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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001/12/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES ST LOUIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA December 17,2001 1. Call to Order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7.35 p.m. The following Councilmembers were present at roll call: Jim Bnmeyer, Ron Latz, Chns Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Robert Young, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Also present were the City Manager Nr. Meyer); City Attorney (Mr. Scott); Finance Director(Ms. McGann); Community Development Director(Mr. Harmening); Planning Coordinator (Ms. Enckson); and Recording Secretary (Ms. Samson). 2. Presentations 2a. Farewell to Robert Young,departing Ward 4 Councilmember Ward Four Councilmember since 1994, Robert Young was recognized for his service to the City of St. Louis Park. He served on the Board of Zoning Appeals from September 1991 to January 1994. Former St. Louis Park Mayors, Ms. Gail Dorfman and Mr. Lyle Hanks thanked Councilmember Young for his work. 3. Approval of Minutes 3a. City Council Minutes of December 3, 2001 The minutes were approved as presented. 3b. Study Session Minutes of November 26, 2001 The minutes were approved as presented with the following changes requested by Councilmember Latz• Page 10, Item 1, Paragraph 4, Councilmember Latz would like to have the following sentence added: Councilmember Latz remarked that most of the projections made regarding experiences of start-up lines (for commuter rails) were eventually met or exceeded by the commuter rails, the problem with the proposed Dan Patch line are the low projections Page 11, Item 2, Paragraph 3, add the following: Councilmember Latz asked if there would be a playground at the proposed apartment complex. He shared the same concerns Councilmember Santa raised Page 11, Item 2, Paragraph 8, the sentence should continue to read. i.e., to maintain the balance in St Louis Park in light of the recent addition of market rate housing and, specifically, Park Commons Council Meeting Minutes -2- December 17, 2001 4. Approval of Agenda and Consent Items NOTE: Consent items are those items of business which are considered to be routine and/or which need no discussion. Consent items are acted upon by one motion. If discussion is desired by either a Councilmember or a member of the audience, that item may be moved to an appropriate section of the regular agenda for discussion 4a. Approval of Agenda City Manager, Mr. Meyer, said Staff has a recommendation to add Item 7e, Subordination Agreement—Park Commons East; it is the complement of Item 7c from tonight's EDA meeting, and Item 7c was unanimously approved by the EDA. Councilmember Latz requested Items 5, 6, and 8 be moved from the Consent Agenda to the Regular Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to add Item 7e and move Items 5, 6, and 8 to the Regular Agenda. The motion passed 7-0. 4b. Approval of Consent Items It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the following Consent Agenda Items wall respect to the deletion of Items 5, 6, and 8. The motion passed 7-0. 1. Accept report stating there will be no increase in any of the four enterprise funds for 2002. 2. Adopt Ordinance No. 2216-01 adopting the 2002 Code of Ordinances for the City of ,:t. Louis Park (2nd reading), approve the summary and authorize its publication. 3 Adopt Resolution No. 01-151 approving a Minor Amendment to the Knollwood Mall Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow façade changes and two additional entrances at 8332 State Highway 7 4 Adopt Resolution No. 01-152 authorizing execution of a contract with ENSR Consuls ng and Engineering for consultant activities related to the implementation of the P silly Tar & Chemical Corporation Remedial Action Plan in 2002. 5 Adopt Resolution No. 01-154 authorizing installation of permit parking in front of 2900 Blackstone Avenue South. Traffic Study No. 559: 6. Accept the following reports for filing: a Charter Commission Minutes of September 12, 2001 b. Planning Commission Minutes of November 21, 2001 c. Vendor Claims Council Meeting Minutes -3- December 17, 2001 7. Police Uniform Contract. Motion to authorize the Mayor and City Manager to execute a contract with Uniforms Unlimited for police uniforms for a two-year period from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2003. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the following Consent Agenda Items with respect to the deletion of Items 5, 6, and 8. The motion passed 7-0. 5. Public Hearings 5a. Public Hearing and Second Reading of Sale of City Owned Property at 3900 Meadowbrook Road Case 00-42-RE. Ordinance No. 2217-01 Judie Erickson, Planning Coordinator, said the City owned property at 3900 Meadowbrook Road was purchased in 1967 for park purposes, however, the property is listed as industrial land in the Comprehensive Plan. The City now has an appraisal and a signed purchase agreement from an abutting property owner. Councilmember Nelson asked the City Attorney, Mr. Scott, this question: The application is from Wellington Window and Door Company, the ordinance and the appraisal names that entity but the purchase agreement names an entity called Meadowford LLC, will the names on the documents agree when the property is sold9 Mr. Scott responded, yes. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to approve Ordinance No. 2217-01 to sell City owned property at 3900 Meadowbrook Road, approve summary publication and authorize its publication. The motion passed 7-0 6. Requests, Petitions, and Communications from the Public --None 7. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions 7a. Resolution Authorizing Renewal of Gambling Premises Permit for VFW Post 5632 operating at 5605 West 36th Street. Resolution No. 01-144 City Manager, Mr. Meyer, said the VFW has made its application for a gambling premises permit and all is in order. It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve Resolution No. 01-144 authorizing renewal Gambling Premises Permit for VFW Post 5632 operating at 5605 West 36`h Street. The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Nelson opposed). Council Meeting Minutes -4- ' December 17, 2001 7b. Amendment to Resolutions Regarding the Issuance of Building Permits Prior to the Park Commons East Plat being Recorded. Resolution No.'s 01-145 and 01-146 Tom Harmening, Community Development Director, said TOLD would like to continue construction on Park Commons East. The Council is being asked to amend Resolution Numbers 01-090 and 01-091 to allow concrete work and additional building construction to occur prior to the Park Commons East plat being recorded Mr Harmening noted that in preparing the agenda electronically, there were some formatting errors in the Resolution on pages 30, 31, and 32, however, the errors have been corrected and they do not affect the Resolution's language. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to adopt Resolution No. 01-145 amending Resolution No. 01-090 approving a Final Plat for Park Commons East, and Resolution No. 01-146 amending Resolution 01-091 approving a Final Planned Unit Development for Park Commons East, regarding issuance of building permits prior to the Park Commons East plat being recorded. The motion passed 7-0. (Note: Item 7c was discussed prior to Item 7b) 7c. Adopt 2002 Budget, 2001 Revised Budget, 2002 Property Tax Levy, HRA Levy and 2000 Fund Balance Allocations. Resolution No.'s 01-147, 01-148, 01-149 Jean McGann, Finance Director, said the overall 2002 budget shows a property tax levy increase of 8%, and overall expenses show a total increase of approximately 6%. The local levy increase is $881,000, with other revenue increases of$163,000. The expenses responsible for the increase are primarily maintenance and services. The general wage increase is approximately $441,000, and the market adjustment for wages is about $169,000. Benefits reflect a 16% rise, which amounts to $223,000, utility increases are 23%, which amounts to $114,000; and inflationary and miscellaneous increases are $61,000. No rate increases are proposed for the four enterprise funds for 2002, which are maintained by the City. Ms. McGann continued: The total levy amount is $433,371. In regard to the 2000 Fund Balance Allocation, Staff recommends transfernng $200,000 to the Park Improvement Fund, $200,000 to the Technology Replacement Fund, and $100,000 to the Municipal Building Fund City Manager, Mr. Meyer, commented on a report by the Minnesota Citizen's League published in the Star Tribune this week. The report stated St. Louis Park ranked 24th out of 109 communities for overall taxing effort, i e., 24`h highest Mr. Meyer clarified St Louis Park's taxing effort is actually 66 out of 109. The 109 communities represent a wide variance. Mr. Meyer asked two state legislators to address the legislative changes and their impacts. State Senator Steve Kelley and State Senate Representative Jim Rhodes spoke. According to Senator Kelley, Governor Ventura was seeking accountability and wanted to separate property tax decisions from what was going on in the school districts so that no longer could a school district claim it levied X amount because the State told it to. Council Meeting Minutes -5- December 17, 2001 Councilmember Nelson spoke saying the current model for local government aid (LGA) is flawed and should be eliminated—compleiely:. He said St. Louis Park does not receive what it pays out. Senator Kelley said some cities lack the tax capacity to match their legitimate city needs, therefore, local government aid has a legitimate role to play, but fairness in terms of a city's need versus its tax capacity is a complicated matter. Senator Kelley added the actions of the last legislative session severely imbalanced LGA. Mr. William Magdziarz-Rainey, 8610 West 34th Street, thanked the Mayor, Council, and City Manager for answering his questions regarding the City's budget and property taxes It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve Resolution No. 01-147 approving 2001 Tax Levy, adopting 2002 Budget, and Revised 2001 Budget, to approve Resolution No. 01-148 authorizing HRA Levy for 2002, and to approve Resolution No. 01-149 authorizing transfer form the General Fund to the Park Improvement Fund, Technology Replacement Fund the Municipal Building Fund. The motion passed 7-0. 7d. Preliminary approval for issuance of revenue bonds for the benefit of West Suburban Housing Partners. Resolution No. 01-150 Jean McGann, Finance Director, stated West Suburban Housing Partners ("WSHP") is requesting the City to issue up to $9,000,000 in private activity revenue bonds to fund the construction of an 88-unit apartment building Councilmember Sanger commented about her concerns regarding the proposed plan for the apartments. She said a concentration of 40% of lower income housing units in one building represents a high density. She said it would be far more productive to disperse such housing throughout the community Councilmember Sanger will not support the application as long as the concentration is so high. She said Park Commons is an example of such dispersement. Mr. Todd Urness, pnncipal with West Suburban Housing Partners, agreed with Councilmember Sanger He said WSHP, however, believes that it can be effectively done at 40%, which is approximately 36 units; WSHP said it would work incrementally differently but a 20% set aside is also viable Councilmember Sanger would be comfortable with a 20% set aside. Councilmember Latz said the set aside for Park Common's affordable housing is 3%. Councilmember Latz said the 40% set aside for an 88-unit apartment building is acceptable as long as the affordable units are not segregated on one floor or one wing of the building. He believes the City has a duty to add affordable housing back into the mix of what has been newly developed in St. Louis Park. Councilmember Latz asked if a supermajonty is necessary for this type of vote or if a simple majonty--4 of 7-- sufficient for passage Mr Steven Bubul from Kennedy and Graven, EDA legal counsel, said his opinion is that the City Charter provides a supermajonty for certain types of bonds, however, in this case, the bonds are revenue bonds issued under a different provision and a supermajonty limitation does not apply. Mr. Bubul said the action before the Council is to give preliminary approval on the issuance of bonds, which essentially allows Council Meeting Minutes -6- December 17, 2001 the filing of an application with the State for allocation authority to issue the bonds sometime next year. He continued, the Council could probably add any condition it wants, however, if Council approves the bonds, the borrower will put up a certain amount of money as a deposit for the allocation, which is 1% of the total bond issue; the WSHP proposal is $9,000,000, and 1% equals $90,000. The Resolution makes it clear the City has no obligation to actually approve and issue the bonds later, but there is a certain amount of expectation that there will be some movement forward. Mr. Bubul stated it would be appropriate for Council to attach conditions Councilmember Nelson believed a GO bond approval required six votes of the Council. Councilmember Nelson also stated: The preliminary approval requires a majority vote regardless of its issue but the final approval may be a different matter. Councilmember Nelson has a great deal of difficulty with the 40% set aside and he is not sure he would approve a 20% set aside. After having visited some mixed housing sites, with a mix as high as 50%/50% affordable housing/market rate housing, in Atlanta a few weeks ago, Councilmember Bnmeyer is not bothered by a 40% set aside. Councilmember Santa is agreeable to a 40% set aside but she would like to know how this property will be managed. Mr Urness said the appropriate name for the WEHP housing is referred to as workforce housing, and income limits are typically$36,000-40,000 for a family of four on the 40% set aside. He said WSHP owns the property and must pay the bonds back, so WSHP's interest is as a long-term owner. WSHP requires tenant background checks Councilmember Santa asked if neighbors have raised any concerns, and Mr. Urness replied neighbors welcome the apartment tenants. Mayor Jacobs said he would be more comfortable with a 20% set aside. Councilmember Brimeyer asked, Why does the Council have any right to tell the developer or the community what a set aside percentage should be9 Mayor Jacobs responded because the WSHP is requesting the City to issue up to $9,000,000 in private activity revenue bonds to fund the construction of the apartment building, he believes the City is entitled to make such a decision Mayor Jacobs wants to make it clear, this project is not a fully-subsidized project. Mayor Jacobs asked how often the incomes of tenants are reviewed, and Mr Urness said it would be done annually or as leases are renewed Mr. Urness said the income profile changes as a function of the percentage of set aside units change, e.g., 20% versus 40%. Mr Urness said in market rate housing, by default, 20%, 30%, or 40% of renters will otherwise satisfy the definitions set for workforce housing. Councilmember Sanger pointed out the set aside figures cited are not St. Louis Park requirements but are for applicants who wish to pursue other forms of tax subsidies. Councilmember Sanger said it is not appropriate for the Council to set a percentage. She said the Council should ask: What policy should be set or aspired to in this community. It was moved by Councilinember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to approve Resolution No 01-150 preliminary approval for issuance of a Private Activity Revenue Bond not exceeding $9,000,000 Council Meeting Minutes -7- December 17, 2001 The motion passed 5-1-1 (Councilmember Sanger opposed, Councilmember Nelson abstained). 7e. Subordination Agreement—Park Commons East It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to approve the Subordination Agreement between Glaser Financial Group, Inc, the City of St. Louis Park, and the St. Louis Park Economic Development Authority relative to the Excelsior and Grand/Park Commons East Project. The motion passed 7-0. 7f. To approve a Grant Agreement between the Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services and the City of St. Louis Park. Resolution No. 01-153 Councilmember Latz said the purpose of the Grant Agreement, which would mainly utilize County money and some City Staff time, is to create educational videos for St. Louis Park residents on how to reduce waste and improve recycling. It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to adopt Resolution No. 01-153 approving a Grant Agreement between the Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services and the City of St. Louis Park. The motion passed 7-0. 7g. To authorize execution of a contract extension to Contract No. 1893 with Severn Trent Services (STL - Denver) for laboratory services related to the Reilly Tar & Chemical Corporation groundwater sampling program through year 2002. Councilmember Latz said attempts are being made to reduce the ongoing monitoring costs of the former Reilly Tar site. He stated, thanks to improved water technologies and Staff's efforts, the annual cost has fallen by $110,000. It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to authorize execution of a contract extension to Contract No. 1893 with Severn Trent Services (STL - Denver)for laboratory services related to the Reilly Tar & Chemical Corporation groundwater sampling program through year 2002. The motion passed 7-0. 7h. Traffic Study No. 560: Adopting a resolution authorizing restricting parking along the south side of Wayzata Boulevard from Pennsylvania Avenue to a point 75 feet west. Councilmember Latz said he frequently sees semi trucks parked along the south side of Wayzata Blvd from Pennsylvania Avenue to a point 75 feet west, and the truck drivers are stopped at that location to patronize Ember's restaurant. Councilmember Latz would like to know if Ember's was contacted for their input regarding restricted parking, and what are alternative parking options for the trucks? Councilmember Young said the owner of a nearby office building contacted him, and the owner stated his concerns regarding traffic safety Councilmember Young thinks the parking restriction will meet the needs of Ember's, the truck dnvers, and building owner Council Meeting Minutes -8- December 17, 2001 Councilmember Young moved approval of Traffic Study 560, seconded by Councilmember Bruneyer. Councilmember Latz firmly believes Ember's should be consulted, as Embei's is the principal beneficiary of the parking. Councilmember Sanger asked what the parking restriction is in regard to a bus stop. Councilmember Young said there is no signage to indicate parking restrictions next to a bus stop Councilmember Young said this is not an urgent matter, and he would like to withdraw the motion, and the second, until Council has had an opportunity to find out if Ember's has been notified and, if not, provide notice to them. Councilmember Latz moved to table the motion to the first regular Council meeting in January with a proviso that the owner of Ember's will be notified, given an opportunity to comment, and any response can be included in a Staff report to go on the next Consent Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Sanger Councilmember Nelson recommended Councilmembers notify the City Manager in advance of moving items from the Consent Agenda to the Regular Agenda so that appropriate Staff will be present to answer questions. The motion passed 7-0. 8. Boards and Committees--None 9. Communications From the:City Manager—Mr. Meyer said the Reilly site acknowledgement from Councilmember Latz is appreciated. He said City and Staff continue to work on reducing the costs of remediation at the Reilly site From the Mayor—Mayor Jacobs wished everyone happy holidays and a prosperous and happy new year. 10. Adjournment Mayor Jacobs adjourned the meeting at 9:16 p m. • ?(e7e- Cit' Clerk Myo'