HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-08-2020-SWSIt
AR EEN HILLS
Request for Special City Council Meeting
A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or by any two Councilmembers.
Reason for meeting: IA. State of the City
113. B2 Discussion
1 C. Clean Up Day Update
1 D. Parking for Call Center Ordinance Update
IE. EDC Work Plan
IF. Contract City Policing Discussion
Requested Date: 06/08/2020
Requested time: 5:30 p.m.
Open meeting X Closed meeting
Signature of person(s) making request:
hmd_,Z
06/04/2020
Mayor or Council Member Date
Council Member Date
d
This section to be completed by City staff-
Date received: 06/04/2020
Date meeting to be held: 06/08/2020
Time of meeting: 5:30 p.m.
Location: City Hall
All necessary postin and notices have been completed.
Sig ure of ity Clerk Date
City of Arden Hills•1245 West Highway 96 •Arden Hills Minnesota 55112
Phone 651.792.7800•Fax 651.634.5137 •www.cityofardenhills.org
Approved: July 27, 2020
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
JUNE 8, 2020
5:30 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 Special City
Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m.
Note: On March 20 1h, the Mayor signed a determination allowing Councilmembers to participate
in City Council meetings via telephone pursuant to State Statute 13D. 021
Present via Telephone:
Absent: None
Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran
Holmes, Dave McClung and Steve Scott
Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault; Public Works Director/City Engineer
Todd Blomstrom; Community Development Manager/City Planner Mike Mrosla;
Associate Planner Joe Hartmann; and City Clerk Julie Hanson; via telephone: Finance
Director Gayle Bauman and Communications Coordinator Dawn Skelly
1.AGENDA ITEMS
A.State of the City
Communications Coordinator Skelly stated at its May 18 Work Session the Council chose to
videotape an annual State of the City address, due to the ongoing COVID-19 concerns. The
Council asked staff to prepare a short, high-level presentation for the Mayor. It was noted this
presentation would be recorded by CTV for a fee and available on the City's website.
Mayor Grant commented he believed the presentation to be too long as drafted.
Councilmember Holden agreed stating there was too much information regarding COVID-19.
She recommended the location of the Red Bulls be discussed on Slide 5.
Councilmember Holmes asked if these were just talking points versus teaching moments.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 2
Communications Coordinator Skelly explained she understood the video was supposed to be a
short, high-level presentation.
Mayor Grant commented he was not anticipating going offsite but rather would be completing
the production at the dais at City Hall with slides.
Councilmember Scott stated he would be happy to have a simplified version of the State of the
City for 2020.
Councilmember Holden suggested the Mayor's presentation be similar to the City of Roseville's
presentation. She recommended the presentation be pared down and that the focus be taken off of
COVID-19. She also asked that the house within the slideshow be changed to be more
representative of the houses in the community.
Councilmember McClung agreed the presentation should be shortened to a quick overview.
Councilmember Holmes suggested the COVID-19 information within the presentation be brief.
She explained she wanted to see a slide within the presentation stating Arden Hills was an
advocate for human rights.
Councilmember Holden recommended Arden Hills adopt the statement being used by the City of
Shoreview.
Mayor Grant stated he would work with the City Administrator on this matter.
Councilmember Scott suggested the impact on senior housing facilities be discussed within the
presentation.
Mayor Grant commented he did not support this recommendation because the statistics would be
outdated within a few weeks.
Councilmember Holden recommended the safety updates to the roadway adjacent to the Mounds
View High School be included.
Mayor Grant and Councilmember McClung supported this recommendation.
Councilmember Holden suggested a slide be included to address the developments that would be
occurring this year.
Mayor Grant recommended the slide regarding property taxes be summarized and that a slide be
created to address the health and wellness of the communities businesses.
City Administrator Perrault thanked the Council for the feedback and noted staff would work
with the Mayor to revise the slideshow/presentation.
Councilmember Holden requested the presentation be sent back to the Council for further
consideration at the June 15 work session.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 3
The Council supported this recommendation.
B. B2 District Discussion
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated at the work session on
September 17, 2018, the City Council discussed setback requirements for buildings and parking
lots in the B-2 District. Staff proposed revising the front yard setback requirement from 20 feet to
50 feet. Staff also recommended removing the requirement that at least 50 percent of the largest
building on each site be constructed at the front setback line of 20 feet. Finally, staff
recommended the following parking location requirements be deleted:
Placing parking between the street right-of-way and a building shall be
discouraged.
No more than 50 percent of the parking on a site may be between buildings or in
the side yards.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported the Council agreed with the
recommended changes in setbacks; however, the Council did have some concerns about changes
to the building fagade requirements. Staff reviewed the proposed requirements regarding spandrel
glass in the B-2 zoning district and requested feedback from the Council on how to proceed.
Councilmember Holden stated this was a concern to the Council because of the Walgreens on
County Road E. She explained this building looked closed from County Road E. She questioned
how the City can ensure lighted windows were required.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla indicated the proposed language
addresses this concern in that 50% of the windows on the first floor along a public street should
have transparent glass.
Councilmember Holmes did not anticipate would have a lot of trouble with this issuecpatetheCity
given the fact the previous parking rule would be eliminated. She stated she did not want to make
this issue too complicated.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla thanked Councilmember Holmes for
this comment.
Councilmember Scott commented he was not a big fan of forcing businesses to install fake
windows.
Mayor Grant stated he supported staff s recommendation regarding the B2 District.
Councilmember Holden agreed.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla thanked the Council for the feedback.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 4
C. Clean Up Day Update
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated at the January 21, 2020
meeting, the City Council discussed hosting a citywide recycling event. At that time, Council
directed staff to continue researching options including neighborhood specific dumpsters.
Following the meeting, staff contacted Republic Services to see if they would consider
neighborhood dumpster drop-offs. Republic had concerns such as lack of site supervision, public
safety and nuisance concerns, possible hazardous waste contamination, the fact that there would
be no recycling or reuse as all materials placed in the dumpster would be sent to the landfill, and
possible liability to the city.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained due to the number of
concerns, Republic Service indicated they will not participate or recommend proceeding with the
program. It was noted another option would be to host an offsite event in Blaine at Green Light at
an estimated cost between $3,000 and $4,000.
Councilmember Scott stated he was in favor of postponing the clean up event for this year.
Councilmember Holden agreed the event should be postponed.
Mayor Grant also agreed the event should be postponed. He thanked staff for researching this
topic and stated the City could consider Green Light hosting a clean up event in the future.
Councilmember McClung supported the event being postponed to 2021.
Council consensus was to direct staff to postpone the clean up event to 2021.
D. Parking for Call Center Ordinance Update
Associate Planner Hartmann stated at its December 2019 work session, the Council discuss call
center parking requirements in regards to National Recoveries located at 4265 Lexington Avenue
North within the Arden Hills Corporate Center. The available parking within the corporate center
does not meet the needs of National Recoveries as they employ approximately 350-400 persons.
Because of this National Recoveries has contracted with North Heights Lutheran Church to
provide overflow employee parking. He indicated the existing offsite parking is permitted by
ordinance section 1325.06 Subd D, 6. Following the discussion the City Council directed staff to
review and propose a zoning code amendment to add a definition for "call centers" and parking
count standards for the use.
Councilmember McClung stated both items looked good to him.
Mayor Grant commented the magic number appears to be somewhere between 142 to 150 based
on other communities.
Councilmember Scott asked how long National Recovery has been in Arden Hills. He
questioned why they moved into this space when it was not adequately parked.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 5
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported National Recovery has been
renting this space since 2015. He stated he was not with the City when National Recovery moved
into this building. He commented a call center was an office use and would have been allowed.
Mayor Grant stated he would like to see the standard set at one parking space per 150 square
feet.
Councilmember Holden commented she supported the staff recommended language.
Councilmember Holmes questioned how this Ordinance would impact National Recovery.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported this Ordinance would make
this business a non-conforming use, but could remain as is unless they apply for a building permit
and the site was brought into compliance with City Ordinance.
Councilmember Holden asked how the City would know if National Recovery was expanding.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated the only way the City would
know is if National Recovery requested a building permit to expand the site or restrooms.
Mayor Grant explained that if the City Council approved this Ordinance it would provide the
City with a way to address the parking concerns for call centers in the future.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla indicated staff could look at making
call centers a conditional use which would allow the City to address the parking concerns with
conditions.
Mayor Grant asked if the Council supported the definition of a call center. The Council
supported the new language.
Mayor Grant questioned if the Council supported the requirement of one parking space per 150
square feet.
Councilmember Scott believed this was consistent with what other cities were doing.
The Council supported the parking requirement language.
Mayor Grant inquired if the Council wanted to have call centers a conditional use in the B-2
zoning district.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported staff could investigate this
topic further.
Councilmember Holden asked if call centers would not be allowed in districts staff does not
believe they fit in.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 6
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained he would bring this issue
back for the further consideration by the Council.
Councilmember Holden recommended call centers be made a conditional use for all zoning
districts.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated this would be an option for the
Council to consider. He asked how the Council wanted to proceed with this Ordinance.
Councilmember Scott believed the Council could take their time in reviewing this matter at a
future work session.
Councilmember McClung stated he would like to see the Council taking action on the Ordinance
sooner rather than later.
Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Holmes agreed with Councilmember McClung.
Mayor Grant agreed a public hearing should be held in July and the Ordinance should move
forward for approval.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla thanked the Council for their input
and indicated he would bring this item back to the Council for consideration in July.
E. EDC Work Plan
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated at its February 5, 2020 meeting
the Economic Development Commission (EDC) requested work direction from the City Council.
The last work plan was drafted in 2018 and referenced creating a long term Business Retention
and Expansion(BRE) program. He stated that work plans prior to 2018 have similar goals.
Mayor Grant questioned if only Tier 2 would require consultant help.
Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported this was the case.
Councilmember McClung stated the EDC was seeking direction from the Council as to what this
group should be focusing its time and efforts on.
Councilmember Holden commented she served on the EDC for many years. She discussed the
survey work that had been done and how this information had been lost. She believed the plan
was good and she encouraged the Chamber to be contacted to provide the City with statistics and
information. She explained a Shoreview/Arden Hills small business meeting had been proposed
in the past, but this meeting has never been held.
Mayor Grant indicated the City and its businesses were facing a difficult economic time. He
believed the EDC needed a new baseline and he supported Tier 1 moving forward. He noted Tier
2 would not begin until 2021.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 7
Councilmember McClung supported this recommendation noting he would like discussions to
begin around Tier 2 later this year.
Councilmember Scott believed it was prudent to do Tier 1, while bringing in the Chamber to
assist with this work. He understood Tier 2 should be done, but did not see this as a priority in
2020.
Council consensus was to direct staff to proceed with Tier 1 of this plan.
F. Contract for City Policing Discussion
City Administrator Perrault stated it was requested to bring forward to the City Council a
preliminary discussion on policing within the City of Arden Hills. He indicated the City Council
may want to request further discussion with the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office, and the other
contract cities,regarding future strategies.
Mayor Grant commented on how the death of George Floyd sparked concerns with policing and
use of force. He wanted to engage Ramsey County in a conversation to see where they were at on
a number of issues. He requested the Council provide staff with feedback on how this
conversation should go.
Councilmember Holmes asked if staff had spoken to other contract cities regarding holding a
discussion with Ramsey County. She questioned if a group discussion should be held versus a one
on one discussion.
City Administrator Perrault explained he had spoken to other cities and they were interested in
holding a discussion with Ramsey County. He indicated a group discussion was the preference at
this time.
Councilmember Holden commented in 2016 the Sheriff did come in and talk to the City Council
regarding training and hiring practices. She reported this was not the first time the City has
reached out to Ramsey County to ensure the City was receiving good policing services. She stated
she supported the City holding a discussion with Ramsey County.
Councilmember McClung stated he recalled the discussion held back in 2016. He believed it
was important for the Arden Hills City Council to engage with the fellow contract cities for this
discussion. He indicated this would be a more valuable approach.
Mayor Grant questioned if Ramsey County should be engaged on behalf of the contract cities or
as an individual city in Ramsey County.
Councilmember Holden suggested Ramsey County be approached on behalf of both and
Councilmember McClung agreed.
Mayor Grant recommended Ramsey County be engaged by the City of Arden Hills and have a
secondary plan of action to meet with the rest of the contract cities to discuss policy changes. He
stated he saw value in having a united front between the contract cities.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 8
Councilmember Scott asked if he should discuss this topic at the Ramsey County League of
Local Government meeting on Friday.
Councilmember Holden anticipated not all cities would be in attendance and she did not believe
St. Paul or the school districts should be weighing in on this issue.
Mayor Grant appreciated Councilmember Scott's idea but recommended staff be directed to
reach out to the other contract cities in order to assist with planning future meetings and
discussions.
Councilmember Holmes requested further information on how union contracts affect discipline.
She stated she would like to learn more about qualified immunity as well.
City Administrator Perrault indicated he would arrange for the Ramsey County Sheriffs
Department to provide the City Council with a presentation on the eight use of force tenets and the
two additional items added by Councilmember Holmes.
Councilmember Holden suggested the Sheriffs Department also address these issues at the
upcoming Sheriff s meeting.
Councilmember McClung supported this recommendation.
Council consensus was to direct staff to speak with the Sheriffs Department to request them to
attend a future work session and to have them address the concerns voiced by the Council's at
their next Sheriff s meeting.
2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES
Councilmember Holmes stated she would like the City to begin holding FPAC meetings again.
She understood these meetings may not be able to be held in person, but she believed there was
value in continuing their discussion surrounding the City's Park and Recreation programs.
Councilmember Scott reported Finance Director Bauman has drafted financial information on
how the City has been impacted by the loss of its parks programs.
Councilmember Holmes supported FPAC reviewing this information, while also considering
how to begin programming for the future.
Councilmember Holden was in agreement FPAC should begin meeting to discuss how to reopen
Parks programming.
Councilmember Scott indicated he would meet with Finance Director Bauman to begin these
discussions.
Councilmember Holden stated she would like to receive an update on what the staffing model
was with respect to COVID-19.
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 8, 2020 9
City Administrator Perrault explained he drafted a memo and provided this information to the
City Council. He commented further regarding the staffing models that were taking place at City
Hall and within the Public Works Department.
Mayor Grant commented at the last regular City Council meeting the Council opted to not
approve any peddlers/door to door licenses for 2020. He noted this past weekend a solicitor was
going door to door. He encouraged the Councilmembers to monitor this situation and inform staff
if any violators.
City Administrator Perrault confirmed that city staff has not issued any solicitor's licenses per
Council direction.
Mayor Grant stated he held a virtual meeting with Representative McCollum where he updated
her on the status of events surrounding George Floyd and the protests, along with a variety of
other items. He noted things were pretty quiet in Arden Hills except for graffiti which was easily
removed. He indicated he was pleased that Representative McCollum had reached out.
Councilmember Holden encouraged residents to call 911 and not the non-emergency number.
ADJOURN
Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 7:10 p.m.
Jul' anson David Grant
Ci Clerk Mayor