City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORKSHOP MEETING – FEBRUARY 12, 2018 MINUTES The Special Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, February 12, 2018, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers Present: Sheri Bukkila, James Goodrich, Valerie Holthus, Michael Knight Councilmembers Absent: None Advisory Commission Present: YMCA Representative Allison Boes, Andover Youth Hockey Association Representative Tony Peterson, Andover Park & Recreation Commission Representative Ted Butler, Andover Area Business Representative Tony Howard, At-Large Representatives Don Schmeichel and Frank Kellogg, City Staff Representative Erick Sutherland and Recording Secretary Cindy Ramseier Also Present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Mark Wentzell, 292 Design Group Brian Recker and Brad Barickman, RJM Construction Others JOINT MEETING WITH COMMUNITY CENTER ADVISORY COMMISSION Mayor Trude indicated Maddie Rooney was recognized by the Vice President of the United States as a USA Olympian from Andover. Mayor Trude also made note the boys and girls high school hockey teams are doing very well this year. Mark Wentzell outlined a recent meeting that was held with a diverse group of stakeholders interested in the Community Center, including youth hockey, volleyball, basketball, Fun Fest, Andover High School, YMCA, and the Park and Recreation Commission. He stated they were a great group of people to meet with and a nice introduction to what is going on in Andover. He noted they were a very respectful group and sensed they have been working hard to share the current facility and to make the best of it. He noted the facility has shortcomings and cannot do everything for everybody. The primary issue seems to be regarding the shortage of spaces that people need. Court space is needed for basketball, volleyball, pickleball, etc., which is not unusual in the communities that he works with. There are questions as to what the school provides and what the Community Center can do to create more opportunities for indoor court sports. Their firm will do an analysis to determine reasonable options and ideas, not a single Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 2 recommendation. For outdoor sports there will need to be year-around planning. For sports like lacrosse, the seasons can be short, and can stretch into fall and winter. There are needs for skills training or captain’s practices so athletes do not have to wait until the official start of the season to practice. A lot of the names for these spaces are field house and it could have turf in it. There was discussion regarding ice time. A shortage of ice time is common in suburban communities in Minnesota. With the number of girls entering hockey, that doubles the amount of ice time needed for a community. The current facility [YMCA/Community Center] is one of the nicest ones in the state. The community does a lot with it and it is incredibly busy. The space is working well, but more of it is needed. Mr. Wentzell indicated he had a chance to meet with Erick Sutherland and his staff. He feels they know where the issues are and they are working closely with staff. On Thursday there is a meeting with the YMCA and he will look at their needs and start to mesh all of the information together. Whatever is developed will not be a single use space, but will be as multi-use as possible, which provides more value for what the community is investing in the building. An expanded facility would increase the opportunities, but they would not want to disturb what is working well now. Mr. Wentzell indicated he also received input from the Andover Family Fun Fest, and at a broader sense will need to look at integrating the outdoor activities with the indoor activities. Councilmember Holthus arrived at 6:19 p.m. Mr. Wentzell explained the purpose of the evening’s meeting is to listen to what the Council and Commission’s priorities are and to learn what they have heard from the community. Frank Kellogg stated he was involved in the original YMCA/Community Center project. He indicated the group will have to demonstrate the fiscal prudency in what is planned for with an addition. He agreed there is a significant need. Ted Butler stated he had a feeling from the people in attendance at the meeting that there is an understanding of the need and the importance of coming to compromises within the community. He expressed his support for multi-use spaces and his belief that the community would be supportive of that. He noted teams go to a church in Ramsey now for gym space. Councilmember Knight indicated the plans for space should cover the whole age spectrum, including seniors, from age 6-60 years, as the demand is there (i.e. pickleball for seniors). Mayor Trude would like to see the facility evolve with flexible spaces, not dedicated, because activities and interests change over time. The community has a lot of two story homes being built and people that want to stay in the community as they age. She appreciates how the Community Center has developed programs during the off times of the day, including programs for stay at home parents and the afterschool opportunities. Councilmember Holthus expressed support for a teen after-school program, for those too young to stay home alone and too old for day care. Councilmember Bukkila questioned whether teen centers are still maintaining their place in Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 3 society because of the lack of social interaction. She commented that multi-use spaces are important, and that needs wane and others take their place. Mr. Wentzell indicated serving teens does not take too much space. The community could have a small teen center and small senior center and then share a common space between them and use the shared space at opposite times of the day. Their firm has designed several facilities with teen centers in them. Allison Boes stated the YMCA uses the community rooms for youth programming. And there are 50-70 middle schoolers that use the field house after school. During the day, seniors use the same rooms. There cannot be dedicated use of space. She is glad that the teens are there using the space instead of being somewhere else. She expressed a need for social connection space for all ages. Councilmember Goodrich is aware of a need for more pickleball space. He felt Erick Sutherland did a good job taking apart the scheduling to make particular changes to provide more time. He expressed support for senior groups and multi-purpose spaces that will allow for more use in the same facility for a large age span. Councilmember Knight has heard many good comments on the current library services. They are very popular and very well liked. He also expressed possible interest in having computer use available. Jim Dickinson explained the Anoka County library would like to offer some comments on the facility expansion. Tony Howard expressed support for smaller dedicated spaces and then a shared space. He would support ownership by the teens that use that space now. He pointed out the teen demographic does not have something [like an association] to advocate for them. Don Schmeichel stated he would like to see some dedicated spaces, some shared spaces, technology options, and creative use of multi-use spaces (i.e. a café in the morning and at night it’s a night club). He suggested using creativity to get as much use as possible out of the space. Mr. Howard spoke up for Community Center use by 60+ year olds. Councilmember Bukkila posed a question about the stakeholders that were the non-users of such a facility and what would be done for those people, not wanting to offend. The non-users are often concerned about the unnecessary spends. Tony Peterson had attended the previous meeting and thought it was good to hear from the other groups. He stated families continue to move here, and with the number of two story homes we will continue to have many children. He would like to have tournaments at the Andover facility rather than in Coon Rapids due to space needs. He noted girls’ basketball had to move their season due to lack of court space. Because the season time moved, some grade levels were Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 4 unable to have programs due to conflicts with other high school sports. Hockey teams find it hard to get outdoor ice time. He expressed his belief that a lot of people move to Andover for schools, open space and the Community Center. Mayor Trude indicated support for ongoing operations is important to consider. Tax payers support the capitol and membership supports ongoing operations. She feels the current facility was “short-changed” on storage rooms for tables, chairs, curtains and dividers. She stated there is a need for additional meeting and office space. Multi-space is flexible over the decades. She pointed out that kids’ interests change over time. This year there are 1,000 kids playing baseball. Within the school district, the high school feeder system is from the community athletic associations. There is higher enrollment in the schools now than there was when the [YMCA/Community Center] facility was originally built. She stated things that happen in neighboring communities impacts our facility use and that we need to be cognizant of fairness issues with Andover children going to four high schools. Mr. Kellogg asked about the projected population. Mr. Dickinson responded it is projected to be 40,000 in 2030 and the current facility was designed based on a population of 25,000. He stressed the importance of thinking about what the community would look like in 13 years. The mean age was 32, and now it is 36 years old. Mayor Trude added the household size is large and the ballparks are filled. Mr. Kellogg also stated he thought it would be necessary to hold public meetings to communicate and to gauge support. Councilmember Bukkila suggested maybe the school could open up for kids on Friday or Saturday nights. She stated we need to use all our community assets. Mr. Dickinson commented the Community Education Director could be added to the meetings going forward to garner their input. Mr. Schmeichel clarified all of the practices are in elementary schools for 15 and 16-year-old boys. There are also kids from other communities that play in Andover with the City’s associations because of the first-class programs. Mr. Howard stated he would like to have a first-class facility. He stated we need to evaluate long term maintenance and need to refresh the existing spaces. Mr. Wentzell expressed a desire for functional changes, with much thought as to how to incorporate the new. Councilmember Knight wondered about adding a small rink on the outside of the current rink. Mr. Butler commented for operational efficiency an outdoor sheet would need to be near the current ice sheet. He asked about an equipment overhaul of Purple Park and what will happen as the City Campus Plan evolves. He confirmed the Park and Recreation Commission’s interest is in what happens around the Community Center as it relates to parks. Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 5 Mr. Wentzell stated the process will include looking at everything on the campus site. Erick Sutherland indicated he had talked to the high school athletic director at the previous meeting, and they see a need for the facility to still be able to host the dance team and the adaptive athletics as the additions to the schools that are planned will not fill the need 100%. Councilmember Bukkila stated they will be adding one gym to Andover schools in the building expansion. If Coon Rapids High School gets more funding for expansion, that may free up more space in Andover schools due to not having the overflow from Coon Rapids. Staff is to review school district referendum impacts regarding available facilities. Mr. Wentzell commented he is not sure yet when their firm will come back with ideas. The decision point will be in June, but they will be back before then to meet more with stakeholders and staff. The approach will be as conversational as possible. RJM will be following the work giving dollar costs to everything. He also stated current maintenance issues will be discussed. Mayor Trude expressed she is assuming that plans and costs will also have to be driven by the YMCA. Councilmember Knight asked if they would be looking at a technology room, like the facility has in Maple Grove. Mr. Wentzell thought there might be a few stations in the lobby or a designated room, mainly to just provide use but not for classes. He is intrigued by the gaming demand. Mr. Kellogg asked how the City’s facility compares in space vis-a-vis populace and square footage. Mr. Wentzell noted Blaine wants to do this but they can’t get it off the ground. Elk River wants to do one and Bloomington is interested. Shoreview, Chaska and Maple Grove have been successful. It is different in every community. Maple Grove has retail. Andover was in the forefront when the facility was built in the community. Mr. Kellogg reflected that Andover is a bedroom community, so part of success is making the Community Center the “place to be.” Andover does not have as much to do in the community and does not have private health clubs. Mayor Trude commented when the facility was originally built Andover High School was new, they did not have to provide the number of feeder teams then because all of the associations were just starting up then. Consideration also needs to be made as to what is wanted for the whole community. Mr. Howard expressed the City was on the “cutting edge” with the partnership with the YMCA and it made it affordable to the community. The YMCA is also family-orientated and community based. He stated we need to continue to work with our current partners and look for others. Mr. Wentzell commented a similar facility in Ohio was very successful in adding a medical Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 6 clinic to it 8 years ago and it has been a good partnership. Mayor Trude has had inquiries from physical therapists and other service type businesses but she does not want to compete with the private sector with this building. Mr. Butler noted all organizations that came to the meetings are volunteers and that participation in sports is higher than expected. Mayor Trude expressed concerns regarding road access and safety. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the campus map that was prepared previously. The Nightingale Street/Hanson Boulevard connection could be a state aid project. He stated how important it is to the plan and that the City could tap into another revenue resource. Mr. Butler stated if more people are coming [to the facility] another access point would be needed. Mr. Dickinson indicated staff have worked to improve access from Hanson Boulevard in conjunction with the 2019 Hanson Boulevard project. Mayor Trude noted entrance signs will be really important as the access point changes. Many people now go up Hanson Boulevard and miss the turn, then they don’t know what to do and do a U-turn. Mr. Dickinson stated with a left turn into the facility that situation should be improved. Mr. Kellogg stated health and safety is critical in design and that truck flow is important [from the new Public Works facility]. Mr. Dickinson indicated this is still being evaluated and pointed out Public Works will be using the roads typically not at times where they would be competing with other traffic and would usually beat the busy traffic. They are not looking to have public works traffic mix with the Community Center in the new City Campus Plan. Mayor Trude would like to have landscaping phased in. Brian Recker noted it was nice hear what is important to the group and it helps when looking at areas to save dollars. They want as much input as possible. Councilmember Goodrich encouraged those presenting to groups in June, to be detailed, complete and realistic, as prioritization will follow. Mr. Dickinson explained there will be 3 teams, Mark’s team, Brain’s team, and the City team. They will do research at similar facilities and gathering data from reliable sources. They will be looking to associations to commit, i.e. how many hours. Then they will come back with building impacts and operational costs. It will be important to look at what is the construction plan plus long-term operations. Councilmember Holthus asked if sponsorship and naming rights would be pursued. Mr. Dickinson stated they will see what is available. Andover City Council Special Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2018 Page 7 Mayor Trude stated fundraising opportunities could be opened up again and encouraging individuals to use their employer match. Before any fundraising would occur, the City would need to know what is being built. Mr. Sutherland confirmed there have been a few associations that are committed to doing more than signing up for some hours, and that discussion can happen when the time is right. Mr. Peterson stated the hockey association would consider a long-term commitment. It would be a good deal for the City and hockey association. Mr. Schmeichel indicated the hockey commitment model could then be used with other associations. Mayor Trude thanked all the Council and Commission members for the good discussion and Mr. Wentzell and RJM for their efforts. OTHER BUSINESS None. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Goodrich, Seconded by Bukkila, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marlene White, Recording Secretary