HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 12/03/2013 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2013 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah,
Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City
Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
GUESTS: Senator David Hann, Representative Jenifer Loon, Representative Yvonne Selcer
Workshop - Heritage Room H
I. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Getschow noted that Eden Prairie's other two legislators, Senator Melisa Franzen and
Representative Paul Rosenthal, were invited to the workshop but were unable to attend.
Getschow reviewed a handout outlining Municipal Legislative Commission and City of Eden
Prairie legislative priorities for 2014. Those priorities fall into three categories:
• Promote accountability and transparency in the State/Local fiscal relationship
o Support policies that promote a more equitable property tax burden as a
percentage of income
o Protect the circuit breaker(property tax refund) program
o Fix sales tax exemption issues
o Oppose limitations on local units of government
• Invest in job retention and growth
o Support providing DEED with tools and incentives to attract and retain businesses
o Support transportation funding package that promotes economic development and
keeps Minnesota competitive
• Support local government policies that promote fairness and equity
o Oppose mandates related to expenditure-type reporting
o Reduce and better align agency oversight of water resource management
o Support changes to current election process
Discussion
Rep. Loon said she expects a bonding bill to be passed this session. She said she does not
foresee progress on fiscal disparities during the upcoming session. She said she believes
property tax burden disparities would be best addressed by using a percentage of income
City Council Workshop Minutes
December 3, 2013
Page 2
formula. She said she is interested in learning more about how the sales tax law can be
tweaked to fix bugs related to joint powers agreements, etc. She said there will likely be an
increase in the minimum wage.
Council Member Nelson asked if the legislature might consider changing the base year for
fiscal disparities, so that older properties would drop off or age out. Rep. Loon said that is
one alternative that has been discussed.
Rep. Selcer said she expects the Southwest LRT project to be included in the bonding bill.
She also believes the original end of the line location may be restored. She said she is
particularly interested in initiatives to train workers for today's workplace and helping
students to prepare to enter high paying technology/manufacturing jobs. She said the
minimum wage issue will probably come back up. She has been hearing from small business
owners that they do not feel an increase would be good for the local economy.
Senator Hann said he believes the state financial forecast will be positive, and that some sort
of surplus will be announced in February. He feels the session will be a short one, and that
LRT will be included in the bonding bill. He expects to see an increase in minimum wage,
but probably not as robust as that proposed by the governor. He feels it will be a priority for
the state to repay the $220 million it owes to the schools. He said inequities in the fiscal
disparities program will be addressed,but probably not during this session. Hann said it will
be a priority for the legislature to address issues with the sex offender program. He said the
program is very costly and there is not uniform criteria for being placed in the program. Hann
said he does not believe the new Capitol Office Building is worth the $90 million price.
Council Member Aho said he does not believe the gas tax is meeting the need for a stable
source of revenue. Hann said he recently met with a number of transportation-related
businesses. He said he also senses the need to find another way to fund transportation. He
said this issue will likely be addressed by the legislature in 2015. Selcer said she agrees that
how transportation is funded needs to be reviewed. Loon said she is concerned about the
future of Southwest Transit bus services in light of the Southwest LRT project. Mayor Tyra-
Lukens said the City would welcome the vigilance of our legislators on funding for
Southwest Transit.
Open Podium - Council Chamber
II. OPEN PODIUM
A. Bill Saterness—Friends of Red Rock Lake
Mr. Saterness provided an update on Friends of Red Rock Lake activities to the
City Council.
III. ADJOURNMENT