HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_08Feb27Regular Meeting of the Falcon Heights City Council
February 27, 2008
Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Harris, Kuettel, Long, and Mercer-Taylor, Administrator Miller, and Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser.
Mayor Lindstrom called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
1. Presentation
Chief Ohl presented the council with the 2007 SAPD Annual Report. He began by stating the officers on the force see Falcon Heights as “their city.” He said the part one offences had
increased over 2006 due to a rise in thefts solely attributable to gas drive-offs, while everything else had decreased. He added he reports flat numbers rather than percentages, since
when dealing with small numbers using percentages can skew the facts. Part two offences include officer-initiated arrests, which decreased, but Ohl said that is not an indication of
officer’s initiative. He said the number of calls for services has risen steadily over the last three years, which may be attributable to the public becoming more comfortable and at
ease with the department.
Ohl stated the department uses a four-pronged community-oriented policing model: arrest offenders, prevent crime, solve problems, and increase the overall quality of life. He said the
strong presence of patrol cars is a huge factor in keeping crime down in the city, and that solving the little problems (like misdemeanor offences) before they turn into big ones is
the best crime prevention effort.
Ohl said the department had done a lot of training in 2007, and gained four new reserve officers who donated 2677 hours of work.
Ohl wrapped up by expressing the department’s dedication to the city, its residents, and pledging to remain active within the community. He thanked the mayor and council and said he
hopes to continue the relationship with the city.
Council member Kuettel asked what changes the 800 MHz allowed the department. Ohl said that communication in major disasters had historically been a problem between law enforcement
agencies, but with the new radio system in place during the bridge collapse each officer was able to communicate with incident command. He said it was still major chaos, but it was
organized. There will be an article in the upcoming newsletter outlining the actions of one SAPD officer who was on the scene.
Council member Harris said she feels safe in Falcon Heights and knows that if she needs help it is just seconds away.
Council member Mercer-Taylor asked Ohl’s thoughts on the increase in calls. Ohl said the department keeps track of all calls for service, and in ’07 these may be due to suspicious people,
false alarms, etc., and with an increase in population it is typical to have an increase in police calls. Mercer-Taylor added she has heard many good things about the force. Ohl said
the officers feel good about their jobs when the mayor and council give their support, and said Falcon Heights residents always send thank-you notes, which is more uncommon for the other
cities the department polices.
Council member Long announced the crime prevention community meetings would be held throughout the year, with the first on March 27 at 6:30 at the Coffee Grounds.
Mayor Lindstrom said he’d spoken with former mayor Gehrz, and she reminded him to be sure to invoice the State Fair and Back to the 50s for policing since they pay for the extra police
service during these events. He also noted when he was participating in the Curtiss Field clean up there were many beer bottles found. He asked the police to keep a closer eye on the
parks, and ended by saying how much he appreciates the department doing good work.
Ohl ended by announcing the citizen’s academy still has room. Residents should call the SAPD to sign up.
The minutes of the February 13, 2008 regular council meeting were approved as submitted.
Consent Agenda:
Administrator Miller explained the Falcon Heights CERTs held a BART class that the Lions helped pay for by giving the city a donation. Council member Harris asked if the City could
provide decals for homeowners to attach to their doors to indicate the number of pets. Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser will address her request with the Neighborhood
Commission and fire department.
Council member Kuettel moved the following four items for approval. The motion passed unanimously.
1. General Disbursements through 2/21/08: $92,407.89
Payroll through 2/15/08: $16,841.41
2. City Licenses
3. Acceptance of Donation from Falcon Heights-Lauderdale Lion’s Club
4. Award 2008 Street sweeping contract
Policy Agenda:
Citizen Corps Grant Application
Administrator Miller began the item by explaining the aCERTiveness committee decided to focus on retraining current CERTs as there is a need for acquiring new skills and brushing up
on the CERT core training. The retraining will focus on first aid, fire suppression and prevention, and flooding. He said there is a good chance Falcon Heights will get the grant money,
as we have been successful in the past and when asking for a modest dollar amount the grant committee tends to approve the request. The Neighborhood Commission approved the grant application
at their last meeting.
Council member Long moved to approve the Citizen Corps Grant Application. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Larpenteur Avenue Banner Designs
Administrator Miller said staff has been working with a design company to bring a few more options to the council, incorporating their suggestions from the last meeting. He explained
that initially the thought was to place a banner on each of the 36 decorative light poles along Larpenteur Avenue, however many poles have traffic signs and so alternating poles will
work instead. He also said the light pole company has spring-loaded brackets to mount the banners, so they are not damaged in windy weather. He said the final design and budget numbers
would be at the next meeting for the council to approve.
Council member Kuettel liked option 4, saying it was easy to read, and said she likes upper and lower case letters.
Council member Harris said she liked option 2 design, but not the font, suggesting another sans serif font.
Mayor Lindstrom said he did not like having “the fair city” on the banner, and thought the text and design needed to be crisp and easy to read. He suggested having a contest with area
school kids to create a banner design for the next go-round.
Council member Long asked if the flower baskets would be part of the pole. Miller replied the basket would hang alongside the banner on the other side of the pole, using the same bracket.
Harris wanted staff to check with the design company to see if they would produce a mock-up of what the banner and poles would look like.
Staff will present information gathered at the next council meeting.
3. Comprehensive Plan Update Review Part II
Administrator Miller stated the council had four sections of the comp plan, some of which were blanket requirements, but others the city added like the park plan with maps. He drew
the council’s attention to the parks & open space section and said the city would still pursue the trail opportunities, and will be working with Roseville to submit a grant proposal.
The other sections included natural resources and environmental protection, including green building practices. He said the Environment Commission would be looking at policies. The
economic development and redevelopment sections encompass urban design for walkability and potential expansion for business along the Larpenteur corridor. He said the next section included
steps for implementation of the plan, noting the city would likely need to complete a corridor study.
Council member Harris asked about the new zoning listed on page 13 (single-family residential overlay). Miller replied the zoning classification was in relation to fraternity housing
near the university. Harris responded the city wanted to protect open land, and R1 zoning was not the answer.
Council member Kuettel said the Planning Commission wanted to make sure of the process with the addition of 250 housing units, making sure 10% were affordable. She also wanted to discuss
the possibility of housing redevelopment on the west side of Snelling, west of Fairview Avenue rather than only east of Snelling. She asked the council that when the corridor study
is completed that the whole of Larpenteur be included all the way out to Cleveland. She said that if redevelopment to high-density housing happens it should not only be east of Snelling.
Kuettel further asked the council to consider passing an ordinance in relation to affordable housing requirements. Council member Harris disagreed, stating if there is an ordinance
it allows the city less flexibility. Administrator Miller added that some cities have passed an ordinance with regard to a certain percentage of housing stock as affordable, but with
some leeway by including a statement to the effect “that at least 10% be affordable if housing assistance is available.”
Council member Kuettel said she did not think an ordinance was necessary, but she wanted to be sure how the section was worded to the Met Council. Miller replied the city more than
meets the requirements for affordable housing now, and even with new housing with no affordable units, the city would still comply with affordable housing requirements.
Council member Mercer-Taylor added the city was doing more than its share in Ramsey County in terms of affordable housing, and wanted to be sure that the city did its part in preventing
deterioration of the apartment stock in the city. Miller replied if the council wanted to address that in a possible rental ordinance that may be considered.
Mayor Lindstrom drew Miller’s attention to table 22, and they decided to change the wording to ice facilities rather than hockey. Mayor Lindstrom had a couple other minor questions,
and
then suggested staff add the commission mission statements to the comp plan. Other councilors had a few minor typo and reference changes to the plan.
Information/Announcements:
Council member Mercer-Taylor said she attended the joint Neighborhood/Human Rights Commission meeting, and said they were a great group with many good ideas.
Council member Harris added she was at the meeting as well as the liaison to the Human Rights Commission, and thought there were ways indentified at the meeting to collaborate between
the commissions and a good session on ways to attract new members to the HR Commission. Mayor Lindstrom interjected, stating two applications had been received.
Council member Kuettel announced a series of meeting occurring at City Hall – March 17 workshop on rain gardens, March 13 and April 3 comp plan open houses, and March 27 community meeting
at Coffee Grounds. All meetings are at 6:30 p.m.
Mayor Lindstrom announced he and Administrator Miller attended the Stadium Area Advisory Task Force meeting, and said he learned the U was planning to use the St. Paul campus and the
State Fairgrounds as parking area during Gopher games. He will relay any developments to the residents, and make sure the impact to neighborhoods is minimal. Lastly, he announced nominations
for the Neil Kwong Award would be accepted through March 7.
Mayor Lindstrom adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacey Kreuser
Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk