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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009/09/09 CCM - WS ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 6:35 p.m. in the Conference Room at City Hall, 2875 145t Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members Bills, Shoe Corrigan and Weisensel attending. Council Member Weisensel arrived at 6:52 p.m. Council Member DeBettignies was absent. Staff members present included City Administrator Johnson, Director of Public Works /City Engineer Brotzler, City Clerk Domeier and Finance Director May. There were no changes proposed to the agenda. DISCUSSION 2.A. Presentation on proposed transfer of land in Spring Lake Park Preserve from Dakota County to the DNR for creation of a Wildlife Management Area Tim Bremicker of the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Al Singer of Dakota County were present to discuss the project and plans for the transfer of approximately 755 acres of land in Spring Lake Park Preserve from Dakota County to the DNR. Mr. Bremicker explained more about the purpose for having the area in a Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Discussion was held regarding the hunting, camping, public safety aspects, uses of the park and the proximity to the industrial area of Rosemount. The City Council supported the project as proposed. 2.B. Dakota County Transportation Update Dakota County Transportation Director /County Engineer Marks Krebsbach and Dakota County Program Engineer Brian Sorenson were present to provide updates on current Dakota County transportation activities. Mr. Krebsbach provided an update on the Highway 52 corridor. He stated that there has been a great effort by Dakota County and the affected counties since 2002 to make improvements on that corridor from Rochester to St. Paul. He highlighted the projects that have been completed on the corridor and provided more information about the proposed changes along with the funding sources. Mr. Brotzler questioned if a meeting was held for an annual update of the corridor status. Mr. Krebsbach replied that the group meets once a year in Zumbrota and that the City representatives will be invited to the meeting in the late fall. Council Member Shoe Corrigan stated that sharing information on projects will create a better partnership between the agencies. She added that the City would be willing to draft a letter of support for the project should any lobbying on the project take place. Council Member Bills questioned the plans for the UMore area in coordination with the expected growth of Rosemount. Mr. Krebsbach stated that currently they are looking out 25 to 30 years for development. The County uses the City's comprehensive plan for planning the transportation system. Mr. Sorenson provided the City Council a design sheet on the full system interchange at 42/52. He provided a brief overview on the interchange. He added that the traffic counts and land uses in Rosemount will change so the County was comfortable adding a fourth loop to the 42/52 interchange. Further discussion was held on obtaining right -of -way from willing property owners ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 because the project was not at a point to condemn any properties. Dakota County will more actively pursue those acquisitions. The group discussed the funding of the project. Further discussion was held on the transportation bill, transit funding, transit issues in Rosemount, and possible expansions and options for BRT in Rosemount and Dakota County. Mr. Sorenson led the UMore discussion on the Rosemount /Empire /UMore Area Corridor Study. He outlined the purpose and need for a study along with expected study outcomes provided in handouts to the City Council. He also provided more information about the transportation system study and the options proposed. Mr. Brotzler provided staff's recommendations and concerns on the proposed options with the corridor study. Discussion was held regarding all the options. Mr. Brotzler stated the county's goal was to have a corridor study done by the end of 2009 so that the City Council could consider adoption of the study and move forward with the UMore planning process. Mr. Sorenson stated that the City and County need to agree on a plan and have an idea in place. Mr. Brotzler encouraged Council Members to share concerns about the study with either Kim Lindquist or himself. Mr. Sorenson stated that Dakota County is developing its transportation plan based on the comprehensive plan updates completed by the communities within Dakota County. The County did update its comprehensive plan last year and had minor modifications to the transportation plan. They are overhauling the County transportation plan completely based upon projections and the bigger issues identified within each communities 2030 Comprehensive Plan updates.. The cost participation policy will be reviewed along with other policies. Mr. Sorenson added that they have been working with CONDAC to focus on the bigger items including cost participation. Mr. Sorenson stated they are looking at the routes that have regional importance and if the County would be willing to or should consider whether there should be more County funding when it comes time for improvements. Discussion was held on off system improvements. Mr. Sorenson provided more information about new trail system requests along county roads and the turn lane on County Road 38. Brian stated discussion have taken place on County reimbursement to local governments for their efforts in maintaining trails and mowing County right of -ways. Discussion was held about coordinating transit issues and working with the MVTA. Mr. Sorenson and Mr. Krebsbach appreciated Rosemount's proactive approach for transportation needs. 2.C. Water and Sewer Utility Rates Director of Public Works /City Engineer Brotzler requested feedback from the City Council on the staff reports that have been provided for review. Mayor Droste stated that the City's message should be that all cities are required to have a tiered rate structure in an effort to manage water consumption. Council Member Bills stated it should be highlighted that the City has not raised the water rates in 10 years. Council Member Weisensel liked the concept of a second meter but also favored phasing out the second meters. Mayor Droste stated that no other city allows second meters. Utilities ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 Commissioner Mulhern stated that 73 other Minnesota cities allow second meters. Mayor Droste stated that the City was penalizing residents who did not utilize a second meter. He was concerned about keeping second meters because of the capital cost to the residents. Further discussion was held about the differences in rates with having a second meter or using a winter credit. Mr. Brotzler stated that without a second meter and billing sewer based on winter quarter usage, the City would need to have a minimum quarterly sewer charge in place to account for low or no usage by accounts during the winter quarter. Council Member Bills questioned the revenue from the different scenarios. Mr. Brotzler explained that staff projected out 10 -12 years noting that weather and development patterns could be variables that could cause the usage to change. He added that any change in the historical uses would affect the revenue and that the water and sewer rates will be reviewed annually. Further discussion was held on the long term effects of water usage. Mayor Droste questioned what the equitable proposal was to refund the users that currently have a second meter. Mr. Brotzler explained the proposed reimbursement program and the credit to the sewer charges. Council Member Shoe Corrigan was concerned that the credit would cause an accounting nightmare. Finance Director May explained that the credit would require a change in the system. He expected that staff would receive a lot of criticism from the residents receiving the refund. Mayor Droste suggested grandfathering in the second meters. Mr. May stated that the City would need to have two different rates in place and that type of structure would be difficult for staff to maintain. Considerable discussion was held regarding how to credit the second meter and whether or not to grandfather in the second meters. Concerns were raised about the use of second meters in the future and the impact on the City's water system and infrastructure. Mayor Droste was concerned that residents are forced to purchase a second meter. Mr. May stated that residents were given the option to make a personal choice on purchasing a second meter. He added that 700 homes made that decision. It was never forced on residents but suggested to residents as benefit if high water usage was expected. Council Member Shoe Corrigan asked for the Utilities Commission recommendation. Utilities Commissioner Mulhern stated that the Commission believes that residents should pay for the water no matter how it is used. Mr. Brotzler summarized the Commission's recommendation as summarized in the staff reports. Council Member Shoe Corrigan did not support paying out $45,000 to undue a policy that was not doing any harm. Mr. May stated that no matter what decision was made some residents would benefit and some would not. He added that the City got rid of the sprinkler credit because residents were manually reading their own meters and not providing the correct reading. Mr. May stated that residents would not see the true impact of the new rates until the second and third quarter next year. He added that while many metro cities do not have second meters the City has not raised the rates for over 10 years. He wanted to educate the residents. Discussion was held about the issue of conserving water and getting residents to change their water usage habits. Debate was held about charging a higher rate for residents that had second meters. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 Council Member Shoe Corrigan was concerned about the fallout of ending the use of second meters. Mayor Droste stated that from a public policy that long term there would be impacts on paying for public infrastructure. The City Council discussed tabling the second meter discussion for one year. Mayor Droste suggested that the City communicate that it is looking for a technical solution on the second meters. The consensus of the City Council was to make the water and sewer rate increases separate issues. Staff will continue to inform residents that the City Council is considering moving away from allowing second meters. UPDATES 3.A. Updates by City Council /Staff City Administrator Johnson stated he met with the new head of Fl"1'H. FTTH has claimed that promising investors are interested in purchasing the system and are aware of the City's requirements for service. He stated that a conference call will be held in two weeks. Mayor Droste received a complaint from a business owner on the Downtown beautification project. He was concerned that business owners did not receive communication about the project. Public Works Director /City Engineer Brotzler stated that the Senior Planner did send letters to business owners about the project. Mr. Brotzler provided an update on the project. Mayor Droste requested that business owners be kept up -to -date on the project. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by Bills, the meeting was adjourned at 11:02 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier, City Clerk