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, February 21, 2019 6:00 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:05 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; Economic Development Coordinator Erik Thorvig; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; City Engineer Dan Schluender; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Senior Engineering Technician Jason Sundeen; Water Resources Manager Rebecca Haug; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Communications Coordinator Ben Hayle; CSO Supervisor Joey Zuehlke; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 6 - Councilmember Garvais, Councilmember Jeppson, Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Robertson, and Councilmember Paul 3 New Business 3-1 DISCUSS FUNDING REQUEST FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS AT THE NATIONAL SPORTS CENTER FOR THE 3M OPEN Attachments: Improvements Air Photo w/ Improvements Preliminary Construction Costs Economic Development Coordinator Thorvig stated as part of the 3M Open golf tournament, the National Sports Center (NSC) has agreed to allow the 3M Open to use the facility during the tournament for general spectator parking. There are 4,700 paved and 1,170 gravel stalls available at the NSC. Parking at the airport City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes February 21, 2019 and TPC will be available for players, caddies, VIPs, media, etc. The tournament requested Anoka County and the City of Blaine to split the cost for paving the gravel parking lots and roadway at the NSC prior to the 2019 3M Open. The tournament thought it was important for the tournament, NSC, Blaine and Anoka County to have the best experience possible for guests coming to the tournament and paving the lots would improve that experience. Mr. Thorvig reported the estimated cost for the entire parking improvements is over $1 million. The various groups involved met several times to discuss whether it was feasible to construct the improvements prior to the 2019 tournament and whether there would be interest by Anoka County and the City of Blaine to split the costs of said improvements as these were initially expected to be paid for by the NSC. It was determined that it made the most sense to proceed with a project that included only paving of the interior roadway between 109th and 105th Avenue and regrading the gravel parking lots. There is a benefit to paving the roadway as it will prevent dust and the potential for muddy conditions if it rains as this will be the main thoroughfare for shuttle buses taking spectators from the NSC parking lots to the tournament. Mr. Thorvig explained Anoka County and the NSC hired SRF Consulting Group to prepare plans and a cost estimate for paving the road. The engineers estimate is $357,400. The tournament has requested that Anoka County and the City of Blaine split the costs which equates to $178,700 each. The project would be bid and managed by Anoka County and completed prior to the tournament. The City’s share could be funded by the EDA through the EDA general fund. The tournament has indicated they would like to see the overall paving project completed before the 2020 3M Open. No discussions have taken place as to who would be financially responsible for this work or if it can occur but it is anticipated those discussions will take place sometime this summer after the 2019 State Legislative session as the NSC will know whether they have dollars available for the project. Staff requested the Council provide direction on how to proceed with this project. Neil Ladd, NSC, updated the Council on the projects that were occurring on the NSC campus. He discussed a hotel that was being proposed to be constructed to the east of the Super Rink. He commented on the maintenance building noting it needed to be torn down and the NSC was requesting funding from the State to construct a new facility on the south side of the Super Rink. He explained the Super Rink was approaching 25 years of age and was in need of upgrades and maintenance. Todd Johnson, NSC, thanked the City for their continued support and assistance in completing the paving of the roadways. He stated right now was an exciting time to be a Blaine resident given the exciting events coming to this City. He commented City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes February 21, 2019 further on the pride the NSC had in the Minnesota United training facility. Councilmember Paul asked if the NSC roadways were public roadways. Public Works Director Haukaas reported these were not public roadways and therefore were not included in the City’s pavement management program. Mayor Ryan stated he supported the asphalt request. Councilmember Swanson indicated he would reluctantly be supporting this request. He said he did not typically support putting City dollars into a State facility but understood the importance. He asked if Anoka County supported the project and the expenditure. Mr. Thorvig noted the County would be offering their support to the project. Councilmember Jeppson stated she supported the project. She reported she received a question from a resident asking why the City was investing funds into the community when the City would be receiving no direct monetary benefit from the 3M event. City Manager Arneson commented on the economic impact this event would have on the City and reported the 3M Championship senior golf event had a $17 million economic impact on Blaine. Mr. Thorvig stated the paving expense was a small portion of the economic benefit the City would see from the 3M Open. Councilmember Garvais commented he supported the cost sharing of the roadway paving. Councilmember Swanson explained he would like the State to be aware that this was a one-time allotment and that the City would not continually subsidize the NSC as this was a State facility. Councilmember Hovland stated he supported the request and suggested the NSC consider installing flag poles showcasing flags from all the countries that participate in the USA Cup. Mr. Johnson explained the NSC had investigated this but noted the expense would be quite high to install all of the flag poles needed but that flags were currently displayed in the Welcome Center. Mayor Ryan stated the airport parking was key to the 3M Open’s success and thanked the NSC for their willingness to open their site for additional/overflow parking. Peter Mele, 3M Open representative, provided the Council with an update on the golf event. He reported this event would be seen by 225 countries around the world. He explained that national media coverage would be provided and the center of golf would be on Blaine, Minnesota for a week. He described how the City would be marketed through every aspect of the tournament and indicated the City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes February 21, 2019 number of golfers and caddies would double from the senior event. Mr. Mele estimated this event would have an economic impact of $50 million then reviewed the proposed schedule for the 3M Open event. He reviewed the cost for daily tickets to the event and stressed the importance of partnerships in order to make this a successful event. He thanked Blaine for being a great host City and discussed the money that would be donated to local charities from this event. Lastly, he commented on the other events that would be planned in connection with the golf event including a concert and fireworks show. Council consensus was to direct staff to bring this item forward for consideration at the March 7 EDA meeting. Other Business Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Podany discussed the potentially dangerous dog ordinance language with the Council and said staff would be willing to answer questions prior to its consideration later this evening. Mayor Ryan questioned how quickly a hearing could be scheduled for a dog that has bitten someone. CSO Supervisor Joey Zuehlke reported these hearings are typically scheduled fairly quickly and noted the dog in question would have to be quarantined until the hearing. She provided further comment on the process that would be followed for declaring dogs potentially dangerous. Councilmember Paul questioned how the City would identify dangerous dogs that move into Blaine from another state. Ms. Zuehlke reported this would be difficult to track but noted staff would do its best to manage this situation. Councilmember Jeppson commented she fully supported the potentially dangerous dog ordinance as she believed the safety of people took precedence over the safety of pets. Finance Director Huss demonstrated the OpenGov financial information initiative that will launch on the City’s website on March 1. Mr. Arneson reported the Council team building session would be held on Thursday, March 14 beginning 5:30 p.m. Mr. Haukaas provided a recap on the upcoming meetings scheduled for the Highway 65 corridor and noted staff would send the Council notifications for these meetings. Informational; no action required. ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:29 p.m. City of Blaine Page 4