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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-2016 Council Work Session MinutesMINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION April 25, 2016 5:00 o'clock p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Lili Tod McMillan, Council Members Jim Cornick, Jr., Aaron Printup, Lizz Levang, and Denny Walsh. Representing Staff were City Administrator Jessica Loftus, Finance Director Ron Olson, Public Works Director/Engineer Adam Edwards, Senior Planner Michael Gaffron, and City Clerk Diane Tiegs. GUESTS: Hennepin County Assessor, James Atchison; Long Lake Council Member, Lizz Olson; Cemetery Board Members Jim Dillman and Sam Retinger I. Hennepin County Assessor Contract - Presentation from James Atchison The City of Orono contracts with Hennepin County for assessing services. The current 4 - year contract expires on July 31, 2016. Hennepin County Assessor James Atchison provided information to Council which included an "At a Glance" information fact sheet and a PowerPoint presentation reviewing the services offered. Mr. Atchison reviewed the diverse types of properties and their values which include executive homes, lakeshore neighborhoods, and small neighborhoods. Property valuation ranges in Orono are 32 percent $0 — 400,000, 34 percent $400,000 — 800,000, 17 percent $800,000 - 1.2 M and 17 percent are $1.2M and higher. Orono has a culture in which residents call and expect a personal response regarding their concerns. Orono has had the most contacts regarding the valuation notices for a community of its size. The Hennepin County Assessor's Office provides excellent customer service and education to the community and residents. The Hennepin County Assessor's office houses two staff appraisers at Orono City Hall, Tom Kunik and Mike Smerdon. Their time at Orono is 80% re- evaluation phone calls and 20% reviewing property. Housing staff and property records at City Hall provides a quicker response to resident requests. Hennepin County is in the process of implementing the e -homestead applications online. This is set for June 2016 County -wide and will create a more efficient process. Risk Management issues are addressed by the Hennepin County Administrators and no extra fees are incurred. Legal advisors from the County Attorney's office are at the assessor's disposal. Open Book efficiencies and future improvements may move to the format of region meetings rather than community. This would allow more opportunity for residents to bring forth their valuation concerns as the Open Book times and dates would be for more than one 3 hour session per community. Hennepin County Assessors are qualified to appraise all properties within the county. The Hennepin County Assessing Division supplies computers, business analysts, legal consulting, and 50 staff which includes 38 certified assessors to address resident concerns. Council Member Printup asked where Orono falls in valuations are after the crash of 2009 as to whether valuations have stabilized. City Administrator Loftus stated that Hennepin County follows the market which means we are re -active and not pro -active. We currently house other community's property files and City Administrator Loftus suggested compensation for that storage. Mr. Atchison said an $8,000 credit for 2015 and a $5,000 credit for 2014 was reimbursed to the City for not using the full contract amount. In conclusion the assessing contract expires July 31, 2016. Loftus stated this discussion was to review Hennepin County process and provide information to Council. Printup would like to poll other communities to learn how they do their assessing. Mr. Atchison reminded Council that this is a full-time 2 person job not a weekend/evening position. Orono takes a tremendous amount of effort to do the proper valuations. Council Member Levang is not interested in looking at doing it differently due to the excellent job the current assessors are providing the City of Orono. Council Members Walsh and Printup would like more information so Council members can answer resident inquiries. Why do communities choose to go with a private assessor? Mr. Atchison relayed that many communities have moved to county services due to growth and retirement of private assessors. 2. Cemetery Road Parking / Ownership City Planner Mike Gaffron provided historical information for Cemetery Road. Cemetery Road provides access to Union Cemetery. Currently employees of the Birch's Restaurant use the road for parking. Concerns have risen regarding the road integrity, maintenance along with who actually owns cemetery road. Gaffron reviewed the conclusions of his research. He believes it is a public road, never dedicated but historically it is a public road. Discussion at this meeting centers on the issues of regulating the parking of Birch's employees, road ownership, and who is responsible for road maintenance. Walsh asked Long Lake Council Member Olson whether Long Lake would want total ownership of the road and she responded no. The road is split, the north side belongs to Orono and the south side belongs to Long Lake. Orono regularly plows the road during the winter and posts weight restrictions in spring. The maintenance should be split 50/50 in the event the road integrity is weakened. The manager of Birch's has been working with the cemetery board and agrees to direct his employees to park on the south side which has solved the parking problem. Walsh says it makes sense to plat the road accurately and cost share. Regarding policing the area, police could sweep the parking area after bar hours. Someone needs to communicate with Birch's what the expectations are when using the south side of cemetery road. Council directed Loftus to meet with Long Lake City Administrator Scott Weske and to discuss road maintenance issues. 3. Sub -Committee with Orono School Loftus relayed that Council discussed whether a subcommittee with Orono Schools should be formalized to regularly meet with Orono Schools staff per a request from Council Member Walsh. She asked Council if this is something they would still like to do and who would be on the sub -committee. Walsh and Printup would like to meet and have dialog with the school staff as a sub -committee. Mayor McMillan is hesitant to get that political with the school. The City has to maintain balance with other school districts within Orono. She would rather invite school staff to a Council Work Session to share information as a group. Council Member Levang agrees that the City should maintain a balance with all the schools in the community. Walsh stated the subcommittee is to just talk with the board to keep a dialog going and keep updated as to what is happening. Printup feels that the Orono School Board is hesitant to get politically involved with the City. Mayor McMillan said that the City must remain neutral especially regarding school issues such as school referendums and does not want to give the impression that one school is receiving preferential treatment over other schools in our community. The City Council receives the meeting minutes and meeting packets via the weekly Information Update which provides updates and board action. An invitation to meet as a group would be appropriate. 4. Road Funding and Planning The current street rebuilding and maintenance required on City roads exceeds the current resources. Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards reviewed the assumptions and requested initial direction on road funding from Council. There is still much work to be done for a fully developed road funding program. The 2014 Road Management Plan was a start. The plan requires $1,050,000 annually for preventative maintenance and re- construction funds. That Pian has been the source document driving the Pavement Capital Improvement Plan which in turn is used to develop the annual pavement maintenance budget. However due to a lack of funding the most pavement maintenance projects have been deferred. Although not budgeted or planned for the city has done some maintenance works with previous year's budget surpluses (averaging $380,000 annually over the last 10 years). Currently the city does not have a sustainable budget. Council's options for funding sources are to change the levy, assessments, franchise fees, or reallocating resources from other city activities. The 2008 Casco Point Road was repaired using bonds which will be expiring in 2023. Looking at the historical records it appears that a decision was made to use the Cities preventative maintenance funds to pay back the bonds on this project. This has left the city without a reliable budget for road maintenance. Mayor McMillan said Council could look to add levy funds that result from increase property values but did not want to increase the tax rate. Edwards would like direction from Council to move forward because the longer road maintenance is deferred the more expensive to repair. Currently maintenance workers are trying to play catch up with limited funds and staff, with some roads beyond patching. Walsh wants a list of the street reconstruction projects under consideration reviewed. Edwards reviewed the top priority roads, 2016 road maintenance, and current improvement activity in progress. A feasibility study for Fox Street improvements is slated for this summer with projects possible in 2017-2019. Council Members are in agreement that Fox Street needs to be repaired as soon as possible. Fox road complaints are for the length but the worst sections are on the west end. Total street costs are from the Pavement Management Study. A feasibility study will provide more detail to refine the numbers. With the recent road bids coming in low there should be sufficient funds in the MSA account to rebuild the MSA section of Fox in 2017. If a sufficient funding source can be identified it would be wise to also rebuild the western most (city funded) section as well in 2017. In addition to rebuilding our worst roads the city needs to invest in preventative maintenance activities such as mill and overlays and seal coating. Hunter, Tamarack and Casco Circle were all proposed for mill and overlays in 2016 but differed. With the surpluses from 2015 they could be reconsidered. Hunter Roads condition is in decent shape underneath but the top coat is disintegrating. Tamarack is in nearly the same condition. Northern Avenue is at the top of the list but due to the building project in that area repair would be best to wait. There may be a cost savings to group roads together which would better serve residents by limiting disruption. Walsh wants to get the bad roads completed. He would like Hunter and Tamarack set for mill and overlay this year and hold any excess funds for Fox Street. Mayor McMillan is interested in adding more funds to the levy but keeping the tax rate at 17%. Council Member Levang is fine with increasing the levy and agrees with moving forward on maintenance for Fox, Hunter and Tamarack. Walsh stated Hunter is more than a mill and overlay. Walsh suggested setting aside $25,000 for the school road project on Old Crystal Bay and the school will be responsible for the other half of $50,000 project. Mayor McMillan likes that idea but would like to review the bids for Hunter and Tamarac roads before dedicating funds. printup likes the idea of cost sharing with the schools. Walsh stated that the bids for the Watertown road project were lower than expected so the extra $600,000 in the MSA account plus the MSA funds coming in 2017 will provide funds to repair Fox Street located from Willow to Brown. Excess funds for non MSA roads could be used for Brown to Orchard and Old Crystal Bay to Willow roads. Walsh would like a feasibility study on Leaf Street for mill and overlay. Edwards said Leaf could be a staggered project as some sections may need to be re -built. He will provide a proposal to redo the roads and re -assessment of the cost at the May work session. ATTEST Diane Tiegs, City Clerk Lili Tod McMillan, Mayor MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION April 25, 2016 S:00 o'clock p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Lili Tod McMillan, Council Members Jim Cornick, Jr., Aaron Printup, Lizz Levang, and Denny Walsh. Representing Staff were City Administrator Jessica Loftus, Finance Director Ron Olson, Public Works Director/Engineer Adam Edwards, Senior Planner Michael Gaffron, and City Clerk Diane Tiegs. GUESTS: Hennepin County Assessor, James Atchison; Long Lake Council Member, Lizz Olson; Cemetery Board Members Jim Dillman and Sam Retinger I. Hennepin County Assessor Contract - Presentation from James Atchison The City of Orono contracts with Hennepin County for assessing services. The current 4 - year contract expires on July 31, 2016. Hennepin County Assessor James Atchison provided information to Council which included an "At a Glance" information fact sheet and a PowerPoint presentation reviewing the services offered. Mr. Atchison reviewed the diverse types of properties and their values which include executive homes, lakeshore neighborhoods, and small neighborhoods. Property valuation ranges in Orono are 32 percent $0 — 400,000, 34 percent $400,000 — 800,000, 17 percent $800,000 - 1.2 M and 17 percent are $1.2M and higher. Orono has a culture in which residents call and expect a personal response regarding their concerns. Orono has had the most contacts regarding the valuation notices for a community of its size. The Hennepin County Assessor's Office provides excellent customer service and education to the community and residents. The Hennepin County Assessor's office houses two staff appraisers at Orono City Hall, Tom Kunik and Mike Smerdon. Their time at Orono is 80% re- evaluation phone calls and 20% reviewing property. Housing staff and property records at City Hall provides a quicker response to resident requests. Hennepin County is in the process of implementing the e -homestead applications online. This is set for June 2016 County -wide and will create a more efficient process. Risk Management issues are addressed by the Hennepin County Administrators and no extra fees are incurred. Legal advisors from the County Attorney's office are at the assessor's disposal. Open Book efficiencies and future improvements may move to the format of region meetings rather than community. This would allow more opportunity for residents to bring forth their valuation concerns as the Open Book times and dates would be for more than one 3 hour session per community. Hennepin County Assessors are qualified to appraise all properties within the county. The Hennepin County Assessing Division supplies computers, business analysts, legal consulting, and 50 staff which includes 38 certified assessors to address resident concerns. Council Member Printup asked where Orono falls in valuations are after the crash of 2009 as to whether valuations have stabilized. City Administrator Loftus stated that Hennepin County follows the market which means we are re-active and not pro-active. We currently house other community's property files and City Administrator Loftus suggested compensation for that storage. Mr. Atchison said an $8,000 credit for 2015 and a $5,000 credit for 2014 was reimbursed to the City for not using the full contract amount. In conclusion the assessing contract expires July 31, 2016. Loftus stated this discussion was to review Hennepin County process and provide information to Council. Printup would like to poll other communities to learn how they do their assessing. Mr. Atchison reminded Council that this is a full-time 2 person job not a weekend/evening position. Orono takes a tremendous amount of effort to do the proper valuations. Council Member Levang is not interested in looking at doing it differently due to the excellent job the current assessors are providing the City of Orono. Council Members Walsh and Printup would like more information so Council members can answer resident inquiries. Why do communities choose to go with a private assessor? Mr. Atchison relayed that many communities have moved to county services due to growth and retirement of private assessors. 2. Cemetery Road Parking / Ownership City Planner Mike Gaffron provided historical information for Cemetery Road. Cemetery Road provides access to Union Cemetery. Currently employees of the Birch's Restaurant use the road for parking. Concerns have risen regarding the road integrity, maintenance along with who actually owns cemetery road. Gaffron reviewed the conclusions of his research. He believes it is a public road, never dedicated but historically it is a public road. Discussion at this meeting centers on the issues of regulating the parking of Birch's employees, road ownership, and who is responsible for road maintenance. Walsh asked Long Lake Council Member Olson whether Long Lake would want total ownership of the road and she responded no. The road is split, the north side belongs to Orono and the south side belongs to Long Lake. Orono regularly plows the road during the winter and posts weight restrictions in spring. The maintenance should be split 50/50 in the event the road integrity is weakened. The manager of Birch's has been working with the cemetery board and agrees to direct his employees to park on the south side which has solved the parking problem. Walsh says it makes sense to plat the road accurately and cost share. Regarding policing the area, police could sweep the parking area after bar hours. Someone needs to communicate with Birch's what the expectations are when using the south side of cemetery road. Council directed Loftus to meet with Long Lake City Administrator Scott Weske and to discuss road maintenance issues. 3. Sub -Committee with Orono School Loftus relayed that Council discussed whether a subcommittee with Orono Schools should be formalized to regularly meet with Orono Schools staff per a request from Council Member Walsh. She asked Council if this is something they would still like to do and who would be on the sub -committee. Walsh and Printup would like to meet and have dialog with the school staff as a sub -committee. Mayor McMillan is hesitant to get that political with the school. The City has to maintain balance with other school districts within Orono. She would rather invite school staff to a Council Work Session to share information as a group. Council Member Levang agrees that the City should maintain a balance with all the schools in the community. Walsh stated the subcommittee is to just talk with the board to keep a dialog going and keep updated as to what is happening. Printup feels that the Orono School Board is hesitant to get politically involved with the City. Mayor McMillan said that the City must remain neutral especially regarding school issues such as school referendums and does not want to give the impression that one school is receiving preferential treatment over other schools in our community. The City Council receives the meeting minutes and meeting packets via the weekly Information Update which provides updates and board action. An invitation to meet as a group would be appropriate. 4. Road Funding and Planning The current street rebuilding and maintenance required on City roads exceeds the current resources. Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards reviewed the assumptions and requested initial direction on road funding from Council. There is still much work to be done for a fully developed road funding program. The 2014 Road Management Plan was a start. The plan requires $1,050,000 annually for preventative maintenance and re- construction funds. That Plan has been the source document driving the Pavement Capital Improvement Plan which in turn is used to develop the annual pavement maintenance budget. However due to a lack of funding the most pavement maintenance projects have been deferred. Although not budgeted or planned for the city has done some maintenance works with previous year's budget surpluses (averaging $380,000 annually over the last 10 years). Currently the city does not have a sustainable budget. Council's options for funding sources are to change the levy, assessments, franchise fees, or reallocating resources from other city activities. The 2008 Casco Point Road was repaired using bonds which will be expiring in 2023. Looking at the historical records it appears that a decision was made to use the Cities preventative maintenance funds to pay back the bonds on this project. This has left the city without a reliable budget for road maintenance. Mayor McMillan said Council could look to add levy funds that result from increase property values but did not want to increase the tax rate. Edwards would like direction from Council to move forward because the longer road maintenance is deferred the more expensive to repair. Currently maintenance workers are trying to play catch up with limited funds and staff, with some roads beyond patching. Walsh wants a list of the street reconstruction projects under consideration reviewed. Edwards reviewed the top priority roads, 2016 road maintenance, and current improvement activity in progress. A feasibility study for Fox Street improvements is slated for this summer with projects possible in 2017-2019. Council Members are in agreement that Fox Street needs to be repaired as soon as possible. Fox road complaints are for the length but the worst sections are on the west end. Total street costs are from the Pavement Management Study. A feasibility study will provide more detail to refine the numbers. With the recent road bids coming in low there should be sufficient funds in the MSA account to rebuild the MSA section of Fox in 2017. If a sufficient funding source can be identified it would be wise to also rebuild the western most (city funded) section as well in 2017. In addition to rebuilding our worst roads the city needs to invest in preventative maintenance activities such as mill and overlays and seal coating. Hunter, Tamarack and Casco Circle were all proposed for mill and overlays in 2016 but differed. With the surpluses from 2015 they could be reconsidered. Hunter Roads condition is in decent shape underneath but the top coat is disintegrating. Tamarack is in nearly the same condition. Northern Avenue is at the top of the list but due to the building project in that area repair would be best to wait. There may be a cost savings to group roads together which would better serve residents by limiting disruption. Walsh wants to get the bad roads completed. He would like Hunter and Tamarack set for mill and overlay this year and hold any excess funds for Fox Street. Mayor McMillan is interested in adding more funds to the levy but keeping the tax rate at 17%. Council Member Levang is fine with increasing the levy and agrees with moving forward on maintenance for Fox, Hunter and Tamarack. Walsh stated Hunter is more than a mill and overlay. Walsh suggested setting aside $25,000 for the school road project on Old Crystal Bay and the school will be responsible for the other half of $50,000 project. Mayor McMillan likes that idea but would like to review the bids for Hunter and Tamarac roads before dedicating funds. Printup likes the idea of cost sharing with the schools. Walsh stated that the bids for the Watertown road project were lower than expected so the extra $600,000 in the MSA account plus the MSA funds coming in 2017 will provide funds to repair Fox Street located from Willow to Brown. Excess funds for non MSA roads could be used for Brown to Orchard and Old Crystal Bay to Willow roads. Walsh would like a feasibility study on Leaf Street for mill and overlay. Edwards said Leaf could be a staggered project as some sections may need to be re -built. He will provide a proposal to redo the roads and re -assessment of the cost at the May work session. ATTEST Diane Tiegs, City Clerk U Lili Tod McMillan, Mayor