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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMIN_02.24.21CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS Regular Meeting of the City Council City Hall 2077 West Larpenteur Avenue MINUTES February 24, 2021 at 7:00 P.M. NOTE: THIS MEETING WAS HELD BY WEB CONFERENCE A. CALL TO ORDER: 7:09 PM B. ROLL CALL: ANDREWS X GUSTAFSON X LEEHY X MIAZGA .-X_ WEHYEE_X STAFF PRESENT: THONGVANH X Motion to approve amended agenda adding a presentation from Ehlers regarding General Obligation Improvement Bonds by Mayor Gustafson; Approved, 5-0. C. PRESENTATION 1. General Obligation Improvement Bond, Series 2021A Pre -Sale Administrator Than vanh On February 10, the Council awarded the 2021 pavement management project to Molnau Trucking. The next step would be to authorize the sale of the bond and accept the proposed opening during the March 24 City Council meeting for the purchase of considering and awarding the sale of the bond. The budget impact would be realized in 2022. Staff recommend approval of the attached resolution authorizing the sale of the bond. Todd Hagen, Ehlers The project is a lot larger than the amount needed in bonds. We are using some upfront storm sewer and sanitary sewer funds. We are also using some pre -paid special assessments and State aid. The bond is a five-year bond. Even though Falcon Heights has a triple A bond rating, we'll do a competitive sale without a bond rating because the term is so short. There is also no advantage to the bond being pre -payable. We will come back with bids on the bonds at the March 24 meeting. We are looking at a low interest rate, well under 1 percent. Motion to approve Resolution 21-11 by Council Member Andrews; Approved, 5-0. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 1. February 10, 2021 City Council Regular Minutes Motion to approve by Council Member Wehyee; Approved, 5-0. 1 I Page E. PUBLIC HEARINGS: F. CONSENT AGENDA: General Disbursements through: 2/ 18/ 21 $69,997.87 Payroll through: 2/15/21 $18,153.94 Approved, 5-0. G: POLICY ITEMS: 1. Honorary Naming of Larpenteur Avenue as Philando Castile Memorial Avenue Administrator Thongvanh At the December 16 Council Workshop, Council Member Leehy presented the concept of adding the name "Philando Castile Memorial Avenue' to Larpenteur Avenue. City Council directed staff to create a short survey, and the results were presented to Council at the February 3 City Council Workshop. The budget impact would be about $600-$1500 depending on the City's authority to place signs at the Cleveland and Fairview intersections, as these are County roads. There were around 1900 survey respondents in total. According to the survey, 60.3 percent of respondents said they would support the honorary naming, and 30.7 percent said they would not support it. We also received qualitative comments from respondents, these are available in the agenda packet for the February 3 Council Workshop. The bulk of respondents were between the age of 25 to 54. Females responded at a higher rate than males. About 48 percent of respondents were residents of Falcon Heights; 52 percent identified as non-residents. Of the respondents that identified as residents, most indicated that they had lived in Falcon Heights for over 16 years. Of the respondents that identified as residents, the highest percentage live in the southwest quadrant followed by the northwest quadrant, the northeast quadrant, and finally the southeast quadrant. Comparing responses, residents supported the honorary naming at a lower rate than residents. The northwest quadrant was the only quadrant that did not show a majority of residents in support of the naming, it was 50-50. Council Member Andrews I received a call from Sue Gehrz who has been involved with the memorial. She reported everything is going well with the State Fair people and they have received the go ahead to continue. Council Member Leehy This item goes along with us being a welcoming and inclusive city and as a small city, it's an opportunity to have an impact locally and globally. It's an opportunity for all of us to have a learning point from the sad tragedy and to celebrate Philando Castile at the same time. Council Member Mija a I was initially hesitant but what brought me in support was aligning this item with the Peace Garden opening. 2 1 P a g e Council Member Wehyee This makes a statement about who we are as a community. I think this is an opportunity for us to move forward. Susan Gehrz I co-chair the peace garden planning group, we've been working for 4-years for a more permanent memorial at the site. Things are going well and I see a great opportunity to coordinate the garden installation with the unveiling of the signs. There are already homemade signs stating "Philando Castile Memorial Avenue' at the garden, but it would be nice to have something more permanent. We've already received donations; the plan is to begin in April with completion of the garden in July. Nora Hall I'm one of the project coordinators on Philando Castile Peace Garden Committee. I wanted to say thank you to the City Council for hosting this workshop and for considering this issue. Valerie Castile Since 2016 we've been in a whirlwind. This journey has not been easy and I wanted to make sure that Philando was not forgotten. My fear was that it's going to happen again and that no one will remember who Mr. Phil was. Falcon Heights has become a model for the world for bridging gaps. I appreciate everyone who has been working in whatever areas to have these difficult conversations. Representative John Thompson. One of the reasons Philando is not with us is because there has been a historical underinvestment in black communities. I want to keep his name alive. This city has done a lot of work to get to this point. I'm so excited about the direction its going in. Thank you. Motion to approve Resolution 21-12 by Council Member Leehy; Approved, 5-0. Administrator Thongvanh I just wanted to thank all members on the council past and present who have done work to get us to this point. It's been a long journey and it will continue to be a journey. To all of the different inclusion events that we held, guest speakers, panel discussions, and individuals that helped us with this work, we are grateful. H. INFORMATION/ ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council Member Leehy • First I want to add to our list, thank you to everyone that has participated in the work. I also want to thank Sharon Press for her involvement from the beginning. • The Planning Commission will not be meeting in March. • I want to call attention to our last meeting during which we received a presentation by St. Paul Regional Water Services about upgrades to the water treatment plant. Council Member Andrews • The Parks & Recreation Commission will be meeting next week. 3 1 P a g e Mayor Gustafson • The Community Engagement Commission will be meeting on the third meeting in March. Administrator Thongvanh • We're wrapping up the winter season. Staff and I are working on different communication tools for the website and the newsletter. I appreciate the mayor's video update. We'll probably do shorter videos in the future on a specific topic. I'll be reaching out to the Council liaison for each commission to do an update on the commissions. • We're expecting the building permit application on the Amber Union project shortly. We have been updating information on our website on the project, as well as information about TIF and the Pavement Management Project. • We'll be hosting the council retreat in March or April. • We're reaching out to other communities to find out how they are handling park programming. • Public Works will be expanding the community garden. Council Member Wehyee • When will we have the capacity to start the speed reduction study? Administrator Thongvanh • Currently staff is working on it. I'm looking at having a discussion at the next council workshop. I will also be providing an update on the CARES funding, as well as police services. Mayor Gustafson �• I got a nice thank you letter from NYFS, I would encourage others to donate to the organization. They do a lot of good work. I. COMMUNITY FORUM: Please limit comments to 3 minutes per person. Items brought before the Council will be referred for consideration. Council may ask questions for clarification, but no council action or discussion will be held on these items. ADJOURNMENT: 8:18 PM Ran au C. Gus'; ", Mayor Dated this 4th day f February, 2021 Sack Thongvanh, Ci ministrator 4 1 P a g e