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01-24-06 WSJanuary 24, 2006 Page 1 - MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -January 24, 2006 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on January 24, 2006, at the City Hall. Council members Kristi Halverson, Bruce Rowan and Cheryl Youakim were present. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Craig Reid, Senior Activity Center Director Susan Newville, Public Works Director Steve Stadler and Assistant City Engineer John Bradford. Also present were Annette Sandler and Joy Gordon of NORC; David Carr, Diana Potter, Ruth Opatz, Char Bolla, Dan Seidelmann, Mary and Jim Shirley, Matthew Martin, Kirsten Kurtz, Nora Davis, Christian Ruch, Randall Neal, Alissa Proshek, Gail Skoglund, Brad and Heather Fox, Steve Thom, Nelson Berg, Chris and Darrell Branch, Audrey Borash, and Pat Hurl of the faith community. Meeting with Faith Community Leaders Ms Sandler, project coordinator for NORC, said St. Louis Park NORC (Nurturing Our Retired Citizens) is funded by the federal administration on aging. It was the twelfth such program in the U.S. when it started two years ago; at present there are 45 programs. The federal program uses the initials to stand for "natural occurring retired community," but residents felt the program should be re-named. There are approximately 2400 residents over 65 in Hopkins. They have produced a Senior Resource Guide and have already started on a rough draft for Hopkins. They would appreciate feedback from the faith community. They found 85% of the elderly stay active in.their faith community. They work a lot with congregational nurses. They have donated 4 computers to Vail Place and plan to do so for other elderly residences. They support intergenerational projects such as chore service days in fall and spring, when younger people help the elderly with leaf raking, etc.; these are coordinated through local service clubs and faith communities. Ms. Borash commented she hoped that housekeeping assistance was covered in the guide. Ms. Sandler said the social service agencies that do so are listed, but not commercial ones such as Merry Maids. She added NORC will provide a free home safety evaluation. Mr. Neal asked what NORC's relationship would be with Hopkins. Ms. Sandler said she is employed by Jewish Family and Children Service. The relationship itself would be a "collaborating partnership." JFCS chose to start in St. Louis Park as many of their elderly members lived there; Hopkins is a natural second area as, again, many of their members live in Hopkins and it is an adjoining suburb. They applied to the state for funding fora 7-mile extension of their area; they have funding until the end of 2007. If Hopkins decides they want the program, a staff member would be in the city. Ms. Kurtz asked when the book is updated. Ms. Sandler said it is updated on the web site once a month (www.norcmn.c~r ); a hardcover update is not planned. Mr. Neal asked what they had discovered about Hopkins. She replied it is mostly holes in knowledge. Their goal would be to be a "one-stop shopping" source for the elderly residents. She added her phone number was on the back of the brochure handed out if anyone wanted further information. Joy Gordon, NORC community liaison, said she had asked representatives of faith communities in St. Louis Park what topics they would like to see discussed and she January 24, 2006 Page 2 arranged presentations on: supporting care givers, health outreach, senior-friendly congregations, transportation seminars (this was given by Easter Seals and is on-line), and memory loss. Those present added: disabilities, importance of exercise, housing availability, dealing with loss (Annette Sandler noted a video "Loss but Not Lost" is available from them), isolation and loneliness. Ms. Kurtz said she felt it is important to include those under 65 in topics such as planning for the future and taking care of parents. Ms. Gordon said many tapes and DVDs are available from NORC. She said she had worked with pastors to produce "Best Practices" for congregations -various congregations wrote up their best program as a help for others. Ms. Gordon said NORC supports congregations in starting parish nurse programs, noting there are now two in Hopkins. Ms. Kurtz, who is a volunteer parish nurse, said programs vary widely. She knows one volunteer nurse who works full-time, most work much less. Some are paid by the parish, others by a parish and health provider, and others by grants. The premise is to prevent problems and to help with referrals. They work not only with the elderly but also oversee weight loss and exercise programs, work with new mothers, etc. Ms. Gordon added they need to be RN's and take 40 hours of parish nurse training for certification. Their job is assessment and referral, not treatment. Ms. Sandler handed out brochures about the program and said she would contact each congregation to see if they were interested in such a program. It is possible they will be able to provide seed money. Matthew Martin said their parish nurse works ten hours a week and is invaluable. Police Chief Reid said he sees a real need for police chaplains. The department's ability to help in crises is limited. By law if someone comes and finds a parent dead on the floor, the police must secure the "crime area" until the medical examiner says the death is natural. He feels a chaplain to support family members would be a great help. Other situations include house fires, death notifications (if someone dies out of state, it is often the police who deliver the news). Chaplains are pastors or volunteer members of a parish who are trained by the faith community and the police. They drive their own cars so they can stay with those who need counseling. He noted that the stress of police duty has increased dramatically since he started in law enforcement. When he started tenure was usually 25 years, now it is 5; suicide used to be low among police, now it kills more than being killed on duty. Chaplains could help debriefing after emergencies and do regular ride-alongs to give officers a chance to relieve their stress. Hopkins does not have a chaplain program. There is one in Minnetonka with 4 chaplains, and that chief has agreed to share their chaplains for 6 months. Jim Shirley noted the fire department had also indicated a similar need, citing an instance where someone died in a fire. Chief Reid said after major fires the police and fire departments do a joint debriefing and would like to have a chaplain there. He added later that police can check on people if someone calls, but data privacy means they cannot tell someone, "Your daughter is worried"; the only "health services" they can provide involve taking them into custody, a difficult process involving the courts. It would be helpful if they had someone they could call in such situations. City Manager Getschow noted the Citizens Academy would give people a good overview of Hopkins government, including the police and fire departments. It meets 5-6 weeks on Thursday nights; the next series starts March 16. Mayor Maxwell said he sees transportation in addition to Hop-a-Ride as a major issue. It was suggested car dealers might be willing to donate cars to congregations for volunteer driving. It was also suggested lectures supported by the congregations could be given in HCA, with the January 24, 2006 Page 3 money to be used for such a project. Nora Davis said perhaps each congregation could take a month to be volunteer drivers. Nelson Berg noted the faith community has been involved in programs such as food shelf, Resource Center, SCIP (School and Community in Partnership). David Carr said an issue to be determined is what exactly the needs in Hopkins are. Ms. Sandler said she had read in a New York paper that an elderly citizen can donate a car, and then get free rides until s/he has used up the market value of the car. Dan Seidelman said the first target has to be people in crisis, whatever their age. He added there are "go-go people, slow-go people, and no-go people." Jim Shirley agreed the program had to be need-oriented rather than age-oriented. Char Rolla noted some people at 75 need things to do and need to feel useful. Nora Davis commented that most ride programs just drop people off for medical appointments; what is really needed for many elderly is for someone to stay through the visit with them. Annette Sandler said another situation is when someone is released from the nursing home or hospital. NORC is trying to design a voluntary release form that says the hospital or nursing home can call the faith community, but the hospitals are not cooperating. Kirsten Kurtz noted churches need to encourage congregants to notify their churches. Mary Shirley noted many parishioners are eager to help both in and out of their own faith communities. Matthew Martin added we need to be involved in inter-relational building, especially between younger and older people. Susan Newville said in the past there was a networking group that met once a month; she thinks a similar group for the faith community would be helpful. David Carr said the faith community needs to know what services the city offers; and the faith community needs to share with the city and other congregations what they have. Audrey Borash wondered, for example, how many residents know about the grief support group. Cheryl Youakim thanked everyone for their time and said she is excited about the opportunity to learn what everyone is doing. She said she feels the chaplaincy program is especially important. Daniel Seidelmann said there is a Minnetonka-Hopkins ministerial group where each pastor says there is so much to do; this meeting could be the catalyst to start sharing the work in the faith community. Jim Shirley wondered if the school district community education could be part of the effort. Rick Getschow said he could see that as a possibility, as well as involving 2 or 3 business organizations. Annette Sandler said she would contact everyone present to set up a second meeting. She encouraged all clergy to name a substitute. Nelson Berg said he thinks the meeting should be attended by a pastor and a congregant. Rick Getschow asked each attendee to be sure they signed in and included their e-mail address. He stressed that whatever happens is what the faith community wants, not NORC or the city. The program would be what the faith community wants to make of it. Annette Sandler added the fact that 100% of the congregations were at this meeting said a lot about the faith community's commitment. Joy Gordon reminded attendees to return the nursing survey to NORC. City Assessment Policy Discussion Public Works Director Stadler reminded Council there would be a public hearin~ February 7 for the 2006 project. The new project has some cul-de-sacs at 18th and 19t January 24, 2006 Page 4 Ave. South; staff feels the fairest way to assess these is a unit assessment as a frontage assessment would not work. Mr. Bradford added this also applies to The Oaks as the frontage technically is owned by the owners' association. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said that in reference to the Subway, Excelsior Blvd. had wrapped around that. Mr. Getschow asked if the department had received comments from Tuttles or the Oaks; Mr. Bradford said no. Mr. Stadler said the assessment system used for side streets was first applied to 1St Street North. The Council may wish to lower the assessment rate and remove the assessment cap. Current assessment is at 70% but only approximately 40% is collected because of the cap. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mayor Maxwell explained one year street costs skyrocketed so the Council put the cap in place to try to make things fair for that year's resident assessments. Its purpose was to protect home owners from spikes in costs. If the city had stopped the project because of the price spike, Hopkins would have fallen behind on its infrastructure schedule. Mr. Bradford said one option would be to assess 50-50 and still keep the cap in place; at that rate it would not be used much, if at all. Mr. Bradford noted that since 19th does not go through to Excelsior Blvd.; they use 1St Street so are included in the assessment. Mr. Rowan noted that with the cap in place, the some aspects of the roadwork are considered free to residents. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Getschow said the deferred assessment program for seniors is mainly taken from state law. Mr. Stadler added the deferment is until the property is sold, it loses its homestead status, or the owner dies. The assessments are still made; they are not forgiven, and interest accrues. Mayor Maxwell noted that at the hearing, it must be emphasized that the cap really lowers what residents pay. Mr. Stadler said this would be the first of two hearings. The Council would order the project so Public Works can complete the design and ask for bids. Then the final assessments would be figured, and a second hearing will be held. Mayor Maxwell asked if the assessment could go higher. Mr. Stadler said it won't because of the cap. Mr. Bradford added that 25% of the cost is allowance for administration, legal costs, etc., and 10% contingency funds are built into the estimate upon which preliminary assessments are made; thus it is highly unlikely there would be a need for higher assessments. Mr. Rowan said he feels the proposed method of assessment seems the fairest way to split the cost. Other Ms. Youakim asked who planned to attend the Opus meeting besides herself. Ms. Halverson said she will. Mr. Getschow said Mr. Thompson plans to go. Mayor Maxwell commented that the biggest problem when Medica was being planned was the road issue, and that has been completed. Ms. Youakim said she is looking into affordable housing on 20th Ms. Halverson asked when the Surge building would be demolished. Mr. Getschow said it is hoped to occur by this summer. When the Council vacates the alley there, there will be two buildable lots. Mayor Maxwell commented that has been the city's goal from the beginning. Mr. Rowan asked if Heritage Festival was going back to Mainstreet Days and who is in charge. Mr. Getschow said there is a Heritage Festival committee that plans the event and they feel they need to partner with Mainstreet Days. He will check about dates. Mr. Rowan asked that Mr. Getschow express thanks to Ms. Harkess for the budget information in the packets. January 24, 2006 Page 5 Mr. Rowan asked what will happen at the Depot as Royal Cuisine is not renewing their contract. Mr. Getschow said there have been several meetings on this topic. There -- are four options: (1) lease the coffee operations, (2) run ateen-centered Depot, (3) keep coffee as a city function, (4) put in another business. Issues include: (1) education/business opportunities for the school levy-for-lease, (2) Three Rivers Park District agreement has an obligation for the Depot to be open and available for certain hours, and (3) grantability. The partners -Hopkins School District, City of Hopkins, Depot Teen Board, Park Nicollet and the YMCA -will continue to work on the issue, and he will update the Council. Mr. Rowan asked about instant run-off voting. Mr. Getschow said at the Feb. 28 work session the task force will be in attendance. Mr. Rowan asked if the Charter Commission can just pull it from consideration; Mr. Getschow will find out. Mr. Rowan said his concern is that the Council needs to really understand the concept before Feb. 28. Mayor Maxwell said he did not understand the hurry as it would not be needed for another year. Mr. Getschow said he will provide printed information for the Council, and then there could be a discussion prior to the Feb. 28 meeting. Mayor Maxwell reminded Council members of Karen Anderson's party in Minnetonka Wednesday. Next Tuesday is the Haley's Condominiums event. Mr. Getschow said that in relation to the retail operation in an industrial district issue, the person involved submitted information about a proposed retail use that may not have staff and Council support for continuing the process toward a zoning amendment. Mayor Maxwell said that after the Feb. 7 meeting he would like Council members to say what they would want to accomplish in the next couple of years. On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Ms. Youakim, the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. on a vote of 4-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary ~-- COUNCIL MEMBERS: ~~