City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING – MAY 23, 2023 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Bukkila, May 23, 2023, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover Community Center Sports Complex, Conference Room A. Councilmembers present: Jamie Barthel, Ted Butler, Rick Engelhardt, and Randy Nelson Councilmembers absent: None Also present: City Administrator Jim Dickinson Recreational Facilities Manager, Erick Sutherland Others TOUR OF ANDOVER COMMUNITY CENTER The City Council will tour the Andover Community Center at the end of the meeting. APRIL 2023 COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE Mr. Sutherland reviewed items concerning the Andover Community Center. He discussed items that are currently being replaced, including the dehumidification unit for the original ice arena, as well as the original heating. He added that they are also working on the hot water system which is a shared cost with the YMCA. He highlighted the other projects they are working on. Mr. Dickinson explained they are looking at different cost-saving options for some of these items. Councilmember Nelson asked the cost for the new air conditioning units in the concession area. Mr. Sutherland explained if they were to just replace the compressors it would cost $40,000- $50,000 and if they were to replace the whole unit it would be about $150,000. Councilmember Nelson asked how many air conditioning units are on top. Mr. Sutherland stated there are 6 units that are the City’s responsibility, and the others are the responsibility of the YMCA. Councilmember Barthel asked if there is an opportunity for some solar panels on the roof to help reduce energy costs. Mr. Dickinson stated this is being looked at with the roof replacement, which is the logical time to look at something like this. He noted they would default to the Council if this was something they wanted to pursue. Councilmember Barthel stated it is worth looking at if there is a return on investment for energy savings. Councilmember Nelson questioned if the roof may not be able to handle the weight. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – May 23, 2023 Page 2 Councilmember Nelson asked when they are looking at putting in a new roof. Mr. Sutherland stated lots of roof maintenance, caulking and repatching was done last summer to extend the roof life. He added it is identified in the CIP for 2028. Mr. Sutherland noted the east parking lot is a shared project with the YMCA. 2024-2028 CIP DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION - COMMUNITY CENTER Mr. Dickinson stated they are reviewing the CIP so when they are on the tour of the facility the Council will see what they are proposing. Mr. Sutherland explained the roof has been dripping and they had to call maintenance about the drips throughout the winter which can shut down the fieldhouse courts and facilities. He noted they are trying to get the most time out of the roof as they can before it needs to be replaced. Councilmember Nelson asked how many years the roof was given when the roof was first built. Mr. Sutherland stated it was around 20-25 years. Mr. Sutherland shared another large budgetary item which is staffing. He noted he is amazed by the amount of people using the facility after the expansion. He shared in 2022 the facility checked in more than 14,000 to the track, which is only during the week. Councilmember Nelson asked if all of those people using the track are Andover residents. Mr Sutherland stated anyone who comes that is not an Andover resident is charged. He added nights and weekends are free. Mr. Sutherland explained that salaries have gone up and they gave raises to all of the part-time staff to get applicants to apply and stay in their role. Councilmember Barthel asked if they are now at a point of optimization of staffing the facility. Mr. Sutherland stated they are in good shape as far as staffing goes, as the whole crew is great. He noted at this time of the year they are looking to cut hours for the summer. He stated there is always someone at the front desk. Mr. Sutherland mentioned they have moved to an online staffing scheduling system that helps to visualize the schedule. He noted that $50,000 was added to the part-time budget this year from last year. He stated that the facility is so busy that they need all of these staff members. Councilmember Barthel asked how the pro shop is doing since moving into the new space. Mr. Sutherland explained it has done great since moving over. He added they have increased all of the prices in the shop and has been very strong. Mr. Sutherland stated the concession lease has been $850 a month and with the revenue sharing they were bringing in approximately $2,500 monthly check from the concessions over the winter months. Councilmember Barthel asked if there has been an attitude adjustment since Subway has left and Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – May 23, 2023 Page 3 there is now something that is more geared towards kids in its place. Mr. Sutherland stated it has been really great and they have gotten amazing feedback on this. Subway did great, but a change was good. Mr. Sutherland stated as part of the staffing expenses they will be coming to the Council with new facility rates. He noted the Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association did an annual survey and traditionally the ice rates are raised by $3-$5 a month. He proposed that they raise the rate by $10.00 an hour on prime and non-prime times for the ice rink, $5.00 an hour for the gym, and raising all of the rates for open play for things like pickleball and skating. Councilmember Barthel stated these rinks are so much nicer than other facilities in the surrounding areas. He noted a premium can be charged at this facility because it is a premium product. Mr. Sutherland stated at Crosstown Boulevard and Tower Drive there are lots of different signs and he would love to see better signage that looks cleaner and more grand. Mr. Dickinson stated with the roundabout they may be able to change the signage and everything that is on Crosstown Boulevard is what is allowed by the County. OTHER TOPICS Mr. Dickinson noted Juneteenth will be a State holiday in 2023 once the bill receives the Governor's signature that no public business should be done; however, they already have rentals for that day. He also noted they will need to change their ordinances based on the cannabis legislation. He stated this will have to be set up as a zoning process. He noted they have 500-foot buffers identified for parks. He stated there are lots of questions that will go along with this, and they are waiting to receive definitions for a number of things in this legislation. Councilmember Barthel asked if they could stay at around three licenses for the City. Mr. Dickinson said yes and they will likely never get high enough in population to justify a fourth license. Mr. Dickinson stated a developer is looking to put 18 rental townhomes on the Sloth property that is 2.54 acres. He stated he told the applicant that the Council would likely not be interested in this, the Council concurred. Mr. Sutherland noted the Mayor came in and spent some time at the facility and they had to make some decisions for the after-school timeframe of 3-5 p.m. He noted the YMCA is supposed to oversee and staff this program, which has been a challenge. He added they have worked hard to coordinate this with the YMCA; however, there still needs to be a discussion on funding and staffing of this. Mayor Bukkila stated she has no tolerance for there being an expectation for the City Staff to take whatever level of volume, profanity, or disrespect. She stated that customer service only goes so far and if people are going to act out in the facility, they can leave the facility. Mr. Sutherland stated it is an issue with the age group of middle school aged kids. Mr. Dickinson stated this is a problem anywhere these kids go. Mr. Sutherland stated they run across quite a bit of vandalism in the restrooms. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – May 23, 2023 Page 4 Mr. Sutherland stated he is hopeful that this will improve over the summer. Mr. Dickinson added they want to make sure that they are welcoming to the kids who want to be here who are being respectful and following the rules. He suggested adding signage with some rules to reinforce these things. Mr. Sutherland stated most of the kids who come through are very respectful. He noted there were a few kids who were removed for the rest of the school after issues with the YMCA and the Community Center. Mr. Dickinson stated they can utilize the afterschool programming money to help with this. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Butler, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The workshop meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ava Rokosz, Recording Secretary