05-11-10 CM Minutes
Council/Manager Meeting Minutes
May 11, 2010
Present: Mayor Loomis and Council Members Freiberg, Pentel, Scanlon and Shaffer, City
Manager Tom Burt, Public Works Director Jeannine Clancy, City Engineer Jeff Oliver,
Director of Fire and Inspection Services Mark Kuhnly, and Assistant City Manager Jeanne
Andre.
The meeting began at 6:35 pm in the Council Conference Room.
Receipt of Golden Valley Fire Relief Association Bylaws and Policies
Mark Kuhnly introduced Steve Yingst, President, and Mark Rosenblum, Treasurer, of the
Golden Valley Fire Relief Association. They explained that the Relief Association has
thoroughly reviewed the bylaws and drafted changes to bring them in line with current law
and separate some policies into a policy documents. The City Attorney has reviewed the
draft and all changes are in line with his recommendations. The City Council must approve
the proposed changes, so the Executive Board is seeking informal Council comments
before presenting the bylaws to the membership for approval at the June 1 meeting. If
approved by the membership the Bylaws and Policies will be brought to a regular Council
Meeting for approval.
Douglas Drive Financing and Proposed Xcel Franchise Fee
Jeannine Clancy reported that staff met with Hennepin County, Minnesota Department of
Transportation and Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) staff to review the budget
allocation and steps required to get started on the TLC grant for Douglas Drive. In previous
discussions related to franchise fees, the Council indicated that it would consider a
franchise fee if it is dedicated to a specific project.
Staff is recommending that franchise fees be considered to fund the City portion of the
Douglas Drive project, which is estimated to be approximately $10 million. Tom Burt
distributed a debt service schedule demonstrating the financing of a $10 million project
with proposed Xcel franchise fees based on rates previously discussed by the Council.
Staff noted that special assessments and utility funds are other possible funding sources
for this project, since the City's portion of construction costs includes water, storm and
sanitary sewer work, and the project will benefit adjacent property owners.
Hennepin County has included acquisition for this project in its 2015 Capital Improvement
Project (CIP) and anticipates including the construction of the project in its 2016 CIP. Tom
Burt indicated that it would be prudent for the City to initiate franchise fees earlier to
develop a reserve to pay for the project. Jeannine Clancy noted that the grant project will
help the City and County better define costs, but will also require the expenditure of some
local funds. The Council discussed setting a sunset on the franchise fee or limiting it in
other ways. Tom Burt suggested this discussion could occur during the formal
consideration of the franchise fee. The Council directed staff to initiate the consideration of
a franchise fee on Xcel Energy service.
Council/Manager Meeting Minutes
May 11,2010 - Page 2
2010/2011 Building Maintenance Projects
Jeannine Clancy reported that staff has used the facility maintenance report completed in
2006 as the basis for ongoing repair, maintenance and upgrades to City buildings. Based
on direction from the City Manager, the focus has been on sealing the envelope of
buildings to stop further deterioration. The 2010 projects will focus on life safety issues
such as railings, glass, electrical and fire systems. Work on security also needs to occur.
Bids for this year's projects will be presented to the Council soon, including a lighting
efficiency project which received grant funding.
The Council asked if the facility report budget has proved adequate over time and Ms.
Clancy indicated that expenditures have generally been within proposed estimates. The
Council recommended looking at green and white roofs and delaying, if possible, large
expenditures at the Brookview Community Center.
Structure of City Advisory Boards and Commissions
The Council identified this topic at its February Workshop and requested that staff place it
on a future agenda for discussion. Staff outlined the Commissions that are required by
statute and those that the Council has established over time to advise the Council.
The Council discussed the nature of advisory commissions and the requirements they must
meet such as quorums and open meeting laws. Staff -noted that the Guidelines for Advisory
Commissions, Committees, Boards and Councils must be updated and the staff can
incorporate any changes to Boards and Commissions recommended by the Council. The
Council discussed options such as combining the Planning Commission and Board of
Zoning Appeals, reorganizing the Environmental Commission to combine it with the
Planning and/or Open Space and Recreation Commission or considering sunsets or more
specific charges for various boards and commissions. Further discussion ensued on the
type of activities undertaken by the Human Rights Commission and Environmental
Commission and if these topics could also be accomplished through a task force or bridge
builder model. At the end of the discussion the Council had no suggested changes to the
structure of its boards and commissions, but asked staff to update the Guidelines and hold
timely orientations for new members.
Sanitary Sewer Service Repair - 6458 Westchester Circle
Staff added this topic to the agenda and distributed an Executive Summary. Tom Burt
outlined discussions which have recently occurred with Clay Ohlemann of 6458
Westchester Circle. Mr. Ohlemann experienced problems with his sanitary sewer in 2003,
which resulted in a payment to him for the installation of a sanitary sewer c1eanout. At that
time, City staff also identified an additional defect in the line under the street. City staff
asked him to delay correcting this defect until the Pavement Management Program
occurred in his neighborhood because this work would affect the curb, and indicated that
the City would do this work as part of the PMP project. In 2006 the City changed its sanitary
sewer ordinance to clearly provide that the City will only maintain sanitary sewer mains.
Homeowners are responsible for the entire sanitary sewer service from the main to home,
which the City previously did under a practice that was inconsistent with the City Code.
Council/Manager Meeting Minutes
May 11, 2010 - Page 3
The Council discussed whether to direct staff to work with Mr. Ohlemann on his sewer
problem in keeping with discussions that occurred in 2003, or follow the ordinance, which
states that such work would be his responsibility. After much discussion, the Council
suggested that staff work on a compromise that would correct the hole in the pipe near to
the cleanout but would require Mr. Ohlemann to pay for any additional work needed to bring
the pipe into compliance. They asked staff to negotiate a written agreement outlining the
settlement terms with Mr. Ohlemann.
Golden Valley Country Club - Maintenance of Property along Pennsylvania and
Plymouth Avenues
Council Member Scanlon added this topic to the agenda and reported that she had
received complaints about the level of maintenance of property owned by the Golden Valley
Country Club adjacent to Pennsylvania and Plymouth Avenues.
Staff noted that a letter on this issue was sent from AI Lundstrom to the grounds
superintendent. Staff has not received a response to this letter. The Council requested
Mayor Loomis to prepare a letter to the President of the Country Club Board of Directors
putting forth the City's concerns regarding property maintenance.
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.
Jeanne Andre
Assistant City Manager