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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/01/2011 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Ron Case, and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: Interim City Manager 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 Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Council Member Nelson was absent. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION V. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS A. COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS Lotthammer said this is the third Quality of Life survey that has been done in Eden Prairie. At the workshop tonight the Council had an opportunity to get some of the details of the survey. Representatives of Decision Resources are here to share an overview of the survey results. He said we will be using this information as we move forward with the budget process. We will look for areas of improvement and will use the results to select in-depth workshop topics for the next several months. Bill Morris, representing Decision Resources, gave an overview of the results of the survey his firm completed of 400 randomly selected households in Eden Prairie. He noted the refusal rate was less than 3%, and the average time to complete the survey was about 30 minutes. Morris said 98% of those surveyed answered excellent or good to the benchmark question: "How would you rate the quality of life in the City of Eden Prairie?" A new question was added to the survey to see how many people were aware the City had been designated the best place to live in the U.S. He said 91% of those surveyed were aware of that designation. Morris said 95% of those surveyed rated City services highly, the highest average rating of any community in the metropolitan area. The value of City services also received one of the highest ratings. That means people are pleased with the City services being provided and also pleased with the amount they are paying for those CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 1, 2011 Page 2 services. This year 49% of those surveyed indicated they would support a tax increase to maintain City services at the current levels, in contrast to 32% who were supportive of an increase when the survey was done two years ago. Morris said 85% indicated they can have meaningful input into planning and development, and 94% rated Parks and Recreation services as excellent or good. He said 90% rated City staff as either excellent or good, which places the City within the top three cities in the metro area in terms of City staff ratings. He said 33% of those surveyed have contacted City Hall in the past couple of years, and there was a rating above 94% for all the questions regarding City staff. He said the City has managed in many ways to create a large reservoir of good will among the residents. Tyra-Lukens thanked Mr. Morris for presenting the survey. She said the Council and staff appreciate the positive comments. She noted the survey results corroborate that this is a great city. B. STATE OF THE CITY Lotthammer said he recently gave the presentation on the State of the City to the Chamber of Commerce and will be presenting it several times in the next week or so. He said the fact that Eden Prairie was named by Money Magazine as the Best Place to Live in America is corroborated by the results of the community survey. Lotthammer reviewed the progress made in the 20-40-15 program which is designed to save energy. He also reviewed several community partnerships through which residents help to make the City a better place to work and live. He noted we have had a flat budget with spending decreases in the last couple of years, and it was great to see the survey results show good satisfaction with the services we are giving. The challenge as City staff is to continue the good quality of service without increased spending. The unemployment rate here is quite a bit less than the rest of the county, the state and the nation. There are some redevelopment projects going on as well as new development at Windsor Plaza and the Eden Prairie Retail Center. There have been some improvements made to help traffic flow through the City, such as the improvements to Pioneer Trail and Singletree Lane. He noted some of our engineering staff members are spending time to help with the I-494- 169 interchange project which has already begun. There has been an increase in use of City facilities, and we have had a significant decrease in the number of false alarms as a result of our education programs. Lotthammer said he appreciated the opportunity to serve as the interim City Manager while we are in the process of hiring a new City Manager. He thanked all the department heads for their support in helping him in his role as interim City Manager. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Tyra-Lukens added Items XIV.1. and 2. Rosow said he is requesting a closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss litigation. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 1, 2011 Page 3 MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,JANUARY 18, 2011 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the minutes of the City Council workshop held Tuesday, January 18, 2011, as published. Motion carried 4- 0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,JANUARY 18, 2011 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, January 18, 2011, as published. Motion carried 4-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Ann Higgins, Chair of the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), reviewed their Mission and Vision statements. She said during 2010 the Commission developed and approved a revised preservation ordinance that was approved by the City Council. They also approved several certificates of appropriateness for improvements to the Riley-Jacques House parking area and the John R. Cummins Homestead. She reviewed their 2011 Work Plan which includes monitoring landscape restoration at the John R. Cummins Homestead and completing best management practices for that site. Tyra-Lukens asked what particular skills or talents the commission is looking for in any new members. Ms Higgins said there are three members of the Commission whose terms expire this year. She said someone with knowledge of the relationship of our sites and the land use that used to be part of Eden Prairie would be helpful. VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2011-21 DECLARING CITY'S OFFICIAL INTENT TO REIMBURSE ITSELF FOR PRIOR EXPENDITURES OUT OF THE PROCEEDS OF A SUBSEQUENTLY ISSUED SERIES OF BONDS C. ACCEPT HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT FOR THE AMOUNT OF 30 000 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve Items A-C on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 4-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 1, 2011 Page 4 IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher Wickstrom, Case, and Tyra-Lukens voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Letter from Michael Opat--Mayor Tyra-Lukens Tyra-Lukens said she received a letter from Michael Opat, Chair of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, thanking us for freeing up Kitty Porta, City Clerk, to help with the gubernatorial recount. Ms Porta was one of 11 local officials who helped administer the recount in Hennepin County. She thanked Ms Porta for her service. 2. Taste of Eden Prairie--Mayor Tyra-Lukens Tyra-Lukens said the Taste of Eden Prairie event will be held on Saturday, February 26 at Winter Park, and the theme this year is "Wild West." The event will benefit the Eden Prairie Schools Foundation. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Budget Advisory Commission Work Plan Lotthammer said at the January 18, 2011, City Council workshop staff outlined a proposed budget process and a timeline for the Council and the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC). Staff also received feedback from City Council members on the desired role and guidelines for the BAC. Considerable discussion surrounded the need for clarity of the role of the BAC and the importance of information being shared with the City Council and BAC members. The importance of clarity has been expressed by Council Members, staff and BAC members. Lotthammer said staff is recommending that the initial phase of the work plan for the BAC is to review and provide feedback on funding methods for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP and the operating budget CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 1, 2011 Page 5 are two important methods for determining and fulfilling city programs, services and infrastructure protection. The CIP has multiple potential funding methods that have different impacts to city operations and residents. In recent years, methods for and amount of funding required for the CIP has been debated amongst Council Members. Researching the advantages and disadvantages of different funding methods will provide the City Council with information to make decisions related to the 2012/13 CIP and operating budget. Lotthammer said they are proposing to bring in an outside consultant to meet with the BAC and the Council at a special meeting to develop funding mechanisms for the CIP. The BAC would then go off on their own to look at those recommendations for positives and negatives, and then come back to the Council to present some of the advantages and disadvantages of the methods and strategies. That process allows the Council to focus on the operating budget and speeds up the budget process so it occurs earlier in the year. The BAC would then have the last part of the year to spend time on other ideas the Council would like them to look into. Using the BAC as a resource in that way helps the Council and gives the BAC challenging work over the next few months. He said he is scheduled to meet this Thursday night with the BAC to share some of the information from the City survey and the State of the City so some of the new Commission members get a better idea and background for their work. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to direct staff to work with the Budget Advisory Commission to implement a work plan that initially focuses on funding methods for the Capital Improvement Program. Staff shall also: schedule a joint meeting between the City Council and the BAC in April 2011; ensure all information that is shared with the BAC will also be shared with the City Council; direct the BAC to give advantages and disadvantages as the framework of their recommendations; and provide the City Council with the opportunity to redefine the work plan and redirect the BAC throughout the year. Motion carried 4-0. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY Rosow asked the Council to move to closed session to discuss negotiations with Black and Veatch regarding the water treatment plant. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 1, 2011 Page 6 The Council moved to closed session at 8:00 PM. XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT Tyra-Lukens called the Council back to open session at 8:30 PM. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to accept the proposed settlement of$415,000 payable to the City to fully settle the litigation. Motion carried 4- 0. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:35 PM.