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2022-04-19 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 19, 2022 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in special session on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Ray Salazar; Council Members Jason Holt, Sherrie Pugh, Phil Velsor, and Paula Larson Members absent: None Others present: City Manager/Public Works Director Eric Hoversten, Community Development Director Sarah Smith, Public Works Superintendent Ryan Prich, Fire Chief Greg Pederson, Administrative Services Director Catherine Pausche, City Engineer Matt Bauman, Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok 1. Open meeting Mayor Salazar called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Approve the agenda Motion by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to approve the agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Department Head Annual Reports Annual reports were presented by Department Heads with discussion following. A. Orono Police Department — Police Chief Correy Farniok Chief Farniok said he was happy to report many of Orono's community service outreach programs have been reinstated since the pandemic. Farniok said he wants to reiterate the need to lock homes and vehicles as theft from vehicles and vehicle theft is up 76% from prior year. Salazar asked for an update from the January Mayors' meeting. Farniok said there are still many areas in the criminal justice system that lack accountability or are in denial. Farniok said they are seeing repeat offenders caused by changes in criteria for intake and bail reform. Farniok said there is a need for social programs to provide life skills training and give alternatives to jail but most were shut down by the pandemic. Farniok said many juveniles lack faith and parents in the home and they are on their own. Farniok said the crime spike in the 1990's was gang affiliated with hierarchies and structures but now it is just a loose affiliation of neighborhood friends. Farniok confirmed the embedded social worker has started which will be a huge resource to help fill the gaps in identifying needs and potential resources. Larson said last Tuesday there was an incident at her commercial business that involved a gentleman who could have benefited from services and there was another incident at her home and place of business that she was told appeared targeted. Farniok said this is an example of where they are hopeful the social worker can bring more resources to bare. Holt asked if the offenders are being caught. Farniok said they are following the trail of gift cards purchased and building the case of offenses. Farniok said they are arriving just minutes late to the scene and so the public is once again encouraged to call at any sign of activity, noting Ring doorbells have been very instrumental. Farniok said he is working with a vendor on a pilot program to put cameras on the county roads, noting the footage will only be viewed as needed for a case. Farniok said in some cases the license plates are removed, but businesses Mound City Council Minutes — April 19, 2022 and schools can get license plate readers to feed into the system and OPD can access with permission from property owner. B. Finance & Administration —Admin Services Director Catherine Pausche Pausche said the cover memorandum lists department goals and accomplishments and that she would like to highlight the fact that the Department of Finance and Administrative Services operates with 4 FTEs compared to neighboring cities who have 5.8 to 7 equivalent staff, also noting Mound has a liquor store, a dock program and significantly more debt and TIF. L Ordinance and Policy Drafts Discussion on ordinance amendments included the temporary visitors permit, lake management policy, and operating hours for garbage collection. Pausche stated the Lake Management Policy was well vetted by the Docks and Commons Commission and the meeting minutes from the discussions were included in the packet. Pausche said it is important to establish boundaries of what the City will and will not do and to encourage residents to organize groups to address common concerns, similar to what the Harrison Bay neighbors did to address AIS. Pausche said the City paid for an engineering analysis of the Avalon Channel and the results were inconclusive as to the cause of the sediment build-up. Pausche said there are several areas on Lake Minnetonka where wetlands have been dredged to provide lake access and these initial dredges would have been done by developers seeking to improve the marketability and value of the parcels and it is reasonable to assume the property owners are responsible for maintaining the access. Pausche said the exception is Lost Lake where the City sponsored the dredge and has pledged to maintain it, noting the fees for the Lost Lake slips are significantly higher and also noting that the City had to sue the dredging company for performance. Pausche said limiting the City's responsibility to the shore land is the key to maintaining the affordability and equitability of the regular dock program. Pausche said a slip holder at Carlson Park paid for weed treatment thinking the others would chip in and no one did except the City who keeps the fire boat at that location. Pausche said she feels the proposed language is simple and justifiable and it is important to establish the level of service and the City's responsibility ends at the shoreline. Discussion ensued about rip rap, navigability in low water years, and lifts at slips. Pausche said there are some dock sites that can't be used in low water years, but not many. Salazar noted what happened to White Bear Lake. Pausche suggested that the property owners need to understand the cost of ownership and that the City's resources are limited. Holt asked for clarification and Pausche said the City will support projects by signing off on permits, etc., but it will be up to individuals to get together and figure out the contracts, funding, etc. The Council was OK with 14 days for visitors, and a 7:00 am start time for garbage to mimic construction hours. Discussion ensued about the missed pick-ups since Republic took over Blackowiak. Council Member Larson complemented Administrative Services Coordinator Kevin Kelly on his patience in handling the dock program, noting he is an asset to the City. ii. Marketing and Communication Pausche said she reached out to Prime Advertising & Design in Maple Grove that developed the liquor store website and handles Maple Grove's newsletter to see what resources/services they offer that the City might benefit from. Pausche noted the Prime staff did not recommend using social media unless the City had the internal resources to support it, noting a City can't outsource content creation. Prime said they can copy edit the newsletter to improve the visuals and they can audit the City website to ensure it is ADA compliant and that the Search Engine Mound City Council Minutes —April 19, 2022 Optimization (SEO) is functioning efficiently. Pausche suggested contracting for 20 hours and letting them work with the newsletter and website. Pausche noted the Elk River Municipal Utilities social media topics on page 43 are feel good in nature and what is recommended to keep users interested, but Pausche stressed that the City website needs to be the official notification for legal notices and that the current staff does not have the capacity to develop social media content. Velsor asked if the contract is one-time or weekly/monthly and Pausche said one-time to use as needed with no obligation to renew. Holt noted he does not have a problem with the newsletter, but has heard comments on the design. Holt asked how would the printing costs change if we moved to color. Pausche said she can get quotes and also noted the on-line version will be in color, so even if the we continue to print in two color, it could be an improvement. Discussion ensued on use of local vendors. Pugh said the City needs to look to the future and the need to plan and promote events in our new parks. Pausche suggested we look to our partners in Community Ed and Westonka Community & Commerce. Velsor suggested links on the website to our partners which Pausche said there are. Salazar said the Jaycees, Lions, WCC and Community Ed specialize in these events and he agrees that government can't be everything to everybody and hiring staff can be cost prohibitive. Velsor said sprucing up the newsletter could help distinguish it as they all look the same. Pausche said Prime would help with graphics, formats, etc. Salazar said it is important that this is one and done and not creating a continuous contract. Holt noted he does want the City to ultimately pursue social media. Pugh said to grow the City we have to grow the staff and start looking to the future by developing policies and long-term plans for improvements. Pausche agreed and noted that long term plan should incorporate options, but right now the focus is on our already high tax and utility rates. Velsor asked Holt what he envisions for social media that is not available on the website as he assumes we don't want a back and forth with users. Holt said many area cities use Facebook effectively. Holt said the homepage of the website has the calendar but we aren't reaching people. Velsor said he is concerned that social media users would expect comments to be responded to. Holt suggested just duplicate what other cities are doing. Hoversten noted that most city policies on social media state that no official business is done on social media. Discussion ensued on Next Door Mound and the content that can be negative and unsupportive of new businesses. Salazar noted the number of likes and followers on the Elk River Facebook page compared to the total number of customers does not seem like it is a worthwhile investment. Holt asked Pugh what she thought. Pugh said she can see how it could create vibrancy but is unsure about the comments portion. Salazar said he talked to one City that has to monitor the comments every day. Larson said her experience is everything has moved to smart phones and printed newsletters are passe. Larson suggested we take the newsletter budget to spruce up the web page, including adding pictures and ADA compliance. Larson said website should take feedback or encourage people to contact the Council with concerns. Larson said Facebook is too much of an opportunity to post negative comments. Holt agreed that eliminating the mailed printed version of the newsletter and moving to a digital/email copy of a prettier version could be better, including saving money and going green. Larson said LMCC-TV has great community content and noted coverage in the Laker is dwindling. Pausche said she has heard good feedback and will bring back options during the Mound City Council Minutes —April 19, 2022 budget discussion. Discussion ensued on the COVID-19 tab and all agreed that it could be removed from the website. iii. Recycling Program — Tabled to budget discussions. iv. Muncipal Liquor Store A brief discussion took place to talk about the strong sales and profitability, but also the challenges of staffing the store and the legal environment with the push to allow beer and wine in grocery stores. Staff was directed to explore `what if' scenarios in the event the environment fails to improve. C. Fire & Rescue/Emergency Response/Emergency Management — Fire Chief Greq Pederson i. Fire & Rescue/Emergency Response Chief Pederson presented 2021 report, noting one firefighter retired and three where hired. Pederson noted the waitlist numbers are lower than in the past but that so far it hasn't been an issue. Pederson said rescue call outs were high at 659 vs prior year and the 5-year average of 590, driven by an EMS increase due somewhat to police staffing shortages. Pederson said the department averages 18-19 fire fighters per call out and that the facility debt payment is done in 2022 which is a huge budget relief. Pederson said the focus is on firefighter health, wellness and safety by investing in better gear and safety equipment and additional training on firefighter health, wellness and safety provided by MnFIRE. Pederson said the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) will include putting some funds aside for long term maintenance of the building and the new pumper truck that was ordered and will be delivered in end of 2022 or early 2023. Pederson noted the Mound firefighters on -call pay is lower than every other area department because they have chosen to prioritize the funding of the pension benefits. Pederson said the primary challenge is staffing, noting Plymouth and St. Louis Park have moved to paid on call/duty shifts and full-time firefighters and our goal is to maintain a volunteer structure as long as we can. Pederson said firefighters no longer share gear and the department is procuring two full sets of turnout gear per firefighter. Pederson said they are monitoring the required response level performance standards because with so many medical calls, some staff are challenged to make the minimum 30 percent. Pederson said shared mutual aid and services with neighboring communities requires partnership and communication so that all parties are fairly compensated for the value they provide, but not necessarily creating a fire district. Pederson said the 4-1-21 ISO rating reduced to 3 from 4 which is really good and Duty Officers responded to 48% of all calls which improves response time and staff hours. Pederson said the Department's Centennial is in 2023 and thanked the Council for the continued support. Salazar asked Pederson how he would approach compensation for the value of mutual aid provided. Pederson gave the example of the City of Minnetrista being served by both St. Boni Fire and Mound Fire when Mound Fire consistently has better turnout. Pederson encourages elected officials of the cities to have a dialogue on sharing resources and figuring out just compensation. Pederson said the new Woodland Cove is in St Boni's coverage area but Mound Fire has it as a first alarm assignment as well. Pederson noted the ladder truck and 104 staff hours were primary on recent Orono and Minnetonka Beach fires. Pederson said the Hennepin County Mutual Aid Agreement says departments can't charge for anything unless the Mound City Council Minutes —April 19, 2022 event exceeds eight hours. Pederson said he just asks that the Council Members have situational awareness about the issues as he doesn't want emphasis on creating a Fire District but just wants to see more equitable compensation for value provided. ii. Emergency Management Pederson presented the emergency management/preparedness overview, noting that because we don't have our own police department, it falls within his purview with the assistance of Field Officer Andrew Drilling and Administrative Assistant Vicki Weber. Pederson said the function covers the maintenance and monitoring of sirens and the RAVE notification system. Pederson said Hennepin County hosts many meetings and trainings to coordinate regional response preparedness for multiple scenarios, adding that it is time to do a large-scale incident training to include the administrative staff and City Council. Pederson said another issue is the need to evaluate a plan for creating a barrier around City Hall in the event of civil unrest or wide scale protests. Pederson said local participants would like to see Hennepin County or Homeland Security procure the supplies and create a regional inventory. Hoversten said it will be a reactionary event and the question is how much advanced time and resources should be invested. Hoversten noted the Orono Police Chief is not satisfied with the proposed administrative mechanism and this is just to give the City Council an idea of the types of considerations being discussed. D. Community Development/Planning/Zoning/Building Inspections — Community Development Director Sarah Smith Smith noted much of the material in the packet was covered at the joint workshop with the Planning Commission on February 15th. Smith noted the Lanark house came down last week as a result of the hazardous building abatement actions the City pursued. Smith noted the replatting of Mound Harbor represented a significant amount of time and resources. Smith said Community Core electronic building permit system will facilitate more timely and comprehensive information sharing between city, inspectors and contractors. Smith said development interest is still significant in spite of inflation and the labor/supply challenges. Smith said she fields multiple calls on set -backs, lot of record, flood elevation, etc. on a daily basis. E. Public Works (Parks) Operations & City Projects — Public Works Superintendent Ryan Prich and City Manager/PWD Eric Hoversten Superintendent Ryan Prich presented a slide show of improvements, including eliminating a retaining wall at Three Points Park and creating a grassed slope instead, paver repairs near Scotty B's, a downed tree blocking the road removed in-house, and excavation of approximately 6 storm water outfalls to improve flows by hauling away truckloads of debris that had been dumped. Prich said a storm sewer repair by the trail removed a tree and prevented a landslide and that changes have been made for the festival to cut down set up time from 3 days to 1.5 days with opportunities to do more. Prich said the festival tear down after the fireworks was done by 2 am and the turf was restored the next day vs tear down used to go into the early morning. Prich showed other pictures of retaining wall repairs and rebuilds and said he sold a lot of unused equipment and raised over $50K on govdeals.com. Velsor asked about the access at Brighton being used during the winter that has become an eyesore. Discussion ensued about possible remedies but it was noted that not many solutions provide for grass in summer because of the location and transition from grass to sand as well as weather conditions that can exacerbate damage. Hoversten said we could possibly use matting that can be rolled out in fall and picked up in spring. Mound City Council Minutes —April 19, 2022 Hoversten noted rest of report covered standards and policies that Staff administers and noted the transition from large scale street projects to smaller area projects like addressing basketball courts, public parking lots, segments of water main, and finishing off the 2020/19 projects. Hoversten said Surfside Park improvements will continue, including the Depot parking and sidewalks, storm water management and likely the Jaycees' picnic pavilion. Hoversten complemented Prich for the innovative/new approach to smaller scale spot repairs done in- house. Hoversten displayed the CIP and noted the major changes related to inflation cost adjustments for lift station projects and the addition of the outer ring of sidewalks not including those already discussed in the downtown. Hoversten said the additional sidewalks will be discussed on May 10tn F. Wrap-up by City Manager Eric Hoversten Hoversten said the packet contains the annual update of value statements noting that this is what he prepares based on council discussion absent from a formal strategic planning process. Pugh asked to discuss Minnetonka's early development review process created in response to upheaval over a proposed megachurch. Pugh said the City should require or recommend developers host a concept meeting with property owners within 350 feet so that developers can incorporate the feedback into the initial plans. Pugh said Staff serve as regulators, the Planning Commission (PC) focuses on conformity and ultimately the Council takes into consideration Staff, PC, public and developer feedback and this will prevent people from saying they did not get a say or they got it too late. Velsor said what if they can't incorporate feedback, and Pugh said it would just prepare the developer for what they are going to come up against if they don't. Larson said she and Pugh have discussed eliminating the Development Committee and allow for the entire Council to be involved. Larson thinks this is fairer to the developer so they don't overly invest up front. Larson said she does not even want the City Staff vetting the project beforehand. Hoversten said no developer is going to think up a project without understanding the code and land use requirements and discussing with Staff. Larson wants another step added where the developer presents to the entire Council up front. Pugh said it is a problem to hold the preliminary meeting with the full Council because it seems it is giving approval and she would rather it be put to the public first. Larson said she wants to understand how the sub -committees were created and why the Mayor gets to appoint members. Velsor said when Northland came to the Development Committee it was a rough sketch with unit counts, etc. that did not cost much, but if you present to the community, they are going to have to have architectural renderings. Velsor asked if the Development Committee is seen as a wall or a speed bump. Larson said she feels it is a secret society. Velsor said he takes time off work and it needs to be less than an hour and the more people you add the longer it would take. Mound City Council Minutes —April 19, 2022 Hoversten asked the Council to consider how much time adding additional steps takes and to decide whether the current process is broken and needs to be fixed. Hoversten said the question is whether the current processes are confidence forming for the public and Council Members as it does not seem so, but emphasized Staff does not vet or have decision making authority. Salazar said the City's Comp Plan update is an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the vision. Smith said there were multiple in -person meetings and an on-line social pinpoint feedback opportunity during the Comp Plan update. Pugh said she is just trying to respond to the repeated feedback from the public about the process. Hoversten suggested that adding a Sketch Plan or Neighborhood Meeting requirement ahead of the planning application submittal would increase the amount of time the developer wants to spend with Staff in order to produce the level of detail the community would want, and the time with Staff up front seems to be a problem for some. Hoversten said the creation of the Development Committee was to provide input from some of the elected officials and not just staff while still conforming to open meeting law. Velsor asked how much notice is expected by a typical citizen. Pugh said the objective would be to see if any of the feedback could be incorporated. Discussion ensued about the proposed Commerce Place apartment redevelopment and the outcomes of those neighborhood meetings. Holt said he thinks the PC might address some of the concerns that could be covered in the community meeting Pugh is talking about, saying he got over his concerns about the Development Committee now that he has been through the process. Holt said this is exactly why he wants the Facebook alerts to notify the public of upcoming issues, noting he ran for Council to improve communications and transparency. Holt said the City needs to provide better education on what the process is and allow the public to sign up for emails or RAVE alerts at a minimum. Hoversten said as it stands, the Planning Commission meeting is the first official public notification of a proposed application, noting sometimes site control is not in place when they approach the City or Development Committee, so the Council should consider how many steps they want to add up front and whether or not the processes are working for all. Holt said he is comfortable with the process but sees the need for better education on it for the general public. Velsor asked about the LMCC-TV zoning tutorial and coming up with an equivalent. Hoversten said the main concern is the statutory timeline once the application is complete and submitted, so the Council may want to consider the requirement of a Sketch Plan that happens on its own timeline and goes before the Planning Commission and Council. Salazar said he is hearing two options: add a step in the process as Pugh suggested and/or work on better education on the process and opportunity to participate for the public. Discussion ensued on production of a FAQ to help educate the public on the process and ultimately to work on creating a more comprehensive email list to push the information out. Larson asked where are we at with the cemetery and whether there can be more than two interments in each plot. Pausche said the last direction was to work on improving the entry marker/frontage but her research did not produce anything worth considering. Pausche said Larson can bring a proposal for multiple internments to the City Council but her experience in the past was people did not work through the City and it got chaotic. Pausche said perhaps the Mound City Council Minutes — April 19, 2022 Council wants to consider the $200K it would take to do the Columbarium vaults but noted in this supply chain environment, it will be more expensive. 4. Adjourn MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Larson, to adjourn at 11:12 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Attttest.`Kevin Kelly, City C16rk Mayor Raymond J. Salazar