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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019/06/24 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota June 24, 2019 The meeting convened at 6:35 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano (arrived at 6:55 p.m.), Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Rachel Harris, Anne Mavity, Thom Miller, and Margaret Rog. Councilmembers absent: None Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), CIO (Mr. Pires), Racial Equity Manager (Ms. Sojourner), Community Organizer (Mr. Gray), TV Coordinator (Mr. McHugh), Senior Management Analyst (Ms. Carrillo Perez), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas). Guests: Members of Human Rights Commission and Community Technology Advisory Commission, Sean Blessing, Lexico Consulting. 1. Future study session agenda planning – July 2019 Mayor Pro Tem Harris opened the meeting. Councilmember Hallfin asked when the SEEDS group would be speaking to the council at a study session. Councilmember Brausen stated the food security study will need to be completed first. Mr. Harmening agreed and stated he will follow up with more details to the council. Councilmember Brausen is interested in hearing an update on STEP facilities. Councilmember Rog is interested in hearing more about the crime free ordinance timeline. Councilmember Mavity asked about the current status of the moratorium related to the crime free ordinance. Mr. Harmening stated at direction of council, police continue to respond to calls, but staff does not send out any letters to landlords. Councilmember Rog asked about the Wooddale bike lane project timeline. Councilmember Mavity stated the council had asked staff to pause on this, but noted in her listening sessions, there was input on this, and she would like staff to review and then present a new version of the project. Mr. Harmening stated this will be forthcoming later this fall along with a look at future projects and Connect the Park. Councilmember Rog asked if the council would be interested in a discussion at a future study session about quarterly public forums, where the public comes to speak to the full council on items. Councilmember Miller stated he supports this idea of allowing the public to feel like they are part of the process, which is as important as the items coming forward. DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513 Study session minutes -2- June 24, 2019 Councilmember Mavity stated the council can discuss this; however, she is not generally inclined to agree with this approach, adding it does not align well with the city’s racial equity work, as the same people will always show up. She added councilmembers need to do their work, do listening sessions, and not create more work for staff. She added she prefers not to have residents talk at the council either. Councilmember Brausen agreed with Councilmember Mavity. Councilmember Hallfin stated this would be a worthwhile discussion topic at a study ses sion. Mayor Pro Tem Harris agreed with the approach; however, asked how the council can ensure folks are responded to. 2. Human rights commission work plan update Commissioners Emily Buchholz, Katherine Arnold, Amaya Fokuo and Chair Maria Eustaqui presented. Ms. Eustaqui stated the commission will redefine the role and purpose of the human rights commission (HRC), review and revise bylaws through a facilitated retreat, and revisit HRC materials including the website, after redefining their purpose . Ms. Eustaqui added the commission will work on who they are and how they function, so as to establish and lay groundwork and then do the work they are meant to do. Councilmember Rog thanked the commission for their work and asked about work being done related to supporting immigrant families. Ms. Arnold stated this work continues with the school district and expanding flu shot clinics. She stated the infrastructure is in place here and she has also been working with STEP on their needs. Councilmember Mavity stated over the 10 years she has served on the council, the HRC has waxed and waned, and noted that doing planning is helpful . She stated with planning, it’s important to review their purpose, within the direction the council is looking for, and also so as not to head off in the wrong direction. Mr. Harmening added as the HRC goes through their retreat and planning process, they will want to keep the 5 strategic priorities in mind as guideposts, adding the council made clear to all commissions to make this the forefront of their planning work. Councilmember Brausen stated he supports the HRC plan, and it makes sense to him. He does not recall a mission statement like this from the 80’s, when he served as a commissioner, and added the commission should look for ways to get all residents to participate, especially those who typically don’t. He asked the commission to help with creating open avenues for people. Councilmember Miller asked who will be at the retreat. Mr. Gray stated he will be, along with the commissioners. Councilmember Hallfin thanked the group for serving on this commission, and the work they are doing. He added the council takes all commissioner’s recommendations seriously, noting the majority of the city’s commissions are self-directed. He stated the council does not want DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513 Study session minutes -3- June 24, 2019 commissioners to be limited by asking what does the council want us to do, and he does not want them to have any barriers to their work. Mayor Spano asked where the HRC is with their mission statement, but noted they are in a better place now after struggling a few years back. He stated he doesn’t want them to feel totally undirected and asked about follow-up on a funding mechanism. Ms. Arnold stated this report will be forthcoming. Mayor Spano added he has spoken with residents who are distraught over what is happening at the southern borders and asked what the city can do about this and if the HRC has any ideas here. Councilmember Harris stated their work is much appreciated , the practice of partnering with other organizations is helpful, and there is power in that. She encouraged the commission to look at who they can partner with along with other agency resources, and asked if they are participating in the community link event. Mr. Gray stated they have not yet discussed the event. Councilmember Rog added the commission may want to meet with folks in the community who have a passion for human rights, and folks who maybe applied to be on the commission, but where not chosen. She encouraged them to reach out to these folks to help make the community better. Councilmember Mavity encouraged the HRC, adding that it’s important to engage the whole community and work toward action, outreach, and engagement, as that is what this community wants. Mayor Spano added that at the retreat, it will be helpful for commissioners to think about who their audience is and those who understand their work and those who do not. He added that people are all in different spots and asked how the commission can use multiple tools to meet folks where they are and bring them along. Ms. Fokuo asked for clarification on this and if the council is pushing the commission to focus on folks who do not have a voice. Councilmember Miller stated what you just questioned is what your retreat will be about and discuss how to start over and see what the HRC can do. Councilmember Mavity asked for clarification on the city’s ICE deportation policy. Mr. Harmening stated ICE may know if the city police have someone in custody; however, the St. Louis Park police only hold a person for what they are arrested for doing in the city and have no authority to hold a person unless they get a warrant from state or federal agencies. 3. Telecommunications advisory commission work plan update Bruce Browning and Abe Levine presented the report. DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513 Study session minutes -4- June 24, 2019 Mr. Levine stated in May 2019, several members of the TAC and city staff participated in a workshop, facilitated by Lexico Consulting, to discuss the mission and goals of the commission . Mr. Levine noted that the workshop conclusions included that TAC would like to set up committees within the commission to have study sessions and committee reports, that would come back to the commission. The commission would then make recommendations to the council. The group also noted they will change the name of the commission to better reflect the work they are doing today. The new name will be: Community Technology Advisory Commission (or CTAC). Mr. Levine stated the reports to the council will be made on a quarterly basis, adding they would like to have one councilmember work with the commission as a liaison. He added they will not modify their charter that much and will work within the existing charter and include the name change. Councilmember Rog thanked them for their report but noted equity language seems to be missing from the report. Mr. Levine stated this was discussed, adding that equity is overarching in everything the city is doing. He also stated that public safety is an area where technology is increasing and could be implemented faster and easier. Councilmember Harris indicated she like the CTAC name, and thinks it fits well. She thinks the mission is good – and that CTAC should try to “maximize” its application to many areas. She thought CTAC should find ways to use requests from MySLP/schools to discover opportunities to make improvements (e.g. dark areas for school bus stops). Finally, Councilmember Harris suggested CTAC explore integration opportunities to collaborate with Connect the Park to enhance or create safe walking/biking. Councilmember Miller stated he loved the work plan and the idea of committees. He discouraged the idea of a councilmember as a liaison; and, as the council is a body, works as a body, there is potential danger in having a council member color your process, and time is an issue. Councilmember Mavity stated the council does not agree on all things, adding she is not inclined to think a council member is a good thing on the commission, as the commissioners are the experts, and their reports to council are exactly what the council needs. She also likes the idea of committees and ideas about schools, adding having a student on the commission would add value. Councilmember Mavity stated the topics related to smart cities and driverless technology are really already here. She asked the commissioner to help staff think about what infrastructure does the city need to install today to build for smart cities quickly, including items like fiber and chips in roads. Councilmember Brausen stated he is in favor of the TAC work plan, including the name change to CTAC. He does not, however, support the idea of a council member working on the DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513 Study session minutes -5- June 24, 2019 commission either due to time factors. Councilmember Brausen added he likes the work on the smart cities’ initiative, and suggested the commission look into a better search engine for the city website. He also asked if the city will be providing home connections with fiber going into road construction and what the process might be for individual homeowners to access fiber lines that are close by. Mr. Browning stated this is a long process, and the city is not there yet, however US Internet will be starting in the Sorenson area in July, but this will not happen as fast as we would like it to. Councilmember Hallfin thanked the commission for their work and stated he liked the plan they have presented. He is not in favor of a council member on the commission, noting time constraints and added this is why staff members attend the meetings. He agreed with the name change also. Mayor Spano stated he appreciates all the work on the report, but the work plan feels very ambitious and he worries about that. He stated they will need to prioritize and look at their mission, and he is excited about the name change, which reflects the group’s purpose. Mayor Spano added the community is, however, not mentioned in the mission, and it is important to be explicit about that. He added it is important to look at how their work integrates with the community, and how the community uses technology in their work and lives. Mayor Spano also agreed about not having council member serve on the commission. He thanked the commissioners for aligning their work with the 5 strategic goals and asked if new commissioners had input into the work plan. Mr. Levine stated yes, new commissioners did have input. Mr. Pires also noted in the commission’s mission statement, the last line does identify who the commission is trying to serve. Mayor Spano stated this sets the tone, but possibly it could be more explicit in the mission. Councilmember Rog noted she would like to see a councilmember attend the commission meetings, adding the 2 hours of attending a meeting per month is not a lot . She felt that being there would be helpful, adding this may warrant further discussion. Mr. Browning asked if staff knew how many in the city have internet connectivity . Mr. Pires stated during the 2007 survey, it was noted that about 80% of residents had internet access. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Councilmember Harris noted the Texatonka workshop on Thursday, June 27, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Lenox. She noted the public is welcome to attend, a light dinner will be served, childcare provided, and the meeting will be facilitated by a consultant and staff. Councilmember Harris noted also the EP3 report related to the fossil fuel section. She stated she has seen several Teslas being charged at the city hall EV station and wondered if the city DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513 Study session minutes -6- June 24, 2019 might start charging a fee for this or adding a meter. Mr. Harmening stated city employees use the EV stations and folks who live in close proximity to city hall. He added this might be abused a bit and stated the council will need to discuss this issue further. Councilmember Rog asked, as it relates to the EP3 executive summary, if the council has interest in exploring whether toxins and toxic materials -- including pesticides, herbicides that kill pollinators over time -- should not be used in the city. Mayor Spano added he would be open to discussing this, what toxins create the greatest threat to the city, and focus on that first. Mr. Harmening noted stated staff is devoting all resources to the CAP based on previous council direction, and this shift would become problematic because it is a different priority. He stated this would be too ambitious a project to devote staff time to. Councilmember Rog asked what part of the question is ambitious. Mr. Harmening stated staff can do data collection , but to what end. Councilmember Mavity stated she understands the need to protect staff time, but she does believe toxins are part of the CAP issues of concern. Mr. Harmening stated the CAP is about carbon emissions, and the council has already identified this in their strategic priorities. Councilmember Rog stated she respects the bandwidth for staff taking this on, but hopes it can be looked at over time and align with the CAP. Mr. Harmening asked who has interest in attending the National League of Cities Conference in November. Councilmembers Brausen, Rog, Mavity, Hallfin, and Mayor Spano, along with Mr. Harmening are interested. There is a discount on the conference if all are signed up by June 30th. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 4. May 2019 monthly financial report 5. Update on Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy 6. FEMA – Community Rating System ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, City Clerk Jake Spano, Mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 151982B0-ABDD-4B9A-884A-2D8F7C956513