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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-2024 City Council Work Session Meeting 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, April 01, 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, April 1, 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 at 6:06 pm. Present: Mayor Márquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember James, Councilmember Spriggs Also Present: Lenny Austin, Chief of Police; Aaron Chirpich, Assistant City Manager / Community Development Director; Andrew Boucher, City Planner; David Cullen, Interim Public Works Director; Mitch Forney, Community Development Coordinator; Liam Genter, City Forester; Jesse Hauf, IT Director; Kevin Hansen, Interim City Manager; Sara Ion, City Clerk; Erik Johnston, Police Captain; Scott Lepak, City Attorney; Matt Markham, Police Captain; Dan O’Brien, Assistant Fire Chief; Charlie Thompson, Fire Chief; Kelli Wick, HR Director WORK SESSION ITEMS 1. Executive Session: Discussion of Labor Negotiation Strategy. Closed per Minn. Stat. 13D.03. Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs to close the meeting pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.03 at 6:08 pm. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. The City Council conducted a Closed Session to consider labor negotiation strategy. Motion by Councilmember James, seconded by Councilmember Spriggs to reconvene the regular work session meeting at 6:13 pm. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. 2. MnDOT / Metro Transit update of Central Avenue. Chris Bower from MNDOT led the presentation regarding updates from MnDOT related to Central Avenue and Alicia Valenti from Metro Transit joined via Teams. Bower updated the council that 2028 is the earliest opportunity for funding of the Central Avenue Project based on the PEL Study that was recently completed. He further informed the council that there will be 25 million dollars allocated to the project, and the opportunity to seek out additional funding. Overall, he thanked the community for their advocacy and support in getting this funding for 2028 instead of 2033. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 2 Bower also stated that there will be a partnership when looking at Central Avenue from the Mississippi River to Hwy 694. The goal of the study and this project is to prevent and reduce deaths occurring on Central Avenue with all the cities that are in the scope of the project. The next steps are to discuss what should be happening with the upcoming projects that are in the works. MNDOT is proposing a combination of the Central Avenue Project with Metro Transit. Other City led projects are suggested to be delayed taking place in 2028 as well. There will be a process of public engagement and then approval from the Council and the earliest this will occur is later this year, or early next year. Additionally, there is a lot of work to be done in relation to public outreach and there will be extensive partnership to get to the finish line working with businesses and residents impacted by construction on the Central Avenue Corridor. Mayor Márquez Simula inquired if the temporary safety posts will remain in the intersections. Bower stated that they would be staying barring winter maintenance issues. Mayor Márquez Simula stated that she hopes that they will not be taken down until 2028. Councilmember James gave thanks for the partnership with MNDOT and Metro Transit. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she was glad that we are keeping the delineator posts / safety posts. She also stated that she would like the speed limit on Central to be reduced to 25 MPH. She also stated that she is very appreciative of having MNDOT so involved in the conversation and getting changes made. Bower stated that there are known issues with speed on Central Avenue, as well as accidents that happen at speeds above 30 miles an hour being more deadly. Studies have found that there needs to be a change to the roadway, not just a speed limit reduction. Police Chief Austin brought up the concern related to the crosswalk timing at 40th and Central. He has concerns with the elderly or handicapped citizens that live at the nearby Park View Villa apartments. Bower stated that the short crossing time is also a symptom of the width of the roadway. Councilmember Spriggs stated that he would like to see Central Avenue planning work session meetings with the Council towards the end of this year. 3. Presentation and Discussion on Proposals for Public Safety Funding Expenditures. Fire Chief Thompson started with an overview of the topic, with a focus on using the public safety funding for improving hiring and retention of on call fire fighters. Chief Thompson proposes increasing the starting wage to $22 per hour, with additional incentives as fire fighters complete required training and take on additional responsibilities. He would like to work on a mandated on-call schedule as well, this would be beneficial because this would reduce having a full-time position needed to cover calls. Additionally, Thompson would like City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 3 to use this funding to put cradle point wireless in the vehicles and replace the cabinets and appliances in the fire house. One last item of importance that Chief Thompson presented for use of the public safety funding is that he would like to purchase soft body armor / bullet proof vests because of the increase in instances of violence against first responders. There is legislation that is currently being worked on at the State Level to cover half the cost of the $1200 per person protective gear. If there was conflict of any kind, then the fire department and first responders would utilize this gear for the call. Councilmember Buesgens would like to see heavy duty cabinets purchased for the Fire Department. Councilmember Jacobs inquired about commercial cabinets as well. Police Captain Markham commented that they would have the same type of cabinets that the police department has used. Police Chief Austin stated that he would like to turn the Police portion of the presentation to Captain Markham and Captain Johnston. Captain Markham stated that the department would like to update the squad rifles and pistols to bring them into current models using the public safety funding money. He would also like to purchase ballistic shields that can stop rifle rounds. Currently the shields that the department has do not stop riffle rounds. Additionally, they would like to conduct more BOWMAC training for City Department Heads and Police Staff. Captain Markham also gave an overview of the investment that could be made with the public safety funding to broaden the utilization of Flock cameras that give an alert for stolen vehicles. Since the initial deployment of the Flock cameras, they have had a positive impact in the community. The department would like to place an emphasis on 44th and 49th by the schools. From an investigative standpoint this would allow the department to efficiently solve more crimes. Captain Markham also informed the council that some of the public safety funding money would be used for a project that IT and the PD have been looking at utilizing USI Fiber for crime and accident investigation along Central Avenue. USI would like to come in this fall as they have wrapped up their work in St. Anthony. Once the fiber is installed there will be an opportunity to add cameras and Wi-Fi to the parks, as well as Central Avenue. This is a three-year proposal that will give us a bridge to the 2028 Central Avenue reconstruction that was discussed earlier in this meeting. Police Captain Johnston reviewed proposed pay increases for the police department staff. He stated that the department would like feedback on these items to see if they can start moving forward with them. Councilmember James stated that she would like to see some of this money put towards mental health and violence prevention, victim services, and first responder wellness. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 4 Captain Johnston and Captain Markham clarified that they are currently working on a DOJ grant to increase the funding for officer wellness to further impact the programs that the department currently has. Chief Austin stated that the department always has items that they are working on. They would like directions on starting to make purchases, there can be a wait time on some of the items that are needed. Interim City Manager Hansen stated that he would like council consensus on that items can be approved. There was a consensus to move forward on eight of the items, and to hold off on getting estimates for the kitchen cabinets and appliances . Councilmember Buesgens stated that getting proper equipment for the police and fire department will be critical to morale and officer wellness. 4. Winter Parking and Snow Plowing. Interim City Manager Hansen gave some background information related to the who / what / when / where of snow plowing in the City and how this impacts the winter parking. Hansen relayed that Councilmember Spriggs had questions related to snow triggers and parking enforcement and updates that could be made to the policy. Overall, he gages the success of the winter parking restrictions and snow plowing based on a recent survey where most residents feel that the parking rules and enforcement are about right. Councilmember Spriggs stated that many people have brought concerns forward and he wanted to look to see if we are doing the best we possibly can with this. He feels that often there are questions related to the execution of these items, and he does not have specific recommendations or changes that he would like to have implemented. Hansen stated that he does not compare our snow removal process or parking to bigger cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Councilmember James inquired about moving the snow fall level to two inches instead of three. She would like to see parking permits revoked for violating the snow policy. She would also like to increase permit access as well. Councilmember Jacobs feels that there are a lot of repeat offenders from her experience doing ride along on a plow. She feels that enforcement does need to be increased and more cars ticketed and towed. Captain Johnston stated that there are no specific statistics on cars that have permits that are being ticketed or towed, and this could be an area to collect information for the next snow season. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 5 Police Chief Austin spoke to the staffing level that is needed to ticket and tow cars based on snow events and ongoing issues. There needs to be an ordinance change related to reducing the snowfall amount in City Code for this to be more impactful. Interim City Manager Hansen stated that changing the snow fall amount would positively impact the snow removal team in planning and being proactive. Mayor Márquez Simula inquired if parking permit appeals could be brought to the council and was not sure what the current appeals process is. Councilmember Buesgens inquired further into the process of getting a winter parking permit. Police Captain Johnston stated that there is an appeals process, and that after the community service officer visits the property, and the property is denied they can ask for further review by an officer. In the process of issuing a parking permit they review many factors, and most permits are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Interim City Manager Hansen stated that he would suggest that appeals should be handled administratively in the same manner they are now. He will have an ordinance amendment prepared to reduce the snow threshold amount for the council to review and vote on at a Council Meeting. Councilmember Spriggs would like to see a soft date for the first snow fall and parking restrictions. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she was not in favor of changing to a soft date based on the first and last snow fall. Interim Public Works Director Cullen stated that a non-defined parking time does not allow citizens to get in the habit of moving their cars so the plow drivers can manage snow removal. Mayor Márquez Simula would like to have the same time period for winter parking for 2024-25 as this year was a trial period. She would also like to see a fee for parking permits. Councilmember James was also in support of the Mayor’s idea of having a fee for parking permits. Mayor Márquez Simula further clarified that she does feel that this is “a poor person tax” and it only really hurts people who do not have other options. She stated that she appreciates the new tracking and information in the report from the police department. She feels that things are going very well, she would like to continue what we have done the past year. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 6 5. Massage Therapy Licensing. Assistant City Manager Chirpich reviewed the pending changes at the State level related to licensing of massage businesses. He informed the council that unfortunately a correlation exists with a small percentage of these businesses and law enforcement concerns. Chirpich stated that he wanted to bring the status of this item to the Council and let them know that we can also have our lobbyist do some additional work supporting this bill. Assistant City Manager Chirpich informed the Council that the Community Development Department is hoping that this item will also lead to a review of the existing business licensing concerns and updates. Mayor Márquez Simula stated that she was most concerned with the human trafficking concerns and is looking forward to what the legislature will update related to the licensing process. 6. Update to 9.106 General Development Standards to Include Tree Preservation. City Planner Andew Boucher led the conversation related to the improvements that would bring us in line with the American Standard and best practices for tree care and preservation. City Forrester Liam Genter added additional information related to the established standards for preservation. Interim City Manager Hansen clarified that this would impact new construction and rehabilitation. What is being added in the ordinance update is related to adding / replacing existing trees. Councilmember Buesgens inquired how this would apply to the residential neighborhoods. City Planner Boucher stated that this item would only impact residential properties if there were a survey required for the project. There was consensus that this item would be reviewed and brought before Council at either the second Monday or fourth Monday Council meeting. 7. Discussion on Park Dedication. City Planner Andew Boucher reviewed this item for the council and discussed the essential nexus need for both the updates related to tree preservation and park dedication. Interim City Manager Hansen clarified to the Council that would like to update the park dedication fees because he felt that we are not fully getting the representative value. He inquired as to how park dedication is calculated. Assistant City Manager Chirpich stated that the recent sale of the property or a survey would dictate the mutually agreed upon cost, and that 10% of that agreed upon cost would be for park dedication fees. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES April 01, 2024 City Council Work Session Page 7 City Planner Boucher would like to status with the City Attorney on where we could adjust our fees and clarified that the money cannot be used as a reoccurring fund. Assistant City Manager Chirpich clarified that there are changes that could be made on a state level that would also impact this. Council supported the idea of increasing the amount of park dedication fees that can be collected. There will be a review of this matter with the City Attorney to determine the best approach. 8. Council Corner. Updates from council regarding schedules, information sharing and priorities for continued education. Updating Chapter 8 Public Health and Safety, Article I: Animals to Address Urban Chickens. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she has had a lot of calls from residents related to limiting the number of chickens on a property, not allowing roosters, and generally establishing a humane level of care for the animals. Councilmember Jacobs stated that she has received 70 to 80 phone calls about this issue. She would like to see licensing and permitting related to having chickens in the City. Councilmember Buesgens asked for further exploration of the complaints that Councilmember Jacobs has received. Councilmember Buesgens clarified that she has some bias because she is a chicken owner. She feels that some neighborhoods love roosters, and that this should be addressed via the noise ordinance. She feels that some ordinances are written from the perspective of people who do not own chickens. Mayor Márquez Simula would like to track the amount of chicken nuisance calls before acting on this item, and review this again a year from now. 8. Old Buisness. There were not any outstanding items to address. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:12pm. Respectfully Submitted, ______________________________________ Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary