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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023/11/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota Nov. 27, 2023 The meeting convened at 6:33 p.m. Council members present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Sue Budd, Yolanda Farris, Lynette Dumalag, and Margaret Rog Council members absent: Nadia Mohamed Staff present: City manager (Ms. Keller), community development director (Ms. Barton), finance director (Ms. Cruver), engineering director (Ms. Heiser), building and energy director (Mr. Hoffman), parks and recreation director (Mr. West), sustainability specialist (Ms. Pottorff), police chief Kruelle Guests: Melissa Reed and Molly Jansen, Park Street Public Discussion items. 1. 2024 Revised budget and levies. Ms. Cruver presented the staff report. Ms. Cruver noted the policy consideration for council is whether they support the proposed 2024 budget as revised. The balanced budget consists of an “all-inclusive” preliminary levy increase of 7.3%, which is less than the 7.7% preliminary levy. Council Member Brausen asked if data reflecting the exact impact of the levy reduction will be available in time for the truth in taxation hearing. Ms. Cruver stated staff is communicating with the county to have the detailed information by then, although it depends on the county. Council Member Dumalag asked if decertification happens at the same time each year or just as it comes up. Ms. Cruver stated the decertification timeline this year seemed to be fairly regular for St. Louis Park. Mayor Spano thanked staff for their work on the budget process this year. Council Member Rog also thanked staff and appreciated staff’s response to council regarding new investments in tree preservation and planting, reflecting council’s priorities. She stated eight full-time staff people feels like a lot of new hires and asked if there is a typical number hired each year. Ms. Cruver responded she did not have that information on hand but could look into it. Council Member Rog stated while she appreciates the city is not absorbing all these costs in one year, the city will ultimately be paying eight new staff, and this feels like a big personnel bump. Ms. Cruver clarified that one staff member is being fully offset by reductions in spending and is not levy-funded. She added another will be a position funded by permanent revenue, not levy revenue. The other new positions will eventually be paid for by the levy. Council Member Budd asked what percentage of staff growth these additional staff represent and how many staff members the city currently has. Ms. Keller stated there are just under 300 DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -2- Nov. 27, 2023 staff that are full-time, and Mayor Spano noted that eight staff members represent about 2% growth. Ms. Cruver added that the six staff positions funded by the levy is 2%, while all eight positions equal 2.5% growth. Council Member Rog inquired if it would be possible to have items be more contextual for council to have a better sense of how things will look at the end of the year. Ms. Cruver supplied that having one budget process is so important, so that each proposal can be evaluated by council, and they can look at data and criteria all at once. When decisions are made outside of this continuous process, it may feel more difficult as council is missing that “full picture”. She added what staff has tried to do with one-time spending was related specifically to the water main break and those costs being far more than what was budgeted historically. She added the biggest change was keeping funds in reserve for next year’s main budgeting decision. Rather than weighing decisions based on timing of awareness, this budget process allows council to weigh decisions based on merits. Council Member Dumalag asked if adding staff to the city’s full-time equivalent employees and appropriate staffing levels are in proportion to the city’s growth and number of residents. Ms. Keller confirmed that staff has considered expectations regarding the level of service and where funding can be leveraged most efficiently. She gave the example of moving some positions to discover best leverage, and there may be more staff growth this year vs. the last few years to catch up. Council Member Dumalag asked if learning from the functional water systems project helped with CIP, so the city can get ahead of potential expenses for next year. Ms. Heiser shared the city is conducting an infrastructure vulnerability study for water and sewer risk and failure. Based on outcomes, planning for projects will be layered on and it will take about a year for staff to facilitate this new approach. Staff will come to council with preliminary reports and requests starting in first quarter of next year. Council Member Budd queried if the old plan was driven by pavement conditions. Ms. Heiser stated that the current plan is driven by pavement condition. Going forward, the shift will be to look more at vulnerability of the underground infrastructure, not just the pavement condition. She added reconfiguring the capital plan projects will take time. Council Member Brausen inquired if the “See Snake” scope camera project covered the west half of Cedar Lake Road, Louisiana Avenue and all of Minnetonka Boulevard. Ms. Heiser stated the project assessed Cedar Lake Road and Louisiana Avenue. Due to issues with valves and other insufficiencies, See Snake did not work to assess Minnetonka Boulevard. Due to opportunity, when the county plans a reconstruction project on Minnetonka Boulevard, staff would recommend that all the watermain be replaced. Council Member Brausen asked if it is anticipated that the city will use more scope camera technology to look at other areas. Ms. Heiser confirmed this is appropriate for larger water mains, and staff is considering additional technologies as well. DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -3- Nov. 27, 2023 Council Member Brausen pointed out the cost to use the See Snake was approximately a quarter of a million dollars, adding he assumes some of the anticipated reserve money for capital projects will be used for this. Ms. Heiser confirmed this scope. Council Member Brausen stated he appreciates the proactive approach to avoid major issues in the future with the watermain. Regarding the addition of eight staff, he noted public safety is the biggest service provided in the community and providing high-quality service that residents trust is important, and he is happy to fund service here. He added he also agrees with more spending on tree preservation, noting this is a positive step and he appreciates all the work staff has done on this. Council Member Rog mentioned the project to reconstruct Minnetonka Boulevard, east of Highway 100 to France Avenue, taking note of the budgeted $4.2 – $5 million for the project and asked if it is all city money. Ms. Heiser stated the city is contributing about $8 million total to the France Avenue project, which involves a $4 million cost for the city’s watermain replacement as well as $4 million in other costs. She added she can get back to council on cost details. Mayor Spano observed this budget reflects the focus on roads, water and utilities characterized as “drink, drive, flush”, as well as public safety. What he sees with this budget reflects what the community has asked for and outcomes, adding he is comfortable with staff recommendations. Council Member Budd inquired about the five-year outlook and what that looked like last year. Ms. Cruver stated last year’s projection into 2024 was projected to be above 8% increase, and this was brought down. Council Member Budd asked about five-year inflation projections, and what guidance staff uses on this. Ms. Cruver stated she usually uses an estimate of 4-5% in operating funds for increases in salary, insurance and benefits, as well as debt and known increases. Council Member Budd stated she supports staff’s recommendations. Council Member Farris asked why funds for police sergeants are being put into 2025. Ms. Cruver stated it has to do with how their hiring will be implemented, over time. Council Member Dumalag noted in 2020 the levy projections were above 7%, and noted this is not a surprise and she understands the rationale for how the city got here. She added she supports the staff recommendations and appreciates the time staff has put into this. Council Member Brausen noted in 2020 there was not an 8% inflation rate as there is today, and added construction project costs continue to increase, while replacement of infrastructure continues to be a high cost for a 125-year-old city. Council Member Rog noted she is supportive of the staff recommendations. She asked staff about the Westwood Hills Nature Center solar panels in 2024 and if these are new or replacements. Mr. West stated the solar panels are new additions, and this will work toward our zero energy goals. DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -4- Nov. 27, 2023 Council Member Rog asked about the Dakota Park LED light replacements, noting this seems to have been done recently, and now it is being done again. Mr. West stated he will check on the details and get back to council. Council Member Rog asked when the Webster Park upgrades will be starting. Mr. West stated MnDOT is ready to give an appraisal of the property, which is the next step. Council Member Rog asked about the Westwood Hills Nature Center paver parking lot. Mr. West stated there are pavers in the parking lot now, which are part of the storm water retention system. Council Member Rog asked about the indoor drone. Chief Kruelle stated the overarching reason for this is to increase safety by sending in a drone to assess a situation, rather than sending an officer in, and to help with de-escalation of a situation. Council Member Rog asked would this drone issue normally come before council before they are in use, and as they are implemented, for awareness. Chief Kruelle responded the police department would be happy to provide additional information on this topic in the future to the council, in whatever form was preferred. He added there are many police agencies currently leveraging this technology, as such, any future deployment of the technology by our department would be in line with established response models elsewhere. Council Member Rog asked about Zuercher Crime View Dashboard. Chief Kruelle stated that is a line item. Ms. Cruver added this item is funded in year six or seven for the CIP. Council Member Rog asked about security cameras in Birchwood Park and if they are in place already. Chief Kruelle stated he did not think they were in Birchwood Park. Ms. Keller stated these are actually new cameras, and noted cameras are in some but not all parks within the city. 2. 2024 Draft legislative positions and priorities. Ms. Reed, Ms. Jansen and Ms. Pottorff presented the staff report. Mayor Spano asked about penalties related to causing bodily harm to a code enforcement officer. Ms. Reed stated this would be enhanced to a gross misdemeanor, but nothing higher, adding there has been pushback related to higher costs and fees. She added aggravated carjacking was the only new criminal penalty that was created last session. Mayor Spano observed that the legislature believes there is sufficient criminal penalty in place for assault of this nature. Ms. Reed agreed and stated it is still an assault without the enhancement. Council Member Brausen asked about tourism and hotels and if these would be similar to the city’s special service districts and be self-funding. Ms. Reed stated yes. DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -5- Nov. 27, 2023 Mayor Spano argued that code-enforcement officials do not have the option to not enforce code. He added the city asks them to go into places where they do not have the option to say no. He asked Ms. Reed to remind legislators of this and asked if there is a reasonable way to include this when looking at criminal penalties, especially when these staff must go inside private residences. Council Member Dumalag added she also would appreciate another look at the issue also, especially being the daughter of a code enforcement officer herself. Council Member Brausen asked about the bonding bill and how much support the bill must receive to be passed. Ms. Jansen stated it requires a 2/3 vote, and noted this was used as a bargaining chip. She noted because of the leverage, bonding bills can sometimes be the last ones to pass. Ms. Reed added there will probably be two bonding bills again, one from general obligation bonds that the city will be tracking and another cash bonding bill from general funds. The cash bonding will not have the same debt requirements, but very similar match and other requirements as the general obligation bonds. Council Member Rog noted a salt reduction resolution to provide limited liability protection to multi-unit property owners if they completed a training course. She noted Edina signed onto the measure and St. Louis Park also wanted to sign on. Ms. Jansen stated this issue has not yet gone before the legislature because of liability issues and noted that Rep. Kraft may bring it back for consideration. Council Member Rog noted corporate ownership of single-family homes and concerns here. She noted this is still being studied, and referenced a previous bill that would commit the legislature to continued study of how it might impact affordable home ownership. She asked that this also be included in the city’s legislative issues priorities. Ms. Jansen stated they would look into this. Council Member Budd asked whether the rental assistance measure had passed. Ms. Reed replied it did not make it out of the senate judiciary committee and noted Senator Latz had concerns. Council Member Budd asked how that would be handled if an issue is a priority for the city, but Senator Latz may have concerns about it. Ms. Reed replied that council and Senator Latz would need to have a conversation then about the issue. Mayor Spano asked if there has been any discussion about pay equity studies. Ms. Reed replied she has not heard about any statewide pay equity studies. Ms. Keller added that city studies are done regarding this issue. Mayor Spano affirmed that would be a priority to look into. Council Member Budd asked about removing a fee cap on adult-use cannabis service. Ms. Reed stated it is very low, around $250-500, and does not cover the staffing costs necessary for administration of a permit. Mr. Hoffman clarified the city currently has a license, but this will end when the state adopts their license. He added the state will still allow cities to have a regulatory role, and the city could issue a registration and be part of the state licensing process. He added the state will limit the amount of initial and annual registration fees, however this is not consistent with a fee for service approach, as the city may not be able to recoup the necessary compliance costs. DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -6- Nov. 27, 2023 Council Member Brausen asked if the city coordinates the legislative lobby around municipal issues. Ms. Keller confirmed coordination around city issues as well as policies, as much as possible. Council Member Brausen gave the example of a housing issue arising in the city; would it be best to talk with the League of Minnesota Cities first if the city wants to look at legislation? Ms. Keller replied that if the issue has applicability across the state, the league is a good place to start and look at unintended impacts of how it might work in a first-tier suburb versus other suburbs. Council Member Budd asked about the language on the MN Healthplan and Medicare-for-all or universal health care. Ms. Reed stated the Medicare expansion was a state choice. Ms. Keller added this can be looked at further by the lobbyists, and Ms. Reed agreed. Mayor Spano suggested that the lobbyist team look at different ways to organize and present priorities as the council moves more into system work. Council Member Rog asked about the state match for local housing trust funds, and noted it is not mentioned in the report. Ms. Barton confirmed that it passed during last year’s legislative session. Ms. Keller summarized that staff will work on the two items council flagged, and council will see this document again before voting on it. Council will again meet with legislators prior to the 2024 session beginning in February. Written Reports. 3. Housing + neighborhood-oriented development system wrap-up 4. Via Sol update – Ward 2 Council Member Dumalag referenced the Via Sol written report and asked if the city paid for the re-generator. Council Member Brausen replied that Via Sol was supposed to pay. Ms. Keller said staff worked hard to make sure the city’s interests were represented as part of the purchase agreement, ensuring that the city has been made whole. Mayor Spano stated in future he would like council to be more mindful of these situations and ask if there are risks or is this scenario a stretch, and to be more mindful of these types of concerns and questions. Council Member Brausen stated at least affordable housing came out of this project, and the council felt they took the essential steps necessary to protect the city. Council Member Rog asked about paying back the loan when there is TIF involved. Ms. Keller replied she would like the EDA attorney present for that discussion to explain how that works. Ms. Keller stated this sale is set to close in December, and noted if council does not support the contract amendment, it could result in the failure of the sale and a full cancellation of the purchase agreement. She added this will be discussed further by council at the December 4th or 18th meetings. DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960 Study session minutes -7- Nov. 27, 2023 Council Member Dumalag stated there should be further discussion about this item by the council and she would appreciate discussion prior to the meeting where a decision is made. Council Member Rog agreed. Ms. Keller stated staff will discuss this with the EDA attorney to see when this discussion can happen prior to December 18. Council Member Rog added she would also like a conversation about what went wrong, and mistakes made. Ms. Keller confirmed this conversation could happen with housing staff as a systems discussion as well. Council Member Dumalag added this could be a conversation where lessons are learned. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: D00CFB11-CFBA-4A9B-A934-D9E8E6377960