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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/03/28 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota March 28, 2022 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Sue Budd, Nadia Mohamed, Margaret Rog Councilmembers absent: Lynette Dumalag, Larry Kraft Staff present: City Manager (Ms. Keller), Deputy City Manager/Director of Operations and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Finance Director (Ms. Schmidt), City Assessor (Mr. Bultema), City Clerk (Ms. Kennedy), Commercial Appraiser (Ms. Nathanson), Interim Information Resources Director (Ms. Smith) Guests: 1. 2022 Market Value Overview Mr. Bultema presented the overview. Councilmember Rog state she was recently asked why the valuation in St. Louis Park is higher per square foot than in Wayzata and other areas. She asked if this is because St. Louis Park homes are smaller. Mr. Bultema stated yes, that is correct. He added the city’s location is also a factor, in that St. Louis Park is surrounded by higher valuation areas and provides close access to downtown, the highway system, and SWLRT. He noted the housing stock is also lower in a first ring suburb. Mr. Bultema reviewed the appeals process and noted the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (LBAE) meeting will convene April 11, 2022. Councilmember Rog stated most appeals that come before the LBAE are not supported. She asked what the percentage or ratio is of those supported or denied. Mr. Bultema stated each appeal is a bit different. He stated the board is typically very fair and, as city assessor, if he disagrees with an adjustment the board makes, he can also appeal the decision to the county. He noted this has never occurred in his time with the city. He added the board is to make their decisions based on logic and the true market. Mayor Spano stated in the past people appeared in person, and asked if that is still the case, given COVID. Mr. Bultema stated it is ultimately up to the board, but he encouraged them to be flexible. He noted the 2nd LBAE meeting is scheduled for April 25. Councilmember Rog asked how TIF districts interact with valuation. Mr. Bultema explained the city sets the valuation and, depending on when the TIF district begins and ends, the base valuation is frozen. The increment of value change serves to reimburse the developers extraordinary expenses. DocuSign Envelope ID: 2FEDDF4B-154A-4EA5-94B5-7C6A4AAEF4B5 Study session minutes -2- Mar. 28, 2022 Councilmember Rog asked how TIF plays into the city’s overall tax capacity. Mr. Bultema stated because the Minnesota property tax system is complicated and the information is often not available until later in the annual cycle, an exact answer is difficult to provide. He stated in the end, TIF has a purpose and is a policy decision council makes. He noted St. Louis Park is a great example of how TIF can work effectively, whereas in other cities, sometimes it does not work well. He noted TIF allows the developer to capture some of their expenses. In St. Louis Park many of the developer’s expenses are related to contamination, site clean-up, prep, and parking structures. Councilmember Rog asked if the developer is exempt from the county. Mr. Bultema clarified they are not exempt from the county, and it all goes into the overall tax capacity values the county does, but because of timing, it is difficult to explain the actual mechanics of it . He noted his concerns are most with values versus TIF. Ms. Nathanson spoke about commercial property values. Councilmember Rog asked about the class C apartment sales and if assessing staff work with community development around enforcement of the tenant protection ordinance. Ms. Nathanson stated that is likely covered in the point-of-sale inspection with the city, as well as the title company and their disclosure. Mr. Bultema stated assessing staff do not administer or enforce tenant protection ordinances. He added there have been no issues he is aware of, but if there was an issue, it would be addressed by community development staff. Mayor Spano asked about impacts on LGA and fiscal disparities. Ms. Schmitt stated the last LGA was in 2021. She stated it is not anticipated the city will get any LGA funding in 2023 for this, as it does not qualify, noting that this does not have anything to do with valuation . Mr. Bultema stated that the city is a net contributor to the fiscal disparities program as our commercial industrial stock has grown faster than the city’s peers. Mr. Bultema stated he would investigate this further. Councilmember Budd stated she is asked by residents if they will be gentrified out of their own homes. Mr. Bultema stated generally the city bases the value on data that just occurs. He added the city does everything possible to hold value over time, noting St. Louis Park held value much better than other areas because it is stable, but he cannot predict 10 years into the future. Councilmember Budd asked if there are things the city can do to cap an annual increase o n values. Mr. Bultema stated the council controls the city budget, but not a state-wide property tax system, and it is up to the legislature to implement caps. Councilmember Budd asked if the value of properties could be assessed at the time of sale only . Mr. Bultema stated no because all values are assessed due to real estate market movement. DocuSign Envelope ID: 2FEDDF4B-154A-4EA5-94B5-7C6A4AAEF4B5 Study session minutes -3- Mar. 28, 2022 2. Boards and commissions – structure, function, role, authority Ms. Kennedy presented the staff report. She stated the policy question is: does the city council want to engage a consultant to evaluate and provide a recommendation related to the structure, role, function, and authority of the city’s boards and commissions. Councilmember Budd asked if there is specific ordinance for all board and commissions. Ms. Kennedy stated each advisory board and commission created by the city council has their own enacting ordinance. Several boards and commissions operate and exist under statutory authority. Councilmember Budd asked if this would involve looking only at the advisory boards and commissions created by the council. Ms. Kennedy stated no, this would be looking at the full complement of programming offered by the city. Councilmember Mohamed stated she likes the idea of a consultant and asked if this will be looking into how to make all commissions uniform in scope and more consistent . Ms. Kennedy stated that would be part of the analysis with recommendations as to how that does or does not meet city goals. She added they will not all be the same as they all serve different purposes but bringing some consistency in general to processes and how they interact with council will be helpful. Ms. Kennedy noted staff will develop an RFP, and funds are available in the budget to hire a consultant. Ms. Keller stated it is important to start with an understanding of what the council’s goals are for the boards and commissions so the consultant can evaluate how close the current structure, function, and role is to meeting those goals or if substantive changes need to be considered to achieve the goals. Councilmember Rog noted comments received from Councilmember Kraft on topics he would like to see in the consultant’s analysis including the workplan process, consideration of the appropriate structure for interaction and communication between the council and the commissions, finding opportunities for more people to be involved such as subgroups of each commission that could be open to anyone in the community. Councilmember Rog asked if this would involve code changes. Ms. Kennedy stated yes, even if no substantive changes are made staff would recommend housekeeping upates to the city code, the rules and procedures for boards and commissions, and the bylaws of each body to ensure that all are consistent and in alignment. Councilmember Rog stated she likes the idea of the work of boards and commissions being in alignment with the city’s strategic priorities. She discussed the messaging around the lens of REI, noting it will be important to ensure people do not feel that they are not valued. She stated she supports hiring a consultant to lead this process and trying to include applicants who were not appointed and former board and commission members in the stakeholder analysis. Councilmember Budd asked if the League of Cities or other networks that use best practices. Ms. Kennedy stated yes, there is a handbook on running meetings that can be reviewed, and DocuSign Envelope ID: 2FEDDF4B-154A-4EA5-94B5-7C6A4AAEF4B5 Study session minutes -4- Mar. 28, 2022 also doing a peer review of other cities that have been successful with boards and commissions and how they have worked together over time, is another item the consultant can look at. Mayor Spano stated there are always many great ideas being implemented in other cities, and some are more successful than others. He stated he does not want to assume that anything is broken, and it is important the consultant know that a couple of commissions have asked for more direction and interaction with the council, not all. He added the council needs to focus on the bodies they appoint to do the work council delegates to them . He stated there needs to be a balance and a determination of what problems they are trying to solve by making changes. He noted he would like to have many involved in this process, and suggested that the consultant be very specific in the feedback they want from council. Councilmember Rog stated she is interested in council deepening engagement with the community through boards and commissions. She added the housing authority is frustrated and wants to engage more with council, noting they feel they shou ld be an advisory body to the council. Ms. Kennedy stated members will have an opportunity to provide feedback to the consultant as a part of the stakeholder analysis. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Councilmember Rog stated the housing report is full of content and added it might be helpful to post it to the city website for others to review. Ms. Keller stated she will discuss with Ms. Barton. Mayor Spano asked about posting project timelines, information, and staff updates online. He stated these reports, which are great summaries, could be helpful for the public to review. Councilmember Rog stated there are 21 families on the waiting list for the Kids in the Park program, noting the program has been very successful and she hopes those on the list are being served. Councilmember Rog noted energy rebates that have income limits, adding this feels in conflict with the city’s strategic priorities and goals around energy efficiencies. Ms. Keller stated she will investigate this. Councilmember Mohamed stated Ramadan is coming up and she will need to take a break during the council meetings to eat and pray. Ms. Keller stated the council will break during the meetings, adding these breaks will be noted on the agenda and will be approximately 15 minutes long. The meeting adjourned at 8:42 p.m. 3. Application for TIF Assistance – Wooddale Avenue Apartments (Ward 2) 4. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for public safety use 5. Diversity, equity and inclusion policy in development projects receiving public financial assistance 6. February 2022 monthly financial report DocuSign Envelope ID: 2FEDDF4B-154A-4EA5-94B5-7C6A4AAEF4B5 Study session minutes -5- Mar. 28, 2022 7. Body worn camera annual update 8. 2021 housing activity report ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 2FEDDF4B-154A-4EA5-94B5-7C6A4AAEF4B5