HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997/06/23 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF City Council Study Session
ST. Louis June 23, 1997
PARK 7:00 p.m.
The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m.
Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Beverly Flanagan, Ron Latz, Sue Sanger,
and Mayor Gail Dorfman.
Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Meyer); Deputy City Manager(Ms. Kutzler); Director
of Community Development(Mr. Harmening); Police Sergeant(Mr. DiLorenzo);
Administrative Analyst(Paula Graff); Director of Inspections (Mr. Petersen); City Clerk
(Cindy Larsen)
1. School Employment Background Check Ordinance
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St. Louis Park Police Sgt. Kirk DiLorenzo and Jim Martin of District 283 came before the
Council to answer questions relating to an ordinance proposing that background
employment checks be conducted on prospective school district employees through the
St. Louis Park Police Department.
IIIn response to Councilmembers' questions, Sgt. DiLorenzo informed Council that:
• federal investigations will be conducted which are more thorough than the checks
currently being performed by BCA
• prospective school employees would not be allowed to start work until the
background check was completed
• the proposed ordinance limits checks to K-12 educational institutions in St. Louis
Park and does not include an option to perform these checks for other organizations
• a fee for performing the investigation will be charged to the applicant
• the program will be evaluated at the end of one year to determine if changes need to
be made.
The ordinance will be presented for second reading at the next City Council meeting.
2. CDBG Allocation -Single Family Rehabilitation Deferred Loan Program
Staff requested Council direction in determining which of two agencies Council felt the
City should continue to work with for the single family rehabilitation deferred loan
program. Earlier in 1997 Council had decided to tie a social service agency into the
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rehab program to maximize the impact of funds actually used to rehab homes. Up to
$20,000 had been set aside for the social service portion of the rehab program.
Council reviewed proposals from CASH (Community Action for Suburban Hennepin)
and Senior Community Services. Following a review of the features of each proposal,
Council directed staff to work with CASH to refine their proposal and to bring an
agreement forward to a future City Council meeting.
3. Growth Forecasts for Households, population, and Employment for the year
2020
Tom Harmening presented to Council growth projections for 2020. The Metropolitan
Council forecasts job and household growth projections for each community within the
metropolitan area as a part of their planning process and had requested that cities adopt a
resolution committing to a certain amount of growth over the next 25 years.
Staff explained that these growth projections are a tool designed to assist the
Metropolitan Council in planing and also indicated that St. Louis Park's Comprehensive
plan must allow for the growth projected. While there is no penalty for faulty judgment,
grants and other funding are somewhat dependent on these projections.
Council questioned where all the new houses could go in a City already fully developed.
Mr. Harmening responded that many areas of the City may be ready for redevelopment
prior to the year 2020.
A resolution adopting the growth forecasts will be brought to Council at the next regular
meeting.
4. Residential Garbage,Refuse,Recycling and Yard Waste Collection Services
In January Council directed staff to proceed with an RFQ and a RFP process for
continued organized total collection for residential properties. Joanne Kutzler, Deputy
City Manager and Paula Graff,Administrative Analyst presented a summary and analysis
of the responses to the RFP,projected costs under different service options, and a copy of
the RFP, with comments solicited from the three vendors prior to issuance.
Mayor Dorfman expressed reluctance in making recommendations without the entire
Council present. Council discussed different service options and expectations of St.
Louis Park's residents. Several Councilmembers expressed the opinion that we should
restrict ourselves to one hauler in order to minimize truck traffic in the City. It was
agreed that service levels should remain high,but that we should look closely at whether
we wish to continue to provide free pick up of white goods and bulk items.
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Several issues regarding recycling were discussed. Ms. Kutzler explained that the City's
bar coding system,though successful in the beginning, is considered by many to be no
longer useful and should be discarded. In its place it was recommended that the recycling
contractor should be responsible for increasing the city's abatement and take measures to
ensure that goals are met. The option of co-mingling recyclables was attractive to all
members present.
Also discussed were whether the City should purchase carts or continue to require
residents to supply their own cans, customer service expectations, truck safety and the
possibility of using biodegradable yard waste bags.
Staff agreed to provide more detailed information for Council consideration at the next
study session.
5. Railroad Issues
On Thursday, June 19, 1997 City staff met with representatives of the Railroad Task
Force and the four railroad entities which own or operate railroads in St. Louis Park to
review the four Task Force routing alternatives with the affected railroads. Mr. Petersen
indicated that several issues remain. Issues that will be returning to Council in the future
are 1) agreement on the amount of development to be allowed on the National Lead site
2)whether or not the City would purchase the site 3)remediation issues yet to be
addressed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency.
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Communications
Prior to adjournment, Council briefly discussed proposed-changes in the gambling
ordinance, the departure of Chief of Police Mancel Mitchell and the situation with the
City's water reserves.
The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
cd 716(egii2--
Gail Dorfman,Mayor
R ording Secretary
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