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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 11-23-2011CITY OF PLYMOUTH rp) COUNCIL INFO MEMO November 23, 2011 UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS PACTAgenda 11/30/11........................................................................................................................ Page 1 November, December, 2011 and January 2012 Official City Meeting Calendars .............................. Page 2 Tentative List of Agenda Items for Future City Council Meetings ..................................................... Page 5 INFORMATION News Articles, Releases, Publications, Etc ... Social Media article, Thisweek Newspapers....................................................................................... Page 7 CORRESPONDENCE Letter to Property Owner, RE: Rezoning property request by The Reserve 2011091 & 2011092.... Page 11 �P/ymoalh�el�o/%Y PLYMOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRANSIT AGENDA Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 7:00 p.m. Medicine Lake Room, City Hall 1. 7:00 Approve agenda 2. 7:02 Approve minutes (attached) 3. 7:10 Plymouth Metrolink Operations Discussion 4. 8:10 Review 2011 fixed route survey information (20 10 Fixed Route Customer Survey and Summary attached) 5. 8:20 Review 2011Dial-A-Ride survey information (2011 Dial -A -Ride Customer Survey and Summary attached) 6. 8:35 Status of Capital Projects 7. 8:40 Accept 2012 PACT Work Plan 8. 8:50 Identify areas of concern and recommendations 9. 8:55 Other business 10. 9:00 Adjourn Also Attached: Plymouth Metrolink Transit Performance Measurements: May - October, 2011 (System Ridership Graph; May - October, 2011 Fixed Route Ridership Graph; May - October 2011 Dial -A -Ride Ridership Graph; May — October, 2011 Riders per Day Chart) Also Attached: Plymouth Metrolink Customer Service Log, June — November, 2011 The PACT will hold monthly meetings the 4th Wednesday in 2012. The committee will hold regular quarterly meetings and working sessions during the other three months of the quarter. All meetings are held from 7:00 to 9: 00 p.m. in City Hall. Regular Quarterly PACT meetings: February 22, May 23, August 22, and November 28. PACT Working Sessions: January 25, March 28, April 25, June 27, July 25, September 26, October 24, and December 26. PACT Members serve through the month of January. New PACT members begin serving at the February meeting. The public is welcome at all PACT meetings. Page 1 City of Plymouth Adding Quality to Life November 2011 Modified on 11123111 Page 2 1 2 7:00 PM 3 7:00 PM 4 5 PLANNING HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION COMMITTEE MEETING MEETING Medicine Lake Room Parkers Lake Room 6 7 8 8:00 Pm 10 11 12 REGULAR 7:00 PM COUNCIL MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL Medicine Lake Room QUALITY VETERANS DAY SPECIAL COMMITTEE Observed COUNCIL MEETING (EQC) MEETING CITY OFFICES Immediately Follow- Council Chambers CLOSED ing Regular Meeting Budget Study Session Medicine Lake Room 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL PLANNING HRA MEETING MEETING COMMISSION Medicine Lake Room Board and Commission MEETING Interviews Council Chambers Medicine Lake Room 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL. MEETING Council Chambers THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY HOLIDAY CITY OFFICES CITY OFFICES CLOSED CLOSED 27 28 29 30 7:00 PM PLYMOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRANSIT (PACT) MEETING Medicine Lake Room Modified on 11123111 Page 2 City of Plymouth Adding Quality to Life December 2011 Modified on 11123111 Page 3 1 2 3 4 2:00-5:00 PM 5 6 7 7:00 PM 8 7:00 PM 9 10 OLD FASHIONED PLANNING PARK Et REC CHRISTMAS COMMISSION ADVISORY Plymouth Historical MEETING COMMISSION Society Building Council Chambers (PRAC) MEETING Council Chambers 11 12 13 6:00 PM 14 7:00 PM 15 16 17 SPECIAL COUNCIL ENVIRONMENTAL MEETING QUALITY City Manager COMMITTEE (EQC) Evaluation MEETING Medicine Lake Room Council Chambers 7:00 PM 7:00 PM CHARTER REGULAR COUNCIL COMMISSION MEETING ANNUAL MEETING Council Chambers Medicine Lake Room 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 7:00 PM HRA MEETING Medicine Lake Room Chanukah CHRISTMAS EVE Begins at Sunset 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 CITY OFFICES NEW YEAR'S EVE CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY Modified on 11123111 Page 3 r�Plymouth Adding Quality to Life January 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NEW YEAR'S DAY 7:00 PM Observed PLANNING NEW YEAR'S DAY COMMISSION MEETING CITY OFFICES Council Chambers CLOSED 8 9 10 5:30 PM 11 12 13 14 7:00 PM 7:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL ENVIRONMENTAL PARK $ REC MEETING* QUALITY ADVISORY Medicine Lake Room COMMITTEE COMMISSION 7:00 PM (EQC) MEETING (PRAC) MEETING REGULAR COUNCIL Council Chambers Council Chambers MEETING Council Chambers 15 16 17 6:00 PM 18 19 20 21 7:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL PLANNING MARTIN LUTHER MEETING COMMISSION KING JR. Discuss Council Goals MEETING BIRTHDAYand Legislative Priorities for 2012 Council Chambers Observed Medicine Lake Room CITY OFFICES CLOSED 22 23 24 5:30 PM 25 26 27 28 7.00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL PLYMOUTH 7:00 PM MEETING ADVISORY HRA MEETING Discuss Private Utilities COMMITTEE ON Medicine Lake Room for Silverthorn Medicine Lake Room TRANSIT (PACT) STUDY SESSION 7:00 PM Medicine Lake Room REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 29 30 31 * Receive update from !the Citv's prosecutor Modified on 11123111 Page 4 Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items December 13, Special, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • City Manager evaluation December 13, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers • Adopt the 2012 Budgets and Tax Levies and 2012-2016 Capital Improvement Program • Recognize Police Citizen Academy Graduates • Approve 2012 Tobacco License renewals • Approve 2012 Target and Trapshoot License Renewals • Approve 2012 Amusement License Renewals • Announce New Year's Eve Event at the Plymouth Ice Center • Announce Recycling Program changes • Introduce new K-9 Team • Approve park donations to the City from 2011 • Approve amendments to the Policy Regulating the Use of City Facilities, with the Exception of the Ice Center and Plymouth Creek Center, for Meeting Purposes • Adopt Ordinance amending Section 1016 of the City Code regarding park facility fees • Oath of office to police officers Kyle Kvenild and Anthony Elia • Approve the submission of a Redevelopment Grant application to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development on behalf of Quest Development January 10, Special, 5:30 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • Receive update from City's prosecutor January 10, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers • Appoint 2012 Health Officer • Appoint 2012 City Council Secretary • Appoint 2012 Official Depositories • Designate 2012 Official Newspaper January 17, Special, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • Discuss Council goals and legislative priorities for 2012 January 24, Special, 5:30 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • Discuss private utilities for Silverthorne January 24, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers • Approve renewal of liquor licenses for 2012 • Announce Fire and Ice Festival, February 4 at Parkers Lake Park February 2, Special, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room and Council Chambers • Board and Commission Recognition Event February 14, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers February 21, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room Page 5 • Discuss Fire Study February 28, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers March 13, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers • Announce Environmental Quality Fair on March 22 at Kimberly Lane Elementary School March 27, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers Page 6 Thisweek Newspapers by Aaron Vehling Thisweek Newspapers Do you want your city council members using Twitter and Facebook to communicate directly with the public? As the Lakeville City Council seeks to improve the way its members get along, the issue of social media is serving as a sticking point. A screenshot of Lakeville City Council Member Matt Little's Facebook page. The City Council has been discussing social media use during and after meetings. Screen capture by Aaron Vehling. Among the issues discussed at a recent work session were whether council members should use social media outside of meetings and also whether they should be able to post updates during certain meetings. Matt Little is currently the only one of the five council members who uses the two social media applications regularly to connect with voters. His activity manifests in a couple different forms: Live Twitter posts during work sessions and Facebook posts and tweets about city issues when he is not in meetings. At times, his Facebook page becomes an arena for Little to field constituent inquiries, such as Valley Park residents wondering about postal changes or a woman requesting that Lakeville designate one day for garbage collection. On other occasions, he uses it to tout his legislative accomplishments or rib other council members. During the most heated parts of the Heritage Center debate — which included a meeting in which Mayor Mark Bellows accused senior center coordinator Linda Walter of lying to him about the Heritage Center— Little posted on his Facebook page that "in another desperate attempt to derail the Senior Center project, the Mayor accused a staff person of lying to the council... This is not leadership." Little's tweets have been less prolific than his Facebook posts, but have become more of an issue with his colleagues. The nature of Twitter allows for its users to post concise (140 characters or fewer) and numerous messages for followers to read. News reporters use it for story promotions and for updates while news is happening (such as during meetings). Little has used it to post updates while council work sessions were occurring. One such tweet said, "Liq study presentation still going. Overwhelmingly in favor of keeping muni liquor." Council Member Kerrin Swecker asserted at a recent council meeting on decorum that Little had Page 7 rrxea �ii.sy^ a4..e�+. Ce•M. r.Y wl. late. YYYYeb:r Y} !.w r. w {ar,..r+ may, � w Ww I Eep.n kYn..+P9 {g..wr a Me 6a{rY {Fns aRMlPiRa. YW.w_!r-av/Pla bp+ ane . �.wY,elc cry �i.d �l2�.a.Y6cp •{�o•Y•o.'�Na'. YM R,! Px•H a r�..x.a4Y aN`was 419 4k4 iYwl iVa i9os Wii.p F-1- x� +� [Iran M Ia1V:iM I YsilR M- Y.Y.. I ak..,. � lat.tiab, GaYH LUA.AA..IYl9AasilYyz..: {:�IGv�JV Ys.•+IY diFi! aS.b� A screenshot of Lakeville City Council Member Matt Little's Facebook page. The City Council has been discussing social media use during and after meetings. Screen capture by Aaron Vehling. Among the issues discussed at a recent work session were whether council members should use social media outside of meetings and also whether they should be able to post updates during certain meetings. Matt Little is currently the only one of the five council members who uses the two social media applications regularly to connect with voters. His activity manifests in a couple different forms: Live Twitter posts during work sessions and Facebook posts and tweets about city issues when he is not in meetings. At times, his Facebook page becomes an arena for Little to field constituent inquiries, such as Valley Park residents wondering about postal changes or a woman requesting that Lakeville designate one day for garbage collection. On other occasions, he uses it to tout his legislative accomplishments or rib other council members. During the most heated parts of the Heritage Center debate — which included a meeting in which Mayor Mark Bellows accused senior center coordinator Linda Walter of lying to him about the Heritage Center— Little posted on his Facebook page that "in another desperate attempt to derail the Senior Center project, the Mayor accused a staff person of lying to the council... This is not leadership." Little's tweets have been less prolific than his Facebook posts, but have become more of an issue with his colleagues. The nature of Twitter allows for its users to post concise (140 characters or fewer) and numerous messages for followers to read. News reporters use it for story promotions and for updates while news is happening (such as during meetings). Little has used it to post updates while council work sessions were occurring. One such tweet said, "Liq study presentation still going. Overwhelmingly in favor of keeping muni liquor." Council Member Kerrin Swecker asserted at a recent council meeting on decorum that Little had Page 7 tweeted the results of a closed session a couple weeks ago while it was happening. "Because it was a personnel -related matter it raised some concerns," Swecker said. Little countered that the tweet does not exist. Thisweek was unable to find the tweet in question. Tech concerns Council members Swecker and Laurie Rieb called the decorum meeting because they saw the traditionally congenial nature of the City Council withering away. They wanted to meet to develop solutions to end this. Creating an effective technology policy, addressing the use of laptops, cell phones and the like during the meeting, was one step toward restoration of the congeniality. "I don't think it's inappropriate to have tools," said Swecker, a Centurylink (formerly Qwest) executive, "but we need to create a policy so we have a level of trust with each other." Council Member Colleen LaBeau said it is "a real frustration for the public that during a meeting there is blogging, Twitter and Facebook." "I don't think any technology should be used for anything during that time," she added. Bellows said the council should at least allow a cell phone for emergencies. An alternative, proposed by Swecker, was to forbid the use of technology for closed meetings, which typically deal with personnel issues or legal issues. City Administrator Steve Mielke wondered about blanket bans. "You all have lives outside of the city," he said. "Do you really want to see a policy in which you can't leave a cell phone on in case family needs to get a hold of you?" LaBeau said people got by without cell phones before. "But that was before," Mielke said. "You can't communicate and talk city business, absolutely. But as a practical idea they should be available in case of emergency." A Little tweeting Swecker asked Little if he thinks he should tweet during meetings. "Absolutely," he said. "If there is a work session and I tweet that, how is it harmful?" Little said that doing so during long work sessions allows him to communicate news directly to constituents. He added that he enjoys the rapport with citizens social media provides. "I haven't used it to say in the midst of a meeting to come down to city hall," Little said. "We have real-time technology that can engage citizens. There is a purpose for it." He also took issue with the specificity of the policy being crafted. "Allowing cell phones but not Twitter is arbitrary," he said. "Basically, we're making a rule right now so that I can't use Twitter." LaBeau retorted that she does not "see the benefit of Twitter. Who's gaining from it?" Page 8 "People watch my updates," Little said. Swecker offered that she sees the real-time news tweets as the realm of news media. Little said he would acquiesce to the request that he stop tweeting during meetings if the council agreed to hold televised work sessions in the council chambers. Council members, including LaBeau and Swecker, have not been opposed to the idea of conducting work sessions in their regular meeting space, but at least a couple have said they prefer the roundtable environment of the conference room. As Little's social media use has increased, so has the volume of his detractors. LaBeau said she gets calls from residents who complain about Little's use of Twitter. "I understand you get those calls," he said, "but I don't." Instead, Little said, he interacts with the public in a more transparent manner. "I do this because I feel the obligation to explain my votes," he said. "During the election, everyone talked about being transparent. I feel I'm the most transparent with my votes." Swecker said she agreed with the importance of social media, but the council concern is "getting back to working together." "My concern is talking about opposition," she said, "or that specific council members are opposition." Little said he agreed and asserted he stuck to facts and votes in his social media discussions. "In my opinion," he said, "my Twitter and Facebook are the least of this council's problems," he said, adding that he believes decorum during meetings is more of a problem than what he does with Twitter. There was also discussion about whether or not council members could take notes on a laptop. Little currently does this during work session meetings, in addition to tweeting. Rieb and Swecker each asked Little if he could wait until the end of a meeting to use social media. "It's still quicker than the newspaper," Swecker said. Rieb wondered if Little can even pay attention to the meeting while taking notes. Little said it's about personal responsibility. "I can't always make sure you're paying attention," he said. "It's not myjob. The 10 seconds to write a tweet is not a detriment to what I'm learning." LaBeau said she sees no public benefit to what Little is doing, adding that it serves to divide the community. "To go and post about someone else ... I don't care what anyone says about me, but the community does," she said. Little argued that the council should embrace technology. "We should be able to use computers in 2011," he said. "If we have the technology, we should use it. Page 9 The council will continue to look at policy until one is finalized. "We need to treat each other better," Rieb said. "It's OK to disagree, but we can be respectful and work through things." Aaron Vehling is at aaron.vehling@ecm-inc.com and www.facebook.com/t`hismeklive. The Lakeville City Council is looking at Woodbury for tips on how to address electronic communications among council members. The policy suggests a number of things, including that council members should not: • "Reply -to -all" with mass emails among city staff and other council members. Replying to one council member is OK if the city administrator is copied in the email. • Communicate with each other electronically during a meeting. • Use the city's social media properties for political purposes. None of these is a concern in Lakeville, but are designed to serve as an insurance policy against future potential issues. The current concern about social media use centers on its role in eroding the congenial nature of the council. Page 10 Plymouthr� Adding Quality to Life November 23, 2011 SUBJECT: REZONING AND REGUIDING OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3155 EMPIRE LANE AND 3050 FERNBROOK LANE (2011091 & 2011092) Dear Property Owner: Pursuant to the provisions of the Plymouth City Code, this letter is to inform you of a request by The Reserve, under File No. 2011091, to rezone their property located at 3I55 Empire Lane from O (office) to C-3 (highway commercial). The rezoning would allow operation of a restaurant on the site. In addition, the City of Plymouth has initiated a rezoning of the KinderCare Learning Center property located at 3050 Fernbrook Lane from O to C-3 (under File No. 2011092). In conjunction with rezoning, both properties would be reguided from CO (commercial office) to C (commercial) on the 2030 land use plan, in order to maintain consistency between the city's zoning map and comprehensive plan. A map showing the location of the subject properties is provided below. Hennepin County records indicate your property is located within 750 feet of the site of this proposal. You are hereby notified of, and cordially invited to attend a public hearing to be held by the Plymouth Planning Commission at 7:00 p.m., on Wednesday, December 7, 2011, in the Council Chambers at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Boulevard. The public will be invited to offer questions and comments concerning this application at that time, or feel free to call the city planning department at (763) 509-5450 for more information. You may also submit comments in writing. All written comments will become part of the public record. INFORMATION relating to this request may be examined at the community development information counter (lower level of city hall) on Mondays and Wednesday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except holidays. Sincerely, Barbara G. Thomson, AICP Planning Manager 2011091 & 92-propnotice 3400 Plymouth Blvd a Plymouth, Minnesota 55447-1482 • Tel: 763-509-5000 • www.ci.plymouth.mn.us Page 11