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 Thursday, October 20, 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; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Services Manager Bob Therres; Finance Director Joe Huss; Budget/Fiscal Analyst Ward Brown; Safety Services Manager/Police Chief Chris Olson; City Engineer Jean Keely; Recreation Manager Jerome Krieger; Storm Water Manager Jim Hafner; NRCB Anthony Wilder; NRCB Dottie McKinley; Recreation Manager Shari Kunza; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; City Clerk Catherine Sorensen; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 5 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Clark, and Councilmember Herbst Absent: 2 - Councilmember Bourke, and Councilmember King 3 New Business 3-1 WS 16-65 GAME TIME PLAYGROUND GRANT Recreation Manager Krieger stated the City has an opportunity to receive matching grant funds for playground equipment from a vendor that is on State contract. He stated the grant would pay for one half of the cost of playground equipment; however, the playground equipment needs to be ordered by the end of 2016. He stated staff is proposing to purchase the playground equipment to take advantage of the grant program. He noted there are four parks due for replacement playground equipment which are Meadowbrook Park, North Oaks West Park, Radisson Woods Park, and Centennial Green Park. He stated the City would pay half the price of the equipment, the owner’s kit, and freight in 2016. He stated staff is asking permission to accelerate the payment to 2016. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final October 20, 2016 Councilmember Clark asked who the grant is from and what is the deadline. Recreation Manager Krieger replied the company is GameTime and the order deadline is end of year for delivery in 2017. Councilmember Herbst asked where the designated parks fall on the replacement list. Recreation Manager Krieger replied these four parks were designated to be replaced in 2017. Councilmember Clark asked if the same company and same equipment would have been chosen for the same parks. Recreation Manager Krieger replied yes. Councilmember Swanson asked about funding. Finance Director Huss replied funds have been set aside for playground equipment. Councilmember Hovland asked who installs the equipment. Recreation Manager Krieger replied GameTime will install the equipment and the City will remove sand and install gravel. He noted the sand will be recycled. Council consensus on moving forward with the equipment purchase. Discussed 3-2 WS 16-68 BLAINE ARTS COUNCIL POLICIES Recreation Manager Kunza stated the Blaine Arts Council was founded in 2002 to promote the arts in Blaine by sponsoring monthly art exhibits at City Hall. She noted the Arts Council is not a formal organization chartered by the City and membership is based on interest in the arts and decisions are made by consensus. She stated the Arts Council has received inquiries from large, high-profile shows and has accepted these shows to be part of the 2017 exhibit schedule. She stated the Arts Council adopted a new membership policy and art exhibit selection, and is asking Council to support their policies and give them authority to select monthly art exhibits. Councilmember Hovland commented about the artwork having price tags. Recreation Manager Kunza replied the items are for sale. Councilmember Hovland suggested eliminating the price tags and have the interested persons contact the artist directly. Councilmember Clark asked if the City has received waivers from the artists for damage. Recreation Manager Kunza replied the City does have a waiver. He requested City Attorney Sweeney review the waiver. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final October 20, 2016 Councilmember Clark stated he is concerned about the racking and display boxes that are stored on the third floor. He inquired about items the City owns, items the curator owns, and how much storage space is used. He stated he does not want the City to be liable. Discussed 3-3 WS 16-66 PROPOSED 2017 STORM DRAINAGE FUND BUDGET Finance Director Huss gave an overview of the 2016 Storm Drainage fund. He stated the 2016 Storm Drainage Fund Budget projections point to an operating loss, indicating that current fees are adequate. He stated the proposed 2017 budget projects an operating loss as additional contractual work is completed and the fund’s five-year model projects continued operating losses if fees remain at $7.00 per quarter and $28.00 per year for 2017. He stated to maintain operations and provide funding for all requested capital projects, Council would need to approve a fee adjustment. He stated staff is recommending the implementation of cost containment strategies for the next three years. He stated the fund is projected to end 2016 with a working capital reserve and a portion of the reserve is intended to fund capital projects that include infrastructure maintenance and replacement, and system expansion. Councilmember Herbst inquired about slip lining and if the City does spot slip lining or slip lining of the entire pipe. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied entire pipes are slipped lined. He noted multiple sink holes are created when pipes are without slip lining. Councilmember Swanson commented he is concerned about flooding. Councilmember Herbst asked about beaver problem areas. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied staff inspect known beaver problem areas and also work with the Watershed Districts. Councilmember Herbst commented staff needs to watch vacated ditches. Councilmember Hovland requested staff research a .5 rate decrease and recommend potential cuts. Discussed OTHER BUSINESS Blaine Wetland Sanctuary Storm Water Manager Hafner gave an overview of the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. He stated the parking lot project will be done separate from the trail project due to City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final October 20, 2016 permitting. He noted the trail is permitted and an RFP will be published on October 21, 2016 with the plan that work will start in spring 2017. Councilmember Swanson requested the trail be accessible from the parking lot. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied the trails will be accessible without mitigation. Mayor Ryan asked how much of the trail will be elevated. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied about seven miles will be elevated. Mayor Ryan asked if Aveda has contacted the City about being a sponsor for the Wetland Sanctuary. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied no. Storm Water Manager Hafner noted with the reduction of the Park Dedication Fees from 35% to 20% the Open Space fund budget is tight. He commented the revenue from the sale of wetland credits will fund the Open Space fund, help to complete the project, and ongoing maintenance. He noted the open spaces will be self-sufficient. Councilmember Herbst asked about the balance of wetland bank acres for sale. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied the EDA has 55 acres which is approximately $4 million and the new project has 80 acres which is approximately $7 million. Councilmember Herbst asked about the Park Fund. Finance Director Huss replied the park fund is a five-year funding program that will end in 2018. He stated the Council will need to decide in 2018 where to direct the funding. Councilmember Swanson commented the park dedication fees from the two apartment buildings should help the Park Fund. Councilmember Clark asked about the investment to finishing the wetland bank to the north. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied total cost is not to exceed $700,000. Finance Director Huss stated the wetland bank does not provide cash for funding; the City would have to sell wetland. He stated the Council would need to direct where the funds are allocated. Storm Water Manager Hafner stated wetland credits show up on Bowser’s website. Councilmember Clark asked if the EDA could buy the land in the wetland bank in order to transfer funds from EDA to Open Space. Finance Manager Huss replied the EDA credits are from developed land and the wetland is not developed. He noted wetland credits have to be sold. Storm Water Manager Hafner commented wetland impacts have to be replaced by City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final October 20, 2016 a two to one ratio. He gave an overview of wetlands and the trail. Councilmember Swanson asked about the open water feature. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied the open water feature is scheduled for future development after the parking lot and trails. Councilmember Clark asked about access for golf carts and Segways. Storm Water Manager Hafner replied Segways would have access. He noted the board walks would not support a heavy vehicle. Discussed ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 5