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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - September 15, 2015• C I T Y O G NDOVER 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULL VARU N.W. • AN UUVt R, MINN t SUTA 55304 • (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss Sale of Park Land - Engineering 3. Discuss Park Sign Advertisement Policy - Engineering 4. Discuss Accessory Dwelling Units — Planning 5. Fire Department Staffing Update (Verbal) - Fire Department . 6. August 2015 General Fund Budget Progress Report - Administration 7. August 2015 City Investments Review - Administration 8. Other Business 9. Adjournment • ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING— SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trade, September 15, 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 Director of Public Works /City Engineer, David Berkowitz Assistant Public Works Director, Todd Haas Fire Chief, Jerry Streich • Others DISCUSS SALE OF PARK LAND Mr. Haas explained the City Council is requested to discuss selling of public property currently designated as park as requested by the Park and Recreation Commission. Mr. Haas reviewed the information with the Council. Mayor Trade stated there is no real money to be made by the City, it would be released to the County to do whatever they choose. Mr. Dickinson stated that is correct and if Anoka County sees there is a lot of money to be had by selling it they will take it and the monies will be split up between the County, City and School District. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there is any maintenance done on the property at this time. Mr. Haas stated there is not. Councilmember Knight did not think there was anything to be gained by selling the land. Mayor Trade asked if anyone wanted to sell the park land. The Council indicated no interest in selling. • Councilmember Bukkila asked how much it would cost if the City had to pay the County. Mr. Dickinson indicated the County would need to do an appraisal and the City would have to pay the value of what that is. The market value set by the County Assessor right now is $60,000. He thought the County figured this was buildable land, which it is not. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — September 15, 2015 Page 2 Mr. Dickinson stated they could do some ponding on the land if they did road improvements in the area. Mayor Trade stated she talked to Gretchen Sabel of the Open Space Commission who went out and looked at the property and stated there are a lot of trees but is not big enough and they would not have chosen it for open space. The landlocked property is not buildable at all from what staff has told her. Mr. Haas indicated the property is landlocked and has a lot of water on it. He thought it might have been tax forfeit but did not designate it as park land. Mayor Trade asked if the second property actually added to the City stormwater management system. Mr. Haas stated there would be some costs to do survey work, an easement on the property, a description written on it if they wanted to sell the property. Mr. Dickinson stated there are nine parcels abutting the parcel. Mr. Haas stated the Park and Recreation Commission recommended both properties to be sold. Mayor Trade did not think there would be any money from a sale, if anything it would cost the City money. Mr. Haas stated they might get some tax revenue back if someone were to purchase the parcels. Councilmember Bukkila stated the cost to do all of the work could be rolled into the purchase price of the parcels. Staff indicated that is correct. Consensus was to keep the parks as passive parks. DISCUSS PARK SIGN ADVERTISEMENT POLICY Mr. Haas explained the City Council is requested to consider amending the Park Advertising Policy to allow businesses to advertise directly with the City in the parks and/or facilities. Mayor Trade thought they needed to go back and find out why they originally made the agreement with the Associations. Mr. Haas stated it was done so the Associations could make money. Councilmember Goodrich stated he is not interested in cutting out the Associations. The Council decided to allow the Associations to continue handling the advertisement policy. DISCUSS ACCESSORYDWELLING UNITS Mayor Trade stated this item came up at Night to Unite by someone who wanted to build a unit to allow their mother to live with them and stay independent. Mr. Carlberg explained the City Council is requested to discuss and provide direction to staff on the City Council's desire to amend the City Code to allow accessory dwelling units. • Councilmember Knight thought if this issue is happening nationwide they should look at this. The Council concurred to have the Planning and Zoning Commission look at this. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would only want to allow this on larger parcels. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — September 15, 2015 Page 3 Mayor Trade asked if the current city ordinances allow this type of structure. Mr. Carlberg stated they can have guest home type structures in the City but kitchens in them are not allowed. Councilmember Goodrich asked if there were any downfalls to allowing the accessory dwelling units. Mr. Carlberg stated there has not been enough research done on them as of yet. Councilmember Bukkila stated the concerns are how will people prove a familial relationship and what authority do they carry otherwise. She stated even if the original intent is for a family member, the situation is what will happen down the road. She stated this becomes a property rights issue and they need to look at the parking, congestion, impact to schools and use of services and roads. Mayor Trade stated when she looked at the City of Minneapolis code they had everything covered that Councilmember Bukkila mentioned and more. Mayor Trade thought it would be a good idea for the Planning and Zoning Commission to review this and find any issues with it that might come up for the Council to look at. Councilmember Bukkila stated as a tag along they will end up with a renter situation, they will need an eviction process along with possibly of more domestic issues. Mr. Carlberg stated it could be regulated by a rental license. . Fire Chief Streich reviewed his personal situation and the requirements in his community. He stated with the cost of senior housing, many cannot afford it and it would break some people. Councilmember Knight asked if they could put an age limit on it. Mayor Trade stated the person who brought this up has a daughter who has special needs but wants to be independent. Councilmember Bukkila did not think it will happen in volume from the start but they do not want to be so narrow minded as to not look ahead to find out what could happen in thirty years. Mayor Trade thought the Planting and Zoning Commission should look at this and bring it forward to the City Council for discussion. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to review this item before it went to the Planning and Zoning Commission and see other city's ordinances regarding this. Councilmember Holthus thought it would be good for the Planning and Zoning Commission to look at this because they may have a different perspective of it. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to see more drafts from other cities before it would go to the Planning and Zoning Commission because if they are not comfortable, as a Council with the idea, she wondered if it is worth having the Planning and Zoning Commission spending time on it. She thought the Council could do the first blush with stairs help rather than give it to the Planning and Zoning Commission. • Consensus of the Council was to have the Planning and Zoning Commission review this and bring it back to the Council before proceeding with a public hearing on the topic. • Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes— September 15, 2015 Page 4 FIRE DEPARTMENTSTAFFING UPDATE Fire Chief Streich updated the City Council on staffing of the Fire Department. He stated they are going to take the current daytime people and put them on a shift schedule, known in Minnesota as a duty crew. Mayor Trude asked if they are going to advertise and hire new people or me they going to slot the people they currently have. Fire Chief Streich indicated they will currently slot the people they currently have. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there has been any effort in prioritizing daytime availability. She stated she has not been aware of a need for firefighters in general, there has been no focus on a daytime compliment so she wondered if it would be prudent to put that out to the public. Fire Chief Streich thought that message has been around and this has been his top priority since he has been here. Councilmember Bukkila stated from a resident level, it has fallen on deaf ears. Fire Chief Streich stated of the people who call him, the majority nighttime firefighters. They will hire daytime firefighters over nighttime. They are not seeing the interest in daytime firefighters. • Councilmember Holthus wondered if they had enough people to do the duty crew. Fire Chief Streich stated at this time they may not have enough people but he would like to get this started and see what they can do. He stated he would like to start this off slow. AUGUST 2015 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Dickinson indicated this item is informational. AUGUST 2015 CITY INVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson indicated this item is informational. OTHER TOPICS There was none. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Holthus, Seconded by Goodrich, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. • Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary