City Council

REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING – FEBRUARY 6, 2024 MINUTES The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Vice Mayor Jamie Barthel, February 6, 2023, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Ted Butler, Rick Engelhardt, and Randy Nelson Councilmember absent: Mayor Sherri Bukkila Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Joe Janish Director of Public Works/City Engineer, David Berkowitz City Attorney, Scott Baumgartner Natural Resources Technician, Kameron Kytonen Others PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE FIRE DEPARTMENT BADGE PINNING Fire Chief Jones introduced Hunter Kaiser and gave a brief background on his experience and accomplishments. Vice Mayor Barthel swore in Mr. Kaiser to the Fire Department. RESIDENT FORUM No one came forward to address the Council. AGENDA APPROVAL Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Butler, to approve the Agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 16, Regular Meeting: Correct as written January 18, Special Meeting: Correct as written January 23, Workshop Meeting: Correct as written Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 2 Motion by Butler, Seconded by Nelson, to approve the January 16, 2024 Regular Meeting minutes, January 18, 2024 Special Meeting minutes, and January 23, 2024 Workshop Meeting minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. CONSENT ITEMS Item 2 Approve Payment of Claims Item 3 Approve Plans & Specs/Order Advertisement for Bids/24-2, 2024 Street Reconstruction & 24-19, 7th Avenue NW Frontage Road Trail (See Resolution R016-24) Item 4 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/24-16/2024 Mill & Overlay/Bunker Lake Boulevard Service Road NW/Grouse St. NW (See Resolution R017-24) Item 5 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/24-17/2024 Mill & Overlay/Bunker Lake Boulevard Service Road NW/Rose St. NW to Heather St. NW (See Resolution R018-24) Item 6 Approve Joint Powers Agreement/24-29/Overlay of Crosstown Blvd. NW/Sunshine Park Right Turn Lane Item 7 Ratify Commission Members Appointments Item 8 Approve Reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funds Item 9 Adopt Resolution/Appointing Election Judges/Presidential Nomination Primary (See Resolution R019-24) Item 10 Adopt Resolution/Polling Location Change (See Resolution R020-24) Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Engelhardt, to approve of the Consent Agenda as read. Motion carried unanimously. NPDES (NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM) PRESENTATION & PUBLIC MEETING/ 24-1 The City Council is requested to hold a public meeting to review the City’s status of compliance with the NPDES program and make recommendations as needed. Natural Resources Technician Kytonen reviewed the information with the Council and concerning the NPDES program. Councilmember Nelson noted Andover has an adoption program for drains which is a fun way for residents to get involved. He shared he read there was 20-30 pounds of debris around these drains. He asked where residents could find more information on the drain adoption program. Mr. Kytonen said residents can contact him or do an internet search of the Adopt-A-Drain program. Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Engelhardt, to open the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Rhonda Ganske, 2159 153rd Lane NW, came forward and shared she would hope that with all of the new developments coming into the City that they have their stormwater not be directed to existing private property owners’ yards. She shared this was done with her property during the Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 3 Nightingale Villas development. Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Butler, to close the public hearing at 7:18 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. HOLD PUBLIC HEARING/ORDER PLANS & SPECS/ 24-11, 2024 FULL DEPTH RECLAMATION & 24-15, 2024 MILL & OVERLAY/BUNKER LAKE VILLAGE The City Council is requested to hold a public hearing and order plans and specifications for Project 24-11, 2024 Full Depth Reclamation and 24-15 Mill & Overlay at Bunker Lake Village. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Berkowitz reviewed the information with the Council in regard to the 2024 full depth reclamation project and 2024 mill and overlay project for the Bunker Lake Village development. He reviewed the estimated costs and timeline of these projects. Councilmember Butler asked if the residents would find out their assessment amount due at the assessment hearing in October. Mr. Berkowitz said yes and explained they would send out notices of the hearing to the residents a few weeks before the hearing with final assessment amounts. Councilmember Nelson shared he spoke with an Andover resident who was comparing the assessment amount for this project to a friend of his who was assessed for a similar project in a different area of the City. He stated a full depth reclamation project will cost more than a mill and overlay project. He added this resident also asked where the City’s portion of the project was coming from. He shared with the resident that this was coming through grants from the County, State, Federal, and the Met Council, as well as from the tax levy and special assessments. Mr. Berkowitz explained full reconstruction projects are usually the most expensive and these projects can yield some high assessment amounts, then full depth reclamation projects are the next most expensive, then lastly, mill and overlay projects are the least expensive. He noted in Andover there is a large variation in lot sizes. He shared the reasoning behind the assessment process that is in place is to provide some equity when it comes to roadway improvement projects. He noted even two projects of the same type can vary in price. He noted they could be doing a full depth reclamation in a rural neighborhood and also in an urban neighborhood and the assessment amounts can be different between these projects as well. He noted there are always some variations. Councilmember Nelson asked if any of the mill and overlay projects that are scheduled for this summer require any water main valve work. Mr. Berkowitz said yes and explained the funding for this comes from the trunk fund. He explained they are working on a program of doing this work in house and in correlation with the road projects. Motion by Butler, Seconded by Nelson, to open the public hearing at 7:36 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 4 Wayne Fischer, 1459 138th Avenue NW, came forward and shared there are a number of homes in his neighborhood that have sold over the last few years and the new owners are shocked at the large assessment amounts that they were not expecting. He noted he has a pie chart from the City with expenditures and on this chart 40% is for Parks and Recreation and 22.4% is for streets and highways. He said this is baffling as streets are used heavily and need more attention with the budget. He shared he believes the interest for the assessment over the four years could be waived as they do not need to be charged interest for something like this. Karen Strauman, 14004 Drake Street NW, came forward and shared she is one of the new homeowners that Mr. Fisher mentioned that is shocked by this assessment. She noted she is concerned about this being added to her taxes and will be paying twice. She added she is also concerned that this is a petroleum product and prices will go up or down so these numbers are only rough estimates. She asked why this was not done sooner so it was not so expensive. Sheng Lee, 1528 140th Lane NW, came forward and asked how the selection process was conducted to identify the specific areas for this project. She also asked if they would be able to provide more details concerning the criteria that is used to determine when a roadway is evaluated that necessitates the reconstruction. She asked if there are any options available for property owners to appeal or dispute this proposed assessment. Jack Zingler, 1340 140th Lane NW, came forward and asked why Andover has this system. He noted that some cities spread these costs over the property taxes. He agreed they should not have to pay the interest on these payments. Kathryn Dokkebakken, 1400 137th Lane NW, came forward and shared her appreciation for the City for doing this project. She noted she was shocked that there was a special assessment for this. She said street maintenance is supposed to be covered by taxes and special assessments should not be done unless there is an actual property value increase. Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Butler, to close the public hearing at 7:44 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Berkowitz answered the technical questions asked during the public hearing. He noted when they estimate the project, they do their due diligence for what the construction looks like for the current year, and they work with a contractor to see what the costs may be. He shared they are fairly confident that what they estimated is in a good range. He noted it is also very important to bid these projects early on in the season which helps keep prices down. He explained the current push is to look at reconstruction and preservation of these roads. He noted it all comes down to funding, which is the biggest challenge facing any infrastructure project. He shared the City has a pavement management program where they go around and rate the roads over a one to two year period. He noted there is a lot that goes into this program. He added the roads need to be in pretty bad shape for them to do a full reconstruction of a road. He noted another factor of the program is how much time is spent servicing the roads by Public Works as well as the number of complaints received. He explained there is a process to appeal the special assessment, as prescribed by State Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 5 statute. He noted the appeal process does take time. City Administrator Dickinson answered higher level questions asked during the public hearing. He noted the pie chart that Mr. Fischer referenced has to do with City operations and the only street related items that would have been included in this percentage would be snow plowing, pothole patching, and overall basic maintenance along streets. He shared they do have a separate fund for roads which does have an annual levy of a little over $1,600,000 that goes into a fund for road construction. He noted the Council also issued a bond of close to $7,000,000 three years ago to put towards road projects. He added the Council has made a commitment to make roads a priority. He shared the City does follow an adopted assessment manual which has been in place for a number of years. He said they have made changes over the years on how they assess and provide different options for assessments. He noted they calculate some assessments on a per unit charge and others on a front footage charge. He shared they have assessments as part of their proforma to do road projects. He noted if someone is interested in looking into the City proforma relative to road projects it can be found in the back of the Capital Improvement Plan. He explained there are other cities in the metro areas who have levies that fully pay for road projects; however, these levies are significantly higher than Andover’s. He added some cities also put a franchise fee in place which is utilized and dedicated to roads, which is something Andover does not do. He added there are some neighboring cities that assess residents in the 30-40% and above range. He noted there are even cities that assess 100% of the project costs. He explained the assessment manual calls for charging interest on these assessments. He noted the Council could change this if they wanted to change the assessment manual; however, at this point they are working with the current assessment manual which calls for interest. He added they do like to keep the interest rate as low as possible. He noted the interest date can be looked at as they get to the end of the project. Councilmember Butler thanked the residents who came forward to speak and attend this meeting. He shared his first experience with the assessment process was 16 years ago when the streets in his neighborhood were done. He emphasized equity over the City and over time. He noted all of the projects that are being discussed tonight are in the urban areas. He explained the Council determined many years ago the 25% assessment rate as an equitable way to reflect that the cost of projects per resident, per lot, varies substantially throughout the community. He noted there is always subsidy in these things. He explained this has been a long standing policy in Andover to assess 25% of the costs to the benefiting properties of these road improvements. He noted if they stopped assessing for road projects, all the residents who had paid their assessments in the past would likely not be happy. He said they need to be consistent around the City and over time in how they approach these things. He added the Council has made a commitment to catch up on road improvement needs of the community. He noted if they do not do the 25% assessment, then they are either doing few road projects or significantly increasing the tax levy. He reiterated that he has been in this situation before and understands the frustration of the residents. Councilmember Nelson noted the average mill and overlay project will extend the life of a street by 15 or more years and the average full depth reclamation project will extend the life of a street by 25-30 years. He stated this will also help the taxpayers down the road. He reiterated they are attempting to catch up with all of the mill and overlay and full depth reclamation projects. He Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 6 acknowledged this is a financial burden on the residents and shared they were able to extend this payment plan out farther to lessen the financial burden. He noted they are trying to come up with creative ways to help the residents. Councilmember Engelhardt shared he also went through this process a few years ago on his street, which resulted in a rejuvenation of his neighborhood. He added he has noticed a lot more use of his street as an extension of the trail system. Vice Mayor Barthel shared past Councils did not always focus on the roads. He noted the Council borrowed $7,000,000 just for roads a few years ago as they realized they needed to prioritize the roads. He responded to the comment made by Ms. Strauman that she will be paying twice, once in taxes and once with the special assessment. He noted all residents are paying taxes and all residents' taxes will go to pay for the road. He stated if the City were to pay for 100% of the project and taxes were raised then residents in the urban area would end up paying more in taxes than they would pay between taxes and the special assessment. He noted the taxes for residents in the urban area would increase dramatically if they had to help pay for the work on the rural roads. He acknowledged the frustration of being new to the City and then being hit with an assessment. He noted it is hard for the Council to tell the residents these things and to have them understand right away. Mr. Berkowitz added there is a check in period where they will put the project out for bids to see where the bids come in and if the bids come in substantially higher than they estimated then they would reevaluate the project with the Council. Vice Mayor Barthel encouraged any residents who do have questions to reach out to Mr. Dickinson or Mr. Berkowitz. Motion by Butler, Seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. R021-24, ordering the improvement of project 24-11, 2024 Full Depth Reclamation and 24-15, 2024 Mill & Overlay/Bunker Lake Village and directing preparation of final plans and specifications. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Berkowitz explained once construction gets closer they will send residents a letter concerning the timeframe of when the work will start. He added they will also have a viewer on the website where they can keep up with the project status. He noted the residents will also be given the contact information for the field inspector if there are any questions or concerns through the process. CONSIDER A LOT SPLIT AT 17845 ROUND LAKE BLVD. NW (DENNIS HARPER - APPLICANT) The City Council is requested to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation of approval for the requested lot split. Community Development Director Janish reviewed the information with the Council in regard to Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 7 the requested lot split. Councilmember Nelson shared the new lot does meet the R-1 Single-Family rural requirement as well as the compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. He shared a concern when residential land use is adjacent to a county road and noted that down the road there may be some traffic noise complaints. He noted these properties will have significant traffic noise and foresees that the City will most likely have to work with the developer in the future to try to mitigate some of this noise. He shared he is in support of the lot split. Vice Mayor Barthel shared they have seen a number of lot split requests recently that are not as properly laid out as this one. He noted it is nice to see one that follows rules and regulations and he said he feels good to be able to approve one that has been done well. Motion by Butler, Seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. R022-24, approving a lot split request to subdivide into two parcels in the R-1 Single Family Rural District for the property located at 17845 Round Lake Boulevard Northwest, PIN #04-32-24-23-0010. Motion carried unanimously. CONSIDER A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) TO ADD ANTENNAS TO AN EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER AT 16157 ROUND LAKE BLVD. NW The City Council is requested to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation of approval of the Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Janish reviewed the information with the Council concerning the request to add three panel antennas, six remote radio heads, one overpower unit and related ground equipment for an existing telecommunications tower Councilmember Nelson shared he looked at the structural analysis report which says that the max usage is at 99%. He asked if it will be at 100% with the addition of these three antennas. Mr. Janish explained as part of the building permit, there is a structural analysis that is submitted with the building permit which is reviewed by a structural engineer to make the determination on usage. He said he is not able to answer this question and it will go through the structural analysis with the building permit. Councilmember Nelson shared he does thank Dish Wireless for sending the Council the report as it states that they will comply with the FCC as far as the radio frequency exposure to humans, which is huge. He shared his appreciation for this. Mr. Janish shared it is a project requirement that they follow the FCC guidelines related to frequencies. James Ries came forward on behalf of Dish Wireless and shared he is happy to answer any additional questions the Council may have. He respectfully requested support from the Council as this is a relatively standard project as far as the wireless industry goes to maximize use of existing towers. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 8 Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Engelhardt, to adopt Resolution No. R023-24, approving the Conditional Use Permit request for the addition of three antennas and related tower-mounted equipment to the existing telecommunication tower on property at 16157 Road Lake Boulevard Northwest. Motion carried unanimously. RESCHEDULE MARCH 5, 2024 COUNCIL MEETING Vice Mayor Barthel shared the Council needs to reschedule the City Council meeting currently scheduled for March 5, 2024 due to the Presidential Nomination Primary. The Council discussed the available dates. Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Engelhardt, to reschedule the City Council Meeting to Monday, March 4, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT City Staff updated the Council on the administration and city department activities, legislative updates, updates on development/CIP projects, and meeting reminders/community events. (Administrative Staff Report) Mr. Dickinson reviewed the administrative staff report, highlighting the administration’s participation in the North Metro Mayors Association, Youth First, meetings with Anoka County, and legislative planning. He noted the 2024 legislative session starts on February 12th and there is a lot that goes into preparing for this. He shared a number of organizations will be hitting the ground running to get some language changed for the SROs, which he believes will be discussed during the beginning of the session. He noted they anticipate seeing a lot of activity related to development items. He noted sanctuary cities and counties will likely take up a lot of the discussion at the beginning of the session but does not see it going forward. He said he has been working with some organizations to make sure that the legislative plans are consistent with Council goals. He shared there have been 12 new home permits so far this year. He added there are a number of commercial project inspections going on. He noted for the upcoming Presidential Nomination Primary on March 5th they could still use more election judges. Councilmember Nelson asked if people who are interested in being an election judge should contact Michelle Hartner. Mr. Dickinson said yes, or they can just contact City Hall and they can get them connected with the right person. Vice Mayor Barthel asked if there is an idea of how many homes Lennar is going to try to do in the City in 2024 with the project off of Prairie Road. Mr. Berkowitz shared he believes the number was 109 for the Fields at Winslow Cove. (Public Works/Engineering Department Report) Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the Public Works and Engineering Department report. He gave an update on the Red Oaks project stating it is currently out for bids. He noted bid openings were set for February 14th and they are meeting the time Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 9 schedule they committed to. He shared there is a lot of work being done to get projects out for bids. He added they have one more public hearing scheduled for an overlay project that impacts some residential and commercial properties. He shared Public Works has been focusing on installing meters, highlighting they were able to replace over 500 meters in January. He added Public Works is also working on tree trimming and removal on City properties. He shared they are looking forward to an active construction season. Vice Mayor Barthel asked how many hours have been saved so far this year by Public Works not having to plow snow. Mr. Berkowitz said they have saved hundreds of hours so far due to the lack of snow. Councilmember Nelson noted they normally have the weight restrictions for roads coming out in March and April; however, due to the huge thaw, he asked if they would be able to move up the weight restrictions and if they do not, if it will do damage to the streets. Mr. Berkowitz shared MnDOT sets the load limits. He shared he has heard rumors that the restriction will be put on sooner than usual with the higher than average temperatures. He noted they typically are given a three day notice from MnDOT. Councilmember Nelson asked how many people still needed to allow the City access to their properties for the Red Oaks work. Mr. Berkowitz said he has not checked in on this recently as they are giving the residents time and do not want to pressure them. He added they will be sending out notices and reminders again soon. (Community Development Department Report) Mr. Janish reviewed the Community Development Department report highlighting they have been meeting with a lot of different developers who are trying to pursue projects in the City. He noted they will have the North Suburban Home Show at the Community Center on March 9th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. He noted they sold out of booth space quicker than they have in past years, so they are hoping for a good turnout. MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT Councilmember Engelhardt encouraged involvement as an election judge for those who are able as democracy and the government relies on participation and curiosity. Mr. Dickinson added there is required training for election judges. Councilmember Nelson encouraged residents to vote in the Primary Election. He asked how many judges they still need. Mr. Dickinson said they need around eight to ten more judges. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Nelson, Seconded by Butler, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:41 p.m. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 10 Respectfully submitted, Ava Major, Recording Secretary Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 11 REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – FEBRUARY 6, 2024 TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \h \u \z \t "Heading 1,1,Heading 2,2,Heading 3,3," FIRE DEPARTMENT BADGE PINNING ............................................................................... 1 RESIDENT FORUM ..................................................................................................................1 AGENDA APPROVAL ............................................................................................................. 1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES ...................................................................................................... 1 CONSENT ITEMS .....................................................................................................................2 Item 2 Approve Payment of Claims ........................................................................................... 2 Item 3 Approve Plans & Specs/Order Advertisement for Bids/24-2, 2024 Street Reconstruction & 24-19, 7th Avenue NW Frontage Road Trail (R016-24) ............................... 2 Item 4 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/24-16/2024 Mill & Overlay/Bunker Lake Boulevard Service Road NW/Grouse St. NW (R017-24) ................................................. 2 Item 5 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/24-17/2024 Mill & Overlay/Bunker Lake Boulevard Service Road NW/Rose St. NW to Heather St. NW (R018-24) ...................... 2 Item 6 Approve Joint Powers Agreement/24-29/Overlay of Crosstown Blvd. NW/Sunshine Park Right Turn Lane ................................................................................................................. 2 Item 7 Ratify Commission Members Appointments .................................................................. 2 Item 8 Approve Reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funds .......................................... 2 Item 9 Adopt Resolution/Appointing Election Judges/Presidential Nomination Primary (R019- 24) ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Item 10 Adopt Resolution/Polling Location Change (R020-24) ................................................2 NPDES (NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM) PRESENTATION & PUBLIC MEETING/ 24-1 .......................................................................2 HOLD PUBLIC HEARING/ORDER PLANS & SPECS/ 24-11, 2024 FULL DEPTH RECLAMATION & 24-15, 2024 MILL & OVERLAY/BUNKER LAKE VILLAGE (R021- 24) ............................................................................................................................................... 3 CONSIDER A LOT SPLIT AT 17845 ROUND LAKE BLVD. NW (DENNIS HARPER - APPLICANT) (R022-24) ........................................................................................................... 6 CONSIDER A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) TO ADD ANTENNAS TO AN EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER AT 16157 ROUND LAKE BLVD. NW (R023-24) ....................................................................................................................................7 RESCHEDULE MARCH 5, 2024 COUNCIL MEETING ........................................................8 Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – February 6, 2024 Page 12 ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT ............................................................................................... 8 MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT ......................................................................................................9 ADJOURNMENT ...................................................................................................................... 9