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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-14-01 WS• .CITY OF LAKEVILLE COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 14, 2001 ITEM 110.1. INTERVIEW APPLICANTS FOR PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. At 4:45 PM Mayor Johnson, Council Members Mulvihill, Luick, Bellows and Rieb, and City Administrator Bob Erickson interviewed Dan McHugh to fill a vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Mr. Mike Buettner was also scheduled to be interviewed but called and was unable to attend due to the birth of their baby. Mr. McHugh's interview was completed at 5:05 PM. ITEM 110.2. REVIEW PROPOSAL FOR LAKEVILLE WETLAND INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN. Tim Brown, Environmental Resources Coordinator, addressed the Council with a proposal for a Wetland Inventory and Management Plan. Mr. Brown stated that one of • the major responsibilities of the City is to manage its surface water. Staff is proposing the development of the plan which would take place over the next two years. City Council has budgeted $70,000 in the Storm Water Trunk Fund budget and the Metropolitan Council has committed a $20,000 grant, making a total of $90,000 available to complete the project. Benefits of the project would include: • The flexibility of the City to balance wetland loss while still meeting WCA guidelines. • To assess the quality and function of wetlands in the City. • Production of a detailed inventory for the purpose of dissemination of information to developers and residents. • To determine and maintain long term priorities for future land use decisions. • To develop a GIS wetland database with the potential of being made available through the Internet. Staff had asked several companies to submit proposals to develop the plan. From the responses, three companies were chosen to give presentations to the Environmental Affairs Committee. Based on several factors, the EAC and staff are unanimously recommending WSB & Associates. Their plan proposes digital .aerial color photography. City Council was asked to view two choices for picture resolution and recommend which they would prefer in the final plan. Council members unanimously felt that the higher resolution would be the better choice, even though the final cost • would be a few hundred dollars more. City Council Work Session February 14, 2001 Page -2- City Administrator Bob Erickson suggested that Council consider decreasing the work of WSB and increasing the City's responsibility for completion of the plan. It was suggested that an additional temporary City staff person could work with WSB, especially in the areas of notification to property owners prior to entering properties and being the liaison at City Hall to field questions from residents. The temporary City staff person would lower WSB's cost. Mr. Erickson also stated that the scope of services should include a "not to exceed" cost for wetlands evaluation, to protect the City's interest if there are more wetlands to be analyzed than the 500 anticipated. Council members stated that with the continued growth of the City, it would be sensible to have a Wetlands Inventory and Management Plan in place. They also discussed various uses for the aerial photography, including police and fire. emergency response and code enforcement. Mayor Johnson thanked the WSB team and Tim Brown for their information. Council directed staff to provide a breakdown of costs for the project and to place the proposal on the March 5, 2001 City Council agenda. ITEM NO. 3. DISCUSS FUNDING INITIATIVES FOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. • Park Director Steve Michaud, Assistant Park Director Rich Pelletier and Arts Center Coordinator Jim Urie were in attendance to discuss several issues pertaining to the Arts Center with City Council. Arts Advisory Board members Pete Martin and Wally Potter were also in attendance. The first item was the purchase of chairs for the Arts Center. Staff reported that the Muller Theater had lowered the cost of its used chairs to $15.00 each. The chairs would need to be refurbished, which would be done by Minncor Industries at the Stillwater prison at a cost of $75.00 each. The chairs are to be used for balcony seating and will take 60 days to refurbish. The proposed fundraiser is now planned to include the costs for all the chairs. Chairs for the main floor will take 150 days to build after the shop drawings are complete, or a total of six to seven months. Because of this, the fixed chairs will need to be ordered as soon as possible. Samples of the proposed portable stackable chairs were available for Council to inspect. Council members expressed concerns with the cost of the stackable chairs. Staff will check on what the City paid for the chairs in the Council chambers, which are of a comparable style and quality. Council members also expressed the importance of providing comfortable seating in the facility. Staff has been working with Jim Walston from Rider, Bennett, Egan & Arundel on Articles of Incorporation for anon-profit status of the Arts Center. The process is nearly completed, which will make it possible to accept contributions for the Buy-A- Chair program. Staff has several ideas for getting information on the campaign to the City Council Work Session February 14, 2001 Page -3- public and is currently working on a marketing brochure for the program. Wally Potter stated that approximately 35 individuals and businesses have already made commitments to buy a chair. Local sign maker Roger Benjamin has also offered to donate his time and materials for a campaign sign to be placed at the Arts Center. Pete Martin stated that community support for the project is strong and the Arts Center Advisory Board is confident that their Buy-A-Chair goal can be achieved. Rich Pelletier stated that construction change order figures should be available in about three weeks, which will provide more definitive dollar amounts remaining in the project budget. He feels that change order estimates are accurate or conservatively high. The Lakeville-Farmington Rotary Club would like the oppomtnity to adopt the ceramics studio and is requesting permission to hold a fundraiser raffle to make that feasible. Council Member Mulvihill noted that in return the group wants their name on the studio and asked if this was a common practice at similar facilities. Jim Urie gave other examples in the metro area. It was suggested that the International Rotary symbol be used instead of the individual chapter's name. Bob Erickson suggested that a naming policy be in place before any decision is made. A plaque might be more appropriate which could state, "equipment donated by ... "without naming an entire room or area after just one organization, so as not to limit donation opportunities for other groups. Sound system bids are scheduled to be opened next week. Staff also submitted a funding proposal for stage, riggings, electrical modifications, curtains and fire curtain. Mayor Johnson expressed concern about overspending and would like to see the project's change order figures before the chairs are ordered. Shop drawings for the chairs could be completed for the March 5th meeting without committing to an order. Council directed staff to move forward with the marketing brochure for the Buy- A-Chair program, being careful not to associate donations with the City of Lakeville. A post office box should be set up to accept any contributions. An update of the project will be prepared for the March 5th City Council agenda. ITEM NO.4. DISCUSS TAX INCREMENT FINANCING LEGISLATION. Council members received a memo from Finance Director Dennis Feller which provided details relating to proposed legislation that may impact pre-1990 TIF districts by limiting the ability of cities to modify pre-1990 TIF districts after April 30, 2001. Council members also received a copy of a letter from Mr. Feller to Springsted asking that Lakeville's TIF districts be reviewed to determine whether any amendments are advised at this time.