City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes City Council Workshop Wednesday, January 22, 2020 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 6:00 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Michelle Wolfe; Community Development Director Erik Thorvig; Public Works Director Jon Haukaas; Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Brian Podany; Finance Director Joe Huss; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; City Engineer Dan Schluender; City Planner Lori Johnson; City Attorney Christopher Nelson; Senior Engineering Technician Jason Sundeen; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Fire Chief Charlie Smith; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 6 - Councilmember Garvais, Councilmember Jeppson, Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Robertson, and Councilmember Paul Absent: 1 - Councilmember Hovland 3 New Business 3-1 REVIEW OF ANOKA COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT COST SHARE POLICY Attachments: Anoka County Cost Share Policy Review of Cost Share Policy PowerPoint City Engineer Schluender stated Council has expressed a desire to amend the Anoka County signal installation cost share policy. As such, staff recently met with the County Engineer to review their current cost share policy. Discussion centered around two project types, spot improvements and corridor improvements, and how the current cost share policy are applied to these projects. Staff reviewed examples of the past project types and how the cost share policy was implemented. Staff also shared with council the cost share policy for other metro counties. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes January 22, 2020 Mayor Ryan commented he did not anticipate the City would be able to change the County’s policy. Councilmember Jeppson thanked staff for providing the Council with this information. She expressed concern with the fatality that occurred on Radisson Road and the County’s willingness to contribute only 25% to help prevent further accidents, adding this was unacceptable. She indicated how that road now meets warrants for a signal but expressed frustration on their willingness to contribute more than 25%. Mayor Ryan stated he did not understand the County’s policy regarding street lights either. Councilmember Garvais explained he did not believe the policy had to be this way. He questioned why Blaine residents, who were already being taxed by Anoka County, had to be taxed again for roadways and engineering fees. He feared the County was unfairly charging cities in order to stretch their own tax dollars. Councilmember Robertson agreed stating residents are already paying taxes to the County. She noted she spoke with each Anoka County Commissioner and a common concern voiced was the tremendous growth occurring in Blaine. She explained she did not support the current policy continuing just because that is the way it has always been and said she was hopeful the City and the County could reach some compromise. She stated she feared for the residents living on County roads given the high levels of traffic traveling along these roadways and believed it was time for the County to reconsider their stance for improving safety on their roadways and bring the costs more into balance. She indicated it was a huge burden for the City to have to improve its own streets as well as County roadways. Public Works Director Haukaas discussed the population limits for cost-share projects. Further discussion ensued regarding Anoka County’s JPAs and cost sharing program. Councilmember Paul asked if Blaine received State Aid funding and if this could be used to assist with the expenses on County road projects. Mr. Schluender reported the City did receive State Aid funding and these dollars were allocated for street improvement projects. Councilmember Robertson stated she would like to see a better partnership between the City of Blaine and Anoka County, especially considering the fact City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes January 22, 2020 Blaine was the largest city in Anoka County. Councilmember Jeppson asked if signals were the best option for Radisson Road or should roundabouts be considered given the high levels of traffic and safety concerns. Mr. Schluender commented signals were the best option for a 55 mile per hour road then discussed intersections the Traffic Commission would be reviewing in the coming months. Councilmember Robertson questioned why the County was set on putting in additional lights along Lexington Avenue when the entire corridor may be changed in the future. Mr. Schluender discussed the future plans for Lexington Avenue and noted the lights would be incorporated into these plans. Councilmember Paul asked what the timeframe was with the County. Mr. Schluender reported there was no specific timeframe and noted the County was waiting to hear what discussion comes out of this meeting. Councilmember Robertson supported the Council having further discussions with other local elected officials on this topic and said she would be willing to attend an Anoka County Transportation Committee meeting to voice the City’s concerns. City Manager Wolfe indicated once the Council knows what direction they would like to go staff could create a strategy for advancing this discussion. Councilmember Garvais shared frustration about higher levels of government balancing their budgets off lower levels of government such as cities. Mayor Ryan commented the wheelage tax would have assisted the County in covering extra expenses for signals and roadways but this tax was eliminated and anticipated many local officials were not aware of what cost-share percentages were in comparison to other counties. Councilmember Robertson stated she would speak with the Anoka County Transportation Committee and the Council could speak with local elected officials in order to raise awareness about the cost-share program. Mayor Ryan thanked staff for putting this information together and stated he appreciated the discussion that has been held regarding this matter. Discussed 30 Minute Discussion 3-2 ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS (CHAPTERS 30, City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes January 22, 2020 31 and 32) Attachments: Attachments Presentation City Planner Johnson stated this was the second opportunity for staff to provide information on the proposed zoning ordinance changes. Staff discussed the changes proposed for all commercial and industrial zoning districts along with the Highway 65 Overlay District standards and highlighted the major changes being proposed to these districts and requested comment from the Council. Discussion ensued regarding the outdoor storage at Home Depot and Cub Foods. Councilmember Garvais stated he would like to see the City set more limits for outdoor storage. He also supported the City limiting self-storage uses given the fact Blaine already had a lot of self-storage options. Councilmember Paul questioned if this would be an inconvenience for Blaine residents. Councilmember Robertson believed there were enough storage options in Blaine and Ham Lake that additional self-storage was not needed. She indicated she would like the Council to consider how the Highway 65 corridor should look in the future. The Council requested staff further review the self-storage and outdoor storage language. Discussed 30 Minute Discussion 3-3 REVIEW THE CITY’S MISSION STATEMENT Attachments: 2020 Mission Statement Ms. Wolfe stated the City first adopted a mission statement in 1985 and that several revisions have occurred over the years, adding per Resolution No. 86-41 the City is required to annually adopt a mission statement. During the strategic planning discussions in 2019, City Council reviewed the current Mission Statement and discussed vision and values statements. It was agreed that the mission, vision and values statements needed updating and/or creation. A brainstorming process resulted in the identification of key concepts the group favored for both the vision and mission. These were then used by the consultant to create draft statements. The City Council also identified a potential list of values, which the consultant used to prepare a draft set of values for consideration. The proposed mission, vision, and City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes January 22, 2020 value statements were reviewed in further detail with the Council. Councilmember Garvais requested the reference to “good value” be replaced with exceptional public services. Councilmember Robertson recommended the mission statement regarding value references the City was good stewards of the taxpayer money. Councilmember Jeppson believed this did not belong in the mission statement but rather should be a value. She said a mission statement should be more concise and suggested language that included maintaining and improving the City of Blaine by striving to continuously deliver exceptional public services with the highest degree of professionalism. Council consensus was that staff would bring forward further revisions to the mission statement for Council review. 30 Minute Discussion 4 Council Calendar Review OTHER BUSINESS City Clerk Sorensen reported Board and Commission interviews would be held on January 27 and January 28 and noted the Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting would be held on May 11. ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:28 p.m. City of Blaine Page 5