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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-02-23-SWS-ADI�EN 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: 1. Public Inquiries/Informational 2. Response to Public Inquiries 3. Agenda Items A. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion 4. Council/Staff Comments Adjourn Requested Date: 11/02/2023 Requested time: 5:30 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: 10/27/2023 Mayor or Council Member Date Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff - Date received: 10/27/2023 Date meeting to be held: 11/02/2023 Time of meeting: 5:30 pm Location: Citv Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. Signature of City Clerk 10/27/2023 Date City of Arden Hills • 1245 West Highway 96 • Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.792.7800 • Fax 651.634.5137 • www.cityofardenhills.org lt EN HILLS Approved: November 27, 2023 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 2, 2023 5:30 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 at 5:30 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Emily Rousseau, Tena Monson and Tom Fabel Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, Community Development Director Jessica Jagoe, Alatus Principal Bob Lux, Tradition Homes Representative Todd Stutz 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Mary Henry, 3521 Ridgewood Court read a statement from Kristy Jacobs, 1492 Arden Place West. Ms. Jacobs was strongly in favor of increasing the number of housing units in Rice Creek Commons to 1,960. She wanted to see people of all income levels have the privilege of a safe home. Providing for neighbors makes a more economically resilient, safer, healthier and diverse community, it is a win -win. Mary Henry, 3521 Ridgewood Court continued with her own statement. She was in support of the proposed goal of 1,960 units. She felt reason points to changing the development plan to include more housing and less office space. She provided a Bloomberg News article to the Council, that states our metro area was the first to drop below a 2% inflation rate in May, which they attributed to more housing development here. More housing creates community and improves our economic outlook. Gregg Larson, 3373 North Snelling Avenue said he wanted to contrast what they know and don't know about Rice Creek Commons density numbers, in particular the density number that was advocated by the City in the past and the newly proposed number of 1,960. They lack any evidence or documentation that more than those housing units would be detrimental to the well- being of the city due to demonstrable financial or environmental harm, or that more housing units would result in adverse traffic impacts. What they do know is the housing units in the past proved unacceptable to Ramsey County during lengthy negotiations on a master development agreement. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 2 If the number doesn't change, the project isn't going forward. He stated that City environmental reviews in 2014 and 2019 examined two development scenarios; 1,500 housing units and 2,500 housing units. The City twice approved the reviewed conclusions that Rice Creek Commons could accommodate that density range without adverse environmental or traffic impacts. The proposed 1,960 number falls just below the midpoint of that range. It received unanimous support from the JDA. It may not be the final number set forth in the master development agreement but it will now be the subject of further public, environmental and financial reviews. The school district has confirmed it is prepared to meet the Rice Creek Commons enrollment. He said the Metropolitan area lacks sufficient housing, especially affordable housing. This project could go a long way in satisfying some of those needs. He felt the Council should proceed with the next steps based on the proposed 1,960 housing units, and it would be particularly noteworthy if the Mayor showed leadership by joining other Councilmembers, the County and the developer in support of continued progress on the project. Kristine Poelzer, 1870 Indian Place, supported what was proposed at the Rice Creek Commons open house. Her daughter and daughter-in-law who are both in their 40s have expressed desire to have much housing in Rice Creek Commons, as they are looking ahead into the future. She has talked with other people that agree that the high amount isn't really high. She understood that every day they wait it will cost more money to build. Lynn Diaz, 1143 Ingerson Road, stated that she supported the higher density in Rice Creek Commons and a variety of affordable housing. She reported that a 2023 survey found that 77% of respondents would pay a premium to live in a walkable neighborhood and for Gen Z that figure was 92%. More than half of those surveys preferred to own or rent an attached dwelling in a high opportunity area that is walkable to shops and restaurants. There is a need for housing to bridge the gap between large lot single family homes and apartment complexes including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and small apartment buildings of 4-9 units. They need to have housing that is affordable to those that work in our community. College graduates should be able to find an apartment they can afford while paying back their student loans. Seniors should be able to find a place they can afford on social security. She also thought they should make much of the affordable housing owner occupied to give residents a chance to build equity, create stability and greater involvement in the community. Smaller lots combined with social infrastructure and walkable neighborhoods help create connections, amenities attract residents and increase socialization which also improves community resiliency. Increased numbers of residents brings more businesses and makes it more possible to obtain public transportation. She felt Arden Hills could be a leader in designing an innovative, environmentally friendly, responsible development that creates a place for everyone in the community. She hoped they would look at the possibilities with an open mind and be flexible in adjusting the plan to better suit the needs of the community going forward. Ted Dickenson, 3188 Asbury Avenue, said residents last night got a view of the Rice Creek Commons development and it what it may look like, and an understanding of why it is needed. Having a surplus of business real estate has made it possible to plan for 1,960 units without crunching everything in, and with a mix of housing types and affordability. Rice Creek Commons comes at a time following two decades of underproduction in both owner occupied and rental units. His son has been looking for a house in and around south Minneapolis for nearly three years and has found most houses to be priced at or above $300,000 and still requiring much work. For many people with full time jobs finding an adequate home is out of reach, so he was glad to see ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 3 that some of the housing in Rice Creek Commons may be affordable for those that need it. He believed communities that prosper will plan for the years ahead and work to carry those plans out. He was proud to live in a community where the City Council and JDA were doing just that and he thanked them for their achievements. Linda Swanson, 1124 Ingerson Road, stated that the City Council has said they are willing to answer all questions so she created a document of her questions. She didn't think there were many people against TCAAP being developed, it's the manner in which it's being developed. She was disappointed at the open house because there was no option other than 1,960. Why don't they know the number of proposed people in the area, what financial information is going on — what the City will be required to pay for things; when and why, traffic information, which area will be platted first, how many buildings will be in different areas. They are deleting jobs by deleting areas that will now be housing, so they are no longer are creating jobs in the area. MTC isn't in any discussions with Ramsey County, so there isn't any mass transit being decided in the area. She continued that at the September 11 Council meeting the Council was provided with a summary of the JDA Advisory meeting. She asked for the entire summary be included in the advisory meeting and she didn't get a response to her request. The last JDA summary on the website was September 7. On October 1 she requested a list of resident recommendations that the JDA is including in their plans along with the name of the resident that made the request but she hasn't received a response to that. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Mayor Grant said they had a memo from staff outlining several areas of discussion. It was decided to go through the items one by one. Councilmember Rousseau thought there were some really great questions asked at the open house. She said people asked about staying in Arden Hills but downsizing and they were interested in knowing about lot sizes and single level homes. She wondered what the areas that were being changed to housing had for green space and lot sizes. Mr. Lux replied the changes occurred in two areas of the plan, one in the southwest corner and the area known as Town Center South. They added approximately 500 total units. The zoning will decide the lot sizes, and whether they are single, townhomes or multifamily. As they go through the planning process they will test where the market is at that moment and design to fit the market demand. The lots on the southwest site are small, approximately 45 feet. They are being seen as either entry level for sale or single family for rent. The people he spoke with about those lots were primarily seniors but they were also talking about their children wanting access into Arden Hills. Councilmember Rousseau said in 15 years when this is built out she would be starting to consider what downsizing looks like for them and if they could stay in Arden Hills, along with her daughters looking for their first homes. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 4 Mr. Lux said the goal is to have a wide variety of for sale product and a wide variety of for rent product. There is about a year to 18 months of mass grading and infrastructure before they go into the ground so there will be further evolution of the product during that time. Stage one is get the density decided on, get the lot sizes established, building materials finalized, and then get into the mix of units. Councilmember Holden stated there was a lot of positive at the open house but also a lot of negative. People couldn't get their questions answered, or get up to the boards to see them. There still hasn't been an Arden Hills open house to help answer questions and she thought it was important. She couldn't imagine they wouldn't want to bring the community along. The closest example she could give when asked about the lot sizes was Frogtown, that has 42 foot lots. Small lots create connection and sidewalks but also a lot of other issues. She wondered how close the houses would be to each other, and felt it was hard to support 1,960 when they don't know that. They should know the lot sizes and the costs before they sign on to anything. She wondered if they were sincere in having the open house to listen to what the people say or was it just an exercise? Isn't it morally responsible to be honest with the people at the meeting and say they don't care what they say they're going forward with it. Mayor Grant said he encouraged people to fill out the survey form, a number of them said they weren't going to fill it out because it was already a done deal and nobody would listen. He was asked where the plan the community created with 1,460 units, but a presenter said it was gone. It was disconcerting to him that they were responded to that way. He felt they community hasn't been able to come along with this project. Mayor Grant said as he understands it, Alatus needs to enter into an agreement with the County in order to buy the property, but they don't have to sell it to him. Mr. Lux explained the process would be to have the City and the County acting as the JDA do a third amendment to the preliminary development agreement. The amendment is in front of the County now. That will give them a period of time to re-establish terms of the land purchase. The term sheet is much more involved than dollars and cents and becomes a complicated document including what will be developed over what time period, what are the values that will be determined on the properties, work goals and sustainability goals. Mayor Grant felt they could be a welcoming community at 1,500, 1,700 or 1,900. Being a welcoming community wasn't attached to a specific number of units on a particular parcel of property. This will be a large development for a small community and the ability to be welcoming is more about character. The word morality has been brought up a number of times and whatever the number turns out to be, you could be moral in a variety of density levels; they're not being immoral if they don't require home ownership or advocate for home ownership. He saw a real divide at the open house, some people said the pictures are beautiful but he didn't know if they were on board. There were people that were on board and people that weren't. People want houses but there were also people interested in jobs on site. But sacrificing 32 acres of the business district is the very jobs people need to afford houses. Councilmember Fabel thought it was a wonderful open house and appreciated the efforts of everyone involved. It was important to know that the 1,460 number was the subject of a full scale public hearing in 2018 that included the master development agreement. A court order was ARDEN HELLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 5 written in June resolving the lawsuit brought by the County against the City in an effort to terminate the agreement because the City was unwilling to compromise at the time. In that court order the judge described the public hearing "On September 4, 2018 the JDA held a meeting and heard public comments about the draft Master Development Agreement and Executive Summary. Most of the public comments addressed the need for higher density maximums or increased affordable options, in particular several entities wrote and spoke at the meeting to raise their concerns that the proposed Master Development Agreement failed to meet the City's and the County's legal obligations under the Minnesota Land Use Planning Act and that it presented potential liability issues for the County and the City under the Fair Housing Act." Councilmember Fabel said most of the people he had discussions with at the open house and most of them were favorably impressed with the proposal that had been brought in by Alatus. One person told him they didn't want any affordable housing in this area because that would cause riff-raff to move into Arden Hills. It concerns him that the sentiment lies behind some of the objections to the proposal. He looked up riff-raff and found it was people regarded as worthless, disreputable or of low social class. He didn't regard anyone that wants to get housing as disreputable, worthless of or low social class, no matter what status of housing they are seeking. He thought it was sad there are people opposed to the project because they are afraid of having riff-raff moving into Arden Hills. Councilmember Holden said as it seemed they were reliving the past, she heard during public comment that there were lengthy negations with the County but she didn't remember any lengthy negotiations with the County. There were many JDA meetings where the County didn't show up. The City always presented what their terms were. They agreed to one of the County's proposals during mediation but the County backed out of it. They met with Alatus, put another proposal together and Mr. Lux thought he could get the County to agree. They gave another term sheet and another proposal to the County, but the County never came to the table to negotiate or talk to the City, they only said they didn't like the revised term sheet. The lawsuit was settled and the summary judgement was in favor of the City, that we were negotiating in good faith. But they are back to the 1,460 instead of trying to move ahead they are so busy trying to belittle and beat everybody down on the past instead of trying to move forward and she didn't understand it. She could talk about the 1,460 and every meeting leading up to it, and about Mr. Lux in meetings in the basement and on and on. Was that what they were going to do? Mayor Grant asked if the offer put together was in writing from the County. Mr. Lux said it was not. They had conversations about it but not a written proposal. He did believe the term sheet would be accepted but it was not. Councilmember Monson said she would try to focus her comments on the 1,960 and what happened at the open house. She thought it was a fantastic turnout and well run although people had to be patient to ask questions. She had a lot of positive conversations with everyone supportive of 1,960. The bigger question was what kind of housing; can we build new houses at $350,000. Everyone seemed excited about the energy vision and she was happy to hear that support. Some people want to know all the details but they won't have them until the development agreement has been approved and a plan proposal comes before the JDA and Planning Commission. She noted the younger generation has different views on what they want, where ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 6 they live and how they get around. They are building for a broad vision and the future, not for just one person's particular preferences. Councilmember Monson was glad the JDA was on the path to getting traffic concerns cleaned up. She would be happy if they found a third entrance. She didn't want to lose the opportunity for a grand view because somebody is worried about traffic on Hwy 96 and other cities are building whatever they want on Hwy 96. She is interested to get the studies back, see what the County says about Hwy 96. She continued to support 1,960 units. If they continue to delay it's going to cost more so she supported moving it to the Planning Commission for approval. Councilmember Fabel said when the reconstituted JDA started meeting in January they resolved to look forward not back to the long-standing dispute between the City and the County. But he thought it was important to know what the court order said. He believed it was time to direct staff to move forward with 1,960 to prepare it for further consideration; moving on with the City Code and Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Holden said the County didn't negotiate or talk to them, and wondered why he wanted to keep wasting time talking about the past. She wondered why no-one stood up at the open house and told the people it was going to be 1,960. Mayor Grant stated he graduated from Chaska High School in 1975, the class motto was "My interest lies in the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life." He suggested they stay focused on what they need to focus on. Councilmember Monson moved to affordability; currently the proposal is twenty percent of the units will be affordable at a price range of sixty percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less, she would like to consider going above the twenty percent and adding additional percentage to cover the sixty to eighty percent. Councilmember Holden said she didn't know why they were talking about affordable housing. They do zoning as a city, they don't have a say in how much of it is affordable. Councilmember Rousseau apologized for the harsh comments between Councilmembers. She felt the open house was professionally done and well attended. Losing the flex office space wasn't an issue for her, her bigger concern was to have room for remote workers to office from home. She noted that with the military acreage next door they will never have traditional traffic patterns in this location. Mayor Grant agreed with Councilmember Holden's statement that they zone property and aren't in the affordability business. He wondered if the County would put affordability into the term sheet with the developer. Mr. Lux said the term sheet will be between Alatus and the JDA. Affordability and sustainability will be in the term sheet. Lot sizes and building materials will be controlled by the City. Mayor Grant asked if there was any intent to ask for TIF financing for any part of the project. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 7 Mr. Lux replied they don't have the economics worked out to know whether or not it will be necessary. He suggested the City Council, school district and County be open the tax increment financing. He's not asking for it now, but he won't take it off the table at this point. Mayor Grant said it's important to know the financials are a work in progress and if TIF were included the financials could be substantially impacted. Councilmember Holden asked at what point does an affordable house only pay 25% of their property taxes. City Administrator Perrault said 60% of AMI and below with 4(d) tax credits. Councilmember Holden thought they should know what the cost of that would be to the City. They have a substantial number of homes that will only be paying 25% of their property taxes, and they would be in the hole for many years. If they add more houses that don't pay property taxes, along with TIF, where would the money come from to pay for the development? Councilmember Monson said the 60-80% is full property tax. Mr. Lux said 80% units in Arden Hills is pretty much market rate. Councilmember Rousseau said when she thinks about affordability she wonders if people have to think they would have to turn down a promotion at the risk of losing their housing because they make too much money. Is there a spot where someone can have a 70% AMI and still be in Arden Hills? Councilmember Holden stated most cities have a list of requirements before they put in affordable housing. What guarantee is there that there will be a grocery store for those people? There won't be public transit. Small retail businesses only last 4-5 years. With the number of people and the lack of retail jobs that's a concern. Mr. Lux explained they are currently in discussions with groceries, so he's not concerned about getting a grocer in. Mayor Grant said in terms of affordability he would say 20% overall; take some at 60 and some at 80, rather than add to it to take the total to 22%. The county said something about 30% AMI but they hadn't seen any numbers to support how many units that would be. He was surprised at the open house that there were requests for gas stations. Mayor Grant stated he was a big proponent of commercial, he thought it was better for the individual and the City, perhaps even better for the developer. He thought the County was in favor too. Councilmember Rousseau liked the idea of building equity but wondered what the cost difference between a rental and home ownership was for the City. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 8 Mr. Lux explained that the cost of building a 200-300 unit project starts at about $275,000 per unit. The affordability depends on how you layer on the programs. The single family side is a challenge because of current costs. Councilmember Rousseau asked why they wouldn't want to do 100% of those as ownership, what was the benefit or negative of doing that? Mr. Lux said the challenge as a developer in multi -family, multi -story home ownership (condo) is that you open yourself up to litigation for a 10 year period. The market has pretty much stopped building wood framed multi -family condos. Concrete prices have gone up and continue to go up, while wood is starting to settle down. The pricing would have to start more in the $700,000 range and that would be a challenge. The City will be zoning for density, and the JDA will give guidelines within the term sheet regarding home ownership and for rent products. Mr. Stutz said from the for -sale side they build a number of products that didn't exist when they started discussions a few years ago; single family build to rent. The cost of building them is no different than if it were a for -sale so for tax purposes it probably wouldn't be any different. Until the recent interest rate increases people were actually paying more for rent than if they owned the home. Councilmember Rousseau asked if building equity would stop people from being on affordable homes programs. Mr. Stutz replied they are anticipating having some long term affordability covenants as it becomes problematic with for -sale properties versus rental which is fairly specific. Councilmember Monson said the County has down payment programs too. Councilmember Rousseau said it was a big difference to go from 65% AMI to 80% to market value. Mr. Stutz thought rentals were easy to figure out, for sales were more of a challenge because they actually own the property and have a right to sell it. Covenants may restrict what they can sell it for, but those details need to be worked through in the case of a for sale affordable unit. Councilmember Fabel said his understanding of the subsidy is that it goes to the individual, they get assistance from programs that helps them buy into the house, and the affordability doesn't follow the house, it follows the individual. Similar to first time home buyer assistance. Councilmember Holden felt they should go as high as they could with home ownership. The 1,460 didn't have rental houses in the plan. It's a lot easier to be part of a community if you're an owner. Mayor Grant said in regard to schools, it seemed to him if you asked the school district if they have the resources they're going to say yes. He thought from the school district's perspective they probably didn't have to worry about it for ten years. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 9 Councilmember Fabel said he was contacted by a school board member who told him they affirmatively support the greater density as they want more students. A lot of districts are losing students which means they lose money for the district. Mounds View would like to have more assurance that down the road they won't be in that situation. Councilmember Monson had a conversation with the school district superintendent and she thinks they are waiting until there is a solidified number but in the last referendum they built up capacity assuming TCAAP at 1,460. Their conversation was around the types of housing, if they add single family homes they will get more children but multi -family homes wasn't a concern. Arden Hills is just one piece of the puzzle for what the district has to do to provide for the students. She felt comfortable knowing the past referendum had adjusted for 1,460. They also talked about affordable housing and children that don't have stable housing. Councilmember Holden said the school board has been surprised at the number of market rate apartments going in in Shoreview. She felt good jobs were important so parents didn't have to work multiple jobs and could be involved with their kids. She thought that was as important as having a place to live. Mayor Grant felt there needed to be a bus line to serve the population in the 30% AMI units. Ideally he'd like the Met Council to step up to the plate. Sixty percent AMI gives you a lot more flexibility of what you can afford in terms of transportation. Councilmember Fabel said someone from Met Council may come to talk to the City Council, and he agreed mass transit would be the right thing to have. Mayor Grant added they have requested it from Met Council over and over again. Councilmember Rousseau said she'd love to add Metro Transit as a sub -item to the TCAAP discussion at a future work session and getting a representative to talk with them. Councilmember Monson wondered how they could plan and overlap some of the ordinance work for the City and the sustainability efforts for TRC, such as EV's and homes being EV ready. Mayor Grant said the City has been close to having some EV charging stations but the vendor pulled out, but they need to tackle that issue. Councilmember Holden said that making homes EV ready adds cost to them. One of the concerns she had was the I&I and people's sewers running into their yards and going into the lakes. Mounds View makes people get their lines televised before they can sell. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do that, but she thought they should do something. Councilmember Monson thought they could put sustainability topics and climate action plan back on the list for a work session. Councilmember Fabel noted that the more people available to ride, the more likely mass transit come in, so the 1,960 is much more likely to provide ridership. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 10 Councilmember Holden said she would like to believe that but after dealing with Met Council in the past she wasn't sure. Mayor Grant asked if they wanted to have a City open house to get resident feedback. Councilmember Monson felt directing staff to pursue 1,960 is where they should start because there is a public hearing coming up with the Planning Commission that they can tie into. A separate open house is a significant undertaking, and there were a lot of people that came to last night's open house. Councilmember Holden wondered why anyone would come to give their opinion when the 1,960 was already decided. The current Council didn't have a culture to listen to residents. Councilmember Rousseau was in favor of setting the maximum at 1,960 and sending it forward to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Fabel agreed they should have staff start to prepare the necessary amendments to the TRC and Comprehensive Plan for consideration down the road. He also agreed people could come to the Planning Commission meeting for the public hearing. Mayor Grant felt a Planning Commission public hearing was entirely different from an open house. He didn't feel they were bringing the community along. They haven't received results from the questionnaire last night to know what people thought and said. That didn't mean staff couldn't work on it, but it sends a bad message when you have an open house and have a special work session without results from the open house. Councilmember Holden would like to know if the JDA chair would attend the Planning Commission meeting. She didn't see how he could be on the Planning Commission that evening. Councilmember Monson wondered if staff could advertise the Planning Commission meeting in a way other than normal. City Administrator Perrault said they could put it on the website and social media channels in a more obvious way. Councilmember Holden thought they should send a postcard to residents. The open house was in the newsletter but she though residents weren't given enough notice. City Administrator Perrault said the next newsletter was already at the printer but they could try to get something in it, or send a postcard if that fails. Councilmember Fabel felt the newsletter was the established mechanism of communication with residents from the Council. After further discussion on timing, it was determined to see if something could be added to the next newsletter, or possibly as an insert, and if not then a postcard. Mayor Grant directed staff to work on zoning changes on TCAAP as they have time. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 11 Community Development Director Jagoe said they were waiting on a final budget and then they would go into the RFP process in the first quarter of 2024. She didn't think they would start on ordinance work until 2024. City Administrator Perrault added that if the EAC uses an energy consultant that could drive more changes to the TRC and potential city-wide changes. City Administrator Perrault stated his understanding is to move the language forward to the next available Planning Commission and advertise the public hearing so the public can provide comments in lieu of a separate public engagement event. Councilmember Monson reviewed the comments she would be taking back to the JDA. 4. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS Councilmember Monson said when people ask her what's been done and why is this different versus the past, she describes it as the new JDA carrying water the last mile; all of the work was done by past Councils. She wanted them to know that she acknowledges that. Councilmember Rousseau asked if bid bonds will be required for contractors. Mr. Lux replied yes, for public utility work. But typically not for other buildings/single family homes, as the high percentage of the workers are union workers. Councilmember Rousseau asked what happens if Mr. Lux retires during the process and who would carry this forward. Mr. Lux said they have a capable team of 12. There is also plenty of support at the builders. Councilmember Holden asked who would be the management in the future, do they need to write something in the documents that there would be a responsible management company over the rentals. Mr. Lux said they don't self -manage, they use a national firm called Gray Star. Councilmember Fabel was hopeful they could incorporate Habitat for Humanity into the construction process. Mayor Grant said there was a program offered by the Met Council regarding water conservation for smart irrigation systems that was discontinued in 2023. The program will be back in 2024 so he will be asking staff to look into it. City Administrator Perrault stated he had sent an email regarding the Council retreat contract. Councilmember Monson asked when an inquiry regarding TCAAP comes in to the City Council from the press, how do they manage answering the questions? She assumed it would be one person from the JDA and the Mayor that would respond. ARDEN HELLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 12 Mayor Grant said they could discuss that at a future work session. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 7:53 p.m. 6JIo)1e Traub David Grant Deputy City Clerk Mayor