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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-26-2023 City Council Minutes CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula Councilmembers Connie Buesgens Kt Jacobs Rachel James Justice Spriggs Interim City Manager Kevin Hansen City Hall—Council Chambers, 590 40th Ave NE Monday, June 26, 2023 6:00 PM MINUTES The following are the minutes for the Meeting of the City Council held at 6:00 pm on Monday, June 26, 2023, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 40th Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. WELCOME/CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Márquez Simula called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Present: Mayor Márquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember Spriggs; Councilmember James Also Present: Lenny Austin, Chief of Police; Kevin Hansen, Interim City Manager; Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Sara Ion, City Clerk; Erik Johnston, Police Captain; Jama Ayanle, Community Member; Julia DeGonzalez, City Resident; Ed Higgins, City Resident; Steve Johnson, City Resident; Kikl Latham, City Resident; Mike Lies, City Resident; Jennifer Pyper Muno, City Resident; Rodney Siefert, City Resident MISSION STATEMENT Columbia Heights is a vibrant, healthy and connected City. We are here to actively support the community, deliver equitable services, build and strengthen connections, improv e upon our past, and uphold our successes. We strive to be better and ensure Columbia Heights is a great place for everyone, today and in the future. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Buesgens, to approve the Agenda as presented. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. PROCLAMATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, RECOGNITION, ANNOUNCEMENTS, GUESTS Mayor Márquez Simula noted guests were still arriving for proclamations so the agenda would be reordered to consider Item C. Police Department Staff Introductions prior to Item A. Somalia American Day. C. Police Department Staff Introductions. Police Captain Erik Johnston expressed his excitement about the new staff hires, noting all light blue uniforms are CSO’s and will be enrolled in a law enforcement program. Troy Vaughn will be returning as an officer and Manny Alvarez is a part of the Pathways Program. Captain Johnston introduced the new Police Department staff as follows: City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 2 Ahmed Abdullahi  Grew up on the south side of Minneapolis, in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, and attended Cedar Riverside Community School before graduation from St. Louis Park Senior High School.  He is currently attending Century College for a law enforcement degree.  Hobbies include photography, flying drones, and hanging out with family.  He has family in Columbia Heights. Yonis Said  Born in Phoenix, Arizona, and has lived in Columbia Heights since third grade.  He is currently enrolled at Hennepin Technical College for a law enforcement degree.  Hobbies include spending time with friends and video games. Clarence Hyatt-Duncan  Grew up in Brooklyn Park and attended Osseo Senior High School.  He is currently enrolled at Century College for a law enforcement degree.  Hobbies include fishing, basketball, and photography.  He has family in Columbia Heights. Troy Vaughn  Grew up in Minneapolis, graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School, and obtained a degree from Bethune-Cookman University in Florida.  He was a graduate of the Pathways Program was a Columba Heights Police Officer from 2017-2020.  His family took Troy to Florida for a brief time where he worked in education. Kevin Bermeo Guaman  Was born in Fridley, grew up in Columbia Heights and Minneapolis, and graduated from Columbia Heights High School.  He is enrolled at Hennepin Technical College for a law enforcement degree.  Hobbies include photography and car models. Jen Heveron  Grew up in Columbia Heights and attended and graduated from Columbia Heights Senior High School.  She attended the Minnesota School of Business and worked in accounting.  She later got a job with Columbia Heights Public Schools, where she’s worked for several years before joining the Support Services team at the Columbia Heights Police Department. Manny Alvarez  Grew up in Columbia Heights and attended schools in the district.  He excelled at sports including football and wrestling before attending college at St. Cloud State University. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 3  He has been hired as a cadet in the Pathways Program where he will be starting as an officer in January. Mayor Márquez Simula thanked the hiring team. She noted many cities are asking how the Columbia Heights Police Department is doing since many police departments are having hiring issues. She mentioned that she had to “carefully not brag too much” about how the Columbia Heights Police Department is close to being fully staffed with high expectations. A. Somali American Day. Mayor Márquez Simula noted that community member Jama Ayanle helped write the Somali American Day Proclamation and the Galdogob Sister City Proclamation. Mayor Márquez Simula proclaimed July 1, 2023 as Somali American Day in the City of Columbia Heights and read the City’s proclamation. Mr. Ayanle accepted the proclamation. B. Galdogob Sister City Proclamation. Mayor Márquez Simula proclaimed Galdogob a Sister City. She mentioned that Mr. Ayanle had the original idea of having a sister city in Somalia since there are many Somali people in Columbia Heights. Mr. Ayanle attended sister city meetings with Mayor Márquez Simula in order to learn the process on how to have a Sister City. Mayor Márquez Simula added on Saturday at 1:00 pm, the Council will be at the library in the community room and the Galdogob mayor will be available on Zoom so they can sign the paperwork together. There will be a celebration following the signing at Sull ivan Park. Mr. Ayanle accepted the proclamation, thanked the Council, and extended the invitation for Saturday at 1:00 pm. Mayor Márquez Simula noted the current Sister City has been in partnership for 32 years. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Councilmember James, seconded by Councilmember Spriggs, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. 1. Approve the June 5, 2023 City Council Work Session Meeting Minutes. MOTION: Move to approve the June 5, 2023 City Council Work Session meeting minutes. 2. Approve the June 12, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes. MOTION: Move to approve the June 12 2023 City Council meeting minutes. 3. Capital Equipment Replacement of Unit #0232 Toro GroundsMaster. MOTION: Move to authorize the purchase of (1) new 4520N WG972 EFI Ventrac and attachments from Cushman Motor Company of Minneapolis MN competitively priced City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 4 through Sourcewell Contract 03112-TTC-2 at $64,130, less trade-in allowance for Unit #232 of $6,200 for a grand total of $57,930 with funds appropriated from the Capital Equipment Replacement Fund 431-5200-45180. 4. Rental Occupancy Licenses for Approval. MOTION: Move to approve the items listed for rental housing license applications for June 26, 2023, in that they have met the requirements of the Property Maintenance Code. 5. Review of Bills. MOTION: Move that in accordance with Minnesota Statute 412.271, subd. 8 the City Council has reviewed the enclosed list to claims paid by check and by electronic funds transfer in the amount of $1,391,602.47. PUBLIC HEARINGS This is the public’s opportunity to speak regarding this matter. Any comments made after the public hearing is closed will not be considered by the City Council and will not be included as part of the formal record for this matter. Ordinances and Resolutions 6. First Reading of Ordinance 1684, Council and Mayor Salary Increase. Interim City Manager Hansen stated the City Charter establishes how salaries are set for the Mayor and Councilmembers. The City has completed a compensation study for City Staff, which established the general compensation would be at the 50th percentile in comparison with other cities. Interim City Manager Hansen noted the current salary for each Councilmember is $7,800 per year and the salary for the Mayor is $13,800 per year. The last time the salaries were considered was in 2008 and the last time the Council changed their salary was over 30 years ago in 1988, which went into effect in 1989. Interim City Manager Hansen explained that during the last Council workshop, they looked to establish the Mayor and Councilmembers’ salaries on the same basis as City Staff. This would establish the Councilmembers’ salaries at $10,800 per year and the Mayor’s salary at $15,000 per year. Interim City Manager Hansen explained if the Council adopted the ordinance, it would not become effective until after the next general election, on January 1, 2025. Mayor Márquez Simula opened the public hearing. Jennifer Pyper Muno, City resident, expressed the importance of paying good workers in order to attract quality people from the community who want to run for the positions. She explained she is in full support of the ordinance. Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to close the public hearing. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 5 Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Spriggs, to waive the reading of Ordinance No. 1684, there being ample copies available to the public. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Spriggs , to set the second reading of Ordinance 1684, pertaining to the salaries of elected officials for Monday, July 10, 2023, at approximately 6:00 pm in the City of Columbia Heig hts City Council Chambers. Discussion during the motion: Councilmember Buesgens noted that the Charter should include a two year evaluation of the salaries. Councilmember James agreed with Councilmember Buesgens and added that other cities have an increase every two years based on the cost of living. She did not believe Columbia Heights can make it apart of the ordinance but thinks it would be a good idea to review every few years. Mayor Márquez Simula noted many people think elected officials do not want to vote on their own salary increases because it looks greedy, but she did not believe it looked greedy since it has been 33 years since the last salary increase. Councilmember Jacobs mentioned that after listening to the topic, she was in favor of a cost of living raise since it can be a big chunk to have at once if the salaries are increase by 75% and 40%. She noted there is a 24% tax increase in the next couple of years but there is no language about cost of living percentages moving forward. She stated she would be voting no as she believed it was a question that should go to the voters on the ballot. Interim City Manager Hansen clarified that it would be a $1,200 a year increase for the Mayor and a $3,000 a year increase for the Councilmembers. Councilmember Jacobs stated she stands corrected but still believed it was a sizeable increase and would be voting no. Mayor Márquez Simula asked what the total increase per year would be with all of the Councilmembers and Mayor. Interim City Manager Hansen replied it would be a total of $12,000 for the Councilmembers and $1,200 for the Mayor with a grand total of $13,200. Councilmember Spriggs explained the citizens elected the Councilmembers and Mayor to be diligent and check everything, including their own salaries. He pointed out the last time the Councilmembers salaries were raised, he was not yet born. He stated it is not acceptable to not look at salaries for 33 years. Councilmember James mentioned she would be interested in the seeing the Council as a feasible opportunity for working people and does not want only retired or wealthy folks to City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 6 represent the people of the City. She appreciated that the Charter gives the Council the opportunity to set the amount as they deem reasonable, noting inflation since 2009 is 42%. She mentioned the Council and Mayor should be compensated for their hard work and the hours they put in for serving the community. Mayor Márquez Simula noted many people assume the Mayor position is a full-time paid position. She stated she is on call 24/7: working 40 hours a week equals $6.63 an hour. Currently, people can only run for office if they are retired or have the income to do so. There cannot be an expectation for representative government to look like the community when the community cannot afford to take hours a week for the job. 4 Ayes, 1 Nay, Motion Carried 4-1. Ayes: Márquez Simula, Spriggs, James, Buesgens. Nay: Jacobs. CITY COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Report of the City Council Councilmember Buesgens stated she attended the Sister City meeting, the Community and Art info Fair, Pool with a Cop at Jimmy’s Pool Hall, Gerry Herringer’s funeral, the League of Minnesota Conference with Mayor Márquez Simula and Councilmember James, and the fireworks. She volunteered at the carnival gates for the Jamboree Saturday night. She mentioned a resident at the last Council meeting felt she had been a bit harsh with a landlord that had come to the meeting. Councilmember Buesgens apologized and explained she has high standards for landlords. She added in the future, she will work to contain her temper and emotions better while keeping high standards. Councilmember James noted she attended the Silver Lake Park beach meeting and the Art and Info Fair. While at the League of Minnesota Conference, she attended sessions on the Minnesota Climate Cities Coalition, Fair Vote Minnesota on rank-choice voting, local infrastructure funding, a diversity equity and inclusion planning meeting, a session on developing under-utilized properties, a creative streets redesign, and a Metro Cities meeting. She mentioned she was in the parade and thanked those who were involved. She also attended interviews for the new Sustainability Commission. Councilmember Jacobs stated she attended Gerry Herringer’s funeral and mentioned she would miss his sensibilities and finance acumen at the EDA. She also attended the tenants meeting at the library. Councilmember Spriggs stated he met with Assistant Fire Chief O’Brien regarding rental licensing, and met with the Columbia Heights School activities director regarding what is happening at the school and possible partnerships with the City. He also met with the Interim City Manager and Assistant City Manager about upcoming policy proposals. He spoke with the library coordinators in Rochester about ideas they use at their library that could make the City’s library even better. He sat at the booth for the Art and Info Fair, spoke with residents, and attended the Jamboree. Mayor Márquez Simula stated she attended the League of Minnesota Cities Conference, the climate caucus happy hour, the vote run lead event, and different panels. She noted Silver Lake is having some treatments and asked the Interim City Manager to include more information in the report. She City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 7 attended a Monarch Festival meeting with Will Rotter and noted th at Festival would be on August 9, 2023 at Kordiak Park from 5:00-8:00 pm. She also attended the rental meeting. She expressed the importance of going to the doctor, as needed, and stated she would help people get connected to services in the County and State if they did not have health insurance. She volunteered in the Boosters Wagon, and attended the parade and sustainability interviews. She gave a shout out for Juneteenth and thanked Staff for making it work. Report of the City Manager Interim City Manager Hansen noted Music in the Park begins June 28, 2023 at Huset Park East at 6:30 - 8:00 pm and is hosted by North East Bank. The band will be the Change-Ups. Interim City Manager Hansen reported the City received grant money through the State for broadband and in exchange, the City agreed to conduct a survey to help the State prepare a digital equity plan for service and access across the State. The survey is available both on social media and the City’s website. Interim City Manager Hansen stated 37th Avenue is in the process of reconstruction and the work is on the east end. Pavement removal is beginning from Johnson Street NE to Central Avenue on the westbound traffic lane. The anticipated date of completion is November 2023. He noted that 53rd Avenue from Central Avenue to University Avenue will be reconstructed in 2023 and the City will be working in partnership with Fridley on the project. Staff is looking to award contracts on July 10, 2023 for the Council’s approval and that work will begin the end of July. Interim City Manager Hansen gave an update on the treatment on Silver Lake. He explained it is being coordinated with the Lake Homeowners Association for Silver Lake. There has been a lot of money spent on cleaning up the water quality in Silver Lake. Invasive species have been noticed in the Lake and in order to control that, it must be treated since it can rapidly decrease the water quality. The Silver Lake Homeowners Association received permits through the Minnesota DNR to treat the invasive species, specifically Eurasian Milfoil and curly leaf pond weeds. Mayor Márquez Simula asked if the boat landing was opened again. Interim City Manager Hansen replied it needed to be closed for a day for treatment but is currently opened . COMMUNITY FORUM Julia DeGonzalez, City resident, stated she is the property manager for the Col Apartments that just completed construction. The property management group has failed to go through the City process in order to get the Council’s permission to get the rental license. She recently received the certificate of occupancy with all inspections passed and 30 tenants have been approved to move in July 1, 2023 but now will not have a home until after the next Council meeting on July 10, 2023. She asked the Council to approve it since it is paid and ready to go or to be lenient enough to allow the tenants to move in by July 1, 2023 until the rental license is approved. Councilmember Jacobs asked if Ms. DeGonzalez has considered providing hotel accommodations for the tenants. Ms. DeGonzalez replied they have not and the tenants know it is a new construction and City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 8 have had open communication with the tenants. She added that it is projected to be 100% full by August and it was her fault for not looking into the rental license requirements. Councilmember Jacobs expressed her empathy for the tenants and suggested providing housing for the interim while the license is getting approved. Ms. DeGonzalez noted her understanding and explained it was a large expense they could not afford right now. Councilmember Buesgens explained that since it is not an agenda item, the Council cannot technically vote on it. She agreed with Councilmember Jacobs’ comments and felt that it was the corporation’s responsibility to help the people. Kikl Latham, City resident, thanked the Council for their time. She expressed her love for the City and explained she volunteers and serves on many boards throughout the City. She explained she is an African American born into a County that decided her skin was not accepted and looked at differently. This caused her to have low self-esteem so she understood that BIPOC people were seen as a virus. She explained she no longer believes this. She noted her people brought soul food, melanin, fire, passion and Africa to this Country. She stated, “the fact that you would allow my skin color to make you feel a certain way is disappointing.” She added the Council cannot decide which people to serve and noted all people should be loved, served, and respected. Steve Johnson, City resident, stated he wrote a good letter to the Northeasterner paper supporting KT Jacobs and noted he has changed his opinion since he feels that integrity has been lost. He got 75 signatures for a special election and noted 90% of who he asked to sign , did so. He added he hopes there does not need to be a special election and instead there i s a resignation. Jennifer Pyper Muno, City resident, mentioned she has been working on the recall campaign by collecting signatures and speaking with people in the community for almost a month. She reported they are close to getting what they need to trigger the Council to hold a special election. She hoped the Councilmember they are speaking about would know they see that individual as a human b eing and believe in redemption and hopes the person makes the right choice for healing the community. Ed Higgins, City resident, explained it has been a long and exciting month by meeting new people in the community since he moved to Columbia Heights during the pandemic and could not meet people. He thanked Councilmember Jacobs for giving him the opportunity to meet many of the community members. Mike Lies, City resident, asked what the Council could do regarding the parking on Gould Avenue since it is significantly worse since the Ratio Apartment building went in. He noted residents in the apartment have to pay $125 a month to park. He added that there is a homeless woman living in her car on the street and asked if there was something that could be done to help her. Councilmember Buesgens asked if he knew what the license tags were. Mr. Lies replied that the police have already been out there and that said there was nothing they could do until wintertime. Mayor Márquez Simula stated they would follow up. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 26, 2023 City Council Meeting Page 9 Rodney Siefert, City resident, stated he a neighbor of Mr. Lies and agreed that the parking is terrible. He added that during construction, the road was moved over two feet. He explained the problem would have been resolved if the road was moved up to the sidewalk. He added if two cars park on either side of the road, there is no room to drive through. He explained people are parking on the street because they were not aware that there was an extra cost to park at the apartment. He also agreed with Mr. Lies about the homeless woman and noted she was there all winter long. He asked if there was anything that could be done to help her since he is worried about her health and many children are afraid of her. Mr. Siefert mentioned there was a groove in the alley and because of that, the only thing that is plowed in the winter is the edges. The snow stays in the groove and then freezes when the sun hits it, making it difficult to drive down the alley. In addition, the plow piles up a lot of snow on the sides that make it difficult to shovel through. Interim City Manager Hansen explained there is a plow that is tipped down for the area with grooves. Unfortunately, the truck that ran the plow was broken most of the season but that will be corrected in the next plow season. Mr. Siefert asked if there was an attachment that could be put on the plow in order to plow in the alleys. Interim City Manager Hansen replied it is included in the Capital Improvement Plan to get a plow specific to alleys. Councilmember Jacobs asked if the Ratio Apartment tenants were aware that they were going to be charged for parking. Interim City Manager Hansen stated Staff are aware that the tenants are being charged for parking and are working with Ratio Apartments to have people park on the surface lot or in the ramp. Councilmember Jacobs stated her recollection there was discussion of the parking charge being included in the rent. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adjourn. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:12 pm. Respectfully Submitted, ______________________________________ Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary