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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-27-2020-SWS It �RZEN HILLS 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. Fall Recreation Discussion 1 B. Sound Barrier Discussion 1 C. CARES Act Update Requested Date: 7/27/2020 Requested time: 5:30 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: 7/23/2020 Mayor or Council Member Date Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: 7/23/2020 Date meeting to be held: 7/27/2020 Time of meeting: 5:30 pm Location: City Hall All necessary postin and notices have been completed. `o pvbd,�) Sign t e of City Clerk Date City of Arden Hills•1245 West Highway 96•Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.792.7800•Fax 651,634.5137•www.citvofardenhills.org *A_Hnrs Approved: August 24, 2020 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCTL WORK SESSIOF{ JULY ?7,2024 5:30 P.M. . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Crant called to order the Special City Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m. Note: On March 20th, the Mayor signed a determination allowing Councilmembers to participate in City Council meetings via telephone pursuant to State Statute IiD.021 Present via Telephone: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung and Steve Scott Absent: None Also present: Public Works Director/City Engineer Todd Blomstrom; Finance Director Gayle Bauman; Recreation Programmer Joe Vaughan; Community Development Manager/City Planner Mike Mrosla; and City Clerk Julie Hanson 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Fall Recreation Discussion Recreation Programmer Vaughan stated the City of Arden Hills develops, prints, and mails a Recreation Guide three separate times (spring/summer' fall, and winter) throughout the year. Staff typically begins development of the Fall Recreation Guide in early July. The Fall Recreation Guide is usually sent to the printer around mid-July and is mailed out to residents in late July. The Fall Recreation guide highlights a[[ the adult and youth programs that occur between August and December. Programs include soccer and football leagues, before and after school programs, dance, yoga, tai chi, adult day trips, adult foot care clinics, and more. The printing and mailing of the 2020 Spring/Summer Recreation Guide cost $4,913. The Fall Recreation Guide is smaller so the cost would be a liule lower compared to the Spring/Summer Recreation Guide (the 2019 cost was $3,556). Recreation Programmer Vaughan reported adjacent communities have resumed some limited adult and youth programs this summer and are planning to continue with programs in the fall. The City of Shoreview resumed leagues and camps in June 2020, They are operating around 50% of ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 27,2020 their usual participation level. Shoreview has a total of 749 participants (347 in leagues and 412 in camps). Shoreview's adult softball league currently has eight teams (12 participants per team). Recreation Programmer Vaughan explained New Brighton has also resumed leagues this summer and is operating a little under 50% of their usual participation level. New Brighton has 130 youth league participants and 28 total adult softball teams (12-15 participants perteam). The City of Roseville resumed adult and youth leagues in July. They estimate that their numbers are down roughly 30% this summer. Roseville currently has 102 softball teams,37 volleyball teams, and 8 bocce ball teams. All are seeing their numbers increase as they continue to promote for fall leagues, camps, classes, and other programs. Recreation Programmer Vaughan reported staff has communicated with the Mounds View School District about the availability to hold the City's before and after school programs in the schools this fall, The Mounds View School District is still waiting to see what the Governor decides about schools. The School District is slowly beginning to open facilities and are requiring organizations to send COVID-l9 preparedness plans. They are cuffently accepting fall facility requests, but noting that things may look different and time and space may be reduced for additional cleaning. Permits can be issued, but in the event that school closes, then permits would be revised or cancelled. Staff requested feedback on how to proceed with fall recreation programming. Councilmember Holden stated at this point in time she supported the City waiting to print the guide until winter. She suggested parking programming not resume until this winter. Councilmember Scott supported the City holding off on printing the guide until this winter. Mayor Grant commented he may have supported softball and tennis being conducted this fall. Councilmember McCIung stated this was a hard one for the Council to take action on. He reported the State's COVID cases were slowly creeping back up and for this reason, he recommended the City be more conservative with its programming. Councilmember Holmes indicated she would be for more programs this fall. She stated there may be ways to conduct outdoor programs safely with proper social distancing, She feared there may not be enough time to print a guide and still hold fall programming. She questioned what types of programming staff could get in place for the fall. Recreation Programmer Vaughan reported he has received three or four calls a day requesting fall soccer leagues. He anticipated staff could pull together a soccer program for this fall and could work in conjunction with neighboring communities on this. Councilmember Holmes supported staff moving forward with a fall soccer program. 2 Councilmember Scott stated he could support soccer in a limited capacity. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 27,2020 Councilmemher McClung commented he would want a plan in place to ensure all guidelines that were in place were being met to minimize risk. He noted he could support a limited soccer program. Councilmember Holden indicated this may be a perfect opportunity for Arden Hills residents to reach out to a neighboring community that was offer fall soccer given the fact they have worked out the social distancing for this program. She stated she would not support the city offering fall soccer. Mayor Grant explained his children have played in the fall soccer program and sometimes it looks more like rugby than soccer. He questioned what City fields would be used for this programming. Recreation Programmer Vaughan reported Cummings and Hazelnut fields were used for fall soccer. Councilmember Holmes commented on the rules and regulations that were already in place by the youth soccer organizations regarding how many kids can be on a team and how equipment is to be cleaned. She believed if Arden Hills residents were forced to sign up through another municipality, they would be charged a higher fee. Recreation Programmer Vaughan stated this was correct, residents would be charged an additional $10 for registration. He noted the City had 106 participants in fall soccer from age 4 through sixth grade. Mayor Grant commented the City could subsidize that $ l0 fee for Arden Hills families and this would allow children to still play soccer this fall and the City would not have to manage the programming. Councilmember Holmes did not support this recommendation. Councilmember Scott did not support the subsidy either. Councilmemher Holden stated she would like to see staff beginning to focus on winter programming options. She would like to see staff coming up with some creative options for the community. Councilmember Holmes agreed staff should focus on winter programming, Councilmember McClung recommended staff begin focusing on the winter. Councilmember Scott agreed. Council consensus was to direct staff to begin focusing on winter programming. J ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 27,2020 4 B. Sound Barrier Discussion Public Works Directory/City Engineer Blomstrom provided the Council with an update on the two noise barrier locations identified in the MnDOT Noise Abatement Study. He explained the first noise barrier location is on the east side of I-35W from Glenpaul North to the railroad bridge. He noted the second potential noise barrier location is on the west side of Trunk Highway l0 from Highway 96 south to Wedgewood Court. He reported that applications for the MnDOT Standalone Noise Barrier program are due by the end of December. Puhlic Works Directory lcity Engineer Blomstrom stated MnDOT has indicated they can conduct new noise level readings to determine the cost effectiveness of noise barriers in response to applications to the noise barrier program, He reported the f,rrst noise barrier is currently under construction with the 35W MNPASS project. He commented the second wall section is still eligible for application under the noise barrier program. He noted MnDOT funds about one wall per year and the Trunk Highway 10 wall includes 24 properties and would cost $1.6 million to complete. It was noted there was a 10% cost share for the City when noise wa[[s were constructed. Mayor Grant asked if the City's sost share portion for the Trunk Highway 10 noise wall would be $160,000. Public Works Directory/City Engineer Blomstrom reported this would be the case. Councilmember Holden stated after some investigation, the City Council has leamed the City cannot assess the cost for noise walls to property owners. She commented after speaking with local legislators it appeared there was a lack of interest in this noise wall given the fact a petition has not been brought forward and there was a lack of response from Arden Hills residents. Councilmember McClung questioned if the City had modeling information for Highway 96iTrunk Highway 10 from MnDOT. Public Works Directory/City Engineer Blomstrom explained he had discussed this with MnDOT personnel and noted readings wsre collected when the signal was at this intersection prior to the grade separation. At that point, MnDOT would have to reevaluate the intersection and conduct new readings if the City were to reapply for the sound wall. He stated he could ask MnDOT to complete the readings prior to the City completing an application. Mayor Grant que stioned what was involved in the application process. Public Works Directory/City Engineer Blomstrom reported the application process was a simple two page document that would have to be approved by the City Council. Mayor Grant recommended the City apply as this would provide the City with proper modeling and noise levels at this intersection. Councilmemher Holden did not agree. She stated it would be difficult for the City to get 24 properties to come together on this noise wall. In addition, she explained the City did not have an ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 27,2020 additional $160,000 in its budget to contribute to a noise wall. She commented it may be a waste of staff s time putting together this application given the fact the residents were not asking for the noise wall. Mayor Grant indicated he would like the City to submit the application in order to have the readings completed. Councilmember Scoff agreed it would benefit the City to submit the application and have the readings conducted. Councilmember McClung supported the City submitting the application in order to put the issue to bed. Councilmember Holmes did not believe the City had to do the work given the fact a petition had not been submitted from the neighborhood. She did not support the MnDOT study being done at this time. Council consensus was to direct staff to move forward with submitting the Trunk Highway 10 noise wall application to MnDOT and to report back to staff at a future meeting. C. CARES Act Update Finance Director Bauman stated the City is eligible for CARES Act funding. She reported staff submitted the necessary paperwork and was eligible to receive $745,040 in CARES Act funding, Staff anticipated this funding would be paid out to the City later this week. She explained staff was reviewing the guidance on what expenditures can be recovered through these funds. It was noted revenue replacement could not be covered through CARES Act funding. She reported loans or grants could be offered to local businesses and the City may want to consider partnering with another organization to administer this type of programming. She commented staff was learning more about these dollars through various webinars. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla discussed how other cities were using their CARES Act dollars. He noted Shoreview was offering small business grants and was considering offering residential assistance. He described the programs being considered by Mounds View, New Brighton and Roseville. Mayor Grant questioned what businesses had to do to qualify for a grant. Communify Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained businesses have to prove they have been impacted by COVID-I9, had lay offs or other staff impacts. In addition, these businesses have to prove they have not received other assistance from the County or State. Mayor Grant stated this could be a labor intensive program. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla commented after speaking with the City of New Brighton their staff would be partnering with a local non-profit, Open to Business, to help review applications. 5 ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 77,2020 Mayor Grant questioned how the local non-profits were funded. Councilmember Holmes explained these organizations are paid a fee by the City to provide a service. Mayor Grant supported the City moving forward with a small business grant program. Councilmember Holden agreed noting the City had a handful of small businesses that could benefit from a CARES Act assistance grant program. She requested City staff reach out to the mobile home park to see how they have been impacted due to COVID- 19. Councilmember McClung asked if Lake Johanna Fire Department PPE expenditures could be reimbursed through CARES Act dollars. Finance Director Bauman reported this would be a reimbursable expense. Councilmember McClung stated the Lake Johanna Fire Department has been documenting their expenditures. He commented he would support the City using a portion of the CARES Act dollars for sma[[ business grants. He recommended the City wait a little bit on this programming given the fact the terms were changing on a daily basis. Councilmember Holmes asked if contract police services with Ramsey Counfy could be reimbursed through CARES Act funding. Finance Director Bauman stated she was hoping to learn more about this through a webinar later this week, She assumed Ramsey County would not be using their dollars to cover contract city expenses. Councilmember Holmes questioned if it would benefit the City to refer residents to Ramsey County for mortgage and rental assistance and then the City could offer assistance to local small businesses. Councilmember Holden supported this recommendation because Arden Hills did not have staffing in place to work on this. Mayor Grant supported this suggestion as well. He commented on how things were changing rapidly and recommended the City encourage residents to seek assistance through Ramsey County and that local small businesses approach the City. Councilmember Scott supported the funding being used for local small businesses to include non-profits. He stated the City did not have staff in place to handle resident requests. Councilmember McClung commented he would be open to the City addressing small business requests. 6 Councilmember Holden asked if the City was able to define what a small business was. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COI-INCIL WORK SESSION _ JULY 27,2020 Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla indicated a lot of cities were defining small businesses as 50 employees or less. He explained he would have to review the language within the CARES Act. Councilmember Holmes stated she would like for the Council to receive further information from staff prior to the City promoting a program. Community Development Manager/Cify Planner Mrosla reported staff would be bringing this item back to the Council in early August. Finance Director Bauman indicated staff could schedule a special worksession meeting in early August to discuss this matter and noted the CARES Act funds had to be spent by November 1Sth. Councilmember Holmes stated she did not want this program promoted until the Council was able to pin down the specif,rcity of this program. Mayor Grant agreed and asked if the City determined how much funding could be allocated or was this determined by the State/federal government. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported this determination was to be made by the City. Mayor Grant asked how long it would take staff to structure a program for the Council to review at a future meeting. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla anticipated this would take staff five to seven days to complete. Finance Director Bauman indicated the City would have internal costs due to COVID and any additional funds could be used towards this program. Councilmember McClung stated he wanted to be assured the City was covering all of its internal costs and the costs for police and fire through the CARES Act funding, prior to offering small business grants. Mayor Grant agreed and stated the Council would have this conversation in seven to ten days from now. Council consensus was to direct staff to move forward with a CARES Act small business grant program and to request staff to schedule a special worksession meeting in early August to discuss this program in further detail. 7. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAI'F UPDATES 7 None. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 27,2020 8 ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 6:35 p.m. iJie anson David Grant y Clerk Mayor