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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - January 24, 2017qCN66W^_ 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULL VAKD N.W. • AN DOVLK, MINN E80 IA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order -6:00 p.m. 2. Joint Meeting with Park & Recreation Commission A. Review Draft Plan/14-15/Fox Meadows Park — Engineering B. Update of the Park Comprehensive Plan — Engineering C. Discuss 2018-2022 CIP for Parks and the Future of the City Park System — Engineering D. Discuss Park Maintenance Needs — Engineering E. Discuss the Future of the Open Space Properties — Engineering F. Discuss Community -Wide Survey—Engineering 3. Approve Tree Clearing Quotes/16-40, Smith's Green Acres Ditch Cleaning & 17-18, South Access to Woodland Creek Wetland Restoration—Engineering 4. Update on Hanson Boulevard NW Reconstruction from Jay St. NW to Crosstown Blvd. NW/15-16/ — Engineering 5. Community Survey Discussion—Administration 6. 2016 Budget Progress Reports - Administration December 2016 City Investments Review - Administration 8. Other Business Adjournment E ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING —JANUARY 24, 2017 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, January 24, 2017, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila (arrived at 6:11 p.m.), Valerie Holthus and James Goodrich Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Joe Janish Director of Public Works/City Engineer, David Berkowitz Asst. Public Works Director, Todd Haas Park & Recreation Chairperson, Shane Stenzel Park and Recreation Commissioner, Jim Lindahl Park and Recreation Commissioner, John Angell Park and Recreation Commissioner, Mark Miskowiec (arrived at 6:07 p.m.) Park and Recreation Commissioner, Ted Butler Others CIIANGES TO AGENDA Mayor Trude indicated there is one supplemental Item 3 in reference to some action on approving a quote for tree clearing, Project 16-40, Smith's Green Acres Ditch Clearing and Cleaning and Project 17-18, South Access to Woodland Creek Wetland Restoration. She indicated normally the City Council does not act at workshop meetings but it was noted at a previous Council meeting that the Council would have to act because they did not have the materials they needed at that meeting to act so there was notice this action would occur at this workshop meeting. Mr. Dickinson stated one of the items is due to the timeliness for project completion. We need to get this project done during the winter months and getting the projects together and the coordination takes time, we are now ready to do the project. 40 Mayor Trude stated in regard to Item 8, she would like to have a small group to discuss communication in the City. Mr. Dickinson noted this could be put under Other Business along with an update he had on a ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 2 Fire Department item. JOINT MEETING WITH PARK & RECREATION COMMISSION A. Review Draft Plan/14-15/Fox Meadows Park Mr. Berkowitz stated the City Council is requested to review the draft plan options for Project 14-15, Fox Meadows Park. He reviewed the plan layout with the Council and Commission. Commissioner Miskowiec arrived at 6:07 p.m. Councilmember Holthus thought there was discussion about the sliding hill being in the way of the parking lot and fields and she asked for more information. Mr. Berkowitz stated the way the fields are laid out the drainage goes towards the ponding area by the parking lot. The sliding hill and berm area would be removed and the material would be used for other parts of the field and access would be stockpiled within the parking lot and can be used and hauled out. He did not believe there was much use of the sliding hill so it was decided to be removed. ® Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the different layouts with the Council and noted the difference in the costs between the layouts is the dirt work, everything else is pretty much the same or similar. Councilmember Goodrich stated on all three options they still have all the same parts, the fields, etc. but it is just a matter of where they will be placed within the park. Mr. Berkowitz indicated that was correct. Councilmember Bukkila arrived at 6:11 p.m. Mr. Berkowitz showed the layout changes in the three options. Mr. John Burgeson, 4345 157th Avenue NW, asked if dirt would be removed in option three. Mr. Berkowitz stated dirt would not be removed, they would need to bring dirt in. Any material in option three would be utilized on site to fill other areas and they would also have to import another 2,000 yards of dirt. Councilmember Holthus asked what option would be the greatest distance from the southerly property line. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would be option three, they would be moving it north and to the west. There would be about 112 feet from the property line. Mayor Trude thought all the options looked the same to them and she wondered if there was anything else significant in any of the plans. Mr. Berkowitz stated the only difference is the large field layout placement. Mayor Trude asked if the ponding was the same in each of the options. Mr. Berkowitz stated they will be utilizing all of the existing low land area for the ponding, but indicated each option would require different drainage computations. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 3 Mr. Berkowitz stated they have not shown any trail on the layout yet and what he would recommend if there is continued interest, he would suggest a trail in an area that can be mowed and removing only a few trees here and there. If they grade in a trail now they would probably have some substantial tree removal. He thought they could make a trail that would work around the trees and only remove a few trees here and there. Chairperson Stenzel stated there would still be a paved trail from the parking lot to the fields. Mr. Berkowitz stated the nature trail would start from the edge of the parking lot which would work its way around the outside of the park and tie back into the paved trail by the basketball court. Councilmember Bukkila asked if the nature trail will require grading. Mr. Berkowitz suggested there not be any grading done. Mr. Dickinson stated the trail would be similar to what is at North Woods Preserve and would be a more natural setting. Councilmember Bukkila asked if they would consider leveling the terrain at all. Mr. Berkowitz stated at this point a trail around the park would only be mowed. Mr. David Olson, Attorney for the Burgeson's stated his clients have a strong preference for ® option 3. They would like to see the large field located the furthest from their property line and as he understood it the proposed options that have just been described, the only thing that differentiates the three is the cost of fill and excavation and at this point from what they have seen and the information that has been provided to them he did not think any firm determination can be made as to what the actual costs will be. He stated he has not seen or believe there is any actual quotations from contractors and he has not seen a geo-technical report which would inform an excavator of what needs to be taken out, what needs to be put in, soil analysis, whether the soil is adequate for as base. Based on these preliminary things, which are based in part on Lidar, it is all very rough and with the cost levels they are talking about and minor differentiations he did not think this would be an appropriate time to push for one option or another until they have better data and they can determine what the costs are. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have done an actual survey. The City Engineering Technicians have been to the site and conducted a full survey. When it comes to geo-technical reports, typically they do not do those on park projects. The City has a turf expert they work with that does a physical site visit and evaluates the type of material that is out there and provides the City with a recommendation. Mayor Trude stated City staff is working daily with developers in the City and they are interacting with them regarding importing soils and sand. Mr. Berkowitz stated dirt is sold at a premium in Andover. He stated when the developer has dirt on their own site they do not want to get rid of it and they have dealt with many IUP's where they want to stockpile on their own site knowing that it is important to keep the dirt that they have. Another thing that drives it too is ® if there are other projects in the area. Mr. Olson stated for clarity there has not been any geo-technical reports. Mr. Berkowitz ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 24, 2017 Page 4 indicated they would not be getting a geo-technical report for the park, those are usually a requirement for buildings, not fields. Mrs. Rita Burgeson, 4345 157`h Avenue NW, stated she asked for the information sooner so they could review it but they did not receive the information until Tuesday, January 17, 2017. She noted it was hard to have a meaningful conversation when they did not get the material sooner. She stated she was a little concerned with this because she talked to a well person and there was concern about having adequate buffer in place so anything that is placed on the surface for weeds does not get into the ground water. She stated she was concerned the Council was making a huge decision without substantive information. She noted she has allergies and the chemicals that are put on the lawn can only be put on with less than a ten mile per hour wind or else it will drift to their property. She stated there are a million questions and she did not feel they could have a meaningful discussion without more information. Mr. Dickinson stated they are discussing the future layout of the park this evening, not park maintenance. The City will need to get this built and constructed before maintenance. No maintenance will take place until they have grass started and growing. He stated now their focus is on getting a layout so they can focus their efforts on putting together the final plans, get it out © to contractors to get costs so they know what they are dealing with as far as costs. The other side of it too is the City looks to experts for their fields that will give them recommendations and provide a good product that will provide good quality play with limited long term maintenance. The expert they work with has significant experience and the School District has worked with this individual with great success. Another thing to keep in mind as they move forward, there is concern with the well and the City is concerned with water conservation. He stated they must do things within the confines of an appropriation permit they get from the DNR, so they have restrictions, and they need to make sure they fall within that criteria otherwise there are penalties associated with that. Many of those things are moving down a path but tonight they are focusing on looking at a future layout of the park. We need to focus efforts on proceeding down a path to get costs. Chairperson Stenzel stated this is a park they have identified by the needs of the residents which will help to alleviate some of the other fields that are being overused with multiple sports. He stated they have gone through their CIP adding more parks and irrigating them and getting them ready for use to spread the use out. Commissioner Miskowiec thought option two makes good sense of a existing field. All they are doing is improving it. Option three is moving the entire field down the slope. He thought they should improve the existing field, without the added cost to move it. Commissioner Butler stated in looking at the different options he thought option one would be the lower cost. He was glad to see one of the options further away from the property line is oactually the lowest cost option. He stated option two seems like a good middle ground solution. Councilmember Knight asked if there is any privacy factors built into this site. Mayor Trude © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 5 thought they should hear from the rest of the Commissioners before Council comments. Commissioner Lindahl stated he did not have any problem with option two, if it gives them the best value as far as bidding for the same outcome, he thought they should go for that. Commissioner Angell stated in regard to maintenance and what could be put onto the field, he thought the City, from a maintenance standpoint, they should adhere to the criteria of the DNR. He stated this was an important part to take note about. Commissioner Lindahl stated the DNR is a stringent agency and they are being very stringent on their well application and reviews. Mr. Berkowitz stated they need to follow the MN Department of Agriculture requirements and that is part of the maintenance of the fields. They have provided to the Burgeson's a turf management summary that the City follows. The Commission concurred that option two would be the best option. Councilmember Knight wondered if there is a privacy factor built in on the south side. Mr. Berkowitz showed on the map a fence along with trees that exist and their goal would be to provide or keep as many trees in place as possible in the area and with the potential to add more in the future. It was noted the fence would remain. The Council discussed with staff the different amenities on each of the options along with the improvement costs. Mayor Trude felt that option two was the way the Council was going to go. Mr. Burgeson stated they are concerned with a few things. The vapors or overspray from when the field is treated, the closer they are, the greater the risk. He stated he understood a prevailing wind was from the northwest most of the time which would take it straight in to their home. He stated they are highly concerned about it and they have read the MSDS sheets and several of the chemicals they use are dangerous to inhale. He stated they are highly concerned about that. He noted when looking at the ground water, there is no boring or anything going on in regard to the ground water. He stated Mrs. Burgeson talked to experts and they are highly concerned with over time the stuff can go into the ground water and they could be poisoned. He wondered how the City is going to prevent chemicals from going down into the ground water. Another thing is he asked some questions about the water usage to Mr. Berkowitz and he was given cycle times, gallons per minutes used by the pump, the number of days per year and he asked whether very hot, dry conditions when they knew they would be watering a lot and they were given a bunch of different numbers and he did the calculations and determined the millions of gallons of water the City would be using in a year and he asked Mr. Berkowitz if there was anything wrong with the calculations and if so to please show him and nothing was shown to him, he only said what the goal was. He stated they were concerned about the ground water and they were also concerned about pollution and getting poisoned and concerned about their well going dry by a large draw Odown and what the City would do about it and was told the City would not do anything because it could not be proven it was the City that made the well go dry. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 6 Mayor Trude stated they have had success with several parks like this and some neighbors have had concerns and the City did the monitoring and she thought the City was willing to monitor the well. She stated the City has offered to do monitoring of the ground water. She wondered what their goal is for the City. Mr. Burgeson hoped they would not get hurt in this. Mrs. Burgeson stated they are not trying to stop this but directing their concerns to the City and make a workable solution. Mayor Trude stated they had a good summary of the Burgeson's concerns and thought the way they will be addressing those concerns as they move ahead is that they have the well issues which are separate from this group and they do not get involved in that, it is handled by City staff. She noted she has never heard a complaint about wells after one of the projects has gone in. Mr. Berkowitz stated the City is going to smart controllers rather than rain monitors on the irrigation. This will monitor everything throughout the year and will reduce the watering that needs to be done. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the water appropriation permit with the Council and Commission. He stated their goal in the City is water conservation. ® Mr. Dickinson stated to answer the question on the well, hypothetical questions have been proposed to them by the Burgesons relative to the well and to give an answer to some of the hypothetical questions would be a definitive answer whether or not the City would pay for a new well if the Burgeson's well were to go dry and the DNR would work with the City on it. He stated he cannot say with a hundred percent specificity that their well would go dry with a direct correlation to the City well so he will not give a definitive answer at this time that the City would pay for a new well if the Burgeson's well were to go dry because he did not know that it is going to be directly correlated. Mr. Olson stated a decision that forecloses option three today is a premature decision. It is not in the City's or the Burgeson's interest. The data and the estimates they are looking at are both in his opinion and an engineer he has discussed this with is these are guesstimates and do not consider what could happen when they get actual bids. They do not consider many things. He felt the City needed to keep it open until they get real bids and real costs. Mayor Trude stated staff s direction is to proceed with option two. She asked if there was any additional input or do they support the recommendation. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there were any negative impacts to do two bids. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would have to put together two different sets of plans. They have currently put together three different options which they typically do not do. They would also have to put two plan sets together. Mr. Olson stated that is not too much for the City to put together a minor variation in the one plan. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would be a location difference and also be a quantity difference based on what the bid quantity for granules, borrow or common excavation. ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 7 Councilmember Bukkila stated in terms of time spent on developing one or two plans, she wondered how much time staff would take to do two plans. Mr. Berkowitz stated he could not give an accurate time it would take to do two separate plans just off the cuff. He noted the three options took several weeks to prepare and he would have to talk to the technicians to get a better estimate. Commissioner Holthus asked how this would affect the rest of the park CIP and all the other projects they need to do and would this hold up other projects they would really like to get accomplished. Mr. Dickinson stated they have already identified that the park shelter may have to be pulled out to stay within the cash flow analysis. The current budget set can be achieved based on available dollars. Mayor Trude recapped the project and wondered if they should hold the project up in order to have two engineering documents. She did not think they needed to spend the extra money for twenty feet and felt they had quite a good distance. Councilmember Goodrich stated he liked the fact that the well is on the north side of the project. He stated they have done trails and other things with a lot less space than this. He stated there is a fence there, a tree buffer behind the fence and he compared this to other projects in the City • and he felt there was plenty of space to him and with the cost savings in mind he was in favor of option two. Councilmember Holthus stated the difference between option two and three price wise is the entire budget for years 2018 and 2019 for the parks. Looking at that extreme increase in costs she would be in favor of option two. Councilmember Knight stated option two is the best of the three. Councilmember Bukkila thought they needed to weigh it out in totality and how much time has already been spent on researching this and she thought they have made a lot of accommodations and noted she also borders a park and understood the Burgeson's perspective. In terms of what the City has done to accommodate them is beyond comprehension for her. She stated she has not received the same attention from the City that the Burgeson's have and the most she has gotten is a few bushes, the neighbors have gotten trees which they have had to water on park property to get them to grow. What the neighborhood around them has done is put in the labor and the extra bushes or trees to get what they want and the Burgeson's have gotten so many accommodations and she thought they have seen this move a considerable distance and thought they are on the right path but to put more time into it to get the additional bid, they are talking about an extra $1,000 or more to do that with an overall budget cost of $70,000. To put an extra $2,000 in a project which she did not want to do, she would not do it with her own budget. Mr. Burgeson stated they would donate $20,000 to the City if they move the field over. He noted they have already paid for the fence separating the park from their property. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 8 Mayor Trude indicated she appreciated that offer. She felt staff has received direction from the Council and Park Commission. Mr. Dickinson felt confident they would see a significant difference between options two and three. Spending the additional dollars to put together two plans would not be fruitful. B. Update of the Park Comprehensive Plan Mr. Haas reviewed the Park Comprehensive Plan with the Council and Commission. Mayor Trude asked if the park dedication fee be raised based on land costs. Mr. Dickinson stated it is based on a correlation of project costs to land values and future development. C. Discuss 2018-2022 CIP for Parks and the Future of the City Park System ChairpersonStenzel reviewed the 2018-2022 CIP. He stated they have asked the athletic associations to come to their next Park and Recreation Commission meeting to get their ideas and know what their needs are and what they may be willing to contribute. He asked the Council what they would like to see done as a priority. OCouncilmember Bukkila thought this was all about exercising caution. They need to maintain the parks we have and they have not yet figured out how to pay for everything there, and now we are looking at the CIP wondering what more could we add. She thought they should solve the problem of park maintenance needs before they add more items to the CIP. She thought they needed to figure out where they are at. In terms of moving forward and getting any more momentum for anything more than what they have projected for projects is foolish. They need to first figure out how they are going to pay for the maintenance but she also understood they needed to keep communication open with the associations. Chairperson Stenzel stated he understood what Councilmember Bukkila was stressing and they always want to have a good relationship with the associations. Part of that is to hear and understand what their concerns are but also there are things that the associations have that are maintenance or safety items. Commissioner Lindahl noted sometimes the request is just enhancements to an existing park or field. Councilmember Bukkila stated going forward as the parks come in whether developers build them or the City builds them, they should not be having people come in after the fact asking for security lights and safety issues, there needs to be a little more aforethought put in from the beginning, a little bit more preventative needs to be determined based on where the park is located and how isolated it is. Commissioner Lindahl stated in regard to lighting in parks, sometimes it is a magnet and sometimes it is a deterrent for problems. Mayor Trude stated another issue she has heard is there are plenty of soccer fields, not enough football and lacrosse fields in the City so people are hoping that when the parks are reconstructed or new parks are put in that they put in football and lacrosse fields and no more soccer fields. Andover City. Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 9 Chairperson Stenzel stated the Commission is also hearing that and they have been talking to the turf expert and he did talk a lot about our fields and dedicating play to one sport. The associations have been communicating well with the addition of some of the parks and spreading the play out so they are starting to see some rest time for some of the fields. They have not heard anything from the associations about conflicts in fields with different sports. Mayor Trude stated she has heard it, especially with football. Chairperson Stenzel, stated until the associations bring an issue to the Commission they do not know there is a problem and every time an association submits their application they are asked if there are any issues or problems. They have not been reporting that there have been issues. Councilmember Holthus stated in Kelsey Round Lake Park there is $9,665 in 2016 which was the planning phase of what is in mind for that park. There is nothing in the CIP for Kelsey Round Lake Park after that and she wondered why. Chairperson Stenzel indicated they are putting Kelsey Round Lake Park in for grants and once they understand what the grants are and if there are matching grants they will come back and look at it further. His understanding is they are applying for DNR, trail and outdoor recreation grants. Councilmember Holthus stated she would like to see some historical placards at Kelsey Round Lake Park so people know the history of what occurred there. Chairperson Stenzel stated they would make note of that and that is part of the overall park plan. They would like to get a cost estimate on what it would come to so it can be allocated. Councilmember Knight thought it would also be nice to have some picnic tables in the area of the park by the placards so people can sit and talk about the history. Commissioner Lindahl stated they have a plan and are just waiting to see if they get any grant money. Councilmember Knight wondered if there would be some way of coordinating, advertising signs. They have all these ballparks and other cities are utilizing them for advertising revenue and the City is getting more and more businesses requesting advertising in the parks. Mr. Haas stated currently the City does have advertising in the ball parks and it is currently done through the associations by an agreement with the City. Councilmember Goodrich stated he has not received any emails or phone calls about spring things and he did not have any major direction the Commission needed to go. The only thing that came to mind was to try to look forward so they do not get jammed up in trying to find money to pay for everything at one time. Commissioner Miskowiec stated the Commission was good with the CIP as it is and they will continue to work on it. Councilmember Holthus asked where the irrigation projects in 2017, 2018 and 2019 are going. Mr. Haas stated the Commission has not decided all that at this point. They will for sure be doing Andover Lions Park this summer. Mayor Trude stated she has heard from residents that the park maps are still too crowded and Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — danuary 24, 2017 Page 10 small and that they cannot find parks so she thought the Commission could work on that and update the maps on the website to make them easier to read. Commissioner Butler thought the Commission could do a lot more with the park information on the City website. D. Discuss Park Maintenance Needs Chairperson Stenzel reviewed park maintenance needs with the Council. He stated they are not asking for money right now but they need to be cautious and prepared because the infrastructure they currently have is getting older. They have asked staff to look at this. He noted a lot of cities are currently going out for park referendums because the maintenance money has run out or cities have used referendums to fund other items. The Commission is looking at and pointing out some possible funding problems that may come up within the next five years. They are asking this be added into the Comprehensive Plan going forward as they update their plan to show park replacement so they can show what in the next five years and beyond that they can expect out of the maintenance fund. Mayor Trude stated she is uncomfortable making this a part of the Comprehensive Plan. She is ok with this being part of an annual update because they get residents that will come to the Council and if this changes there will be a lot of work needed to be done to the Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Holthus asked who sees this. Mayor Trude stated if they make this part of the Comprehensive Plan it is published and part of the public record. Mr. Dickinson stated it is published but if they have a specific number of dollars then the projects that are identified would need to fall within that guideline. If that was the direction, then they would integrate that process into the Comprehensive Plan. Chairperson Stenzel stated what he is showing is they have some replacement costs that are coming up and are going to keep coming up and that dollar amount is going to increase. For budgeting purposes in the future as they look at where they are going, the Council needs to keep that in mind. Councilmember Bukkila asked in terms of having this on the maintenance sheet, is it for the Council benefit or does it serve a purpose. Chairperson Stenzel stated they are trying to identify priority wise what needs to be done. Councilmember Knight asked if they have evaluated the maintenance expenses and needs. Chairperson Stenzel indicated that has been identified. Commissioner Butler stated the Council did redirect some funds that had been coming from the levy to capital improvements a couple of years ago. Mr. Dickinson indicated that is how some of the first replacement items are getting paid for. They set aside the funds and one of the tasks they provide to the Park and Recreation Commission, the Park Maintenance people and Mr. Haas, they all work together to identify the Onext and future replacement projects that need to be put on the list. He stated two years ago, the Council started setting aside dollars of $90,000 a year for doing replacement. The first items on the list for 2017 projects, have dollars that were set aside are being utilized. There are four more Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 11 years of projects of which over the course of those four years they are going to have about $360,000 under current budgeting practices that are available and the Commission has already identified $233,000 more than what they will have in available dollars. The Commission is making the statement to the Council that the Council should start looking at the budget dollars that do go to park maintenance to increase them starting with next years' budget. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there are any opportunities for savings if they look at a window of three years and put similar items together to do them at the same time for a lower price. Chairperson Stenzel stated they are doing that and that is a reason for looking out five years rather than one year. They will try to take advantage of packaging things together for a lower cost when they can. Mr. Dickinson stated if an item is over the budget but when looked at over years made sense to do now, the Commission would come to the Council for advice on how to proceed. Councilmember Holthus stated in 2018 there is a total of $190,200 worth of projects and there will be $81,720 in the fund balance so they will be short $108,000, that is not reasonable. Mayor Trude stated this is a starting point and now the City budget sorts this out. Mr. Dickinson concurred. Mayor Trude stated things are going to change and this is only a working document. Councilmember Bukkila stated the park improvement fund, is for new build, and replacement is from the maintenance fund. Mr. Dickinson stated that is correct. Mayor Trude stated they are not looking at solving the budget problems at this meeting. Mr. Dickinson stated the message the Commission is bringing to the Council is they have $90,000 a year and it is great they are focusing on replacement but they believe we are not putting enough dollars aside to deal with what the needs are today and the message is the Council needs to make an effort to increase those funds on an annual basis otherwise we are going to fall further behind each year. Commissioner Butler left the meeting at 7:45 p.m. E. Discuss the Future of the Open Space Properties Chairperson Stenzel stated this is being brought up because when they talk to the community about open space, the community sees park. The question comes back to at what point do they look at this as far as funding for open space and parks. He did not think people knew the difference between the two. Councilmember Knight stated open space has not been defined for the public. Chairperson Stenzel agreed. Mr. Dickinson stated open space has been defined, it was defined by the referendum question and was defined that they would purchase property for the preservation of open space properties, to improve water quality and wildlife habitat. They should make sure that the open space meets those minimal criteria, and based on the Statute authorizing the referendum © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 12 question, that property needs to remain that way forever. People voted on funding that and voted on the definition of those properties. He thought maybe instead of calling them open space they should call them preserves. Chairperson Stenzel asked what the difference was between a "Preserve" and Kelsey Round Lake Park. Mayor Trude thought Kelsey Round Lake Park was a precursor to the open space area. Chairperson Stenzel stated as a resident when he walks through Martin's Meadows and Kelsey Round Lake Park, what is the difference between the two. Commissioner Lindahl stated the difference is in how it was acquired. Mayor Trude wondered if the issue is communication. Chairperson Stenzel stated this is a branding/labeling/communication issue. Mayor Trude thought the new Commission Members wanted to help with the communication issues in the City. Commissioner Miskowiec thought the issue with this is the branding of it and stated the Commission wanted to rebrand some of the names. People did not know the difference. The Council liked rebranding the open space properties to preserves. • Commissioner Miskowiec asked the Council to allow them as a Commission to discuss the possibly of rebranding the open space to clarify it better for the residents. Councilmember Holthus thought when this is discussed it should be discussed as a joint meeting with the Open Space Commission. F. Discuss Community -Wide Survey Chairperson Stenzel stated the Commission understood there is a community wide survey going out and wondered if there are any questions the Commission should ask. They will be having a joint meeting with the Community Center Advisory Commission to talk about questions. Mr. Dickinson asked if there are specific questions that are off limits. The Council felt the Commission should not be asking questions about a bond or referendum on parks. Chairperson Stenzel asked if the Council was formulating questions regarding trails. Mayor Trude thought the Commission could do that for the survey. Mr. Haas noted the Commission will have a joint meeting with the Community Center Advisory Commission to formulate questions and will bring them back to the Council for review and approval. The Council thought that was a good plan. Mayor Trude thought there should be some questions focused on adult recreation in the City because in the past they have really focused on the children. Councilmember Knight wondered if they could add a page to the newsletter where they can put all kinds of information in there about what they are talking about then the residents would have ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 13 another source of information and every home gets it. Mr. Dickinson stated there are many options with the newsletter, currently they publish it six times a year and maybe they could increase that to eight or up to twelve times a year. If they increase the number of issues there will be additional money needed to do that and additional coordination of the additional issues by staff. Councilmember Bukkila thought they could also cut down on the Council portion of the newsletter to make room for other information. Mayor Trude asked if there are some things the Council needed to be aware of and did the Commission see any new trends in the community. Chairperson Stenzel stated current trends are fat tire biking, which has become more popular but has not quite made it to Andover. He also thought pickleball was growing and they are still adding more families in the community. Commissioner Miskowiec thought they were aware of new things going on the community. Chairperson Stenzel stated one request the Commission received was for the use of the ice ® skating rinks in the summer for dog training. This is a community education program and someone came to the Commission with the request. The Joint City Council/Park Commission meeting ended at 8:10 p.m. RECESS AND RECONVENE The Council recessed at 8:10 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:15 p.m. APPROVE TREE CLEARING QUOTES/16-40, SMITH'S GREEN ACRES DITCH CLEANING & 17-18, SOUTH ACCESS TO WOODLAND CREEK WETLAND RESTORATION Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the information with the Council and presented the quotes to them asking for approval. He noted the quotes came in higher then he predicted. Mayor Trude asked if staff has contacted other people for more quotes after they received these. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have not requoted and after talking with Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician and the contractors it was determined this is not an easy project. There is a powerline that goes through there and they contacted Connexus Energy to see if they could get some assistance and they already cleared their area along the fence line. Councilmember Holthus wondered if the residents would want to keep the cut wood. Mr. ® Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 14 Berkowitz indicated there was a neighborhood meeting and no one brought up wanting to keep the wood. Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Holthus, to go with the low quote by YTS Companies, LLC. Motion carried unanimously. UPDATE ON MANSON BOULEVARD NW RECONSTRUCTION FROM JAY ST. NW TO CROSSTOWN BL VD. NW/15-16 Mr. Berkowitz updated the Council on the Hanson Boulevard reconstruction from Jay Street NW to Crosstown Boulevard NW. He noted there will be an informational meeting at the Bunker Lake Activity Center on February 22°a Mayor Trude indicated she did not like the idea of having a slip lane at Crosstown Boulevard added to the plan because they are dangerous for everyone. Mr. Berkowitz continued reviewing the updates with the Council. Councilmember Holthus stated north of 161" Avenue, in the future did staff think this will be increased to four lanes. Mr. Berkowitz thought that would be the case. Mr. Dickinson did not think it would happen for a long time because of the limited density north of 161" Avenue. Mr. Berkowitz updated the Council on Bunker Lake Boulevard reconstruction. Mayor Trude thought traffic is going to be a nightmare when Bunker Lake Boulevard is reconstructed because the cars are going to be redirected from Goldenrod Street to the Shadowbrook development and from Prairie Road to Andover Boulevard. Mr. Berkowitz stated another backup will be Andover Boulevard and Hanson Boulevard. Mr. Berkowitz stated Hanson Boulevard reconstruction is likely going to be moved up to 2018. COMMUNITY S UR VEY DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson explained he would like to have the Council assist with questions for the community survey the City will be doing this spring. He stated he is anticipating the survey to cost approximately $18,000. If they start to add more questions than 110 the price will go up to around $20,000. The direction he is looking for is how many Commissions does the Council want him to tap. He wondered if staff should reach out to the Open Space and Planning and Zoning Commissions because ultimately, he gets two meetings with Mr. Leatherman from the survey company and he has reserved one meeting for the Council. When all the gathering is done with the Commissions he will come back to the Council on February 28`h so they can review a survey in totality of what is proposed and at that point in time they could strike out, remove questions. Mr. Leatherman will be in the room to tell the Council why they would want to or not want to do something. He would also like to have Councilmembers go through and Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 24, 2017 Page 15 review this between that time and provide comments on what is important for them to change because the questions are phrased as they wanted them in 2014 but going forward the questions might need to be phrased for a different perspective. Councilmember Knight asked how they go about distributing the survey. Mr. Dickinson stated the survey company does a random selection and makes phone calls. This is outlined in the memo in the packet. The company does a scientific analysis based on cell phone and land line data within the community. They go through that and pick 400 hundred people. The selection of the timeframe is they wanted to do it after spring break and while people are still in their homes before spring and to allow enough time for snowbirds to come back home and be part of their call group. He noted this survey will be strictly random and at the end of the survey they will provide what areas the survey covers. Mayor Trude stated she wanted to make sure they have a good representation of the urban area and not just the rural areas. Mr. Dickinson stated he will pass this along. Mayor Trude stated as she read the old surveys she thought the way Mr. Leatherman phrases questions, he always says "I know because I always ask them the same every time and can go point of comparison to point of comparison". When he asks the questions such as "do you think Andover should have more of this or more of that", she thought people were thinking that they see this or that and she would like it from the perspective, of "Would you imagine Andover is reaching your ideal community if it had more rental, more townhomes, or more senior housing", would be is this reaching your ideal instead of his asking them to talk about community characteristics. She wanted to know from the residents' perspective of what is an ideal community. Councilmember Bukkila thought it read fine. Councilmember Goodrich agreed. Councilmember Holthus thought this is how surveys are conducted to help provide historical comparison. Mayor Trude stated they focused a lot on the community center last time and did not think that was as important anymore. Councilmember Goodrich stated he liked the trail questions and there are some questions in there asking how much more is the resident willing to spend in taxes and he wants to know how much they are willing to spend because that will be helpful to the Council. Mr. Dickinson asked the Council if they wanted to include anything in the survey regarding a park referendum. The Council did not want any questions pertaining to that. Mayor Trude thought there could be some questions on trail funding. She also thought they should remove the question on public transportation. Councilmember Bukkila asked if there should be a question about legal notice publishing and where the residents get their information. She wanted to know where people look for public notices and if so what source do they use. Councilmember Holthus asked how would the question affect the way things are done. Mayor Trude did not think they should spend money on 8 Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 16 that question. Councilmember Bukkila wanted to find out so they could see if the Legislature would allow an online option for public notification. Mr. Dickinson stated it is a perennial bill to try to get publication online but the newspaper industry lobbyists are many and do a lot of lobbying at the Capitol. Councilmember Holthus thought a lot of people still read the Anoka County Union publication. Mayor Trude stated in the communication section she would like to find out what people want to find on the City website and if they can find it because she thought they needed to be more thoughtful. She stated it was not easy to find what they are looking for on the website and it is hard to find ordinances and regulations. Councilmember Holthus did not think the website search and code were difficult to research. Mr. Dickinson thought the Council should submit their questions to him and he will put them together and bring back to the Council for review. Mayor Trude wondered if people would want more activities closer to City Hall Campus versus outside of the area. She also thought there could be questions about Fun Fest. Mr. Dickinson did not think they needed to ask the environmental questions this time. Mayor OTrude thought they wrapped up the Open Space, so there did not need to be any questions about that this time. Mayor Trude stated she would be curious if people would want to see a volunteer coordinator in the City or figure out ways to encourage volunteerism to improve their community. 2016 BUDGET PROGRESS REPORTS Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2016 budget with the Council. He stated going through the budget they are over by about four percent in revenues and there will be some more revenues that need to come in. Revenues were looking good. Mayor Trude stated when they have people pay assessments and they pay an interest rate percentage, where does that go in the budget. Mr. Dickinson stated that does not go into the General Fund, it either goes into the Debt Service Fund if the project was bonded or goes back into the Permanent Improvement Revolving Fund. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the expenditures with the Council. He noted Engineering was slightly over budget but their revenues exceed also. He is authorizing overtime right now in order to get the projects out. Mr. Dickinson stated getting into the budget it looked like they will have a balanced budget two years sooner than anticipated based on their long-term proforma. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 24, 2017 Page 17 DECEMBER 2016 CITYINVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson reviewed the December 2016 City Investments with the Council. He indicated this was the first month for the investments where Finance Manager Lee Brezinka took over investing. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Dickinson stated the Fire Department received a grant to do a Remembering When program dealing with seniors and a couple of individuals from the department received training. This program focuses on several items such as fire prevention and fall prevention. The Fire Department would like to start the program and as long as they are in the home they thought they would work with the seniors on replacing batteries for CO's and smoke detectors. One item they need to do if they do this is put together a disclaimer of liability and have people sign off. This will be brought forward to the City Attorney for preparation upon concurrence by the Council. Mayor Trude stated she liked this and thought it would be great. The Council agreed this was a good program and to proceed. Mayor Trude stated she wanted to see if they wanted Angela Marinello from the Park & Recreation Commission and Anna Dirkswager from the Open Space Commission to work on communication for the City. She noted they both expressed interest in doing this. The Council thought this would be a good idea. Mr. Dickinson stated Dana Makinen would need to coordinate this, but he cautioned that getting things setup is easy, the long term maintenance and keeping things fresh are time consuming. Councilmember Knight stated he would like to add to the newsletter as well to provide more information to the residents. Mr. Dickinson stated they also have their own program on QCTV so he was looking for ideas from the Council. Councilmember Holthus would like to have more outdoor shows and if possible come out with her on her boat to see the river and go along on the trails. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Knight, Seconded by Goodrich, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.