HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.b. Minutes of February 11, 2004 City Council Work SessionROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
FEBRUARY 11, 2004
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the Committee of the Whole Work Session was held on
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The half -hour
earlier start time was to allow time for a presentation by Ehlers and Associates.
Mayor Droste and Council Members Riley, Shoe - Corrigan, Strayton, and DeBettignies were
present. Also in attendance were City Administrator Verbrugge, Community Development
Director Lindquist, Parks & Recreation Director Schultz, City Engineer Brotzler, Finance
Director May and Police Chief Kalstabakken.
Key Financial Strategies
City Administrator Verbrugge introduced Jim Prosser and Rebecca Kurtz from Ehlers &
Associates, to present the second part of the Key Financial Strategies for the City of Rosemount.
This will include suggested time frames and staff requirements. Staff will review the material
updates and refinements can be made. This will also include a section on funding capital which
will require Council and staff to determine not just cost, but how much change our community
can take. Priorities will need to be set. A comparison of concepts and strategies will constantly
have to be a part of planning. Issues and rationale by staff will need to be reviewed. A list was
presented of items with projected start date, cost /time estimate, stage, and comments. City
Administrator Verbrugge wished to include a Fire Station which is listed in the Capital
Improvement Budget. Ehlers noted that it is very important to include the community in the
decision and planning of major projects even if they will not go to referendum. So process is
very important. It is important to select which line items may need public involvement. It is very
helpful to have feedback from residents involved and this is especially important politically.
Each department gave updates on the listed items. Mr. Prosser said they will provide an updated
spreadsheet, show revenues and expenditures, and recommend a time frame for issues. Prosser
noted that City Council and staff are the best judges on what is right for Rosemount. Feed -back
is expected, pop -up priorities may arise, and then the document can be adjusted. The next
meeting on Key Financial Strategies will be in April.
Fund Balance Policy
Finance Director May presented the issue of compensated absences and how to handle that
without changing our payroll system. Finance Director May recommended designating a portion
of our General Fund as encumbered for compensated absences. The Fund Balance Policy would
need to have one sentence amended to read, "Fund balances that are reserved for encumbrances
and reserved for compensated absences will be excluded from the calculation of the 55% as they
are designated for. a specific purpose." Council was comfortable with this amendment.
42/52 Comprehensive Planning Study
Community Development Director Lindquist presented the issue of appropriate land uses in the
County Road 42 /Highway 52 area on the east end of Rosemount. Lindquist noted this could take
on more urgency depending on the timing for highway reconstruction and the potential
development of an Air Cargo facility. Staff requested direction regarding the process for doing a
land use study, including if they would like to create a committee for that purpose. Council
Member Strayton thought this study may be premature and that it may be more prudent to wait
and see if the Air Cargo facility is located in Rosemount. Discussion included establishing a
business park and reviewing the zoning plan. Consensus was to hold off on beginning the study
for several months.
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ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
FEBRUARY 11, 2004
Rosewood Estates
Community Development Director Lindquist requested direction from City Council on the land
use for the parcel east of the railroad tracks on Highway 3 and north of CR 42 and the parcel
considered the "church property." The developer indicated they would like townhomes on the
western lot, but staff is interested in promoting commercial uses on the property. Dakota County
Community Development Agency (CDA) submitted a letter for a potential townhome
development and the letter stated that Lighthouse Community Church was considering selling
some of its property. CDA would require about five acres for their project. Council indicated
they were comfortable with a possible land use change. Mike Olson of Progress Land Company
shared some concerns his company has as property owner.
Sideyard Setback Requirements
Community Development Director Lindquist presented information gathered from communities
on front /rear /and side -yard setback zoning regulations and lot sizes. It was noted that Planned
Unit Developments (PUDs) allow developers to relax the regulations if something is gained for
the City. Council was aware of maintaining neighborhoods by not taking away the character or
"look" of it. Discussion included how a neighbor's window may be ten feet from a garage wall
and that may not be desirable. Lindquist noted space that is not maintained (between houses)
often becomes a storage area. City Administrator Verbrugge instructed that if the main reason to
change the ordinance could be determined, then staff could prepare a policy to direct that
thought. Issues discussed were neighborhood stabilization, maintaining home values, crime
prevention/code enforcement, safety, and the idea of allowing residents to grow into their homes
in order to keep them in Rosemount. Council decided to look at changing the RI-A zoning
district standards to allow 5' sideyard setbacks and look at rezoning the Carralton neighborhood
to R1A due in part to their proximity to two other R1A neighborhoods. Not all Council Members
were in favor of the rezoning change.
Fence Ordinance Discussion
Community Development Director Lindquist reviewed the general standards for adjoining side
yards on corner lots and the regulations for fences. Traffic sight lines were a concern. It was
suggested to remove "fence" from the list of physical items requiring a setback. Concern was
also voiced on what to do about the many violations pointed out to staff. The question was raised
as to how many fence variances are requested in a year? Mayor Droste pointed out that one
resident's request may not be reason to change an entire policy. It was recommended to have the
Ordinance modified to require a 15 foot setback for fences rather than 30 feet. The Council
directed staff to "get the word out" on this proposal and see what kind of feedback is required.
An ordinance amendment would go before the Planning Commission and City Council.
UPDATES
Radio Communications Infrastructure
Police Chief Kalstabakken gave some background information on the current consolidation of
public safety communications services in Dakota County. A task force group, the Radio Work
Group was created to prepare findings and make recommendations. This group recommended
making a transition to the regional 800 MHz system to be implemented by 2006. Dakota County
will continue with the VHF/UHF equipment but develop a strategy to move to the digital 800
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ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
FEBRUARY 11, 2004
MHz system. This will allow sharing of the communication equipment costs as well. The
dispatch center operations are considered a separate issue at this point.
Mayor Droste thanked the Police Department for their efforts on reducing speeding motorist in
residential areas.
Leprechaun Days
Parks & Recreation Director Schultz presented information on the two options for coordinating
this year's event. The first was to have the event run the same as in years past, having a
committee of residents fulfilling all of the requirements of the new special event policy. The
second option was to have city staff take on the lead role of organizing the event for one year
with help from citizen volunteers. The City would then be the fiscal agent responsible for the
event. The City would assist with getting the structure of the event more clearly defined. Schultz
introduced Joe Walsh, a long time volunteer with the event. The Council felt that the event could
be run either way as long as the as community members were involved and the event is
organized to be successful in the future. Schultz will contact the event coordinators from last
year and discuss this matter with them.
Commission Appointments
Mayor Droste requested that all applicants be interviewed even if they currently hold a
commission seat. This will allow City Council to get feed back on the operations of the
commission. Council selected Saturday, March 13 9:00 a.m. to noon for interview
appointments. The appointments will be made at the March 17 regular City Council meeting
and commissioners will begin their terms after April 1.
The regular Committee of the Whole was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
City Clerk Jentink
The City Council's Agenda Packet is Clerk's File 2004 -06.
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