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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-07-2022 City Council Work Session Minutes�o�J�alA rtF�o` 921 100 70 -YEAR5- MESOt ' CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Public Safety Bldg —Training Room, 825 41st Ave NE Monday, March 07, 2022 7:00 PM MINUTES Mayor Amada Marquez Simula Councilmembers John Murzyn, Jr. Connie Buesgens Nick Novitsky Kt Jacobs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois The following are the minutes for the City Council Work Session held at 7:00 pm on Monday, March 7, 2022, at the Public Safety Building, Training Room, 825 41st Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hybrid meeting was held both virtually and in -person. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Marquez Simula called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm. Present: Mayor Marquez Simula (via Zoom); Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember Murzyn Jr. Councilmember Novitsky. Also Present: Lenny Austin, Chief of Police; Kelli Bourgeois, City Manager; Aaron Chirpich, Community Development Director, Jesse Hauf, IT Director; Minerva Hark, City Planner; Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary; Dan O'Brien, Assistant Fire Chief; Ben Sandell, Communications Coordinator; Charlie Thompson, Fire Chief. WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. Fiber Connection Project. City Manager Bourgeois introduced IT Director Jesse Hauf and the needs regarding the fiber connection project. There are several issues to resolve regarding connectivity and the new City Hall project. Arvig is a Telecommunications Company, based in MN. Arvig has already contracted with Alatus to provide internet services to the apartment buildings above City Hall. Generally, the city needs a second ISP connection. There are restrictions with the current capabilities for growth. Bandwidth constraints are related to conferencing and collaboration, police video, public access computers, cloud services, VPN, future cloud services. The city has enrolled in E-Rate: Public federally funded internet connection for Public Schools and Libraries. Columbia Heights qualifies for 80% reduction in costs. Director Hauf gave an overview of the Arvig E-Rate pricing. This pricing aligns with the City's mission and strategic planning. Fiber will be brought in July. Fiber connections: Murzyn Hall, Public Works, Library and New City Hall. There are grants and state funds that are available and we are able to start the project prior to the grant money being fully received. Director Hauf recommends granting the contract for this work to Arvig. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 2 Councilmember Murzyn Inquired as to who will puling the cable line. Director Hauf stated that Arvig will be completing the tasks related to this. Public Works will do the locates. Councilmember Buesgens stated that this plan looks great. Councilmember Novitsky stated that this looks like a good plan, and he is happy they are being proactive. City Manager Bourgeois stated that this item will be on the Consent Agenda at the upcoming Council Meeting. Director Hauf also discussed the current Comcast connection for each of the Liquor Stores. He bid out a proposal to connect the liquor stores and eliminate the dependency on Comcast and create a redundant connection. There will be a fiber connection at all sides of the city. This project is also grant eligible, and it is his recommendation that we move forward with the project. Councilmember Jacobs stated that it makes sense to have everything on the same system. She was felt that it would accommodate future growth. Councilmember Novitsky stated that this would be an improvement for consistency and efficiency with credit card processing. This will allow a better experience for our customers. He likes taking the reliance away from Comcast. 2. Targeted Picketing Ordinance. Police Chief Austin lead the discussion related to a proposed addition to the City Code to address concerns with Targeted Picketing. Chief Austin stated that compared to when he started in 1995 things have changed, and so have the needs of the community. Previously this would not have been something that would have been considered or needed. There has been an increase in pressure and harassment of elected officials and leaders in the community (school board officials, etc.). Chief Austin included in the packet the Ordinance that was recently passed by the City of Champlin. He chose the example from Champlin because it was drafted by Staff at Barna, Guzy and Steffen Law Office. This is a very specific ordinance for specific situations. The language in the Ordinance has the protection of First Amendment rights in mind and is specific to targeted picketing. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she feels that this is a great idea and that we have not had this issue previously in this community. She has concerns about keeping neighbors and community safe. People protesting can be in public spaces and public building but in front of a home is a concern. Councilmember Murzyn stated that he went thru the ordinance, and it looks good to him. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 3 Councilmember Jacobs stated that she supports the ordinance and feels that it is necessary. Councilmember Novitsky supports the ordinance as well. Mayor Marquez Simula stated that she and Chief Austin had discussed concerns related to First Amendment rights. Currently if this were to happen the Police Department would be limited in how to address the issue. Currently their hands are tied in how to disperse people. She wanted to know how this would assist the department in addressing the issue. Chief Austin stated that currently we are limited in our actions to address a gathering directed at a residence. There would need to be a heightened level of activity, and this ordinance would give us more options with dealing with these concerns. In talking with other Chiefs this is something that we want to get out in front of so that we have the ability to take action. Mayor Marquez Simula stated that there would need to be targeted residential picketing for this ordinance to be applicable. Chief Austin read the language in Champlin Ordinance. It is very specific, because there can not be a broad definition because we do not want to infringe on individual rights. Councilmember Jacobs clarified that the ordinance does not require the targeted property to file the complaint. Neighboring properties can report the concern. She has previously reached out to her neighbors and asked for harassing behavior to be reported if it was ever a concern. Chief Austin stated that the picketing has to be occurring without that person's consent. City Manager Bourgeois stated that neighbors can call the complaint in to the police department, but the Police Department would need to confirm who is being impacted. Chief Austin stated that he will work with the City Attorney to draft the language for the ordinance. The first reading of the Ordinance will likely be at the March 28, 2022, City Council Meeting. 3. Public Safety Fencing Update. Chief Austin presented a brief update on what Captain Johnston has been working on related to upgrading the fencing at Public Safety. The authorization to seek bids will be brought to Council at the March 14, 2022, City Council meeting. City Manager Bourgeois stated that after the approval to seek bids we should have more information by April on moving forward with the project. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 4 4. Time of Sale City Manager Bourgeois stated that Building Official Ryan Smith is on vacation so Community Development Director Aaron Chirpich will give some information on Time of Sale (TOS) concerns related to single family homes. Director Chirpich stated that municipalities in Minnesota are authorized to create inspections programs for single family homes before the home is sold. These programs can be referred to as Time of Sale, Point of Sale, or Truth in Housing. Inspection criteria can be determined by the city, and inspections are an overview of the property and does not call out minor issues. The TOS (Time of Sale) program would be directly related to concerns that are eminent hazards. Director Chirpich reviewed some photos of what are considered eminent hazards and actual concerns that the Building Official have found here in Columbia Heights. Councilmember Buesgens inquired as to what the steps would be with the inspections and the items that need to be corrected. Director Chirpich stated that the sale could be completed, but there would be concerns between the buyer and the seller. The degree of hazard would dictate how the issue is corrected. If there was an escrow component, then it would be handled with the mortgage company. There could be a contract or legal obligation to complete the improvements. Director Chirpich stated that an all -encompassing route for inspections could be a better option for implement this program. This would catch the unlicensed contractors and flippers. It provides for and increases the level of security for people purchasing properties. Currently there are a lot of people being forced to forgo inspections because of the pressure in the housing market. Director Chirpich also addressed the staffing component of a Time of Sale Program. These inspections would be carried out by a city employed inspector or a contractor. Director Chirpich would recommend that inspections are completed by a member of city staff, and we would need to hire an additional staff member. This staff member would hold a limited building official license and would be an assistant to the Building Official and partner with the City Planner. This additional staff member would potentially allow the city to maintain additional information as far as business property inspections and increase the capacity of the program. The Time of Sale program could generate $50,000 in fees and would need general fund support to fund the program. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she remembers a previous Fire Chief talking about rental properties being in better shape than owner occupied properties. She also stated that she just found out today, there were many realtors that protested the previous efforts to move this program forward. Overall Council needs to know who is coming forward with concerns. She would encourage Aaron to bring the photos he used this evening to show as part of the presentation if this moves forward. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 5 Councilmember Jacobs recalls information from the late 90's and there were residents that were against Time of Sale programs. She stated that she is absolutely against this program. When you buy a home, you have a responsibility to yourself. She is more open to first time home buyer classes. Many of these things are redundant and a potential buyer is entering into a contract. She feels that there is a liability if the City gets involved in this process. She cannot fathom a buyer not getting an inspection. She feels that as a city we are already pressed with the rental licensing component and would rather see additional staff geared toward the rental licensing situation. She might be ok with mandating that a buyer completes an inspection. She does not feel that this is the City's responsibility. There needs to be personal accountability for the things people are buying and owning. Councilmember Novitsky is against mandating this by the city and that buyers should not waive rights to an inspection. He does not want this to be mandated. Councilmember Murzyn has mixed feelings. He wants to know the liability involved if there is something missed on the inspection, and to fully understand how we pay for this position. He would also want to know what happens to catch the cash sales. There are a lot of homes in Columbia Heights that are sold for cash. Director Chirpich stated that he wants to follow up with the City Attorney and City Manager regarding the liability for the City after an inspection. City Manager Bourgeois stated that we have protection civilly. There is more liability for fall out against the city for not finding a concern during the inspection. The city is protected from liability if we are acting on good faith. Councilmember Buesgens reiterated that she supports the program. This is a way to support the safety of the homeowner occupied homes. This improves our housing stock and exposes issues that can be caught prior to purchase. Mayor Marquez Simula inquired as to whose responsibility it is to report the property would need to have an inspection? She does not feel like this is an over regulation, and the added level of government is not a burden but a positive thing for our residents. She sees how this program would be beneficial to City and County tax base. Landlords having the ability to buy properties, waive inspections or illegally rent it (and are waiting to get caught). She would like there to be an equal playing field for homebuyers. Director Chirpich stated that the current market does not always allow for an inspection. There is an argument that this is not a personal responsibility because to be competitive often an inspection needs to be waived. This piece could flatten, and we do not know if/when it will. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she knows the Mayor has had a direct experience with this concerns and that Frost has brought up this issue in the past. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 6 Council Murzyn would also want to know what happens to catch the cash sales. There are a lot of homes in Columbia Heights that are sold for cash. City Manager Bourgeois stated cash sales do need to be registered at the County. It would be caught after the fact, and we can go back to a buyer and begin the process of an inspection. If the mandate for inspection comes from the ordinance level, then it creates an added layer of government. One way to handle this, is that there is a city ordinance that an inspection must happen. The other end of the spectrum is that the inspection needs to be completed by the city. Mayor Marquez Simula inquired if there is an impetus as to why this topic was brought up. She knows that Councilmember Jacobs is a landlord and that shades her experience in the situation as well. Even though she has a personal experience, she does not have a conflict of interest. Director Chirpich felt that this was an important topic at this time, and the matter was amplified by the corporate landlord issue Councilmember Novitsky feels that cities have discontinued these programs. He does not believe that there are other cities looking to implement programs like this. City Planner Hark stated that if we had this back when other cities were reviewing this or implementing this, we likely would not be having the issue that we are having now. Some other communities are not seeing a need for this. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she is concerned with the additional level of government. She would be open to having an ordinance for buyers to complete an inspection that is not completed by the City. Director Chirpich stated that there would still be staff time to confirm compliance with the ordinance. Councilmember Buesgens confirmed with Director Chirpich that the Relator would be who confirms that the inspection occurs, and there would be outreach to convey information. Councilmember Novitsky does not understand if this is important why is it not being taken up at a state level. He feels that we do not want to increase taxes to pay for this initiative, and that we are making many small steps to get our properties to a better standard. Councilmember Jacobs inquired as to how many homes have had violations after the fact, and feels that we are acting on blind faith if this is even an issue. Director Chirpich stated that in the absence of a Time of Sale Program we have no way to know what is going on with the owner -occupied properties. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 7 Mayor Marquez Simula liked Councilmember Murzyn's idea and would like to see that further explored related to the city not completing the inspection. She does feel that a staffed position would also be money well spent. Director Chirpich gave a full breakdown of what would be needed to fulfill a staffed position to accomplish this Time of Sale Program, and what other responsibilities they would be able to assist with. Councilmember Jacobs was not in support of funding this position. Councilmember Novitsky was concerns about what happens for funding to the position if there is a decrease in home sales. 5. Rental Licensing. City Planner Hark began the presentation related to the regulation of rental density for single family homes. There is a concern related to non -owner -occupied single-family homes and how this impacts the housing stock. Overall, we want to understand our true housing stock. There will need to be counts on lots, rental density maps reviewed, and a focus on maintaining the maps to make them more transparent and easier to use. If we were to move forward with regulating rental density, there would need to be a notification of current license holder related to non -conformity issues when transfer or sale of the property occurs. We would also need to create a city website related to the new ordinance with transparency of what is occurring and how it is occurring. Councilmember Murzyn would like to make sure there are exceptions built in for rental licenses related to military service, and deployments being extended. Councilmember Jacobs was curious about how double lots impact the regulation. City Planner Hark felt that this would not be a huge impact. City Planner addressed Councilmember Novitsky concerns related to sober homes. Some of the sober living homes have rental licenses if the owner of the property is not running the home. Overall duplex's are not something that we can regulate the number of rental licenses, as they are purely rental in nature. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she is very excited about this and has been trying to work towards this as a goal for a couple of years. She is excited but has concerns. Most important, this discussion is about licensed rentals. There are a substantial number of unlicensed rentals, and we need to be very aware of this. She would like to see Duplex's grandfathered into the program. She wants these factored in vs. an apartment building. She would like to see when a property is sold, that the license is not automatically renewed. She would like to see no exemption for properties transferred to another family member. She would also like to see the license fee increased. She wants to make sure we City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 8 capture unlicensed rentals. She would like to see updates regarding property owners renting a room at their property. She wants to make sure there are ample parking spots at all rental properties. She would like to see a tiered process for licensing fees and would rather see a point system that is less complicated. City Planner Hark indicated that the purpose of this ordinance would not be to regulate anything other than single family rental property. The concern is that it takes the equity from the ordinance when we are counting duplex's and fourplex's instead of just single- family homes. City Manager Bourgeois stated that we cannot change the legislative property rights that duplex owners have. What West St. Paul and Anoka have done has established that this is the correct process regarding property rights. Assistant Fire Chief O'Brien stated that as soon as we are treating one block of all duplex's different from single family homes it will create disparate opportunities for access regarding rental licenses. Councilmember Murzyn likes what has been brought up by Planner Hark. He would not like to see properties grandfathered in once the property has a change of ownership. He would like to see sober houses considered under the same thing as a rental property. Councilmember Buesgens likes the program and would like us to look like West St. Paul. She would like to see two years and then Landlord is timed out / not grandfathered in as a legally non -conforming property. She would like to see if the owner sells the house, they lose the right to rent. She would also like to narrow down the language related to having a license revoked. City Planner Hark called attention to the heat map that was included in the packet to address concerns related to mixed incomes and how many rental properties are in an area. If they allow a license to lapse that would lead to revocation. Councilmember Jacobs inquired about a grace period for landlords. City Planner Hark stated that once the ordinance is passed it would go into effect immediately as our rental licensing occurs on a rolling basis. Assistant Fire Chief Dan O'Brien reviewed information on an Incentive -Based Licensing Fee structure. This is a system by which the city uses criteria gathered from several sources to evaluate the condition and management of the property. Using a calculation, the properties are placed into tiers, which then determine the frequency of their inspections and their licensing fee. The system is based on the concept of rewarding well -managed and maintained properties with less frequent inspections and cheaper license fees because, overall, they consume fewer city services. In this system, a "tier 1" property generally requires little city intervention and is well maintained while a "tier 3" rental property is City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 9 considered to consume excessive city services and is often poorly maintained. The city of Minneapolis uses a system like this. While complex, their system appears to be a fair and reasonably designed system. Using two calculated elements, the Property Conditions and the Property Management score, the incentive- based tier system generates a fee for each score, which is then added together to determine the licensing fee. The scores are dynamic so a rental license fee can differ from year to year based on the conditions/scores at the time of licensing. This can incentivize a property owner to improve their property's tier to obtain a less expensive license and have fewer inspections. Councilmember Buesgens clarified with Fire Chief O'Brien that the management score would be a universal score, but the property score would be per home / building. She also stated that she has concerns related to the point structure. She would like to see this tightened up. She wants to raise our expectations with landlords who want to do business in our city. They are a business, and their job is to take care of properties. Councilmember Murzyn is glad that we have a new regime working to improve this issue. We need to move forward and let them do the work. Councilmember Jacobs believes the point system needs better clarification, and to be less complicated. Rental properties are a business, and they need to comply. She feels that overall, what has been presented is a huge improvement over the past several years. We may need more help to get more done. We do not allow other businesses to operate with these loose standards. We need to be done playing nice guy. We want to reward proactive landlords and target the inactive landlords and increase fees for them. Councilmember Buesgens stated that because we value homeownership in the city, we want to slow down the transition from single family rental to corporate landlords by increasing the fees. She would like to see an increase in the fees for a conversion of a home to a rental property. Overall, she wants to make sure that the landlord has the finances to fix a roof or purchase a furnace. Assistant Fire Chief O'Brien would like to implement this program after the department reviews violations / revocations. There are two sides to the coin. What has been presented tonight is just a proposal. The good landlords will not see a change in their fees. Mayor Marquez Simula asked if we have enough information to move ahead. Councilmember Murzyn would like to give Dan the go ahead to move ahead for the next session. Councilmember Buesgens confirmed at the next meeting Assistant Fire Chief O'Brien would bring additional data. Councilmember Novitsky confirmed that he would like to see the tiers of fees stay where they are for good landlords and increases for the other tiers. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 10 City Manager Bourgeois confirmed how Council would like to move forward related to Time of Sale and Fee Structures. Mayor Marquez Simula confirmed that three members of Council were open to conversations related to an ordinance regulating Time of Sale. Assistant Fire Chief Obrien would like to review standards related to Property Maintenance Code. This information was last reviewed in 2011. He would also like to address concerns related to tenant support information, at this time the information included in the packet is just for discussion of council. Mayor Marquez Simula would like one specific meeting related to the subject of Tenants Rights as it is a deep subject. We need to give Dan more time to investigate and capture the information we discussed. Assistant Fire Chief O'Brien gave a brief update regarding the Havenbrook Properties. They have not submitted the needed paperwork to have the item on the next City Council Agenda. Inspections have been completed, and building official has submitted information. City Manager Bourgeois stated that if the paperwork is not completed, we need to post the properties as illegal to occupy. Councilmember Buesgens would like different notice related to license to revoke vs. eviction notice. Confirmed that this could be posted in the next few days. City Manager Bourgeois stated that she would follow up with the City Attorney regarding that question. She confirmed Councilmembers comment that Council is not allowed to comment related to Havenbrook. She stated that this is not what anyone wants but it is the current position that we are in. Fire Chief O'Brien stated that he has spoken with Shelly Jensen with Adjudicare and they are moving forward with their tenant remedies action. Fire Chief O'Brien stated that he is working with the County on a warrant related to the 4959 5t" Street property. The landlord is also working to evict the tenants. Councilmember Jacobs inquired what the process would be related to Havenbrook evictions if the landlord moved forward with that process. Fire Chief O'Brien stated that we would need to follow up with the City Attorney regarding this topic. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 11 S. Community Survey Status Update. Communications Coordinator Ben Sandell discussed with Council that the Survey is completed. The data needs to be further analyzed and a presentation will be given at the March 28, 2022, City Council meeting by Morris Leatherman. The separate city website survey has collected approximately 200 responses and will be available until March 11 for residents to complete. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she was disappointed that there is not a lot of participation in the online survey. She was hoping that there would be at least 1,000. 6. Legislative Redistricting Information: Updates to Precinct 2 and 7. City Clerk Ion presented information related to the new legislative district boundaries. The City of Columbia Heights will now be split into two different House Districts: 39A and 39B. The city must pass a resolution to update Precinct 7 so it is no longer split by the legislative boundary for ballot consistency. Per the Redistricting Panel Precincts 1 through 6 will be in House District 39B, and Precincts 7 through 8 will be in House District 39A. A six -block portion that was once in Precinct 7 (the area below the City of Hilltop, between 45th Avenue NE / 44th Avenue NE from Washington Street to Central Avenue) will need to be reassigned to Precinct 2 to maintain ballot consistency for House District 39A and 39B. This adjustment will impact approximately 360 voters. Council confirmed that they were in favor of these changes and that the resolution to update the precincts will be included on the March 14, 2022, City Council Consent Agenda and GIS maps will be sent to Anoka County and MN Secretary of State. Mayor Marquez Simula confirmed that this resolution will be on the consent agenda at the upcoming meeting. 6. Confirmed Date for 2022 Local Board of Appeal & Equalization Meeting: April 11, 2022. City Clerk Ion confirmed that the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (LBAE) Meeting will be held prior to the April 11, 2022, City Council Meeting at 6:00 pm. Mayor Marquez Simula, Councilmember Buesgens and Councilmember Jacobs all confirmed that they will be in attendance. Councilmember Novitsky thanked the trained members of Council. 7. Confirm Dates for Board and Commission Interviews. City Clerks Ion confirmed with the Council that Board and Commission Interviews could be held on March 22nd and March 23,d starting at 4:30 pm. There are 16 total applications, 15 interviews needed, with 20-minute time slots for candidates. Council received redacted packets containing the applications and confirmed that two dates for interviews was preferable. There was consensus to hold the interviews in Council Chambers. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES March 07, 2022 City Council Work Session Page 12 8. Noncompliance Notice City Manager Kelli Bourgeois notified the Council that based on the Judge's Order for Summary Judgement there will be a notice of noncompliance sent to Jeff's Bobby and Steve's in the near future restricting their actions on the impound lot. She anticipates that there will be contact from Bobby and Steve's related to the issue. She anticipates that they will file a temporary restraining order. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Marquez Simula adjourned the meeting at 10:30 pm. Respectfully Submitted, — ;�JL Sara Ion, City Clerk