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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 04/05/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 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 Lieutenant Jess Irmiter, 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 Katie O’Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. HOLASEK HILLS COURTS – LIFE TIME FITNESS LEASE PROPOSAL Mayor Case stated the first topic came about at a meet and greet with the Life Time Fitness CEO, Bahram Akradi. At the meeting, Akradi approached the subject of the use of the nearby tennis courts. Staff discussed whether this would be a reasonable option. Lotthammer stated Life Time Fitness has inquired about leasing the Holasek Hills Park tennis courts. They would like to utilize the area for pickleball courts. The back park of their parking lot is not heavily used like the northern part of their lot. Case inquired if we own the land where the parking spaces are near the park. Lotthammer replied yes. There is an informal agreement that Life Time Fitness could use the spaces, but he never sees cars parked there. Lotthammer stated the land was not purchased by federal funds, so it is a possibility. The courts were resurfaced in 2017. They are suggesting using the courts for pickleball. There are four homes across from the courts. Staff’s concern is with the noise. They would plan to put up a sound barrier to help limit the noise. If this idea were to be of interest, Life Time fitness would engage the four home owners. The City would also be interested in engaging with the rest of the neighborhood. Life Time Fitness would like to do a 20-year lease agreement and pay the annual fee upfront. If they were granted a 20-year lease they would not have to buy the land, do the earth work, pav the courts or change the fencing. In order to be made whole, the City would need to be paid enough money for the lease. One of the reasons to consider this would be to rebalance the park system. One idea is to utilize the annual fund towards the indoor Miller Park courts. It would not pay for the entire building, but it could contribute to the cost. City Council Workshop Minutes April 5, 2022 Page 2 Freiberg inquired if with a lease they would be making changes to the property. Neuville stated, if wanted, the lease could stipulate returning the courts to its original use and condition. Case stated his first thoughts were that he would never want to sell park land. With a lease it would be a possibility if it is an underutilized park. The money would need to benefit residents with park amenities. Narayanan stated a 20-year lease is a long time. The original cost required to build the courts should be paid upfront by Life Time Fitness, and the land would then be leased. Lotthammer stated Staff is recommending this. They will need to spend some money to make adjustments on the courts. Nelson inquired why they are not building this in the parking lot space they are not using. Case replied this question was asked. Lotthammer added they did not have much of an answer, but this was a more desirable solution so they would not have to disrupt the parking lot. Case added it was mentioned money is not an issue. A main concern would be noise control. Narayanan inquired about a provision to only use the courts for pickleball. Toomey inquired about a provision for noise complaints. Neuville stated those is feasible in a lease agreement. Getschow noted they ruled out the possibility of set times to use the courts. It would be their exclusive use. Lotthammer added the push back would be from neighbors who already utilize this amenity. Next steps would be to engage those neighbors. Getschow noted Life Time Fitness may not be prepared to pay $400,000 to $600,000. Narayanan inquired if they are paying the entire lease upfront. Lotthammer replied yes, it is an option. Toomey inquired if the lease could be shortened to 15 years. Lotthammer stated it is a possibility. Case stated he does not have an issue with the timeline of 20 years. Narayanan stated he would prefer to negotiate rate after a certain amount of years. Neuville added these terms could be written in the agreement. It does get complicated to tie the price to inflation. Lotthammer stated next steps could be to tell Life Time Fitness they can engage with the neighbors about their proposal to the City. The City could then host a neighborhood meeting to hear their opinions. Nelson inquired about pushing the timeline of the lease until the Miller indoor court is closer to being completed. Lotthammer added the Miller Park indoor courts are not tied to the capital improvement plan. Case asked if Lotthammer could speak to the use of the tennis courts around the City. His perception is they are not as frequently used. Lotthammer responded the most frequently used tennis courts are multi court locations at Central Middle School and Round Lake. City Council Workshop Minutes April 5, 2022 Page 3 Case stated Staff can proceed with the public outreach. Narayanan added it would be helpful to have more information available to the neighbors about the noise levels they could potentially expect. Nelson added she would like to speed up the process of the indoor courts. II. COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT The original concept of bringing the Council on the road started with the previous Mayor. Getschow added he was around for the town hall meetings the Council hosted. Case added his thought is to host a town hall or question and answer session to meet with the public. Nelson stated she would like to do one of those sessions at PeopleFest! Toomey added there are various events this could be added to such as Schooners Days, Pop up in the Park, Coffee with the Chiefs, trivia at Eden Dale. Nelson stated she enjoyed the town halls previously and is not sure why the Council went away from them. Freiberg noted he likes the idea of being accessible to residents. Narayanan added it would be beneficial to do one of these events with public safety. Getschow noted previously the sessions were constituent based rather than topical. Nelson recalled at one meeting there was an informative presentation on the history of the immigrant population. Toomey asked how much notice was provided for these meetings. Getschow noted previously when planning began in the spring there would be a meeting in June. Narayanan asked if meetings were about an hour long. Getschow replied yes. Case added it would be ideal to host three of those sessions this year. He believes it would be helpful to focus on groups of constituents. Nelson inquired if there is a budget for cookies and coffee. Getschow replied yes. Getschow stated he could work with the Human Rights and Diversity Commission (HRDC) to help organize the session for the immigrant population, the Chambers of Commerce for the business community session, and the senior center. Case noted he would like to host three sessions between now and October. Toomey inquired if the Council could have a booth at an event. Case added PeopleFest! would be a good opportunity for a booth, but it would not be one of the three sessions. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) III. OPEN PODIUM IV. ADJOURNMENT