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10-23-01 WSOctober 23, 2001 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCII, WORK SESSION -OCTOBER 23, 2001 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was held at 6:30 p.m. on October 23, 2001, at the City Hall. Council members present were Mayor Maxwell and Council members Brausen, Hesch, Jensen and Johnson. City personnel present were City Manager Mielke, Finance Director Yager, Housing Coordinator Elverum, Economic Director Kerrigan, Attorney Bob Deike, Recrecation Director Johnson, Activity Center Coordianator Newville, Depot supervisor Tabor, Pavilion Director Olson,, and Facilities Director Strachota. Also present were Sid Inman of Ehlers & Associates, Heidi Kurtze and Colleen Carey of Cornerstone, and Ross Fefercorn. East CBD Predevelopment Agreement Director Kerrigan explained the purpose of the meeting was around-table discussion and added the Luther purchase agreement should be executed soon. Ms. Elverum briefly summarized the document, pointing out that language showed if the developer decides to use all of the Locomen property, the City is not committed to paying for more than their original idea of the parking lot. Ms. Kurtze said marketing study companies have been selected, and the housing study should be done in 30 days. A meeting has been set for Nov. 8 with HBCA, and a couple neighborhood meetings are planned for mid- November. Answering Ms. Hesch, Mr. Fefercorn said he feels the marketing survey should still be accurate, even with the recent economic upheavals, as it shows demographic trends, not dollar amounts. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Mielke said the idea is that Cornerstone will present several options to Lommens to help Lommens decide how much they want to sell. Mayor Maxwell said he would want the city represented at the presentations. Ms. Kurtze added Lommens have said they want to keep their store in Hopkins. Ms. Carey said currently Cornerstone is looking at 3 options-Mainstreet only, L-shaped, and full block, and even with no Locomen property they feel a good development could be built. Ms. Hesch asked for clarification of the city interest in the Locomen building; Mr. Mielke said Locomen has to pay the City if he does not maintain ownership of the building for 9 years so the City would need to agree to the sale without penalizing him. Ms. Carey said there might even be the fourth option of incorporating the building into the design if it becomes a full-block project; they plan to tour the building next week. She said Cornerstone has two areas of concern with the agreement: how can they be sure that if they put $100,000 into preliminary-work, Hopkins-won't say "forget it," and the language about retail in Section 3, iii. Ms. Kurtze said they wanted more definition-does the Council want retail to serve present population or to build up a "destination" retail area. Ms. Jensen said for years Mainstreet "closed" at 5:00; now there is some night life. She would like to see that built further, but her main concern is that present businesses are not jeopardized. She specifically suggested a bookstore. Ms. Hesch said more "destination" retail that draws outsiders to Mainstreet would be nice, she added even 60% retail/40% service would be acceptable to her. Mr. Fefercorn said the restaurant definition could be a problem, especially if the city cannot offer some help to start one up. Certain types are eliminated as they would cause objectionable odors to the people living above. Mr. Mielke said he feels as long as they could show good faith effort, they would not be penalized for what they could not obtain. Mr. Inman said Hopkins has over $1 million in the project so he feels Cornerstone can rest assured Hopkins is not going to back out. 1VIs. Kurtze said part of the problem is how to define "retail" - is a day spa retail or service? Ms. Carey asked if an ice cream parlor was "fast food," and consensus was it is not. Mr. Inman said he felt since City and developer would get together every 30 days, these details could be worked out as they arise. Ms. Carey said she felt progress had been made - 65 % retail instead of 80%, October 23, 2001 Page 2 "best efforts" acceptable, no prescribed sq. ft. for restaurant; she felt these gave Cornerstone enough room to be manageable. Mr. Inman asked what percent of leasing (retail) was needed - Mr. Fefercorn said 70%, but Ms. Carey said if all the housing was sold, that figure may be lowered. Mr Fefercorn agreed that housing often fills first, then retail comes. Ms. Carey asked that estimates of "authority costs" on page 6 section 7 be written out, and Mr. Fefercorn asked that dates due be spelled out. General Consensus: Estimates of authority's costs and dates due will be written. 65 % retail can be acceptable if best efforts are put forth and more retail is not forthcoming. Prescribed footage for the restaurant will be dropped. The public input schedule was amended to be: Nov 1 or 6: East CBD Design Committee; Nov S: HBCA; Nov 27, 5:00-6:30 meeting with invitees, and at 6:30 a Zoning and Planning meeting. Sometime in November a meeting with Hopkins Historical Society. 2002 Budget -Recreation Ms. Yager noted this is the last year for a Shady Oak Beach payment. Mr. Johnson said $129,000 is Hopkins' share for the Joint Recreation Program. Answering Mayor Maxwell he said programs that do not cover their costs are cut. 2002 Budget -Facilities Pavilion Mr. Olson said the only real changes were the needed improvements of a new ice resurfacer and improved sound. All prime ice time is sold. He felt that if the high school gets its own rink it would not affect the Pavilion very much. Mr. Strachota said that Facilities has been approached about arrangements for locker space. Activity Center Ms. Newville said senior program funding was down, while teen funding was up. The 7-9 p.m. teen program needs much more support. Of her proposed ways to raise money, bingo seemed the most viable. Ms. Johnson said she thought that was prohibited on city property. Mayor Maxwell said the VFW would need to be checked with to see if there is a local market for it. A general discussion followed on the problems in allocating funds to the various programs. Ms. Johnson suggested perhaps the solution ought be giving Facilities a certain amount, and let that division figure how to divide the money; Ms. Jensen agreed. Mr. Mielke said he saw 2 big issues: the equity issue, which needs more brainstorming, and that the Facilities Division Sharing Program has not come about Maybe a partial answer is to tell the programs they need to fund-raise for their own equipment rather than charge membership fees. Mr. Strachota agreed fund-raisers were better as they also raise activity levels. Ms. Hesch said she could not understand the resistance to a sliding scale membership fee. General Consensus: More brainstorming on how to equitably divide the available money is needed. Some type of membership package should be devised for consideration and presented in 30 days. Bingo should be looked into, with a 3-6 months time frame. A more general discussion of community needs should be held at a later time. Depot Ms. Tabor said rentals have risen sharply; concessions are down some. The profitable hours for the Coffee House are 7 am-4:30 pm, especially 7-10 and 3-4:30. They are going to try a $1 door fee in November. She thinks once the Board is comfortable with $1 cover charge, a membership fee might be able to be considered; she likes the idea. Chemical Health Commission has agreed to help with marketing. Two grants have been obtained; several more are applied for. Ms. Hesch said she feels the "reactive response" of the partners each year is a strain for the Board, the Council and the Depot staff. There needs to be a stable commitment. Mr. Mielke October 23, 2001 Page 3 agreed. Ms. Johnson said perhaps Board members or other teens could report at Council meetings like the Boards and Commissions to heighten public awareness. General Consensus: Mr. Mielke will initiate discussion with the other partners about stabilizing their commitment to the Depot. Skate Park Ms. Tabor said attendance had dropped sharply, especially by Hopkins users. She feels part of the problem is it looks boring and needs to be reconfigured. Mr. Mielke suggested adding a Tier 1 area to broaden the user base. Mr. Strachota says he is working on marketing by reworking the city website; this is being done for the pavilion and HAC and Skate Park could be added. HCA Mr. Strachota said $50,000 state aid had been negotiated when the legislature refused to pass the food and beverage tax. Economic Development Fund money has been transferred, plus $82,000 from the general fund. Rentals have increased. HCA, Inc., basically has its structures now in place and should start helping financially in future years. He has deferred improvements and repairs as long as possible, and some things must be done soon. There was a discussion on CPT Services. General Consensus: The for-profit tenants issue needs to be clarified by staff. There needs to be an accounting of CPT Services charges. A dialog needs to be set up with Stages, CPT, etc.; Mr. Strachota indicated Mr. Barberio has already indicated willingness. Other Miscellaneous Ms. Johnson asked if it could be determined who had put Hoffa stickers all over public property. Staff will call the local Teamsters. Mr. Mielke announced the Medica project has been cancelled. Mr. Mielke said Minnetonka has approved a project at Highway 169/Oak Ridge Road but it should not impact the 73/5 intersection. Ms. Hesch moved adjournment; Ms. Johnson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 11:10 p.m.