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Home My WebLink About2008/02/25 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session If! St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION FEBRUARY 25, 2008 The meeting convened at 7:18 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, John Basill, C. Paul Carver, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Loran Paprocki and Susan Sanger. Councilmembers absent: None Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Deputy City Manager (Ms. Gohman), Police Lt. Dreier, Deputy Chief DiLorenzo, Lt. Kraayenbrink, Lt. Harcey, Police Chief Luse, Management Assistant (Ms. Honold), Public Works Coordinator (Mr. Merkley), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), Director of Inspections (Mr. Hoffman) and Recording Secretary (Ms. Schmidt). Guest: Police Advisory Commission (PAC) Chair Gormley, Commissioners Widmer, Hoffman, and Smith; Representatives from Eureka, Veolia, and Waste Management; Jake Spano, Senator Klobuchar's Office. 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning Mr. Harmening and Council discussed study session agenda planning. 2. Police Advisory Commission 2007 Annual Report and 2008 Work Plan (Commission Present) Chief Luse made introductions and Commissioner Chair Gormley presented the Commission's annual report. Commissioner Widmer stated the Commission was working on creating a survey for community input on traffic concerns. Chief Luse stated the annual golf tournament illustrates great business and community unity. Councilmember Finkelstein complimented staff and the Commission for their hard work. Councilmember Sanger asked if the Commission could look into trying to bridge the gap between bicyclists and motorists. Commissioner Gormley suggested the traffic sub-committee could review the concern. Councilmember Sanger suggested educating the community on welcoming Somali neighbors. 3. Police Department Annual Report Deputy Chief DiLorenzo gave an overview on the communications center, communications van, Emergency Response Unit (ERU), and the Drug Task Force. He stated there were 65,512 calls for service in 2007 (43,609 were from wire lines and 21,903 were from cell phones). He further stated the communications van has the capability of replacing the 911 center if the need should arise. Study Session Minutes -2- February 25,2008 Lt. Kraayenbrink gave an overview on patrol operations. Chief Luse stated Lt. Kraayenbrink was selected as Officer of the Year for 2007. Lt. Kraayenbrink explained a typical officer's shift day and how the Request Partner program is used daily. Lt. Harcey gave an overview on support services operations, including investigations and school liaison/DARE. Lt. Harcey further stated the support services division had been working on a Community Impact Statement regarding graffiti. Lt. Harcey stated the division has established and are active participants in a weekly basketball night, homework help at Meadowbrook, and the Kids Café Program. Lt. Dreier gave an overview on information management, community outreach and the community neighborhood associations liaison. She explained the Request Partner Program. Mr. Harmening stated staff was considering deploying the Request Partner system citywide. Lt. Dreier explained the Crime Free Ordinance violations for 2007. Mr. Harmening stated he was pleased with the way that the departments were working together. 4. Vision Strategic Direction Discussion. Focus Area: Investigating the Need and Purpose for an Energy/Environmental Commission Ms. Gohman presented the staff report. Council and staff discussed options on whether or not to continue to explore the need and purpose for an energy/environmental commission and how best to do so. The consensus of a majority of the City Council was that there was not a need at this time for a new stand alone commission. Mr. Harmening suggested staff provide a report on the environmental initiatives, incorporating a limited duration task force to view and prioritize the community and staff recommendations for following the vision strategic direction. Council also suggested having each existing commission look at what they do in compliance with being environmentally conscious. 5. Resolution Requesting Comprehensive Road and Transit Funding Given the recent transportation funding package which was passed, the Council determined they did not need to discuss this matter. 6. Solid Waste Collection Proposals Mr. Rardin presented the staff report. Councilmember Carver asked if staff had calculated any surcharge scenarios. Mr. Rardin provided Council with the surcharge impacts. Councilmember Finkelstein thanked staff for the all their hard work. Study Session Minutes -3- February 25,2008 Councilmember Finkelstein asked if they were required to take the lowest bid. Mr. Rardin stated they were not. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if Eureka would really provide revenue sharing and if there was any type of history of revenue sharing working. Mr. Rardin stated yes, they had been paying back with the various municipal contracts they have. Mr. Merkley stated staff did a five-year projection and at worst it would stay the same, but with past few years performance, a substantial amount went back to the cities. Mr. Harmening stated by using Eureka and a different contractor for yard waste, there would be two contractors and could raise some transitional concerns. Councilmember Carver asked if they could require both pickups on ,the same day. Mr. Rardin stated that would be a requirement. Councilmember Sanger asked if Eureka's bid included co-collection. Mr. Rardin stated Eureka's bid was for recyclable materials, not organics. Mr. Merkley stated Waste Management was doing the co- collected organics. There was Council consensus to agree with staff's recommendations to: 1) allow multiple contracts with Waste Management and Eureka, 2) add any additional costs or surcharges into the rates and, 3) hire a full-time City employee to provide field inspection services. Council thanked staff for their wonderful report. 7. Consideration of Commercial Properties in the Soil Vapor Study Area Mr. Hoffman presented the staff report. Council and staff discussed assistance for commercial/industrial property owners for mitigation costs for volatile organic compounds (VOC) soil vapor intrusion as well as residential assistance. They also discussed the implications of those properties that do not wish to participate in the testing and if that would impede on the ability to search for the cause of the chemicals. Mr. Spano reminded Council that the EPA stated they would pay for testing only, not the remediation for non-residential or non-at risk properties. Mr. Spano suggested presenting a request to the EPA for reconsideration. Councilmember Basill expressed concerns about a likely scenario whereby a homeowner would take a very high sub slab reading but an indoor VOC reading which did not excel thresholds. Councilmember Basill indicated the EPA would not pay for mitigation systems for this type of situation. Councilmember Basill felt that homeowners in this type of situation receive a mitigation system, but not at the homeowners cost. There was Council consensus to seek assistance for residential property owners with mitigation costs as their first priority; requesting that additional funding also be made available to assist the commercial/industrial properties. Mr. Spano suggested staff draft a letter to the EPA stating the Councils priorities and what they are requesting. Study Session Minutes -4- February 25,2008 8. Communications (verbal) The meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 9. Legislative Update 10. 2007 Housing Activity Report and Introduct' n-t. New 2008 Housing Programs 11. Financial Reports (January 2008) 4 11,E Nancy Stroth ity Clerk Jeff Ja •bs, Mayor