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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-06-2017 Council Work Session MinutesCITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION APPROVED March 6, 2017 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 MINUTES 3 4 DATE : March 6, 2017 5 TIME STARTED : 6:00 p.m. 6 TIME ENDED 8:48 p.m. 7 MEMBERS PRESENT : Council Member Rafferty, 8 Kusterman, and Mayor Reinert 9 MEMBERS ABSENT : Council Member Maher and 10 Manthey 11 12 Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Public Safety Director John 13 Swenson; Community Development Director Michael Grochala; City Planner Katie 14 Larsen; City Clerk Julie Bartell. 15 16 1. American Legion Land Acquisition —Community Development Director 17 Grochala explained that representatives of the Lino Lakes American Legion post were 18 present at the meeting to discuss their continuing interest in acquiring land from the city 19 to increase parking for their establishment. He noted that the council had received a 20 communication on the matter of the Legion's offer for the property; he advised the 21 council that it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss the offer unless they go into a closed 22 session 23 24 Ken Kennedy, American Legion Finance Director and Diana Cox, Post Manager 25 addressed the council. Ms. Cox noted that she lives in Lino Lakes, she has an interest in 26 serving the community and she has found a place for that service at the Legion. The 27 Legion work has turned into so much more than working with a bar. They receive and 28 respond to many, many requests for assistance. She manages the bar but most of her job 29 is what she does for the community (noted Toys for Tots, funeral assistance, work with 30 the schools, the Lino Lakes Ambassadors events, boys and girls scouts). For larger events 31 there is not enough parking so people do park on Lake Drive and that is not safe. 32 33 Mr. Kennedy added some additional ways the Legion has helped in the community and 34 explained his involvement and his leadership bringing this matter forward (working with 35 banks, working with the watershed district, survey information). He noted the original 36 purchase offer of the Legion, the original valuation and a slight increase in that valuation. 37 He pointed out that there are legacy members still involved in the Legion and there is a 38 commitment on the part of the club to get this done. The Legion is in a good financial 39 position now and shares with the community by giving back. They do not want to 40 overleverage themselves however into too risky a situation. He noted that they've 41 received a discount from many of the people they have dealt with so far. 42 43 Mayor Reinert concurred on the Legion's community involvement, noting that they are 44 more of a community center than anything else. Ms. Cox suggested that the addition of 45 a parking lot would actually add tax base for the city. 1 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION March 6, 2017 APPROVED 46 Council Member Kusterman remarked that it is helpful to have this testimony because he 47 knows there are people who don't know the community work that's going on at the Legion. 48 The mayor noted additionally that there is positive energy and good momentum and that is 49 bringing in many new people to the Legion; the organization is running well. 50 51 Council Member Rafferty noted that he is thankful to hear about the good community work 52 of the Legion as well. As they have noted, the Legion receives discounts for certain 53 services in recognition of their community base but that is from private companies, not the 54 public dollar. Mayor Reinert noted that, with the extra revenue that could be created with 55 growth, they are talking about doing even more that will benefit the community. 56 57 2. Update from North Metro TV Executive Director —Heidi Arnson, North 58 Metro Television (NMTV) presented. She reviewed a handout that outlines the 59 improvement of services they are providing to city government and their respective 60 television channels. Their services include programming as well as technical assistance. 61 The project to update the local government channels is a priority for NMTV because they 62 have heard from cities that it is needed and wanted. They are also providing assistance in 63 the city's quest to upgrade the council chambers technology. She explained the availability 64 of a new program for government channels that they are using and that they will be 65 providing for local governments in about eight weeks. 66 67 Mayor Reinert noted that he's been interested in more capability for the city's cable channel 68 and wants to see more ability to cross over to other programs. How much will cities need 69 to provide in the way of staff for this new effort? Ms. Arnson noted that NMTV has talked 70 about creating a position that will deal with programming for local channels. A position 71 for a municipal producer is already established and will be filled soon. The mayor 72 remarked that there is much information out there for the residents and he's excited about 73 improving the information on that channel. He recalled that this discussion began when he 74 offered a challenge to NMTV and he didn't intend that to be offensive; he wanted more and 75 is excited about getting to that goal. He asked for a more in depth description of how 76 content on the city channel will change. He's envisioning some regular content such as a 77 public safety update, comprehensive plan news, public services information, etc. Also he 78 sees advantage in investigating what other cities are doing on their channels. Ms. Arnson 79 said it will be helpful to have that new producer on board who will lead the new content. 80 Mayor Reinert called for a way to bring the government channel to more than just cable 81 subscribers; Heidi mentioned streaming and the Mayor suggested getting the channel onto 82 Direct TV and Dish TV. 83 84 Regarding the council chambers upgrade project, Council Member Rafferty wondered why 85 there are so few vendors being considered. Ms. Arnson said that there is limited expertise 86 in the area and it's advisable to stay with someone who knows the work well. Council 87 Member Rafferty noted that the city is seeking design services for a system as an initial 88 step, but he is curious about how that process fits into the actually bidding down the line. 89 Should the design engineer be eligible for bidding also? If they get the bid, as they 90 probably would, who would do the checks and balances on them (if it's all their work, all 2 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION March 6, 2017 APPROVED 91 through the process). Administrator Karlson asked Ms. Arnson if her staff would be a good 92 overseer and she suggested that they don't really have the expertise. 93 94 3. Z Systems' Technical Services Contract, Steve Browender of Z Systems was 95 present. He provided a sample of his company's work and explained the product that the 96 city could anticipate with their design services. The mayor asked if different companies 97 would have different recommendations on a council chambers project. Mr. Browender 98 explained that could be the case but you would normally see the difference showing up in 99 recommendations for components; a process includes the ability to make decisions on the 100 best system for this city. lol 102 The council discussed the possibility of a bid process that could limit the quality of the 103 project and equipment with specifications that are specialized; Mr. Browender suggested 104 that the design will include specs that will stop that from happening. Mayor Reinert asked 105 what information gets the process going; is there basic information that starts the process? 106 Administrator Karlson said staff has already gathered some basic information for a meeting 107 that was held with Z Systems. Mr. Browender added that they do receive information on 108 budget also so that guides the design process as well. 109 110 Mayor Reinert asked about the static cost for design services; why wouldn't it be based on 111 hours worked? Mr. Browender explained the elements that they can anticipate and those 112 they cannot and the individuality of each project. 113 114 Council Member Rafferty reiterated his concern about a bid process. If the company is 115 planning on bidding on the project, there won't be a checks and balances element and it 116 may dissuade other bidders who think they don't have a realistic chance of getting a bid on 117 another company's design. He asked who would review the specs to make sure they are 118 appropriate and it was noted that the process will include the services of a video engineer at 119 North Metro TV. Council Member Rafferty said he is also concerned about the fifty 120 percent up front requirement. Mr. Browender explained that it is standard in his business 121 but that he'd be willing to adjust that. 122 123 Mayor Reinert suggested that the city should end up with options. Some variations from 124 which the council can chose. 125 126 Council Member Rafferty asked if there is a showroom and also asked staff if they are 127 checking out other facilities. Mr. Browender said he will be bringing in demo equipment. 128 Council Member Rafferty asked why they couldn't use someone else's design and the 129 representative said they've done it both ways. 130 131 Council Member Rafferty asked about the budget available for a project. Administrator 132 Karlson said there is $190,000 available in the budget and that is expected to be fully 133 adequate. 134 135 Mayor Reinert said he wants a successful project but one that he can fully understand when 3 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION March 6, 2017 APPROVED 136 he is asked questions by the residents; the people of the city will be paying for the project 137 and it's a big project. 138 139 Mr. Browender explained that the company is interested in working with the city in anyway 140 that they can be of service and as directed by the city. 141 142 4. Comprehensive Plan RFP Update - Community Development Director 143 Grochala explained that an RFP was issued for services as requested by the council. There 144 was only one response, from Landform, the firm originally proposed to do the work. He 145 noted some reasons why other firms didn't come forward (distribution of work needed, lack 146 of experience, cost of submitting a response). He feels Landform would do a good job and 147 he can make more information on their proposal available to council. There's a lot of this 148 type of work available to providers currently and it does cost companies to put together a 149 proposal; perhaps the firms didn't think there was a lot of opportunity to get a contract. He 15o reached out to all the firms. 151 152 Mayor Reinert asked about a time line for the project. Director Grochala explained that 153 while it should be a quicker process than some updates the city has done in the past, the 154 timeline to get started is fast approaching for the city. Mayor Reinert remarked that the 155 upcoming goal setting session may be a good opportunity to touch on the matter. The 156 council is mostly unaware of the process so education will be an important element. Also 157 there will be discussion points that could be identified ahead; the mayor suggested that staff 158 put together a top ten of things that are involved in a comprehensive plan review and what's 159 come up in past reviews; add information about impacts. Mayor Reinert would like to have 160 the council weigh in earlier rather than later. 161 162 Director Grochala touched on preliminary plans for a process. He envisions that the 163 Planning and Zoning Board will serve as a steering group and elements of the plan that 164 apply to the other advisory boards will be brought to them. The council will be updated on 165 a monthly basis. The public input element is still being discussed but staff is basically 166 looking at a web application through which the city could receive input. That in addition to 167 the regular outreach through city festivals and other events. The plan is to have the draft 168 ready to go out in June of 2018. Land use planning tends to be the area of most discussion. 169 170 Mayor Reinert will be meeting with the Community Development Director on specifics. 171 He would like the council process to begin at the next work session with education on the 172 process. 173 174 Staff directed to review the RFP process for an additional week and, if nothing comes in, 175 proceed with the one. 176 177 5. Advisory Board Appointment — Administrator Karlson reviewed the opening 178 and the single applicant. 179 18o The council concurred to interview the applicant prior to the March 13 council meeting. 0 e CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION APPROVED March 6, 2017 181 182 6. Council Updates on Boards/Commissions- 183 184 VLAWMO — Council Member Rafferty noted that the last meeting of the group was 185 basically their annual meeting. 186 187 7. Monthly Progress Report — Administrator Karlson reported: 188 189 Digital Scanning Project — The city is currently advertising for the open scanner tech 190 position and, with few applications being received, staff proposes to look at the option of 191 contracting the work out. It will be a dual track process to investigate the best way to 192 move forward with the scanning needs. 193 194 WBL Lawsuit — Trial was supposed to begin today. 195 196 Veterans' Memorial — Mayor Reinert asked Council Member Rafferty if he could get the 197 group that is working on design together to provide an update at the next work session. 198 199 8. Review Regular Agenda - 200 201 Item 4A, Paid On -Call Fire Lieutenant Promotion — Public Safety Director Swenson 202 reviewed the need to promote and the process used to identify the best candidate. 203 204 Item 6A, Bald Eagle Erectors — City Planner Larsen noted the site on Lake Drive. There 205 is a site agreement for the property that calls for an end to certain practices (storage) by the 206 end this year and staff proposes to execute a new agreement to allow the conditions to 207 continue. Mayor Reinert asked if there are complaints about the property and staff 208 indicated that the business has followed the guidelines of the agreement in place. He also 209 asked that staff check further into what other cities are doing in the area of height 210 restrictions to make sure we aren't being too much of a burden on business. 211 212 Item 6B9 2017 Anoka County Recycling and Recycling Enhancement Grant - 213 Community Development Director Grochala reviewed the request to renew the city's 214 contract with Anoka County for assistance with recycling (covers the city's program). 215 There is additional funding being discussed and that will come forward in the future. 216 1 217 The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 These minutes were considered, corrected and apf on March 27, 2017. Bartell, City Clerk f.]