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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-08-24-WS 'It -ARPEN HILLS Approved: April 22, 2024 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 8, 2024 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 Tom Fabel, Brenda Holden, Tena Monson and Emily Rousseau Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault; Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; Community Development Director Jessica Jagoe; Finance Director Joua Yang and Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. City Administrator Performance Review (Closed Per Minn. Stat. 13D.05, Subd. 3(A)) n performance review on the At 5:30 m the City Council met in a Closed Session to conduct a p � Y P City Administrator. The Council reconvened the meeting to an open session at 5:55 p.m. 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Robert Bonine, 3274 Katie Lane, thanked the Council for their time. He requested the Council reconsider the encroachment issue regarding his property. He thanked staff for their assistance and for being wonderful stewards of the City. He explained he had sent a letter to the City addressing what has occurred on his property over the past nine years. He encouraged the Council to reference this letter for more detail and asked that the Council pause action. He stated it was his hope he would be included in broader discussions with the PTRC and Council going forward. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 2 Councilmember Holden requested an item be added to the agenda to allow for the discussion of Franchise Fees. She suggested this item be discussed prior to Item 3D. 3. AGENDA ITEMS (continued) B. Food Truck Discussion Mayor Grant asked if the Council wanted to continue to have the City issue licenses for food trucks and permits for residents that host a food truck. Councilmember Holden stated she did not believe issuing permits was necessary. However, she would like residents to register food trucks with the City. She commented on how bothersome it was for a particular neighborhood to have food trucks in their neighborhood every Friday night, April through October. Councilmember Rousseau supported the City eliminating the permitting process and recommended Ordinances be amended that would direct food trucks to Ramsey County for their processes. She noted a few years ago there were 180 residents who sent a petition to the City in support of food trucks. She indicated she did not see food trucks being a concern every weekend given the fact the pandemic was over. In addition, she did not see other cities keep a tab on how many food trucks were in the community. Councilmember Fabel questioned what neighborhood was having food trucks every Friday night. Councilmember Rousseau stated this occurred in her neighborhood when people were having to quarantine. She noted she recalled at a worksession Councilmember Holden had claimed there were impassable sidewalks. She clarified her neighborhood does not have sidewalks. Councilmember Holden stated she never said they have sidewalks rather that people were afraid to leave their garage door open because people were coming and going and they didn't know who the people were. Councilmember Rousseau indicated she remembered the conversation really well and she recalled Councilmember Holden had commented that strangers came into the neighborhood in which her neighbor Marsha made the comment those strangers were actually their neighbors that have mobility issues. Further discussion ensued regarding the perceived disruptions the food trucks caused within the neighborhood. Mayor Grant encouraged the Council to not spin over history. He stated he was glad COVID was in the rear-view mirror and asked that the Council limit its conversation on whether or not food trucks should be permitted. Councilmember Holden asked if Ramsey County s permit required that food trucks cannot park Ili in the street. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 3 Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson explained the County requires food trucks to follow City requirements, which meant food trucks could not park on right-of-way or City streets. Councilmember Monson supported eliminating the licensing requirement for commercial food trucks. She indicated she was not opposed to tracking food trucks in residential neighborhoods, but noted there were only four in 2022 and three in 2023. While she understood the concern, she was of the opinion food trucks were a non-issue in residential neighborhoods at this time. Councilmember Rousseau stated Arden Hills was a complaint-based City. She reported Shoreview, Roseville and New Brighton do not register or license food trucks and therefore she did not believe it was necessary for Arden Hills to license or register food trucks. Councilmember Holden stated there were 44 food trucks in 2023. Councilmember Monson indicated this was true but noted only a few of the food trucks were hosted at a residential property and the remainder were food truck that were hosted by commercial properties. Councilmember Holden reported she could support doing away with permitting, licensing and/or registering residential food trucks in the City. Council consensus was to recommend the City not license or register residential food trucks in Arden Hills and that only Ramsey County Health licenses be required. C. Lake Johanna Fire Department Discussion City Administrator Perrault stated for the past few years, the Lake Johanna Fire Department (LJFD)has been in discussions with its three cities, Arden Hills,North Oaks, and Shoreview, on a new fire station. This project was the result of a needs study done in 2018. The study identified a piece of property on Pine Tree Drive in Arden Hills as the ideal location. Since the study, the department and the cities have acquired the land and completed the design of the station. The department and cities also worked cooperatively to receive $6.6 million in State funding for the station construction. The board is recommending the station be constructed in 2025, and next steps are to figure out how to finance the station. Early estimates of the station in 2018 put the cost around $13 million, today the cost is estimated to be between $20 million and $25 million in total. Currently, Arden Hills' share of expenses for LJFD are approximately 25 percent; the City's share of the project would be the total, less State funding, and we would be responsible for 25 percent of the costs. For example, if the station were to cost $23 million, the cities would be responsible for$16.4 million and the AH share would be $4.1 million. City Administrator Perrault reported in order to unlock the State money, the cities need to decide and have secured their share of the project. It is anticipated that bonding will be needed for the project, and the question remains how will those bonds be structured i.e. one city bonding for the entire project and the other cities agreeing to pay that city their portion of the debt service or each city individually bonding for their share. The advantage of having one city bond for the project is it would lower initial issuance cost of the bonds, the cities could take advantage of a low interest rate (Arden Hills and Shoreview are both AAA rated), and it would streamline the debt service payment coming from one City for the bonding versus three. The City Attorney has ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 4 looked at how an agreement could be drafted to facilitate one City doing the bonding, she believes the agreement is relatively simple and is comfortable with the process. This term sheet assumes Arden Hills would be the City providing the bonding. City Administrator Perrault explained the question being posed to the City Council this evening is if it would entertain bonding for the project and having an agreement with the other cities to pay us their portion of the debt service annually. Tonight is not committing the City to this financing method, but if the City is willing to consider it, the Council Liaison and Staff will report back to the board for future funding discussions. It should also be noted that Shoreview has proposed, and Staff would recommend, using a phased debt service option for the station, which would have lower payments at the beginning and slightly higher payments later on. This would result in approximately $125,000 more from Arden Hills over the 20-year life of the bond. Staff asked if the Council was interested in being the primary bond holder for this project or should individual debt be issued by all parties involved in the project. Councilmember Holden commented on how the City would need to bond for TCAAP, the fire department and for trails. She questioned if the City could bond too much and if its bond rating could go down. City Administrator Perrault indicated he couldn't speak to when the City's bond rating could go down, but he understood the bonding capacity was 3% of the City's estimated taxable market value of the City, and approximated the bonding capacity to be$50 million. Councilmember Holden asked what options would be provided if Arden Hills were to bond for the project. City Administrator Perrault explained the City would have more control over the property if the department were to dissolve, given how the JPA was drafted. Councilmember Monson asked what bonding would be required for TCAAP. Councilmember Holden stated the City would have to bond for water and several items on TCAAP. She commented she was unsure how other items would be paid for on TCAAP, such as a new Public Works building and if a Civic Area was constructed. Councilmember Monson asked if Councilmember Holden was concerned about bonding for the full fire department project given the fact the City may want to bond for other things in the future. Councilmember Holden stated this was a concern for her, along with the fact the City may have to pay higher interest rates. Councilmember Rousseau asked if there were risks that other parties may not make their payments. City Administrator Perrault explained this risk was low. He noted the other parties would be under a legal agreement and could be sued. He indicated the City could require the other parties to pass GO notes to pledge obligations for their portion of the project. Couneil►nember Rousseau questioned what Shoreview's appetite was for the full bonding. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 5 City Administrator Perrault believed Shoreview was not interested in bonding the full project. Councilmember Fabel asked why the fire department could not issue for the bonds. City Administrator Perrault reported the fire department was a private non-profit and the City funds their activities. He explained the cities would receive a lower interest rate and would have to fund the project. He stated a JPA was in place for the future operation of the new station. He stated the City's bond attorney has explained the JPA likely will not be allowed to issue debt given the fact they have no debt history. Mayor Grant stated he supported the City issuing its own debt for this project because this would give the City more control over the project. Councilmember Rousseau questioned what the cost to the City would be to bond for this project. Mayor Grant estimated the cost to the City would be roughly $30,000. Councilmember Rousseau asked if the City were to go the individual route, would Shoreview and North Oaks follow suit. Councilmember Monson anticipated Shoreview and North Oaks would support this option because there was no big financial swing one way or another. She believed it was important for the City to maintain flexibility when it comes to repayment options. Councilmember Holden stated the Council may have more opportunities in the future if the City were to bond the entire project. She also noted that if the City bonds on its own, there are more options to bond for other future needs in the City such as the Lake Johanna trail, versus bonding jointly with Shoreview and North Oaks. She said the City could possibly pay the bond off and get a lesser rate. Councilmember Monson agreed. Mayor Grant discussed how interest rates may come down in the future and noted it may benefit the City to hold its own bonds for this project. Councilmember Holden questioned how much the City would owe for the station if it was pro- rated for future residents. City Administrator Perrault reported this was a complicated question. He indicated he could not speak to how much the City would owe five or ten years from now. He discussed how this would vary based on the formula. Councilmember Holden stated she supported the City bonding for its own portion of the project. Councilmember Fabel asked if the fire board had a preference for the bonding. Councilmember Monson did not believe the fire board had a preference and understood the City of Shoreview does not want to carry a single bond for this project. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 6 Mayor Grant requested Councilmember Monson take a closer look at the proposed costs for the fire station and to see if the size of the project had grown. Councilmember Holden questioned if the fire board had reached out to Betty McCollum to request funds for the fire station as she believed the window may still be open to request money through the legislature, and she noted that it is a very short window. Councilmember Monson stated the fire board would reach out to Betty McCollum regarding this matter. Council consensus was for the City to bond for its own portion of the fire station project. 3D. Franchise Fee Discussion—April 20 Open House Councilmember Holden asked how the Council wanted to use franchise fees. She supported the City having a specific focus for its franchise fees. City Administrator Perrault stated last July, August and September the Council had franchise fee discussions and the direction to staff at that time was to bring this item back in the spring of 2024. Staff was to give a presentation to the public to gauge feedback and was then to report back to the City Council. He reported staff was aware of funding gaps in the PIR Fund, Public Safety Capital Fund and Equipment Building Replacement Fund. He indicated the finance director has been working on a presentation and this information would be provided to the Council on Wednesday. Mayor Grant commented the feedback would be on bonding, tax increases, and franchise fees. He stated the Council would have to consider its preferred route. Councilmember Rousseau requested that a breakdown on how taxes would increase be included as well. City Administrator Perrault explained staff would provide a breakdown on property taxes versus franchise fees. Councilmember Fabel was of the opinion how the funding was spent confuses the issue. He stated the fact is, the City needed more money than was currently coming in for budgeted expenses. He indicated this funding could come through an increase in property taxes or a franchise fee. Councilmember Holden supported the City including trail expenses in the City's future expenditures. Councilmember Monson stated the Council has not decided whether or not to move forward with trail improvements without State bonding. She supported the Council having this discussion. She believed it would be interesting to have the trails included in some form to show the additional costs for the next five years. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 7 Mayor Grant indicated he could support this. He appreciated how the information presented would provide residents with a wide view of the City's upcoming expenses and how the City was planning to collect funds for its upcoming projects. Councilmember Holden did not believe operating costs should be coming out of franchise fees. Rather, franchise fees should be for trails or the fire station and operating costs should be coming out of property taxes. Mayor Grant indicated it would be great if the City received funding for the fire station from the federal government and state funding for the trails. However, for the time being, the City had to consider how to collect fees in order to cover its expenses for its proposed projects. Councilmember Monson supported the City having more discussions regarding franchise fees once the Council learns if there is an appetite for franchise fees from the public. Mayor Grant asked if Councilmember Holden had any further questions regarding this item. Councilmember Holden indicated she appreciated the fact the Council would be able to review the financial presentation prior to it going out to the public. E. Deer Management Mayor Grant asked if the Council supported moving forward with deer management and to provide a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Councilmember Monson stated she would like to have active deer management in Arden Hills. Council consensus was for the City to not pursue deer management at this time. Mayor Grant noted it was time to adjourn and prepare for the start of the regular City Council meeting at 7:00 pm. He stated depending on the length of that meeting, Council could reconvene the work session following the regular meeting. F. Legislative Priorities and Processes This item will be addressed by the Council at a future work session. G. Committee/Commission Liaison Roles and Responsibilities This item will be addressed by the Council at a future work session. H. Proclamation Policy This item will be addressed by the Council at a future work session. I. Council Tracker This item will be addressed by the Council at a future work session. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 8, 2024 8 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session meeting at 6:51 p.m. Ju Hanson David Grant Cif i Clerk Mayor