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061107 CC WS MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2007 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 5:30 P.M Mayor Lizee called the meeting to order at 5:37 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Lizee; Councilmembers Callies, Turgeon, Wellens and Woodruff; Administrator Dawson; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: None B. Review Agenda Without objection from Council, Mayor Lizee proceeded with the Agenda for the meeting. 2. CITY HALL BUILDING REMODELING/CONSTRUCTION Administrator Dawson stated the last action taken by the Council with regard to improvements to City Hall was to authorize further planning for improvements to the building not to exceed 12,000 square feet of space. No distinction was made at that time as to whether the improvements would be the construction of a new building, or the remodeling and addition to the existing building. The last estimated costs for those two approaches (costs discussed at a December 12, 2005, work session) were approximately: $2,415,000 for a new building with 11,000 square feet of space; and $$1,960,000 for the remodeling/addition scenario which was estimated to result in 12,700 square feet of space. Dawson explained that either scenario would require the additional parking spaces based on existing City standards, and satisfying the parking requirement could prove challenging. Dawson stated the next step would be for Council to determine what direction it wanted to take with regard to improvements to City Hall. Dawson explained that in 2003 Boarman Kroos Vogel Group (BKV Group) was hired to conduct a needs assessment and analysis of City Hall. At that time it made a number of recommendations with regard to improvements that needed to be done. Since that time, the roof had been replaced in the fall of 2003, a mold analysis had been done which indicated the mold levels were not harmful at the time, and some necessary furnace related equipment was replaced. The roof replacement also included repairing any structural deficiencies. Mayor Lizee stated she had met with Eric Evenson, with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) during the past two weeks. Mr. Evenson stated the MCWD was in need of new office space. She then stated there could be an opportunity for the City to share building space with the MCWD; an opportunity that would be cost effective. The MCWD would need approximately the same amount of CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING June 11, 2007 Page 2 of 6 work space for staff as the City did; the common areas could be shared (e.g., the reception area, conference rooms, chambers, restrooms, the kitchen area, etc.). She commented that the MCWD had not done any planning with regard to its office needs. She also commented that she had met with Councilmember Woodruff and Mr. Evenson a few days ago to discuss this item. Councilmember Woodruff stated he felt that opportunity was an interesting proposition. The MCWD was in the very preliminary stages of discussion with regard to its office needs. He related that Mr. Evenson stated that the City could build a building, and the MCWD could become a tenant. Woodruff suggested to Mr. Evenson that the MCWD could build a building, and the City could become a tenant. He commented that the MCWD had a significant levy base, and Mr. Evenson had related that the MCWD could pay for a new building with a levy with little impact on property taxes. Woodruff stated site options had been mentioned -the existing City Hall location; and the location of the Legion, carpet store, and the bait shop. He stated the MCWD was entertaining a partnership with the City of Minnetonka. Mayor Lizee related that Mr. Evenson stated the Minnetonka site did not include the common spaces that could be shared and would be needed. Councilmember Wellens questioned if this discussion should continue if a partnership with the MCWD would be considered. Councilmember Callies stated the partnership concept sounded interesting. She suggested the City could establish a definite timeframe for the MCWD to determine if it wanted to further discuss a partnership; she did not want to delay a decision regarding improvements to City Hall indefinitely. Administrator Dawson related that Mr. Evenson had stated to him that the MCWD would need 4,000 - 6,000 square feet of space if it was to have its own space. Councilmember Woodruff commented the MCWD was in its second year of a five-year lease. He also commented that the MCWD had a staff of 16 today, and Mr. Evenson could imagine it increasing to 26 in the future. He stated approximately 1.6,000 - 17,000 square feet of space would be needed to satisfy the City's and the MCWD's needs. Councilmember Turgeon questioned how long Council would be willing to wait before it would start improvements to City Hall. She stated that the costs for improvements continue to increase. She commented that she had not agreed that there was a need for 12,000 square feet of space at City Hall. She stated that if the City did need 12,000 square feet of space for City Hall for 13 people and the MCWD was considering growth from 16 people to 26 people, she deduced that the building would have to have 24,000 square feet of space. She questioned where the additional land for the increase in space would come from. Mayor Lizee stated the 12,000 square-foot space included all of the areas that could be shared. She also agreed that a decision regarding the future of City Hall could not be delayed indefinitely. Councilmember Turgeon stated she had concerns with regard to the City entering into another Joint Powers Agreement or lease agreement. She then stated she would not support spending any additional money to revise the City Hall plans to include housing the MCWD. She also stated if a shared building were to be built on City-owned land, then the land costs would have to be factored into any arrangement. She went on to state she would not be in favor of firture discussions regarding the opportunity. Mayor Lizee stated her intent had been to make Council aware of a possible partnership opportunity. A partnership decision could be made once Council had decided the direction for the future of City Hall. Councilmember Wellens agreed. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING June 11, 2007 Page 3 of 6 There was lengthy ensuing discussion with regard to the four options considered. for the future of City Hall which had been identified in previous planning efforts. The options were the: 1. An "Addition" concept for an approximate cost of $1,960,000 -the building space would be increased to no more than 12,000 square feet, necessary building maintenance would be done, and significant interior renovations would be done. 2. A New building for an approximate cost of $2,415,000 -anew l 1,000 square-foot building would be constructed on the existing site. 3. A "Bridge" conceit for an approximate cost of $730,000 -there would be a new entrance, necessary building maintenance would be done, and meetings currently held in the Council Chambers would be held at the Public Safety Building. 4. A Short-term maintenance for an approximate cost of $215,000 -minimum maintenance would be done which would inchide new HVAC, new siding, new roofing, new windows, resolving the water infiltration problem in the basement, and making the main entrance and the restroom compliant with regulations specified in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After discussion, the bridge concept was expanded such that it included completing the maintenance identified in the short-term maintenance option, doing extensive renovations, allocating the existing Council Chambers for additional or expanded work areas and common areas, and renting space from the Southshore Center to hold meetings currently held in the Council Chambers. The following noteworthy comments and concerns were stated. - The cost for a new building was approximately $450,000 more than the addition and renovation option, but resulted in a much longer life expectancy for the building. - The approximate cost for the modified bridge option would be in the $1 million dollar range. - The option chosen should result in a solution that meets the current and future needs of City Hali. - The bridge concept was considered a "stop gap" solution to the problem in the plans. - The bridge concept had not been discussed further after 2004 until this evening. The bridge concept would serve City Hall 3 - 6 years, and it did not solve the space needs. Whatever was done should last for a significant period of tine and satisfy the needs throughout that time. - Regarding staffing: • There were three finance positions (the Finance Director, the Senior Accountant, and one authorized unfilled position) identified for space planning; yet some finance tasks were being automated or eliminated. • Tllere was no foreseen need for any increase in the number of staff; therefore, there should be little or no need for an increase in space. • Future mandates could require additional resources to implement them. - Regarding the use of the Southshore Center for City meetings: • It was very inefficient to meet at the Southshore Center, and the lack of Staff's immediate access to their information during a meeting was problematic. • The costs for using the Southshore Center for City meetings must be identified. • The Southshore Center personnel could be paid to do the setup and teardown for City meetings. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING June 11, 2007 Page 4 of 6 The Southshore Center would have to have the appropriate audio visual equipment installed if City meetings were to be held there. It was more efficient to have City meetings held in the same location as Staff worked. • The Southshore Center was owned and used by others; therefore, its availability may be limited at times. The impact of conducting meetings there that are currently conducted in the Council Chambers must be evaluated (which includes meetings held by other community organizations). • The City owned 50% of the center. - The addition and build options in the 2005 revised plans included Council Chambers multi-use area that would utilize sliding partitions in the Council Chambers for a conference room when necessary. - The audio equipment in the existing Council Chambers would need to be upgraded; the LMCC had already expressed concern with sound quality. - Joint parking arrangements between organizations that have parking needs at various times of the day helped with the effective utilization of parking areas. That type of arrangement existed between City Hall and Badger Field. - The Public Works Facility did not have enough space to house staff currently located at City Hall. Locating additional staff there would result in work flow issues and work inefficiencies. After discussion, the preferred choices for improvements to City Hall (if anything was to be done) were expressed as follows. - Councilmember Cailies - build a new building - Mayor Lizee - build a new building - Councilmember Turgeon -the modified bridge concept - Councilmember Wellens -the modified bridge concept - Councilmember Woodruff-the modified bridge concept The following action items were agreed upon. - Contact the Southshore Center with regard to renting the meeting rooms for the regularly scheduled meetings, the cost to do so, and what if any ramifications there would be if the City were to utilize the meeting area that frequently. - Contact BKV to revise the costs for the four options identified in the revised 2005 plan to reflect 2008 costs, and to identify the costs for the -nodifled bridge concept. 3. XCEL UNDERGROUNDING SURCHARGE FOR COUNTY ROAD 19 PROJECT Administrator Dawson provided Council with a document from him and Director Brown explaining the request for authorization for Xcel Energy to place a surcharge for undergrounding utility in the County Road 19 intersection project. He stated Director Brown could explain the history regarding the project. Director Brown stated Xcel originally estimated cost for the undergrounding effort to be $84,200. Early in the construction process it revised the cost of the effort to be $169,000. After the City received the revised cost estimate, Council authorized the City to enter into an agreement with RW Beck Consulting to review the revised cost estimate for reasonableness. RW Beck Consulting thought the $169,000 estimate was reasonable. As an example of unforeseen difficulties, he commented that when moving one drainage structure twelve inches, thirteen underground cables were encountered, some of them were live CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING June 11, 2007 Page 5 of 6 and some were abandoned. He stated it was not possible to understand the scope of the effort in advance. He then stated since that time Xcel Energy had implemented steps to improve its estimating process. Councilmember Turgeon questioned what was going to be done to determine what cables were abandoned at the front end of a project, and why the Tonka Bay residents were not responsible for paying one-half of the cost of $169,000 plus $20,500 in "carrying charges". Director Brown stated abandoned cables do increase the cost of such a project. He then stated Staff had objections to the standards and fuel cost changes. He then explained that Tonka Bay lead stated up-front that it would not pay for the cost of undergrounding; Council made a decision to proceed with that aspect of the project. Turgeon commented that Council agreed to that when the cost was estimated to be $84,200. Director Brown explained that as part of Hennepin County's Roadside Program the City could be reimbursed up to 50% of the cost for the undergrounding up to a maximum of $141,000. He also explained that the City had the option to surcharge the entire amount at a rate of $1.75 per month. Based on the reduced amount (after Hennepin County paid one-half of the cost) the surcharge amount could be reduced or the length of time of the surcharge would be reduced. He stated he would confirm that Hennepin County was still willing to pay one-half of the cost. Councilmember Wellens stated he was not in favor of a surcharge to the residents to cover this cost. He thought the cost should be paid out of the General Fund reserves. Councilmember Woodruff also thought the City's portion of the cost should be paid out of the reserves. Councihnember Callies did not think it was appropriate to pay the cost out of reserves. Administrator Dawson stated the City's Code specified that ali utilities would be undergrounded, and the City had used a surcharge once before. The intent was to surcharge for undergrounding at the beginning of the project. He thought it was more appropriate to save the reserves for projects such as road improvements. It was clarified that the surcharge was itemized on the Xcel's bill to the residents. Councilmember Callies stated she would prefer the residents receive a surcharge for $1.75 a month until the City's portion of the cost was paid. There was consensus to continue this item to a June 25, 2007, regular City Council meeting. 4. WORK SESSIONS - CABLECASTING Attorney Keane joined the meeting. Councilmember Callies stated she asked that this be placed on the agenda because Councilmember Woodruff lead previously questioned if Council work sessions should be video recorded. She stated she was not in favor of doing so; she thought it was appropriate to maintain some informality of discussion among councilmembers. Councilmember Turgeon stated she did not think there was a distinction between regular meetings and work sessions. Mayor Lizee stated she thought the work session format should remain as is. She commented that the Council work sessions were noticed and the public was welcome to attend. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING June 11, 2007 Page 6 of 6 Councilmember Wellens questioned if the work sessions were video recorded would there continue to be a need for minutes. Attorney Keane stated State Statute required that meeting minutes be kept and a video tape was not a substitute. 5. DEVELOPMENT INQUIRY Administrator Dawson stated the City had received an inquiry with regard to Tax Increment Financing. The question was if it was assumed everything for a redevelopment project would qualify and could be done, would Council consider TIF. The specific inquiry related redevelopment of northwest corner the intersection of County Road 19 and Smithtown Road. Director Nielsen questioned if there was any philosophical reason for Council not to consider TIF. Mayor Lizee stated TIF should serve a public purpose. She then stated slle would exercise caution with regard to supporting a TIF project unless it was very apparent that it served the publics interest. Councilmember Wellens stated he was opposed to TIF. 6. OTHER Councilmember Callies stated she would not be able to participate in Administrator Dawson's evaluation that was scheduled for July 23, 2007. She requested that it be rescheduled so she could participate. It was her understanding that the review would be informal, yet the information Councilmember Turgeon distributed left her with a different impression. Councilmember Turgeon clarified that the information she distributed was to remind Council of the performance areas Dawson was evaluated on. There was consensus to reschedule Administrator Dawson's mid-term informal performance review to July 9, 2007. 7. ADJOURN Woodruff moved, Wellens seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of June 11, 2007, at 6:55 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder Christine Lizee, Mayor ATTEST: i' ~"~` °~ ,; ~ ~ ®- ~~,. . o Craig l1~, Dawson,-City Administrator/Clerk ~~