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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 06-20-2005 ~ . ~~HILLS Approved: July 11,2005 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005, 7:30 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 Call To Order Mayor Aplikowski called the meeting to order at 5 :00 PM. Present: Mayor Aplikowski, Councilmembers: Gregg Larson, Brenda Holden, Lois Rem (6:25 to 8:00 PM) Absent: Council Member David Grant (Excused Absence) Staff present: City Administrator, Michelle Wolfe; Finance Dircctor, Murtuza Siddiqui; Assistant to the City Administrator, Schawn Johnson; Opcrations and Maintenance Director, Tom Moore; City Planner, Peter Hellegers; City Engineer, Grcg Brown . Lake Johanna Fire Department Cost Sharinl! Diseussion The Lake Johanna Fire Department Board of Directors has been studying thc issue of fire department funding between the three members (Arden Hills, Shorcview, and North Oaks) for about a year. Historically the operating budget has been divided in the following manner: . City of Arden Hills 25.0% . City of North Oaks 12.5% . City of Shoreview 62.5% The Fire Board recently reached a consensus and approved a new approach for budgeting future fire department expenses. In 2006, the operating budget will be based on a new formula. The new formula that was approved by the Lake Johanna Fire Board is based upon the following four factors: . Population 25% . Households 25% . Market Value 10% . Fire Calls (5 year average) 40% Under the proposed formula, the City of Arden Hills will be paying 26.3% of the total annual budget. Therefore, this is not a sigrificant increase for thc City, but the preliminary amounts are based upon a formula that could change over time. . Councilmember Larson said that he has been a Lake Johanna Fire Department board member for many years and that the current percentage breakdown of fire related costs between the three ---- ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 2 . conununities is very confusing. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but the propos cd cost sharing system seems to be more equitable and easier to understand for everybody involved. Fire Chief Tim Boehlke stated that numerous formulas and scenarios were discussed by the board members. Councilmember Larson stated that the proposed formula is easily explainable and is much more accountable to the public. Each year the Lake Johanna Firc Department board members will review the formula. Because all three communities are unique in its fire call numbers, population, houschold numbers, and property values the new proposal will take into account these four areas when proposing future expenditures. The new proposal also takes into account future growth and potential land development. Councilmember Holden asked for the definition of a fire call. Fire Chief Boehlke stated that a fire call is classified as a car accident with injury, fire calls, falsc alarms, and Hazmat scenes. The firc department averages the numbers over a five year period when proposing the annual budget. Mayor Aplikowski asked what is considered market value. . Councilmember Larson explaincd that market value is a property owner's taxable property. Councilmember Holden asked why is the City's fire calls are so high? Fire Chief Boehlke said that Arden Hills is impacted by a large number of false alarm calls, traffic accidents, Bethel University, and Mounds View High Schools. Councilmember Larson stated that cutting down on the number of false alarms in Arden Hills would reduce the City costs for fire service. City Administrator Wolfe noted the Lake Johanna Fire Department board is recommending option #3 to the City Council for future consideration. The proposal would result in a slight increase for Ardcn Hills and North Oaks. Lake Johanna Fire Chief Tim Boehlke stated that the 2006 budget being proposed to the City will utilize the new formula. Presbvterian Homes-Site Plan Status City Planner Peter Hellegers provided an overview to the City Council of the application for review of a Special Use Permit Amendment for the addition of approximately 13,126 square feet to the south end of the McKnight Care Centcr building at Presbyterian Homes. The additional . space would allow the facility to be changed from 3 bed-units to mostly single bed units and double bed units. 2 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES Jure 20, 2005 3 . John Mehrkens of Senior Housing Partners was available to answer any questions or concerns that the City Council had regarding this proposcd addition to Presbyterian Homes. Mr. Mehrkens provided the City Council with a brief overview of the proposed addition to the Presbyterian Homes facility. The proposed addition would result in a more single unit rooms, improved dining room areas, and increased equipment storage areas. The current driveway will remain in its existing location. Landscaping will be added to the outside of the proposed addition. The existing landscape screening will be saved. The proposed project is a three story addition with a fourth floor rooftop garden/patio for patients to be outside. Also, the proposed plans would cause minimal topography changes to the existing site. Councilmember Larson expressed concern about the possibility of loud noises being created by the HV AC system. Mr. Mehrkens said that the HV AC system is state of the art and that this should not be an issue. The HV AC units would be located behind a wall to help minimize the sound. Councilmember Holden said that some neighborhood residents may be affected by the fourth floor garden area. Residents of Presbyterian Homes may be able to look into a resident's front yard. . Mr. Mehrkcns said that the garden area will only be utilized by patients and will be not used in the evenings. Mayor Aplikowski asked if the neighbors expressed any concerns at the neighborhood meeting. Mr. Mehrkens said that overall the neighborhood was favorable to this project and understood the reasoning behind the proposcd expansion. No Smokinl! in the Parks Poliev At the March 22, 2005 meeting the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Conunittee (PTRC) discussed the possibility of establishing a no smoking policy for City parks. Committee mcmber David McClung agreed to take tl1e lead on this projcct, research the project, and report back to the PTRC at the April 26'h meeting. At the April 26'h meeting, Ms. Katie Engman from the Ramsey County Tobacco Coalition made a presentation to the PTRC regarding what other communities are doing in regards to no smoking policies in local parks. Also, three Mounds View High School Students gave a presentation regarding the ncgative effects of tobacco. The three students are members of the Peers Acting to Challenge Tobacco (PACT) group. At the May 24, 2005, PTRC meeting the committee discussed the possibility of establishing a no . smoking policy in the City's parks. The PTRC passed a motion (5-0) recommending that thc City Council adopt a no smoking policy for City parks. 3 ------ ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 4 . Suzanne Florey, Christine Florey, and Nicole Holm representing the Mounds View High School chapter of the Peers Acting to Challenge (PACT) group gave the City Council a presentation on the ill-effects of smoking in City parks. The PACT group provided the City Council with a visual display of the cigarette buds that were picked up at local parks. The PACT group is sceking the support of the City Council by passing a policy that would not allow smoking within the Arden Hills park system. Similar policies have been passed by the Citics of New Brighton and Shoreview. Operations and Maintenance Director Tom Moore stated that thc PTRC passed a motion (5-0) that recommended a no-smoking ban be implemented by the City Council in the City parks. Mayor Aplikowski stated her opposition to a ban in open air because of the inability to enforcc and she also stated she was really opposed to the posting of signs in the parks and on the trails. She considers that sign pollution. Councilmember Holdcn asked how many signs would be posted and what is the additional cost to the City. Operations and Maintenance Dircctor Moore said that there are 100 signs available to the City at no cost. The City has sign posts in stock that could be used for these signs. The only City . cxpense would be for labor costs and sign posts. Councilmember Larson said that he supports a no-smoking ban in the parks. He also thanked the MVHS studcnts for their conunitrnent to the PACT project. Councilmember Holden asked if the City could enforce the no-smoking policy at Tony Schmidt Park. Councilmember Holden requested that City staff procced with a draft no-smoking in the parks policy and bring it back to the City Council for further review at a later date. City staff will bring a draft policy back to the City Council at a later date. Update on the Lexin2ton Avenue Construetion Proieet Cost City Engineer Greg Brown provided the City Council with an overview of the Lexington Avenue project. In 2004, the City budgeted $115,000 from the Water Utility Fund and $185,000 for roadway construction, ROW Acquisition, and engineering expenses. Overall the project is expected to be $90,000 over budget. Possible cost savings to the City could be reducing the size of the proposed retaining walls along Lexington Avenue. City Administrator Michelle Wolfe said that City staff wants to inform the City Council that this . project will be over budget. The projected expenditures involving the ROW acquisition were underestimated. It is imperative that communication between the City and Ramsey County be improved in the future. 4 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20,2005 5 . City Engineer Brown noted that the cost overrun would have been worse if the original sidewalk plan had not been modified. Councilmember Holden asked how close the CIP budget will be with thc Lexington Avenue and Red Fox/Grey Fox projects going on simultaneously. City Engincer Brown said that they appear to be within budget at this time. Councilmember Larson asked if the City would bc better off bidding PMP projects in the winter months. The City may be able to get better pricing at this time of the year. City Enginecr Brown said that the 2006 PMP project is schedulcd to be bid out this winter. Wc will be able to see if we get bettcr pricing at that time. Finance Director Murtuza Siddiqui stated that a budget amendment would be needed by the City Council in the future to cover the cost overruns for the Lexington Avenue proj ect. 2006 Budl!et Caleudar-Budl!et Diseussion Finance Director Murtuza Siddiqui provided the City Council with an overview of the 2006 . budgeting process. At this time, the State Legislature is in session and there has been no decision reached regarding levy limits. The following factors have been identified that may influence thc 2006 budget. They are the following: . Tax Levy-3% Proposal . Overall budget increases for 2006 . Salaries and Benefits-Employec step increases/COLA increase . Increase in employee benefit costs . Five Year Capital Improvement Plan . Highway 96 Landscaping Councilmember Larson suggested that the City explore new ways to fund improvements to the park system. The currcnt parks improvement fund is under $200,000. Mayor Aplikowski asked what is the replacement schedule for playground equipment. Operations and Maintenance Director Tom Moore said that the City replaces playground equipmcnt on an average of 12 to 15 years. Councilmember Holden requestcd that the Northwest Youth and Family Services be included in the City's budget for 2006 and she mcntioned that Councilmember Grant requested that pay increases for the City Council be discussed in this year's budget. . Councilmember Larson said that pay is not the deciding factor rcgarding why we are City Councilmembers. Although, it is an item worth discussing in the future. 5 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 6 . City Administrator Wolfe said that a factor in considering a pay incrcase could be based upon the time, effort, and complexity of the issues being dealt with the City at this time. Other factors such as market data could be reviewed as well. Finance Director Siddiqui asked the City Council what perccntage of a COLA increase they would feel comfortable with in 2006. City Administrator Wolfe stated that the Local 4gers are scheduled to receive a 2.5% COLA incrcase in 2006. Councilmember Rem suggested that union and non-union staff members botl1 receive 2.5% COLA increases for 2006. City Council and City staff members will continue this discussion at a later date. City Administrator Wolfe said that a budget calendar was also included in this packet for future reference. A work scssion meeting will be scheduled in the near future to discuss the proposed 2006 budget in more detail. . Proposed Replaeement ofthe City Hall Copier Finance Director Murutza Siddiqui provided the City Council with an overview of the City's current copier lease agreement with Ikon. The lease agreement with Ikon is scheduled to expire on July 26, 2005. If necessary, Ikon has agreed to allow the City to lease the copier on a monthly basis. The City's current copier has madc approximately 1.2 million copies the past three years on the existing copier. The typical Ii fe expectancy of a copier is about two million Images. Since the City has had very good luck with the Canon copier, staff began to focus its attention this particular brand. In March, City staff received a price quote of$25,538 (including sales tax) to purchase a Cannon Image Runner 7200. The maintenance cost was quoted at $270.00 per month with a minimum usage of 30,000 images per month. The proposal also included a 36 month lease option at $740.00 per month. The buyout price for our cxisting copier is $12,032. City staff also contacted the local Canon representativc directly to see if the City could purchase directly from the manufacturer. Staff met with a local representative from Canon and requested a proposal. According to Canon, tile City's current copicr is being discontinued. The Canon representative suggested the Canon 8070 model. This model copies more pages per minute and offers additional features that our current copier is not capablc of offering. These features include: . folding feature; . . book making capabilities; . and insertion of paper dividers. 6 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 7 . The quoted price for this copier is $27,157.50. The projected maintenance cost is $165.00 per month of $.0055 per image. The proj ected maintenance costs over a three year period is $5,940.00 assuming a rate of 30,000 images per month. Comparing the two proposals, the copier from Canon USA costs $1619.50 more than the Ikon proposal, but the proposal from Canon includes additional features plus the latest in copier tcchnology. Councilmember Holden raised concerns about overage charges witl1 our last lease agreement. Finance Director Siddiqui said that the City was being billed on a monthly basis and not a quarterly basis. This resulted in the additional charges, but the billing problem was resolved through Ikon. Councilmember Holden suggested that the City purchasc the new Canon copicr. This item will be brought forth to the City Council for approval at the June 27th City Council meeting. . Emplovee Reeoenition Poliev City Administrator Michelle Wolfe provided the City Council with an overview of the changes that have been made to the proposed employce recognition policy. The proposed changes were bascd upon the rcconunendations given to City staff at the May 16th work session meeting. After further review and discussion a few minor revisions were made to the proposed employee recognition, employee of the year, and employee money, safety, and time savmg recommendation policies. The employee recognition policies will be brought forth to the City Council for formal approval at the June 27th City Council meeting. Councilmember Rem left the meeting at 8:00 PM. Citv Committee and Commission Guidelines City Administrator Wolfe provided the City Council with an overview of the historical procedures and meeting procedures of thc different commissions, committees, and task forces. At this time, the City does not have a consistent process when it involves the operation, appointment, and formation of commissions, committces, and task forces in Arden Hills. Mayor Aplikowski and City Administrator Wolfe began the proccss of reviewing past practices in order to develop some guidelines that could be used in defining how the City operates its conunittees, commissions, and task forces in the futurc. At this time, this process is in the initial stage of development and will need City Council input to ensure that a consensus is made to move this project forward. Conunents and directions . received during these preliminary discussions will bc incorporated into a more formal report and outline in the near future. 7 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 8 . Councilmember Larson requested that there be more of a distinction between standing committees and City Council appointed committecs. In the past, he has received complaints from residents that the City Council does not listen to conunittees, commissions, or task forces. Therefore, these groups are unable to provide a finished product. It is important that a task force has a charge or mission to complete a quality work product that can be used by the City Council. He believes that the City has the right number of committees at this time. Councilmember Holdcn would like to see term limits implemented on committees. Mayor Aplikowski asked the City Council if they would likc to implement term limits or implement an annual renewal process. Councilmember Larson mentioned that the Planning Commission is very important and is a statutory requirement. It is very important to have experienced members on a plamling conunission. City Administrator Wolfe reviewed the suggested steps to be implemented by the City council pertaining to when a task force is formed. The goal is to have a consistent approach in the formation of task forces. It is proposed that at a future work sessions, the City Council would discuss and review the purpose of a task force, work plans, and time lines. Prospective members . of a task force will be asked to complete a committee application form. City Administrator Wolfe said that the implementation of term limits will have to be a policy issue decided by the City Council in regards to committee and conunissions. Mayor Aplikowski stated that term limits minimizes personal ownership and allows more opportunities for others to participate on commissions, committees, and task forces. This item will be placed on a future work session agenda for further discussion. Northwest Areas Librarv Aeeess Task Foree City Administrator Wolfe stated that the Ramsey County Library Board has created a Northwest Area Library Task Force to study and evaluate library services in the northwest portion of the county. The City has been asked to appoint an elected official and a citizen representative to the task force. Councilmember Holden said that she belicves that Ramsey County Library Board leans toward larger library branches. The current Arden Hills is very restrictive with its building and location. Also, the library is only open certain times of the day and this forces people to visit the Roscville or Shoreview branchcs. Mayor Aplikowski mentioned that she has received mixed messages from residents rcgarding the . need for a larger library, while some residents want to keep our existing library open. 8 ------------------ ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 9 . City Administrator Wolfe said that an appointment to the Northwest Areas Library Access Task Force should be made at the next City Council meeting. Mayor Aplikowski asked the City Councilmembers if they would continue to fight to keep the existing library open in Arden Hills. Councilmember Larson noted the concern that the current building is small and lacks visibility in the public. City Council will make two appointments to the Northwest Area Library Access Task Force at the June 27th meeting. Couneil Reports Brenda Holden . Councilmember Holden asked City staff if there were problems with the proposed land purchasc at the International Paper Company for a storm water holding pond. . City Administrator Wolfe rcported that staff has been working with International Paper and that URS has created an alternative plan for the pond that does not require as much . land acquisition. City Administrator Wolfe will check on these concerns and report back to the City Council. . Councilmember Holden asked if the City Councilmembers remaining Celebrate Arden Hills tickets should be returned to Recreation Supervisor Michelle Olson. . City Administrator said that the remaining tickets should be returned to Michelle Olson. She also noted that the City has already surpassed its sponsorship totals from last year. Gregg Larson . Councilmember Larson inquired about the after hours lighting issues at the Mounds View High School athlctic fields. . City Administrator Wolfe rcported that staff has discussed this issue with the school district and that they will work to ensure that the lights are shut offby 10:00 PM. . Councilmember Larson will not be able to attend this year's Celebrate Arden Hills event due to a prior engagement. Beverly Aplikowski . Mayor Aplikowski reported that she has art tickets available for anyone that is interested. . 9 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES June 20, 2005 10 . The meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM Respectfully submitted by Schawn P. Johnson r _ \; .f"., ~<L'~ ~qffd' \ ___') _,'" __ ,I" 'I".': ill l' \ l X- L lJ I C -13everly A ows i, MAYOR 1./' \.(/ \\' /'( / "'l/ /.,..{ Michelle A. Wolfe, CITY ADM ISTRATOR . . 10