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03-14-06 WSMarch 14, 2006 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -March 14, 2006 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:35 p.m. on March 14, 2006, at the City Hall. Council members Bruce Rowan and Cheryl Youakim were present. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Steve Stadler, Police Chief Craig Reid and Police Services Liaison Kathy Magdal. Also present were Park Board members Josh Montgomery, Rob Edmonds and Kari Kyllo. Hopkins Dog Park Mr. Montgomery said he has visited several dog parks in Eden Prairie, St. Louis Parlc and Minneapolis. He feels a dog park might help alleviate the problem of dog owners simply putting their dogs outside, where they bark and bother neighbors. The Park Board has considered the issue at several meetings and thinks a good site would be by the archery range. Mr. Rowan asked about cost. Mr. Stadler said fencing would run about $10,000. Mayor Maxwell said he is in favor of the dog park idea, but feels a master plan should be developed for that area first. There is additional land there; some of which should be left in its natural state; but there may be a better way to utilize the space. For example, there may be room for alacrosse/rugby field along with the dog park and archery range. Mr. Rowan said that as a dog owner he would like to see the dog park started by fall. He agreed with Mayor Maxwell, however, that a master plan is a good idea -even if the plan is to leave the rest of the area in its natural state. Ms. Youakim said her only concern is parking; she commented perhaps the dog park would be better located by the natural area. Mr. Edmonds later commented the dog park could be an unusual shape to meet land needs. Mr. Stadler noted the present plan would shorten the archery range to 50 yards. He added the range is used little except just before hunting season. He noted parking is nearby; paving the area itself would not be possible due to the land condition, which is too peaty. He, too, had looked at a dog park and found it heavily used after work hours. Staff feels some money could be reallocated from the Valley Park hockey rink monies if the hockey rink is not paved now. Ms. Youakim asked about fees. Ms. Kyllo said Minneapolis requires all dogs be licensed and have a dog park permit, but they have a park police force to enforce the requirements. She feels dogs should have to be licensed to use the Hopkins dog park. Mayor Maxwell suggested using license fees for the upkeep of the park; he later suggested raising the fee by $2 to help. Mr. Rowan agreed the fee increase could be a good idea, but suggested it not be listed as a "dog park fee." Mr. Getschow said he would check how many dog licenses are currently sold. Ms. Youakim asked about city liability issues. Mr. Stadler said he would check, but he thinks it is not a big issue. He has talked to Chief Reid about the proposal; Chief Reid checked with other police forces and found they had no problems. Mayor Maxwell said he would like to see a plan for the whole parcel, a meeting with neighbors about traffic, a signage and rules draft. Notice for the meeting could be letters to area residents, who could attend the park meeting. Mr. Getschow suggested March 14, 2006 Page 2 another work session following the neighborhood meeting. Mayor Maxwell directed staff to check out insurance and liability issues. Mr. Stadler noted that siting is an important issue as moving the site could quadruple costs. General Consensus was for the Park Board to go ahead with the planning by developing a master plan, meeting with neighbors, developing signage and rules, and checking out insurance/liability issues. CBD Trail Extension The Park Board has been discussing the possibility of continuing the north segment of the regional trail within the central business district and extending it to either the Cedar Lake Trail or the south segment of the SWLRT trail just south of Excelsior Blvd. General discussion of routes took place. General Consensus was that the Park Board should explore First Street for a bike path rather than Mainstreet to avoid loss of customer parking spaces. Other points were also brought up in the discussion. Mr. Montgomery noted that Transit for Livable Communities, a nonprofit group, has $6 million for each of the next 4 years available for pedestrian enhancements in the region. Ms. ~ouakim stressed the importance of getting good signage along the trail directing bikers and walkers to the downtown area. Mr. Edmonds noted the Park Board had two goals: connect the trails and bring people downtown. Mayor Maxwell suggested the Board meet with Three Rivers. Multi Housing Issues Police Chief Reid said he is very concerned about the Cottageville Park area. He and Ms. Magdal met with the head of the association, and think the association covers too large an area for effective work. He thinks it would work much better to have three groups: one for West Side Village, one for the residential Lake/Oxford area; and a different type for Creekside. The latter would receive notifications and information, but would not hold regular meetings. Oxford is the major crime area, and Sgt. Smith has been working with the association. Chief Reid would like Hopkins to have a best practices program similar to that for liquor retailers for rental landlords, with graduated fees based on compliance. Such graduated fee schedules have been used in other cities and were successful. All owners would be required to have a representative attend at least one meeting a year. The Lease Addendum for Crime-Free/Drug-Free Housing would be used by all renters. He noted most multiple apartment owners already use it as it helps in evicting troublesome renters. Without such an addendum, eviction can take 3-6 months; with it, it can happen in 24 hours and is upheld in court. He noted this plan is not in process yet, but he wanted the Council to be aware of what direction his department is thinking of going. Ms. Youakim noted it was basically a "Best Practices for Landlords" program; she added she hears many comments about the high percentage of rentals in Hopkins and hopes this might serve as a positive response. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Ms. Magdal said most landlords are registered with the city, and the few who are not do not own problem properties. She said Golden Valley has a STAR (Safer Tenants and Rentals) program. Mayor Maxwell noted the businesses such as Walgreens, White Castle, Dairy Queen, etc. create a lot of the problems. Chief Reid said both Walgreens and White March 14, 2006 Page 3 Castle have agreed to put up security cameras covering their parking lots. Cottageville Association would like to get the businesses to join them. One of the major problems he faces with the businesses is the high turnover of management. General Consensus was favorable, especially for the lease addendum. The second issue Chief Reid talked about was involving the area children in recreation programs. He said 200 youth in the Blake Corridor really don't have recreation services. There is a large immigrant population, most of whom do not own computers. There have been meetings that stress recreational opportunities, and which had interpreters for Somali and Hispanic residents. However, those who attended are the few who can afford to pay the recreation costs and have computers so they can sign up. He feels it is imperative to get the young people out of the neighborhood as much as possible due to the gang influence as shown by the graffiti. Eisenhower School has agreed to have its teachers hand out recreational opportunity packets to the parents at parent-teacher conferences; city and school staff will work one-on-one to help them. The police department has applied for four different grants to pay for recreational scholarships. Transportation is a major stumbling block. For example, Parks and Recreation has a soccer program that would be popular, but it rotates among different parks so the area children cannot participate as they have no rides. One big help would be if all practices were held at Blake so the young people could walk to practice. Some churches have agreed to have volunteers drive the young people as needed. He hopes to know by April 1 how much grant money he will have; he hopes for $10-20,000. However, all this is only ashort-term solution. He has met with the Wilder Foundation. They can develop a comprehensive study that would help get big grant money. They could also help Hopkins look for people to rehab affordable housing. Cottageville Park must be improved. At present it is poorly situated and can't be seen from the road. Afire truck can't get into it. There are no trails, etc. from it or from County 3 to Highway 7. There are a lot of stakeholders -school, county, and the faith community. He added Prince of Peace wants to be a partner. He hopes to get the business community involved. The grants won't last long. Along-term solution needs recreation the young people can walk to and where the parents will know they are safe. Ms. Magdal noted they want to stay in their own area. Mr. Getschow noted New Brighton had gotten the Howland award. When staff talked to them, they said, "Go to Wilder." Wilder personnel noted New Brighton had followed every single recommendation, but agreed Hopkins' problem is more complex. Ms. Youakim noted the large number of landlords might mean it could be easier to get them to sell for rehab purposes. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said the St. Louis Park police want to be involved and are coming to the next stakeholder meeting. They want to work with Hopkins on crime. Chief Reid says Cottageville Park Association wants to have a "Take Back the Park Night." He feels it would be very important for Council members to attend to show the city is concerned about the area. General Consensus was May 18, a Thursday, seemed a good date for the event. March 14, 2006 Page 4 Other Mr. Rowan asked about the vacancies on Mainstreet. Mr. Getschow said it looks worse than it really is as some have been purchased by other parties or are being rehabbed. Ms. Youakim asked if GPS was any closer to closing. Mr. Getschow said GPS is looking at bringing in other investors and this has slowed the process. Ms. Youakim asked if Mr. Getschow got her e-mail about a neighbor dispute which could end in litigation. He had not so she will resend it. Ms. Youakim asked about Citizens' Academy. Mr. Getschow said 25-27 had signed up. Mr. Getschow updated Council on the commercial parking discussed at the last work session. Staff discussed options and decided only Lot 800 would work. It is farthest from Mainstreet, is a free lot, and after 6:00 had only 2-10 vehicles when checked by staff. While it is near residences, he does not foresee a problem as no vehicles larger than a step van could get a commercial parking permit. Staff felt permits should be limited to only a few per business. It is not a snow emergency lot. Mayor Maxwell felt there was no need to do anything unless more requests from businesses come in. It is good, however, to have a plan ready. Mr. Rowan said he felt it was worth the time to plan for it. Ms Youakim agreed with limiting the number of permits per business. On motion by Ms. Youakim and second by Mr. Rowan the meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. on a vote of 3-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATT T: Euge axwell, Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS: a