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Home My WebLink About04-12-2021 Council Work Session Minutes Orono City Council • Work Session Minutes y Monday,April 12,2021 *tts Council Chambers kEsH 5:00 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Dennis Walsh, Council Members Richard F. Crosby II, Victoria Seals, and Matt Johnson. Staff members present were City Administrator/Engineer/Public Works Director Adam Edwards, Finance Director Ron Olson, Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart, Police Chief Correy Farniok and City Clerk Anna Carlson. 1. 2022 Street Maintenance Project Mayor Dennis Walsh noted that he would like to revisit the plan at the end of April. He mentioned it would give everyone enough time to go out and review our list of streets and then be ready for further discussion at a later work session. City Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards mentioned that he will share the latest maps with Council. He will present at a later meeting. 2. Density Tiers Discussion Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart presented a background of the density tiers the City currently uses. He noted that there are a few goals the city needs to keep in mind to comply with our Comprehensive Plan. He added the City has to identify all of the areas in the • comp plan where it anticipates development. When the City did that prior, it resulted in the number totals for total units/acres/growth. Barnhart stated he brought this up because when the City starts making changes or introduces new densities then they have to adjust these numbers a bit. Barnhart explained the relationship between the numbers presented in the table and the previous comp plan adjustments the city had made within the last two years. Walsh explained that the Council is interested in making changes to the deltas to allow for more room and for more credits towards the full density levels. He noted it could create an opportunity to expand the density if the City made more deltas for options and also create flexibility to lower it in other places of preference. Barnhart asked if the Council was looking to make more reactionary changes or to make changes to what is currently in the comp plan. Walsh said either would work. Barnhart noted that he believes he understands what the Council is looking for. Council Member Victoria Seals mentioned she would also like to see more ranges established as an option. Council Member Richard F. Crosby II, also agreed. He added in areas of more density we will get more credit anyway but if it's close to the number but under the top number of the tier we • currently will only get credit for the lower number. Page 1 of 3 Orono City Council Work Session Minutes A Monday,April 12,2021 • 1kESH0�� Council Chambers 5:00 p.m. Barnhart noted that he will come back with some types of solutions or ideas to meet the expectations for density tiers. 3. Homeowner Improvement Areas Finance Director Ron Olson gave a brief update on the homeowner improvement areas. He mentioned the City had a request sometime last year asking for help to provide some financing for improvements to five roads. Walsh explained that the homeowners are asking the City to take over the roads and then in turn assess the properties for the fixes. Edwards noted that this is part of the Homeowners Improvement through state statute allows homeowners to request the city to take back the roads and repair them and then to use bonding to pay for the repairs. Walsh noted we are not interested. Crosby and Seals agreed. 4. Navarre Parking Lot • Barnhart began discussion in regard to the Navarre parking lot. He mentioned that it creates a prime opportunity to be used for more than just a parking lot. Barnhart asked the Council they would like him to look further into options for the lot and see if there is an opportunity to make improvements that could be made that could benefit the community. Walsh mentioned the City should keep in mind what it is used for now and that other property owners own some of it as well. Crosby noted that there is also a bus stop located there to take into account. Barnhart mentioned that he would like to reach out to the community to see what they would like done for improvements to the lot. He would also engage with Bolton&Menk and check to see if there would be any buy in from neighboring businesses located around the lot. Edwards noted that this lot is in the lineup for improvements this year. Walsh asked if we take it out of the line-up do the funds go away if they go unused. Edwards mentioned that those funds could still be used for other items. Council gave input and supported efforts to reach out to the community to see what they would like to see done with the lot. • Page 2 of 3 iSLoN Orono City Council • Work Session Minutes y� Monday,April 12,2021 Council Chambers l-Ikf S 5:00 p.m. 5. Police Chief Briefing Police Chief Correy Farniok briefed the Council noting there will be a curfew in place for Hennepin County. The Police department will not be citing people that are not following the curfew. They will encourage the public to follow the curfew. Farniok also gave a brief update about officers down assisting with civil unrest in the Cities. Adjourned: 5:42 p.m. CITY OF ORONO: ATTEST: lJ Dennis Walsh, Mayor &/„..riet_ Anna Carlson, City Clerk • Page 3 of 3