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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK February 28, 2006 o o o ~ Cl.-Q.; ~ 3- .;;1..1-0(0 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP - FEBRUARY 28, 2006 - MINUTES A Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 28,2006 at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota Council members Present: Councilmembers Absent: Also Present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Ken Orttel, Julie Trude None Jim Dickinson, City Administrator Dave Berkowitz, City Engineer Will Neumeister, Community Development Director Dan Winkel, Fire Chief Others Council recessed to go into a Special Meeting at 6:01 p.m. Council reconvened at 6:10 p.m. Community Survey Discussion Mr. Dickinson explained that a community survey is a Council goal and staff did budget for one. He did some research into what a base cost would be and decided to bring in Decision Resources. Some items that could be a part of the survey would be open space park referendum, code enforcement issues and a city-owned Wi-Fi. Councilmember Trude explained to Peter Leatherman of Decision Resources that when the last sUrvey was done the city's population was quite a bit less than it is today. She asked if surveying 400 people would be sufficient. Peter Leatherman, Decision Resources, did feel it would be; however they would need to have updated demographics. There are 15-20 questions they can ask about demographics. The Census Bureau, School District and County can update the data Councilmember Orttel asked why we asked what school district the people live in. Councilmember Trude thought it was because of the school programs. Mr. Letherman also thought it may have been because of the hockey associations and the fact that the high school construction was just going on. Councilmember Knight felt that the important questions should be regarding police o City Council Workshop February 28, 2006 - Minutes Page 2 services, open space and Wi-Fi. Councilmember Trude thought that a railroad overpass on Bunker Lake Boulevard would be an issue to ask about. Councilmember Jacobson noted that the previous survey was done 4 years ago and asked what the optimum number of years between surveys usually is. Mr. Leatherman explained that it depends on the growth in the city. High growth areas do it every two to four years. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the number of questions, the pre-survey, the survey and the report on the survey are all covered in the proposed cost. Mr. Leatherman stated they are. Mayor Gamache asked how many questions are asked on open space. Mr. Leatherman noted that 3 to 5 out of 200 questions are on open space. o Councilmember Orttel stated that he would like quality of life questions asked. Mayor Gamache felt that questions about where the public gets their information from about the city should be asked. He asked if another person is chosen if someone refuses to answer the survey questions. Mr. Leatherman stated yes and noted that the refusal rate is about 5 percent. He also explained that they call the people between 1 :00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The timeframe to complete the survey would be two to four months with two to three weeks needed to draft a survey. Councilmember Orttel felt that our major issues are public safety, transportation, communications and open space. Council consensus was not to ask many questions about parks or trails. Other issues noted were code enforcement and how the city is doing as far as spending the tax dollars. Mr. Leatherman was given verbal approval to begin and to have a contract prepared for Council approval with the target for the summary to be finished in May. Railroad Quiet Zones/06-10 Mr. Berkowitz noted that it has been about a year since information was presented to Council regarding railroad quiet zones. The Federal Railroad Administration has released the final rules regulating train horns. Staff has worked with Short Elliott Hendrickson and asked them to submit a proposal to start Phase 1 of the process. If Council feels this is something to continue to investigate a consultant should be hired. Short Elliott Hendrickson has submitted a proposal for not to exceed $10,900. Councilmember Jacobson asked if there are six railroad crossings in the City. Mr. o o City Council Workshop February 28, 2006 - Minutes Page 3 Berkowitz stated that it correct. Phase 2 would be the design phase and plans would be put together. If the crossings are on a county state aid road we can use state aid funds. S.E.H. said they would be able to do Phase 1 in 60 days. We could then put that in our Capital Improvement Plan. Crosstown is being reconstructed and that would be a good time to do it. Motion by Jacobson, seconded by Orttel to authorize a contract with Short Elliott Hendrickson not to exceed $10,900 to construct a Phase 1 railroad quiet zone in the city. Councilmember Trude asked if the quiet zone should be overnight or during the day. She suggested that it be overnight. She also noted that residents keep asking when we are going to start ticketing the trains for staying at the crossings for more than1 0 minutes. Mr. Dickinson noted that the Sheriff's Office does that. Mr. Berkowitz explained that the engineer still has discretion to blow the horn. Motion carried unanimously. Discuss Metropolitan Council Housing Needs Letter o Mr. Neumeister reviewed a letter from Metropolitan Council that our fair share of affordable housing is designated as 660 units. This was derived from a formula that was used by Met Council to determine where the needed 51,000 units of affordable housing would need to be constructed. Councilmember Jacobson asked what affordable is. Mr. Neumeister stated that per the Metropolitan Council it is $145,000.00. He noted that Met Council is looking for areas of medium and high density residential. Councilmember Orttel asked if the Met Council could force us to do this. Mr. Neumeister explained that they can according to state law. Councilmember Trude noted that the report shows that we have transit in the city which we don't have and if that were eliminated our numbers would be less. Mr. Neumeister noted that we have Rosella's property and part of Grey Oaks and Povlitziki's properties that may not be built. We can count those if they are not built by 2011. We can also choose our own density. Councilmember Jacobson stated that we could do senior housing. Mr. Neumeister noted that there are some workshops on this that will be held this summer. He will research this more and ask Met Council how they came up with their figures. o c City Council Workshop February 28, 2006 - Minutes Page 4 EMERGENCY PLAN/NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UPDATE Fire Chief Winkel explained that the city has had an emergency plan for 10 years and now we have federal plans, state plans and county plans. There are a number of classes that Council needs to take prior to October 1, 2006 for compliance with NIMS. Most is available on-line. Ifwe don't do this we will not qualify for grants. The Anoka County Hazard Mitigation Plan contains items that staffhad to compile. On Thursday the Public Works Department will be going over the emergency plan and Council is invited to attend. Councilmember Knight asked if we are doing anything about the bird flu. Chief Winkel stated that staff isn't doing anything. The state also is not going to do anything at this time. They do think the first wave of the flu would be here for 18 months and then the second wave would last 12-18 months. OTHER BUSINESS o Councilmember Jacobson asked how things are progressing on the 2 structures that are to be torn down. Mr. Dickinson explained that we are waiting for a judge to get it on the docket. Mr. Dickinson noted that Anoka County has taken the lead on meth labs in the city regarding cleanup, etc. Mr. Dickinson also stated that he would be putting together an analysis for the Council on the law enforcement issue. Councilmember Trude informed Council that the county wants to do plat reviews again. Mr. Dickinson will contact Lona Schreiber to discuss this issue. Mr. Dickinson informed Council that the proposal for the new Sheriff's Office may include a jail, which would likely be more than just holding cells. Council suggested that a Conditional Use Permit should be required. Councilmember Orttel felt that if it' s a full jail facility the city should talk to the Sheriff. Mr. Dickinson stated that he would get more information. Motion by Knight, seconded by Jacobson to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Respectfully submitted, o Vicki V olk, City Clerk