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03-05-2018 CCMMeeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, March 5, 2018 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall, Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Pormer, Fire Chief John Cunningham, Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen, Parks Maintenance Superintendent Tim Sevcik, Economic Development Specialist Colleen Eddy, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, City Engineer Justin Femrite, Arena Manager Rich Czech, and City Clerk Tina Allard I. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider March 5, 2018, Agenda Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to approve the March 5, 2018, agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consider Consent Agenda Mr. Portner added the collective bargaining contract for the IUOE Local 49 Union. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the following consent agenda: 4.1 Check register, check numbers 9930-9931 as outlined in the staff report. 4.2 Resolution 18-13 acknowledging $500 contribution from Cargill for Youth Athletic Complex. 4.3 Resolution 18-14 acknowledging $1,500 contribution from HealthPartners for Elk River Farmers Market. 4.4 Purchase of 2018 Ford F550 Truck 4.5 Contract 18-04 IUOE Local 49 Union. Motion carried 5-0. S. Utilities Commission Interviews City Council Minutes Page 2 March 5, 2018 Council interviewed candidates for the Utilities Commission. Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to appoint Paul Bell to the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission with a term expiration of March 19, 2018. Motion carried 5-0. 6. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 7.1 Oath of Office: On -Call Firefighters Mayor Dietz administered the oath of office to firefighters Spencer Specht and Matthew Wilson. 7.2 Oath of Office: Police Officer Mayor Dietz administered the oath of office to Patrol Officer Brandon Martin. 7.3 Introduction of New Employees Mr. Sevcik and Ms. Allard gave some background and introduced the new employees. Council welcomed staff to the city. 7.4 Housing and Redevelopment Rehab Loan Program Ms. Eddy presented the staff report. 8. Public Hearings There were no public hearings. 9.1 Proceed with Park Improvement Projects Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. Councilmember Wagner expressed reservations with moving forward on the Dave Anderson Athletic Complex (DAAC) improvements due to the uncertainty of the location for the arena/civic center and is in favor of the Oak Knoll improvements. Mayor Dietz and Councilmember Olsen concurred with moving forward on the Oak Knoll improvements. Councilmember Olsen questioned if the decision for DAAC could be made after the worksession discussion for the arena/civic center item scheduled later on the agenda. NATURE City Council Minutes Page 3 March 5, 2018 Mr. Portner suggested a motion to approve the Oak Knoll improvements with DACC contingent upon the later discussion. Moved by Mayor Dietz and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to proceed with the Oak Knoll lighting and scoreboard improvements and to approve the Dave Anderson Athletic Complex improvements contingent upon the results of tonight's worksession item. Motion carried 5-0. 9.2 Agreement and Donation to Install Athletic Field Lighting and Scoreboard at Oak Knoll Athletic Field Complex Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt Contract 18-02 between the City of Elk River, the Elk River Youth Football Association, and the Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association to pledge to donate $83,328 for installation of athletic field lighting and a scoreboard at the Oak Knoll Athletic Complex. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt Resolution 18-15 acknowledging the donation of $83,328 from the Elk River Youth Football Association and the Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to purchase athletic field lighting for $113,787 from Musco Lighting. Motion carried 5-0. 9.3 Elk River Sumer Festival Event Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz questioned the backup plan in case of bad weather. Mr. Hecker stated he will need to consider additional contingency planning but noted contract language options for concerts can include secondary dates in case of bad weather or the city losing a certain percentage of money for non-performance. Councilmember Wagner stated she is not in favor of an event in 2018 because it is only four months away and she is not sure it can be marketed enough to be successful in that timeframe. She referenced other community's events and questioned whether this should be a city or volunteer led function. She suggested keep the fireworks on July 4 and holding a contest to name the event. She also stated she didn't feel this was the right weekend to have the event. City Council Minutes Match 5, 2018 Page 4 Councilmember Olsen disagreed stating staff has been very creative with planning the event and he believes it is good to start small. Mayor Dietz concurred with Councilmember Olsen stating the city has nothing to lose by trying the event out. He further noted the Elk River Area Chamber tried having an event at Lake Orono but got tired of it because they couldn't get volunteers, noting people don't want to work around the Independence holiday. He stated he would love for a community group to step up and plan it. Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Mayor Dietz to direct city staff to prepare for an Elk River community summer festival for Saturday, July 7, 2018. Motion carried 4-1. Councilmember Wagner opposed. Moved by Mayor Dietz and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to name the event Elk River Fest. Motion carried 5-0. 9.4 Food Truck Licensing Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Councilmember Westgaard stated the key to this new ordinance is to monitor it during this first year to see how congestion and other factors work. He stated this is an opportunity to test having food trucks in the community. Frank Galli, Pompeii Pizzeria, stated he doesn't support food trucks because the downtown is fragile. He stated downtown wasn't doing well 10 years ago. He cited the City of Duluth's ordinance stating food trucks must maintain a specified distance from restaurants. He stated food trucks don't help his business. He questioned why Aegir located in downtown Elk River if they need a food truck to operate. Fred McCoy, McCoy's Pub, expressed concerns with one truck applying for the downtown spot for long periods of time. Mayor Dietz further expressed concerns with allowing one truck to monopolize the designated parking area. Steve Hickman, representing Daddy -O's, expressed safety concerns and suggested distance requirements from restaurants be put in place. Councilmember Westgaard reviewed past meeting discussions regarding the options considered and the difficulty of selecting a location for trucks. He stated this particular location was selected because of the space it allowed for customers at the counter. He noted Council really struggled with where it would make sense to allow trucks without limiting competition. P0VIREI It NATURE City Council Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 5 Mr. Hickman suggested moving them to the corner by the flagpole of the school district building, noting trucks would have more visibility. He also expressed concerns with lawsuits filed towards the city. Ms. Allard outlined some of the regulations in the ordinance regarding insurance coverage and indemnification. Council further discussed locations previously considered at past meetings. Mavor Dietz suggested trying this location and monitoring it. Councilmember Wagner stated she supports food trucks but is not sure the ordinance is quite right yet as far as the location allowed in the downtown district. She stated the best option would be to allow them on private property. Mayor Dietz suggested changing the location to King Avenue between the church and the Dare's Funeral Home. Councilmember Wagner felt it would be a reasonable solution. Jeremy Jones, Aegir noted no one has shown up at previous meetings and he is not sure why Council is considering a location change now. He suggested Council hold another worksession so everyone can work together on a solution. He stated he has been trying to work with everyone, including the restaurants. He asked that private property in the downtown district be allowed to have a food truck. Council consensus was to allow food truck parking on King Avenue and on private property but that only one truck can be in the downtown district at a time. 9.5 Local Option Sales Tax Study Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz explained why he felt this is a good financing option for the arena/civic center project. Moved by Mayor Dietz and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to direct staff to approve Agreement 18-03 a services agreement with the University of Minnesota for a local sales tax study. Motion carried 5-0. 9.6. Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Council added the following items: • Policy for achievement recognition for arts, academics, athletics. F 0 1 EEREIIr IREI City Council Minutes Page 6 Manch 5, 2018 ----------------------------- ■ Cyber security update. • Sustainable long-term capital improvement funding. 10. Council Liaison Updates Council provided updated on the activities of the various boards and commissions. Energy Cio ■ Electric vehicle update ■ 10 year goals ■ Climate smart film online at TPT 2 Elk River lee Arena • Arena plan concerns with electrical loading and energy consumption • Solar trees Heritage Preservation Commission • Staff evaluating need for commission. Parks & Recreation ■ Trail Plan • Summer Festival ■ Oak Knoll Planning Commission • Cargill Conditional Use Permit ■ Ordinance cleanup ■ Beekeeping Elk RiverMnntapal Utilities ■ Reviewing fee and rate schedule ■ Delinquents review ■ Landfill gas plant generation facility performance Transportation Items ■ Sherburne County allocating MNDOT dollars in 2022 for a roundabout at County Road 40 and at County Road 33 as they are currently the highest ranking projects. County hopes to begin the project in 2019. • Great Northern Trail ranked high for our region for 2022. • Corridors of Commerce for funding. Council recessed at 8:18 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened at 8:23 p.m. 11.2 Line Avenue Project Update N A TURF City Council Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 7 Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. He discussed the Corridors of Commerce projects and the possibility of some of its funding being used on this project near Dodge Avenue and 5`h Street. Council further questioned the Corridors of Commerce project and how it relates to the traffic patterns for Dodge Avenue and 5`h Street and the access to Line Avenue. Mr. Femrite explained how modifications will be needed to handle changes in traffic patterns. He stated he expects the 5th Street access to close if the Highway 169 improvement is funded by MNDOT. Council expressed concerns with traffic utilizing 5`h Street and stacking back onto Highway 169 once Line Avenue has the cul-de-sac in place. Mr. Femrite stated the peak hours of the turning movement were low for the 51h Street intersection and the traffic study estimates didn't show the patterns changing to the 5`h St. movement but staff would review the matter with the consultant. Council consensus to move forward with the Line Avenue improvement. 11.3 Arena/Civic Center Referendum Mayor Dietz read a 3 -page statement that is included as part of the record. He stated he doesn't feel the arena, activity center, and Lions Park Center should be combined but rather prioritized into separate projects. He presented his option for the arena at a cost of $15 million. He stated he didn't feel the city would need a voter referendum for the arena and could bond for $12 million of the funding. He stated he would like to have a sales tax referendum on the November 2018 ballot. Mayor Dietz stated $1.5 million of the GRE Fund could lower the cost of the project and Youth Hockey/Figure Skating Club could contribute another $1.5 million. He suggested items to remove from the arena building to reduce the cost as noted in the record. Councilmember Wagner stated she appreciates the research completed by the mayor but felt the previous project wasn't communicated well. She discussed her plan as outlined in her handout, which is part of the record. She stated Council needs to understand and determine a policy for field use fees. She stated the associations currently don't feel the fees are being paid fairly. She stated Council needs to determine long-term goals of the Parks and Recreation department and how the city can provide capital to fund them. Councilmember Wagner stated the city needs action plans before moving forward. She stated she likes the idea of considering the YMCA as a partner and giving them an opportunity to expand their horizons with an activity center, a climbing wall, or an extra gym specifically for residents or the Parks and Recreation department. She suggested a Council lead a community-based task force to reevaluate community needs. She noted this work would be a lot of what the city has already done but a better job needs to be done. She further questioned if the city is meeting the needs of today or for the future. POmEAEO AI AWRE City Council Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 8 Jack Lorge, 19490 Lowell Street, stated he is opposed to moving the activity center to the YMCA and expressed concerns with how they would treat seniors. He further stated he wants to be part of the solution and included in the process. Councilmember Olsen stated there are many advantages with partnering with the YMCA noting active senior want physical activities. He further stated if seniors are having issues at the YMCA, he would like to hear about them so it can be communicated. Mr. Lorge stated the YMCA can be beneficial to some seniors but others are looking for a more passive, social environment. Mayor Dietz explained how the activity center could have separate social spaces at the YMCA. He stated there are many options to explore as far as costs and membership and design opportunities, noting no decisions have been made at this time. Councilmember Wagner stated Council needs to discuss whether a facility should be large enough to support growth. Councilmember Olsen discussed current high costs of maintaining the activity center with the building still needing expensive improvements. He expressed concerns about the dilapidated arena. He noted Council has discussed this facility for numerous years and a lot of funding has been spent on band-aid repairs for the current facility. Brian Recker. RJM Construction, stated the option the Mayor discussed earlier was discussed by the prior task force in 2012. He stated $15 million would be sufficient to deliver a similar project. He distributed a handout of the option. Councilmember Ovall stated there is a lot of value to a new arena and what it brings to the community as far as economic impacts but he could not go to taxpayers with it when he felt it wasn't communicated well. He stated if the issue is about maintaining the ice integrity, the city could write a check today to buy a new ice plant for the Olympic sheet and complete the necessary repairs because Council told people, at a minimum, the city would do this fix. He stated the real question is about the future and what the city is trying to accomplish. He questioned if the city is trying to service more people. He stated the $10-12 million option gives the city a 15 -year useful life but if we built it differently the facility would have a 40 -year life. Mayor Dietz questioned Councilmember Ovall that if he would he want to still go for a referendum if he agrees with the $15 million facility option. Councilmember Ovall stated he thought the $10-12 million originally discussed also included some work at the activity center and Lions Park Center. 119E1E1 1 \ II !"NUKE City Council Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 9 Councilmember Westgaard stated if the referendum failed, the estimated costs were for improvements to existing buildings requiring extensive repairs and ADA improvements. Councilmember Olsen questioned if the funding could be broken into components. He stated there are ADA issues at Lions Park Center needing repair. He also stated he supports having dry land space because people want it. He stated repairs at other facilities need to be included. Mayor Dietz stated those projects could be dealt with later and the city should prioritize the facility projects. He stated if everything is combined together the cost will be too high and people won't vote for it. He felt the arena should be completed first before decisions are made with Lions Park Center and the activity center. Mayor Dietz stated he prefers to keep the arena at its current location. He felt a field house was not needed because there is a new one in Ramsey. He noted the field house portion of the previous referendum failed two to one, and the youth organizations did not get behind supporting it. He stated people say they want things, but maybe they don't. Mayor Dietz stated there is nothing wrong with the Olympic rink other than the needed repairs. He questioned what the city would do with the current arena if it is moved to a different location. He stated the school district would want the property for cheap and why would the city want to give it up. He stated if Council decides to add anything else to the arena at its current location, then he could see infringing on the softball fields. He stated he is fine with the drawing RJM handed out tonight and staying away from the softball fields. Mayor Dietz noted people are commenting on Facebook that the city needs to add a third sheet of ice, but statistics show youth hockey only rented 300 hours of ice time from the Anoka arena this year, which equates to less than two weeks of ice time. Councilmember Wagner stated Council should take some time and think about everything discussed at the meeting tonight. Mayor Dietz stated he is encouraged the two sheets of ice could be built for $15 million. He noted the city does need to reevaluate Lions Park Center. He stated if the city doesn't add rooms to the arena, maybe they could be added to Lions Park Center. Mayor Dietz stated if everyone can agree to his $15 million plan and decided not to go to referendum, the city can move forward quickly and get back on track to start building late this year. Councilmember Olsen stated his constituents feel the $15 million project would be acceptable. He stated the city should retain the advantages it has and he prefers keeping it at its current location due to proximity to the schools/amenities. He expressed concerns with families moving to other communities if the city doesn't improve its facilities. Councilmember Wagner stated costs are still going to add up if the facilities are separated. She expressed concerns with marketing because there would be no service p 0 1 1 R [ I Ir NATURE City Council Minutes March 5, 2018 Page 10 enhancements and an expected lifespan of only 10/15 years. She questioned if it is wise to spend this amount of money for life span of the facility. She stated this is the conversation she wants to have with Council/community in order to vet out the options. She suggested reviewing the big picture/long-term needs and listening to the various stakeholders. Mr. Recker stated the arena would exceed the 15 -year lifespan and could last up to 40 years with regular maintenance and the type of construction used. He stated they would need to go back and test the options. Mayor Dietz asked the consultant to reevaluate the drawing options. Council consensus was for this item to be on the April 2 Council meeting. Councilmember Ovall stated he likes the idea of keeping the arena at its current location. He further stated he doesn't see how Councilmember Wagner's option can be accomplished this year; whereas Mayor Dietz's option could get the city back on track and get completed quicker. 11.1 Trails Master Plan Mr. Sevcik reviewed trail priorities and current associated cost estimates. Map H Councilmember Wagner questioned if there are any reasons why the city would also want a trail along the north side of County Road 12. Mr. Sevcik stated the commission felt the south side of the road made the most sense due to the alignment with the Mississippi River Trail from Anoka County. He noted the commission wrestled with whether to put a trail on both sides of the road because of the need to get to Spectrum fields and how busy the county road can get. Council consensus was to keep a trail option for both sides of County Road 12. 12. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 10:33 p.m. Tina Allard, City Clerk I011aII Ir NATURE