Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-26-2017 Council Work Session Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Monday,June 26,2017 5:00 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Dennis Walsh,Council Members Richard Crosby II,Wendy Dankey,Aaron Printup. Representing Staff were Interim City Administrator poug Reeder,Public Works Director/City Engineer, Adam Edwards,and Jeremy Barnhart,Community Development Director. Mayor Walsh called the work session to order at 5:00 p.m. 1. Orono Woods Contract Interim City Administrator poug Reeder explained the Orono Woods Apartment Development Agreement and history. Reeder also mentioned the land lease was for 99 years and is only for the ground beneath;when the TIF district goes away the affordability and covenants could go away as well. There was discussion regarding the new proposal to eliminate the lease and extending the Tax Increment Financing(TIF)from 2024 to 2042. Even though the Ground Lease would be terminated, the current covenants and restrictions that were previously contained in the lease would remain until 2042. Caitlin Goff,Lang-Nelson Associated Inc.noted that if the City released the land,Orono Woods will remain as senior housing. The current ground lease does not allow the buyer to get the financing needed to purchase the property. Mayor Walsh stated he would like the affordability for residents to remain throughout the extension unti12042,and would also like to make sure legal and processing fees were still anticipated to be covered as well. The Orono Woods Representatives assured the Council that the seller has already deposited a good faith agreement of$5,000 towards the processing fees. Council Member Crosby noted he understands that it is important to the community and Orono residents and that it makes sense to proceed. Mayor Walsh stated he would like some amendments made to the contract to include the affordability piece and would like it to be brought back to council for final discussion and approval. 2. City Council Human Resources • Reeder mentioned the Finance Director had been on leave since the beginning of May and is not expected to return before mid-July. Reeder asked if the City should wait for the Finance Director's return or hire a consultant,Abdo,Eick, and Meyers CPA's(AEMCPA)to help coach the Assistant Finance Director prepare needed documents for the City temporarily. The council opted for the City to hire a consultant to help coach the Assistant Finance Director and prepare some of the needed documents for the City's annual Audit and Budget.The proposal was estimated to be approximately$13,500-$25,000 for consulting on both the City's Annual budget and audit. Reeder noted he would reach out to the previous Assistant Finance Director for his assistance as well.Reeder stated he will add the contract with AEMCPA to the council meeting agenda. • Reeder discussed the vacancy at the Front Desk. The Council opted to advertise a new higher level position and allow current staff to apply for the position. • Reeder discussed the potential of creating a Golf Course Superintendent position within the Public works department. Mayor Walsh suggested the Human Resources Committee meet with Public Works to discuss this position. Council Member Seals stated she would like to sit down and figure out a vision and a plan with Public Works. They will look into the goals for the Golf Course as well. The Council decided to revisit this at a later date after a plan has been discussed with Public Works. 3. 2018 Goals and Budget Mayor Walsh noted he would like to keep the levy flat and accomplish responsible budgeting throughout.Walsh would like to look deeper into what we had previously budgeted and explore areas such as roads,parks funding,and legal fees. Reeder mentioned that Staff had a meeting with the school district and they are moving ahead with getting a plan in place for the turning traffic before school starts. This will be brought to council at a later date. Mayor Walsh pointed out that there had been some great ideas for safety with the school traffic. Council Member Printup mentioned the brush pile and the control issue. The biggest issue is that people are dumping there resident or not. Council Member Seals stated she would like to see Orono have a lighting of a Holiday tree. She is looking into the possibility of getting a tree donated to the Golf Course for the lighting of a tree. 4. CSAH 112 Phase 2 Design Review Adam Edwards,Public Works Director/City Engineer gave a brief overview of the project, process of approval and a few main issues that have been previously discussed. • Trail extension from Long Lake Road out to the Luce Line($100k for this part of project) Long Lake moved the trail from south to north side as their portion of the bill. Council Member Printup asked if the home owners affected had been involved with the plans and listened to regarding the project. Mayor Walsh was concerned about making sure the issues with the residents are taken care of well before the project can take place. Walsh also mentioned that the City Attorney had said that full council approval is needed before the project can begin. Walsh also mentioned that he would not be giving his approval until all of the issues had been resolved. Edwards noted that the affected residents did meet with Hennepin County and the issues were discussed and addressed. • Montessori School Site line issues. There was discussion regarding the entrance and exit at the Montessori School. A Large part of this project will be improvements.The concern was the safety of that entry and slope. • Driveways between Long Lake and Orono affected by CSAH 112 Phase 2. Mayor Walsh stated the right solution would be to create separate entrances and repave the driveways completely. Walsh mentioned the residents were not favorable of the shared driveways. Council Member Seals would like to focus on the Orono resident affecied. Reeder noted that Long Lake residents may need to go through Long I;ake on the issue. Council Member Crosby stated he would like to be a unified group about this issue. Mayor Walsh stated he would like to hear more before it gets brought back to the Council. 5. Parks Commission—Recording Meetings Mayor Walsh stated he would like the Parks Commission meetings recorded. Walsh mentioned that the Parks Commission is doing a lot of work and the meetings should be recorded. Walsh stated he would like to add this to the agenda at the regular meeting. 6. Short Term Rentals There was discussion regarding Short Term Rentals and the possible issues that affect the residents of Orono. Applications may be required for security and to gather owner and renter contact information. Mayor Walsh stated he would like to watch out for the residents and their privacy. Jeremy Barnhart,Community Development Director noted that there was an ordinance introduced last year regarding Short Term Rentals. Barnhart believes that prohibition of this may be very hard to control. Barnhart asked if complaints have been filed,if so then there is something documented. Mayor Walsh mentioned that it could potentially present some safety concerns if people are renting homes on a daily-weekly basis. He mentioned that licensing the Short Tenn Rentals may be the first step for this. Council Member Crosby stated that the city should start with licensing and have requirements, standards, and violations that go along with it. Crosby said licensing should be enforced as well. Crosby mentioned that the Ciry will need to give home owners some tiine to comply with the new rule once adopted. There was fizrther discussion regarding the enforcement of such license and violations. Barnhart will look into creating a Short Term Rental Ordinance. Adjourned at 6:45 p.m. ATTEST Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh, Mayor