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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020/06/22 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota June 22, 2020 The meeting convened at 6:40 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Rachel Harris, Larry Kraft, Anne Mavity, Nadia Mohamed, and Margaret Rog Councilmembers absent: none Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Operations & Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Engineering Director (Ms. Heiser), CIO (Mr. Pires), Building & Energy Director (Mr. Hoffman), Deputy City Manager/Human Resources Director (Ms. Deno), Senior Accountant (Ms. Monson), Senior Management Analyst (Ms. Solano) Guests: Ms. Kvilvang and Ms. Diaz, Ehlers 1. Covid-19 update/information on CIP, debt and long-range financial planning Mr. Harmening stated staff will discuss an estimate of potential COVID impacts. Earlier estimates of a gap in finances were as high as $2.4 million. Mr. Harmening added utility rates and the levy will also be discussed, as well as strategic goals, and updates on capital planning, bonds and debt. Ms. Kvilvang explained the impacts of COVID were estimated at $2.4 million in building permit revenue and property taxes. She noted the first half tax advance received June 19th was stronger than anticipated. Also, with building permit revenue of $2.1 million collected to date, staff expects to be on budget of $3.5 million. She stated business license revenue is better than 2019, but charges for services is down from prior year. Actual COVID-related expenses that were unexpected costs were $1.371 million. Federal funding of approximately $3.7 million may be available to reimburse these costs and general public safety costs . Ms. Kvilvang stated the gap will not be as large as anticipated originally. Councilmember Rog asked about the STEP allocation of $108,000 related to the pandemic. She stated her understanding was this was a $48,000 expenditure. Mr. Harmening clarified this is $108,000 in addition to the original $60,000 allocated to STEP . Councilmember Rog asked about license revenue and the idea of refunding a portion of their liquor license fees. She stated she supports this and asked if it was done. Mr. Harmening stated yes, this is accounted for and will be done soon. He added the bulk of this $67,000 is on -sale liquor licenses. He stated staff felt this was the right thing to do given these establishments were not open, so the city reimbursed them for 3 months. Councilmember Rog asked what options the city is looking at in housing stability in terms of how businesses are doing, related to layoffs or furlough in small businesses. Mr. Harmening stated with small businesses the city can easily communicate to collect data, but with residents DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -2- June 22, 2020 this is more difficult. He stated staff could look at DEED data for St. Louis Park vs. 2019 data, and then follow up on that. Councilmember Harris asked how the better news received this evening will impact future capital improvement projects. Ms. Kvilvang stated this may free up some cash in capital for future staff to bring back and gives more opportunity and flexibility. Councilmember Harris asked when the next benchmark is for information coming to council. Ms. Kvilvang stated by the end of July more will be known about taxes and when the CARES act funding will be available. Councilmember Harris stated she appreciates the CARES funding reimbursement for $3.7 million and asked when that funding might be available. Ms. Kvilvang stated they are waiting on the legislature to vote on that issue. Councilmember Harris asked with this evolving financial scenario, when council will discuss the tax levy again. Mr. Harmening stated late July or early August. Councilmember Harris asked if the CARES funding can be used for other projects later. Mr. Harmening stated it might be able to be used from March 15 to December 31, 2020, for the city’s public safety costs. Councilmember Harris asked about staff impacts related to COVID, and if there are reallocations between divisions in order to keep staff onboard. Mr. Harmening stated staff is not expecting furloughs or layoffs at this time. Councilmember Kraft noted the $2.4 million gap in revenues and closing that gap to about $600,000. He asked if the $2.4 million gap is now $1.1 million because we’ve had $600,000 of additional expenses. Ms. Kvilvang stated the building permit revenue will not go down, and this also assumes there will be no property tax reduction, as well as cost saving measures such as not filling vacancies in staff. Councilmember Kraft asked about the additional $1.37 million. Ms. Kvilvang stated that is correct, the CARES act would include $1.1 million and this does not show the $1.37 million at this time. Councilmember Kraft asked if any special projects are expected to come back into the budget . Ms. Kvilvang stated this will be a point of future discussion for council. Councilmember Kraft asked how to compare the $600,000 gap. Mr. Harmening stated in April the $2.4 million gap was about taxes and building permit revenue loss. The $1.123 million assumes not filling positions identified in April but does not include any other solutions such as cutting line items. He stated if the staff positions were added back, the $1.123 million amount would increase. Mr. Harmening added the funding for climate action is still available . Councilmember Mavity stated she would strongly stress the city take a conservative approach to budgeting. She stated the moratoriums on evictions and then payments due in June, resulted DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -3- June 22, 2020 in a high number of evictions. Additionally, she noted people paying their rent and mortgages on credit cards is at an all-time high. She stated when federal support is no longer available, we will see a fall off on property taxes and an increase in need. She stated it will get worse before it gets better. Mayor Spano agreed with Councilmember Mavity. He asked about the costs for remote work and how much of that is something that might be usable in the future related to ongoing remote work. Mr. Pires stated this involves equipment replacement for 200 staff members, over two-thirds of city staff, enables folks to be mobile, and can continue to work remotely for the long term. He added it relates to a change in the environment for working remotely, noting there are advantages to this. In the long term, this relates to a new work culture, and the city is moving in this direction philosophically. Councilmember Rog asked for clarification about the $2.4 million spent on public safety. Ms. Monson stated this is approximate public safety personnel costs over 3 months. Councilmember Rog asked what this figure might be in normal times. She asked about reimbursements for the entire costs during the pandemic. Ms. Kvilvang stated these funds can be used for the entire public safety costs and for that purpose. She added the funds can be allocated wherever the council decides. Ms. Kvilvang reviewed general obligation bonds. She stated typically they finance construction, maintenance, or repair of public infrastructure. She also explained capital improvements, noting that currently the outstanding general obligation debt is $75.355 million. She noted the 2020 bonding project as well. Councilmember Kraft asked if the 2020 project bonds are issued. Ms. Kvilvang answered yes. Councilmember Kraft asked about the rapid amortization comment made earlier. Ms. Kvilvang stated most of the city’s debt is 10 years and typically some bigger projects are at 15 or 20-year terms to be more affordable. Councilmember Rog asked about the nature center and paying interest only for affordability. She also asked if this moved to 2026 vs. next year. Ms. Kvilvang stated these are the correct schedules and remain as they were set originally. Mr. Harmening stated further conversations will happen in July and August related to the city budgeting. 2. Future study session agenda planning and prioritization Councilmember Brausen asked about the July 6, 2020 meeting and if the agenda is full at this time. Mr. Harmening stated a critical item on the agenda relates to Union Park Flats and the 2nd reading, as well as TIF. He added there are also several resolutions on the agenda related to Union Park Flats. Councilmember Brausen stated Councilmember Mavity will recuse herself and asked if 5 votes will be allowed to pass the items. Mr. Harmening stated yes. DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -4- June 22, 2020 Discussion on racial equity Mayor Spano stated he looks forward to the July 13, 2020 meeting and conversation on racial equity. Councilmember Harris asked for the July 13, 2020 meeting, will the conversation include policy and how they have been inequitable over time. Ms. Deno stated the conversation will be how to look at policies and structure and will be more thoughtful discussion. Councilmember Harris stated she would like to discuss this especially as it relates to housing. Councilmember Mavity added on Connect the Park, she hopes engineering will provide a framework for this discussion, so this will not be brainstorming only. Councilmember Kraft and Mohamed discussed their policing proposal. Councilmember Mohamed stated in the past month, they have been discussing addressing systemic racism including immediate harm reduction and analysis of diversification of the police force and the city’s policing approach. Councilmember Kraft stated the immediate harm reduction topic will look at if there are any things the city can do right away. Councilmember Mohamed stated the other topic will be on diversification of the police force, especially indigenous people, and inclusivity. She stated real diversity happens when the police force is at 30% or above. Councilmember Kraft added that outcome analysis would also be included in this discussion, including mental health, policing in schools, and if there are more creative ways to do this. Councilmember Mohamed stated so often we rely on the people to be good versus the system to be good. She stated one without the other is not nearly as effective, so we want to approach this issue from all sides. Councilmember Mavity stated she supports both topics and the approach. She added when the council took this deep dive on policing, they looked at benchmarking within the racial lens. She stated diversification of the police force will be good to look at, and what the police have already committed to. She added they need race-based data on policing as well. She stated they were told the city is waiting for state standards on this, but it will not happen anytime soon, so we need to track traffic stops and other interactions by ra ce in order to benchmark if anything we are doing is having an impact. She agreed about the key responsibilities of police adding these need to be tracked, beyond calls. She stated they need the data to understand it and added if they only ask the police, they are asking the wrong people and they need to ask other departments as well. Councilmember Brausen supports doing these study sessions as they are timely and important. He added council needs to continue the discussion on community policing, and he looks forward to it. DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -5- June 22, 2020 Councilmember Rog supports this as well. She stated the short-term analysis comparison of data, especially use of force, might not tell them enough. She stated the Eight Can’t Wait process might be a way to frame the conversation. She added for the second topic, she would like to have it be more about re-imagining public safety and what are the needs of the community, leaving the police aside, related to mental health, drug abuse, and domestic violence. She stated they need to ask what the issues are and then think about where the police fit in and where they may not be the proper response. She hopes the police will be a sub-set of the discussion on public safety. Councilmember Harris supports this also and is in favor of discussing both topics. For policing and immediate harm reduction, she would like to hear what types of situations develop where use of force comes into play and a variety of scenarios. For the second topic, she would like to see a review of community policing and the wide array of reasons we call upon our police force, adding she suggests calling it the Peace Force as it relates to public safety. Mayor Spano also supports this discussion. On the use of force piece, he asked to invert the order of topics. He noted it would be good to hear statistics about the use of force, adding it would be helpful to have a brief update of 2017 and all the work that went into the sessions the council had. He agreed with Councilmember Rog’s assessment and the different forms policing takes. Mayor Spano added it’s important to bring policies forward and that the police also have an opportunity to look at this and what might work best for them. Councilmember Kraft stated the Eight Can’t Wait is a start, but there might be others also. He stated the reason they asked for data is to have some context. For the second item, he agreed with Councilmember Rog’s and Mayor Spano’s comments and a reimaging of public safety – what they are doing, are they doing it well, and are there ways to get better outcomes. Councilmember Rog stated there is some data on use of force within St. Louis Park from 2018. It was the consensus of the council to discuss these topics at a future study session in July. Mr. Harmening asked what the priority on this topic is from a timing aspect. He added this is not a one-night conversation and will entail more time. Councilmember Mohamed stated this will be an ongoing conversation, and while she does not want to rush, this is the perfect time to talk about this, and the sooner the better . Councilmember Kraft stated the first conversation should be in July and start with the immediate harm topic. Councilmember Mavity stated this should be treated as an urgent issue before it has to be, so it can take precedence. Councilmember Rog stated the discussion on long-term change will need to happen over time and should not be rushed. DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -6- June 22, 2020 Councilmember Harris agreed the racial equity conversation is timely as well. She stated having Ms. Sojourner at the first conversation would be helpful. Councilmember Brausen added that staff needs time to gather data and information on this, but it’s important to have the conversation soon. He stated the city’s police have been doing a good job and he wants to give them time to pull information and data before t he conversation begins. Mr. Harmening stated the first topic can be ready for discussion at the July 27, 2020 study session. The conversation about the city’s policing model will be deeper and he added perhaps this can be tied into the 2021 budgeting process, in terms of data, the services provided, and allocation of public safety resources. He asked if Councilmembers Mohamed and Kraft will work with staff on driving this topic vs. having staff drive it. Councilmember Rog and Mayor Spano stated they would also b e interested in working with staff prior to the full council discussion. Mayor Spano added, however, staff could come with a proposal to council on the discussion. Councilmember Mohamed stated the council should be framing this, especially since this is new. She stated she will work on committees but does not want to hand off council responsibilities to staff. Mayor Spano stated there is a limited number of people on the council that can work on this with staff. Councilmember Mavity stated this is more impactful right now, but she does not support having a committee when there is professional staff to do this, along with the police chief, and Ms. Sojourner. Ms. Solano stated staff will come back with a framework and guidance as a first step . Union Park Flats TIF request Councilmember Rog asked about the TIF request discussion for Union Park Flats. Mr. Harmening stated two things impacted the TIF request including having 80 units at first versus 60 units being affordable. He added the estimates on return on investment played a role as well. Councilmember Rog stated she understood there might be further adjustments on the project as well. Mr. Harmening stated he is not sure if PPL is adjusting their plans at this time. In-person meetings Ms. Solano noted returning to in-person meetings. She stated three things are important including: safety, legal considerations, and making sure we are considering customer service. She asked how quickly the council would like to return to in-person meetings, noting the middle of July would be the earliest. DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -7- June 22, 2020 Mayor Spano stated he is not in a hurry to get back to city hall, work is happening, and he has not heard from the public that there is a need. If there is a functional reason, he is open to that, but is not feeling an urgency. Councilmember Brausen agreed with Mayor Spano. Mayor Spano left the meeting so Mayor Pro Tem Brausen led the remainder of the meeting. Councilmember Mavity agreed there is no rush, and until there is a vaccine, council should not encourage others to come or be at city hall, especially in light of a second wave this fall. Councilmember Rog stated she is comfortable, with proper safety measures, returning to city hall this summer. Councilmember Harris stated given predictions about a second wave in the fall, she does not feel there is a need to return to city hall. She added commissions can meet on video conferencing. She stated the council can get business done and she is inclined to continue this into the future. Councilmember Mohamed stated she will go with whatever works for council and would stay home if it continues. Ms. Solano stated she is working with staff liaisons to help them start up commission meetings again, doing them by video conference. Councilmember Kraft stated he is happy to hear the commissions are meeting again. He added he is fine with in-person meetings but does not see an overwhelming need for it. Ms. Solano stated she will keep the council updated on how to return to in person meetings safely. Councilmember Harris stated the online meetings where folks have called in, have appreciated the anonymity, especially when they are in opposition to their neighbors. In terms of access, it is a silver lining to get a wider variety of perspectives. Ms. Solano stated staff is working on how to continue with technology and having a way to allow folks to continue to call in, especially if they are not able to come into meetings in person. Storm water report Councilmember Rog noted the storm water report. She stated it seems like it’s the same report with different numbers each year, and there ought to be more innovation to the report. She added it notes a lot of inputs, and very little about outcomes and measures that can be identified and weighed against previous years. She noted there are many things that can be done better. DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3 Study session minutes -8- June 22, 2020 Councilmember Harris stated she emailed staff some questions about the storm water report also. She asked where and in what areas there have been the most improvements, where and what are the gaps, and how residents can help improve storm water issues in the city. She added staff replied to her and she will email this to all councilmembers. She asked staff if they would include a lay person’s report on outcomes or inputs. Mr. Harmening stated he would talk to staff about making the document more user friendly. Councilmember Kraft stated he had sent similar questions to staff also. He asked what the results are, adding he would like to see if the city is doing well at this. Councilmember Mavity stated there are residents who are very sophisticated in water issues in the city and asked if staff can look at the timing next year, in order to get public input included before the report is submitted to the state and other agencies. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Councilmember Kraft thanked everyone for the changes made in the interview process for commissions, adding that 4 people are now on commissions who would not have been without the change. The meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 3. Application for Tax Increment Financing Assistant- Union Park Flats 4. May 2020 monthly financial report 5. Annual Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program Report 6. Metropolitan Council and Minnesota Brownfields grant application- Prince of Peace 7. Metropolitan Council grant application – Texa Tonka Apartments ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 98CBD0E6-A8FC-456B-A1E9-8DEEA34EE8F3