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01-30-01 WSJanuary 30, 2001 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -JANUARY 30, 2001 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was held at 6:30 p.m. on January 30, 2001, at the City Hall. Present were Mayor Maxwell and Council members Brausen, Hesch, Jensen and Johnson. City personnel present were City Manager Mielke, Economic Development Coordinator Hartshorn, and Anthony Hall and Kathleen Taber of the Depot. Also present were Peter Mason, Paul Gamst and Charles Redepenning. CBD Improvements, Property Owners Committee Mr. Hartshorn presented a list of priorities the property owners committee had formulated. He stated the reason for coming was to find out if the Council felt the idea of a Business Improvement District (BID) had enough merit for the committee to continue work. He said possible boundaries for the district would be 6"' to 13`a St, and 15` St. N to ls` St. S.; this includes 101 buildings There has been one meeting with the HBCA, whose response was "tell us more." Peter Mason stressed centralized dumpsters, litter and the necessity for private/public partnership. He said the RLK study of 1992 had said the back side of downtown buildings needed improvement. He felt the BID would be aself-assessing body which would be paid for by the property owners, some of whom would pass the cost on to renters. He said parking lots might be part of their package, and he would like a grant program for building owners to fix up the backs of their buildings. A big need now is "seed money" to set up a good presentation for the idea. He noted HBCA does not have a single property owner in it, thus the need for their group. City Manager Mielke noted that the article reprinted for the Council used the term BID. In Minnesota the term would be "Special Service District," and could be formed on when the Council is petitioned by at least 35 % of the property owners asking for such a district to be set up and stating what they would want to do. He noted Central Business District (CBD) is a zoning term; the Special Service District would be an "overlay. " Ms. Hesch said she was concerned about the costs involved as at the last work session it had been determined that anything over 10-20C/sq. ft. could drive small businesses out and change the "mix" of the CBD. Mr. Mielke said there would be two protections: the first is the Council could decide to not form the Special Service District. Even after formation a reverse referendum could stop it. Mr. Brausen said he felt the implications of wanting to include parking lots in the program required a bringing together of all those involved. Mr. Mielke noted Feb. 13 had been set for discussing the parking lot issue, where the Council could discuss using the BID as a way to pay the private sector portion (at whatever rate the Council decides), noting the only other way would be direct assessment. Ms. Jensen said she felt strongly the alleys needed improvement and asked if any grants were available. Mr. Hartshorn said he had searched and found none. Ms. Johnson asked if marketing and management were part of the program. Mr. Mason said that had not been discussed as Twin West, Raspberry Festival, HBCA all promote Hopkins, but it was a possibility. He does not know if the program would push out small businesses. He said it would be much like splitting the costs of a shopping mall. In estimating costs for the various proposals, he had come us pit a 56G/sq. ft. total for all programs for the CBD, but noted there would be savings in some areas to offset part of that. Ms. Hesch noted that the Council was trying to figure out how to pay for present programs, let alone new ones. The Council has already put a great deal of money into the CBD. She felt the big picture needed to be looked at, and that the proposal needed to come from a much larger group. Mr. Brausen added he felt the discussion on parking lots needed to also include business owners, the focus groups, etc. January 30, 2001 Page 2 Ms. Jensen agreed, adding she felt the Council needs to not "ask" if participants want to be part of it, but need to be convinced they have to be part of the process. Mr. Brausen was concerned that in the end it would be the renters who pay for the program, not the building owners; some business people would want to do their own sidewalk snow removal, etc. Paul Gamst said the property owners want to involve the business owners as well. He stressed the priority list was not what they would do, but only possibilities to investigate. He added it was only due to Council foresight in building the parking ramp that the theatre was even able to exist. Such an asset needs to be maintained. Mr. Redepenning said the idea was due to the fact they realize TIF monies are no longer available. In answer to Ms. Hesch, Mr. Mason said they did not expect the Council to provide the seed money, but using the city data base would be a great help. Mr. Mielke noted the Feb. 13 discussion time constraint might be worked around. He thinks it is possible to set the assessment but not certify it till a later date; it may even be possible to cancel the assessment. He will check before that discussion. General Consensus: The idea is a move in the right direction. The Feb. 13 discussion should be expanded to look at the bigger issues involved. Mr. Mielke will have the assessment information available. Depot Project Status Report Mr. MIelke said there had been a Partners meeting. Park Nicollet has reached their cap; they have put in $80,000 and under their rules cannot provide any more money. They would be willing to contribute human resources for fund raising. The YMCA is willing to float Anthony's salary for 6 months, over $30,000 commitment. Community Education says they will :donate $10,000 through their Reduce the Use monies. He later noted both the Y and Hopkins are doing their share; it is the school district that is not. Ms. Johnson said before each partner's share can be determined, "in-kind" contributions also need to be given a monetary value and figured in. Mr. Hall noted that the YMCA and Hopkins both donate "in kind" services to a great extent. He later noted he was putting together a list of things the school district could do "in kind" to help. He saod Stacy has a grant application ready for the Caroline Foundation and has a "common grant" application done. Shortly she will have a list of places to apply for the rest of the year. ®nly half her time has been used so far. Discussion moved on to the budget. Ms. Hesch noted the school district could do a levy for lease. She stressed a sustainable connection with volunteers needs to be built. Mr. Brausen said he felt Council members had to meet with the partners, which should include the school board (Sue Scharenbroich was later specifically mentioned). It was later noted Sharon McDonald (Reduce the Use) should be included. Ms. Johnson said she felt the total dollars needed to be determined and each partner told: this is your share, how are you going to meet it?Ms. Hesch said the meeting needs to be more than a budget meeting, but also discuss mission and commitment. The school had promised to help with programs, to hold events at the Depot, etc. , which has not happened. Civic groups and community need to get involved again. Mr. Hall said a few teachers had come forward and done special projects with the Depot; one of his questions is how to get the school to push the idea to teachers. Ms. Hesch said she is working with a civic group she is involved in, trying to get a grant for a professional evaluator and public gatherings, which would culminate in a year-end report that other groups could use. This type of thing is one requirement other organizations have given as a criteria to give grants and could lead to sustainable funding. There was discussion on going to a school board meeting, but no consensus was reached on that idea. January 30, 2001 Page 3 General Consensus: The type of study Ms. Hesch suggested is necessary. Monetary discussion shall include "in kind" figures. There needs to be a discussion with all parties -- Mr. Maxwell will arrange a lunch with Mr. Kremer soon and try to set up a basis for such a meeting. Appreciation was expressed for the work of Anthony Hall and Kathleen Taber. Other BID presentation Mr. Brausen said he was not happy about the way the idea was presented and felt it had been an inaccurate picture of how the whole group thinks, although he feels the idea has merit. Mayor Maxwell agreed all of the 101 building owners need to be brought in. Mr. Mielke noted the Council decides what the city share of the parking lot costs is; it is possible that group could decide if they want to take it on as part of their program or let it go ahead as a regular assessment. Ms. Hesch again expressed fears that a minority might take control; Mr. Mielke said the Council has the final say: they decide if they will certify the district and they approve the budget and levy. Consensus: At the Feb. 13 meeting the group will need to say what they want to do; Mr. Mielke will get all the information on the BID/parking lot issue. He added the reason BID is interested is that the cost for each parking lot improvement would be shared by the whole district so each time more people would share the cost, thus spreading it out. He also noted BID cannot be used for programs already in place. .State of City This was briefly reviewed. Mr. Mielke will make sure each Council member sees the bullet items that will be projected for the audience before then. Electronic Update While there were problems with the first trial, all agreed the idea should be pursued. At 9:55 p.m. Fran Hesch moved and Diane Johnson seconded to close the session so as to discuss the city manager evaluation. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: C~ ~~ ~_~ Eugen xwell, Mayor