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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-24-12 WSCITY OF LAKEVILLE COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES September 24, 2012 Mayor Bellows called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. at the Lakeville Water Treatment Facility. Council Members Present: Mayor Mark Bellows, Laurie Rieb, Matt Little, Colleen LaBeau Council Members Absent: Kerrin Swecker Staff Present: Steve Mielke, City Administrator; Chris Petree, Public Works Director; John Hennen, Interim Parks and Recreation Director; Char Friedges, City Clerk; Captain Kevin Manias, LPD; Zach Johnson, City Engineer; Judi Hawkins, Deputy Clerk 2. Citizen comments There were no citizen comments. 3. Massage Therapy Center Licensing An ordinance has been drafted by the City Attorney which requires licenses for massage therapy centers, i.e., establishments which have massage therapy as their primary business. The ordinance does not apply to businesses which are otherwise State licensed or other retail service businesses which have massage therapy as an ancillary uses. Types of businesses which are exempt due to State licensure include chiropractic and health care facilities, athletic trainers, and beauty salons. Manias stated that following a recent investigation it was determined that the police would have greater latitude in dealing with any potential issues if the ordinance addressed the massage therapy center in addition to individual massage therapists. Mayor Bellows asked how many businesses this ordinance would effect. Manias stated a list of businesses is being compiled from the current list of massage therapy license holders and a letter is being drafted to those establishments. The ordinance will provide an additional tool to close an establishment in the event of illicit activities. Bellows stated that he would like the police to be as aggressive as possible in charging and prosecuting illegal activities. Council directed staff to place the ordinance on a future regular agenda. 4. Commercial /Industrial Park Dedication Process Review Interim Parks and Recreation Director John Hennen provided background and an overview of directives by Council to determine a process which would establish the fair market value of property for the purpose of calculating commercial and industrial park dedication fees in lieu of land. Council received a report from The Planning Company (TPC) at their June 25, 2012 work session. After considering several methods to establish average fair market value of C/I properties Council's City Council Work Session Minutes: September 24, 2012 Page 2 preference is to hire a consultant appraiser. The Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Committee and the Economic Development Commission also reviewed the report by TPC and recommended that an appraiser be retained to determine average fair market value for commercial and industrial properties through a valuation consultation process. Staff is requesting Council proceed with retaining the services of Patchin Messner Dodd & Brum at a cost not to exceed $6,000 to determine the average fair market property value for C/I properties for the purpose of calculating park dedication fees in lieu of land. The appraisals will provide market values based on retail or industrial uses. The EDC recommended approval of the appraisal process but expressed concerns about the adopted ordinance increasing C/I park dedication rates from 5% to 6 %. EDC members suggested that the entire ordinance be reviewed. LaBeau would like to have specific fees for different classifications of land uses. She believes it would be helpful for businesses to know what the fees will be before going through the plat approval process. Council concurred with beginning the appraisal process and directed staff to enter into an agreement with Patchin Messner for an amount not to exceed $6,000, to be paid by the Park Dedication fund. The process should take about eight weeks with completion anticipated by the end of November. 5. Collector Road Financing Council recently discussed what the City's future roadway expansion needs will be and what new collector roads will be needed for the City's ultimate build -out. Cost estimates were prepared for upgrading the present system as well as construction of new collector roads that will be needed in currently undeveloped areas. Under the current policy, the cost of collector roads within new subdivisions is paid by the developers. At the January Developers Forum several comments were received regarding the policy, which resulted in staff reviewing whether the City should consider a cost share, and if so, what would be the funding source. The funding formula for construction of county roads is 55% county and 45% city. The City can choose to pay their share from various sources but some form of revenue is needed, whether the revenue comes from the new user or the established homeowner who will also be using the road. LaBeau believes this brings additional costs to some developers and not others, giving them an unfair advantage in lot pricing. Monica Heil representing WSB presented results of a Collector Roadway Financing Study. She stated that the study consisted of four goals: 1. To prepare the City to have available funding for future construction projects; 2. To budget for reconstruction projects; 3. To use the right -size design standards; and 4. To evaluate funding approaches that will provide value to all parties. City Council Work Session Minutes: September 24, 2012 Page 3 At the July 23, 2012 Work Session Council directed WSB to evaluate the City's transportation system as a whole and the estimated cost to construct the City's ultimate collector roadway system. Currently, right of way for minor collectors, major collectors and arterials is dedicated by the developer with all new plats. ROW dedication requirements are determined using State Aid design standards, including minimum roadway widths, parking lane standards, sidewalks, and boulevards, depending on the roadway classification. An opportunity might exist to reduce the right of way needs of minor collector roadways. Bellows asked if this would reduce standards for trails from ten feet to eight feet. Staff stated that the county's 10' standards will likely not change, since they are meant to accommodate two -way bike traffic. Staff will continue to evaluate roadway width and ROW needs on a case by case basis. Currently developers construct major and minor collector roadways within new subdivisions. The Collector Roadway Financing Study examines whether there is a way to lower costs to developers or the City. Ms. Heil provided comparisons of additional costs to the City if developers paid for construction costs of up to 36 -feet wide and up to 40 -feet wide on collectors with the balance to be paid by the City. Based on current policies potential City funding sources would be state aid allocations, grant opportunities from Federal, State and County, and from adjoining townships where the roadways are shared. LaBeau asked if there is also an estimate on increased future tax base as homes are built and the off -set revenue that would be received by additional development in the community. Mielke stated that the developers had expressed that the more the City can do to lower their up -front costs, the more affordable it is for them to build and for people to buy homes in this community. Some cities take on a risk by financing the road construction. Some cities do the work themselves and assess it back to the lots in the respective development. This creates cash -flow challenges for cities if the lots are not sold immediately. The City has implemented a change in the letter of credit requirements which has lowered costs for some developers. A number of factors are considered when determining the roadway width, including adjoining wetlands, neighborhood parks, and anticipated traffic. If developers are responsible for a certain portion and the City is responsible for the remainder, then each share increases proportionately as the standards are increased. Minor collectors and local streets are intended to serve a particular subdivision, but major collectors are used by the entire community. Funding alternatives for the city's portion of the costs are limited to assessments and property taxes. Possible changes in state statutes that would allow cities to charge street utility fees would be helpful. This could be included in Legislation initiatives. State aid is not sufficient to offset the cost of infrastructure. At a future work session, Council will discuss whether the City should be responsible for at least some of the cost of major collectors. As requested as part of the Developers Forum, Council will be asked to consider whether funding policy City Council Work Session Minutes: September 24, 2012 Page 4 changes are warranted at this time and what the potential impacts would be to the City's general tax base. Staff feels there has been considerable progress on issues raised at the forum. 6. Other: a. Kenrick Avenue Trail Project Bids John Hennen stated that bids for the Kenrick Avenue Trail project were opened and are between 12% and 50% higher than the engineer's estimate. At this time staff is recommending Council consider rejecting all of the bids and re -bid the project in January. Staff would like to review the project with WSB to consider any alternatives or ways to decrease the scope of the project. LaBeau asked why staff believed the bids would come in lower next year. Mielke stated that contractors are very busy right now and could be more anxious to be awarded bids for work next year. Asphalt prices are also high right now which might reflect the current supply on hand. Council directed staff to place rejection of bids for the Kenrick Avenue Trail Project on a future agenda. DCC LOGIS continues to work with securing a viable provider for a CAD /Mobile system following the inability of Motorola to satisfy their contract. Additional vendors are available since the last round of bids. Heritage Center: Change orders that are being brought to Council at the next regular meeting will put the project over budget. Change orders include soil corrections, roof truss replacement, and additional asphalt for the parking lot above the donated amount. Additional fund raising will need to be done. Location for Work Sessions LaBeau suggested that future work sessions be moved back to City Hall. Council members agreed that the Marion Conference Room is more conducive to the meetings. 7. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, J U01 i awkins, Deputy City Clerk Mark Bellows, Mayor