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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-24-03 WS• CITY OF LAKEVILLE COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24, 2003 Present: Council Members Luick, Bellows, Rieb and Wulff. Mayor Bob Johnson was absent. Also present: City Administrator Bob Erickson Finance Director Dennis Feller; Building Official Gene Abbott; City Engineer Keith Nelson; Community and Economic Development Director Dave Olson; Police Chief Dave Martens; and Deputy Clerk Judi Hawkins. ITEM NO. 1. DISCUSS PROPOSED 2003 BUDGETED EXPENDITURE (HOLDS). City Administrator Robert Erickson stated that, in anticipation of the legislature's reduction of LGA and Market Value Homestead Credit, the Finance Department, with the guidance of the City Administrator, prepared a list of expenditure "holds" equal to Lakeville's 2003 LGA payments. Department Directors have reviewed the recommendations as part of the participative process. Mr. Erickson stated that the City did not hire any new budgeted positions in 2002 until the legislature adjourned, in .order to have the financial flexibility to react to legislative initiatives that would .adversely affect Lakeville. In light of the significant State budget challenges in the • coming year, Lakeville will follow the same conservative fiscal approach for 2003. Mr. Erickson discussed the proposed budget "hold" list. Council Member Bellows stated that out-of-state travel is considered a "perk". Council Members unanimously agreed that the 2003 "hold" list should include all out-of-state travel expenses including but not limited to airfare, hotel, meals and registration. Council Member Luick expressed concern about eliminating the "Customer Service Training". He stated residents have high service level expectations and the City has previously received high marks for the quality of its service. Mr. Erickson stated the Council might wish to consider leaving $1,000-$2,000 in the budget for Petra Marquart, Customized Training Services Professional Development Coordinator, Hennepin Technical College. Council Member Wulff expressed support for elimination of the ALF subsidy. Mr. Erickson provided the City Council with talking points relating to the budget "holds". The points included: • 13% of the budget is appropriated to contractual outsourcing of services, including but not limited to snow plowing, street sweeping, street patching, street striping, janitorial, and landscape maintenance. Outsourcing results in quality cost effective services. • Lakeville only has a $75,000 contingency, which is significantly less than that of • neighboring cities. Other cities can adjust to an LGA reduction by utilizing their contingency funds. City Council Work Session January 24, 2003 Page -2- • • Austin receives $7.8 million of LGA compared to Lakeville's $499,000. As a result, Austin's Tax Capacity Rate is 18% less than Lakeville's. (Austin's Tax Capacity Rate is .29400 compared to Lakeville's .34545) • According to the State Auditor's office, Lakevifle's per capita expenditures are significantly less than those of other Minnesota cities. This is exemplified in the Austin case where expenditures are $515 per capita compared to Lakeville's per capita expenditures of $343. The Legislature's inequitable distribution of LGA ($334/capita for Austin compared to $11/capita for Lakeville) enables out-state cities to have a higher level of per capita spending. • Lakeville is able to maintain below-average expenditures due to prudent fiscal management and the fact that Lakeville continues to have a ratio of only 3.4 employees per thousand population. • In addition, Lakeville has approximately 83 joint powers agreements with other entities for a wide range of services such as ambulance, purchasing and drug task force. Participation in joint powers agreements enables Lakeville to provide cost effective and innovative services to its residents. • Lakeville's General Fund balance is 41% of budget. The designated fund balance represents the amount of funds required to operate during the first six months of the year. The City's most significant revenue sources, taxes and intergovernmental revenue, do not provide appreciable revenues until the second half of the year. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Austin's Fund balance is approximately 325% of its operating budget; Austin has a fund balance with enough capacity to withstand four years loss of LGA. Council directed staff to continue to follow the same conservative fiscal approach for 2003, and to retain the list of budget "holds" in anticipation of loss of Local Government Aid and Market Value Homestead Credit. ITEM NO. 2. CONSIDERATION OF WEB-BASED INSPECTION PERMIT APPLICATIONS. Building Official Gene Abbott presented information to City Council Members regarding the new LOGIS permit application software. The new program being developed by LOGIS would provide residents and contractors the opportunity to apply for certain types of permits via the Internet and pay for them with a credit card. Only permits that do not require a building plan or site plan review would be eligible. City Administrator Bob Erickson stated that this would help the City to continue to be efficient while providing great customer service. Contractors and the public could be made aware of this program by using the "Messages" page, Channel 16, and the bottom of the utility bills. The program would actually require less staff time and reduce mailing fees, and therefore would • be less expensive to administer than assisting customers at the counter during regular business hours. For this reason, an additional fee for the service would not be justified. The result would City Council Work Session January 24, 2003 Page -3- • be a positive message to constituents regarding cost effectiveness. Council Members Rieb and Wulff both expressed the opinion that the service would provide so many benefits that applicants would be anxious to use it and would not expect a discount. Council Member Wulff inquired about the cost for the software from LOGIS and whether the City is getting the service at the best possible price. She stated there are several providers and used the service at the school district, RevTrak, for comparison. Finance Director Dennis Feller explained that the VeriSign system is the industry standard - others are not as good and not as reliable. LOGIS would like to have Lakeville serve as a Beta site, which will give Lakeville the opportunity to be the first to offer this program to its residents. Council directed staff to continue to pursue the LOGIS software program whereby residents and contractors can make applications and pay for certain building permits through the Internet and to place the proposed agreement with VeriSign Payment Services on an upcoming Council Agenda for implementation as soon as possible. ITEM NO. 3. REQUEST BY ATTORNEY GARY FUCHS RELATING TO CONDEMNATION AWARDS FOR 185TH STREET INTERCHANGE, PROJECT 99-12. • City Engineer Keith Nelson discussed with Council Members the settlement demands presented by the attorney representing owners of four parcels of property along 185th Street. The settlements reflect acquisition of temporary and/or permanent easements in connection with the I-35W/County Road 60 (185`h Street) interchange improvements. City Administrator Bob Erickson reminded Council Members that the awards are part of the project, for which Dakota County will pay 55%. Council directed staff to authorize our legal counsel to continue to pursue settlements mid-rang~etween the City's last offer/Commissioners Award and the property owners' attorney's demand. ITEM NO. 4. REVIEW COUNTY ROAD 60 BRIDGE DESIGN. City Engineer Keith Nelson provided several sketches of possible County Road 60 bridge designs prepared by SRF Consulting Group, Inc. The concept preferred by all Council Members was Study Concept "E". Council Members felt that when a bridge design is considered for County Road 70, it should complement the design of the current County Road 46 bridge, matching the northerly and southerly ends of the city. Council directed staff to proceed with the implementation of Bridge Concept Study E for • the County Road 60 bridge at 1-35W. City Council Work Session January 24, 2003 Page -4- • .ITEM NO. 5. REVIEW ALL-WAY STOP CONTROL AT 205TH STREET AND ~ACQUARD AVENUE. In response to residents' expressed concerns regarding traffic, SRF Consulting Group recently completed a review of traffic and other conditions at the intersection of 205`h Street and jacquard Avenue. Using the recently published update of the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, SRF's report discusses conditions to justify the installation of an All-Way Stop Control (AWSC). Even though traffic volumes and collision history do not meet the criteria for an AWSC, SRF concludes that other justification criterions are satisfied. Left-turn conflict, the need to control vehicle/pedestrian conflicts, and collector street roadway classification would serve as justification to install an AWSC at the intersection. Staff suggested videotaping incidents at the intersection for the benefit of showing the residents and inviting concerned neighbors to attend the City Council meeting when the item is discussed. Council Members also discussed when the best time might be to implement the change. Council directed staff to place the proposed All-Way Stop Control for 205``' Street and Jacquard Avenue on an upcoming Council agenda for consideration of installation in March or April, and to invite resident Scott Newman to attend the meeting. ITEM NO. 6. REQUEST FROM DOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT REGARDING MODERATE- . INCOME DESIGNATION: KENWOOD APARTMENTS. Community and Economic Development Director Dave Olson presented information to Council Members regarding a request from Dominium Development and Acquisition, LLC to modify the proposed Kenwood Crossing apartment project. The project was originally proposed as a luxury (market rate) apartment complex with upscale amenities. The developer is now requesting that 20% of the first phase of the project, or 32 or 162 units, be designated as "affordable". Staff surveyed .existing rental complexes and found that currently there is a 12-14% vacancy rate in the downtown area, and a 9% vacancy rate at SouthFork. The Dakota County CDA has provided seniors with additional housing opportunities, and low interest rates have made home- buying affordable for many people. In addition, the CDA will be proposing two more complexes shortly, with a total of 60 units. All of these are contributing factors of the current high vacancy rate in Lakeville. Mr. Erickson also stated that neighboring developments were assured that Kenwood Crossing would be market-rate rental units. Continued development of below market housing could work counter-productively, ultimately increasing the need for public transportation for the area. Council directed staff to advise Dominium Development & Acquisition, LLC that the City of Lakeville is interested in them continuing to develop their original proposal for the Kenwood Crossing apartment project. City Council Work Session /anuary 24, 2003 Page -5- ITEM NO. 7. REQUEST FOR DEVELOPMENT IN COUNTY ROAD 50/1-35W CORRIDOR. Gander Mountain has researched several possible sites for a new store in the Twin Cities and has determined Lakeville to be their preferred location. Of the properties they have considered in Lakeville, they feel the site next to HOM Furniture best suits their needs for an 80,000 to 100,000 square foot store. SRF has completed a traffic study comparing the amount of traffic which would be generated by use of the site for a sporting goods store, versus traffic if the site would be developed into restaurant uses. According to SRF, development of the property as two to four restaurants would generate significantly more vehicle trips per day. City Administrator Bob Erickson stated that he had discussed the possibility of the Gander Mountain development with Mayor Johnson and they both felt it was a good opportunity that should be considered. There is no moratorium existing on this site. From a traffic standpoint this building is a better project for the site than multiple restaurants and will actually create a noise barrier for nearby residents. Gander Mountain would like to begin their project as soon as possible and are anticipating a fall 2003 opening. Council directed staff to continue to work with the. developers of Gander Mountain in bringing their development on the HOM Furniture site through the City's planning process and to the City Council for final consideration. ITEM NO. 8. REVIEW ISD #194 /CITY OF LAKEVILLE )DINT WORK SESSION AGENDA. Discuss Fiber optic routing - right of way. City of Lakeville staff has contributed many hours helping ISD #194 gather information which would assist them in making an informed decision regarding fiber optic routing. Staff would like ISD #194 to consider using fiber that is already in the right of way,' rather than installing their own system. In addition to cost savings, the City has concerns about how much fiber should be allowed within the right of way. The Telecommunications Subcommittee believes there would be significant savings if the school district uses existing fiber optics. The decision to use existing systems would also be advantageous to Charter Communications. 2. Review of new (second) high school site plan/infrastructure. A neighborhood meeting was held regarding the new high school site. If adjoining property is developed soon and sewer extended, it may eliminate the need to install a lift station to serve the site. 3. Discuss 2001 Minnesota Student Survey analysis. Larry Hazel and Duane Zaun have spent many hours analyzing the results of the 2001 Minnesota Student Survey and the effect of student affluence on drug use. Their results will be presented at the Joint Meeting on January 30`h. This analysis has gained significant attention in surrounding school districts as well as the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning. Don Brundage from ISD #196 will also be at the meeting to learn the results. • Council thanked staff for the overview of the Joint Work Session scheduled for January 30, 2003, 7:00 PM, Orchard Lake Elementary School. City Council Work Session January 24, 2003 Page -6- ITEM NO. 9. STATUS UPDATE: LOGIS POLICE DISPATCH, RECORDS MAINTENANCE AND MOBILE DATA COMPUTER SYSTEMS. At a previous work session, City Council was informed of new public safety software being implemented by LOGIS for Police dispatch, records management and mobile data computer systems. Lakeville's Police Communications Supervisor Rose Kruchten actively participated in the various committees and assisted in choosing the updated software. Lakeville has been invited to be a Beta site, one of the first cities to implement the Printrak software. All other agencies in the consortium of more than 20 agencies will follow Lakeville's lead. The software was advance funded in 2001. Council requested staff keep them informed on the operation of the Printrak computer software for the Police Department. ITEM NO. 10. OTHER BUSINESS. City Administrator Bob Erickson informed Council Members that Design Cabinets has agreed to the offer made by the City of Lakeville to sell the Park Maintenance Building. They are anxious to complete the transaction. Discussions continue with the property owner for the acquisition of the proposed Public Works Facility site. Council directed staff to keep them informed of ongoing progress on the sale of the existing Parks Maintenance Building and purchase of a new Public Works Facility site. ITEM NO. 11. ADJOURN. The meeting adjourned at 4:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, ,~ Ju ith R. Hawkins, Deputy Clerk •