Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-24-SWS'It -texQEN 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. AUAR Update B. 2025-2029 CIP Discussion C. Council Salaries D. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion E. Agenda Planning 4. Council/Staff Comments Adjourn Requested Date: 07/22/2024 Requested time: 5:00 pm Open meeting X Signature of person(s) making request: A44;1,&t1f Mayor or Council Member Council Member Date received: 07/19/2024 Closed meeting 07/19/2024 Date Date -This section to be completed by City staff - Date meeting to be held: 07/22/2024 Time of meeting: 5:00 pm Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. 07/19/2024 Signature of City 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 Ai�QEN HILLS Approved: August 12, 2024 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JULY 22, 2024 5:00 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 Special City Council Work Session at 5:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Tom Fabel, Brenda Holden, Tena Monson and Emily Rousseau Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault; Finance Director Joua Yang; Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; Community Development Director Jessica Jagoe; and Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Kent Stennes, Karth Lake Improvement Boardmember, asked for financial assistance from the City for an upcoming Karth Lake educational event. He stated on Monday, August 12 the lake would be hosting a Rediscover Karth Lake Ice Cream Social. He invited the City Council to attend this event and reported there would be a discussion on what can be done to improve Karth Lake at the ice cream social. Lynn Diaz, 1143 Ingerson Road, stated the State of the State housing report was now available. She provided detailed information from the report noting those in Ramsey County, 49% of renters are cost burdened, 86% of low income renters are cost burdened, as are 65% of senior renters. She commented on the most in demand jobs and how these jobs correlate with the cost of housing. She expressed appreciation to the City Council for increasing the number of affordable housing units that would be included in the Rice Creek Commons development. She appreciated how these units would come in at 80% AMI because this would provide homes for retail workers and seniors in the community. She ended her comments by stating she supported the Council receiving a pay increase. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 2 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. AUAR Update Rachel Haase, Kimley Horn, stated the 2024 TCAAP AUAR Update was published in the EQB Monitor May 14, 2024 and comments were accepted through May 29, 2024. She explained she received two comments, one from the Metropolitan Council and the other from the Minnesota DNR. She reviewed the comments in further detail noting these comments have been responded to and incorporated into the AUAR Update. Councilmember Fabel commented on the increased density within the TCAAP development, noting the development could have up to 1,960 residential units. He questioned if the zoning scenarios properly reflected the development that could occur within the development. Ms. Haase reported the intent of the AUAR scenarios are to set a minimum and maximum threshold rather than study a specific proposal. She indicated the zoning scenario reflects the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the maximum development scenario is greater than what is allowed by the current Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Fabel stated he believed the development range was confusing within the AUAR. Councilmember Holden questioned if the rusty patch bumblebee was addressed by the DNR. Ms. Haase reported this was a species of concern for the DNR and was addressed in their comment letter. She explained mitigation measures were written into the AUAR Update for the rusty patch bumblebee. Mayor Grant inquired what an avoidance plan would look like for the blanding turtle. Ms. Haase explained this was something new from the DNR and would be worked out with the DNR. Councilmember Holden commented on the amount of daily trips that Costco could generate. She questioned if this was taken into consideration within the AUAR. Jacob Rojer, Kimley Horn, described the traffic categories that were included within the AUAR in order to take into account a Costco. Councilmember Holden asked what the process would be for the AUAR. Mayor Grant reported the AUAR would have to be accepted at a future City Council meeting. City Administrator Perrault stated pending no other questions, this item would be brought back to the City Council on the August 12 Consent Agenda. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 3 Councilmember Rousseau supported this item coming back to the Council on the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Holden recommended this item come back to the Council with a presentation from Kimley Horn or that staff be allowed to address questions. She explained if the AUAR were to come to the Council on the Consent Agenda, she would pull it. Mayor Grant suggested the AUAR then be placed under New Business. City Administrator Perrault noted it was out of scope for Kimley Horn to come to another meeting and it would be an additional charge. Councilmember Monson supported the AUAR being under New Business with representatives from Kimley Horn in attendance to address questions. B. 2025-2029 CIP Discussion Finance Director Yang 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 2025 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 commented further on the CIP, noting changes from the prior year CIP and requested direction from the Council on how to proceed. Councilmember Holden asked if staff had information on the Lake Johanna Fire Department's 2025 budget. Councilmember Monson reported the Fire Board just had their first look at the 2025 budget on Wednesday of last week for the Lake Johanna Fire Department. She did not anticipate there would be a huge increase from 2024 to 2025. Councilmember Rousseau questioned how much funding was put aside in EDA funding on a yearly basis. Finance Director Yang stated the City put $100,000 towards the EDA each year. The Council supported the EDAC reviewing or considering gateway signs in the City to see how much funding would be needed in 2025. Councilmember Rousseau stated she would be curious to learn what other cities were doing with their EDA funds. Finance Director Yang explained she could investigate this further. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 4 Councilmember Rousseau questioned if the City had been underbudgeting for playground structure replacements. Finance Director Yang indicated she could provide Councilmember Rousseau with historical information on playground expenditures. Councilmember Monson stated it would be wise to account for inflation and increased costs for playground equipment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained the City would be hosting an open house for Freeway Park in August. Councilmember Fabel requested further information regarding the annual payments for the new fire station. Finance Director Yang explained the City would be responsible for paying $375,000 annually for 20 years. Mayor Grant commented on how this payment may be different if the City were to receive additional State or federal funding. Further discussion ensued regarding the potential restructuring of the Public Works Department. Councilmember Rousseau supported further discussing this topic in order to properly plan and set budget aside for Phase 1 of this plan. Mayor Grant indicated the Council would be addressing this matter further on August 19. Councilmember Rousseau asked where a master parks plan would fit into the budget. Finance Director Yang stated this would most likely come from the CIP Fund. Councilmember Rousseau and Councilmember Monson supported placing a master parks plan in the 2025 budget. Councilmember Holden stated she would like to know more about the scope of the master parks plan. She commented the plan could be greatly impacted if TCAAP were to begin to develop. Councilmember Monson commented on the master parks plan that was completed by Mendota Heights, noting they spent around $80,000. She suggested the City set aside $100,000 for this plan. Councilmember Holden supported putting aside $50,000 until more was known about the scope of the project. Mayor Grant indicated he could support $50,000 for this project as well. Councilmember Rousseau recommended $100,000 be set aside for the plan, noting this number could always go down. She then expressed frustration with the fact the proposed restructuring ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 5 plan for the Public Works Department went to the Personnel Committee and not the entire City Council. Mayor Grant reported the Personnel Committee reviewed the matter and recommended the entire Council review this matter on August 19. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained he had included consulting services ($90,000) within his budget which could be used to supplement a portion of the costs for the parks plan. City Administrator Perrault indicated he would forward the potential restructuring plan for the Public Works to the entire City Council. After further discussion, the Council supported putting aside $75,000 for the master parks plan for 2025. Mayor Grant requested further information on the hours on the front end loader. He stated he was surprised that this loader had that many hours. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained this reading was from the panel on the front end loader. He reported this was a necessary piece of equipment for the Public Works Department. Mayor Grant stated he did not support the purchase of a new front end loader at the cost of $300,000. Councilmember Monson requested further comment on why staff believes this piece of equipment should be replaced. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen indicated this piece of equipment has been scheduled within the budget for replacement. He reviewed the list of parts and repairs that have occurred. He stated he could continue to monitor this piece of equipment and the purchase could be pushed off another year. He explained he could do more research on this piece of equipment and could report back to the Council at their next worksession meeting. Mayor Grant stated he would be interested in learning the number of hours per year this piece of equipment was being used. City Administrator Perrault questioned what the lead time was for this piece of equipment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen anticipated this would be at least a year. Councilmember Holden commented on how the front end loader, if replaced, would be backing up a truck that was purchased in 2022. She questioned if maintenance on the loader was increasing. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen stated all preventative maintenance on the loader was done inhouse. He explained with large pieces of equipment, the Public Works Department was not suited to do inhouse. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 6 Councilmember Holden requested that the preventative maintenance costs be broken out from the repair costs for public works equipment. Councilmember Rousseau questioned if there was interest in setting funding aside over the next three years for this piece of equipment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen indicated he would have to circle back with his staff members and could report back to the City Council. Councilmember Fabel commented he operated under the understanding Public Works wanted to be efficient when serving the City. He explained he was going to trust the vehicle replacement schedule as presented from staff. He indicated the Council's only other option would be to complete an audit on the fleet, but this did not make a lot of sense to him. Mayor Grant stated he was surprised by the Toolcat and how few hours it has in the past four years. He questioned why the City was trading in this piece of equipment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained the City trades in the Toolcat's when the warranty runs out, it still has a high trade in value and then the City has a new piece of equipment that was under warranty. He stated he could bring back the recommended replacement cycle to the City Council for further consideration. He indicated this plan was put in place to ensure pieces of equipment were not stacking up on the same year. Councilmember Fabel asked if the City's replacement schedule has been compared to other smaller cities. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained he could get more information on how the fleet schedule was created. Councilmember Holden stated she did not want the City spending money just to spend money, but rather she wanted there to be a balance or reason for replacing vehicles or pieces of equipment. Mayor Grant suggested Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen provide the Council with further information on the fleet replacement schedule in the next administrative update. Councilmember Holden questioned why the County was not obligated to assist with paying for trails along a County road. City Administrator Perrault explained the City had cost sharing agreements in place for street replacements, but noted these agreements do not address trails. Councilmember Monson asked if the franchise fee amount would remain at $375,000. Mayor Grant recalled the amount would remain at $375,000 because this was the amount needed for the fire station. Councilmember Fabel expressed his profound disagreement with the use of a franchise fee. He stated a franchise fee was a tax, disguised as a fee and this troubled him. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 7 C. Council Salaries City Administrator Perrault stated per City Code, the City Council is to review salaries every six years, which would have technically been in 2023; however, any changes to salaries cannot occur until after the next election (2024's election in this case). Council should review and discuss if it wants to approve any salary changes that would go into effect on January 1, 2025. Attached is a recent comparison of nearby cities and their Council salaries. Note, any changes need to be completed prior to November's election. Councilmember Holden indicated she did not support a salary increase. Mayor Grant explained he would support setting the Council salaries the same as Mounds View, as has been done in the past. Councilmember Monson stated she did not have a strong opinion on this matter. Councilmember Rousseau suggested raising the salary $50 or $100 so a larger increase is not needed in the future. Councilmember Fabel commented he would not want Arden Hills to be any higher than Mounds View. Councilmember Holden stated she could support the salaries being in alignment with Mounds View. Council general consensus was to bring this item forward in the future for approval, matching the City of Mounds View's Council salaries. D. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion This item was not discussed. E. Agenda Planning Councilmember Holden asked when the Council would be addressing strategic planning. Mayor Grant asked if the Council would support coming back to the worksession after this evening's Council meeting, if the meeting were to run short. Councilmember Holden explained she would not be available for this. Councilmember Monson suggested strategic planning be addressed at the next Council worksession. She asked if the Council could support paying $116 for the Karth Lake Ice Cream Social. The Council supported funding this expense. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES None. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JULY 22, 2024 8 ADJOURN Mayor Grant.adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 6:53 p.m. X4,vA- RA1 Hanson David Grant t Clerk Mayor