Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-04-2020 City Council Work Session MinutesMeeting of: COLUMBIA HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL Date of Meeting: May 4, 2020 Time of Meeting: 7 pm Location of Meeting: Council Chambers Purpose of Meeting: Work Session CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL - The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm Present: Mayor Schmitt, Councilmembers Murzyn Jr, Novitsky, Williams, and Buesgens Staff Present: Kelli Bourgeois-City Manager, Aaron Chirpich- Community Development Director, Kevin Hansen- Public Works Director, Lenny Austin-Police Chief, Charlie Thompson- Fire Chief, Keith Windschitl- Recreation Director, Joe Kloiber- Finance Director, Ben Sandell- Communications Coordinator, Will Rottler- Communications & Events Specialist, Nicole Tingley- City Clerk. 1. Reuter Walton Site Concept Community Development Director Aaron Chirpich provided an overview of a concept of an apartment complex behind the public safety building. The concept included 58 apartments with space for a 12,000 square foot facility for SACA (Southern Anoka Community Assistance). The apartments would have a combined average of 60% AMI and would include a combination of 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments. Furthermore, parking would include an underground parking garage for the apartments, and a shared surface parking lot for the apartments and SACA. Chirpich explained that Reuter Walton is seeking to apply for low income housing tax credits with an application deadline of July 2020 and that some level of city support is needed to submit the application. Chirpich asked the City Council for direction to Reuter Walton on whether to submit an application for this project in 2020. Mayor Schmitt commented that she liked the concept of having low-income housing and SACA next to one another. She shared that her concerns for the concept are over half of the units are three bedrooms as well as there not being adequate space for children to play. Kyle Brasser, Developer with Reuter Walton was present to address questions and concerns. Brasser commented that Reuter Walton is still working on trying to reduce the foot print of the building to provide more play area on site. He noted reducing the footprint would likely result in more 2 bedroom units than 3 bedroom units. The City Council discussed parking on the site. Councilmembers Murzyn, Buesgens, and Novitsky shared concerns about fees associated with the underground parking. Grand Central Lofts was cited as an example as they have underground parking for a fee that is underutilized because residents do not want to pay for it. This has caused parking issues on nearby streets as the free surface lot cannot handle the demand. Parking on the streets overnight in the winter is not allowed causing further issues. Including the parking fees in the rent was brought up as a possible solution. It was clarified that parking fees cannot be included in the rent due to how financing works at the state level for low income housing tax credits. Councilmembers expressed that having space included for SACA on the site was very important. City Council Work Session May 4, 2020 Page 2 of 6 Additionally, reduction in the land sale price was discussed as an option to help make parking free. Brasser stated the land would not cover the parking costs at an estimated $3 million. Councilmember Buesgens commented that even without free parking she was in favor of the project noting that more enforcement would be needed. She noted success in enforcement at Grand Central Lofts. Councilmembers Novitsky and Murzyn, Jr. expressed further concern with fees for underground parking as apartment residents would park on streets with other houses on them and residents would not be happy. The City Council provided direction to Reuter Walton to not move forward with putting in an application as Councilmembers Novitsky, Murzyn, Jr. and Mayor Schmitt were not in support without a resolution for providing all free parking. 2. Utility Billing Correction 1070 Grandview Court Finance Director Kloiber stated that there has been $2,000 underpayment error each quarter for utility billing at Grand Central Lofts since the building was constructed. Kloiber stated that the building was set-up to be temporarily commercial while under construction and should have been switched to residential. The building should have 67 flat fees for water instead of one. The increase would be around $10 monthly increase per unit. Kloiber state that in past billing errors charges have not been waived and worked out to favor the customer, but there has not been an error this size before. He noted that the statute of limitations for recouping charges is 6 years which would be equal to approximately $40,000. Kloiber noted that he could not think of a situation in which it would have been the responsibility of the building owner to notify us to make the switch. Councilmember Novitsky stated that the City should just move forward implementing the correct charges. Councilmember Buesgens commented that the City should try and recoup some of the costs and spread it out. Mayor Schmitt commented that it would not be fair to the people that live there now and asked for City staff opinions. City Manager Bourgeois stated that since they are condo units she would recommend just moving forward because it is expected that utilities are paid to date when transferring ownership. The Council provided direction to move forward implementing the correct charges with the next billing cycle. Kloiber stated he would send a letter to notify the owner this week. 3. General Discussion of Pandemic Effects on 2020 Budget Results Finance Director Kloiber stated that the parts of the budget that are most directly impacted are liquor, permits and licensing, Murzyn Hall/park rentals, and program fees. Kloiber provided more details on each item. Liquor Stores: All three stores were closed for two weeks in March. Store 1 opened in April with limited occupancy and hours. Store 2 opened May 4th under same circumstances as Store 1. It is not anticipated Store 3 will open in a capacity beyond curbside. With curbside, Store 3 could complete City Council Work Session May 4, 2020 Page 3 of 6 remodeling inside. For Store 1 and Store 2, overhead is $3,000 per week which was a loss during closure. Store 3 has less overhead and broke even during closure in March. Kloiber stated that one likely recommendation that will come to the City Council will be to cancel the internal 2020 contribution from Liquor to the Infrastructure fund ($50,000) and General Fund ($10,000). At this point it is estimated that that will be sufficient to offset the decline in operations for 2020. Building Permits: Kloiber commented that building permits are always a volatile item. In the long run will be in the same position, but work may be delayed. This may cause tighter cash flow in the meantime. Murzyn Hall and Park Rental: Typically this provides a little over $100,000 to the general fund each year. The General fund can handle the lower amount of usage as it had a $1,000,000 surplus for 2019. Program Fees: There should not be a significant impact because fee revenues are usually offset by the expense for the activity. The may be a slight net decline. Kloiber added that we may see great delinquency in utility bill payments, but have not seen that yet. Councilmember Buesgens asked how the Liquor Stores are doing. Kloiber stated that the store has had fewer visits, but the size of the purchase per visit has increased. Councilmembers Buesgens and Novitsky commented that they have heard good feedback on the new liquor store operations. Mayor Schmitt asked about LGA (Local Government Aid) for 2020. Kloiber stated there has not been any updates, but it is pretty certain that we will receive it as allocated as there is only one historical example of not. 4. Park Use and Programming and Other City Programs for the Season City Manager Bourgeois stated that City Staff is looking for guidance from the City Council on the operations/opening of park facilities, general recreation program, library programming, community events, the recycling center, Hylander Gym and the Booster Wagon. Recreation Director Windschitl stated he asked the Park & Recreation Commissioners for their thoughts. Windschitl stated that they did not think that the splash pad and wade pools should be open, but that children need recreational opportunities such as playgrounds. Windschitl shared that to this point posted signs regarding social distancing at sports courts and playgrounds, but have not blocked off or closed any park amenities. Windschitl commented that it is the goal of the Recreation Department to continue to run programming with social distancing. He noted that it is planned to start Adult Softball the week of May 18th unless the Governor prohibits it. Public Works Director Hanson noted that something we have to consider how cities around us are operating. Cities around us are closing facilities which would cause increased usage beyond our residents if we open them. City Council Work Session May 4, 2020 Page 4 of 6 The City Council discussed how to address park amenities. The City Council provided direction to close the wading pools and splash pad for the season and to put social distancing signage at all other amenities including basketball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds, and the beach. Councilmember Buesgens commented that the basketball courts should be closed as we can remove the basketball hoops. Councilmember Buesgens also commented that the social distancing signs should be in multiple languages. The City Council provided direction to be flexible with the status of the Hylander Gym. It needs to remain closed for now as established under the governor’s orders, but they should be ready to open. Windschitl updated the City Council on Murzyn Hall rentals. He stated that the Recreation department has worked with those with bookings in May to provide a refund or move their date without additional fees. They have not waived fees for rentals past May because the situation then is unknown. Next, City Manager Bourgeois asked the City Council if they were okay having the Booster Wagon at the Liquor Store. The City Council provided direction that they are okay with it and to work with the Liquor Store Manager on location and addressing other past issues. City Manager Bourgeois stated that City Staff would like to work towards opening the recycling center in a modified way. She stated that it would likely not be with Kiwanis members volunteering and maybe different hours and days. Public Work Director Hansen will reach out to the Kiwanis on their interest for helping this year. Next, Bourgeois stated that Library Director Renee Dougherty recommends doing what Anoka County and Hennepin County Libraries are doing as far as staying closed or opening. This is because staff cannot handle extra patrons if we are open and they are not. Anoka County and Hennepin County Libraries have determined that they will only be having virtual programming. The City Council agreed with the Library Director’s recommendations. The City Council discussed community activities. The City Council provided direction to cancel the city-wide garage sales and the community picnic. Recreation Director Windschitl mentioned there is a large group that plays volleyball on Friday and Saturday nights at McKenna Park and asked for any direction on that. The City Council provided guidance to sign the area similar to other park amenities. City Manager Bourgeois requested to receive direction from the City Council on how to move forward with special assessments. The City Council discussed deferring special assessments for a year so that they are not payable until 2022. It was clarified that the budget could handle the deferral of payments and that it could be set up so that residents could choose to pay now or anytime within 12 months. City staff will need to discuss whether to hold the public hearings this year or not. 5. Fairview Ramp Discussion Community Development Chirpich provided background on the lease with Fairview for the parking ramp located on Van Buren. Chirpich stated that the operations and maintenance agreement City Council Work Session May 4, 2020 Page 5 of 6 expired January 1, 2020 in which Fairview is responsible for operations and maintenance and the City reimburses them for 40%. Staff reached out to Fairview to renew the agreement in August 2019 and in October 2019 Fairview indicated that they would like to renegotiate the agreement as they do not want to be responsible for operations and maintenance of a city-owned asset. Fairview has now proposed leasing individual parking spaces and contributing to the costs of operations and maintenance. Fairview has proposed to lease 130 stalls per year at a rate of $20 per stall per month equating to $31,200 per year. This is fairly consistent with the entire historic estimated average maintenance cost per year of $36,000. Chirpich noted that the City also needs to consider capital improvements. Chirpich stated that the City contracted with Kimley Horn in 2018 to complete an assessment of the ramp and they drafted a 5 year capital improvement plan which improvements ranging in priority/need of $625,000. At that time it was assumed Fairview would pay 60% of $375,000. No agreement of that type was drafted. Fairview is currently proposed a one-time payment towards capital improvements of $91,100. The agreement is proposed for a 5-year term. Chirpich identified possible city funding sources for capital improvements including a cellular lease with T-Mobile which would generate $170,000 over the term lease until 2027 and $25,000 that the City current budgets for ramp yearly maintenance and operations. Chirpich also mentioned the possibility of renting spaces to other nearby businesses and apartments for additional revenue as the ramp is underutilized. This still needs to be vetted and explored. Chirpich asked the City Council for feedback and would recommend bringing forward Fairview’s lease proposal for approval at a future City Council meeting. Councilmember Buesgens asked how much longer will the ramp last. Hansen stated that one could expect it to last another 30-50 years. Councilmembers Buesgens and Novitsky commented that lighting improvements need to be a top priority. It was clarified that if spaces rented a management system would need to be determine whether gates or window permits. Mayor Schmitt commented that the condition and use of the ramp need to be continually monitored. The options of a fee to surrounding businesses for the parking lot and hourly fees to park there were brought up. Councilmember Buesgens suggested soliciting to see if businesses would be interested in partnering on electric charging spaces. Councilmember Buesgens also expressed that the costs of the parking ramp need be covered by means such as rent and parking fees. Chirpich stated that the agreement will be brought to a Council meeting in May. City Council Work Session May 4, 2020 Page 6 of 6 6. City Hall Schematic Design, Floorplan, and Building Elevations Public Works Director Hansen provided an overview of the schematic design, interior renderings and exterior renderings of the New City Hall to be constructed on 40th and Central. He asked the City Council for feedback on design renderings of the public spaces including the Council Chambers, lobby, and Work Session Conference Room. The City Council liked the designs shown and indicated that the preferred the lobby ceilings that included wood only above the main front desk area and council entrance without the baffles. Hansen also asked the City Council for feedback on which exterior design option they preferred- the “Portal” design or the “Funnel” design and either gray or blue for the metal paneling. Hansen noted this would be important to let the architect know soon for finalizing plans. Councilmembers expressed concern that trash and debris would get stuck in panels in the portal design. Fading of the colored paneling was also discussed. The City Council provided direction to move forward with the “Portal” design with blue paneling. 7. Board & Commission Interviews City Clerk Tingley stated that interviews for the advisory commissions scheduled for mid-March were postponed due to COVID-19 and asked the City Council for direction on how and when to conduct them. The City Council directed staff to provide applicants the option of a zoom or in- person interview in the Council Chambers with social distancing. Dates were provide of May 13-15 and May 20-22 in the afternoon. Tingley stated she would contact the 24 candidates and schedule interviews. Meeting Adjourned at 10:03 pm. Respectfully Submitted, ___________________________________ Nicole Tingley, City Clerk/Council Secretary