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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023/06/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota June 12, 2023 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tem Nadia Mohamed, Tim Brausen, Sue Budd, Yolanda Farris, Lynette Dumalag, and Margaret Rog Councilmembers absent: Jake Spano Staff present: City manager (Ms. Keller), administrative services director (Ms. Brodeen), police chief Kruelle, Lt. Garland, city clerk (Ms. Kennedy), elections and civic engagement coordinator (Mr. Sund) Guests: Huda Ahmed and Anne Wiesner, Transformational Solutions 1. Advisory boards and commissions program analysis Ms. Ahmed and Ms. Wiesner presented their report outlining the findings and recommendations of the analysis. Councilmember Dumalag asked if all boards and commissions are subject to the open meeting law. Ms. Wiesner stated yes. Councilmember Dumalag asked if peer cities have commissions with youth voting members. Ms. Weiser stated yes, Ms. Kennedy added they are all voting members in St. Louis Park as well, except for the planning commission. Councilmember Budd asked if any of the peer communities have a special youth commission. Ms. Wiesner stated in the peer cities researched the youth members are integrated into the various bodies. Councilmember Brausen noted this was not necessarily new or surprising information, adding he has shared many of these frustrations. He stated the council needs to spend time as a group and with the commissions to define the mission of each group and provide clarity around roles. He continued that the findings and recommendations of the analysis all make sense, and the city wants to maximize the value of the program, especially for members. He explained the council has a limited amount of time and it would be helpful to find a way to outsource a lot of the work involved with the selection process, including scoring and interviewing candidates. Councilmember Rog appreciated the work done on the analysis, adding it has a lot of value. She asked if it would make sense to align our boards and commissions even more directly with the strategic priorities to get the work done more efficiently. She noted the strategic priories change every 10 years in conjunction with visioning processes and suggested that the purpose and scope of the various bodies could be reviewed on the same timeline. Ms. Kennedy stated that could be DocuSign Envelope ID: 2306E1E6-26D9-4FEC-BC47-AAA6BA4A752E Study session minutes June 12, 2023 an option, noting it would be a good idea to make a plan that defines how frequently reviews will occur and then sticking to the plan. Councilmember Rog asked about term limits. Ms. Wiesner stated most people said board and commission members did not want term limits. Councilmember Rog noted that may be an equity issue. Councilmember Rog stated the systems approach might be helpful to better align the structure of the program with the strategic priorities. Ms. Brodeen agreed, noting staff also discussed a similar approach to make the work more engaging for members. Ms. Kennedy explained that ‘form follows function’ will be a recurring theme and this will not be the last conversation on this, noting this process will take time to ensure that different voices and perspectives are included and that any changes made to the program will be meaningful. Councilmember Rog stated the comment about boards and commission members serving as ambassadors made her pause because she does not want this to be redundant work that council or staff is already doing. She noted she tries hard to be a bridge to the community and wants to be sure all efforts are aligned with council, staff, boards and commissions so they are complementary to each other. Ms. Ahmed noted this was a comment that board and commissions members said, and many feel that is their role, so a conversation will need to happen between council and board and commission members to clarify roles and expectations. Councilmember Rog stated she is glad the city is looking at this program because staff and members are putting a lot of time into something that is not as effective as it could be and not getting the desired results. Councilmember Rog asked if the city has tried to address virtual meetings at the state level. Ms. Keller stated there were some minor changes made this year which might lead to more changes in the future. Ms. Kennedy noted the open meeting law is included in the city’s legislative priorities. She explained the rule that allowed commissions to meet virtually during the pandemic ended when the state of emergency expired. The recent amendments to the law were minor expansions that allow a member to appear at meetings virtually from a private location for medical reasons up to three (3) times a year. She added public bodies are subject to the open meeting law, so the council will need to decide what they want the role of boards and commissions to be going forward to explore if there are ways to provide more flexible options for participation. Councilmember Rog agreed with Councilmember Brausen on the appointment process, adding the criteria needs to be clearer if the council continues to be involved. She is glad for this work and supportive of the path we are on. Councilmember Budd stated she is one of the councilmembers who has not been on a board or commission, so this is a gap for her in understanding the roles. She stated there is a fair amount DocuSign Envelope ID: 2306E1E6-26D9-4FEC-BC47-AAA6BA4A752E Study session minutes June 12, 2023 of structure on terms, size of commissions, and submission of workplans. She would benefit from what the structure is now and then review that information. Ms. Kennedy stated staff would be happy to meet to provide some background information on how the commissions were originally implemented and how their structures and functions have changed over time. She noted there are structural inconsistencies across commissions, likely because they were created at different times. She reiterated there is a disconnect between what the council, the members, and the city code say the role and purpose of the different bodies are, noting this is why the consultants are recommending that the city first define the purpose of the program. Councilmember Dumalag asked if peer cities have term limits for members. Ms. Wiesner stated a couple do have limits. She added the questions around term limits is really about strategy and how the city wants to think about recruitment and selection. Councilmember Dumalag noted losing a comment from someone being interviewed for a commission, saying when some members go off boards, then institutional knowledge is lost. So, there is deference to those who have been on for a long time. She appreciated the ideas around youth engagement and recruitment. She added the question of purpose and what do we want this to be, especially HRC’s comments as well. Councilmember Rog asked how the term limit question will get answered. Ms. Kennedy stated those questions relate to strategy and will be one piece of future conversations, however the recommendation is that the council first focus on defining purpose of the program overall. She noted this is as an opportunity for the council, as a group, to redefine the scope and purpose of the program to ensure it aligns with goals and can achieve desired outcomes. Mayor Pro Tem Mohamed appreciated the conversation. She stated she agrees with closely aligning the program with the strategic priorities and would like to explore ways to compensate members. She noted in terms of increasing youth participation, connecting with the high school and networking is important. Ms. Keller noted staff will come back at the next study session to begin discussions around the purpose of the program and how to engage members and other community partners in this work going forward. She added how much everyone at the city values the contributions of board and commission members. 2. Body worn camera annual update Police Chief Kruelle and Lt. Garland presented the staff report. Councilmember Rog asked if the body worn camera report has the same content as it has had in the past. Chief Kruelle stated yes and noted the audit would be given to council every other year in the form of a written report, instead of a presentation. Councilmembers Rog and Brausen stated they are supportive of the recommendation from Chief Kruelle. Councilmember Brausen stated he was skeptical at the outset, but stated the program DocuSign Envelope ID: 2306E1E6-26D9-4FEC-BC47-AAA6BA4A752E Study session minutes June 12, 2023 has been satisfying its services and asked about failure to activate instances. Lt. Garland stated the data shows this happens very infrequently and it’s handled with re-training for the officer. Councilmember Brausen asked if the annual report is shared with the Policy Advisory Commission and the HRC. Lt. Garland stated it is a regular topic of discussion with the Police Advisory Commission and this year it will go to the HRC as well. Councilmember Rog stated she was also skeptical at the beginning but understands this is the direction agencies have gone nationwide. She asked what value is being shown with this program, adding it feels like an insurance policy. She stated it feels like we have a solid approach to policing in this community and people are not viewing the footage often. She added the storage costs for videos are $200-$300,000 per year and asked if this is the best place to put our resources. Chief Kruelle agreed and stated he hopes the city will never have to use that insurance policy. He stated this has become the norm for policing and while the transparency and trust pieces can’t be measured in numbers, there is value in the police being able to demonstrate that transparency. He stated the videos do assist, but they can’t always be shared due to state laws. He noted officers do appreciate body cams as it helps to tell the story of what transpired. He added having the body cams allows leadership and council to have comfort in knowing that what we believe is taking place, is indeed taking place. He stated he does not think policing will go away from this practice and noted there is value in police being able to review videos for training purposes and continued learning. Councilmember Rog agreed the use of body cams is not going to go away, noting she appreciated Chief Kruelle’s perspective. She asked if there is a way to save on costs of storage. Lt. Garland stated the police departments budgets for all the costs associate ed with the system. He stated over the next five (5) years this cost should remain stable. Mayor Pro Tem Mohamed stated she is happy to see how this program is working and is in support of receiving the reports every other year. Councilmember Farris stated this is a very important program especially in light of what happened with George Floyd. She added it is important to her community and it’s appreciated especially with mental health issues as well. She stated she supports the staff recommendations. Councilmember Dumalag stated she is also supportive of the staff recommendations related to reporting. She noted it is an expensive program, but it’s also important for the city to show support and commitment to the program and to public safety. Councilmember Budd stated she supports the recommendations as well and is in favor of the program. Written Reports 3. Annual stormwater pollution prevention program report 4. Connected infrastructure system wrap-up DocuSign Envelope ID: 2306E1E6-26D9-4FEC-BC47-AAA6BA4A752E Study session minutes June 12, 2023 Councilmember Rog stated she wants to elevate having community members keeping drains clear and feels this is a great opportunity to do this. She encouraged staff to explore ways to communicate and engage on this topic. Councilmember Brausen stated putting together materials that can be distributed at national night out about this program would be helpful also. Councilmember Budd stated she did sign up for drain cleaning as well as other programs but was disappointed by the metrics. She stated seeing the metrics would incent folks to participate and keep up with this effort. Mayor Pro Tem Mohamed stated her neighbor told her about adopt-a-drain and he asked how many others can be involved, noting sometimes word-of-mouth is the best way to gather support for neighborhood drain cleaning and storm water management. Councilmember Rog stated if people understood better about stormwater management programs, it may help to engage them more. She commented on the infrastructure written report, noting she is interested in discussing the $350,000 bike and ped counter during budget discussions. Ms. Keller stated there are things that will be recommended in the budget and then a short list of items the council can consider adding into the budget. She noted Ms. Heiser recognizes that the council does want this program, so more information will be provided to council during budget discussions. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Ms. Keller noted this Sunday, June 18th, will be the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration from 12 noon – 4 p.m. with events, music, vendors, and food. She encouraged everyone to attend. There is no meeting on Monday, June 19th, in honor of Juneteenth, and all city offices are closed. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 2306E1E6-26D9-4FEC-BC47-AAA6BA4A752E