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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 04/16/2019 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,APRIL 16, 2019 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Brad Aho, Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, and PG Narayanan CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Greg Weber, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, 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 Katie O'Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and H(5:30) I. HOUSING Mayor Case introduced the subject and requested a portion of time be left at the end to discuss plans for a Housing Task Force. Finance Manager Sue Kotchevar presented an overview of housing resources, finances and capital planning. Housing resources include Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Community Development Block Grant(CDBD), conduit debt, tax levy, Housing Improvement Areas (HIA), and Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). Mayor Case inquired if there is a limit for conduit debt issued. Kotchevar replied no. There is a limit to the amount of tax levy for the HRA. Case inquired if there is a limit to the number of TIF districts. Rosow stated no,but the amount distributed depends on the size of the project and the tax increment. City Manager Getschow added HIAs are newer and can be assessed back to properties at a later time. Kotchevar added HIA is typically seen with townhomes. Council Member Freiberg inquired if the City would approaches an association about utilizing HIA resources. Getschow responded the City may do so. Freiberg inquired if the projects are monitored for completion. Getschow replied the City has the authority to do so. Kotchevar added Neill Lake Townhomes have been in conversations about an HIA. Kotchevar stated the goals of the City and the HRA are the same. The HRA authorizes TIF districts and can purchase certain properties. The City has about 3.2 million dollars for TIF pooled funds and about 1.5 million dollars for future TIF Pooled housing. Typically 80 percent of TIF pooled housing development revenue goes back to the developer to offer affordable housing in return. The City keeps the remaining 20 percent for administration and housing initiatives throughout the City. There is $889,250 in loans receivable. $500,000 is for the Elevate project and the remaining balance is for the first time home buyer program and the rehab program. About 3.7 million dollars have been set aside for TIF housing in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). City Council Workshop Minutes April 16, 2019 Page 2 Council Member Nelson inquired if there is further information about the NextDoor post stating income limits for the housing rehab program are much lower in the City than neighboring cities. Kotchevar responded utilizing TIF funds has lowered the income requirements. Getschow added there are different standards for income requirements for different housing resources. Kotchevar stated TIF payments in 2018 totaled 1.3 million dollars. The history of TIF payments total 21.7 million dollars. CDBG funds totaled $505,000 in 2018 and were awarded to various organizations and services for housing. There are revolving funds in the Housing Rehab program and First Time Homebuyer program. These programs offer loans to residents that are either paid back when the home is sold, forgiven after a period of time, or due after a period of time. Council Member Aho noted the CDBG funds are federal dollars passed to the City to fund organizations and services. Kotchevar added these are zero interest loans. Kotchevar stated the conduit debt outstanding are funds issued through the City utilizing the City's financing for a better interest rate. Aho noted this debt does not count against the City. Nelson inquired about Broadmoor when it no longer exists. Aho stated Presbyterian Homes owns Broadmoor Apartments and CastleRidge. They will continue to own the project. Kotchevar said they may decide to refinance at the time of redeveloping. Kotchevar stated the HRA has remained at a balance of$200,000. Due to staffing, this may be increased for the next budget cycle to $210,000. The City has a strong pay-as- you-go program for the CIP and often pays cash instead of capital. One-time revenues are used for one-time expenses. Case added these practices have been important for maintaining the levy. Aho noted the City continues to plan for future maintenance so there are few surprise expenses. Kotchevar stated the general fund totals 35 million dollars and the CIP totals 281 million dollars. About 80 percent of the CIP is allocated to transportation and utilities. The CIP is used for anything that does not have a fund. In the future, the City foresees having to issue more debt to update fire equipment, trucks, and a future police remodel. Nelson inquired about increasing HRA funds. Kotchevar stated staff is formulating a proposal. Aho added he is not in favor of raising the HRA fund total just to raise it. If there is a need, it should be raised to meet those needs. Getschow added there is nothing the HRA used to do that it no longer does. There are resources through TIF and CIP funds that do not require raising the levy. Case stated other cities have been considering housing initiatives and programs for keeping seniors in their homes by subsidizing their house payments. The HRA could be a tool for this type of project. If this project could be funded through other means, it may not be necessary to increase HRA funds. Nelson stated the City should address housing prices for young families, specifically children who grew up in Eden Prairie and would like to stay close to family. Aho added there is a fair amount of naturally occurring affordable housing in the City as well. City Council Workshop Minutes April 16, 2019 Page 3 Kotchevar reviewed the Capital Improvement/Maintenance Fund (CIMF) revenue sources. Council Member Narayanan inquired about the antenna revenue. Kotchevar stated these are cellular towers on buildings that lease the space for up to 15 years. Getschow stated the City earns revenue from leasing space in the building. Even if space is vacant, the City is debt free on the building. Kotchevar stated the 2019-2028 CIMF project summary totals 27.4 million dollars. Revenue source projections are stable over time. The City has close to a two year reserve. Getschow added the CIP plans for one- time expenses without having to issue debt. Case stated, in regards to the Housing Task Force, he can foresee a 6-9 month project including reviewing and gathering data, studying other cities' housing programs and procedures, and providing options to the Council of what could be done moving forward. Staff would need to create specific tasks and objectives for the Task Force. Case would like Joan Howe-Pullis to chair the Housing Task Force. The Task Force members could potentially be appointed in May and the Task Force could begin in June. Nelson stated she would like to see age variation on the Task Force with seniors, middle age residents, and young families. Freiberg added there should be representation from industry professionals. Aho stated building a home costs more in Minnesota versus Wisconsin due to government regulations. Regulations should be reviewed to see how this may be affecting affordability. Getschow added building code regulations are statewide. Getschow inquired if there will be a call made to the community for interest. Aho stated there are residents who could be considered that applied to the Human Rights and Diversity Commission but did not get appointed. Case stated seven to nine members would be ideal, and the Council would determine who is appointed. An application could be made available to residents for up to 3 weeks. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM A. SCOT ADAMS —EDEN PRAIRIE CITIZENS' CLIMATE LOBBY Scot Adams, 7169 Arbor Glen Drive, thanks the Mayor for the future statements he will be making tonight regarding climate change. There has been a lot of work done by the City and a call to action at a federal level. Zach Spears, 9727 Marshall Rd,part of Tree Huggers and iMatter, thanks the Council for the goals they have set. Nile Timmerman, 8899 Bradford Place, is encouraged by the Council's action and the consideration given to resident's input. City Council Workshop Minutes April 16, 2019 Page 4 Rod Fischer, 16820 South Shore Lane, suggests continuing to consider alternatives such as a carbon fee, and the money would be returned to households in the form of a dividend. He thanks the Council for their work. III. ADJOURNMENT