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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995/08/14 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session MINUTES STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK CITY COUNCIL Monday, August 14, 1995 Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 7 00 p m Present were Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Ron Latz, Gail Dorfman Mayor Hanks asked the City Clerk to administer the oath of office to Susan Sanger, Ward 1 Councilmember, who then joined the meeting Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer); Inspections Supervisor (Mr Kulczyk), Director of Finance (Ms McBride), Asst Director of Finance(Mr Felton), Director of Parks and Recreation (Mr Gears), Director of Community Development (Mr Harmening); Communications Coordinator (Ms Schwartz), Administrative Intern (Ms Teppen), Police Lieutenant (Mr Sewall) and Personnel Officer (Mr Wysopal) 1 TwinWest/St. Louis Park Business Council presentation John DeCoster and Jennifer Hearon were present to talk about the TwinWest/St Louis Park Business Council He shared with Council the Council's Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives and existing and upcoming programs Mr DeCoster said the Council's intent is to focus on the big picture, not just on individual interests Councilmember Dorfman said she would be interested in how the Business Council may be able to assist the City in doing business with women and minority businesses It was the consensus of Council that Councilmember Jacobs continue to represent the City on the Business Council 2 Proposed fee changes - Inspections Mike Kulczyk, Inspections Supervisor, was present to review the report Staff was offering recommendations regarding needed adjustments in the permit fee structure They are proposing the City Council adopt the 1994 UBC permit fee schedule with the $21 00 minimum permit fee This matter will be placed on an upcoming agenda for the appropriate ordinance amendment 3 Animal control policies and procedures Lt Sewall was present to discuss the report Police staff is trying to make the method for releasing of impounded animals less cumbersome to residents The present method involves impounding of loose animals, then transfer to Park Pet Hospital Issuing of citations frequently can result in an expensive prosecution in the event the owner fails to appear Also, staff was recommending adjustment of fees for licenses and boarding of animals and uniform treatment of all animals, not just dogs A study of neighboring communities shows them charging $10 to $13 50 for daily boarding while St Louis Park currently charges $4.50 Neighboring communities charge between $7 00 and $25 00; St Louis Park charges $7 50 The proposed changes will be incorporated into an ordinance amendment that will come before Council at a future meeting 4 1996 proposed budget -Preliminary highlights Ms McBride and Mr Felton addressed this item The preliminary budget resulted in a gap of$1 8 million which has been closed by asking departments for a 5% net reduction in budget, a 3% tax increase and one-time revenues of approximately $600,000 in transfers from the Equipment Replacement Fund and Employee Benefits Fund It is anticipated the City will eventually wean itself from the necessity of making one-time transfers to balance the budget A proposal for an overall tax levy increase of 3 16% is proposed Water and sewer rates are proposed to increase 3% in 1996 Council was generally pleased with the report and efforts made by staff to keep increases to a minimum Mayor Hanks asked for a breakdown of total legal costs for 1995 and a breakdown of civil and prosecutor costs for the last 3-4 years 5 Review of 1996 budget requests from outside agencies Mr Wysopal and Ms Teppen presented the report Council was provided with a worksheet outlining the eleven agencies requesting funds, amount being requested and a brief description of the services they provide The 1996 requests represent an increase of$10,728 over the 1995 requests Council thought it worthwhile to look at priorities and perhaps shifting of funds among the agencies Councilmember Sanger wondered if a survey had ever been done of the amount needed for various community needs It was the consensus of staff not to increase the 1996 funding over the 1995 allotment 6 Rec Center project - Proposed public information plan Mr Gears and Ms Schwartz were present to review the report Councilmember Jacobs favored #2, the Proactive approach This would include informing the public what the City has in mind, but not asking for their input at this point Especially pointing out what the problems with the Rec Center are and what is needed Councilmember Dorfman expanded a bit suggesting staff relay what the Council feels is best but impressing on them that the community needs to buy into the proposal Councilmember Latz felt better answers could be gathered from a scientific citizen survey Mr Meyer said staff did not recommend conducting a survey as this is a departure from the way this sort of information has been gathered in the past Ms Schwartz felt it was difficult to assess results from a poll or survey Councilmember Haun felt the timing was off to undertake this in the Fall what with all the info coming along re property taxes and the levy He would support such a publicity campaign after January 1, however He would like to see staff ease into any publicity efforts Staff was asked to provide pool attendance figures for the summer of 1995 It was Council's consensus to move forward with the preliminary phases of the educational process by the various means described in staff's report 7 Hennepin County Works Hennepin County Works is an integrated public works,job creation tax base enhancement program It impacts the City via the Hopkins LRT corridor/Cedar Lake Trail Extension The County is presently seeking the Council's endorsement and Mayor Hanks has attended several recent meetings He invited any member to join him in this effort 8 C-2 ordinance - Proof of parking Mr Harmening was present to discuss this item Staff had been requested by Council to consider alternative language which would give the City more control over when parking set aside areas could be converted into actual parking The first proposal was after one year Discussion at the Aug 7 Council meeting also suggested developing some type of criteria which would dictate conversion of open space to parking One alternative staff is proposing, which has met with the developer agrees, is to require that at least 10% of the required parking spaces be landscaped as open space for a minimum of 2 years after issuance of Certificate of Occupancy Council seemed generally comfortable with this proposal There was a question about if a tenant would apply to increase parking within the first 2 years and would such requests come to council Mr Harmening said an applicant would contact the Zoning Administrator to assess the situation and make a determination If Council did not approve a request, they had recourse to appear before the Board of Zoning Appeals As if the usual procedure, upon a denial of BOZA they can appeal to the Council 9 Other business Mayor Hanks noted City Week will be celebrated October 7 He will be in on planning and asked any interested Councilmembers to join him The meeting adjourned at 9 30 fl' Lirvtt Recording Secretary