The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCity Council - 07/14/2026 - WorkshopEden Prairie City Council Workshop Minutes – Unapproved 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2026 City Center Heritage Rooms, Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES City Council Members: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey City Staﬀ: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Potter WORKSHOP AGENDA Heritage Rooms 1. 2027 Budget Case noted a City’s budget represents the Council’s priorities. Getschow explained Eden Prairie is currently in its second year of a two-year budget cycle. There are multiple inputs to the budget including the Citywide Work Plan and the Quality of Life survey. Citywide goals guide the budget process including high quality eﬃcient services, community well-being and safety, preserved and beautiful environment, sense of community, innovative and sustainable practices, and economic vitality. Council will vote to adopt the preliminary 2027 levy in September and the ﬁnal 2027 levy in December. Goals for the budget include providing high quality services with a reasonable tax impact, conservatively estimating revenues and expenditures, and maintaining strong fund balance policies. Getschow described budget highlights for the 2027 budget including expanded contracts for parks and natural resources maintenance, sustainability initiatives, ongoing ﬁre staﬃng, and continued investment in community events. Wages in 2027 are proposed to increase 10.6 percent mainly due to eight additional ﬁre staﬀ whose wages are funded by the Staﬃng for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. Workers Compensation expense is decreasing by $300 thousand. The City will follow suit with many surrounding cities to pass credit card fees onto the purchaser. Freiberg noted health insurance premiums are increasing 16.9 percent and asked what last year’s increase is. Rose conﬁrmed last year’s increase was 20 percent. The City had received single digit increases for the past ten years and was due for a large increase. A rate cap of 16.9 percent was negotiated; without the cap the increase would have likely been up to 34 percent. Getschow explained positive changes to budgeted revenue including a positive increase in Community Center membership. Building permit revenue is budgeted to increase by $500 thousand due to approved development projects scheduled for 2027. Budgeted intergovernmental revenue will also increase due to the receipt of the SAFER grant. Positive changes to budgeted revenue and expense result in a proposed 2027 property tax increase of 2.9 percent. The ﬁscal disparities portion has historically not been received until August. Case asked for the worst case scenario on ﬁscal disparities. Getschow conﬁrmed it usually ﬂuctuates 1/3 of a percentage, if it doesn’t change drastically from last year the proposed levy may still be 2.9 percent. Case asked what drives ﬁscal disparities. Getschow stated changes in commercial values in Eden Prairie compared to other cities. Getschow noted the debt levy percentage is ﬂat between 2026 and 2027. Market value continues to increase, but slower than post-COVID years. Single family home values are increasing four percent and commercial value is ﬂat. Commercial value remaining ﬂat is a good thing compared to decreases in surrounding cities, however this means residential taxpayers will see a ﬁve to seven percent tax increase. Getschow provided percentage city tax impacts by market value range. Getschow displayed a graph of proposed property tax capacity, levy, and rates. Tax capacity has increased to $155 million. The tax capacity rate increased slightly by 0.5 percent. Over the past ten years, Eden Prairie has had the second lowest cumulative tax increase for similar sized metro cities. The Council will vote on a preliminary levy and budget ceiling at the September 1 Council meeting. The ﬁnal levy and budget will be adopted December 1. The budget will continue to be a discussion topic at the August and September workshops. 2. Franchise Fees – Commercial/Industrial Properties Ellis introduced the next topic, franchise fees for commercial and industrial properties. Franchise fees were adopted in 2012 for gas and electric companies to fund pavement management in a more eﬃcient, equitable, and predictable manner. Franchise fees were last increased January 2023. Eden Prairie’s two goals for pavement management include an average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating above 70 (very good or excellent), and less than ten percent of roads in the poor, very poor, or failed category. The City is in compliance with both goals. Maintaining the current fee schedule, the City is projected to rise above ten percent of roads in the poor, very poor, or failed category by 2031. Ellis explained staﬀ is recommending a fee change resulting in $500 thousand additional annual revenue. The City would stay in compliance with its goals through 2031 under the recommended fee structure. Ellis explained the property classiﬁcations of residential, small commercial A and B, and large commercial. There would be no change to the residential fee of $6.50. Small commercial A would increase from $8.50 to $10.50, small commercial B would increase from $20.50 to $27.60. Large commercial would increase from $89.50 to $119. Eden Prairie is slightly higher on residential franchise fees and much lower on commercial fees compared to peer cities. Large commercial properties drive traﬃc, resulting in more wear on roads. One semi-truck causes an equivalent amount of road damage as 9,600 cars. Case noted concerns about high taxes and fees raised by small businesses in the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce. Case asked if staﬀ considered keeping small commercial fees the same and adding the additional increase to large commercial properties. Ellis explained there are more customers in the small commercial A and B categories and fewer in the large commercial category. The fee increase per large commercial customer would need to be higher to generate the same amount of revenue. Case stated his preference to protect small businesses from rising costs. There could be other potential funding options to protect small businesses. Toomey added the City wants to remain welcoming for businesses. Nelson noted the peer cities listed vary widely in age and size, such as Minneapolis, and asked for the fees of a peer city of more comparable age and size. Ellis stated Burnsville charges $468 and Chanhassen charges $290 for commercial fees. Case stated his trust in staﬀ for calculating the additional revenue needed. It is Council’s role to direct staﬀ to ﬁnd an alternative funding source if determined necessary. Nelson stated she would be alright with the proposed funding source and reiterated the importance of maintaining excellent roads. Case stated there may be room to increase the large commercial fee in exchange for protecting small businesses. Ellis explained next steps to implement the proposed fees. The ﬁrst and second reading of the ordinance would occur in January 2027. Oﬃcial notice would be provided to Xcel Energy, CenterPoint, and Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative. The new fee structure would ultimately become eﬀective in April 2027. 3. Ten Year Capital Improvement Plan Road Construction Projects Ellis introduced the next topic. Nine large road projects are planned for the 2027 to 2036 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Typical funding sources include Municipal State Aid, utility enterprise funds, sewer and water access charges, grants, and funding from the Federal government, State, and/or County. If Marshall Farm develops, Dell Road from Crestwood Terrace to County Road 61 will be a 2027 project. Upgrades include utilities and a two lane roadway. Case asked if the neighbors are building a culvert. Ellis conﬁrmed the neighbors received a grant from the watershed district. Ellis described two bridge projects in the CIP. The Eden Prairie Road bridge is scheduled for 2027 and will require a total road closure. Once complete, this project will close trail gaps in the area. The Purgatory Creek bridge at Creek Knoll Road is scheduled for 2027 and will include redoing the bridge, adding a trail, and connections to the surrounding neighborhood. The Heritage Preservation Commission will be involved as this is a historic site. Ellis described the next project, Riverview Road from Homeward Hills to Parker Drive. This project will include reconstructing the roadway and installing curb and gutter. Duck Lake Trail from Duck Lake road to County Road 4 is also planned and will include a sidewalk on the south side. There is a petition from the Willow Creek Road neighborhood to install water and sewer utilities. This neighborhood is currently on well and septic. As of now only half the neighborhood is in favor. Ellis described the remaining road projects on the horizon including Scenic Heights Road, Roberts Drive, and Bryant Lake Drive. Council Chambers 4. Open Podium 5. Adjournment