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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 12/02/1997 UNAPPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1997 7:30 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Sherry Butcher- Younghans, Ronald Case, Ross Thorrumson, Jr., and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J.Jullie, Assistant City Manager Chris Enger, Director of Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Bob Lambert,Director of Public Works Eugene Dietz, City Attorney Roger Pauly, and Council Recorder Jan Nelson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Jullie added Wine License for D'Amico Catering, Inc. for Balance of 1997 to the Clerk's License List, item N.A. Tyra-Lukens said item IX.A. should be deleted from the agenda as they have not had a meeting since October 23. Thorfinnson added item XI.A.1. MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Case, to approve the Agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. II. OPEN PODIUM III. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL/PARKS RECREATION & NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION JOINT MEETING ON USER FEES HELD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 199 Thorfinnson was concerned that there was no conclusion stated at the end of the discussion on the policy regarding user fees; however, there was no consensus on the appropriate change to the minutes and they remained as published. MOTION: Butcher-Younghans moved, seconded by Tyra-Lukens, to approve as published the Minutes of the City Council/Parks, Recreation&Natural Resources Commission Joint Meeting on User Fees held Tuesday, November 18, 1997. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 2 B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18. 1997 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Thorfinnson, to approve as published the Minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, November 18, 1997. Motion carried 5-0. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. 2ND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 56-97 RELATING TO PAWNBROKERS AND PRECIOUS METAL DEALERS C. RESOLUTION 97-216 APPROVING SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. 56- 97 RELATING TO PAWNBROKERS AND PRECIOUS METAL DEALERS AND ORDERING THE PUBLICATION OF SAID SUMMARY D. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 97-214 FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF HOUSING REVENUE BONDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,593,800, PRESERVE PLACE REFINANCING E. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 97-215 REQUESTING MnDOT TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLE PRE-EMPTION SYSTEMS ON VARIOUS MnDOT INTERSECTIONS F. APPROVAL OF REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE OBTAINING BIDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE PLAYGROUND AT RICE MARSH LAKE NEIGHBORHOOD PARK G. SET TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1998, 5:30-8:00 PM, CITY CENTER, FOR OPEN HOUSE FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS H. SET TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10 1998 6.00 PM CITY CENTER FOR CITY COUNCIL TO INTERVIEW BOARD AND COMMISSION CANDIDATES Tyra-Lukens asked if item H could be changed to Thursday, February 5 because she will be out of town on February loth. Jullie suggested we change it to February 5 and he will ask Mrs. Provo to poll the Councilmembers to make sure that is okay. The consensus was to restore the February loth date if the poll reveals other schedule conflicts. MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to approve items A-G and amended item H on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 3 VI. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. Motion carried 5-0. VII. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS VIH. PETITIONS. REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS IX. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. SOUTHWEST METRO TRANSIT COMMISSION (Councilmember Nancy Tyra-Lukens) Item deleted. X. APPOINTMENTS XI. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. Check on the Eden Inn Thorfinnson asked if a check has been made recently on the Eden Inn as to substandard housing. He was curious as to what their status is. Jullie said Staff will check it out and report back. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION & NATURAL RESOURCES 1. Approval of Community Center Fees Lambert reviewed the recommendations outlined in the Staff Memorandum of December 2, 1997. The recommendations were based on direction from the City Council at the Joint Meeting of the Parks, Recreation& Natural Resources Commission and City Council on November 18, 1997. Case asked what the non prime time hours are at the ice rink. Lambert said prime time is from 2:00 - 11:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 4 Denise Monson, representing the Eden Prairie Figure Skating Club said they are different from the larger user groups as they have only 150 members. It will be difficult to spread the rate increase to all the membership. She said they set up their budget based on an anticipated increase of$2.50 per hour. Butcher-Younghans asked when their season starts. Monson said they go from September 1 to August 31. Butcher-Younghans asked Lambert to clarify the idea that the Community Center hourly rate is commensurate with surrounding ice arenas and that the increased fee is directly correlated to the improvements in the pool. Lambert said the Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association does an annual survey of what arenas are charging for the current year and what they are proposing for the next year. There are four rinks that charge more than we do. The reason we are proposing the increased rates is not the cost of the HVAC system, but rather as a method to increase revenue in order to help offset the current deficit of over $200,000. While we don't expect to operate the Community Center on a break even basis, the charge to staff was to set a rate that was not the highest but near the highest. He noted we have been in the top 10-15% since opening. On the issue of not charging soccer or softball users, Lambert said they have done a summary of the subsidy level of the various sports. The subsidy level for hockey or figure skating is somewhat less than $100; however, to expect the City to subsidize kids equally in different programs will never happen. Lambert said the fees for swimmers are almost double that of the next closest swim club they could find. Most swim clubs use pools that are in schools, and those pools are vacant most of the time. Jean Buller, a Chaska resident and Vice President of the Eden Prairie Figure Skating Club, said the Chaska ice time is $110 per hour. She noted the pool costs have not increased since 1989. They tried to pursue information to compare rink costs and pool costs, and she can't understand why they are so different. She said they can only skate 25 kids on the ice whereas the pool can have many swimmers using it. She thought the increases will impact the Figure Skating Club because it will be priced out of where the average family can participate. Lambert said the City subsidizes swimmers more than any other sport; however, if we charged $110 or more per hour we would not have a swim team. The City Council direction has been to look at the market, and the market for swimmers is $15-$20 per hour while the market for ice is higher. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 5 Paul Bertilla, past president of the Eden Prairie Figure Skating Club, said 100% of the increased costs will be passed on to the people in the club because the club cannot absorb the costs. He thought having the World Figure Skating Championship in the Twin Cities in March of 1998 will increase interest in figure skating, but the increased rates will scare off those who might want to enter the program. Mark Davis, President of the FoxJets Swim Team, said they have requirements for the number of Eden Prairie residents on the team, so that they are prohibited from expanding the team. He thought we need to keep it economically feasible, and he asked that the Council allow them to remain competitive with the fees. He does not want to see Eden Prairie residents consider other programs. Case asked if there is any opportunity to set two-tiers for the ice time. Lambert said we are selling all of our prime time right now, and we have some people saying we need a third sheet of ice. They have received a lot of comment regarding subsidizing sports to the level we are now. We want children to have the same opportunities in our community, and we don't want to price them out. He thought we are at that level now. Butcher-Younghans said the City has subsidized sports, particularly ice skating and swimming. Even if we go with the proposed fee increases, the sports will still be subsidized. She thought it would be imprudent not to go with a fee structure that is commensurate with other communities and that doesn't take so much from the community resources. Tyra-Lukens was still concerned about the increased cost for the swim team. She thought people here would like to allow children to have as equal access to a sport as they do in other communities. She thought the fee increase for the pool throws the rates way out of kilter. The kids that want to swim are almost being penalized for living in Eden Prairie. One of the issues brought up at the workshop was the issue of timing, and we did not come to a consensus on that. She thought it is difficult to increase the rates on January 1 for the Swim Team and the Figure Skating Club because they are not on a calendar year. Case asked when the last rate increase for the pool occurred. Lambert said it was 1989. Thorfinnson noted that was eight years ago, and asked what rate we are going from. Lambert said we are going from $35 to $50 for prime time. The School District takes most of the time, and the Fox Jets take the portion from 5:00 to 6:00 and then from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. They don't generally rent the entire pool. Thorfinnson then asked what the percentage of prime CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 6 versus non prime pool time is. Lambert said 80% is non prime time. Thorfinnson said he was trying to determine if the term "substantial increase" is correct. Harris asked if the Oak Point pool would be able to accommodate the needs of the swim team if the community pool were not available. Lambert said the Oak Point pool is only six lanes and could not accommodate the swim team. Harris thought we are not that far out of range for the ice time fees. Buller thought it was important to look at the profit and loss for each entity. Lambert said we are not meeting the costs at the Community Center with about 1/3 of the loss from the pool and 2/3 attributable to the rinks and other facilities. Case asked what we are looking at for new revenues generated from the new rates. Lambert said it is approximately $30,000. Case asked how much of that is for pool time. Lambert said the School District and the Fox Jets are about even on the amount of revenue generated, but that would be different if we start charging the new rates for the School District on January 1 and delay the increase for the Fox Jets. Case thought it is unfortunate that the figure skaters are forced to pay high fees in order to get ice time and compete for time with the hockey association that accepts the fees because they can spread the cost more readily. He would like to be able to help families continue with the sport. Case was concerned that we have budgeted in the increased revenue and that would change if we delayed the fee increase to September. Harris noted two years ago the City Council made a policy decision that, as far as possible, all city programs should pay a reasonable proportion of their costs. Staff followed that directive and came back with these recommendations. The Parks Commission reviewed the proposed rate changes and recommended proceeding with the increases. We also want to maintain healthy alternative activities for members of the community. She thought our dilemma is to provide the increment that Staff is recommending, but at the same time to provide some relief to the clubs. Thorfinnson thought the fees for the pool are onerous, but there has not been an increase in eight years. One of the primary reasons for replacing the HVAC system was the competitive swimming in the pool. He thought we might be able to adjust the prime time hours. He said the Figure Skating Club said they had budgeted an increase into their program so that we could increase the fees part way to match what they budgeted for and look at increasing the rest of the way in September. CITY COUNCIL M NUTES December 2, 1997 Page 7 Case suggested changing the prime time for the pool and stepping up 1/2 on the ice time. Thorfinnson thought we could increase the ice rate $3-$5 per hour until August 31, and then bump up again to reach our suggested rate by January 1, 1999. Harris said that would mean increasing to about$122 per hour to August 31, bumping to $130 on September 1, and then to $135 on January 1, 1999. Case noted we would then have a loss of revenue of about$7.50 per hour. Harris thought we need to give them time to budget. Lambert said with the proposed increase we would get about$17,500 more revenue per rink. He thought the proposed graduated increases would bring in close to 2/3 of the proposed revenue increase so that there might be $10,000-$12,000 cut in rink revenue. Thorfinnson asked if hockey has the same schedule. Munson said she thought they did. MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to raise the ice time fees to $122.50 per hour for prime time hours between January 1, 1998 and August 31, 1998, with an increase to $130 per hour from September 1 to December 31, 1998, and a further increase to $135 per hour for 1999, with non-prime time and summer rates to be raised proportionally. Motion carried 5-0. Case asked if there is a reason to extend the prime time hours for the pool to 6:00 p.m. Lambert said they looked at what we were paying the School District for the Oak Point pool, and the swim team shares the pool with the School District from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Harris was not persuaded that a premium of$10 for the use of that one hour between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. is outrageous. She thought there might be another way to do a step increase. Tyra-Lukens thought we could look at something similar to the ice time increases. A discussion followed regarding changing the prime time to 5:00 p.m. with a possible step increase. Davis said the swim team has all the money they will get until their summer season starts in April. They could budget an increase at that point and put out a new fee schedule. Lambert understood the School District is discussing changing the high school hours to a later time, and, if they do that, all of the after school CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 2, 1997 Page 8 athletic programs will move to a later time. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to increase the rates for prime time use of the pool to $50 per hour, $40 for non-prime time use and $35 per hour after 9:00 p.m., and to change the prime time to extend from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on April 1, 1998. Thorfmnson thought something has to happen between the Community Center and the people who have been using the facilities. We have been dealing with people who had a lack of information, and we need something in the process to notify people what the rates will be. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. 2. Award Bid for Eden Prairie Community Center Pool HVAC Lambert said the City took bids for the HVAC portion of the improvements and received four bids. They had estimated a cost of$275,000-$350,000; however, the low bid was $203,900 from SBS Mechanical, Inc. He said they have put in a penalty clause because we intend to advertise for pool use starting June 1. Thorfinnson asked if a$500 penalty is enough. Lambert said that is what we bid so we can't change it. MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to accept the bid of$203,900 from SBS Mechanical, Inc. for replacement of the Eden Prairie Community Center Pool HVAC system. Motion carried 5-0. D. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT E. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS F. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XII. OTHER BUSINESS XIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Tyra-Lukens moved, seconded by Thorfinnson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.