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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/07/2008 Council Minutes411 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 •23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APPROVED DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES January 7, 2008 : January 7, 2008 . 5:30 p.m. . 9:45 p.m. : Councilmember Gallup, Reinert, Stoltz and Mayor Bergeson : Councilmember O'Donnell Staff members present: City Administrator, Gordon Heitke; Community Development Director, Mike Grochala; Chief of Police, Dave Pecchia (part); City Engineer, Jim Studenski; Administration Director, Dan Tesch (part); Finance Director, Al Rolek; City Planner, Jeff Smyser; and City Clerk, Julie Bartell Eagle Brook Traffic Control Lighting — Administrator Heitke explained that the Police Department and Eagle Brook Church have been working together on ways to provide temporary lighting to increase visibility and safety of officers performing traffic control duties for church services. The current lighting situation has been of concern to some neighbors and one neighbor wishes to address the process for communicating changes in operation that are initiated by the City. Chief Pecchia confirmed that the Police Department is experimenting with lighting at Eagle Brook entrance/exits to enhance public safety. The church has provided some mobile lighting units that are currently being utilized. The lights have improved safety conditions, however, Ms. Barbara Bor, an area resident has voiced concern. The department offered to work with her on specifics to minimize the intrusion. Eagle Brook has also made a suggestion of providing lighting that can be easily switched on or off as needed to address the safety issue for the officers and be less intrusive to the neighborhood. The use of reflective clothing for the officers is also being explored. The department has also been working with MnDOT to try and gain some lighting improvements at the intersection of Highway 35E and Main St. A question was asked as to why proper lighting wasn't included when the project (church facility) was approved. Community Development Director Grochala explained that lighting was required in the original plans approved by staff. It has been determined that some enhancement is needed because of the need to have officers directing traffic in dark areas. When the council asked for a timeline for solving the problem, Police Chief Pecchia suggested that the police will report back at the next work session but will in the mean time work with the neighbors to assist with their concerns. 1 • • • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 45 Barbara Bor, 7707 — 20th Av N, noted that she was surprised when the temporary lights 46 rather suddenly appeared. Historically, the process for development of the church was 47 specific. Staff felt that the lighting included in the project was adequate and the church 48 project proceeded on that basis. The first season it was clear that visibility was a problem 49 and she communicated with the police department on the matter. She was told they were 50 exploring the use of flashlights or vests. She sees this as an issue that doesn't lie with the 51 church. The lighting issue was raised during discussion of the conditional use permit for 52 the property and the chief had ample opportunity to address concerns then. She is hopeful 53 that this matter can be solved with effective communication and without a "rally" of the 54 neighbors required. She did not receive the level of communication on this issue that she 55 would hope for. This is the first she's heard that the church may have an alternative. 56 57 Scott Anderson, Eagle Brook Church, noted that the church believed that they were to 58 respond to the Chief of Police when the lighting concern arose. They have followed that 59 process. It is expensive to try different methods but they are committed to finding a 60 proper solution. He wants to maintain good communication with all the neighbors 61 including Ms. Bor. He is confident that the parties involved are all committed to finding 62 that solution without the necessity of council involvement. 63 64 There was a suggestion that temporary directional signaling at the intersections may be a 65 better solution. That could take the officer out of the equation. The chief responded that 66 a signal approach has been reviewed but due in part to cost considerations it hasn't been 67 viewed as a viable approach. The signal approach could also result in an access problem 68 for some Centerville residents. 69 70 Mr. Anderson explained that the church is now considering replacement of one element 71 of the permanent lighting already in place to make those fixtures more focused on the 72 problems areas. There is no question that the portable lighting is very bright. 73 74 Ms. Bor invited council members to visit her home during Saturday evening services. 75 That would give the best perspective of the impact of this lighting. 76 77 The council concurred that portable lighting will continue to be utilized. The Police 78 Department will meet with affected neighbors, at the neighbor's convenience, to make 79 that lighting as minimally intrusive as possible. 80 81 Main Street Village Update (Azure Properties, SE1/4 of 35E Interchange) 82 (Requested by Reinert, O'Donnell) - Community Development Director Grochala 83 explained that this project, proposed for the SE quadrant of the Main Street and Highway 84 35E interchange, is scheduled for review by the Planning and Zoning Board on January 9. 85 Historically, discussion of development of the site has been at different stages for 86 probably the past 9 years. Current discussion revolves around a formal application for 87 development that was received in May 2007. That application, and another received in 88 July of 2007, was found by city staff to be incomplete. As a courtesy, the plans were 89 preliminarily reviewed by appropriate boards. At this time a complete but changed CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED • 90 application is in place. The matter has been tabled by the Planning and Zoning Board 91 pending resolution of outstanding site development issues. The council is receiving the 92 Planning and Zoning Board staff report; staff is not currently recommending approval of 93 the request. However, more information has been submitted by the applicant. That 94 additional information is being reviewed by staff and a supplemental report will be 95 provided for the Planning and Zoning Board meeting. 96 97 Tom Schutte and Dick Schrier, Azure Properties. They have tried to communicate with 98 elected and appointed officials. They would like to move forward with their development 99 proposal for Main Street Village as quickly as possible. They continue to be asked for 100 more information and have worked diligently to respond. They are close to providing 101 everything requested (a checklist of items) but are still getting a negative staff 102 recommendation. Perhaps addition of conditions would be a better approach. They need 103 some type of approval to keep their end of the project on track. 104 105 When questioned if the "checklist" is complete, it was unclear if all required information 106 has been submitted. It is clear that parking questions remain and parking has proven to be 107 an important development consideration. 108 109 Council Member Reinert noted that he requested this item be added to the agenda. His 110 first discussion about this property was eight years ago and it seems that there is a •111 problem with continuing issues. He asked that staff explain what are the biggest issues 112 now? 113 114 Community Development Director Grochala explained that it is possibly a matter of 115 many smaller issues including storm water management, parking, landscaping, site access 116 issues, etc. Some of these matters may have been addressed adequately with the latest 117 submissions. Staff must ensure that all necessary questions are answered and that a solid 118 proposal is presented to the council. 119 120 Mr. Schrier stated that this has been an unusually difficult and expensive process for the 121 developer; they are asking for approval of a basic footprint. A big part of the problem is 122 that the city is requiring a plan for a larger site than what they actually want to develop. 123 124 Staff is committed to reviewing the information submitted to this point. When plans are 125 changed, however, that can slow the process overall. The Planning and Zoning Board 126 will make a recommendation based on the information staff can provide. 127 128 A council member commented that it isn't appropriate for the council to do the work of 129 the advisory boards, where the project still stands. The question of the extent of the 130 questions unanswered cannot truly be answered. Getting the project through the process 131 appropriately is the priority but staff should move the process as best they are able. 132 • 133 Mr. Shutte suggested that they believe they are within three or four remaining issues and 134 it is their hope that they could get a conditional approval. • • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 135 136 Staff added that there is a statutory deadline (March 1) for agency action. 137 138 West Oaks Survey — City Engineer Studenski recalled that the city received a petition 139 requesting extension of sanitary sewer and water from some residents of the West Oak 140 subdivision. As a result the city sent a questionnaire to the residents outlining process 141 and related costs. Engineer Studenski distributed written information with the most 142 recent results of the resident survey. For the 85 properties who received surveys, 40 143 questionnaires were returned. Those responding in opposition to the project were in the 144 range of 70%. Staff is recommending that the results of the survey be provided to the 145 residents along with a statement that there will be no further action taken due to lack of 146 interest. 147 148 The council concurred with the staff recommendation. 149 150 Traffic Noise Abatement Study - 35W Noise Wall — City Engineer Studenski updated 151 the council on the proposed 35W (Sunset Road to Savannah Court) noisewall project. 152 The area was ranked high under MnDOT noise abatement standards and, with local 153 support, wall could be erected with full funding from the state. A neighborhood meeting 154 on the project was held and area residents have voiced impressive support for the wall. 155 He reviewed how the wall would be placed and constructed. Construction would most 156 like occur in 2009 but MnDOT requests a resolution now indicating the city's position on 157 the wall. 158 159 The council requested that staff prepare a resolution in support of the noise wall project. 160 161 Advisory Board Appointment Process - Administration Director Tesch explained that 162 the deadline for receipt of applications was extended in the hopes of receiving more 163 applications. He reviewed the openings and requests for reappointment. 164 165 There was council concensus on reappointment of Vern Reinert to the Circle Pines Gas 166 Utility. 167 168 The new deadline is January 14, 2008. Interview dates will be conveyed to the council 169 when established. 170 171 Director Tesch also noted that the council will be considering their annual 172 appointments/designations at the January 14, 2008 council meeting. The council made 173 the following recommendations: 174 Acting Mayor — Gallup 175 North Metro Telecommunications Commission — Stoltz 176 Centennial Fire Steering Committee — Reinert and Gallup 177 VLAWMO — Bergeson, O'Donnell 178 County Corrections — Stoltz 179 Joint Law Enforcement Committee — Reinert • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 180 181 Regarding city depositories, there was some interest in keeping that an open process for 182 financial institutions. Also, there was interest in having staff make a recommendation 183 for the additions to the labor services and fiscal agent categories. Staff will return with 184 options in the future. 185 186 Compensation Audit RFP's — Administration Director Tesch reported on the results of 187 the RFP that was sent to several companies for the services of a personnel related audit. 188 One proposal was received, from Springsted, Inc. They have prepared a list of audit 189 categories each with a price tag attached. This would be for audit services only. Director 190 Tesch recommended that the council could use the list, at a minimum, to develop a 191 compensation philosophy. A review of how the city has used market based information 192 and updating pay equity status would also be recommended. 193 194 The council reviewed the various components of the proposal, considering whether or not 195 the city should proceed with any or all of them. 196 197 Support was expressed by one council member for most of the elements. There would 198 not seem to be as much cost value in looking at position descriptions because they are 199 reported to be up to date. 200 201 Director Tesch explained that the job descriptions are used in the performance evaluation 202 system in place. That may be a consideration in that area. 203 204 It was expressed by one council member that the current performance review system isn't 205 appropriate. The process that is done internally isn't as familiar to the council as the 206 element that they actually participate in so more information to the council on that 207 process may be appropriate. Pay for performance continues to be a goal. 208 209 The matter will continue to be discussed by the council. 210 211 Director Tesch suggested that if the council is interested in the entire audit, it may be 212 appropriate to look at phasing the elements within and past this year. 213 214 The council concurred that absent Council Member O'Donnell should have an 215 opportunity to review the proposal. 216 217 Administrator Heitke asked how the equity question fits into the need for negotiations 218 under way and Director Tesch indicated that it is not urgent but he will review the 219 situation. 220 221 Snowmobile/ATV Ordinance - Police Chief Pecchia reported that, as directed, the 222 police department conferred with the city attorney on the possibility of amending the new 223 Snowmobile/ATV ordinance to allow for exemptions based on concerns from residents. 224 The city attorney is recommending against exemptions as it would hinder enforcement • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 225 activities and would be counter to the intent of the regulations. One of the requests 226 related to use of a county road and that would not require an exemption since the city 227 ordinance doesn't apply to county roads. 228 229 Police Department Administrative Staffing — Chief Pecchia explained that with the 230 opening of the Office Manager position within the police department, he see an 231 opportunity to make some positive staffing changes. The department currently has a 3/4 232 time volunteer coordinator and that person has worked to coordinate many hours of 233 volunteer services from the community. The department would like to continue to 234 enhance volunteer activities, a practice that can free officers for more direct service duty 235 and less time on such things as paperwork. The department is proposing that the 236 volunteer coordinator position be advanced to a command position and that all volunteer 237 administration duties be moved to that area. The chief is also interested in enhancing 238 one clerical position to a technical level to handle some of the duties of the former office 239 manager position. He would also like to add two additional community service officers 240 — college students who are working on degrees in the area of law enforcement; a program 241 that also serves as an area of recruitment for the department. Staff anticipates this overall 242 change will be a budget reduction. The proposal is being presented in theory to the 243 council; human resource staff would be responsible for actual position establishment, etc. 244 The department needs to position itself for growth in the future and to deliver the highest 245 level of services for the least cost. The volunteer coordinator position is currently filled 246 by Karen Anderson, an active member of the community and experienced coordinator. 247 248 A council member requested that the proposal be put into writing (Chief Pecchia's 249 presentation was oral). 250 251 A council member noted experience in volunteer coordination and lauded the benefit of 252 having a good program in place. 253 254 Administrator Heitke noted that this would be a departure from the norm, with movement 255 of a civilian position into the command side of the department. There should perhaps be 256 a review of what that change looks like. The council will be anticipating a new job 257 description that they can review. 258 259 Chief Pecchia explained that if neither he nor the department captain were available, this 260 position would be third in line for a communications role but not operational. The goal is 261 for that situation to never occur since the chief and captain do not schedule time away at 262 the same time. He does not anticipate a problem with authority since the department 263 members are well accustomed to working hand in hand with the volunteer elements 264 already included in the department. 265 266 The council will receive a written proposal including a projected budget impact. 267 268 Process, Timeline for Reviewing Substitute Charter Amendment — City Clerk Bartell 269 gave a brief history of the amendment process to date. The council received a report from CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 270 The Citizens Task Force To Review Charter Provisions Pertaining to Local 271 Improvements and, as a result, conveyed a charter amendment proposal to the Charter 272 Commission. The Charter Commission elected to draft a substitute amendment which 273 the council has officially received. The council currently has two charter amendments 274 before them and the state statutes establish options for action. The council may send one 275 of the amendments to a ballot (special or general election). The council could also 276 consider approving an amendment by unanimous affirmative vote (this option would 277 apply to the substitute amendment only). Key days for placement on the ballot were 278 reviewed. 279 280 Administrator Heitke reviewed a proposed general schedule that would allow the council 281 to review the substitute charter amendment, with adequate time to pursue all options 282 including the lengthiest option of proposing a new amendment that would again require 283 charter commission review. 284 285 Community Development Director Grochala explained that the major difference with the 286 charter proposal is that the process for neighborhood involvement is cumbersome. A 287 feasibility study is done proposing possible improvements, elements are broken down 288 including assessments, residents get that information and make choices for 289 improvements, and whatever projects get the most votes would dictate what would be 290 done. There are concerns about how design can be accomplished, how you can separate •291 elements, etc. 292 293 Administrator Heitke is recommending a technical review of the charter commission 294 proposal. 295 296 The council concurred with the proposal to proceed with a technical review and will 297 expect a report on the February work session agenda. 298 299 Professional Services RFP's — Administrator Heitke noted the council has discussed 300 seeking proposals for on going professional services, including legal services. The matter 301 was purposefully held off for various noted reasons including projects underway and the 302 need for continuity. He is proposing now, however, that an RFP process could now 303 begin. He is not recommending looking at an RFP for all services at one time because it 304 can be a time consuming process for both staff and council. 305 306 There was discussion about legal services, past and present. 307 308 The council concurred on releasing an RFP for legal services. As noted in the previous 309 discussion regarding annual appointments that include designation of certain service 310 providers, it was confirmed that staff under direction to provide options to look at options 311 for labor and fiscal services. 312 •313 Data Request Policy — City Clerk Bartell explained that the council has discussed the 314 establishment of a formal communication policy as it relates to data requests from council CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 7, 2008 APPROVED 315 members. As a part of reviewing that process, it became evident that including an update 316 of the city's guidelines and procedures for all data practices would be an appropriate 317 addition to the scope of the project. The city has been operating under basic data 318 practices but a formal document would bring procedures and guidelines into one 319 document and formalize our compliance with legal requirements. The City of Lino Lakes 320 Guidelines and Procedures for the Minnesota Government Data Practice Act was 321 reviewed. The council was alerted to those areas concerning response time and fees. 322 323 Administrator Heitke reviewed Section X of the document regarding communication with 324 council members. The language puts into place a formal procedure for responding to data 325 requests from council members. 326 327 The council will consider formal adoption of the document when requested by staff. 328 329 Minutes of Nov. 5, 2007 work session — City Clerk Bartell noted that these minutes were 330 held from approval due to concern about missing discussion. The minutes were revised 331 and were held for review by other council members. 332 333 The minutes will be added to the January 14, 2008 council agenda for consideration of 334 approval. 335 336 Review of January 14, 2008 Regular Council Agenda 337 338 There were no changes to the regular Council agenda other than the addition of the 339 previous item. 340 341 The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. 342 343 These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on 344 January 28, 2008. 345 346 347 348 349 Ju Tann: Bartell, City C erk ohn igeson, Mayor 350 4edePv • 8