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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.a. Minutes of the September 8th, 2015 Work Session Proceedings ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room at City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members DeBettignies, Nelson, Weisensel and Demuth in attendance. Staff members in attendance included City Administrator Johnson, Community Development Director Lindquist, Public Works Director Wrase, Parks and Recreation Director Schultz, and City Clerk Hadler. DISCUSSION 2.A. Steeple Center Fees Director of Parks and Recreation Director Schultz gave an overview of the Steeple Center and Activity Center areas that are available for use. There will be a meeting/gathering room and a kitchen area on the first floor. The second floor there will be three rooms available for rental; two of which can be combined into a larger room. Room rental times are expected to vary depending on the day of the week; with longer / larger events on the weekends, and shorter/smaller events during the week. Mayor Droste inquired about the security guard policy that is in place. Mr. Schultz stated it depends on the size of the party, and that he would have to review the policy. Council member DeBettignies suggested adding a half-day rate on Saturday for the assembly hall. Council member Weisensel inquired about metrics to track usage rates. Mr. Schultz stated metrics will include time available, time used, paid time used, and revenues from rentals. He explained that RAAC’s agreement allows for the use of the space, and this will have to be taken into account. Council member Demuth suggested limiting their use during wedding season. Mayor Droste suggested a periodical update on the listed metrics. Council member Weisensel asked for quarterly updates. Mr. Schultz gave an update on dates for expected building finishes and certificate of occupancy for the new building. The grand reopening of the Steeple Center is tentatively scheduled for the 21st of November. Community Development Director Lindquist stated that the City should host an event to celebrate the opening, so as to include the various organizations that have contributed funding to the project. Council member Demuth inquired about how the senior group will be using the building. Mr. Schultz stated that is a parks and recreation program and their schedule will be plugged into the event center room schedules. Mr. Schultz stated the goal is to grow that program. 6.a. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 Mr. Schultz asked Council to weigh in on the south sidewalk replacement, bearing in mind that the area is being looked at for an art park. There are also drainage issues from water coming off the roof. Mayor Droste suggested waiting until these issues are finalized before replacing the sidewalk. 2.B. Discussion of Akron Avenue Area Development Issues Community Development Director Lindquist gave an overview of the Akron Avenue development issues. Staff has spoken with Flint Hills, but they have not committed to any particular plans. Staff is seeking direction from council regarding what areas should be concentrated on. Staff is researching the possibility of development berms and screens to block the view of the refinery. Additional potential development issues in that area include regional stormwater ponds, a quiet zone, the extension of Connemara Trail, 140th Street underpass at Highway 52, Flint Hills power plant construction, and the ZIP Line Corridor. Ms. Lindquist discussed the difficulty in development when Flint Hills and UMore don’t pay the area-wide fees. There are development costs that are not being assessed to a significant amount of property in the city. One of the projects would be a proposed pipe to the Mississippi River, that would need to go through Flint Hills, but the City doesn’t have any easements through the property. Council members and staff discussed the issues around the construction of a power cogeneration plant at Flint Hills. Staff is looking for priority or strategy moving forward. Mayor stated he thinks the number one issue is the buffering and Connemara is also a pressing issue. The ponding issue can be held off as there are some evolving issues and it is not a pressing issue. Council member DeBettignies inquired about the berming issue and whether the land values would increase. Mayor stated land values would probably not increase; but the land would more likely develop. Council member Nelson inquired about a potential timetable for the 140th underpass at Highway 52. Ms. Lindquist stated there are landowners interested in developing, but the 140th crossing is probably 10 years out. Council member DeBettignies inquired about the future dredging of the Dakota Aggregates land. Ms. Lindquist stated that they will not be able to dig that deep due to ground water contamination issues. Council member Demuth stated another part of the discussion with Flint Hills was to install an angle well into the river sediment. Ms. Lindquist summarized that the Council’s most pressing concerns would be the berming/screening issue. Mayor stated we should also look into horn noise. City Administrator ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 Johnson stated that the Quiet Zone was paid for with MSA monies, and those funds will be used for the next few years for the 42/52 expansion. Mayor Droste inquired of the visitors in the room if they have any comments or questions. On resident stated that the short term goals seemed reasonable and the issues were more prevalent in the Greystone neighborhood. Council member Demuth stated the train at County 42 and Robert significantly backed up traffic this morning. City Administrator Johnson stated that the Chief has been in contact with the railroad, and the police recently cited an engineer for extended stop. Mayor Droste stated the city should be communicating the information about who people should be calling. 2.C. Review STAR Communities Community Development Director Lindquist reviewed the STAR Communities project issues. Staff reviewed each outcome and local action and qualified each one by whether it is something that might be done in the future and what inputs might be needed. Ms. Lindquist asked about the applicability of the system as a whole. Council member DeBettignies inquired about how the system has helped the residents. Council member Weisensel stated the original purpose was for benchmarking where the city is at from a sustainability standpoint. Staff and Council members discussed the applicability of the STAR measurements on the work of the City. Council members inquired about the overall costs of the program. Council member Weisensel stated that he feels that it validated a number of activities of the City. Council member Demuth stated we should choose items that we think we should do that would help. Council member Nelson stated he doesn’t think that it’s worth spending the money when we’re the only city in Minnesota doing it. Council member Demuth stated this is a good selling point that the City is sustainable even without UMore being a sustainable development. Council member DeBettignies stated he thinks we know what we need to do without this particular system. The Mayor expressed doubt that we could agree on a short list of items to pursue. Ms. Lindquist asked Council to suggest feedback on whether and how the city should continue to utilize STAR program in the future. 2.D. Discussion of Resilient Communities Projects Community Development Director Lindquist gave an overview of the Resilient Communities projects. The summer intern read through all of the projects and created a synopsis of each one. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 Ms. Lindquist stated there were some projects that were outside of the purview of City activities. Some projects overlap with activities the city is already doing. Many of the concepts are being examined by staff and potentially implemented. Council members discussed various projects and the potential for completing them. Council member Nelson would like to see tobacco revenue go toward the DARE alternative program. City Clerk Hadler stated we would start licensing tobacco sales January 1st, 2016. Council member Demuth inquired about the GHG Emissions – Sustainability Studies project and whether the city could actually save as much money as the report suggests. Ms. Lindquist stated she would need to look into this further. Council member Demuth inquired if it was time to do another energy audit. Council member Weisensel stated you usually do them about 5 years apart. The initial energy improvements were mostly replacement of lights. Council member Nelson noted the use of more efficient lights in Apple Valley. Council member Demuth inquired about addressing the buckthorn in Central Park. City Administrator Johnson responded that this was one of the items that is in the list of potential projects. UPDATES City Administrator Johnson and Community Development Director responded to concerns about legal guidelines regarding rezoning of the bowling alley. City Clerk Hadler reminded Council that tobacco licensing would be discussed at the October Work Session. Council member Nelson expressed concerns about Dakota Aggregates noise. Mayor Droste mentioned upcoming events. 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 9:45 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk