Loading...
2007-07-10 WS July 10, 2007 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – July 10, 2007 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on July 10, 2007, 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, Finance Director Christine Harkess, City Engineer John Bradford, Utilities Superintendent Doug Anderson and Public Works Director Steve Stadler. Also present were Peter Leatherman and Bill Morris of Decision Resources. Citywide Survey Results Mr. Getschow said the last survey had been done in 1988. Mr. Morris said Hopkins demographics have changed so much over the years that the results of that survey and the present one can’t really be compared. However, he noted, in the 1988 survey renters answers had been very different from those of property owners; in the present survey the two groups were basically the same. Decision Resources had used census information and cable television numbers to validate the survey sample; 400 households were sampled with only 3½% not responding. Respondents averaged 41 minutes in responding; a few spent over 90 minutes. Mr. Morris went over the survey results. Highlights follow. 94% rated Hopkins’ quality of life as excellent or good and no one felt it is poor; this places Hopkins in the top quartile of metro suburbs. Asked what they liked most about Hopkins, 38% said the small-town feel; it is very unusual to get such a high percentage of the same answer to an open-ended question. Other top answers were its location and its being quiet. 19% felt crime was the most serious issue facing Hopkins; the metro suburbs average is 33-35%. 6% said it was taxes; this is one of the lowest response rates he has seen. Residents rate city services very high compared to other suburbs where 30% fair/poor ratings are common. 94% rated both police and fire services excellent/good; 70% felt city planning was excellent/good. The 21% fair/poor rating for street maintenance is the lowest in the metro area; 40-45% is usual. Street lighting concerns have been rising the past five years in the metro area; the 20% who rated it fair/poor usually listed crime as the biggest issue for Hopkins. 77% said the value of services they received for their tax dollars is excellent/good; this is one of the highest in the metro area. 88% felt Hopkins’ sense of community was excellent/good, again one of the highest percentages in the metro area. Most of the 10% who rated it as fair were newcomers or short-term residents. Raspberry Days was often mentioned; Decision Resources has found that a high-quality local festival usually increases a positive response to this question by 20%. 43% said their closest connection was to the city as a whole, an extraordinarily high response. Mr. Rowan asked if the 7% response for school district was due to not having a high school or junior high in town; Mr. Morris will study the responses more closely and let the Council know. 83% felt Hopkins was moving in the right direction, one of the highest responses he has seen (50-60% is the metro suburbs norm). The 10% who felt it was not were such a small subset no follow-up questions were asked. 36% were familiar with the “Think Hopkins” slogan. Mr. Getschow remarked this was higher than he expected as the slogan is new and there has been no major publicity campaign. Mr. Morris suggested July 10, 2007 Page 2 Hopkins be more aggressive promoting the slogan. Slightly over half the respondents felt affordable housing and rentals, luxury rentals, condos and townhouses were about right; 33% felt there needed to be more starter homes (many of these were recent “empty- nesters” who wished their children could live in Hopkins). 21% felt there should be more senior housing; the metro average is 48%. 32% felt Hopkins needs more restaurants (the metro average is 48%). 75% felt the redevelopment in Hopkins is excellent/good; this is in the top ten percentile for communities that have noticeable redevelopment. 17% felt it was fair/poor, as compared to the usual 30%. 82% approved the downtown redevelopment, an extremely high response. 86% supported continued redevelopment; the 6% opposing it was the lowest percentage he has seen in the metro area. Only 18% opposed development incentives; this often is 40-50% in the metro area. 25% felt the city share of taxes was high, one of the lowest percentages in the metro area (the average is about 50%). 39% would support higher taxes to maintain the present services, a high rating that correlates to the high value residents have for city services. 31% would support a $5/month yard waste pick-up fee; 42% would oppose it. The 28% who were unsure were mostly renters. While only 36% said they felt safe anywhere in Hopkins, 83% felt safe in their neighborhoods. Mr. Rowan noted the first response may be partly due to city publicity in its effort to make changes in some neighborhoods. Ms. Youakim asked where the 16% who felt unsafe in their own neighborhoods lived; Mr. Leatherman will break that down by precinct and update Council members. 84% felt traffic enforcement was at the right level, the highest level in the metro area, where 30% is the norm. 42% would support a tax increase for the police department; 38% would oppose it. The largest public safety concerns were drugs, youth crime/vandalism and residential crimes (burglaries). Mr. Morris noted 15% had no concerns and 20% listed only one concern. He added youth crime is a rising concern across the metro area. 35% felt their neighborhood’s condition had improved (the metro average is 20%); the 4% who felt it had declined compares to the metro average of 20%. The park usage and ratings were some of the strongest in the metro area; the activity center, Hopkins Center for the Arts and Shady Oak Beach drew no adverse comments. Mr. Morris added respondents had to have seen/used the facilities to respond; the 2% low rating for trails is the lowest in the metro area. 92% feel the recreation facilities meet the residents’ needs. The 26% park and recreation program participation is at the metro norm. 48% of the respondents leave Hopkins to go to work; some of those who said they do not could be unemployed. 94% said getting around Hopkins is easy, one of the highest ratings in the metro area. The average commute was 17 minutes. 32% had used public transportation; of those 87% felt the service was excellent/good (the metro average is 7%). 62% felt empowered by the city; of the 31% who did not, 25% wanted only to vote. 71% approved the mayor and Council, with 21% strongly approving, again one of the highest ratings in the metro area. 58% rated city staff as excellent/good, one of the top percentages in the metro area. 35% had had contact with city hall, the usual percentage is 27%. 15% felt the ease of obtaining service was fair or poor; Mr. Morris suggested some processes should be streamlined. 94% felt staff was courteous, a very high rating. 29% support instant run- off voting, while 58% oppose it (33% said strongly oppose). Mr. Rowan noted the introductory paragraph was incorrect is saying all candidates would be rated. Mr. Leatherman said respondents did not see the need for it and some were concerned about manipulation. Mr. Morris noted resident information sources are “print dominated,” with July 10, 2007 Page 3 the Sun Sailor and city newsletter predominant. He said the 25% who depend on the newsletter is a very good percentage. 82% receive the Highlights and 88% of those read it. Ms. Youakim noted the Minnetonka recreation newsletter might be a place to put a “Think Hopkins” ad. 9% frequently watch Council meetings on cable television; 2% is the metro norm. 68% of the respondents have internet access; of those 56% access the city website, a high percentage. Mayor Maxwell said this might be due to newsletter references. 54% would support the city offering high-speed internet; Hopkins is one of the few cities with a positive response. Mr. Morris added that if the Council ever decides to offer it, they should be very sure if has no problems as Chaska’s had problems and caused a lot of resentment. In summary, Mr. Morris said the small town feel is critically important for Hopkins and is unique in the inner ring. Tax hostility is not as severe in Hopkins as most cities due to the trust factor, but a lot of information would still be needed to get full support for tax increases. Crime is the only real concern, but is not as extreme as other cities. Most residents are pleased with the way things are going; Hopkins is one of the few cities to support targeted redevelopment. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Leatherman said most cities do a survey every 3-5 years. Mr. Getschow said results would go on the web site so residents could see the results. The survey should help the city make future decisions. Mayor Maxwell said it could be used by the Council and staff to make weak areas better. Mr. Morris said the Council would receive a summary. Mr. Leatherman said he would send graphs for the website to the city. ERP Review Ms. Harkess said there were not many changes in the ERP. She went over each change with the Council. Some items were discussed. The aerial ladder truck would cost $900,000, $600,00 of which still needs to be raised. Ms. Harkess said funding options include bonding and leasing. A $600,000 bond would be too small to be economical. She has looked into leasing; a 15-year lease’s payments could be met in the ERP. She noted it would be a year before the truck would be delivered so the city would have another year to find financing. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Getschow said the three grants applied for had been refused simply because not enough grant money is available. An order should be placed soon for several reasons: the current truck is past its safe life limit, a better truck is needed in case the Opus development would have a fire; new 2008 federal specifications would raise the cost 10%. Mayor Maxwell noted parts are no longer available for the current truck. He later added the $600,000 lease/borrow amount needs to be reduced somehow. Mr. Getschow said AED’s (automated external defibrillators) should really be at all facilities. Mr. Stadler noted Public Works has one. Ms. Harkess said each unit is about $3,000. Mayor Maxwell suggested that as the fire department ones are replaced, the old ones could go to other facilities. Mr. Rowan asked if the fitness equipment was used much. Mr. Getschow said Dale says it gets a lot of use. Ms. Youakim asked if any equipment is used so seasonally in Public Works it could be leased. Mr. Stadler said he really tries to get equipment with multiple uses. Mr. Getschow added small cities usually contract out services rather than leasing if they don’t have the equipment. Mr. Anderson noted the Public Works ½ ton truck to be transferred to the fire department would be used for winter towing. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. July 10, 2007 Page 4 Stadler said he is not sure if a used swap loader could be found. He has purchased used equipment when available in the past. Utility Plan Discussion Mr. Bradford said the goals of the water utility are to provide a reliable supply of drinking water and water for fire protection. He noted Hopkins has one of the lowest water and sewer rates in the metro area. Hopkins currently has two ways to get water into the distribution system: the Elmo site and the Moline site. There is an agreement with Minnetonka, but in the summer they are worse off than Hopkins. The Elmo plant is the primary water supply and treatment facility. Mr. Anderson noted that while the Moline plant is used only for emergencies, the water is potable even though it is not filtered and would not have a good taste. In case of an electrical outage, there is enough water in elevated storage to cover a short duration. More would need to be done to cover long-term outages. The Moline site is on a different electric grid from the Elmo site; it could be upgraded to serve as an alternate supply source. An emergency generator at the Elmo plant could operate the plant and Well No. 4. A portable emergency generator could be rented from Ziegler for wells 5 & 6. In case of well contamination, there are or will be emergency connections with neighboring communities. The one with Minnetonka is in place; one will be connected to St. Louis Park when the Atlas redevelopment occurs; one will be constructed to Edina (a 2014 date is projected). A 6.6 million gallon usage is projected for the future; Hopkins presently has a 5.7 million gallon capacity. A major project to be undertaken is a water map; none has been done since 1987. The hydrant replacement program has been scaled down and is being put in the annual repair budget. Mr. Anderson said the meter replacement program has been moved up to 2009-14. The company that provided the batteries for the first meter program no longer supports the system so a new reading system will be put in. Only the head ($230) will be replaced, not the whole meter ($2000) in residences. Major projects for the sanitary sewer utility include rehabilitation of Lift Station No. 4, eliminating Lift Station No. 1 (in conjunction with Shady Oak Road work if not sooner), and redoing Blake Road sewer in 2018. Ms. Harkess said the whole CIP and ERP will be looked at in two weeks. Council will approve them in August. Other Ms. Halverson asked about the graffiti on the Blake water tower. Mr. Stadler will report back. Ms. Youakim said she had taken the transportation tour Thursday with the railroad people and wondered if it could be done with legislators, Met Council, etc. She asked if a road trip to sister city Long Beach, Mississippi, could be combined with the annual convention in New Orleans. Mr. Thompson asked about protocol for his resignation if his house closes July 27. There was general discussion and Mayor Maxwell said it could be taken care of at the next Council meeting, adding City Attorney Steiner would prefer something written. July 10, 2007 Page 5 Mr. Thompson asked about GPS. Mr. Getschow said there will be a meeting at the end of the week. The Plaza property owner’s attorney is talking about an extension of the purchase agreement. Mr. Getschow said the Beard project is going well with 4 sales and 2 pending sales. Cargill is two months ahead of schedule. There will be a topping ceremony July 26. Mr. Getschow distributed a cat control handout and updated board/commission sheets. Mayor Maxwell said there will be a Southwest Light Rail Citizens Advisory Committee meeting July 25. Ms. Youakim asked about procedure when there is a resident/city inspector dispute. Mr. Getschow said it is taken to the building official. On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Ms. Youakim, the meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. on a vote of 5-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ATTEST: ____________________________________ Eugene J. Maxwell, Mayor