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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 04-15-2002 . ~ ~~HILLS MEETING MIl'IUTES CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MOl'lDA Y, APRIL 15,2002,4:45 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1245 WEST HICHW A Y 96 Mayor Probst called the Work Session to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City HalJ, 1245 W. Highway 96, Arden Hills, MilUlesota. Present: Mayor Denni s Probst, Council .N1embers Beverly Ap likowski, David Grant, Gregg Lat'son, and Lois Rem. Staff present: Administrator Joe Lynch, Terry Post, Tom Moore, Aaron PalTish, Michelle Olson, Greg Brown and Cynthia Young. 1. Quarterly Reports Mayor Probst suggested the Council Members contact staff outside the work session should they . have atlY questions or concems regarding the Department Quarterly Reports. 2. Staff Discussion Items a.I Community Development - TCAAP Dcveloper Discussion Mayor Probst acknowledged the attendance of prospective TCAAP Dcvelopers, and said thc City Council was ready to identify a partner. Council Member Larson stated he fclt the nature of the process is that we are looking at things superficially. lle said others are basically prescnting their qualifications. He is ready to indicatc who he thinks thc City should go with, and it is wisc for the City to identify a second consortium. Council Memher Aplikowski stated it was not diffiClllt to narrow the scope. She wants to know what the "vision" is, e.g. more commercial or different types of housing. She has a first and second choice in mind. Council .N1ember Grant said each developer presented welJ, but each Council member also has different objectives, therefore, the decision concerning the criteria is the most important. Council Mcmber Rem stated she was ready to make a decision, as well. . Mayor Probst said he had focused his attention on a couple of firms. He thinks it is clearly a property transfer issue. He explaincd that another piece is he does not view this selection made . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES APRIL 15,2002 2 as a "take it all, leave it all" issue. He suggested the Council pick a first choice and an alternate team. Council Member Aplikowski said thc cngine driving this issue is governmental relations. She is more impressed with the OPUS presentation on these criteria, as wen as bascd on the design and their attention to enviromnental issues. Council Mcmber Larson notcd his choices as: Centex (first) and Rottlund (second). He wants to see more residential development and thinks of the area as residential. He does not see this as a big regional center for the Twin Cities. He likes combined residential/commercial. Regarding Centex, has had a good experience with them, and thinks thcy did the best job of fonowing up with City Council. Hc said there is a strong political element to this project as they did bring in formcr Senator Grams and would likc to see some of the other consortiums that could address issues like Presbyterian Homes-and other life cycle housing scenarios. Council Member Grant believes Centex offers what is closest to what the City wants, with less risk, and retail dcvc10pment is something the City Council is struggling with. His second choice, but not rcal strong second is Mills. Council Member Rem said she had heard lrom various people that the financial engine which would drive this is a certain amount of commercial dcvelopment, and asked hmv is this going to pay for it. She agreed that OPUS seemed to have a bettcr handle on what is better for the City with a clear vision, which is appreciated. She asked ifthis is going to be another residential community. Mayor Probst said Mills is not an appropriate partncr, stating the City needs to contract with a group that can make the land transfer work, that being Ccntex/Gle1m Rehbein Companies. lIe said clcarly the environmcntal issues are paramount, and OPUS is his second choice. He said he wants to go with the developer with thc most land transfer experiencc. Council Member Aplikowski requested staff's opinion. Pla.tmer PatTish state that staff was not prepared to make a recommendation. Howcver, he agreed with Centex as first candidate, and OPUS as second. Mr. Post stated he chose OPUS first and Ccntcx as a second candidate, cxplaining he was more impressed with the govenunental affairs team of OPUS, and Centex residcntial expertise. Mr. Moore noted his choices were OPUS first, Ccntex second. AdministTator LJ~lch said he thought the City should go through a platming phase to first determine its vision for the site. He stated his choices are Centex first, Mins/OPUs sccond. Council Membcr Aplikowski said she agreed with Council Mcmber Rem in that the City needs thc commcrcial dcvclopmcnt at this site. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINuTES APRIL 15, 2002 , .) . Mayor Probst stat cd it sccms the majority of the Council supports the Centex team. Hc asked the Council Members what their thoughts were regarding engaging in an independent process of planning; discussing issues with a consultant, pcrhaps exploring several different options for developl1lent. Council Member Aplikowski suggested including the Planning Commission atId other groups in the process. Council Member Larson said it seems to be a good thing to have the consortium hear the input from thc public which also gives the City Council more information about the partncr. Council Member Grant asked ifthc consensus was Centex/OPUS. Mayor Probst said yes. Council Member Rem expressed hcr discomfol1 conceming the time-table of the project. Mayor Probst said he was not prepared to be specific about a time-table at this time, stating the entire process has suffered a bit because of the conccrn of the public, and encourages engaging the Dcsign Ccntcr for American Urban Landscape Centcr staff as a third party resource. He . notcd thc cxpense for this would be fronted by the partner. Council Member Grant suggested the City stay uphold the vision ofthc Vento Plan. Plmmcr Parrish said staff would need direction from thc Council ofa firm regarding the nature of the agreement between the City and the developer. The City would need to retain a development attomey, and staff would begin to negotiatc a preliminary developmcnt agreement, with thc City maintaining control over the process. Council Mcmbcr Larson suggested if the City were going to approach residcnts for input, the City also should havc a vision, explaining that the pcrfcct time to go out and get input from the public is before an agrccmcnt is executed. Council Member Grant stated irthe City went to the public for comments, we would want the framework of the Vento plan as a starting point. Council Aplikowski asked if the Town Hall meeting [April 20] would offer an opportunity for thcsc comments. Mayor Probst stated hc would cover this in his State ofthc City Address. . Administrator Lynch stated hc envisions a ninety day window of opportunity with the developer, and in that, would find out thc decision on the Anny National Guard property request. He stated . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES APRIL 15,2002 4 further that if they [Army] are ready, a decision to activate the land transfcr could begin initiating a first round of public meetings occurring in May, 2002. Council Member Larson said he fell it was advisable for staff to begin dialogue with thc developer about an agreemcnt. However, he did not think the City should complete that process until after public comment is received. Council Member Aplikowski suggested those meetings be planncd, and should not be put ofT much beyond April 29, 2002. She also noted the City should maintain control of the planning for TCAPP development. Council Mcmber Rem stated the public is quitc competent regarding tbis development issue. Mayor Probst stated the City Council would act on this at the April 29, 2002 City Council meeting. Administrator Lynch requested a time-table. Mayor Probst asked that staff come prepared to finalize discussion at the April 29, 2002 Council meeting, and at'e prepared to discuss a local support team so thc City is in a position to move things along before the school year adjoums. The Council took a recess at 6:20 p.m. The Council reconvened at 6:30 p.m. b.l. Financc Dcpartment Mr. Post: TKDA total cost $9,800.00, second phase ($6,800.00). Timeline associated could start Aprill7'h, upon approval. c.l Operations & Maintenance Department 2002-Pavement Management Plan City Engineer Greg Brown reviewed the plans and spccifications of the 2002 Pavement Management Plan (PMP) Mayor Probst asked if the cxisting "curb and gutter" could stay in tenns ofrcconstruction. He also suggested thc idca of more input from the public. Mayor Probst also stated the City should go into this committcd to completion in 2002, and directed staff to bring the feasibility report acceptance and authorized plans and specifications to the April 29, 2002 Council meeting. Council Member Aplikowski supported the idea ofrcconstructing both cul-de-sacs including the curbing, and encomaged a 28-foot street width. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINlJTES APRIL 15, 2002 5 . e.2 2003-Pavement Management Plan Mayor Probst asked about seal coating every ten years, when previously every five years was the cycling goal. Mr. Brown answered historically, every ten years is acceptable, but every five may be too frequent. Council Member Larson expressed his concern for the Siems Court neighborhood, Mr. Moore stated he inspected this neighborhood area earlier in the day, and agreed that it was in very bad shape, Mr. Brown said in any neighborhood [of the City], one could make a case, He mentioned that the real damage occurs when there is continuous Jreezing and thawing, and he would also re- evaluate these areas in the spring of 2003, Council Memher Rem suggested communicating these issues to the public via the newsletter, and Mr. Moore suggested the City websitc, as well, Mr. Post observed that the 20-year PMP program presented represents an accelerated loading in . the first six years, Council Member Aplikowski stated she thinks if the City approves a plan, then we should stick to it and budget for it. Mayor Probst said, in general, the staff is on the right track as demonstrated in the proposal, d.1 Administration Department Administrator Lyneh reviewed the 2002 Retreat Overview and the Strategic Action Plan, He said staff came to the conclusion that the ClF is an ongoing issue, He also said the two one-year goals arc the Joint Maintenance Facility and TCAAP, He asked the Mayor and City Council for confirmation that these are the top two issues, Mayor Probst suggested Council agreement that the ClF was an ongoing project and TCAAP and the Joint Maintenance Facility were the top two objectives for the City. He requested staff provide CUlTent scheduling on these two issues, Council Member Rem said it makes sense to define the vision for TCAAP, . Council Member Aplikowski said she was unclear as to the reasons some staff did not understand the City's Mission Statement. She said a better definition of "basic" would be appropriate, and that a vision statement would aid in the creation of a mission statement. Slie also suggested a future City Council mini-session to discuss the City's mission statement. ARDEN HILLS CITY COu"NCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES APRIL 15,2002 6 . Mr. Moore stated staff prefers to do better than "basic and necessary", Mr. Post suggested tlie Mission Statement allowed staff to use it as a filtering tool to evaluate incoming proj cct resource requests, Mayor Probst requested the Mission Statement issue be dclayed until JunelJuly, 2002, d.2 Staff Restrueture Mayor Probst restated he thinks the restructuring eontinues to make sense; makes even more sensc now with the acceleration of the TCAAP issue, Couneil Member Larson stated he supports going forward with the proposal. Council Member Grant said it makes sense to hire a Director of Public Works, and sees a strong administrative staff. He suggestcd no formal vote to proceed at this meeting, Hc said he wanted to get costs back prior to hiring, and stat cd he has no problem if the City Council decides to hire another director, but hc does not see the necessity to add another director. Council Member Rem said the new Deputy Clerk position should be able to take some of the . workload off the City Administrator. Administrator Lyneh brought to the COlll1cil's attention the least amount of change with the least amount of cost in another director position, He said staff is supportive of this proposal, applying the same logic of Operations and Maintenance to Administration, Council Member Aplikowski explained that the title "Administrative Services Director" sounds like a Community Scrvices Director. She suggested the possibility of hiring a marketing specialist to help market this proposal onee TCAAP is more defined, further saying shc is not against it, just against it right now. Administrator Lynch presented an alternative draft Organization Chart ilhlstrating a "three- legged" plan accompanied by a definitive draft organizational chart, Mayor Probst urgcd the Council to make a decision, stating they owed it to staff to do so becallse clLlTently, staff is in a "no-man's land", Council Member Larson said if the remaining COllncil Members are more comfortable with a Community Services Director at the same cost; why not go ahead, becausc the result is still adding only one more staffmembcr. . Administrator Lynch suggested he would recommend tliat the Council approve the appointment of Tom Moore as Director of Operations and Maintenance, . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUKCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES APRIL 15, 2002 7 Council Member Aplikowski suggested the decision be made at the April 29, 2002 City Council meeting, She reminded staff and Council ofthe Business Luncheon, Friday, Aprill9, 2002 from II :00 a,m, - 1 :00 p,m, d.3 Diseussion: Town HalllVleeting Administrator Lyneh reviewed the Town Hall Meeting agenda including parking and gencral schedule, Acting Mayor Rem invited Staff Comments. Mr. Panish: Mr. PatTish indicated that we have received comments back from the Rice Creek Watershed District regarding the approval of the Local Stonn Water Management Platl, He indicated that Rice Creek was proposing a conditional approval if the City was willing to complete tlic feasibility studies identified in the plan, From staff's perspecti ve, this is not acceptable, Council directed staff to send a letter outlining thc City's concems. Mr. Moore: Road weight restrictions lifted and street sweeping out in force this week; working on parks and ballfield maintenance; gardens update; thanked City Council for donating trees, Ms, Olson: Recreation Departmcnt was typically busy with Spring/Summer aetivities, Administrator Lyneh: City Hal] telTazzo floor surfacing problems are bcing addressed, stating the installer will repair/replaee, 3. Council Comments Council Member Aplikowski: neighbors upsct over sign issue, will talk to Tom Moore, Council Member Grant: Reported that the School Board met and decided that students that live within two miles ofthe school can walk, or parents can elect to pay $200,00 - seems unfair in the midst of the budget shortfall, Requested a letter to School Board to discuss at a City Couneil meeting, Acting Mayor Rem adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m. -"--- Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Young-Deputy Clerk