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AgendaHOPKINS CITY COUNCIL FINAL AGENDA Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:30 pm II UNTILI THE START OF THE CSI BY COUNCIL ME T NG II Schedule: 7:00 pm -Citizen's Academy Graduation Reception 7:30 pm -City Council Meeting Work session after close of regular City Council meeting I. CALL TO ORDER II. OPEN AGENDA -PUBLIC COMMENTS/CONCERNS (Public must fill out a Speaker Request Form. Three minute limit for each person) III. OATH OF OFFICE IV. Police Sergeant Michael Glassberg PRESENTATIONS 1. Citizen's Academy Graduation 2. Hennepin County Volunteers & Community Partnerships; Rosemary Carpenter 3. 2006 Police Annual Report; Reid 4. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Award; Harkess V. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Minutes of April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting 2. Minutes of April 3, 2007 Work Session after regular Council meeting 3. Minutes of April 10, 2007 Work Session 4. Environmental Clean-Up Grant Application, Excelsior Crossings; (CR2007-044) Elverum 5. Environmental Clean-Up Grant Application, Sixth & Main; (CR2007-045) Elverum 6. Environmental Clean-Up Grant Application, Marketplace & Main; (CR2007-048) Elverum 7. Environmental Investigative Grant Application, Dodge Site; (CR2007-047) Elverum 8. Precinct Boundary and Polling Place Changes; (CR2007-046) Obermaier 9 2"d Reading, Zoning Ordinance Amendment, Pet Grooming in B-3 District; (Memo) Anderson Vote: Youakim Thompson Rowan Halverson Maxwell QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? CALL THE RAZZLE LINE - (952) 939-1421 (The Razzle Line is the City of Hopkins voice message system) VI. NEW BUSINESS 1. Approve Zoning Amendment to Regulate Junk Vehicle Parking; (CR2007-042) Anderson Vote: Youakim Thompson Rowan Halverson Maxwell 2. Approve Zoning Amendment for Conditional Use Permits in I-2 District; (CR2007-043) Anderson Vote: Youakim Thompson Rowan Halverson Maxwell VII. ADJOURNMENT � ,., A regular meeting of the Hopkins City Council was held on April 3, 2007, in the Council Chambers of the Hopkins City Hall. • Present were Ma or Maxwell and Council Members Youakim Thom son Rowan and Y , p , , Halverson. Also, present were staff inembers Getschow, Genellie, Stadler, Bradford, Kerrigan, and City Attorney Jerry Steiner. , I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Maxwell called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. II. OPEN AGENDA - PUBLIC COMMENTS AND CONCERNS There were none. III. OATH OF OFFICE 1. Park Board member, Doug Datta Doug Datta was sworn to office by the City Clerk IV. REPORTS - COMMITTEES/COMMISSIONS • 1. Zoning and Planning Commission Virgil Aarnes reported that the Planning Commission held a meeting on March 29 and discussed the Parking Variance for 9 7 Ave S and an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that would allow pet grooming as a permitted use in a B-3 Zoning District. The Commission recommended both. Other items the Commission discussed were junk vehicles in industrial zones and junk yards. The Commission agreed the junk vehicles should be removed within 30 days from the time of a complaint with an additional 150 days for a sheriff's sale. V. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Minutes of March Z0, 2007 City Council Meeting 2. Minutes of March 20, 2007 City Council Work Session 3. Minutes of March 27, 2007 City Council Work Session 4. Ratify Previous Month's Disbursements 5. Second Reading, Ordinance 2007-988, Tobacco Moratorium (Memo} 6. Approve Temporary Liquor License for Hopkins Area Jaycees (CR2007-039) 7. Contract - Comprehensive Plan Update (CR2007-036) 8. Request for Comprehensive Road and Transit Funding (CR2007-041) 9. Reject Bid, City Hall Finish Upgrade Project �CR2007-038) • April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting Minutes Page 1 � : After Council Member Youakim thanked the City Council for considering the resolution in support of road and transit funding, City Manager Getschow explained that the resolution supports a dedicated source of funding. The State has fallen behind in funding �`"� transportation. Both the Southwest Transit and the Southwest Light Rail would be positive for the City of Hopkins. Council Member Halverson moved and Council Member Rowan seconded a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim, aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council _ Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion carried unanimously. VI. NEW BUSINESS 1. Parking Variance at 9- 7th Ave S(CR2007-035) Hopkins Village Apartments has applied for a variance to reduce five parking spaces to construct an outdoor patio area. The hardship is that they have always had fewer parking spaces than apartments, but they have never had a problem with parking and do not expect the change to cause a problem. The Zoning and Planning Commission recommended approval with the statement that they would like to see more landscaping and a larger patio area. In response to Council Member Rowan's question, Mr. Kerrigan said that if the use expands, it will be a legal non conforming use. Council members discussect the stated �� hardship. City Attorney Jerry Steiner recommended the addition of two findings; that there is a lack of open space amenities on the lot and this will increase the open space amenities of the building and that the property is in the downtown, where it is difficult to provide additional parking or open space for the building. The co-owner of the Hopkins Village Apartments, came forward to answer questions. , Mayor Maxwell stated that the handicapped parking spaces should not be moved and asked if the additional landscaping could be added at a later date. She answered that they would try to do so. � Council Member Thompson moved and Council Member Rowan seconded a motion to ', adopt Resolution 2007-024, approving reducing parking spaces by five at 9 7th Ave S with the additional findings of fact as stated by the City Attorney. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim, aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion I carried unanimously. 2. Zoning Ordinance Amendment, Pet Grooming in B-3 District (CR2007-034) Laurie Stuart has applied for a zoning amendment to allow pet grooming in the B-3 zoning dis#rict. The zoning ordinance allows a veterinary clinic in the B-3, but not pet grooming. � The new B-4 zoning allows a pet store, which could have pet grooming as an accessory April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 i � _ _ _: . . ,-.. .,, _ - � _.. � use. Ms. Stuart is proposing to open a pet grooming business at 1819 Mainstreet. City Attorney Jerry Steiner added that a definition of "pet grooming" would be included in the � ordinance for second reading. The Zoning and Planning Commission recommended approval. Council Member Rowan moved and Council Member Halverson seconded a motion to adopt Resolution 2007-023, approving Ordinance 2007-985, adopting pet grooming as a permitted use in the B-3 Zoning District for first reading. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim, aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Final Plat, Marketplace and Main (CR2007-033) The area occupied by the former Hopkins Honda became available for redevelopment when Hopkins Honda moved to a different site. The property was purchased by the Cornerstone Group. Last March, the preliminary plat and site plan were approved for the Cornerstone Group for a condo/town home/retail development. The triangular area on the north side of Mainstreet, between 6 and 7 Aves, is proposed to be a row of town homes. The area where the old Honda showroom was located and the area to the north will be a retail/condo building. The last area used by Honda along 8 Ave will be another row of town homes. � Market lace Holdin s, Inc. (The Beard Grou ) is urchasin the site, and as art of the P 9 p p 9 p purchase agreement, the plat needs to be approved. The preliminary plat expired six months after approval. It was approved again on March 20, 2007. The project is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Ordinance. Council Member Youakim moved and Council Member Rowan seconded a motion to adopt Resolution 2007-022, approving a final plat for the Marketplace & Main Development. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim, aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Accept Bids, Declare Cost to be Assessed and Order Assessment Hearing, 2007 Street and Utility Improvement Project (CR2007-040) The bid opening for the 2007 Street and Utility Improvement Project was held on March 27, 2007. The low bid of $1,085,400.25, $350,000 less than the final engineer's estimate, was submitted by Holst Excavating. A total of ten bids were received. The projected assessment rate is expected to be lower than the cap for the Drillane neighborhood. . April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 � Council Member Thompson moved and Council Member Halverson seconded a motion to adopt Resolution 2007-25, accepting bid for 2007 Street & Utility Improvement Project; to adopt Resolution 2007-026, Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation ��'� of Proposed Assessment; and to adopt Resolution 2007-027, Resolution for Hearing on Proposed Assessments, 2007 Street and Utility Improvements, City Project 2006-10. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim,� aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion carried unanimously. 5. Award Bid, City Hall HVAC Upgrade Project (CR2007-037) This project was re-bid after clarifying language and specifications and supplying a portion of the work to be completed in house. The low bid for the project was submitted by Thelen H& A, Inc. for $102,000. Council Member Halverson moved and Council Member Rowan seconded a motion to award contract in the amount of $102,000 for Hopkins City Hall HVAC Upgrade, Project 2006-18 to Thelen Heating and Roofing, Inc. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Youakim, aye; Council Member Thompson, aye; Council Member Rowan, aye; Council Member Halverson, aye; Mayor Maxwell, aye. The motion carried unanimously. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Council Member Thompson moved and Council Member :�� Halverson seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Terry Obermaier, City Clerk COUNCIL MEMBERS � , ATTEST: Eugene J. Maxwell, Mayor �, �� April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 - - � .. :�.. „ : -•. . .. -� . .:: � � • � — . . . .... . . _ , .�_ :;:. .: .:., . April 3, 2007 Page 1 � MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AT CONCLUSION OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, Apri13, 2007 Mayor Maxwell called the meeting to order at 8:30 pm. Present were Mayor Maxwell and Council members Thompson, Halverson, Rowan and Youakim. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow. Block 64 Redevelopment Steve Flanagan of GPS Development Group appeared before the Council to give an update on his development project. Economic Development City Manager Getschow distributed a worksheet to the Council based on Council requests, indicating economic development progress completed within the last 10 years and information regarding public financing and project benefit. Graffiti City Manager and Council discussed the recent incidents of graffiti in and around the community and many other suburbs in the area. Council discussed potential changes to the program including how graffiti removal product is provided to persons affected by graffiti. Consensus was that City Manger report back to the Council on the graffiti program at a future meeting. • There being no further business, a motion was made by Halvorson, seconded by Thompson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm. Rick Getschow, Secretary CITY COUNCIL ATTEST: Eugene J. Maxwell, Mayor • , . April 10, 2007 Page 1 • MINUTES CITY COLJNCIL WORK 5ESSION — Apri110, 2007 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:40 p.m. on April 10, 2007, at the Hopkins City Hall. Council members Kristi Halverson, Bruce Rowan and Jay Thompson were present. Council member Cheryl Youakim arrived at 9:30. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie, Building Official Merwyn Larson, Housing Inspector Elizabeth Page and Police Services Liaison Kathy Magdal. Also present were Nate Stulc, Mike Smerdon and Dan Salzwedel of the County Assessor's Office, and Peter Leatherman of Decision Resources. Members of the audience who spoke to the Council were David Day, Doug Hanunerseng, and Molly Crrove of MHA. Rental Licensing Program Building Official Merwyn Larson said at present common areas of apartment complexes are inspected annually, and about 15-20 percent of units in each building are inspected on a 3-year cycle. The remaining 950 one- and two-family units are normally inspected on a complaint basis, The current rental-licensing ordinance requires owners to maintain their properties and to deal with tenant behavior. Regular inspections and tenant screening improve housing quality, increase property values, attract good tenants, and may decrease criminal behavior. The new proposal calls for an additional inspector so that one- and two-family rental dwellings can be regularly inspected on a two-year cycle, and for property owners • to use a crime-free lease addendum on tenant leases and to do background checks. Staff suggests raising the fee from $20/building and $5/unit to $100/building and $6 per unit to cover the additional cost. A public meeting was held January 30, 2007. Additional meetings have been held with individual owners. The major themes raised by individuals have been: (1) most support the crime-free program but don't feel property maintenance inspections will affect the crime rate; (2) neighbors strongly support inspections, but owners have suggested the city accept HUD or other government agency inspections in lieu of city inspections and that the cycle vary by inspecting problem properties more frequently and trouble-free properties less often; (3) most owners feel the increase is too big and will make properties noncompetitive with surrounding areas. He noted Hopkins has very low fees compared to other cities. An average apartment would increase $0.64, ranging from $0.11 to $2.31 per unit per month. Condo rentals require more administration than apartment buildings; if condos are treated as apartments revenue reduction would be about $23,500. Possibly condo associations could take on part of the responsibility for a 20% reduction in fees. In response to owner comments, staff is discussing lower rates for owner-occupied properties or rental properties with a nearby owner with the city attorney. A reinspection fee is already in place. In answer to Council members' questions, he said that HLTD inspections are often done by someone from out of state and often don't focus on Hopkins issues, such as environmental issues. We could not use their inspections in court cases. 1VIr. Getschow said he is not sure if government agencies would share their documentation and noted � that they do only apartments, not single-family or duplex units. Mr. Larson noted that in � April 10, 2007 . Page 2. the rental licensing fee chart, the Total Revenue column was computed with Hopkins � numbers times the other cities' charges so a real comparison could be made. Area fees range from $.00 to $150.00 for single-family units; $0.0 to $200.00 for two-family units; building fee of $55 to $140 and unit fee of $.0 to $19 for apartment buildings. The present proposal for Hopkins is $100 for single-family units; $100 for two-family units, and $4.00-$6.00 per apartment unit with a base $100 per apartment building. Ms. Page noted duplexes, townhomes and single-family dwellings have fewer maintenance issues than apartment buildings. She feels the most important issue is the crime-free addendum and resident pre-checks, which most apartment landlords already have in place. Single family landlords often do not. Answering Mayor Ma�well, she said she works with all properties, not just rental, but she does get referrals from agencies (including the police) and neighbors. Ms. Magdal noted that a sample crime-free addendum would be sent with license registration materials. Answering Mr. Thompson, Mr. Larson said 450 inspections can be done in a year, so the 900 one- and two-family units would be on a 2-year cycle with a fulltime inspector. Mr. Thompson observed that if the whole community benefits from more frequent inspections, he would support paying part of the cost from the general fund. Answering Mayor Ma�cwell, Ms. Page said property owners are always notified of an upcoming inspection, and the notice includes a checklist of common problems and fire prevention issues they can use to eliminate problems beforehand. She has to go back for a reinspection on over half the properties. Answering Mr. Rowan, she said the most common infractions with apartments are connected to smoke detectors and emergency back-up lights. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said smoke detectors are usually battery-operated in older buildings and hard-wired (with battery back-up) in newer buildings. She does not know of any � programs to help landowners buy smoke detectors. Mayar M�well asked for audience comments. Mr. Day said he has a double bungalow, which he occupies. He does his own screening. He feels if his property is inspected, every Hopkins property should be inspected, whether rental or not, because he sees many properties with problems. Targeting rentals isn't fair. Mayor Maxwell commented fhe Council is trying to find a way to take care of the problems, yet be fair to everyone. Mr. Hammerseng said he has had to reduce rents for his double units in the past couple years. He sometimes "carries" tenants so they can stay there. Even $5 a month would really affect them. He has never had a police issue and feels it is not fair to penalize good owners. Comparisons to other cities are not fair because it isn't known what other cities do in their inspections. He has no objections to the crime-free addendum. Mayor Ma�cwell said it is a quality of life issue, everyone should feel safe. Mr. Hammerseng responded then everyone should pay for it, not just the landlords. Ms. Grove says higher licensing fees really impacts landlords, who are already paying increased t�es and upkeep. Local landlords pay $1.4 million in tu�es. The crime-free addendum and background checks are okay, but courts do not always help landlords get rid of problem tenants. She noted that expecting landlords to attend noontime meetings is unrealistic as many landlords have fulltime jobs. Mayor Maxwell suggested half the meetings could be evening meetings. There were no other audience comments. Mr. Getschow said staff and the Council will keep working on the program and keep accepting public comments. He would like to have Council consensus as staff , moves into drafting the ordinance. The fee schedule will affect the 2008 budget. Mayor � , I I �I I I , -- - - - - -- - _. . � .. ...., . . . ,,..,;� . . • April 10, 2007 Page 3 Maxwell said he would like to consider Mr. Thompson's suggestion, so it would need to • be settled before the budget work starts this summer. Mr. Getschow noted housing inspections may already being subsidized by the general fund. Mr. Thompson asked when the fee had gone to $20. Ms. Page said five years ago. Mr. Thompson said he would like a history of the fees so there could be a comparison to the inflationary rate. He also would like to know what the units cost us. Mr. Rowan said it is important to keep in mind this is a licensing fee, not an inspection fee. Licensing and inspections need to be looked at separately. Ms. Halverson agreed as other cities have different inspections. She asked what percentage is now paid out of the general fund. Mr. Larson said it is 40 percent fees, 60 percent general fund. Mr. Thompson said Ms. Youakim had given him some points to consider. She felt if the owner lived onsite, there should be a discount. Perhaps there could be a cap on the fees per number of units. Mr. Rowan said he felt Levels 1-3 should be different for different types of rentals. Ms. Halverson agreed. Mr. Rowan said the argument other cities are higher is not a good argument. Mr. Genellie said that the purpose of using other cities' figures was solely to make sure staff was not "outrageous" in their estimate for needed increases. Mr. Thompson commented the Council in the past has tried to get the entity causing the expense to pay more of the cost. The Council's job is to figure out who pays what percentage. He and Mr. Rowan both feel the burden should be more on the problem landlords, not the ones with a good record. Mr. Larson said he had received an e-mail today about the St. Paul system, which uses a point system to determine how often inspections will be done, etc. Mr. Genellie said since the 2008 budget work will start in June, the proposed , ordinance should be done before then. Annual Assessor Update Mr. Stulc said there were 100 residential sales for this assessment year (as compared to 137 the year before). Overall, Hopkins had a 2% median growth in residential properties values. There were 64 condo sales from private seller to buyer (non-developer sales), compared to 73 the previous year. Values stayed the same ar declined slightly. Townhomes had 47 sales, compared to 52 previously, and also stayed the same or declined slightly. Double bungalow sales were down and depreciated 4.5°Io. Hennepin County assessors concentrated on north Hopkins this past season; values went both up and down — some increased $50-60,000; others were valued $20-30,000 less. Mayor Maxwell asked in a substantial increase like $50,000, why couldn't the increase be spread over two years. Mr. Stulc said it would not be fair to other residents who have to pay the full cost for their increases. Mr. Getschow noted limited market value and tax deferral for senior citizens both could come .into play here. Mayor Maxwell asked what would happen if the owner brought in an appraisal with a lower value; for example, the previous valuation was $233,00, now will be $268,000, and he gets an appraisal for $250,000. Mr. Stulc said the owner should call him, give him a copy of the appraisal, and he would take another look at the property. He added sometimes large lots could be subdivided, and that makes land values seem high. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said empty lots are selling for $90-125,000. He has received about 55 calls and reviewed 20 properties in Hopkins. Mr. Thompson noted the valuadons are much better since the � April 10, 2007 � Page 4 County started doing the assessing. Mr.Salzwedel added the biggest problem is that � values are always behind the current trends as they are based on the previous year's sales. Mr. Salzwedel said the commerciaUindustrial real estate is doing we11. His estimates ran very close to actual sales, at 94%. There were 10 sales in Hopkins this past year. There was a median increase of 10%. He got only 4 calls this year. He noted apartment values stayed flat, adding that income figures are a basis far figuring value. Mr. Getschow noted that there is presently a bill in the legislature that would require apartment owners to have crime-free addendums to get a property t� break. The "open book" session will be May 7, from 4:00 to 7:00 in the Raspberry Room of City Hall. City-wide Survey Peter Leatherman of Decision Resources handed out a rough draft of the survey questionnaire. Rather than focusing on specific areas, this survey is a more general ' "quality of life" survey. He noted Decision Resources has been in the business 18 years. , They have worked with every neighboring community and school district in the past 3 '' years. They have a huge data base so Hopkins can compare their results with other cities. ' The survey would involve 400 telephone ca11s, which would be placed by random ', digit dialing. A pool of 400 guarantees results +/- 5% and is large enough to allow '� "break-outs" such as senior citizens, families with children, etc. Answering Mr. Rowan, I he said cell phones have not skewed the process as only 2% of the city population and ', 1% of the suburban population have only cell phones. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he ��, said the typical call lasts 20-25 minutes. Some residents get so involved, the calls last �, longer. Refusals are rare. If the surveyor calls at an inconvenient time, a convenient time �' is agreed upon. They avoid gender bias by asking for the adult over 18 whose birthday is j closest to the day of the call. While there are 125 questions, some of those are "branch" questions which follow up on specific answers, so most people do not answer that many. The questions are tested by a pre-test of 40 calls. Mayor Maxwell asked what had been budgeted for the study; Mr. Getschow said $20,000. Mr. Rowan pointed to a question on whether residents would want council meetings available on the city web site. Mr. Getschow suggested instant run-off voting. Mr. Leatherman said a short ex lanato ara ra h could be written to introduce that P rY P g P question, but there could be a lot of "I don't know's." Mayor M�well commented that in that case the Council would know there needs to be more public education. Mr. Getschow brought up economic redevelopment, with perhaps a specific question on Mainstreet redevelopment. General Consensus was to include the suggested topics in the questionnaire. Mr. Leatherman said Council members should go through the sample questionnaire and get back to him with suggestions by next week. The poll would occur over 2-2'/z weeks in May. It will take 2 weeks to tabulate results, so the Council should get the information based on the poll by early June. � . �� ,::_„� � ...: .:.. . .. . . .. :4 . :. ,� �: .:,�•,i ,:. .. . , .,,,; ,., . . . .: . : , a . ., ,... ,. , ,,,. .,,. . . , , . ., ��..,.�,� . � � April 10, 2007 Page 5 • Other Mr. Thompson asked about rail cars with ethanol residue being parked near Shady Oak. Mr. Rowan asked where the rail cars would be parked. Mr. Getschow said the cars would be assembled into a train near pominick Drive. Ms. Halverson noted that on Channel 4 a clip on Lino Lakes Citizens' Academy showed the fire department putting out a car fire. Mr. Getschow said he will be giving a presentation at the Minnesota League of Cities on citizens' academies. Mr. Getschow reminded Council members Citizens' Academy graduation is at the next Council meeting. Ms. Youakim arrived at 9:30 and reminded Council members to look at the legislative survey sent to them by e-mail. Mr. Getschow said staff is working on a t� base sheet and a graffiti program. A weakness in the present graffiti ordinance is that there is not a set period of days for abatement. There may be a story in the Sun Sailor. On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Mr. Thompson, the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. on a vote of 5-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS: • AT"TEST: Eugene J. Maxwell, Mayor � �