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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK August 22, 2006 o ~"" h'~ "-._,' '" "., ",<" NDOVE 2. 3. 4. 0 5. 6. o 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER. MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US City Council Workshop Tuesday, August 22, 2006 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. Special Assessment Policy (continued) - Engineering Railroad Quiet Zones/06-1 0 (continued) - Engineering Update on NPDES & New Requirements/06-1 - Engineering Review of Buffer Requirements and Potential Changes - Planning & Engineering Options for Bunker Lake Boulevard Median Maintenance (continued) - Planning 7. Changes in Deer Hunting Regulations - Planning 8. 2007 Budget Update - Administration 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment o o o ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP -AUGUST 22, 2006 MINUTES A Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, August 22, 2006, 6:03 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Julie Trude, Ken Orttel, and Mayor Gamache None City Administrator, Jim Dickinson; Community Development Director, Will Neumeister; City Engineer Dave Berkowitz; Civil Engineer Jason Law, Natural Resources Technician Kameron Kytonen; Others Councilmember absent: Also present: APPROVE AGENDA The Agenda was approved as presented. SPECIAL ASSESSMENT POLICY (CONTINUED) City Engineer Berkowitz stated this is a continuation of a previous discussion regarding funding options to maintain the City's road infrastructure. Based upon Council's direction, staffhas prepared a revised analysis of the needs to maintain the road infrastructure through the Mill and Overlay program. The order of the reconstruction projects was re-evaluated based upon average OCI ratings for each development, field review and geographic considerations trying to group projects together in the same portion of the City. Concrete curb and gutter will be constructed where there is existing bituminous curb, in areas without curb or ditches or in areas deemed necessary for drainage by the City Engineer. The Council may want to consider separating quantities and developments within a given year to differentiate project costs and assessments between areas with and without concrete curb and gutter and varying lot sizes. Costs would be broken out per development or addition and would be identified in a feasibility report. Councilmember Trude requested someone go back through last month's Workshop Minutes to see what her comments were to the residents. She believed she had indicated the project would be pushed back one year and if that was correct, those residents would need to be notified. City Administrator Dickinson noted they are using a 3-5 percent range for growth factors, rather than the current 10 percent for determining tax capacity growth. City Engineer Berkowitz stated he had a concern if they went with the 25 percent and the growth rate was not there then they would need to come back to Council and ask for an increase. o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 2 Councilmember Knight asked if they used 5.5% for the price increase. City Engineer Berkowitz replied that was correct and history has shown a 5.5% yearly price increase. Councilmember Orttel asked if that increase is reasonable. City Engineer Berkowitz responded in the past six months they have seen a higher price increase. Councilmember Jacobson believed the only question they need to decide is if they are going to assess 25 or 30 percent. Councilmember Trude stated on page 2 she believes they need to allow assessment payment of five years. She asked if this could be left open. Mr. Dickinson responded they could go with 8 years or more. He noted they could give people choices and they could set choices for 5, 8, and 10 years. Councilmember Trude requested this be changed to 8 years. Mr. Dickinson asked if they want to bring this through a hearing process. Mayor Gamache stated that is their intention. Councilmember Trude requested letters be sent to the residents in the Lund's area regarding their assessment being pushed to 2013. Councilmember Knight expressed concern the Lund area residents might question why this assessment was brought up at this time. Mayor Gamache asked staff to come up with a simpler form that shows the important information for the residents. Councilmember Trude asked if the Mayor would work with staff on the letter; Councilmember Orttel asked if there would be a concern for homes that would get sold and the new buyers not knowing about the possible assessment. Mr. Dickinson stated until the project is officially ordered by the Council, there is no aSsessment and potential buyers do not need to be informed. Mayor Gamache requested letters also be sent to the Stenquist neighborhood. Councilmember Jacobson clarified that they are going with the 25 percent and would proceed to a hearing process. Bob Whitney, audience member, stated he believed they are going to hear a concern that residents were not originally going to have to pay an assessment and now they are going to have to pay an assessment. He also stated there would be concern regarding the curb. He stated he o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 3 had spoken with the City Engineer regarding splitting the projects. City Engineer Berkowitz stated they could split the projects if they want. Councilmember Jacobson did not believe this was necessary. He wants one project, one cost, and have it divided equally. City Engineer Berkowitz stated if they split the projects they could have two bidding processes. Councilmember Orttel stated all City services need to be shared equally. Councilmember Jacobson noted this is going to be a policy for the entire City and not just certain areas in the City. Councilmember Trude stated she likes the 25 percent assessment and bringing this to a public hearing. o City Engineer Berkowitz noted under the draft policy, there is an item regarding Municipal State Aid Roads. He asked, even if someone lives on a Municipal State Aid Road, would they still be assessed 25 percent. Councilmember Knight stated from a previous study almost all other Cities assess on a State Aid Road. Mr. Dickinson stated they would base this on a standard road and not an oversized road. Jacobson requested they add under State Aid Streets that it is based on a standard City street in the policy. Councilmember Knight asked what happens if an area already has concrete curb and a neighboring area does not have concrete curb; how would those costs be split? City Engineer Berkowitz replied the costs would be split equally. He noted they could deal with these situations on a case by case basis and as areas are identified, they could break those costs out. Councilmember Knight requested staff make a presentation at the Council meeting so people know what the OCI, etc. mean. RAILROAD QUIET ZONES / 06-10 City Engineer Berkowitz stated SEH has revised the Draft Railroad Quiet Zone Report to address additional information requested by the City Council at the workshop held in July 2006. o He stated information was added to the draft Railroad Quiet Zone report including additional information on wayside horns, the possible phasing in of improvements and Met Council as a possible funding source. After further review and comparisons to current railroad quiet zone improvements in Coon Rapids that have recently been bid the estimated costs have increased from the first draft report. o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 4 He indicated the developer of Sophie's South (Marty Harstad) has proposed to offer the City $100,000 toward the Railroad Quiet Zone on Crosstown Boulevard NW if the City would commit to complete the improvements by June I, 2007. Mr. Harstad feels the train whistles are affecting the sale of lots in the development and if the Quiet Zone was implemented, sales would improve. The June 1,2007 deadline may not be possible due to the time it takes for the Federal Railroad Administration to approve the City's report, design of improvements, Anoka County Highway review and completion of construction. Also Crosstown Boulevard NW is not a County or Municipal State Aid road so State Aid funding would not be available to fund the remaining $326,000 to complete the project. He reviewed the budget impact and requested the Council review the Draft Railroad Quiet Zone Report and direct staff and SEH on how to proceed. If the report is acceptable, the report will be brought to a regular Council meeting for formal approval and the improvements would be included in the 2007-2011 Capital Improvement Plan. Councilmember Knight asked how much the estimate has gone up. City Engineer Berkowitz responded it is $150,000 for four crossings. o Councilmember Trude thought there must be more options available. She asked why they would need to remove the arms, put in medians, and put the arms back in. City Engineer Berkowitz responded it is a Federal Railroad requirement. Councilmember Knight noted a motorcycle could fit between the gates. Mr. Dickinson stated this would be a requirement of the railroad. Councilmember Jacobson asked if there is money in the Road and Bridge Fund and is it sufficient to cover this. Mr. Dickinson stated the other fund they could use is the PIR fund, is used for emergency related items, but they could use it for this project with a four-fifths vote. Councilmember Knight noted they have a policy problem - do they do one, do they do two, and should everyone in the City pay for this. He indicated these issues need to be resolved. Councilmember Trude stated it makes sense to do higher density residential areas, such as Bunker Lake Boulevard. Mayor Gamache asked if they have had any contact with Coon Rapids. He stated the issue appears to be the excessive horn blowing. o Councilmember Orttel asked how many people are impacted by the train whistles. Councilmember Trude noted people are going to have difficulty selling their homes if they live by the tracks. o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 5 Councilmember Trude stated she would like to look at the stationary horns. Councilmember Knight would like to see the horn in action and what the people who live by these horns think. Mr. Dickinson stated the horn is good in "non-residential areas". Councilmember Trude recommended they contact the City Engineer in Ames, Iowa to see how the horns work there and what type of feedback they have received. Mayor Gamache requested the dealer bring a horn to the City so they could see how it works and to test it out. Councilmember Orttel stated if this works, then they should require the developers to contribute to some of the cost of the horns. Councilmember Trude asked them to also talk to Mr. Harstad about contributing to the horn. City Engineer Berkowitz stated he would contact the distributor and see if they can come to a Council worksession in September, or in the alternative, if they would send a horn to the City. He stated he would also contact Mr. Harstad. CouncilmemberJacobson requested staff also determine the cost of the sensors. Councilmember Knight asked if anyone had looked at the difference between the horns in the nighttime versus daytime. City Engineer Berkowitz stated according to his information, they are suppose to blow the horn the same whether it is daytime or nighttime. Mayor Gamache asked staff to contact the City of Coon Rapids to see how their Quiet Zones are working. UPDATE ON NPDES & NEW REQUIREMENTS/06-1 City Engineer Berkowitz stated the City is required to comply with the latest NPDES regulations set forth by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Just recently, the City was chosen as one of 30 cities required to formulate a Non-Degradation Report. A select group of cities was chosen primarily because of factors including current population and growth rate. He noted the new requirement stems from a May 2003 Minnesota Court of Appeals decision to mandate the MPCA to address non-degradation, which is generally defined as the decline in water quality since 1988 because of the effects of storm water. This implies that the selected group of cities are required to perform a study to determine if they are new or expanded significant dischargers and to develop the best management practices (BMP's) or infrastructure improvements to keep pollutant loading of receiving waters at levels consistently attained in 198"8. The City will be required to assess the changes in storm water discharge loading using a model to address at least three criteria including volume, total suspended solids (TSS) and o Q o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 6 phosphorus and create a report to mediate significant new and expanded discharges if found to exceed the levels in 1988. He indicated staffhas sent out and received proposals from three different engineering firms. He noted Wenck Associates, Inc. is the consulting engineering firm for the Coon Creek Watershed District and is very knowledgeable with the City of Andover. Staff recommends Wenck Associates, Inc. be selected to perform the study for the City. He indicated the study would be funded by the City's Storm Water Utility Fund. He requested the City award the study to Wenck Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $32,016.00. He stated they would need to reconstruct a model for 1988. Councilmember Orttel stated he believed the only choice they had was to get a 1988 model. Councilmember Knight stated whatever they end up submitting is going to be an improvement. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they are required by the MPCA to do this study. City Engineer Berkowitz responded they are required to do the study. Councilmember Jacobson asked when the study needs to be completed. City Engineer Berkowitz responded by December, 2007. Councilmember Orttel noted it would be critical to obtain the Watershed District's information also. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they have to do this alone, or could they hire the same firm that other Cities were using. City Engineer Berkowitz stated he had recommended at a City meeting to use the same consultant, but the other Cities wanted to use their own consultants. Councilmember Jacobson asked if this is a computer study. City Engineer Berkowitz responded it is. Motion by Councilmember Jacobson, Seconded by Councilmember Trude, to award the study to Wenck Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $32,016.00. Motion carried unanimously. o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 7 REVIEW OF BUFFER REQUIREMENTS AND POTENTIAL CHANGES City Engineer Berkowitz stated there continues to be a number of problems arising on properties where houses are built close to the back of the required 100-foot buildable area. Especially problematic are properties that abut wetlands or storm water ponds. There have also been some questions raised about where the required 16.5 buffer area around wetlands and ponds is to be measured from. Changes to three code sections are being suggested to address these problems. He reviewed the changes and requested Council direct staff as to whether or not the proposed ordinance amendments should move forward. Councilmember Trude stated she thought they had already done this. City Engineer Berkowitz responded staff would need to go back and do some research on this. Councilmember Trude stated it was the Building Department that had addressed this previously. Councilmember Jacobson asked how difficult it would be to put a deck in the 16 Yz feet. City Engineer Berkowitz responded the footing would sit in muck and eventually pull away. Councilmember Trude stated the new number 3 needs to say the new homeowners need to respect the buffer. City Engineer Berkowitz stated if they make this a City Ordinance, it would be enforceable. He stated they would comeback with the dimensions of the buffer and the signage recommended. Mayor Gamache recommended they hold off on this until after the NPDES study. Councilmember Orttel requested staff go through the past minutes to see if they had addressed this in the past. Councilmember Trude suggested they add a number 3 for a permanent buffer. Mayor Gamache stated they should tie this into the study if possible. OPTION FOR BUNKER lAKE BOULEVARD MEDIAN MAINTENANCE (CONTINUED) Community Development Director Neumeister stated at the July 25, 2006 Council Workshop the discussion item was first introduced. Since that time, staffhas thought about other options available and want to get more input from the Council on what direction to pursue. He reviewed the seven options that could be considered as to what can be done with the median on Bunker. He indicated staff is looking for direction on whether there is anyone option that has more appeal than any of the others on the list. The Andover Station Owners Association is still interested in moving toward lowering their annual operating costs. He stated if they went with the prairie grass option it would need to be burned off once a year. o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 8 He noted the native plantings would take a couple of years to establish. Councilmember Knight stated he would like to see the money used elsewhere and wants landscaping that took care of itself. He is in favor of the granite. Councilmember Orttel agreed. He suggested researching salt tolerant plantings. The problem with prairie grass is that people do not like the look of it and believe the grass is just weeds. Councilmember Knight stated another issue is the prairie grass seeds blowing into neighboring lawns. Councilmember Jacobson asked what the association wants. Community Development Neumeister responded they want the cheapest option available. Mayor Gamache asked how high the trees would grow on Jay Street. Mr. Neumeister responded 15 - 25 feet depending on the tree. Councilmember Trude asked if the trees are irrigated in those medians. Mr. Neumeister responded they are not irrigated. Mayor Gamache asked if they could add taller trees. City Engineer Berkowitz responded the County would not allow taller trees. Mr. Neumeister stated staff is recommending the number 5 option. Councilmember Orttel suggested they go back to the association with the $25,000 option and see what type of a contribution they are willing to make, even if they make the contribution over time. Councilmember Trude stated she still wants them to look at the lighting issues. City Engineer Berkowitz responded they are still working on this. He noted to change the lighting would be difficult. Councilmember Knight suggested taking light bulbs out of the lights and not replacing them. Councilmember Trude noted they could use the poles as banner hangers once the bulbs were removed. Councilmember Orttel asked if there is a way to get someone to spray the weeds a couple of times a year in the median. Mr. Neumeister responded this would be brought back to Council after staff speaks with the association. o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 9 CHANGES IN DEER HUNTING REGULATIONS Mr. Neumeister stated Council requested information on changing the border of the bow hunting area on the map to allow hunting in an area where it is currently prohibited. He reviewed Chapter 5-4 of the City Code. He noted several property owners in the Prohibited Zone have requested that their land be placed in Restricted Zone 2, which would allow them to hunt deer with bows and arrows on their property. Their properties are in the R-l zoning district, which means they are at least 2.5 acres and have private wells and septic systems. The area to be added would be north of Andover Boulevard between Prairie Road and University Avenue. He indicated to accomplish this request, the Council will need to change the "Firearm/Bow Discharge Map." If the Council approves this map amendment, then final changes will be made to the official map on file at the City. As with all changes to the City Code, a public hearing will be required. Councilmember Trude noted the west side of Prairie Road should not be cross-hatched. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the deer were not killed in this area what other options did they have. City Administrator Dickinson stated there are few options. Councilmember Knight expressed concern about the boundaries with the neighborhoods and how they would keep arrows from going into neighboring yards. He asked what they would do with wounded animals. He indicated with bow hunting, deer are not immediately killed and would run. Councilmember Knight believes they should state a resident can hunt on their property as long as they have the neighbor's permission on both sides of their property. Mr. Neumeister stated it is virtually impossible to change the hunting regulations and all they can change is the map. Councilmember Trude stated she is concerned about the risk and the risk is high. Councilmember Orttel did not know how effective this change would be. Councilmember Jacobson did not know what good it would do to have the bow hunting. Councilmember Knight suggested they require an elevated stand so the bow would be shot toward the ground. Councilmember Trude did not believe there has been enough demand for this. Councilmember Orttel stated he understood the resident's concerns, but he did not know what good this would do. o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 10 Councilmembers Jacobson and Trude stated they did not believe they should hold the public hearing. Councilmember Knight stated he believes a public hearing would be a good idea. Mayor Gamache stated a public hearing would be interesting to see what kind of turnout they would have and it might be worth having a public hearing to talk about it. Councilmember Orttel agreed they should have a public hearing to discuss this. Councilmember Jacobson stated by the time they hold the public hearing, it went to P&Z and it came back to them, the season would be over. Mr. Neumeister stated it is his recommendation they have the public hearing at Council, and bypass the P&Z meeting. Councilmember Jacobson is not happy about a public hearing, but if the rest of the Council want one, they should hold the public hearing. o Councilmember Knight stated part of the problem is the more deer there are, the more automobile accidents there would be, and the more people would get injured. 2006 BUDGET UPDATE Mr. Dickinson stated the City Departments have prepared requested 2007 Annual Operating Budgets; the deadline for each department's submission to Finance/Administration was July 5, 2006; Finance compiled all of the department's requests and Finance/Administration conducted individual department meetings to review requests and ultimately prepared the proposed 2007 Annual Operating Budget for City Council review. He reviewed the budget guidelines and requested Council input. Councilmember Jacobson asked if staffknew what might be a carryover on unused funds this year. Mr. Dickinson responded whatever is saved they make available for next year's budget to keep the levy down. The adopted budget for 2006 was 7.9 million and estimates for expenditures was 7.8 million. He noted they would be $100,000 under budget in the general fund. However, he noted revenues are going to be higher than anticipated due to storm permits. He stated within the fund balance area they are doing well. o Councilmember Trude asked if they want to add another Sheriff Deputy at this time based on people following the budget so closely. She noted this is a pretty much status quo budget with significant increases in road funding and minimal cost of living increases. Mr. Dickinson stated they had reduced staff this year by 2 full time staff employees. Councilmember Knight asked how they determined any additional police need. Mr. Dickinson o o o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page II responded it was based on the type of crime and how the officers were spending their time. He stated right now they are in need of a .58 police officer to maintain 40% proactive time. Councilmember Orttel stated the problems are domestic violence, mailbox theft, etc. He noted people want to see patrol cars in their neighborhoods. Councilmember Trude requested staff research what the surrounding communities are doing for a cost of living raise. Councilmember Knight asked staff to obtain the employee to resident ratio. Councilmember Trude stated keeping staff is very important. Councilmember Jacobson asked they do not short themselves on staff. Mr. Dickinson stated he has a request to join Youth First in the amount of$15,500.00. He stated this comes to $47.00 per hour and they would need to speak with them about this. Councilmember Jacobson requested staff ask Youth First what the City is getting for the money. Councilmember Trude asked if Youth First's request could be put under the charitable gambling fund. Mr. Dickinson asked if the City wants to rejoin the AMM. Councilmember Orttel asked how the AMM set their fee. Mr. Dickinson believes it is based on population. Councilmember Jacobson is concerned about joining too many organizations to lobby their own legislature. Councilmember Orttel understood that concern, but they need to be active in the legislature if the City wants to get anything done. Mr. Dickinson stated there would be no public hearing for adopting the levy on September 5. The Capital Improvement plan will be presented at next Tuesday's meeting. Councilmember Trude stated she is okay with the 3.5 placeholder for cost ofliving raises. She requested as part of the budget procedure and during the Sheriff's monthly report that they feature what the Sheriff's Department is doing for the community. Councilmember Knight suggested the City do some Public Relations as to the benefit of the Sheriff's Department and other community services. o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page I2 . OTHER BUSINESS A. Bridge Crossing Mr. Berkowitz stated he had sent a letter to Council regarding a letter he had received regarding a bridge crossing over the river. He stated he had responded no to that proposal. B. Twins Community Fund Mr. Dickinson stated the city is a recipient of the Twins Community Fund and asked if someone would be interested in attending the Twins/Tigers game on Saturday, September 9 at 5:00 p.m. to receive a plaque. Councilmember Knight stated they should have a baseball representative attend this. He stated he would also be interested in attending. C. Ultimate Fighting Mr. Dickinson stated they are responding to a rumor in the community regarding Ultimate o Fighting. He recommended the City not allow this and tie this to the liquor license. Council reached the consensus that they want to pursue this as soon as possible, preferably at the next Council meeting. . D. Constitutional Amendment Vote for the Motor Vehic1e Sales Tax Mr. Dickinson stated he had received information regarding the Constitutional Amendment Vote for the Motor Vehic1e Sales Tax. He asked if Council wants to take a formal position on this. Councilmember Trude requested that additional information regarding this be distributed to the Council. E. Setback for Used Car Lot Councilmember Trude stated she has never seen a used car lot where they had 10 feet for the display cars. Mayor Gamache stated he believed the 10 foot requirement should only apply to customer (public) parking and not the display cars. o Mr. Dickinson stated they also have a striping requirement. He noted this is something that would need to be addressed also. Councilmember Knight stated nobody stripes a display lot. Councilmember Orttel stated they did not intend for this to apply to a car dealership. o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page 13 F. Joint Park Commission Meeting Councilmember Trude asked when they are going to meet with the Park Commission and what they are expecting to get out of it. Mr. Dickinson replied they are going to meet next month with them and the topic of discussion would be user fees. Councilmember Trude did not want them to bring up things they are not comfortable with. Councilmember Orttel suggested they tell the Park Commission that the Council is not interested in discussing fees at this meeting and requested the agenda be put together and approved by the Council at a future meeting. G. Merit Sketch Plan Councilmember Trude stated there was a Merit sketch plan and she had been asked to look at it. She had spoken with staff about this and they were concerned about public perceptions. o Mayor Gamache suggested they invite Merit to the next Council workshop meeting to give a presentation. Councilmembers Knight and Jacobson stated they had also been approached and had turned down the request. Mr. Dickinson expressed concern that if Merit presented something at a workshop they might go directly to a preliminary plat and forego the sketch plan process. Councilmember Knight believed Merit should bring this to a regular Council meeting. Councilmember Orttel stated Merit should not come to a workshop because that was circumventing the process. Councilmember Jacobson stated Merit could appear under the citizen's forum at a regular Council meeting and make a presentation. Mr. Dickinson should give Merit this information. H. County Picnic Mayor Gamache noted the Elected Officials picnic is on the 301h and he would be attending, so he would not be at the next Open Space Task Force meeting. o I. Open Space Update Mayor Gamache updated the Council on open space. He indicated the referendum question is done. The commonly asked questions section is also done. They tried to answer as many questions as they believe Council would have. Mr. Dickinson stated bond counsel is also o Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - August 22, 2006 Page I4 reviewing this. J. Standard & Poors Assessment Mr. Dickinson stated Standard & Poors is implementing a new management assessment and they have approached the City to see if they are interested in this study. He stated he had replied if there is no cost, the City might be interested in it. He indicated he would be meeting with them soon. Motion by Councilmember Knight, Seconded by Councilmember Jacobson, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Altman, Recording Secretary o o