HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 01-15-2002 SpecialAdopted Minutes
Special Council Meeting
January 15, 2002
A Special Meeting of the Plymouth City Council was called to order by Mayor Tierney at 7:05
p.m. in the Public Safety Training Room, 3400 Plymouth Boulevard, on January 15, 2002.
COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Tierney, Councilmembers Johnson, Slavik, Stein, Black, Harstad,
and Hewitt.
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Johnson, Assistant City Manager Ahrens, Police Chief
Gerdes, Fire Chief Kline, Park and Recreation Director Blank, Housing Manager Barnes,
Community Development Director Hurlburt, Finance Director Hahn, Public Works Director
Faulkner, Solid Waste Coordinators Hageman and Vigoren, and City Clerk Paulson.
Motion was made by Mayor Tierney, and seconded by Councilmember Hewitt, to reverse the
order of the agenda for items 1 and 2 on the agenda. With all members voting in favor, the
1 motion carried.
Plymouth Crime and Fire Prevention Fund and Plymouth Lions Request for Pull -Tabs
Assistant City Manager Ahrens reported on the request of the Plymouth Lions Club and the
Plymouth Crime and Fire Prevention Fund requesting approval to sell pull tabs at Mulligan's.
She stated with the exception of bingo, gambling is currently prohibited in the City. However,
the State lottery is exempt as well as a one-time lawful gambling event (i.e: raffles). Therefore,
if the Council would desire to allow other types of lawful gambling in the City, adoption of an
ordinance amendment would be necessary.
Ed Stanke, Plymouth Lions Club, requested the Council to consider adopting an ordinance
amendment that would allow for pull -tab gambling within the City. He stated when he was
formerly with the Lions Club in Wayzata, the proceeds derived from their gambling location in
that community were given to the Wayzata Fire Department, the school, and a few national
organizations that their club supported.
Police Chief Gerdes noted that the City would have the option of receiving either a 3% tax from
the licensed organization on their gambling proceeds or charge a $250 investigation fee. He
stated the $250 fee would not cover his department's costs; therefore, he recommended the 3%
tax.
Adopted City Council Minutes
Special Meeting of January 15, 2002
Page 2 of 6
Mayor Tierney stated the Council needs to determine if they want to have other forms of
gambling in the City.
Assistant City Manager Ahrens stated this issue was last discussed in 1991, and it failed on a 2-3
vote.
Mayor Tierney stated if the Council is philosophically opposed, there is no need to discuss it
further.
Councilmember Harstad stated he is not philosophically in support of the additional gambling.
He acknowledged the benefit that is derived from the additional funds derived from gambling
that could be used within the community, but that wouldn't alter his view. He is very concerned
about how the gambling would be regulated.
Councilmember Black stated she is unsure if she would support this request. She, too, could
strongly support the causes that the funds could be used for. However, she doesn't totally
support the act of gambling.
Councilmember Hewitt stated due to her past experience in social service agencies, there was a
lot of negative impacts to individuals who were compulsive gamblers. She is also concerned on
how this activity would be monitored.
Mayor Tierney stated she would support further information on the issue. Some of this
information could include how other cities got started, how they regulated it, what types of
gambling are allowed in their communities, and if they restrict the types of establishments where
the gambling could occur.
Councilmember Slavik asked if staff is aware of any community that doesn't allow pull -tab
gambling, other than the City. Assistant City Manager Ahrens replied of the cities the City
contacted, there is no one who prohibits gambling in their community.
Billie Kaye Goodman, from the Crime and Fire Prevention Fund, stated they have seen a drastic
decrease in contributions to their fund. They sent donation letters to 800 businesses, and they
have only received $1,000 in donations. She agreed that the gambling would need to be
monitored, but Plymouth residents, who enjoy gambling, will spend their money elsewhere. She
mentioned the new freestanding pull -tab only facility in Crystal.
Councilmember Stein stated he would like further information on this item. He would be
interested in reviewing what types of controls the City could have.
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Special Meeting of January 15, 2002
Page 3 of 6
Councilmember Johnson asked if the City could self limit the number of licenses that would be
issued. Assistant City Manager Ahrens stated she is unsure, but she would report back.
Motion was made by Councilmember Black, and seconded by Councilmember Hewitt, to
determine whether the Council should pursue this further, by obtaining additional information,
and bringing it back to another Council Study Session.
Councilmember Slavik stated she is not a supporter of gambling for philosophical reasons.
However, it would be difficult to reject the request from two organizations that have made many
contributions to the community. At this point, she is not really inclined to proceed further;
however, she would support receiving additional information. In comparison, she would rather
continue supporting the one-time lawful gambling exemptions that are used for community and
school events, as they are perceived to be more family type events. She also noted that the
exemptions are a different type of gambling environment than that of pull -tabs.
Councilmember Johnson stated she views gambling as entertainment. She agreed that
individuals are not always responsible when they participate in gambling, but gambling isn't the
only thing that is abused. She stated there could be a great benefit to keeping the entertainment
dollars in the City. She would be willing to review information from other cities on their
ordinances.
Councilmember Black stated this item is really an emotional and a rational issue. The Council
needs to go beyond the emotional issue in making their decision. .
Councilmember Johnson agreed with Councilmember Black and questioned if this is any
different than the liquor licenses that the Council issues. The licensees and consumers need to be
responsible.
Councilmember Stein agreed and stated that citizens need to have individual responsibility. He
stated he gambles occasionally, and he views it as entertainment. He stated if people are going
to gamble, they're going to gamble, but it would be to the City's benefit for the residents to
spend their money in the City.
Motion was made by Councilmember Stein, and seconded by Councilmember Harstad, to call
the question. With all members voting in favor but Johnson and Slavik, the motion carried.
The Council voted on the main motion, and with Stein, Johnson, Slavik, and Tierney voting yes,
and Black, Hewitt, and Harstad voting no, the motion carried.
City Manager Johnson requested the Council to give any concerns or requested information to
Jstaff to include in their report.
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Special Meeting of January 15, 2002
Page 4 of 6
Councilmember Johnson requested information on whom the City could limit the licenses to, and
if the City could require that the funds remain in the community.
Mayor Tierney requested information if the City could limit the types of organizations that could
be licensed in the City.
Plan Housing Summit
Housing Manager Barnes reported at the October 23, 2001 Council meeting, the Council
suggested that a Study Session be conducted to discuss concerns about affordable housing as
well as plan for a Housing forum. He stated the purpose of conducting this forum would be to
educate the stakeholders on the issue of affordable housing in the City that would include:
1. What is affordable housing.
2. Past affordable housing projects in the City.
3. Various ways the City may participate in affordable housing projects.
4. Potential sources of funds and their restrictions.
5. Barriers to developing affordable housing.
He stated the audience would consist of the Council, City's Housing and Redevelopment
Authority, Planning Commission members, City staff, developers, non-profit housing providers,
housing advocates, and citizens.
Councilmember Harstad voiced his concern of occupying additional staff time to focus on
affordable housing. He stated the Council hasn't provided suggestions to staff on an educational
process for this type of forum.
Mayor Tierney requested that staff provide information on what resources are available at the
City to assist in affordable housing.
Councilmember Hewitt suggested staff include information on efforts that landowners could do
to assist in providing affordable housing, and this would include the "tools" that are available to
assist developers and landowners.
Councilmember Slavik suggested that landowners be invited to this forum. She stated she is not
interested at this time in establishing a fund within the City's budget for affordable housing due
to the uncertainty of the State's budget and how it would affect the City. She indicated that one
needs to review the current housing stock in the City to determine how that housing could remain
affordable.
Adopted City Council Minutes
Special Meeting of January 15, 2002
Page 5 of 6
A discussion was held whether there should be small group discussions at the forum. The
general consensus was that there be approximately 10-12 individuals per small group, and there
be a staff person or another person designated to be the moderator of those groups. In addition,
the groups would be given a specific task to discuss rather than just discussing affordable
housing in general.
Councilmembers Black and Johnson voiced their support for the forum. Councilmember
Johnson also stated that there tends to be a conflict between housing advocates and developers
with new developments in providing affordable housing. Therefore, this type of forum would be
very beneficial for all those in attendance to be educated on the difficulty in, providing affordable
housing due to high costs of developing property, and the many funding sources that are needed
to provide affordable housing for one project.
Councilmember Stein stated he supports the forum, and he suggested that the area Legislators
also be invited to this meeting. He stated it would be helpful for staff to provide statistics on the
amount of affordable housing the City currently has, as well as, the overall goal.
Two of the housing advocates that were attendance at this meeting stated that they want to keep
this issue a high priority for the Council. They also feel the City should review their
development fees to determine if they are excessive.
Motion was made by Councilmember Hewitt, and seconded by Councilmember Johnson, to
schedule the Housing Forum for March 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Plymouth Creek Center. With all
members voting in favor but Harstad, the motion carried.
Curbside Pick-up for Annual Waste Collection Day
Solid Waste Coordinators Vigoren and Hageman discussed their report that highlighted the
advantages and disadvantages of a City wide curbside clean-up event. Some of the benefits
include the potential reuse of items being disposed of and residents wouldn't have to haul their
items to a designated location. Two negative factors are that a budget for this type of collection
would be an unknown as it is hard to determine the amount of items that would be disposed of.
In addition, residents wouldn't be able to dispose electronic and tires. They stressed that with
this type of recycling, it is not possible to sort out scrap metal or anything that could be recycled.
Some of the Councilmembers noted that residents already have the option of utilizing their
current refuse hauler, as they will haul unusual items for an additional fee. Councilmember
Harstad voiced his support for the annual curbside pickup day due to his favorable experience
when he previously resided in Bloomington. In addition, he reiterated that with this type of
collection, residents wouldn't need to haul their items to a disposal facility.
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Special Meeting of January 15, 2002
Page 6 of 6
A discussion was held on a few of the neighboring cities who are utilizing a new concept of
mixed recycling/refuse service that utilizes 64 gallon containers, with covers, that are picked up
every other week. Solid Waste Coordinators Hageman and Vigoren stated that they would
continue to analyze new methods and containers for recycling services.
Motion was made by Councilmember Slavik, and seconded by Councilmember Hewitt, to take
no action at this time but continue to monitor what other communities are utilizing for recycling
services. With all members voting in favor but Harstad, the motion carried.
Consider Future Study Session Meetings
The Council requested to schedule the following Special Meetings/Events:
1. Board and Commission Recognition Event on February 19 at 6:30 p.m.
2. Study Session on January 22 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the disposition of City owned homes on
County Road 101.
3. Study Session on February 12 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss goals and priorities and property owner
mowing along former County roads.
4. Joint Meeting with Hennepin County Commissioners on April 16 at 6:00 p.m. followed by
the Board of Equalization and Adjustment meeting at 8:00 p.m.
5. Study Session after the Board of Equalization and Adjustment reconvened on April 30 to
discuss water depletion of the City's aquifers, strategies to conserve the aquifer, and future
water treatment needs and the taste of the water.
The Council removed from the pending Study Session list the topic of estate zoning as staff and
the Council don't view this is a "high priority" at this time.
The Council adjourned their Special Meeting at 10:00 p.m. and conducted their quarterly check
in with the City Manager that ended at approximately 10:45 p.m.
andra R. Paulson, City Clerk