City Council - 05/01/2007 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN FORUM/OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2007 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Jon
Duckstad, and Kathy Nelson
CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development Director Janet
Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce
Lorenz, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder
Lorene McWaters
Councilmember Butcher served as Acting Mayor in Mayor Young's absence.
I. 2008-2009 BUDGET
Finance Manager Sue Kotchevar presented a PowerPoint on the budget process. She
reviewed budget goals and objectives and the schedule for the 2008-2009 budget process.
Kotchevar said the process has been revised to gather input from the public and Council
earlier. She also briefly discussed how the new Budget Advisory Commission will
function. She reviewed some of the key objectives Council identified during their
Planning Session on April 24, and how those will fit into the process. Kotchevar noted
that Council discussed streetscaping, foliage, lighting and gateway signage projects that
would help cement the City's identity. These projects are not currently funded.
Council Discussion
• Council Member Kathy Nelson said she would like to see cost-saving 20-40-15
initiatives, such as more energy efficient street lighting, speeded up.
• Council Member Butcher asked about the possibility of moving or burying
transmission towers in the Town Center area. Community Development Director
Janet Jeremiah said the Planning Commission has also asked staff to look into this.
• Council Member Jon Duckstad said the community survey indicated 50 percent of
residents are opposed to tax increases even if they are needed to maintain current
levels of service. He said reforming the way tax decisions are made is important. He
would like to see what a budget without any increase looks like. He said such a
budget should be prepared by each department, since they best know their priorities.
He suggested also developing a budget proposal with a one percent increase.
• Council Member Nelson said she would like to see more budget details than were
provided in the past.
• Council Member Sherry Butcher said in the past, policies and culture have driven
how Council viewed the budget. It has been up to the Council to ask staff for
clarification if something seemed off kilter. She said Council needs to make sure
policies and philosophies are on track before the budget is prepared.
• Councilmember Brad Aho said the rate of development and changing demographics
need to be taken into consideration. Council needs to consider the whole picture
throughout the budget process. He said there is not a lot of tolerance for an increase
in taxes. He said he feels no increase is a good starting point.
• Council Member Butcher asked whether or not"no increase" takes into consideration
the implicit price deflator. She said that has to be factored into the equation.
• Kotchevar noted that Community Center operations costs will be higher once the
remodeling is complete, since square footage is being doubled.
• Council Member Duckstad said it is his understanding that to keep the Moody's Aaa
bond rating, the City must maintain a "conservative"budget. He asked what that
means. Kotchevar said there are several important criteria for the rating, including
implementation of policies, ratio of debt to budget, and maintaining adequate
reserves.
• Council Member Duckstad asked if the Budget Advisory Commission will be
meeting with each department. Neal said that will probably be the case, but details
are still being worked out.
• Councilmember Nelson asked if Council will receive all of the same information
Budget Advisory Commission members receive. She said she will not be
comfortable if Council Members do not have the same access to information. Nelson
also said she would like staff to look into public-private partnerships for funding
things such as public benches.
II. OPEN FORUM
A. David Carroll, 9776 Cupola Lane, spoke in opposition to the extension of
Prospect Road. He said the road will put residents at risk and it was not designed
as a through street. He urged Council to direct staff to explore other alternatives
before making a decision.
B. Anne Hoffman, 8859 Hidden Oaks Drive,read a poem and spoke on behalf of
residents in the area of Anderson Lakes who are concerned that reduced property
values and environmental damage will result from the draw down project.
C. Jan Mosman, 15117 Scenic Heights Road, urged Council to follow up on
comments submitted by various agencies in response to the Hennepin Village
Roadway Alternatives EAW. She said Hennepin Village plans have undergone
many changes since the east-west crossing (Prospect Road) was initially
approved. She said the Planning Commission decision was close, which might
warrant further study on the part of the Council.
D. Emily Higgins, 9755 Gable Drive, spoke about concerns she has about the
extension of Prospect Road. She said it would make riding her bike difficult and
would harm wildlife.
E. Bill Satterness, 8597 Red Oak Drive, said he is concerned about damage to the
wildlife corridor if Prospect Road is extended. He said the purpose of the road is
unclear and Council's first obligation is to "do no harm."
F. John Lankas said there have been changes to Prospect Road since it was
approved by Council five years ago. He said he does not believe Planning
Commission members understood the issue. He believes homeowners will take a
20 percent hit on the value of their homes if Prospect Road is extended. He asked
Council to reject this road.
G. Jeff Strate, 15021 Summerhill Drive, said he agrees with Jan Mosman that
agency responses to the EAW warrant further study. He said Council needs to
ask staff what more they need to know. He said Council does not have to accept
the EAW tonight, and he feels the process was corrupted when some individuals
advocated for certain alternatives during the EAW process.
H. Jack Rhode, 15859 Porchlight Lane, said he was speaking on behalf of residents
of the Summit Oaks development in Hennepin Village. He said he is upset about
the expansion of Prospect Road due to safety and traffic concerns.
Mayor Young joined the meeting during Open Forum. He advised Mr. Rhode that the
Council Meeting was scheduled to begin in a few minutes,but that he and others would
have the opportunity to continue to provide comments during the meeting.
III. OPEN PODIUM
IV. ADJOURNMENT