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02-08-14 CC-Staff Retreat CITY OF SHOREWOOD 24150 SMITHTOWN RD CITY COUNCIL/STAFF RETREAT SOUTH LAKE PUBLIC SAFETY SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2014 FACILITY TRAINING ROOM 8:30 A.M. MINUTES 1. Convene City Council/Staff Retreat Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 8:35 AM. A. Roll Call Present: Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Hotvet, Siakel, and Woodruff; City Attorney Keane (8:45 am arrival); City Administrator Joynes, City Clerk Panchyshyn, Finance Director DeJong, Planning Director Nielsen, Director of Public Works Brown, and City Engineer Hornby Absent: Councilmember Sundberg B. Review Agenda Administrator Joynes explained that any items on the agenda that are not addressed today will be scheduled on future work sessions. Also, about 30 minutes will be allocated at the end of the day to discuss any other issues that Council may want to discuss. Hotvet moved, Woodruff seconded, approving the agenda as noted. Motion passed 4/0. 2. Financial Progress Joynes reviewed the following decisions that were made and implemented during the past year: General fund stabilization with a 2% levy increase • Initiated and completed rate studies, adopted sewer and storm water rates • Sell the Country Club Road house, with proceeds going to the parks fund • Revise CIP assumptions and adjusted equipment and timing of items • Devised funding plan for trails; construct Smithtown West and Cty Rd 19 links • Taking steps to stabilize Enterprise and CIP - this is in progress • Devised funding for Smithtown East and Galpin Lake trails • Resolve Southshore Center use and responsibilities - in progress • Joynes then reviewed the 2013 fund balances as compared to the 2014 fund balances in the General Fund; Water Fund, Sewer Fund; Street Reconstruction Fund; Trails Fund; Equipment, Municipal Buildings, and Technology Fund; Storm Water Fund; and Park Improvement Fund. City Attorney Keane arrived at 8:45 AM. Woodruff noted the plan, for example, for the storm water fund, gives us a positive cash balance in future years. He believes that having a large positive balance in out years is a not a good plan when there’s no plan for use of the funds. He indicated the need for an explanation for the large balances. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 2 of 18 DeJong noted some of the differences between what is shown here and what is in the Ehlers rate study. He indicated Ehlers used a 3% inflation factor; we used 2%. There are not a lot of projects in the out years in the CIP, and Ehlers made some assumptions about averaging the costs in the upfront years and projecting that number into the out years. He noted there will likely be more projects in the future. He stated the balance is unrealistic, and that is why it was recommended to not go to a large upfront increase in adopting the storm water increases until it is known what additional mandates and projects will be coming forward. Woodruff indicated that historically, for example, the road plan was made for the worst case scenario, and typically Council has backed away from this. This planning produces a larger cash balance, and he noted we need to be careful that we are not building up the fund without a plan for spending the money. Joynes stated that to some degree, staff is obligated to plan for the worst case scenario, and Council can have the flexibility to adjust it. Siakel concurred that there are likely projects that are not on the plan yet, but she felt Council acted prudently and noted the fund will need to be monitored. DeJong also noted that all of the proposed rate increases in the Ehlers rate study are included in the plan, and at any point future rates increases can be removed from the long-term plan. Joynes noted that the trails program in the CIP was made on assumptions of costs from a few years ago. It is expected that the trails will cost 3-4 times more than what is provided in the budget. This will also need to be reevaluated as we move forward. 3. Southshore Center Joynes noted that the Minnetonka High School Vantage Group will present its report at the February 10 Council meeting. The Southshore Center Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on February 12. Email communication from Deb Kind, the Mayor of Greenwood, has been provided. Kind and Council member Elli Ansari from Tonka Bay have been discussing a proposal with Minnetonka Community Education (MCE), and they will present this at the February 12 meeting. Woodruff recalled that Kind and Ansari volunteered to meet with MCE. Zerby concurred. Joynes stated the city can maintain what is being done now, look at Shorewood taking the lead, and find a way for the other cities to stay in or leave; or the city can move forward with the MCE proposal, providing they are interested. Further discussion will need to be conducted on who will be the fiscal and managing agent under this arrangement. Hotvet asked if the Vantage students are seeking space for their meetings, and if so, this would need to be discussed directly with the School District. Zerby stated that the Vantage Group’s main idea is to have a summer camp. This involves the other cities providing financial support. How the gap is funded needs to be decided. Kind’s plan is to have MCE run the Center and it provides for a revenue share for custodian service and front desk staff. Woodruff recapped what happened four years ago when Shorewood took over management of the Center, noting the other cities were willing to let Shorewood manage it. He stated that maybe the other cities will contribute a small amount of funding, but not at a level of what is needed. He questioned how serious MCE is about participating; he understood that MCE has not yet endorsed the Kind proposal. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 3 of 18 Siakel expressed investigating what Shorewood would need to do to have complete ownership of the Center. She supports engaging in discussion with the Vantage Group, and having a conversation with MCE. Hotvet stated that the Legion had approached her about trading property. Joynes and Nielsen stated that a liquor establishment next to a park would be a serious zoning issue. Zerby stated that the Gillespie Center has a partnership with three or four other cities, where they contribute $6 per head. Joynes stated that we don’t know how interested MCE is in the Kind proposal. He indicated Kind’s proposal should be investigated, and to determine what level the other cities are willing to participate. At the same time, Attorney Keane can begin to look at other ownership options for Shorewood. It is possible that some of the cities will be interested in remaining if a proposal is negotiated with MCE. Siakel stated the need for a time limit for getting a decision by June. She favors investigating Shorewood as owner, noting it may even be easier for MCE to work with one owner, rather than five. Hotvet noted that MCE is a nonprofit. She indicated the District is growing and she thinks a west location is needed. She asked if anyone has approached the District about the Vantage program using the facility. Hotvet stated the District just purchased the Pagel Community Center next to the high school, and they are adding onto it as they need the space. She stated the Southshore Senior Partners cannot be forgotten and to remember a space for senior activities is really important to the community. Discussion ensued on the various options including the proposal with MCE, the Vantage Group Proposal, the level of support from the other cities, Shorewood as sole owner, and potential School District interest. Siakel indicated a need for Council to understand all the options and that Attorney Keane be consulted to review the contract language and ownership options. Keane briefly reviewed what he recalled from the contract language, without having the agreement in front of him. Woodruff requested Attorney Keane conduct a work session with Council for review of the Agreement. Joynes stated that the establishment of the Advisory Committee and the discussions it has had makes the assumption that the other cities have a voice in how we move forward, and the committee is acting along this assumption. Hotvet acknowledged the need to proceed in a cooperative spirit, in consideration of future cooperative efforts with the other cities. Zerby stated he believed all the cities seemed willing to contribute financially at some level. Woodruff noted that when the Friends were operating the Center, all of the cities, including Shorewood, were at various funding contributions to the Friends. He stated the Southshore Senior Partners will need to identify what their needs are and if they will be able to contribute anything for use of the facility. Siakel proposed a work session be held in March, where Attorney Keane could review the Agreement. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 4 of 18 Discussion continued on the details outlined in the Vantage Group proposal. Joynes stated that if none of these options go forward, Shorewood would continue with the current operations, with no increase in capabilities. There would be around $90,000 needed to maintain the building over next few years, which would require a commitment of resources for operations and maintenance. He suggested it be determined if the MCES proposal is realistic. Joynes indicated a work session will be scheduled for March 10 for review of the SSC Advisory Committee proposal and the current Agreement. 4. Staffing for the Public Works Department Joynes indicated that Public Works Director Brown will outline the Public Works Department staffing history. He noted this topic includes how our engineering function is handled, the past year’s weather and equipment issues, as well as a growing interest in providing on-line access for public works issues. He also noted this past year, a couple of staff members were out for extended times for medical reasons, and there was one retirement. Brown stated he is seeking Council’s direction on what Council thinks the priorities are. He noted public works now has an employee out on long term medical leave for eight weeks. Brown stated that when he started working here in 1995, there were 13.5 FTE and 3 seasonal; now in 2014, there are 9.6 FTE. There are a number of unfunded mandates coming in the near future relating to items such as storm water requirements. Zerby noted that since 1995, the skate park, Gideon Glen, and the public safety facility have taken more public works time. It was also noted there are more trails, and diseased trees will likely require more public works resources. In response to a question from Siakel, Brown stated that the decrease from 13 to 9 FTE was mainly due to the city taking on all utilities from contract to in house in 2000-01, only adding one employee. The contract used three employees. Residents have expressed that the sewer and water service is better with the city taking this over. Woodruff would like to look at this from the standpoint of where we are today, and if there are shortfalls that Council or staff thinks exist. He noted that since 2006, we haven’t had any changes in staffing levels. Brown clarified we no longer have the full-time Engineering Tech position and the Engineer position was reduced to .6 time. Woodruff feels that public works is doing an OK job; he noted some grounds maintenance was not being done, and that work was contracted out. Regarding the work on the storm water issues, he thought we haven’t done as well and should spend more resources in that area. He is not sure how much more is needed. He asked staff to guess what the increased requirement will be, based on new legislation. Zerby stated back office help may be needed. Siakel asked for a baseline understanding of public works to fully understand how it is structured in order to determine if the city is delivering the value and services needed. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 5 of 18 Brown stated there are eight full-time employees. Of these, there are two in utilities full-time; a third floats between utilities and roadway. There are two employees in roadway functions full-time. The shop technician assists with roadways about 50% of the time. There are two employees in parks. All are involved in winter operations. Joynes commented that Shorewood has a higher socio-economic status; therefore, resident’s requests are more demanding in terms of quality and timely services. He stated the public works employees are your front line ambassadors; they have more contact, and create a big impression with residents. Council needs to understand the type of services the residents demand. He believes there is no slack in the current system; it is managed well. Joynes stated Council needs to tell staff what they want, and staff will provide a plan for how to structure for that. Woodruff stated if expectations are being met, we are ok. But if the expectations are going to change, we need to plan accordingly. He gave some examples, such as, evaluating current expectations of street plowing or how often the grass should be cut in the parks. Siakel suggested bringing in an arborist for assistance. She suggested this could be a resource to offer to residents. Her concerns are making sure public works has the right equipment, and making sure we are not pushing people to a point of safety issues. She asked if there is a need for a person to fill in when employees are out on long term medical leaves, or if a person is needed to do the administrative work. She questioned overall what the needs are. Brown indicated that public works is running at 100% and he believes this is working. He feels that the equipment needs are being met. He sees the shortfall in the administrative side. There will be a push from the storm water issue with regards to information requests and how maintenance is tracked. He noted that he can get in a bind when, for example, one person calls in sick on a roadway patching crew, and how to fill that void. It doesn’t happen often, but there may be some days when road patching cannot be done safely due to personnel limits. In response to a question from Woodruff, Brown noted the goal is to review the roadway survey annually. Hornby stated that when looking at public works staffing as it relates to storm water requirements, most public works departments will need approximately 75% time commitment for inspections. This is an estimate from other cities with populations of 10-20,000. Typically it is an environmental scientist doing this work. Administrative assistance from a consultant, city engineer or public works director is needed on top of that. Documentation is very important in this process. We can look at the time commitment the public works staff is currently spending on inspections, and if a specialist is needed for the tree inventory. In response to a question from Siakel, Hornby indicated this position could either be a contract position, a city employee, or a combination of the two. In response to a question from Joynes, Hornby indicated the person would need to know MS4 requirements. He thought the salary would be in the $55-70K range, and the type of person would be, for example, an environmental scientist. Hotvet stated that the 2011 survey results indicate residents are happy with the level of service and she doesn’t feel the need to know specific details such as how often parks are mowed. She asked what was meant by a seasonal employee? Brown noted that we have relied on college students for summer help, so summer seasonal employees have been defined by the school schedule. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 6 of 18 Hotvet asked if we have explored partnerships with universities or technical colleges as a way to expand the seasonal employee schedule, noting there are many university programs that are growing, such as in environmental engineering, and this could be an innovative program for interns. Brown discussed the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) requirements on the number of days seasonal employees can work. Joynes noted there is also language in the state law about union membership requirements. There is the ability to start someone earlier to see if we can attract someone. Hornby noted that WSB hires interns every summer and they have several doing the inspections and documentation. He explained a variety of ways cities have filled positions to meet the upcoming MS4 requirements. A 10-minute break was taken from 10:35-10:45 a.m. Joynes stated at the break he spoke with Brown and Hornby about staffing needs for MS4 and tree programs. One option would be to hire an intern through WSB to do the MS4 inspections in the field. That would free up the public works employees to work on the diseased tree program, which will likely start out with eliminating younger trees. In agreement on doing this, we could schedule someone to start this summer. Hotvet was in agreement and noted it was a smart and efficient way to work. She would like it to begin earlier than summer. Joynes stated we would likely start earlier if contracting with someone from WSB. There was consensus to hire a WSB intern for the MS4 inspections in the field. Zerby said he would like to investigate the addition of an administrative assistant in public works. He has had issues raised by residents on parks, trails, water, etc, and he thinks more back office support is needed to address these issues. He would also like to see the GIS system expanded to more work stations and on- line. Hotvet would like consideration of hiring an outside resource to conduct a feasibility study/cost-benefit analysis on specifically on how the cities of Tonka Bay, Excelsior, and Shorewood can work together on public works functions. Woodruff indicated support for Brown to review his position and identify items that don’t require an engineering degree which could done by an administrative assistant, such as completing reports to the state, which would provide Brown more time to focus on other key items, such as storm water management requirements, or other critical functions. Joynes stated that staff can bring a job description back to Council based on items that Brown can identify as duties an administrative staff member could do. Siakel agreed with investigating additional administrative help for public works. She noted that what Hotvet is suggesting in relation to cooperative efforts with the other cities, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis with the other cities is above and beyond the evaluation of Shorewood public works staffing needs. With regards to looking at a cooperative effort with the other cities, she agrees it is logical and pragmatic, but there is an emotional component that gets problematic. She feels if the city were to consider this effort, Excelsior would be the most likely city to focus on in this effort. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 7 of 18 Hotvet concurred and reiterated the need for an outside source that is neutral party to conduct a cost- benefit analysis to see where cooperative efforts are feasible. Further discussion took place on the topic of cooperation between the cities of Excelsior, Tonka Bay and Shorewood in the area of public works, the level of support needed by the cities, and the possibility of the cities funding a feasibility study relating to cooperative efforts. Joynes noted that it has been his experience that what works best is a grassroots effort by citizens or community groups to request their respective Councils look at issues such as this, rather than it coming from one City Council to another. Efforts are more successful when they come from a citizen group rather than the Council level. Siakel suggested looking at the use of a contract for services type of relationship for certain cooperative efforts with other cities. Zerby concurred a contract is a good way to proceed; however, there are differences with how services are provided by each individual city which may make it difficult to enter in a contract. Woodruff reiterated that all parties must want to enter into cooperative arrangements for these efforts to be successful. Zerby suggested moving the discussion to Item 6 – Cooperative Functions, since the discussion was heading in that direction. In response to a question from Woodruff, Brown explained that the GIS function would potentially handle a number of items to make data reporting more efficient. It would support data on utility locates; it would help with maintaining a database in the field to fulfill data requirements; it would make it more efficient to retrieve the data; it would track inspection data; storm water data; and many other data elements that are often requested and mandated. Further discussion took place on the use and cost of the GIS system. Joynes noted that the GIS program expenditure would be brought to Council for review of a plan for its use, and what parts of it will be made accessible to the public. Discussion moved to Item 6, Cooperative Functions before discussion on Item 5, Trails. 6. Cooperative Functions Zerby stated that he and Brown met with Tonka Bay and Excelsior to discuss a couple of items of cooperation between the cities. These included salt storage and snow removal/storage. Excelsior has joined in on the salt storage efforts; Tonka Bay has not due to requirements Shorewood has for use of its equipment for loading the salt mix for cities use. He noted a draft agreement is provided in an effort to make this cooperative venture official. Snow storage was also discussed with Excelsior and this will be further evaluated in the future. Zerby also stated public works will be looking at snow plowing routes in order to be more efficient, and he noted there are route planning tools available to aid in determining the best plow routes for cost savings. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 8 of 18 In a separate cooperative effort, Joynes stated that staff asked Minnetrista about plowing Shorewood’s section of the island. In doing so, Minnetrista asked Shorewood to provide a quote for plowing their section of the city on the island. A draft agreement for this has been put together for review. Woodruff stated the salt storage was a great idea; he asked what the city’s costs are in providing this service for Excelsior, noting he is concerned that we are not incurring additional costs to supply a service to another party. Hotvet stated that as a reflection of this year, it would be interesting to see how these efforts are financially working by conducting a cost-benefit analysis. Brown stated the draft agreement was left open because there are costs involved. One cost is the mixing of the salt and sand, which is done by Shorewood staff and its equipment. He noted that these types of issues are emotional. He stated the salt storage is not a money maker or break-even for Shorewood. Shorewood is using its sealcoat rock; Excelsior will provide seal coat rock, if needed. There are costs to Shorewood for this salt effort. It is being done in a good-will effort to begin to explore areas where cooperation may be beneficial. Woodruff would like to see all costs of this effort in the agreement, including the staffing time it takes to be onsite when Excelsior is loading its salt. He stated there is legal requirement to document the costs and wants to see all costs identified. Siakel suggested these cooperative efforts be made a contracted service; this could be done for the salt storage, for plowing, and other items. Discussion took place about the possibility of Shorewood plowing the Minnetrista portion of the island. Brown identified the Minnetrista roadways on the island that would be plowed. He calculated what the plowing would be on an overtime rate, and figured in all other staff time, opportunity costs, machinery and equipment costs for the approximate 1-1/2 miles of Minnetrista roadway. Some of the roadway is flat and some is hilly and steep. Woodruff asked if Mound is interested, noting the distance between Mound and Shorewood is about 3/4 mile. Brown noted there are other considerations that need to be clarified, such as how to handle call-backs for things such as plowing snow drifting, placing additional sand/salt, etc. Council concurred if all costs are programmed into the agreement, it is worthwhile to investigate this effort. Joynes stated we will bring this agreement back to Council and will add details about call-backs and other pertinent items. Council can determine if it wants staff to proceed with pursuing this agreement. He noted an arrangement like this may be good for Shorewood and Minnetrista individually but also it could save public money overall which supports good, efficient government. Discussion moved to Christmas Lake. Woodruff indicated he is interested in the aspect of the relationship with the homeowners association, and expressed that the boat inspection process use a data tool, rather than paper for recording data. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 9 of 18 Joynes noted the current inspection operation at Christmas Lake includes on-site inspections by contracted personnel from Volt. Last year, staff talked with Carver County about an automated centralized inspection system and there was initially some level of interest in this, but this has somewhat waned, although they are still in the conversation. Christmas Lake resident Joe Shneider received grant money to look at other ways to approach this issue. Shneider is looking at a system in this area for a centralized inspection location, whereby boaters who pass inspection would received a password that would be entered into a computerized system at the launch site which would raise a mechanical arm and allow access to the launch. While this is investigated, we will likely conduct a similar program this year as was conducted last year with contracted inspectors from Volt. Joynes also discussed the agreement that is in place with the DNR, which has no expiration date. The DNR has notified the city it is giving up all responsibility for maintenance of the ramps. They plan to repair the boat launch, and then turn total responsibility over to the city and have provided a new agreement for this. Joynes stated this appears to violate the original agreement. In the new agreement, the DNR wants the city to take over responsibility for the launch, but has also put restrictions on how it is used. The DNR placed a stack of pavers at the site last fall in anticipation of repairing the ramp this spring. Woodruff indicated he sees no motivation or benefit for the city to agree to DNR’s request to turn over this responsibility to the city with no financial assistance. He questioned who is responsible for the dock. Brown indicated the DNR has reluctantly installed the dock. It was clarified that the new agreement being proposed by the DNR includes the city being responsible for putting in the dock and taking it out each year, as well as maintenance of the dock. Hotvet asked what the Christmas Lake residents think of Shorewood taking over the boat launch maintenance. Nielsen stated he thinks the residents would favor Shorewood having responsibility for the boat launch and dock. He noted that Shorewood owns the property because the Christmas Lake homeowners association donated the property with the condition that the city owns the property. Siakel asked what the costs are for maintaining the ramp and dock. Brown stated there are ongoing issues to consider. The ramp should be good for 20-25 years. There likely are problems that need to be fixed due to power loading, such as some dredging may be needed as the area by the launch is shallow for quite a distance out. Public works staff would need to put the dock out and take it in every year. Woodruff stated those are more reasons to let the DNR continue to maintain the launch site. Joynes stated he will work with Attorney Keane to see what options there are for notifying the DNR the city is not interested in pursuing a new agreement. Attorney Keane noted that in the 1970s-80s, the DNR had more funds, and opened up many public water access points, and over time they have been turning them back to the cities and counties for maintenance. Woodruff stated if a centralized inspection system is established, he thinks it is reasonable for Shorewood to participate in this. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 10 of 18 Brown noted that the Lake Association was responsible for ordering and installing the gate; the system in there has a keypad numbering system, and someone has to physically load the numbers into the system. DeJong stated one issue that he sees with the centralized inspection system is a situation where there may be a person who is going to the boat launch to be picked up by someone who is already on the lake in a boat; that person will need to first go to the centralized inspection location to get a code in order to enter the parking lot. It was noted that there may be other issues like this that come up and that will need to be addressed. Consensus was to continue to work on investigating the establishment of a centralized inspection process. Discussion moved to Item 5, Future Trails. 5. Future Trails Joynes noted that two trails are funded for the next two years, Galpin Lake and Smithtown East. There are a number of trails on the list that are unfunded. What needs to be determined is how to fund future trails and to evaluate those remaining on the list. He reminded Council that the cost for building trails is much higher than what was estimated a few years ago. He noted some funding options include taking money from enterprise funds where appropriate to fund certain aspects of the trail construction, we can make loans from funds that are flush in terms of reserves, such as the water fund; we can bond for them; we can raise taxes for them. He asked Council how it wants staff to proceed with trail planning. In response to Hotvet’s question about the discrepancy between the original trail cost estimates and actual costs, Hornby stated that it appears that the trail cost in the CIP only included the cost of the trail, and not other items such as curb and gutter and storm sewer. He noted those items will increase the cost of constructing the trail. He also described how state aid roadway standards need to be followed for trails on state aid roadways, if state aid funding is involved. If the trail is on a local road, those trails can be designed differently as there are not as many requirements that need to be met, which will reduce the cost of the project. Joynes stated that the trail estimates in the CIP are not correct and will need to be updated; staff intends to update the numbers as we go forward with projects. Woodruff noted he was hoping we would have an updated number at this time so Council would have a better idea of the cost of the trail plan. Joynes stated it would be a lot of work to get a high level number. He said, in general, the cost will be around 3-4 times the number that is in the CIP. Siakel questioned if it is feasible for the city to adopt the trail plan. She stated it may need to be looked at over a longer period of time, such as 20 years. She looks at what the critical arteries are for safety and pedestrian traffic, noting Smithtown is critical. She thought a consideration would be to develop a plan over 20 years and have trails coincide with when the bond payments for the public safety facility are due. She believes it would be best to focus on critical pathways; for her those are Smithtown Rd, Galpin Lake Rd, Cty. Rd 19, Strawberry Ln, and streets around Minnewashta Elementary School, especially since the school is adding three classrooms. Hornby added one element to consider is that, for example, Smithtown Road trail was a retrofit project, and one alternative is to add trails to roadways when the roadways are being reconstructed. This would be much more cost efficient. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 11 of 18 Siakel noted it would be helpful to have an overlay of the trails with the road plan. Woodruff stated that to implement a whole trail plan in a short term of five years is a major financial challenge. There isn’t enough funding now to do anything but what we are doing this year. He stated that one option to raise a significant amount of money would be to do a bond issue. He noted there is an election this year, so Council could decide to put a bond issue on ballot for funding some trail work. Nielsen clarified that the trail plan goes out 15 years or more; but we have been working on the Priority 1 trails. A feasibility study will be done for the Smithtown Road east trail. Zerby indicated he thought it would be beneficial to get resident input and feedback on the trail plan. Nielsen stated the Galpin Lane and Mill Street trails were made a higher priority due to resident input. He thought it is a great idea to overlay the trails with the road plan, but the streets don’t always get reconstructed. Woodruff would like staff to put together the streets that will be reconstructed, and what trails go along with those streets, and what we know now that we didn’t when trail plan was developed. He thinks there’s an expectation in the community that a trail will be constructed each year. Joynes said we are doing Smithtown East trail in 2014 and Galpin Lake trail in 2015. Funding for these two trail segments has been identified. Woodruff noted that he didn’t know where enough funding would be found for the last trail on the list, which is Enchanted Lane, because it is all wetland in that area. Siakel stated that the trail plan is not written in stone that it has to be done, but it just identifies areas where a trail could be placed. Joynes stated that staff will look at coordinating trails with road reconstruction program and look at a plan based on critical arteries, such as pathways to schools and to commercial areas. Hornby also said to keep in mind there are differences between a 6-ft vs. 8-ft wide trail, and other factors to consider such as land acquisition and rules for DNR grant funded projects, which are similar to state aid roadway projects. He noted that the stormwater management portion of these trails will not be less. A break for lunch was taken at 12:20 pm. The meeting resumed at 12:39 pm with Item 7, General City Staffing Levels. 7. General City Staffing Levels Joynes reviewed the general city hall staffing levels from 2004-2014, noting that Council previously discussed the unknown future needs for the Southshore Center, and the creation of a position description for a public works administrative assistant. It was clarified that the data provided does not include public works department union employees. Over the past ten years, reductions have been made in the Planning Department and in Engineering. It was concluded that no further action was necessary at this time with general city staffing levels. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 12 of 18 8. Organized Refuse Collection Zerby stated that this topic was discussed at the recent Mayor’s Lively Issues forum. At that meeting, the Mayors from Tonka Bay, Deephaven and Greenwood all indicated they have organized refuse collection and it was working very well. Their haulers provided great service, and will even perform services such as taking the trash can from a garage and returning it to the garage after emptying it. Shorewood was the only city at that forum that did not have organized collection. Zerby feels it is worthwhile to talk about, noting that the refuse vehicles are heavy and multiple vehicles on the streets put additional wear on the streets. He realizes that some people like choosing their own hauler. Woodruff felt it would be worth exploring, noting that if the level of service expected is specified, that level of service would be in the contract. He indicated that Council needs to look objectively at the long term costs involved with this issue. Siakel noted this topic has been discussed in the past. She thinks it’s timely and she would support exploring organized refuse collection. She would like to see the haulers have a route plan that they stick to. She also stated that she tried organics, but with all the services, including yard waste, recycling, trash, and organics, there’s not enough room at curb for all of the various containers. She would like to see a new container developed that meets the needs of people, such as a trash can that is split in half, so half of it is for trash and half for organics. Hotvet stated it would be important to include the element of education, to provide residents with the reasons and benefits and how it will save money. Woodruff stated that yard waste needs to be organized as well, noting there are three yard waste companies that drive through his neighborhood. Woodruff recommended staff contact the three cities who have organized collection -- Tonka Bay, Deephaven, and Greenwood -- to find out what level of services those communities are getting from their contractor. Joynes noted there is a new state law with regards to organizing refuse collection. He stated there are steps to take to begin the process, and he recommends this be looked at in the latter part of the year. Staff can start to do some research on costs and provide a plan to Council for how to proceed. Council was in agreement with this process. 9. Summit Avenue Roadway Improvement Alternatives Joynes noted this topic is being discussed because of the safety issues that were generated from residents in the Summit Avenue area where the Summit Woods development is proposed. Hornby stated that the roadway width varies from 13-18 feet. He also said there is a driveway that gets as wide as 22 feet. He stated they looked at a few options. One is to widen the street width to include curb and gutter, using a barrier curb or surmountable curve. Another is to leave the road as is, and put a cul- de-sac on the lower and upper end. The problem with this option is that it would be a long cul-de-sac, and an alternative route for emergency vehicles would be needed. Residents voiced that they do not care for the steepness of the hills. Hornby stated if the road was reconstructed, this would not change the steep roadway. Another option is to create a one-way roadway. He described two alternatives for this option. Joynes asked Council how it wishes to proceed with this item. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 13 of 18 Woodruff stated he heard there are serious drainage issues in the area, and asked if there is something that can be done about that. Hornby stated that if the road is reconstructed, more storm drainage would likely be added. Brown noted that some of the issues referred to by residents are issues that existed before Shorewood took on an improvement with Chanhassen to install a storm water pipe along the shoulder. He noted that one resident at the end of Summit will likely always have drainage problems due to the dramatic topography. Although some of the drainage issues can be resolved with reconstructing the roadway, he didn’t think all of the drainage issues could be resolved due to the expense. In response to a question from Hotvet regarding drainage on the north side, Nielsen indicated the builder will not do anything that will add to the existing problem. Woodruff stated he heard the Summit Road hill, up from Murray Hill, is often impassable in the winter. Brown indicated that verbal agreements have been worked out at border roadways. The City of Chanhassen uses chemicals on Summit Road, and in exchange Shorewood plows a couple of Chanhassen streets. He noted that Shorewood started getting complaints that chemicals didn’t work, so they sanded the roadway and received many compliments that it was much better. Hotvet asked what costs are involved in the one-way roadway options. Hornby stated minimal; it would be the cost of the signs. Siakel indicated she likes the one-way option that is only in the City of Shorewood. Woodruff stated he talked to residents who were opposed to a one-way. Siakel noted that all the comments at the public meetings involved the safety of the road; therefore, she is focusing on what can be done to make the road safe. Woodruff asked if anything could be done to deal with the difficulty in negotiating tight curve at top of hill, noting there are sight line issues. Brown reiterated that this is a safety concern brought forward, and asked Council if it would like to proceed with an abbreviated feasibility report for this roadway. Zerby thought it was a little premature to move forward with a feasibility report at this time, until the development issues are resolved. Hornby stated that although the development and roadway safety concerns are two separate issues, they are related; he thought the roadway safety concerns should be done in conjunction with development. He noted it is a substandard roadway and upgrading it to a standard roadway will address many of the safety issues. Siakel stated that if that is done, then the Shorewood road would be built to standards, but it would meet up with the Chanhassen road which is substandard. Nielsen reported that Chanhassen recently agreed to a lot split of the property just south of Summit Woods, located in Chanhassen, and they didn’t require widening of the road. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 14 of 18 Woodruff suggested the safety and drainage issues be listed out and identify how to address them, short of reconstructing the entire road. He noted the road has been this way for a long time, and maybe not everything needs to be fixed. Siakel stated that when the new homes are constructed, there will be four new residents who will likely have input on this issue. She believes it would be best to address the road issues when development goes in, and agrees that a feasibility study would be needed at that time to know what the costs are for the options. Nielsen stated that the one-way option is a cheap experiment that could be tried. He also noted he has talked to two people who have said the road is hazardous but they like it. Joynes recapped that the options and costs will be researched in response to the resident’s concerns about the roadway being unsafe, and this will occur when the development underway. Staff will also work with the developer to assure drainage concerned are addressed. 10. Diseased Tree Programs Joynes stated that Council has already discussed the staffing needs relating to diseased trees, and asked Nielsen to provide an overview on how other cities are approaching diseased trees and what our issues are. Nielsen indicated the tree inventory has been completed. The one piece that he is uncomfortable with is the Freeman Park portion of the inventory. This area was estimated, but it holds the bulk of the ash tree population. Nielsen would like Council to consider hiring or contracting with a professional forester to look specifically at Freeman Park, to determine how many trees are actually there. The tree inventory shows approximately 2700 ash trees in 53 acres. If that is accurate, he would like to know what should be done with that. In the last year or two, cities have jumped on the treatment bandwagon. At City Hall and in Silverwood Park, there are some nice ash trees that likely could be treated. The current thought is to remove smaller trees, as it is cheaper to remove a 4” tree vs. 12” tree. If you put something in its place, in about 10 years, you would have something else growing where the smaller trees were removed. This also spreads out the cost of this project. He questioned if public works could do some of that work, or if it should be a contracted service. Nielsen will be meeting with a landscaper to get a price on what they would charge to remove smaller trees. He noted this is good winter work to remove these trees, and there are a lot of guys available to do this if we contract out this work. If 2/3 of the trees in Freeman Park are ash; we are looking at a 10-year period of cutting 20% every other year; and reforest in-between. It will likely be controversial and people will not like it. He asked for Council input on what role public works would have and/or a contractor. He stated that Excelsior has a forester, and he talked to someone in Minnetonka Beach regarding a cooperative effort with ash borer. The city of Minnetonka has an in-house forester. Woodruff stated we need a program and he would like to see us write an RFP to see what response we get. Siakel noted that in looking at this from a larger perspective, she wonders if we have an arborist, could we offer residents this service for diagnosis. Hotvet agreed that offering this service to residents would be beneficial. Nielsen stated an advisory service like this could fit in whether it was someone who was hired or if it was a contract with someone. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 15 of 18 Woodruff agreed that residents could use this service as a resource for evaluation of their situation for a fee, but he doesn’t want the city to get involved with tree removal. Nielsen stated he was referring to removing trees in public right of way. He also discussed an option to offer the homeowner whose property abuts the right-of-way where a diseased tree exists to treat the tree for a fee if they really didn’t want it cut, or the city would cut and replace the tree. Woodruff stated there is a Rainbow tree symposium coming up soon, and he hopes that someone can attend that meeting. Zerby asked what direction staff was looking for from Council. Nielsen stated that in August last year, staff provided a preliminary estimate of approximately $70,000 per year on tree cutting and reforestation; he indicated a need to look more closely at those numbers. He asked for Council’s feedback on having public works do some of this work or have a private landscaping contractor perform that work, noting it would be much cheaper than a tree service. Woodruff stated a professional forester could make a recommendation on schedule for tree removal and replanting. Joynes stated that the weather may have impacted the emerald ash borer, as it has been discussed that the insects have been reduced by 70% in some areas due to the weather. Joynes recapped that staff will outline a program and put together an RFP for a professional forester and how to best address handing diseased trees in public right of way and parks. It will also consider making forester advisory services available to residents for a small fee. 11. Trail Plowing and Equipment Brown indicated this topic was prompted from discussions about the Smithtown Road trail. He noted that approximately 9,000-10,000 feet of trail have been added in the city. He stated that no other equipment is needed for plowing the trails. He outlined that the practice has been to first plow roadways, as they are first priority. He stated it takes about 8-12 hours to plow after a snowfall. Depending on when the snowfall occurs, it is then decided when the rinks are plowed. After the rinks are plowed, the trails are plowed. It takes about 1.5 work shifts to clear the trails. He did note that the LRT is an exception as it is a high demand trail route, so that trail is being plowed earlier in the morning. He discussed the expectations that residents have with regards to plowing the trails and rinks and asked Council what their priorities are and if they are willing to pay overtime to call a worker in on a Sunday to plow the trails. Hotvet noted that the City of Minnetonka has neighbors who surround the parks adopt the rink, and they volunteer for rink care. She asked if this would be something to look into. Brown stated that one issue he has had in the past was when they used to have snow blowers at each rink. The rink attendants were not authorized to operate the snow blowers because they would clear out the rink, but would leave a ridge of snow near the edge of the board. That ridge would freeze and the hockey players would complain about the ridge. He would be interested in knowing how Minnetonka manages its program. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 16 of 18 Zerby indicated it is important to communicate on the website when rinks are open or not open. He also noted that trails at the intersections of, for example at CR 19 and Smithtown, Vine Hill and Hwy 7 didn’t appear to be cleared. Brown indicated that public works does plow the trails, and it takes a two-day period of time to get them plowed and it could be that it snowed in-between plowings. Siakel expressed that this may be a bigger issue this winter due to the cold weather and amount of snow. She agrees with communication on the website about the rinks being closed. She stated she thinks the majority of the time the needs are being met. Woodruff suggested thinking about what it would take to not guarantee but place a high priority on, for example, having the rinks open for some part of the weekend. He also asked how scheduled events were impacted for those organizations that have reserved the rink. Brown stated that every attempt has been made to clear the rinks, depending on the logistics of the crew. Joynes stated the question is that when it is not a safety issue, is the crew being called back to do the rinks during the high usage times, and if that is being done, then we are doing all that we can to keep the rinks open. Nielsen suggested putting those trails that are on a school route on a higher trail plowing priority list. Hotvet stated she has noticed that Smithtown Trail is cleared very quickly. Brown described how the equipment is used to clear the trails. Siakel asked if the city would benefit from having a snow emergency policy, and what it might look like. She noted she does not see this as a priority for this year, but something to consider for next year. Brown stated the crew has expressed a desire to have a snow emergency policy, as there have been issues with cars in the street and needing to plow around them. Woodruff stated he is concerned about how a policy would be enforced. He proposed that maybe some streets should just be posted “no parking”. Brown stated he would bring back to Council some options for discussion in regards to a snow removal policy that addresses roadways, trails and rinks. Staff will also contact the city of Minnetonka to inquire about their policy with regards to residents who surround the parks, and adopt the rink and volunteer for rink care. 12. Technology Enhancements Joynes noted that Council already addressed the GIS system. He reviewed the list of technology items from the CIP. He indicated that with the key-pad door access system, it would provide better access for staff and Council. A wireless alarm system or the front desk would potentially alert police and anyone else in the building of an emergency at the front counter. Brown explained the safety concerns relating to front desk staff and access to the offices during Council and commission meetings. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 17 of 18 Zerby indicated a preference for a proximity key fob. Woodruff agreed. Hotvet indicated that the key access and alarm system would be her highest priority of the items on the list. Siakel also supports an alarm in the Chambers, and asked staff to research options for installing an alarm in Chambers and at the front desk, as well as the key access options. Woodruff stated he supports cable wiring in the Council Chambers and a 42” TV. Brown explained the cable needs to be wired in the building. Joynes stated that all Council members and staff will be getting ID cards. Joynes stated staff will bring back more information on key access options for city hall, an alarm system, and cable writing/TV for city hall. Council and staff will also receive ID cards. Zerby requested the key access be expanded to include the Southshore Center. 13. Other Issues Zerby discussed the Commission size for parks and planning, noting it is now a seven-person commission. The city often struggles to get enough candidates for these positions. He suggested Council consider changing the commission size to five and have it happen with attrition. Siakel also expressed commissioners be more mindful about attendance. It may be easier to have five people who are completely committed. Also, with the commissions, she suggested staff get a recommitment from members, especially with the larger topics coming up on the Planning Commission. Joynes stated that the League Insurance Trust offers an on-line 30-minute training program on land use decisions that they are asking Council and commissioners to go through. They also offer a reduction in insurance fee for attending the training. There was also discussion about having Attorney Keane provide a land use session with the Summit Woods development coming forward. Woodruff agreed with the smaller commission size. He also agreed with Siakel about the need to be attentive to attendance, and require the commissioners to also be prepared for the meetings. Joynes indicated staff will bring an amendment on the size of the commissions from seven to five for consideration at the next Regular Council meeting, as well as review of the attendance issue. Another item that Zerby wanted to discuss was the term of the Mayor seat. He indicated that since he has been in the role as Mayor, he sees value in moving from a two-year to a four-year term for the Mayor seat, and suggested this begin with the 2016 election, in order to keep the mayor seat on same cycle as the presidential race. Hotvet agreed that a two-year term is short, and thought a four-year term would make sense. Woodruff also indicated his support for a four-year term. He thought it was a good idea, indicating a two- year term may dissuade some good candidates from running. Woodruff asked if Council wanted to consider evaluating Council salaries. It was noted the mayor’s salary was at $300 per month, and the Council salaries were $250 per month. City Council/Staff Retreat Minutes Saturday, February 8, 2014 Page 18 of 18 Joynes stated that if this hasn’t been looked at for a few years, it should be evaluated. He stated that staff can find out what other cities’ Council salaries are and report that back to Council. Hotvet asked for a summary report/return on investment report for Arctic Fever relating to attendance, how much the event costs, and what the city spent on it. Brown noted that a report is provided each year, but it takes time to receive invoices and process payments; he stated that Council will receive a report on this event. Further discussion took place on how other city events came to be, and the role of the park commission in planning the events. It was stated that the park commission did begin some of the events, and they were established as a way to bring people into the parks. Further discussion took place on the various events, issues and management, and the idea of a centralized manager for events in the south lake area. It was noted that the Parks Summit group liked the idea of one source for all events, but funding this type of arrangement would be an issue for participating cities. 14. Adjourn Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, adjourning the City Council/Staff Retreat at 2:21 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Jean Panchyshyn ATTEST:Scott Zerby, Mayor _____________________________ Jean Panchyshyn, City Clerk