City Council Workshop

10801 Town Square Drive City of Blaine Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final City Council Workshop *While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Thursday, May 7, 2015 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. 2. Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Clark Arneson; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Services Manager Bob Therres; Finance Director Joe Huss; Assistant City Engineer Stefan Higgins Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Chris Olson; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; City Clerk Catherine Sorensen; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 7 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Bourke, Councilmember Herbst, and Councilmember King 3. New Business 3-1 WS 15-18 DISCUSSION - CITY ATTORNEY PROPOSALS City Manager Arneson stated the Council interviewed five law firms for City Attorney: Sweeney, Murphy & Sweeney; Kelly & Lemmons, P.A.; Campbell Knutson; Berglund & Berglund, Ltd.; and Eckberg & Lammers. He noted this is a professional service contract and not a lowest bid contractor. He stated the Council consensus is to use Sweeney for civil retainage and Berglund for prosecution. He stated the City received a letter from Berglund designating Mike Scott as the lead attorney for the City’s prosecution work. Councilmember Swanson requested staff create a list of what a lead attorney does. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 7, 2015 Councilmember Herbst stated an adjustment needs to be made to the pricing on the attorney contracts. He noted the new attorney contracts would have a cost savings to the City each month. Councilmember Clark clarified that having new contracts for City attorney will be a cost savings for the City. Mayor Ryan stated a new attorney will have a large learning curve. Councilmember Hovland proposed using another firm and eliminate Sweeney completely. He suggested Eckberg or Campbell Knutson. Councilmember Swanson suggested using Campbell Knutson exclusively. Councilmember King stated he is comfortable with Sweeney for the civil work. He asked Chief Olson if he would be comfortable with working with Berglund. Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Olson replied Berglund has not done prosecution work and would have a high learning curve. City Manager Arneson commented there will be a 90-day lead time to change attorney. Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Olson clarified that Mike Scott has prosecution experience. City Manager Arneson stated two contracts will be brought to the Council meeting on May 21, 2015. Councilmember Herbst stated the City should not have to pay to train Berglund staff. Discussed and Forwarded to the City Council 3-2 TMP 15-0283 Public Hearing Case File No. 15-0034 // City of Blaine The City is proposing a code amendment regarding residency requirements for current Planning Commission members. City Manager Arneson stated Planning Commissioner Al Goracke has submitted his resignation effective May 15, 2015, because he is moving from Ward 2 to Ward 3, which makes him ineligible to serve as a Commissioner for Ward 2. He stated staff is recommending amending the residency requirements. Councilmember Swanson stated there are differences between the Wards. He commented if a Commissioner moves from their Ward o another Ward within the City, they should be able to remain a Commissioner until the end of their City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 7, 2015 term. He noted that if a Commissioner moves out of the City, their term should end immediately. Councilmember Hovland suggested appointing a new person from Ward 2. Councilmember King stated he wants to be sure that the suggested change is for policy and not for the person. City Clerk Sorensen suggested the same verbiage be used for all City Commissions. Discussed and Forwarded to the City Council OTHER BUSINESS City Manager Arneson stated staff has been working on the Oak Park Plaza project with creating a business deal and TIF District to use pooled TIF dollars. He stated a public hearing is being planned for June 4, 2015. Councilmember Clark commented this project will revitalize the area. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated the developer wanted a larger amount of TIF funds. Councilmember Clark questioned if there will be funds for other public projects. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer noted the Planning Commission will review the site plans next week. City Manager Arneson stated the City has a tentative closing date of May 27, 2015 for the two senior buildings. Council discussion on miscellaneous projects. Councilmember Herbst requested an update on Noah Gubash. Councilmember Swanson stated CenturyLink franchise is moving forward in Minneapolis. He stated the Council may get phone calls from Comcast or CenturyLink, and if that happens to refer the callers to the Cable Commission’s legal counsel. 4. ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 7:25 p.m. City of Blaine Page 3