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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK July 24, 2007 C I T Y o F 0 NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CJ.ANDOVER.MN.US City Council Workshop Tuesday, July 24, 2007 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. 2. Anoka County Sheriffs Presentation 2008 Budget Proposal - Administration 3. Anoka County EDA Presentation- Karen Skepper - Administration 4. Prevailing Wage on Construction Projects Discussion - Administration 5. Subdivision Code (Street Width and Cul-de-sac Length) Discussion - Planning 0 6. TIF District 1-4 Industrial Opportunities Discussion - Administration/Planning 7. 2008-2012 CIP Progress Report -Administration 8. 2008 Budget Progress Report - Administration 9. 2007-2008 Council Goals Discussion - Administration 10. Other Business 11. Adjournment 0 ~cw ~ ltrVvtlw ~ 16 .-01 0 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CJ.ANDOVER.MN.US ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP -JULY 24,2007 MINUTES The Special Council Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Acting Mayor Ken Orttel, July 24,2007,6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight,Ken Orttel, Julie Trude, Mayor Gamache (arrived at 6:08 p.m.) Councilmember absent: None. Also present: City Administrator Jim Dickinson; City Engineer Dave Berkowitz; Community Development Director Will Neumeister; Fire Chief Dan Winkel; Others 0 ANOKA COUNTY SHERIFF'S PRESENTATION 2008 BUDGET PROPOSAL City Administrator Dickinson introduced Anoka County Sheri:ffBruce Andersohn and Captain Dave Jenkins. Sheriff Andersohn reviewed the Anoka County Sheriffs 2008 budget proposal. Sheriff Andersohn recommended they not add additional patrol services at this time. However, he recommended they expand their investigative services. He presented an Officer Investigator Staffing Survey. Mayor Gamache arrived at 6:08 p.m. Councilmernber Jacobson asked if this person would be exclusive to Andover. Sheriff Andersohn responded they would, but it did not mean cases would not go to others also because there would be too many cases for one person to handle. Council discussed the advantages and disadvantages of expanding the investigative services. Councilmember Jacobson asked ifit would make sense to have an investigative officer and drop the CSOs. Sheriff Andersohn responded he would not recommend that because the services and roles 0 offered by these officers are different. Mayor Gamache believes the investigator officer is a good idea and the City has reached the point where one is needed. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2007 Page 2 Councilmember Jacobson expressed concern about the bidding of officers every year. Sheriff Andersohn responded this was done due to a requirement under the collective bargaining contract. Councilmember Jacobson stated there is an issue of the officers not knowing enough about the City's ordinances. Sheriff Andersohn agreed they could do a better job of training the officers on the City ordinances. City Administrator Jim Dickinson stated Council should get back to the Sheriff s Department before the end of August. Mayor Gamache asked if the City decided not to do this, what the consequences would be. Sheriff Andersohn responded the Sheriffs Department would still service the City. ANOKA COUNTY EDA PRESENTATION City Administrator Dickinson introduced Karen Skepper of Anoka County EDA. 0 Ms. Skepper explained how the Anoka Housing and Redevelopment Authority would work with added economic development powers. She indicated the program is voluntary and if the City wants to participate, they would need to opt in by Resolution. They want to levy a small amount through the EDA portion to prepare a feasibility study to provide internet services countywide. . Councilmember Jacobson asked how much the County could levy on an average priced home in the City. Ms. Skepper responded on a $280,000 home it would be approximately $50.00 annually. She indicated this would be a five-year commitment. Councilmember Trude asked what services the EDA would have for Andover. She noted in reviewing the list, it did not appear the services would be beneficial to the City. Councilmember Jacobson asked why transportation was not the number one priority. Ms. Skepper responded transportation is a big concern, but the EDA and HRA do not have the authority to deal with transportation unless it is tied to the project. Councilmember Jacobson asked who would pay for countywide internet service. Ms. Skepper responded the EDA would probably bond for this. Councilmember Jacobson asked what have they received from other cities. Ms. Skepper responded she has provided information on an as needed basis, and they have had very positive returns on this. 0 Ms. Skepper stated if Council wants further information, she would be willing to attend another meeting. City Administrator Dickinson believes the City got slighted on any inclusion in the EDA's report. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes -July 24, 2007 Page 3 Councilmember Jacobson stated it bothers him the County is focusing on high speed internet. He expressed concern as to who would pay for it. Councilmembers Orttel and Jacobson stated they are not in favor of this. Councilmember Orttel stated his concern is that the money would go not go into the community, but would service other communities. PREVAILING WAGE ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS DISCUSSION City Administrator Dickinson stated pursuant to Council's request, staffhad assembled data for the Council to review relative to whether or not the City would require prevailing wage on City construction projects. Staff had been in contact with local Union representatives asking them to provide documentation in support of the request made at the April 3, 2007 Council meeting. He introduced union representatives Ken Martin and Victor Razinski. Councilmember Jacobson asked how many projects the City did that had prevailing wages. City 0 Engineer Berkowitz responded he could think of four projects the City did with prevailing wages. City Administrator Dickinson stated staff is not taking a formal position on this. Ken Martin, local Government Affairs Director for the Lakes and Regional Organization for Carpenters, summarized what is prevailing wage and why it is important to the City. Mr. Martin stated there are two other residents who had been present, but were unable to stay for the meeting Victor Razinski would like to see the ordinance move forward in the City in order to provide the community with good work. He noted not every person went to college and this would be a good opportunity. He stated he is with the Operating Engineers Union. Steve Nagel, Carpenters Union, stated he attends career days at Oakdale High School and he thanked the community for this opportunity. He noted the trades are a good avenue for people who are not college bound. Prevailing wages give competitive bidding advantages and stimulates them to use apprentices and union trade. He noted non-union contractors do build good buildings, but there are a lot of union members in the City and the City should support them. He indicated non-union contracts many times do not provide health insurance to its workers and this is a strain on the communities. Mr. Martin stated this is about responsible government and as a City there has to be other things than 0 just the lowest cost. There has to be a future looking approach and what they value as a community. He indicated people want to ensure residents are paid decent wage with benefits so they could become contributing members of the community. He stated this is about leveling the playing field. Anna Brelje, Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council, stated they are engaging a lot of the citizens that affect the standard ofliving in the communities. They support the prevailing wage. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes -July 24,2007 Page 4 Mr. Nagel indicated prevailing wage stimulates apprenticeship training. He stated with respect to health insurance, some non-union contractors did provide health insurance for the employee, but that was slowly disappearing. This is about the fair treatment of both union and non-union workers. He noted non-union workers have skill, but they are being taken advantage of. Mr. Martin noted union workers have apprenticeship training, which lead to fewer work safety violations. He indicated there is higher quality of work with union workers. They want to create a level playing field so all workers in the City have the same benefit and they are only talking about public projects. Councilmember Orttel the City had a problem with the Community Center and negotiating the prevailing wage contracts. Mr. Nagel stated they did not have a written policy to ensure the projects were prevailing wage. Mr. Martin asked Council to keep this discussion moving forward and look at this again in the fall. 0 Councilmember Trude asked what would happen to the small, family owned businesses who did not bid on the large public projects. Mr. Martin stated this is one of the reasons some communities came in with a higher threshold. Mr. Razinski noted prevailing wage has nothing to do with union versus non-union. Mayor Gamache requested further information and to discuss this again at a future workshop. Councilmember Knight noted this really got down to having a union wage as a ceiling. He noted they are looking at minimal City funding because most City projects paid a prevailing rate. Mr. Martin noted right now that might be the situation, but it might not be in the future and they want to ensure there is a policy in place for future projects. He indicated they did not know of any project coming up right now that this would apply to, but they wanted to protect future workers and projects. Mayor Gamache recessed the meeting at 8:10 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 8:15 p.m. SUBDIVISION CODE (STREET WIDTH AND CUL-DE-SAC LENGTH) DISCUSSION City Engineer Berkowitz stated during staff s preparation of the update to the Subdivision Code, two issues surfaced that need the City Council's input. The issues involve what the Code says about 0 street width and cul-de-sac length. The Fire Chief provided a memo explaining his position on both issues. The first issue involves the width of streets in rural areas. The subdivision code has been proposed to be changed to say the street should be 31 feet wide. The fire Chief is of the opinion that if the streets are 31 feet wide they 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes -July 24, 2007 Page 5 need to be signed on one side of the street (no parking). His memo describes why this should be changed for fire safety concerns he and the Fire Marshal have. The second issue involves the length of cul-de-sacs and why they should not be longer than 500 feet. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they increase the length of the cul-de-sacs what problems did they find. Fire Chief Winkel responded there have not been a significant number of problems and they have not had any significant experiences. However he noted there was a house fire where a person hit a gas meter and the road was almost completely blocked due to parking on both sides of the road. He indicated this can and does happen. He would not have a problem going to 750 feet, but when they exceed 500 feet on a single hose line, they run into issues with pumping capacities and friction loss. Councilmember Knight asked if they went to 750 feet, could they provide for additional hydrants. Fire Chief Winkel noted they could do that, but if they were in a rural area, this would pose a difficulty. 0 City Engineer Berkowitz stated if the cul-de-sac were expanded they would have to look at a hydrant in the middle and not only at each end. Councilmember Knight asked if any of these changes would affect insurance rates. Fire Chief Winkel responded he did not believe there would be any difference. Councilmember Jacobson stated in sewered and watered areas he would not have any problem as long as an additional hydrant was added, but he did not want to see this in rural areas. Fire Chief Winkel stated if they approved this, they need to adopt Appendix D to the Fire Code. Councilmember Trude asked if they want to keep it at 500 feet and look at individual variances. Council concurred. City Engineer Berkowitz stated staffis concerned about over signing 31-foot wide streets. He noted wider streets have higher maintenance and more storm water ponding requirements. He stated they have impacts they have to consider if they narrow the streets. Fire Chief Winkel stated he understood the concern if they were going to post one side of the street as no parking, who was going to decide which side of the street would be no parking. 0 Councilmember Knight stated they need to take the position that they do not need to take a position if it is not broken and right now the streets are not broken. Councilmember Orttel recommended they wait until they have a problem because he does not want to see all of the signs go up. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2007 Page 6 Council decided unless a problem at 31 feet shows up, they would leave things as they are and address any issues on a case-by-case situation. Mayor Gamache suggested they notify the public about the parking safety concerns with streets less than 31 feet wide. TIF DISTRICT 1-4 INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITIES DISCUSSION Community Development Director Neumeister stated about a month ago, City Code Enforcement staff requested Rick Lindquist provide information relating to the current status of the site where Northern Cylinder Heads and LePage RolloffService are operating. The staff determined they need a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to operate the rolloff service on the property. Mr. Lindquist and LePage have provided the information needed to process a CUP. Their CUP application is considered complete and the 60-day review period (can be extended an additional 60 days if needed) is underway. Before staff begins processing the CUP, Council is requested to provide direction. Last month staff brought up two options for the Council to consider in dealing with the various property owners at Hughs Industrial Park. Option 1 is to create a new zoning district, sayan 1-2 zone to establish a different set of standards for the rural industrial park. Option 2 is to establish an interim use permit until sewer and water became available. The second option seems to be the best 0 to pursue, because it is allowed by State Statute and will be easier to implement, and be more flexible. The current City Code requires the entire site be brought up to the City's zoning standards including: parking lot pavement, curb and gutter, landscaping, lighting, etc. The issue that staff needs direction on is how stringent the Council wants to be implementing the standard zoning requirements. The City cannot waive or modify Building/Fire Code and NPDES requirements. The City may have discretion over how much of the city zoning standards apply to these businesses if the City were to create an "Interim Use Permit" in the city code. The City Attorney advised staff that Minnesota Statue Statute 462.3597 allows the City to adopt "interim uses" into the City Code and set up the parameters under which an "interim use" may be granted. He asked if the Council wants to work with Rick Lindquist and LePage RolloffService to become a legitimate outdoor storage use on the property with a Conditional Use Permit (but have only limited zoning standards apply)? Does the Council want staff to prepare a Zoning Code Amendment to enable "Interim use Permits" to be granted in areas like the Hughs Industrial Park with interim zoning standards that require very basic interim improvements (limited cosmetic or screening improvements) but not all city standards? What level of zoning code requirements will be required of Mr. Lindquist? Councilmember Jacobson did not think they could change anything without changing the zoning. 0 Community Development Director Neumeister responded that is correct Councilmember Orttel stated he would like to see everything go through the Conditional Use Permit process. Councilmember Trude wants to see screening from residential and anything with retail customers. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2007 Page 7 Councilmember Jacobson stated he wants the screening to be kept up and maintained. City Engineer Berkowitz stated if they don't increase the impervious surface and it is functioning and operating as it is now, they should let it go, but if they do increase the impervious surface then they have to follow the rules that were set. Community Development Director Neumeister stated staff would prepare an interim use type ordinance with the City Attorney to allow this to happen and bring this through the Planning Commission. Councilmember Trude asked if there is a way to do a communal fire suppression system. Community Development Director Neumeister responded they had spoken to them about this. Fire Chief Winkel believes a fire system would be a lot more difficult to deal with than the water system. They need to look at the entire area and determine what type of fire system they need to protect all of the buildings. 0 2008-2012 CIP REPORT City Administrator Dickinson updated the Council on the 2008-2012 CIP. He reviewed the major items. At this point they would need to move out a significant amount based on the budget forecast. He indicated what those items would be. They did not have a recommendation at this time. 2008 BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT City Administrator Dickinson updated the Council on the 2008 budget progress. . He did not believe they would reach the commitment to maintain or reduce the City Tax Capacity Rate, utiliZing recent . market value growth this year. He recommended they do not levy for the entire $200,000 amount for the open space referendum the first year. They would do what they could to maintain the 35 percent of planned 2008 General Fund expenditures for fund balance. He indicated 4, 5, 6 and 7 in his report would all be met. After Department Head requests, the requested budget was $718,403 over available funding sources. Councilmernber Jacobson requested statistics on the requested increase in the City Attorney's contract. City Administrator Dickinson asked if Council wants to accept the 2008 Sheriff s contract. He noted if additional services are requested, it is likely that other City department service levels will need to 0 be reduced or eliminated. He noted personally he is supportive of it, but fiscally it is difficult to provide for the cost. Councilmember Jacobson requested staff determine what it would cost for a half-year implementation. 0 Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes -July 24,2007 Page 8 Council was accepting of the open space reduction, a reduction of the equipment note, and levy a 2.8 percent increase in the tax capacity rate. 2007-2008 COUNCIL GOALS DISCUSSION City Administrator Dickinson requested Council discuss and provide specific goals for the coming year. Councilmember Orttel requested the information be put into graphic form for Council to number and get back to staff. OTHER BUSINESS ITEMS A. 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update Community Development Director Neumeister handed out a 2008 Comprehensive Plan update - Tasks and Timeline. He noted they would bring this up as an item on August 8, 2007. 0 Motion by Knight, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Altman, Recording Secretary C