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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-09-25-R '!Tt --A QEN HILLS Approved: July 14, 2025 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 9, 2025 7:00 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 regular City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau and Kurt Weber Absent: None Also present: 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 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember Monson moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried (5- 2. TCAAP/RICE CREEK COMMONS UPDATE City Administrator Jagoe stated the Joint Development Authority met on June 2nd. Commissioners received a Lessons Learned document from Ryan Companies from their experience with the Outlot A site development. This document included feedback on code language in the TRC applicable to the proportion of office space required with industrial uses, maximum building height, shading requirements, and parking ratios as well as other related to the Sustainability Guidelines. Commissioners scheduled a discussion on these comments at their August Work Session. JDA staff reviewed the current status of the 2023 Term Sheet. Bob Lux with Alatus made a presentation to the JDA. He shared that the purchase and sale agreement to the County is to try and mitigate the risk to the County and City as much as possible. They are still proposing the site takedown as one parcel and to complete the mass grading and fine grading along with installation of the roadbed for the Spine Road. Alatus has provided draft language to the County to consider for the right of reentry should the Developer default on performance ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 2 standards. Those standards have not yet been agreed upon and are part of the Development Agreement language being negotiated. Alatus has submitted an exemption request to the County on prevailing wage for the vertical residential development. The County has stated that an exemption would require an amendment to the ordinance, and it is not clear if there would be political support for an amendment. Alatus made a verbal request to the JDA to consider an extension to the Preliminary Development Agreement until the completion of the Kimley Horn 90% design plans and then 30 days longer than that. The JDA set a tentative special meeting for June 25t`if needed to receive a recommendation from the JDA Advisory Committee on the PDA Extension. The JDA Advisory met on June 4t'. During this meeting, Alatus reviewed their proposal for Right of Reentry language. Alatus indicated they are trying to add more specificity to get a schedule on points of the reverter and how could that be quantified for the County to know when there is a performance issue. County staff received the proposed language on June 3rd so they had not yet had an opportunity to prepare a redlined response. Alatus scheduled a meeting with the Energy Consultants from Ever-Green and LHB to go over the adopted Sustainability Design Guidelines. The Energy Advisory Committee has not met since the last Council meeting. Advisory committee meetings as they are scheduled, will continue to be posted on the City's website. Councilmember Holden requested further information about what Alatus is asking for when it comes to the reverter. City Administrator Jagoe explained this would be language within the purchase and sale agreement that certain performance and development standards and benchmarks would have to be met or the County could take back land as part of the development agreement. Councilmember Holden stated she understood Alatus now wants to convey all of the land in one phase for this project. She asked where the County stood on this topic. City Administrator Jagoe reported this continues to be discussed between the County and Alatus in order to allow all of the mass and fine grading to be completed at one time. She explained that which development areas will be started first was still being worked through within the development agreement details. Councilmember Monson commented at the JDA meeting that the JDA asked to pull a financial review of Alatus, which was an important request in order to protect the City and County. She indicated in the lessons learned memo from Ryan Companies there were some comments regarding clear height and staff would be reviewing this further to see if a functional change should be made to the TRC. Councilmember Monson explained an extension request was made by Alatus and it was tied to the Kimley Horn design plans. She stated the prevailing wage exemption was a real challenge for the County and could create delays for the project. She further discussed the performance standards that would be written into the reverter language. Councilmember Holden reported Alatus has done this in the past. She indicated the Lake Johanna Fire Station had to follow the prevailing wage standards and she hoped Alatus would ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 3 also have to follow this standard. She stated she read through the Ryan Companies memo and commented there were many reasons for the proposed ceilings heights, which was to encourage the development did not turn into an industrial park. Mayor Grant stated the Term Sheet seems more like a checklist to him. He explained at the last JDA meeting that the County discussed the Term Sheet and he believed the discussion was very informative. He then reviewed the Term Sheet in further detail with the City Council. He commented on how many of the terms within the Term Sheet have not been evaluated or discussed with the JDA or the County, such as the different types of housing and affordable housing. In addition, he noted the developer has raised concerns about connecting to district energy as well as finding single family developers that will build electric homes. He commented there was also a concern about the relocation of Building 116. He indicated there were many items on the Term Sheet list that have yet to be listed or addressed by the developer. He stated the JDA would have to make a decision if they want to go forward with Alatus by approving an extension as the deadline within the Term Sheet is June 30, 2025. He thanked Bob Lux with Alatus for recognizing all the good work that has been done to date by previous Councils. He indicated his comments were not to be interpreted as disparaging to the developer, staff, the JDA or the advisory committee, but rather he wanted to put the information out there and to describe all of the work that has yet to be done. He thanked the members of the JDA for their efforts on behalf of the City, noting he understood this project is challenging and complex. Councilmember Monson stated she asked the JDA staff to read through the Term Sheet at the last meeting, in case the public wanted to review that meeting and hear the comments and questions that ensued after the document was reviewed. Mayor Grant thanked Councilmember Monson for making this request. He commented he worked on establishing the joint partnership with the County and the TRC document, which was the foundation for this development. He stated he wanted to see the TCAAP development move forward and noted he was pro-development. 3. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 5. PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS A. 2024 Financial Statements Aaron Nielsen, LB Carlson, presented the Council with information on the 2024 financial statements and audit. He was pleased to report the City received a clean or unmodified opinion which was the best opinion an auditor was able to offer. He commented on the City's governmental funds and how they had adjusted over the past two years. He provided a summary of the City's general fund and enterprise funds financial position. He reviewed the revenues and expenditures for the previous year and commended the City on its strong financial position. He commented further on the 2024 audit and explained he was available for comments or questions. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 4 Councilmember Rousseau asked how many cities LB Carlson worked for. Mr. Nielsen explained LB Carlson worked for approximately 50 different municipalities. Councilmember Rousseau questioned if there were any intergovernmental revenue trends for cities with a population of 10,000 to 20,000. She asked if the City was missing out on any opportunities that Arden Hills should explore. Mr. Nielsen commented intergovernmental revenues were typically attributed to local government aid and grants. He reported he did not see Arden Hills missing out on opportunities for grants or intergovernmental revenues. Councilmember Rousseau explained she was interested in building partnerships with neighboring governments. She inquired if there were any trends when it came to park and recreation spending per capita. Mr. Nielsen indicated COVID impacted cities differently and was extremely difficult on cities that had community centers. He commented golf courses were another amenity that was busy during COVID and may now be falling off. He explained Arden Hills has remained stable when it comes to park and recreation spending. Councilmember Monson discussed the general fund financial position and asked what the best management practices were for maintaining a healthy general fund balance. Mr. Nielsen reported as an auditor he could not make recommendations, but stated he could offer rules of thumb. He indicated per the GFOA the City should have one to two months of operational funding on hand, or 5% to 10%. He commented that the State auditor's office has suggested cities have 25% to 40%. He discussed how cities typically have a fund balance policy that required a balance close to 50% given how cities only receive property tax payments twice a year. Mayor Grant stated in a 50% scenario, the goalposts for the tax levy would have to be pushed out further each year. He indicated the City has had two years of double digit levy increases, which makes it difficult for the City to achieve a 50% general fund balance. Councilmember Holden commented on the water and sewer fund balances. She indicated there were surpluses in both of these funds due to upcoming expenditures, which included new water meters and stormwater pond cleaning. 6. STAFF COMMENTS A. Transportation Update Councilmember Holden asked if the County would be adding any new bollards along Lake Johanna Boulevard. Public Works Director Swearingen explained he could speak with the County and would report back to the Council. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 5 7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. May 12, 2025, City Council Work Session B. May 12, 2025, Regular City Council MOTION: Councilmember Monson moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the May 12, 2025, City Council Work Session meeting minutes and May 12, 2025, Regular City Council meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried (5-0). 8. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Motion to Approve Consent Agenda Item - Claims and Payroll B. Motion to Approve 2024 City Financial Statements and Audit C. Motion to Approve Payment of Invoice from M&B Services, Inc. — Lakeshore Place Watermain Repair D. Motion to Approve Payment No. 7 — S.M. Hentges & Sons, Inc. — 2024 PMP Street and Utility Improvements Project E. Motion to Approve Payment No. 1 — Hydro-Klean, LLC — 2025 CIPP Lining Project F. Motion to Accept Resignation of Donna Wiemann from the Planning Commission MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Monson seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as presented and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried (5-0). 9. PULLED CONSENT ITEMS None. 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 11. NEW BUSINESS None. 12. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 13. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Rousseau thanked Finance Director Yang for all of her efforts on the annual audit. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 6 Councilmember Rousseau thanked Tree Trust and Ann Hall for their assistance with the recent tree sale. She reported all 50 trees at the tree sale sold this past weekend. Councilmember Rousseau asked if there was any interest from the Council in sending a letter to the Ramsey County Sheriff requesting they inform the City when federal authorities (ICE) have been in the community. She was of the opinion the City should have this information for transparency purposes with the community. City Administrator Jagoe reported she would speak with the Ramsey County Sheriffs Department regarding this matter. Councilmember Weber stated he attended the recent tree sale and he explained he would support the City holding a tree sale again in 2026. Councilmember Holden reported the gardens look great driving down County Road 96. She thanked the Public Works Department for their efforts. Councilmember Monson commented Freeway Park has the new playground structure in place and it was fantastic. She encouraged the public to take advantage of this new play structure. Councilmember Monson stated the City was planning to hold a 751' Anniversary Celebration in 2026. She indicated she and Councilmember Holden would be involved with a committee regarding the 75 h anniversary recognition and were looking for additional volunteers to assist with planning efforts. Those interested in assisting were encouraged to visit the City's website to apply for the committee. Mayor Grant commented on the City's water rebate program, which applied to residents who have recently purchased water saving toilets, washers or dishwashers. He encouraged residents to contact the City to learn more about this program as it could lead to a $200 savings on an upcoming utility bill. He recommended information regarding this program be included in an upcoming Arden Hills Notes. Mayor Grant explained he and Councilmember Holden attended the Sea Cadets Farewell program, where two seniors graduated. Mayor Grant discussed the email the City Council received from staff regarding the open meeting law relative to remote meeting participation. He asked that staff look into the new parameters further and to pass this information along to the Council. Mayor Grant requested staff also pass along a memo to the Council relative to the legislature. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—JUNE 9, 2025 7 ADJOURN MOTION: Mayor Grant moved and Councilmember Weber seconded a motion to adiourn. The motion carried (5-0). Mayor Grant adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:09 p.m. Jule anson AGrant Ci lerk Mayor