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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 12/16/2003 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORUM TUESDAY,DECEMBER 16,2003 CITY CENTER 5:00- 6:25 PM,HERITAGE ROOM H 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and Philip Young CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal,Police Chief Dan Carlson,Fire Chief George Esbensen,Public Works Director Eugene Dietz,Director of Parks and Recreation Bob Lambert, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Stuart Fox, Manager of Recreation Services Laurie Obiazor, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room H I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA III. REPORT ON CITY SURVEY Presentation of Survey Results David Bender of Marketline Research presented results of the referendum study his firm conducted for the City of Eden Prairie Parks and Recreation Department. The purpose of the survey was three-fold: to assist the Council in determining which projects would likely be supported in a referendum, to identify citizen priorities from among multiple ideas, and to determine the best possible combination of park referendum questions to present to voters. Bender said the profile of individuals interviewed as part of the survey showed the average respondent has lived in Eden Prairie for 10.7 years. Eighty-eight percent of respondents own their home. The average household size is 2.8 individuals, and 51 percent of household have children under 18. Seventy percent of respondents have college or post-graduate degrees, and the average household income is $78,480. Sixteen park and recreation improvements and additions were evaluated as part of the survey,using a 10-point scale to indicate how strongly an individual favors (10) or opposes (1) a particular proposal. Items receiving a rating from 7 to 10 are considered "favored," and those receiving from 1 to 4 are considered"opposed." Those receiving a 5 or 6 are considered"swing"items. Scores from 3 through 8 are considered "changeable positions," or ones on which a vote could be changed as a result of education. City Council Workshop Minutes December 16,2003 Page 2 The improvement and addition ideas evaluated were: • Artificial turf surface in a community park • Park shelters with restrooms and concession stands • Replacement of warming house facilities at skating rinks in older neighborhood parks • One additional baseball field and four additional multi-use fields plus additional parking • Matching funds for youth athletic associations raising money to improve or add to existing facilities • Expansion of trail width around Staring Lake from 8 ft. to 10 ft. • Expansion of trail width around Round Lake from 8 ft. to 10 ft. • Purchase of additional land at Birch Island Woods • Purchase of land to complete the trail in the Lower Purgatory Creek Valley • Improvements to the indoor pool—including deepening the pool to meet new indoor safety standards • Expansion of locker rooms at the Community Center • Addition of multi-purpose room at the Community Center • Expansion of the fitness center at the Community Center • Addition of a child care facility at the Community Center • A third sheet of ice at the Community Center • An outdoor family aquatic center Bender said the key finding of the study is that while residents indicate strong support for several of the ideas,they do not support any ideas with a property tax increase. Residents indicated"solid support"of four improvements/additions: • Indoor pool improvements (3.5 to 1 favor/oppose ratio) • Shelters with restrooms and concession stands (3.5 to 1 favor/oppose ratio) • Addition of a multi-purpose room to the Community Center(3.3 to 1 favor/oppose ratio) • Purchase of land to complete Lower Purgatory Creek trail (3.0 to 1 favor/oppose ratio) The two improvements/additions most solidly opposed are the third sheet of indoor ice (.6 to 1 favor/oppose ratio) and artificial turf surface in community parks (.5 to 1 favor/oppose ratio). Items receiving"weak support" are: • Outdoor Aquatic Center(1.7 to 1) • Baseball field and four multi-purpose fields (2.6 to 1) • Replacement of warming house facilities at rinks (2.7 to 1) • Birch Island Woods land purchase (1.9 to 1) • Expansion of fitness center at Community Center(1.8 to 1) • Expansion of locker rooms at Community Center(2.0 to 1) City Council Workshop AlUnutes December 16,2003 Page 3 Ideas receiving"weak opposition" are: • Matching funds to youth association fund raising efforts (1.4 to 1) • Addition of child care facility to Community Center(1.3 to 1) • Expansion of trail width at Staring Lake(1.2 to 1) • Expansion of trail width at Round Lake (1.1 to 1) In all cases,those strongly opposed to property tax increases to support proposed items greatly outnumbered those strongly in favor of tax increases. No more than a third of surveyed residents supported a tax increase for any one group of improvements or additions. Bender stressed that,based on the results of the survey,it will be critical to communicate detailed costs and link them to associated benefits for any referendum to be successful. In any case, a sizable swing group would need to be influenced through education to support any of the proposed improvements or additions. Bender also noted that strong demographic differences will need to be taken into consideration when determining which questions to include on a referendum. Council Discussion Councilmember Case said he was frustrated that he did not see the survey before it went out. He said some portions of the survey that seem leading but others are not. Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert noted that Council reviewed an early draft of the survey. Bender said the questions had remained essentially the same since the first draft and that they were written with direct staff input. Case said he feels dissonance because he does not believe that if they had asked a"need"question,people would be saying they so strongly support a tax increase for acquisition of land for trails. Case also said he does not feel that those surveyed are"exactly representative of the 7,000 or so that will really get out and vote." Councilmember Young said it is his hope that the survey results will provide a good "snapshot"of the City on which Council can base decisions. He said it is only one of many tools Council will use to make a decision on whether or not to hold a referendum. Councilmember Mosman noted that the School Board held two workshops before deciding to hold a referendum, in part to learn how to interpret the results of the survey they conducted to gage public support. Mosman proposed that Council hold another workshop to study the survey results. Mosman also said she had asked an acquaintance who is a research analyst at St. Mary's to review the survey results. That analyst brought up some concerns with the survey,though Mosman said she hopes it won't have to be redone at this point. She noted that the survey seems long, and she wonders if it was too long for a telephone survey. Bender said the average interview lasted approximately 13 minutes,which is about average for a phone survey. Councilmember Butcher asked what other tools Council would be using to make their decision on a referendum. Lambert said the Council should consider all of the Citizen City Council Workshop Minutes December 16,2003 Page 4 Task Force reports completed since the 2000 survey, as well as requests from special interest groups. Mayor Tyra-Lukens suggested addressing three issues in relation to a possible referendum: • What we know we need now • What the survey indicates residents want • The"wants"expressed by the community(but not necessarily reflected in the survey results) Lambert said we know we need between$2 million and$3 million in Community Center improvements that must be made with or without a referendum. Lambert noted that there are groups actively supporting particular items, such as the youth athletic association matching funds proposal, the third indoor sheet of ice, and purchase of Birch Island Woods. He said some of these groups are very well organized and would likely be able to go out and get the necessary support for a referendum. City Manager Neal noted that the swing group on many of the issues is fairly large. He said if Council decides to hold a referendum, they will have to decide whether or not it merits a special election,which tend to be held in the spring, or if it can wait until the next general election in November. If Council wants to hold a special election in May 2004, they will have to make a final decision calling the election by early March. Councilmember Young said he is interested in going forward with a referendum in May. He said he sees Council's role in this process as that of a gatekeeper. Mosman said she also would prefer to do a referendum in May. Butcher said she has reservations about a referendum. She wondered if it is going to feel like Council is asking residents to burden themselves too much. She said she is very concerned with the fact that two-thirds of people say they don't want to increase taxes. She is also concerned with long term consequences if a referendum fails. Mayor Tyra-Lukens said further discussion is needed, and she suggested the possibility of a smaller group working on packaging of a potential referendum. Neal said staff has tentatively set aside the January 20 workshop for further discussion of a referendum. Park Board Chair Rob Barrett asked how Council wants the Park Board to use the information from the 2001 survey. Lambert noted that the 2001 survey was conducted before the September 11 attacks, so the results may not accurately reflect the community today; however since that survey initiated Council action on additional Task Force reports and the current survey,it should be considered. IV. REVIEW OF PROPOSED PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR POOL A. WELLBRIDGE Lambert said Wellbridge,which owns Flagship Health Club, contacted the City and asked to submit a pool proposal after they learned of the City's discussions City Council Workshop Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 5 with Lifetime Fitness. They are interested in building an outdoor pool in Eden Prairie and offered to partner with the City in the venture. Lambert said the Parks Commission reacted somewhat negatively to the initial proposal, saying they feel the City could do better operating on its own, or should go out to an open bid process for the best partnership deal. Lambert said Wellbridge has indicated they are willing to take the Parks Commission comments into consideration and submit a revised proposal. Lambert suggested the City to send out an RFP based on exactly what they are looking for. If Council wishes to do so, they would need to give that direction to staff at tonight's Council meeting. If an RFP is sent out in early January, it would allow enough time to place proposed packages on a May referendum. B. LIFETIME FITNESS Lambert said Lifetime has indicated that if they are able to acquire land in Eden Prairie within a certain price range, they would be willing to run a City-built aquatic center located adjacent to their club. Lambert said he would like to see Lifetime submit a proposal similar to Wellbridge's. IV. OTHER TOPICS Council Chamber V. OPEN FORUM (Scheduled participants, 6:30-7:00 p.m.) A. JOHN MALLO—EDENVALE VILLAS Mr. Mallo, 14000 Forest Hills Road, said he was there to tell the Council"the emperor has no clothes." He said he believes the Council should listen to residents more, and listen to staff and developers less. He noted that back in 1996 Council went against the Planning Board's recommendation on Forest Hills Road. He said City processes and procedures should be flexible because by the time residents mobilize in response to a development, it is too late. He said at the last Council meeting,the developer for Hennepin Village got a change from medium to low density zoning. Mallo went on to say 250 residents recently asked Council for a cul-de-sac at Edenvale Villas and their request was denied. One reason, offered by Councilmember Young,was that Council should not go against the Planning Board's recommendation. Butcher also said the City couldn't add new cul-de- sacs, yet two cul-de-sacs have been added in the last six months. Mallo asked why Council is willing to go to great lengths to please developers, but they"won't give anything to the citizens." He asked Council to send the Edenvale cul-de-sac request back to staff. City Council Workshop Minutes December 16,2003 Page 6 Mayor Tyra-Lukens said she found Mallo's statement that Council does not listen to residents somewhat offensive. She pointed out that Council did what Mallo's Forest Hills neighborhood requested back in 1996. Tyra-Lukens said governance is an art without hard and fast rules, and the system is set up to allow some flexibility in light of new information. Case said he also took exception to some of Mallo's remarks. He said he feels Council has shown"incredible propensity to listen to all perspectives and to carefully weigh each decision." Mallo said during Public Hearings it is difficult to anticipate the direction Council discussion will take once the public comment period is closed. He said new points are discussed and citizens don't have the opportunity to respond. Tyra- Lukens noted that Council is planning a workshop in early 2004 on public hearing process, and that some of Mallo's concerns may be addressed at that time. VI. OPEN PODIUM(Unscheduled participants, 6:50-7:00 p.m.) No one requested to speak at Open Podium. VII. ADJOURNMENT