Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/09/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota Sept. 27, 2021 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Lynette Dumalag, Rachel Harris, Larry Kraft, Nadia Mohamed. Councilmembers absent: Margaret Rog Staff present: City Manager (Ms. Keller), Director of Building and Energy (Mr. Hoffman), Solid Waste Manager (Ms. Fisher), City Clerk (Melissa Kennedy), CFO (Ms. Schmitt), Finance Manager (Ms. Sledge), Billing Supervisor (Ms. Weller), Communications and Marketing Man ager (Ms. Smith) Guests: Jim Lawrence, MAC Commissioner; Dana Nelson, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, MAC, Stacy Kvilvang, Ehlers. 1. Introduction of MAC Commissioner Jim Lawrence Councilmember Dumalag disclosed that the MAC is a client of her workplace. Mr. Lawrence introduced himself and reviewed his background. He noted he was appointed earlier this year by Governor Walz as MAC commissioner. He stated he represents St. Louis Park and is available to answer any questions of the council . Mayor Spano stated the noise mitigation program is funded by purchased airline tickets, asking if that was correct. Ms. Nelson stated it is funded through airport generated revenues. Mayor Spano asked how the current noise mitigation plan may have changed over the last year. Ms. Nelson stated the current program sunsets in 2024 and it is through a court -ordered agreement set up in 2005-07. It states for those to be eligible for the noise mitigation program, residents need to be within a certain area for 3 years in a row. She added in 2019 there were no new homes introduced and in 2020, because of the pandemic, there were lower operations numbers. She stated this program will not be continued. A new program is in the works and dialogue continues to present this soon. Councilmember Harris asked how residents should reach out and how the MAC can be of assistance to people. Mr. Lawrence stated residents can contact Mr. Hoffman or Ms. Nelson at the MAC. He added he is happy to be contacted as well. Councilmember Harris asked what type of topics residents ask about. Ms. Nelson stated anything about the airport, noting residents can contact the MAC by phone or email, and information is available on their website. Councilmember Harris noted occasionally she does receive residents noting loud plane noise in their neighborhoods. She asked what suggestions can be given to residents for working on their DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -2- Sept. 27, 2021 homes to help mitigate noise. Ms. Nelson stated the MAC can provide contact information for contractors and the website also provides an interactive flight tracker tool about changes that occur related to flight traffic. Mr. Lawrence added planes will get quieter over time, not noisier, as the older planes are going out of service. Councilmember Kraft referenced the city’s strategic priorities especially the climate action plan and noted air travel is included in the greenhouse gas plans for the area and reducing carbon emissions. He asked if the MAC has a climate action plan or any strategic plans on greenhouse gases or sustainability. Mr. Lawrence noted he has discussed the city’s climate action plan with Mr. Hoffman. He complimented the city for their work on climate action and noted as planes get less noisy, they will also lower their carbon footprint. He stated airlines are very conscious of climate change and have plans in place. Ms. Nelson stated the sustainability plan has 4 goals for 2030 . She stated the MAC emissions goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030 at the MSP campus. She added this does not include specific airline emissions but noted there will be movement in that area as airlines change the fuels used. She stated solar panels on top of the airport parking structures at terminals 1 and 2 are part of this plan, along with capability to extend this. She added they did update support equipment at the airport to electric, as well as an overhaul of their HVAC controls. She stated they have a way to go to hit 80% at the MSP campus but are working on how to include these measures into their capital improvement plans. 2. 2022 utility rate study Ms. Kvilvang presented the report. Ms. Kvilvang noted the recommendations of rate increases as follows:  Water 4.5% annually  Sanitary sewer 3.5% annually  Storm sewer 6.0% annually  Sanitation 5.25% annually – and continue phase out of the 20-gallon container Councilmember Dumalag asked if this is an annual increase over the previous year . Ms. Kvilvang stated yes. Councilmember Dumalag asked if the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is its own taxable entity versus Bass Creek and if the pass through is just to the residents living in that district. Ms. Weller confirmed it was for residents living in that area. Councilmember Kraft asked if the council is only looking to see if these criteria meet our conservation goals and what are the city’s conservation goals. Ms. Kvilvang stated to not penalize low users and noted that higher users would be pushed into a higher tier, which would increase the irrigation rate, to encourage conservation. Councilmember Kraft asked what the irrigation percentage is. Ms. Kvilvang stated irrigation pays a higher rate. She noted the goal was to separate this out and then charge at a higher rate for water usage. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -3- Sept. 27, 2021 Councilmember Kraft asked what is meant by ‘tiers are working as designed.’ Ms. Kvilvang stated meeting the goal of not penalizing the lower users and charging the higher users more for their use shows that the tiers system is working as designed. Councilmember Kraft asked what was meant by ‘the capital improvement plan is aggressive.’ Ms. Kvilvang stated it is aggressive and complete and a detailed plan, with replacements made as needed as per staff recommendations. She noted an example of this is as the city is doing pavement management and roads are dug up, utilities are replaced during that timeframe, which is efficient. Councilmember Kraft asked about storm sewer and why there are big jumps in ending cash. Ms. Kvilvang stated this is cash building up for rate increases, noting it is such a small fund, the jumps seem exaggerated. Councilmember Kraft stated the concern he has on the policy question is that the low user is being penalized. Councilmember Harris agreed. Ms. Kvilvang stated most customers will not fill the 20-gallon container every week. Councilmember Kraft stated the policy does not meet the goals especially in the sanitation area. Additionally, in the multi-family and in commercial, it seems to be a lower cost in the commercial area. He noted the residential user pays more over time versus the commercial user. Councilmember Brausen stated it is a higher percentage increase, but they start at lower rates. Ms. Kvilvang stated they are paying for what they are using, so it evens out. Councilmember Mohamed asked about the 6.7% increase. Ms. Kvilvang stated that is the year over year increase. Councilmember Mohamed asked if residential will pay less because of the irrigation. Ms. Kvilvang stated yes. Councilmember Mohamed stated on the policy consideration she believes the city is meeting the goals as presented. Councilmember Harris asked which fund is not meeting the goals right now. Ms. Kvilvang stated the water fund. She stated the city wants to have 3 months operating expenses, next year’s debt service and all capital plans and cash in reserve in case a problem arises with a utility. Councilmember Brausen asked if this is a straight user fee of costs for the city providing services. Ms. Kvilvang stated yes. Councilmember Brausen stated the council decided to increase the rates on irrigation, such as golf courses or large lawns, to discourage too much water usage. He supports the tiered rate structure the city uses and noted it accomplishes what it sets out to do. He hopes to see the costs go down at some point, adding he would not be averse to increasing irrigation costs. Councilmember Brausen stated he is happy about the 30-gallon container and every other week pick up, adding it is the most used. He asked about commercial solid waste and noted the DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -4- Sept. 27, 2021 residents seemed to pay more if at 90 gallons or more. He noted higher rates might encourage them to recycle more. Councilmember Brausen asked if Waste Management does all the commercial collection or if they use independent companies. Ms. Kvilvang stated commercial can opt out of the city waste vendors. She added commercial users also have more of an ala carte program to work from, so it is hard to compare apples to apples. Councilmember Brausen asked if Waste Management does any type of survey or data about how full the containers are when emptied. Ms. Fisher stated Waste Management does provide limited services to commercial, and they do not provide data and is not something the city requires under the contract. Mayor Spano stated most folks will move to the 30 gallon and every other week rates. He also noted the tiering system does not seem to be reducing people’s water usage. Ms. Kvilvang stated that is correct. Mayor Spano stated this may then need to be revisited if it is not working to help water conservation. Mayor Spano noted he did not know that irrigation systems used different water meters. He added the city has a requirement that projects have dedicated green space, and then the city requires it to be irrigated. So, we might need to look at this further in the future. Councilmember Kraft agreed with Mayor Spano’s comments and with adding to the irrigation fees to benefit the low users. He stated with the green space, the level of maintenance and watering depends on what is being planted in those areas such as Kentucky Blue grass versus native plantings. Councilmember Brausen stated that would require a policy decision on discouraging use of water and that would warrant a discussion with residents. He stated he would be interested in this and would want to ask the city attorney for an opinion as well. 3. Update on council-requested agenda items/topics Ms. Kennedy presented the report to council and asked if the council supports the use of a systems approach to manage council-requested items. Councilmember Harris stated she likes the concept. She asked if the process council uses to request new items would change. Ms. Kennedy stated that would be addressed in a subsequent phase, noting staff will work through the entire process and bring back s uggestions in a future discussion with council. She noted the first step in the process is to make sure council is ok with the systems approach. Councilmember Harris stated she supports the approach being taken. Mayor Spano asked how topics will be included in study sessions. Ms. Kennedy stated many of the items on the existing list are more substantive topics, adding she would envision putting several topics together on one agenda or across several meetings to allow for more meaningful and thoughtful discussion by council. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -5- Sept. 27, 2021 Councilmember Kraft noted a specific line from the staff report, ‘the current method is not achieving desired outcomes for staff or council’ and asked what that means from a staff perspective and from councils’ perspective. Ms. Kennedy stated there are a lot of items and it has become difficult to track the status of items for both council and staff and at times there is confusion on the work being done on certain topics and how items are prioritized. She added staff will work on developing a tool with a timeline element that would allow council to better track the status of their items on an ongoing basis and understand other needs and variables that may be involved. Councilmember Kraft stated he is supportive of this and would want prioritization to be more clarified. Ms. Kennedy agreed, noting staff can provide more support for council in this area going forward. Councilmember Dumalag appreciated the direction of the process and the buckets of topics. She also appreciates the items were being categorized to align with the council’s strategic priorities. Councilmember Brausen stated he is also in support of a systems approach, noting it would be nice to get to some of the items that have been on the list for a while . Councilmember Harris stated there are many items on the list that were proposed a long time ago and asked how it is determined when items are brought forward. Ms. Kennedy stated there are many factors that go into determining when an item is brought forward, such as capacity and readiness. She explained there are items and projects that come up over time that may be more urgent and need immediate time and attention, such as the city’s pandemic response efforts. Ultimately it is up to the city manager to det ermine how and when items are scheduled. She noted the council will also need to think about and be aware of capacity to manage their requested items because they are in addition to the standard line of business items that also need to be completed. Mayor Spano stated there are items that might not be relevant any longer and can be removed, and staff can identify them. Ms. Kennedy stated that would be a helpful exercise and staff could work on that prior to the next discussion with council. She added staff will also be thinking about how they can help council be more efficient, so everyone has the information needed. Ms. Keller stated it will be difficult to address all the topics on the current list in the remaining three months left in the year, but she wanted to point out she is aware of the history of some of the items and how long they have been outstanding. Ms. Keller thanked Ms. Kennedy for her work on this project. She reiterated phase 1 of the project is addressing the backlog of items and then setting up a more efficient system that will work for both council and staff going forward. She appreciates the spirit of experimentation and is looking forward to partnering on it . DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -6- Sept. 27, 2021 4. Future study session agenda planning and prioritization Councilmember Brausen asked about the idling report being addressed here v ersus being discussed as a sustainability item. Ms. Kennedy stated yes, staff had already prepared and scheduled this item for discussion, so it was kept on the current schedule. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Ms. Keller stated a mailing will be going to residents about yard waste collection and going back to weekly collection. She thanked residents for their patience on this as Waste Management hired more drivers. Ms. Keller noted an award planning staff received from Success Stories and Implementation for work on the Historic Walker District revitalization plan and an innovation and planning award around the speed limit work. Councilmember Harris stated the Louisiana Bridge will be completed and reopened on Oct. 18, 2021. Councilmember Brausen referenced the green building policy report and asked if a car dealership is proposing to rebuild one of their buildings, and since it is a CUP, can they be asked to install solar or adhere to sustainability policies. Ms. Keller stated there may be some limitations since it is a CUP and not a full rebuild . She stated she will contact the city attorney for further information. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 5. August 2021 monthly financial report 6. Update on revised green building policy ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4