Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-08-2021 City Council Special Work Session Minutes SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula Councilmembers John Murzyn, Jr. Connie Buesgens Nick Novitsky Kt Jacobs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois Public Safety Bldg—Training Room, 825 41st Ave NE Thursday, July 08, 2021 3:00 PM MINUTES CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Márquez Simula called the work session to order at 7:00 pm. Present: Mayor Márquez Simula, Councilmembers Buesgens, Jacobs, Murzyn, Jr., and Novitsky Also Present: Lenny Austin, Police Chief; Kelli Bourgeois, City Manager; Aaron Chirpich, Community Development Director; Jessica Dowell, SACA Board Member; Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Minerva Hark, City Planner; Ben Harris, SACA Board Member; Jim Hauth, Utilities Superintendent; David O'Donnell, Fox Advancement; Dave Rudolph, SACA Co-Director; Erika Schwichtenberg, Fox Advancement; Sue Sjoselius, SACA Board Vice Chair; Steve Smith, SACA Board Chair; Nicole Tingley, City Clerk WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. SACA Relocation SACA Co-Director Rudolph gave a presentation on the SACA New Community Food Site. He covered the following topics:  Community Assessment Highlights  Stakeholder Quotes  SACA’s client by City o 49% of clients are Columbia Heights Residents  Overview of new location site and plans o Site is 1/3 warehouse, 1/3 thrift store and food area, 1/3 office space o New facility is 11,500 square feet  Costs (Uses) and Funding (Sources)  Community Engagement methods regarding new facility o Microsite, Virtual Events, Presence at City/Community Events, Door Knocking  Proposed Design/Build Timeline o August 2021- Design 100% Schematic, Fall 2021- Permitting, March 2022- Construction, October 2022- Grand Opening There was clarification regarding the microsite. It was explained that it would be a part of the SACA’s current website and not its own separate website, but people could be directed to it with a separate URL. SACA Board Member Harris explained that uses would include community engagement and RFPs. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 08, 2021 Special City Council Work Session Page 2 Mayor Márquez Simula asked how SACA was coming up with the questions for a survey and if there would be questions about other topics besides the new building including the uses of SACA or the hours. She inquired about other community engagement efforts. Harris answered that the focus is on the building and the grounds and added that they have engaged regarding other types of topics. In regards to other engagement methods outside of the microsite, Harris explained that they are planning on multiple in-person opportunities such as silent voting on preferences, design charrettes, and door knocking. Councilmember Buesgens suggested multiple events that SACA could be present at for Community Engagement including the Arts Festival (September 11 at Kordiak Park), Pride Festival on October 9 at Sullivan Park, and the Multicultural Heritage Festival on September 25 at the High School gym. In response SACA Board Vice Chair Sjoselius asked the City Council to let SACA know if they had any ideas or suggestions for eng agement at the Heritage Fest. Councilmember Jacobs asked if SACA knew why Columbia Heights residents use SACA the most and how they market to other communities. Sjoselius stated that one possible reason is that the current facility is harder to find and a bit tucked away. Rudolph stated that methods include word of mouth, Anoka County, and their online presence. He added that they do not have an active marketing program, but would like to have a marketing employee for the new building. Jacobs inquired if SACA would rent space to other entities that SACA refers their clients to. Harris explained that staff members of SACA could provide referrals to a different organization in a different building. He stated that they would be reimbursed by the county based on amount of interaction with clients. In regards to other organizations having their staff on site, Harris stated it would be an opportunity to explore as they have capacity to expand physically or financially. The space needs have been focused on SACA core areas and services. Mayor Márquez Simula asked if the request for City of Columbia Heights would be $200,000 in addition to the land. Rudolph stated that this is something they are still discussing. Councilmember Buesgens asked what their plan was if they were not able to get all of the requested funding. Sjoselius explained that they would be getting a TEBQ loan which some additional typical financing. The concept would be that the loan would be drawn to potentially full cost of construction and then pay back with other sources as received. Márquez Simula suggested that in asking other municipalities for funding it should be discussed how Columbia Heights is already supporting SACA and how that has been benefiting their cities. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 08, 2021 Special City Council Work Session Page 3 2. Update on Sewer Modeling for Sanitary Sewer Collection District 1 Utilities Superintendent Hauth explained the four options for remediating the pipe restrictions/flow capacity issues in Collection District 1, west of Central along 43 rd Ave and provided cost estimates for each. The first option is pipe bursting. Hauth explained the difficulties of this option noting that the ground can heave and that there are currently buildings over the pipes. It is also the most expensive at over $4 million. This option is not recommended by staff. The second option is By-Pass Piping and Pipe Bursting. He explained how this option involved new sanitary sewer main in 44th Avenue between Jackson and Washington Street and pipe bursting from Washington Street to 2 ½ street. Hauth stated it is not recommended by staff due to the high price point of over $3 million. The third option is by-pass piping. This would involve new sanitary sewer main in 44th from Van Buren to Main Street. Hauth stated that 44 th is expected for street reconstruction for 2022-2023 and if this were to be combined with that, the relative cost of the sanitary sewer would be much lower. This is the option that staff is recommending. It is the least expensive. The fourth option is adding a new lift station and force main. In this option a new lift station could be installed near 43rd Ave and Jackson Street. It would pump into the 30-inch sanitary sewer main located in Main Street. New Sanitary sewer force main would also be installed between the lift station and Main Street. Hauth explained that this option is not recommended due to continual upkeep, maintenance, and adding operating expense. The City Council had a discussion regarding options 3 and 4. Councilmember Buesgens inquired which option of the two would provide adequate capacity into the far future. Public Works Director stated that all of the options provide a solution for existing capacity issues and future capacity taking into account the two development projects currently being proposed. Hauth added that that of the 4 options, options 3 and 4 provide the most additional capacity. Option 3 would be sufficient for the foreseeable future, but a lift station would provide flexibility in increasing capacity later on. Buesgens stated that she would be open to paying more to making sure that capacity needs are met into the far future. City Manager Bourgeois asked Hansen to explain how inflow and infiltration fits into this. Hansen stated that currently inflow and infiltration specifically foundation drains (that are connected directly to the sanitary sewer system) are causing capacity issues during high rain events. He stated that the staff has brought the idea of a foundation drain disconnect program to the council in the past. The issue is that there is not a clear funding program and costs get passed on to the homeowner. Buesgens mentioned the idea of using the extra funds between option 4 and option 3 to have a city grant program to disconnect City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 08, 2021 Special City Council Work Session Page 4 foundation drains. Councilmember Murzyn, Jr. stated the City could pay for part similar to the sump pump disconnection program. The City Council had a discussion regarding how much additional capacity the new system would provide. Hansen stated that the amount of rainfall that it could handle is unknown as there is not rainfall data, but the peaking factors used to develop the possible solutions were high. Councilmember Jacobs inquired about the amount of dense housing (additional units) that the new system could handle. Hansen stated it depends on what future development is. He stated that it has the capacity to handle additional excess units, but he would have to look back to provide a number. Hansen stated that Public Works staff believes that option 3 provides the best long term solution without the extra maintenance and operational costs. He added that the project is fully eligible to be funded by TIF funding, but that fixes to private lines are not eligible. Buesgens asked about televising work that the department has done on private lines. Hansen stated that they have completed some televising and are still working through the data. Hauth stated he could provide the City Council with more information in the future. It was clarified it was only a small part of the City. Buesgens asked about the life of new main and relined main. It was stated new mains have a life expectancy of 80-100 years and relined add an additional 30-50 years of usage. Hauth stated that it would be a better solution to use gravity (option 3) and increase the size of the pipe if capacity is a concern. Increasing the size of the pipe is small compared to the cost of the excavation and installation. Hansen stated it is not an immediate project and that they could look into a larger pipe, but would have to wo rk with Metropolitan Council to make sure their pipe has capacity. Hansen stated this would be on the next City Council meeting only for acceptance. 3. September Work Session Date City Manager Bourgeois asked the City Council if Tuesday, September 7 (the day after Labor Day) worked for having the September Work Session. All Councilmembers stated that it did. It was noted that also scheduled for Tuesday, September 7 th is the EDA meeting at 6 pm and the Planning Commission meeting at 6 pm and that is a conflict. Bourgeois stated that if determined both meetings are occurring, the times will have to be reassessed. One possibility is having the EDA meeting in the afternoon. 4. Park Use Councilmember Buesgens shared her concerns regarding the use of park facilities. She noted instances of fireworks in parking lots, pavilions trashed, and fireworks debris on the splash pad. She asked if there are any ways this can be controlled. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 08, 2021 Special City Council Work Session Page 5 Police Chief Austin stated that there should be caution in using citations to solve these issues. He also stated that he and other city staff members are working on information to present to the City Council to improve these situations including lighti ng ideas and other suggestions. City Manager Bourgeois told the City Council to share any ideas or concerns regarding these issues with her in advance of the meeting so staff can analyze them. Bourgeois stated that the Park and Recreation Commission had a discussion about park and Murzyn Hall use changes at their last meeting. Additionally, she noted that currently that there is an item on the draft City Council agenda for the July 12th meeting that includes changing the fee for nonresidential park rentals. She recommended removing that item for the final agenda. This is so the City Council can have a further discussion at the August Work Session. The City Council agreed. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Márquez Simula adjourned the Work Session at 4:16 pm. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________________ Nicole Tingley, City Clerk/Council Secretary