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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-19-R "It -Ai�QEN HILLS Approved: March 25, 2019 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 25,2019 7:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung and Steve Scott Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault; Public Works Director/City Engineer Sue Polka; Finance Director Gayle Bauman; City Planner Mike Mrosla; City Attorney Joel Jamnik; and City Clerk Julie Hanson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Holden requested Item 6K be pulled from the Consent Agenda for further discussion as Item 7A. MOTION: Councilmember Holmes moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Gregg Larson, 3377 North Snelling Avenue, commented on the last edition of the Arden Hills Notes. He discussed the article that focused on TCAAP and the Civic Site. He reported the 2017 census set the City's population at 10,126 residents of which 8,422 were 18 or older. He explained the survey results for the Civic Site were not a fair representation of the City's population and encouraged the Council to reconsider their efforts. He stated the Council had discussed the TCAAP water tower at their January worksession meeting and explained this was a true public need versus the Civic Site. He asked the City Council what weight they give to the results. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 2 Don Wahlberg, 1451 Arden Place, stated he dropped off noise exposure information to the Council several weeks ago. He noted he lives 150 to 200 feet from one of the City's storm sirens. He reported on Wednesday, February 6 he experienced pain in his ears when he was in his yard. He explained pain in the ears occurs at 120 decibels. He indicated he could stay inside each month when the test occurs but stated there was a four-year-old girl that lived across the street from the siren who may not be inside each month. He commented children should not be exposed to 120 decibels or more as this could cause hearing loss or damage. He encouraged the City Council to reconsider holding siren testing monthly as he believed this was excessive. He suggested the testing occur quarterly and at three-fourths power. Mayor Grant thanked Mr. Walberg for this information. He explained the sirens were owned and operated by the County. He requested a response at the next Council meeting and also a follow-up letter to the resident. 3. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 4. STAFF COMMENTS A. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) and Joint Development Authority(JDA) Update City Administrator Perrault provided an update on TCAAP stating the February 4, 2019 JDA meeting was held. At this meeting, the JDA requested City staff and the County meet to discuss outstanding issues. These issues were to be addressed at a Wednesday, February 20, 2019 JDA meeting, which was not attended by the County. He reported staff has received two letters from the County requesting mediation. It was noted the County would not be attending meetings until the City responded to the request for mediation. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 14, 2019, Special City Council Executive Closed Session B. January 14, 2019, Special City Council Work Session C. January 14, 2019, Regular City Council D. January 16, 2019, Special City Council Work Session E. January 22, 2019, City Council Work Session F. January 28, 2019, Regular City Council Councilmember Holden noted she had a correction to the Regular City Council minutes from January 14 and the City Council Worksession minutes from January 22. These corrections were provided to the City Clerk. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded a motion to approve the January 14, 2019, Special City Council Executive Closed Session meeting minutes,January 14, 2019, Special City Council Work Session meeting minutes, January 14, 2019, Regular City Council meeting minutes; January 16, 2019, Special City Council Work Session meeting ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 3 minutes; January 22, 2019, City Council Work Session meeting minutes; and January 28, 2019, Regular City Council meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 6. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Motion to Approve Consent Agenda Item - Claims and Payroll B. Motion to Approve Resolution 2019-006 Appointing Planning Commission Members C. Motion to Approve Ordinance 2019-002 Amending Chapter 4, Section 4201.01, Subd. 6—Animals and Pets D. Motion to Approve Retroactive Pay Increase of Public Works Maintenance Worker E. Motion to Accept Resignations of Public Works Maintenance Workers F. Motion to Authorize Advertising for Public Works Maintenance Worker Position G. Motion to Approve Proposal for Professional Services Contract for Hamline Avenue Crosswalk Design and Construction Services—HR Green H. Motion to Cancel March 11, 2019, Regular City Council Meeting I. Motion to Approve Resolution 2019-007 Adopting the Ramsey County Multi- Hazard Mitigation Plan J. Motion to Accept Resignation of Public Works Director MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as amended and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 7. PULLED CONSENT ITEMS A. Motion to Authorize Advertising for Public Works Director Mayor Grant requested comment from staff. City Administrator Perrault requested the Council authorize staff to advertise for the open Public Works Director/City Engineer position. He commented on the hiring process that would be followed by staff. Councilmember Holden discussed the process that would be followed by staff and explained the proposed timeline would take weeks to complete. She recommended the process be condensed by the Personnel Committee if a qualified candidate were interviewed by staff. Mayor Grant suggested only one round of interviews be held by staff. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded a motion to Authorize Advertising for Public Works Director and that the Personnel Committee review the hiring process. The motion carried (5-0). ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 4 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Ramsey County Mediation Request Response City Administrator Perrault stated the City of Arden Hills received a request for mediation on the TCAAP project from Ramsey County in a letter dated February 8, 2019. The letter requested a formal response from the City Council by February 26, 2019. This agenda item is to allow the Council to publicly comment on the request and provide a formal response to the County. Councilmember Holmes recommended the Council not pursue mediation with the County at this time. She explained the City had an agreement with the County that has been in place since 2016 and this agreement was reaffirmed at a JDA meeting in September of 2018. She indicated she did not understand why this agreement needed to be changed. She stated the terms of the proposed mediation was not clearly set forth by the County but rather was extremely vague. This was a concern to her. She commented in order to make changes to density or the current plans in place, this would take a great deal of time and resources for the City to complete. For the reasons stated, she did not support the City pursuing mediation with the County. Councilmember Scott stated prior to 2017 he was not a member of the City Council. However, he noted he had attended a large number of JDA and planning meetings. He explained he was confused why the City was suddenly at an impasse. He reported the agreed to density of 1,460 units was supported by the County. He indicated the City fees were also a compromised and agreed to number by both parties. He stated it was his opinion the City has been diligent in attending meetings and delivering the agreements on time. He explained he was curious as to why the City was being described as an unwilling partner. He stated it was his view the City had followed through with its part and now the County wanted to change the terms of the agreement. He supported the City not entering into mediation until the basis of the impasse was better understood. Councilmember Holden agreed with these statements. She encouraged the public to view the February 20 JDA meeting on the City's website. She reported City representatives talked a great deal about the responsibility to the City and what it means if TCAAP details were changed at this point in time. She feared how the TCAAP project would be funded if things were to significantly change or how the development would proceed if the economy were to take a dive. She commented on the expenditures the City would have to incur to maintain TCAAP roads, sidewalks and parks. She was of the opinion the County had not negotiated in good faith up to this point. She feared this would continue if mediation were pursued. Councilmember McClung commented the County wears two hats and he argued that the County was not wearing either of these hats well. He explained the County was a governmental entity, similar to Arden Hills, and they were also a landowner for the Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP site. He feared the County was falling down on both of their responsibilities. He reported the County has asked for and demanded transparency from the City. He indicated when the County was not ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 5 getting what they wanted from the City, the County has demanded mediation, which was not a transparent process. He stated the City had gone through a transparent process in creating the TCAAP Redevelopment Code, in discussing the City's goals and by participating in the JDA. At the end of the day, he believed the County just wanted more. He was unsure how the County could mediate for more. Therefore, he would not support the City entering into mediation with the County when he personally did not know what the differences were between the City and the County. He was of the opinion staff and the City Attorney drafted a very nice letter to the County what the City's position was. He stated he supported this letter. Mayor Grant commented on the original agreement that was between the City and the County noting the City was to complete the planning, zoning and utility work, while the County would remediate the property and sell it to a developer. He explained it appears the County has now become the developer. He reported the City has met all of the requested timelines, agrees to build a water tower, agrees to put in the trunk utilities, has completed an AUAR, and has completed a redevelopment code. He noted the County reviewed and approved the redevelopment code. Mayor Grant indicated the County has held discussions with the developer without the City being included. As it turns out, the City had not heard from the County until March of 2018 that a framework with the developer had been reached. He noted the City was not aware of this framework but was notified by the press. He reported the framework was based upon 1,460 units and the associated zoning. He commented as of September 4, 2018 the County brought forward a document that supported 1,460 units. He noted the County approved and supported 1,460 units on four separate occasions and has since walked away from negotiations. Mayor Grant stated the Council was previously at 1,280 units within the development and negotiated with the County up to 1,460 units. He noted the changes being requested by the County would require changes to the Redevelopment Code which would spin the clock back to December of 2016. He commented the economy was good, the agreements were in place and he believed the development should move forward as is. He expressed frustration that the County would not provide the City with specifics that were being asked for within the proposed mediation. He questioned how the City was to understand an impasse has been reached when no specifics were being offered. Mayor Grant stated at the February 4 JDA meeting the developer stated they have had no conversations with the County. He indicated the County was no longer talking to the developer or the City. He indicated Commissioner Huffman stated at this meeting that the County was negotiating in good faith. He did not believe this was happening when the County was no longer talking to anyone. He encouraged the County to come back to the table and take into consideration the implications of their actions. He commented on all of the agreements that were already in place for this development. He stated he did not want Rice Creek Commons to be a slippery slope where everything changes on a month to month basis. Rather, he wanted this agreement to have solid footing place so that it could move forward. Mayor Grant indicated he was unsure what the County was proposing but noted both the City and County wanted this project to be sustainable. He noted the property only had two access points and reported the site could only support so much density. He believed that the plan in place would enable some sustainability. He feared that changing the density would put the plan at risk. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 6 He stated whatever was developed on Rice Creek Commons would become part of Arden Hills and Ramsey County. He commented this would impact the City forever. He discussed the amount of time and energy the City Council has put into this project and noted he understood the County put a great deal of time into the site's remediation. Mayor Grant reported the parties had come together on a plan and this plan was presented to developers. The developers then came forward and he did not support changing the plans at this time. He did not agree with going into any form of mediation when the City had no idea what the County was asking. He requested the City Attorney continue to draft and deliver to the County by February 26, 2019 a formal response from the Council declining the request to enter into mediation. He stated he would like each of the City Councilmembers to sign this document. Councilmember Holden stated when the Council was working on the Master Plan for TCAAP the County and the developer had representatives at all of these meetings. She noted the County offered their support to this document on three separate occasions. She reported the Master Plan was not created in a vacuum but rather the City received input from the County and the developer. She explained she would be happy to sign a formal response from the City to the County declining the request to enter into mediation. Mayor Grant summarized that the City included the County in its planning process for TCAAP and noted the County had not reciprocated. MOTION: Mayor Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to direct the City Attorney to draft and deliver to the County by February 26, 2019 a formal response from the City Council declining the request to enter into mediation. Councilmember McClung suggested a sentence be added to the last paragraph as discussed at the Council worksession meeting. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 11. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Scott reported the Council appointed two new Planning Commissioners. He thanked the citizens that applied for these positions. Councilmember Scott noted the resignation of the Public Works Director Sue Polka and wished her well in her future endeavors. He then commended the Public Works Department for their great efforts in keeping the City free and clear of snow. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 7 Councilmember McClung thanked all of the applicants that had applied to serve on the Planning Commission. He thanked Jonathan Wicklund and Subbaya Subramanian for their willingness to serve the community. Councilmember McClung thanked the Public Works Department for their tremendous efforts to keep the City streets clear during the recent snow events. Councilmember Holmes stated she was pleased the Planning Commission would have a full contingent in 2019. She reported on January 29t" the Civic Site Task Force held their last meeting. She thanked all of the individuals that served on this committee. Councilmember Holmes noted the City's new website was up and running. She encouraged residents to visit the new site and complete a survey to provide the City with feedback on the new site. Councilmember Holmes thanked the Public Works Department for all of their efforts. Councilmember Holden expressed her disappointment in County Commissioner Blake Huffman. She noted Commissioner Huffman represented Arden Hills and stated the City has received no communication from the Commissioner during the last year regarding TCAAP. She stated this was a big disappointment. Councilmember Holden thanked Mark Moser for his dedicated service to the City of Arden Hills and wished him well in his new position. Councilmember Holden encouraged residents to be patient with the plow drivers as they were doing their best to keep the City's streets free and clear of snow. Mayor Grant stated the Council interviewed members for the Planning Commission and he congratulated Jonathan Wicklund and Subbaya Subramanian. Mayor Grant thanked Sue Polka for her service to the City and thanked her for continuing to assist the City with TCAAP. Mayor Grant requested residents be patient with the Public Works crews as they work to clear snow from the City's streets. He explained this winter has brought a great deal of snow and ice, which required sand and salt. He thanked residents for keeping their fire hydrants clear. Mayor Grant expressed frustration with the fact Commissioner Blake Huffman has not been showing up for meetings, has not been communicating with the City and has not been properly representing the City of Arden Hills. He stated he found this to be disturbing given the fact he was in a position of leadership and he was not showing up. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 25, 2019 8 ADJOURN MOTION: Councilmember Holmes moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to adiourn. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Mayor Grant adjgurned the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:53 m. e Hanson David Grant City Clerk Mayor