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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 01-17-2019CITY OF PLYMOUTH COUNCIL INFO MEMO January 17, 2019 EVENTS / MEETINGS Housing & Redevelopment Authority Agenda for January 24 .................................. Page 2 Official City Meeting Calendars .................................................................... Page 3 Tentative List of Agenda Items ..................................................................... Page 6 CORRESPONDENCE GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting ................... Page 7 Plymouth Fire & Ice Winter Festival Set for February 2 ........................................ Page 9 REPORTS & OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST Plymouth-Based PRI Robotics Acquired by Michigan Manufacturing Company, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal ........................ Page 11 Roseville Fire Chief Asks for $1M to Hire 9 More Firefighters, Pioneer Press.............. Page 13 MEETING AGENDA PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. WHERE: Parkers Lake Room City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 CONSENT AGENDA All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commissioner, citizen or petitioner so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in normal sequence on the agenda. 1.CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2.PUBLIC FORUM 3.CONSENT AGENDA A.Approve HRA Meeting Minutes for November 15, 2018. B.Plymouth Towne Square. Accept Monthly Housing Reports. C.Vicksburg Crossing. Accept Monthly Housing/Marketing Reports. 4.NEW BUSINESS A.HRA Strategic Plan. 5.ADJOURNMENT Page 2 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BIRTHDAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 January 2019 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Goals & Legislative Priorities for 2019 Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Parkers Lake Room NEW YEAR’S DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 7:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Meeting with Legislative Delegation Medicine Lake Room 6:00 PM CLOSED COUNCIL MEETING Discuss Labor Negotiations Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers Page 3 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT February 2019 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Discuss Plymouth Creek Expansion Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING County Road 47 Discussion Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers PRESIDENTS DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Medicine Lake Room 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM Fire & Ice Festival Parkers Lake Park Page 4 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 March 2019 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Board and Commission Recognition Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Discuss Boards and Commissions Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 31 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Parkers Lake Room 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers Page 5 Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items February 12, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room • Discuss Plymouth Creek Center expansion February 12, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers • Adopt Drone Policy and approve purchase • Public hearing on Wine and On-Sale 3.2 Percent Malt Liquor License applications of Akirsa Pizza Company, d/b/a Firenza Pizza, 3225 Vicksburg Lane, Suite A February 26, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room • County Road 47 discussion February 26, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers • Oaths of Office for Police Officers Scott Serre and Matthew Krueger March 12, Board and Commission Recognition, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room March 12, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers • Recognize Board and Commission members March 26, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room • Boards and Commissions discussion March 26, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers April 9, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers April 23, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 City of Plymouth News Release For Immediate Release Jan. 15, 2019 Contact: Alyssa Fram Recreation Supervisor City of Plymouth 763-509-5225 afram@plymouthmn.gov Plymouth Fire & Ice winter festival set for Feb. 2 Plymouth, Minn. – Plymouth’s annual winter festival, the 30th-annual Fire & Ice festival is set for 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 at Parkers Lake Park, off County Road 6 and Niagara Lane. Favorites of Fire & Ice include recycling bin races, a youth ice fishing contest, hayrides, pony and sled- dog rides, miniature golf on the ice, snow bowling, box hockey, recreational skating, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. All events are weather permitting. To combat the cold, attendees can warm up at a bonfire with s’mores and hot chocolate, while supplies last, sponsored by Step by Step Montessori. Food trucks will also be on site. The finale of the event – fireworks sponsored by the Plymouth Civic League – will begin around 6:30 p.m. Cardboard Sled Contest The Cardboard Sled Contest returns to Fire & Ice for the second year, set for 4 p.m. on the Showmobile Stage. Participants may create and decorate cardboard sleds ahead of time and enter them in the contest. Contest participants should check in at 3:45 p.m. Sleds must be constructed out of cardboard and may be held together with tape and glue. Sleds may be decorated – but no nails, plastic, screws, staples, metal fasteners, or other sharp or pointy objects may be used. Finished sleds must be no larger than 6 feet long, 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide. First- and second-place winners from multiple age categories will be selected to win prizes. Categories include: •Preschool, ages 5 and younger •Youth, ages 6-8 •Youth, ages 9-12 •Teens, ages 13-17 •Adults, ages 18 and older Shuttle Service Free shuttles to and from the event will run from 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Oakwood Playfield, 1700 County Road 101 and Parkers Lake Baptist Church, 14720 County Road 6. -more - Page 9 Medallion Hunt The ninth-annual medallion hunt began Thursday, Jan. 10 with a clue on plymouthmn.gov and the city’s social media platforms. More clues will be published Thursdays, Jan. 17, 24 and 31, or until someone finds the medallion. There is no need to register or pay to participate. A $250 prize will be awarded to the first sleuth who finds the medallion. Only Plymouth residents are eligible. For more information, visit plymouthmn.gov. More Information Fire & Ice is free, aside from food trucks, and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the City of Plymouth, Abbott Northwestern-WestHealth, TCF Bank, Hy-Vee, CCX Media and the Plymouth Civic League. For weather concerns, call the weather line at 763-509-5205. To view the Fire & Ice event schedule, visit plymouthmn.gov. Cutline: Embrace winter at Fire & Ice Saturday, Feb. 2 on the frozen Parkers Lake. The annual event features a cardboard sled contest, recycling bin races, snow bowling and games, sledding, ice skating, a bonfire, fireworks and more. -30 - Page 10 Plymouth-based PRI Robotics acquired by Michigan manufacturing company Eckhart Inc. has acquired Plymouth-based PRI Robotics & Automation. ECKHART INC. Plymouth-based PRI Robotics & Automation has been acquired by Eckhart Inc., a Warren, Mich.-based producer of manufacturing equipment. PRI was founded in 1995 and produces robotic systems for manufacturers. John Quinn, who owned the company before Eckhart's acquisition, will leave as part of the sale. "Our team has been designing and integrating highly engineered robotic systems for over 24 years," Quinn said in a news release. "With an installed base that exceeds 500 systems, we sought a partner with an established track record of bringing innovation and new ideas to coworkers and customers." Quinn also owns Plymouth-based Technical Tool Products Inc., a manufacturer of tools, cranes, hoists and conveyors. Page 11 Eckhart was founded in 1958 and has eight locations across the Midwest. Eckhart produces advanced industrial solutions such as robotic systems, autonomous guided vehicles and 3D-printed tools. Andrew Morales, a general manager for Eckhart, is shepherding the company's expansion into the Twin Cities. The Plymouth location employs 11 people now, but that number will rise in concert with the growth of the business, Morales said. "We already had customers in the [Twin Cities] market, but we wanted to invest more and longer-term," Morales said in an interview. "It was a great opportunity to partner with a company that offers a service more or less distinct from what Eckhart is doing." Eckhart has had a business relationship with Eden Prairie-based Stratasys Inc. and is forging partnerships with other Twin Cities-based manufacturing companies, including 3M Co., Morales said. "We would love to see this location become the center of Eckhart's business west of Lake Michigan," he said. Page 12 Roseville fire chief asks for $1M to hire 9 more firefighters Roseville Fire Chief Tim O’Neill with one of the six trucks at the city’s fire station on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. He’s asking the city council for nine more full-time firefighters. (Deanna Weniger / Pioneer Press) By Deanna Weniger | dweniger@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press January 16, 2019 at 7:46 pm The Roseville Fire Department got two calls the day after Christmas, one right after the other. It was a scenario Chief Tim O’Neill had been dreading since the department started winnowing its larger part-time staff in favor of fewer full-timers. Technically, he was on vacation, as was one of his full-timers, leaving him with four firefighters on duty to cover two possible structure fires. Which fire should he send them to? Page 13 He chose the townhouses at 514 Lovell Ave. because the caller could confirm there were flames. As for the Rose Mall apartments at 2221 Albert St., he called Falcon Heights for backup. That caller had described smoke filling the apartment. He knew Falcon Heights would do a good job, but he also knew its response time would be longer than Roseville’s usual 3.5 minutes. Fortunately, he made the right call. The apartment smoke was just someone’s burned lunch. There were no injuries. The fire at the townhouse, however, destroyed the unit. Had a third call come in that day, there would have been no one in the Roseville fire station to answer it. “On average, seven times per day the department does not have an available unit to respond to the next emergency,” O’Neill said. “I don’t want to cross my fingers anymore. I want to have adequate staffing.” He has asked the city council to find an extra $1 million in the budget so he can hire nine more full-time firefighters as soon as possible. PART-TIMERS LEFT SOONER THAN EXPECTED How did the Roseville Fire Department get to this point? Phase 1, which started in 2014, was to slowly deplete the department of its 70 part-time firefighters and replace them with five full-time firefighters for each of the three shift cycles. O’Neill figured it would take at least 15 years for this phase to complete. He chose to let the part-timers go by attrition rather than with a pink-slip tsunami, something he felt would dishonor those who’d given years of service. The part-timers, however, saw the writing on the wall and decided not to wait around It took just four years for O’Neill’s part-time pool to drain down to 19. He expects it to be in the single digits next year and by 2022, to be completely dry. Fifteen years would have given him plenty of time to slowly build up his full-time crew to the 24 that he’d planned on. Most departments increase their budgets $50,000 at a time, O’Neill said. It’s gradual and less painful for taxpayers. But after the incident Dec. 26, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer. 5 TIMES MORE CALLS IN 12 YEARS Page 14 O’Neill’s presentation to the city council Jan. 7 was researched and stacked with statistics. In 2006, the department was answering just under 1,000 calls a year. By 2018, that number had jumped to 5,000, but the staff and apparatus stayed the same. Roseville firefighters don’t just go to fires, of which they have an average of 12 per year. They respond to medical situations and car crashes and do 550 inspections and 500 community events per year. During a shift cycle, the four or five full-time staffers answer about 14 calls per day, do two to three hours of inspections, attend about two hours of training and attend community events in the evening. Not counting Minneapolis and St. Paul, Roseville ranks seventh in the Twin Cities region for call volume. Of those seven, it is the only city that does the work with an average of four on- duty staffers. Most, such as Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids and Edina, have at least six. Besides the numbers, O’Neill said, Roseville is a “complex” city. It’s only 13.84 square miles in size, but its population of 36,000 more than doubles during the day due to workers. It has manufacturing pockets with chemical and fuel dangers, three major highways, multiple apartment buildings and retail, including Rosedale Center. “We are one of the most lean-staffed fire departments in the metro,” O’Neill said. Firefighters David Doucot, left, Erin Stone, Karl Strohmeier, Israel Diaz and Sergio Nardi at the Roseville fire station on Jan. 15, 2019. Their department is asking the city for additional staffing. (Deanna Weniger / Pioneer Press) Page 15 IS THERE ANOTHER SOLUTION? O’Neill has considered the options. Using the resources of surrounding cities and the county to cover the gaps is happening far too often to be neighborly, O’Neill said. “The foundation of each fire department is to handle the basic needs of the community first and ask for help when we really need it,” he said. “We can’t call them two or three times a day.” Opening the department back up to more part-timers would be going backward. It wasn’t a fiscally smart business plan, O’Neill said, because training took up to two years and about $80,000, and the part-timers only worked about 14 months after training. Keeping the status quo means firefighters are working round-the-clock, which can lead to fatigue and more turnover, O’Neill said. “A firefighter works an average of 30 years,” he said. “They’ll never make 30 years at this rate. They are extremely busy. They can handle up to eight calls at night, which means they have to sleep on their day off.” Assistant Fire Chief David Brosnahan said the current staffing level is unsafe for firefighters and residents. When the department gets to a fire, it has enough staff to either extinguish the fire or rescue people, but not both. “I can’t tell you the size of the rock that’s in my gut when I have to make a choice of … whether to send people into a house or not, whether to suppress or perform rescue,” he said. THE COMMUNITY’S GOT THEIR BACKS The department has been taking its case to the community for some time, explaining the reasons behind the switch to full-time employees. O’Neill said the response has always been encouraging. On a feedback form, resident Gil Ward said he would support the extra staffing. “I owe my life to the firemen who rescued me when I had a heart attack while skiing,” he wrote. “Please up the financial support of our fire department.” Gordon Marten also supported the increase. “Current excellent service requires future additional support to meet the needs of an aging population,” he wrote. Page 16 Mayor Dan Roe said he and the council were just as surprised as O’Neill to see the part-time pool shrink so quickly. He’s hoping to find the money, possibly phased in over time or allocated from other departments. “I think the answer is we do need to address the staffing concerns from the point of view of the safety of the community and the safety and well-being of the firefighters,” he said. He hopes to begin addressing it within the next few months as the city gears up for its next annual budget. Page 17