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07-11-06 WSJuly 11, 2006 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -July 11, 2006 A work session of the Hopluns City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 8:35 p.m. on July 11, 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, Public Works Director Steve Stadler, Building Official Merwyn Larson, and Code Enforcement/Housing Inspector Elizabeth Page. Administrative Citation/Code Enforcement Process; Housing/Rental Inspections Ms. Page said administrative citations can be complaint driven or result from a sweep. Each occurrence involves issuing a correction notice, a reinspection, a final notice, and a final inspection. If the property owner is still in violation, then a photo is taken and an administrative citation issued. On the fifteenth day another photo is taken. The citation fee is paid or assessed to taxes. A property owner can appeal the citation, In 2005 three owners appealed, but all citations were upheld. In 2005 263 notices were issued, of which 208 were corrected with no problems. There were 55 administrative citations issued; 10 were voided, 36 were corrected, and 9 (which involve only 3 properties) are still in violation, one of which is pending legal action. If a hearing is needed, the administrative officer is an attorney chosen at random from a list of attorneys not associated with the city, who receives $100 compensation. She said the issue at hand is should the fines be increased as having to make three inspection trips means the city loses money. Answering Mr. Rowan, she said she was not sure exactly how many of the 263 violations were private property, but the majority were. Rental problems are fewer because while the correction notice goes to the renter, if it is not taken care of the fine is assessed against the owner. Mayor Maxwell asked, in the full process there are three citations, does an appeal then require three hearings? Mr. Genellie said that if an appeal is not made in 15 days, the right to appeal is lost. He added Ms. Page does give extensions when circumstances warrant it and tries to work with the resident. The city is trying to solve problems, not make money. Ms. Page added that sometimes the fine is stayed. Answering Ms. Youakim, Ms. Page said the citation ratio is 60% complaint- driven and 40% sweep results. Mr. Larson said that when a case goes to District Court, the judge may stay a fine, which means if there is another problem the city can take them to court again. Answering Ms. Youakim, Ms. Page said some citations are for inside residence conditions, such a house full of garbage. She added if the owner will not allow her in, she can get a search warrant. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said most complaints involve homes, not apartments. Mr. Getschow added some residents are repeat offenders who appear year after year, which is why some cities have graduated fines which increase with repeat offenses. Ms. Youakim asked if that would apply if there were athree-year interim; Ms. Page said presently there is a two-year limit. Mr. Larson noted apartment building owners take any complaints seriously; it is owner- occupied residences that are the problem. Mayor Maxwell asked if a policy change or ordinance change was needed to deal with the problem. Mr. Genellie said it would require an ordinance change. He added part of the issue is the comfort level of the Council to make the changes. Mayor Maxwell commented that is why a public hearing July 11, 2006 Page 2 would be important. When Ms. Page commented those affected wouldn't attend the public hearing, Mayor Maxwell responded they would have been notified, which is the important factor. Both Ms. Page and Mr. Genellie again emphasized city staff tries hard to work with the offenders as the goal is to solve the problems. Ms. Page added she tries to connect people with resources that can help them if the problem is a large one. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Larson said assessments are put on that year's tax assessment. Ms. Page noted the notices are sent by certified mail; if the resident is a repeat offender, the notice is also sent via regular mail as they might not accept the certified letter. Mr. Genellie said the problem facing city staff is what to do when the system doesn't work, citing a particular resident who has received numerous citations since 2001. Costs to the city for this one resident have been $1300 in attorney fees, and the property is once again a major problem. Mr. Larson commented that Minneapolis keeps shortening the time period for correcting the problem; after 3 or 4 notices, the city just takes care of the problem and puts charges on the assessments. An appeal would be heard by an appeals officer. The use of an appeals officer keeps the problem out of the costly and time consuming court system. Ms. Youakim noted care would need to be taken to not overload staff. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Genellie clarified that if a residence is declared a nuisance, the process may need to be repeated the next month. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Genellie said it could be possible the present pool of attorneys could serve as appeals officers. Mr. Larson said at present the limit for handling by staff is $2000, more than that requires appearance before the council. He suggested that limit be raised. Mr. Genellie said staff would like to move ahead immediately on the problem property discussed, which means the resident could appeal to the Council. At the same time staff would like to work on an amended ordinance which would raise the fees, expedite the abatement process in a method like that of Minneapolis, and raise the substantial abatement procedure to more than $2000. Answering Mr. Rowan, he said this would require changes in two sections of the present ordinance but only one Council vote. General Consensus was for staff to move ahead as Mr. Genellie suggested. Ms. Page said she tries to do inspections section by section through the city. Some cities require inspections before a rental license is approved. Does the Council want more inspections? She cannot do more, but increased fees could cover the cost of a part-time person. Answering Ms. Youakim, she said the present license fee is $20/year for a single family rental or duplex. It is $20 plus $5 per unit for a large complex. These rates are the second lowest in the area. Many cities charge $75 for single family dwellings and double that for duplexes. She said advance warning of raised fees would be done and suggested those using the crime free lease amendment could get a lower fee. Mr. Getschow said a Better Practices type of program could be used. Ms. Youakim said the inspection before license issuance made sense. Mr. Genellie said staff has discussed a Best Practice program a lot. Most of the problems are from small landlords "doing it on the cheap." He would like to aim the fees at those that cost the city the most money. Mayor Maxwell said he likes the crime-free, drug-free amendment idea. Mr. Genellie added what the city can't mandate, it can encourage by lower fees. The goal is to have a cleaner city, and raising fees would allow more inspections to bring that about. July 11, 2006 Page 3 Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Getschow said staff has not yet come up with hard __._ financial estimates yet. Mayor Maxwell said he sees it as a quality of life issue, not a money-generating issue. Mr. Getschow agreed, and added that this seems to be a priority throughout the community. Ms. Youakim said she thinks the new fee schedule should coincide with a Best Practices program. Mr. Genellie agreed staff would come back with the program, adding if Council members have suggestions, staff would appreciate the input. Mayor Maxwell suggested the possibility of involving the Police Department with the additional staffing concept as related to rental licensing fees. General Consensus was staff should work on a Best Practices program and fee schedule. Other Mr. Getschow said Hopkins School District has found another site for its bus depot. He will contact MPCA to see if they will still complete some environmental remediation on the landfill site. On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Ms. Youakim, the meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. on a vote of 5-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS: ,,~