er NATURE Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes September 14, 2015 Page 3 Mayor Strommen asked how many crossings Elk River is requesting to be whistle - free. Mr. Fenrdte stated all of them. Mayor Dietz stated they received some funding from the State to install crossings at Main Street and at Jackson Avenue. Mr. Ferrite reviewed some of the funding sources utilized. Councilmember Kuzma appreciated Elk River's cooperation on the Jarvis Street improvement and the railroad crossings. He stated Ramsey is interested in quiet zones and hopes to get Alpine Street converted soon. He indicated it took 18 months to get through the process of achieving a couple of quiet crossings in Ramsey. Mayor Dietz stated they are waiting on the railroad to complete their end of the project. Councilmember Williams asked if they had to close any crossings in order to get the improvements approved. Mr. Ferrite stated the railroad looked at their crossings and determined there was not, due to spacing, any crossing that could be closed so they are doing the necessary safety improvements to keep all the crossings open. 3.04 Local Road Funding Mr. Westby updated the group on local road reconstruction in Ramsey. Mr. Portner asked if there is a bike trail on the south side of Highway 10. Mr. Riverblood explained the area. Councilmember Westgaard asked if Ramsey received pushback from the State for the Armstrong Avenue interchange. Mayor Strommen stated they approached this project with a planning study, looking long-range across the corridor, which has been agreed to by MnDOT and multiple cities along the corridor. Mr. Westby reviewed a map of the interchange and indicated a couple of closures associated with the project. Councilmember Westgaard stated there didn't seem to be closures along the interchange that affected businesses. He stated Elk River has had to deal with this issue which continues to put stress on businesses along Highway 10. He wondered r1/1911 Br NATURE Special joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes September 14, 2015 Page 4 as Ramsey has moved through putting in an interchange, how strict MnDOT has gotten with closing a lot of the access points with their existing businesses. Mr. Gladhill stated a lot has depended on tuning of the highway improvement itself. He indicated the study really helped with the businesses and closures made. Mr. Brama stated Ramsey was proactive in acquiring properties and spent more time and resources early on in order to make the project shovel ready for the State. Mayor Strommen stated this was difficult for the city, not only on Highway 10 but also on county roads. She stated Anoka County puts in medians when improving a road and if they are not on Highway 10, they are on a county road, which is where a lot of their businesses are located. Mayor Strommen thought this project was easier than when improvements are made to county roads. She stated the study for this project gave businesses time to plan and know what would be happening. Mr. Ulrich stated the city has gone through a long discussion about using franchise fees and their Council decided the best source of funding would be from the General Fund, land proceeds from The COR development, and to try and identify future sources of funding. He stated Ramsey will continue to talk about franchise fees and whether it makes sense for them. Mr. Portner reviewed the funding scheme utilized in Elk River. He stated they were able to implement a utility fee rather than bonding for street improvements. Ramsey Councilmember Kuzma asked about the utility fee structure. Mr. Portner reviewed the fee. There was discussion regarding franchise fees and how Elk River implemented it without residents objecting to it. Mayor Dietz stated Mr. Femrite did a good job communicating with the public. Anybody who gets an electric bill pays the fee and they did not think a person who has more money should pay more than another person. They set the fee at nine dollars a month and knew this would not change for a long time. He stated they have not raised the fee since they started it and do not plan on increasing it anytime soon. Mayor Strommen asked if residents participated in the process, because in Ramsey, residents were concerned this was a progressive tax and indicated they would rather use the property taxes. Mayor Dietz stated they did not have a lot of the public appear at meetings. He stated a lot of information was pushed out on social media. Mr. Portner stated they did a lot of upfront work so residents felt comfortable with the fee. ro1EEe[e It INATURE Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes Page 5 September 14, 2015 ----------------------------- Mayor Strommen stated they looked at implementing a franchise fee but the Charter Commission had many concerns so Council chose to seek a different route. The Charter Commission expressed concerns of whether the fee was legal. Mayor Dietz stated Council worked with their attorney who did not feel there was an issue. Councilmember Burandt stated she has received a lot of positive feedback, especially from the elderly on fixed incomes. They felt the fee was very affordable, equitable, and kept the streets looking nice. Mr. Femrite stated it takes a change in philosophy and there needs to be communication early in the process. He stated it was a team effort from all staff and Council in Elk River. Councilmember Olsen asked about the issues of the Charter Cormnission. Mayor Strommen stated there was a question about dedicated fees and if State law allowed them to set a franchise fee. There was also a threat of a special election. Councilmember Westgaard stated it takes a change in philosophy. They can raise the fees at any time and this fee helps the city plan ahead easier. He noted the fee is set aside strictly for road projects. 3.05 Highway 10 Corridor -of -Commerce Efforts Mayor Strommen stated Highway 10 has been Ramsey's number one priority in terms of transportation. She stated the corridor is critical for public safety noting until the Armstrong Boulevard interchange is completed they have no at -grade separated crossings with BNSF. She stated the issues are workers can't get to and from work efficiently and car/train accidents. She stated they are looking at broadening their vision for the corridor and trying to raise the visibility of its needs on a larger scale. She stated as a region, we can all do better if we are engaged in this process and noted one of the things Ramsey is working on is the idea of a Highway 10 Summit, including communities from Blaine to Moorhead. She stated we are far underfunded and are looking at raising that profile. Mayor Dietz stated they approached MnDOT about trying to coordinate the signal lights through Elk River but MnDOT is not interested in cooperating, noting their concern is to move traffic along Highway 10. Mr. Femrite stated they have been working with Senator Kiff neyer about trying to get smart lights (adaptive traffic signal controls) installed along Highway 10. He stated she has been supportive and has been looking for funding. Mayor Strommen stated they worked hard over the last few years with Anoka County, which has made it easier with legislators. tOvEAE1 BI NATURE Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes Page 6 September 14, 2015 3.06 Regional Recreational Corridor for North Mississippi Giver Mr. Riverblood updated the group regarding the regional recreational corridor for North Mississippi River. Mr. Benoit stated the city adopted their Master Park Plan in June. He updated the group about the Master Plan and indicated trails are very important to residents of Elk River. 3.07 Public Safety Coordination Chief Kapler updated the group about public safety in Ramsey. He stated coordination across county line is working well. He noted Fire Station #2 is being rebuilt. There will be a police substation and an ambulance bay within the building. Chief Cunningham agreed and stated as a department they can't do everything themselves noting he appreciates the cooperative efforts. He updated the group about public safety in Elk River. Chief Katers stated the police departments work well together. They have had calls for service but mutual aid is different than how it works for fire departments because there are two counties involved. The demands have changed in the calls for service. Law enforcement in general has recently had some negative publicity but when he has talked to local residents he has found it not to be the case. Residents are very supportive of the department. The department is constantly looking at different ways to reallocate resources and one area they are working on is community engagement. He stated it has been successful and positive. Chief Nierenhausen concurred and stated they are similar yet different. There is a lot of land in between the two cities and different radio systems are used unless they go to a different channel to communicate, which they are hoping to rectify in the near future. He thought the overall lesson public safety has learned is to reach out to other organizations and find out where each is strong/weak and to learn from each other. He stated they have to be self-sufficient and rely on what is around them. Mayor Dietz asked about officer morale due to the current negative climate in the U.S. Chief Katers stated he keeps reminding officers of the reason they joined the force, plus there has been positive comments from local citizens. The officers have actually seen an increase in the amount of citizens coming to them at events and thanking them. He thought it was almost a reverse effect. He stated they will continue to do the job whether they are seen in the best light or not but he thought it had a good effect locally. lIVIRII Ir NATURE Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes September 14, 2015 Page 7 Chief Niexenhausen stated their officers have been advised to change some of their tactics and not let their guard down. He thought they both benefit from working in communities considered bedroom communities, which typically generates more appreciation for law enforcement. Mayor Strommen asked if there are trends both communities are seeing. Chief Katers stated their calls for service are more quality of life calls than criminal calls. Chief Niexenhausen stated they are seeing more quality of life calls but are seeing calls requiring two or three officers. He thought this trend would rise in the coming years. Chief Katers stated the complexity of calls are increasing and it takes more people to solve some of the crines. 3.08 Other Mayor Strommen asked if there were any other issues to be discussed. Hearing none, Mayor Strommen thanked staff from both cities and felt it was helpful to get together on occasion to share information. She thanked the Councils from both cities for participating. Mayor Dietz echoed the thoughts and felt they should do it again soon. 4. Adjournment Motion by Mayor Strommen, seconded by Councilmember Riley, to adjourn the Net- Tina worksession meeting. The worksession of the City Council adjourned at 9:00 p.m. 6Jo JAllard, City Clerk ra�retI er NATURE �J