City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq 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, May 19, 2016 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; Associate Planner Lori Johnson; Public Services Manager Bob Therres; Finance Director Joe Huss; Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Chris Olson; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; Senior Engineering Technician Jason Sundeen; City Clerk Catherine Sorensen; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 6 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Bourke, and Councilmember Herbst Absent: 1 - Councilmember King 3 New Business 3-1 WS 16-32 REVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER SURVEY Public Services Manager Therres stated the Community Center Task Force has been working for over two years on the possibility of building a community center. He stated the second survey shows estimated cost on the items being considered and tax impact. He noted the seniors are interested in replacing the Mary Ann Young Senior Center with a new building in the same location. He stated the timeline for this survey would be to mail in late May/early June. Councilmember Herbst asked if the senior center would be included or separate from the community center. Public Services Manager Therres replied the survey states the Community Center would be next to City Hall City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 19, 2016 and replacing the existing Mary Ann Young Senior Center. He stated the task force did not want to ask the question of two separate buildings. He stated the seniors want a new building at the same location. Mayor Ryan commented the seniors signed a petition to not include the senior center in a community center as they wanted to remain in the current location. Councilmember Hovland confirmed the seniors want to stay in the same location and asked about the bond. Public Services Manager Therres stated the bond would cover one or two buildings. Councilmember Hovland stated demographic questions 15, 16, and 17 are inappropriate and should be removed from the survey. Public Services Manager Therres replied these questions are necessary to provide demographics that substantiate the survey. Councilmember Clark stated the demographic questions identify groups of people who support a community center. Councilmember Herbst stated the survey does not mention a YMCA partnership. He stated the survey has to include the costs to build the facility and include the ongoing operating costs. Councilmember Bourke stated the survey should state if people are willing to pay additional ongoing operational costs and maintenance. Public Services Manager Therres stated the task force has preliminary numbers from the consultant with a partnership and noted the community center should break even on operating costs. Councilmember Herbst questioned if the survey will provide true answers. Councilmember Swanson said a question should be added about the operating costs. Councilmember Clark suggested not doing a second survey and have the task force use the remaining funds on educational pieces. He stated a second survey may not have enough value as the survey results will come back to late. He stated the survey does not ask, “Should the City of Blaine build a $29 million community center.” Mayor Ryan commented the task force has worked a long time on the survey. Public Services Manager Therres stated the task force had planned for two surveys. Councilmember Clark commented could the remaining funds be reallocated City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 19, 2016 for education. Todd Olson, Community Center Task Force, said they had not considered forgoing the second survey and would discuss the option at their next meeting. Councilmember Hovland asked how many years would be on the bond. Public Services Manager Therres replied the bond would be for 20 years. He stated if second survey is not done, the cost savings would be $12,000. Councilmember Bourke stated he wants the residents to understand there will be ongoing operating costs. Mr. Olson requested parameters for using the remaining funds for educational materials and said the task force will discuss at their next meeting. Discussed 3-2 WS 16-33 COMMERCIAL VEHICLE INSPECTION Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Olson stated the Blaine Police Department has a commercial vehicle inspection program for the purpose of commercial vehicle inspection as public safety. He gave an overview of commercial vehicle operation goals and noted the Blaine CVI Program has two specially trained licensed police officers; specialized equipment scales; and the use of mobile weigh-in-motion scales that are owned by the State Patrol. He gave an overview of the noted inspection issues and the broad impacts when a commercial vehicle is involved in a crash. He noted commercial vehicle inspections are done by the Minnesota State Patrol, Ramsey County and Anoka County, Plymouth and Brooklyn Park. Councilmember Bourke inquired on the amount of time it takes for training and inspection. Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Olson replied 16 hours of training, 140 inspections for certification per year per officer He stated an inspection takes approximately one hour. Councilmember Bourke confirmed the two officers have approximately 300 hours of training and inspection per year. He stated there are four other agencies that take care of vehicle inspections and said he would rather have the police department focus on patrolling neighborhoods. He stated he is in favor of suspending the program and use the funds to place an officer in neighborhoods. Councilmember Hovland stated he went through a complete inspection yesterday that took one hour with no violations. He stated he is not in favor of suspending the program entirely. He stated the City has an issue with trucks going through neighborhoods. City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 19, 2016 Councilmember Swanson stated the City has a major problem on Rice Creek Parkway and the State Patrol only has authority on State roads. He stated he is in favor of the program and agrees that resources need to be reviewed. Mayor Ryan stated he drove truck for 35 years and truck owners do not always maintain their trucks. Councilmember Herbst commented he wants to free up resources to put patrols in the neighborhoods to ticket speeders. Councilmember Bourke stated the City does not need to have the scales or participate in the inspection training. He stated the officers can do the commercial vehicle inspections. He noted the City does not regulate weight loads. Mayor Ryan recessed the Workshop at 7:30 p.m. Mayor Ryan reconvened the Workshop at 8:31 p.m. Councilmember Hovland stated traffic control can include commercial vehicle inspections. He stated officers can identify issues on commercial vehicles. Councilmember Swanson stated inspection is part of traffic control. He noted that the City receives complaints from residents about overweight trucks driving through neighborhoods. City Manager Arneson commented commercial inspections are 15% of the officer’s time. Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Olson stated he and his supervisory staff are reviewing residential traffic control and safety. Councilmember Clark confirmed the City will keep the commercial vehicle enforcement as a tool for solving neighborhood issues. Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Olson stated vehicle inspections are conducted in partnership with the State and County. Councilmember Clark commented the perceived greater priority is addressing traffic in the neighborhoods. Mayor Ryan commented Blaine’s police department also works in partnership with the State and County on drugs and alcohol. City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 19, 2016 Councilmember Swanson commented he has heard from residents that Blaine should not patrol Highway 10 and Highway 35W because they are the State Patrol’s responsibility. Council discussion on the use of CSOs in the CVI program but Chief Olson noted that CSOs cannot conduct these types of traffic stops. Discussed OTHER BUSINESS Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Olson commented that the Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force recently made the largest seizure of Methamphetamine ever in the State of Minnesota from a home in Brooklyn Center. Informational; no action required. ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 8:56 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 5