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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997/04/14 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY QF City Council Study Session ST LOUIS April 14, 1997 PARK 7:00 p.m. The meeting convened at 7:10 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Brimeyer, Beverly Flanagan, Jeff Jacobs, Ron Latz, Sue Sanger, and Robert Young. Jeff Jacobs chaired the meeting in the absence of the Mayor Dorfman. Staff present: Deputy City Manager(Ms. Kutzler); Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening); Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Anderson); Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin); Director of Finance (Ms. McBride); Personnel Officer(Mr. Wysopal); and Fire Department Administrative Analyst(Ms. Graff). 1. Business Council Issue of selecting a Council liaison to the Business Council was postponed until the next Study Session since the Mayor was not present. 2. League Policy Issues Councilmember Brimeyer raised the issue of the City's role in participating in the development of some of the National League of Cities' policy issues (e.g.; electric deregulation, housing). Council agreed that issues of interest to Councilmembers should be raised on a case-by-case basis and placed on the agenda. 3. Building Coverage on Lots and Set Back Requirements Robert Young gave a brief outline of the issue stating that he has viewed successful developments where set back is minimized and indicated the City should consider ordinance amendments (e.g. set back and coverage requirements) to reflect new urbanism concepts. Other Councilmembers agreed that area cities have been successful with decreased setbacks and felt it was worthy to explore the issue further. Following discussion, it was agreed to direct staff to work with the Planning Commission on amendment options. 4. PAS Maintenance Study Consultant Ben Adkins of PAS was present to discuss the results of their maintenance study. The study was commissioned to assess specific aspects of two City departments: Public Works and Parks and Recreation. Council posed questions and suggestions to Mr. Adkins the following issues: -the increased workload of Public Works and whether its effect was the result of aging infrastructure; 1 -need for preventative maintenance; -use of 20 year old statistics and whether this made sense to compare to today when there is more technology; -concern over future retirements (succession planning) and possible lack of adequate staff in the future (demographic changes); -concern that the study overlooked customer relations; -privatization and cost saving opportunities; -need to clarify and have common understanding regarding service levels and priorities among Council, management, and employees; - discussion of issues of efficiency versus customer responsiveness; -need to look at what we should be doing and what we should stop doing. Study set to be received and formally filed at the April 28 Council meeting. Council expressed interest in returning to a Study Session to discuss priorities and give direction on Council's desired outcomes. 5. Commercial Rehab Program Mr. Anderson and Mr. Harmening summarized the proposed program and guidelines. Council supported the development of the program. The following summarizes the various Councilmembers' concerns and suggestions: - concern about the proposed plan to target areas already in the process of being redeveloped; - concern about targeting one area for development as opposed to citywide eligibility; - need to clarify that program excludes multi-housing properties; - questions about the demand for the program; - concern about redevelopment in other areas of the City; - desire to prioritize selection criteria to favor lower income businesses rather than allowing funds to go to businesses that can afford to pay market rates; -concern about properties zoned legal, non-conforming uses receiving funds; -need to have initial program success, then target other areas for redevelopment. Council directed staff to bring the issue back at a subsequent meeting (second meeting in May) for formal approval. 2 6. Special Service District#2 Mr. Anderson and Mr. Harmening summarized the proposed program and how they arrived at the proposed budget of the district. Also discussed was their recent meeting with commercial businesses in the district who have stated that they do not wish to cover the costs of snow removal in front of residential properties. The following summarizes the various Councilmembers' concerns and suggestions: - concern about subsidizing residential snow removal; - concern about lack of a uniform snow removal in the district; - concern about enforcement of sidewalk snow removal ordinance. Following discussion, Council agreed that there is no problem with establishing the district with the understanding that no City subsidy would be spent on service in the district. Councilmember Sanger requested that the following larger issues be placed on a future Study Session agenda: 1) residential sidewalk snow removal services and 2) ordinance enforcement. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Harmening also spoke briefly on the Streetscape project in the area. Initially the project should have been ready to go out for bids, however, preliminary approval has not been given by the County thereby delaying the bid until later this summer. According to Mr. Harmening, this delay will lead to a 10% cost increase and may potentially lead to a two year period for completion. Council agreed with Mr. Harmening's recommendation that the project be postponed until next year. 7. Refuse Collection Services Update Ms. Graff updated the Council on progress made in the process to establish organized residential collection services and discussed with the Council the various service options that will be included in the upcoming RFP. The following summarizes the various Councilmembers' concerns and suggestions: - concern about what the costs of carts would be and who would pay for it; - interest in knowing what other cities' have experienced by implementing carts into their collection system; - interest in keeping service curbside; - concern about the cost of retaining and/or eliminating bar code scanning; - interest in knowing the cost difference between commingled versus source separated recyclables; - interest in knowing the costs of adding additional recyclables to collection service; 3 - interest in knowing the costs of using biodegradable bags for yard waste; - desire to designate the County as the disposal site for the City's refuse and garbage; - concern over increasing collection services to include multi-family dwellings; - concern over subcontracting recyclable collection. Following discussion, Council agreed that the RFP would seek cost options for the services that they had expressed an interest in. Written Reports - Arts Fund Raising Information Mr. Brimeyer discussed the need for individual Councilmembers to notify contributors. Councilmembers will fax to staff the names of contributors that they plan to contact. Written Reports - Compensation Plan Mr. Wysopal updated the Council on the progress of flex leave for non-union employees. The meeting adjourned at 10:37 p.m. fbfsI / Gail Dorfman, Mayor Recording Secretary 4