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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - August 25, 2015n P "i X C I T Y O F WOVE_ _ 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULFVARL) N.W.. ANUUVtK, MINNEbUTA 55304 • (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, August 25, 2015 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss City Campus Expansion Master Plan/15 -22 — Engineering 3. Discuss Roadway Design/167th Ave. NW Construction East of Hanson Blvd. NW/15 -38 - Engineering 4. 2016 Budget Development Discussion — Administration 5. Discuss 2016 Preliminary Tax Levy Discussion - Administration 6. 2016 -2020 Draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Development - Administration 7. July 2015 General Fund Budget Progress Report -Administration 8. July 2015 City Investments Review -Administration 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment • c�s+rC � ` � � _..mot^ A ANDOVER CITY CO UNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — A UGUST 25, 2015 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, August 25, 2015, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila, Valerie Holthus and James Goodrich Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Dave Carlberg Public Works Director /City Engineer, David Berkowitz Others DISCUSS CITY CAMPUS EXPANSION MASTER PLAN /15 -22 Mr. Berkowitz explained representatives from HCM Architects (Tim McIlwain, Dan Lind and Jerry Hagen) and Loucks & Associates (Nate Ekhofo were at the meeting to present options for the City Campus Expansion Master Plan process. He introduced the representatives to the audience. Mr. Tim McIlwain, HCM Architects made a presentation to the City Council and some of the Park Commissioners, Community Center, YMCA, School Board representatives and residents of the City on the three different plans being proposed. Mr. McIlwain presented Option A. Mayor Trude wondered if everyone will be using the one driveway to get into the site in option A. Mr. McIlwain indicated they will be but the entrance will be enhanced. He stated this seems to be a better plan than having multiple entrances right next to each other and in the future they are expecting some of the entrances will be closed by the County when the road is reconstructed. Mr. McIlwain continued with presenting Option B. He noted employee vehicles will have a separate entrance than vehicles using the community center and amenities which will provide for a safer environment. io Ms. Angie Sedesky, representing the Andover Family Fun Fest Committee asked if the recycling center will have a separate entrance with this plan. Mr. McIlwain indicated they did not put the recycling center in the plans because they felt that it should be moved elsewhere and did not have a specific place in the over all master plan. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 2 Councilmember Holthus indicated she did not mind Purple Park being moved a little further away from the school because right now after school kids congregate at the park and it is not supervised. Mayor Trude stated she has talked to kids at Purple Park and they like the park and use it a lot. She stated the kids also told her they would like to have the skate park moved to this area also because they do not like it where it is currently located. Mayor Trude asked the consultants to better identify the mature trees in and around Purple Park, she stressed this is a unique park and was concerned about losing those unique features. Councilmember Knight asked if there will be an outside area for the seniors to use for pickle ball and other activities. Mr. McIlwain stated there will be open areas for many activities. Mr. McIlwain reviewed Option C. There was discussion about the park and where the Public Works Building would be located. Mr. Frank Kellogg, representing the Community Center Advisory Commission asked if there will be room for further expansion on this site in the future with all of the parking area within the site. Mr. McIlwain stated he is confident there would be space within the overall site that could be repurposed. Mr. Kellogg said they could always consider expanding upwards so they should plan now in the building footprints for the possibility of expanding the buildings up. Ms. Allison Boes, the Andover YMCA representative stated she liked all of the plans so far but would prefer having the splash deck located closer to their facility on the south side, and she liked having walking paths that will allow getting the kids to the facility safely. She also liked the idea of planning for a future expansion beyond the next round if one is needed. Mr. Jim Lindahl, Park and Recreation Commissioner is concerned about the loss of the ball fields on the plans, he indicated they are used by the schools and associations. Councilmember Bukkila complimented the architects on the designs and felt they are all uniquely different. She thought in Option C all of the elements were too large, especially the splash pad. She indicated there are some things she likes about Option C, she would prefer to have the performance items along Hanson Boulevard rather than against residential. Ms. Sedesky said she did not like the placement of the splash pad because it is too far from the community center and if moved closer to the community center they can reduce the size of the parking. She indicated the amphitheater looked great. Mayor Trude asked the Senior Center representatives if they had concerns. The group responded they like staying at City Hall, but express concern over YMCA patrons using the senior center parking. Mr. McIlwain stated the next step is to evaluate the three options and see what the preferred options are for everyone and how will it support the entire community. The goal is to have a © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 3 road map for the best direction. Mr. Dickinson stated he has tried not to let the financial side drive the creative aspect of this project. He stated the cheapest time to do any significant facility move is now. He stated they need to look at the preferred concepts and find a way to get around the conflicts through some of the feedback they have gotten. What he saw as the most valuable of the entire plan is the connection to 154th Avenue. He noted they need to look at their traffic plan and offer options for Oak View Middle School letting out without being completely dependent on Hanson Boulevard. He saw working with the School District as being very important and getting that connection to 154th Avenue as crucial to open the site up. Councilmember Holthus stated they needed to have the School District involved otherwise they are just limited to Option A and revisions to that. Mr. McIlwain stated they would like some guidance from the Council and stakeholders as to what they want to see in the Master Plan. Mr. Dickinson asked the stakeholders to give their feedback to city staff by September 181h © Mayor Trude thanked everyone for coming and indicated they needed to continue with the other items on their agenda. The Council recessed at 7:40 The Council reconvened at 7:55 DISCUSS ROADWAY DESIGN 1167TH AVE NW CONSTRUCTION EAST OF HANSON BLVD NW115 -38 Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council is requested to discuss the proposed roadway design for 167th Avenue NW road construction from Hanson Boulevard NW to the Country Oaks North development. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the staff report with the Council. Councilmember Bukkila asked what the speed limit will be on the road. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would be 40 mph because there are no driveways, access to the development and as they transition into the development the speed would lower. He stated they can lower the speed to 35mph without a speed study and as they get into the urban area it is set by statute to 30mph. Councilmember Knight asked how much fill will be needed. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have to © get above the floodplain so they will be using a lot of fill. He noted there will be a trail through the development and then transitioning to a wide shoulder toward Hanson Boulevard to minimize the impact to the wetland area. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 4 Councilmember Knight asked if there will be heaving on the road because of the extensive peat. Mr. Berkowitz stated there are two ways to develop the road and they are proposing to remove the muck because that would only impact fourteen feet. He reviewed a couple of different ways to build the road. Councilmember Bukkila asked what the alternate trail route would be to the community center. Mr. Berkowitz showed a map where trails are located for access. Mayor Trade asked if the park along 167`h Avenue is to be irrigated. Mr. Berkowitz stated the Park and Recreation Commission has moved the park from one side of the development to the other side and they do want to irrigate it but he did not think it was possible with where the water stub ends. He noted the developer will not be responsible for irrigating the park. Mayor Trade thought the park was going to be next to the open space so there would be an easy entrance and parking for the open space. Mr. Berkowitz continued to review the road section development going into the new development, showing where there will be curbed an ditch sections along the roadway. Mayor Trade stated they really have to look at the future and try to have less storm water ponds. © She thought there will need to be more storm water treatment in yards. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed wetland impacts in the area with the Council. Mayor Trade stated she is worried about the park because the talk is it will cost a lot more money and they need to put the money into the road. She wondered if that is correct. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have heard a lot from Mr. Wold about this development and the issues with where the park is proposed to be located at. Mr. Berkowitz stated staff will prepare a feasibility report and find out what the road costs are. They also need to meet again and discuss how they want this to look before they present this to the public. Mr. Dickinson stated they will also need to determine a benefit to those forty lots to the north of this development as the City will have to carry those costs and collect them at a later date. Mayor Trade asked if the Open Space Commission has had any comment on the connection to the open space. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they have and like the connections. 2016 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2016 budget with the City Council. He noted in September they need to set a preliminary 2016 property tax levy and submit it to Anoka County. Mayor Trade asked if they get Local Government Aid (LGA) anymore. Mr. Dickinson indicated © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 5 they get a minimal LGA amount and that goes into the Road and Bridge Fund Mr. Dickinson continued to review the staff report. Councilmember Holthus asked what a pay- equity requirement is. Mr. Dickinson stated it is a State Law that local governments are to comply with. He explained the test requirement involves job classes, salaries and gender pay comparisons. Mr. Dickinson indicated he did not want to discuss any salary budget items that involve the negotiations with the Public Works Union because they reserve those discussions for closed City Council sessions. Mr. Dickinson stated the City Attorney rate is increased 2% in 2015 and for 2016 the rate proposed would be commensurate with employee COLA Mr. Baumgartner is currently working on a retainer basis which the City likes because then any City employee can call with questions without the concern of getting billed. This has helped the City save money in the long run. Councilmember Holthus stated the largest line item budget is for law enforcement and she would © like to propose reducing the amount of hours per day in the Sheriff's Department contract and putting some more of that into investigations or drug task force because when she was door knocking a lot of residents showed her where there were drug houses in their neighborhoods and asked why they don't spend more money on shutting down the activity at those houses. Mayor Trude stated they added the hours a few years ago because people asked for more patrols and she did not know if she wanted to reduce the hours at this point, especially with some new liquor license establishments going online. She would prefer to see if calls increase because of This. She noted they can always reduce the hours in the future. Mr. Dickinson stated he had a proposal from Sheriff Stuart for 72 hours and what the cost would be. He noted he also had a proposal for the hours dropping to 72 hours and then reallocating some dollars to a drug task force individual. This would be an additional deputy added to the drug force task force and not the City just paying for an employee that the County already has. There was discussion regarding drug related issues in the City and at the County level. Councilmember Bukkila stated they are bringing in two new liquor license establishments into the City and they do not know how that will impact the calls and she indicated she, like the Mayor would want to wait also and make the shift next year if calls remain the same. Councilmember Knight stated Sheriff Stuart is working very hard on the human trafficking issue Q also. Mr. Dickinson stated when they increased their patrol they did start to see a decline in their calls for service. He believes the City is currently in a call lull. Sheriff Stuart did comment about the © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 6 City possibly contemplating a commitment to the Drug Task Force during his presentation and he thinks that would be a good place to explore. If they did do a reallocation of dollars he thought it would be in concert with reducing the hours from 80 to 72 hours and put a DTF Officer on. If they did make that decision, to drop from 80 hours to 72 hours a day that would drop about $225,000. If the calls start spiking it will be hard to add $225,000 back into the budget. The big difference is the car count. The add back will not be $225,000 in a few years, it will be $250,000. If they were going to do something like that he would suggest doing it in a half measure, bringing on a DTF Officer so the decline would be around $106,000 or what he has recommended in the budget to go forward with the status quo which stays at 80 hours because he thinks the City is in a call lull. They are seeing more traffic in Andover and they are going to be seeing some significant development activity along with two new bars going online. Council consensus and direction for the Sheriff's contract is to stay at status quo for 2016. Councilmember Holthus asked if they can review this again in 2016 once the bars have been around. Mr. Dickinson indicated they certainly will. Mr. Dickinson reviewed with the City Council the Park budget and assignment of park improvement funds. Mr. Dickinson explained with the latest emphasis on maintaining and preserving the existing parks, administration is proposing to reassign $46,000 of the Park Improvement Fund Levy to the General Fund to focus on park's maintenance /replacement items. Combined with an additional $35,000 of the General Fund Levy, a total of $80,000 of levy dollars will be specifically used for parks repair /replacement items. Mr. Dickinson explained the Park and Recreation Commission will not likely be in favor of the re- assignment of funds, but with park dedication dollars starting to flow again and with the Commissions' concern of the City not keeping up on replacements in existing parks some of that concern should be mitigated. The Council supported the recommendation. Mr. Dickinson reviewed trails with the Council, showing the trail construction history back to 2002. A map of the existing trails was also shown. Mr. Dickinson asked the Council about how aggressive the Council wanted to pursue new trail connections since a Council goal is to preserve current trails and to complete trails where we have missing connections or need to improve pedestrian safety. He suggested a committee be formed to review the overall trail plan and separate out the trails where outside moneys could help fund the construction of the trials. Councilmember Bukkila stated she may or may not agree with the overall improvements but she is concerned as far as maintenance and she wondered if this accomplished the goal. Mayor Trude stated they need to prioritize the trails. She stated some of the neighborhoods to the north have put in $140,000 into the trail fund and they have not seen any trails in their area. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 25, 2015 Page 7 Mr. Berkowitz stated they already have some connections and he can look into trail plans further. Staff was directed to evaluate missing connections and identify appropriate funding sources. Mayor Trude thought it was time to balance the fund out and put money into trails rather than parks. She also thought the Council should look closely at adding shoulders to various roads. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed some proposed trails within the City and indicated he would work with his staff to evaluate costs and funding sources. DISCUSS 2016 PRELIMINARY TAX LEVY DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson noted the proposed 2016 Preliminary Tax Levy is set at a 4% increase in the gross levy, $450,000 additional. He wondered if the Council is ok with him bringing this forward to the September Council meeting, noting this is the highest the levy could go. The Council would have the ability to reduce the levy by year end. Councilmember Knight asked if there is any way Mr. Dickinson can explain fiscal disparities and the LGA to the public in a newsletter. Mr. Dickinson stated he could do that. 0 2016 — 2020 DRAFT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) DEVELOPMENT Will discuss further in September. Reviewed the primary issues with the trail discussion as part of the budget discussion. JULY 2015 GENERAL FUND B UDGET PROGRESS REPORT Information provided, no questions by Council. JULY 2015 CITY INVESTMENTSREVIEW Information was provided, no questions by Council. OTHER TOPICS Mayor Trude asked if all the Councilmembers were interested in signing the Domestic Violence Awareness Month Proclamation that will go on display at the Alexandra House walk in September. The Council liked the idea. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Goodrich, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:42 p.m. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — August 25, 2015 Page 8 Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary H LJ