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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-25-24 WS,ARq,N.HILLS Approved: December 16, 2024 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORI( SESSION NOVEMBER25,2024 5:30 P.M.. ARDEN IIILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the City Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m. Present:Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Tom Fabel and Emily Rousseau. Brenda Holden (5:33) Absent: Tena Monson (Excused) Also present: Interim City Administrator Jessica Jagoe; Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; Finance Director Joua Yang and Assistant to the City Administrat or I City Clerk Julie Hanson 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. 2025 Fee Schedule Follow-up Discussion Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said she updated the draft Fee Schedule. The main addition is the Adult Cannabis Registration. Council should determine what the fee will be for the registration and should discuss what the violation fees will be. There is a cap in statute but the City can set it at any irmount, up to that cap. She outlined that Consultant Planner Hofer will discuss the zoning component later in the evening. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson shared some background on pet licenses. She shared the revenue for the last 12 years. ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Councilmember Rousseau noted the penalty for violation for tobacco sales was outlined and she wondered what the penalty was for serving alcohol to a minor. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson pointed to the section of the Fee Schedule that outlines penalties. It depends on if a person has had server training, or not. They are set depending on the number of violations. Councilmember Rousseau is surprised that the violation for minor consumption of alcohol is smaller than the charge for a tobacco sale violation. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said Council can revisit those topics. She doesn't know what the statutory minimums are and would have to do some research. Councilmember Rousseau would be interested in looking at increasing that penalty amount for alcohol. Councilmember Holden said there have not been coming, it might be a good time to revisit that topic. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk violations in the nine years she has been with the research. many violations but with the event center Hanson said she can remember only two City. She asked for direction on what to Councilmember Rousseau said she would just prefer to move the penalty amount up to equal what a tobacco violation would be. Mayor Grant would be fine with that. He thinks the penalty for cannabis should be stiffer, too. A lot of places scan drivers licenses now. But in a restaurant setting when a server is serving multiple tables, it can become more of an issue. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson asked if Council wants her to just raise the amounts as allowed by statute to mirror the tobacco violation penalty. She pointed to the pages in the Fee Schedule that outline the violation amounts. Councilmember Rousseau would like to keep the amount "with the training" similar to where it is. Mayor Grant outlined that if they do the training, they get off easier. But if they don't do the training it will be increased. Councilmember Rousseau said hopefully they would want to do the training. Councilmember llolden said if a server has had the training, there should be no violations. The first violation, without training is $1,000. She thinks the penalty for a first violation with training should be at least $500, rather than $100. Discussion ensued regarding the penalty amount when a server has been trained and when they haven't. ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson will change the fees as discussed. Councilmember Fabel said we seem to be in the minority of cities who charge a pet license fee. He wonders if there were no fee, would licensure increase? He asked how licensure serve the public interest. He thought more residents may license their pets if there were no fee attached to it. He doesn't have a strong feeling about this topic. He wondered if we have a problem with unlicensed animals. Councilmember Holden said she wouldn't bother to come in and get a license. She is surprised how many dangerous dogs there are. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said we just got a report of a dangerous dog last week and that pet was not licensed. She said that some cities have gone to a lifetime license for pets. Most of them said the reason is so many pets are microchipped now. In the past, licensing was the means to find an animal's owner. Councilmember Holden said there are cities that say you must have a city license in order to use a dog park. We don't want our dogs running around with other pets who may have been exposed to something or who are unvaccinated. Councilmember Rousseau said she just doesn't think people are using this. We have 28 cat licenses and 96 dog licenses. There are more than 28 cats and 96 dogs in the City. She doesn't know what the administrative cost is to monitor these licenses. She keeps a photo of her dog's rabies vaccine on her phone. If a resident ran into the situation where they were asked to show their City license, they could say their city doesn't license pets but have the necessary records available if questioned. Councilmember Holden asked how much we pay for the Animal Control Officer. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson wasn't sure. She said the license fee is $30 for two years. Councilmember Holden said the license fees we do receive offset the cost of the Animal Control Officer. Councilmember Fabel said a lifetime license makes sense to him. Councilmember Rousseau still doesn't see the purpose of having this. She asked how many people will want to put a collar on their indoor cat. She thinks the bigger issue is that people should not be letting their cats outside. She doesn't think pet licenses are relevant anymore. Finance Director Yang said the budgeted cost of the Animal Control Contract is approximately $3,000 annually. The prior year spend was $2,160. Mayor Grant said it must depend on the number of dogs he picks up and if they need to be held. He said there are certainly more dogs in the city than there are licenses. Councilmember Holden said there are dogs and cats running free in her neighborhood all the time. ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Mayor Grant said if someone is bit, if the owner has licensed them, then you can be certain they have had their shots. Councilmember Rousseau said it is unlikely we'll be bit by one of the 28 licensed cats. This process is not being utilized by cat owners. Councilmember Holden would support a lifetime license. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said there were more cities that didn't license cats. She thinks the primary users of the cat license are the Bethel students. Bethel knows it's in our ordinance so they require their students to obtain a license. Mayor Grant asked if Councilmember Holden is in support of lifetime licenses. Councilmember Holden asked if there is a distinction between cats or dogs. Councilmember Fabel said they are both in the ordinance now. He thinks dogs are the greater issue, in terms of safety. Mayor Grant asked what the proposed fee for a lifetime license of an animal would be. Councilmember Fabel thought $50. Mayor Grant agreed. Mayor Grant asked what else needs to be discussed on the Fee Schedule. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said cannabis. She pointed out the options. She said everyone is just starting to have this conversation so it will be interesting to see where surrounding cities land. She rerninded this is a cannabis registration, not a license. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) issues the license. Mayor Grant read the guideline that we could charge up to half the fee charged by OCM. He's fine with that. Councilmember Rousseau asked if we had to include a cannabis event. She doesn't envision insurance covering an event like that. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said that was in the discussion with the City Attorney. We do have to allow those types of events. Council has some leeway. She said we can't exclude them but can add reasonable conditions to them. Council can reduce the number of days for an event and/or restrict or prohibit on-site consumption in order to protect the public health and general welfare. There would be an event permit. Councilmember Rousseau would be interested in requiring on-site insurance. She thinks limiting it to one day and indoors, is okay for now. Later on, it can be opened up. Mayor Grant asked about the Fee Schedule for violations. He outlined first violation is $1,000, second is $2,000 plus 3-day license suspension, third would be $2,000 plus 7-day license suspension and fourth violation within 36 months would be revocation of the registration. ARDEN HILLS CITY COTINCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER25,2O24 Councilmember Rousseau said that sounds like it's similarly structured to what was discussed earlier for alcohol and tobacco sales. Councilmember Holden asked why these businesses are subject to being shut down for a violation, but alcohol/tobacco sellers are not. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said Council was looking at tobacco. She pointed to where the cannabis registration information could be found. Councilmember Holden asked if this says we will shut down a business. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said that is the tobacco piece and it is different. Councilmember Holden asked if we would shut down a retailer after a second tobacco violation. Mayor Grant said within 36 months, yes. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said the business wouldn't be shut down, their tobacco license would be pulled so only tobacco sales effected. Mayor Grant said he is okay if it is the same for cannabis. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said she doesn't know if we can do a tiered table, like liquor and tobacco. She would want to veriff. Mayor Grant said if the OCM says a first violation is $2,000, we can't have the fee lower than that. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson confirmed, up to $2,000. Mayor Grant said OCM doesn't say anything about a second violation. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said it states, "shall incur a penalty of up to $2,000 for each violation". Councilmember Rousseau thought the first violation could be $1,000. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said the City Attorney stated a lot of cities are starting at $1,000 and see how it goes. Councilmember Holden said it makes sense to structure it the same as the others. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson asked for direction on the initial registration fee and the renewal fee. Mayor Grant said this is all brand new. Staff has suggested $500 for the initial fee and $1,000 for registration renewal. He is okay with that. Councilmember Holden agreed; saying we can change it in a month if we learn something new. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25.2O24 Mayor Grant agreed. He said the OCM is still working through issues. Councilmember Rousseau is fine with that. She wanted to ask about the prohibited acts. She thought some of this is going to be constantly changing. She would like a link to the statute. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson shared it isn't even known who will do the compliance checks yet. Katie from the Non-Smoker group said they could do those compliance checks in conjunction with the Ramsey County SherifPs Office. It is not something they would typically do. Katie took a poll and we have replied that we would do that. She may have some guidance for us, as all of this develops. Mayor Grant asked if the Code Amendment discussion is during the Council meeting. Interim City Administrator said the Work Session discussion is for cannabis registration. There will be a Public Hearing at the City Council Meeting for the zoning ordinance. The draft language for the registration should be discussed tonight as that is in Chapter 3. Mayor Grant said he didn't have any problem with how it is written now, knowing it can be changed, ifneeded. Councilmember Fabel asked about the $30 license for a chicken. He doesn't think we should be licensing chickens. Councilmember llolden wants to keep the license for a chicken. If the someone had chickens, they should have to have approval. When we did the survey 50% of responding residents want them. If you live next to someone with chickens, we need to have a handle on it. Councilmember Fabel said he could support registration for an address, but not individual birds. Mayor Grant said it is not intended to license individual birds. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said this licenses the individual that has the chickens. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said it is to license the keeping of birds. Councilmember Rousseau would like to review the chicken ordinance, at some point. B. Adult Cannabis Registration and Chapter 3 City Code Amendments Councilmember llolden asked about medical use. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said the medical marijuana program is run by the State. It is governed separately than adult use cannabis. She recapped the information from the previous discussion. She will include the insurance requirement to cover a cannabis event. She will also include that a cannabis event can be one day only and must be held indoors. She will create a physical application for a cannabis event. It is different than the Miscellaneous Permit which would cover Night to Unite, a 5K run and other such events. She will also link statutes, as suggested. ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Councilmember Holden said we don't allow tobacco smoking in parks. Will cannabis be allowed? Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson noted where it states that no cannabis event will be permitted on public property or a public park. Councilmember Rousseau thought the smoking prohibition included smoking, vaping and any other similar device. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson confirmed. She said that was changed last fall. Signage was changed in the parks to reflect that all types of smoking is prohibited. Mayor Grant pointed to the portion of the ordinance that discussed violation penalty amounts. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson will update that to include the amounts discussed earlier during the Fee Schedule conversation. Councilmember Holden asked if the Sheriff has discussed how he will enforce any of this. Interim City Administrator Jagoe has not heard anything about enforcement or driver impairment testing. She will follow up during the next meeting. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson asked if Council wants a fee associated with a cannabis event. She said there is no fee for Night to Unite or a 5K Run. A sidewalk sale is $30. Councilmember Holden asked if the Event Center will be allowed to have an event there. She thinks there should be a fee. Councilmember Rousseau would like a fee, as well, just to cover administrative costs. She wondered how long it would take Staff to process an event application like this. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson it will depend on how complete the application is. Councilmember Rousseau thinks starting at $50 for an event makes sense as it will take a little longer at first. Councilmember Holden was thinking $250, but she would be okay with going to $100. Councilmember Rousseau is okay with $100. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said she can keep an eye on what other communities are doing and she can bring it back later if Council wants to make changes later. C. 2025 PTRC Work Plan Discussion Committee Members of the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) Chair JilI Anderson and Committee Member Kate Rogers began their presentation. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER25,2O24 PTRC Chair Anderson started with a recap of 2024. She provided a list showing the items that have been implemented or are moving forward. The PTRC did see some improvement with project management with the addition of sub-committees. Committee members who specialized in certain areas joined sub-committees and focused their attention on smaller pieces. PTRC advocated for park door locks and she heard they were installed. Mayor Grant thought only Perry Park received door locks. PTRC Chair Anderson confirmed. She noted the PTRC members spent time communicating with community members and requesting feedback, specifically as it relates to Arden Oaks and Freeway Park. PTRC partnered with the Lions Club to host a free city-wide event. PTRC secured a hot dog stand for the Touch A Truck event. PTRC Chair Anderson said that Committee Member Seemann hosted some educational events. Mayor Grant asked if PTRC purchased a hot dog stand. PTRC Chair Anderson said they coordinated the stand as a way to enhance the City event. The Committee accomplished getting Great River Greening on contract. Members continue to work on Chatham and Great River Greening for habitat restoration. Councilmember Holden said she has spoken to some residents about Arden Oaks who didn't fill out the survey. They thought when they talked to PTRC members, their information would be passed along. She thinks it undermines the survey when there is confusion regarding how information is being collected. PTRC Chair Anderson agrees. There have been advocacy by the PTRC to try to streamline the process and make it easier for residents to provide that type of feedback. She appreciated learning that and they will be aware of it with future resident contact. Councilmember Holden thought it is important to tell them to complete the survey, in addition to any conversation with Committee Members. PTRC Chair Anderson thinks the purpose of them asking was so when they provided their feedback and recommendations, they were reflecting what the neighborhood wanted. Councilmember Rousseau said that is the first she's heard about confusion surrounding PTRC outreach. The consultant said there were good response rates and some very good conversations. PTRC Chair Anderson said members did a better job of attending the planning meetings and that was helpful. She said Committee Member Loosbrock has done a lot of work relating to volunteer coordination. She helped with the Easter Egg Hunt, the Crepeau Nature Reserve, Cummings, the Flashlight Pumpkin Hunt, Floral and Hazelnut Parks. There was a coordinated project with the Eagle Scouts at Sampson. A relationship was established with the Arden Hills and Shoreview Rotary. PTRC hopes to continue collaborating with those organizations and are exploring an Adopt-A-Park program. There will be a pilot program where the Rotary will adopt Floral Park. AroN HILLS CITY CONC Councilmember Rousseau noted some items on the list that may be other opportunities the Rotary may be interested in for the Adopt-A-Park. She thought that the PTRC should review and update their charter to outline that the committee will seek grants where applicable. PTRC Chair Anderson said one of the 2025 goals is to create a handbook to include processes and procedures. It will also include a welcome packet for new members. It will be a time- consuming project. Councilmember Holden said bigger cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul have a parks board. The PTRC serves voluntarily. She said the PTRC needs to keep in mind how much work it will cost the City when they are making goals. PTRC Chair Anderson said the PTRC would be far more effective and have a much better understanding of their role with a Parks Master Plan. Councilmember Holden asked if they have seen the Master Plan that we have now. PTRC Chair Anderson said she has looked at the Master Plan from 2000. Councilmember Holden said everything is laid out in that plan. PTRC Chair Anderson said a lot of things have changed since that was developed. Councilmember Holden agreed it may have changed some, but the trails and things are all in there. Committee Member Rogers said a lot of things have changed. Councilmember Holden said as far as the trails go, it outlines every square foot and what the costs were. Committee Member Rogers said the costs would be irrelevantin2}24. Councilmember Holden said she doesn't want them to waste time looking for trail segments that are missing because it's already in that manual. She said she doesn't want them to reinvent the wheel when that manual has information in it. Committee Member Rogers asked for clarification if Councilmember Holden is saying it is still relevant or if it is not relevant. Councilmember Holden said it is relevant. The trails parts are there. Mayor Grant said in 2002 there was either atrall there, or there was not a trail there. The segments that needed to be added were identified. Today they are either completed or not completed. PTRC Chair Anderson said they can bring that to the PTRC. She thinks the Master Plan was a piece of it. She thought a new Master Plan would allow more forward thinking. It would help them know what is relevant as opposed to coming up with one-offs that they bring to Council ARDEN HILLS CITY COI.INCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 because it sounds like a good idea but then they find out there's no budget for it or there is no staff available to help implernent those things. She said, of course, they can move forward without a Master Parks Plan, but she believes they will be more effective and their recommendations will be more helpful to Council. Mayor Grant asked what her definition of effective is. PTRC Chair Anderson thinks the biggest issue is when new members come in. Things that inspire people to join this group are usually specific. It would be helpful to keep the group focused and be more effective in making recommendations to Council. There would be a road map and they would know what's up ahead for Council and things they are going to be addressing. She said PTRC could have been more proactive in regard to Arden Oaks and Freeway Parks. They can come up with a wish list but it's probably not very realistic. Mayor Grant said he is hearing her say that it helps PTRC be more focused. PTRC Chair Anderson agreed. Committee Member Rogers said PTRC are all volunteers who live in Arden Hills and are looking for ways to give back. They come with some good ideas but they aren't educated about how to implernent them. They can give recommendations and opinions, but having a Master Plan that we can all work towards feels like it would be much more effective. Councilmember Holden thinks a piece that is getting missed is the recreational part. She would like PTRC to look at some of the programs. She thought a Father/Daughter or Mother/Son dance. The recreational components never get looked at. PTRC Chair Anderson said the two things with the recreation piece are staff and funding. There are PTRC members that want to focus on community events. They are passionate about increasing community involvernent. It's hard to plan those things when we don't have a sense of what's reasonable from a budget or staffing standpoint. Committee Member Rogers said there isn't a large public place to have a big group of people due to parking deficits. It is a design of the parks from a long time ago. As a resident of Arden Hills she gets brochures from surrounding cities. PTRC are evaluating what the surrounding communities have and trying to build those types of programs here, but there is zero budget. They are hoping to involve businesses in the Parks Passport progam to supply prizes. It would bring different people to look around the neighborhoods and discover something new and different. Councilmember Holden said the Community Room at City Hall holds 75 people. In the summer, there could be recreational activities at Perry Park pavilion. She feels the recreation piece is missing. She would like to see PTRC make more recorrmendations on the recreational stuff. PTRC Chair Anderson said having Recreation Supervisor Johnson on the PTRC is helpful but that is his role. It doesn't feel like PTRC should be instructing him on what programs to offer. Councilmember Holden said it isn't instructing but give him some ideas and he can determine if we can implement those things. l0 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER25,2O24 Committee Member Rogers said it has been difficult to keep the summer programming that is in place due to staffing. PTRC Chair Anderson said her impression has been that staffing has been an issue. PTRC doesn't want to come to Council and suggest a bunch of things if there won't be staff to implement them. Councilmember Holden said she thought she read in the minutes that some sunmer programs were qmceled because people quit. She asked the person who oversees that, and they said that was not true. PTRC Chair Anderson said her understanding was that it was staffing that caused the cancellation of programs. Councilmember Rousseau thought it was just one moming or aftemoon program that was cancelled. That was two summers ago. Councilmember Holden said she asked Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen and he said that was not happening. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he doesn't recall any issue this year, but he does recall the issue a couple years ago. PTRC Chair Anderson said they are really interested in continuing to broaden the current events and find opportunities to have great new events. Councilmember Rousseau said we are partnering more with Mounds View where they are sending out information regarding recreation programs to both cities. Mounds View does have a Community Center that could be another opportunity. She doesn't think Mounds View Parks and Rec is very recreation oriented. Councilmember Holden said we can piggyback with Roseville on a lot of stuff because a lot of residents live much closer to Roseville than Shoreview, Mounds View or New Brighton. PTRC Chair Anderson asked if she was suggesting partnering will all of the surrounding cities. Councilmember Holden confirmed. It's an opportunity. They have a Community Center and a pool. PTRC Chair Anderson noted some other items on the list that PTRC would like to see the City focus on. Residents have said they would like to see some focus on Freeway Park, particularly the upper part. The Cummings invasive species removal is an ongoing project. The PTRC thinks there could be better communication regarding Lindy's roundabout. It might be helpful to educate residents about what the status is there. Mayor Grant asked if she is talking about the park or the actual roundabout. PTRC Chair Anderson said both. 11 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER25,2O24 Mayor Grant said he has gotten a lot of feedback about the roundabout and that it doesn't look pretty. PTRC Chair Anderson agreed. The PTRC is aware that there are people who have complained, but it is still new and the plantings aren't established. Mayor Grant said it belongs to the County, not the City. Commiffee Member Rogers said there isn't signage, nor would it be appropriate to have signage, stating it's a County project. That is where the education piece would come in. Councilmember Holden asked if they would update the list to separate the roundabout and the park. They are two different things. PTRC Chair Anderson said the issue for PTRC is educating the residents about why it isn't in Arden Hills' best interest to do something about that. Councilmember Holden said that kids had a great time at Lindy Park the last couple years, riding their bikes on the dirt piles. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it wouldn't be that expensive to install something like that. PTRC Chair Anderson said they will look at the prior Master Plan. They will continue the invasive species initiatives with Great River Greening, primarily. They hope to create suggested guidelines for planting on areas encroaching on City property. That has begun but she thinks that will need some more discussion. Councilmember Holden said for that one, it isn't just the plantings that are encroaching on City land. Some people are building brick walls there. She said maybe the answer is something that is solid vs. something that is removable. She read the minutes that a friend of a councilmember filed a complaint. The woman sent a note to the entire Council. They were walking their dogs every day. We got 4 letters over the past couple of years. The encroachment was set to be taken out. PTRC Chair Anderson said the PTRC discussion was much broader than just that one example. PTRC is interested in assisting Council in coming up with code. It would be helpful to have some clarity about what is being requested. It's hard for the group, as laypeople. They don't know why someone is putting a firepit on City property. Councilmember Rousseau said she thinks PTRC got stuck on this. She said discussion around whether or not you can take a chainsaw or lawn mower to remove it. Taking down a tree would be more challenging that that. PTRC didn't want to get involved in the physical building encroachments. It would not be her preference to have PTRC make those decisions. She would rather apply a policy throughout the city that says you can't put fences in these spaces and if a resident plants trees or a garden there, the risk is that Public Works can remove it at any time. She said Committee Member Seemann had the idea of Adopt-A-Spot program where a resident may have a spot in their yard that they maintain and have an informal process where someone says they want to plant a tree in the space they are taking care of. She is still researching how that might work. Minnetonka has a similar program. If there is creeping Charlie coming on their lawn from a City property maybe they clean up that space in the park, as well as their own yard. t2 ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Councilmember Holden asked if we still have a progr:Im where you can buy trees and plant them in the City. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said no. That was ran through Ramsey County. He doesn't think we utilized it. Councilmember Holden thought we were running out of places to plant the trees. People wanted them in a certain park but they would never mature. Mayor Grant asked if Council had any questions or coilrments for the PTRC members. Councilmember Fabel thanked them for their volunteer work. Councilmember Holden noted an item that states PTRC would like to encourage the City to prioritize ranoving invasive species. She stated we hire correctional folks and we have a contract with Great River Greening. She wondered what else PTRC would like to see. PTRC Chair Anderson didn't think there was anything specific. Mayor Grant thanked them for the information. Councilmember Rousseau asked if they have enough information to continue working on the encroachment part. PTRC Chair Anderson said planting a tree is a good example. PTRC isn't clear if Council is wanting them to create a list of what could be planted there. That will depend so much on location. Then what about everyone that already has an encroachment. Do you grandfather them in? She feels that's a conversation and decision Council should make. Committee Member Rogers said the more direction Council can give, the better. Councilmember Holden said the problem with the example encroachment was the gentlernan was making his yard bigger. PTRC Chair Anderson didn't know the specifics of that situation. D. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion This item was not discussed. E. Agenda Planning Mayor Grant said Staff has outlined some items. He asked if Council had concerns or changes for the list. Councilmember Rousseau said she would be interested in talking about what we are doing for committee and commission appointments. With a new Councilmember starting she would like to have feedback on what that person wants to work on with the other four members. 13 ARDEN HILLS CITY COTINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2O24 Mayor Grant said there is a structure for that. Councilmember Rousseau asked what he proposes. Mayor Grant said he would propose there is nothing in City Code. Councilmember Rousseau would like to have a Special Meeting the week of January 6-9 to discuss it. Councilmember Fabel said that makes sense to him, as he doesn't think it makes sense for him to be a part of those discussions. Councilmember Holden asked why there would be a discussion since it's always 3-2 and Mayor Grant and her aren't on any committees or commissions. She wondered if everyone was going to work together now. Mayor Grant said that is a valid point but a new Councilmember is coming on board. He asked Interim City Administrator Jagoe to reach out to Councilmember Elect Weber and ask his thoughts. He is also welcome to join Council on December 9 when that discussion will happen. Councilmember Rousseau would like to have a conversation to talk more about what PTRC might need from a liaison this year. She would like to talk about the North Metro Mayor's Association and why we aren't a part of that. There are other things to discuss besides just appointing liaisons. Mayor Grant said committee and commission appointments is on the December 9 agenda. He asked if she wanted to take it off that agenda. Councilmember Rousseau said if we want to invite Councilmember Elect Weber that would be fine. Councilmember Fabel thinks the item should be removed because it doesn't make any sense for him to take part in that discussion. Councilmember Rousseau said we could use the second meeting in December. Mayor Grant said traditionally there is no second meeting in December. It hasn't been decided if that meeting will take place. Councilmember Rousseau said we can use it as a place holder. Councilmember Holden asked why we wouldn't just do it on the 9ft. Councilmember Rousseau didn't know what Councilmember Elect Weber's availability is. Mayor Grant said Interim City Administrator Jagoe can contact him and see what his preferences are. Councilmember Rousseau wants him to be a part of the conversation. t4 ARDEN HILLS CITY COLINCIL WORK SESSION _ NOVEMBER25,2024 Mayor Grant said he can do that too. If he's not available on the 9th. Interim City Administrator Jagoe can let us know what he's interested in. Councilmember Rousseau said that is fine. She asked Interim City Administrator Jagoe to invite him to the 9th and ask availability for that second December date. Councilmember Holden said the second date in December is the day before Christmas Eve. Councilmember Rousseau replied yep. Mayor Grant said traditionally that is cancelled. He said Councilmember Elect Weber will be invited to the 9th and we'll try to get it done. Mayor Grant said January l3th is the State of the City. He asked what the TBD item on the agenda is. Interim Cify Administrator Jagoe it is still to be determined. Councilmember Rousseau requested Staff to send out the list of agenda items so Council can determine what is priority. Mayor Grant said that could go on the December 9th meeting. Interim City Administrator Jagoe will follow up on that. She said the December 9th work session will have the recycling contract discussion. Mayor Grant asked if there needed to be a discussion about it. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said Staff will bring the three proposals to Council and Staff will bring forth the recommendation. It should be a quick item. Staff will be seeking direction from Council to begin negotiations with the Staff recommended hauler. Mayor Grant said he didn't think Council will go against Staff recommendation. Interim City Administrator Jagoe agreed. She said it will be more of an update on the process. Staff will request Council direction to begin that negotiation with the hauler and the length of the contract either, 3-year or a 5-year contract. Mayor Grant thought it was 5-year. Interim Cify Administrator Jagoe said Council direction was to seek both. There has been discussion of going to organized collection. The timing could match up going with a 3-year. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Mayor Grant said over the past two months he has had three opportunities to attend various functions that General Manke has attended. He would like to write a thank you note for his presence and his leadership. The three events were Feed Our Troops, Ribfest and Veterans Day. l5 ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - NOVEMBER25,2O24 Senator Amy Klobuchar and Betty McCullom attended two of those events. He would like to send a thank you to them, as well. Councilmember Holden asked if the thank you notes would be from the Mayor, not the City. Mayor Grant confirmed they would be from the Mayor. He wanted Council to be aware he was sending them. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 6:57 p.m. l6