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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK November 25, 2008 C I T Y o F 0 NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US City Council Workshop Tuesday, November 25,2008 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss Sustainable Landscape - Hanson Blvd. NW 7:00 p.m. - Meet/Greet New State Representative 3. Assessment Policy Discussion (Continued) 4. 2009 Budget Development Progress Report 0 a. Community Center b. Finalize General Fund c. Truth In Taxation Hearing 5. Other Business Closed Session 6. City Administrator Review End Close Session 7. Adjournment 0 C I T Y o F NDOVE 0 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP - NOVEMBER 25,2008 MINUTES The Andover City Council Workshop was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, November 25, 2008,6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Julie Trude Councilmember absent: Ken Orttel Also present: Director of Public Works/City Engineer, Dave Berkowitz City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Will Neumeister Others DISCUSS SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE - HANSON BOULEVARD NW 0 Mr. Neumeister explained this was an adopted goal of the Council in 2007 and 2008. He would like the Council to provide staff with a consensus opinion on what is desired. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the County would allow the City to mow the median. Mr. Berkowitz stated he is going to propose to the Council less mowing in areas in the City to cut down on costs. He stated the City usually mows every fifteen days four feet on each side of the trail. Mr. Neumeister thought the real eyesore was the mish mash of fencing along Hanson Boulevard. Councilmember Trude thought the problem has developed over the years as driveways canndt come out on County roads so the back of homes are along the boulevard and fencing has come into play. Mr. Neumeister thought it may be best to get some shrubs to shield the fencing along the boulevard in the right-of-way. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they did this along Hanson, what will they be doing along Round Lake Boulevard. Councilmember Trude did not think that Round Lake Boulevard was as bad since a lot of the homes still face the boulevard. Councilmember Jacobson stated they have a fence ordinance now and if there are any fences that are in disrepair they should make sure they get fixed or replaced. 0 Councilmember Knight asked how many total acres of land they have that would need to be shielded. Mr. Neumeister indicated he did not know. Mayor Gamache thought they were just talking north of Bunker Lake Boulevard. Councilmember Jacobson stated it seemed to him that in this economy for the Council to go out 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 2 and spend $1,500 an acre they would be criticized for this so he would rather have the residents repair their fences and mow the right-of-ways. Councilmember Trude thought they needed to have small neighborhood meetings to discuss these problems and see what can be done. She stated the City needs to have a cohesive plan. Councilmember Knight stated if they enforce the clean up in this area, they need to enforce it throughout the City. Mr. Neumeister stated he did not know how they could maintain the right-of-way since it is County property. Councilmember Trude thought people would not know what can grow along the boulevard in the sand unless they are instructed as to what can grow there. Mr. Neumeister stated if they could somehow work with the County on planting bare root shrubs along there it might shield the fencing. Mr. Berkowitz stated the total right-of-way is 150 feet so from center line it is 75 feet. He thought a lot of the fences are probably along the right-of-way line. O' Mayor Gamache stated when they talked about the trees, the cost of something like that will be just the time to do it. Kameron Kytonen stated they can get bare root trees and shrubs for minimal cost through the City's supplier. Councilmember Trude thought if the City talked to the neighborhood, the residents would be willing to try to clean up the area. Councilmember Knight thought it would be nice if they got something with color to brighten up the area. Mr. Neumeister stated if they select the right plants and have the County and electric company buy in they could get this going. Councilmember Trude asked if the County Road Ditch system would impact the storm water. She wondered if this is covered by NPDES. Mr. Berkowitz thought plantings may help the storm water flow because the whole key to NPDES is they do not want the water to get down stream. He thought the concern of the County is they do not want trees that they will eventually have to replace or clean up. Councilmember Jacobson wondered if the City could go out to the residents and ask them to clean up their fencing and mow three times a year, the City will provide the shrubs and seeds for planting. Councilmember Knight stated in order to get the plantings to take and grow they need to drill the plants in which will require equipment and volunteers could not do that. Mr. Neumeister indicated that was correct. 0 Mayor Gamache stated his problem with this is the residents are not going to maintain something they cannot see and most of the property beyond the fencing is County property. Mr. Neumeister stated in their ordinance it is the property owners responsibility to maintain the right-of-way along with their property. 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 3 Councilmember Jacobson stated if they put money into this project now they will need to be willing to put money into it every year and with the budget being tight, it might be hard to do. Councilmember Trude thought this could be a pilot program to see how it works. Councilmember Knight asked if they are looking at prairie restoration or shrubbery or both. Mr. Neumeister thought they would look at hand seeding along with shrub planting. Volunteers could do this. The Council discussed with staff the options for plantings. Councilmember Knight stated they need to have a plan on how to hide the fences. Councilmember Jacobson stated they need to be very careful when it comes to planting trees and taking care of private property. It needs to be on public property otherwise they could be in trouble legally. Mr. Dickinson stated that is true unless they had,authorization and cooperation from the property owners. 0 Councilmember Trude stated when she wrote the newsletter her thought was the first step is to get public support, which is what she got. She has received emails from people who are interested in volunteering. She has had very positive feedback on this but needs one entity in charge, which is what the City would do. She thought the first step would be neighborhood meetings to see what the residents think about this. Councilmember Jacobson stated if the residents are willing to work on this with the City and the City is not spending a lot on this he thought it might work. The Council discussed with each other what the first meeting could involve such as participation and cleaning up of the area. Councilmember Jacobson stated if they are looking at improving the area and cleaning it up they need to look at the area around the substation because nothing is covered up. Councilmember Jacobson thought they should do this in two parts, they should look at the substation and work with them to do "a good job down there" and the second part is to meet with the neighborhoods and discuss what they could do to dress up the area. He thought they needed to enforce the fence ordinance and get them cleaned up. Mr. Berkowitz stated they should focus on the trial section from Andover Boulevard to 148th 0 Avenue. Mayor Gamache thought they should meet with the neighborhood to get input. Mr. Neumeister requested that some of the Council Members be present at the meetings to discuss it with the residents. 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 4 MEET/GREET NEW STATE REPRESENTATIVE Newly elected State Representative Peggy Scott was at the workshop to share her vision for the State of Minnesota with the City Council. State Representative Scott stated she will continue fighting for the elimination of Sales Tax for purchases made by Cities, lower property taxes for businesses and encourage them to invest in the City and in the people. Councilmember Trude stated if they lower the taxes on the business the homeowners will need to pay more. Mr. Dickinson explained what taxes commercial entities pay in the City. State Representative Scott stated she would also like to see changes in government to make it easier for cities to try to budget every year. She stated that everyone needs to be on the same plan. She stated she will do whatever she can to empower the City and not allow the Met Council to move in 0 and push for high density. The Council discussed with State Representative Scott some ofthe issues they have had with the Met Council and the speed limit issue in the rural residential areas. They also discussed some of the issues with the School Board. ASSESSMENT POLICY DISCUSSION (CONTINUED) Mr. Berkowitz stated the City Council is requested to review and discuss the proposed assessment manual revision and direct staff on how to proceed with updating the assessment policy. . Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the deferred assessment section in the policy with the Council. Councilmember Jacobson stated it is confusing to him because the policy states "all active agricultural property with deferred assessments that are subsequently subdivided or have improvements constructed thereon which have access to the improvements shall require the payment of such assessments in five equal annual installments with interest thereon at the maximum rate allowed by Minnesota Law in effect at that time on unpaid special assessments." He wondered if this is a conflict with the fifteen years. Mr. Dickinson stated the fifteen year forgiveness is on green acre property. Mr. Berkowitz thought Councilmember Jacobson was referring to the State Aid or 0 County Road section and he is referring to the agricultural section above the section he read. . Councilmember Jacobson thought the section needed to be reworded. Councilmember J aco bson asked how they figure the costs. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the process they go through to figure out the assessment. 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 5 Councilmember Knight wondered why on page seven, dry ponding areas are assessed. Mr. Berkowitz stated the dry pond areas are usable land where wet ponds are not. Councilmember Knight stated on page fourteen, section e indicates "At the discretion of the City Council assessments upon unimproved property may be deferred until a designated future year or until the subdivision of the property or the construction of the improvements thereon which shall have access to the municipal state aid roadway". He stated he is leery of doing one thing for someone and not for another and he wondered what the criterion is they would be referring to. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have had so many different situations come up with deferred assessments that he did not want to limit the discretion so he did not want to list example. Councilmember Jacobson stated on the top of page fourteen, fourth line down the sentence should read: "the improvements thereon shall have access to the or ~municipal state aid roadway" Councilmember Jacobson stated on page nineteen under the bold face the sentence should be changed to: "will determine at time of request whether to finance the development project internally 0 or issue improvement bonds to fund the project." Also on page twenty above the Special Assessment Hearing Procedure the sentence should read: "The Assessment Hearing Process Described Below", and then take out the Special Assessment Hearing Procedure section. The Council agreed to take the section out. Councilmember Jacobson wondered ifon page 21, the first thirty (30) days after adoption of assessment is working days or calendar days. Mr. Berkowitz indicated it is calendar days. Councilmember Jacobson thought they should indicate that. Mr. Berkowitz stated this came directly out of the State Statute book. Councilmember Trude thought they should leave it as it is written. Councilmember J aco bson questioned the second section on page 21. Mr. Berkowitz stated he had the same question but it is written like that in the Statute. He stated when they certify these with the County this is the process they use and Michelle makes sure the resolved ones are not put on the tax role. Mr. Berkowitz asked if the Council had any questions regarding the deferred assessments on page 13 regarding agricultural properties. Mayor Gamache stated they are switching the paragraph on page 14 under letter e but they are splitting out the all property part. On page 13, third paragraph down when it switches to all active agricultural property with deferred assessments, is it necessary to do a separate paragraph there as well. Mr. Berkowitz stated one is under municipal state aid roads and one is under general. 0 Councilmember Trude wondered how they pay for the assessment that drops off. Mr. Berkowitz indicated it is absorbed. Mr. Dickinson explained the process to the Council. The Council recessed at 7:54 p.m. 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 6 The Council reconvened at 8:00 p.m. 2009 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS REPORT a. Community Center At the September 23rd Council workshop there was a discussion on adding a full time staff member to the Community Center budget. After much discussion the Council asked for more detail as to what this new position would be responsible for, how it would affect the budget and what the long range goals were for this new position. Community Center staff as well as the Andover Community Center Advisory Commission has developed over the last two months a presentation for the City Council. The position that is being looked at has taken on a bit of a different role since last discussed. There is a huge increase in the numbers of kids hanging out at the Community Center, so in addition to the 0 concessions and programming they will be able to have more of a presence during the evenings with full-time staff as well. Mr. Frank Kellogg was present at the meeting. He felt there was a need to come to the meeting since they have worked hard as a group to maintain costs and look at financial statements as well as planning. They have been talking about this for the last two years with looking at cost efficiencies. What areas are sustainable and what areas they can improve upon. Part of this program is a program to better meet the expectations relative to the field house and how to ramp that up and go after business by bringing events to the community center to further bring revenue to the community. Their dream and goal as a group is they would like to see one day that this business enterprise becomes a vehicle back to the City to bring in dollars to help in areas where they will fall short in the upcoming years. The committee has supported this effort that Erik Sutherland is about to present to the Council. Mr. Erik Sutherland made a presentation to the Council for further discussion ofthis item. Mike Quigley and Tony Howard were also at the meeting for questions. Councilmember Jacobson asked what it costs them for an hour of ice time. Mr. Sutherland stated they have done an analysis on this and it costs them $60/hour for electric, etc and they charge $ 150/hour. 0 Councilmember Trude wondered if they could charge the YMCA for part of the salary for overall supervision of the hallways. Mr. Dickinson thought the YMCA would come back and say it is the City's programming that is bringing in the needed supervision. Mr. Kellogg indicated by hiring Elizabeth as a full time employee it will free up Cindy's time for 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 7 what she was originally intended to do which is marketing. Councilmember Jacobson asked when the Community Center will go into the black. Mr. Sutherland stated for 2009 they are showing excess revenues over expenses and it will take three years to come out of the red and into the black. Mayor Gamache asked if there are any opportunities for the part time summer city staff to work at the Community Center in the winter. Mr. Dickinson stated there are opportrinities for painting and other repairs. Mr. Kellogg wondered what the cost would be for a parks person to work there compared to what they are proposing. Mr. Dickinson indicated that would be more than what is proposed. Councilmember Knight stated he would like to see as part ofthe Sheriffs Patrol that they make a daily round at the Community Center since they already have an office located there. Mr. Dickinson stated the issue is response time. They need the officers on the street after school. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Knight, to authorize the changes as discussed. Motion carried 0 unanimously. b. Finalize General Fund Mr. Dickinson explained the Council has had a number of reviews ofthe 2009 proposed budget that will be supported by the 2009 Tax Levy. At the last workshop meeting only a few questions remained and those questions will be addressed through discussion. The Council did adopt at the September 2nd regular Council meeting a Preliminary 2009 property levy of$10,593,520: $6,879,236 (64.94%) operational levy, $2,241,965 (21.16%) debt service levy, and $1,472,319 (13.90%) capital levy. The Council has the right to reduce or keep constant this levy until the final certification date of December 29,2008. The "Truth in Taxation Hearing" is scheduled for December 8th, 2008. Councilmember Jacobson thought when they look at the new budget they continue to look at the Community Schools because it seems very high. Mayor Gamache stated in the YMCA - Water Safety Program, people are using that one a lot so he did not know if they wanted to increase the amount because people seem to be using it. Mr. Dickinson stated the YMCA is going to be looking for another $1,000. He indicated they had some in contingency that they could use for the program. 0 Councilmember Trude asked how Youth First is using their funds. She indicated she wanted a report from them showing what they are using the funds for. Mr. Dickinson explained the situation with Youth First and the site they have set up operations at. 0 Workshop Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - November 25, 2008 Page 8 c. Truth in Taxation Hearing Mr. Dickinson stated the Council has had a number of reviews of the City of Andover 2009 Proposed Budget and continued detailed review of the General Fund budget that is primarily supported by the proposed 2009 Tax Levy. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the City has received any phone calls for this. Mr. Dickinson indicated he has not. OTHER BUSINESS . Mr. Dickinson stated a resident thought they should have a restriction where the City says where a mailbox should be placed. Council consensus was they should not get involved. . Mr. Dickinson stated staff is seeking guidance on an enforcement item as it relates to interpretation ofthe City Code. A complainant is not satisfied with the staffs position and 0 has asked if the Council will review it. He reviewed the case with the Council and showed photos of a fence that is in a resident's front yard. Councilmember Trude thought they had something like this before. She wondered if they had a front yard maintenance ordinance. Mr. Dickinson stated they have a junk and blight ordinance. Councilmember Trude wondered if Mr. Bednarz could send a letter to this owner and ask for a proposal to the code so they do not see this in the front yard. . Mr. Dickinson stated the City is still compensating people for gopher feet and there is no longer a reimbursement program from the County. He wondered if the Council wanted to continue this program. Councilmember Jacobson thought if someone had a gopher problem they should get rid of them and not involve the government. He thought they should stop this program. The Council recessed to a closed session at 9:50 p.m. to review the City Administrator. The Council reconvened at 10:20 p.m. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Knight, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 0 Susan Osbeck, Recording Secretary