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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-23-2019 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh, City Council Members Richard Crosby,III,Matt Johnson,and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief,Finance Director Ron Olson,Development Director Jeremy Barnhart,Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards,City Attorney Soren Mattick, and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.,followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 9,2019 2. CLAIMSBILLS 3. REPLACE NETWORK SWITCHES 4. APPROVAL OF RENTAL LICENSE 5. APPROVAL OF RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING SERVICES CONTRACT 6. COUNCIL CHAMBEERS UPGRADE 7. BEDERWOOD PARK PARKING LOT COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH MnDNR 8. CRESTVIEW AVENUE ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT REQUEST 9. LA19-000070—ROB OLSON ON BEHALF OF WAYZATA COUNTRY CLUB,200 WAYZATA BOULEVARD,PROJECT ADDRESS: 430 OLD LONG LAKE ROAD, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT—MUSA—RESOLUTION NO. 7020 10. DEPARTMENT GOALS 11. GOLF COURSE BENCH DONATION RESOLUTION NO.7021 Crosby moved,Seals seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS None PRESENTATION 12. SENATOR DAVID OSMEK Page 1 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Senator David Osmek provided the City Council with an overview of the 2019 legislative session. The legislature finished the session late but they did pass a tax bill that he did not vote for because it did not cut in half the two percent sick tax or provider tax, which people pay every time they visit a health clinic. Originally that was intended to be a temporary tax but is now a permanent tax at 1.8 percent. While the legislature could have budgeted for it,they chose not to do so. Osmek indicated he also did not vote for the opiate bill. While the opiate bill was a good idea fundamentally, it basically was a tax on people who obtain opiates from a physician,which are generally people who follow the rules and use what they have. The downside to the bill is that the majority of the opiates are coming in mostly from over the border,and people who are addicted or are overdosing are not going to be taxed. It will tax,however,the average person who goes to the doctor. Osmek stated he advocated for using the general fund to help offset that since all Minnesotans will benefit from it. Going to be discussed in the 2020 session is the insulin bill,which is a good idea and has the backing of insulin manufacturers. At this time he would be happy to support it unless it is modified or changed. Currently as chair of the Energy and Utilities Commission, Osmek stated he has been working with environmental lobbyists and people on the environmental side as well as the utilities to put together a clean energy bill. This bill is vastly different from the House bill,which would not have allowed for natural gas to be used as a bridge fuel when there is not enough renewable energy available. Osmek stated he went on a tour of a wind farm last week as well as two nuclear reactors,and while wind energy is becoming more and more efficient and more reliable, it only makes up a small portion of Minnesota's energy portfolio and the state needs to have a mix of fuels. No one is against a cleaner environment,but it needs to be accomplished in a sane,rational manner and not rely solely on one type of energy. Osmek stated he also serves on the Transportation Committee and that he was recently contacted by a constituent who was questioning why he should have to pay over$600 for the tabs on his vehicle since he does not drive on the roads any more than someone who might own a 2009 Taurus. Osmek stated in his view there should be a limit on how much people pay for tabs and that his intention is to discuss that in the upcoming legislative session. The questions to be addressed are at what point is there a limit and should there be a ceiling. Mayor Walsh asked whether there is anything new with 5G technology. Osmek stated they did roll it out in Minneapolis and that they are hoping to expand the service area. Even if 5G is available in your area,that does not mean your phone will work on 5G because you will need to purchase a 5G phone. Crosby noted the tab fees are supposed to go for road maintenance and snow clearance and that he would like the legislators to balance those figures and make sure that money is not going into another department. Crosby stated he is also a major advocate for not expanding toll roads in Minnesota. Osmek noted the toll roads are tied to federal road money,but that he does not believe there will be much of an expansion in this area. There might be some addition to 35N as you go out of the Cities but they will not put a toll lane in on I-94 going up to Rogers even though that has been discussed. Crosby commented it is another revenue generator and that the money does not always go towards roads. Page 2 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Osmek indicated the committee did have a discussion about the gas tax and how that was supposed to go toward roads and bridges. There is some leakage,however,that goes into snowmobile clubs because the thinking is that snowmobilers buy gas and pay that tax and it was felt some of that money should go towards trails. It is the same situation with boats. The committee has been keeping an eye on where that money is going but Minnesota did not need a gas tax this year and does not need one next year. Osmek indicated he will continue fighting any increase in Minnesota's current 28.5 cents gas tax. Crosby asked how much of that money was diverted to light rail. Osmek noted the light rail system did have an increase in revenue and an increase in ridership but that it is still heavily funded by the taxpayers. Osmek stated he also wanted to talk about the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District bill since people are misrepresenting it. The bill was never going to increase density on the lake. The LMCD has not performed a density study since 2004,and if they feel there is a density issue,why have they not done anther study to look at it. The bill was designed to allow the cities to be in control of their land management and to not let the LMCD board, which consists of 13 unelected people,telling cities what they can do with noise and traffic issues. Osmek stated he is not going to hand over land authority to 13 people who do not live in his town and do not represent him and that the cities should keep their authority. Osmek stated he also had representatives in his office from the Metropolitan Council. In Minnesota there a lot of cities that are the same size as Orono or smaller. A number of those cities are already built up and they will not be rezoning any land or putting in new developments. Osmek indicated he will be getting together with the Metropolitan Council in October and the goal is to put together a methodology that says if your zoning has not changed by more than 10 percent,then you do not have to do a Comprehensive Plan Update. The Metropolitan Council agrees with that and they will be working on a bill to help cities not have to go through that exercise. Hopefully by next year that will be worked out. FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT 13. ADOPT 2020 PRELIMINARY TAX LEVY Olson stated by state law the City is required to adopt a preliminary property tax levy by September 30. The truth-in-taxation meeting will be held December 9 at 6:30 p.m.,with the final levy being adopted that evening. Once the preliminary levy is set,it cannot be increased, and it can only be decreased. The property tax levy consists of three components. The first is the operating levy, which is adopted to fund the general fund operating budget. The second part is the Pavement Management Levy that is needed to fund the City's Pavement Maintenance Plan. The final levy component is for the debt service of the City's outstanding bonds. The City's revenue budget is now around$9,143,000,which is a 6.6 percent increase over last year. As it relates to total intragovernmental revenue,new regulations do not allow cities to net grant money and it now has to be recorded as revenue and the expenditures need to be recorded,which is what largely constituted the increase in revenue. Page 3 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Property taxes are increasing by$299,000,which is larger than it has been in recent years. However, $80,000 of that increase is due to another budgeting shift. Orono had been budgeting for road maintenance out of the Pavement Management Plan. Starting in 2020,road maintenance will be taken out of the General Fund. Previous city councils were not funding it out of the General Fund and had been using bond revenue for maintenance because they did not want to raise taxes to fund road maintenance. The current City Council has done a good job of looking at long-term maintenance needs and providing funding for them. Property taxes consist of 51 percent of the budget. Over the years Orono has found other ways to fund the General Fund. One of those funding sources is public safety service charges,which consists of 28 percent of the budget. General government service charges is at seven percent and permits are at 6 percent. Surrounding cities are much higher in their dependence on property taxes to fund their General Fund,but Orono's police contract revenue allows the City to be less dependent on property taxes. The expenditure budget is increasing by 6.6 percent,which is consistent with the revenue budget. One of the biggest increases for 2020 is elections. Next year there will be three elections-the presidential primary,the general primary,and federal elections,which amounts to an$62,000 increase. Police services are increasing significantly by$354,000,with at least half of that going towards wages and benefits. Another big increase for the police department is insurance costs,which amount to around $40,000. Over time the City's insurance carrier has realized that police departments in general are behind a lot of big claims, and as a result,the City's premiums have increased dramatically. Street maintenance has an increase of$95,000,mainly as a result of an accounting shift. The City Council removed$80,000 out of the Pavement Maintenance Plan and put it into the street maintenance budget. Olson stated those are the three main departments that are increasing significantly. Special Projects and Contingencies is decreasing by$70,000 since the City will not be hiring another employee as was originally anticipated. The City's expenditure budget overall consists of 53 percent for the police department,five percent for fire protection,eight percent for building and zoning,and seven percent for street maintenance. Personnel costs is the most significant budget line item. The total of all proposed levies is$6,007,450. The General Fund operating budget is$4,679,000;the Pavement Management levy is$617,450, which is an increase of$73,000; and bond payments is $711,000 per year. That number will drop significantly by a quarter of a million dollars in 2023. Orono has traditionally been very conservative on the amount that they tax. A person's property tax bill consists of Hennepin County at 40 percent,the City at 15 percent,the school at 37 percent,and other is nine percent. As it relates to the City's tax capacity, in 2019 the City's tax rate was 16.406 percent. Under the 2020 levy,that would increase to 16.677 percent,which is a little over a quarter percentage increase in the rate, which yields $372,000 in revenue. If someone has a$250,000 home that did not change in value,their taxes would increase by$6.38 on annual basis. On a$2 million home,that would amount to an increase of$64.00. Because some homes will increase in value, a five percent value was calculated to each of the examples. In that scenario,the$250,000 home would see a$29 increase and the$2 million home would see a$272.00 increase. Over the years the City's tax rate has decreased from 17.9 percent in 2014 to 16.6 percent in 2020. Page 4 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Seals suggested that information be shared with the residents on the City's website since it shows the trajectory is going down. Seals stated she does not feel that is the perception by the residents. Walsh noted Orono's taxes on a$1 million house went down since 2014 by 5.36 percent. The City Council has used those monies to fund road repairs, infrastructure,technology, and the other services the City provides. Over the past four years the City's tax rate has decreased by four percent. The City Council has been able to do that by good budgeting and being efficient with taxpayer dollars. In addition, the roads budget has been increasing even though residents have been paying less in taxes. The City is not bonding and little by little has been paying off that debt. Seals stated when people tear down a million-dollar home and then build a$5 million home,that helps keep the residents' taxes down because it increases the City's tax capacity. Walsh stated as the City's debt decreases,that will allow the City to keep taxes lower. Orono is currently the third or fourth lowest taxed city in Hennepin County. Olson noted at the October 28 City Council work session,they will be reviewing utility fund budgets, Staff's internal rate study, and the Capital Improvement Plan. At the November 25, 2019, work session, the Council will be discussing the fee schedule, and at the December 9,2019, City Council meeting,the truth-in-taxation meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m.,and the City's final budget and final tax levy will be approved. There were no public comments. Crosby moved, Seals seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO.7022,a Resolution Adopting the Preliminary 2019 Tax Levy Collectible in 2020. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 14. ADOPT 2020 PRELIMINARY GENERAL FUND BUDGET Crosby moved,Johnson seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 7023,a Resolution to Adopt the Preliminary 2020 General Fund Budget. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 15. LA19-000053—CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT,AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK REGULATIONS Barnhart noted two weeks ago the City Council directed Staff to prepare an ordinance for adoption regarding the average lakeshore setback reflecting the desired language offered by the Mayor. The Council did not want to make any wholesale changes but wanted to provide an avenue to support improvements that do not increase the impact in neighboring properties in certain lot configurations. The City Attorney and Staff slightly revised that language to avoid unintended consequences and loopholes. Staff has prepared some examples applying the new language to different lots. In most situations,there is no change. In lots where the shoreline is convex,the new language is applied. This new setback is shown in red,with the old setback being depicted in black. In these three examples,the average lakeshore setback moves closer to the lake but does not impact the view. Page 5 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Staff recommends adoption as drafted. Walsh noted under Item(b) it states, in situations where the average Lakeshore setback line bisects the principal building located on either adjacent lot,the next most adjacent lakeside bisect point shall be used. Walsh asked whether that should be the next most adjacent lakeside point of the bisected principal that does not bisect the house. Johnson stated that was one of his questions as well and asked what happens if the next most adjacent lakeside bisect point goes through the principal structure as well. Walsh stated they would have to keep moving further away until it does not bisect. Barnhart indicated that is how it was applied in the examples. Walsh suggested making that language clearer by changing it to read,the next most adjacent lakeside point of the principal that does not bisect the house or the building. Mattick stated they may want to remove the first bisect. Walsh commented it could say as long as it does not bisect the principal building. Mattick stated it could read,the next most adjacent lakeside point of the principal building shall be used for determining the average lakeshore setback. Walsh suggested adding the words, as long as it does not bisect the principal structure. Walsh asked whether anyone from the public would like to comment on this application. Kelly Hueler,2715 Pence Lane,stated they would like to get clarification on the change. If they are looking at the two homes next to their house,the new adjacent structure that received variances to go closer to the Lakeshore,the new corner,rather than the previous corner,now becomes the new point of measurement,and that would be the easterly corner to their westerly corner. Hueler asked whether the lot in the middle,which was originally supposed to be a pad on a conforming lot but obtained variances to move closer to the lakeshore,would be able to go closer to the lake without a variance. Walsh stated they cannot move it any closer because the red line is the line in that situation and that line would remain the same. Crosby noted the black line shows what the line originally was and the red line shows what was granted. The red line is what would apply under the new ordinance. Kelly Hueler asked if the new line is what the variance allowed. Crosby stated it is. Kelly Hueler asked if that house can move closer to the lake. Page 6 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Walsh stated they cannot. If they had come before the Council under this new language,the only difference between the two is they would not require a variance under the new language. Kelly Hueler stated there needs to be clarity so there are not unreasonable variance requests due to confusion. Hueler stated they do not want to see people who have requested and been granted variances come in again for a variance. Walsh noted they have already received approval,and if they want to move their house any closer,they would require a variance. Kelly Hueler commented that is the concern they have. Walsh stated if it was a situation that was impacted by the change,they could come before the City Council. The City could potentially have some situations like that,and that it is not unlike when the City changed the hardcover rules. Johnson pointed out the overall hardcover would also come into play,because if someone wanted to push their house closer to the lake,that may require a longer driveway. Crosby noted they also have the 75-foot setback that they will have to comply with. Walsh stated the change might result in three feet to five feet differences but that there are not going to be huge changes to the line. In addition,the new language will help clarify things. Greg Hueler noted Staff had said there were 40 variance requests this year. Hueler asked how many of those variances related to this development. Barnhart indicated it was very few. Kelly Hueler commented there was a lot of confusion on a whole lot of levels on the project next to their house and their concern is about changing city code because of confusion on a project that was immensely confusing for a lot of reasons. Walsh stated most changes result from applications where the ordinance does not make sense or where an issue has not been raised before. Greg Hueler asked if the change in the code will decrease the number of variance requests. Walsh stated it could. Johnson noted one application dealt with oversized accessory structures where he wanted to add on to an existing building but was prohibited from doing that because he would have exceeded the maximum number of square feet for a single building. That text amendment will be before the City Council at their next meeting. Walsh commented there are also issues with slope stabilization that come up periodically and how long the process takes and the Council is discussing ways to streamline that process. Page 7 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Kelly Hueler stated they just want to make sure all citizens are treated equally. If people are respectful of the code and of their neighbors,a variance should be considered,and unreasonable variances should be limited. Mattick suggested at the end they could simply add, if the line continues to bisect building,the next most lakeshore point is to e used until the setback line does not bisect the adjacent building. Walsh stated that would be acceptable. Johnson asked if the City has a definition of where or what the lakeshore is. If not,the City Council should have a conversation about changing it to the ordinary high water level. Barnhart stated he does not know off the top of the head whether the City has a definition of Lakeshore. Johnson commented they might want to further look into that. Johnson indicated he has spoken with several surveyors that are active in the community and one of the complications they can encounter is how they obtain that measurement if the adjoining neighbor does not agree to them coming on their property to measure from their corner. Barnhart stated his understanding is they obtain that from aerial photographs. Johnson stated to his knowledge this got started because City Staff was interpreting the city code one way for a long time and then the City started interpreting it differently. The surveyor with their direct reflex laser are able to get property corners,which makes it easier to go from a property corner to a property corner,but somebody has to get permission to do that. If you start throwing in 42-inch maximum height, the surveyor would have to stand on that property and measure the height, and they may not get that permission. Ultimately they will have to survey the house on both sides to be exact. At one point Staff was interpreting corner to corner as average Lakeshore setback. Johnson stated the other thing he learned on the Council was that he was using the words line of sight or sightline,which is not in the code,and that he should be using average lakeshore setback. People get confused between the term line of sight and average lakeshore setback. Walsh noted the average lakeshore setback affects someone's line of sight. Johnson stated at the Planning Commission meeting they had a neighbor on Casco Point that thinks they deserve al 80-degree line of sight but there is nothing in the code that protects the sight. The average setback line is to keep houses from boxing in other homes,and the spirit of what the City Council is trying to do is make it understandable and fair to everybody. In his experience in talking to the surveyors, the City Council should take a harder look at this whole thing before they add any tweaks. Walsh stated the onus is on the surveyor to provide the information and that he is not sure how to change the code to make it easier to obtain. The Code needs to be clear on where that point is,and that he is not sure if ordinary high-water mark is clear either. Barnhart stated ordinary high water is a pretty standard term and it is the point where the 75-foot setback is measured from. Page 8 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Johnson stated the ordinary high-water mark is a constant,but some lakes do not have designated high- water marks. Orono may want to incorporate that into their code because they need to have some sort of consistent measuring point. Walsh stated if that is standard in Orono,they could use that regardless of what other cities have. Johnson stated the City should be conscious of asking people to do something that they might not be able to get and that he is not a proponent of changing it. If any changes are going to be made,he would like to take a wholesale look at it. Walsh stated he likes the City Attorney's language that clarified that and that he likes ordinary high-water mark if the term shoreline is not defined. Johnson stated this started out in a work session and it went to the Planning Commission as three options of what to do and they vetted those out. The Planning Commission has not been a part of this conservation. Walsh stated the Planning Commission vetted out the general concept of the lines and that the City Council has received enough information from Staff to proceed forward. Mattick recommended this item come back before the City Council at their next meeting with the exact language. Seals moved,Crosby seconded,to table Application No. LA19-000053,City of Orono,Text Amendment Related to Average Lakeshore Setback. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals reported Bederwood Park is currently under construction and that she has been approached by some residents wondering whether some new homes are going in there. The project consists of a new soccer field and improvements to the parking lot. Seals encouraged the residents to use the city parks more often since then they are less likely to go away. Johnson noted the department goals was on the Consent Agenda. Those goals help make sure there are some benchmarks and accountability. Johnson stated the City has received the funds for the easement vacation and that he would like to start a conversation about where that money should be earmarked,such as perhaps using it to improve other easements. Johnson noted there was money allocated on the survey for Big Island but the City has not accepted that grant yet. Rief stated the archeological survey is completed and that Staff is waiting on the final agreement for the grant. Johnson stated the City also worked out an arrangement with the School and the City's engineer chipped in on that. Page 9 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Crosby stated he has recently become aware of the need for the assisted living center to have a larger sign. During the day it is very difficult to see the sign and it is worse at night, especially if emergency personnel need to respond. Walsh stated the Long Lake Fire and Police Department softball game was this past Wednesday and the Orono Police Department won. The annual mayors' rowing competition is this Sunday and the police and fire departments will be participating. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT 16. LABOR AGREEMENT WITH PATROL OFFICERS LELS LOCAL#40 Rief provided an update on the Labor Agreement with the Patrol Officers LELS Local No.40. The City has agreed to a three-year term starting on January 1,2020, along with wage increases over those three years of three percent,three percent,and two percent. Insurance contributions by the City was strongly negotiated and have been maintained at the City's current cost of$1,472 for a family in 2020. The contribution for a single individual has not changed. The new established rate will be 50 percent of the increase for 2021 and 2022. The City's general policy on increases has been kept across all union and nonunion personnel. A longevity step was added for police officers at 18 years. As it relates to vacation time, eight hours of vacation time has been added for employees over 20 years,with no changes to the rest. Compensatory time was modified for 12-hour shifts. Not agreed to was an increase the sick pay bank, an increase in the vacation bank,specialty pay for investigators and other personnel,and health savings account contributions. Crosby moved,Seals seconded,to approve the Labor Agreement with Patrol Officers LELS Local #40. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT,CONTINUED Rief reported he has a meeting with the city managers this week along with his staff. A meeting is typically held once a year around the budget timeframe to see if there are any issues. Last year there was probably 25 city managers and administrators at the meeting. The meeting is a good opportunity to express any concerns Orono may have. Rief stated he will bring up the issues with the roads CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Mattick noted he occasionally speaks with representatives from the Minnesota League of Cities, and that if there are specific issues the City Council has,they should let him know. Recently there has been a lot of noise about some of the fees cities charge their residents and it is something that is coming under scrutiny. Fees charged by cities will likely be discussed at the 2020 legislative session. Fees can be a big component of a City's revenue and there has been some discussion about how the fees on a building application are determined. Page 10 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,September 23,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. ADJOURNMENT Crosby moved,Seals seconded,to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 8:40 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. ATTEST: CL, J,� - i P Anna Carlson,City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 11 of 11