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Home My WebLink About6.b. Minutes of June 11, 2003 Committee of the Whole1 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS E * C COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JUNE 11, 2003 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the Committee of the Whole Work Session was held on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members Riley, Shoe - Corrigan, and Strayton were present. Also in attendance were City Administrator Verbrugge, Code Enforcement Officer O'Brien, City Planner Pearson, City Engineer Brotzler, Police Chief Kalstabakken, and Engineering Consultant Weiss from WSB Engineering. Hawkins Pond Homeowners Association Dan Huberty spoke for the Hawkins Homeowner Association. Engineer Brett Weis recalled that the pond had a sand bottom and the Association requested a clay liner so it would hold water. Two years ago, storms caused flood conditions and water had to be pumped out to cut property damage. The whole area was looked at after that, a pump station was installed, and natural plantings were started around the pond. The plantings, which have not flourished, are under warrantee. Staff will contact them to reseed. No sod will be installed. Cable Franchise - Fiber to the Home City Administrator Verbrugge reported that Fiber to the Home (FTTH) has agreed to wire the City and provide access channels. FTTH has asked the City what type of programming will be included. Verbrugge introduced Mark Moore, the City's Cable Coordinator, who gave an informational presentation. Moore recommended using the same programming as now shown on public channels 16, 22, 12, and 10. By sharing this programming, less additional costs will be incurred. If, at a future date, custom programming is desired, it could be added. FTTH is not involved with broadcasting and will take an estimated eight years to build out the fiber optics system throughout the City. Moore was directed to contact Charter Cable about shared programming. Liquor Ordinance City Administrator Verbrugge stated that off -sale liquor licenses can be limited by city government and the policy now in place is based on one off sale license per 6,500 population. Police Chief Kalstabakken noted that the population is based on Metropolitan Council's estimate that now stands at 15,270. Staff has received requests from the two establishments now licensed, Rosemount Liquors Inc. and Shenanigan's Fine Wine & Spirits, to increase the population limitation. They noted that the drinking population is shrinking and if more off -sale liquor stores were allowed the risk of lost revenue would damage their businesses. In addition, they noted that because liquor is restricted by State laws it is not a free market situation. Some on Council were concerned about regulating private business but they also did not see a great need for additional liquor stores. A survey compared population with the number of liquor stores in several metro cities. The average population per store was about 5,000. The City Council consensus was to leave the established ordinance intact and review this again next year after Metropolitan Council updates Rosemount's population. Police Chief Kalstabakken noted that he spoke to all on -sale liquor license holders about the new 2:00 a.m. closing time enacted by the legislature. Most owners are not convinced that this will be a moneymaker for them and that most will only have extended hours Wednesday through Saturday nights for 2:00 a.m. closings. None of the liquor establishments have applied for the 2 a.m. closure at this time. Council viewed this as a business option to be determined by each 1 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JUNE 11, 2003 individual owner and there was consensus to adopt the 2:00 a.m. closing time in the Rosemount ordinance to allow the business owners the option of remaining open later. Police Chief Kalstabakken presented the option to change the current liquor violations penalties. These penalties are determined on a case -by -case basis. Other cities have adopted a step system to guide the council. This also allows the business to know what to expect with fines and/or suspensions and protects the Council from having the appearance of favoritism. Staff will obtain more information on what other cities are doing for review at a future meeting, RV Parking /Storage and Waste Container Enclosure Ordinance Code Enforcement Official O'Brien reviewed the background and history relating to the recreational vehicles (RV) parking/storage ordinances for the past two year. An amendment to allow seasonal storage was reviewed and discussed, but it was generally felt that it would be too difficult to enforce. Other options were discussed including allowing storage in front driveway areas, except for large oversized RV's, with consideration of setback and visibility concerns. Another proposal incorporating the discussion will be brought to a work session in July. The waste storage container enclosure ordinances and their requirements were discussed. Council Members had received complaints that the ordinances were too costly for local businesses to implement. Code Enforcement Official O'Brien and City Planner Pearson explained that the current requirements had been in effect for many years and that the recent amendments were designed to reduce the cost to businesses to come into compliance. Council directed staff to continue the current enforcement efforts. Minimum Building Size Zoning Districts City Planner Pearson presented a staff initiated recommendation to create a minimum building size standard for the General Industrial District. This is a reaction to the most recent industrial developments with disproportionately small principal buildings. The Council directed staff to proceed with the zoning text amendment process. Policy Prohibiting Firearms at Work City Administrator Verbrugge reported that the Conceal Carry Bill does not allow local governments to prohibit weapons on public property. However, the bill does allow local governments to prohibit employees from carrying weapons in the workplace as a condition in the personnel policies. He said that the City's primary concern is for our employees and that violence in the workplace continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the job place. For this reason, Verbrugge asked the City Council for direction to draft an amendment to the personnel policies that will prohibit weapons in the workplace. City Council directed staff to draft a personnel policy for future consideration prohibiting . weapons in the workplace. A draft policy was presented to Council that restricts employees from possessing or carrying a firearm while working in any capacity as a city employee, volunteer or contracted employee. Sworn police officers are given an exception to carry firearms. This policy is modeled after the League of Minnesota Cities sample policy. Council gave direction to have the policy ready for adoption at one of the next Council meetings. 2 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JUNE 11, 2003 Police Officer Retirement/Replacement Officer Mark Robideau has announced that he will be retiring from the Police Department on July 31, 2003. Discussion was held regarding the amount of severance Robideau would be paid according to City policy and union contract and what impact this amount has on the timing of hiring an officer to replace Officer Robideau. When Robideau's official resignation is presented to Council, a recommendation to hire a replacement to begin approximately October 1, 2003 will be made. The October 1 start date will lessen the budgetary impact of the severance /retirement payout, while still allowing for hiring the replacement in a timely manner. Key Financial Strategies City Administrator Verbrugge stated that the contract with Ehlers & Associates to work with the City of Rosemount on Key Financial Strategies would cost $18,000. Verbrugge indicated that Ehlers was willing to withhold billing until the end of the strategic financial planning process. He said that the forced budget cuts in 2003 did not provide adequate funds to pay for the contract in 2003, but that it would be budgeted in 2004. Verbrugge said the Key Financial Strategies planning process usually takes six to nine months. Council members expressed concern about what the final product from the Key Financial Strategies would be. Verbrugge stated that the planning process would only be effective if the recommendations and strategies are implemented. He said that staff is committed to implementing the final plan. Update: Proposed Sports,Dome Proposed Sports Dome Staff update the Council on the process of reviewing the dome. Step one is the zoning text amendment, which will be coming to the next council meeting. Step two is the site plan/CUP. Step three is the building permit review. Update: Chippendale /CSAH 42 City Administrator Verbrugge reported that the May 30 mediation session with property owners at Chippendale Avenue and County Road 42 was successful. He reported that agreement was reached that will leave unrestricted access to the businesses from Chippendale Avenue and that establishes safety criteria to evaluate future traffic concerns. Verbrugge reported that the points of agreement would be included in the final design and specifications for the Chippendale /CSAH 42 road improvement project to be considered by the City Council on June 17, 2003. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, City Clerk Linda Jentink The City Council's Agenda Packet is Clerk's File 2003 -22. 3