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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/17/2009 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Ron Case, Jon Duckstad and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Public Works Director Gene Dietz, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Young called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. All Council Members were present. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Young thanked Junior Webelos Pack 342, sponsored by Immanuel Lutheran Church, for presenting the colors. III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Neal added Items XIV.B.2 and XIV.B.3. Young added Item XIV.A.1. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. V. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the minutes of the City Council Workshop held Tuesday, October 20, 2009, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, October 20, 2009, as published. Motion carried 5- 0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 2 VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. PLANNING COMMISSION UPDATE Jon Stoltz, Chair of the Planning Commission,presented a report on the commission's activities and plans. He reviewed the duties and responsibilities of the commission and described the variances approved for the Best Buy wind generator and the Wal-Mart building update. He noted the light rail alignment will present opportunities for redevelopment in areas such as the Golden Triangle. Young thanked him for his presentation and noted the Council is very appreciative of the Planning Commission's efforts. VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BRAUER AND ASSOCIATES, LTD, FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR MILLER PARK BARRIER FREE PLAY AREA C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-72 AUTHORIZING THE DISPOSAL OF TWO PARCELS OF TAX FORFEITED LAND BY HENNEPIN COUNTY D. AWARD CONTRACT FOR BENT CREEK STORM SEWER IMPROVEMENTS TO MINGER CONSTRUCTION, I.C. 09-5754 E. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-73 TERMINATING JOINT AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR USE OF PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT DURING EMERGENCIES REGIONAL MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATION F. APPROVE ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT FOR PRIVATE USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY (BEARPATH) G. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-74 AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF GRANT AGREEMENT FOR SAFE & SOBER COMMUNITIES AND OPERATION NIGHT CAP MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-G on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. OLYMPIC HILLS CHRIS ADDITION by Stuart Investment Ltd. Request for Zoning District Change from Rural to R1-13.5 on 1.24 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the R1-13.5 zoning district on 0.05 acres and Preliminary Plat of 3 lots and road right of way on 1.29 acres. Location: Franlo Road and Niblick Lane. (Ordinance for Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2009-75 for Preliminary Plat) CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 3 Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the November 5, 2009, Eden Prairie News and sent to 79 property owners. This is a three lot single- family development. The plan meets the requirements of the R1-13.5 zoning district. The 120-day review period expires on January 22, 2010. The Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the project at the October 12, 2009 meeting. Plans have been revised according to the recommendations of staff report and the Planning Commission. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the Public Hearing, to approve 1 st Reading of the ordinance for zoning district change from Rural to R1-13.5 on 1.24 acres and zoning district amendment within the R1-13.5 zoning district on 0.05 acres, to adopt Resolution No. 2009-75 for preliminary plat on 1.29 acres into 3 lots and road right of way, and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Case asked if there are any opportunities for neighboring projects to use the NURP pond when there are infill projects such as this one. Dietz said it is not too usual that we have such an opportunity on an infill project. The surface area size of the project's infiltration basin is quite small. He said we have to look at putting treatment facilities in for road projects,but we try to make sure infill projects stand on their own. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. B. WAL-MART by The Benham Company. Request for Zoning District Amendment in the Commercial Regional Service District on 16.86 acres and Site Plan Review on 16.86 acres. Location: 12195 Singletree Lane. (Ordinance for Zoning District Amendment) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the November 5, 2009, Eden Prairie News and sent to 37 property owners. Wal-Mart proposes to update its existing building and expand grocery sales. The project includes an expansion of the store's footprint to add a loading dock (1,624 square feet) for the additional grocery deliveries, improvements to the front entry, a smaller parking lot, more green space, and sustainable features. Wal-Mart is also proposing to incorporate lighting, decorative pavement and other Town Center elements into the proposed remodeling project. Neal said the Wal-Mart site is guided Town Center. The Town Center category designates the land use for a mixed-use downtown area to be located near the center of the Major Center Area (MCA). The 120-acre area is to be redeveloped over time into a compact, walkable, vibrant, pedestrian oriented area. The MCA Study identifies 10 Sub Areas with specific recommendations for land use, density, and site coverage. Wal-Mart is located on the eastern edge of the "Town Center" of Sub Area 2. The MCA plan shows the Wal-Mart site as a mix land use with: CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 4 • Mid Rise, 3-6 Story, 40-60 units per acre on the west side of the property. • Community Retail in the middle of the property • Medium Density (166 units) with Retail Ground level on the east side of the property. Neal noted there is an existing Wal-Mart Store on the property of approximately 116,631 square feet with an approved expansion plan for 30,000 square feet according to a development agreement between Wal-Mart Stores, Inc and the City of Eden Prairie dated October 1, 1991. The 120-day review period expires on February 4, 2010. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the project,based on the staff report dated October 23, 2009, at the October 26, 2009 meeting. Jeremiah said there were three unresolved issues with regard to the conditions of approval after the Planning Commission meeting. Since that time two of the issues have been fully resolved, and we are very close to resolving the final condition. Staff is committed to continuing to work out the details between now and final approval. She noted some representatives from Wal-Mart, their architect and their civil engineer are here tonight. Sue Steinwall, representing the law firm of Fredrikson and Byron, introduced two Wal-Mart representatives. She noted they have made great progress in the last couple of weeks in working through the issues. Young asked what the final issue is. Jeremiah said it has to do with the Special Service District. Young noted he didn't think we have ever been asked to consider approval based on an issue being unresolved. There were no comments from the audience. Nelson said she would like to see a short presentation from Wal-Mart about the project so everyone can see what we are talking about. Erik Miller, civil engineer, showed a site plan of the project and noted they are adding 1800 square feet that will serve as a loading dock for an additional grocery facility. They are removing a significant area of the parking lot to reduce the overall impervious surface area and reduce storm water runoff. They will still have full compliance with City code with the remaining parking spaces. He said the access route to the condenser area will be grass paved. He reviewed the architectural enhancements along the front of the building, noting it is a very contemporary rebranding in earth tones and is in line with the master streetscape plan the City has put in place. Aho asked how many parking spaces will be eliminated with the proposed changes. Mr. Miller said there are 642 spaces now, and that will be reduced to 591. Nelson asked if this will reduce the parking available for the restaurants that have cross- parking easements. Jeremiah said the parking agreement allows Jake's Restaurant to use 100 spaces of the Wal-Mart property, and that was factored into the parking calculation. She noted we changed our parking requirements a couple of years ago, CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 5 and Wal-Mart was built under the old standards. She said we feel they were somewhat over-parked under the old standards. Nelson asked if the spaces eliminated are from the side that isn't near the restaurant. Jeremiah said she did not think any restaurant patrons park in that area. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Nelson said she would like more information about the three conditions and how staff is proposing to proceed with the third one that isn't resolved. Jeremiah said there were three conditions to which Wal-Mart was not agreeing. The first was to change out some of their concrete sidewalks to pavers, and they proposed a stamped concrete alternative to the pavers. The second condition was an easement for Eden Road, and they are satisfied with the width that is shown in the documents which is 60 feet on Wal-Mart property. The third condition was regarding the Special Service District which holds all the property owners in this area to the requirement of agreeing to be part of the Special Service District in the future as we complete streetscape plans. Wal-Mart's concern was they weren't sure what dollar amount they were agreeing to. We looked at options for them to use either cash escrows or special assessments for the streetscape plans we already have. They would still be able to appeal any future dollar amount assessed by the Special Service Board, so they are not being held to any unknown cost. Nelson asked if the final wording for the third condition is not down on paper yet. Jeremiah said most of the discussion has been verbal, and we are working together with the attorneys on that. Young asked City Attorney Rosow how we can reconcile the usual language of the approval when there is an item outstanding. Rosow said the action is to approve the first reading based on the recommendations of staff which include the inclusion of the Special Service District with the second part of the motion asking staff to come back with a development agreement. He said the Council will have an opportunity to discuss and give consideration to whether to grant second reading. This is a mechanism to keep the process moving forward while allowing the City and Wal- Mart to continue to discuss the conditions and bring back something the Council can approve. If the City Council is concerned about going ahead on that basis, the Council could give direction regarding the conditions and the project could be continued because we are still within the 120 days. Young noted he would not impose the Special Service as a condition of approval. Duckstad noted the third sentence of the proposed motion says to direct staff to prepare a development agreement with Council conditions, and he thought that would protect us. Rosow said that was correct and staff would look to the discussion the Council had with respect to what those conditions were if the Council provided specific direction. Case said he thought we heard both sides of this say they feel comfortable they will come to a common ground so he was comfortable approving it as is. He thought we can trust staff to bring this back at second reading. He thought we should pull it off CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 6 the Consent Calendar for second reading so we have some amount of time to be told how the process was resolved. Young asked how the matter comes back if the Council passes the motion as proposed but agreement is not reached on the Special Service District. Rosow said the Council could relieve that condition on second reading. That will be the first opportunity to review the full development agreement as set out. He said the Council frequently pulls matters off the Consent Calendar for more clarification. If we were not able to negotiate a Special Service District and it came back to the Council, it would then be up to the City Council to decide whether to continue the matter or waive the requirement. Nelson said she was comfortable with it as long as it comes back to us because we seem to be very close to agreement and everything is being negotiated in good faith. She said she wanted to commend Wal-Mart on some of the new looks and on the green building as those things are not always easy to do. Aho said he was comfortable moving forward as long as it comes back off the Consent Calendar and we have a chance to look at the final agreement. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve 1 st reading of the ordinance for zoning district amendment in the Commercial Regional Service Zoning District on 16.86 acres, and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Case, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Case, Duckstad, Nelson and Young voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11 RELATING TO DEFINITION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES AND ADOPT RESOLUTION APPROVING SUMMARY ORDINANCE Neal said this is second reading of the ordinance relating to a definition of public infrastructure. The City Council approved first reading of the ordinance on October 6, 2009. He said normally a second reading would be a Consent Calendar item, but the Council Members were interested in hearing more about the genesis of this. This is the technical matter related to the proposed Nine Mile Creek Watershed District project. We do not have any formal document or project at this time. We have had discussions with Ms Kaerwer, her representatives, and the Watershed District staff, and we got a picture of what they would like to see there. We feel that what they are proposing is to put an office use into a residential zoning district, and CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 7 from an urban planning standpoint we see problems with that. This amendment to our zoning code is meant to remedy that problem. One of the parts of our ordinance allowed for a public infrastructure to be in a residential district. He said the public infrastructure zoning exception was never intended to be an opening for office use for public entities,but was intended for things like well houses, electrical pads, lift stations and things we more customarily think of as public infrastructure. We had some discussions in house, and the City Attorney advised it would be appropriate to take a look at that section of our code and clarify it. He said it is not an unusual thing for us to take a look at our code when we have a potential concern with it. Rosow said this is very much as Mr. Neal said, and it was a reaction to a situation presented to us that caused us to look at the language of the code and determine if that was what was intended. If that was not the intent, then the definition should be amended. It was not a substantive judgment with respect to the proposal to use the property. It would put us in a position to manage a proposal as it comes forward. Young said it is very important to indicate we were not trying to discourage this property from remaining largely undeveloped. The issue as presented to the City was what happens if an office use gets put forth on this or any other similar property. The ordinance has City-wide effect, and we have to look at an office use the same as any other office use around town. Residential property does permit a public facility to be built; however, this is a type of public facility that was not intended for the exception permitted by the code. We are sensitive to the issue raised by some residents that this has come up fairly quickly, and they don't understand the motivation for it. He noted it passed first reading in October and asked what the effect is if this matter does not pass second reading tonight and is tabled. Rosow said there is no prejudice to the City's process. This is not subject to the 60-day rule. The concern would be if, in the interim, another public facility came in and wanted to present the same position before the code was amended. Nelson thought it does need a bit more discussion, and we may need to change how we are doing this. She didn't want to discourage people from leaving open land for government purposes, and she thought this does have some potential for doing that. There is also a potential wider problem and she was not sure the current wording gets a solution for that without discouraging the leaving of open land. It is a wonderful thing to leave land for public use, and she thought we need more time to discuss this and possibly see how we can better enable people to leave land for public purposes. Young disagreed that the intent of the ordinance is to prevent people from leaving land for public enjoyment. It is only if they then want to put an office building on it that we discourage them. Nelson asked what would happen if they wanted to put in a museum because that would be a very public kind of thing that goes beyond an electric company office. She thought there should be a way of doing both of these. She wanted to have staff look at it and figure out a way to do everything we want to do. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 8 Aho said he didn't see this change in our zoning laws as something with which we are trying to discourage the leaving of public land in open space. It is a means of tightening up our code to make sure we have land used as it is intended. If we passed it as proposed tonight, it would not prevent the Watershed District from using the property as they want to. They would,however,have to bring it to the City Council and seek a variance amendment to use it as such. Case said he thought Council Member Nelson's idea was correct in that we all know we fear office space coming into a residential neighborhood. On the other side,he thought it could be argued that we likely would want an office space for a governmental unit on land publicly owned by everyone, such as land for a U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service office. He thought there should be a way to relook at the ordinance that would resolve our issues and permit this kind of use. He would prefer just slowing down tonight and sending it back to staff with direction to meet with the Watershed District to see what they are looking for that would not invite the fear piece. Rosow said the point is well made about having the tools and strategies to deal with these issues. In some situations a use such as a museum may work very well without any need for tweaking our process. In another situation in a different neighborhood it may be a horrible decision. The intent of this is to make sure we have to go through a process to deal with the issue. In most cases we already have the tools available in the zoning ordinance. This would require the Watershed District to come forward with an amendment to that property to put it in a zoning that makes sense. As part of that, staff would make sure the current zones make sense for that use and also in terms of preservation of the property to ensure it doesn't change the vision of the current property owner 20 years down the road. He said taking more time to digest and consider this and talk more to the constituents would not prejudice the process. He would not want to see the situation where we allow a property owner to do this under the current situation because that does set a precedent for the next use that may not be as desirable as this one. Young said we are talking about a more developed neighborhood than the river bluffs area,but he thought where we are going is that we can talk more about it and possibly find another solution out there that accomplishes what we want. He didn't want to open the door to have other buildings in other parts of town shoehorned in by calling themselves public facilities. He said if we table this, the only thing he would ask is for the Watershed District to not take advantage of the situation. Kevin Bigalke, Administrator for the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District, said they are committing to work with the City and work through the process as needed. They want to come to some sort of compromise for the City, the Watershed District, and Ms Kaerwer, and will work with the City and staff to reach that. Duckstad didn't see any problem with the proposed amendment because it attempted in good faith to clarify the definition and from a practical matter it is quite benign. He didn't have any problem with continuing it for a reasonable period of time to discuss it and reach an acceptable compromise. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 9 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to continue this item to the first meeting in January. Motion carried 5-0. XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Fire and Burilar Alarm Ordinance—Mayor Young Young said we amended our ordinances for both fire and burglar alarms earlier this year to try to address the number of false fire alarms and to get more information from the owners of burglar alarms. He noted the burglar alarms ordinance implemented a $25 annual fee as part of the revision. The notification of the new fee went out in the water bills, and we subsequently got a lot of calls about it. He said he has had some further discussion with the City Manager and the Police Chief. He thought we should impose a fee to provide services only if the City incurs an additional cost to provide those services. With respect to the burglar alarms,he thought we are using existing staff to create a service and since there are no additional costs for that he did not think we should be charging a $25 fee. He suggested we suspend that fee and try to find better ways of getting at the information. Case said he didn't know where the existing staff's time will come from to create the service if we don't acquire new staff. He has heard the development of the first list is pretty comprehensive and he wondered what sort of activities staff would not be doing if they work on the list. He thought we might be able to put it on a group email and send it out annually to verify and update the information once the database is created. The cost of$25 was imposed to update the information, so he still saw a need for the initial $25. He thought it would be okay to not have an annual $25 fee after that. Duckstad thought the fee should be suspended, and we should see if there is anything else that can be done. Nelson said she also heard a lot about this. She thought it seems to be too much to pay year after year. She thought perhaps a one-time registration fee or higher fees for false alarms if the alarm hasn't been registered might be in order. She thought we need something that says you have to register and some level of fee might be appropriate,but an annual fee seems to be a very painful thing for many people. She thought this is something we need to take another look at. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 10 Aho was in favor of suspending the fee and looking at ways to gather and maintain the data. He thought we might allow residents to enter information with a link to the website in a way that we can collect and maintain it at a much lower cost to staff. Neal thought the Police Chief and he could sit down with the staff involved in the process and see what alternatives there are. He said they appreciate the City Council's support for gathering the information because our police respond to about 2000 false alarms every year and that is not a good use of our investment. He noted we did fix this fee by ordinance so the Council would have to change it by ordinance. He said staff can have that prepared for first and second reading at the December 1 meeting and can also start working on alternatives right away. Young said he liked that idea and asked about the 2000 false alarms. Neal said that is just false security alarms, and any false fire alarms would be in addition to that number. Aho asked about our policy to charge for multiple false alarms from the same location. Police Chief Reynolds said the charge for false alarms is a lever we use to get the troubled alarms fixed. The first three false alarms are free, the fourth brings a fee of$100, the fifth is $200, and subsequent ones are $300. Case said he was still concerned that we have the system in place to charge fees for false alarms and was not sure what we are doing to work to remedy the 2000 annual false alarms. He was okay with removing the $25 fee,but he would like to review other opportunities to try to work on the volume of false alarms. Young said we are just rejecting the fee, and we haven't asked staff to abandon the registration process. He thought we might be able to get information from the alarm companies. He couldn't justify the $25 fee unless we can attribute another marginal cost to the City for the process. Nelson wondered if we would get 2000 false alarms if we didn't give people three free false alarms. She thought it might be preferable to charge a small fee for the second and third false alarms and see if that reduces the number. Young thought it was fair to see if there are other recommendations to get false alarms down. Rosow said the letter that went out is for the 2010 fees, so there will not be another fee until 2011. If we take out the annual fee, we need to make sure the registration still works if there is a new owner during the middle of the year. He said we want to be able to have time to think through how we make sure the registration remains effective and we catch sales and transfers. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 11 2. Hwy 494/169 Interchanse—Mayor Young Young said we got good news last week about the performance-based design for the Hwy 494/169. He wanted to recognize the efforts of the entire City Council and City staff who have worked for a long time to raise the profile of this interchange. He noted Council Member Aho has been our liaison to the Southwest Corridor Commission, and both he and Dave Lindahl have done a great job in keeping the discussion ongoing. B. REPORTS OF CITY MANAGER 1. 2010 Council Meeting Schedule Neal said we are proposing to incorporate the same type of summer schedule in 2010 as we had in 2009 since we anticipate the same levels of development in the City. He said they also propose to not have meetings on the first Tuesday in February because of party caucuses, the first Tuesday in April because of spring break, and the first Tuesday in November because of the 2010 general election. He said this is the calendar that will be proposed the first week of January. He asked Council Members who may have concerns about the proposed schedule to let him know. 2. Labor Relations Update He said there is a subgroup of patrol officers who have filed the necessary documentation with the Bureau of Mediation Services to seek recognition as a bargaining unit. There will be a vote among the 48 patrol officers below the rank of Sergeant. That vote hasn't been scheduled yet,but it could be scheduled sometime before the end of the year or in early 2010. We are currently in a period called the status quo period, and during this time we need to be careful about the things we say and the things we express about union representation of our patrol officers. He has additional information and some guidance from legal counsel, and he will distribute that to Council Members. 3. Issue Rmardins!Final Agreement with MAC Neal said the final agreement with the Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC)requires MAC to lease a specific piece of land to the City for the expansion of the Flying Cloud fields near the intersection of Pioneer Trail and Mitchell Road. He said we have been working for six years to try to move that issue forward with no progress, and recently as part of the Joint Airport Zoning Board discussion one of the things the MAC was asked to do was to provide some potential land uses. As part of that process they have identified that corner as part of a possible commercial development, which is in direct conflict with the final agreement. Staff is drafting a letter to Jeff Hamel to ask for a meeting with him to try to resolve this issue. He said we have funds in our possession that our residents voted on for CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 12 expansion of the Flying Cloud fields and we are ready to do that project. Young said that is an important issue, and the City Council does expect the MAC to fulfill its commitments. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Proposed Changes to Passport to Fun Fee Assistance Program Lotthammer said we have seen a spike in the use of funds for the Passport to Fun fee assistance program over the past couple of years. He said they attribute the spike to PROP being able to gain $3000 worth of funds to be the matching proponent for the funds. We believe that is a one-time scenario for PROP. One of the things the scholarship program does is if you qualify for it you are able to use open skate, open swim and open gym free of charge. He said one of staff's concerns is that if usage continues to grow we may not be able to make sure it helps more people. Staff is suggesting we reduce the limit from$150 to $100 to ensure that more people get at least some use of the program, and also that we not include private lessons or monthly membership to the Community Center as part of the program. He said the Parks Commission reviewed this last month, and they concurred with the recommendations. Young said he thought the addition of open swim, skate and gym was a new addition in 2008. Lotthammer said only the open gym was a new addition in 2008. Young asked what the charge is for open gym. Lotthammer said it is about$4.50, depending on the age. Young asked how that is controlled at the Community Center. Lotthammer said several people are using the funds to offset 1/2 of the monthly Community Center membership so they get full use of the facility. We are suggesting that we don't include that on a monthly basis but rather include the daily pass. Young asked how you know that the other amenities at the Community Center aren't being used by someone using the Passport for Fun to attend open gym. Lotthammer said we have control at the front desk for open gym, open skate and open swim times. Young asked what happens if someone is just above the eligibility guidelines for the program. Lotthammer said they would pay on a daily basis. Young said his preference would be that if we have certain amenities or services we feel the public should pay for, then everybody should pay something for their use. Lotthammer said he thought that is the scenario on the use of the fitness facility. Passport for Fun participants would pay half the fee but that isn't true for open swim, open skate or open gym where the fee is fully waived. Young said it goes beyond what you are asking for tonight,but he thought we may want to have further discussion because we CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 13 should be consistent in our program. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the following changes to the Passport to Fun Fee Assistance Program beginning January 1, 2010: reduce total fee assistance from$150 to $100 per participant($50 reduction); and continue to allow Passport dollars to be used (qualify) for Community Center Daily Use Fees for Fitness Center and Group Fitness Classes; and add Community Center Memberships and private lessons to the list of programs not eligible for Passport dollars (not qualified). Motion carried 5-0. 2. Facility Use Policies Lotthammer said this is a document that has come to the Council several times in the past few years. It provides the guidelines and policies to determine the acceptable use and procedures for residents to use our park facilities. He said we took time with everyone on staff who works with the public to make sure they are applying these consistently. In addition there was language in it that needed updating for new names of buildings or lighting requirements. We are also hoping to make it into a more user- friendly promotional item for the public by making it easier to read for people renting and using the facilities. He said it was reviewed with the Parks Commission last month, and there are no major changes in policy and procedures. Nelson asked if the requirement that a group of 20 or more people have to reserve a facility ahead of time would apply to a large family going together to have a picnic. Lotthammer said several years ago we started a large group permit process that would allow us to understand who was going to be using the parks and be able to work with them and communicate with them. We often get calls from people saying they don't want to rent the facility but want to bring a large group there. In terms of enforcement he didn't think we are trying to find those groups that don't have a permit but rather it is a way to know who is out there and what will happen ahead of time. Nelson asked if that means there are not going to be any consequences for a group that spontaneously goes on a picnic. Lotthammer said we have let them know about the requirements,but if they are using the park appropriately they have not been asked to leave. Case said he appreciates and has used the whole permit in advance piece. He had a question about Page 4-14 under penalties. He thought that was confusing because so many things are run on the school calendar year and reservations don't get accepted until January 2. Lotthammer said one reason is that we need to be able to block out those facilities for City program use first, and that doesn't always happen that far in advance. Some of the very popular facilities have people waiting until January 2 to come in,but it is very rare the facilities are booked. We need to set some type of date so there CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 17, 2009 Page 14 is fairness to the process. We know there are some groups and organizations where that time frame has to be expanded such as for weddings at the Community Center, so those facilities have different rules. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the modifications and additions proposed by staff to the Guidelines for Community Use of Parks and Recreation Facilities document. Motion carried 5-0. E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 8:48 PM.