Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 12/06/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2022 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matthew Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Kelsey Engelen Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. EDEN PRAIRIE STATE DELEGATION WITH REPRESENTATIVE KOTYZA- WITTHUHN City Manager Rick Getschow opened the session by noting the absence of State Representative Pryor and State Senator Cwodzinski who were not able to attend the session. Getschow thanked Representative Kotyza-Witthuhn for her presence and pointed out the redistricting of Senate Districts resulted in the city being represented by one District, rather than split as determined by the previous district boundaries. Getschow also welcomed Tom Poul, an attorney with Messerli Kramer representing the Municipal Legislative Commission (MLC) and asked that Poul cover the 2023 MLC Legislative Agenda which represents many City issues. Poul began by providing a brief overview of Elections outcomes, specifically noting Democrats’ first time winning the Governor, House, and Senate in Minnesota, and the subsequent opportunity to see what they can accomplish together without divided government. Some of the issues that will likely receive thorough attention during the 2023 legislative session are reproductive rights, paid family leave, criminal justice reform, and investments in areas like infrastructure, education, tax relief for lower-middle class, and social security income exemption. Poul stated there is a particularly unique opportunity for investments during this session due to the $17.8 Billion projected state budget surplus. Poul noted inflation is not factored into the projection and specified that the value is a projection and not a certainty. Nonetheless, the substantial surplus delivers an opportunity for legislators to make significant investments for the future. He clarified that many of these investments would likely be larger one-time investments rather than permanent, sustained investments. City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2022 Page 2 Poul drew attention to the large number of new faces in the legislature. 68 legislators, or about one- third of the legislature will be considered new, which is more new legislators than there have been in about 50 years. Poul noted it may take longer to get rolling in the early weeks due to time spent building relationships, and as new individuals get to understand the process and issues. Representative Kotyza-Witthuhn stated that Committee Chairs as well as leadership in the House and Senate would likely be announced before the holiday break. Before delving into the 2023 Legislative Platform, Poul clarified that while the agenda is currently a draft with potential for fluctuation, it does represent many of the top priorities for the association. The agenda focuses on items including Housing and Home Ownership, Public Safety, Tax Policy and Local Issues, Infrastructure and Transportation Investments, Workforce Support and Economic Expansion, and Cannabinoid and Recreational Marijuana Regulatory and Licensing Framework. Poul explained MLC’s focus in recent years on housing, specifically homeownership for low- to middle-income residents and increasing opportunity for ownership. Poul expressed the difficulty in a city like Eden Prairie where new housing is so expensive, resulting in focus shifting to preserving existing housing to ensure those homes remain available. Poul explained in recent years a lot of out- of-state and corporate investors are buying homes to turn into rentals. While this can create opportunity for some individuals to get into a home, it doesn’t lend well to homeownership and wealth-building for future generations. The MLC agenda is focused on supporting affordable homeownership, which includes additional funding from the state for certain programs like the NOAH Preservation program and Housing Infrastructure Bonds; incentivizing builders to build single-family homes that are less expensive; and community land trusts. Getschow mentioned Eden Prairie has yet to see high numbers of corporate-owned single-family homes for rent, but that regionally it is starting to happen more. Mayor Case inquired why this might be happening in other places but not yet in Eden Prairie. Getschow suggested that it will likely be coming to Eden Prairie as well. Councilmember Freiberg pointed out that several years ago Eden Prairie experienced some amount of this through out-of-state corporate purchasing of apartment buildings. Poul articulated the importance of creating more options for financing especially for BIPOC community and first-time home buyers, particularly referencing down payment assistance and high mortgage loans. Another major goal of the MLC is working in collaboration with builders to address housing cost drivers and finding ways to incentivize builders to build $300,000 homes rather than only the highly profitable $500,000-$900,000 homes being built. Poul examined multiple areas which address housing cost drivers, including streamlining state building code, reduction of redundancy between the multiple agencies involved in permitting process, and providing flexibility to local government regarding land availability. Poul noted that even with added land availability, City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2022 Page 3 new development requires a host of investments like water infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure, and transportation which are large costs that the state or region may not be prepared to shoulder. Poul expressed MLC’s support for preserving local autonomy, ensuring local government maintains the authority to make decisions that local government believe are best for the residents of their cities. City Council works directly with residents and knows the type of community they are trying to build, and local government wants to preserve the right to regulate it as such. This requires a legislative push to keep land use decisions such as zoning and regulatory controls, like that of aesthetic mandates, in the hands of local authorities. Next on the MLC legislative agenda was the topic of Public Safety, which had not previously been a main agenda item for the MLC. Poul listed the factors driving the focus on Public Safety, beginning with motor vehicle issues like carjackings and theft of vehicles and auto parts, issues with juvenile offenders like managing dispositions and the challenges surrounding detention and lack of resources. The other factor is reform for public safety duty disability for officers and firefighters with PTSD or those injured in the line of duty, of which numbers have significantly increased. MLC’s platform supports increased state funding to alleviate fiscal impact on cities. Poul also explained the necessity for a variety of treatment resources before permanent disability is filed, particularly in situations of PTSD, mental, or emotional trauma. Getschow commented Eden Prairie is lucky to not be experiencing departure of officers at the same rate as other places. Representative Kotyza-Witthuhn brought up the hiring difficulties with which many Police Departments are struggling, and pointed out once again that Eden Prairie, while not unaffected by fewer applicants, is fortunate in their position compared to other areas. Working to sustain officers’ service through providing resources for assistance and treatment of duty disability could also go a long way to alleviate staffing issues. Poul moved on to the next item on the agenda, Tax Policy and Local Issues. Poul discussed MLC’s view that property tax relief should be direct to the taxpayer which could include updates to Market Value Exclusion. Another part of the platform is simplifying sales tax exemption for construction materials for local governments, maintaining the integrity of the Fiscal Disparities Program, and supporting repeal of the Local Government Salary Cap of which Minnesota is the only state with a cap. Poul transitioned into discussion of Infrastructure and Transportation Investments, stating the importance of the approximate 25 percent State match required to participate in the Federal Infrastructure Program funding. Minnesota was one of the only, if not the only state last year to not meet the timeframe for the funding match, which left a lot of dollars on the table due to the lack of participation in the program. Poul stressed the importance of maximizing those investments and noted that it does not solely fund transportation but energy, environment, and cybersecurity—of which about 80 percent of the funding goes to cities. City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2022 Page 4 Councilmember Narayanan inquired about inclusion of funding for infrastructure surrounding electric vehicles. Poul responded stating electric vehicle charging stations are a big item that has come through the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation and mentioned programs through the state where investments are being made for charging stations. Narayanan asked if some funds are dispersed to cities, to which Poul explained that many of the programs are application-based so cities could build and present proposals to appeal for funding. Poul moved on to the final piece of the agenda which is the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Reform and Recreational Marijuana that is approaching. The edibles law passed last year without a regulatory framework which has placed a lot of pressure on cities to handle the legislation on a local level. Strong regulatory framework with clear requirements is needed to address the sale of products containing THC. Should the Legislature decide to approve recreational marijuana use, the same framework is needed, and a large amount of legislation would need to be considered including public safety, employment, public health, taxation, local licensing, and zoning regulations. Mayor Case opened the floor the Representative Kotyza-Witthuhn to discuss what items are important for her. Kotyza-Witthuhn expressed excitement for the possibilities that come with a Democratic House, Senate, and Governor, with hopes that some items can be passed which were previously held up in the Senate. Kotyza-Witthuhn suggested that she would be re-submitting updated versions of bills she has worked on in the last two to four years. She explained that reproductive healthcare access and protections will be one of the first items to be moved forward based on the wide support of the issue in Minnesota and across the country. Kotyza-Witthuhn discussed Governor Walz’ recent mention of Child Tax Credits in relation to the budget surplus and explained the work she has done on an Expanded Child Tax Credit which could be looked at as one-time funding rather than ongoing funding, but noted that sustained funding would be ideal. Kotyza-Witthuhn commended Poul’s synopsis of topics and platforms which will be significant subjects throughout the upcoming legislative session. Kotyza-Witthuhn drew attention to the lack of funding in Public Safety during the last session, stating one item that did go through was her bill providing additional dollars to the Automobile Theft Prevention Fund. She also drew attention to the rhetoric around Democrats desire to de-fund the police, noting that the discourse had gotten out of hand; the funding at the state legislature for public safety has increased every year, and the House DFL has always been very supportive of those initiatives. Kotyza-Witthuhn praised Eden Prairie relationship-building and community engagement which has ensured the city’s public service officers are supported in every part of their role within the community. Case inquired about the state of legislation regarding catalytic converters, i.e., sale or possession of the automobile part. Kotyza-Witthuhn explained that the legislation would create law around City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2022 Page 5 possession of catalytic converters, and that it would be re-submitted during this session. Case asked why the Senate would block that proposed legislation, as it could essentially stop the rising theft of catalytic converters. Kotyza-Witthuhn suggested there may have been concerns about junk dealers in possession of a variety of legally obtained auto parts. Freiberg asked Kotyza-Witthuhn how comfortable she would be with a Recreational Cannabis use law passing in regard to having proper framework and legislation in place, which was not the case for the THC law that passed last year. Kotyza-Witthuhn responded she was very comfortable with the extensive planning, research, community outreach. Freiberg drew comparisons between the way alcohol and cannabis would be distributed, noting that some cities have municipal liquor stores and questioned if this is something that would potentially take place with cannabis. Freiberg expressed the hope that proper guidelines would cover all potential aspects of dispensing of cannabis in addition to the framework that is being constructed. Case expressed the hope that cannabis could be additionally regulated at the local level if cities feel that there is something lacking from the legislation. Getschow noted Eden Prairie created its own city licensing ordinance with the new and somewhat surprising hemp-based THC state law that passed last session. Getschow wrapped up the session with some thoughts relating to elections. Getschow noted the cumbersome nature of the absentee voting process and the process not accounting for the increased volume of early voters since no-excuse absentee voting was established. Getschow suggested an extended timeframe for Direct Balloting, allowing voters to feed their ballots directly into tabulators longer than only the final week of absentee voting, which simplifies the process for voters and administrators. Kotyza-Witthuhn pointed out that so many voters wait until the Direct Balloting timeframe because they like being able to put their ballot in the voting machine, which is why we have such high numbers and lines during that timeframe. Getschow followed up by stating there are a lot of regulations that could be removed and would maintain the integrity and safety of the election process. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM A. STEVEN WAGNER – CREEKWOOD PARK Steven Wagner, 9325 Wilderness Cove, began by stating that progress has been made at Creekwood Park, but said that improvements could be made in the coming year. Wagner asked about getting better response time from the Police Department. Wagner also requested clarification on allowable noise, enforcement of the noise ordinance when it is being violated. Wagner expressed concern for loud, profane music, and trash left behind by park visitors. City Council Workshop Minutes December 6, 2022 Page 6 B. CRAIG ARMSTRONG -APPRAISALS IN EDEN PRAIRIE VS OTHER SUBURBS Craig Armstrong, 17969 Cascade Drive, spoke about his concerns related to 2023 Property Taxes and their categorical breakdown. Armstrong suggested that residential tax increases will subsidize commercial tax decreases and proposed that the increase in Eden Prairie’s residential property tax is unilaterally high compared to the rest of suburban Hennepin County. Armstrong also questioned why Eden Prairie’s commercial buildings and apartment buildings are showing larger decreases in value than other Hennepin County cities. Armstrong suggested that the previous 12-month tax period is not an accurate representation of tax values, citing the decrease in his own home’s value since May. He asked that Assessing look at this closely and take the many factors and comparisons to other cities into consideration. Getschow stated that during this evening’s Council Meeting a presentation will be made on the 2023 Property Tax Levy which will deliver information on the topic and provide context regarding other cities’ tax levies in comparison to Eden Prairie, and the drivers of various changes. Case also pointed out that because Eden Prairie has a varied housing stock with a strong commercial tax base, we should draw comparisons only to other comparable cities in Hennepin County. III. ADJOURNMENT