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04-29-03 WSApri129, 2003 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION = Apri129, 2003 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on April 29, 2003, at the City Hall. Council members Brausen, Jensen, Johnson and Rowan were present. City personnel present were: City Manager Steve Mielke, City Planner Nancy Anderson, Public Works Director Steve Stadler and Finance Director Lori Yager. Also present were Mary Hatcher, Eric Randolph, Kristi Halversen, Ross Bartz and Jay Thompson of the Zoning and Planning Commission; Mark Koegler and Brady Halverson of Hoisington Koegler; and Garrett Lysiak of Owl Engineering. East End Study Update Mr. Halverson updated Council and Z&P on Blake St. streetscape plans, noting they were basically the same as last fall. He commented property owners may need to be worked with as right-of-way may not be wide enough for all the streetscape planned. County engineers will need to approve the median plans. He said a very preliminary cost figure is $900,000. Mr. Koegler said Hennepin County would maintain the road. Mr. Koegler then went over the plat that resulted from the East End study. He said the Regency project was a result of the study. He said while the biggest issue is what will happen to the North Annex properties, Alliant Tech and the Jackson area industrial buildings are also important components. The triangle area enclosed by Blake Rd. , Excelsior Blvd. and railway __ tracks is a key area as it has an array of uses. Another issue is the proposed transit stations, which the plat provisionally sited at the Blake Rd./track area and secondarily at Highway 169 near the SuperValu property. Both Mr. Koegler and Ms. Anderson said the city needs to carefully craft language in city comprehensive plan amendments that will direct future growth in the desired direction without harming present businesses. Ms. Anderson said she does not want present buildings to become nonconforming. Ms. Johnson added Citrus Systems recently moved to Alliant Tech so area changes are already happening. Answering Mr. Bartz, Mr. Koegler said he did not think the business expansion east of J.00 along Excelsior Blvd. would hurt East End development. He agreed with Mr. Brausen's comment the high density housing could be owner-occupied, adding the plan only was concerned with the density of housing, not specific types. Addressing the Mayor's concerns, he said while development of the SuperValu property would be extremely helpful, the upgrading of Excelsior Blvd. will help spur East End growth; he feels Blake Road development will be slow as it needs county cooperation and they have other priorities. Mr. Bartz said he is concerned property owners won't upgrade their buildings. Answering Mr. Thompson, Mr. Koegler said landscaping monies for Excelsior Blvd. are in the construction plan and that plans are to complement Mainstreet's looks but not try to duplicate it. Ms. Anderson said Hoisington--Koegler will work on guidelines, etc. a little more, then the plan will come to the Council. Z&P will work on the comprehensive plan, and then it will come to the Council. April 29, 2003 Page 2 Qwest Right-of--Way Permit Application Mr. Stadler said Owl Engineering had been chosen as the consultant. Mr. Lysiak said he had done measurements that confirmed there. is a dead spot and that the spot chosen by Qwest is the only one that fits the requirements. He checked with other technical sources and they confirmed that if the equipment were put underground the necessary HVAC (cooling) system above ground would be about as large as the normal aboveground installment and would be much noisier as there would need to be a compressor rather than just a fan. The aboveground impact would be the same for both installations. As to putting it into the side of the hill, installment would require fencing to keep people from walking into the equipment, which would be visually intrusive. He added the tower height is very unusual; the norm is 100 feet rather than 44 feet. Answering Mr. Brausen, he said at that height, there could be no co-location by another provider. He added he set up the study so it would include all information needed if the case went to Court; he recommended that language about Council notification on transfer of license be put in the permit. Mr. Stadler said the city attorney had said there was no legal cause to deny the application on grounds of public welfare. Council directed him that the permit is conditional upon Qwest paying Owl Engineering, and it contain abandonment and transfer language. He is to check with the city attorney if the permit can be non-transferable and if the Council would have to give approval for an expansion box in the future. Budget Discussion Mr. Mielke first went over the 2003 adjustment options. Ms. Yager said the only money the state must give Hopkins is the $145,000 for fire and police. The state says no money will be sent out until October. Mr. Mielke noted Mr. Scanlon has given 2-week notice with the police department. Mike may take over all IT, including the police department. Council asked for a breakdown of police overtime. Mr. Mielke then went over the list of cuts for 2004. He stressed this was simply one way to try to meet the 1.4 million cutback needed, noting he, Mr. Genellie and Ms. Yager had only reached 1.2 million. 19-20 full-time employees would to cut, and seasonal work in Public Works would be cut by 1/3. He said St. Louis Park is heading a movement to have a joint powers police for the west suburbs. He asked if Council would want to participate in the analysis, which would take at least a year. If so, Hopkins would need an interim plan. The biggest problem is that Chief Reid needs to order the dispatch equipment by June 1. Another problem is that Hopkins uses Vision, while the others use Logos. Discussion followed. Mayor Maxwell said he had seen the Hennepin County system in use and did not like it. Consensus was Mr. Mielke should monitor the movement, but Council is not very interested. Mr. Mielke asked if Council wants to go ahead with incentive program for retirement. Mr. Brausen said he did not think so as he cannot see anyone would leave that much earlier. Other Council members seemed to concur. Ms. Jensen asked if the list of cuts could be sent to the state. Mr. Mielke said he would see that Mr. Kelley and Mr. Rhodes get it. Ms. Johnson said she thinks the public will not be upset by the cuts. Ms. Jensen agreed, saying she has been told in the past staff should be cut. Consensus. All agreed educating the public is essential. Ms. Jensen suggested it start with past officials. Mayor Maxwell said he felt putting it in terms of programs and services would help. Ms. Yager said she will need direction by mid-May to start preparing the 2004 budget. The Apri129, 2003 Page 3 May 13 "Success Is..." meeting should be postponed and that meeting used to work on the budget. Mr. Mielke will take the suggested cuts to department heads for feedback, etc. Other Mr. Rowan said he had received a call from Joan Moran of 137 12`h Ave. about charges while she was in the hospital. Mayor Maxwell said he thought he had taken care of the problem when he told her the refuse charge would be refunded. Mr. Mielke said he would re-run the utility charges and give them to Mr. Rowan to deliver to her. Ms. Jensen asked if anything could be done in Hopkins about the carry-and-conceal law. Mr. Mielke said City Hall could do nothing. Mr. Brausen said he is still waiting to hear about buses. Mr. Mielke said they would be rerouted in a week. Staff has not had a call from MTC. Mr. Brausen said he knows of a possible candidate for Zoning and Planning. Mr. Brausen said he would like more discussion on the board of review process. Ms. Jensen added Council has gotten the information sooner in the past. Mr. Mielke asked when Council would like groundbreaking for the fire and public work facilities. It was agreed to do it the 13"' before the work session. Invitees should include Z&P, the school, fire department, public works department, and.the police department. Mr. Mielke said the hockey association has elected a new president. They have taken a different approach, asking how they can conform to the policy. They will be before Council May 6. Ms.Jensen moved adjournment. Ms. Johnson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: Eugene . Ma ell, Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS: