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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-18-2020-WS'It ,-ARQEN HILLS Approved: March 9, 2020 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING FEBRUARY 18, 2020 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 5:00 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 Todd Blomstrom, Community Development Manager/City Planner Mike Mrosla, Deputy Clerk Jolene Trauba, Public Works Superintendent Jeff Frid, GreenCorps Member Danica Mooney -Jones, Finance Director Gayle Bauman, CTV Director Dana Healy, CTV Municipal Media Coordinator Jared Wiedmeyer, and Karth Lake Improvement District Boardmembers Gary Gerding and Susan Johnson 1. AGENDA ITEMS Councilmember Holmes requested Item F be discussed after Item C. A. CTV Annual Update City Administrator Perrault stated CTV will be present to provide an annual update. Also, Council requested a proposal to upgrade the projector in the Council Chambers for a clearer picture, and that is still in progress. CTV identified a possible option but is requesting a demo model to ensure it would work with our current set up prior to making a recommendation. CTV Director Dana Healy introduced herself to the Council and discussed the core services being provided by CTV. She reviewed the statistics from 2019 and commented on the benefits of being a part of CTV. She commented on the importance of social media and how the public responded to content for Arden Hills. She then described how the content was analyzed by her staff. She discussed the upcoming feature that would be called Points of Light, which would feature local churches. She explained that a great deal of community was being created through these spotlight features. Another focus of CTV was to work with both the Ramsey County League ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 2 of Local Government and the Chamber of Commerce. She reported CTV would be hosting Lunch and Learn events in 2020 in order to pass along industry information onto its partner cities. CTV Municipal Media Coordinator Jared Wiedmeyer commented further on the core services CTV was providing to the City of Arden Hills which included recording meetings and webcasting these meetings on the CTV's website. He discussed a new video concept that would be explored in 2020 to improve community engagement. He explained CTV worked just over 120 hours in Arden Hills in 2019. He described how CTV was trying to increase its online audience through a number of different social media outlets. It was noted the most viewed program in 2019 was the Alliance for Sustainability video. Ms. Healy commented further on how CTV could assist the City with community engagement. She explained CTV would be looking for a new space in 2020 and was hoping to downsize. She indicated CTV would also be going through a logo, brand and name change. Councilmember Holden questioned how much space CTV would need. Ms. Healy stated she would need 7,400 square feet with one -bay for the production truck. She indicated she would consider partnering with a municipality for this space. Mayor Grant asked if the new name would include "TV". Ms. Healy commented she did not believe "TV" would be a part of the new name and branding. She discussed how her organization was providing a soft platform for news and was moving away from cable TV. Mayor Grant offered his appreciation for how CTV stepped in and filled the void after the loss of the local newspaper. He explained he appreciated how CTV was growing and evolving to meet the media needs of the area. Councilmember Holden commented on an article in the Wall Street Journal and questioned if franchise fees would be reduced again. Ms. Healy discussed the 621 Order and explained cable companies can deduct in kind donations against franchise fees as part of the payment to cities. She indicated this could be detrimental to cities, but at this time no massive changes have occurred. Councilmember Holden recommended raw numbers be included in future CTV presentations. Councilmember Holmes asked what else the City can do to reach out to the community besides the quarterly five minute programs. Ms. Healy reported the City gets two neighborhood networking programs along with four quarterly updates. She noted the snowplowing video was considered a quarterly update and the Penny Carnival was a neighborhood networking program. Councilmember Scott commented he had observed some buffering issues on the website when he was watching a recent Planning Commission meeting and requested CTV address this concern. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 3 B. State of the City Update City Administrator Perrault stated the Council selected Land O'Lakes as the preferred venue for this year's State of the City address, and, after learning about the event accommodations, decided to hold the event on Thursday, April 16, rather than Thursday, April 23. Staff is requesting direction from the City Council on the proposed list of topics and presenters. At the January 21, 2022 Council Work Session, the Council asked staff to include a legislative update as part of this year's event and he asked if the Council wanted to have one of our local representatives speak. He also asked if the Council wanted staff to extend an invitation for someone from the Arden Hills Foundation to speak. Councilmember Holden stated while it would be nice to have local legislators in attendance, she wanted the focus of the meeting to remain on Arden Hills. City Administrator Perrault asked if the Arden Hills Foundation should be invited. Councilmember Holmes supported this idea. Councilmember Holden requested the State of the City focus on the future of Arden Hills and the direction the City was heading. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained he could highlight the development coming to the City. Councilmember McClung reported he would not be able to attend the State of the City event and requested staff remove him from the agenda as a presenter. Councilmember Holmes and Councilmember Holden supported the City changing the meeting date in order to allow Councilmember McClung to be in attendance. Further discussion ensued regarding the layout for the State of the City at Land O'Lakes. Councilmember Holden commented it may be difficult for the City to find a new venue at this time if the meeting date were to change. Councilmember Scott did not support the Council seeking a new venue at this time, but could support a date change. City Administrator Perrault commented staff could speak with Land O'Lakes to see if there was another date where the full room was available and if not, the State of the City would be held on April 16t" with four members of the Council present. Deputy Clerk Trauba provided further comment on the size and layout of the room at Land O'Lakes and noted in the past postcards have been sent to all local businesses. Councilmember Holden stated she would like to have notices for the State of the City mailed to all residents and businesses in Arden Hills. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 4 Councilmember McClung agreed and explained it may be problematic for residents to have to RSVP in order to attend the event because this has not been required in the past. Councilmember Holmes supported a postcard being sent to all residents in the City for the State of the City. Councilmember Holden commented if a mailing was sent to all residents in the City a larger room may be needed. She indicated the meeting may have to be pushed back to May to allow staff more time to plan for this event and to ensure the large room at Land O'Lakes was available. City Administrator Perrault explained Land O'Lakes was willing to fund a portion of the catering for the event. Councilmember Holden recommended the City pay the entire bill. Mayor Grant supported the $6.99 per person option with coffee and water. He stated he supported the staff recommended topics. City Administrator Perrault made the Council aware that the State of the City event would run slightly over the original budget given the need to pay for the meeting space, CTV and catering. He reported staff was requesting the Council hold a special worksession meeting on April 6tn to review the slideshow presentation for the State of the City. Councilmember Holden suggested the slideshow be forwarded to the Council and that the Council provide staff with feedback prior to the event. C. Spring Tree Sale/Giveaway Discussion GreenCorps Member Mooney -Jones stated at the October 28, 2019 City Council meeting, Councilmember Holmes requested staff to inquire about the DNR tree sapling program in regards to hosting a spring tree giveaway to Arden Hills residents. The DNR through the Minnesota State Forest Nursery sells tree seedlings (1-2 feet tall) in bulk at low cost. However, there is a minimum purchase of 500 trees as these are intended for mass reforestation plantings on a single property and Minnesota State law prohibits the redistribution of the trees by the City to residents. GreenCorps Member Mooney -Jones explained staff found that the City previously collaborated with Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County as they host an annual tree sale. Friends of the Parks and Trails is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that formed to promote the public support and appreciation of regional parks and trails. The program provides the residents of Arden Hills the opportunity to purchase shrubs and 4-6-foot-tall saplings. Friends of the Parks and Trails organizes and operates the tree sale. The City does not participate financially in the sale. Unfortunately, Friends of the Parks and Trails annual tree sale is postponed for this year this as they are reorganizing. They are anticipating to host a tree sale in 2021. GreenCorps Member Mooney -Jones commented staff reviewed adjacent communities that also host tree sales. The majority of cities primarily sell 4-6-foot-tall saplings by 3 different methods: Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County, Tree Trust (another organization ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 5 which runs tree sales for cities), or purchasing from a wholesale retailer like Gerten's or Bachmann's. GreenCorps Member Mooney -Jones stated Tree Trust charges the city $30 per tree and the resident $100. The cost of the tree for the resident can be offset if the City selects to contribute more than the minimum of $30 dollars per tree. The wholesalers allow residents to by trees through the city. The residents notify the city of what trees they want to purchase and pay the City directly. The City is then responsible for purchasing and distributing the trees from the wholesaler. GreenCorps Member Mooney -Jones reported another option is to purchase seedlings (1-2-foot- tall) from a nearby soil and water conservation districts. The Anoka County Conservation District sells seedlings in batches of 10 and 25 while the Washington County Conservation District sells only in batches of 25. These would be picked up by staff in late April and could then be sold or given away to Arden Hills residents. A Nursery Stock Dealer Certificate from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture would needed for any tree sale held by the City. This $225 certificate is required to sell or distribute nursery stock in Minnesota. She provided further comment on the options available to the Council and requested feedback on how to proceed. Councilmember Holden stated she believed the City should forego the tree sale this year given the fact the Friends of the Parks would be selling trees again in 2021. The rest of the Council was in agreement. F. Karth Lake Pump and Control Cabinet Discussion Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated at the November 18, 2019 work session, the City Council discussed funding for replacement of the outlet pump and repairs to the control cabinet for Karth Lake. The Council directed staff to work with the Karth Lake Improvement District Board to consider a proposal for the Improvement District to fund the cost of the replacement pump and repairs (or replacement) of the associated control cabinet, and the City would address the failing retaining wall adjacent to the control panel and management of the pump operations. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom reported on December 11, 2019, the Karth Lake Improvement District Board discussed four options to repair the pump and control cabinet based on price quotation information obtained by City staff as described below. • Option 1: Replace Pump and Retrofit Existing Control Cabinet: $13,002 • Option 2: Replace Pump and Relocate Existing Control Cabinet: $26,702 • Option 3: Replace Pump and Control Cabinet at Existing Location: $27,880 • Option 4: Replace Pump and Relocate a New Control Cabinet: $34,430 Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained on January 15, 2020, the Karth Lake Improvement District Board confirmed their recommendation for Option 1 and discussed a recommended funding strategy for implementation. The Board's recommendation is to levy the cost for Option 1 in the estimated amount of $13,002 within the District over a two year period with taxes paid in 2021 and 2022. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 6 Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated the City Council discussed the KLID Board resolution at the January 21, 2020 work session and requested staff to provide additional information regarding funding for potential damage or loss of the pump or control cabinet in the future. Staff provided insurance coverage information and existing easement boundaries in the agenda packet. Councilmember Holden questioned why the City was responsible to mitigate the lake level. She stated much of the lake is on private property. Susan Johnson, Karth Lake Boardmember, explained she has lived on the lake for the past 30 years. She indicated the City does own a section of land on the lake. She noted there was a problem with the fact the lake was landlocked and as development occurred the lake level would continue to rise higher and higher. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom discussed the location of the riparian properties on the lake, along with the boundary of the drainage and utility easement. He commented further on how the pump worked to maintain the water level at an acceptable level below the easement boundaries. Ms. Johnson described the form and function of the Karth Lake Board. Mayor Grant asked if the Council supported the City maintaining liability insurance over the pump. The Council supported maintaining this liability. Further discussion ensued regarding the bank stabilization and control panel installation. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom described the work City staff could do to stabilize the slope and noted fencing would assist in keeping children off the bank. Mayor Grant asked if the Council supported the City setting up an annual levy for Karth Lake Improvement District to assist in setting aside funds for a pump and control panel in the future. Councilmember Holmes explained the expense for Option 1 was $13,000, which would be assessed to the 41 to 44 properties over the next two years which would be approximately $150 per year per property. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom reported this was the case. Councilmember Holmes asked if the Karth Lake District would support a $30 to $50 per year assessment after first two initial years to assist with funding the future expenses for a pump and control panel. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained the Karth Lake Board would be discussing this at their April meeting. Ms. Johnson stated the Board was unable to discuss this topic at its last meeting. She commented the Board has not agreed to fund a future pump and control panel. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 7 Councilmember McClung indicated he wanted a mechanism in place so Karth Lake District could pay for a pump and control panel in the future. He did not support the City offering assistance to the Karth Lake District again in the future. Councilmember Holden recommended the City Council draft a policy stating who would be responsible for and assessed for the pump and control panel. Councilmember McClung supported this recommendation. Gary Gerding, Karth Lake Boardmember, discussed the two groups that live on the lake. He noted there was one group that gifts a sum of money to the lake district each year in order to assist with lake maintenance. He commented the other group resents spending any money on the lake. Council consensus was to direct staff to bring Council action to the March 9t" meeting recommending approval of the purchase the pump and the parts within Option 1 with staff following up on the assessments and written policy at a future date. D. ICWC 2020 Contract Renewal and Draft 2020 Work Plan . Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated in May 2019, the City entered into a one-year contract to participate in the Institution Community Work Crew (ICWC) program. The program provided a work crew consisting of a crew leader and up to ten crewmembers for up to ten hours per day to complete predetermined work plans. Work dates were available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at a cost of $75 per hour. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented ICWC crews completed buckthorn removal in Floral, Cummings and Hazelnut parks, sediment removal and rain garden maintenance in Valentine Park, and performed landscape maintenance at City Hall, Highway 96 median areas and gateway sign on New Brighton Road in 2019. The ICWC has provided a new contract for the 2020 season. The terms of this proposed contract are similar to the 2019 contract, including an hourly rate of $75 per hour for crew time. The ICWC program supervisor and Public Works staff have discuss the City's desire for more extensive use of ICWC work crews during the 2020 season. An initial list of potential 2020 projects was developed and reviewed with ICWC representatives in September 2019. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained two projects are not included on the proposed 2020 ICWC Work Plan. ICWC reviewed the scope of work for the Karth Lake Retaining Wall and the picnic shelter roof replacements at Floral, Hazelnut and Cummings Park. ICWC determined that their crews could not complete these projects due to the scope and nature of the work. Councilmember Holden asked how many hours the crews on the weekend. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated the crews typically worked 10 hours a day. Councilmember Holden indicated the Crepeau Nature Preserve was in poor condition. She recommended some resources be dedicated to the preserve. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 8 Further discussion ensued regarding the type of projects the ICWC crews could and could not complete. Mayor Grant asked if the crews could put on a new asphalt roof on the Perry Park pavilion. Public Works Superintendent Frid explained the crews could complete asphalt shingle roof work, but not steel roof work. Mayor Grant supported the ICWC crew installing a new roof on the Perry Park pavilion and construction of the Hazelnut Park warming house. He believed it would be advantageous for the City to use a crew versus hiring a roofing company. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom discussed the plans the crews would need in place in order to complete the Hazelnut warming house. He reported the City budgeted $10,000 for the ICWC crews in 2020 and so far the City has over 200 hours of work which would cost approximately $15,000. He explained the Council could add more hours onto the contract, but noted this would be a budgetary issues that would have to be addressed. Councilmember McClung stated he could support transferring money out of the General Fund Budget in order to have the ICWC crews complete projects for the City because this frees up Public Works Staff to complete other projects. He noted this was a cost effective way for the City to have projects completed. Councilmember Scott discussed the importance of the City keeping up with its preventative maintenance within the parks. Councilmember Holmes asked if the buckthorn removal efforts were working in the City's parks. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom believed this to be the case because the seed stock was being removed. He commented further on the long process that had to be followed in order to eradicate buckthorn. Mayor Grant discussed the great strides Roseville was making in the removal of buckthorn. Councilmember Holmes questioned why the ICWC crews were not hired to mow grass. Public Works Superintendent Frid described this work was currently being done by seasonal employees. He reported the crews only worked on the weekends and these crews would have to use the City's equipment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated it was staff s recommendation to use the ICWC crews to complete work that staff could not get to throughout the summer. He commented further on how the availability of the crews was limited with a part-time crew versus a full-time crew. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 9 Mayor Grant recommended the crew focus on buckthorn removal on Old Snelling between Bethel University and Highway 96 because this would open up the view of the lake. Councilmember Holden suggested landscaping at the City parking lot be completed by the crew after all the concrete work was completed. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom thanked the Council for their feedback and noted the contract with IC W C would be placed on an upcoming agenda for approval. E. Public Works Capital Equipment Replacements Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated the 2020 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes three equipment items for replacement consisting of two pickup trucks and a tool cat unit. In addition, the CIP identifies replacement of unit 120, one of the three main snow plow vehicles in the years 2023 and 2024. Unit 120 recently required significant mechanical repairs. Staff is recommending early replacement of the vehicle due to anticipated future repair costs and impacts to plowing operations when Unit 120 is out of service. This work session item was requested by Public Works staff to discuss the vehicles currently scheduled for replacement in 2020 and potential changes to the capital equipment CIP to allow early replacement of Unit 120. Public Works Superintendent Frid provided a brief summary of the vehicles being proposed for replacement and discussed how future vehicle purchases would be shifted. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with the frequency and cost for tire replacements on the City's plows. Public Works Superintendent Frid discussed how plowing the City's trails and streets put a great deal of wear and tear on vehicles. He described how he was trying to stay ahead of vehicle maintenance. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented on the critical nature of the City losing one of the plow trucks in the winter and how this impacts operations. Councilmember Holden stated she could support the 435 and 120 purchases and possibly even 203. She asked how long it would take the City to receive a new truck. Public Works Superintendent Frid estimated this would be four months for the pickup trucks and a longer delivery time for the plow truck. Councilmember McClung encouraged staff to continue gathering data on the Public Works fleet expenses and maintenance in order to assist the Council with making better informed decisions going forward. Council consensus was to support Table 2 provided in the agenda memo and the necessary modifications to the CIP. G. HVAC Discussion ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 10 City Administrator Perrault stated the City Council received a presentation from Johnson Controls regarding their review of the City's cooling and heating system at its November work session in 2019. At that meeting, Johnson Controls presented three options. Option A was recommended as the most efficient and reliable equipment; Option B utilizes similar equipment to our current system but includes relocating the equipment to the rear of the building to address any equipment warranty concerns, and Option C entails replacing our current set up with similar equipment in the same location. Option C would void equipment warranty due to the length of piping from the outdoor equipment to the utility room. City Administrator Perrault also noted that the City's heating system is approaching end of life and maintenance costs have been similar to the A/C costs. If the projects were done concurrently the City could expect approximately 5% savings on the project due to the economies of scale of having both projects done at once. The proposed boilers are high efficiency boilers, a lower cost option could be available but at a reduced efficiency rating. Staff provided further comment on the HVAC unit, along with the budget impact and requested feedback from the Council on how to proceed. Councilmember Holmes asked if the project would have to be bid out if the City were to go with Johnson Controls. City Administrator Perrault reported the City would not have to go through the formal bidding process if the Council wanted to hire Johnson Controls because they were a member of Source Well. He explained this company has an advantage because they were involved in the design and installation of the City's last HVAC system. Councilmember Holden indicated she could not spend $500,000 without putting this project out for bid. She recommended staff request bids for the City's HVAC unit. Councilmember McClung supported this recommendation. Councilmember Holmes stated she would like the City to hire Johnson Controls because they were familiar with the City's HVAC units and current building layout. Mayor Grant commented Johnson Controls could still bid on the project if staff were directed to formally bid the project. Councilmember McClung encouraged the Council to not assume just because Johnson Controls had a lot of experience that they were providing the City with the best option to move forward with this project. He wanted the Council to have several proposals to review before approving a bid. Councilmember Scott supported the City pursuing bids on the HVAC project as well. Council consensus was to direct staff to pursue bids for the HVAC project. H. Summit Development/Met Council Update ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 11 Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported the Met Council has reviewed the request from Summit Development and has a concern. He explained the concern is that the approved density exceeds the High Density land use category in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. At this time, the Met Council was still reviewing amendments to confirm whether or not they can approve it administratively. He stated in order to have the Summit Development move forward a minor text amendment was required to the Comprehensive Plan that would add language to allow for density flexibility via the PUD. Staff reviewed the proposed language amendments with the Council and requested feedback on how to proceed. Councilmember Holmes asked if the Council could make this change in the City but not include TCAAP. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated this could be done and reported this new language would only apply to land that was being re -guided then a PUD would be utilized. Councilmember Holden supported this action going forward because the Council had already set the density recommendations for TCAAP within the TRC. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported he would draft language for the Council to review and this language would be forwarded to the Council later this week. He planned to have the Planning Commission review this language amendment at their meeting in March. Council agreed to continue the meeting an additional 15 minutes. I. Communications Update The Council discussed upcoming communication opportunities and planning. J. Council Tracker In the interest of time, Council did not review the Tracker. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Councilmember Holden asked to add that the whole program will be looked at, not just the fees, to the Park and Rec item. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session meeting at 8:20 p.m. �!/YL07 en e Trau a David Grant Deputy City lerk Mayor