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 16, 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; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Brian Podany; Finance Director Joe Huss; Economic Development Coordinator Erik Thorvig; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; Assistant City Engineer Stefan Higgins; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Senior Center Director Shelley Johnson; Senior Center Coordinator Ann Genosky; Recreation Manager Shari Kunza; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 5 - Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Clark, Councilmember King, Mayor Ryan, and Councilmember Swanson Absent: 2 - Councilmember Garvais, and Councilmember Jeppson 3 New Business 3-1 UPDATE AND CHECK-IN ON SENIOR CENTER PROJECT Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres presented an update on the new Senior Center project being planned for Aquatore Park. Staff requested feedback on the location of the new senior center and explained bidding documents were being prepared for a fall bid with construction to begin next spring. The initial design plans were reviewed with the Council. Councilmember Hovland questioned how the Blaine 2019 Festival would be impacted by construction of a new senior center. He noted next year would be the City’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. Mr. Therres stated construction would be occurring all summer and noted it would be difficult to avoid impacting the Festival. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes August 16, 2018 Mayor Ryan stated the senior center was a priority and he wanted to see the City follow through with the current plans. Councilmember Swanson suggested the City review how much of an impact the construction would have on the Blaine Festival. Mr. Therres reported the Festival Committee would like the building moved to the west to create more open space for festival activities. Tim Duevel, Blaine Festival, discussed the liability insurance the Festival had to carry for the event and noted he feared the expense would increase if the park was under construction. Councilmember Clark stated he supported the moveable wall concept as this offered the Senior Center greater flexibility. He asked what the debate was about the moveable wall. Mr. Therres explained this came down to a cost issue. Mayor Ryan explained the proposed design was more of “T” shape and he supported the City pursuing a building that was “L” shaped. He noted this was the concept that was proposed to the seniors at their last meeting. Councilmember Clark expressed concern with the amount of parking that would be lost due to the larger size of the new senior center. Mr. Therres commented this concern has been brought to the architect’s attention and noted the City was working to increase the number of parking at Aquatore Park. Councilmember Clark requested additional parking be placed closer to Fogerty Arena in order to accommodate the high school games that were held at this venue. Councilmember Hovland suggested the building be moved to the southwest corner of the site as a compromise. Further discussion ensued regarding the location and placement of the new senior center. Mayor Ryan requested the seniors not be crossing a road in order to enter the senior center. He expressed frustration with the fact the plan presented this evening was not the plan that was previously discussed with the seniors. He requested staff review the number of handi-cap parking stalls that were in the front of the building to ensure it would meet the needs of the center. Councilmember Clark commented he would like to better understand the space needs the Festival Committee was requesting. He requested staff investigate how to minimize the impact on the festival next July. He stated the Council would have to consider how to balance the needs of the festival, park visitors, seniors and Fogerty users. Councilmember Hovland supported the new building being shaped in an “L” instead City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes August 16, 2018 of a “T”. Mayor Ryan requested the revised plan be brought back to the seniors for their review and comment. Council consensus was to direct staff to review the building location so as to minimize intrusion into current parking, allow for more space for the Blaine Festival, and the potential for an “L” designed building instead of a “T”. 3-2 SPLIT OF PARK DEDICATION FEES Attachments: Parks CIP Open Space CIP Discussion on this item was postponed to a future worksession meeting. Postponed Other Business None. None. ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. City of Blaine Page 3