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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008/11/24 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session J/1 St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION November 24, 2008 The meeting convened at 6:20 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, John Basill, C. Paul Carver, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Loran Paprocki, and Sue Sanger. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), City Engineer (Mr. Brink), Chief Information Officer (Mr. Pires), Director of Parks & Recreation(Ms. Walsh), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), Finance Director (Mr. DeJong) and Recording Secretary (Ms. Larrea). Guest: None. 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning— December 1 and December 8, 2008 Mr. Harmening presented the staff report. On December 1 the agenda includes a discussion on Open Meeting Law, Commissioner Code of Ethics and Community Residential Facility Licensing. Mr. Harmening noted that staff is trying to set up a meeting with the City Council and the School Board. He questioned if the Council would be interested in meeting at 5:00 p.m. on December 8 prior to the study session. Councilmember Sanger asked what the meeting is regarding. Mr. Harmening responded that one of the topics would be the budget. Councilmember Basill noted that he is in favor of meeting with the School Board. Councilmember Paprocki asked if there was an urgency to schedule a meeting with the School Board. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that he would like to have an agenda in place before they meet with the School Board. He also noted that he would not be able to make it to the meeting by 5:00 p.m. Councilmember Sanger would like an update from the School Board regarding the possible closing of a school site. It was the consensus of the Council to move forward with the meeting with the School Board with the understanding the Mayor and City Manager would meet with the School Board Chair and Superintendent to set the agenda. 2. TH 7 &Wooddale Avenue Design, Schedule, and Financing Mr. Brink presented to the Council regarding the current status of project design, financing and project schedule of TH 7 and Wooddale Avenue. Councilmember Sanger questioned if it would be possible to have vegetation and a noise wall at this location. Mr. Brink responded that staff is looking at both of those options. Councilmember Basill noted that regardless of whether they use vegetation or a noise wall, there will be less of a noise issue because of the improvements that are being made. Study Session Minutes -2- November 24, 2008 Councilmember Sanger felt that the noise walls should be left in the plan at this point with the option of being taken out later. Mr. Brink noted that the noise walls are estimated to cost between a half million dollars to a million dollars. He also confirmed that the changes being made will take care of some of the noise. Mr. Brink noted that staff has been working with the school in the area. Staff would like to improve the routes to the school. Councilmember Sanger noted that there are concerns from the Sorenson neighborhood regarding how they will be able to cross Wooddale to get to the school. Mr. Brink clarified that the reason for not having traffic lights at this intersection is that the intersection doesn't meet any of the warrants by Mn/DOT. Councilmember Basill noted that there is always the possibility of installing a stop light in the future. Councilmember Paprocki noted that it would be nice to have a pedestrian school crossing. Mr. Rardin noted that the design is set up so that things can be added at a later time. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that this could be a light rail stop in a few years and agreed that it may be more beneficial to reevaluate in the future rather than add things now. Mayor Jacobs questioned if there was going to be enough room for a designated right turn lane. Mr. Rardin confirmed that there would be. Councilmember Omodt noted that it would be possible to put crossing guards out on the street to help kids crossing to the school. He agreed that it would be easier to add things at a later date. Councilmember Sanger noted that the issues with children getting to the school during the construction should be discussed with the School Board when the Council meets with them. Councilmember Sanger asked that they talk about the timing of the construction. Mr. Brink noted that they would like to start in the spring. He noted that Excelsior Boulevard from Dakota to Louisiana is scheduled to start in 2010. Staff is hoping that the projects will not overlap. Councilmember Sanger questioned if Wooddale is going to be shut down for additional winter months. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that the federal funding is only good through a certain date and the longer the City waits on this project the less federal funding the City will receive. Councilmember Sanger was concerned about the current economic situation and that some of the funding is dependant on a TIF district. Mr. Harmening responded that he did not have an answer to that question at this time. Study Session Minutes -3- November 24, 2008 Councilmember Carver suggested looking at other projects that are close to being "shovel ready" and have them prepared to a point where the projects would be eligible for economic stimulus in the upcoming year. It was the consensus of the Council to further discuss this matter at a future meeting. 3. 2009 Budget and Levy, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Financial Management Plan (FMP) Mr. Harmening presented the staff report to the Council. Staff is requesting consensus to move forward with presented amounts for Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) purposes. Based on the feedback from the Council, staff will prepare the presentation for the TNT hearing on December 1. Councilmember Basill stated that he was fine with the eliminating proactive sidewalk snow removal inspections and enforcement. He would like to continue to publicize the ordinance. Mr. Harmening questioned if Council members received any feedback regarding the Truth-in- Taxation mailing that went out. There was not any significant response seen or heard by the Council members. Councilmember Sanger noted there was a proposal in the budget document for saving $2,000 by turning off the flashing traffic light on Lake Street. This issue has been raised in the past and the neighborhood has felt strongly that this stop light should not be removed. She noted that she would not like to again discuss this item at length. Mr. Rardin said that he is suggesting putting up a stop sign at this intersection. He felt that from an environmental standpoint, this would save electricity. He noted that the City spends about $2,000 per year in electricity and this does not include maintenance. Councilmember Finkelstein indicated he remembered the last time this was brought up to the Council and the neighborhood was very passionate that they did not want a stop sign in the area. Councilmember Carver noted that it is important to listen to the staff member's opinions on these issues. Councilmember Sanger noted that she would like to embark on a process to get the citizens involved in the process in general. She would like to see if the public has suggestions for how the City could save money. She would also like Councilmembers to come up with ideas. Councilmember Paprocki noted that this was discussed at a prior study session when Councilmember Sanger was absent. He has suggested that the directors of the departments create a list of items that they feel could be cut from their budget so the Councilmembers can discuss the items. Councilmember Sanger asked for a response on her suggestion to go to the City for feedback on the budget. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that he would like this issue included at the winter retreat Study Session Minutes -4- November 24, 2008 because he would like some more time to think it over. Mayor Jacobs agreed that this should be discussed at length and that residents should be involved in the discussion. Councilmember Sanger would like to get specific feedback from residents so the Council can get some more thoughtful ideas. Councilmember Omodt noted that staff could look to see if this has worked in other cities. He would like more information before he makes a decision whether he would like to move forward. He would like a model that they could look at more closely. Councilmember Finkelstein questioned if the WiFi money would go back into the enterprise fund. Mr. Harmening confirmed that it would. Councilmember Carver liked the idea of finding out from the department heads if they had to cut 5 %, what would be cut, which could be discussed at the retreat. He is more hesitant to ask the residents what should be cut because the department heads will know their budget better than anyone else. He is not against the idea but is hesitant about it. Mayor Jacobs noted that this is also a good opportunity to explain to the public why some programs are necessary. Councilmember Paprocki noted the City should be evaluating the budget every 4-5 years, not just when it is necessary. Mr. Harmening felt that bringing up the budget at the winter retreat would be perfect timing. He would like to look more deeply at how the City does business and what could be done differently. Mr. Harmening suggested that as a first step it may be more appropriate for the Council to prioritize the services and programs the city provides and then ask staff to offer proposal on the allocation of resources based on those priorities rather than looking at across the board cuts Mr. Dejong presented to the Council regarding the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The draft CIP shows a total of$108,941,237 in planned investment in the community's assets over the next five years. Mr. Pires presented to the Council regarding ideas for technology related capital improvements within the City. Councilmember Finkelstein questioned how much the City is spending on technology now versus 5 years ago. Mr. Pires was not able to answer the question at this time but noted there have been rather large capital improvements in the last five years. Councilmember Sanger questioned what the City is doing to review their records retention. Mr. Pires responded that staff is working with a consultant in order to evaluate how best to measure storage needs. It is going to take some time to analyze what staff is storing and how often these files are being accessed. There is also the issue of the duplication of files. Study Session Minutes -5- November 24, 2008 Ms. Walsh presented to Council regarding capital improvements related to the Parks and Recreation Department. Councilmember Sanger questioned whether the new dog park should be designated as a small dog park. She noted that this might help to spread out the use of dog parks. Ms. Walsh will be completing some more public process on the dog parks and bring back more information at a future meeting. Councilmember Basill would like staff to look at putting mats in the restrooms at the Rec Center for access while wearing ice skates. The old bathrooms are hard to access with skates and the new bathrooms can not be accessed because of tiles. Mr. Rardin presented to the Council regarding public works projects in the CIP. Mr. Rardin questioned the Council regarding a whistle quiet zone. He wanted to know if they felt there was a value to spend the money on this in 2009. Councilmember Sanger noted that she would like to wait on the whistle quiet zone because of the LRT, which would only push it back two years. The other Council members were in agreement. Communications (Verbal) Mr. Harmening noted there will be boy scouts at City Council meeting next week. Mr. Harmening informed the Council that there will be a League of Minnesota meeting in February 2009. There is more information available if any Council members are interested in attending. Mr. Harmening noted that Clear Channel has agreed to take down the billboards on the SPS property by the end of 2008. Mr. Harmening updated the Council that Pawn America responded to the letter sent to them by the City. Mr. Harmening noted that Tom Peterson has requested to be seen before the City Council to express some concerns. The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 4. October 2008 Monthly Financial Report 5. Update on Energy Analysis of City Facilities 6. Need for Public Utility Easement for Ellipse onelsior Project Nancy Stroth, City Clerk Jeff Jac• •s,a or