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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-13-WS /It �-Al EN HILLS Approved: August 26, 2013 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING JULY 15, 2013 5:00 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council work session meeting at 5:04 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung, and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Community Development Intern Matthew Bachler; City Planner Ryan Streff; and Deputy Clerk Amy Died 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Council accepted the agenda as presented. 2. AGENDA ITEMS A. Verizon Proposal City Administrator Klaers stated that the Council initially discussed the Verizon tower location inquiry at its March 18, 2013, work session. At that time, the Council directed staff to get more information regarding Verizon's plans at the City Hall site, and they indicated that they were open to hearing more about the proposal. Staff met with Verizon representatives on May 21 at City Hall and discussed the matter in detail. A preliminary sketch was created by Verizon and presented to staff on June 25. City Administrator Klaers recommended to Verizon representatives that the sketch be reviewed with the Council. He indicated that staff has concerns with the proposed size of the building and the property that Verizon wants to lease. The location may also impact any future long range plans the City may have for a City Hall expansion. He requested that the Council discuss the plans further and direct staff on how to proceed. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 15, 2013 2 Councilmember Holmes asked why Verizon wanted to locate a building on City Hall property. Joe Egge, Faulk & Foster, provided the Council with additional information regarding Verizon's request. He explained that Verizon was dropping calls in this area and that a cell tower on the City Hall property would assist in filling a dead zone along Highway 96. He proposed renting the space from the City for $1,200 per month. He commented that a second cell phone carrier could be added on the tower for additional revenue if the Council desired. Councilmember Holden did not support the proposal given the space that would be taken up at City Hall, and that the majority of Arden Hills already had adequate service from Verizon. Councilmember Holmes commented that she was quite shocked to see the proposed building right next to the City Hall building. She suggested an alternative site be selected. Mr. Egge stated that the County land was reviewed but a suitable location was not found. He stated that the City Hall property was the only suitable location found along the Highway 96 corridor. Councilmember Werner was not in favor of the proposed location as it would limit the future expansion of City Hall. Councilmember McClung stated that given the potential need for expansion of City Hall in the future, he too did not support the Verizon proposal. Mayor Grant commented that the proposed location of the tower and building were a concern considering City Hall may need to be expanded in the future. He did not feel that the City Hall site was the correct piece of property for Verizon's plans. He indicated that based on the discussion this evening, the Council did not support Verizon's proposal. B. Dynamic Display Sign Ordinance Community Development Intern Bachler stated that the Shell gas station on County Road E has submitted a sign permit application to reface an existing freestanding sign on their property to include an LED price sign. A similar price sign was approved administratively for the Holiday gas station on Highway 96 in November 2010. Based on staff's interpretation of the sign code, this type of sign qualifies as a dynamic display sign, which is not permitted in the City. Community Development Intern Bachler explained that dynamic display refers to digital advertising signs whose content is updated electronically. These signs commonly use LED or plasma displays. He reported that municipalities have responded to the increased use of these types of signs by coming up with regulations and exemptions to limit their use and design. The City's sign code makes no exceptions for the use of dynamic display signs. Community Development Intern Bachler requested that the Council discuss the use of dynamic display signs in the City and direct staff if a sign code update is needed. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 15, 2013 3 Councilmember Holden stated that dynamic display has not been allowed in the past and the City was successful in a previous signage lawsuit. She indicated that she is open, but cautious about possible changes to the City sign ordinance. Councilmember Holmes was open to amending the sign code to allow dynamic display signs to an extent. She thought it only fair to consider the sign application given the fact a similar sign was already approved for Holiday. Mayor Grant stated that one thing to consider with gas station price signs is that the sign may only change once a day, or every couple of days. He commented that the overall size of the sign should also be taken into consideration. He reported LED does not cast a great deal of light. He recommended reviewing the provisions in the City Code regarding lighting to see if updates are needed to address LED lights. Councilmember Werner questioned the dimensions of the existing sign. Community Development Intern Bachler stated that the sign is roughly 75 square feet in size and is currently non-conforming. Councilmember McClung did not object to the LED gas station price sign so long as the price is only changed once a day. He recommended that all future LED sign requests be reviewed on a case by case basis. The Council supported reviewing the sign request further, but their consensus is that the sign code should not be amended at this time. C. Franchise Fees City Administrator Klaers stated that per Council direction, earlier this year he discussed franchise fees with neighboring City Managers and learned that Mounds View and New Brighton have existing franchise fee programs and that Shoreview has just approved a franchise fee. Staff has also done some preliminary research with Ramsey County on the City's tax base composition. He has also spoken with Colette Jurek with Xcel Energy to discuss the City's interest in evaluating a franchise fee program. City Administrator Klaers commented that the Council discussed the possibility of establishing a franchise fee program during the June 17, 2013, work session. The additional revenue would assist the City's in reaching its CIP goals and to address the City's street and trail infrastructure maintenance issues. Benefits of a franchise fee were further reviewed, noting an electric franchise fee would generate more income than a gas franchise fee. City Administrator Klaers reviewed the estimated revenues that would be generated noting properties within the City would be charged a flat fee. He requested that the Council discuss the matter further and provide staff with feedback. Colette Jurek, Xcel Energy, introduced herself to the Council, and stated that she would be the City's primary point of contact for any and all Xcel Energy issues. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 15, 2013 4 Ms. Jurek reviewed the proposed flat rate further with the Council and discussed the history of franchise fees. She commented that the flat rate allowed residents to better budget for their heating and electrical bills. She explained that the flat rate would be charged once per meter on a premise. Councilmember Holden expressed concern that all properties would be charged a flat fee by classification and that the revenues generated would not be based on user consumption. Discussion ensued regarding how apartment complexes, Presbyterian Homes, and Bethel University would be charged franchise fees. Ms. Jurek explained that if a franchise fee were pursued, a bilateral agreement would be signed between the City and Xcel after all terms were agreed upon by both parties. She commented that the fee would have to be fair and balanced and not be burdensome to any user within the City. Councilmember McClung stated that originally he was supportive of the franchise fee, but after reviewing the information further, he has concerns with the regressiveness of the plan. He did not feel it was fair that a flat rate was being charged to all homeowners. He wanted to see the rate vary by use or by home value. Councilmember Holden asked if residents on energy assistance would be charged the fee. Ms. Jurek stated that this was the case. Councilmember Holmes questioned if two residential franchise fee rates could be established for large users and small users. Ms. Jurek stated that this would not be possible. Councilmember Holden supported the flat rate due to the fact the proposed park improvements would benefit each residential property regardless of their value in the same manner. She commented that homes with higher property values were already charged higher property taxes. Mayor Grant discussed the proposed flat rate and how this would affect Arden Hills' residents. He questioned if commercial properties could be charged a higher flat rate than residential properties. Ms. Jurek stated that there is a little bit of flexibility in this area. She questioned what level of funding the City was hoping to generate. She reported it would take Xcel approximately 60 days to set up the franchise fee on the Arden Hills bills. Mayor Grant estimated that the City might want to generate approximately$600,000. Councilmember Holden was in favor of increasing the rate to 2.9% which would raise approximately$650,000. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 15, 2013 5 Councilmember McClung stated that if he were to support the franchise fee,he wanted to see the maximum amount pursued so that the benefit could be passed along to the residents. He suggested the rate be higher than 3%. Councilmember Werner supported the $600,000-650,000 range. Councilmember Holmes agreed with this range. Mayor Grant was in favor of the $650,000 range and did not agree with going any higher. He recommended that residential properties franchise fees be lower than commercial properties for electric. Councilmember Holmes stated that she did not want to see the Council drive its commercial property owners out of the City. She encouraged the Council to be sensitive to this issue. She recommended the franchise fees be flat between both residential and commercial properties. She questioned if the franchise fee could be put in place by year end. Ms. Jurek stated that this timeline would be possible. The Council was in favor of proceeding with a franchise fee. The Council suggested staff continue working on the numbers and report back to the Council at a future meeting. D. South Water Tower Logo and Color Public Works Director Maurer stated that the south water tower was being repainted at this time. He presented the colors from the north water tower that Council had at an earlier meeting decided the south water tower should be painted. He also presented a graphic layout of the logo and a plan view which showed the two logos generally facing east and west 1-694. E. State of the City Topics City Administrator HIaers reviewed an Economic Development Commission list of State of the City topics with the Council. He noted that the TCAAP redevelopment, B-2 District improvements, recent development projects, and transportation improvements are recommended as the main topics of discussion. Councilmember Werner indicated that the EDC was in favor of providing a full report on TCAAP. Mayor Grant stated that in the past, each Councilmember presented a topic at the State of the City meeting. Councilmember McClung commented that he would not be able to attend the State of the City meeting. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 15, 2013 6 Mayor Grant offered to discuss TCAAP at the meeting. Councilmember Werner opted to present development items. Councilmember Holmes wanted to talk about transportation improvements. Councilmember Holden indicated that she would discuss the B-2 District improvements. F. Respectful Workplace Follow-Up The department Directors and the Council met with Sheila Krejci at approximately 6:45 p.m. to continue their discussion on respectful workplace. 3. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session meeting at approximately 8:15 p.m. .,,.,.t` aml� 10-It�Aetti Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor I