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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - August 26, 2014AN66W © 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W.. ANDOVER, MINNESUTA 55304 • (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.AN DOVE RMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, August 26, 2014 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Presentation of the 2015 Anoka County Sheriffs Contract -Anoka County Sheriff 3. Rental Housing Programs Update\Discussion - Building /Planning a. Single Family - Planning b. Multi - Family - Building 4. 2015 -2019 Capital Improvement Plan Development - Administration 5. 2015 Budget /Levy Development Discussion -Administration 6. Preview 2015 Preliminary Tax Levy - Administration 7. 2014 General Fund Budget Progress Report — Through July 2014 -Administration 8. July 2014 City Investments Review - Administration 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment \_J ', ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — AUGUST 26, 2014 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, August 26, 2014, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Julie Trude, Sheri Bukkila, and Tony Howard Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Dave Carlberg Associate Planner, Brett Angell Anoka County Sheriff, James Stuart Andover Fire Chief, Jerry Streich Others PRESENTATION OF THE 2015 ANOKA COUNTY SHERIFFS CONTRACT Sheriff Stuart presented the 2015 Anoka County Sheriff's contract to the City Council. Councilmember Knight asked if the Sheriff's Department has gotten any military equipment. Sheriff Stuart indicated they have in the past, but now it is usually only rifles. He stated they have received a significant amount of new equipment through grants. Councilmember Trude asked Sheriff Stuart if Andover is subsidizing other communities because residents have asked her about this. Sheriff Stuart stated the Deputies that are assigned to Andover are not patrolling or doing service calls outside of the Andover area and every community is paying their fair share. They will send additional help to other communities when needed. He stated they are very attentive to the services paid for by each community. Councilmember Knight asked for an update on the patrolling of the Community Center. Sheriff Stuart stated they have at least two liaison officers available for patrolling the Community Center after school. Sheriff Stuart reviewed the Public Safety Data System (PSDS) increased maintenance costs with the Council. Councilmember Trude thought the PSDS was being paid for by a separate County wide tax levy. Mr. Dickinson indicated the fee in the contract is for ongoing maintenance of the new system, © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — August 26, 2014 Page 2 not the purchase of a new system that is what the county wide levy pays for. Sheriff Stuart reviewed the contract with the Council. Councilmember Bukkila asked at what point the City pays for overtime. Sheriff Stuart stated the current contract limits a minimum of three hours pay on a callback. He explained overtime for training is usually kept at a minimum and they try to make sure all of their training is done on duty. The largest amount of overtime incurred by a deputy is related to the late calls, incidents and court time. Sheriff Stuart reviewed specific scenarios with the Council where overtime would occur. Councilmember Howard wondered if the City added another deputy would overtime go down. Sheriff Stuart indicated it likely would not, it would probably add to overtime but no deputy is allowed overtime unless approved. Councilmember Knight asked if they will be going to front and back squad cameras. Sheriff Stuart did not think they would be doing that anytime soon because of the costs of the cameras and backup systems to preserve data. That would also be the same for body cameras. Mayor Gamache asked if there are any areas in the City they need to be concerned with. Sheriff Stuart did not think there are any areas in the City that the Council needs to be concerned with. RENTAL HOUSING PROGRAMS UPDATEIDISCUSSION A. Single Family Associate Planner Angell reviewed the Single Family Rental Housing Program with the Council. He noted the City has all of the owner information in order to contact them for code violations. This makes it easier to enforce the code. Councilmember Trude wondered if this was a program without a purpose because they have the enforcement code in place. Councilmember Bukkila explained the reason the City started the rental program was to help with market value preservation. Mr. Angell stated if this was just for code enforcement they could disband it but if they disbanded this it would be hard to keep track of all of the rental property changes and keep a handle on everything. He noted the Village of Andover Station and Grey Oaks condos could be removed since they are association maintained and the City only does an exterior inspection. Councilmember Bukkila agreed with that. Councilmember Howard indicated the license period is for two years so is there a lot of junk in © the yards after two years. He wondered if they should go to a yearly basis. Mr. Angell felt two years was a good time frame for the reviews. Mr. Dickinson stated when they initiated the program the City utilized non - homestead properties © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 26, 2014 Page 3 to create the list of potential rentals. They now have that significant amount of work done and to re- establish the database again would be time consuming. Councilmember Trude thought the City was actually doing a service to the rental owners by having this program continue. Councilmember Bukkila agreed. The Council and City Staff discussed the Single Family Rental Housing Program and what has been accomplished since it started. Councilmember Bukkila wondered what the legalities are to inform and enforce some of the private properties that are abandoned because the City cannot walk onto the property to do a 360 look for violations or issues. Mr. Dickinson stated they will send communications indicating they see it as an emergency abatement situation in order to preserve structure which will allow the City to go in and do a band aid improvement and assess the costs back to the property. Councilmember Bukkila thought there was a value in having an established system because it allows them to be proactive and not reactive. Mr. Dickinson stated if this is just for code enforcement, he felt they have a program in place that can address it, if it is to go to the next step to track the rentals in the City they could go to a rental registration program without inspection, which is where the cost is at. They are in the budget cycle of the year and are looking for direction on how this program should move forward going into 2015. If they were looking to stop this program they would look to stop it at June 2015 but if they feel this program is worthwhile and that significant information is in place he suggested keeping the program going. Councilmember Bukkila felt that the program was worthwhile. Councilmember Howard asked if fifty dollars was enough to cover staff time. Mr. Dickinson stated he did not think raising the fee a little bit would hurt but if they raised the fee higher than $100 there might be opposition. Mayor Gamache thought they should continue with the program. B. Multi- Family Mr. Dickinson reviewed the Multi- Family Ordinance with the Council. Councilmember Trude wondered if safe off - street parking was considered under life safety. Mr. Dickinson stated they would like to have on -site parking where possible. ® Councilmember Trude thought this program was very important because they do not want to have bad looking rentals in the City. Mr. Dickinson stated three or more unit dwellings are subject to very strict fire and building © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 26, 2014 Page 4 codes. He wondered if twin homes should be considered multi - family dwellings. Councilmember Trude thought if they were they would be able to go in and inspect to make sure there are working fire and carbon monoxide detectors. She would like to include them because they are mandated. Fire Chief Streich explained they are not required by the State unless the city requires it in their Ordinance. It is State Law to have a CO detector on every level within ten feet of a sleeping room but it is not enforced unless driven by a complaint. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there is something the City could do to address possible mold damage in a home or other damages that need fixing. She described an issue she is aware of. Mr. Dickinson stated if the City gets a complaint from a renter /tenant there is a form the tenant fills out and the City communicates with the landlord and indicates it should be fixed and if not fixed within a set number of days the City can take action. Councilmember Knight asked if the City could be liable for some issues that arise. Mr. Dickinson stated if someone had a complaint and the City did not follow through they might get called into it but outside of that it is really a landlord/tenant issue. Fire Chief Streich stated the program itself, with the contact, gives them the loop when the tenant © does complain to contact the owner. The moisture issue is a two way street and how deep do you want to go with a rental inspection. The Council felt this program was working well and would welcome further discussion with the Building Department. 2015 — 2019 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANDEVELOPMENT Mr. Dickinson reviewed the CIP plan with the Council. Councilmember Knight asked if there was any discussion with the YMCA about their expansion. Mr. Dickinson stated they have and the YMCA is not inclined to go along with any project with debt. They would rather bring cash to the table to make improvements or expansions so there would need to be fundraising done. Fire Chief Streich updated the Council on the Fire Department replacement gear and costs associated with them. Councilmember Bukkila asked if they have enough radios for everyone. Fire Chief Streich stated they do not have enough radios for everyone but there are enough for every crew. Councilmember Bukkila asked what the cost difference would be for a mobile compressor versus one left at the Fire Station. Fire Chief Streich stated the cost difference would be minimal and the one left at the station might have more life because it is not exposed to elements but if they can be more efficient and reduce the potential liability on the street that would be huge. Councilmember Bukkila asked if it would impact insurance. Fire Chief Streich was not sure. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 26, 2014 Page 5 Councilmember Howard wondered if it would be a truck or trailer mounted compressor. Fire Chief Streich stated he would prefer it to be mounted to a truck chasis. Mr. Dickinson updated the Council on park and recreation operations and projects. The Council and staff discussed possible re- allocation of play equipment money to other projects. Mayor Gamache did not think they should spend money on Fox Meadows Park and the focus should be on Pine Hills North. Mr. Dickinson stated the focus was to get irrigation to Fox Meadows Park in order to get a useable field because they need to rotate and rest fields in some other locations. They already have play equipment, a field and a parking lot at Fox Meadows Park so a lot does not need to be added. He stated the amount for Fox Meadows Park is just a placeholder at this time. Councilmember Howard would like to push Crooked Lake hockey rink and the $50,000 for the Round Lake master plan out another year and focus on a structure where people are going to congregate at Pine Hills North. © Mr. Dickinson asked for Council concurrence on what Councilmember Howard suggested. Councilmember Bukkila did not like the idea. She stated the Round Lake trail improvement and ball field safety initiative are somewhat new and can be pushed out but the hockey rink boards have been on their radar for two to three years and should be done. Councilmember Trude thought the playground equipment money could be used for other expenses this year and push out replacement of playground equipment. She thought they are replacing that equipment too soon when it is not needed. Councilmember Knight thought they needed to have some centrally located multi -use building at Pine Hills North. He would like to at least get it started. Councilmember Trude stated she liked Councilmember Howards plan to reallocate the funds. Councilmember Bukkila indicated she liked it but wanted to get the hockey boards done as planned. Mr. Dickinson stated he would come back with a better way to allocate the money between the projects, but thought it would be important to stay with the current plan on the Crooked Lake hockey rink, that is the current expectation of the public. The City Council recessed at 8:59 p.m. 0 The City Council reconvened at 9:05 p.m. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 26, 2014 Page 6 2015 B UD GE TILE VY DE VEL OPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2015 budget with the Council. Mr. Dickinson stated he was recommending additional staff for the Public Works Department, primarily for Pine Hills North Park and to help with their snow plow routes. The Council discussed with staff the increase in attorney fees for 2015. Councilmember Bukkila asked Mr. Dickinson to prepare something that shows the value they get for what they pay for attorney fees and how our fees compare to other cities. Mr. Dickinson indicated he would get that information to the Council. The Council and staff continued to review the 2015 budget. Councilmember Trude wondered if the City Council should increase Council salaries of two percent for 2015 and 2016 because they can only do this before an election. Mayor Gamache indicated he did not think it was necessary. Councilmember Howard and Councilmember © Knight did not agree. Councilmember Bukkila indicated she would not support an increase. Councilmember Trude indicated Mayor Ryan stated their raise got passed in Blaine. Mr. Dickinson stated he will provide a Council salary survey at the next workshop meeting. Mr. Dickinson discussed the loss of LGA for the Road and Bridge Fund with the Council. Mr. Dickinson recommended level funding for the Road and Bridge Fund. He also recommended park improvements stay at the same level and with equipment purchases getting more expensive an increase there. Relative to debt service he noted they are sitting well on their rates and are paying the lowest amount of interest they can. He stated they are on an upward swing with their revenue estimates. PREVIEW 2015 PRELIMINARY TAX LEVY Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2015 Preliminary Tax Levy with the Council. Mr. Dickinson stated he estimated $609,000 was available to help buy down the next years' levy to balance the budget. He noted the proposed budget is based on a three percent gross levy increase. Mr. Dickinson stated three percent is only a preliminary number and if significant development continues this fall like he expects it to, the levy percentage could go down and they will not need as much to meet budget. But if the new home sales are slow and they do not meet what is needed, they may need to stick with three percent, but they cannot go above that amount after it has been set. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — August 26, 2014 Page 7 Councilmember Trude thought the new park, Pine Hills North Park, is costing the City a lot of money. Councilmember Bukkila indicated that was why she suggested on waiting on the park. Mayor Gamache wondered when the last time they took a three percent tax levy. Mr. Dickinson thought it was five or six years ago. Councilmember Trude stated she is not comfortable with a three percent increase, she would like it to be closer to two percent. Councilmember Bukkila agreed. She wondered if they could certify it at 2.9 percent and then by December try to be lower. Councilmember Howard thought a 2.5 percent preliminary tax levy increase would work. Councilmember Knight asked what would happen if they did not do an increase. Mr. Dickinson stated service levels, especially in the parks there would be complaints about park maintenance because they would need to cut maintenance, but the primary reason for the increase is to structurally balance the budget. Councilmember Trude thought they could cut costs of maintenance within the open space areas of the City. Mr. Dickinson stated they could, but he would need to discuss with Public Works the appropriate minimal level Q Mayor Gamache asked what the preliminary tax levy was set at in 2013 for 2014. Mr. Dickinson indicated it was set at 3.29 percent in September 2013 and two percent was adopted in December 2013 for 2014. Councilmember Knight stated it is making a point that taxes are being raised every year. Mr. Dickinson indicated there is new growth and infrastructure and needs and expectations do not go away. Mayor Gamache stated they have to set it at something now because State Law requires the City to do that and they do not want to cut themselves too short. They are already .29 percent lower than what they were last year and he would be looking for a two percent increase at the end of the year. Councilmember Knight stated this would mean that taxes could increase close to six percent in two years. Mayor Gamache indicated it would only be four percent because last year they had a tax levy of two percent and they are striving for a two percent increase this year. They have to start somewhere based on State Law and they have four months left to bring in more revenue. They have to set it at a rate they could be comfortable with. He thought they should set this at a price that is reasonable and not have to cut too far into their funds. Mr. Dickinson stated if the Council is comfortable with a two percent increase, then they should set the initial tax levy at 2.5 percent. This will make it easier to work with the departments on their budgets. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to see a list of the projects that are out there because she is afraid they will end up running short on funds at the end of the year. Councilmember Knight asked if there is any way this could be worded in order to help people Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 26, 2014 Page 8 understand. Mr. Dickinson stated he works with averages and each property will be different. Mr. Dickinson suggested he bring this before the Council with a 2.77 percent preliminary increase, a $300,000 gross levy increase. The Council concurred. 2014 GENERAL FUND B UDGET PROGRESS REPORT — THROUGH JULY 2014 Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2014 general fund budget with the Council. Mr. Dickinson indicated revenues are behind the 2013 pace, but he expects to meet the revenue budget by year end. JULY 2014 CITYINVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson reviewed the July 2014 City investments with the Council. Mr. Dickinson indicated that during the month of August he had to sell 2 CD's because having the CD's in the portfolio would not meet legal compliance to be covered fully with FDIC insurance. He has put in place measures to assure this does not happen again. © OTHER TOPICS There were none. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Howard, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary r LJ