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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-09-24-WSlt ,-ARPEN HILLS Approved: January 13, 2025 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DECEMBER 9, 2024 5:30 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS 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, Emily Rousseau, Brenda Holden, Tena Monson, Councilmember Elect Kurt Weber Absent: None Also present: Interim City Administrator Jessica Jagoe; Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; Finance Director Joua Yang and Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson; Deputy Clerk Jen Estling Mayor Grant said Item C-Committee/Commissions Liaisons discussion will be moved to Item A and be discussed first. 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. Committee/Commissions Liaisons Mayor Grant read through the list of Committees and Commissions and requested that Councilmembers say if they are interested in serving on those Committees and Commissions. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee (PTRC)-Councilmember Holden Economic Development Commission (EDC)-Councilmember Rousseau ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 2 Planning Commission-Councilmember Elect Weber Communications-Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Rousseau Personnel -Mayor Grant, Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Rousseau Joint Development Authority (JDA)-Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Elect Weber Lake Johanna Fire Department-Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Monson Councilmember Monson said she doesn't feel strongly about continuing but there is a lot happening on the Relief Association side. If the liaison changes, she is happy to help with the transition. Northeast Youth and Family Services FS)-Councilmember Rousseau Ramsey County League-Councilmember Monson Councilmember Monson said she is primarily active through the Climate Action Working Group. There is a Board of Directors and other events she has not participated in. Twin Cities Gateway -Mayor Grant and Councilmember Rousseau Nine North-Councilmember Elect Weber Beyond the Yellow Ribbon -Military Liaison-Councilmember Monson Councilmember Monson has questions around Beyond the Yellow Ribbon and the Military Liaison role. Mayor Grant asked if Councilmember Monson has a Military background. Councilmember Monson said she has not been in the Military. She is not sure what Eileen Scott has been doing with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. She remembers seeing one update in two years. She doesn't fully understand the role and she thinks the Military Liaison role needs to have a more formalized communication pathway with a direct Councilmember that would then communicate any applicable information to the full Council. Councilmember Holden is on the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon and she said we do what Ramsey County tells us to do. Ramsey County is the main Beyond the Yellow Ribbon group. Councilmember Rousseau asked what the governance structure is of that group. She wondered if there is any risk to the City appointing someone. She asked if they are involved with the RAB meetings, as well. Councilmember Holden said they have nothing to do with the City, at all. They serve this area. When the Vets come home, they will have a dinner from them. It's all run by the Ramsey County one. They will ask the North Suburban chapter what they need and then they will provide that. She said Ribfest is a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon event, but this chapter has nothing to do with Ribfest. Councilmember Monson said she doesn't understand why the City would need to identify someone with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. If we want to keep it, she would prefer it be a formal Military Liaison. She would like to separate the Military Liaison from the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon piece. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 3 Councilmember Holden said it's like the Kiwanis Club or the Lions Club. They aren't associated with the City. They are just in the City. Councilmember Monson asked why it gets a special spot. Councilmember Holden said there was never a city liaison there, until 2023. Councilmember Monson asked what the City's role is. Councilmember Holden thought maybe it would be advertising and communications. Councilmember Monson said she is fine leaving it as long as the person actually communicates with Council on a regular basis. She doesn't think there has been any communication. She thinks it's a good mission. She would love to have the City continue to have a partnership. She just thinks the formal Military Liaison should be separate from that group. With the Red Bulls being in town, she thinks we should have a Councilmember who has that formal communication line. Councilmember Holden said they don't want one. Councilmember Monson would like to go ask them. Councilmember Holden said we talked to them last time and that's why there is no position. They prefer to keep it clean from the City. They are willing to share communications with us but they don't want regular meetings or City interactions. They are there to do a service. Councilmember Monson asked what the Military Liaison means. It is labeled with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. Councilmember Holden said it was added when the new Councilmembers were elected because Councilmember Monson wanted to be the Military Liaison. Former City Administrator Perrault checked with them. They were not interested in having a formal liaison. The City is the City and Army is the Army. She said the title stayed on the list. Councilmember Monson would like to ask again or formalize a line of communication with them. If that's through City Staff and they can communicate it. When there are events for the Red Bulls we would have a clear indication of if there is an invite to be shared and to determine the City's role, as it relates to the City. Councilmember Fabel said he concurs that there should be a relationship between the City and the Military, whether they are interested in it, or not. We are so intimately connected, as neighbors and with the ongoing TCAAP property. He thinks having an open line of communication with them would be smart. Councilmember Holden said Senior Communications Coordinator Cardona communicates with them all the time. Councilmember Rousseau would be interested to hear when deployments are ending. She would want to hear about any events to welcome them back. She did not receive a communication that the Governor was going to be at the last Veteran's event. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 4 Mayor Grant thinks Staff could be assigned to make sure Council is aware of such events. Councilmember Holden said the problem is that people get deployed all the time. They have a communication person, then that person gets deployed. Then you don't know who to contact. Everyone is moving all the time so there's not going to be just one person. Mayor Grant asked if Council would like to assign Staff to be in charge of Military communications. Councilmember Monson is fine with that but asks that Staff determine if this can continue to be a Staff item or if it is better to have a Councilmember or elected official there. Mayor Grant said he will note Staff will be the contact for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. And requests that Staff communicate all Military items to Council. Councilmember Holden said someone brought up RAB. She said the Military Liaison should have nothing to do with RAB. We are all stakeholders in RAB. If anyone wants to go to a RAB meeting, they can. Mayor Grant agreed. He said that's not on the list. Karth Lake Improvement District -Does not want a liaison. Councilmember Rousseau asked if Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen is okay with that. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed he's okay with that. Councilmember Rousseau wanted to bring up the North Metro Mayors group. She asked if Mayor Grant has spoken to them before. Mayor Grant did some research on the group and they seem to be a lobbying organization. Councilmember Rousseau could see why he would think that, in some aspects. They range from Andover to Shoreview and New Brighton. She thought this might be a way to form connections. The next meeting is January 15. She asked if Mayor Grant would be willing to attend a meeting and check them out. Mayor Grant said the handout provided is the Legislative Action Plan. This group bands together for legislative action. Councilmember Rousseau said their mission isn't printed on this handout. The mission is to champion the North Metro, encouraging private and public investments. The purpose is research and advocating for services. Mayor Grant will check them out. He isn't sure if it is an organization that you have to fund. He thinks you do. Council can have a discussion regarding North Metro Mayors and decide if we want to do anything with it, in the future. He pointed to the list for tonight's discussion. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 5 Councilmember Holden said her issue is all of the sudden Arden Hills will be out there lobbying for a bridge in Brookly Center. It would take away if we are lobbying for trail money. Councilmember Rousseau recognizes she handed out the Legislative Action Plan but she wanted to show how they come together to talk about other things. They have lobbyists like the MN Cable Communications Association. She thought it would be a great way to build some connections. Mayor Grant said he will check it out. He doesn't think it's something to jump into right now. He agrees with Councilmember Holden regarding our lobbying efforts. Our lobbyists are our Representative and our Senator. He would guess this organization puts all sorts of Representatives and Senators on their invite list. Councilmember Rousseau asked about the Mayor Pro Tem position. Mayor Grant said we do need to assign that, as well. Councilmember Monson said she would be find holding that. Councilmember Holden stated she would like to be considered for that. Mayor Grant said everyone knows what they have just volunteered for. He gave Council the opportunity to add or remove their names from any assignment on the list. He ran through the list again. The Council Liaison for PTRC will be Councilmember Holden. Councilmember Holden said Councilmember Elect Weber is the former Chair of the Planning Commission. She is concerned with the former Chair being the Council Liaison. He knows everyone and she is concerned that might influence the people on the Commission. Councilmember Elect Weber doesn't expect it to be an issue. Everyone on the Commission is pretty individually minded. Mayor Grant said there are two ways to look at it. On one hand, he could get experience somewhere else in the organization, but on the other hand he would bring his experience to the Commission. The Council Liaison for Planning Commission will be Councilmember Elect Weber. The Council Liaison for EDC will be Councilmember Rousseau. Mayor Grant said both Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Rousseau have volunteered for Communications. He asked how to proceed. Councilmember Holden said he should finish reading the list. Mayor Grant repeated that he along with Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Rousseau want Personnel. Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Elect Weber want ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 6 JDA. Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Holden want Lake Johanna Fire Department. Councilmember Rousseau wants NYFS. Councilmember Monson wants Ramsey County League. Councilmember Rousseau and Mayor Grant want Twin Cities Gateway. Councilmember Elect Weber wants the Cable Commission Nine North. Councilmember Monson wants Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. Councilmember Monson said she was less about being on Beyond the Yellow Ribbon and more about ensuring that Council has a clear communication line with the Military. Mayor Grant asked if Eileen Scott would still be the contact. Councilmember Monson isn't sure what her role is. Mayor Grant said we could invite her to a meeting. Councilmember Holden said Eileen Scott supplied the last annual report to Council, not too long ago, through the Admin Update. Councilmember Rousseau said we could ask her to send another one for this year and ask her to share the governance and bylaws with us. We could get a better understanding about how this process works. Mayor Grant said Mayor Pro Tem is also on the list. He asked how Council would like to move forward. Councilmember Rousseau said she would remove her name from Personnel Committee, to make it easier. Mayor Grant said in regard to Twin Cities Gateway, we have assigned John Connelly and we are allowed two positions. He asked if we want to remove John Connelly. Councilmember Rousseau said that's fine. She is interested because if she were the EDC Liaison she would like to make sure there is more awareness between the two organizations. She wants to see what we could do with the grant that they have. Mayor Grant said there are very specific guidelines for what we can do with that money. Councilmember Rousseau meant she wanted to see what can be done with the organization, in general. Councilmember Monson asked if there is a concern about putting two Councilmembers back in. Mayor Grant couldn't remember what the bylaws are. Interim City Administrator Jagoe will get the information and provide it to Council. She tried to find the information while Council continued the discussion. Councilmember Monson said she would be willing to discuss the Fire Department assignment, in depth, outside of the meeting with Councilmember Holden. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 7 Councilmember Holden said she was on the Commission for eight years, before Councilmember Monson took it for two years. Councilmember Monson said she understands that Councilmember Holden has experience on the Commission. Her comment was mostly a friendly courtesy that if Councilmember Holden takes it that she understands the efforts that have happened over the past two years which have been time-consuming and not particularly easy. She just wanted to forewarn what she is signing up for. Councilmember Holden talks regularly with the representative from North Oaks. Mayor Grant continued the list. He said Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Rousseau are interested in Communications. He thinks it's appropriate to have just one. Councilmember Monson prefers zero. She would rather not have any Councilmembers on the Communications Committee. She doesn't believe Councilmembers should be involved in the newsletter. Councilmember Elect Weber said he can support that. Councilmember Holden asked who Council would ask if they want to see something in the newsletter. She has made suggestions in the past and that information did not make it to the newsletter. She wonders who she should follow up on those topics. She asked would it have to be discussed at a work session. Councilmember Monson thinks yes. Staff would have more autonomy to decide what goes in there. If they are uncertain about something they can ask Council. Interim City Administrator Jagoe believes prior to there being a liaison, everything ran through the Communications Coordinator. A list of topics could be sent out in advance of each issue. Mayor Grant said Senior Communications Coordinator Cardona is the first full time Communications Staff. There isn't a lot of history. Prior to having a Staff Person dedicated, it was run by residents with Council. He's fine with having zero. Councilmember Monson said Council can ask Senior Communications Coordinator Cardona to provide a proposal for how it could work. Mayor Grant said Councilmember Monson and himself are on the list for the Personnel Committee. Mayor Grant said the JDA takes two representatives. Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Elect Weber will be the reps. Mayor Grant said there is one position on the Lake Johanna Fire Board. Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Monson have expressed interest. Councilmember Monson said other cities split the Fire Board and the Relief Association. She asked if Councilmember Holden would be open to that. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 8 Councilmember Holden said she does not want the relief. Councilmember Monson is happy to take the Relief Association if Councilmember Holden will take the Fire Board spot. Councilmember Holden agreed. Mayor Grant said NYFS is Councilmember Rousseau. Mayor Grant said Ramsey County League is Councilmember Monson. Mayor Grant asked if we know how many spots are on Twin Cities Gateway. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said she was unable to find that information. She will have to follow up with Council regarding what their bylaws say. Councilmember Monson said if we can have two on there that would be great. Mayor Grant thought it may be a two-year term and the second person has to be a Hotelier. If there is no representative from our hotels who wants to serve, then we can have another representative. So he believes it is just one. That is why John Connelly was on there. Councilmember Monson said we can wait until we learn what the bylaws say to decide. Councilmember Rousseau said she would still like to serve on this committee. She would like to learn a lot more about the organization. Councilmember Holden said anyone can attend the meetings. You don't have to be a member on the board. You can just go. Mayor Grant would like to continue with that organization. It might be a two-year term. Interim City Administrator Jagoe will follow up and update Council before the January 131' meeting. Councilmember Elect Weber asked when the next meeting will be. Mayor Grant said it will be December 18''. Councilmember Elect Weber asked if it's a monthly meeting. Mayor Grant said it is a quarterly meeting. Councilmember Elect Weber said it won't be an issue to wait for the information. Council agreed. Mayor Grant said Steve Scott has been on the Nine North Cable Commission for a couple years. He asked Councilmember Elect Weber what his interest is in serving on this Commission. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 9 Councilmember Elect Weber said he works in telecommunications for a living. He noticed that all of the Directors are elected members. He thinks Arden Hills should be represented by an elected official. Councilmember Holden said it wasn't always that way. Mayor Grant said that could be coincidence. Councilmember Elect Weber said he is still interested in serving on the Commission. Mayor Grant said that Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Monson have expressed interest in Mayor Pro Tem. He read from the list what each has already signed up for. Councilmember Monson said the Mayor Pro Tem role isn't like a liaison role. Mayor Grant agreed. Councilmember Rousseau said she would join the Personnel Committee if there is a concern about Councilmember Monson's work load. Councilmember Monson pointed out that Councilmember Rousseau only has the EDC and potentially TC Gateway. She would be fine with giving Personnel to Councilmember Rousseau. Council agreed. Mayor Grant said Mayor Pro Tem is left to be decided. He said we don't vote during work sessions but Council needs to come to a consensus. Councilmember Elect Weber said he would support Councilmember Monson in that role. Councilmember Rousseau said she thinks Councilmember Monson did a nice job, when it was necessary. She supports her continuing. Councilmember Monson wants it because it gives her the potential opportunity to preside over a meeting. She pointed out that Mayor Grant is rarely absent. Councilmember Holden said it is three. Mayor Grant said he will put it down as 3-2. Councilmember Monson asked if he put the rest down as 5-0. If we're counting votes, let's make sure all of them are counted. Mayor Grant said the only outstanding appointment is TC Gateway. That will be decided once we see the bylaws. B. Recycling Services RFP/Contract Discussion ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 10 Deputy Clerk Estling said the memo outlined that Republic services did not extend our Residential Recycling contract so an RFP was released. The Selection Committee unanimously chose Walters Recycling and Refuse. Staff is seeking direction if Council prefers a 3-year or 5- year contract. Mayor Grant said he wants 5-years. Mike Person from Walters Recycling joined the discussion. Councilmember Holden asked about the fleet vehicle inventory outlined in Walters' proposal. She asked what vehicles would be used in Arden Hills. She said the proposal said they are in the middle of a conversion. She would prefer to have vehicles that are already converted. She wondered it we have a say. Mike Person said the trucks to be used in Arden Hills have not been specified yet. That can be discussed during the negotiations. Walters is moving toward Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered engines for environmental emissions. Councilmember Holden asked what the conversion timeline is. Mike Person doesn't have the exact timeline. All vehicles will be converted. He can get back to Council with a more specific date. Councilmember Holden would prefer to have the converted fleet used in Arden Hills. She asked about the pricing. She asked if there would be gas surcharges or any other surprises that will cause the costs to be more than what is proposed. Mike Person said no. The price is transparent. That is what it will be. Councilmember Holden asked if we want a clean up day what that would entail. Mike Person said they are open to exploring that. They have partnered with other cities and they have seen them run a couple different ways. They are in communication with all residents so they are aware. They can specify a day and they can have trucks drive to get the items, curbside. They have also done an event where residents bring their items to a City designated location where their staff would be available for a one stop drop. Councilmember Holden pointed to the pricing in the proposal. She asked if we would pay for labor, equipment and the recyclables at a one stop drop event. Mike Person said that would be an all -encompassing, contracted rate for Walters to participate in that kind of event. Councilmember Holden asked if it would be less if they did the curbside pickup. She is trying to figure out what pieces go with what. If they drive around and pick up, we wouldn't be charged all of the fees outlined. Mike Person confirmed. He said it would depend on what type of event. If the City chose to do a curbside bulky waste pick up, it would be the $95.00/hour. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 11 Councilmember Holden wanted confirmation that it would be $95.00/hour and they would drive around, pick it up and we're done. Mike Person said there would be a fee associated with the individual items they collected. Councilmember Holden asked if the City or the homeowner would be charged. Mike Person said they have done it both ways. It will depend on how the contract is laid out. They can collect the bulk payments from the individual. They do have the option to bill the City if that is the preference. Mayor Grant asked about Walters' bulky waste contract with Blaine. He said the residents in Blaine are allowed six items per year. Mike Person confirmed. Mayor Grant asked if that was included in the Contract. Mike Person confirmed. He said that was included in the Contract. Mayor Grant asked for confirmation that they are proposing something entirely different for Arden Hills. Mike Person said they are moving to one item. Residents can also drop items off at the transfer station in Blaine. More residents participate in that option. Councilmember Holden said you can go to the Ramsey County site and get rid of refrigerators, air conditioners for $10. Mayor Grant thought that was a tech dump. He doesn't think you can bring a mattress there. Councilmember Holden thinks you can. She is trying to determine what it would cost to host a clean up event. We will need to budget for that. Mike Person could bring back some more exact figures, if that is the type of event the City is interested in. He can break it down from a budgetary standpoint to host one or two events a year. Councilmember Holden said if it were a curbside event we wouldn't know what the charge is because the City would have to bill the resident. Mike Person said typically for that type of event the resident would pay them directly. The resident would call to say what is being picked up. Walters would collect payment. Then a truck would be scheduled to collect those items from that address. Mayor Grant said a mattress is $65. Would it be $65 plus the $95? Mike Person said no. The price is what's on the list. If it is on the list as $65, it would just be $65. If it were a coordinated day where residents could just put things at the curb, it would include the hourly rate for the driver. Single pick ups are paid by item. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 12 Interim City Administrator Jagoe said the RFP outlined the bulky item pick up as an optional bid. The draft contract language does not include the bulky item collection. We will work with the City Attorney to see what additional language we should add and work with Walters to get the final pricing, specific to a drop off vs. curbside pick up event. Mayor Grant asked when the new contract was signed with Blaine and how long the contract is. Mike Person thought it was in July. He didn't know the exact date. It is a 5-year contract. Councilmember Holden said all of the garbage haulers allow for a bulky pick-up. She doesn't think that's necessary in the contract. Mike Person thought this was geared toward recyclable materials. Councilmember Holden pointed out that a mattress is not recyclable but it's on the list. Mike Person said it is offered to their trash customers. They were trying to identify that we currently provide this service for customers. Walters is open to discuss making this more of a comprehensive program. Councilmember Monson said the intent was to learn what a large city-wide event could look like. She outlined the pricing. If it were a one -day, curbside pick up event it would be the hourly rate plus the cost of the picked -up item. If everyone brought the items to one location it would be the $75/hour plus the cost of the items dropped off. Mike Person confirmed. Councilmember Monson said we would need to set a budget for how much we're willing to take or we just take in the items. It would be hard to budget for. She would like to understand better what it would cost. She requested comparable numbers from other cities, in terms of items collected and the cost. She asked about the portion of the memo that says the rates are not reflective of the administration costs that are also assessed. Deputy Clerk Estling said on top of the individual rate, there is a formula to calculate the administrative cost for City Staff. Councilmember Rousseau asked if they are fixed. Deputy Clerk Estling confirmed. Once they are calculated, that will be the rate that is assessed to the residents. Councilmember Rousseau asked if the other bidders included administrative costs. Deputy Clerk Estling clarified that the administrative fees are City fees to cover Staff time. Councilmember Rousseau is interested in a 5-year contract. She would also like to explore a clean-up day. She would be happy if it included trash and recycling. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 13 Mayor Grant said he is looking for a 5-year contract because he doesn't want to go through this whole process again in three years. He said Staff needs to get decent terms. If we don't get that, we go 3-year. Councilmember Holden, Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Fabel would all like a 5-year contract. Councilmember Holden asked if there was an option to extend. Mike Person said he believes there are one or two 2-year extensions. Councilmember Holden would like an extension built in. She asked about the educational portion. She asked who pays for that. Mike Person said that will be Walters' cost. They want to make sure the City has eyes on the materials that will be sent to residents and knows when those items will be sent. Councilmember Holden asked how many educational pieces are required. Interim City Administrator Jagoe will verify that. Some of it ties into the SCORE grant. She verified there are extensions in the draft contract language. Councilmember Fabel asked what the advantage is to the City in owning our own carts. Mayor Grant said there is less expense if the City owns them. He just met with another City's Mayor and they are going to purchase their own carts. It's quite a savings. He asked who is responsible for upkeep on carts. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said it is part of the contract that Walters will maintain and repair existing carts. Mayor Grant said the resident has to call the recycler directly. C. Freeway Park Landscape Barrier Discussion Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said this discussion will center on the proposed barrier at Freeway Park. The City received a donation from the Lion's Club in the amount of $15,000. Council directed Staff to put that donation towards this feature. It would divide the park from the on -ramp on MN 51. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said Bolton and Menk provided a few options. The first is a simple native planting on the hillside area. The second option would be to plant trees, such as evergreens or arborvitaes. Option three would be to install some type of split - rail fence. He asked which direction Council would like to go. Councilmember Rousseau likes Option 2. She thinks a split rail fence is fun to climb and having some closed evergreens would be more of a deterrent to keep kids away from that area. She also likes the more natural barrier. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 14 Councilmember Holden had the same thought regarding the split fence. She asked how close it would be to the on ramp. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it would be on the lower portion of the hill. There is MN -Dot Right of Way there so it would be more on the City's property line. Councilmember Holden said some residents have expressed concern about kids chasing a ball. It would be great to have evergreens, but that won't stop a kicked ball. She thinks a fence will offer more safety. Councilmember Fabel said split rail fences are a lot of work. He strongly recommends against that type of fence. Councilmember Monson asked why they didn't propose chain link. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said these are the options Bolton and Menk provided. It could be a different kind of fence. Councilmember Monson would love to have native planting or trees but she thinks a chain link fence is a better option. She thought maybe some trees could be planted in front of the fence. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that when the donation was made, there was direction to put it towards landscaping, natural barrier. There could be a combination. Councilmember Monson would like to see those options. Councilmember Rousseau asked if they can install the chain link fence that could be removed when the trees mature. Like a 10-year plan. Councilmember Holden said there will still be kids kicking balls. Two -year -olds can walk under pine trees. Councilmember Monson thinks there could be a plan to decommission the fence if repairs are needed and the trees are sufficient for the barrier. Councilmember Holden said a vinyl fence would last longer. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that would add to the expense. A chain link fence is at or above what the split rail fence is. Councilmember Monson likes the landscaping but thinks the money should go towards an actual barrier. She wants to make sure the barrier is effective. Mayor Grant likes the idea of landscaping but thinks a chain link fence would be effective. He wondered if our employees would install it. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it would be a contract to install it. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 15 Mayor Grant said our people could install it, they have the skills to do that. He is basing that on the fact that he put in his own. That could bring down the cost. Councilmember Monson asked if it has to be six feet tall or would a four -foot fence create enough of a barrier. She said that could make the project cheaper. Councilmember Holden said it's for the little kids running. She wondered if the correctional people could install the fence. That would save money. Mayor Grant agreed. He thinks an upgrade to vinyl is appropriate. Chain link gets rusty. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen asked if the Council prefers vinyl over chain link. Councilmember Rousseau said get rid of the split rail fence and look at what a vinyl fence would cost vs. chain link. Mayor Grant stated when he talks about vinyl, he means a vinyl coated chain link fence. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he has what he needs. D. JDA Chair Discussion Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson stated that Jonathan Wicklund is the current JDA Chair. His term expires at the end of this year. She asked if Council would like to go through a formal recruitment process to fill the two-year term or would they like to reappoint Jonathan Wicklund. He has expressed interest in continuing in that role. Councilmember Fabel said Jonathan Wicklund does an excellent job. He is reliable, steady and well organized. He runs a nice meeting. Keeping him in his role offers some continuity for the JDA that will be losing three members. His experience will be very useful and he recommends reappointment. Councilmember Holden said she was disappointed about how many meetings he missed this year. We've had big change over before. Even with missing three people. She thinks it is nice to have a new point of view. There has been a different chair every two years and each of those people brought something unique to the position. It would be her preference to recruit to fill the position with a new person. Councilmember Monson doesn't have any complaints about him. She agrees with Councilmember Holden it is nice to have new people come in with new ideas. She said that Chair Wicklund won't be on the Planning Commission anymore, so he'll have more time. She thinks he is attuned to the value he brings. If he didn't believe he can bring value to the role, she thinks he would step down. She supports him continuing. Mayor Grant said the turnover on JDA could be looked at one of two ways. Either it's an advantage to maintain consistency or it's an advantage to bring in new blood. He knows Chair Wicklund missed several meetings. He would be in favor of opening it up to applications. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 16 Councilmember Rousseau said she has seen him on the Planning Commission. She thinks he does a good job. He's very thoughtful. He does a nice job with JDA, as well. He has made some decisions to down scope some of his volunteer commitments so he can focus on more critical areas, specifically the JDA. When communications went down a few years ago, he spent time thinking about how things could be done better. She is in favor of him being reappointed to another term. Mayor Grant asked Councilmember Monson if she was in favor or reappointment or recruiting someone new, as she spoke in favor of both options. Councilmember Monson said she is in favor of him returning. She wanted to highlight Councilmember Holden's idea about a new person bring new ideas. Her thoughts on Jonathan Wicklund are, he is very aware of the value he brings. And if he thought he didn't bring value any more, he would be aware of that and not seek reappointment. Mayor Grant said it appears to be a split decision, 3-2. He asked if Staff intended to bring the appointments to the January 13 meeting. Interim City Administrator Jagoe confirmed. Mayor Grant said at that time Councilmember Elect Weber can vote how he chooses. E. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Mayor Grant proposed that any Rice Creek Commons discussion happen at the Regular Council Meeting. Councilmember Fabel thinks the only question is whether there will be another Special City Council meeting on the 16''. Interim City Administrator Jagoe confirmed a meeting has been scheduled for December 16t'. That meeting would discuss the term sheet and would not be televised. She updated that the schedule for Stacie Kvilvang has changed and she is no longer able to be at that meeting. She asked if Council would like to still have that discussion on the 16`h. She forwarded the last for the JDA regarding where the County is at, with the PSA. There have not been any additional discussions with Alatus regarding the red lines we received previously. F. Agenda Planning Interim City Administrator Jagoe She asked if Council is open to use the December 16t' date to schedule a Special Regular City Council meeting. She has received information from the Union so there could potentially be a Union Contract for approval. The JDA Chair appointment could be on the agenda, as well. There are enough items to discuss, but at a minimum she wants the Union Contract approved. Mayor Grant said there could be any number of items on the agenda. If we don't get to all the topics, that is okay. He thinks we should respond to the Term Sheet red lines as a Council. He wouldn't want to wait until after any sale deal with the County. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 17 Councilmember Holden doesn't think we should do the Term Sheet until we know the County has an agreement with them. It doesn't make sense to discuss the Term Sheet before we know what their agreement is. The issue is the Term Sheet is a proposal on how we are moving forward so it may be null and void, depending on that agreement. Councilmember Monson agreed. She thinks the Term Sheet discussion should take place after we know if the County agrees to the PSA. She also thinks Stacie Kvilvang is essential to the discussion and should be there for any discussion on the Term Sheet. Mayor Grant said Stacie Kvilvang should take what Council decisions are, potentially run the numbers, but have her sit through a meeting and listen to what our preferences are. Councilmember Monson said she was pretty active in the last meeting. Mayor Grant doesn't think it's to our advantage to have her in the meeting. We know what the numbers are. Councilmember Rousseau asked if there will be a meeting on December 23ra Mayor Grant said there is not a meeting on December 23ra Councilmember Rousseau asked when we would need the union information. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said we have already provided them the response. They have taken the vote. We should be ready to bring something forth on December 16a`. Councilmember Rousseau and Councilmember Monson are okay with using December 161h for Union Discussion. Mayor Grant agreed. He said Council had December 16a' as a place holder, so it makes sense to use that meeting time for this item. He will work with Staff regarding what else may be on that agenda. It could also be planned to be a short meeting. Councilmember Monson would be fine with a short meeting. Councilmember Rousseau would like to have Council use January and February to knock off some of the longstanding topics. Councilmember Holden thinks Legislative Priorities should be discussed in January. Councilmember Rousseau wondered if the December meeting was too early to discuss that. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said that might be a little early for Staff. Councilmember Holden thinks Staff should ask Council what they want. Mayor Grant said we need to have that discussion, whether Staff is ready or not. He thinks we should go forward with the force main. That packet is done, it hasn't changed. The force main is still relevant. There may be some pricing changes. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 18 Councilmember Holden said her priority is the trail. Mayor Grant agreed. He said that one was ready for last year, too. The trail didn't go away. There may be some pricing updates. He doesn't think we need to swap that out. Those are the items Council asked for and we didn't get them. He doesn't think we want to bring three. Councilmember Holden wants to look at the trail one again. She said some grants were received, it's possible we could reduce the amount we are asking for to be considered favorably. Mayor Grant said there aren't a lot of verbiage changes needed. Interim City Administrator Jagoe asked for clarification that Council would like to add Legislative Updates to the December 16'h meeting. Mayor Grant confirmed, as well as the Union negotiation item. Councilmember Monson asked if it will be a Special Council Meeting or a Special Work Session. Interim City Administrator Jagoe said she is requesting a Special City Council Meeting because Council will have to vote on the Union Contract. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 6.55 p.m. r Je er Estling David Grant Deputy Clerk Mayor