HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-23-2021CITY OF LAKEVILLE
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES
August 23, 2021
1. Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Members present: Mayor Anderson, Council Members Hellier, Bermel, Lee, and Volk
Members absent: None.
Staff present: Justin Miller, City Administrator; Allyn Kuennen, Assistant City Administrator;
Dave Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; John Hennen, Parks & Recreation
Director; Paul Oehme, Public Works Director; Jerilyn Erickson, Finance Director; Zach Johnson,
City Engineer; Tamara Wallace, Deputy Clerk
2. Moment of Silence and Flag Pledge.
3. Citizen Comments
None.
4. Hack Property Comp. Plan Amendment Proposal
Mr. Olson provided background on a request from United Christian Academy (UCA) for the
development of a pre -K - 12 private school on the Hack property located at I-35 and south of
210' Street. UCA was formed through the consolidation of Bethany Academy, Life Academy of
Bloomington, and Christian Life Academy of Farmington, and ultimately anticipates having a
total enrollment of 1,400 students. Included in the proposal is also the development of a 72,000
square foot Neurosciences Institute of Pastoral Medicine (NSIPM) building as well as a Sano
Wellness Center (Sano). The site is currently zoned commercial on the north and rural
agriculture to the south. Construction of the school would require a Comprehensive Plan
amendment and rezoning to a planned unit development (PUD) classification.
UCA's executive director, Evan Dalrymple, along with Dr. Christine Stueve of Sano attended the
meeting to provide an overview of the project's operations, vision, and how the two intend to
partner together. Dave Anderson, Senior Vice President of Frauenshuh, Inc. provided an
overview of the master plan for the 47 acres of land as well as outlined some of the site constraints
such as the existence of a major pipeline, a portion of the property that is outside of the MUSA,
necessary extension of sewer service, topographic considerations, and access on Keswick Loop.
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Mary Wolberg, previous resident of Lakeville
Owns a neighboring parcel to the property and asked what the loss of property tax revenue would
be to the City/ County if a school goes in that will no longer have to pay taxes; as well as where
water services to the property would come from. She also wanted to state that this would be the
last intersection in the City zoned for this particular commercial use.
The Council clarified zoning amendment requirements for the property, timeline for the project,
anticipated capacity, flexibility in enrollment plans, relationship between the NCISM/ Sano
Center and UCA, property tax estimates for the institute/ center, Lakeville borders in relation to
the property, and traffic flow with regards to morning/ afternoon drop-offs at the school.
Overall, the Council preliminarily indicated they would be in support of this project and did
suggest that UCA representatives work with the Lakeville Public School District and Lakeville
Chamber of Commerce on the possibility of future partnerships. Next the group will submit an
application for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezoning to be reviewed by City Staff
and the Planning Commission before coming back to the City Council for formal consideration.
5. Lake Marion Dock Regulations
City staff has previously been approached by the Lake Marion Homeowner's Association to
express concerns over the possibility of multiple docks/ boat slips as a result of future
development on the lake. The Association is specifically speaking about potential development of
the Bury gravel mining property located on the west side of Lake Marion. Current City Zoning
Ordinance does not regulate docks beyond ensuring shoreline recreational facilities are
centralized for utilization, nor does it include noise enforcement guidelines on city lakes. Docks
are regulated by the Minnesota DNR which outlines that docks may not be used as a marina.
Planning Director Daryl Morey prepared a cover memo for the Council indicating the Bury
gravel mining property has multiple zoning districts: the easterly two thirds of the property is
zoned RS -3 (Single Family Residential District) and the westerly one-third is zoned RM -2
(Medium Density Residential District). Lake Marion Association President, Craig Manson,
attended the work session meeting to provide historical background, reference, and handouts
outlining the Association's concerns. In anticipation of future development, the Association
would like the City Council to enact an ordinance that would limit construction of marinas,
prohibit commercial rental of dock slips, and regulate dock density on the shoreline. The
Association acknowledges this is not a problem presently but is asking the City Council to
implement regulations at this time to prevent future lake use problems.
The Council clarified slip capacity of the high-density areas, shore length, construction/ building
along the bluff, whether there were presently any association violations, DNR regulations and its
relationship to the City, and restrictions on where a homeowner can build a dock as it relates to a
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neighboring homeowner's dock access. The Council felt that the implementation of dock
regulations should apply to all City lakes, and directed staff to have the Parks, Recreation, and
Natural Resources Committee (PRNRC) do some preliminary research on what these regulations
would look like after the Park Referendum has concluded.
6. Assessment Policy Review
Mr. Oehme presented the proposed changes to the City's assessment policy; changes to the
document are intended to align better with State Statute as well as past practices of the street
reconstruction projects. Among those changes recommended were that assessments would only
be for street reconstruction projects, County projects would not be assessed, and more
clarification was added on how commercial/ industrial/ institutional/ mixed used properties
would be assessed. The Council was provided a redline version of the document with the
suggested changes for review.
Staff gave an overview of the 2022 street reconstruction proposed assessments, and the Council
discussed future mill and overlay/ sealcoating work, broadening language in the document to
encompass more scenarios, defining line items such as "routine maintenance", reviewed potential
assessment amounts & terms, cost share percentages, collector versus residential roads, and the
need to analyze threshold levels in the future. Staff will make the suggested corrections to the
document and bring it forward at a future Council meeting for formal adoption.
Break from 8:27 - 8:33 p.m.
7. 2022 Preliminary Budget & Property Tax Levy; Equipment, Facilities, and Technology CIP
Plans
Ms. Erickson provided an overview of the proposed 2022 property tax levy, property tax
supported funds, revenue & expenditure changes in the General Fund, and the impact on the
median home and fund balance reserves.
The 2022 property tax levy considers the City's growth, tax rate, inflation, personnel needs,
commodities, replacement of vehicles, maintenance of facilities, and debt service; and is
comprised of the general fund, street reconstruction, pavement management, building
equipment, park & trail improvements, and debt service funds. Staff also factored in key
principles within the Financial Sustainability & Resiliency Policy adopted by the Council in
January 2020 to include: proactively planning for service needs of the community, implementing
funding at a level which includes the full cost of providing services to the community/
maintenance, and attaining financial resiliency by establishing sufficient reserves/ funding levels.
The proposed 2022 tax levy is a 7.5% increase over the 2021 tax levy, reflecting a decrease in the
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estimated tax capacity rate of 2.4% from last year. The impact on the median home value would
mean a property tax increase of approximately $62.
The Council reviewed the preliminary tax levy and discussed the American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) funds, various personnel additions including a Lieutenant and investigator at the police
department, firefighter recruitment, as well as possible funding for mental health support. The
Council agreed to move forward with the 7.5% increase in the preliminarily tax levy and thanked
staff for their continued effort to reduce the budget.
The remaining steps in the budget/ CIP process are:
• September 7/ 20 - Adopt Preliminary Tax Levy & Budget; Announce Public Budget
Meeting Date
• September 23 - Planning Commission will review CIP for compliance with Comp Plan
• October 4 - Public Hearing on CIP/ Street Reconstruction Plan; Adopt CIP & Street
Reconstruction Plan
• October 25 - Budget review of Utility Funds & Liquor Funds; 2022 Proposed Fee
Schedule
• November 22 - Final 2022 Budget Review/ 2021 Yearend Preview
• December 6 - Public Budget Meeting (Truth in Taxation); Adopt 2022 Budget & Tax
Levy; Adopt 2022 Fee Schedule
8. Proposed 2022 - 2026 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
Ms. Erickson outlined the remaining areas of the CIP preview - facilities, equipment, and
technology, and highlighted the major changes to the document following Council feedback at
the July work session. As outlined in the above budget schedule, there will be a public hearing on
Monday, October 4, 2021 to obtain community feedback on the proposed 2022 - 2026 CIP as
well formal approval from the Council.
9. Proposed Fund Balance Policy Changes
Staff has considered several changes to the Fund Balance Policy and has worked with the City's
Finance Committee as well as the municipal advisor, Tammy Omdahl with Northland Securities,
to provide feedback and comments on the proposed changes. Among those changes discussed
include: considering the impact on the City's credit rating when establishing fund balance levels,
incorporating the "pay-as-you-go" goals outlined in the City's Financial Sustainability &
Resiliency Policy, adding enterprise liquor funds and internal service funds as categories, and
adding new funds that have been established since the last policy update. Additionally, the
Finance Committee has discussed increasing the target range for the General Fund from 40% to
50% and 45% to 55% to address future growth needs. Ms. Omdahl has indicated the importance
of showing a higher fund balance as one factor in maintaining the City's AAA credit rating score.
City Council Work Session Minutes, August 23, 2021 Page 5
10.
11.
The Council discussed enterprise funds, how to handle unexpected costs, proposed additions to
the policy regarding how/ if fund are replenished, and comparable thresholds/ policies adopted
by other cities who have a AAA credit rating. The Council also extensively talked about ensuring
the document read the City would intend/ target certain levels as opposed to being restricted to a
set amount within the fund balance or a timeline to replenish funds used. Barry Fick with the
City's Finance Committee indicated that the policy changes are designed to provide guidance and
have no formal discipline but did reiterate the City would need to explore tighter financial
restrictions to maintain the current credit rating. Staff will make the changes suggested by the
Council and bring the revised document back to a future meeting for consideration.
Items for Future Discussion
None.
Committee/ City Administrator Updates
Council Member Bermel attended the DCC meeting for Council Member Volk. He indicated the
Board approved the budget - the City's cost did go down some. The DCC also discussed
rebranding and future website changes.
Council Member Hellier attended the Dakota Broadband Board meeting where they reviewed a
policy that would define what the institutional networks mean; the Board will ultimately review
the policy and go back to their cities for individual feedback.
Mayor Anderson stated that the Regional Council of Mayors will be meeting in person in
September at the Minneapolis Club - the event is sponsored by the Minneapolis Chamber of
Commerce.
12. The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Tamara,Wallace, Deputy City Clerk
Douglas P. Anderson, Mayor