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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/26/1996 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 26, 1996 7:00 p.m. CITY CENTER Heritage Room IV, 8080 Mitchell Road COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Ronald Case,Patricia Pidcock,Ross Thorfinnson, and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl Jullie, Director of Human Resources & Community Services Natalie Swaggert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities Bob Lambert, Jean Johnson, and Recording Secretary Barbara Anderson L CALL TO ORDER The meeting began at 7:10 p.m. Councilmember Nancy Tyra-Lukens was excused. H. REPORT OF THE SENIOR ISSUES TASK FORCE TO CITY COUNCIL Present representing the Senior Issues Task Force were Betty Anderson, Co-Chair, Bill Jackson and Barb Buehl. Mayor Harris thanked the members of the Task Force and commended them for the work they did on Senior issues which should be highlighted and brought to the attention of the City Council. Case commented he believed the Task Force had functioned well together as a group and had uncovered a number of issues which needed to be considered when making decisions affecting the future of Eden Prairie. The group had done lots of brainstorming in an attempt to come up with some solutions and/or suggestions to these issues. The issue of how serious these problems will become if not planned for in the future was paramount on their minds when considering the importance of these issues. There could be about 10,000 seniors aged 65 and over by the year 2015. Case noted that the Task Force had incorporated current mortality rates to help with the projections. Lambert commented that if Eden Prairie did not build housing suitable to seniors it may be that people will sell their homes and move out ofEden Prairie. If people elect to stay in Eden Prairie these will be the figures that the City will have to deal with. Discussion ensued regarding the types of housing which would be most useful to seniors to move into assuming they were unable to remain in their own homes due to numerous levels, illness, etc. Lambert inquired if the City intended to plan for homes or facilities for seniors. Case responded that much of their report gave support to the idea of building for these residents;not so much as to attract seniors to move into Eden Prairie, but to provide a place where existing residents would be able to move so they could continue to reside in the CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26, 1996 Page 2 community in which they have been living. This type of housing should be smaller and less expensive than the typical apartment or condominium unit presently being built in Eden Prairie. Case noted that perhaps some of the existing developments will be redone in the future and they will be building to suit whatever the market drives at that time. Elim Shores found it would be profitable to add an assisted living wing, and a study had been completed for them addressing this issue. Betty Anderson commented that seniors had been asked if they were financially"comfortable" and when analyzing the results of these questionnaires, it was found that some believed themselves to be better off financially than they really were. Some of these seniors could be short of resources if forced to move into other housing or incurred serious medical expenses. Case noted that gender would play a role in the independence issue of seniors because of the demand for services such as home repairs, transportation, etc. Many of the seniors will be women who will become frail as they age and unable to do these things themselves. He noted that people were also inclined to bring in their aging parents to have them close by, which also increased the senior population. If the City so chose, it could become"Senior Friendly" to keep the residents that live here in residence, but not necessarily to attract seniors from other areas to move here. He noted there were people who were on welfare, social security, and Medicare/Medicaid who might fall through the cracks. Harris inquired how these people continued to live independently, and Anderson responded that Senior Outreach seemed to be the best way to reach these people and get them in touch with the appropriate services. Discussion ensued regarding the best way to get this type of information to people who need it or would use it and it was believed that the best way to reach people was to keep publishing the number that had the resource information available. It was suggested that perhaps the Volunteer Coordinator position could be a way of keeping this information readily available. Thorfinnson commented that the Family Resource Center was a clearing house for everything and senior services were a part of this. He noted that the country will be filled with people who were outliving their resources and they will need to be considered in the future. Buehl discussed the housing component of the report, and noted that there were a lot of single family homes in Eden Prairie and a few apartments. One-level homes are more senior- friendly than two or three level homes, which have been the trend lately. She noted there would not be any more nursing homes built in Minnesota. Jackson stated they had looked at cluster homes in Shakopee, which range in price from $90,000 to $105,000, and were very attractive. If Eden Prairie wants to keep people living in Eden Prairie they need to make this kind of living available. Buehl stated these communities make it easy to age in place, and also contain a number of homes built which have the main living area on one level, but contain a full basement underneath that could be finished for additional living space. These homes have utilities located on the first floor, which make it easy for seniors to remain in their homes without having to require too much additional assistance. The Senior placement in homes program did not work and it was not convenient in this community. It might work better in other areas than here. Clustering housing which is designed for seniors might be a very economical way to go, as in-home health care providers CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26, 1996 Page 3 would not have to drive long distances between clients. The Market Center area was suggested as a good location for senior housing, as it was close to medical facilities, shopping, and other retail outlets which would reduce the need for transportation. Harris inquired how a City would attract senior housing developers to build in Eden Prairie. Thorfinnson commented that perhaps the City would have to solicit developers to come into the City to build this type of housing. They may be able to use some of the CDBG dollars to buy down the land costs to make this type of development feasible and affordable. Density requirements could be lowered, standards could be relaxed and federal and state funds could be utilized for this purpose. The Metropolitan Council will force the City to have higher densities per acre in the future, and the Market Center is a good location for this higher density type of development. Harris commented that they need to find out what funds are available to help the City in this endeavor. Thorfinnson commented that the City has been banking its CDBG dollars to be used for future land buy-down but some of these were used for the Columbine development. Discussion ensued regarding possible sites for these projects which would be feasible and would attract seniors. It was noted that there were many residents who travel to Florida or Arizona for the winter months who are finding it harder and harder to travel, and wish to live here to remain close to their children. Anderson discussed the findings regarding the frail elderly, which was that it was best to let them age in place if possible. Transportation is a very difficult issue in Eden Prairie, but she noted they did not hear as many negative things about Dial-A-Ride as they had expected. The biggest problem is there are no convenient places to sit and wait for the ride bus to come. Electronic notification may be a way to do this in the future, as even seniors will have access to pagers and beepers. Case noted that transportation was a large concern and they have envisioned many needs that have to be addressed. Southwest Metro is considering implementing a circulator route to remedy some of these problems, and this would help a great deal. It was noted that funding for Metro Mobility may be canceled. Pidcock commented that Southwest Metro was looking at a north/south route making connections that will go through Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie to help with transportation throughout the western suburbs. Many people live in Maple Grove and work in Eden Prairie, and this would be a way to provide transportation and lessen the impacts of additional cars on the roadways. She noted that health care needs require people to go outside ofEden Prairie and this service would also help with that problem. It was not necessarily the ultimate solution, but it might be possible to form coalitions and work with other cities to inform the health care providers of these problems and make their concerns known. Harris commented that the care of the elderly suffered in an HMO setting, but this problem was beginning to be addressed by health care providers. Anderson stated that as senior housing developments are constructed, vans could be used to provide transportation for residents to medical facilities and retail centers. There would be more and more of these implemented as the senior population increases. Thorfinnson commented that the City was using its very limited CDBG dollars to provide rides for disabled persons using a voucher system. This will not be very effective in meeting the needs of a growing population which will have to be addressed later on. Anderson commented that the City would have a need for a van with a lift for adaptive recreation programs and maybe CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26, 1996 Page 4 something could be done with this idea. Case commented that they were short of volunteers, and they had found no solution to this problem. If the City were to encourage neighborhood commercial development and convenience stores were scattered throughout the City it would facilitate the aging-in-place strategy. Legal and safety issues were discussed as pertained to the seniors and it was noted that the Police and Fire Departments had training in getting people with artificial joints out of vehicles which had been involved in crashes. The Volunteer Coordinator was thought to be the person to administer the Buddy System and the Medical Information Canisters program. The issue of how seniors are connected with meaningful opportunities was looked at and a possible solution would be some type of database, but this would have to be kept up to date. The Chore-Corps could be used but it is not active in the Cities. It was advised that a list of reliable contractors who had been checked out and were bonded and licensed, who could do chores for seniors,be kept on file. It was also possible that there would be some high school students who could help with raking leaves and other similar chores for seniors. Pidcock commented that the Chamber of Commerce Work Force Committee is trying to get a handle on the needs of the business community as there is a shortage of workers in this area. Someone from the Senior Issues Task Force should work with them to establish a fuller range of needs and she also believed that the City could be a role model in hiring seniors as part time workers. It was believed that technological advances should be implemented as much as possible because this will facilitate the aging-in-place process. The Senior Center has a web site and more seniors are becoming computer literate all the time. The role of government and its impact on seniors was discussed, and the Task Force concluded that every action the City took affected seniors in some way. They concluded it was not good to build walls between generations and this was one reason the Task Force did not make specific recommendations to the City on some of the issues. The seniors are changing as a group and more people with talents to share are being more outgoing and assertive. The Senior Center Advisory Board may be a resource for the City to use when looking for input from this age group. The Senior Center was discussed as a model and it was noted that it presently operates under the auspices of the Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department. It was suggested that a breakdown of the time used on projects and the budgeted amounts were unclear. Case believed an exact costing out for the Senior Center was vital to getting a handle on its actual costs and a line item definition for expenses needed to be made. He also believed five to ten goals should be established and communicated to the City. The position of supervisor needed to be defined and grown to reflect the reality of the situation. There could be more activities and more facility plans and trips and dinners and events scheduled. The position could become more a Director of Senior Services position than a facilitator position. The Senior Center will have to determine what it wishes to become in the future because it can be so much more than just a means of providing"recreational" opportunities for seniors. Implementation needs to be part of the "re-thinking the model" program. Options could consist of re-convening the Senior Issues Task Force on a permanent basis like the Housing, CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26, 1996 Page 5 Transportation and Social Services Board has been. The disbursement of the report of the Task Force needs to be determined. Discussion ensued regarding the Senior Center Advisory Board being involved with City government, and it was believed that this could be accomplished by appointing a representative from the Senior Center Advisory Board to the Housing, Transportation and Social Services Board, which would provide input from seniors regarding those issues. Mayor Harris commented she believed the next step in the process was to take the recommendations of the Senior Issues Task Force and determine which ones were most easily implementable. Then a plan needs to be developed as to how they will be addressed. The City Council will have to determine what the matrix will be to deal with the changing population of the City. Thorfinnson commented he would be responsible for seeing that this issue was revisited. Mayor Harris commented that they need to put the long-term in perspective, and she liked the idea that the Senior Center was used for other groups and activities. The main issues affecting seniors in Eden Prairie were identified as a budgeting issue, housing, transportation, senior population and senior needs. It was suggested that the City cooperate with the schools when addressing these issues. The consensus of the Councilmembers and the Task Force members present was that the Housing, Transportation, and Social Services Board be charged with putting the identified steps into implementation. Case stated at the next City Council meeting the Senior Issues Task Force Report could be received and the Council could begin the process of dissemination. III. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.