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.