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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/08/2002 Council MinutesAPPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES DATE : May 8, 2002 TIME STARTED : 5:35 p.m. TIME ENDED : 7:59 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT : Council Member Dahl, Carlson, O'Donnell (6:10 p.m.), and Reinert MEMBERS ABSENT : Mayor Bergeson Staff members present: City Administrator, Linda Waite Smith; Economic Development Assistant, Mary Alice Divine (part); Community Development Director, Michael Grochala; City Engineer, Jim Studenski (part); Finance Director, Al Rolek (part); Public Services Director, Rick DeGardner; and City Clerk, Aim Blair TIF UPDATE, MARY ALICE DIVINE Economic Development Assistant Divine stated the possibility of creating two new redevelopment TIF districts was discussed at the last Council work session. She referred to a map pointing out the current TIF districts and distributed a handout that outlined each district. She reviewed the information on the handout noting when each TIF district will expire. Economic Development Assistant Divine advised TIF district 1-7 will generate $226,800 in taxes in 2002 with the City's portion totaling approximately $90,720. TIF district 3-1 will generate $347,000 in taxes in 2002 with the City's portion just under $139,000. Councilmember Carlson referred to the housing TIF district 1-5 noting the City should learn something from that district because it will not be on the tax rolls until 2013. Economic Development Assistant Divine noted TIF district 1-5 is the senior housing in Cottage Homesteads. Councilmember Carlson stated the City needs to address the problem of high rent at some point in the future. Economic Development Assistant Divine advised Cottage Homestead has to report to the City every year to make sure they are in the affordability range relating to rent. She noted the study that was done for senior housing in the Village discovered that the market can handle even higher amenity housing for seniors. • • • APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 MAIN STREET CSAH 14/8 RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT UPDATE, MICHAEL GROCHALA Community Development Director Grochala distributed an information sheet regarding the County State Aid Highway 8/14 Improvements, I -35E to Highway 61. He referred to a map noting the team is looking at four different alignments as the roadway goes into Hugo. There have been two informational meetings to obtain public comment. Community Development Director Grochala stated staff will be coming to the City Council in June with a request for approval for two of the alignments to go through the environmental assessments. He noted the negatives and positives for each alignment. Councilmember Carlson asked if the project will be stopped short of the freeway due to lack of funding. Community Development Director Grochala stated the project will stop short of the freeway due to lack of funding. Anoka County has received funding for County Road 14 from 35E to 35W. The involved cities are trying to get MnDOT to also look at the intersection for reconstruction. 2002 IMPROVEMENT BOND ISSUE, AL ROLEK Finance Director Rolek referred to a copy of Recommendations for City of Lino Lakes, General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2002A, prepared by Springsted, Inc. He advised that the City Council has approved public improvements for Lake Drive/Apollo Drive, Twilight Acres Sanitary Sewer and West Shadow Ponds Street and Utilities. It is necessary to issue and sell General Obligation Improvement bonds to finance the improvements to be made in these projects. Springsted, Inc., has issued its recommendation for the issuance of $2,730,000 G.O. Improvement Bonds. If approved, the sale would occur on June 24, 2002, with consideration for award by the City Council at its meeting the same day. The issuance would have a 10 -year term running from 2004 through 2013 and would be repaid through the levy of special assessments against the benefited parcels. Staff is recommending the City Council approve Resolution No. 02 — 41, Providing for the Issuance and Sale of $2,730,00 G.O. Improvement Bonds, Series 2002A. Councilmember Carlson inquired about the interest rate of the bonds and asked if the interest rate in included in the assessments. Finance Director Rolek stated it is anticipated that the interest rate will be just over 4% with a net average of 4.25%. The City does include the interest rate in the assessments and also adds 2% to cover delinquencies or non-payment. APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 • Councilmember Dahl asked who is helping to fund the stoplight that will be installed. Finance Director Rolek stated the City has a cooperative agreement with the County to help fund the stoplight. • • Councilmember O'Donnell asked if the bonds will have an impact on the City's current bond rating. Finance Director Rolek stated the bonds will not have an affect on the City's current rating. The City's debt ratio has dropped in the past few years. This item will appear on the regular Council agenda Monday, May 13, 2002, 6:30 p.m. PROPOSAL FROM CENTENNIAL UTILITIES, LINDA WAITE SMITH City Administrator Waite Smith referred to a copy of a proposal from Centennial Utilities that was previously distributed to the Council. She noted this issue has been ongoing for the past five years. Centennial Utilities is concerned that they are being charged a franchise fee and other companies are not being required to pay a franchise fee. Centennial Utilities is proposing they pay the same amount in franchise fees as Minnegasco pays in property taxes. Centennial has requested to meet with the Council if their proposals are not acceptable. Acting Mayor Reinert asked when the current franchise agreement was signed by Centennial Utilities. City Administrator Waite Smith stated the current agreement was signed in 1992 for a twenty-year term. Acting Mayor Reinert asked what has changed since the agreement was signed. City Administrator Waite Smith indicated she will ask Centennial Utilities about that issue. Councilmember Carlson clarified that Centennial Utilities paid $56,000 last year as opposed to $80,000 the year before. Finance Director Rolek stated that the franchise fee caused concern for Centennial Utilities when the price of natural gas went up. City Administrator Waite Smith stated that Minnegasco's agreement also raised the issue of franchise fees. Councilmember O'Donnell asked why the cover letter from Centennial Utilities indicates the Council is not interested in a cap on the franchise fees. City Administrator Waite Smith stated she is not sure why Centennial Utilities put that statement in the cover letter. Councilmember O'Donnell stated he is concerned because the franchise fee is a source of revenue for the City that is built into the budget. If that amount is removed from the budget it will have to be made up somehow. APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 City Administrator Waite Smith stated she has told Centennial Utilities that the City needs the revenue of approximately $50,000 per year because it is built into the budget. Acting Mayor Reinert stated that part of the problem is there is no franchise fee for Reliant Energy and Centennial Utilities feels that is unfair. Councilmember O'Donnell stated he would like to meet with Centennial Utilities and ask them why they signed the agreement in the first place. Councilmember Carlson stated she would like information relating to what they paid the City versus what they should have paid last year according to the agreement. Finance Director Rolek stated Centennial Utilities would have to figure that out based on their sales revenue from last year. City Administrator Waite Smith advised she will try to schedule a meeting with Centennial Utilities for either the June 5 Council work session or a work session in July. FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN, 2002 - 2006, AL ROLEK City Administrator Waite Smith advised the Council does have the option of continuing the public hearing for the Five Year Plan for more review time. Finance Director Rolek distributed and reviewed the revision that should be included in the draft Five Year Plan. He noted some of the adjustments were made due to the Park referendum not passing. The Five Year Plan is now shown as a balanced budget plan with the estimated expenditures being equal to the estimated revenue. Councilmember Carlson suggested that an explanation be incorporated into the Plan regarding the tax capacity rate in the years to come. Finance Director Rolek noted that the document will change over time and it will be revised every year. Acting Mayor Reinert stated his thoughts on the Plan are that if you had a City that did not grow at all you would not need to increase the budget except for the increases in inflation and cost of living. This Plan shows almost a 50% increase in spending. He stated he then looked at the 147 homes that will be built per year and calculated the increases and a 50% increase in spending is still too much. Finance Director Rolek stated staff took a historical view regarding the City and spending. The City can sustain 200 new homes per year for the next few years. Growth in the tax base was 11% to 14% in past years. Staff used a 10% figure to calculate spending within the Five Year Plan. • • APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 Acting Mayor Reinert stated that just because there is more money coming in it does not mean the City has to spend it. Finance Director Rolek stated the Plan looks at the Directors' needs for the next several years to maintain the same level of service. This is the approach that was taken in calculating the operating expenses. Acting Mayor Reinert noted he and the Finance Director also discussed the issue of how the City will finance vehicles and the addition of an IS person. City Administrator Waite Smith advised the majority of the costs in the budget pertain to personnel. There is a huge increase in the Public Safety Department. Councilmember O'Donnell stated it looks like there is a 36% increase in the budget in the next five years. He stated he also believes there are opportunities for the City to do things in the next few years. He stated he will be looking at paybacks to the City for investments that have been made. It is key that there will not be tax relief from the state or school districts. He noted he is not too concerned about increases until he knows what impact they will have on residents. Finance Director Rolek distributed a list of General Fund budget increases for the years 1996 to 2002. City Administrator Waite Smith stated the Council needs to have a discussion about what level of service is the correct level of service. She noted all the staff additions in the Public Safety Department are due to additional revenue such as grants. Acting Mayor Reinert stated he would like to have a discussion with the Directors so they can explain the numbers that are presented in the Plan. Councilmember O'Donnell stated another issue is trying to determine the amount of reserve the City should have. Finance Director Rolek stated the reason for keeping 50% of the budget in reserves is because the City receives its revenue twice a year. The revenue carries the City through for each six month period. City Administrator Waite Smith noted the reserve amount would affect the City's bond rating. It was the consensus of the Council to open the public hearing on the Five Year Plan and continue it to the next Council meeting. A meeting with the Directors will be schedule for a future Council work session. This item will appear on the regular Council meeting agenda Monday, May 13, 2002, 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY OF PEDDLER LICENSE MATTERS, ANN BLAIR APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 City Clerk Blair stated the peddler licenses are issued for a six-month period. There are no licensed peddlers currently in the City. Residents have been asked to call 911 if a peddler approaches them. Some people are getting creative and claiming they are exempt from needing a peddler license. Staff is telling people that everyone needs to register with the City and go through a background check. Staff will then let them know if they do not have to pay the license fee. REVIEW 2002 PARK BOARD GOALS, RICK DEGARDNER Public Services Director DeGardner referred to a copy of the 2002 Park Board Goals that were approved by the Park Board Monday night. The goals include a partial match DNR Grant for Clearwater Creek Park, Highland Meadows Park development and Birch Park Trail. He noted the cost of each goal and recommended the Council approve the goals and direct staff to implement them as presented. This item will appear on the regular Council agenda Monday, May 13, 2002, 6:30 p.m. Mr. Robert Bening, resident, stated the Park Board meeting was not broadcast on Monday night. He stated he expects that the City has a policy about broadcasting and any deviations from the policy should be announced. Public Services Director DeGardner stated there were no action items on the agenda and due to the short meeting time it was determined it was not worth the expense to broadcast the meeting. City Clerk Blair stated the City is not required to broadcast meetings. Meeting minutes are the official record of meetings. Acting Mayor Reinert stated deviations from the regularly scheduled broadcasts should be announced. City Administrator Waite Smith indicated City staff can make sure deviations from broadcasts are announced on the cable channel. SET DATE FOR LIQUOR LICENSE VIOLATION HEARINGS, LINDA WAITE SMITH City Administrator Waite Smith stated there are three liquor violations within the City that the Council needs to review. She suggested a meeting be held prior to a Council meeting. It was the consensus of Council to schedule a meeting to review the liquor violations on May 28, 2002, 6:00 p.m. 6 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 • Councilmember O'Donnell requested a list of alternatives and staff recommendation prior to the meeting. • • City Administrator Waite Smith stated a joint meeting with the City of Centerville also needs to be scheduled on a Monday night. The agenda items include Highway 21, the no - wake zone on Lake Peltier and a greenway project. It was the consensus of Council to schedule a joint meeting with the City of Centerville on June 3 or June 17, 2002. Councilmember O'Donnell requested more detailed information on the agenda items along with an update from Environmental Specialist Asleson on the Blue Herons. Councilmember Carlson also requested a report on the boats in the no wake zone. RECENT NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, COUNCILMEMBER CARLSON Councilmember Carlson distributed recent newspaper articles regarding Hardwater Creek, the Police Department and the possibility of a four lane highway being constructed through Centerville. REGULAR AGENDA, MAY 13, 2002 There were no changes to the regular Council agenda. Councilmember O'Donnell stated the Task Force met on April 25. The Task Force is making good progress but is still a bit behind schedule but has a plan to catch up. Acting Mayor Reinert stated the new building at City Hall should not leak and the builder should have to take responsibility. The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on May 28, 2002 Ann Blairity Clerk Transcribed by: Kim Points 7 John Ber •'` son a or Y • • • APPROVED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 8, 2002 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.