City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes City Council Workshop Thursday, August 9, 2018 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; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Works Director Jon Haukaas; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Brian Podany; Finance Director Joe Huss; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; Budget Analyst Ward Brown; City Engineer Dan Schluender; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Fire Chief Charlie Smith; Senior Engineering Technician Jason Sundeen; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 5 - Councilmember King, Councilmember Garvais, Councilmember Jeppson, Mayor Ryan, and Councilmember Swanson Absent: 2 - Councilmember Hovland, and Councilmember Clark 3 New Business 3-1 SITE PLAN AND BUILDING REVIEW OF THE NEW WATER TREATMENT PLANT #4 Attachments: WTP4 Site Review Public Works Director Haukaas stated the City Council authorized a contract with Barr Engineering to begin design of Water Treatment Plant No. 4. Staff has been conducting regular meetings with the consultants to determine the basic plant process layout, the site layout, and the initial building architectural components. This has been an iterative process as we work within the site constraints of property line setbacks, regulatory setbacks between the potable water storage to sanitary sewer, and wetland boundaries. Staff reviewed the site plan and building images that have been developed to date and asked for questions or comments from the Council. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes August 9, 2018 Mayor Ryan asked how the waste from the treatment plant would be discharged. Mr. Haukaas reported the discharge would be managed through the sanitary sewer system. Councilmember Jeppson questioned why this site was selected. Mr. Haukaas explained it was a combination of the location of the property, its close proximity to the water tower and the fact that the City already owned the land. Councilmember Jeppson stated she did not support this location at all and feared how the adjacent properties would develop with a large water treatment plant on this property. Mr. Haukaas understood this to be a concern but noted all other water treatment plants were located directly adjacent to City water towers. He reported the City had spent a great deal of time on the architectural appeal of this building. Councilmember Jeppson asked which came first, the water treatment plants or residential developments. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer commented the residential developments were first and the water treatment plants followed. He explained the water treatment plant was planned for this location due to the proximity of the surrounding well. He stated if the City did not build on this property it would not have a water treatment plant to support additional growth in Blaine. Councilmember Garvais requested the generator not be placed at the front of the building. Mr. Schafer stated if it was placed to the rear of the building it would be more visible to the public. He explained the water treatment building was 250 feet off of Lexington Avenue. He noted this was intended to be a commercial strip along Lexington Avenue. Councilmember King stated he had no concerns with the design of the building and believed it looked similar to a school and asked if staff had considered adding solar to the building. Mr. Haukaas commented staff could investigate this further. Councilmember Swanson agreed the building looked similar to a school. He supported staff further investigating the use of solar panels on the water treatment plant. He questioned if the City still had interconnections with the City of Lexington. Mr. Haukaas stated there are 15 interconnects between the cities and reported staff would be investigating the water trade between the two cities. City Manager Arneson requested staff review the project timeline with the Council. Mr. Haukaas reviewed the construction timeline with the Council and noted he would like to have the water treatment facility operational in the spring of 2020. He estimated the project would cost $20 to $25 million. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes August 9, 2018 Mayor Ryan thanked staff for the update. Discussed. 3-2 LEGAL SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Attachments: RFP Summary Mr. Arneson stated seven Requests for Proposals (RFPs) have been received for the City’s legal services. Staff reviewed the RFP’s with the Council and recommended three firms be brought in for interviews. Council consensus was to direct staff to invite Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Berglund & Berglund Ltd., and Eckberg Lammers P.C., for interviews. 3-3 UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF THE ‘ICE PIGGING’ WATERMAIN CLEANING PROJECT Attachments: Ice Pigging Update Mr. Haukaas stated, in 2016 the City initiated a project to perform cleaning of our watermains using a technique called “ice pigging”, where a slurry of ice and water is pushed through the water main scouring the deposits and build-up on the interior of the water main then flushing it out through our hydrants. Ice Pigging does not require additional excavation or connections made to the system. The project approved funding to perform this work at a cost of $100,000 per year over a five-year period for a total of $500,000. Funds have been budgeted in the Water Fund to do this type of work. Staff reviewed a short video to demonstrate how the process works and shared photos and video of results of the work to date. Mayor Ryan thanked staff for the report and video on ice pigging. The Council supported the City continuing with this process. 3-4 PANHANDLING POLICY Attachments: Proposed Policy Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Podany stated Council has expressed concern and wished to have discussion and a potential action plan as to panhandling response within the City of Blaine. The Police Department has researched panhandling and associated Constitutional challenges that have arisen from municipal ordinances and enforcement. He explained it would be very difficult to eliminate panhandling altogether and stated a policy has been drafted for response to these calls for service and proactive patrol by Police personnel. This policy was reviewed with the Council and feedback was requested. Councilmember King stated he preferred the City pursued a policy and not an City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes August 9, 2018 ordinance to address panhandling. Councilmember Jeppson explained this issue made her nervous but appreciated the fact this policy would be used as a training tool for Blaine officers. Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Podany reported he worked to keep a list of available resources updated at all times for his officers to have as a reference point. Mayor Ryan and the Council thanked Police Chief Podany for his work on this policy. Discussed. 3-5 CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDED 2019 GENERAL FUND BUDGET Attachments: 2019 CM Budget 8-09 Finance Director Huss presented the City Manager’s Recommended 2019 General Fund Budget for consideration. The recommended budget will reflect direction provided by the City Council in budget discussions up to this point. The goal is to provide a balanced budget with a safe margin of revenues over expenditures for approval as the Preliminary 2019 Budget and Preliminary 2019 Tax Levy that Council will approve at the September 20 Council meeting. Staff requested the Council review City Manager’s 2019 Recommended Budget and provide direction for 2019 Preliminary Budget and Tax Levy. Councilmember Swanson asked if the results of the salary survey had been included in the recommended budget. Mr. Arneson reported this information had not been included but that a 3% cost of living wage adjustment had been included in the budget. Discussed. Other Business Fire Chief Smith explained that in June Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View (SBM) Fire Department was directed by the Spring Lake Park Police Chief to no longer respond to personal injury accidents. He stated he has been trying to resolve this issue with Spring Lake Park for the past month and a half and was hopeful he would reach a resolution in the coming months. He provided further comment on how this would impact the SBM funding formula going forward. Councilmember Garvais suggested staff speak with Anoka County Dispatch as this appeared to be a breach of contract issue. Chief Smith explained he had spoken with dispatch and the County Attorney’s office and it was determined that the Spring Lake Park Police Chief had the authority to make this decision. City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes August 9, 2018 Councilmember Garvais indicated this was a life safety issue and a contract was in place. He reported if Spring Lake Park wanted to change their contract or services received they should have to follow the proper procedures and not just be allowed to stop what they currently do not want to pay. Councilmember Jeppson asked if cost was the root of this issue. Chief Smith commented this could be the main concern but could also be a public safety concern as stated by the Spring Lake Park Police Chief. Councilmember Jeppson shared her opinion that it was more dangerous for Spring Lake Park to make this change as there would now be a delay in the Fire being dispatched to accidents. Chief Smith agreed with this assessment. Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Podany also agreed and commented further on how the Police Department would be impacted by this decision by the possibility of having to cover police calls in Spring Lake Park when officers were assisting with vehicle accidents. Mr. Arneson reported the City of Mounds View was in agreement with the City of Blaine and would continue to follow the current contract for personal injury accidents. Councilmember Swanson said he believed the City of Spring Lake Park was not fully understanding just how much they were benefiting from the SBM Fire Department. Councilmember King commented this was not a contract where a City can pick and choose which services to move forward with, rather it was all or nothing. Councilmember Garvais questioned if Spring Lake Park was aware of the expense of a lawsuit in the event of a serious injury or death because of the dispatching change. Fire Chief Smith commented this was something for them to consider. Councilmember Garvais requested staff share with the City of Spring Lake Park that the Blaine City Council was not supportive of this change and suggested a tri-City meeting be held regarding this concern. Chief Smith explained this has been conveyed and noted there have been three fatal accidents in Spring Lake Park this year. Mr. Arneson anticipated the next tri-City meeting would be held in September. Mayor Ryan commented it was very dangerous to not have the Fire Department responding to personal injury accidents considering there could be a vehicle fire or persons trapped in their vehicles. Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres provided the Council City of Blaine Page 5 City Council Workshop Minutes August 9, 2018 with an update on the water meter replacement work that has occurred and reported letters have been sent. He explained a large number of the public has been non-responsive to date but noted the City has been very flexible in order to work out times for installations. Discussed. ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. City of Blaine Page 6