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City Council - 02/21/2006 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN FORUM/OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2006 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, and Philip Young STATE LEGISLATORS: Senator David Hann, Representative Maria Ruud, Representative Erik Paulsen CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Dan Carlson, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Mary Keating, Communications Manager Pat Brink, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, City Attorney Amy Cralam, and Recorder Lorene McWaters I. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES Scott Neal introduced Rep. Erik Paulsen and Senator David Hann. Neal said Rep. Ruud was hoping to attend the meeting, but was driving from Brooklyn Center and did not know when she would arrive. (Note: Rep. Ruud did not make it to the meeting.) Neal said he forwarded the Municipal Legislative Commission legislative agenda to the legislators prior to the workshop. Neal asked them to comment on the upcoming session and the MLC legislative priorities. Paulsen said the 2006 session has been purposely scheduled to begin late and finish up by the third week of April, to avoid the problems the legislature faced last year. He said the only priority for this year's session is the bonding bill, so he does not anticipate much budgetary discussion. He does expect some property tax initiatives to be advanced to relieve mandate pressures on school districts. He said there is a billion dollars in reserves, a third of which is earmarked for tax relief. Hann noted that the exact amount of money available is up in the air, since the budget forecast has not yet been released. He said he has not heard anyone suggest that the $700,000 in relief for schools should be used for anything else. Hann said he expects eminent domain to be a hot topic. He said he would like to see the original purpose of eminent domain preserved,but there are a couple of proposals to limit its use, particularly in cases of simple economic redevelopment. Paulsen said he has spoken to Matt Entenza regarding eminent domain, and Entenza expects eminent domain legislation to pass virtually unanimously. Council Workshop Minutes February 21, 2006—page 2 In terms of bonding, Paulsen said he would like to see more resources for transit. Aho asked about the proposal to dedicate the motor vehicle sales tax to transportation issues. Paulsen said he does not expect any changes to the question, which has already been approved for the ballot for November. Paulsen said he supports the proposal, and noted that the 169/494 project would go forward almost immediately if the question passes. Tom Poul, MLC lobbyist, said there are significant differences in what the MLC wants and what the Auto Dealers Association is advocating. He said this proposal will be made or broken in the details. MLC is supportive of reasonable changes, but may not be willing to go quite as far as the Auto Makers would like. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked if there is any chance of getting language into the bonding bill to eliminate the intermediary between the transit community and the State. She is concerned that Met Council chose not to let all of the bonds possible in the past two years. Poul said the problem arose because the "no tax"pledge resulted in Met Council issuing only $32 million in bonds. He said all of the projects will be completed,but not within the original time frame. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked the legislators to comment on the state's lack of a progressive energy policy. Hann said the Governor is talking about the issue,but Hann is not sure if any legislation will be passed during this session. Tyra-Lukens said she would like to hear more about the Market Value Housing Credit issue. Hann said he believes they are all on the same page on the issue; however, it is not a budget year so the issue will not be taken up. He feels that MVHC money should go directly back to tax payers,rather than through the cities. Neal agreed. Councilmember Butcher asked about tax credits, specifically the historic preservation tax credit that just missed passing last year. Hann said he has not heard this as an issue for this year. Paulsen agreed,but said if it does not involve a large dollar amount it is more likely to be put into play. Butcher said the historic preservation tax credit is an economic development tool that a lot of states have in place. Hann said he will check on the status. Neal noted that the fiscal disparities study is on the MLC agenda again, and he asked if there is any chance of getting that approved this year. Paulsen said he believes it is wise to pursue the study,because it will show the amount of money being drained out of Eden Prairie to other communities. Case said no city that stands to lose money under reform would support the study. Paulsen said that is the problem with any type of reform. Poul said MLC has researched voting patterns,but there are only a small number of losers under the current formula, and communities like Anoka and the City of St. Paul, which receive a lot of money from the program, vehemently oppose changes. Poul believes there are options that do not involve eliminating the program, but would make it fairer. Paulsen said he has considered proposing changes to distribution,but has not taken any formal steps yet. Poul said Governor Pawlenty has mentioned the possibility of looking at applying fiscal disparity funds to specific issues, such as transportation. Council Workshop Minutes February 21, 2006—page 3 Hann said he does not know if the Anoka Stadium issue will be discussed this session. He thinks chances are good that a Hennepin County stadium for the Twins will be considered. Paulsen said he feels there is a lot of support for a Twins stadium. Neal asked the legislators their positions on local control and accountability issues. Hann said he is opposed to levy limits for school districts and cities. He said local officials are elected to set the levy, and he does not support artificial caps. Paulsen said he has supported limits in the past; however, he more strongly favors the reverse referendum concept. Hann said he has mixed feelings about the taxpayers satisfaction survey. He said he is not a whole-hearted supporter. Tyra-Lukens said she hopes that if the legislature enacts a taxpayers satisfaction survey, they provide funds to support it. Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert said language allowing the use of silencers for deer management programs was close to passing last year,but the DNR declared they would not issue permits to any local governments. Now a legislator from Ramsey County is supporting silencer legislation. This legislator believes he will be able to enlist the support of John Marty to pass the bill. Hann asked Neal about a letter he received from the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District advocating a levy to support dredging to keep the channel open. It is his understanding that the levy would support private dredging as well. Neal said he is aware of the request and will be researching it in further detail with Gene Dietz and Leslie Stovring. Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah asked about concern over language in the motor vehicle tax ballot question that makes it sound as if it is a new tax rather than an existing one. Poul said he was unaware of this issue. Council Chamber II. OPEN FORUM A. John Mallo said he has contacted a number of people about placing a web cam in an eagle's nest off a City trail in Eden Prairie. Parks and Rec Director Bob Lambert expressed concerns about the idea. Scott Neal noted there are other "eagle cam" sites on the internet already. Council expressed hesitation about placing a camera if it might disrupt the eagles' nesting patterns. III. OPEN PODIUM A. Molly Grove of the Minnesota Multi-housing Association addressed Council about the proposed ordinance requiring inspections of rental housing units. She asked that they delay the second reading of the ordinance to allow for more public input. IV. ADJOURNMENT