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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/12/13 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota Dec. 13, 2021 The meeting convened at 8:35 p.m. 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), Interim Deputy City Manager/Director of Operations and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Engineering Director (Ms. Heiser), CFO (Ms. Schmitt), Director of Community Development (Ms. Barton), Sustainability Manager (Ms. Ziring), Building and Energy Director (Mr. Hoffman), Sustainability Specialist (Ms. Pottorff) Guests: Melisa Bayer, ESC Chair 1. Overview of 2022 sustainability division programs Ms. Ziring presented the report. She explained the Climate Action Plan, progress since 2019, and noted at this time the city is challenged in meeting its goals due to the pandemic. She described ways the ESC and staff will be working to reach climate goals. Councilmember Rog stated the preservation of existing trees is as important, if not more valuable, than planting new ones. Ms. Ziring agreed and stated that tree preservation falls across divisions and she would like to get the staff’s opinion. Councilmember Rog referenced wind power and asked if there is a future for wind power generation in St. Louis Park. Ms. Ziring stated she does not see a future in wind power in St. Louis Park because of limited wind resources, adding there is more opportunity for solar. Councilmember Harris asked for more detail on the dashboard. Ms. Ziring stated she is working with staff on what would be the most valuable metrics for the public to see on the dashboard. Councilmember Harris asked if electric vehicle metrics would be included. Ms. Ziring stated yes, they can be. Councilmember Harris asked if bus lines can also be included to focus on multiple means of transportation. Ms. Ziring stated yes, there can be much included on modes of transportation. Councilmember Rog asked how properties will be identified that participate in the de-paving pilot. Ms. Ziring stated she will take an aerial view of the city and look at areas of heat islands to see if all the parking is being used all the time, then talk with property owners. Councilmember Harris asked if areas where flash flooding occurs in the city are being identified and if plantings can be done in these areas, to assist residents with this issue. She noted a location in Ward 3 where this happens, which is an environmental issue, adding she does not DocuSign Envelope ID: CA73F1D6-8513-4C63-A383-44C3AAEA382F Study session minutes -2- Dec. 13, 2021 want it to be forgotten. Ms. Ziring stated stormwater engineering staff works on this daily and she meets with them to look at rainwater incentive programs and ways to collaborate . Councilmember Brausen appreciated the programs and approach. He noted drive-thrus are areas of idling and asked if the zoning ordinance can address these uses. Councilmember Kraft stated this is an impressive list of programs as well as the analysis. He looks forward to the dashboard and encouraged measurements to be included . He asked what the biggest risk and biggest constraint are. Ms. Ziring stated participation will be the biggest risk and reminding the public about the benefits of participating in programs will be key and will need to be repeated. She noted the biggest constraint is time, and that the constant learning process, design, and communicating and administering the programs all takes time. Councilmember Kraft asked what can be done to assist with constraints of time and participation and would this involve hiring a consultant or other measures. He asked Ms. Ziring to think about this and get back to council. Councilmember Dumalag asked about fees, if lowering the solar fees might help, and would any of the programs mentioned help alleviate this. Mr. Hoffman stated the permit costs are very small and the incentive with solar sundown assists. He stated permit costs are paid by the contractor and programs turn the profit back to the property owner . Mayor Spano stated years ago when the council was starting on climate action, he noted solar was discussed, the programs now are building, and this feels like the manifestation of years of that work. He thanked Ms. Ziring for her work. He also noted the dashboard and asked how will staff develop the data, show it, how will it be usable, and will consultants be hired to do this work. Ms. Ziring stated at this time no consultants will be hired and staff is looking at dashboards that currently exist and will model after these. Mayor Spano stated he would encourage the use of outside consultants who can build dashboards so it will be useful and impactful. Mr. Hoffman stated this is certainly something staff will investigate. Councilmember Rog stated council will continue to help promote programs in the community and asked if there is one-page of information that would be useful for council to pass on to folks. Ms. Ziring stated she would send information to the council. 2. Climate emergency resolution Ms. Pottorff and Marisa Bayer, Chair of the ESC, presented to the council. Mayor Spano asked about edits and how it reflects St. Louis Park better. Ms. Pottorff explained the areas that were edited including the bullet points and addition of city projects making it specific to St. Louis Park. DocuSign Envelope ID: CA73F1D6-8513-4C63-A383-44C3AAEA382F Study session minutes -3- Dec. 13, 2021 Mayor Spano asked if the climate investment fund is in alignment with the resolution. Commissioner Bayer stated yes and there are ways in the future to make sure this is ongoing and dedicated funding. Mayor Spano stated this is lengthy and asked how much consideration was there to eliminating the data points. He also asked is there any way some of this can be trimmed. Commissioner Bayer stated they did not discuss removing anything and wanted to include the data to back the claims within the resolution. Mayor Spano stated he read an article about declaring emergencies and that they might become counterproductive. He stated he supports this but asked if the ESC had discussed this at all and if any edits were made to the language. Commissioner Bayer stated yes, they had discussed this on the commission and with Councilmember Kraft in attendance. Commissioner Bayer stated the conversation was very productive and they decided a coordinated effort across cities would be helpful to address this. Ms. Ziring added the ESC also included a clause in the resolution that talked about ongoing action and ongoing engagement with state and federal leaders. Mayor Spano stated he wanted to be thoughtful about this in light of many people who might not agree, and how to reach those folks. Commissioner Bayer stated they also discussed how to address this with the community and keep those conversations going. Councilmember Mohamed stated typically she does not like resolutions without action behind it. She does support this and is proud to have this show the city’s values. Councilmember Harris asked who is the intended audience. Mr. Hoffman stated if the media is leveraged along with residents, it will be a call to action. He added the second audience is the legislature and getting the message to as many representatives and senators as possible. Councilmember Harris stated she likes the call to action and outreach to the community. She added most people do not pay attention to legislation and asked if a more condensed version could be presented to the media and Park Perspective, to reach residents and help them see where they can fit into the issue and assist with engagement . Ms. Ziring stated she will speak with communications staff on this. Councilmember Rog stated she likes the current form it is written in and would hate to see it condensed. Councilmember Harris stated she would like to see both the full document and a condensed version. Mayor Spano made suggestions on how to condense and tighten up the document in several areas. Councilmember Kraft supports the document, the work of the ESC, and appreciated their comments and challenges to him when he attended the meeting to discuss this . He stated emphasizing bold action locally is important as well as mobilizing the community. He stated DocuSign Envelope ID: CA73F1D6-8513-4C63-A383-44C3AAEA382F Study session minutes -4- Dec. 13, 2021 some of the changes mentioned are good but starting with a common message is best. He supports this and the time to do this is now. Councilmember Dumalag stated she supports the resolution but believes the document should include source citations, as well as a possible executive summary. Councilmember Rog stated she supports the document as is and does not believe source citations are needed, adding what needs to be there is there. Ms. Ziring stated the resolution started with a template and 90% of the document was not written by staff. Councilmember Dumalag stated someone with a scientific background will ask for citations. Councilmember Brausen thanked staff for all their work on this and he will support this. Councilmember Kraft added the caucus is working with Great Plains Institute and their media person, who is working on a strategy. Councilmember Rog expressed her support of the document and staff ’s work on this. It was the consensus of the council to have staff use the recommendations noted, make revisions, and bring back the document to council in January for finalization. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Councilmember Mohamed appreciated the report on the daycare ordinance. Councilmember Brausen is supportive of the Bridgewalk HIA and thanked staff for the report. Councilmember Rog stated she is not clear if the city recovers the entire HIA amount, as debt service is tied to this. Ms. Keller stated staff can put together a report on how HIA’s work and provide it to council. Councilmember Kraft stated he is more interested in how HIA’s perform and a status report on this. Councilmember Dumalag stated her concerns if the seller sells, do they have to pay. Councilmember Rog asked about the daycare report and if a daycare is near a park and if they do not have appropriate equipment, is this a limitation and how would that be addressed . The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 3. Bridgewalk Condominium Homeowners’ Association Housing Improvement Area (HIA) DocuSign Envelope ID: CA73F1D6-8513-4C63-A383-44C3AAEA382F Study session minutes -5- Dec. 13, 2021 4. Solar energy systems ordinance amendment 5. Daycare ordinance amendment ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: CA73F1D6-8513-4C63-A383-44C3AAEA382F