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07-24-07 WS July 24, 2007 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - July 24, 2007 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order \by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on July 24, 2007, at the Hopkins City Hall. Council members Kristi Halverson, Bruce Rowan, Jay Thompson and eheryl Y ouakim were present. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Fire Chief Dale Specken, Assistant Fire Chief Curt Mackey, Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie, Finance Director Christine Harkess, City Engineer John Bradford, Building Official Merwyn Larson and Public Works Director Steve Stadler. ERP Final Review/Fire Fire Chief Specken said the current ladder truck was purchased in 1972 and was the first Sutphen ladder truck west of Chicago. It was refurbished in 1992 so as to get 10- 12 more years of usage. LGA cuts in 2003 pushed the purchase of a new truck back. Repair costs are going up each year and it is difficult to get parts. Grants were applied for in both 2005 and 2006 but were turned down. Three options are now open to Hopkins: do nothing (which causes safety issues, higher repair costs, possible catastrophic failure, higher costs when a purchase is made); eliminate the ladder (which would drop our ISO rating and result in higher insurance costs for businesses); or purchase a new ladder truck. rf Hopkins would order a truck in December, it would cost $750-900,000 and be delivered in one year as every truck is custom made. rf we wait to order until 2008, the motor will increase $15,000-20,000 because of stricter emission controls. Lease payments, if used, would not start until mid to late 2009. Answering Ms. Halverson, he said while a mid-mount truck costs about $200,000 more, it is better for Hopkins as it is easier to maneuver as the bucket is not over the cab. Most of our volunteers are white-collar workers and are not used to driving dump trucks, etc.; we might not be able to have anyone who could drive a rear~mount truck. A mid- mount is easier to "spot" at an address, especially in the residential areas, and the torque box is strongest in the middle, a big safety issue as our trucks are usually used to the side. Most new construction will be high-rise, and a long ladder is needed to reach three floors. Four manufacturers have worked with fire department personnel: Pierce (which has the best safety options such as air bags for the whole cab), Sutphen (who invented the aerial truck), Rosenbauer (which is in Wyoming, Minnesota, but is new to ladder trucks) and Er (which has had a high turnover in personnel). Answering Ms. Y ouakim, he said used trucks have little or no resale value so waiting and getting the lower emissions motor would not be of any help for future resale. Mr. Mackey said the present truck probably would not sell for more than $10,000. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Mackey said having no ladder could lower our rso rating from 5 to 6, which would have a big financial cost in raised insurance premiums for local businesses. Mayor Maxwell asked Mr. Mackey and Ms. Harkess to find out how such a rate change would affect the city's insurance premiums as well as for businesses. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Specken said the specs for bidding should be done by the end of September and then there would be a 30- day bidding process. Mr. Mackey noted the only nonstandard items being considered are a foam system and a generator on the bucket. He added the new truck would have a July 24, 2007 Page 2 water tank, which the present one does not. Mr. Bradford noted some cities do a prequalification phase so that only qualified companies can do the actual bidding. Ms. Harkess said the ERP was redrafted to be able to do a 50/50 split between cash and lease. $200,000 was taken from the police ERP estimate for the computer system in 2010 with Chief Reid's approval. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said a 60/40 split would adversely affect the ERP. rf more money became available, we could always prepay on the lease. General consensus was that the 50/50 split was okay. Final CIP Review IV tility Plan Mr. Bradford stated he had done the rate study requested by the Council. He noted he tries to maintain a 20% of the budget contingency fund. He looked at three ways to determine rates: the flat fee per 1,000 gallons ($2.50/1 ,000 gallons), the minimum/fixture fee (which has a fixed infrastructure fee and is used by about half the area cities), and the heavy water usage surcharge (which helps offset the cost of the larger system needed to meet peak water demand and affects mostly commercial users). Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Stadler said the surcharge would not necessarily eliminate summer rationing; Minnetonka does both. Mr. Bradford said by far the largest expense for the sewer system is the Met Council wastewater treatment fees, which amount to at least 60% of the sewer budget. It is important for the city to pass their rate increases to the customers to maintain a healthy fund. He said all three options end up with the same number as the per gallon charge is less if there is a fixture fee; the choice is simply how to get the money. rf the master water plan is to be implemented, there must be bigger increases in 2008 and 2009. Mayor Maxwell noted it is important the residents realize the increase is to fix the whole system. General consensus was to support and implement the plan for the future changes in rates while studying a method to evenly distribute the annual increases. Mr. Bradford noted the storm sewer CIP stayed the same. Mr. Getschow said Council will approve the final erp and ERP in August. Ms. Harkess said she is comfortable with the fund balances under Mr. Bradford's plans. Ms. Y ouakim asked about the designated fund change for the Skate Park. Ms. Harkess said it seemed more logical to put it under the Park Dedication fund. Mayor Maxwell directed Mr. Stadler to check with Third Lair what their plans are before we start into the last year of the Skate Park agreement. Rental Licensing Program Mr. Larson briefly explained the fee schedule. He noted that any owner who corrects violations right away does not pay an additional reinspection fee as the final compliance inspection is free. The increase in cost for each reinspection will hopefully result in violations being corrected sooner. He also noted that the points under the deficiency point system are maximum points; inspectors could assign lower points for small problems of each type. For example 6 points for exterior walls deficiencies would be assigned only for major faults; one small damaged area would perhaps be assigned only one deficiency point. Answering Ms. Y ouakim, Mr. Genellie said only points that apply would be counted; for example, in a "rooming" unit, there would be no points July 24, 2007 Page 3 assessed for no kitchen sink. Answering Mr. Rowan, he said if a property was reinspected in one year because it had deficiencies, and at the second year there were no problems, that property would then be moved to the three-year cycle. Mayor Maxwell asked if the fees would cover the additional staff member if infractions went way down. Mr. Getschow stated that we will not know until we get into the program whether we will be fully funding this through fees or whether the general fund will be picking up some of the cost if compliance goes very well. In the end, compliance and an upgraded housing stock is the goal of this effort. Mr. Genellie added he feels that the extra staff member will be needed for a number of years, no matter how the system works. He pointed out Ordinance Section 407.08 sets out the criteria for determining who gets inspected so there is a logical basis for the city's choice of what rental properties get inspected the first year as only half could get done. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Genellie said parking is not specifically mentioned. Mr. Getschow noted it could fall under 407.09(k) which mentions zoning ordinance violations. Mr. Genellie said everyone with rental licenses will be notified about the first reading, which will probably be in September. There will be a HAMA meeting before then, so feedback can be gotten then also. He does not think the ordinance and plan will be ready before the October licensing. Mr. Getschow said the ordinance still needs to be reviewed by the city attorney. Mr. Rowan commented he thinks staff did a good job. Mayor Maxwell added he is comfortable with the pricing. General consensus was in favor of the ordinance and fees. Mayor Maxwell thanked Mr. Larson for the work he has done for Hopkins. Other Mr. Rowan asked about the topping ceremony. Mr. Getschow said he is sure Opus and Cargill will want comments from the Council and will get more details. Mayor Maxwell noted he will not be able to attend so Mr. Rowan should speak as mayor pro tem. Ms. Y ouakim asked about the Southwest Rail Legislative PAC. Mr. Rowan said this is a subcommittee for lobbying. He is continuing to attend the regular PAC meetings. Mr. Thompson asked where Hopkins' canoe launch is. Mr. Getschow said it is by the brush drop-off site. Mr. Thompson suggested it be promoted more by the Park Board. He also expressed concern that the arrangement between Three Rivers Park District and the Depot should expressly state the Depot can veto changes to their space by the District. Mr. Getschow said that he is not concerned that will happen, but he will check the language. Mr. Getschow said he recently received information from the National League of Cities about "Play City USA" and will pass that on after he studies it. Mayor Maxwell said he had received a thank you letter from a resident about the tree cutting done by Public Works. On motion and second by Mr. Thompson, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. on a vote of 5-0. July 24, 2007 Page 4 Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: ~~~ Eu e axwell, Mayor