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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-13-2020-SWS City of Arden Hills ▪1245 West Highway 96 ▪ Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.792.7800 ▪ Fax 651.634.5137 ▪ www.cityofardenhills.org Request for Special City Council Work Session A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or by any two Councilmembers. Reason for meeting: 1A. State of the City Update 1B. Pavement Resurfacing Discussion 1C. Lake Johanna Fire Department Station Cities Agreement Update 1D. COVID-19 Update Requested Date: 7/13/2020 Requested time: 5:00 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: 7/09/2020 ________________________ Mayor or Council Member Date Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: 7/09/2020 Date meeting to be held: 7/13/2020 Time of meeting: 5:00 pm Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. 7/09/2020 Signature of City Clerk Date tA-Hnrs Approved : August 24,2020 CITY OF ARI}EN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JULY 13,2020 5:OO P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALIL Tp* pRDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the Special City Council Work Session at 5:00 p.m. Note: On Mareh 20th, the Mayor signed a determination allowing Councilmembers to participate in City Council meetings via telephone pursuant to State Statute 13D.021 Present via Telephone: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung and Steve Scott Ahsent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave PerraulU Public Works Director/City Engineer Todd Blomstrom; Finance Director Gayle Bauman; Public Works Superintendent Jeff Frid; and City Clerk Julie Hanson via telephone: Community Development Manager/City Planner Mike Mrosla and Communications Coordinator Dawn Skelly 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. State of the City Update Mayor Grant asked the Council which option it would like to pursue for the State of the City format. These options from CTV are outlined in the staff memo. Councilmemher Holden asked if changes could be proposed to the draft presentation script and slides. The Council agreed that the first option for $439.00 was acceptable. Councilmember Holden reviewed her list of suggested changes to the various slides. A discussion ensued and the Council was in agreement with Councilmember Holden's proposed changes. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COTINCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY I3,2O2O 2 B. Pavement Resurfacing Discussion Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated that the City Council held an initial discussion of the city's street overlay projects that are conducted by the Public Works Department at its June 15, 2020 work session. He outlined the three informational items included in the agenda materials as follows: l. A summary of project locations and costs for past overlay projects completed by department staff. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom indicated that Finance Director Bauman reviewed available information and compiled a historical costs summary of previous city projects (see Attachment A). 2. A review of average bid prices for recent contracted overlay projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom indicated that Engineering staff obtained recent bid tabulations from the cities of Roseville, Shoreview, and Crystal for municipal street projects that were completed in either 2019 or are underway in2020. A summary of those prices are provided in Attachment B. He stated it is important to note the pricing is for projects involving approximately 1,600 to 10,000 tons of material and that will produce an overall lower unit price due to economy of scale. He cautioned a comparison between Attachments A and B and urged the Council to keep in mind that unit pricing that is more reflective of Arden Hills' typical projects in the past have are for approximately 150 to 600 tons of material. 3. A summary of city street segments that could potentially be resurfaced bythe department. Puhlic Works Director lCiW Engineer Blomstrom emphasized that Public Works staff was willing and prepared to proceed with this work as directed by the City Council. Puhlic Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom directed the City Council to Attachment A and specifically data for the 2015 project. He noted there was limited documentation for the 2015 project as compared to earlier projects in the city. Prior to this meeting and upon further research of past invoices for the 2A15 project, he noted that while the project was listed at 75 tons the actual material amount was closer to 310 tons, and that the labor hours spent were closer to 250 hours versus 320 hours. He noted this important change to Attachment A as this lowers the external costs for the project closer to $63 and brings the total costs including labor closer to $91 which is substantially less than the $228 figure as previously indicated in the table. Mayor Grant asked if all the streets in pink wers potentially proposed for this year. Public Works Director lcity Engineer Blomstrom reported this was the case. Mayor Grant questioned if the City could purchase additional pavement from a supplier already working in the City through a bid alternate to drive the price of the street projects down. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCTL WORK SESSION - JULY I3,2O2O Public Works Director lCiW Engineer Blomstrom stated he would have to investigate this further and would report back to the Council. Councilmember Holden asked when the street improvements and signal work would bs completed at the high school. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained the School District anticipates the crosswalk and signal work would be completed this year. He indicated the broader resurfacing would be done in 2021. Councilmember Holden commented she spoke to Mr. Blomstrom for over an hour today regarding this matter. She supported the City doing something for these roadways given the fact it would cost the City a whole lot more to completely reconstruct these roadways. She recommended the City look into purchasing additional pavement and that the work be completed yet this fall by City staff (other than Cummings Lane). Mayor Grant questioned if the Public Works crew could complete a cul-de-sac. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom indicated the Public Works crew could complete this work. Mayor Grant recommended Fairview, Walden and Hunters Court be completedin202l. Mayor Grant asked how long a mill and overlay project would last. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained a two inch resurfacing would last at least ten years. Councilmember Scott supported the work as proposed, Councilmember McClung and Councilmember Holmes were in agreement as well. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom requested the Council consider renting a larger paver for the work being completed this fall. Mayor Grant supported this recommendation. Councilmember Holden asked if the higher priced oil pavement product would make the streets last longer. Puhlic Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented there was some debate regarding this matter. He indicated the higher grade oils generally do perform better. He requested the Council allow staff to investigate the pricing and asphalt products in order to allow him to make the best investment for these streets. 3 Councilmember Holden recommended staff look at completing Hunter Lane and Fairview in 2021. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY I3,2O2O City Administrator Perrault suggested a written memo be approved by the Council at a future meeting to address the work that would be completed. Mayor Grant supported this recommendation. C. Lake Johanna Fire Department Station Cities Agreement Update City Administrator Perrault stated at its June work session, the City Council discussed the contract cities agreement that would lay the groundwork for the purchase of land adjacent to the Anderson Center for a future fire station. At the work session, the City Council requested language changes be made: any one of the three cities could bond for a station when it is time for construction, bond payments relating to the construction of a new station will be set at the time the bond is issued and will be fixed for each city for the duration of the bond, a date for future construction was removed and replaced with unanimous consent of the three cities, the language regarding municipal fees was struck assuming the normal development fees will be charged, and language was added that would allow the City of Arden Hills to purchase the land and future buildings should the station no longer be used to service Arden Hills. City Administrator Perrault reported since the June work session, the preliminary and final plat for the new lots was approved by the City Council allowing Bethel to subdivide land, this approval also started the timeframe for the Lake Johanna Fire Department's due diligence period of sixty days prior to purchasing the land. The fire department has until August 21, 7020 to complete their due diligence, and September 21, 2020 to close on the land. The elected representatives on the LJFD Fire Board and City Administrators/I4anagers met (via Zoom) recently to discuss the progress of the agreement and see where each City stands. The City Administrator and Councilmember McClung wers on the call, and explained the position of the City as it stands today. The other two cities, Shoreview and North Oaks, reviewed the updated draft agreement, and had suggestions and/or concerns. These concerns were reviewed in further detail, including the proposed formula and staff requested comments or questions from the Council. Mayor Grant commented he could not support a financing plan based on Met Council 2030 population estimates. City Administrator Perrault stated he would not recommend this for the City Council either. Mayor Grant questioned how the Council wanted to address bonding. Councilmember Scott supported a single city doing the bonding because this was more cost efficient. Councilmember Holden discussed the issues that may arise if a single city were to bond and the other cities were to not make payments. Cify Administrator Perrault reported a JPA would need to be established regardless of which city bonds for the project. He estimated it would cost the cities $178,000 to bond for the project, with $73,000 of this expense being charged to Arden Hills. He estimated the City would save 4 ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CTTY COLTNCIL WORK SESSION * JULY I3,2O2O approximately $28,000 if a single city were to bond for this project versus each city bonding individually. Mayor Grant supported each city issuing their own bonds. City Administrator Perrault commented this will not follow the cost share plan within the proposed formula. Councilmember McCIung explained the other two cities would like to go based on the current formula, or use future population estimates. Councilmember Holden asked if TCAAP was not in Arden Hills, would a completely different fire station be proposed for this site. Councilmember McClung reported the proposed frre station allows for growth in all three cities for the next 40 to 50 years. He believed a similar size building would be built even if TCAAP was taken out of the equation. Councilmember Holden stated she was having a hard time understanding why Arden Hills should be paying a larger share. She asked if TCAAP was not in Arden Hills, would the fire station be less expensive. Councilmember McClung reiterated that without TCAAP, the fire station would still be built as proposed to address the expected growth in Shoreview and North Oaks. He explained this was one of the issues of working cooperatively with two other cities through a non-profit to provide fire services. He reported the altemative would be for the City to provide its own ftre services which would come at two or three times the cost. Councilmember Holden commented she understood this. She believed that the proposed formula was unfair. Councilmember McClung stated he tried to explain the City's position with the Fire Board in a number of different ways. City Administrator Perrault explained this was the case and noted the Fire Board was not heeding to the City's point of view. He indicated if the City were not to change its stance regarding the proposed frre station, he feared the project could be shelved. Councilmember Holmes reported she would like the City to remain cooperative for this project and supported one City bonding. She explained she originally advocated for the bonds being a fixed amount because that is what bonds are. She did not believe it was fair to project the growth that may or may not occur in Arden Hills. She commented she did not have a problem with changing the formula every five or ten years. She supported the project having a single city bond for the project for cost saving pu{poses. She stated she would like to see the City move on from this. 5 ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 13,2O2O Councilmember McCIung indicated City Administrator Perrault had done some research into this, noting Arden Hills was in a unique situation because it has fire services provided through a non-profit. He requested staff discuss the innerworkings of the SBM Fire Department. Cify Administrator Perrault discussed how the Spring Lake Park/Blaine/Mounds View Fire Department was configured. Councilmember McClung stated the proposed five year average was in the City's favor. He reported in the short term the proposal helps the City. He explained Arden Hills would have the most development in the next 20 to 30 years. Mayor Grant commented he supported a single city bonding for this project. Councilmember McClung indicated Arden Hills could support a single city bonding for this project, but noted Arden Hills would not have to be the bonding agent. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with how little say Arden Hills has had in this project. She feared this project was being driven by the other two partner cities. Mayor Grant agreed it was clear the numbers were being driven by the other two partner cities. He asked if the Council would agree to bonding the $10 million for this project. Councilmember Scott stated he could support the City bonding for this project. Councilmember Holden commented with TCAAP on the horizon, she did not want the City also bonding for the fire station for the next 10 or 20 years. She indicated she did not want the City's bond rating to drop because the City was bonding for too many projects. Mayor Grant questioned if Shoreview should be asked to bond for this project. Councilmember Holmes stated she did not believe it was a big concern to determine who was going to bond for the project at this point. Councilmember McClung indicated he could support the City bonding for the fire station. Mayor Grant explained he preferred the city of Shoreview bonding for this project. He understood the Council was split on this issue. Councilmember Holmes stated she would prefer Shoreview or North Oaks bonding for the fire station given the fact Arden Hills would be required to bond a great deal for TCAAP. Mayor Grant suggested a recommendation be made to the Fire Board that one City bond for the project and it is Arden Hi[[s' preference to have Shoreview issue the bond. City Administrator Perrault reported this suggestion could be discussed at the next Fire Board meeting which would be held on Wednesday, July l5th. 6 ARDEN HILLS SPECTAL CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY I3,2O2O 7 Mayor Grant recommended the Council move onto the hard date concem, Councilmember Holden commented it was her belief Shoreview and North Oaks have already determined that the Fire Station should be built in2025 without seeking input from Arden Hills. City Administrator Perrault stated the original date discussed was 2022 and staff recommended this be pushed back to 2025. Councilmember McClung indicated he was surprised how vehemently North Oaks was pushing for a hard date. It was explained North Oaks would like a hard date for financial planning purposes. Mayor Grant questioned how put the June 30, 2025 date in place. City Administrator Perrault reported he recommended 2025. He explained the other cities supported the 2025 date, given all that has occurred due to COVID. Councilmember Holden stated she did not understand why there was a rush to build as soon as the land was in place. Councilmember McClung indicated the other cities were concerned about a major investiture of money and land outside their city and making sure there was a date certain to ensure the project is completed. Councilmember Holden commented she did not understand why this was such a concern given the fact it was outside their city. She did not understand what these cities were concerned about. Councilmember McClung explained Shoreview and North Oaks feared that the land would be purchased and a fire station would never be built. Councilmember Holden recommended the hard date be set for 2026 because this would allow the City to pay off the land while still having five years to plan for the fire station. Councilmember McClung stated this would be a reasonable recommendation. Mayor Grant indicated he could support 2025 or 2026. Councilmemher Scott stated he understood from previous conversations that the 2025 date was a 'ono later than" date. He explained he did not want the fire station to be pushed any later than 2026. Councilmember Holmes supported the City setting a hard date in 2026 given the state of the economy due to COVID-19. She stated the City could always complete the project sooner, but she preferred the Fire Board moving forward with a date in2026, Councilmember Scott commented he could support 2025 or 2026, but no later than 2026. ARDEN HILLS SPE,CIAL CITY COTJNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 13, 2O2O Councilmember McClung indicated he would go to the Fire Board recommending 2026 with 2025 as a second recommendation. Cify Administrator Perrault discussed the future ownership of the land and fire station noting the other two cities were comfortable with the proposed language. He explained if the fire station were not built, each city would receive its portion paid for the land. In addition, should the Lake Johanna organization dissolve the equipment and assets would be given to a successor that serves the cities. Councilmember Scott and Councilmemher Holden supported the revised language. Councilmemher Holden questioned where the population numbers would be coming from for the fire board formula. City Administrator Perrault stated this formula would be derived from Met Council numbers. Councilmember Holmes requested the City Attorney review the agreement and take into consideration the assumptions that were being made for the future. City Administrator Perrault explained the City Attorney would review the contract and would assist staff with revising the language, D. COVID-l9 Update City Administrator Perrault provided the Council with an update on how the City was responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reported Arden Hills was still under a local peacetime state of emergency. He asked if the Council wanted to reconsider solicitor and garage sale permits. He commented the Council should also discuss if City Hall should remain closed to the public. Councilmember Scott indicated he believed garage sales were still too high of a risk for the City to begin issuing permits. Councilmember Holmes disagreed stating the risk was not too high given the fact these were outdoor events, She reported a number of neighboring cities were allowing garage sales. She supported the City of Arden Hills allowing garage sales, solicitors and the use of picnic shelters. Councilmember Holden was in agreement with Councilmember Holmes. Mayor Grant believed garage sales had fairly minimal contact and for this reason he could support garage sales in the City. He commented he did not support solicitors at this time because they would be going door to door. He stated he could support the opening of picnic shelters in the City. Councilmember McClung indicated these were all good points, but he did not want the City to open up too quickly as this would allow the virus to spread more rapidly. I ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY I3,2O2O Councilmember Scott stated he did not support garage sales, solicitors or the opening of picnic shelters. Mayor Grant summarized the comments of the Council and noted three councilmembers supported garage sales and the opening of picnic shelters. Councilmember Holden explained if there was an uptick in cases over the next month, she would want the Council to reconsider garage sales and the use of picnic shelters. Mayor Grant agreed with this suggestion. Councilmember McCIung questioned if the City could mandate the use of masks at picnic shelters or at garage sales. Councilmemher Holmes stated the use of masks was not necessary outdoors and noted it would be difficult for the City to enforce such a mandate. Further discussion ensued regarding a potential mask mandate in the City of Arden Hills. Mayor Grant believed that a mask mandate should be made by the County or State in order to be effective. Councilmember Holmes stated the park shelters are already being used. She explained if the City were to open these amenities the City would have mors authority over their use. She recommended that if a change were made regarding garage sales and the picnic shelters that this information be posted on the City's website. City Administrator Perrault reported he could post this information on the City's website. Councilmember Holden requested further information regarding the number of staff members working from City Hall. City Administrator Perrault reviewed the work schedule and noted staff members were encouraged to work from home in order to keep the City under the eight person threshold. He commented further on how the social distancing requirements were discussed with the Public Works Department staff members. Councilmemher Holmes asked what project required the Public Works staff to comingle. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom reported street patching work required five employees. He noted the seasonals were not exposed on this project. He explained a strict limit of four would be set from this point going forward. Councilmember Holmes expressed concern with the fact the parameters that were set by the Council were not followed. I City Administrator Perrault commented he could follow up tomorrow with a telephone call. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 13,2020 10 Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom indicated staff had erred on the side of caution allowing the seasonals to go home until the test results were known. Mayor Grant indicated he would like staff to answer Councilmember Holmes question and explain why a Council recommendation had not been followed. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated he did not have an adequate explanation. He reported starting today he would be holding firm on this policy and there would be no more than four Public Works staff working together on a project. Councilmember Holmes indicated she would like to understand why staff sent the seasonal workers home. City Administrator Perrault stated he could answer this question offline and not in a public forum. Mayor Grant requested staff call each of the Councilmembers and provide an explanation to Councilmember Holmes' question. City Administrator Perrault reported he would complete this task. He asked if the Council wanted City Hall to remain closed. Councilmember Holden recommended City Hall remain closed. Mayor Grant supported this recommendation in order to keep City employees safe and healthy. The Council was in agreement. i 2. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS Councilmember McClung reported as of July I"New Brighton would be providing mutual aid to the Lake Johanna Fire Department. Councilmember Holden questioned when the chicken issue would be on an agenda. City Administrator Perrault anticipated this would be addressed in August. Councilmember Holden requested staff not send emails after 12:00 p.m. on Monday with information for the meeting that would be held that evening. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 7:03 p.m. Jul' Hanson David Grant Ci Clerk Mayor