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Home My WebLink About1987/02/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Feb. 17, 1937 4b "IINUTES City Council Study Session St. Louis Park, MN Feb. 9, 1987 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7 :15 p.m. 2 . Roll Call The following members were present at roll call: Ronald Backes, Allen Friedman, Larry Mitchell , Lyle Hanks. Also present was the City Manager, Assistant City Manager and Admin- istrative Assistant. 3. Review of visit from bond rating agencies The City Manager stated that Moody' s was in St. Louis Park on Feb- ruary 4 and Standard & Poor was present on February 5 . He highlighted the four broad areas the agencies reviewed. 1. City debt Ili, 2 . Economic base 3. Finances 4 . Management of the municipality The City Manager also discussed the reports that were distributed to the bond rating agencies. 1. A booklet on St. Louis Park including financial information and developments 2 . Fiscal Fitness 3. The Highway 7 corridor plan 4 . Water update information (including videotape) 5. Capital Improvement Program 4 . Sale of homes on Louisiana Ave. Sally Harman and Don Rodingen of Edina Realty were present. Councilman itche—1-stated_that this _would be an opportunity to rein- force an interest in single family homes -and owner occupied homes. He wanted to identify how to guarantee the homes are owner occupied and creative financing. He felt financing should be attractive to owner occupied home buyers. /111 Sally Harman identified areas requiring clarification. 1. How to handle points 2 . Who will be responsible for making decisions 3 . Whether or not more than one person would be involved in the decision making process Councilman Friedman recommended that the City Council set the parameters Study session minutes Feb. 9, 1987 and that the City Manager be designated to make the decisions. 4111 Councilman Mitchell raised concerns about keeping the homes owner occupied after the initial sale. He offered establishment of an escrow account based on a percentage of the sale price. This would provide a matching grant to the homeowner to ensure improvements to the property. He also stated that this would set an example to the neighborhood, improve the physical appearance and encourage owner occupied buyers. Councilman Friedman stated that• if sold prior to the specified dead- line, e.g. five years, the incentive could continue to a subsequent home buyer. The representative from Edina Realty asked whether or not there are a greater number of rental units along the street such as Louisiana Ave. , Cedar Lake Rd. and Minnetonka Blvd. The City Manager responded that there were. Sally Harman asked whether or not the City wants high visibility in selling the homes. The Council was in favor of high visibility. Sally Harman asked about homesteading and whether the City would pay the non-homestead portion of the taxes if the owner has not homesteaded. The City Council was in support of that. Councilman Mitchell recommended placing this item on the Feb_. 17 agend Sally Harman stated that since no parking is allowed on the west side of the 3100 block of Louisiana Ave . a problem exists when showing the homes . She said that -by approaching the homes from the-alley may present a less than positive impact. She stated that a prospective buyer should enter a home from the front door which is the most positive. She requested a change to permit parking even on a temporary basis. She added she would not want to misrepresent any clients, how- ever. She further stated that a number of homes do not have garages and she asked whether staff could identify location for garages. Mayor Hanks asked whether the construction of a garage would require a variance. The City - Tana-g-er -responded he didn' t think -so. Mayor Hanks stated if it did require a variance, perhaps a variance could be approved with__the .sale_ of _the property. Councilman Friedman directed staff to identify the location for garages and whether a variance would be required. Sally Harman stated that staff will provide her with a checklist for repairs to the homes . She inquired about painting vs . residing . The City Manager commented that if in her opinion it is better to reside and it would increase the value of the home he would recommend that. Councilman Friedman asked is the City fixing the homes to meet code. The City Manager responded that the City was and that in some cases beyond that. J Study session minutes Feb. 9, 1987 IIP Councilman Friedman recapped the main points for the letter of intent: 1. Points - how many tapay 1 2. Best lender, buyer ' s responsibility 3. Owner occupied 4. City Manager makes the decisions 5. Sally Harman does a market analysis to determine value which is presented to the City Manager Councilman Mitchell stated that he would be willing to assign the City Manager to negotiate the best possible prices under the circum- stances. Councilman Friedman asked about commissions. Sally Harman recommended 7er en p c t. She also recommended ai 1 sting agreement for 130 days. 5. Prosecuting Attorney The prosecuting attorneys were present and the Chief of Police was present. The Mayor stated the purpose of this meeting was to identify how statistical data should be reported to evaluate how cases move and are being handled. Councilman Mitchell stated the process needs to be defined and to find , 1110 ways to get information on each process. He referred to an article on the length of time it takes municipalities to charge DWI arrests. Lucy Wieland stated that turnaround time could be provided to the Council. Councilman Friedman stated that the statistics provided are non- functional as they do not measure anything. He stated it is important to know the time spans from the charge to disposition. Lucy Wieland stated she did not have control of the setting of the court calendar. Councilman Friedman responded that to some extent it can be controled. Mike Colich stated -t:ha -the time involved to trace the complete -history of a case may require more time than preparing for trial and that a significant cost factor may be involved. Councilman Backes stated that Council needs to establish policy and commented that the Council maybe ettin too d taile oun i n Mitchell stated an effective, meaningcful evauation of poglicy implementation was also a res- Qonsibijitry of Council . ounce m n Friedman asked the police chief if delays are tracked in the police department. The chief responded that in most cases neither the police departmentnor the prosecutor has control over continuances. On a rare occasion, the City may ask for a continuance because anofficer is on vacation, etc . He stated that the police department does not track the delays. The Mayor stated that he doesn ' t know what would be appropriate to evaluate a prosecuting attorney on, conviction rates or length of Study session minutes Feb. 9 , 1937 process. It The City Manager referred to a letter sent to Colich and Wieland in September. He stated the data included in that letter may be appro— priate for reporting in the following format: by month and current year to date; current month compared to same month in the previous year and current year to date compared to previous year to date. Lucy Wieland stated she could easily provide that information. The City Manager inquired as to whether or not the prosecuting attorney could track for Inspectional Services and the Fire Department also. Lucy Wieland stated that for formal complaints, yes. Councilman Friedman asked about evaluating the Police Department. Mike Colich stated the officers have been fair and a good working re- lationship exists. Lucy Wieland stated there had been no Rasmussen hearings (constitutional charges) ; therefore, there is a good indica- tion that the police officers are appropriately enforcing the law. Councilman Mitchell suggested discussing the prosecutorial policy as it specifically relates to delays. Re asked if prosecutorial policy would be discussed tonight or at a later date. The Mayor responded that because of the length of tonight's agenda, prosecutorial policy would be discussed at a later date. The City Manager stated the present policy would continue. Lucy Wieland stated that the complaint turnaround time information would be provided for the -Febru-ary -report. Councilman Friedman stated he would develop concrete suggestions and present them at a later date. 6. City Manager compensation Discussion of the City Manager' s work program/compensation was scheduled for the end of the City Council meeting on February 17 . 7. Meeting with Steve Novak and legislative liaison The Assistant City Manager was directed to contact those Council members not present for their availability to meet with Steve Novak on Feb. 16, 1987 . 3. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9 : 20 p.m. gAd411I/l Carmen J. plan Recording Secretary