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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-22-20CITY OF LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES June 22, 2020 1. Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Members present: Mayor Anderson, Council Members Hellier, Lee, Volk, Wheeler Members absent: None Staff present: Justin Miller, City Administrator; Allyn Kuennen, Assistant City Administrator; Ralph Vetter, Information Technology Manager; Paul Oehme, Public Works Director; Dave Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Tamara Wallace, Deputy Clerk 2. Citizen Comments No citizen comments. 3. Dakota Broadband IRU and Update on City Fiber Installation The City of Lakeville has entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the Dakota Broadband Board (DBB) to allow for the establishment of both an institutional (I -Net) and commercial (C -Net) fiber optic network. To ensure specific parameters within the partnership, the DBB is establishing an Indefeasible Right to Use (IRU) document that will provide all members consistency in the length of terms, efficiency in administering agreements, allow the DBB to market the C -Net to businesses/ other entities, and document member assets that are included for I -Net and C -Net use. Mr. Vetter presented the IRU Summary and draft IRU Agreement for Council consideration. The discussion included: understanding of the IRU and its implications, the use of fiber assets by other DBB members (I -Net), the use of fiber assets by parties outside of the DBB membership (C- Net), what would happen should the City abandon fiber assets being used as part of the IRU, and the 2 -year notification required by the City should it choose to terminate the IRU or use of identified fiber assets. The Council asked for clarification on the changes to the draft document, discussed the prevailing wage policy and how it relates to the IRU, clarified how the agreement would be used, the intent behind separate agreements with each individual city (versus one agreement encompassing all cities/ members), and the need to sign the agreement at this point. The City spoke extensively about the 2 -year notification period should the City want to exit the IRU and requested staff go back to the DBB to have the I -Net terms of the document separated from the C -Net prior to moving forward or approval. City Council Work Session Minutes, June 22, 2020 Page 2 4. DCC Governance/ Taskforce At Council request, staff provided an update on the Dakota Communications Center (DCC) financing and governance model including an overview of the draft 2021 DCC budget to be approved in late summer. Mr. Miller who is a member of the Executive Committee, as well as Council Member Volk who is the City's DCC representative, have been asked to participate in a sub -committee formed to address Dakota County becoming more integral in the financing/ operational management of the DCC to streamline its operations. The Council asked whether the service level staffing would change, cost allocations, whether the proposed agreement meets the new Homeland Security threshold, staffing needs, additional expenses associated with the calls, what a public safety levy would look like if the County takes over these operations, the establishment of fixed costs based on calls, and how the current DCC governance hinders/ impacts current 911 processes. The DCC will meet again in July; staff will provide another update at the July work session meeting. 5. Transportation Update Mr. Oehme provided a transportation update on the following projects: County Road 50 reconstruction, County Road 70 which was recently awarded by the County, the three-quarter improvement access to Dodd Blvd., 1701 Street improvement project, 179' Street project from Cedar to Fieldcrest Avenue, and the Lakeville North/ Ames Arena parking lot improvements. 6. Business Grant Program/ COVID Relief As part of the federal CARES Act, the City of Lakeville anticipates receiving funds that can be used to assist businesses who have been financially impacted by COVID-19. In anticipation of this fund allocation, staff has worked to draft policy as well as a set of guidelines for the approval of grant dollars under what would be referred to as the Small Business Emergency Grant Program. Those businesses who received funding from the federal SBA loan programs (Paycheck Protection Program & Emergency Injury Disaster Loan Program) would qualify to receive the City's grant dollars to use for expenses not covered under their federal funding; but would not allow multiple businesses to apply inside of the same funding source. The grant would be up to $10,000 based on economic impact due to COVID-19 expenses and the funds can be used for operating expenses including payments for rent/ mortgage/ utilities/ suppliers, or other critical non -payroll business expenses as approved by the fund administrator. To qualify, as of March 1, 2020 the business must be locally owned/ operated, for profit with an establishment in Lakeville, have at least one employee in addition to the owner but not more than 25 employees, under one million dollars in annual revenue, under operation for at least 12 City Council Work Session Minutes, June 22, 2020 Page 3 months prior to March 1, be licensed and in good standing with property taxes prior to May 15, 2020 if applicable, and must demonstrate significant loss in revenue since March 15. Mr. Olson indicated adjustments to the program could be needed as more information becomes available. The Council reviewed the draft Small Business Emergency Grant Program guidelines and discussed whether it would be a first come/ first serve program or solely needs based, eliminating restrictions on which businesses qualified such as home businesses or those that predominately sell tobacco, how seasonal employees would fit into the 25 employee max requirement, sole proprietors/ daycares, brick and mortars, and ways to separate the City's qualifications from the State/ Federal guidelines to serve a more broad pool of business owners. The Council asked staff to revisit which businesses would qualify, the elimination of some restrictions, what the application process would look like/ who would ultimately make the decision, the possibility of first examining those businesses that could not operate at all during stay-at-home orders, and the best way to ensure those businesses with the greatest need are serviced. The Economic Development Commission (EDC) will be meeting Tuesday, June 23, and the Council would like to hear their feedback and thoughts on the draft grant program. Staff will compile the EDC's notes and suggestions to provide to the Council for review. Break frons 8:30 - 8:35 p.m. 7. Community Response to Race Discussions The City Council has received several emails, calls, and requests for meetings from Lakeville residents expressing concerns and providing feedback in response to the killing of George Floyd. Chris Erickson, 18971 Inland Road Mr. Erickson offered the suggestion of setting aside some of the Small Business Emergency Grant dollars to those businesses that are potentially most impacted, and minority owned. The Council had a dialogue about some of the comments they have received, racial inequities that have been expressed, community outreach to Lakeville residents about what keeps them a resident of the city, how to diversify Lakeville city staffing, smaller scale conversations among city committees, the establishment of a multi -racial taskforce, and expressed a strong need for this to be a continuing conversation within the city. Mayor Anderson will work with City staff to come up with some ideas on how best and inside of what platform to have an ongoing community discussion on race. 8. Items for Future Discussion City Council Work Session Minutes, June 22, 2020 Page 4 Council Member Volk would like to have a conversation to address liter throughout the city; staff will work to figure out how to frame up this topic for future discussion. 9. Committee/ City Administrator Updates Council Member Hellier attended the DLBA meeting where they discussed the rescheduled Pan- O-Prog events and logistics for Cruise Night. Mayor Anderson gave an update on various mayoral groups he is a part of and reiterated the positive relationships, advocacy, and proactive work they have all collaborated on regarding recent events. 10. The meeting adjourned at 9:23p.m. Respectfully submitted, Tamara Walkce, Deputy City Clerk Douglas P. Anderson, Mayor