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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 03/12/2024 - Workshop APPROVED WORKSHOP MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2024 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 Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Aschenbeck Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION 5:30 – 5:50 p.m. Case provided the history on the Marshall Gardens proposal to Council. Each Council member views the proposal through the lens of their own values, such as sustainability or affordability. There are only so many dollars to spend, so no one project can accomplish everything. Ultimately each value conflicts with other values. If affordability is prioritized, more units will be added which will impact density. If there are 50 single family homes instead of 90 condo units, open green space is eliminated. Klima explained this conversation is not dissimilar from Staff conversation during the development proposal process. Much time is spent managing multiple priorities and maximizing each one individually. Getschow explained the Council will discuss the Marshall Gardens proposal again at the April 16th workshop. Freiberg asked if the developers will have neighborhood feedback. Klima confirmed the developers will have neighborhood feedback. Case asked the Council members to prepare which values they are prioritizing and ensure they are comfortable with the necessary tradeoffs. II. ANTENNA TOWER UPDATE 5:50 – 6:10 p.m. Markle stated Verizon has submit a proposal for two cell towers in Franlo Park and Crestwood Park. The towers would be placed amongst trees for visual screening. Cell towers are allowed in all zoning districts under federal regulation. Cell towers are commonly placed in City parks. The City currently has nine cell towers on City property and nine cell poles in right of way property. 28 cell towers are in private property within the City, and an unknown number are on County and State right of way. There are no locations within one mile of Franlo Park to collocate a cell tower. The area around Crestwood Park has poor Verizon cell coverage, which would be improved by a cell tower. Getschow explained in addition to cell towers, there is a multitude of City Council Workshop Minutes March 12, 2024 Page 2 cell antennas in the City. The City requires cell providers attempt to find an existing structure with enough height for a cell tower before proposing a new structure be built. Case added if this proposal was approved, federal law would require Verizon allow other cell carriers to collocate equipment on this cell tower if needed. Markle stated these cell towers would improve Verizon coverage for residents. The project as proposed complies with City guidelines including maximum height and set back. The new towers would be 315 feet away from the closest home. Case asked if the 315 feet measures to the home’s exterior wall or to its deck. Markle confirmed the tower would be 315 feet from the home’s exterior wall. Case asked if the cell towers utilize 5G cellular networks. Markle confirmed these cell towers would utilize 5G technology. Nelson asked if the cell towers could be moved further from the ball fields at Franlo Park. Markle stated any movement of the cell tower would bring it closer to homes. Nelson asked how close the cell towers are to the Franlo pickleball courts. Markle estimated between 100 and 150 feet. Case stated he is more concerned with cell towers disrupting the current view of existing neighbors. Toomey asked if there are existing cell towers in Franlo Park and Crestwood Park. Markle confirmed there are not currently cell towers in either park. Toomey asked if the cell tower is constructed on top of an existing structure or constructed into the ground. Markle confirmed the cell tower would be constructed into the ground. The base would be fenced in with vegetation for screening. Toomey asked if the cell tower could be constructed to look like a tree. Markle stated the height of the tower wouldn’t align with surrounding trees, but the City can request a specific color and type of screening. Markle summarized cell tower guidelines from neighboring cities, which are comparable to the City’s current guidelines. Freiberg asked how tall a standard outdoor warning siren is. Gerber confirmed the standard outdoor warning siren is 30 to 40 feet tall. Markle added the Miller Park baseball field lights are 60 feet tall. Markle stated the City would receive $28 thousand in lease revenue for each tower. Construction would last 4 to 6 weeks. Toomey asked if $28 thousand in lease revenue is comparable to surrounding cities. Getschow confirmed the lease amount is comparable to surrounding cities and the City’s existing leases. Getschow noted there is no land use approval vote for constructing a cell tower. The Council is solely voting on the lease agreement. Toomey asked how long the lease agreement is for. Neuville stated five to ten years including an option to renew. Case stated the Council needs to be sensitive to concerns of residents, however cell phones are a part of everyday life. Cell towers are necessary, the Council must determine how to best locate cell towers. Narayanan added cell towers not only power cell phones but also provide internet connectivity. Markle stated responding to resident questions, Staff has heard Verizon calls are dropped in certain areas of the City. This can affect working from home, completing schoolwork at home, and 911 calls. City Council Workshop Minutes March 12, 2024 Page 3 III. ANNUAL (2023) POLICE UPDATE 6:10 – 6:30 p.m. Sackett stated the Eden Prairie Police Department (EPPD) annual report is published in April each year. Tonight’s presentation is a preview of information contained in the annual report. There were over 45,700 calls for service in 2023. Residents list traffic safety as their main concern. Traffic crashes of all types have remained steady. Sackett noted this is good news as the number of traffic trips has steadily increased post COVID. There were over 13,000 traffic stops in 2023. The EPPD focuses on enforcement, education, and modifying driving behaviors. Sackett stated burglaries have slightly declined for residential and business properties, partially attributable to EPPD officers being proactive and visible. Case asked what constitutes a burglary. Sackett confirmed a perpetrator breaking into a property and committing a crime while inside, most commonly theft, constitutes a burglary. Narayanan asked if commercial burglaries are committed in the same volume as residential burglaries. Sackett stated there are fewer commercial burglaries. In 2023 there were 41 residential burglaries and 17 commercial burglaries. Toomey asked if those statistics include shoplifting. Sackett stated the statistics do not include shoplifting as that is classified as theft. Thefts have minimally increased this year. Scheels specifically has seen an increase in thefts, from 94 in 2022 to 233 in 2023. Narayanan asked if any specific age demographic is more likely to shoplift. Sackett confirmed a wide variety of age demographics shoplift, from younger individuals that shoplift one item to organized rings that shoplift many high value items. Sackett stated motor vehicle tampering has significantly decreased due to recent legislation. It is much harder to sell a stolen catalytic converter than in the past. There were 122 catalytic converter thefts in 2022, decreasing to 22 in 2023. Toomey asked if the EPPD is still tagging catalytic converters. Sackett stated the EPPD has not hosted a catalytic converter tagging event in a while. New vehicles are manufactured so the catalytic converter is not easily reachable. Motor vehicle thefts have steadily decreased since 2021. Since 2021 the EPPD has recovered $1.8 million of stolen vehicles with the help of license plate reader technology. Sackett explained the EPPD received 30 calls regarding panhandlers in 2023. The caller is alerting the EPPD to someone standing in or on the side of the road. Sometimes the panhandler needs assistance, sometimes they are a danger to traffic and themselves. Freiberg asked if the EPPD receives calls about families with young children panhandling. Sackett confirmed the EPPD does receive calls regarding families panhandling, but the majority are regarding a lone person. Panhandling is protected under the first amendment but the EPPD must enforce state statute, which disallows a panhandler to be in the center median or step into the roadway. Sackett explained the Community Services Officers (CSOs) proactively monitor areas where panhandlers are common. The CSOs carry a business card with resources available for individuals in need including contact information for PROP Food Shelf, Hennepin County Adult and Family Shelter, and Hennepin County Food Support. The EPPD contact information is also listed to connect individuals in need with the EPPD’s embedded social worker. Some individuals City Council Workshop Minutes March 12, 2024 Page 4 are willing to meet with the embedded social worker to receive resource information, a portion are not interested. The EPPD’s primary goal is to provide help if needed, and secondarily to enforce state statutes designed for safety. Case asked if the EPPD has an estimate of individuals within the City that are sleeping outside of a home. Sackett noted the number is minimal, occasionally individuals sleep in a vehicle in a City park. Officers can provide 24 hour monetary assistance courtesy of PROP including hotel vouchers and gift cards for gas or CUB Foods. The individual is referred to PROP for additional resources. Case asked if the Eden Prairie Crime Fund has similar resources. Toomey confirmed the Crime Fund has resources for domestic violence and will often refer individuals to PROP for housing needs. Sackett stated the embedded social worker has been hugely advantageous for making connections. Narayanan asked if the houses that were burgled had alarm systems. Sackett stated the EPPD doesn’t track if burglaries were made in homes with alarm systems. Many burglaries occur in an attached garage with an open door, which an alarm wouldn’t protect against. Narayanan asked Sackett to clarify what constitutes a burglary. Sackett confirmed a perpetrator entering an unlocked door and a perpetrator breaking a window to enter are both considered burglaries. The EPPD has encountered organized crime rings and collaborated with surrounding agencies. Case asked how residents can protect themselves from burglaries. Sackett answered most burglaries occur when a perpetrator enters through an open and unlocked door, so ensuring all doors are closed and locked is important. If an EPPD member on patrol encounters an open garage door, they’ll close it and leave a door hanger reminding the resident to close all doors. Most vehicle thefts occur when keys are inside the vehicle. The Council thanked the EPPD for their time. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) IV. OPEN PODIUM V. ADJOURNMENT