HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-02-2015 Council Work Session MinutesCITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
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MEMBERS ABSENT
CITY OF LINO LAKES
MINUTES
March 2, 2015
: March 2, 2015
. 6:00 p.m.
. 9:30 p.m.
: Council Member Kusterman, Rafferty,
Roeser and Mayor Reinert
: Council Member Stoesz
Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Public Safety Director John
Swenson; Community Development Director Michael Grochala; City Planner Katie
Larsen; Environmental Coordinator Martin Asleson; City Clerk Julie Bartell
16 6. Memorial for U.S. Military Service Members — Lino Lakes Lions Club
17 President Jerry Bauer and Lions Club Officer John Bergeson were present. Mr. Bauer
18 explained that the Lions Club is interested in establishing a memorial in the city and he
19 presented some examples of memorials in other cities. They have a person in mind who
20 could do the granite work and could give an idea of the cost.
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22 Mayor Reinert indicated that the city is interested in helping with the effort. There
23 should be some options and costs put together for review. He directed staff to report at
24 the next council work session; he loves the idea of this memorial and wants to begin
25 working on it.
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27 Community Development Director Grochala suggested that the club may want to speak
28 with Public Services Director DeGardner about possible locations in the city.
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30 1. Fire Station Bid Alternatives — Apparatus Bay Doors- Quinn Hutson, CNH
31 Architects reviewed a PowerPoint presentation related to the Lino Lakes Fire Station
32 project and bid alternate 5 regarding a choice of coiling or four -fold doors. The
33 presentation included information on energy efficiency, benefits of different types of
34 doors and the difference in image.
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36 The council asked if Deputy Director D'Allier has a preference for doors and Chief
37 Swenson said he believes that he would prefer the bi-fold doors, his original
38 recommendation, especially because he is familiar with their use and their track record.
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40 The council asked questions about pros and cons of the different doors and concurred that
41 they would prefer the bi-fold option. The mayor noted that it is good practice to review
42 options.
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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
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March 2, 2015
1 2. Fire Station Financing — Mikeala Huot, Springsted financial consultant,
2 reviewed a PowerPoint presentation regarding financing for the new city fire station. She
3 included information on:
4 - the project to be funded;
5 - types of funding proposed (lease revenue and abatement bonds);
6 - the amount of financing required;
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- how abatement bonding is structured and costs eligible for abatement bonds;
- constraints of abatement bonding;
- area where taxes will be abated (ultimately costs are spread throughout the city);
- the schedule for issuance of bonds;
- other projects that have been funded by abatement bonds.
The council will conduct a public hearing on the bonds at the March 23, 2015 meeting.
2a. Lino Lakes Ambassador Program- Ray Culp, representing the Ambassador
Program, provided information on the city float. The float is used by the Ambassadors to
represent the city in parades and functions around the state. It is in need of updating and
repair.
Megan Culp, Co -Coordinator of the Ambassador Program and former ambassador. The
program was so helpful in her growth as an individual that she is still participating and
contributing to keep it going. Ambassadors are selected based on criteria that means they
will represent the city well.
Mayor Reinert noted that he and Council Member Roeser attended a function of the
Program recently and heard about the condition of the float. The Program is long
recognized for the good work and the benefit it provides to the participants who are city
residents.
Using a PowerPoint tool, Mr. Culp reviewed:
- Ambassador activities;
- Positive attitude of the participants;
- Photos of the current float;
- Problems occurring with the current float;
- A proposal to repair the float, noting that they've gotten some quotes on the supplies;
- The need for a cover to store and transport the float (possibly $3,300);
- Breakdown of expenses in the range of $3,000, not including the cover (including just
materials as labor would be done by volunteers).
The mayor noted his support of the city providing funds for the project. Council Member
Roeser indicated that the volunteer element is great and he thinks the city should provide
funding for the materials. It was suggested that inside storage should be explored as well
as providing for regular maintenance going forward. Also the possibility of funding
through the tourism organization could be explored. Council Member Rafferty asked
that the float renovation include more city identification such as the city logo.
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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION March 2, 2015
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2 Community Development Director Grochala said he will seek some type of indoor
3 storage and report back to the council.
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5 The council concurred that they would consider an appropriation of $6,000 for the float; a
6 formal action will be brought forward at the next regular meeting.
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8 3. Recycling Update (from February Work Session) - Environmental Coordinator
9 Asleson explained that the city receives funds from Anoka County each year that are to be
10 used to develop programs for waste reduction, recycling and solid waste management.
11 Those funds are received annually but are not guaranteed year to year. A couple of years
12 ago, the funds were raised substantially and that allowed additional efforts such as
13 monthly recycling days, adding more items to recycling day, and a billboard and an ad at
14 the movie theater promoting recycling. The council has discussed the possibility of
15 receiving mattresses at recycling day for free and staff is reporting back. The city
16 receives funding to promote recycling and could do mattresses for free for city residents
17 with the understanding that the county funding that supports that could disappear.
18 Council Member Roeser requested that staff make an effort to inform city businesses of
19 recycling availability.
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21 The council directed staff to provide mattress and furniture recycling free of charge to city
22 residents.
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24 4. Tree Planting Program — Environmental Coordinator Asleson noted that the city
25 requested a discussion about city reforestation in light of the threat of the Emerald Ash
26 Borer (EAB). Staff has provided information on the Twin City Tree Trust Program that
27 provides trees with a city subsidy as well as other possible sources of trees available to
28 city residents.
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30 Mayor Reinert reinforced that the city will be losing trees due to the EAB and must plan
31 ahead on replacement. Knowing the number of trees that will be lost, he would like a
32 program such as a "10,000 Tree Program" initiated, advertised and implemented with city
33 residents very soon. When the council discussed funding of a program, the mayor
34 suggested he'd like to see free trees first and then look at special purchases to get more
35 trees out there.
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37 Staff directed to work on options to provide trees with and without costs.
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39 Item from Regular Agenda of March 9, 2015-
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41 Item 6B - City Planner Larsen noted that the city has received a request from the owners
42 of the property at 6966 and 6970 Lake Drive for a rezoning that would allow the keeping
43 of farm animals. She showed maps indicating the site location and zoning of the
44 property in the vicinity. The property in question is made up of two 4 acre parcels. Area
45 residents did attend the Planning and Zoning meeting and support the rezoning. The
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION March 2, 2015
DRAFT
i question of property use was not driven by a citizen complaint but rather because the
2 owners wished to build an accessory building on the property. Staff and the Planning and
3 Zoning Board are recommending denial of the rezoning request but also recommend
4 researching the possibility of amending the zoning ordinance to base the keeping of farm
5 animals on lot size rather than on zoning district.
7 The mayor acknowledged that this represents a mix of uses and that's not unusual in Lino
8 Lake. There can be evolution where uses change. He sees a problem when there is a
9 complaint and he wonders if no one is complaining about this use, why is the city
10 involved? Community Development Director Grochala responded that staff doesn't
I l have the ability to decide to enforce in one place and not in another. In this case, the
12 Planning and Zoning Board thought the concept of looking at the size of the parcel makes
13 sense. Staff is thinking about creating the option of a downzoning for all the parcels in
14 the area but that would of course require the participation of the other property owners.
15 The mayor concurred that, under that scenario, the city would indeed have to ensure that
16 everyone who would be impacted is involved in the discussion. Ms. Larsen added that
17 the city would allow the animals to remain while the property owners are working with
18 the city on a solution.
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20 The council indicated they would vote on the denial that is recommended with the
21 understanding that there is an alternate solution to be worked out.
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23 5. Met Council Density Calculation Formula — Community Development Director
24 Grochala reviewed his staff report responding to the council's recent inquiry about
25 residential development density and how it is calculated for Met Council density
26 requirements. His report included a density overview based on the city's Land Use Plan,
27 information on the total city area, percentages of the city that are developed as residential,
28 and how much of the city is considered wetland/park/water and mixed use areas. He also
29 reviewed how the city defines density, how the Met Council defines density and how
30 those definitions are effected by removing consideration of storm ponding. Staff is
31 seeking council direction on any revisions needed to the city definitions.
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33 The council indicated they would not be considering an action for change at this time but
34 sees that staff will continue to review the possibilities.
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36 7. Advisory Board Applicants- Administrator Karlson reviewed the status of
37 applications received for advisory board appointments.
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39 The council will interview the two new applicants on March 9, prior to the regular
40 meeting that night.
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42 8. Council Member Updates — The council added this as a regular item to allow
43 time for individual members to report on their work to external groups, such as advisory
44 boards.
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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
1 '7\ am
March 2, 2015
Council Member Rafferty reported on a recent VLAWMO (Vadnais Lake Area Water
Management Organization) meeting. It was the first meeting of the year and that is
traditionally organizational, introducing new members and reviewing the budget and
projects coming forward. He noted that the VLAWMA district does not include much
of Lino Lakes but it is still important to maintain a presence on the board. He noted the
leadership of the group and also that they continue to discuss the situation with the water
lawsuit regarding White Bear Lake.
There were no other reports.
9. Monthly Progress Report — Administrator Karlson reviewed the matters
included on the report.
10. Review March 10, 2015 Meeting Agenda — The agenda was reviewed and there
were no changes.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on
March 23, 2015. �1
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25 `Jufa e Bartell, City 'lerk
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