City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING – JUNE 27, 2023 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Bukkila, June 27, 2023, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Jamie Barthel, Ted Butler, and Randy Nelson Councilmember absent: Rick Engelhardt Park & Recreation Commissioners: Tracy Strombeck, Jake Widmyer, Liza Shafto, Shane Stenzel (arrived at 6:15 p.m.) Also present: Director of Public Works/City Engineer, David Berkowitz Parks & Streets Operations Manager, Jason Baumunk Natural Resources Technician, Kameron Kytonen (arrived at 8:20 p.m.) JOINT MEETING WITH PARK & RECREATION COMMISSION A. Discuss 2024-2028 Park Playground Replacement Plan Park & Recreation Commissioner Widmyer reviewed the report concerning the playground replacement plan. Mayor Bukkila shared she thought the goal was already to replace three parks a year. Park & Streets Operations Manager Baumunk stated this was the goal; however, that does not fit in the current budget. He explained they have raised the amount per playground to $55,000 from $50,000 in past years. He said they have $110,000 for this year which will cover two playgrounds. Mayor Bukkila mentioned the feedback from Hidden Creek East is that the product is lacking, and they are disappointed in it. She asked what the Financing Department is advising on how they will get to a $180,000 budget for 2024. Mr. Berkowitz shared he was told if this budget was raised then those funds would have to come from somewhere else, which could possibly be money that could potentially reduce funding for roads. Mayor Bukkila asked if the Council was in agreement that this would be a targeted goal to do Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 2 three parks a year rather than two. Councilmember Barthel said yes. Councilmember Nelson said this would help them catch up. Councilmember Nelson asked how they came up with the numbers for the increase of approximately $5,000 per park, per year, for a total of $15,000 increase per year. Mayor Bukkila asked what amount would be needed to get to an equal replacement at each of the parks, as there are currently some inequalities in the parks. Mr. Baumunk stated it is hard to say because a lot of the parks are so different and vary from very minimal parks to very large parks. Mayor Bukkila noted some of the neighborhoods have raised money to pay to put in their parks. She asked if they have cycled through the replacements of all of these. She noted the equipment at the park near her home has finally been replaced after over 20 years and is lacking. Councilmember Nelson stated Woodland Estates is on the schedule for 2024 and it would be considered a ‘micro-park’ and looks good even today and would not require $60,000 for replacement. Mr. Baumunk explained they are looking for ways to save money, such as refurbishing some pieces of some parks rather than replacing them. He stated safety is a priority. Mayor Bukkila asked if they could target an increase with a rollover. She noted she would not want this to be done on a dollar basis as it can fluctuate. She added she does not want to over inflate this but still stay within target with an opportunity to roll funds over when a smaller park comes up on the schedule. She noted a $5,000 increase is not even keeping up with the price of inflation. Park & Recreation Commissioner Strombeck mentioned there is a possibility that the smaller parks could be pared down which could help with some of the refurbishing costs at the larger parks. Mayor Bukkila stated every park is so different and they do not have any established consistencies in replacements. She suggested starting here with this discussion and determining what each park has to help balance the replacements moving forward. Councilmember Nelson stated they can also look at the usage of each park. Mr. Baumunk stated they may need to look at size across the board for all parks. Councilmember Butler stated it is good to keep an eye on use and demographics of these parks; however, people move in and out of areas all of the time and this needs to be kept in mind. He stated nice parks can sometimes help with turnover. He shared that measuring this would be a challenge. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Strombeck asked what the funding source would be for this. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 3 Mayor Bukkila said taxes. Mr. Berkowitz shared they are very supportive of downsizing some parks; however, what Councilmember Butler stated can present a challenge as there is always going to be neighborhood turnover. He suggested taking the next two years playground replacement price out, what a current replacement cost would be in today’s dollars, and shared what it will take to replace each playground with the City Council and Park and Recreation Commission. He explained instead of the minimum being based on budget, they could calculate the minimum based off of what is already at these parks. Mayor Bukkila shared her experience with the Sophie’s park when she was first on the Council and how the proposed park was very nice and high end and the discussion as to why this was the case had to do with those residents paying higher taxes. She stated the values of homes should not determine the quality of the park. She suggested having some variety at each park while still having a baseline set of equipment for the parks so if a park gets downgraded in the replacement there will be justification for it. Mr. Baumunk asked if it would make sense to do the playground replacement fund similar to the road and bridge fund which is a fund that can be rolled over year to year if not used rather than having an allotted amount of money per year. Mr. Berkowitz stated the budget is like this to some extent currently. He added they would likely still be using up all of the funds every year as they are already way behind on these parks. Commissioner Stenzel asked if it would be cheaper to piece out all of the equipment or buy one large unit with all the equipment. Councilmember Nelson asked if they were getting three bids on each project. Mr. Baumunk stated purchases are made from State contract. Councilmember Butler asked if there were other vendors out there that sell this type of equipment. Commissioner Stenzel explained there may be others that could piece a playground together but there are not for these types of equipment. Councilmember Butler stated all play structures in Andover look relatively the same, whereas in other communities they have different varieties of play structures. He asked what vendors other communities are using. Mayor Bukkila stated she is not sure that they will be able to raise the budget in 2024 but she would like to see something targeted in a $200,000 range as the budget needs to go up. She added they will also need to set a reasonable pace. She stated there needs to be some type of flexibility in the budgeting and programming. Mr. Baumunk explained the schedule of the parks is based off of what the playground inspector Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 4 sees when he is out at the parks; however, he does not look at the size of the playgrounds recommended each year to make sure it’s a mixture of small and large parks. Councilmember Nelson asked about the 15-year lifespan of the parks. Mr. Baumunk explained there are 43 parks in the City and if only two are replaced a year the parks would not be replaced for 21.5 years. Councilmember Nelson asked if the $5,000 increase per park per year will be enough. He stated this number seems below current inflation rates. He asked how many small parks are on the schedule for 2024. Councilmember Butler shared he is in support of the $200,000 budget with the opportunity to carry funds forward. He added targeting three parks a year seems like the right thing to do. He stated that would also be okay if they wanted to do two large parks in one year and four small parks in another year to even this out. Councilmember Barthel shared he likes the idea of being able to carry funds forward, that way if the budget for one year is not completely spent it can be used in the next year and they would not be penalized for not using the whole budget. He added they could buy the playground equipment individually to save money. Councilmember Nelson agreed and suggested starting at $200,000 and any remaining funds will be carried forward to the following years. Mayor Bukkila requested the Parks Staff and Commission work through the amenity menu item, gather potential vendors, and research if there would be a cost reduction from the proposed $200,000 based on these findings. Mr. Berkowitz asked if there would be any benefit to take the next year or two and price out the equipment to get a comparison to exactly what is needed and build off of those prices. Mayor Bukkila requested the Commission do their homework and bring back the findings of what they can realistically get for the parks. Mayor Bukkila shared she likes the idea of piecing the equipment together rather than replacing everything, so that only the part that needs replacing is being replaced. She noted it may be difficult to keep up with the not replaced equipment and getting them back into the replacement rotation. Mr. Baumunk explained the current standards for swing sets are painted to match poles and bars that match the rest of the playground and when it comes time to replace the worn items, it would all either need to be repainted or it will be replaced with an already repainted item. He suggested a simpler color. B. Discuss 2024-2028 Trail Capital Improvement Plan Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 5 Commissioner Widmyer reviewed the report concerning the five trail segments in the capital improvement plan. Mayor Bukkila stated she does not see Segment 2 (Station Parkway) as a priority. Park & Recreation Commissioners and Councilmembers agreed. Mayor Bukkila stated in her 20 years she has never heard anyone complain about the trail along Station Parkway. Councilmember Butler asked when the trail along the 7th Avenue Frontage Road will connect to Bunker Lake Boulevard so people can cross here. Mr. Baumunk stated the trail does already connect and there is a full crosswalk. Mayor Bukkila asked if there was a consensus to remove Segment 2 and keep the other four areas as targeted areas. Councilmember Barthel agreed and stated the only money he would want to spend in this area would be used to take out the sidewalk. Mayor Bukkila stated she does not have a preference to when these items are done when the money is available. Mr. Baumunk stated it is not so much about when these projects are done, based on funding but the priority list of the order of the projects. Mr. Baumunk discussed the potential funding sources for the Coon Creek trail from the DNR and noted there is a portion of this area that has not yet been developed and a trail cannot run through there until the property is developed or a trail easement is in place. Mr. Berkowitz stated he spoke with the property owners of the undeveloped land and shared he reviewed the entire situation with them and they understood. Mayor Bukkila asked if they would be able to make plans for this project in 2024. Mr. Berkowitz shared the best-case scenario would be securing the easement this year and starting the process by applying for the grant right away. He stated 2025 would likely be the earliest they could get to this project. Councilmember Nelson asked if they would also be able to apply with the DNR when they get the easement. Mr. Berkowitz said yes and explained without the easement they would not have been able to apply as easily for just one side or the other of the trail. Mayor Bukkila stated she would like to propose another segment, at Bunker Lake Boulevard and Crosstown Boulevard southside, east to west, between Hidden Creek North and the corner of the commercial district. She noted this area would not be as expensive as a wetland, but the issue would be that it is one of the oldest areas in the City and there are utilities that would need to be moved. Mr. Berkowitz agreed the utilities would be a challenge and added that the grade of this Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 6 would also be a challenge. Mayor Bukkila stated anyone trying to get to the commercial district does not have a signal near there to cross the road and there is no trail on this north side. Commissioner Strombeck stated she bikes in this area and noticed that in order to continue on the trail past the fire station you have to cross the road at the intersection of Crosstown Boulevard and Bunker Lake Boulevard twice to get onto the trail and to get to the other side you would have to cross again. She stated this area is very pieced together. Councilmember Nelson asked if they should do this segment instead of the Station Parkway segmant. Mayor Bukkila noted this is not a one-for-one trade as the Station Parkway project would likely be much cheaper. Councilmember Nelson stated with this one being in 2027 there would be time to get funding for it. Mayor Bukkila explained she was just requesting that this segment be put on the radar. Commissioner Stenzel noted another trail segment that will be coming up will be Prairie Road by Prairie Knoll Park. Mayor Bukkila added some of these segments are based off of road construction or development occurring. She stated this is why she is not so adamant about the schedule of these items. Commissioner Stenzel stated there is not a lot of funding available for trails but they are the most used amenity in the system. Councilmember Barthel stated he would also like to add this Bunker Lake Boulevard segment to the schedule. He asked whose utility boxes are in this area and if they really want to be that close to Bunker Lake Boulevard. Mayor Bukkila stated they look like Connexus Energy boxes. Commissioner Strombeck asked if they could extend this trail segment along Bunker Lake Boulevard to connect into the trail at Crosstown Boulevard. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Berkowitz explained they could. Mayor Bukkila stated it is difficult to steer bicycle or pedestrian traffic into a parking lot to connect a trail. She asked if there was a consensus to add this area. The Park & Recreation Commission and the Council agreed. Commissioner Widmyer asked if they could talk to two of the property owners about putting a path between this area. Mayor Bukkila stated there would still not be a connection to the commercial district from the park. The consensus was to remove the Station Parkway segment and add in the segment on Bunker Lake Boulevard from Crosstown Boulevard to Yukon Street. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 7 Commissioner Strombeck shared with the Council that when she bikes on Verdin Street, there is no trail or shoulder on a 55 MPH road. She stated she is okay with this to get where she needs to go; however, she is an adult. Mr. Berkowitz stated once the County reconstructs 161st Avenue they could put a trail in to connect to Verdin Street. Mayor Bukkila shared all County roads will have trails installed as part of the County road replacements. Mr. Berkowitz explained that it is so much easier for the County to do these type of trails systems. He stated that they can establish the right-of-way geometrics in the right-of-way corridor of what they need to build. Councilmember Barthel stated he is not a fan of Segment 3 (Verdin Street Trail) as it is expensive, and the trail dumps off to a busy street. He added he would rather see the trail along Bunker Lake Boulevard be prioritized. Mayor Bukkila asked if the Council would like to move any of the segments around to re-prioritize. Commissioner Stenzel stated the Verdin Street Trail should be moved out until there is a plan for 161st Avenue. Councilmember Nelson stated the main roadways should be prioritized first. Mayor Bukkila noted this project is scheduled for 2026 so they will revisit this item next year, therefore there is not an urgency to move this project. She explained the City is underfunded in a lot of areas. She stated they need to figure out the pulse of the budget. She added if they want to prioritize three parks a year then trails may be pushed out due to a lack of budget. Mr. Berkowitz noted they are generating trail money through development for regional trails and this has a hard time keeping up with how expensive the trail segments are. Commissioner Strombeck asked if the trail segment fee can be raised. Mr. Berkowitz stated they can look into this. Mayor Bukkila added she is not opposed to raising the fee. C. Discuss 2024-2028 Trail Reconstruction Plan Commissioner Widmyer reviewed the report concerning the trails that are needed to be reconstructed, including Kelsey Round Lake Park. Mayor Bukkila asked if there was a timeline on this project or if it was just based on the grant with the DNR. Mr. Baumunk explained it is based off of need and grant funding available. Councilmember Barthel asked how many years a trail should last when it is installed. Mr. Baumunk stated there are a lot of factors that play into how long it will last, such as, material, where it is located, and if there are trees next to trails. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 8 Councilmember Barthel asked if they are getting 20-25 years out of a trail. Mr. Berkowitz stated they are getting about 20 years out of the trails. Mayor Bukkila shared she struggled with the idea of putting new trails in when they cannot even maintain the trails that are currently within the City. D. Discuss 2024-2028 Park Capital Improvement Plan Commissioner Widmyer reviewed the report concerning the park CIP requests. Mayor Bukkila stated that the project at Pine Hills North keeps coming back and the price keeps rising. She shared she is confused about the demand of this building and the use of it. Mr. Baumunk shared the storage building does not need to be large, just a small one-car garage type building is needed to store soccer’s paint trailer and other items. He explained the shelter is to be something that 40-50 could fit under for a party or gathering. He added there would be a few public bathrooms. Mayor Bukkila shared she was confused, and she is mainly in support of the project at Pine Hills, but the budget is still high. Commissioner Widmyer shared in the community survey that they conducted there was a call for community rental space. Mayor Bukkila stated she does not see now as a good time for a brand- new building like that, such as a larger shelter. Mayor Bukkila asked if this funding would be coming from the park dedication fund. The Park & Recreation Commissioners said yes and that this funding would help move toward finishing the park. Councilmember Butler stated if this cost is going to be $350,000 it should be geared towards becoming the premier park rental space in the community. Mr. Baumunk stated he is getting prices for these items. Mayor Bukkila asked if they want to see a design for this park project before moving it forward in 2024. Mr. Baumunk stated he was hoping to have the design plan by this meeting. Mayor Bukkila shared the concern from when they were discussing the master plan item that because of the large size of the gathering space, they would need to look at storm structures because there are grant mitigation dollars available for this component. Mr. Baumunk stated this could drive the price up and it would not be a substantial storm shelter. Mayor Bukkila stated if federal dollars are available to build a substantial shelter and the portion of the structure is not any more than what has been allotted, why would they not look at adding this. Mr. Baumunk stated he can look into this. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 9 Mayor Bukkila shared the consultants that they hired to look into this said they would have had to ask for this to be incorporated. She stated she is trying to get in front of the critical infrastructure aspect of this. Mr. Baumunk gave an update on what is needed at the Prairie Knoll building. He noted the football association has said they will contribute funds to this project if the design is what they are looking for and will benefit them. Councilmember Barthel asked if they would be looking at utilizing the existing building. Mayor Bukkila stated there was an issue with the roof of this building originally. Mayor Bukkila shared the concerns with the cost of this project. Mr. Baumunk shared they have an architect looking at this building to see if they would even be able to expand upon the existing structure. Mayor Bukkila asked how old the building is. Mr. Berkowitz stated the building is between 20-25 years old. Councilmember Butler shared he is supportive of doing something with this building as it serves multiple sports. Councilmember Barthel added he has two sons who play lacrosse and they use this facility for all practices and home games. Councilmember Nelson suggested they get estimates and then see how much the football association can contribute. Mr. Baumunk stated anything outside the current footprint would be park dedication. Mayor Bukkila stated if it meets the current needs and a refurbishment can occur, anything to build it out is basically what the football association is asking for. Councilmember Butler explained they are just looking at the ask for 2024 which is just the design which will help them figure out what the football association is looking for and are willing to contribute. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have contracted with JLG and RJM to look into this building. He explained there will be options that will be sent back to the Park & Recreation Commission with dollar amounts. He stated this cost will be a lot less than $50,000 for the contractors to look into the project and the remainder of the $50,000 would go towards the design. Councilmember Butler stated they need to move forward with this project in some capacity but they need to add additional space that can be basic and not blow the budget. Mr. Berkowitz noted whatever JLG comes back with will likely need to be stripped down and Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 10 make it reasonable before it is even presented to the Council for approval. Mayor Bukkila asked if they would spend $10,000 on the contractors looking into the building if it would come back for review before the next amount of money is spent on the project. Mr. Berkowitz said yes. He added before projects like this can start the Council needs to order the project to move forward. Mr. Baumunk explained anything underlined in the package was previously approved in the last CIP and the new recommended items are in bold. Councilmember Butler asked what associations are using the Hills of Bunker Lake West parking lot. Mr. Baumunk noted it was just Andover Baseball Association. Councilmember Butler stated this would be $130,000 to pave a parking lot that is only used about two and a half months out of the year by a single organization. Mr. Baumunk explained they are spending a lot of money on maintenance, and they also have received a lot of complaints about this area. Mayor Bukkila asked if the Council was comfortable with the 2024 recommendations. The Council said yes. Mayor Bukkila moved on to discuss the 2025 requests, including the pickleball complex. Commissioner Strombeck stated she had to run the workshop for the pickleball complex. They found that they were okay with the pickleball complex but not at the $455,000 price point. Councilmember Nelson noted in 2020 the pickleball complex first came forward to Council and was shot down because of the price and no contributions. He stated if an organization could come up with half of the amount it would be a different story. Commissioner Strombeck added other cities have made a pickleball complex for much cheaper. Commissioner Stenzel explained these numbers are just a guess from the consultants. Mayor Bukkila noted they just made a huge, multimillion dollar expansion in the City which was a request from the same individuals requesting this. She asked what the real population number that is driving this ask, how big of a priority this is and what is the minimum that is needed to be able to have people play at this facility. Councilmember Butler shared the main difference between pickleball and other sports is that there is no Andover association for all pickleball players and it is much more loosely organized. He stated this is not a super competitive sport but it is more just for fun. He noted the popularity should not be underestimated. He stated he would like to keep this in the plan but at a lower price point. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 11 Mr. Baumunk explained he can spend time getting bids and quotes for this project but he does not want to spend the time on that unless the Council is supportive. Mayor Bukkila asked if there is an appetite from the Council to put something in the CIP for pickleball. The Council said yes if the cost was lower. Councilmember Nelson said not at the current price, he would like to see a cost of under $20,000 per court. Mayor Bukkila stated her current ceiling would be $100,000 and she would like to see where that gets her. Councilmember Barthel stated he would like the maximum to be $80,000. Councilmember Butler stated they are just throwing out numbers with nothing to base them off of. He stated they should direct staff to do some research on the cost of a basic pickleball facility. Mayor Bukkila requested to start this process over with some ideas, plans, and estimates. She stated would also like to see this moved out to 2026. There was a consensus of the Council to move this out to 2026. Maylor Bukkila discussed the remainder of the items on the CIP through 2028. She stated all of these items have already been on the CIP as priorities. Councilmember Butler noted the lanes between the parking spaces at Sunshine are narrower than other parking lots in town. He asked if there was a point at which this parking lot would be redone. He suggested alternate striping designs. He noted if this was changed to one-way diagonal parking, they could add more parking spots. Mayor Bukkila asked if there is anything that will be done in the Sunshine parking lot to turn off the parking lot lights at a reasonable hour. Mr. Berkowitz stated that the lights stay on for safety reasons. Mayor Bukkila stated her concern is with overall light pollution. She asked if there could be a percentage shut down at a certain hour of the day. Mr. Berkowitz said he does not believe that they are set up that way. Councilmember Butler stated the lights do shut off at 11:00 p.m. Mayor Bukkila discussed the Zone A and B projects. Commissioner Strombeck shared Petersen Farms approached the Park & Recreation Commission and stated they would not like a park as a part of phase 3 of the project as there will be one in phase 4. She noted now there is not a phase 4 and may not even be a phase 3. She asked if this would be sent back to the Park and Recreation Commission as she would love to have the conversation regarding parks. She shared she has gotten feedback that people are wanting a park in phase 3. Mayor Bukkila stated they are beyond phase 3 and she does not think they will be able Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 12 to go back and make changes based on the statutory timelines they are mandated to follow. Ms. Strombeck asked if he would come to Council with another phase if he would first come to the Park & Recreation Commission. Mayor Bukkila stated if he moves to a phase 4 for then it is a whole new process. Mayor Bukkila thanked the Park & Recreation Commission for all of the work they put into their plans and for their participation in this workshop. RECESS AND RECONVENE The City Council Workshop recessed at 8:06 p.m. The City Council Workshop reconvened at 8:20 p.m. DISCUSS ROUND LAKE BOULEVARD NW STREET LIGHTING 22/37 Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the Staff report and discussed the street lighting on Round Lake Boulevard from 149th Lane to 157th Avenue. Councilmember Butler asked where the funds would come from. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would come from the State aid allocation. Councilmember Butler shared his only concern is with the rural area. He stated the area towards 7th Avenue and east of Hanson Boulevard is safer. Mayor Bukkila added it is not well lit in this area. Councilmember Nelson stated it is good to have lighting for safety. Council consensus was reached to move forward with the street lighting. DISCUSS EMERALD ASH BORER & TREE REMOVAL Mr. Berkowitz presented the Staff report and explained the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer and the removal of deceased trees. Natural Resources Technician Kytonen continued the Staff report and shared his research on what other cities are doing with similar issues. He stated they currently do all the tree removal and pruning in house or through a contractor and do not leave it to the property owners if the trees fall within the right-of-way. Mr. Baumunk explained we remove the trees but do not remove the stumps unless they are requested to do so, and then we would schedule that as fill in work between fall and winter. Mr. Baumunk stated in Champlin, their Council just voted that all of the removal of these trees Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 13 will be the responsibility of the homeowners. He explained they send a notice to the homeowner and if they do not do the work, the city hires a contractor, and the cost will get assessed to their property. He shared that when Andover Public Works removes a tree it costs around $250-$300 per tree being removed and this does not include stump grinding or restoration work. Councilmember Barthel asked if the City owns a stump grinder or if they have to rent one every time it is needed. Mr. Baumunk stated that the City does own one and then explained the process of stump grinding clean up and restoration. Mayor Bukkila shared she thinks all of this should be the responsibility of the property owner within the right-of-way. Councilmember Barthel stated he is okay with removing the tree; however, the stump removal should be the responsibility of the property owner. Mayor Bukkila noted all of this should be on the property owner. Mayor Bukkila stated if a tree is on City, public, or park property then the City Staff should remove the tree. She noted if it is anywhere on private property, they should be responsible for removing the tree after receiving a notice with an expiration date. If they cannot remove the tree, then assess all value of work including staff time back to the property owner. Councilmember Butler asked about the risk of giving this responsibility to the property owners. He stated that a property owner could decide to not hire a contractor to remove the tree and could just decide to it themselves which could cause issues. Mayor Bukkila stated how they go about it is up to the resident. We are telling them how but the City could contract it out and charge them. Mr. Berkowitz stated the biggest challenge will be staff time and enforcement. Hire a part-time employee to work on this. Mr. Baumunk shared Champlin has a part-time employee that only enforces and monitors these tree removals. Mr. Berkowitz stated Public Works Staff will still be trimming trees. Mayor Bukkila mentioned if this problem is only going to grow, she would rather educate the public on the City’s expectations of a property owner and establish an understanding for residents their responsibility of removing and trimming trees. Councilmember Butler asked if it is possible to work with a contracting company who could cut down these trees and offer a discount for working with the contractor that has a contract with the City. Mayor Bukkila stated whoever has the original contract for Emerald Ash Borer injections should go back and do the repeat injections as the current contractor is twice as much as the original. Mr. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 14 Kytonen shared the reasoning for this is that there is a large number of trees this year that are infected and that is why the prices are higher. He also mentioned some injects are a higher concentration which is why the price of the current contractor is higher. Mayor Bukkila stated this needs to be a part of the education of residents. Mr. Kytonen stated they already have resources for this. Councilmember Butler shared he thinks having a contracted rate could be framed as a benefit to the resident. Mayor Bukkila asked if new programming can be created around this. Mr. Berkowitz stated they can do this but it will take some time. Mr. Berkowitz explained what he is hearing is the resident is responsible for the tree in the right- of-way and the direction of the Council is for staff to come back to the Council with a formal process of how to implement the program. Need to hire a Forestry Intern to help with this process. Mr. Kytonen noted there are a lot of residents that the City has already done tree removal for and shared that some residents may be surprised by this change. He also stated they need to act fast with dead trees. Mr. Berkowitz stated public outreach will be a very important part of this. He noted this may not be in place in this season but they will be working to bring something back to the Council. He stated they need to go through their due diligence and bring this back to the Council a few times before putting this in place, which will include educating the public. Implementation would be 2024. Mr. Berkowitz asked if the City will still be doing tree trimming or if they will also be turning this back over to the property owner. Councilmember Butler stated trimming is different as they need to keep site lines clear. Mayor Bukkila shared she does not see tree trimming as different. She stated her preference would be that residents maintain their own property with respect to public safety and trees over hanging the road as the resident’s responsibility. Mr. Baumunk shared Champlin also went this route. Councilmember Butler shared he sees tree trimming as different situation as this has to do with traffic and safety. Councilmember Nelson asked how many more Staff members would be needed to maintain and enforce this. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would start with a forestry intern. Mayor Bukkila suggested reviewing the cost of tree trimming and the time spent on removing these trees. How much will be saved by getting out of the tree trimming business. Educate the resident on what the right-of-way is. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – June 27, 2023 Page 15 OTHER TOPICS None. RECESS & RECONVENE Mayor Bukkila recessed the City Council Workshop meeting at 8:48 p.m. to a Closed Session of the City Council to discuss the easement at Crosstown Boulevard NW trail. The City Council Workshop reconvened at 9:06 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Nelson, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The workshop meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ava Rokosz, Recording Secretary