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Minutes - 09/25/01 Work Session September 25, 2001 Page 1 ., MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - SEPTEMBER 25, 2001 A special HRA meetingof the Hopkins City Council was held at 6:30 .p.m. and a work session at 7:00 p.m. on September 25, 2001, at the City Hall. Council members present were Mayor Maxwell and Council members Brausen, Hesch, Jensen and Johnson. City personnel present were Assistant City Manager Genellie, City Manager Assistant Stahmer, Economic Development Director' Kerrigan, Housing Coordinator Elverum, Finance Director Yager, Fire Chief Beckering, Assistant Chief Specken and Assistant Chief Shoberg. SPECIAL BRA MEETING Mr. Kerrigan said that there would be a meeting October 9 which would involve the Council with developing the development agreement. Sid Inman will also be at that meeting. Mayor Maxwell said he had talked to David Luther, who said he wanted to see the project done and who seemed to understand the project better after talking to the mayor. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Kerrigan said things that could be included in the preliminary development agreement would be time schedules, defining the. site, preparing elevations, public meetings, outline of public input process, marketing study, financing, threshOlds needed for pre-sales and pre-leases. He noted this is a non-binding agreement for 90-120 days, ,during which time either side can back out. After that, a full development agreement would be dra.wn up. Answering Ms. Hesch, he said that type of retail was covered in the draft.. He will try to haye a rough draft. to the Council next Tuesday. ! Ms. Jensen said she wanted on record as she was not at last meeting that she wanted Beard because she felt they met their first criteria better - understanding Hopkins, ability to work with the community, understanding Mainstreet, a better retail piece. She felt the retail was crucial. She added in a perfect world Beard would do the retail and Cornerstone the residential, which cannot be done. Ms. Hesch said she felt Cornerstone was more a "package." She has mixed feelings about Pfefferkorn being involved. Ms. Hesch moved Beard be accepted as developer. Ms. Jensen seconded. Failed 2-3. Ms. Hesch moved to accept Cornerstone but not Cornerstone/Pfefferkorn as a package. Ms. Jensen seconded. Mr. Kerrigan said they called themselves a "development team." Ms. Elverum said she thinks they consider themselves a partnership. Mr. Brausen said he felt it would jeopardize the whole deal. Vote was called for and defeated 2-3. Ms. Johnson moved to accept Cornerstone as proposed. Mr. Brausen seconded. Ms. Jensen said that at the first meeting she had specifically asked if housing and retail could be made separate and they had said yes three times. Vote called. Passed 3-1 with Ms. Hesch abstaining. Ms. Hesch moved adjournment of the HRA session. Ms. Johnson seconded. Adjourned to regular Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. September 25,2001 Page 2 WORK SESSION Budget Discussion Fire Department Chief Beckering said since he, Dave Klocek and George Magda! are all nearing retirement, they have started training replacements. Thus Dale Specken and Rodney Shoberg are now Assistant Chiefs, under the evaluation of Dave and George. They were given the job to prepare the budget as part of their training. Mr. Specken said they proposed part -time pay be increased as this workload is becoming heavier, not just drills. Maintenance mcrease is due to Engine 3 starting to cost money (due for replacement in 2003). Other increases are largely due to inflation. The capital expenditure was, for a new $6,000 proxima projector as the present one is fixed in the ceiling and at least 6 years old. The department needs a portable unit. Mr. Shoberg said there is a need for an air. compressor and dryer for the station as some trucks do not have driers and small compressors are breaking down. . This could be moved to the new building. Council asked for comments on issues raised by the terrorist attacks of September 11. Chief Beckering said compliance issues are becoming more complicated. They will be doing more spot checks. He said he felt security measures in place and emergency plans are adequate for present. Federal money may be forthcoming if needed. Hopkins is a member of the regional team, which is funded by the state, so would be involved if a terrorist attack came in the area, and they are making plans. Hopkins has $40,000 of 'chemical assessment equipment paid by the federal government, and could be called as far away as Duluth. He added the 1 ton chlorine tanks at the water plant are not an issue; it is small, portable ones that must be guarded more closely. Ms. Hesch said she would like to see a vulnerability study done. Ms. Jensen agreed. Mr. Beckering said vulnerable groups also need protection, such as Moslems in 'the community. Mr. Brausen said this would be a good time to step up public education in such things as CPR. Chief Beckering said the legislature has talked about 302 "hazardous handling" facilities. He is a member of the Counter-Terrorism Advisory Council. The federal members have said to expect 3-4 more terrorist attacks this year. Foot-and-mouth disease control plans are being put in place as this could affect urban food supplies. . He added the flag at. the fire station will stay at half-mast 30 days in honor of the firefighters who died in New York City. General Consensus: Chief Beckering should talk to Public Works Director. Stadler and Police Chief Reid and see if they can come up with a monetary figure for a vulnerability study. Community Services Mr. Genellie said there were no large changes. The biggest change. is to fund the 2002 election and pay for the maintenance cost for the voting machines supplied by Hennepin County . $15,000 is to digitize and index all the paper records. Council reaction to this idea was very positive. Mr.' Genellie said the police are very interested in having schematics of all buildings available to police car units, which this system could do. He said that staff is also considering a "mirror image" hook-up with Public Works so in case of a disaster there would be two locations with complete computer records. Otherwise all costs follow historical usage. September 25,2001 Page 3 Administration, Finance, Council The biggest difference here was a 15 % increase in pay for Information Services to meet market competition. Other changes were changes in charge-outs, and due to inflation. In summary Ms. Yager said that departments have requested $587,000 in increases which would take the budget to the full 9.8% levy. Answering Ms. Jensen a 8.50/0 levy would mean $80,000 decrease in the budget. The biggest reasons for the tighter budget is the loss of$40,000 in state aid, the HRA bond levy for economic development (replacing TIP), and $90,000 to support HCA. Ms. Johnson noted it would be important to show the public spending has not increased except in these three areas. Ms. Yager said she will be coming back with a list of things of"cuttable items," after working with City Manager Mielke and department heads. There was general discussion on the $92,000 for solely operating costs at RCA. Ms. Jensen said she wants to see a breakdown of these expenses before Mr. Strachota comes to the Council. Newspaper Dispensers Assistant to City Manager Stahmer explained his memo updating the May discussion. Last week he counted 24 racks between 6th and 13th on Mainstreet, with 12 of those between 8th and 9th. Ten were free employment weeklies, five from the same source. A draft ordinance was included in the packet. He talked to Wynn Curtis who said forbidding newspaper dispensers in residential areas should be done by specific zoning codes. The requirement of 5 feet clear sidewalk may be more feasible as sidewalks'are usually narrower in residential areas. Another thought is requiring 500 feet between dispensers of the same publication (every other block). He will be mapping a 2-3 block area of Main street in the next couple weeks showing how each possibility would block out space to see what limitations would work and what would not. Ms. 'Hesch suggested that benches be included in limitation 5. Mr. Stahmer said a prohibition for in front ofHCA is possible according to Mr. Curtis. Mr. Genellie said they would talk to St. Paul and see what affect their ordinance has had. He also noted that graffiti violations would have to be done by notice to vendors. l\1s. Hesch said she felt vendor addresses must be street addresses, not post office boxes. General Consensus: Mr. Stahmer should do his mapping and confer with Public Works Director Stadler. He should propose a fee schedule. He should return in a month for a work session, then go to the dealers for input. Other Board/Conimission Training Mr. Brausen said he feels board and commission training needs to be overhauled and become an annual session talk facilitated by a past Council member or board officer where both past and new members discuss roles, etc: General Consensus: This should get a half hour discussion late in October Art Center Ms. Jensen said she is very frustrated that the Center seems to be "like a library" - quiet, no life. Ms. Hesch has heard comments that the Minnetonka Center is much easier to work with. September 25, 2001 Page 4 General Consensus: All parties need to get together and work on this after the financial statements come out. Miscellaneous Ms. Jensen has heard positive comments that the Citizens Academy is on again. Mayor Maxwell said the Hopkins House area needs to be cleaned up. Ms. Hesch said Mr. Waldeck had called again. It was agreed Mr. Stadler should update him. The meeting adjourned into a closed session on motion by Ms. Johnson and second by Ms. Jensen at 9:50 p.m. . Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTEST: Eugene J. Maxwell, Mayor