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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/25/1986 - Special Meeting APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 25, 1986 6 : 00 f4v], SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION BUILDING BOARDROOM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mayor Gary Peterson, Richard Anderson, George Bentley, Patricia Pidcock and Paul Redpath CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J . Jullie and Recording Secretary Jan Nelson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: All members were present I . APPROVAL OF AGENDA The following item was added to the Agenda: III. E. Resolution No . 86-297 - Setting the Date for Bond Issue . 5 MOTION: Red path moved , seconded by Pidcock, to approve the Agenda as amended and published . Motion carried unanimously . Y II . JOINT DISCUSSION WITH EDEN PRAIRIE SCHOOL BOARD Mayor Peterson thanked the School Administration for their hospitality and turned the discussion over to Superintendent McCoy. A . School District ' s Building Plans and Referendum Schedule Dr . McCoy re-viewed Lhe iurig-r-Uf1ge facility plans for the School District, noting that their planning is based on an eventual decline in enrollment . He said they are planning to move their Family Center to the existing City Hall some- time in 1987 if the City will allow them to lease the upper level of that building. He also said they are planning another elementary school in the southwest quadrant near City Hall and a new Intermediate School for 5th and 6th grades on their new site near Hwy. 169 and Anderson Lakes Parkway. McCoy said they are planning a bond referendum, possibly for about $23 million, in October of 1987 for the fourth elementary school, the 5th and 6th grade Intermediate School, possible remodeling of the High School and possibly providing for a kindergarten center. He said they are s a City Council Minutes -2- November 25 , 1986 considering putting all the needs together so that there will be only one package for a referendum . Peterson asked if the projected 7 , 8 or 9 milllevy covers both the additional building cost as well as staffing. McCoy said it has nothing to do with staffing, that staff- ing is controlled by the State and property-rich districts such as Eden Prairie and Edina pay 100% of the costs . { 4 Peterson asked what the tax impact would be on the City . Merle Gamm, Business Director for the School District , said there should be no material change in impact on the City , that it should get no higher than 9 mills . f Anderson said he had observed that other communities en- ' counter zoning problems when kindergarten centers are sold and he asked Dr . McCoy where they would put such a } facility here . McCoy said , while they have no particular property in mind and are not sure they will purchase the property rather than lease , they will keep in mind that they don't want to get into a zoning problem. Pidcock said she thought their plan makes a lot of sense ; however, after hearing a lot of comments about property taxes , she was concerned that all of these things we are doing will have a great impact on property owners , particu- larly those in the over-$1?5,000 category. McCoy said that , to him, it is a matter of maintaining their invest- ment so that they can resell their homes . Peterson asked if there was any violation of an educational rationale by shifting different mixes of grades together. McCoy said he did not believe they were violating any prin- ciple and that most parents agree with a shift of the 6th grade down to be with the 5th and the 9th grade back with 7th ariA R+b, , Pidcock asked if there was a social implication by having kindergartners all by themselves . McCoy said that , while he would prefer they be in the regular schools, they be- lieve the best grade to pull out is the kindergartners who are there half days and don 't eat lunch at school. Bentley asked if they had made a commitment to the bond referendum for October, 1987 . McCoy said they expect to firm up their plans to see what will be included in the overall plan after the first of the year with a final de- jj cision in July and a possible referendum in early October . l r w City Council Minutes -3- November 25 , 1986 Boardmember Jack Van Remortel said that , thanks to the School Board members who served 6-8 years ago and addressed such issues as the renting of a building, the Board has the respect and understanding of the community when changes are suggested or new facilities are needed . Boardmember Dave Anderson said the Board has talked about how much to put together but he thought it would be ludi- crous to have one referendum and then return six months later with another one . City Manager Jullie asked what the impact of the proposed mill levy would be on the T . I .F. district . McCoy said the more important impact would be on the staffing and 'that there would be a greater base in terms of pay-off. B . City' s Potential Referendum Needs and Schedule City Manager Jullie said that the committee commissioned two years ago to investigate the needs of the City recom- mended priorities and timing for bond referenda . He said there are significant needs to be addressed in addition to the City Hall needs . Jullie said there is a committee presently working on a recreation facilities referendum which will include im- provements at the Community Center, acquisition of park property and land for a ball field complex as well as other improvements throughout the community such as trails and park development . He said the committee is expected to recommend consideration of a referendum next March with a potential request of about $8,0000000 . Jullie noted that the City will be leasing space for City "all 5 Larting in January for a period of three years;. how- ever he thought the record will show owning a building to be much preferable to leasing one . He said there is another fi committee studying the long-range plans for City Hall ; their recommendations should be made in January or February and may include a recommendation for a referendum two years from now on City Hall. . Jullie said other .future needs could include another fire station to serve the southwest sector of the City, probably in five years or so, and possibly some type of recreation and golf course facility. He said the City projects that our assessed valuation will be sufficient to cover our other General Fund operating needs . Jullie noted that there are some additional transportation needs in the Major Center Area that have not yet been t A City Council Minutes -4- November 25 , 1986 addressed . He said the T . I .F. program was developed to put the basics of the road system together, but there are other needs the specific funding of which has not yet been identified. He noted the T .I .F . district is capturing about 10-12% of our assessed valuation . He said he wanted to leave the door open to continuing the T . I .F . program for a few years . In addition, he said he had just re- ceived word that there may be a delay in a portion of the Hwy . 5 improvements unless the City can come up with some funding for the design of the project . He reiterated that transportation is a critical need for the community . t Bentley commented that one of the major issues we continue to fight in this community is fiscal disparities ; that we are literally being robbed of millions of dollars in taxes because of fiscal disparities . He suggested that the community should join in a mutual effort to put pressure on the legislature to make changes in the system . Van Remortel said the second half of that effort with the legislature is to work towards the dedication of motor ve- hicle excise taxes to the highway department so that pro- jects like Hwy . 5 can be completed . Bentley noted that, �( unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure now to not con- tinue to increase that transfer. Van Remortel asked Jullie about the time frame for utili- ties to serve the southwest corner of the community. Jullie said the contracts have not been let but are scheduled for this spring. Van Remortel asked if it will be a phased project and who is the contracting agency. Jullie said the Waste Control Agency is the contracting agency and 1 they will determine whether it will be phased or not . Jullie said the City will provide some administrative help and such things as inspections . Bentleyasked if the line is g g going to o near the proposed school site . Jullie said there would have to be an exten- sion. Van Remortel said he thought they were within 1000 feet . } Boardmember Claude Johnson asked where the City is with regard to long-term debt . Jullie said we expect our mil rate to stay at about 19-20 mills to support our operating costs . He said any sort of capital improvements will add to our 20 mill levy. Redpath noted the importance of the user fees for sewer and / water. Jullie said the utility system is independent from ( the general property tax levy in that we have special Y i A I P f City Council Minutes -5- November 25 , 3g86 assessments and user fees to support it ; however, if those items fall short , it will come back on the general tax . Jullie said this points out that development is critical to the City in a lot of ways . Boardmember Phyllis Posner noted that continuing the T . I.F. may have a detrimental effect on their programming. Board- member Rick Wolf commented that they are suffering from a sort of fiscal disparities program which yields Eden Prairie fewer dollars per student than neighboring districts and that the T . T . F. district would tend to compound that dif- ference He said he thought we should get together on a team effort to make changes . Councilmember Anderson asked Dr. McCoy if there was any way we can work together on the expansions of the High School and the Community Center. McCoy said they are hop- ing the City will build a gymnasium facility in the Commun- ity Center so that they could use the facility during the school day and for after-school activities . He said if the City does not get those facilities, the School District will have to build them. Boardmember Sharon Gluschenko asked if any thought had been } given to including a teen center in the recreation facili- ties . Peterson said there was none in the present consider- ations . City Manager Jullie said that was a good point and that input such as this should be brought up at the neigh- borhood meetings being planned by the Recreation Facilities Committee . Boardmember Anderson noted that the expanded Community Center could accommodate some of the activities that might be associated with a teen center. Councilmember Anderson said we are talking about structures but we should talk about problems and needs sometimes to make sure that the structures will meet the needs of the community. He said this is one of the areas that might benefit from joint committee involvement . Van Remortel said his perception of City facilities has always been of "athletic facilities," and that the emphasis should be on "recreational facilities" since not everyone is involved in athletic programs. Pidcock asked McCoy if she was correct in her understanding that their proposed new facility will be a multi-purpose building that can be used for things other than classroom City Council Minutes -6- November 25 , 1986 use . McCoy replied that they expect the community to use the neighborhood schools but that will not reduce the need for the City ' s recreational facilities . Redpath said he hoped that the City and the School District will work with the business community on plans as taxes are a great concern for area businesses . Peterson noted that it is good to share and ask questions in this manner and that the information and involvement at tonight ' s meeting was appreciated . The joint discussion ended at 7:25 PM . III. CITY MANAGER 'S REPORT A . Resort on Conferences Attended Bentley noted that he was impressed by the number of con- ferences City Manager Jullie had attended this year. Peter- son said he was very pleased with the completeness of the summary Mr . Jullie provided . Anderson said he would strongly encourage Mr. Jullie as well as all department heads to continue to attend such conferences . Because of the constant changes in all areas of public government , he felt attendance at conferences should be made a part of management policy and should also become part of their evaluation. A discussion followed in which Councilmembers asked Mr. Jullie questions regarding certain points in his report and commented on the concepts he presented . a Bentley said he thought Mr. Jullie is doing a good job of 9 what we asked him to do and that he agreed with Mr. Ander- son that some sort of program should be started to include department heads . x Peterson asked if there is now such a program for depart- ment heads that is included in their evaluations . Jullie responded that he had asked them to look for these oppor- tunities and that most of them do attend such seminars and c onferences . Pidcock noted that , as part of her licensing, she has to attend up to 15 hours of continuing education per year. She thought there should be a specified minimum number of hours of continuing education for department heads each year in order to keep current . I r , 'W J f . �p x4 ' i� City Council Minutes -7- Ncvember 25 , 1986 Jullie said that he will be meeting with department heads before the end of December for their review time and he would include continuing education in those discussions in addition to the goals included on tonight ' s Agenda as a separate item . B . Review of Goals for 1987 Bentley noted that he was concerned about the wording of Item I . 10 , regarding arrangements in the Flying Cloud Landfill expansion permit request . He said it seems to establish a policy that the City is going to follow rather than the current policy . A discussion followed regarding the rewording of this item. The consensus of the Council was that the review of goals required a lot of time and effort from Mr. Jullie and that he had produced an outstanding document . r X Bentley said that , relative to Item 2 of the suggested City Council goals regarding a strategic planning process, he would like to see a time schedule as to how we are go- ing to proceed on this . He said he hoped that the Council would be doing this rather than relying on committees or C outside consultants . Peterson asked if he meant we should not hire a consultant to help us . Bentley said he thought the actual planning process should be done by the Council as opposed to hiring a consultant to prepare a plan for Council approval . Peterson asked if the Council would be amenable to an ex- tended meeting time for this, such as all day Saturday. ucaa t.a.ey 5ctici he wasn' t prepared to determine that at this time but rather was hoping Mr. Jullie would return with a proposed timetable as to how we could establish a strategic plan with the understanding that it will require special meetings . As part of the strategic planning, Peterson said he would like to have some discussion on Council attendance at con- ferences and discus:aion to clarify the responsibilities of the Mayor as similar or different from those of the other Councilmembers . A discussion followed regarding whether there was a difference in those responsibilities . The con- sensus was that it would be a good point to discuss during the strategic planning process . C . Salary Review (Continued from October 21 , 1986) City Council Minutes -8- November 25 , 1986 Bentley noted that the requested base rate adjustment of $2 ,500 effective January 1 , 1987 would bring Mr. Jullie ' s salary up to the 1986. mean. MOTION: Bentley moved , seconded by Redpath, to approve a base rate adjustment of $2 ,500 to City Manager Jullie ' s salary effective January 1 , 1987 . Motion carried unani- mously. Bentley noted that he was concerned about the suggested automatic base rate adjustment of $2 ,500 on January 1st of each year. He said he would prefer to continue the current process whereby Council reviews the salary and makes ad- justments on an annual basis . Discussion followed regard- ing the suggested automatic adjustment . The consensus was to continue the current process . Peterson said he thought it was important to set a regular time for Mr. Jullie 's performance review and suggested that it be the first Council meeting in June of each year. Bentley said he thought the City Manager should come to us with a salary request that would be effective January 1 each year, possibly as early as October so that we can start the review process. Anderson said he thought it was important to set an ending r date to the process as well as a starting date . Peterson said Mr. Jullie suggested that the performance review be conducted at the first meeting in June which would mean the process would have to begin in January or February. Pidcock asked Sharon Gluschenko, who was in the audience, what the normal procedure was . Ms Giuschenko said it was important to separate the performance review from the salary action . MOTION: Bentley moved, seconded by Pidcock, to set the first Regular City Council meeting in February as the date to begin the City Manager' s performance review, at which time the performance documents will be reviewed for validity and the procedure will be set as to when the documents will be passed out and returned . Motion carried unanimously. D. New Council Chambers Plan (Continued from November 18, 1986) City Manager Jullie said he would like some general direc- tion on the layout of the Council chambers as to the arrange- ment and whether there should be a raised platform for the Council . He said we still have the old Council table but he considers it to be too small . City Council Wlinutes -9- November 25, 1986 Anderson said he didn't want to go to any more expense than necessary since we probably won't be in the building more than three years . Peterson noted that the room is 48 feet long; therefore , it would make sense to have a platform so that people in the back of the room could see the Council . Redpath noted that the U-shaped arrangement allows the f Councilmembers to look more directly at each other than the one we are using now . A discussion followed regarding the benefits of using a U-shaped table . Peterson said he didn' t think there was a requirement for Staff to have good eye contact with the audience but the question of where to put the Staff is very important in the new arrangement . Pidcock said she didn't think it was fair to expect Staff to stand up to make their presentations since they often have a lot of resource material . She thought they should be able to sit at a particular place that would allow com- munication with the Council . She also noted that she was not in favor of a raised platform because it appears to raise the Council above the public . , Bentley said he did object to the Staff having their backs to the audience because the people in the audience are the reason for having the Council Meeting. Anderson said he liked the old arrangement at City Hall better than this one because viewing is difficult From his present perspective . He said he would like to get an arrangement so that the V l ewi-Iff of a --cAreCan or display is easy for everyone . He said that sound is also important . Bentley noted that his personal preference would be Alter- nate B because the arrangement has a raised platform, makes use of the old table , allows for a nice-sized presentation area, and provides the Recording Secretary a good position to see and hear what is going on. A discussion of Alternate B followed . Jullie noted that we could try different arrangements if the raised platform was not constructed right away. Bentley said we could raise the platform once we found out which arrangement works the best. The consensus was to try dif- ferent arrangements to see which one works out the best . City Council Minutes -10- November 25, 1986 E. Resolution No . 86-297 - Setting the Date for Bond Issue City Manager Jullie said this resolution relates to the issue and sale of $2 .3 million General Obligation Building Bonds for the fire station, $1 .7 million General Obligation Water Revenue Bonds for improvements to the water system and $1 million Certificates of Indebtedness for equipment purchases. He said this would set December 16th at 4:00 PM a as the date and time at which sealed bids will be received for the bonds. MOTION: Redpath moved, seconded by Bentley. to adopt Resolution No. 86-297, providing for the public sale of s $2 ,300,000 General Obligation Building Bonds; $1 ,700oOOO General Obligation Water Revenue Bonds; and $1 . 000,000 Certificates of Indebtedness . Motion carried unanimously. IV . NEW BUSINESS Peterson said he had received a phone call from a resident who is very concerned about the effect of stress on young people in Eden Prairie . He said she is involved in groups working with young people and asked him to get Council sentiment on desig- nating February as "Eden Prairie Loves Its Kids- month with appropriate events and programs to help kids understand things going on in their lives . He said he was just mentioning this and did not want a lengthy discussion on it as it wasn't an Agenda item. City Manager Jullie said that a significant amount of erosion had occurred on Riverview Road east of the landfill. He said that a 200-foot long section of the road has broken off, ap- parently about a week ago, and that Staff is investigating the cause , He noted that bares icµdW Y 1,avc been put up and the area j will be fenced . In addition the Watershed District has been notified and they will call the Corps of Engineers. V. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bentley moved, seconded by Redpath, to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 PM. Motion carried unanimously.