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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-22-2021CITY OF LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES March 22, 2021 1. Council Member Hellier called the meeting to order at 6:48 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Members present: Mayor Anderson (via Zoom), Council Members Hellier, Bermel, Lee, and Volk Members absent: None. Staff present: Jerilyn Erickson, Finance Director; Dave Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Jeff Long, Police Chief; John Kornmann, Deputy Police Chief; Tamara Wallace, Deputy Clerk 2. Moment of Silence and Flag Pledge. 3. Citizen Comments John Rice, 16336 Rainbow Trail Wanted to thank the City for holding the March 6 Community Conversation on Race - he felt that the moderator, staff, Council, and Mayor did an excellent job with the discussion. He also wanted to ensure that the City Council still had future plans to discuss the re- implementation of the senior water discount which is currently under review by staff. 4. Proposed Annexation Requests Mr. Olson outlined the two annexation requests that were recently received by staff for future developments in the industrial park. The first request is from Launch Properties who is proposing to incorporate the 115.57 -acre Adelmann property into their 200 -acre Launch Park currently under development. The second request is from Scannell Properties who is proposing to annex the 91.37 Ruddle property into their 175 -acre Interstate South Logistics Park. Both properties have sewer, water, and road access adjacent to the property, and meet MN State Statutes to be annexed to the City following a 30 -day notice to Eureka Township and a public hearing. Staff indicated the addition of these properties would mean approximately 500,000 - 1 million square feet in industrial property added to the City. Representatives from both Launch and Scannell Properties gave an overview of each site, future plans for development, any environmental constraints, job creation, vendor access, financial benefits to the city, and outlined why they were seeking annexation requests at this time. City Council Work Session Minutes, March 22, 2021 Page 2 The Council discussed the reason for the annexation requests, taxes the City of Lakeville would pay back to Eureka Township, how many acres of developable land (zoned commercial/ industrial) remained in the City, rail service, clarified the outline of each property seeking annexation, whether the land would be parceled out, extension of land to accommodate the annexation, cost analysis on the services, whether the industrial uses would require an additional water tower, and the importance of maintaining a good relationship with Eureka Township. The Council was in support of moving forward with both annexation requests. 5. Ordinance Prohibiting Targeted Picketing in Residential Neighborhoods Chief Long and Deputy Chief Kornmann outlined a proposed ordinance aimed to protect neighbors/ residential neighborhoods during protests. The ordinance does not seek to stop the protest but rather to prohibit protesters from targeting a residence, blocking streets, or restricting access to homeowners. The ordinance only applies to residential neighborhoods; public property would not be protected under this ordinance. The Council reviewed the ordinance and clarified how this would change the way protests currently take place in residential neighborhoods, how homeowners would be protected, whether the constitutionality of the ordinance has been tested/ used in other cities, and how the City would communicate the ordinance's expectations. The majority of the Council was in support of moving forward but did ask staff to make the title of the ordinance more specific prior to bringing it to a future Council Meeting for formal consideration. 6. Bonding Projects Strategy Staff is seeking Council direction on whether they would like to submit any of the larger legislative priorities for next year's state or federal bonding cycle. The State of Minnesota's cycle starts in May 2021, and at the federal level congress is considering "community project funding" or a federal infrastructure bill. Possible eligible projects identified by staff included the County Road 50/ I-35 Interchange, Rail Storage Facilities, and Public Safety Training Facility. The Council reviewed the three projects but talked extensively about the first potential bonding project which was a police training facility. The proposal is that the police department would occupy the old Lakeville Public Works building as a training facility - currently it is used for storage. The police department has already evaluated the site and plans; the projected cost would be between $6 and $8 million. The project could be financed through state bonding; however, several partner cities and two counties have previously expressed interest in using the facility/ sharing the costs of its operation. Chief Long and Deputy Chief Kornmann provided background on several changes in Minnesota regarding use of force protocols and how officers should City Council Work Session Minutes, March 22, 2021 Page 3 respond to mental health calls - this training facility would eliminate current travel to practice shooting and maximize on training times. The Council clarified the total costs for the training facility, hours of operation, the possibility of allowing the public to access the facility for gun safety or to obtain a permit to carry, the proposed land/ building, and the best operation/ partnership model that would ensure Lakeville police officers would not have issues accessing the facility. The Council felt that the police training facility should have the most priority for bonding and reviewed how to best position the application so that it was prioritized among legislatures. Ultimately the Council would like City Administrator Justin Miller to work with staff on acquiring a professional and/ or lobbying team to assist with the bonding submission, and to bring a possible option forward at the April 5 City Council meeting. 7. Preliminary Yearend 2020 Financial Update Ms. Erickson presented the preliminary 2020 year-end financial report which shows variances between the amended budget as well as the estimated budget. 8. Pet Sale Ordinance Amendment Council Member Hellier asked that an ordinance be drafted that would prevent pet shops from selling or disposing of dogs or cats, and that would ban the commercial sale of pets within the city. Similar ordinances have already been adopted by other cities. The Council discussed some concerns with the drafted ordinance indicating that it seemed to extend beyond the original intention to ban puppy mill sales within the City. Linda Pronschinske, 9885 Upper 173rd Court West, Lakeville - resident working alongside the Minnesota Animal Humane Society Clarified that her knowledge of the ordinance was that it only intended to eliminate puppy mill sales at pet stores in Lakeville. Its purpose is to bring awareness to the horrific conditions of puppy mills, and that the ordinance was not intended to restrict/ focus on private breeders. Kathy Mock - works with the Minnesota Animal Humane Society Indicated that she has worked with several cities to get these ordinances passed and would be happy to come back to a future work session meeting to provide a presentation on the intent of this ordinance. She can also provide additional information on language that other cities have adopted within their ordinances. The Council clarified how the ordinance would work to identify puppy mill sales/ how it would be enforced. The Council would like staff to work on re -drafting the language so that it more City Council Work Session Minutes, March 22, 2021 Page 4 clearly identifies the intent to ban puppy mill sales, and to bring the revised ordinance back to the April work session meeting for further discussion. 9. Commission Appreciation Dinner Discussion Annually the City holds an appreciation dinner in March/ April to recognize the members of the various boards/ commissions; however, this year the Council decided to delay the event due to COVID-19 protocols. With statewide restrictions loosening, staff is seeking direction on whether the Council would like to hold the event later in the year; as well as potentially sending out a survey to all board/ commission members to gage their interest/ comfort in attending the event. The Council was in support of sending out a survey to commission members at the end of April/ beginning of May and considered having the event at the end of June otherwise during Pan-O- Prog. They also discussed potential gifts and outgoing member plaques. 10. Items for Future Discussion • Waste hauler licenses in the city. • An updated 2021 schedule of work session discussion items. • Conversation on multi -family housing projects in the city. 11. Committee/ City Administrator Updates Council Member Hellier reported the DBB meeting had to adjourn early due to a tornado warning. Mayor Anderson indicated that the Regional Council of Mayors met on March 15 where the group focused on mental health/ mental health education. The Mayor also serves on a suicide prevention taskforce that recently reviewed mental health/ suicide statistics. Council Member Lee attended the personnel committee meeting where they talked about the addition of another building inspector, possibilities for remote work post the pandemic, and creative ways to get a more diverse pool of applicants for city positions. Council Member Lee also provided an update on the final Community Conversation on Race discussion - the working group recently met and one of the members will be compiling all the thoughts/ feedback to present at the April work session meeting. Council Member Bermel and Council Member Lee provided an update on the Lakeville Public Safety Committee who talked about body cameras and police protocol when they arrive on a scene in response to a call. City Council Work Session Minutes, March 22, 2021 Page 5 Council Member Volk attended the Arenas Board meeting - they reviewed a proposal on re- structuring the job description of the arenas staff. They also brought forward a proposal to install a lift as well as touchless equipment such as soap dispensers, etc. in the facility. 12. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m. submitted, U Tamara allace, Deputy City Clerk Douglas . Anderson, Mayor