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4.1. DRAFT MINUTES (3 SETS) 05-21-2018 VA City of Elk Meeting of the Elk River City Council River Held at the Elk River City Hall Saturday, May 5, 2018 Members Present: Mayor Dietz (10:11 a.m.), Councilmembers Olsen,Ovall,Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner and City Clerk Tina Allard I. Call Meeting to Order The meeting of the Elk River City Council came to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. Recreational Facility Improvements Listening Session Community member Charlie Blesener facilitated a discussion about the current state of the city's recreational facilities and engaged the people in attendance about what they would envision for the future of Elk River and what role they might play in creating that future. 3. Adjournment Amw There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m. John J. Dietz,May;, Tina Allard, City Clerk City of Elk Meeting of the Elk River City Council River Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, May 7, 2018 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall,Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Peter Beck,Planning Manager Zack Carlton, City Engineer Justin Femrite,Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, 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 May 7, 2018, Agenda Councilmember Westgaard added Item 8.3 regarding Council listening sessions. Mr. Portner requested to remove Item,iw10,2, Ahk Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the May 7, 2018, agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consider Consent Agenda Council noted the following changes to the April 16 minutes: Mayor Dietz said the average taxpayer would not be in favor of a $25 million cost and asked if business owners are willing to have their taxes raised. He stated a local sales tax to pay for the arena and other recreational projects would be a one-time thing and if the local sales tax was rejected by the voters,those buildings would have to be paid for with property taxes. favor a $25 miffion cost and asked if business owners are wiflifig to have dhli' raised. He stated a sales tax would he a one time flaing but it would eventually come property taxes. Counciltnember Wagner stated curre.-A ciby projects, such as the Fire or Poh Station,would increase the city's revenue. Mayor Dietz proposed the city see how the sales tax vote turns out. He said if the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) vote fails,Vroperty tax dollars would be needed to pay for the proposed project. He felt the LOST question on the ballot needs to be clear on what the sales tax would be paying for. City Council Minutes Page 2 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- for the proposed project. He felt a refereiadum crdestion needs to he clear on what the voters would be payifig4of, Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the following consent agenda with the changes noted above to the April 16, 2018, minutes: 4.1 April 16, 2018, and April 30, 2018 Minutes 4.2 Check register, check numbers 9935 and 105953-106165 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Resolution 18-21 approving a State of Minnesota Department of Transportation limited use permit for municipal identification signs. 4.4 Resolution 18-22 regarding classification of certain tax forfeited land located within the City of Elk River and specifying the parcels to be sold. Resolution 18-23 approving acquisition of real property and dispensing with statutory requirements for review by Planning Commission. 4.5 Three year custodial cleaning services proposal in the amount of $240,048 from Perfection Plus for city building cleaning services. 4.6 Pay estimates as outlined in the staff report. 4.7 Ordinance 18-05 amending Chapter 38, Section 39, License Background Checks of the City of Elk River, Minnesota, City Code. 4.8 Elect not to waive the statutory tort limits for liability insurance. 4.9 Hire Kaylin Clement as Senior Communications Coordinator effective May 29, 2018. 4.10 Hire Dawn Larson as part-time recreation assistant effective May 8, 2018. Motion carried 5-0. S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 University of Minnesota Local Options Sales Tax Study Consultant Ryan Pesch provided an overview of the findings regarding a local option sales tax for Elk River as outlined in the study. He stated non-residents account for 45.5% of taxable sales in Elk River. He further stated, based on a 0.5% sales tax, Elk River residents would pay approximately$1,058,407 and a non-resident would pay about $884,928 for a total annual collection of$1,943,335. He discussed methodology and trade area analysis by merchandise category. Councilmember Wagner questioned if Mr. Pesch received any other feedback from local businesses regarding how they feel about a sales tax. Mr. Pesch stated it didn't seem to matter and they seemed to think it was reasonable, but he can't say overall how the feeling was of the people. UREJ City Council Minutes Page 3 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- 6.2 TH 169 Freeway Conversion Funding Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. He noted this is an exciting and extremely big deal for the city. He thanked the transportation committees' for determining the scoring criteria based on the merits of a project. He noted the City of Elk River has huge needs. He further thanked Senator Kiffineyer and Representative Zerwas,the Sherburne County Board and staff, and the Chamber of Commerce Board and businesses. He noted Elk River has two large corridors with major needs. He stated the first meeting with MNDOT begins this week to determine the schedule,review preliminary design, connections,and effects on property. Representative Zerwas stated he was stunned;noting an award to a single project this size outside the metro district is very significant. He stated the city put in tremendous effort and credit goes to staff, the county, and chamber. He discussed the short turnaround time needed to come together and drill down on the Highway 169 corridor and commented the city had a superior project submittal. He stated it was very apparent from the applications submitted which groups did their homework and noted there has been some pushback around the state due to other needed projects. Council thanked Representative Zerwas for his support. 7.1 Ordinance Amendment: 2018 Master Fee Schedule Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to adopt Ordinance 18-06 amending the 2018 Master Fee Schedule to add food truck licensing fees to the City of Elk River, Minnesota, City Code. Motion carried 5-0. 8.1 Advisory Group Attendance Policy Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz expressed concerns with removing all special meetings from the attendance requirements. Council directed staff to review the policy further and to address unique attendance issues, such as medical reasons, on a case-by-case basis with advanced notice. 8.2 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. 8.3 Council Listening Sessions UREJ City Council Minutes Page 4 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- Councilmember Westgaard questioned Councilmember Wagner as to how she plans to assemble the data gathered from the listening sessions and compiling it into an executive summary for the public. Councilmember Wagner stated she has thought about it,but hasn't come to a final decision. She questioned Council as to how they liked the format of the first session and whether there should be any changes. Mayor Dietz stated he is fine with the format but questioned if specific names should be collected with specific comments. Councilmember Wagner stated she is fine with either option but expressed concerns with people not wanting to share their opinion if they are required to give their name. Councilmember Westgaard stated he didn't feel the names were critical as much as the content. Councilmember Olsen felt the meeting was well run and attended. Councilmember Ovall reviewed the listening session questions and stated he thought they were bias, noting the purpose of the meetings is to listen to citizens. He felt they weren't directive enough and suggested steering them to the core issues about the decisions Council needs to make. Councilmember Westgaard suggested secondary questions,noting it is critical to give the community the chance to speak. 9.1 Council Liaison Updates Council provided updates on the activities of the various boards and commissions. Energy City ■ Next meeting Wednesday, 16. ■ Ride along in new Mitsubishi. Heritage Preservation Commission ■ Water tower update. ■ Lack of quorum discussion. Need to be committed and outreach to increase commission size. ■ High school attendee wrote a letter and expressed support of keeping commission. ■ Summer guided tours. Parks and Recreation Commission ■ Eagle Scout project updates. ■ Woodland Trails process for grant award. ■ Park system tour date. UREJ City Council Minutes Page 5 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- ■ Elk River Fest update. ■ Enormous positive feedback on the new dugours. Planning Commissin ■ Beekeeping and digital signs projects coming forward. Elk River Municipal Utilities ■ Scholarship recognition. ■ Financial audit. ■ Expenditure policy review. Ice Arena ■ 2018 ice rates discussion continued to August. ■ Vote to add another shadow box for NHL player. ■ Revenue study for expansion of arena. IT Security ■ Very collaborative between Elk River Municipal Utilities and city. ------------------------------ Council recessed at 7:39 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened at 7:44 p.m. 10.1 Waste Management Leachate Piping and City Sewer Extension Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. He stated the city, on a trial basis,has been taking in leachate and hasn't seen any deterioration of its lines. He stated he has been in continued discussions with Waste Management to consider a long-term plan for leachate disposal. Mr. Femrite discussed two options: piping along Highway 169 or the Great Northern Trail. He noted the best option is along the trail due to being able to allow for more capacity. He further noted there are geographical challenges with Highway 169. He stated Waste Management would construct and pay for the piping, and then the city would take it over,at 221st Avenue, as a public asset. Mr. Femrite stated he met with various affected departments and noted Elk River Municipal Utilities may have to look at extending the urban service area. He questioned if the city wants to move forward with an extension to the water system. Councilmember Ovall asked for further clarification about leachate and whether there were any concerns with comingling it into the city sewer system. Mr. Femrite explained leachate and noted it can be challenging to treat. He stated it can be very corrosive but should be okay in the upgraded wastewater treatment facility. He noted they have been testing and monitoring it for a year now. Councilmember Ovall further questioned if the city wants to allow this exposure to the main city system. POWERED 9r UREJ City Council Minutes Page 6 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- Mr. Femrite explained how there would be a closed process for the heavy metals. He stated the metals would settle out with the bio solids and then be put in dumpsters to eventually send to the landfill. Councilmember Westgaard stated the city could learn the long-term effects from the City of St. Paul. 10.2 Downtown TH 10 and Lowell Avenue Redevelopment Project This item was removed from the agenda. 10.3 Jackson Street Water Tower Grant Opportunity and Future Planning Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. He reviewed the three options for painting the tower noting no match would be required for the grant,but the project would be considered more seriously if some funds were contributed. He noted Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) is willing to contribute some funds. Mayor Dietz stated ERMU has $90,000 in their budget for the tower and it would be nice to get this project done. He further noted ERMU doesn't'want to own it and would deed it to the city. Councilmember Wagner questioned if the excess funds in ERMU's budget could be given to the city for future ongoing maintenance. She noted this is another scenario where the city takes on an asset but doesn't have a maintenance plan. Councilmember Wagner read a letter she received from a student regarding the Heritage Preservation Commission. Council discussed having a student representative on the Heritage Preservation Commission and directed staff to review it. Mr. Carlton questioned Council as to whether they wanted to consider additional site work, such as a landscaping design for a park and a plaque. Councilmember Westgaard stated he recalls a concept being reviewed at a previous joint meeting. Council consensus directed the Heritage Preservation Commission to review the matter and determine costs for maintenance of the site. Mr. Portner noted the commission could visit with the Rotary/Lions meeting to seek partnership opportunities. 10.4 Street and Park Maintenance Reorganization Mr. Portner presented the staff report. He stated with this collaboration the city could create a lot of economies, such as reduced duplication of equipment,better strategic planning and span of control leading to savings of approximately$100,000. POWERED 9r UREJ City Council Minutes Page 7 May 7,2018 ----------------------------- There was discussion on the cross-departmental staffing with snowplow operations. Mayor Dietz stated he appreciates he has received few complaints on snowplow issues and the crew does a good job. Councilmember Westgaard expressed concerns as to the direct report process for the public works director being handled between the community operations and development director and the parks and recreation director. Mr. Portner stated it has been working well to-date between everyone. He stated one challenge is street department work is very linear and based on a schedule,while parks department works is mainly seasonal and based around weather and tournaments. He stated currently the setup is a good balance and it's nice the public works director has a parks background and would be conscientious of park needs. Councilmember Westgaard stated he doesn't have any issues with implementing this structure in order to streamline efficiencies but expressed concerns with having two bosses who could have different priorities,which may work now but could alter with future staffing changes. Mr. Portner stated whenever there are staffing changes he reviews the organizational structure and would bring any recommended changes to Council. Councilmember Wagner questioned if staff anticipates there may be some employees dissatisfied with the new structure;thereby causing low morale. Mr. Portner stated he had an opportunity,due to recent retirements,to meet and talk to the staff. He further stated they are aware of what is happening and there are a lot of new people eager to take advantage of learning opportunities. He stated they were comfortable with it and didn't express concerns. Ms. Fisher stated she has gotten positive feedback on this from employees. II. Adjournment There being no further business,Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:40 p.m. John J. Dietz,Mayor Tina Allard, City Clerk UREJ City of Elk Meeting of the Elk River City Council River Held at the Elk River City Hall Thursday, May 10, 2018 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall, and Wagner Members Absent: Councilmember Westgaard Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, City Clerk Tina Allard,Deputy City Clerk Jessica Miller I. Call Meeting to Order The meeting of the Elk River City Council came to order at 9:30 a.m. 2. Recreational Facility Improvements Listening Session Community member Charlie Blesener facilitated a discussion about the current state of the city's recreational facilities and engaged the people in attendance about what they would envision for the future of Elk River and what role they might play in creating that future. Comments made during the Q &A session of the meeting. ■ Would like to see the city swap land with the holding pond land the school district owns. ■ Cost transparency prominent in communications ■ Number of hockey families in and outside of the community being served by the arena component of a facility. How much would these families contribute to a facility? How many other groups would be using the facility? ■ Types of businesses leasing space in a recreational facility. ■ Council's authority in making expenditures. ■ Future of Pinewood golf course. It needs to go away. ■ What are the needs of the community? ■ Like the sale tax idea. ■ How much would youth groups be contributing? ■ It was noted there were 67 teams playing in town over the weekend and they are spending money on food, entertainment, and lodging. ■ Need to consider the big picture for Elk River. ■ Like sales tax idea. Fifty cents on a $100 purchase is a good deal for the community and involves non-community members contributing to the costs of a facility. ■ Like the idea of being able to host different types of parties, such as birthdays and weddings. ■ Embarrassed to have outsiders come to Elk River due to the comparison of our community facilities compared to theirs. ■ Where is the integrated vision for the community?We keep kicking the can down the road. Need to know the funding. Want a curling rink and other amenities. City Council Minutes Page 2 May 10,2018 ----------------------------- Partner with Rogers and Zimmerman cities and put a facility in an area accessible to all. Don't want to put lipstick on a pig. ■ County won't put in bike lanes, city does,where is the coordination among the groups? ■ Image of Elk River is bad. Other parents living outside the community beat on our facilities. Embarrassed to have other parents at our parks. Dave Anderson Complex is a dump and dangerous. ■ Pinewood is good for kids and seniors. Keeps kids out of trouble, off streets and drugs. ■ People are concerned about having to pay for this facility but not for the amount of money spent on our parks. Not everyone uses the park system,but they still cost taxpayer money. Not fair to say hockey people have to pay but other users for other amenities don't. ■ Need to consider the positive economic impact amenities would bring to Elk River. People are moving out of Elk River and to other surrounding communities due to amenities provided. ■ Need to envision things. Not going to know impacts of today's decisions until 10 years or more from now. If you have nice stuff,you'll get quality developers. It doesn't always mean our taxes have to go up and there are other options. Councilmember Wagner noted there are a lot of in-depth discussions on many of these topics but the community doesn't show up and participate. She stated everyone needs to be engaged in the process. She noted there are a lot of opinions and not everyone can and will agree on one solution. Mayor Dietz stated the Council takes everyone's comments very seriously when evaluating a decision affecting an entire community. He stated the city has a responsibility to maintain facilities it owns and Council needs to base a decision on what's right for the majority. Councilmember Ovall stated he has heard many varying opinions from the public. He further noted he has been hearing many people are okay with the local option sales tax but not property taxes. He stated the Council needs to look at the future and be proactive and maintain its facilities. Council thanked everyone for participating and sharing their ideas. 3. Adjournment There being no further business,Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 10:40 a.m. John J. Dietz,Mayor Tina Allard, City Clerk P U w E H l U 9 Y 1`4Af