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08-22-06 WSAugust 22, 2006 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -August 22, 2006 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on August 22, 2006, at the Hopkins City Hall. Council members Kristi Halverson, Bruce Rowan, Jay Thompson and Cheryl Youakim were present. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie, Building Officer Merwyn Larson, Public Works Director Steve Stadler and Finance Director Christine Harkess. Also present were Steve Lewis and Fran Hesch of the Charter Commission. Ranked Ballot Voting Assistant City Manager Genellie noted the Council had rejected the first draft of the Ranked Ballot Voting Ordinance. The Commission worked further on it at their April and June meetings. The new ordinance is separated into a single seat section and a multiple seat section, each of which could be implemented at separate times and which would make public education simpler. The main changes are: 1) the first two choices for Council candidates will both be "first choices"; 2) a plan is set forth for when more than two candidates get a majority of highest ranked votes; 3) once a candidate reaches a majority, s/he is elected even if later counts give another candidate more votes. Illustrative ballots and situations were looked at. Answering Ms. Youakim, he said the software makes the decisions as it counts votes. Ms. Hesch said the Commission felt strongly there should be two weighted first choices for Council seats, which is a unique way of doing ranked ballot voting. However, she feels the multiple seats ranked voting will not be implemented for a long time as the software has not been developed. She hopes their solution will be the start of anew trend. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said she thought it was tried for a single seat in an eastern state, not a multiple seat election. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Genellie said the city clerk only gives a report about an upcoming election, then the Council decides if her recommendation should be implemented. He added the present discussion made him realize the Commission needs to clarify that once ranked voting is started, it can be rescinded only by changing the ordinance through the Commission. He noted there is a slight chance for anomalies: more than two candidates could receive a majority, as in 1981. Then the two highest would win, as now. The other is that once a candidate has a majority, s/he is elected. Further rounds of counting may mean others will have more votes, but that does not affect the first person's election. Ms. Hesch added education will need to emphasize the voter must not mark as a low choice someone they do not want, for that vote may come into play in later counts. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Genellie said voting results would be obtained from the city, not the Secretary of State, and the whole voting results will be as transparent as possible. Mr. Lewis added the City would want to know how the system operated, and the Commission knows other cities would be very interested in how it worked. Mr. Genellie said they want to conduct a mock election, perhaps in January, in order to test for any flaws before the system is implemented. He would like to do this and public education before a final draft of the ordinance is brought to the Council for a vote. He would like to involve the actual election judges in the mock election; he would like 200 participants, perhaps August 22, 2006 Page 2 asking for volunteers on the web site or newsletter. Fran Hesch suggested using Citizens' Academy alumni as voters. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said the education cost should be minimal, at least for the mock election, as staff could run off the material. If the Council decides to use this system, then a larger education program would be initiated. Mr. Getschow noted that if Minneapolis approves the ranked voting system, software should be available soon for single seat elections. Ms. Hesch noted Fair Vote Minnesota would like to get involved and might help with education. Mr. Thompson asked if we could get an agreement from them to help with that. Ms. Hesch noted Hopkins passed the first resolution backing such voting. Mayor Maxwell asked if this ordinance covers the mayor pro tem. Mr. Genellie said the Charter provides the mayor pro tem shall be elected by the Council; if both the mayor and pro tem are absent, the meeting would be chaired by the Council member with the most seniority. General Consensus was to continue as the Commission suggested. Mayor Maxwell asked for a figure on education costs. Rental Licensing/Code Enforcement Building Officer Merwyn Larson said the Council had asked staff to further develop the Housing Code Enforcement recommendations made by staff in three areas: 1) nuisance abatement; 2) administrative citation; and 3) rental licensing. Nuisance Abatement He noted nuisance abatement at present is very time- consuming. Using an administrative hearing officer would expedite the process. After notice, the resident would have 7 days to remedy the problem. If reinspection showed no correction, the city would remove the refuse and bill the owner, notifying him/her by letter. The resident could appeal to the administrative officer. Code Enforcement Officer Elizabeth Page would continue to be the usual person noting the problems and working with residents on compliance. Public Works Director Stadler added weeds and tall grass would also follow this system, using a 10-day compliance period. He would also like to add refuse on curbs or alley refuse not at a refuse site, just like the weed notice. There would be the regular pick-up charge plus a $50 administration fee. Mr. Getschow noted this process would allow the city to deal with problems sooner than the current process does and emphasized residents would get prior notice of the problem and time to correct it. Mayor Maxwell noted Mr. Larson and Mr. Stadler had different notice periods and suggested they be the same. Mr. Genellie agreed that would be a good idea, noting that Ms. Page works with residents who need longer periods of time to correct problems as long as the resident is trying to comply. He emphasized compliance is the goal, not making money from fines. Mr. Larson said the process for substantial abatements (such as building demolition) would remain the same, except staff would like to see a $10,000 definition for "substantial abatement." This number has not changed for years, and the present $2,000 definition no longer covers much work. A "garbage house" clean-up can easily cost $4,000 or more. Ms. Youakim said she felt that might be too big a raise. Mr. Genellie noted there will always be an assessment hearing. Mr. Thompson asked that staff see what other cities set their definition at; Mr. Larson will do so. Mr. Genellie noted this system avoids having to go to District Court and is a "last resort" measure. August 22, 2006 Page 3 Mr. Getschow noted that few residents who receive notice letters do not comply in a timely fashion. Administrative Citations (Section 355 Mr. Larson said under this system the fines would double with each violation, starting at $200 and going up to a limit of $2000, with a time frame of 2 years. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Genellie said the most charged in the past is $700. With the system we would probably not need to go to District Court, which would help the city as it does not get money back spent on attorneys when we have to do so. Mr. Getschow noted this system would be much more cost effective for the city. Rental Licensing Mr. Larson said he, Crime Prevention Specialist Kathy Magdal of the Police Department, and Code Enforcement Officer Elizabeth Page worked on this program, which they based on three concepts: 1. Inspect one- and two-family rentals on a two-year cycle and require owners to use aCrime-Free Lease Addendum and do background checks; 2. Use athree-level licensing program of license fee reductions when owners exceed minimum requirements; 3. Implement a Repeat Nuisance Fee when more than three nuisance calls in a 12-month period are responded to (including owner-occupied residences). He noted Eagan has implemented such a program and other cities are considering it. He added the inspection cycle would require another inspector, who could cover about 450 units a year, and showed a spread sheet showing how the increased license fees could cover that cost. Answering Mr. Thompson, Mr. Genellie said the savings on fees for Level 2 as presented would not be much motivation for single-family owners. The schedule here is more to see if the Council likes the concept; exact fees could be tweaked further. He added the requirement for the Crime Free Addendum would be a big help for property owners with problem renters. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Geschow said the fees would be annual fees. Answering Mr. Rowan, he said change in rental managers who would need training is a problem to be figured out; asemi-annual training session as for the liquor licensing program might be one answer. Answering Ms. Halverson, he said criminal checks can be done by police or private agencies. Mr. Rowan noted BCA charges only $8.00. Mr. Larson said they would Like to present the idea to HAMA at their September meeting. Mr. Getschow added the abatement program is almost ready for a first reading, but licensing could not be ready by the October licensing renewal date. Mayor Maxwell suggested the city could prorate for 6 months, and institute the new program in June. Mr. Genellie said the base $100 rate could be instituted in October, even if the whole program is not ready. General Consensus was in favor of the proposals. Part 2 of the licensing should be refined, but Parts 1 and 3 could go in effect right away. 2007 City Budget (Public Works) City Manager Getschow noted the financial figures are the same as before. He again cautioned the Council that Hennepin County has not released tax capacity numbers and that Hopkins last year lost money in the fiscal disparity program and may do so again. He recommends a 6-7% preliminary tax levy increase due to these uncertainties, knowing the Council will try to reduce that. The cities he has checked with are planning August 22, 2006 Page 4 on a 5-10% figure and are not necessarily going Lower from that point. He noted the assessor had found only a 1-2% growth in recent property sales that could affect future assessed values in some neighborhoods in Hopkins. Public Works Director Stadler noted his department has been testing out preformed paving markers for a few years and found they make frequent remarking unnecessary, saving money long-term. They are using a little sweeper for the parking ramp so that contract cost is eliminated. The combining of streets and parks divisions has helped with flexible scheduling. He feels an energy center for the Arts Center, such as the one for City Hall, would result in energy cost savings. Mr. Getschow said the additional Comp Plan costs are for a consultant contract- ,a potential one-time cost of about $20,000. The tuition reimbursement is an existing program for $15,000. The marketing and branding effort underway may have future costs and could become a line item. Mayor Maxwell asked that staff provide income vs. cost figures for fire inspections and the water meter program. Ms. Harkens noted the latter had not increased revenue as much as was hoped. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Getschow said the public usually attends the truth and taxation meeting rather than the preliminary levy setting meeting. She suggested making a list of ways the Council has tried to save money and increase efficiency. Mr. Getschow agreed and stated that a talking points list worked well last year. Mr. Stadler noted the radio reading of meters has saved many hours for his department. Mr. Getschow noted the medical standby program of the fire department is also an important development. Ms. Harkens said a date has not been set for the truth and taxation meeting, but December 4 is a probable date. Mr. Getschow commented on the complaint software staff members had been shown, emphasizing how all departments that work with complaints could access all complaint information, whether it originated in their department or not. Other Ms. Youakim attended the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Transit meeting Monday. Mr. Getschow and Mayor Maxwell attended a meeting with Keith Ellison. Mr. Thompson asked about e-mail requests sent to Council members to support a resolution supporting a referendum on the stadium. Mr. Getschow said he feels Hopkins shouldn't take a stand on things that are outside of Hopkins, which was the general consensus. Mr. Getschow reported the Surge property owners are waiting for title work to be finished and are hoping it will be completed in a couple weeks, Citizens' Academy alumni have responded with their interests, of which goals and objectives seems to be the most common. He suggested meeting with them, perhaps October 12, to use them as a sounding board for goal-setting. Mayor Maxwell suggested contacting earlier alumni also. August 22, 2006 Page 5 Mr. Getschow noted Edina has opened a new dog park in a nonresidential area very close to the site proposed in Hopkins. Mayor Maxwell suggested staff look into reciprocity. Mr. Getschow said the city could also consider a refund for price difference. ?" On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Mr. Thompson, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. on a vote of S-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS: ,~