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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20150709 CCM SWSROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 9, 2015 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Thursday, July 9, 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Banquet Hall at the Rosemount Community Center, 13885 South Robert Trail, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 6:30 with council members Weisensel, DeBettignies, Demuth, and Nelson in attendance. Staff members in attendance included City Administrator Johnson, Director of Public Works Wrasse, Finance Director May, Chief of Police Scott, Parks & Recreation Director Schultz, and City Clerk Hadler. A number of community members and representatives of the recreation associations were also in attendance. DISCUSSION 2.A. Recreational Facilities Discussion Parks and Recreation Director Schultz gave an overview of the discussion items, the Recreational Facilities Summit that was held in February, and of the different requests that the City has received from the various recreation organizations. Regarding Rosemount Area Athletic Association (RAAA) issues, staff received estimates on indoor facilities from an architect estimated at $9,700,000 for building and land. Operating expenditures and revenues were obtained from other cities and are estimated at $350,000 and $120,000 respectively. Regarding Rosemount Area Hockey Association (RAHA) issues, staff has researched an additional ice rink and estimates that it would cost approximately $4.65 million, in addition to a parking lot and land if it were not built at the current community center location. Revenues are expected to be higher as compared to current rink, as the current rink is also used for parks and recreation activities. A capital improvement budget is included and budgets $1 million over 20 years. Mr. Schultz stated that RAHA has discussed funds that they could provide to offset the costs. The RAHA board of directors has also examined the use of a fabric “sprung” building, which would decrease costs substantially. Council member Demuth asked about the estimated construction costs, and Mr. Schultz replied that the ones provided were for a brick and mortar structure. A sprung building would cost approximately $2.4 million. Mr. Schultz explained Dakota REV issues and their request for an artificial turf and a seasonal dome. The cost for turf would be $900,000 for turf and prep only, plus any grading expenses, concrete footings, lighting, and parking. Council member Nelson inquired if it came down for summer and if it was heated. Mr. Schultz said yes. Mr. Schultz stated Dakota REV has expressed taking on responsibility of up to $1,000,000 over 15 years in exchange for scheduling priority. Phase 2 would include adding the dome facility at an estimated cost of $1.8 million for the dome, maintenance building, mechanical, and electrical. Also, there would be the need for additional parking. The total cost for both phases would be approximately $3.8 million. Operating budgets were obtained from other communities and are estimated at $310,000 which includes a capital expenditure budget, plus debt service of $280,000 per year. Staff is exploring the Flint Hills complex as a location for the facility, and the Ames complex as a backup location. Nelson asked if Flint Hills Resources, who donated the land, is supportive of this type of structure. Mr. Schultz said yes. 6.b. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 9, 2015 Council member Weisensel inquired about the capital improvement budget of the proposed ice rink addition. Mr. Schultz stated this would cover furnishings and mechanical, but not the building itself. The operating budget covers staffing and other operating expenditures. Council member Weisensel asked about contingency in the construction budget. Mr. Schultz stated it was usually about 5%. Mr. Schultz stated that one concern at the community center location was parking. Council member Weisensel asked about a parking deck. Mr. Schultz replied that was a possibility, but they are very expensive. Council member Weisensel asked about the rate of the General Obligation Bond. Fred Vescio of RAHA replied it was 3.4% in the Springsted report. Council member Nelson asked about the life span of the membrane building. Mr. Schultz said the building has 60 year lifespan, but the fabric membrane needs to be replaced every 20 years or so. Council member Weisensel asked about the dome facility turf and prep and how much would cost if it was a regular field. Mr. Schultz stated it would probably be about $300,000 for a sand based, irrigated grass field. Life expectancy of a turf field is 12 – 15 years, depending on the quality and care of the field. Council member Weisensel inquired about the concept of scheduling priority. Mr. Schultz stated it might be an 80/20 split. Council member Weisensel stated this would be an important item to clarify. Council member DeBettignies stated that general public scheduling would need to be important. Dan stated there are some existing partnerships with other organizations. Council member Weisensel stated that a partner that was missing was ISD 196. Mr. Schultz stated the district has been made aware of the meetings and he knew of at least one representative who was not able to attend. Mayor Droste stated concerns that a large portion of the athletic organizations’ participants live outside the City of Rosemount and that Apple Valley has a disproportionate number of school district capital assets as compared to Rosemount. Mayor suggested that if the school built the assets, they would be used more during the day than if the City built them. Resident stated 75% of RAAA were Rosemount residents. Mayor stated that their database reflects 61% are Rosemount residents, based on a GIS mapping results done by city staff. Councilmember Nelson stated that 30% of population was under the age of 20 and they shouldn’t be held hostage because kids from other cities are using our facilities. Mayor Droste quoted a number of statistics from the community survey, including that 76% of residents are against a tax increase to increase city services. A Lakeville resident in attendance stated she considers herself a Rosemount resident and part of the community, even though she doesn’t pay taxes here. Her children and family support numerous activities in Rosemount. Brad Stepan, a hockey coach at the high school, stated it is important to understand that JV team gets up at 4:30 a.m. for practice and their education could suffer. Mr. Stepan also stated that there are not appropriate locker room facilities. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 9, 2015 Mayor Droste stated that Rosemount High School is growing because of growth in Lakeville and Apple Valley and inquired why Rosemount should subsidize facilities that are used by students from all three cities. Audience members disputed the validity of the community survey. Council member Nelson stated we shouldn’t be basing our decision on that survey. Another audience member stated that it should not be discounted either. Council member Nelson stated that we should take the question to a referendum. Audience member stated the issue was that the organizations are supporting people are from the other communities and we should be talking to the school district. Audience member suggested that we leave the school district out of it, as the school district does not give them much flexibility for scheduling. John Wollersheim, Rosemount High School Principal, stated that the school district is aware of the discussion and has been made aware of the conversation and the city’s interest in partnering with the district. He would support improving facilities so that we are similar to cities we are competing against. He stated that there are school district staff members who are advocating for partnerships within the school district. The district has only built one hockey rink in 1976. Parks & Recreation Director Schultz moved the discussion to specific organizations. Dave Hefko and Lisa Wolf of Dakota REV sat for questions. Mr. Hefko gave an overview of the organizations presentation. Of 908 kids in program, 60% of participants are either Apple Valley or Rosemount residents. They currently utilize more fields in Apple Valley than in Rosemount. They do partner with the school district to some degree. The organization cannot grow any more in these communities because there is nowhere else to play. They rent a large portion of the St. Paul dome, as well as one in Savage. Dome rental spending are in excess of $250,000 overall. DeBettignies asked where those fees come from. Mr. Hefko stated they are from participation fees, but the organization also has to commit to the rentals ahead of time. Mr. Hefko stated the organization is in currently in communication with other cities, as well. Rosemount already has the Flint Hills facility, so the organization felt there was an opportunity for a dome, too. Turf can be used 9 months out of the year usually and can be used more often than grass. Council member Nelson asked if the organization had concerns about grass and turf fields being used for the same tournaments. Mr. Hefko replied that the turf would be used for championship games. Some teams might not prefer to play on turf if the kids are not used to it. Mr. Hefko stated that the organization is willing to commit to $1 million over 15 years. Or they could go back to the fee based system, as well. Mr. Hefko addressed Council member Weisensel’s earlier question about scheduling priority, and that they have specific timing needs. Council member Weisensel stated his concern is how that looks to the public. Mr. Hefko stated they are competing with DCTC for space and getting shut out of some of those, so the organization is concerned about scheduling because of that. Mr. Hefko recognized the difficulty in passing a referendum for recreational facilities versus other facilities. Council member Nelson asked about the referendum and how it could be worded that the associations would be donating money. Finance Director May stated that amount might be taken off of the amount on the referendum. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 9, 2015 Paul Essler and Dan Corley presented information on RAAA. Mr. Essler introduced various board members in attendance. The organization has 2900 unique participants. 37% of all kids that “roll up” to Rosemount High School participate in at least one sport. Mr. Essler reviewed some of the issues that their organization is facing, including; use facilities at many types of facilities, less than ideal practice times for young kids, having to double up teams, no consistency of scheduling, smaller gym floors for volleyball, and no space for volleyball tournaments. Mr. Essler provided statistics representing their demand for courts. They are looking for a high quality facility that improves the quality of the program, provides all of the hours of shortfall and could host stand-alone tournaments, as well as reliable availability and professional management. They would also like a facility that has support from the community and operates at a profit. Dan Corley presented handouts to Council that show a proposed a facility, called the Dakota Fieldhouse, that could be accomplished through a public-private partnership, which includes a full service fitness center that would accommodate the needs of the community and our youth. Mr. Corley reviewed the presentation of the facility. Equity will come from private monies and prepaid memberships and advertising. There are 5 acres of land needed for the initial phase of the proposed 65,000 sq. ft. facility. They are also considering a Phase 2 that would include an outdoor pool and indoor play area that would need another 5 acres. Council member Weisensel inquired about other outside investments from a food standpoint. Mr. Corley stated they had interest in a food stand type business. Council member Weisensel asked about the City’s responsibility. Mr. Corley gave example of an Iowa facility that gave a revenue guarantee. Other cities have a guaranteed master lease. They stated that banks like to see the city’s backing when developing financing options. Council member DeBettignies asked if those are the only areas they are willing to go. Mr. Corley stated not necessarily, but it is a strong preference due to the proximity of DCTC. Council member Weisensel stated that he liked that it is private and that property would be tax-producing. Craig Nelson and Fred Vescio of RAHA sat for questions and reviewed their information. The organization serves 570 children. Their construction cost estimates are for a $3.9 million facility. The organization has a demand for about 2000 hours, of which only a third is currently available in Rosemount. Mr. Vescio stated he feels they have synchronized most of their assumptions with those of city staff. He speculated that the facility would break even, and agreed that it was not without risk. Mr. Vescio stated they might be willing to look at a public-private partnership if that is the City’s preference. Mayor Droste asked if they think that doing a survey would be helpful or would they be against it. Mr. Vescio stated they would not be opposed but would like input on how it was worded. Mr. Nelson stated the strength of a survey would be that it could worded differently than a ballot. Mayor Droste discussed difficulties that the City of Inver Grove Heights with its ice rink. An audience member pointed out that Inver Grove Heights has a very different program than RAHA. Council member Weisensel stated that the current facility is aging and not a great facility and asked if there will be consideration for two new ice rinks at a different location. Mr. Nelson said it could be a consideration, but they had focused specifically on the one ice rink for now. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS JULY 9, 2015 Mr. Vescio stated there was the opportunity for upfront costs from RAHA. He stated that now is the best time to build because interest rates are low. Mayor Droste asked if they had talked to school district. Mr. Vescio said they would be happy to do so, but the school district probably has a lot of people asking for facilities. Mr. Nelson also pointed out that the school only has 4 teams, while RAHA has 34. He added that the Farmington clubs have also expressed interest in using ice in Rosemount. Council member Nelson inquired about the summer shutdown and what happens to the rink. Mr. Vescio stated it could be used for lacrosse or other sports. Council members and Fred discussed demand for ice time. Mayor Droste stated that he would like to meet again with each group and set up the next steps. Staff needs to look at revenue and general obligation bonds and decide what to do next. There is also the need to create messages for the public when moving forward. Craig Nelson asked if staff was looking at a shared facility. Mayor Droste said it would make sense to share a school location to share parking lot due to opposite time usage. Mayor Droste asked Council if they would like more info from the organizations. Council member DeBettignies asked if there were any sprung buildings in the region he could go see. Parks and Recreation Director Schultz stated he will look into it. Mayor Droste stated Council will discuss the topic at the next work session on Monday evening. 2.B. Leprechaun Days Booth Council member Demuth invited the Council to sign up for the Leprechaun Days booth and reviewed the schedule and booth necessities. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by DeBettignies, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 9:59 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk