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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTM January 11, 2001 ~.t, Q.JJJ ~ ~~.-6\ CITY of ANDOVER TOWN MEETING Thursday, January 11, 2001 Andover will be holding a town meeting for all interested citizens at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 11 at City Hall. The Council welcomes everyone with questions or observations to attend. ~l ~ ~î ~ -\¡,,O\ CITY of ANDOVER ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL TOWN MEETING - JANUARY 11, 1001 MINUTES A Town Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache on January 11, 2001, 7:00, at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Ken Orttel, Julie Trude Councilmembers absent: None Also present: City Engineer, Scott Erickson Finance Director, Jim Dickinson Acting Administrator, Dave Carlberg Others TOWN MEETING The format of the town meeting was an open forum. Charlie Veiman. 13646 Crooked Lake Boulevard - critiques the Council once a year. He was glad to see Mayor Gamache and Councilmember Trude on the Council, thinking they bring a lot to it. It isn't an easy job, nor does it pay anything. One must be multi-talented, which he felt the Council is. Residents expect them to ask questions and seek all possible solutions, referencing the history of the addition to the City Hall and the resident input involved. It takes courage to stand against things that are wrong. He was glad to see the City Administrator leave, noting comments he had to endure because of the inappropriate actions of the Administrator. He loves living in Andover and felt the Council has worked hard to keep the taxes down. He hoped the Council will continue to conduct themselves and the business of the City in an appropriate manner, thanking them for their efforts. Tony Howard. 2119 I 56th Avenue - congratulated the Councilmembers and thanked them for their efforts in bringing the new high school to Andover. However, now another challenge is faced. The growth of the community is out pacing its recreational facilities. It is time to look at the recreational infrastructure for all children and to provide the opportunity to participate and succeed at the high school level. As a long-time resident, he sees short comings -- the need for a designated baseball complex, a complex designated for football and soccer, a hockey arena. People would like to start a football association, but there are no facilities for it. He felt that needs to be addressed. It is time to build the facilities needed to support the high school, to provide opportunities for the youth to compete at the high school level. He'd like to start a hockey association, but there is not enough ice time in Anoka. He has been working with Councilmember Knight looking at facilities in other communities. He'd like to model closely what Woodbury has done. They have two hockey arenas Andover City Council Town Meeting Minutes - January 11, 2001 Page 2 and a domed facility which is beautiful. Woodbury has the same population as Andover. Initially these facilities could not pay for themselves, but they can debt service themselves for on-going year- to-year operations. He reviewed how the facilities in Woodbury are used, including a walking track for the elderly for which they charge $1. Andover is lacking in these facilities for the kids. He'd like to see these facilities built for the organized activities for the kids rather than have them running around causing destruction. He felt the City should look seriously at these facilities; it cannot wait any longer. Dan Johnson. 2165 1 54th Lane NW - moved here 14 years ago with the idea he didn't need a lot of ball fields. He still doesn't need the high school because his children to go Meadow Creek, but he understands the need for ball fields and hockey rinks. While the importance of sports is exaggerated and children should spend more time with families, he would not be opposed to building more facilities so they don't have to play games on Sundays. He asked the Council to consider activities and facilities that are more family oriented. He asked several questions about the operation in Woodbury and suggested if recreational facilities are to be built, the City should designate the parcel ofland so it is not developed. Councilmember Knight stated Woodbury is servicing the debt and meeting their obligations. It is used for hockey and figure skating. Anoka County donated $250,000 for each of the other ice arenas in the county and hopefully would do so here. A location for one in the City may be on the east side of Hanson next to the compost site or just north of Pov's. Councilmember Trude stated some communities subsidize their community center, which is more family oriented. Mr. Johnson noted his daughter is interested in figure skating, and the outdoor facilities are not dependable. Would an ice arena be put up for a vote of the residents? Councilmember Knight stated there are a number of financing options. A bond would require a referendum. Councilmember Trude stated she received a phone call ITom a resident south of Round Lake asking for the ordinance to be changed to allow snowmobiles to access Round Lake through the park. The Council explained that was reviewed in depth a year or so ago and the decision was to leave the ordinance as is. Going through the park also affected other residents who did not support the change. Richard Snyder. 16445 Valley Drive - stated the reason for government is to protect its citizens. The City Hall and Public Works buildings were constructed, but not Fire Station No.3. He was told by the Park and Recreation Commission that the trails needed to be paved per ADA requirements; however, they don't pave the trails in Wisconsin. Those are all Class 5 trails, which is allowed under ADA rules. He stated Class 5 trails are less expensive to put in and to maintain. He also felt snowmobiling in the parks doesn't hurt the parks and should be allowed. He doesn't see any kids in the parks anyway. Tom Johnson. 3903 l72nd Lane - asked why the City doesn't contract for garbage service instead of licensing the haulers, which means up to seven trucks a week going down the streets. Mr. Carlberg stated the decision was made by the Council in the past that it is in the City's best interest to leave it competitive. They regulate the number of haulers. Councilmember Trude in her last City, Andover City Council Town Meeting Minutes - January 11, 2001 Page 3 she found the residents get attached to their haulers and want to have a choice. Rates here are very low. Councilmember Jacobson also stated that even if the City puts out competitive bids, it would eliminate some of the smaller haulers from being able to bid the entire City. Mr. Johnson felt the bigger haulers are buying out the smaller ones anyway. He also asked about developing a feeder system into the high school for sports. Councilmember Trude stated the principal of the high school has stated the high school staff will spend a lot of time working on that. He wants to hire an athletic director in June and has been talking with people in Anoka and Blaine regarding the feeder programs while the program builds here. There are no football and hockey programs here now. She felt that will all develop naturally. The school board has allocated money to solve that problem this sununer. Once the boundaries are known, she felt this will move ahead quickly. Councilmember Knight stated they have decided to have a community education director at the school. Mr. Johnson felt there needs to be a liaison to coordinate it all. There are a lot of questions where the money for the athletic association goes. He often hears the City is getting money from the association, and it is not. Parents don't know where the money goes. He does not want to see football fields on the irrigated soccer fields. Mayor McKelvey stated he was president of the Andover Athletic Association. Money goes to replacing equipment, referees and other items to operate the program. They also helped to purchase bleachers for the gym in Oak View Middle School and to purchase new score boards at Andover Elementary. They like to help in the community where it benefits their programs. Mr. Johnson stated the Council has discussed the issue of trails in the front yards. If there are trails or sidewalks in the front yards, he asked that the residents be given the responsibility for taking care of them. From an operator standpoint, there will be different landscaping, sprinkler heads and going across driveways that have already been cleaned that the City would have to deal with. Councilmember Jacobson referenced comments made about the former City Administrator by Mr. Veiman. While he didn't always agree with him, he felt Mr. Fursman did a lot of good for the City and he was unhappy to see him leave. He felt Mr. Fursman did a good job while he was here. Councilmember Trude stated in talking about recreational facilities, the hill in Prairie Knoll is just about worn down. Plus the good side of the hill takes the kids down to the parking lot. Councilmember Knight understood the sliding hill north ofPov's has a lot of construction debris that is working its way to the top. People are running into metal, nails, etc. He asked Staff to look into that issue. Mark Hedin. 3482 16lst Lane - encouraged the Council to proceed with the investigation of an Andover Civic Center. He would be willing to help in any way he can. He joined the YMCA in Northtown, and that is a long way to drive. It would be nice to have something closer. Mr. Carlberg stated the Cities of Anoka, Ramsey and Andover started the process of looking at a shared community center. Since then, Anoka has dropped out, but Ramsey is still interested. The next step Andover City Council Town Meeting Minutes - January 11, 2001 Page 4 is to create a focus group to survey each community. That will be on the agenda next Tuesday. The Council suggested Mr. Carlberg contact the City of Anoka again, as there may be a change in their position on the subject with the new Council. Council discussion was on recreational facilities and community centers in other cities, how they are operated, where they could be located in Andover plus the issue of financing. It was recommended the partnering with private ventures be explored. It was also noted that these recreational facilities, the potential need for a water treatment system, a new Fire Station, a civic center plus trails and parks amounts to an enormous total cost. Me. Hedin stated he knows someone who wants to have a swimming pool in this area for his program and would be willing to cooperate with the City on that facility. His business is growing but he has no facility to use. The point is there are ways to finance a pool, thinking it would be filled almost all of the time. He didn't think cost is a big factor. There were no other resident or Council comments. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted, '\\ ~W¿ ~ella A. Peach Recording Secretary \/IYO\ /còw,' V~~\\~ !~OO ?,~ /\/c-~ ~ _ /()cI¿;~.s-J /1 ~~ !/~-£/1~'--C- (3(; C/ c, ~~-J ~L-~~ ¿M ~1fjp ;J r? -/Jb 117 ;fv( 2-/ b <) /s--j---ft... 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