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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20131119 CCM SWS ROSEMOUN CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 19, 2013 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a special work session of the Rosemount City Council was th held on Tuesday, November 19 at 8:31 p.m. in the Conference Room at City Hall, 2875 145 Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members DeBettignies, Shoe-Corrigan, Weisensel and Demuth attending. Staff present included City Administrator Johnson, City Clerk Domeier, City Attorney LeFevere, Finance Director May, Director of Parks and Recreation Schultz, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Brotzler, Police Chief Werner, Fire Chief Schroeder and Community Development Director Lindquist. DISCUSSION 2.A. Budget City Administrator Johnson provided a summary of the staff report. Discussion was held regarding the home value calculation. Mayor Droste raised concerns about the cost of health insurance compared to other MVTA cities. Mr. Johnson explained that family insurance premium costs would be considered as part of the union negotiations. He also provided information on possible wellness options for employees. Discussion was held on wellness options. Discussion was also held on the projected revenues for permits and licensing. Finance Director May stated the Public Hearing would be held on December 3. 2.B. Engineering and Public Infrastructure Installation City Administrator Johnson provided a summary of the staff report. He also provided his interpretation of a meeting that Mayor Droste had with a sales representative for Lennar. The representative claimed that the City caused delays in selling homes. Mr. Johnson stated that staff documented the approvals process with the developer and third party issues as provided in the packet. Mr. Johnson explained that the conversation with the sales representative lead to the question of whether the City should engineer projects or allow for private installation. Mr. Johnson also noted that staff has found a way to speed up the development process approximately two weeks. In the future, all bid openings that occur on Fridays will be added to the next Council meeting agenda for consideration. Council Member DeBettignies stated he was happy to see the process change as two weeks is valuable to developers. Mayor Droste provided information on the engineering and installation processes in Inver Grove Heights. He stated that in Inver Grove Heights the lowest bidder gets the project. City Attorney LeFevere noted that they use the lowest responsible bidder. Mayor Droste also provided information on the conversation with the sales representative from Lennar Homes. Community Development Director Lindquist explained that the delays in the process were due to utility work based upon a third party. Director of Public Works/City Engineer Brotzler added that the two month delay for Lennar’s project may have been longer if city staff was not involved in the process as the project lead. City staff lead the resolution of property issues between Lennar and Arcon that was necessary to advance the project. Council Member Shoe-Corrigan stated she wanted to maintain the quality of work within the City. She stated she could support a hybrid method if it’s feasible to offer on projects. Council Member ROSEMOUN CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 19, 2013 Weisensel stated the City could have a design manual. Mr. Brotzler noted that the reality is that even with a design manual for private developer engineers to follow, you still often do not receive plans that meet city standards. This was noted as an issue that led the City of Woodbury to bring the design of development projects back into the city. He stated that the Woodbury model has the city design the project but allows for the developer to hire their own contractors with city permission. Ms Lindquist stated that we should not assume the only reason developers and builders are not coming here is because of the current practice. She explained that developers are given a timeline when they meet with staff before a project is given full approval. Council Member Shoe-Corrigan understood that it was good to have options for developers but questioned what is reasonable and what staff thinks needs to be done to main the city’s quality in design. Ms Lindquist stated that the city does have standards in place for installing infrastructure. Mayor Droste expressed frustration over the city requesting asbuilt surveys before a certificate of occupancy in issued. Ms. Lindquist explained the process for having the asbuilt in place before sod is installed to prevent any drainage issues. Further discussion was held on the background for establishing the policy. Mr. Brotzler stated that once the sod is installed it is hard to fix the grading and drainage issue. Often times, homeowners expect the city to fix those drainage issues which has consumed a lot of staff time. Council Member Shoe-Corrigan stated that without the policy it would be very easy for the residents to blame the city. City Administrator Johnson suggested that the policy be discussed at a different time separate from the current issue. Mr. LeFevere stated he has worked in cities that have used both practices for design and installation work. He noted that there will still be contention with projects if the developers install because the city will deal only with the developer and not the contractors. The city will need protection which requires developers to submit a performance bond. He provided experiences he has held in working in other cities. He also provided information on using special assessments. Council Members Shoe-Corrigan, Demuth and DeBettignies supported creating some accommodations if the circumstances at a project allow for it. Council Member Weisensel stated that staff should let developers know the options for moving forward. He wanted the information provided upfront. Mr. Brotzler explained that the first conversation with developers on a project includes creating a schedule. He added that the city staff is proactive and has great relationships with the developers. Discussion was held about getting the message out to the public about how infrastructure is built and the process. Mr. Brotzler stated that staff could provide and expand on a sample timeline that could be included on the website. Staff was directed to start exploring communication ideas and develop some hybrid options for moving forward. 2.C. Goal Setting Dates The City Council decided to hold its Goal Setting the evening of January 24 and morning of January 25. Department Directors are invited to the Friday evening session. Directors should prepare one page of goals. ROSEMOUN CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 19, 2013 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by Demuth, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 10:13 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier, City Clerk