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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - April 22, 2014A C I T Y O F ® NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULLVARD N.W. • ANUUVLR, MINNLSUTA 55304 (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss City Code Regulating Poultry 3. Discuss Crooked Lake Elementary School Hockey Rink as a CIP Improvement 4. Consider Locations & Layout of Way Finding Signs /14 -16, Cont. - Engineering 5. 2015 -2019 Capital Improvement Plan Development Discussion 6. 2015 Budget Levy Development Discussion C7. 2014 General Fund Budget Progress Report 8. March 2014 City Investment Review 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment LJ S a ~� ~� ' v t ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — APRIL 22, 2014 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Acting Mayor Sheri Bukkila, April 22, 2014, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Gamache (arrived at 7:32 p.m.) Mike Knight, Tony Howard, and Julie Trude Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Dave Carlberg Public Works Director /City Engineer, David Berkowitz Others DISCUSS CITY CODE REGULA TION POULTRY Mr. Carlberg explained Mr. Steve Sachs, 13905 Northwood Drive NW, appeared before the City Council on March 18, 2014 during the Resident Forum portion of the agenda requesting the Council consider a code amendment to allow him to keep poultry (chickens) in his back yard. Council directed this item be placed on a Council Work Session. Mr. Carlberg reviewed the staff report with the Council. Mr. Sachs stated he is interested in raising a few chickens and did not think it would be a problem. He noted his neighbors did not have an issue with it either. Councilmember Trude wondered how large Mr. Sachs lot is. Mr. Sachs stated it is half an acre. Councilmember Knight asked how Mr. Sachs would contain the chickens. Mr. Sachs stated he would have a house and pen with a roof to contain them, the size would be 5x8 feet with a covered run. He noted he would like to have four chickens. Councilmember Howard wondered if he would have any roosters. Mr. Sachs indicated he would not have any roosters. Councilmember Trude stated the issue is with who would be in charge of making sure the chickens are maintained. Councilmember Bukkila stated the issue is with the feces and the cleanliness, the number of chickens per square foot and if the area is not cleaned every day, what happens to it, does it go off into the drainage. She stated the cleanliness of the coop is her primary issue. Are kids going to be holding them- and how will the cleanliness be maintained with the children and issues with possible diseases. Councilmember Trude stated another issue is with predators, such as coyotes and foxes entering the neighborhoods for the chickens. ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — April 22, 2014 Page 2 Mr. Sachs asked if the Council felt if the allowance of chickens would get out of control. Councilmember Bukkila thought it would be a very select population that wants to do it but they are also pitting neighbor against neighbor because what would happen when the housing turns over. The original permit is going to have the neighbors sign off on both sides and what if one descents, all the hard feelings will be on that one neighbor. This is introducing another issue. Mr. Sachs stated he would like to change the code and he could have gotten chickens without the City knowing because all of his neighbors are fine with this. Councilmember Bukkila stated at some point they need to see what is happening in the surrounding communities that have already entered into this, and look at the problems they are currently having. The other cities that allow chickens now have chicken shelters and rescues because people do not know how to handle chickens or find they don't want them anymore. She reviewed all of the upkeep that is required to have chickens. Mr. Sachs stated he has done a lot of research and knows what is needed to keep chickens during the seasons. Councilmember Bukkila stated where she might be flexible is in the R -4 District where there would be greater acreage than other lots. She thought in the R -4 District the residents should be © allowed to have chickens if they are meeting all of the other standards in zoning districts that allow chickens. If they are allowing it on 2.5 acres now, is there something in the R -4 District within the MUSA that would be allowed. Mr. Carlberg stated they have larger properties under development right now that are larger than the standard R -4 and they do not allow chickens. The Council reviewed the city map and discussed whether there are any areas in the R -4 District that could legally allow chickens at this time. Mr. Carlberg did not think there were, the larger lots were designed that way to allow for the wetland areas. Councilmember Bukkila stated she was looking for other requirements of land rather than the zoning. Councilmember Trade thought another issue is with people living closer to one another there are a lot of complaints with animals and children between neighbors. She wondered what would happen to the chickens if the family decided to go on vacation. Mr. Sachs stated he has family in the area that would come over and take care of the chickens until they returned. Mr. Dickinson stated relative to dogs and cats, they get more complaints in the spring and summer with dogs barking and the smell of feces. Another issue is with cats running wild and children with allergies to them coming in contact. He noted they also deal with complaints with chickens and roosters in the rural areas. He asked the Council if they received enough information to decide if they want to further review and /or possibly change the code. Councilmember Howard wondered what the costs would be for staffing and inspecting the © coops. Mr. Dickinson stated if this will be on a permit basis then they should really inspect the coops. A lot of things are complaint based and he did not know if a dedicated staff person would be needed or not. Mr. Dickinson raised the issue of the current poultry definition. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —April 22, 2014 Page 3 Councilmember Knight asked if the City Code included all types of feathered fowl or is it specific. Mr. Carlberg stated the definition of poultry covers turkeys, chickens, and ducks and did not think they could allow chickens but not ducks because they are the same type of animal unit. Councilmember Bukkila wondered if they would still want a Conditional Use Permit on the code or should it be Interim. Mr. Carlberg stated they would want to make it an Interim Use Permit because Conditional Use Permits run with the property. Councilmember Bukkila wondered how the City would change this. Mr. Carlberg did not think they needed to change anything related to that, he thought the question was if the Council wanted to look at poultry and allow them either by permit in an urban setting. Councilmember Bukkila stated she is not interested in doing it in an urban area unless they were to change the R -4 designation to meet a larger lot size rather than allowing it by District. Mr. Sachs wondered why they cannot change the code like some of the other cities. Mr. Carlberg stated that is what they are trying to decide. Councilmember Knight stated they would need to regulate the type of poultry. Mr. Carlberg stated they would probably want to prohibit poultry and allow chickens. Councilmember Howard did not think he wanted to open this up for changes. He did not think he wanted to have staff go through regulating and inspecting chicken coops when they are already spread thin and have enough to do now. The Council felt this should not be pursued any further. Councilmember Howard did not think it would be beneficial to the City at this time to allow chickens in urban areas. Councilmember Trude stated Andover has a very small staff and she did not want to put any more responsibility on the staff than what they already have. Mr. Sachs indicated he would be back with the request again in the near future. Mr. Dickinson indicated the Council could look at it again after another year passes. DISCUSS CROOKED LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOCKEY RINK AS A CIP IMPROVEMENT Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council is requested to discuss the Crooked Lake Elementary School Hockey Rink as a Capital Improvement Plan Project. © Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the staff report with the Council. Councilmember Trude asked who uses the rink. Mr. Berkowitz understood the use is starting to go down quite a bit and the hockey association would prefer to have another rink by the one at ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —April 22, 2014 Page 4 City Hall. Councilmember Bukkila did not like the idea of centralizing activity areas completely, because of the smaller children still in the neighborhoods in close proximity to Crooked Lake Elementary. Councilmember Howard stated he would hate to spend money on this property if it does not do what it is supposed to do. He wondered if they could put an undersized rink in there with free skate right next to it. This would eliminate the area used for the current free skate. Councilmember Trude wondered if they could move the boards closer to the school grounds path, eliminate the free skating rink, and have both hockey and free skate within in the boarded rink. She is worried about not having anything in the area for kids. Councilmember Bukkila agreed. Councilmember Bukkila stated she liked the idea of a smaller rink as long as it works with the association. Councilmember Howard indicated the smaller rink should work for hockey practice or for mite games. Councilmember Trude stated she would hate to reconstruct the area in order to solve the parking lot drainage issues which should be taken care of by the School District. Councilmember Bukkila wondered if it was necessary to put this into the 2015 budget or could it be put into the budget at a later year. Mr. Berkowitz stated they could close the rink in 2015 and see what happens and if we get complaints they would then improve it in 2016. Councilmember Howard thought they could take the boards out and use it as a free skate rink for 2015. The Council liked that idea. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the storm water drainage issues on the road next to the school property which needed to be addressed. Mr. Dickinson indicated a significant portion of the storm water drainage improvements could be allocated to the Road & Bridge Fund. Council asked Mr. Berkowitz to bring this item back with more refined budget numbers. CONSIDER LOCATIONS AND LAYOUT OF WAYFINDING SIGNS 114 -16 CONT. Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council is requested to continue discussion on the way finding signs. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the staff report and sign examples with the Council. Councilmember Bukkila wondered if they could get a barcode app put on the sign. Mr. © Berkowitz stated he would look into that. Council discussed the trails that should be on the map. ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —April 22, 2014 Page 5 The Council liked the looks of the Blaine map over the Anoka map. 2015 — 2019 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson explained in late March, Administration/Finance distributed baseline worksheets to Department Heads as part of the 2015 -2019 CIP kick -off. Subsequent discussion has centered on the 2015 -2019 CIP development and committees (Vehicle Purchasing and Facility Management Committees) and commissions (Park and Recreation and Community Center Advisory) doing the necessary work to prepare a "draft" 2015 -2019 CIP. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report with the Council. Mayor Gamache arrived at 7:32 p.m. Councilmember Trude thought they needed to look at additional parking at the Community Center before they look at security cameras because there have been a lot of complaints about parking availability. Mr. Dickinson noted this will be discussed later in the meeting. © Mr. Dickinson presented capital items that need to get done to the Council such as the turn out gear and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA's) for the Fire Department. He expected to get some grant money for these. He noted even if they get money from the grants, it will not cover the entire amount. He noted the new Fire Chief is a great grant writer. Mr. Dickinson stated the Council will be having a joint meeting with the Park & Recreation Commission in May to discuss park related items in the CIP. Councilmember Trude stated some of the issues that will probably come up with the Park & Recreation Commission that the Council should prepare for is if they want the Commission to spend $200,000 at Fox Meadows for improvements and the irrigating of some of the little parks. Mr. Dickinson stated Fox Meadows is slated for improvement in 2017 and he has received some calls from the neighborhood regarding the park. Mayor Gamache wondered why the Commission was worried about improving Fox Meadows Park when they are putting in the 40 acre park within a mile and a half away from Fox Meadows. Mr. Dickinson stated this should be discussed at the joint meeting and the Park Commission will want to explain to the Council why they are recommending the improvements. Mayor Gamache did not think this was a good place to spend the money and if they have the $200,000 he would rather have it spent at the 40 acre park. The Council discussed amenities that can be installed at the 40 acre park with the $200,000 Qslated for Fox Meadows Park. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the sanitary sewer expansion plan set for 2017 and storm water updates slated for 2018. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —April 22, 2014 Page 6 Mr. Dickinson stated in regard to the Community Center security item he received two quotes. One quote with their current provider came to $27,630.00 to $30,000.00. The second quote from another security firm that the YMCA works with is around $25,000.00 but their quote does not compare to the first one. He figured the quotes will go up to around $34,000.00 to get up to the technology that the Council is looking for. Councilmember Trude thought they were spending a lot of money for people not locking their cars. Mayor Gamache stated his concern is with personal safety. Councilmember Knight agreed. Councilmember Bukkila indicated there is more concern with personal safety in the parking lot rather than vehicles being broken into and it is about getting caught, not about a physical monitoring of the parking lot. This would help the Sheriff's Department out immensely because right now they end up with dead leads and the taping of something happening may help the Sheriff's catch the culprit and may lead to the problem stopping all together. She stated this is a proactive, preventative step that can be taken. Councilmember Knight felt this was important for personal safety. Councilmember Trude wondered if the Community Center Advisory Commission should review this first and come back to the Council for approval if they feel this is needed. Councilmember Howard indicated that the commission is supportive of the improvement. 2015 BUDGET LEVYDEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson stated City Administration is starting to focus on the 2015 Annual Operating Budget Development process and is looking for City Council direction as the preparation of the 2015 Annual Operating Budget proceeds. Mr. Dickinson reviewed with the Council the estimated taxable market values for the 2015 budget, a detailed review of fund balance reserves, staffing, the Sheriff's contract and debt service requirements for 2015. 2014 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Dickinson explained the City of Andover 2014 General Fund Budget contains total revenues of $9,569,142 and total expenditures of $10,026,875 (includes $30,500 of 2013 budget carry forwards), a decrease in fund balance is planned. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report with the Council, indicating that all budget numbers are as expected. © MARCH2014CITYINVESTMENTREVIEW Mr. Dickinson explained summary reporting of the City Investment portfolio to the Governing body is a recommended financial practice and often viewed positively by rating agencies. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —April 22, 2014 Page 7 Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report with the Council, noting all investments meet the rating requirements and he is working on the phasing out all mortgage- backed securities. OTHER TOPICS Mr. Dickinson updated the Council on the Rum River Elementary transportation issue from the April 15, 2014 City Council meeting. Mr. Dickinson stated he along with Mr. Berkowitz met with the Principal and Transportation Director, Keith Paulson, from Rum River Elementary and the Principal, Deb Shepard, was very cooperative. He stated the total student population is around 1,050, those that have the potential of getting picked up each day are 250 and approximately 100 are actually picked up every day. Eighty -five to ninety people pick their kids up at the school and the others pick the kids up at the trail. Mr. Dickinson stated he viewed the pickup and it did not seem to take too long. There is a lot of chaos in the parking lot but the pickup in the school is actually pretty easy to do in a few minutes. Councilmember Trade stated the problem is having to take kids into the school to pick up siblings instead of waiting in the car. Mr. Dickinson stated the kids not assigned to buses are open enrolled kids who have been told they can be picked up at designated bus stops or at the school. There was discussion to have one designated bus take the kids that walk the trail to a designated drop off area after school for parents to pick up their kids. It was suggested to use Lunds North Park for the drop off instead of using the trail. There is parking for twenty -five to thirty cars there. Mr. Dickinson stated the school is going to review this possibility and get back to City staff regarding a possible solution. He noted he would keep the Council updated on this item. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Knight, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary S