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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - June 25, 2019ANb6V91685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDENESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Anoka County Sheriff Update and Law Enforcement Contract Discussion —Administration 3. Shipping Containers as Accessory Structures Discussion - Planning 4. City Council Community Vision and Organizational Goals and Values -Administration 5. 2020 Budget Development Discussion - Administration 6. May 2019 General Fund Budget Progress Report - Administration 7. May 2019 City Investment Report -Administration 8. Other Business 9. Adjournment C�� F E ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — JUNE 25, 2019 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, June 25, 2019 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila (arrived at 6:02 p.m.), Valerie Holthus and Jamie Barthel Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Director of Public Works/City Engineer, David Berkowitz Others ANOKA COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRACT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and reviewed the details of the current 2019 contract. He noted the Sheriff is present for his biannual presentation and discussion with the Council. Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart stated the contract between his office and Andover has been longstanding and is something they are proud of. He stated his department strives to provide services that exceed expectations. He provided a brief history of the relationship between the organizations, noting the Sheriff's Office has been the only provider of services to Andover. He reviewed the different types of services included in the contract and explained how the contract calculations are determined. He stated he is not proposing an expansion of services for 2020. He reviewed the increases that his department has experienced including labor negotiations increases, increases in PERA, changes in vehicles, and body cameras. He stated the department had a decrease in health insurance charges which has offset a lot of the other increases for a total increase of 1.94 percent. He provided additional details on the proposed 2020 contract. Mr. Dickinson stated, the City does receive reimbursement from the School District for slightly over 50 percent of the"cost for the school liaison. Sheriff Stuart stated the department continually reviews the financial details of contracts to 10 determine if decreases in service and cost could be provided without compromising public safety. He stated he continues to be proud that his department is not caught up in the negative elements of the public arena that seem to be trending currently. He stated his department takes pleasure in © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —June 25, 2019 Page 2 serving Andover. Councilmember Holthus referenced the different categories and asked which category is growing at the highest percentage. Sheriff Stuart replied personnel continues to be the largest budget item, nearly 80 percent of the budget. Councilmember Bukkila asked for additional information on the investigators. Sheriff Stuart replied one of the goals of adding the second investigators was to be more proactive. Commander Lenzmeier confirmed the second investigator allows them to be more proactive in reading cases and identifying trends. He used the example of finding stolen items that have been pawned. He stated they travel through the areas where they identify trends in attempt to be more proactive. Councilmember Knight asked if the department invests time building relationships with the youth population. Commander Lenzmeier confirmed they are active building relationships with youth, which begins with the SRO officers at Oak View Middle School. Sheriff Stuart replied the department also actively participates at the Community Center with Hope for Youth and Youth First. Mr. Dickinson referenced the investigations element and noted that consistent investigations help to keep the City's legal fees stable as well. He explained a consistently built case helps to make the legal process efficient. Mayor Trude asked if the Sheriff s Department assists City staff with nuisance issues. Sheriff Stuart confirms the department assists with those issues as well. Commander Lenzmeier explained for investigations they have one long-term position which allows the relationship between the investigator, City staff and the City Attorney to grow, while the second investigator has a three-year term. He stated the SRO work different events and assist on different projects throughout the summer while school is out. Councilmember Bukkila stated she has had to call the Sheriff's office to deal with issues in her neighborhood and was pleased to see the department handle the issue in the same manner that she would. She stated she has enjoyed her interactions with them. Mayor Trude thanked Sheriff Stuart and Commander Lenzmeier for attending tonight and for their © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — June 25, 2019 Page 3 continued work in the community. SHIPPING CONTAINERS AS A CCESSORY SIR UCTURES DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and explained that a resident came forward at the last meeting with a request for a shipping container. He stated the resident is present tonight and has had his container since 2016. He noted that changes were made to the City Code in 2018 but even prior to that time those containers were not allowed beyond 30 days for moving purposes or construction. He stated it is staffs opinion that the container would not be eligible to be grandfathered in. He noted because of the size, even if considered as an accessory structure it would require a permit which the resident does not have. He stated the land is not categorized as a farm. He stated in November the resident brought forward a suggestion that a pitched roof be placed on top, but ARC reviewed the request and did not approve it as siding would also be required to match the principal structure. He stated the resident is requesting the Council grandfather in or allow the shipping container to remain and reviewed the elements the Council should consider. He stated if there was a pitched roof and siding to make the container consistent with the primary structure the container could be found acceptable. He stated the Council previously discussed this topic at the February work session, and the Council did not support the issue at that time. Councilmember Holthus asked the number of complaints and whether they are received from different people. Mr. Dickinson stated that he cannot share that information due to data privacy requirements but confirmed that there has been a complaint that did not arise from City staff. Councilmember Bukkila stated the issue is that the container was never permitted to begin with. She stated when the resident put the container in their yard, it was already prohibited. She stated she is not interested in making this activity legal. She suggested that perhaps the resident work with ARC to make the container look consistent with the primary structure which could then be allowed. John Ringler, 16339 Makah Street stated the container is ribbed similarly to a pole building, which is why he believed the tin roof would be an easy solution to make the container look like his neighbor's pole building. He noted he would be open to modifying the outside of the structure. He identified the location of the container on his property which is screened by trees. Councilmember Bukkila stated the hard part is that the resident took the position of asking for forgiveness rather than permission. She stated she encourages residents to be proactive and work with City staff prior to doing something, rather than doing something and then coming in to ask for forgiveness. © Mr. Ringler stated he is more than willing to work with City staff to figure out how he could tweak the design. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —June 25, 2019 Page 4 Mayor Trude confirmed with Councilmembers Barthel, Holthus and Knight and indicated the consensus of the Council to not change the City Code to allow shipping containers and to agree with the interpretation of staff expressed in the memorandum. Mr. Dickinson stated the resident should work with the building department to determine if modifications could be made to the container to meet a building permit requirement. CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY VISION AND ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS AND VALUES Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and stated that part of the 2019 budget process included strategic planning to identify goals and values for the next five years. He explained the process that has begun thus far to identify goals from each of the Councilmembers and noted he has incorporated those comments into a document for review. He reviewed the proposed goals of the organization and the different categorization of goals. Mr. Dickinson began to review the document line by line with the Council. Councilmember Holthus asked the statutory requirements a City has to abide by requiring a referendum, providing an example of U.S. Bank stadium. © Mr. Dickinson provided additional information on the U.S. Bank stadium noting that Minneapolis is a Charter City whereas Andover is a Statutory City. He stated that quite often Andover would not be required to go out for referendum, explaining that most of the statutory requirements are designed to apply to smaller cities, generally with populations under 2,500. He noted there are also various statutes for larger cities that can be used for the issuance of debt. Councilmember Holthus asked for details on the referendum that was used to obtain funds for the purchase of open space. Mr. Dickinson explained there was a community survey question asking residents if they would be interested in the City purchasing open space and the response was supportive, which then led to the referendum. Mr. Dickinson indicated it was initiative of previous Mayor Mike Gamache. Councilmember Holthus stated she does not like the term "think tank" used in the document and would prefer the use of "task force". Councilmember Bukkila stated she is unsure how a functional task force would be created without having goals or objectives for the group to achieve. Councilmember Barthel agreed he prefers the term "task force" and would agree that should include specific questions or goals for the group to achieve. QCouncilmember Knight stated cost and control would be two elements related to referendum. Mr. Dickinson provided additional input on the process noting that the Council would formally © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — June 25, 2019 Page 5 create a task force, appoint members and set goals and objectives for the task force. The group would then report back to the Council and the Council could then accept the report, direct the group to complete additional work or disband the task force. It was the consensus of the Council to think further about this item and come back to it in a future discussion. Mayor Trude provided additional input on an item added to the list that states that the City should not only consider the original cost of an item but also ongoing operations and maintenance. Mr. Dickinson stated that could be easily integrated with the CIP listing, the capital costs along with operational and maintenance costs. He noted that would ensure that every project includes more analysis for future costs. He noted the facility management levy takes into account ongoing facility maintenance. Councilmember Bukkila commented that should be done for all City lines of business. Councilmember Holthus stated the reason to redevelop blighted or undeveloped parcels is not just to maintain tax capacity but also to improve livability, maintain house values and character of the © community. Mr. Dickinson confirmed that language could be included. The Council discussed a goal related to interim use standards and the consensus was to reword the statement and further review the goal at a future discussion. Mr. Dickinson continued to review the list of goal suggestions and the Council confirmed support and/or provided input on alternate language. The Council provided input on the goal related to the board makeup of the EDA and it was the consensus of the Council that this item should come forward as an item for further discussion at a worksession. Mayor Trude briefly recessed the meeting at 7:49 p.m. Mayor Trude reconvened the meeting at 7:54 p.m. Mr. Dickinson continued to review the list of potential goals and the Council confirmed consensus and/or provided language changes. It was the consensus of the Council that the item related to garbage haulers should be changed not © to desire one hauler, but instead to coordinate pickups on the same day. Mayor Trude stated that perhaps there could be an investigation into organized recycling with one © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —June 25, 2019 Page 6 hauler. It was the consensus of the Council to remove the goal related to the YMCA, as that is implied through the current lease agreement. The Council discussed the goal related to pedestrian crossings and it was determined that there should be further exploration towards safe crossings that will come forward for further discussion. Mayor Trude noted she would like a future discussion item related to sports organizations and their use of public facilities and the Council agreed. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the potential service delivery goals. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to combine the two youth related items perhaps using the terms "foster and pursue". Mr. Dickinson confirmed he would attempt to combine those items. The Council provided alternative language suggestions for the potential goals. © The Council had discussion regarding rural properties versus urban properties and how that impacts road improvements and the corresponding assessments. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the potential livability and image goals. Mr. Pakonen, 13890 Holly Street stated he has been watching the last few Council meetings where the goals have been mentioned. He stated he would like to provide input on an issue that has been on his radar for 21 years. He stated if he would have known the City's ordinance related to garbage cans, he never would have purchased property in Andover. He asked the Council to consider enacting an ordinance that would restrict garbage containers from being visible from the street. He stated the containers should be in the garage or on the side of the garage and screened. He believed this would improve the appearance of the neighborhoods and enhance property values. He noted that trash cans are also a magnet for wildlife. He also supported the idea of having trash haulers collect on the same day of the week. Councilmember Holthus stated she agrees that garbage cans are not attractive in front of a home. She noted when speaking with a developer it was previously explained that some garages only have one foot of additional space between the door and vehicle so therefore there is not space for trash cans. Mr. Pakonen stated another option for those that cannot fit it inside the garage is to put the containers on the side of the home and screen that with a bush or fence. © Councilmember Bukkila stated she only has a two -car garage and the area on the side of the home is paved driveway, therefore she would not have the ability to screen the containers. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — June 25, 2019 Page 7 Mayor Trude acknowledged that some communities have ordinances of that nature that prevent trash containers from being outside in the front of the garage. Councilmember Bukkila stated she does not agree as she has a strong feeling against imposing beliefs and preferences on others in the community. She noted garbage can placement is a choice of a homeowner. Mayor Trude noted that topic has been discussed in the past. Mr. Dickinson noted there would need to be an enforcement provision with that type of regulation. Councilmember Holthus stated she recently attended a School Board meeting which requires speakers to fill out a comment card for open forum which provides that speaker with up to five minutes to provide a comment. She noted the School Board does not respond, and the speaker is not interrupted during their five minutes. She noted perhaps a similar process would be helpful for Andover. It was the consensus of the Council that item should be discussed as part of a meeting policy discussion. ® Councilmember Barthel stated when he read the goals document, he found it challenging. He stated the mission and values should lead to goals and objectives and those should lead to action items. He noted there are three different categories of goals, which really do not seem like goals. He noted goals and action items are measurable and should have a start and end. He stated he would like the ability to adjust some of this to make it more like a true business plan. Mayor Trude explained the document has morphed over time as items have been added to ensure that items of importance stay on the radar of Council and staff. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would be interested to see the draft proposed by Councilmember Barthel and confirmed the consensus of the Council. 2020 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and provided a brief summary. He noted that staffing changes will need to be made based on the recent changes in the Fire Department. He explained there is now an opportunity to review the structure of that department and provided additional details. He noted in lieu of adding an Assistant Chief he would suggest adding another full-time technician and part-time staff person, which would fill the duties with less of a budgetary impact. Mayor Trude confirmed the consensus of the Council to follow that direction. Mr. Dickinson provided an update on the Public Works Department staffing challenges, noting that the department has become shorthanded and the gaps have been filled with short-term staff Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —June 25, 2019 Page 8 for the time being but may need to be addressed in other ways going forward. MAY 2019 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Dickinson stated the report was included in the packet and was available for questions. M4Y2019 CITY INVESTMENT REPORT Mr. Dickinson stated the report was included in the packet and was available for questions. OTHER TOPICS Councilmember Bukkila stated she recently reviewed the fire code and has a problem with the use of the word "structure" related to fire pits. She noted that decks are also considered a structure. Mr. Dickinson noted that following staff discussion it was determined that the problem could be resolved by adding one word "habitable" before structure. He noted the item could come back before the Council on a future consent agenda. Councilmember Knight noted that Roseville has gone towards the use of solar and wind power and stated that perhaps Andover should consider that as well. Mayor Trude noted perhaps a summer intern could work on that topic. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Barthel, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Amanda Staple, Recording Secretary C