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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Packet 02-26-2005 SpecialAgenda City of Plymouth Special City Council Meeting Saturday, February 26, 2005 9:00 a.m. Plymouth Creek Center 1480034 th Avenue 1. Call to Order 2. Establish 2005 Council Goals and Priorities 3. Adjourn DATE: February 22, 2005 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Laurie Ahrens, City Manager SUBJECT: Council Goals Session The Council Goals session is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 26, at the Plymouth Creek Center. I received suggestions for the session from several of you and have hied to incorporate all of your suggestions into the session, as well as respected schedules. The session will need to end no later than 1:00 p.m. because we will lose several folks at that point. The Mayor will. mass the first hour or so of the meeting, but will arrive in time to discuss 2005 goals. Here is the proposed agenda: 9:00 a.m.. Call to order. 9:00 a.m. Coffee and informal discussion with Public Works Director finalist, Doran Cote. 9:30 a.m. Group exercise -- Discuss Elements of a Quality Team, facilitator Dr. James Sipe, Magellan Executive Resources. Mr. Sipe is working with the management team on some development training -- "Striving for Excellence: Building Quality Teams and Leaders through Continual Growth." 10:30 a.m. Review 2004 Goals. Establish 2005 Goals and Priorities. 1:OOp.m. Adjourn. Here is the list of proposed goals by councilmember that I have received to date. We will compile these by topic to aid in discussion on Saturday, but I wanted you to see the comments as well. m JudyJohnson New: Plan for NW Plymouth - update comprehensive plan... since our last update, the council knew we would probably address NW Plymouth west of Vicksburg and north of the CP rail with our comp plan update. I would like to start that process this year. The city has done a good job planning for the NW Greenway, gone far in working with the county and adjoining cities to see where road alignments will match up and (I believe) that many more land owners are ready to sell. I also believe that this is the right time to decide how the rest of Plymouth should develop, taking into account density, traffic issues, legislative issues, and overall city goals, now that sewer infrastructure is in place with the Elm Creek Interceptor. Continue: Public Safety expansion, Water Treatment Plant expansion, storage and well projects, Pond Cleaning Program, Street Reconstruction Program, Work Smart Initiative - Clarify, Business Relationship Program, Other goals in progress. Tim Bildsoc 1) Begin the planning process for northwest Plymouth. 2) Plymouth library expansion. 3) Establish budgeting principals prior to budget process. 4) Complete projects that are imderway. GimeBlack 1) Water issues. We will continue to get pressure to improve water quality from the State and Federal Govs. Water conservation is also high on my list. As I have said many times, I would greatly love to see the current expansion of the city's water system be the last. Even with the development of NW Plymouth. 2) Redevelopment Policy/Strategy. We have many areas in Plymouth that need redevelopment. It is a very difficult thing to do because there are few tools. 3) Funding road repair/reconstruction. As we are well aware, this is a very expensive basic service that the City has under funded for a long time. Sandy Hewitt 1) Start the discussion about the comprehensive plan change for NW Plymouth. Development is all around that area, and with the Elm Creek Interceptor being completed in 2005, we need to start the discussion. 2) Cty. Rd. 47 and funding of roads in general. If we trade Cty. Rd. 47 for any road, we are still going to have to fix it, and that is nowhere in our CIP. Also, Vicksburg is another road not in the five year plan, and I realize they are expensive projects, but we need to look at them if we are looking at development in NW Plymouth in the next 5 years. 3) Finishing the projects we have started. We will have pond maintenance, the Public Safety Building, and the Water Treatment Facilities to deal with in the next year. This will take up plenty of staff time and plenty of money. Kelli Slavik 1) Develop and enhance the street reconstruction program, including funding solutions. 2) Scrutinize our current budget expenditures and consider alternatives to future tax increases. 3) Begin discussions regarding the development of NW Plymouth. 4) Incorporate solutions to watermain problems into our street reconstruction program, or, establish a new program to deal with this issue. 5) Focus on completion of ongoing projects, such as the Public Safety expansion and the Water Treatment facilities. 6) Maintain and enhance a respectful working relationship among the city council members. 7) Complete pond inventory and use the results to farther refine our pond cleaning policy Bob Stein 1) Establish Economic Development Authority 2) Installation of high speed wireless internet 3) Establish Highway 169 Corridor Commission 4) Work with Robbinsdale School District to strengthen community image 5) Public education regarding housing issues 6) Study Mission area uses 7) Restructure Public Works Department 8) Study SE corner of Medicine Lake for redevelopment opportunities 9) Get Met Council to put Plymouth on map for mass transit possibilities 10) Study budget in light of budget constraints independent of establishing the budget what if scenarios) Jim Willis The following are my thoughts, in priority order, for the Council's goal setting meeting: 1) Undertake a thorough review of the programs within each department to evaluate their relative importance to the goals and objectives of the city. The review would be designed to assist the Council is addressing the allocation of our resources in 2006 and beyond, and as well as cope with possible fiscal constraints imposed by the legislature. 2) Amend the Comprehensive Plan to provide for the prompt extension of urban services and development to the balance of the land currently outside the MUSA. This effort would also entail a fiscal analysis of the public costs to be incurred and how they would be recovered from anticipated future development. 3) Incorporate the expanded and accelerated street maintenance/reconstruction program in the Capital Improvement Program for 2006-2010. 4) Encourage redevelopment proposals from owners of obsolete commercial/industrial sites. Redevelopment efforts would likely require some level of public assistance; e.g. tax increment financing on a pay-as-you-go basis. Since we will be adjourning no later than 1:00 p.m., we will not plan lunch. We will have beverages and snacks available. Goals: City of Plymouth 2004 City Council Goals Complete Major Building Projects o Plymouth Creek Center Lower Level o Water System Improvements (Wells, Storage, and Treatment) o Public Safety Building Expansion 0 10th Playfield Acquisition o Plymouth Ice Center 3rd Rink Public Safety Initiatives o Homeland Security o Fire Staffing o Police Staffing — increase patrol time and traffic enforcement Develop Financing Strategies for Roads, Operations, and Surface Water Quality Work Smart -- Consider Operational Effectiveness (customer service, process efficiencies, structure, employee development, asset management). As the proposed building expansions are planned, designed and built, changes in these areas should be considered to streamline city services. Improve Transportation System Surface Water (Address issues with Water Management Organizations, water quality ponds, drainage) Legislative Priorities (attached) Projects for Emphasis: Consider Affordable Housing Initiatives Continue Enhancing Communications with Community Members (Citizen Survey, Financial Extra, Community Identity, and Webdnitiatives) Consider Environmental Initiatives 0 Study Redevelopment Strategies CITY OF PLYMOUTH PRIORITY ISSUES FOR THE 2004 LEGISLATIVE SESSION BE IT RESOLVED by the Plymouth City Council that the following issues are legislative priorities for the City of Plymouth in the 2004 session: Taxpayer Bill of Rights. State imposed limits on local government decision making, such as Minnesota's proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, are inconsistent with local accountability and are rigid formula mechanisms that counter representative democracy and challenge local units of government to plan with financial confidence. Levy Limits. Levy limits should not be re-enacted for 2005 and beyond. Local government officials should have the ability to make decisions on local taxation and service levels. The City supports the Legislature allowing revenue options for cities, such as street utility fees, particularly if levy limits or other restrictive measures remain in place. Wine Sales in Grocery Stores. Eliminating the sale of alcohol to minors has been a top priority of the City of Plymouth for several years. The City conducts compliance checks and has adopted a Best Practices Program. The City of Plymouth opposes the proposal to allow wine sales in grocery stores or other venues where currently prohibited. The limit on points of sale for alcohol aids in preventing youth access to alcohol. Emergency Preparedness. Additional measures have been identified as necessary for improved emergency preparedness at the state and local levels including training for local fire and law enforcement personnel, additional detection and decontamination capability, additional vaccinations/antidotes and protective equipment, and improved interagency communications. The Legislature should support and fund these activities at both state and local levels to improve our readiness to meet emergency conditions that may arise from either natural disasters or terrorist attacks. CriMNet. The City of Plymouth urges continued support and funding of CriMNet, as well as improvements to enhance the integrity of the system. Firefighter Staffing. Shortage of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters is a statewide issue. The City of Plymouth encourages the State to enact legislation to enhance recruitment and retention of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters. Consideration could be given to providing tax credits and supplemental disability insurance. Affordable and Life Cycle Housing. Economic and demographic trends indicate that Minnesota's population is aging and workers need more affordable housing closer to where they work. The region's population age 65 and older will likely double from the year 2000 to 2020. Jobs in Plymouth are projected to increase approximately 27% during the same period. Housing is both a statewide and local issue. The City urges the Legislature to maintain and increase resources to the extent possible in order to encourage the development of affordable housing for both of these groups. Local property taxes should not be relied upon to fund housing programs because they increase the cost of housing for those most in need and have regressive impacts. Surface Water Quality Plans. As mandated by the State, the City Council has adopted a surface water quality plan and committed significant local funds for implementation. Because lakes and watersheds often cross municipal boundaries, the City Council requests that the State maintain and increase funding or bonding, to the extent possible, for water quality improvements to enhance funding at the local level. Transportation Funding. The entire economy benefits from a sound and adequately funded transportation system. To adequately address growing congestion, oris system must be rifuiti- modal. Consequently, significantly greater resources are needed to provide high quality, efficient systems that include both transit and highways. The City encourages the Legislature to identify long-term funding sources with growth potential that will increase transportation funding to levels that will allow the building of high quality, efficient metropolitan and local transit and highway systems. In addition, local elected officials should continue to be included in MnDOT's decision-making process when state -aid roads and highways are planned in a city. The City supports preservation of opt -out transit status. The City also encourages legislators to support the .08 blood alcohol bill in order receive needed federal highway funding. Sales tax exemption on local government purchases. When the State was experiencing a budget shortfall in 1992, the Legislature repealed the sales tax exemption for local government purchases. Cities now pay state sales tax for purchases of items such as road maintenance equipment and building materials. Since the Legislature provided no additional state aids to offset the cost, this policy effectively increased local property taxes to finance state government operations. The City supports legislation to reinstate the sales tax exemption for all local government purchases. Local control of residential speed limits. State law currently controls speed limits on residential streets, with limited exception. Legislation is requested to allow more flexibility for local officials to establish speed limits for residential streets that do not have an impact on neighboring cities. Construction Delays by Utility Companies. The City has experienced significant project delays due to lack of timely response by utility companies in relocating utilities. Legislation is requested to require that if a utility company fails to relocate utilities in a timely manner and causes a delay in a construction project, the City shall be held harmless. Sales Tax Exemption for Plymouth Iee Center Expansion. The original Plymouth Ice Center was built under Mighty Ducks legislation, which included a provision for sales tax exempt status on the construction. Because much of the cost for the current expansion project is being donated through partners in a joint collaboration, the project is worthy of consideration for tax-exempt status.