City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING – OCTOBER 24, 2023 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Bukkila, October 24, 2023, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Jamie Barthel, Ted Butler, Rick Engelhardt, and Randy Nelson Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Director of Public Works/City Engineer, David Berkowitz Parks & Streets Operations Manager, Jason Baumunk Recreational Facilities Manager, Erick Sutherland City Administrator Dickinson requested to reorder the agenda and move items 4 and 5 to the beginning of the agenda to be discussed first. Motion by Butler, Seconded by Nelson, to amend the agenda as suggested. Motion carried unanimously. DISCUSS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ROADWAY, TRAIL & DRAINAGE & UTILITY EASEMENTS/23-1A, CROSSTOWN BLVD. NW TRAIL & 23-13, WM & SS IMPROVEMENTS Director of Public Works/City Engineer Berkowitz presented the staff report and gave an update on the project. He shared that they have currently received two memorandums of understanding from the property owners and will have the third signed tomorrow. Councilmember Nelson asked when they will know the exact price that they will be paying to these property owners. Mr. Berkowitz explained the square footage is not exact yet; however, once they have a legal description there will be some survey information provided that will identify the exact square footage. Mr. Berkowitz shared that the goal would be to have a contractor clear the trees over the winter time. He stated in 2024 they would like to build a trail from Hanson Boulevard to Xeon Street, or Bluebird Street to Xeon Street and in 2025 they would like to get the BNSF crossing and extend the trail from Xeon Street to dead end at Sycamore Street. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 2 Mr. Dickinson added the major item here is to have an easement on both sides of the railroad tracks. Council consensus was reached to direct staff to approve the memorandums of understanding and move into the next phase for easement acquisition. DISCUSS ROUNDABOUT MEDIAN TREATMENT OPTION/23-18 NIGHTINGALE ST. NW & CROSSTOWN BLVD. NW ROUNDABOUT & 23-19, NIGHTINGALE ST. NW & VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD. NW ROUNDABOUT Mr. Berkowitz presented the staff report and gave an update on this project. He shared they are looking for direction on the plantings and color scheme in the middle of the roundabout. Mayor Bukkila stated she does not want to see a lot of maintenance needed here. She noted she would like a brown or gray color in this area, as well as some stamped concrete designs. Mr. Berkowitz added stamped concrete can be a waste of money as it can be expensive and is not very noticeable. Mayor Bukkila reiterated she does not want staff time spent on a regular basis manicuring this area. Councilmember Butler agreed he does not want this to be maintenance intensive. He suggested having some greenery in this area, possibly some evergreens. Mr. Berkowitz stated anytime there is rock or open space it will produce a lot of weeds; however, the lowest maintenance would be some type of established vegetation. He suggested keeping the vegetation dense. Councilmember Butler stated it should be kept to only needing maintenance a few times a year. Mayor Bukkila agreed. Mayor Bukkila asked about putting a big letter ‘A’ in the center that would mirror what is on the water tower. Mr. Berkowitz shared some design suggestions. He noted they would like to put 18 inches of concrete behind the curb. He explained this would make it easier to maintain. He stated they could do a darker color in the median to help with snow melting. He added the road, and the curb would be white concrete so the concrete beyond should be a dark color, like a dark gray. He noted this contrast would be aesthetically pleasing. Councilmember Nelson asked if the dark gray will fade. Mr. Berkowitz said yes. Councilmember Nelson added the representative from WSB who was present at the last meeting suggested a gray color. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 3 Mr. Berkowitz stated the County uses a red color that fades into a pink color. Mayor Bukkila suggested having a big platform in the center. Councilmember Barthel agreed. Councilmember Butler stated he does not want the platform to be that big and would rather have more plantings. Mayor Bukkila noted she would like the letter ‘A’ in the concrete flat on the ground. Councilmember Nelson asked if they would be able to slightly tilt the ‘A’ so that it could be seen better. Mr. Berkowitz explained this platform will be lower than the plantings so they would not be able to see it. Mayor Bukkila said that this could be sloped so that the platform is elevated. Mr. Berkowitz stated he will take these ideas discussed and come back with some schematics to show what this will look like. He added he envisioned the ‘A’ standing up as a sculpture that could be moved out of the way if they wanted to put a snowman in its place in the winter. Mayor Bukkila noted she would be open to this idea. She added the concrete around the roundabout should be small enough that people do not see it as a sidewalk or area to walk on. Mr. Berkowitz stated roundabouts are normally not very attractive; however, the designs that they are discussing could make this very attractive. Council consensus was reached to direct staff to move forward with the dark gray concrete color with a large platform in the center and small concrete path to deter anyone from walking in this area. DISCUSS PINE HILLS NORTH BUILDING Parks & Streets Operation Manager Baumunk presented the staff report on the Pine Hills North building. He shared that the use of the building has been a topic of discussion for the Park and Recreation Commission. He reviewed the suggested uses and plans. Mayor Bukkila stated when this was originally thought up it was envisioned to be more of a multi-purpose space where there could not be any after hours gatherings for the public to rent. She added this was thought to also double as storage for the athletic fields. She asked if they are changing the scope of this if the building still needs all amenities built into it or if it can be scaled back. She noted this needs to be in public view for exposure reasons. She asked if it is going where it is proposed if it would still have a sport storage component. She added she was envisioning something along the lines of the pavilion in Ramsey at their ball fields. She stated if they are moving the location of the facility then it seems that it would remove the athletic component. She Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 4 noted if it is removing the athletic component then she would like to see the project downscaled. Councilmember Butler shared that he has heard during his time being involved with the Parks that there are not any good reservable spaces in the parks. He also shared that he has heard residents complain about not having restrooms in parks or the restrooms are locked. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would still have portapotties closer to the field. He added the restrooms in the building would be on a timed lock and would be available for use during events and certain times. Councilmember Butler stated he liked the recommended location of the building. Councilmember Nelson shared that the soccer association does not seem to be interested in concessions if it was at the other location due to the distance from the fields. He asked if the building is closer to the soccer complex if it will be used. Mr. Baumunk shared that the soccer association is not interested in concessions at all. Councilmember Nelson asked how far people would have to walk to put the soccer equipment in the storage area of the building. Mr. Baumunk stated the main equipment that they are looking to store would be their trailer. Councilmember Barthel asked how much the soccer association was giving to this. Mr. Baumunk said they are giving $25,000. Mr. Berkowitz explained this space could be rented out by a whole soccer team after a game. He stated it would not have to be completely separated from the athletic activities, but it is also a nice way to get away from the field and do something different. He noted there are so many different opportunities with this space. Councilmember Nelson asked if there was an estimate of how often this space would be rented out for parties or other private events. Mr. Baumunk shared that he gets lots of calls in the spring and summer about people wanting to rent spaces. Councilmember Barthel asked if they changed the purpose of this building because they found a better location. He shared that a concern from residents could be that they are not able to see their child’s play from the shelter area. He stated if the building has bathrooms for the soccer fields then it should be at the old location. Mayor Bukkila explained it was originally entertained that the building would be next to the park. Mr. Berkowitz added the purpose and need for the building has changed. He noted this master plan was from over eight years ago. He shared that there are not rentable gathering spaces in the City and this location is perfect for that. He noted if visibility to the playground is a concern then they can add a small shelter in this area. He added the demand in the community has changed and Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 5 this location is perfect for the current needs. Councilmember Butler stated the elimination of the concessions is a key piece of this. He asked if this eliminates the large play area that was in the original master plan. Mr. Baumunk explained the purpose and location change came from how it will be used, which drove this in a different direction from the master plan. Mr. Berkowitz stated for the play area it was discussed to not pinpoint exactly what this would be. Mayor Bukkila asked if the building moves if there would still be space for a lot of these other components. Mr. Baumunk stated there would still be a lot of space for other amenities to the west and north of the building. Mr. Berkowitz stated they can push this building as far back in this area as they can to leave as much space as possible in front of the building. Councilmember Butler noted he would like to keep in mind envisioning what this would look like to still have a large play area in the future. Mayor Bukkila stated she would like to see the building more towards the corner and leaving more space to the south. Mr. Baumunk reviewed the map of the area and where the building could be placed. Mayor Bukkila asked if the path was mowed or paved. Mr. Baumunk said it was mowed as this park only has grass trails. Mayor Bukkila stated she would like to have the building closer to the driving lane and close enough to the parking lot but far enough that children running around would be away from the parking area. Councilmember Nelson noted this would be a 30 foot by 60 foot building but in this area it is elevated. Mr. Berkowitz stated if the Council is okay with the building being in this location, then Staff can play around with the location and bring other plans back for more discussion. Mayor Bukkila stated she would also like to see what is dropping off of the project and cost with this redesign. She also requested that Staff come up with a better number to ask the soccer association to contribute to this due to inflation. She stated they need to renegotiate the terms of the agreement. Mr. Berkowitz stated they can go to the soccer association and explain what is going on. Mr. Baumunk explained the soccer association helped with the paving in this area and he knows Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 6 that they want to make this a nice space. Mayor Bukkila noted they will need to have a driveway area to the storage area where people can pull in and pull out safely. Councilmember Engelhardt asked if there is a cut out that could also be used for food trucks. Mayor Bukkila stated there just needs to be a safe way for trucks and trailers to maneuver in these areas. Council consensus was reached to direct Staff to come up with design plans for the building to be in the proposed location. DISCUSS TREE LIGHTING Mr. Baumunk presented the staff report concerning the tree lighting for this year as well as long term. He shared that the Lions Club would like to be involved in this event. He added the Park and Recreation Commission suggested having this event in front of City Hall at Crosstown Boulevard. He shared the recommendation of planting a tree in this area and only having a tree dedication ceremony this year to be turned into a tree lighting event in the future. Mayor Bukkila stated she recalls discussion on this centered around the hockey rinks because there is a wider area for people to congregate. She noted this space is very stifling and shared concerns with restrooms and accessibility to the public building. She stated she would rather have traffic moving into the warming house for restrooms. Councilmember Nelson asked what size evergreen they would be looking at in this area. Mr. Baumunk stated it would be around 16 to 22 feet to start. Mayor Bukkila shared that it was her idea that the hockey rinks would have lights up in the air strung from light fixtures and could have music going with barrels of fires where people could gather around. She stated at City Hall it would be very confined and bring accessibility to City Hall. Councilmember Barthel asked how this would affect Fun Fest if there was a large tree in this space. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would have to strategically place the tree so that it would not be in the way. Mr. Baumunk shared that members of the Fun Fest were at the Park and Recreation Commission meeting, and they are good with the tree being in this location. Mayor Bukkila reiterated she would like this pushed towards the open space around the practice rink or open space rink to the left of the building. Councilmember Butler stated he loves the idea of this event. He shared that he does not love the idea of the event being at City Hall. He also shared concerns with this being an event on City Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 7 property that is run externally as they will get questions from residents about what the City is celebrating as a public entity. Mayor Bukkila stated this was thought of as a winter festival. Councilmember Butler stated he thinks this belongs in a park setting rather than on City Hall property. Mayor Bukkila noted they wanted this to be high profile. Councilmember Butler added it would make sense to have the event at Sunshine Park. Mayor Bukkila shared her concerns with vandalism at the park. She stated the hockey rinks have regular attendance that would minimize the possibility for vandalism. Mr. Berkowitz asked if they would like to have a tree at City Hall with lights on it that would be separate from this event. Mayor Bukkila said no and would like the tree to tie into an event. Councilmember Nelson stated he likes the idea of the whole tree lighting event; however, the issue is finding access. Mr. Dickinson asked if this should be by the Community Center as they would have ample parking. Mayor Bukkila suggested the green space off of the patio or on the high side of the retaining wall. She noted it could even be closer to the road for visibility and to push people into the green space. Recreational Facilities Manager Sutherland noted if they want to make an event out of this, they can look at pulling some hours back from the association and could have some free, open skating in the area. He added they could bring in some food trucks and concessions in the area for the event. He noted there are also security cameras that oversee this and would be able to pick up some of the greenspace. Mr. Dickinson stated if they moved it to this location, he would see having an artificial tree rather than a real tree. He noted this area is multi-purpose and if a tree was there year-round it would reduce the visibility of the facility. He also added the greenspace is a huge commodity in the summertime for programming. Mayor Bukkila shared Anoka gets their tree from a resident that cuts down a pine tree. Mr. Baumunk stated it is one of his employees that cuts that tree down every year. Mr. Baumunk explained Anoka has a permanent fixture in the ground because it takes so much to hold a tree of this size. Councilmember Engelhardt suggested using a temporary tree this year to see how this event goes before they find a permanent location. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 8 Mr. Berkowitz asked how much a temporary tree would cost. Mr. Baumunk stated a 20 foot outdoor tree would be around $10,000 or more. Councilmember Barthel asked if they are still considering this event for this year. Mr. Baumunk stated if they were to plant a tree this year the plan would be to have a dedication ceremony this year. Mr. Berkowitz stated then they could start planning next year’s event in the spring or summer to have plenty of time. Mayor Bukkila noted she would still like to have some kind of event this year and then have a more permanent event moving forward. Mr. Dickinson asked if the Lions Club were set on a location or if they were open to move. Mr. Baumunk stated they are open to moving and are just happy to be a part of this event. Mr. Sutherland explained there could be some concern this year with this location being at the Community Center due to schedules already being finalized for this season. Mayor Bukkila reiterated she would still like to have a small event this year, with some fires and hot chocolate. Councilmember Engelhardt stated they could do something at the ice skating rinks or at the clocktower commons and could even have a small craft bazaar in this area. Mayor Bukkila asked what can be pulled off this year and moving into next year seeing what the long-term vision of this event would be. Mr. Berkowitz stated they can work this out with Mr. Sutherland on the schedule at the Community Center. He added the tree for this year’s event would have to be small. Council consensus was reached to direct Staff to see what type of event could happen this year and start planning for future years. SEPTEMBER 2023 COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and gave an update on the Community Center. He noted revenues and expenses are where they should be. Councilmember Nelson asked how much money was spent for the large capital items. Mr. Sutherland stated the dehumidification system was $600,000. Mr. Dickinson explained some of these costs were charged off to the federal funds which were used to promote facilities for recreation and health. He noted the dehumidification and the water Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 9 heater fell into the 2023 budget at $374,000. Mr. Sutherland noted the water heater was also shared with the YMCA. Mr. Dickinson stated there are no budgetary surprises in this from his perspective. He added the 2024 budget for the Community Center has been identified and has already been covered as part of the overall budget. He discussed the debt service payments. Mayor Bukkila asked what the difference was between the tax levy and the debt service. Mr. Dickinson noted there is $300,000 that comes down through the operation process which offsets the difference. Mayor Bukkila asked if this would be paid in full at the end of 2030. Mr. Dickinson explained the first phase will be paid off in 2031 and the levy lasts through 2030. He noted it was originally supposed to go through 2034; however, they were able to refinance and take years off of this. He shared that they are able to drop three years of payments and gain three years of payments from the YMCA to set aside for capital related items. Mayor Bukkila asked how long the YMCA payments run for. Mr. Dickinson said 2034 and they will need to renegotiate the contract starting in 2030. Councilmember Nelson asked if 2021 was when Anoka closed their rink. Mr. Dickinson said yes and explained that in 2021 they did not do very much for turf rental. Mayor Bukkila asked about the $559,000 in the capital outlay section. Mr. Dickinson stated this was the $374,000 spent for the large capital items. He added they are not planning on any major capital items in 2024. He noted they have also not made the final payments for these capital improvements yet. Mr. Dickinson added the water heater and water softener are in partnership with the YMCA. Councilmember Nelson asked about the air conditioner on the roof. Mr. Dickinson stated that was the dehumidification and the air conditioning is fine. Mayor Bukkila stated when they were looking at 2017-2024 and before the expansion, they were over budget by $240,000 and since then these numbers have been constantly changing. Mr. Dickinson noted this is driven by the capital line items and a part of 2022 was due to the reduction in ice rental due to the disruption at the facility. Mr. Dickinson explained these numbers are right in line. He noted the utilities can be bigger unknowns. He added they are also getting into a point where they are more locked in with salaries; however, they do still rely on the part-time staff. Mayor Bukkila stated the turf rental revenue fluctuates but not by much. She shared that they discussed last year the cost of the turnover to turf. She asked what they would be losing in potential Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 10 ice revenues if they did not do the turf turnover. Mr. Dickinson noted they did provide details on this in the past; however, he does not remember those numbers. He stated it costs between $7,000-$8,000 to swap out the ice and the turf. Mr. Sutherland shared that he could give a usage report of the ice that is in to give them an idea of the revenues. He noted the usage would likely be pretty close to the in season during the week of the off season. He added this would also give an opportunity to host more tournaments at the facility. Mayor Bukkila stated she looks at this $559,000 loss. Mr. Dickinson noted $376,000 of this is capital expenditures. Mayor Bukkila explained she understands that the facility is a public expenditure and that they will always suffer the loss of the original building investment. She added this was told to her that it should operate like a business. She asked if they are maximizing their potential here. She stated now that they have finished two operational years they need to begin looking at where they are at and if there is more that they can do. She suggested asking the public what more could be done here that may generate additional revenue to offset the levy. Mr. Dickinson noted they can measure the revenue from the turf. He stated they could look at things that they are spending money on but not seeing any returns. He noted the after school program loses money. Mayor Bukkila noted the public may have some ideas of what to do or add to the Community Center. Mr. Dickinson stated in order to maximize potential there are some software things that need to be looked at. He noted they also need to discuss the use of the facility on a daily basis. Mr. Sutherland stated during the last few years they have been directed to hand out free activity passes, and every household is given 15 passes. He explained the software that is used to track all of this will be moved away from in July 2024 as it is very expensive. He noted there is a new scheduling product that they have switched to for the facility. He explained they also raised the rates from $5 to $7 which has yielded mixed reviews. He noted around Christmas time the staff will start going into everyone’s accounts and reload their 15 passes. He shared the thought of getting rid of these passes. He reviewed the year to date numbers for the facility, including 1,789 accounts. He added they have given away around $9,200 in activity passes. He asked if they want to change the number of the free activity passes. Mr. Dickinson noted giving away these free passes does bring people into the building; however, it is very labor intensive to manage. Mayor Bukkila asked about the cost value of time spent to process these passes. She asked how they would be a cost analysis of this. She stated she does not have a problem with giving these Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 11 passes away if it gets people into the building. Councilmember Butler added he realized that people use their 15 free passes and continue to come after that and pay; however, there are some people who would never come to the facility if they did not have the passes. Mr. Sutherland stated the time invested in creating these accounts can take up to 30 minutes. He noted when someone comes in to use a pass it only takes a minute or two. He asked if Council has an opinion on how they operate with these passes next year as they will be switching software systems mid-year. Councilmember Nelson asked if the new software will make things easier for staff. Mr. Sutherland stated everything will be streamlined under one system. Councilmember Butler asked if the account creation will be easier with the new software. Mr. Sutherland stated it will be similar. He noted they will no longer be issuing physical cards and the cards will be mobile on their phones. Mayor Bukkila stated she is in support of continuing with the 15 free passes. Mr. Sutherland said he can explain that this will be a transition year and the cards and passes will look different. Mayor Bukkila asked about the renewal process for people who have moved out of the City. Mr. Sutherland stated the first time that a resident comes in the staff will ask to see their ID to confirm their address. Mr. Sutherland reviewed CIP items and staffing updates over the past few months. He added the after-school program has been much better recently. He noted they are still struggling with a few middle schoolers who are still at the facility many hours past the end of after school programming. He added they have run into vandalism with this. He stated one of the crane machine games was dragged into the bathroom. Mayor Bukkila asked if there was a way to engage social workers or Youth First in these situations to do some outreach with these kids to find out why they are at the facility for so many hours. Mr. Dickinson stated they are currently looking into this. He noted trying to hire someone to fill this gap is tough. He noted that Youth First and the YMCA are even struggling to hire people. Mayor Bukkila noted there has been a turnover in the community since the pandemic where the community may not even be aware of the opportunities that are out there. She asked if there is something that the City can do in terms of their own communication networks to get information pushed out to the public to lift these organizations that need help. Councilmember Engelhardt suggested having a volunteer fair to increase awareness of these organizations. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 12 Mr. Sutherland shared that he spoke with the YMCA about some of the concerns that they are having. He noted the teen room is the most underutilized space in the building. He added the YMCA has new management that should help change some things. Mr. Dickinson added Youth First is looking at a grant program to provide more staffing which would allow them to hire someone with more time and wage. Mayor Bukkila stated all high schools require students to have volunteer hours. She asked if there is a way to somehow do something at this level at the center. Mr. Sutherland stated this is where the YMCA could help them. Mr. Sutherland explained on a normal night in the winter they have four staff members at the facility. Council consensus was reached to direct Staff to continue with the 15 passes per resident and to work towards some organization partnerships. 2024 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION/UPDATE Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and gave a few updates on the budget, including the updated fund balance. He discussed the focus on the strategic plan items, including the Fire Department. He shared that the State has come forward with fire aid. Mayor Bukkila asked what this allotment is based on. Mr. Dickinson explained it is based on market value from insurance. Mayor Bukkila shared that she thinks the Council is doing well to guide development to increase overall values. Mr. Dickinson noted there have also been some good investment years which helps with the amount going in. He stated he is not inclined to send the money to the Fire Relief Association this year and will send a letter letting them know that the fund looks healthy. Mayor Bukkila added this could have political ramifications when the firefighters hear that they decided not to give them a fund. She asked if the money is not going to this fund where it will be going. Mr. Dickinson shared that the funds will be retained. Mayor Bukkila asked if these funds would come back as a non-expenditure. Mr. Dickinson said that it may. Mayor Bukkila shared that last time, part of the negative reaction was that the department could potentially keep this money in the budget and utilize elsewhere. She stated she does not want to pit management against the firefighters and would rather just pull this back to the City Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 13 Administration level. Mr. Dickinson stated it will be used per Council discussion and deciding where it should go. Mr. Dickinson added he hopes that the relief association will understand. Councilmember Nelson asked about the 13% for other levies. Mr. Dickinson stated these are capital items. Councilmember Engelhardt asked if there is a monthly or quarterly report from the Fire Department on their status and what they see over time. Mr. Dickinson stated he provides the weekly update that the Fire Department provides him through the weekly administration report. Mayor Bukkila stated she likes the idea of a monthly report similar to the Sheriff’s Office. She added that on Friday some information was pushed out by the Sheriff’s Office to all of Anoka County about some Andover football teams and something that had taken place at Sunshine Park; however, no Andover football teams were involved at all. She stated she and Mr. Dickinson were putting out fires to get this information corrected. She noted they have a large contract with the Sheriff’s Office for the City, and she would like to see a regular report outside of the Friday update that they receive for their City properties. She shared the request to have a full year 2023 report and quarterly reports in 2024. Mr. Dickinson noted they already do this for Parks and for the Community Center so they would just be looking at Fire Stations and central campus. Mayor Bukkila asked if the Council was in support of seeing a report like this as well. The Council was in support. Councilmember Butler asked if the Park and Recreation Commission is still getting a report for parks. Mr. Dickinson stated they get a monthly report on Sheriff’s activity in the parks. Mayor Bukkila stated she would also like to receive this report. She reiterated she would like something to come forward to the Council for a public safety update. Mr. Dickinson said they can make this work. Councilmember Butler stated he likes getting a more comprehensive review on the Fire Department. He suggested having this report at a regular meeting. Mayor Bukkila asked if it needs to be done at a meeting or if it could be sent through email as an information dispersal. Mr. Dickinson stated they need to evaluate staffing and level of service for fire, EMS, and the Sheriff’s Office to provide effective fire and rescue response. Councilmember Nelson stated the monthly Sheriff’s Office report is very helpful and noted it would be interesting to see the same type of report from the Fire Department, so the Council is aware of how many calls they are receiving and what is happening in the City. He added this also Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 14 goes along with the strategic plan. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the rest of the proposed budget for 2024. He discussed the employee health insurance plans and noted they will be coming in below budget on this. He shared that they will be going through a training process with the employees with this new provider. Councilmember Nelson asked how much will be saved by switching to this new provider. Mr. Dickinson stated it will be around a $50,000-$60,000 savings. Mr. Dickinson reviewed all of the other items in the budget that have already been decided and set. He noted the fund balance number has dropped due to the insurance related items that they have been working on. He added there is an available fund balance out there in the event that they want to allocate some dollars somewhere else. Mayor Bukkila asked if they would be able to reduce the levy. Mr. Dickinson said he would not suggest that. He noted they have been reducing the use of the fund balance over time. He stated this could be an option but, he suggested saving this money until next year. Council consensus was reached to direct Staff to continue to move forward with the proposed budget. DISCUSS COMMUNITY SURVEY Mr. Dickinson presented the staff report and shared that there are dollars budgeted for a community survey. He asked if the Council would like him to hold the dollars into next year with the opportunity to do the survey next year. Mayor Bukkila cautioned against doing a community survey as the result is usually project requests and they currently do not have funding for new projects. Mr. Dickinson shared that the advisory commissions are asking on a regular basis if this is something that will be happening soon. Councilmember Nelson asked how much this would cost. Mr. Dickinson stated it would cost around $26,000. Mr. Dickinson stated they would have to find a way to drive people to the website for the survey if that is where they put the survey so the survey is not skewed. Councilmember Nelson asked if they do not spend the money on the survey this year and wait for next year where the money would go. Mr. Dickinson explained he would reserve the money that was budgeted this year in the fund balance. Councilmember Butler suggested holding it over in the fund balance to be considered again next year. He noted this is a decision that they can wait to make until next year. He added there is not Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 15 necessarily harm that results in asking questions that result in ideas about projects; however, the question would become what they do with this information. Mayor Bukkila stated the economy does play a role in how people respond to questions. Mr. Dickinson noted they found this to be true during the last survey. Mayor Bukkila stated people are going to be feeling the pressure of property tax increase during the timeframe that this survey would go out and it may not be good to ask people’s opinions of government at this time. Councilmember Butler suggested the survey be done next fall. Mayor Bukkila noted there is not anything wrong with having a place for residents to submit feedback at any time. She stated they do not have to wait for a survey to give their opinion. Councilmember Barthel stated he is fine with carrying these funds over to next year; however, he does not think that Andover is a City that does not listen to its residents. He noted they are very connected to the community already. Council consensus was reached to direct Staff to hold the funds until next year to be discussed later. OTHER TOPICS Mr. Dickinson stated the current THC ordinance is not in compliance with statute. He said there is a variance request sitting on his desk from someone who wants to vary from State Statute because they are not required to change the City Code until the State puts the regulator framework in place. He asked if they should put this business through this process and provide a property right to a specific location or if they should amend the code to match the statute. Councilmember Butler stated they should amend the code to match the statute. Councilmember Barthel asked what part they are not complying with. Mr. Dickinson stated they are not complying with the distance requirements from daycares, schools, and treatment facilities. Mayor Bukkila suggested a code amendment. Mr. Dickinson shared that he can communicate this with the individual. Councilmember Nelson shared that he was contacted by a Boy Scout and his family about an Eagle Scout project. He added that other cities in the area have a list of Eagle Scout projects and he asked if Andover has anything similar. Mayor Bukkila stated she refers these people to Mr. Berkowitz who will then reach out to them to figure out what they are interested in to find an opportunity. She noted this is similar with the Lions, they do not have a running list but when they are contacted, Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – October 24, 2023 Page 16 they can connect them with Mr. Berkowitz to figure out how they can work with the City on a project. Mr. Dickinson stated they also like the Boy Scout to show initiative and interest in something to then present a project that they would like to do. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Nelson, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The workshop meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ava Rokosz, Recording Secretary