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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-15-2020-WS -A HILLS Approved: July 27, 2020 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 15,2020 5:00 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 City Council work session at 5:00 p.m. Note: On March 20`h, 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 Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault; Finance Director Gayle Bauman; Public Works Director/City Engineer Todd Blomstrom; Assistant City Engineer/Engineer in Training David Swearingen; 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 Communications Coordinator Skelly stated she reduced the presentation previously provided to the Council down to approximately 10 minutes and added some slides of information that were requested. Councilmember Holden stated she had provided to Communications Coordinator Skelly several changes that she would like to see made to the presentation. A discussion of Councilmember Holden's requested changes ensued, and the Council agreed with the proposed revisions. Mayor Grant thanked the Council for their input. He reported he would be working with staff to finalize the presentation. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 2 B. Lake Johanna Fire Department Station Cities Agreement Discussion City Administrator Perrault this was an update to the information provided at the May work session. City Administrator Perrault commented since the May work session, the LJFD Board of Director's authorized the fire chief to move forward with signing a purchase agreement for the property and that the purchase agreement did not change from the one presented to Council in May. City Administrator Perrault reported prior to closing on the land, the cities will need to have agreed upon their respective responsibilities with regards to the land acquisition and future responsibilities regarding development. It is important to remember the City is part of the Lake Johanna Fire Department Board where Arden Hills has one vote, North Oaks has one vote and Shoreview has two votes. There are no plans at this time for moving forward with station construction, the department is only focused on land acquisition. The major points of the draft agreement that Council will need to provide staff direction were the financing, timeline of construction and development fees. Staff commented further on the funding options for the fire station and requested direction from the Council. Mayor Grant asked if the City would be able to purchase the fire station in the future. City Administrator Perrault stated this language was not included in the agreement but staff could include this language. Councilmember Holmes commented she did not believe it was necessary for the City to contemplate ever purchasing the fire station. Mayor Grant stated he would like the City to have the option. Councilmember Holmes believed the City did not need the option. Councilmember Scott indicated he could support the language being included, but explained he did not believe it was in the City's best interest to get in the habit of owning fire stations. Councilmember Holden questioned why staff was presenting bonding information for the entire project versus just the land price. City Administrator Perrault reported the agreement outlined how the three cities would participate in the land purchase and fire station construction at some point in the future. Councilmember Holden stated she was not interested in the City bonding for the building at this time. She indicated the economy could change drastically over the next 10 years. She supported this being done at a future date. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 3 City Administrator Perrault explained the agreement does not require the City to bond for the entire project at this time, but rather allows for the option of the three cities to bond jointly for the construction of the fire station at some point in the future. Councilmember Holmes commented she did not understand why the City of Arden Hills had to be responsible for bonding for the fire station. She questioned why this could not be done by Shoreview. City Administrator Perrault stated this was a fair point and noted the language could be changed to note one of the cities would be responsible for bonding on behalf of the three cities. He discussed how the overall expense for the project would be reduced slightly if one city were to bond for the entire project versus having each city bond separately for the fire station construction. Councilmember Holden recommended this agreement only address the purchase of the land and that the construction of the fire station be addressed within a future agreement. City Administrator Perrault reported a JPA had to be in place in order to allow the cities to come together to bond for the project. He explained the LJFD was not allowed to bond for the project. Councilmember Scott stated he saw this project as an all or nothing deal. He didn't see the sense in purchasing the land without having an agreement in place between the three cities to bond for a fire station in the future. He supported all of the documents being included in a JPA. Councilmember Holden questioned why the City of Arden Hills would be responsible for bonding for this project. City Administrator Perrault commented this was being proposed because the fire station would reside in Arden Hills. Further discussion ensued regarding the fire station bonding. Councilmember McClung indicated some cities were requesting state bonding for fire stations and noted this would be pursued by LJFD. Mayor Grant commented he would have to have language included within the agreement that the City would have the option to purchase the fire station or he would not be able to support the document. Councilmember McClung supported the City entering into an agreement for the purchase of the land at this time. Councilmember Holmes stated she could support the City entering into an agreement for the purchase of the land, but not the financing for the building. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 4 Councilmember Holden agreed. She recommended the City of Arden Hills be removed from Section 2.3. She requested Sections 2.5 and 2.7 also be removed. She did not believe the City should be determine if SAC and WAC fees will be charged this evening. City Administrator Perrault reported this language was reviewed and supported by the City Attorney. Councilmember Holmes suggested this language read the City of Arden Hills will charge customary development fees. She questioned if these fees should be determined at this time. Councilmember McClung recommended the future City Council be allowed to determine these fees. Councilmember Holden supported Section 2.7 being removed as this would allow the future Council to make a determination on the fees that will or will not be charged. Councilmember McClung stated he could support this but noted he would then like Section 2.5 to read construction will begin upon unanimous mutual agreement of all three cities. Councilmember Scott and Mayor Grant supported this suggestion. Councilmember Holden requested Section 2.3 read a city instead of Arden Hills. The Council supported this recommended change. Councilmember Holden suggested the document define who "the parties" are within the agreement. She asked if this document was only for the land. City Administrator Perrault reported the cost share formula would apply to the land but would apply to the future construction of the building as well. He indicated the percentages would be recalculated on a yearly basis. Councilmember Holmes stated this wasn't right. She believed it was confusing that the bond percentages would be changing on a yearly basis. Councilmember Holden commented she would like the percentage paid for the land to be set. City Administrator Perrault indicated this was how all fire department capital costs were addressed. Councilmember McClung stated he wasn't going to argue this point because this was how all past fire department expenses were managed. He commented if TCAAP doesn't happen for 10 years, the Shoreview and North Oaks percentages would increase if they have development. However, if Arden Hills has a significant amount of development, Arden Hills should pay its fair share. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 5 Councilmember Holmes supported the percentages being set on the day the money is borrowed and that the amount remain fixed. She did not believe it was normal for the amount to remain in flux over the life of the bond issuance. Councilmember Holden agreed the City should know what its annual bond payment would be. She questioned how Section 2.2 could be amended. City Administrator Perrault suggested the cost share formula apply to the land and the formula for the station construction could be addressed in the future JPA. Mayor Grant reported the other two cities would likely not be bonding for the land acquisition. City Administrator Perrault reported this was the case. Mayor Grant questioned why the Council was arguing over the bonding for the land when this wasn't going to happen. The Council commented further on the bonding for the land and future fire station. to the cost sharing formula be removed CityAdministrator Perrault suggested all references g gg from the agreement. The Council supported this recommendation. City Administrator Perrault asked if the Council wanted the cost-sharing agreement at the time of the bonding define the fees paid for the construction of the station. Councilmember McClung supported su d the Citylocking in the percentage at the time of the bonding. Mayor Grant recommended the City of Arden Hills have the right to own the building in the future, through a reimbursement to the other cities. He also supported City Administrator Perrault's recommendation to have the percentage locked in when bonding was secured for the future fire station. Councilmember Holmes stated she did not understand why the City would want to purchase this building. Councilmember McClung believed that should the Lake Johanna Fire Department no longer be viable the City should have the option to purchase the space. Councilmember Holmes recommended the building then be purchased at the fair market value and not what each City has invested into the building. Councilmember Holden suggested the Mayor speak with the City Attorney in order to draft language to properly address the purchase of the building. City Administrator Perrault summarized the corrections that were proposed to the agreement. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 6 C. 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Update Finance Director Bauman stated annually, the City prepares a five (5) year Capital Improvement Plan for budgeting and forecasting. The focus of the CIP is on the maintenance and protection of the City's existing assets, redevelopment, and investment in new initiatives. The CIP is part of the budget process, but it is not a budget, it is a plan, and one that changes often. The CIP does not commit the council to the proposed projects, nor implement the assumptions made during the preparation; however, this is the basis for the 2021 Budget as we continue with its preparation. The city has a finite amount of resources, so prioritizing and then being able to finance projects is crucial for ensuring the city's long-term sustainability and being responsible stewards of the city's investments. Staff has been working on completing a comprehensive study of the City's current and future needs for infrastructure projects to better estimate project costs and ensure more accurate forecasting of available fund balances. Staff reviewed the updated CIP with the Council and requested feedback. Mayor Grant questioned who pushed back the Linde's roundabout. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained the City proposed to push this project back. Mayor Grant asked how many miles of street the City was responsible for. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated the City had 57 miles of street. He noted a portion of these roadways were designated Minnesota State Aid streets. Mayor Grant stated he did not support the current plan for the City's streets. He discussed how hard the City would have to work in order to replace its streets under the current plan. He feared that any overages or contingency spending would offset the proposed CIP. He commented on the proposed 2021 levy increase. Finance Director Bauman commented the proposed levy amount was the same as the amount levied in 2020. Councilmember Holden stated she would like to better understand what streets need to be replaced, versus reclaimed versus milled and overlaid. She requested staff review the significant changes within the CIP. Finance Director Bauman reviewed the significant changes within the CIP with the Council. The expense for the Lexington Avenue improvements was discussed. Councilmember Holden asked how much of the Karth Lake pump would be covered by the lake association. Finance Director Bauman discussed the expense for the pump. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 7 Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented further on the retaining wall and water runoff control improvements that would occur at Karth Lake with the assistance of the Rice Creek Watershed District. Councilmember Holden requested staff provide the Council with paper copies of the CIP in the future for reference purposes. Councilmember Holmes agreed. She asked if the City had an estimate for the fire station. City Administrator Perrault stated the closest thing the City had to an estimate were the numbers within the 2018 needs assessment. Councilmember Holmes questioned if there were any concerning negatives within the budget that the Council should be focusing on. Finance Director Bauman reported the Equipment and Building Fund would possibly run a deficit balance in 2021, along with the Surface Management Fund. After 2021, these funds would have a positive balance. Councilmember Holmes inquired why the Lindey's roundabout has been pushed to 2026 when this may not be what the County wants. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained this was a concept the City was proposing to align priorities. He indicated staff could speak with the County and staff could place the roundabout into the CIP in another year. Councilmember Holmes asked when the timing for the roundabout would be discussed. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom indicated staff would take input from the Council, in terms of their priorities and could make adjustments to the plan. He reported this was a first round plan that would have the City aggressively addressing its streets in order to reduce overall costs through mill and overlay projects versus full reconstruction. Councilmember Holden requested staff forward the last four years of PCI ratings to the Council. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom clarified for the record that the City had 57 miles of streets, but noted the City was responsible for 30 miles of these roadways and the remainder were MSA streets. Mayor Grant stated he was interested in looking at the street ratings as well and noted he also wanted to drive the streets prior to making a determination on the upcoming street projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom understood this was a lot of information for the Council to take in and noted this was the first pass at this plan. He indicated the plan could be honed down over the coming months. Mayor Grant questioned when Arden Oaks Drive was slated for improvements. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 8 Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated these improvements would occur in 2022. Councilmember Holden requested the Council be given a week or two to review the CIP and that this document be discussed again at a future worksession. Mayor Grant supported this recommendation. D. 2021 PMP Feasibility Report Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated on April 27, 2020, the City Council ordered the preparation of a feasibility study for the 2021 PMP project including street and utility improvements within two areas depicted on Attachment A. Area 1 is the Hazelnut Park/Glenpaul Neighborhood and Area 2 is a portion of Lake Valentine Road. The study is nearing completion and staff intends to distribute a copy of the report well in advance of the regular City Council meeting to allow sufficient time for review and consideration. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained the report will include specific recommendations regarding the scope of improvements, project costs, funding sources, proposed assessments, and a project delivery schedule. Staff is seeking direction from the City Council regarding the following five key issues prior to presenting the final report for consideration. Staff discussed Lake Valentine Road, the extent of Water Main and Sanitary Sewer Reconstruction, Prior Avenue Assessments, Street Section Options, and the Project Delivery Schedule in further detail with the Council. The Council supported the proposed timeline for Lake Valentine Road. Councilmember Holden requested further information regarding the sewer improvements proposed along Glen Paul. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom discussed the work that would be done along Glen Paul. He noted the repairs would be made in the right-of-way and would not take place on private property. Councilmember Holden stated she was concerned about root intrusion and how far up the lines the City managed these concerns. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented on the importance of maintaining the City's sewer lines and noted the repairs were valid in properly maintaining the City's infrastructure. He indicated the City Council could discuss further how to manage the cost for these repairs. Mayor Grant stated he would like to see the City remain consistent on how it manages these repairs and expenses from year to year. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom agreed stating this would be the goal for the City. He noted he would look at how the City managed service repairs in 2015 and 2016. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 9 Further discussion ensued regarding the City assessment policy and how the Prior Avenue improvement project should be assessed. Mayor Grant recommended the costs be adjusted to include Prior Avenue. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom thanked the Council for this direction and noted the costs would be adjusted. The preliminary assessments for the project were discussed with the Council and it was noted the cost for Prior Avenue could be rolled into this. He questioned if the Council wanted to proceed with B16 curb and gutter with this project. Councilmember Holden commented this area has lasted a long time without curb and gutter. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom understood this to be the case, but noted some residents in this project area were concerned with water runoff and drainage. He discussed how curb and gutter extended the life of roadways. Councilmember Scott supported the project moving forward with full curb and gutter given the survey responses that were received from residents. Councilmember McClung agreed given the fact the majority of the residents supported curb and gutter. Mayor Grant supported the project moving forward with curb and gutter. He believed it was a good investment for the City and would enhance the value of the properties in the project area. Councilmember Holmes agreed. Councilmember Holden indicated this was her neighborhood. She stated she would like to better understand if her neighbors wanted a six inch curb, versus a surmountable curb. She requested the curb decision be made after a neighborhood meeting was held. The Council supported this street improvement project moving forward. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom thanked the Council for their input. E. Pavement Resurfacing Discussion Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated the City Council has previously expressed an interest in the Public Works Department conducting additional street resurfacing work by department staff. The Department is certainly willing to conduct paving work. Existing staff has sufficient experience operating paving equipment to successfully complete small street section projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented one item to consider prior to the City proceeding with future in-house paving projects is the consistent application of the City's Assessment Policy for resurfacing overlay work for larger projects that are completed under construction contracts. The demand for future pavement overlay work is projected to exceed the ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 10 annual paving capacity of staff. The Department's current annual paving capacity is estimated to be approximately 4,000 square yards per year. Part 1 of the policy addresses assessments for overlays and reconstruction projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained the Public Works Department is seeking direction from the City Council regarding the application of special assessments for future street overlay work conducted by City forces. The Department is also seeking direction if the Council would prefer to include in-house bituminous overlay work on the existing City trail system, which typically does not involve special assessments. Mayor Grant requested the Council discuss trails first. He asked if asphalt vendors install trails. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained asphalt vendors are able to install trails. He indicated the City could be competitive with asphalt vendors paving trails given the type of equipment that was required. Councilmember Holden questioned how things had flipped and that it was now more cost effective for the City to hire this work out versus completing it inhouse. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom commented he was reporting the facts on the costs to complete this work. Mayor Grant stated he would be interested in knowing the cost to overlay Beckman, North Snelling, Thom Drive and Oak Avenue. Finance Director Bauman indicated she would investigate this matter and would report back to the Council. Councilmember Holden recommended the Council not make a decision on the street overlays until staff provides the Council with the information requested. She commented the City has never assessed for mill and overlay and she did not want the City to begin assessing for this work. Councilmember Holmes stated looking at the City's budget the Council may want to consider assessing for the mill and overlay projects. Mayor Grant requested staff provide the Council with invoices from the previous mill and overlay projects and that the Council revisit this item at a upcoming worksession meeting. F. Elections and Voting Update City Clerk Hanson stated that following the March 2020 Presidential Primary, various concerns were raised regarding the Anderson Center - Bethel University Satellite Campus located at 2 Pine Tree Drive (Precinct 2) which included the need for a larger room for the 2020 General Election, that an adequate amount of extension cords and more outlets be readily available in the space, better signage be implemented, and to address parking and ease of access for those with disabilities. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 11 City Clerk Hanson commented regarding North Heights Lutheran Church located at 1700 W Highway 96 (Precinct 3), it was generally felt that the location's room worked well but that better signage routing voters from Highway 96 along the drive leading to the parking area were necessary. She said one concern was raised about the Presbyterian Church of the Way (Precinct 1) in that some Shoreview residents indicated that they had received a mailing indicating this was their polling location. City Clerk Hanson stated in addition, curbside voting and how that option would potentially function was a question expressed by some election judges. City Clerk Hanson reported RCEO staff indicated that based on the need for a larger space at Precinct 2 - Anderson Center — Bethel Satellite Campus, voting will take place in a much larger room that is located on the "second" floor; bit it is important to note that technically the main entrance is considered to be the building's third floor, which means the room we will be using is actually on the fourth floor. There are several elevators available immediately in the front entrance and we have been assured ample signage will be in place to direct voters to the appropriate level. City Clerk Hanson explained regarding curbside voting that RCEO staff stated they are working closely with the State's Election Task Force and Public Health. City Clerk Hanson also stated that voting by mail was being promoted by both the city and Ramsey County Elections. City Administrator Perrault explained curbside voting would be addressed and offered by Ramsey County. Mayor Grant commented on the area of Shoreview that was sent information telling these residents to vote in Arden Hills. He wanted to be assured that police calls to this portion of Shoreview were not being charged to Arden Hills. Councilmember Holden recommended the City encouraged residents to vote using absentee ballots this year for the primary and general elections. G. COVID-19 Operations Update This item was pulled from the agenda. H. Council Tracker City Administrator Perrault reviewed the Council Tracker with the City Council. Councilmember Holden requested the work being done on the tennis courts be included in the admin update. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 15, 2020 12 2. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS Councilmember Holmes commented she has heard from residents that the restrooms at Lake Johanna are locked. She requested staff look into this given the fact the park was now open. Councilmember Holden stated she has been told by residents that there were two City employees riding in the same car and she asked if this issue has been corrected. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained he has spoken with his staff regarding this matter. Councilmember Holden commented she would like the Council to discuss the City's zip code at a future meeting. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session at 8:22 p.m. N dj,4,t. Ju Hanson David Grant CiVy Clerk Mayor