Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-03-2024 City Council Work Session Minutes CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula Councilmembers Connie Buesgens Kt Jacobs Rachel James Justice Spriggs Interim City Manager Kevin Hansen City Hall—Shared Vision Room, 3989 Central Ave NE Monday, June 03, 2024 5:30 PM MINUTES The following are the minutes for the Work Session Meeting of the City Council held at 6:00 pm on Monday, June 3, 2024, in the Shared Vision Room, City Hall, 3989 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Márquez Simula at 5:50pm. Present: Mayor Márquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember James Absent: Councilmember Spriggs Also Present: Mitch Forney, Community Development Coordinator; Kevin Hansen, Interim City Manager; Sara Ion, City Clerk; Erik Johnston, Police Captain; Matt Markham, Police Chief; Jessica Torrey, Eileen Crosby, and Andrew Baur of Canvass Health; Sofia Lykke, Attorney Kennedy and Graven. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. Canvass Health Social Worker Program Update. Police Chief Markham introduced Captain Johnston and the team from Canvass Health to give an update on the Social Worker Program in Columbia Heights. Overall, the impact of the social worker being able to resolve situations without use of force is approximately 97% of all calls responded to. Captain Johnston further explained that not only is there a drop in use of force on calls but also stated that there are a lot of additional connections that are being made where the social workers can make an impact (i.e. domestic violence intervention information or housing information). One of the things that the social workers do is try to shift people to the proper resource instead of calling 911 as a first line of response. There has been a positive impact on the numbers of residents calling the Anoka County Assistance line and less calls to the emergency dispatch center and repeat callers. Councilmember Jacobs clarified if there was a mix of substance abuse and mental health concerns occurring when the Social Worker is contacted. Captain Johnston clarified that it was about half and half. She further stated that she was glad to see the decrease in repeat callers. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 03, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 2 Councilmember Buesgens was very glad to see that people are calling the places that can help them instead of only 911. Mayor Márquez Simula stated that she was glad to see that people are using the resources that are available in the community and there being less stigma around mental health concerns. Councilmember James inquired about the improvements that Eileen Crosby, and Andrew Baur the Embedded Social Workers had seen in the past several years of the program. Social Worker Crosby stated that seeing the impact on the repeat callers that are in the community getting connected to the services that they need. Social Worker Bauer has seen the broadening of the services, and additional needs being met in the community. 2. Discuss Option to Recycle Volume Cap from the City’s Conduit Revenue Bonds Previously Issued for the Reuter Walton Project. Community Development Coordinator Forney led a review of the bonds and the upcoming repayment date in July 2024. In 2022, the City issued two conduit revenue bond series’ totaling $10,446,000 to provide the primary funding for the Reuter Walton affordable housing project located behind the City’s Public Safety campus (the Col). These bond issuances were not an obligation of the City, rather they are debts to be paid back by the developer. The bonds in this case are temporary in nature and have a mandatory tender (repayment maturity date) of July 1, 2024. Due to the temporary nature of the bonds, they are eligible to be recycled (re-issued) as “volume cap”pursuant to Federal and State tax law. To this end, the City has been approached by a development team working on a 170-unit, $35M+ affordable housing project in the City of Burnsville. The project team includes the Dakota County Community Development Agency (DCCDA), the City of Burnsville, and Roers Companies (developer). This team has requested that the City participate by allowing the Reuter Walter bonds issued by the City to be recycled and used for the project in Burnsville. To accomplish this goal, the City will have to hold a public hearing to adopt a resolution that approves the new bond issuance using recycled volume cap available from the Reuter Walton project, and the City will also have to approve and execute a joint powers agreement with the DCCDA that spells out the details of the transaction. Following these steps, there is no more involvement by the City. All legal costs incurred by the City will be reimbursed by project funds and paid at the bond closing. The City is also expected to receive a .25% fee for participation in the deal. If the Council is amenable to participating, staff will hold the required public hearing for approval of the transaction at the June 24th Council meeting. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 03, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 3 Councilmember James told the Council that she clarified with Assistant City Manager Chirpich that there are no projects in the pipeline that we can use these bonds for. She also clarified that the City is reimbursed for fees associated with the transaction and that we are not impacting our credit or availability for future bonds. Councilmember Buesgens is glad to see that we can use this to assist another community. She was curious about how many times bonds can be recycled, and if this happens often. Attorney Lykkes clarified some of the additional details for the Council, stating that bonds can only be recycled once. The underwriters and developers are in tune with the competitive nature of bond caps to get multifamily housing projects to be funded. She clarified that this is a newer process under the Federal Tax Rules and is newer to MN. Forney clarified that this does require public posting of the hearing, and it will be noticed and brought to Council for approval at the June 24, 2024 City Council Meeting. 1. Acquisition of Enterprise License & Permit Software: Tyler and Companion Digital Plan Review Software: DigEplan. IT Director Jesse Hauf led the presentation on the software that the city would like to purchase for licensing , permitting and resident concern management. The current program the City uses is Permit Works and it no longer meets the City’s needs, and IT has found that it is slowing staff down, does not allow for interdepartmental communications and is not customer friendly for our residents. Hauf stated that it was his recommendation to move forward with the new Tyler and DigEplan as The City does have GIS and Support Application Technician to assist in getting this program up and running. The application process would have guard rails built in to assist those using the program for permitting and licensing to make sure that they are completing all the steps that are needed to get their request approved. This software would allow for an ease in accessing past information to then reapply for needed business licenses. This software would automate the Time of Sale, Right of Way Permits. This program allows for Community Development to automate / improve many pieces of the business conducted by the department, as well as property inspections by the Fire Department. The automation of all these processes will allow for better speed in processing as well as better interdepartmental communication. This system would also allow for staff to have mobile access to mark up documents in the field. This software would allow residents and staff to access property records digitally and in real time. Additionally, this would allow for ACH and Credit Card Payments online. This system is also multilingual, and the portal will be available to have translation occur, and the software is also ADA Compliant. Director Hauf added that this system also allows for citizen request management related to potholes or problem areas. The idea is to build a workflow for items, and to inform citizens of the process to address the requests. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 03, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 4 Director Hauf stated that all aspects of getting the system up and running at would be about $188,800 and that this money is currently within the Community Development budget for 2024. The year over year impact is about $66,000. This is the cost of approximately one administrative staff without benefits. This will take six to eight months to implement and a full year to have the City using it at its full potential. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she is very excited for this to be in place and it cannot happen soon enough. Councilmember Buesgens is excited to see this implemented, because the permit history was originally created with a typewriter by the former Community Development Admin Assistant. Councilmember James inquired about what we would do for residents who refuse to use an online portal. Director Hauf stated that Staff could assist with the completion of the online form here at City Hall on one of two public computer kiosks. Interim City Manager Hansen stated that the intention is not to replace Staff, but to assist them. Director Hauf clarified that this is not a budget amendment, but there are current funds and plans in place for future budgets. Mayor Márquez Simula would like to see all departments utilizing this system. Director Hauf stated that this is the plan, and this is something that has been discussed in division head meetings for full utilization by all departments. Interim City Manager Hansen informed Council that this will be on the consent agenda at the upcoming June 10, 2024 meeting for approval. 2. Update to 9.106 General Development Standards to Include Tree Preservation (Second Reading). Interim City Manager Hansen led the conversation related to a few necessary changes for the second reading of Ordinance 1696. It is unusual to have minor changes to the second reading, but the three-part change includes updates to reducing soil volume. A member of the Parks and Recreation Commission brought these concerns to the City Forrester. The City Forrester reviewed the concerns and found that this update would be a beneficial change. Mayor Márquez Simula clarified to Interim City Manager Hansen that this item did not need to go back to a first reading. Hansen clarified that this was cleared for a second reading with the City Attorney. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 03, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 5 3. Residential Water Meter Replacement Program: Installation Bids. Interim City Manager Hansen informed the Council that this bid is under the one million dollar estimate for the work. He stated that there was a concern that there would be continuity issues with the grounding, and this could increase the cost. Hydracore estimated it to be 15 to 20% and the City estimated it to be 35 to 50% so the City will be proceeding with unit pricing on this issue. If needed there will be a freeze kit used to stop the water flow (there will not be a high number of homes where this is needed but there will be some). All work will be completed within the total three million dollar budget. The City is asking that there is a visual inspection of sump pumps, or rain leaders going to the Sanitary Sewer when the replacement takes places. There is also a cross connect inspection if there is a backflow prevention device on homes with boilers, and there would also be visual confirmation of back flow prevention on irrigation systems. Additionally, there is a federal mandate to complete magnetic or scratch testing if there is a concern in confirming copper piping. Replacement of the lead piping would be at the cost of the homeowner. The City Code provides for one year to replace the lead pipes once they are found. Councilmember Buesgens asked for clarification on the cost. Hansen stated that there is not a cost to the homeowner directly, but this replacement of the meter is covered by the meter surcharge and this surcharge has been increase from one dollar to two. Interim City Manager Hansen further clarified that the City has received about a quarter of the equipment needed to start this process. There will be a PR campaign by the City to inform residents that the program is being implemented and that the contractor is completing the work. Hansen stated that the City Website will be updated to add this information. Councilmember Jacobs inquired about a mailer she received related to sewer line maintenance. Hansen stated that the City is one of the first Cities to provide water and sewer line insurance with the League of MN Cities. This item will be on the June 10, 2024 Council Meeting for approval. 4. Council Corner. Updates from council regarding schedules, information sharing and priorities for continued education. Issues related to Unleashed Cats. Mayor Márquez Simula brought up a concern related to a resident concerns regarding unleashed cats causing damage to property, environment and wildlife. She would like to have a conversation related to tracking data to see where resources can be allocated to address this issue. Interim City Manager Hansen stated that the Police Department would monitor the issue and report back to the council after several months of data can be collected regarding calls related to unleashed animals. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 03, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 6 Councilmember Jacobs inquired if this issue rises to the level of needing staff time to investigate, and if we want to be using staff resources for this. Councilmember Buesgens would like to have informational items distributed to residents in the newsletter, website and social media related to the impact that unleashed cats have on the community. 2 term Limits on Commissions and Boards. Mayor Márquez Simula brought up a concern related to commissioners only having two terms to serve on a Commission or Board and that they might not have enough time of serving on the commission for their talents to be fully utilized. Councilmember Buesgens clarified that there are three-year terms and six years total for a commissioner to serve on a board / commission and that the Council can choose to appoint a commissioner for additional terms. Properties Owned by the City Mayor Márquez Simula requested that the list of properties owned by the City is given to the EDA Commissioners at the next meeting. Blue Zones Information Council postponed this item to get additional updates from Councilmember Spriggs. City Manager Hansen will work to get this item on a future Work Session Agenda so that this can be fully explored with a representative of Blue Zones presenting information to Council when they are available. 7. Old Business. There was no old business to discuss. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:54pm Respectfully Submitted, ______________________________________ Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary