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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-22-10 WSIn attendance: Staff: Minutes Lakeville City Council Work Session February 22, 2010 Mayor Holly Dahl Council Member Mark Bellows Council Member Laurie Rieb Council Member Kerrin Swecker Council Member Kevin Miller The meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm. Steve Mielke, City Administrator Dennis Feller, Finance Director Steve Michaud, Parks and Recreation Director Scott Nelson, Fire Chief Chris Petree, Director of Operations and Maintenance Daryl Morey, Planning Director Allyn Kuennen, Associate Planner Frank Dempsey, Associate Planner Judi Hawkins, Deputy City Clerk ITEM #1 Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County for trail construction CSAH 9 and CR 50 (Improvement Project 10 -02) Parks and Recreation Director Steve Michaud presented the proposed Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County for construction of two segments of trail located on the east side of Dodd Boulevard from County Road 50 to Heritage Drive and south of 'tea Avenue adjacent to the Cub Foods property. Completion of these trail segments will greatly enhance pedestrian circulation and increase safety in this area. Costs for acquisition and construction are estimated at $51,141, of which Dakota County will fund 55 The balance of the funding will be from City cash escrows and the Park Development Fund. Dakota County will finance the project and will be repaid by the City in 2013 with Park Dedication funds. Council directed staff to place the Joint Powers Agreement on the next Council agenda for consideration. ITEM #2 Discuss disposition of former Police Department building City Administrator Steve Mielke summarized discussions with ISD 194 regarding a proposal for their consideration of a lease /purchase of the former Police Department building. Since their decision was to decline the City's offer, other alternatives will be City Council Work Session Minutes February 22, 2010 Page 2- explored. The Senior Center and the Lakeville Area Historical Society continue to show interest in converting the building to a shared use by these two groups. The Senior Center membership has outgrown the current facility, and the Historical Society building is not ADA compliant. Both of these groups would like more room to grow their programs. Considerations include long -term community needs and the cost of remodeling the building to suit the needs of the two groups. The building is in need of maintenance and major repairs, including a new roof. Finance Director Dennis Feller provided an overview of the Facility Use Options report. Staff is recommending a professional consultant be retained to prepare a Facility Needs Assessment for both the Senior Center and the Historical Society to determine current and future needs. Following preparation of the assessment, staff recommends preparing a schematic design and cost estimate for the remodeling of the building. Some funding for the Senior Center portion of the project could come from Community Development Block Grant funds and some could come from the sale of the current building. CDBG funds could also be used to complete the needs assessment. Other possible funding sources might include donations, in -kind contributions of labor and materials, and /or Tax Abatement Bonds. Due to considerably more square footage at the PD building compared to current space, utilities and operating expenses would increase. Council members asked if the Dakota County CDA might be interested in using the existing Senior Center in conjunction with a future senior housing project. Council members believe that the information gained from the needs assessment would be useful in determining the need for a new Senior Center even if it demonstrates that the PD building is not a viable opportunity. Chamber Exec. Director Todd Bornhauser asked if a space needs assessment of other City departments has been conducted. Mr. Mielke stated that there is nothing in the foreseeable future to justify any department considering a move to this building. Council directed staff to proceed with a Facility Needs Assessment for both the Senior Citizens Center and the Lakeville Area Historical Society. ITEM #3 Fire Department organizational review and Chief recruitment process Council previously requested that a review of the Fire Department's organizational structure be conducted prior to making decisions about the Fire Chief Recruitment process. Discussions have been held with surrounding communities, fire officers and internal staff, and various internal and external reorganization options have been explored. Due to the State's fiscal problems, the concept of shared services is being discussed across the state and interest is growing. The Governor has formed a task force to look at ideas and to come up with ways to assist communities with analyzing the advantages of cities sharing fire and rescue services. It was emphasized that sharing services is not the same as consolidation. City Council Work Session Minutes February 22, 2010 Page -3- Lakeville discussed the shared services concept with Apple Valley, Burnsville and Farmington. Of those communities, Farmington showed considerable interest in studying the possibilities. Farmington has been unable to hire a full -time chief due to budget constraints. Apple Valley showed some interest in the discussions on shared training services. Burnsville has full -time firefighters and is mostly interested in mutual aid. Lakeville's fire officers also provided valuable comments and input. Some areas that were suggested for sharing, beyond mutual aid, were facilities and more training opportunities. ICMA was suggested as one possible resource for providing consulting services for a study. Additional data is needed from Farmington before a contract proposal can move forward. Council members felt the new Fire Chief should be included in discussions of shared services. There are four major service areas within the Fire Department that will need to be considered in any internal reorganization proposal: administration, fire suppression, fire prevention, and inspections. Large cities sometimes create a Public Safety Department, consisting of fire, EMS, and police; however, this might be costly for a city of Lakeville's size. Some possibilities for consolidation of positions were discussed, although a reduction in staff would result in a reduction of services. The ICMA study would provide recommendations regarding these issues. Staff recommends moving ahead with the replacement process and recommended a similar process to that of the Police Chief Process previously used. Firefighters can be involved in the process by soliciting their input regarding the candidates. The City Administrator and Council members can also be as involved as Council desires. All agreed that the ultimate goal is to look at both internal and external candidates and hire the best chief possible. The target date to have a new chief in place is July 15, 2010. Council directed staff to: Solicit a proposal from ICMA to conduct a study on shared services for fire and rescue between the cities of Lakeville and Farmington. The proposal should include scope, cost and a timeline. Begin the recruitment process for a new Fire Chief. ITEM #4 Pavement Management Study report Following authorization from Council in 2009, WSB Associates was contracted to prepare a Pavement Management Program for the City of Lakeville. WSB's Municipal Group was present: Jay Kennedy, Mike Grief, and Phil Olson. They have been working with Chris Petree, Director of Operations and Maintenance on the report. Mr. Mielke reviewed the framework of the Street Reconstruction Policy that was enacted several years ago. A similar policy on roadway maintenance does not exist and currently there is no cost sharing from adjacent benefited properties on most projects. As the City roads City Council Work Session Minutes February 22, 2010 Page -4- are aging, long -term usage needs to be taken into consideration. A database could then be developed to analyze each road segment for the purpose of making CIP decisions for both preventative maintenance and reclamation. A Pavement Management Policy establishes a level of acceptability, promotes improved roadway conditions, increases roadway life, and predicts future funding needs. WSB staff presented information regarding the Pavement Management Program and the method of assigning a rating to each roadway then comparing that number to the standard Overall Condition Index (OCI). Philosophical questions need to be answered such as, what is an acceptable OCI on high speed and low speed roadways, and what is the OCI roadway network goal? Based on that information the Policy would dictate what the alternatives might be for maintenance on a particular roadway. WSB's study indicates that funding is inadequate to maintain the current roadway network at an acceptable level of repair. Additional revenues will be needed in the near future to avoid a backlog of maintenance and deterioration of the roadway system. Council Members were asked to consider the policy issues that this report has brought forward. A fiscal impact report will be brought to the City Council in the near future. ITEM #5 Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance update Planning Director Daryl Morey stated that the Planning Commission has held several work sessions regarding updates to the Zoning Ordinance, Zoning Map and Subdivision Ordinance. Council reviewed Sections 1 -37 of the Zoning Ordinance Update in October 2009. A public hearing is being considered for the March 18, 2010 Planning Commission meeting at which time a formal recommendation will be made to Council. Associate Planner Allyn Kuennen highlighted the proposed changes in this second half of the Zoning Ordinance update. He stated that several developers have approached the City regarding reducing the minimum single family lot size in response to current housing market conditions. City staff has studied small lot single family developments in several surrounding communities. Mr. Kuennen pointed out an area in Lakeville which has been platted for townhomes but remains largely undeveloped that could be developed for single family homes complying with RS -4 District standards and without the need for a homeowners association. Mr. Morey pointed out that the proposed setbacks in the revised RS -4 District to a large degree reflect the setbacks allowed for the cottage style single family lots in the Spirit of Brandtjen Farm PUD. The Zoning Map update proposes an increase in areas zoned RS-4 and a corresponding decrease in areas zoned RM -1. Council will receive a CD of the proposed Zoning Ordinance update when it is forwarded for adoption. City Council Work Session Minutes February 22, 2010 Page -5- ITEM #6 Southwest Industrial Enforcement Update Mr. Morey introduced the Southwest Industrial Zoning Enforcement agenda item and stated that of the properties in this area last discussed by Council on June 22, 2009, four out of five of them have come into compliance; however, zoning violations continue at Manders Diesel Repair. The business owns two parcels; their business has been operating on the west parcel since approximately 1984 and they expanded their operation onto the east parcel in approximately 2002. Planning Department staff have met with the owners of Manders Diesel Repair three times in the past year to discuss the preparation of a business plan and timeline for compliance. A business plan was submitted in December, 2009 and proposes the construction of a 37,000 square foot metal frame building with a fabric roof. An interim use permit is required to allow the expansion of this non conforming industrial use in the O -P District zoning proposed for this property with the 2010 Zoning Ordinance Update. In addition, Dakota County is pursuing compliance with environment regulations. This includes the completion by Manders Diesel Repair of Phase I and II environmental studies. Staff is offering three possible courses of action: 1) The City accepts the Manders business plan as proposed including approval of an interim use permit to allow the construction of the cold storage building; 2) The City accepts the Manders business plan for the west parcel and pursues compliance on the east parcel; and 3) the City pursues legal action to force compliance on both parcels. Council directed staff to inform Manders Diesel Repair the City would accept their business plan for the west parcel, provided there is a timeline established for construction of the proposed storage building, and that the east parcel must fully conform with Zoning Ordinance requirements, which will require the salvage operations be discontinued on that parcel. ITEM #7 Other Downtown way- finding signage: An Active Living Grant in the amount of $12,400 has been secured from the Dakota County Public Health Department to fund this project. The Park Department will bring the grant agreement forward for Council consideration. A joint meeting between the ISD 194 School Board and the City Council has been suggested. Mr. Mielke recommended this be done in a couple of months when budget issues have been settled. Council Members are interested in getting more detailed regular updates on School Board activities than what is offered in their meeting minutes. ITEM #8 Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. City Council Work Session Minutes February 22, 2010 Page -6- Respectfully submitted, AAA )uli Hawkins DepMty Clerk