HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWkspAgen_07Oct03City of Falcon Heights 2077 W. Larpenteur Ave Falcon Heights MN 55113 City Council Workshop October 3, 2007 6:30 p.m. City Hall WORKSHOP AGENDA 1. Proposed 2008 Enterprise, Special Revenue,
and Debt Service Budgets 2. Garden Avenue Safe Routes to Schools Proposal ??????????????s???
WKSP 1 10/3/07 TO: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Harris, Kuettel, Lindstrom and Talbot FROM: Justin Miller, City Administrator Roland Olson, Finance Director Re: Proposed 2008 Enterprise,
Special Revenue, and Debt Service Budgets Attached to this report are the proposed 2008 Enterprise, Special Revenue, and Debt Service budgets. These budgets are outside of the general
fund, yet they are still required to be approved by the city council. Special Revenue Funds • Park Programs (201) o For 2008 we are estimating a 3% price increase which is an average
$1.00 increase per class. o In 2007, revenues are significantly higher than what we anticipated due to increased participation in new programs we introduced this summer-mostly from adult/youth
golf and Tae Kwon Do. It is anticipated that golf may not continue this next year; however we do hope to offer additional programs with specialty instructors. It is projected the revenue
should remain consistent with 2007. o A new line item “Instructors Specialty” was created for these outside instructors for new programs-golf, tae kwon do and craft classes. They are
paid by an agreement of receiving a percentage of the revenue received for their specific classes. This is a win-win situation for us; the expense is a percentage of revenue received.
o The printing and publishing was lowered a bit because we are able to print the entire activity brochure/flyers in-house. Printing costs of doing it in-house is the paper we print them
on, inserting a copy of the latest activity guide or flyer in the City’s newsletters and money for participant t-shirts we give out advertising promoting our recreation programs. • Community
Garden (203) o This is a new fund where revenues and expenses associated with the community garden will be accounted for. Staff has budgeted $400 for plot rentals (same $20 price as
2007), and $2000 for installing a dedicated water line to the garden. • Water (204) o Revenues for this fund come from the hydrant charge on water bills. There are no major changes proposed
to this budget for 2008. • Recycling o This fund is where we collect recycling fees from residents and account for SCORE grant funds from Ramsey County. We are in the middle of our recycling
contract with Waste Management, which keeps our rates fixed throughout the contract. No major changes are budgeted for 2008.
• Citizen Corps Council/CERT 2008 Grant (207) o The city was awarded a $3,395 grant through the State of Minnesota to conduct another CERT class in 2008. Funds 210 and 211 are both associated
with existing 2007 grants and will be closed out after the end of the year. • Community/Economic Development (208) o 2007 expenses included the consultant costs for the comprehensive
plan update. No major expenses are budgeted for 2008. Debt Service • Our two debt service funds are for the 1996 TIF Larpenteur Bonds (paid for by tax increment from the Bullseye and
1666 Coffman TIF districts) and the 1999 GO NE Quadrant Improvement Bonds. The Larpenteur bonds will be paid off in 2011, and the NE Quadrant bonds will be paid off in 2010. No major
changes to the debt service schedule are proposed for 2008. Enterprise Funds • Sanitary Sewer (601) o The budget presented includes new expenditures of $23,200 for sewer line repairs
and $10,000 for chemical root treatment which will address needs identified during this year’s televising program. At least four areas are in need of immediate repair, as well as routine
maintenance in other locations. We have also included $20,000 for televising and jetting a third of the system, as our new practice dictates and is recommended by our general liability
insurance carrier. The presented budget does not include a rate increase. However, without a rate increase the fund will show a loss of $6,025. As our sewer system ages, and as we monitor
it more closely through the televising program, staff anticipates more maintenance issues in the future that will require a rate change. Staff will have a more detailed analysis on the
impacts of various rate increases available at Wednesday’s workshop. • Storm Sewer (602) o The budget presented shows no major new expenditures. The $128,000 in 2007 is for the Como
Pond project that the council approved earlier this year. Stormwater drainage is being increasingly scrutinized by watershed districts. Staff is recommending transferring back the monies
that were originally transferred from the general fund to the storm water fund to pay for improvements at Curtis Field. The city obtained grant money to fund these improvements. The
original money transferred needs to go back to the general fund. Doing this helps slow down the depletion of funds in the infrastructure account. Looking at the 2008 budget, there is
a projected operational deficit of $41,310. The attached budget reflects a storm sewer rate that is unchanged for 2008, but staff will have a more detailed analysis on the impacts of
various storm sewer rates available at Wednesday’s workshop.
WKSP 2 10/3/07 TO: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Harris, Kuettel, Lindstrom and Talbot FROM: Justin Miller, City Administrator Re: Garden Avenue Safe Routes to Schools Proposal Explanation:
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) recently released applications for the third round of their Safe Routes to Schools grant program. Earlier this year, the city submitted
an application for pathway and pedestrian improvements at Falcon Heights Elementary School but we were not selected for funding at that time. The last application included the following:
$54,234 for the following projects: 1) Bituminous pathways on each side of the Falcon Heights Elementary School playground, connecting Garden and Ruggles Avenues and extending a sidewalk
to Hamline Avenue 2) Two solar-powered, pedestrian controlled flashing beacons to be placed at the intersection of Hamline and Garden Avenues to provide for safer pedestrian crossings
3) Two bike racks to be located at Falcon Heights Elementary 4) Education and supplies for bike safety classes When reviewing the projects that were selected for funding, larger projects
that had connections to existing pathway systems seemed to be the most successful applications. As such, staff has identified a project that is a little larger in scope that could hopefully
meet the thresholds that MnDOT is looking for. Currently, there is a parking lane along the north side of Garden Avenue between Hamline Avenue and the Snelling Service Drive. The northeast
area of Falcon Heights has no sidewalks (with the exception of exterior streets along Larpenteur, Snelling, Roselawn and Hamline), so adding a sidewalk in the area could provide a safe
pedestrian facility for children walking to school. While it is designated as a parking lane, many residents already use this as a walking lane, but there is no separation from vehicular
traffic. Converting this parking lane to a sidewalk could be completed without infringing into any of the existing lawns, and would not require the acquisition of additional additional
right-of-way. Doing this would eliminate parking on Garden Avenue. However, all of the houses that abut Garden Avenue have on-street parking available on their address streets (i.e.
Asbury, Arona, Simpson, Pascal, Holton and Albert). In preliminary discussions with the Falcon Heights Elementary principal, the idea would be acceptable if on-street parking in front
of the school could be maintained to accommodate pickup/drop-off vehicles. To do this, the sidewalk would be brought closer to the school, in the
existing landscaped area. Preserving trees would be a challenge, but preliminary design shows that it could be done. Our city engineer has provided some initial calculations, and this
project is estimated to cost roughly $300,000. The estimate includes: • Removal of curb • Construction of new curb • Reclaiming of existing bituminous street (in the area where the sidewalk
would be constructed) • Relocation of catch basins to the new curb line. • Construction of eight foot wide attached sidewalk • Removal and reconstruction of driveways • Additional storm
sewer to address drainage behind the new curb • Pedestrian ramps • Striping for crosswalks at intersections • 15% Engineering • 10% contingency The maximum Safe Routes to Schools grant
award is $175,000, meaning that the city would need to find the remaining $125,000 from other sources if the entire amount was awarded. Process: If the council wishes to proceed, staff
would recommend the following as a process: 1) Direct engineering staff to further formulate formulate design and cost estimates. 2) Mail notice/comment cards to homes abutting Garden
Avenue soliciting input. 3) Bring comments and more detailed design to November 7th city council workshop. 4) If appropriate, approve grant application at November 14th city council
meeting (November 16th is the deadline for submittal).
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