City Council - 03/31/2015 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015 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
I. COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS
Getschow said the City has conducted the Community Survey every two years since 2006.
This year the City chose a new firm, National Research Center Inc. (NRC), to conduct the
survey. NRC conducts surveys for communities throughout the country, and they are able to
provide benchmark comparisons for similar communities.
NRC president Dr. Tom Miller presented the survey results. Miller noted that past surveys
were conducted by phone, whereas the 2014 survey was done by mail. Miller said he
conducted a four-hour workshop with directors and managers earlier in the day to review the
results and develop next steps.
Miller said surveys were mailed to 1,200 households, and 307 surveys were returned for a
27% response rate. Results were weighted to reflect community demographics. Miller said
Eden Prairie residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life, with 95% of respondents rating
overall quality of life as good or excellent(compared to 89% in 2012). Miller said this
number is higher than benchmarks, and the increase is a bit surprising given the change in
survey instrument. He noted that the split between good and excellent was about even, so
even though the rating is very high there is still room for improvement.
Miller said 97% responded excellent or good for Eden Prairie as a place to live, 92% said
good or excellent for their neighborhood as a place to live, and 92% said good or excellent
for the City as a place to raise children. The number drops to 79% when respondents rate
Eden Prairie a place to visit. Nine out of 10 residents would recommend living in Eden
Prairie and plan to remain in the community for the next five years; however, only 68% said
they consider Eden Prairie an excellent or good place to retire.
Case asked if any of the survey questions get at why people would or would not stay in Eden
Prairie. Miller said surveys typically do better at determining what people think rather than
why they think it.
Residents also gave high ratings to the appearance of the community, the natural
environment and outdoor amenities. The natural environment received 90% good or excellent
ratings, and the overall image and reputation of Eden Prairie was rated good or excellent by
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March 31,2015
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91%. Community characteristics receiving the lowest ratings were ease of travel by public
transportation (41%) and availability of affordable housing (55%).
Seven appearance and outdoor amenities categories received ratings higher than benchmarks:
Cleanliness (97%), overall appearance (96%), air quality (95%), fitness opportunities (92%),
paths and trails (92%),recreation opportunities (89%) and public places (88%).
The most frequent responses to what respondents like most about Eden Prairie were
convenient location (18%) and parks, trails and recreation centers (17%).
82% of residents had used large community parks within the past12 months, and 75% had
used smaller neighborhood parks.
90 percent or more of residents rated their sense of safety in six areas as good or excellent: in
their neighborhoods (96%), at Eden Prairie Center mall (95%), on paths/walking trails
(93%), in parks and open spaces (91%) and in retail parking lots (91%).
When asked about problems in the community, traffic speeding was cited most often (24%).
The least problematic issue was violent crime (5%). Nine out of 10 individuals who had
contact the with police department rated the interaction as excellent or good. The most
frequent contact was through the annual Eden Prairie Night to Unite event.
Survey respondents continue to think highly of the quality of services in Eden Prairie. 87%
rated the overall quality of services as good or excellent. When asked to rate the value of the
services for the taxes paid, 77% rated them as good or excellent. The highest rated services
were Hennepin County EMS response time and fire services. The lowest rated services were
traffic signal timing and assessing services. Renters gave lower ratings to recreation services,
and lower income residents gave a lower rating to drinking water quality.
Aho noted that one choice of answers to the quality of services is "fair," which can have
more than one meaning. He wondered if misinterpretation of the word could affect results.
Miller said he has not been asked about this before,but will make a note of it.
When asked about participation in events, 87% of residents have attended or know about the
4th of July celebration. The event with the lowest awareness/participation was Senior
Awareness Month at 26%. In general, newcomers, renters, and residents with lower incomes
participate less.
58% of respondents had contact with City employees in the past 12 months. The department
with the most frequent contact was police.
84% of respondents said they receive information by word of mouth, 77% cited the Parks &
Recreation Program Guide, and 65% the Eden Prairie News. EPTV channel 16 was used as an
information source by just 15% of respondents. 92% of respondents rated the City's website
information as excellent or good. 49% said they used the website in the past 12 months,
compared to 60% in 2012. Although 77% said they get their information from the Parks and
Rec Brochure, 40% said they did not know about online registration for recreation programs.
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Case said he is leery of the question about younger users getting information from or visiting
the website. He wondered if the change in survey instrument might account for the lower
number. Miller said there can be natural variation in responses from year to year, and he
suggested waiting until the next survey to see if the trend sustains. He said the change may
not be worthy of a policy change at this point. Miller noted that evaluative questions tend to
be answered more positively on phone surveys than by mail. Butcher Wickstrom said
Minnesotans strive to please, and Aho said he believes people may hesitate to express
negative opinions on the phone.
58% rated their opportunities to be involved as excellent or good. In summary, Miller said
residents are engaged but efforts could be made to improve opportunities to be involved.
Butcher Wickstrom and Tyra-Lukens said they are concerned with this result. They feel the
City Council has tried to provide multiple ways for residents to be involved and provide
feedback. Miller said staff spent a lot of time discussing this result at their next steps
workshop. Case noted that the actual survey question was about opportunities for residents to
provide input into City decision making. He felt that the PowerPoint summary did not
adequately capture the essence of the question.
Aho asked for a sense of how much a change in survey instrument would affect results.
Miller said the change could result in a difference of 7 to 10 points. He said he would be
cautious about making too much of declines that have no apparent explanation.
II. OPEN PODIUM
A. BOB ADOMAITIS
Adomaitis addressed the Council about what he called the plight of a long-time
Riley Lake property owner. He said the family has owned a cabin on the lake
since the 1960s, and they now want to combine two lots and build a handicapped-
accessible house for their elderly father. He said City staff insists the proposal is a
subdivision and will have to be developed consistent with Chapter 12 rules. He
said no one understands the City's logic, which has already resulted in $25,000 in
expenses for the family.
He said he is also concerned about why the property owners were told by City
staff that the proposal has to be submitted to the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek
Watershed District for approval. He said he is concerned that City staff appears to
feel pressured to follow new watershed district rules even though the City has not
approved them. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked if Adomaitis was looking for clarity on
the watershed district rules.
Getschow said the City is working on updating its plan. He said the RPBCWD is
of the opinion that their rules prevail until the City updates its plan. He said the
City does not want people to move forward with projects and then have the
RPBCWD find them in violation of their rules. Regarding zoning issues,
Getschow said most properties are zoned rural until they are developed. He said
staff is meeting with the property owners to work through the issues,but that the
City is following its normal practices.
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Case said he does not like how the RPBCWD is handling their new rules. He
would like the City to get more involved in the process. Nelson said she is
concerned for these property owners. She does not understand why they are being
hassled about something they have owned for so long. Aho said he hopes staff can
work with the owner,but he is more concerned with the watershed district rules.
He thought the City's plan was in place, and in any case he thought our plan
always took precedence. Getschow said the watershed updated its plan in 2011
and in 2013 and since the original two-year period has expired, they believe their
rules take precedence. Getschow said the City disagrees with this assessment.
III. ADJOURNMENT