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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK April 17, 2002 , . ~ Q/.L..- ~ -5 ·1·0;;L CITY OF ANDOVER 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N,W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923. 'WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL 2002 GOAL-SETTING WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2002 - 5:00 pm THURSDAY, APRIL 1't, 2002 - 5:00 pm CONFERENCE ROOM A AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. REVIEW 2001-2002 CITY ACCOMP.LISHMENTS ~. 3. 2001-2002 WORKSHOPS - BRIEF REVIEW 4. OVERVIEW OF GOAL-SETTING PROCESS 5. PRESENTATION OF PROPOSED GOALS - STAFF 6. ADDITIONAL GOALS - COUNCIL 7. GOAL PRIORITIZATION & SELECTION 8. ADJOURN . . CWvu.c.t" Q..Q..; ~~5·ï.cY- CITY of ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP - APRIL 17, 1001 MINUTES A Goal Setting Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache at 5: 12 pm, Wednesday, April 17 , 2002 at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers Present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight (arrived at 6:35 pm), Ken Orttel, Julie Trude Also Present: City Administrator, John Erar Finance Director, Jim Dickinson City Engineer, Scott Erickson Public Works Superintendent, Frank Stone Fire Chief, Dan Winkel Building Official, Dave Almgren Water Supervisor, Brian Kraabel Cornmunity Development Director, Will Neumeister Planning/Administration Intern, Jason Angell Mr. Erar explained that Mayor Gamache has asked that an additional goal, Consider Joining the North Metro Mayors' Association be included. Background information is also included regarding the Meth Lab ordinance. Mr. Erar noted that this workshop is a means of setting goals with the council. Review 2001-1002 City Accomplishments Mr. Erar reviewed the accomplishments of the city over the last year which included: 1) The City Council successfully assured the scheduled opening of the Andover High School; 2) a citizen task force was created to investigate possible construction of a sports complex; 3) the city prepared a Capital Improvement Plan for 2002-2006; 4) the 2020 Comprehensive Plan was accepted by the Metropolitan Council; 5) Council approved construction of a water treatment plant; 6) Council authorized a Transportation Plan and a Neighborhood Business study; 7) the city received its first unqualified audit opinion for the 2000 audit; 8) the city issued 285 new residential building permits with a total valuation of$43,378,128; 9) Council approved restructuring of the Finance Department; 10) Council approved multi-family housing projects; 11) EDA made significant progress on the sale of property in Andover Station; 12) EDA began planning of the 80 acres south of the WDE site; 13) Council financially supported new Crime Watch Coordinator; 14) city continues to improve data capabilities; 15) Building Department is updating emergency warning system; 16) Fire Department helped organize Kids Safety Camp; 17) Fire Department completed specs for a new water tanker; 18) Engineering Department is overseeing the westerly extension of Andover Boulevard; 19) Engineering Department completed design and construction of a new skateboarding facility; 20) City financially supported Anoka-Hennepin School District cornmunity education programs; 21) School Resources Officer has been working in local schools; 22) Building Department tracked City Council Goal-Setting Workshop April!7, 2002 - Minutes Page 2 over 3219 private septic systems; 23) Engineering Department completed in-house development design for Townhomes of Woodland Creek; 24) Public Works Department continues to upgrade and replace existing vehicles. 1001-2002 Worksltops - Brief Review Mr. Erar reviewed the list of meetings and workshops that were held over the past year. Overview of Goal-Setting Process Mr. Erar noted that there are 17 proposed Council goals and Council may have more to add. He stated that a lot of the projects listed are still in progress. The goals listed were identified by Council, senior staff and issues brought forward from the strategic plarming workshop. Mr. Erar explained that staff will make their presentations and Council will decide whether they would consider the item as.a goal for the coming year. After that, Council will prioritize the items as to their importance. Council will receive progress reports on the items from time to time. Presentation of Proposed Goals 1. Consider tlte construction of a third fire station - Fire Chief Dan Winkel explained that when Fire Stations 1 and 2 were built there was discussion about building Station 3. Station 3, which is now housed at the Public Works Building, is basically used for parking trucks. There are no facilities available to wash hoses or to refill breathing apparatus, there is no storage space or office space and there is no space to do major repairs on trucks. Regarding response times, Chief Winkel reported that ISO suggests that a fire station should be located within one mile of every house in the city. If a fire station is built on the property already owned by the city east of the railroad tracks, the response times will improve. He noted that within the last several months, there were 7 times when the trucks were delayed by trains when trying to respond to the east side of the tracks. Between 1997 and 1999 the number of incidents jumped tremendously on the east side of the railroad tracks. Chief Winkel stated that usually not more than one intersection is blocked at one time so the firefighters need to know which intersections are open. Discussion was on whether it would be better to build a station on the west side of the tracks, but further towards the northern section of the city. 1. Consider a Water Meter Radio Reading System for Commercial and Residential Water Meters - Water Supervisor Brian Kraabel explained that this would be for reading meters in businesses and commercial buildings. At the present time, they physically have to go out to each building, read the meter and write the readings . City Council Goal-Setting Workshop April 17, 2002 - Minutes Page 3 in the books. This process takes three days to complete. With the proposed system the time would be cut to one hour. Councilmember Jacobson noted that Connexus Energy is looking at a remote read system and suggested that we wait until they make a decision. Mr. Kraabel noted that they met with Connexus Energy regarding their proposed system. He explained that some of the city's meters are compound meters (double register meters) and the system Connexus is looking at cannot read these. Mayor Gamache questioned how the city would be charged by Connexus for this system. Councilmember Jacobson explained that Connexus would have to pay for the equipment in either case so it would be similar to how we pay for the residential customers. (Councilmember Knight arrived at 6:35 PM) 3. Consider Purchasing Additional Land For Future Public Works Expansion- - Public Works Superintendent Frank Stone explained that they are looking at 13- 15 acres as a proposed building site for additional public works buildings. Twenty- five to thirty acres for Public Works will support the city. The additional property would house a materials storage area, sand filtering system, salt storage building and a site for street sweepings. He noted that this is in the CIP for 2003 but is unfounded. City Engineer Scott Erickson noted that the city has received a call from the landowner west of the water treatment plant site indicating an interest in selling his property. The property owner to the west of that property has also expressed an interest in selling his property. Councilmember Trude felt that the city should amass enough land for everything that might be needed in the future. 4. Consider Development Contract Language Changes - As Discussed and Revised by City Attorney and Management Team - Cornmunity Development Director Will Neumeister noted that staff would like to have a performance bond removed from the requirements and stay with a cash escrow or letter of credit. Other changes in the contract are: site grading be done by developer and to include front 100 feet of the lots; require black organic soil rather than arable soil; dead and diseased trees; add cable tv to list of developer installed utilities; letters of credit would be automatically renewed no later than 30 days before they expire; increasing cash escrow from 15% to 125%. Discussion was on whether this would prohibit the smaller developers from platting property in the city. It was suggested that there be a graduating scale for the size of the development. Mr. Neumeister also mentioned other changes to the contract such as reducing the number of assessment installments from ten years to eight and not allowing a Certificate of Occupancy to be issued until the street, sanitary sewer, stonn sewer and watermain have been constructed and approved by the City Engineer. City Council Goal-Setting Workshop April 17, 2002- Minutes Page 4 (Recess 7:35 - Reconvene 7:45) 5. Consider Amending Ordinance #111 - Lawn Establishment Ordinance- requiring the installation of sod on residential lost prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy or appropriate escrow during winter months. Mr. Neumeister noted that at the present time the city has no requirements for establishing a lawn. Several cities require boulevard sod only while Blaine requires that the whole lot be sodded. Mr. Erickson explained that if you don't have sod, the dirt erodes into the neighbor's yard and into the storm sewer system. 6. Consider the Adoption of a Proposed Meth Lab Ordinance - Fire Chief Winkel explained that meth lab houses are considered hazardous material sites. The cities ofLino Lakes and Anoka have or are considering an ordinance. The problem is that if the county takes the property it needs to be cleaned up and the question is - who is going to pay that cost. 7. Board of Review - Mr. Erar noted that quite a few cities have relinquished the Board of Review duties to the county. 8. Consider the Creation of a Storm Water Utility Fund and Related User Fees to Finance Maintenance Operations - Mr. Erickson explained that this is a common practice in order to fund storm water maintenance. There is a lot of storm sewer cleaning and pond cleaning that will need to be done in the future. Council questioned whether this would be for urban and rural areas, noting that rural areas would need to be a minimal cost. Mr. Erar noted that at the present time everyone in the city is paying for it and with the proposal, it would be the people using it that would pay for it. Mr. Erickson stated that there are some mandates we have to follow which are going to cost us money. Councilmember Orttel felt that if we know what it costs to maintain the facility then we'll have a better handle on it. 9. Consider Modifying/Updating Special Assessment Policies - Mr. Erickson stated that staff is proposing that we take a look at this. We need to focus on street reconstruction. 10. Consider Extending Term of Mayor to Four Years - Mr. Erar felt that with the increased population it is more difficult for a mayor to accomplish goals in a two year term. By extending the term it would allow for greater consistency between the Mayor and Councilmembers' terms of office. City Council Goal-Setting Workshop April 17, 2002 - Minutes Page 5 11. Consider Developing a Volunteer Program for Community Activities - Mayor Gamache noted that there are a number of cities that have volunteer groups that help out with various activities. Mr. Erar stated that those cities that have volunteer programs have a staff person who does the work getting people and programs together. Mayor Gamache noted that the first steps would be to see what surrounding cities have, how they set up their program, and how it's working. 11. Consider Changing the City Zoning Ordinance to Prohibit Backyard Garage Structures on Urban Lots Less Than One Acre - Dave Almgren suggested that we change the percentage to 25% of the total square footage ofland cover of the foundation of the principal structure and change the height to one story. Motion by Orttel, seconded by knight to adjoum. -Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 9:02 PM. Respectfully submitted, . d;L tJÆ Vicki Volk City Clerk