City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Dr NE 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, December 17, 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; Financial Analyst Ward Brown; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Chris Olson; Economic Development Coordinator Erik Thorvig; 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: 6 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Bourke, Councilmember Herbst, and Councilmember King Absent: 1 - Councilmember Hovland 3 New Business 3-1 WS 15-64 COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE Postponed to a future Workshop. Postponed 3-2 WS 15-65 AMENDING CHAPTER 54, PARKS AND RECREATION; ARTICLE I, IN GENERAL, SECTION 54-1, PARK LAND DESIGNATED, OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF BLAINE City Clerk Sorensen stated during a review of City Code it was discovered that second reading and adoption of Ordinance 13-2257 did not occur in 2013 City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final December 17, 2015 as Council had requested further discussion on an issue on a strip of land at a workshop. She stated the proposed ordinance is to designate a strip of land at the Jim Peterson Athletic Complex, the East Lake Park and Legacy Creek Park as park land. Councilmember Clark asked about his issue at the time with the parcel. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the issue was if the City no longer wanted the trail connected to the neighborhood the City would have to hold a referendum to release the parcel as it would be designated as open space. Councilmember Clark asked if the City has any equipment on the parcel. Public Services Manager Therres replied no, it is just the trail, adding the trail exists and is used for entrance to the park and the parcel was supposed to be included as part of the park. Council consensus was to bring the ordinance forward for adoption. Discussed NAPLES STREET LAND USE DISCUSSION Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated as a follow-up to Council direction on a potential moratorium on trucking facilities, staff reviewed area parcels where trucking could occur and identified two areas: parcel 1 and 2 zoned I-1 (south of Crown Trucking) and parcels 4-9 zoned I-2. He stated parcel 1 is owned by M.A. Mortenson and has a buyer interested in I-1 (Light Industrial) use and parcel 2 that is owned by At Last Gourmet Foods currently has I-1 use. He said staff suggests leaving these two parcels zoned I-1. He stated parcels 4-9 are not visible to 35W and they are not large sites and staff suggests zoning I-2 (Heavy Industrial). Councilmember Bourke asked if the zoning is changed would the sites be more marketable. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied yes. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated staff suggested increasing minimum building size to 20,000 square feet for uses that propose outside storage areas larger than one acre in size. He noted outside storage should be considered an accessory use and not a primary use and that this would help address some of the concerns that come with trucking facilities. Councilmember Bourke asked about lot price of parcel 7. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied $400,000. Mayor Ryan noted there are productive site owners that have storage inside as City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final December 17, 2015 a primary use. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated the zoning ordinance should reflect the goal that outside storage is not a primary use. Councilmember Bourke asked if the building standard should be raised in addition to square footage. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied no, the current building standard is good. He noted the current minimum building size is 5,000 square feet. Council discussion on the current zoning of various parcels. Councilmember Clark arrived at 6:46 p.m. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated it would be better for the City to utilize this plan instead of creating a moratorium. Mayor Ryan commented this plan is better than a moratorium. Council consensus was to bring forward the proposed zoning changes to the January Planning Commission meeting and to notify the affected property owners for the proposed zoning changes. Discussed. OTHER BUSINESS Lever Street Drainage Issue City Manager Arneson stated there is a drainage issue near the Paxmar development on 123rd Lane east of Lexington Avenue. He said raising the asphalt six inches would correct the problem and cost $18,000. He said the repair could be covered with MSA funds and completed in the spring. He said the problem occurred when the adjacent development did not build out as originally planned when the recession occurred and while there is an argument for the builder to correct the problem the builder is no longer working in the area and the problem needs to be addressed. Councilmember Clark asked about the status of the Rickel’s drainage issue. City Manager replied the issue was corrected. Council consensus to complete the work. Reconstruction 105th Avenue City Manager Arneson stated a lobbyist is being recommended in order for the City to obtain funds from the State bonding bill for the reconstruction of 105th Avenue. He said he has spoken with Lockridge Grindal Nauen who quoted $30,000 for this work and that funding would come from the money City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final December 17, 2015 Anoka County gave to the City for 105th Avenue. He noted this is a bonding year and a lobbyist may improve the City’s chance to receive State funds. Council discussed the benefits of just milling and overlaying 105th Avenue and how long that would last. Councilmember Clark asked if the firm has been vetted with local legislators/representatives. City Manager Arneson replied no but that he could contact them if that was Council’s direction. Councilmember Herbst stated if the three local legislators/representatives agree on the choice of lobbyist group then Council consensus was to work with the firm. City Manager Arneson stated a proposal will be brought to the Council meeting on January 7, 2016. Tobacco Licenses City Clerk Sorensen updated the Council regarding tobacco license renewals. She noted there were five compliance failures but that license renewals will not be final until those locations have paid their fines. She also shared an update regarding Hot Market’s license renewal and an issue they had earlier in the year with the Department of Revenue. She noted after review with the State and the Police Department they have no concerns renewing their tobacco license at this time but wanted to inform the Council. Centurylink Councilmember Swanson stated he has signed the final cable franchise documents for CenturyLink and that they will begin marketing in the City very soon. Ulysses Street Project City Manager Arneson commented the recent rain has extended the closure of Ulysses Street which is due to the JEA project soil correction work. Discussed. ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 4