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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 05-18-2023CITY OF PLYMOUTH COUNCIL INFO MEMO May 18, 2023 EVENTS / MEETINGS Official City Meeting Calendars .................................................................... Page 2 Tentative List of Agenda Items ..................................................................... Page 5 REPORTS & OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST Plymouth Posts Opening for Long-Vacant DEI Position, Sun Sailor ............................ Page 7 Improved Marijuana Bill Headed for Final Votes, Star Tribune ................................ Page 9 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 29 30 31 May 2023 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Tax Increment Finance (TIF) overview and Beekeeping regulations Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUCIL MEETING Council Chambers 5:00 PM CLOSED COUNCIL MEETING City Manager Annual Performance Evaluation City Hall 7:00 PM REGULAR COUCIL MEETING Council Chambers 6:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers MEMORIAL DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 4:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Prudential site tour and visioning/ council engagement session Prudential site and Medicine Lake Room 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 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 June 2023 3400Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget Goals and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 6:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Council Chambers 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Plymouth Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) discussion and Former Four Seasons Mall site discussion Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 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 29 July 2023 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Environmental Stewardship Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers INDEPENDENCE DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 30 31 Page 4 Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items June 13, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Plymouth Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) discussion •Former Four Seasons Mall site discussion June 13, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Authorize use of Resource Planning Funds for conversion of building plans to electronic records management system •Adopt Ordinance establishing City Code Section 411 regulating short-term rental licensing •Resolution authorizing summary publication of ordinance regulating short-term rental licensing •Discuss City Code Section 1135 related to therapeutic massage June 27, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget goals •Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) June 27, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Approve final closeout for 2021 Street Reconstruction Project (ST219001) •Approve final closeout for 2022 Vicksburg Lane Improvements (ST229005) •Approve final closeout for Hidden Lake and Beacon Heights 2nd Street Reconstruction Project (ST229001) •Approve final closeout for Ridgemount Avenue Rehabilitation Project (ST210002) •Approve general amendment to the 2022 Community Development Block Grant annual action plan - TreeHouse •City Manager Quarterly Update July 25, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Environmental Stewardship July 25, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Present Annual Financial Overview (City Manager Dave Callister) •2022 audit report August 8, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers August 22, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget – Levy impacted funds and related CIP September 12, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget – Levy impacted funds and related CIP October 24, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget – Enterprise funds with utility study and related CIP November 14, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget – Internal service funds and related CIP Page 5 November 28, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget – final review if needed Page 6 Plymouth posts opening for long-vacant DEI position By: Kaitlin McCoskey May 16, 2023 A second position has also been created to support DEI efforts in the city At its April 25 meeting, the Plymouth City Council adopted a set of strategic themes to commit to for the upcoming 1-3 years of their elected service. One of these themes was a commitment to remaining a city of choice for residents through diversity, equity, and inclusion and other efforts. In response, the city officially posted a job opening in the first week of May to fill Plymouth’s long-vacant DEI coordinator position, this time with a second employment opportunity to aid in the city’s DEI work. Plymouth is officially hiring a full-time organizational development and equity partner as well as a part-time community assistance specialist “to better fulfill the many responsibilities that DEI efforts will entail.” According to the council meeting packet, the Plymouth City Council agreed, “Plymouth should continue to be a city of choice for residents, businesses, organizations, visitors, and events. The city must build on its strengths through strategic investments and partnerships, including investments in its workforce to attract and retain the best staff. Plymouth City policy and operations will continue to reflect strong commitments to equity and inclusion, and to high quality and cost-effective services.” Ali Timpone, human resource director for Plymouth, explained the history of the DEI coordinator position and why now is the opportune time for the city to fill the role. “The city added a position focused on advancing equity and inclusion initiatives in the 2021 budget. When I was hired as the city’s human resources director in September of 2022, the position was vacant. Three new city council members began their terms in January 2023, so we have had several months of onboarding new leaders,” she said. Page 7 “With changes in leadership both at the staff and elected official levels, it was important to work together and determine our strategic priorities, mission, and values before we could fill key vacancies The council met for a strategic planning session in January, and, in April, officially confirmed four strategic themes – one of which is continuing to be a city of choice with a strong commitment to equitable and inclusive policies and service operations. She shared that city staff “value a culture of inclusion and cultivating authentic connections and meaningful engagement experiences,” and therefore felt it best to create two positions that focus on the city’s DEI work. “Although the job description [from the previous DEI coordinator] is mostly unchanged, the title has been updated to show applicants that we understand one person can’t possibly be responsible for all DEI work at the city, and that they will partner with others to make sure DEI is built into the work we do at all levels of the organization,” Timpone said. According to the city’s job postings, the organizational development and equity partner will “develop programs and initiatives to enhance staff capability for providing exceptional service to the community using a lens of equity, inclusion and belonging.” In addition, this person will be in charge of “Assess[ing] learning and development needs of staff as they relate to citywide priorities” and “design or source career development and training resources to address gaps.” Finally, they will be in charge of “collect[ing] data and provid[ing] tools for measuring equity and inclusion impact of citywide policies and decisions, coach and mentor staff as they seek to deepen their learning and growth, and serve as liaison between departments to coordinate and amplify the city’s outreach and engagement initiatives.” While this full-time position carries a large responsibility for the city’s DEI efforts, the community assistance specialist position will provide part-time assistance in sharing those responsibilities. According to the city job posting, this position seeks a candidate to “provide assistance to community members and the public with accessing services and resources to improve health and safety.” Timpone added, “Advancement of equity and inclusion work is not something that happens overnight, so we’re thankful that the city has built a solid framework with equity and inclusion training and development programs for city staff and has been implementing a variety of outreach and engagement initiatives in the community over the years. Filling these key vacancies will continue to assist us in achieving our mission and goals for the community.” Those interested in applying for either of these positions should apply by May 29, according to Timpone, on the employment page at plymouthmn.gov/employment. Page 8 EDITORIAL 600275754 Improved marijuana bill headed for final votes Smart changes like local control made for a better bill. By Editorial Board, Star Tribune MAY 17, 2023 — 5:45PM GLEN STUBBE, STAR TRIBUNE Supporters of the bill to legalize recreational marijuana erupt with cheers in the state Senate gallery after the initial legislation passed on April 28 in St. Paul. Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom. ••• Minnesota's cannabis legalization bill has emerged in its final form, and it's a testament to the fact that the legislative process, as cumbersome as it may be at times, still works. As once was common for major policy bills, this was a long process, with numerous committees each vetting and shaping the dimensions of legalization. The resulting bills had differences, though, and some significant areas needed attention even after passage. That's where House and Page 9 Senate conference committee members came in, laboring to resolve differences and making needed improvements that will serve this state well. Among the most significant of those: giving cities and counties more control over retail sales in their jurisdictions. The House bill initially called for a statewide cannabis office to determine the number of retail outlets for each area based on population. The Star Tribune Editorial Board and others voiced strong concerns about forcing cities and counties to allow businesses whose primary product is a recreational drug. Fortunately, conference members have produced a bill that gives a measure of local control. It does not allow cities or counties to ban such establishments entirely, but it can limit them to one per 12,500 residents. Additionally, cities within that county can refuse additional licenses if a county meets a threshold of 1 to 10,000 countywide. This is an important measure that gives localities some voice. We are confident that cities and counties will respond to demand if such establishments thrive, don't pose a public safety hazard and add revenue. It helps that the cannabis tax rate went from 8% in the House bill to the Senate's preferred 10%. Local jurisdictions will get 20% of that revenue to offset compliance and enforcement costs. That's fair. Steps also were taken to ensure that Minnesota's medical marijuana industry would be somewhat protected. In their zeal to keep Big Cannabis out and keep businesses small, few provisions were made initially to protect against what had happened in other states: a dramatic shrinking of the medical market, which is the only market that can carry prescription-strength products available to children and others. The conference committee report ensures medical providers can avail themselves of joint licenses to sell recreational cannabis. Those amounts will be capped in relation to the amount of medical cannabis. House Commerce Chairman Rep. Zach Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, who shepherded the bill through the House and co-led the conference committee, told an editorial writer the compromises were not easy, "but they were necessities in coming to agreement with the Senate. We don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the good." On taxation, he said, "Our cannabis taxes will still be among the lowest in the country." Cities and counties, he said, argued that the cost of enforcement, public health, public safety and records expungement otherwise could prove cost-prohibitive for them. On medical dispensaries, he said, "We don't want to see a collapse of our medical industry. Kids will continue to need seizure medications that have proved effective for them. Adults may need products not sold in recreational spaces." Some states, he said, saw a 30-40% decline in their medical industry after recreational cannabis was legalized. Page 10 Even in the last stages of a policy debate, it's heartening that lawmakers can continue to listen and make adjustments. That is the heart of the democratic process. Stephenson said they did so while adhering to a shared goal with Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL- Burnsville: Creating a model akin to small craft breweries, which have proliferated across the state and revitalized many areas. "We want to see communities and people most harmed by prohibition benefit the most from legalization," Stephenson said. "This can be an opportunity for small entrepreneurs, and we don't want to see it all swallowed up by big businesses." He said the bill retains its emphasis on small startups, with preference given to "social equity" candidates who can show they or their communities suffered harm under prohibition. And yes, that includes state grant programs financed by cannabis tax revenue, Stephenson said, that can provide starting capital and help novice entrepreneurs navigate the system and workforce challenges. House and Senate lawmakers will take final floor votes on the bill before the legislative session ends on May 22. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign it. "We think legalization will make a big difference for a lot of people in this state," Stephenson said. "Think about tens of thousands of people who will be able to get a job, get housing, because of expungements. That's a game-changer for them. Think about resources devoted to a failed prohibition policy that can now be redirected. That's game-changing." It can be. We urge lawmakers to continue listening to communities and ordinary Minnesotans as we navigate this new terrain and to make changes as needed. opinion@startribune.com Page 11