HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/11/15 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular Official minutes
City council meeting
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Nov. 15, 2021
1. Call to order
Mayor Spano called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
1a. Pledge of allegiance
1b. Roll call
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Lynette Dumalag, Rachel Harris,
Larry Kraft, Nadia Mohamed, and Margaret Rog
Councilmembers absent: none
Staff present: City Manager (Ms. Keller), City Attorney (Mr. Mattick), Director of Building and
Energy (Mr. Hoffman), City Clerk (Ms. Kennedy), Finance Manager (Ms. Sledge) Associate
Planner (Ms. Kramer), Planning Manager (Mr. Walther)
Guests: none
2. Presentations
2a. Police officer oath of office
City Clerk Kennedy administered a ceremonial police officer oath of office to Officers
Matthew McNeely, Caroline Bjorge, Madeline Turnquist, Christian Howse, Bobby
Brewer, and Joseph LeFevere.
2b. 2021 Small Business Saturday proclamation
Mayor Spano read the proclamation designating Saturday Nov. 27, 2021, as Small
Business Saturday in St. Louis Park.
3. Approval of minutes
3a. Study session minutes of Oct. 11, 2021
Councilmember Kraft stated on page 3 the following corrections should be included:
“…6.97% should be 6.927%” and “…at 4.5-6 % are above rate of inflation and will require
justification and can’t keep doing this forever as it will require people’s disposable
income” and “…the SIP document.”
Councilmember Dumalag noted on page 5 it should read, “…operating budget” and on
page 8 it should read, “…looks forward to TIF discussion.”
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -2- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Rog noted on page 1 it should read, “…the city will contribute $2.5
million” and on page 5 it should read, “...around climate action is in being a leader and
she hopes the focus of climate investments can be on modeling leadership.”
It was moved by Councilmember Rog, seconded by Councilmember Kraft, to approve the
Study Session minutes of Oct. 11, 2021, as amended.
The motion passed 7-0.
3b. City council meeting minutes of Oct. 18, 2021
Councilmember Dumalag noted on page 5 it should read “Mr. Hedberg” and not “Mr.
Edwards.”
Councilmember Rog stated on page 5 it should read, “…low-income renters…” on page 7
it should read “…will not support the future TIF request and added in her view this
project does not support… ” and on page 8 it should read “…protect the dignity of native
American art planned for…”
It was moved by Councilmember Brausen, seconded by Councilmember Dumalag, to
approve the city council meeting minutes of Oct. 18, 2021, as amended.
The motion passed 7-0.
3b. Special study session minutes of Oct. 18, 2021
Councilmember Kraft noted on page 1 it should read, “…the total miles of sidewalk in
the city” and “in order of magnitude more than twice the amount of sidewalks cleared
today” and “we could relax…” and “…linear cost approach and check how to do a linear
approach vs. and exponential approach.”
It was moved by Councilmember Rog, seconded by Councilmember Mohamed, to
approve the special study session minute of Oct. 18, 2021, as amended.
The motion passed 7-0.
4. Approval of agenda and items on consent calendar
4a. I. Adopt Resolution No. 21-136 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 1.
II. Adopt Resolution No. 21-137 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 2.
III. Adopt Resolution No. 21-138 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 3.
IV. Adopt Resolution No. 21-139 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 4.
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -3- Nov. 15, 2021
V. Adopt Resolution No. 21-140 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 5.
VI. Adopt Resolution No. 21-141 to approve recommended property owner budget
and service charges for Special Service District No. 6.
4b. Adopt resolution authorizing execution of a contract with Summit
Envirosolutions, Inc. (Summit) for 2022 consultant services related to the
implementation of the amended Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. (Reilly) Consent
Decree/Remedial Action Plan (CD/RAP). (Moved to Regular item 8d).
4c. Adopt Resolution No. 21-132 providing preliminary approval for the issuance of
multifamily housing revenue bonds to finance the Beltline Station Housing
project.
4d. Adopt Resolution No. 21-133 accepting work and authorizing final payment in
the amount of $12,781.95 for the Dakota Avenue Bikeway with S.M. Hentges &
Sons, Inc. – city contract No. 91-20.
4e. Approve the memo of understanding for school resource officer services
provided to the St. Louis Park School District. (Moved to Regular item 8e).
4f. Approve for filing fire civil service commission minutes of Sept. 13, 2021.
Councilmembers Kraft and Brausen requested that consent calendar item 4b and 4e be
removed and placed on the regular agenda to 8d and 8e.
It was moved by Councilmember Brausen, seconded by Councilmember Kraft, to approve
the agenda and items listed on the consent calendar as amended to move consent
calendar item 4b and 4e to the regular agenda as item 8 d and 8e; and to waive reading
of all resolutions and ordinances.
The motion passed 7-0.
5. Boards and commissions - none
6. Public hearings
6a. First reading of ordinance adopting fees for 2022
Ms. Sledge presented the staff report.
Mayor Spano opened the public hearing. No speakers were present. Mayor Spano
closed the public hearing.
Mayor Spano asked about the Bassett Creek watershed if that was passthrough, and if
that fee goes to the residents. Ms. Sledge explained it is based on the budget, the fee is
allocated in the budget, and it is money collected but not kept by the city.
Councilmember Harris asked how many total additions were added and where are they
to be found. Ms. Sledge stated they are on the website, in appendix A of the city code.
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -4- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Harris asked if there could be an addition on the website of “new
updates”. Ms. Sledge stated she will discuss this with communications staff.
Councilmember Brausen stated he was contacted about the fee schedule and asked
about incentives or reductions based on installation of solar systems . He stated there
will be substantial savings for solar installations, so he will support this and appreciated
citizens sharing these concerns.
Councilmember Kraft appreciated this being simplified as well. He stated there was a
question of the fee schedule being less or not from user s’ perspective. He asked for
clarification related to solar installation and with solar sundown continuing into next
year, does the federal benefit decrease next year. Mr. Hoffman explained solar sundown
has been successful, will remain the same in 2022, but it does reduce in 2023. With the
program, it is up to the city to provide whatever type of incentive it wants, and this will
be discussed.
Councilmember Kraft stated he would like to see a waiver of permit fees as an incentive
for solar sundown. Mr. Hoffman explained the state building code is used for this as the
state allows the city to charge a service fee, and these are not intended to be used for
incentives or waiving fees. He added there has been a lot of discussion on this at the
legislature and the city does want to do this, but when subsidizing, sometimes it does
not end, so that is why the city has pursued solar sundown. He noted this makes it a
cleaner way to incentivize versus using the permit fees.
Mr. Hoffman stated the program provides for owners of larger commercial buildings to
submit data to the city. He noted the penalty fine of $100 has been successful and can
be doubled and doubled again, and if not paid the fees are assessed to the taxes. He
stated fees can be high if not paid each year, noting there is an appeal process. He
stated this is a tool that can be used.
Councilmember Kraft stated he is supportive of utility fees put in place for this year. He
does have concerns that the increase seen this year is the same over the next 10 years.
He stated this cannot be done forever as it takes more of people’s disposable income .
He added that with climate change and excess rain events, he can see why the
stormwater fees will be higher. He likes the city promoting conservation and would like
to see more percentage increases at higher usage levels and lower percentage increases
at the lower usage levels.
Councilmember Dumalag stated she wanted to flag that with solar, there is much
infrastructure that goes along with it; however, she is supportive of these fees for 2022.
Councilmember Rog asked why there might be a $150 building permit to replace a roof
and a $250 permit fee for panels. Mr. Hoffman explained permit fees are determined by
valuation, which can sometimes be misstated by contractors. He added when looking at
solar panel installs last year, the valuations seemed irregular and were overstated with
no need. He noted with a flat fee, the valuation then does not matter.
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -5- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Rog asked how $250 was settled on. Mr. Hoffman stated $250 was in
place for building permits and $150 was added for electrical .
Councilmember Rog stated she feels this is overcharging people and her request is to be
on par with other cities, not more. She added most cities in the area have lower fees
than St. Louis Park and that seems counter to the promotion the city is doing on solar
and could be a disincentive.
Councilmember Rog asked why electrical, and building cannot be put together into one
fee. Mr. Hoffman explained state code requires that electrical be permitted solely by the
electrician. Usually, the electrical work is subcontracted and needs its own permit, so
that is why fees are not combined. He added he is not sure how other cities are
combining them as this is a state requirement.
Councilmember Rog commented she has lived in St. Louis Park for 30 years and before
being on council, she had not thought about fees. She added for many people the
impact is difficult. She asked how else the city finds out about increases and impacts to
them, as well as what the fees pay for. Ms. Sledge stated when utility rates change,
residents are notified by receiving an insert with their bill. The city also has informative
meetings, a public hearing, and any questions that come from the public are responded
to by staff directly.
Councilmember Rog stated in future she would like to suggest the city be more
proactive to understand rate increases, impacts, and what is being paid for.
Mayor Spano thanked staff for their presentation. He stated no one likes to see fees or
increases and the city tries to keep them low but living in a city where infrastructure was
built out years ago, there are many things that need to be replaced now.
Mr. Mattick advised the law says the permit fees are not income generators or
profitable. Fees are meant to cover the city’s cost of services. So, if fees are waived,
then there will be consequences with other fees. Each fee is meant to pay for itself, so
expenses are accounted for.
Councilmember Kraft stated when he talked about waiving, he assumed it would come
from the climate action fund.
Mr. Hoffman added permit costs are borne by the contractor, but with solar sundown,
the benefits go to the homeowner, so cost sharing is helpful here.
It was moved by Councilmember Harris, seconded by Councilmember Rog, to approve
first reading of ordinance adoption fees for 2022 and set second reading for Dec. 6,
2021.
The motion passed 7-0.
7. Requests, petitions, and communications from the public – none
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -6- Nov. 15, 2021
8. Resolutions, ordinances, motions and discussion items
8a. First reading of ordinance amending City Code Chapter 3 related to prohibited
conditions for liquor licenses
Ms. Kennedy presented the staff report.
Councilmember Harris stated she is in support of this amendment to the city code.
Councilmember Mohamed stated Muslims cannot drink alcohol and having the
provision related to religious organizations is helpful.
Councilmember Rog stated this business is in ward 1 and owned by an immigrant owner
so she is pleased for him and hopes this action will activate this in the whole Walker
Lake area.
It was moved by Councilmember Harris, seconded by Councilmember Brausen, to
approve the first reading of an ordinance amending St. Louis Park City Code Chapter 3
related to prohibited conditions for liquor licenses.
The motion passed 7-0.
8b. Assessment of delinquent charges. Resolution No. 21-134
Ms. Sledge presented the staff report.
Mayor Spano asked why delinquent charges are the lowest they have been in 5 years,
and what does staff do to notify residents. Ms. Sledge stated she would do more
research as to why it is much lower this year. She noted that during COVID, late
penalties were waived, and many received assistance to pay fees through various
programs.
It was moved by Councilmember Brausen, seconded by Councilmember Mohamed, to
adopt Resolution No. 21-134 to assess delinquent water, sewer, storm water, refuse,
abatement of tree removals, false alarms, mowing, and citation charges against the
benefiting property.
The motion passed 7-0.
8c. Zoning text amendment – parking requirements
Ms. Kramer presented the staff report.
Mayor Spano asked for clarification on the trigger for outdoor parking requirements .
Ms. Kramer explained outdoor seating less than 500 sq. ft. or 10% of the gross floor area
of the principal use, does not require additional parking, not necessarily 10% of the
whole building.
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -7- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Rog stated she supports these changes in principle but has concerns
around market rate larger apartments, as these are typically occupied by singles with
their own cars. She asked if there is any value in being more discerning around whether
income restricted or market rate. Ms. Kramer stated these parking requirements are
just a minimum and council has the option of revising those requirements up or down
for individual projects seeking city approval.
Councilmember Rog asked how it can be the same number of parking requirements
whether sitting inside or outside a restaurant. Mr. Walther stated this is what they are
seeing, and it is not a perfect science but is aligned with city observations.
Councilmember Rog asked what happens to level 1 EV chargers and if they are not used,
are they then converted to level 2. Ms. Kramer stated it depends on the conduit
installed. She explained they can be converted to level 2 but would not have to be
converted unless they were reconstructing their parking lot . Mr. Walther added now
newer EV vehicles take longer to reach a full charge, so the proposed changes are in part
based on updating to code to reflect current technology.
Councilmember Rog asked what level is used for charging electric bikes. Mr. Walther
stated level 1 chargers.
Councilmember Kraft stated he appreciates these changes, noting this ordinance that
was completed in 2019 has been phenomenally successful with well over 100 EV
chargers installed. He appreciates that, especially with 50% parking requiring conduit, as
that is where the market is going.
Councilmember Harris stated these are positive changes and she appreciated staff’s
response to these changes. She also noted that parking is expensive and has many
indirect costs. She asked what dollar value will be saved, noting some of these savings
could be used for sidewalk clearance or other projects. She thanked staff for this
presentation.
Councilmember Dumalag thanked staff and the planning commission for their work on
this.
It was moved by Councilmember Mohamed, seconded by Councilmember Brausen, to
approve first reading of ordinance amending Section 36 pertaining to parking
requirements and set and second reading for Dec. 6, 2021.
The motion passed 7-0.
8d. Authorizing execution of a contract with Summit Envirosolutions, Inc. (Summit)
for 2022 consultant services related to the implementation of the amended
Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. (Reilly) Consent Decree/Remedial Action Plan
(CD/RAP). Resolution No. 21-135
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -8- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Brausen stated this is for authorizing contract services for the Reilly Tar
site. He noted staff worked on this for a long time and were able to negotiate a $69,000
reduction on the contract, which is important to recognize as staff continues to help the
city save money. He complimented staff for this work.
Councilmember Brausen made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Mohamed, to
adopt Resolution No. 21-135 authorizing execution of contract with Summit
Envirosolutions, Inc. (Summit) for 2022 consultant services related to the implementation
of the amended Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. (Reilly) Consent Decree/Remedial Action
Plan (CD/RAP), as presented.
The motion passed 7-0.
8e. Memo of understanding for school resource officer services provided to the St.
Louis Park School District
Councilmember Kraft stated this was an excellent idea and asked the council to think
about this for the next policing discussion. He noted this used to be an item paid for by
the school district until a few years ago and now the city pays for this. He asked does the
school district value SROs, what is that, and is the city providing this as a favor to the
school district, or are these funds being used to the betterment of the city. He also
asked if it might be time to ask the school district to assist in paying for this cost, adding
he does not know the answer to this, but wondered what value the school district
places on this.
Councilmember Mohamed stated she wants to talk about the history of this. She noted
some are asking if SROs are needed in the schools, but the district does value this and
the city has respected that. She stated many of the issues that come out in schools are
related to having police officers in schools and she is happy police officers are working
to build relationships in St. Louis Park schools.
Councilmember Mohamed stated there are studies that show having police officers in
schools causes friction with students of color. She is not arguing against the police being
in schools, but again stated police need to be working on building relationships with
students. She added she does not agree with the school district paying for SROs as there
are better uses for their monies.
Councilmember Rog agreed with both comments. She has concerns about assumed
ongoing costs that council may not be aware of at times, and this is one example. She
asked that in the future, this type of cost be pointed out to council as it is important to
analyze all costs and understand what the city is getting. She also had concerns about
whether there was a student voice in schools with SROs and about body worn cameras
in schools. She stated that while she trusts the superintendent, she wants to be sure
student voice is being heard on this.
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219
City council meeting -9- Nov. 15, 2021
Councilmember Brausen stated SROs are student resource officers and MOUs are
memos of understanding. He suggested this is a topic for the joint meeting with the
school district for further discussion.
Mayor Spano stated the question about what the city spends in partnership with the
school is a good one, noting it is a two-way street. He is interested in the discussion with
the school district as well. He added he appreciates that this is the school district’s
decision, and he noted the school superintendent does include student input and knows
that students in St. Louis Park do appreciate SROs in the schools.
Councilmember Kraft made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Mohamed to
approve the memo of understanding for school resource officer services provided to the
St. Louis Park School District.
The motion passed 7-0.
9. Communications
December 6, 2021, next vaccination clinic at schools for children ages 5-11.
Westwood Hills Nature Center is hosting a St. Louis Park Friends of the Arts event on
Wednesday Nov. 17, 2021, 5-7 p.m.
Beth EL will be hosting a screening of a documentary on Tuesday Nov. 16, 2021,
which discusses racially based covenants in Minnesota. There will be a panel
discussion with Mayor Spano and others, and more information is available on the
city website. Masks and vaccination record or proof of negative covid test required.
Thursday Nov. 18, 2021, is Give to the Max Day and there are many non-profits
within St. Louis Park that can be donated to, including Lenox and STEP.
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
______________________________________ ______________________________________
Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor
DocuSign Envelope ID: DDB7B87B-E8A1-4156-98B4-980AFFBC2219