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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 09-02-2003 SpecialAdopted Minutes Special Council Meeting September 2, 2003 Mayor Johnson called a. Special Meeting of the Plymouth City Council to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers, on September 2, 2003. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Johnson, Councilmembers Slavik, Bildsoe, Stein, Black, and Hewitt. ABSENT: Neset. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Johnson, Assistant City Manager Ahrens, Finance Director Hahn, Community Development Director Hurlburt, Public Works Director Faulkner, Parks and Recreation Director Eric Blank, Police Chief Gerdes, Captain Goldstein, Financial Analyst Kohn, Finance Office Supervisor Leitner, Deputy Fire Chief Hurr, and Deputy City Clerk Hoffman. Citv Policv on Street Reconstruction Proiects Mayor Johnson stated the meeting is an opportunity to discuss the City's policy on assessments for street reconstruction projects. She said that the Council agrees with most residents that projects should come with the greatest financial efficiency. She invited residents to comment briefly on the policy. Scott Martin, 615 Queensland Lane, requested the council reconsider a citizen petition requesting reconstruction work be done on Queensland Lane. He believes there is a design solution for traffic speeding problems on 8"h Avenue. He suggested two options: to evaluate the cost differences between a 28—foot wide road versus a 32—foot wide road, and implement a meandering road design; or to proceed with a 28 foot width reconstruction of Queensland Lane, and leave 8m Avenue for another time. He requested the project proceed next year with or without the 8th Avenue element. He said he believed sidewalks ought to be assessed on an area— wide basis, rather than property specific assessments. Mayor Johnson noted that anyone who voted in favor of the reconstruction projects at the August 26 meeting would have the opportunity to call for reconsideration at the next regular Council meeting. Public Works Director Faulkner reviewed the three projects approved at the August 261h meeting. He said staff has prepared four options for the Council to consider, based on concerns from residents over increases in assessments. They included: maintaining the current policy of assessing 20% of the project cost, effective January 1, 2004; revising the current policy to assess 20% of the total project costs; assessing 20% of the project costs in 2004, and 30% of the project costs in 2005; or assessing 20% of the project costs in 2004 25% in 2005 and 30% in 2006. He said staff recommends adopting policy option #4. Adopted Council Minutes Special Meeting of September 2, 2003 Page 2 of 6 City Manager Johnson stated the issue before the Council will be whether to immediately increase the assessment rates to 30%, or to gradually move the rates over a period of time. When asked if the City has gone to residents with any plans for 2005 projects and assessment rates, Public Works Director Faulkner responded that nothing has been presented indicating what rates might be beyond 2004. Councilmember Slavik asked the impact on the City budget if the assessment rate is dropped to a 20% plan for 2004. City Manager Johnson responded that the assessment level affects potential bond levy depending on the size of project, the length of the borrowing term for bonds, or how much is borrowed. He said that staff recommends keeping the bond levy the same. Project elements could be added equivalent to those removed from the plan at the August 26 meeting, or the project list could be kept the same, and the bond term reduced by a year. He said it could affect the ultimate amount of taxes a resident pays if projects are added, but would not have a direct impact on the budget in terms of the General Fund and hiring of new fire/police staff. Tony de Matthew, 11440 41" Avenue, recognized there are several projects involved in the program, but said he believed a 20% assessment rate is most fair for the coming year. Jerry Clone, 11445 401h Avenue, asked the Council to consider pulling back on project spending. He said while some of the projects involved full reconstruction, some might only require only mill and overlay work. Doug Thompson, 805 Queensland Lane, suggested the City develop a plan to avoid slipping behind in project work that needs to be done. He said it is important to put controls in place to be certain actual costs are met. He added that he believes the policy goals are reasonable, if the appraised parcels are ensured fair assessment levels. He said it is also important that homeowners understand how the projects would maintain and enhance the quality of a neighborhood. City Manager Johnson responded that the old City policy was based on a construction index. Public Works Director Faulkner added that the new policy is based on actual project costs to avoid need to increase assessment rates over years. He said projects are also studied after initial testing to learn early on whether a project can be reduced in scope. Councilmember Black said a delay in projects might mean adding to the costs. She said the finance industry reports this is a good time to borrow money because of low interest rates. Motion was made by Mayor Johnson and seconded by Councilmember Bildsoe to direct staff to accept option #4 in the Revised Street Reconstruction Assessment Policy, to assess 20% of the project costs in 2004, 25% in 2005, and 30% in 2006. Mayor Johnson stated this option helps manage expectations of people who have already participated in the comment process. She added it will be important to provide information to help residents be aware of increases in the assessment rates. She said she would support the idea of changing the petitioning policy to require petitions contain support from 55% of people in an Adopted Council Minutes Special Meeting of September 2, 2003 Page 3 of 6 affected neighborhood petition not just 35%, and the statement was accepted by the Council as a friendly amendment. Councilmember Black said she would not support the motion, but would have support Option #3, as well as 55% residential petition proposal. Motion was made by Councilmember Black, and seconded by Councilmember Hewitt, to substitute option #3 for approval of the Revised Street Reconstruction Assessment Policy. Councilmember Hewitt stated she is more supportive of option #3, because staff has contacted residents regarding assessment rates for 2004 but not for 2005. Councilmember Stein stated he would not support either option. He said he has a philosophical problem about assessing residents for streets in a neighborhood, and believes that everyone should have to pay for the projects. Councilmember Slavik said she would support the substitute motion for Option #3, believing it is important to increase the assessment rate to 30% as quickly as possible. Councilmember Black stated she concurred with the comments of both Councilmembers Hewitt and Slavik. Councilmember Stein noted that Plymouth's taxes are the lowest of neighboring communities except in those Plymouth neighborhoods that are being assessed. The Council voted on the motion to amend the directive and with all members voting in favor but Stein and Bildsoe, the motion carried. The Council voted on the main motion and with all members voting in favor but Stein and Bildsoe, the motion carried. Mayor Johnson announced a ten—minute recess at 8:10 p.m. and moved the Council meeting to the Public Safety Training Room for a budget study session. Mayor Johnson resumed the meeting at 8:20 PM in the Public Safety Training Room. City Manager Johnson responded to questions and issues the City Council had raised at the August 25 budget study session. He clarified that population estimates from the Metropolitan Council are based on information from a year previous, and do not capture the growth surge that Plymouth is experiencing. He said revenue estimates for activity programs in the Recreation Budget could be increased to show no increase in the property tax support. He said the Fire Department is proposing an increase by $50 for fire alarm fees to generate a possible $6000 total increase in revenue. He said housing rental inspection fees would generate $7,000 more than previously budgeted because of new rental construction starts. He said the Council has suggested saving $2000 in travel and conference spending. He said the Council could consider moving up the hiring of an additional fire fighter from July 1 to January 1, made possible due to the savings mentioned earlier. He said staff has been asked to consider alternatives for the delivery of meeting packets for the Council and Planning Commission. He reviewed other items in the Adopted Council Minutes Special Meeting of September 2, 2003 Page 4 of 6 budget reflecting changes in the Solid Waste Budget, the Fire Department Budget, the impact of proposed changes in fees, increases in the Contingency Fund, and the impact of proposed changes in the street assessment policy on the 2004 Street Bonds. He said that with assessments designated for the three projects, the City would be able to reduce the bonds by one year. Councilmember Bildsoe stated that he supported all proposed changes based on the seven issues raised following the August 25 budget meeting. In response to questions about meeting packet delivery, Police Chief Gerdes said the average delivery time is 2.5 hours. He said the Community Service Officers are instructed to respond to calls as a priority over the packet delivery. He said staff views it as an important service to deliver the information in a timely manner. Councilmember Slavik thanked staff for working to bring the additional firefighter on staff earlier in year. Mayor Johnson concurred with Councilmember Slavik's statement. Councilmember Bildsoe thanked staff for producing information on the Public Safety Department staffing. He said he was shocked at how staffing has not kept up over the past ten years. He suggested adding two new officers on January 1 and two on March 1, moving up the process in order to have better trained officers on duty by summer. He said the cost of the plan would be worth the additional $30,000 needed in the budget. Councilmember Slavik said she supports Councilmember Bildsoe's proposal. She said she would rather try to get a fifth officer in somehow, and suggested finding the funding to add the additional officer as early as possible. City Manager Johnson said how the hiring is done will affect the 2005 Budget. He said hiring new officers earlier in 2004 would reduce the tail carryover in the 2005 Budget. Councilmember Bildsoe stated that the City's priorities are going to be more tested in the coming year. He said Public Safety staffing will be a greater priority, and he believes spending money on Police staffing is important to improve service levels. Mayor Johnson suggested that funding might be moved from Recreation Program fees to Public Safety staffing. She noted that an increase in recreation program fees is controversial, but she said there might be some courses people could pay more for, and it would still be a competitive program. Councilmember Black said she doesn't object to the suggestion, but wonders where to shift funding. She said Police staffing is not the most common complaint she receives, but that street and water conditions are more often the subject of calls from residents. Councilmember Bildsoe suggested a review of the Human Services Budget. He said it might be time to look at making cuts of 20-25% across the board. He noted that funding has remained consistent from 2003 to 2004. Councilmember Hewitt stated she could not agree to cuts in the Human Services Budget. She said all organization s are cutting human services budgets. She said the organizations receiving Adopted Council Minutes Special Meeting of September 2, 2003 Page 5 of 6 funding from the City help the Police Department in a variety of ways. She said she supports the idea of increasing police staffing but is concerned about where the funding will come in the budget. Councilinember Bildsoe said it is important to have adequate police staffing to handle emergency request calls, and there is a need for more officers in order for the Department to be more effective. He questioned what the City's priorities are going to be. He said every department needs to assess what a percentage cut means proportionately to the department's budget and cut accordingly. Councilmember Black stated she could never support cuts this year to human services programs. She said because state level cuts are now translating to county level cuts, this is the wrong time to cut those sorts of programs. She said she supports moving police officer hiring to March if funding can be found, and suggested staff study where funding might come from. In response to questions about revenues, City Manager Johnson said the most difficult element to predict is revenue from building permits. Community Development Director Hurlburt added that there are no new major developments in the pipeline. She said the City could see a slow down next year. In response to questions about recreation fees, Parks and Recreation Director Eric Blank stated fees for all programs evaluated and adjusted each year. He said programs are revenue based, and the best way to increase revenues is to get more participants in programs. Motion was made by Councilmember Bildsoe, and seconded by Councilmember Slavik, to direct staff to provide ideas for a Special Study Session on September 30 at 6:00 PM. With all members voting in favor, the motion passed. Motion was made by Councilmember Slavik, seconded by Councilmember Bildsoe, to direct staff to study options in early hiring of a fifth police officer. With all members voting in favor, the motion passed. Councilmember Slavik stated that she believes people may be willing to pay more in recreation fees. She suggested studying what program fee increases might be possible. In response to questions about a City survey, Assistant Manager Ahrens said the City is obtaining proposals from consultants. She said the Council might want to review the format and goals of the survey. She said there is a reserve fund of $30 thousand, and there would not be a budget impact. She said the Council might want to look at other ways of doing gathering the information desired. Mayor Johnson stated that in spite of opposition voiced by herself and Councilmember Black at a public hearing, Hennepin County Commissioners have given tentative approval to amend the Bassett Creek Watershed plan and charge an ad valorem tax to residents in the watershed. City Manager Johnson suggested that the City consider increased need for water quality improvement projects. He believes the Council will need to accept obligation for pond cleaning Adopted Council Minutes Special Meeting of September 2, 2003 Page 6 of 6 at some point as an economic and legal responsibility, and that the sooner the City prepares financially for those project costs, the easier funding will be. Councilmember Black stated that like the City assessment policy, it would become a liability if the City falls behind in having funds for adequate maintenance. She said the City would have to make some increases and try to establish a program to deal with it. Councilmember Bildsoe expressed frustration that residents have conveyed about the City not spending money on Medicine Lake. He it's important for the public to understand that there are other water quality issues in the City besides Medicine Lake that must be dealt with. Mayor Johnson noted that the City is in some cases mandated to implement some water projects. She said that as a resident, she is willing to pay for the infrastructure, but the City needs to make sure residents are not triple taxed for water treatment in other parts of the city. Councilmember Black suggested a public awareness program to explain how the City spends taxes. City Manager Johnson added that budgets are being realigned to clarify how funds are distributed in the water resources plan. Councilmember Black added that it is important to get the information out on how the City is spending their money. City Manager Johnson said staff is suggesting the Council keep the street construction bond levy at its original level in the budget, unless the Council wishes to lengthen the term of the bond. Councilmembers discussed the ranking system for street construction projects. City Manager Johnson said that project ranking could be misleading to the Council and to the public. City Manager Johnson said that staff is studying a plan to place projects into category levels, rather than ranking projects. He suggested keeping the project list for the coming year as it is, and try to increase the project budget in future years. Motion was made by Mayor Johnson, seconded by Councilmember Bildsoe, to direct staff to proceed with 2004 Street Reconstruction Project as recommended b,, s With all members voting in favor, the motion was approved. Adiournment The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 10:00 p.m. 1 KurtjH. Hoffman III, Deputy City Clerk