09-08-14 CC WS MinCI'T'Y OF SHOREWOOD
CITY COUNCIL WORD SESSION
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
MINUTES
CONVENE CITY COUNCIL, WORD SESSION
5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
5:30 P.M.
Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M.
A. Roll Call
Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmernbers Hotvet, Siakel, and Woodruff; Administrator Joynes;
City Clerk Panchyshyn; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown;
and, City Engineer Hornby
Absent: Councilmember Sundberg
B. Review Agenda
Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 410.
2. 2015 . GENERAL FUND BUDGET
A. Forester/Environmental Specialist Position Description
Administrator Joynes noted the meeting packet contains a copy of the draft job description for the
proposed new Forester I Environmental Specialist for the City as well as a copy of the projected 2015 --
2017 work program for that position. Tine job description and work program are based on discussions
Council and staff had during the February 8, 2014, . Council and staff retreat and the July 1.4, 2014,
Council work session (excerpts from meeting minutes for those meetings were included in the packet).
Joynes recapped the 2015 General Fund Operating Budget (the Budget) assumptions. The Budget reflects
one additional staff position that would have responsibility for forestry activities, and be a water resource
coordinator to help deal with future Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) mandates,
stormwater management activities and other activities. There is full -time funding for it in the Budget.
Staff has recommended starting with a .75 full -tune equivalent (FTE) position. The Budget assumes
continued contracted engineer and administrator services. It includes a salary reserve of 2.5 percent.
Southshore Community Center (SSCC) operations costs for the current level of service and capital costs
are included in the Budget. The purchase of trail plowing equipment has been programed into the Budget.
There is no levy limit in place for 2015.
He explained that in general terns revenues are estimated to increase to $5,513,878; an increase of 1.3
percent. The estimated expenditures total $5,642,863; an increase of 1.7 percent. That leaves an
unfunded gap of $128,985. Staff has proposed using General Fund reserves to fund the gap. General
Fund reserves are estimated to be $3,577,080 at the end of 2014. Based on the General Fund Balance
Policy maximum reserve level requirement of 60 percent the required reserve level is estimated to be
$3,385,718. That results in $171,362 of excess reserves. Staff has recommended using $128,985 of those
excess reserves to fund the Budget gap. That leaves $40,301 in unallocated excess reserves for 2015.
He reviewed the major expenditure changes for 2015. City Council salaries were increased by a total. of
$5,400. Administrative support at the reception desk 1 counter was increased by $11,200 for part-time
help at the counter. The Hennepin County Assessor has notified the City that their fees are going up
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,September 8, 2014
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$4,000. Police services are projected to have a net increase of $22,571 in 2015. Fire services are
proposed to increase $9,833.
The Public Works expense portion of that new full -time position is estimated to cost $55,000 including
benefits. Another portion of that salary will be charged to stormwater management activities. There will
be a $30,000 increase in the transfer into equipment and streets for 2015 and subsequent years. That
helps fund the trail plow and improvements to the SSCC capital improvement program (CiP). The
aesthetic upgrades identified for the SSCC in the Cove Proposal were estimated at about $40,000. Money
for that is not included in the 2015 Budget. The approximate $40,000 in excess reserves could be used to
fund that.
Joynes noted all of what he has mentioned and what is included in the detail Budget spreadsheets
amounts to a 2 percent levy increase. He recommended Council certify a maximum levy of 2.5 percent to
Hennepin County by September 30. That additional .5 percent would provide an approximate additional
$26,000 should something unknown come up before the final Budget is adopted in December. He
explained that since the last discussion about the Budget a couple of things have come up. The traffic
enforcement proposal Council requested from the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD)
indicates that an additional 20 hours per month of traffic enforcement services would cost about $16,000
annually. The City has heard from Gallagher and Associates that the health care costs will go up about 25
— 28 percent for 2015. There was an approximate 18 percent decrease for 2014. He noted that Council
has two more meetings in which to certify its maximum tax levy to Hennepin County by September 30 --
September 8 and September 22. The adoption of the Preliminary 2015 General Fund Operating Budget
and the maximum tax levy as well as setting in the Truth in Taxation hearing date are on the agenda for
Council's meeting following this meeting.
Mayor Zerby asked if the City would be able to collect any revenue from traffic enforcement citations.
Director Nielsen stated some of that revenue from traffic enforcement is available but the City Code
would have to be amended to allow that. Administrator Jaynes noted the revenue from speeding tickets is
primarily taken by the County and the State. Municipalities get very little of that revenue. Zerby stated he
thought some cities were collecting revenue from that. Jaynes clarified that some cities have gone to
something less than a speeding ticket and were then able to get revenues from that. But, that was
controversial. Zerby stated he thought it would be worth exploring to help offset the additional
enforcement costs.
Councilmember Woodruff stated it is his understanding that there is a limitation on the amount of
overage on the speed and the City probably would not get much from speeding tickets. There are other
things such as parking tickets and failure to stop at a stop sign that that could generate some revenue.
But, the City would have to take on responsibility for that administrative process. He then stated he is not
sure what prosecution costs the City has to pay for a speeding ticket the SLMPD writes and where the
revenue goes. He noted that he believes the City needs the extra traffic enforcement. He does not like that
the City has to pay extra for it but he understands the SLMPD member cities need to pay for extra
policing services.
Councilmember Siakel stated the City clearly receives a lot of complaints about speeding. She expressed
concern about the times of enforcement in the traffic enforcement proposal the City received. She
questioned if the City needs to have additional speed enforcement at 6:00 A.M. Would doing that really
address the concerns of residents in various areas in the City?
Mayor Zerby stated it is his understanding that City staff would be the point person for the additional
enforcement. The SLMPD would work with the City on hours and locations. He thought there would be
flexibility.
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Councilmember Siakel stated when SLMPD Chief Litsey was before Council for the SLMPD 2015
Budget he told Council that it would work best for the officers if they could start their shifts earlier or
extend their shift to cover the enforcement hours, Before their shift meant starting at 6:00 A.M. and after
their shift would be later in the evening. She questioned if those times would really satisfy the City's
needs.
Administrator Joynes stated he did not think the times were concrete. They were Chief Litsey's
suggestion because it would be the easiest for the officers to come in earlier or extend their shifts to
provide the additional enforcement. He understands that way would be the easiest. He is not convinced it
has to be done that way. They money can be set aside and then the City can negotiate the extra hours.
Councilmember Siakel stated if it were possible for the City to get some revenues from various types of
traffic tickets that process has to be administered and it could be complicated.
Mayor Zerby stated the City does have an administrative enforcement process and part of that process
allows a person to come before an Administrative Enforcement Officer to appeal the fine. Director
Nielsen explained if a person appeals the fine the City basically has to hold court on the appeal.
Councilmember Woodruff asked what the dollar amount is for the 25 — 28 percent increase in health
insurance costs. Administrator Jaynes stated the City currently pays $900 a month for dependent
coverage. The City has typically increased its per - employee contribution by about $25 a year. It did not
do that for 2014 because health insurance costs went down by 18 percent, A $25 increase for 15
employees equates to $375. The City may want to increase its contribution more, at least for some
employees, because some of their insurance payments are going to up 40 percent due to their profile.
Council will have to decide how much it wants to subsidize health insurance costs. Woodruff then asked
if the addition.aI .5 percent in the levy will cover the costs. Jaynes said it would.
Woodruff stated he likes the position description for the proposed Forester / Environmental Specialist
position. And, he Iikes the work program. But, there is nothing in the description about education or
experience about stormwater responsibilities. He thought it prudent to have something about education
and experience in the description.
Administrator Joynes stated he is not sure if the City will be able to find a candidate with experience in
two or three distinct areas. Staff does not think so. But, the City can train a person in the job over a two
to three year time period. From his perspective the person will need to have a bachelor degree in forestry.
A person can be trained to do some of the work for the MS4 mandates overtime. He then stated he thinks
there will be candidates that are really interested in the job but only have skills in one of the primary
areas of responsibility. He noted staff will add some language about experience and education to the
position description.
Councilmember Woodruff stated if over the next few months Council and staff think there is some
financial risk with the 2015 Budget then the position can be .75 FTE or the filling of that position could
be delayed until the second quarter of 2015. He then stated from his perspective there is some really good
work that the person needs to do that staff does not have the time and in some instances the skills to do
today.
Councilmember Siakel asked if that position would report to the City Administrator or the Director of
Public Works. Council has discussed that the Public Works staff has too much work to do already.
Administrator Joynes stated the intent all along was to provide the Director of Public Works with
administrative support and that person will do those types of reports at the Director's direction. Other
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tasks for that position will be will be in essence managed by a management tearn with the administrator
having the final oversight.
Cou.ncilmember Siakel asked what happened to the tree inventory project. She does not recollect the
results being presented to Council. Director Nielsen explained an inventory of the trees along the City's
roadways was completed. Efforts stopped when it came to inventorying the trees in Freeman Park which
is about 53 acres in size. About 70 percent of the trees in the Park are ash trees. When it came to
developing a management plan for the Park the discussion of a forester came tip. A management plan for
the Park could be done by a consultant forester or an in -house forester. Nielsen noted the City could
easily spend about $70,000 a year cutting down ash trees.
Mayor Zerby stated there was mention of a possible cooperative ash borer effort with the City of
Minnetonka Beach. He asked if asked if staff has any more information on that. Director Nielsen stated
lie thinks Minnetonka Beach has gone with a consultant forester. Zerby asked if the City of Excelsior
still has its own forester. Nielsen responded he does not know.
Zerby then stated from his perspective he thought it may be possible to hire a non -staff person to run the
SSCC in a bigger way that has a background in education and event planning. And, they could be hired
for a lower cost than what has been projected for a full -time person. He explained he has looked into
salaries for people who run community centers and he has spoken with people involved with them and he
thinks hiring someone with more specialized experience and at cheaper rate is achievable.
Councilmember Siakel stated a year ago the City was in the same place of unknown with regard to the
other four SSCC co- owners' participation in funding the SSCC. There are some capital improvements
that need to be made to the SSCC. The other four cities need to decide if they are in or out and then the
City needs to make a decision about what is next.
Mayor Zerby stated the proposed 2015 Budget assumes the City will provide the same level of services
for SSCC operations as it is providing this year. The Park & Recreation Coordinator will continue to
commit most of her time to the SSCC. The Budget also includes $11,200 for temporary backup help at
the front desk in City Hall.
Administrator 3oynes stated the 2015 Budget provides the City the opportunity to continue to operate the
SSCC under the current system. He then stated given how long it will take to push through changes
related to the structure and ownership of the SSCC he advised Council to at least budget for providing
the current level of services. It will take at least to the end of this year and more realistically into next
year to get that resolved. Once that is resolved Council can change how the SSCC is operated and what
the personnel requirements are. He cautioned against changing it before that is resolved. He noted it is
anticipated there needs to be over $300,000 in improvements made to the SSCC over time.
Mayor Zerby expressed hesitancy about putting more hours towards needs at the front desk.
3. BADGER PARK
Director Nielsen stated during the May 27, 2014, joint meeting of the Council and Park Commission
Council asked staff to develop a Concept 1.5 for Badger Park improvements to address concerns Council
had with the Concept l and Concept 2. A copy of a Concept 1.5 drawing was included in the meeting
packet.
Nielsen explained one of the concerns about Concept 1 is the parking lot ended up terminating and
having to circulate under the canopy at the Southshore Community Center (SSCC). In Concept 1.5 the
parking lot has been redesigned to create turn - around south of the canopy making it possible for traffic to
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circulate without having to go under the canopy. The negative impact of that is there will be 15 fewer
parking spaces than in Concept I and 10 fewer than in Concept 2. There had also been concern that if the
Badger Park ball field orientation was changed there could be a need for some type of screening or a
fencing that would prevent errant balls from going very far from the field. A safety fence is proposed for
the north end of the field in Concept 1.5 to keep errant balls from going onto the parking lot and
walkway.
He noted WSB & Associates has provided estimated construction costs for Phase I improvements as well
as for a second phase of improvements. He also noted that the Park Commission felt very strongly that if
the improvements are going to be done in two phases then the second phase should be done shortly after
the first. He went on to note that the Commission did recommend in favor of Concept 1.5.
Park Commission Chair Mangold stated the playground areas have been switched around in Concept 1.5,
Mayor Zerby noted that he likes the circle area in Concept 1.5. It is a nice transition space. He also likes
that the playgrounds are closer together. He stated he continues to have sticker shock that all of the
improvements will cost more than $1.3 million. It is his recollection that the cost for the restrooms is
around $200,000 not including infrastructure pipe installation. The total cost for that is around $400,000.
There are already two sets of public restrooms on the campus; one in City Hall and one in the SSCC. He
asked why the Park Commission thought there is a need for additional restrooms.
Chair Mangold explained that the Park Commission had numerous discussions about the possibility of
retrofitting something at the SSCC to make the use of the restrooms there work for those playing sports
or using the playgrounds. For long -term, high - quality use of Badger Park the Commissioners could not
imagine any parent letting their young child go across the parking lot to the SSCC by themselves to use
the restrooms while the parent was watching another child participate in a sports activity. The
Commission believes strongly there needs to be a better level of restroom easily accessible than the
current porta potty situation. He noted the Commission would like Badger Park to be considered the
City's most prestigious park. The Commission wants Badger Park to be a top tier park and one that
shows off City Hall. He stated the proposed shelter with restrooms could maybe be cut back while
continuing to have restrooms in it.
Mayor Zerby asked if the existing trail will eventually connect into the proposed new trail so people can
walk the entire looped trail. Chair Mangold responded yes.
Councilmember Hotvet asked staff to discuss the timeline in stages is for reconstructing the field — from
demolition to it being ready for athletes to play on. Engineer Hornby explained the field would be
reconstructed the first year and then there has to be one full season of growth before any sports can be
played on it. That growth period is needed to get the turf thick enough to be able to withstand the impact
on it. For any natural turf field there is a lot of wear in front of the goals for lacrosse and for football
there is a lot of wear down the middle of the field. He noted the City will have to have a seeding
program, it will need to aerate it regularly and it will need to fertilize it regularly. And, it should be
irrigated. The field would be usable for sports activities in the third year.
Chair Mangold stated that means two football seasons and one lacrosse season being lost.
Couneihnember Hotvet asked if the City is fully prepared to care for that field. Director Brown stated
yes.
Chair .Mangold stated the earlier Park Improvement Capital Improvement Program (CIP) had some had
some extra items for the field. It was extra field amendments and drain tile work. The Park Commission
is not clear as to what items were left off of the Concept 1.5 cost estimates. The Park Commission thinks
that if are improvements are to be made they should be done right the first time. If the City is going to
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spend $2 million on the Park then lie hoped the City could come up with another $60,000 to put in
whatever is recommended by the engineer for those extra items.
Director Nielsen stated that at a miniinu n irrigation and drainage will be part of the field reconstruction.
He noted that a lacrosse organization has offered to help find the installation of an irrigation system.
Mayor Zerby stated he thought the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) also offered to help
with the irrigation system. Nielsen clarified it depends on what the City does as part of the Park
improvements. Zerby stated staff has to snake contact with the MCWD once there is a final plan. Zerby
noted the MCWD had talked about doing a water reclamation demonstration program out of Badger
Creek and onto to field.
Chair Mangold stated that generally the City has never run into problems with the field itself. But, when
pulling from water sources like Badger Creek there can be clogging issues with the irrigation system.
Mangold then stated if the City moves forward with the Phase I parking lot work and then decides to
build a shelter in Phase 2 he asked what impact the heavy trucks will have on the new parking lot.
Director Nielsen stated lie does not think the construction traffic for the shelter will be a problem. It
would be an issue if the field was going to be reconstructed after the parking lot improvements were
done.
Councilmember Siakel stated she does not think Concept 1.5 ties the SSCC into the campus. The
Concept lacks something from her perspective. She noted she there are a lot of components in Concept
1.5 one that she likes.
Chair Mangold stated from his perspective the best thing that will be done for the SSCC is the entrance
road will be changed to a gradual curve from a hard curve. He hopes the turnaround will make it more
inviting. Hopefully, the SSCC can be tied into the campus with landscaping. He then stated the parking
lot will never be able to accommodate the target maximum.
Councilmember Woodruff stated it seems that the discussion about Park improvements is close to
reaching a state of analysis paralysis. He then stated he thought Council owes it to the Park Commission
to acknowledge that the Commission has done what it needed to do. He noted he thought Council needs
to make a decision.
Councilmember Hotvet stated she agrees that Council needs to make a decision. She expressed concern
about the time it will take to reconstruct the field and get it to a state where it can withstand sports being
played on it.
Chair Mangold stated if improvements are not made to the field then the City will see less and less use of
it over time. The field needs work if it is not going to be reconstructed.
Mayor Zerby stated he is willing to move forward with the improvements provided the City can find a
way to fund it. He then stated that there needs to be a power source to the edge of the northeast corner of
the field. Badger Park and Freeman Park are the two big event stages for the City.
Director Nielsen explained that selecting a Concept is the first step in a project the Council has already
authorized which is the preliminary design for Badger Park. Staff's intent is get the Concept selected and
to have the project bid in the spring of 2015.
Councilmember Woodruff stated staff needs to tell Council how the City can finance Phase I and then
immediately determine how to finance Phase 2. He then stated the Park Commission was unanimous with
its position that Phase I should not be started if .Phase 2 is not going to be done right after Phase 1. He
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noted that he believes that the City has the money to fund Phase 1 with existing funds. He stated he has
three ideas of how to fund Phase 2 without any significant pain.
Councilmember Siakel asked where the estimates for Phase 1 came from. Director Nielsen explained the
landscape architect that did the original plan put together what made sense for a two -phase approach.
Chair Mangold stated Phase 2 can be done while the turf is being established.
Mayor Zerby asked Director Nielsen if he had enough direction. Nielsen responded he hears that Council
is on board with Concept 1.5. He will ask the engineer to get the design done and ready for bidding.
Councilmember Siakel stated it is her recollection that the Park CIP has about $500,000 in it with a fair
amount of it being the proceeds from the sale of the City -owned property. Those proceeds were to be
used for the SSCC. Making improvements to the parking lot are part of the SSCC improvements. She
then stated there are a number of expensive items planned for Phase 2 that warrant a deeper discussion.
Mayor Zerby asked if it was ever determined if the playground equipment could be refinished. Director
Nielsen stated the equipment is at the end of its useful life. Once section of it either needs to be taken out
or recodedlrepaired in some fashion. Director Brown clarified that the equipment cannot be recoated; the
equipment has a thick vinyl coating.
4. DISCUSSION ON SENIOR HOUSING WITH RICK FENSKE
Director Nielsen noted that .Rick Fenske, with WEIS Builders, made a very good presentation about
senior housing to the Planning Commission in 2008. Mr. Fenske spoke about the future of senior housing
and the need for it. He explained that the Planning Commission had recommended amendments to the
City Code that would increase the density for senior housing in some areas and include incentives for
certain development of the Smithtown Crossing Redevelopment Area. Recently Council indicated it
wanted to better understand the need for senior housing in the City and the South bake area. Mr. Fenske
was asked to talk to Council about senior housing.
Mr. Fenske provided some background on his professional experience. He has been involved in some
aspect of senior housing industry for 25 years. Right out of college he started with Maxfield Research
which did comprehensive housing needs assessments for cities and multi- county government agencies in
several states. At that point in time senior housing was in its infancy. The State of Minnesota was ahead
of the bell curve at that time in the production of senior housing. A special division of Maxfield was
created and he became the director of senior housing research. He did that for about 15 years. He has
been with Weis Builders for 11 years. The company is a general contractor that specializes in multi-
family construction with a major emphasis on senior housing construction. Weis has built more than
12,000 senior housing units in the central pant of the United States. His territory is the upper Midwest. He
consults with developers and helps them pick out areas where there is a great need for senior housing.
Following are the points from Mr. Fenske's PowerPoint presentation.
• Senior housing is a demographic inevitability. There are 258,000 people in Minnesota who will
turn 65 years of age this decade. That is more than in the last four decades combined. About year
2020 the State's population aged 65 or more will surpass the kindergarten through twelfth grade
population for the first time in history. The population aged 65 or older will have doubled
between 2000 and 2030.
• Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. On January 1, 2011, 7,800 people in the
country turned age 65. One baby boomer will turn age 65 every 8 seconds for the next 18 years.
Where the boomers go business and capital will follow. That will create a revolution in the way
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America views the elderly. Housing patterns across Minnesota and the country will change
dramatically.
• Younger seniors are those typically in their early retirement years. Many of them want to spend
their early retirement years traveling. They may move down south for a few years. When they get
to be 75 or older their needs change. Many times they will move back up north. From 2030 —
2040 the younger seniors will decline as the number of older seniors continue to increase. There
will be significant growth in the senior population between 2014 and 2030. At the same time
there will be declines in the caregiver population; those aged 45 to 64.
• The Twin Cities inner city communities have gotten younger. There have been significant
declines in the senior population. The senior population is taking hold in the second and now the
third ring suburbs. In the City of Minneapolis over the last two decades there has been a loss of
17,000 seniors. That is almost 40 percent of its senior population. Many seniors moved out
because of the limited availability of senior housing due to lack of land and lack of incentives for
developers for senior housing. One of three seniors in the City of St. Paul left in the last two
decades. The development is occurring in the second and third ring suburbs where the senior
population is growing the fastest.
• Per a study done by AARP as people age their preference for housing changes. People wanting to
Iive in a single family home drops from 78 percent for people in their 50s and early 60s down to
less than 58 percent by the titne they reach age 75. Townhouse and multi- family products
become more attractive as they can age in place.
• Seniors move to senior housing for lifestyle reasons or because it is need driven. They tend to
move for: a change in climate; they want to downsize or resize their living space; they want to be
closer to their children and grandchildren; they want to rid themselves of home maintenance
responsibilities; it becomes too difficult and /or expensive to take care of their home; they have
difficulty getting around their home or there are safety issues; they desire more social
opportunities; there was a death of a spouse; or, there are health reasons.
• Tomorrow's seniors will: have more financial resources initially; be healthy and active longer; be
with a spouse longer; be more educated; desire life -long- learning opportunities; embrace
technology; have higher expectations; be environmentally and socially conscious; and, demand a
health and wellness focus in their lifestyle. Boomers will want to be pampered.
• In the mid -1980s there was a huge influx in senior housing construction. At that time the senior
housing product that was being built was mostly one variety called congregate housing. It was
meant to attract young, active seniors. They were typically in their late 70s or early 80s. At that
time that product did not offer a lot of services. The market was overbuilt by the late 1980s.
During the early to mid -1990s the advent of assisted living was started in Minnesota. The
acceptance of senior housing became more viable as a product for the aging population. Over
1,500 units per year were being built in the Twin Cities over ten years. When the recession hit in
2007 construction dropped off considerably.
• The vacancy rate for all senior housing in the Twin Cities was over 10 percent metro -wide in the
late 1980s. Gradually from the early 1990s through 2000 the vacancy rates were in at historic
lows even with the increase in construction. The market is considered to be in equilibrium when
the vacancy rates are between 5 percent and 7 percent. A market has been maintained in the Twin
Cities.
• The occupancy ranking in the metropolitan area ranked number one among the 20 largest
metropolitan areas for the second half of 2013. A different survey shows the Twin Cities being in
the top five. The occupancy rates have stayed relatively high when compared to the country as a
whole.
• There is a variety of senior housing available today. There are age - restricted subdivisions. For a
long time the Twin Cities was way ahead in providing age - restricted townhomes and apartments.
• There are a lot of ownership products (senior condominiums and senior cooperatives). Senior
cooperatives were conceived in Minnesota. There are 75 to 80 cooperatives across the Country
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and 75 percent of them are located in Minnesota. They are spreading rapidly to other states. The
ownership market was hit the hardest during the recession. Today senior housing cooperatives
are one of the hottest products in the market place.
• The next level up is congregate apartments. They can offer optional services. The services are
purchased on an a la cart basis or they can include a certain tier of services and then purchase
additional service a la cart.
• The next level up is assisted living where daily living / personnel care needs are taken care of
Memory care housing is a subset of assisted living. Memory care and independent senior housing
are two of fastest growing segments in the market today.
• The next level is nursing facilities. They are on the decline and the facilities are being
repurposed.
• The Twin Cities' senior housing market is one of the strongest in the country. It ranks in the top
five as far as number of units per capita although other areas are starting to catch up. There are a
lot of choices in the area and because of that senior housing is more widely accepted.
• The amount of municipal services demanded by the same number of senior housing units is
dramatically less when compared to any other type of housing product with the exception of
emergency medical services which is at 110 percent.
• There is only one facility that serves the Shorewood market area and that is BeeHive Homes, The
25-unit facility (5 assisted living units and 19 memory care units) just opened up in the last few
months. It is one of the most expensive facilities in the entire Twin Cities area. The rents start at
$6,200 a month. The rent at other facilities averages $5,000 a month.
• In the Shorewood market area in 2000 the population of those people age 65 or older was 896, it
was 1,558 in 2010, and 2,836 in 2020. As of 2014 there were 193 units of independent living,
132 units of assisted living and over 80 units of memory care. That is going to increase over the
next six years. A lot of the demand is from people who want to return to the area to live closer to
their families.
• Based on the last 14 senior housing projects Weis Builders did with 10 different developers the
there is a large cluster of there with densities of 20 -- 30 units per acre. That is where the vast
majority of senior housing falls into. A lot of communities give density credit for senior housing.
If there is assisted living or memory care within the senior housing campus the density for those
units may be reduced or possibly eliminated from the density counts. The density is
representative of developers all around the area.
• There have to be a certain number of units in a senior housing development to make the
economics of the development work. Many of the needs, such as the serving kitchen, have to be
almost the sarne for 20 units and 50 units. There is a minimum amount of dietary staffing a
facility can have.
• There are not many senior housing high rises in the Twin Cities area; five or less. Most facilities
are three or four stories high and they are wood frame construction. Most municipal fire safety
codes do not allow senior housing facilities to house the frail above the fourth floor. A building
would have to be built out of steel or concrete and the cost premium for doing that does not
justify the construction. There are always exceptions to that.
• Minnesota issued a moratorium on nursing homes beds in 1981. The State wants to get rid of
15,000 nursing homes beds. That helped spur the construction of other senior housing projects.
• The vast majority of senior housing that is being built is market rate. There is very little
affordable. The Federal HUD 202 Program funding dried up two years ago. It was the last
funding source to help provide low - income or affordable senior housing. Today there is no
financing mechanism to help subsidize developers to create affordable housing.
• By 2025 the demographic of Minnesota will be similar to present day Florida. As people live
longer they will need additional services. Assisted living is starting to offer more and more
services. Mernory care facilities are starting to offer behavioral care. There are memory care
facilities that are for women only and for men only.
CITY OF Si` ORl[ WOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES
September 8, 2014
Page 10 of 10
The number of caregivers is declining while the number of seniors is increasing. There are
problems staffing some of the assisted facilities during good economic times.
a Technology is going to have a significant impact. Today there is remote activity monitoring that
can tell how many times a person gets out of bed and the times. That can help in determining if
they have bladder infection or other problems. There are some early trials on smart toilets and
smart shirts that can read the vital signs of seniors.
Mayor Zerby stated that he has just learned a lot about the senior housing industry. But, he has questions
about how it relates to Shorewood. He noted that according to AARP 88 percent of the people age 65 or
older prefer to age in place. He explained the City did enable that to some extent by approving an
accessory apartment ordinance. There is the Shorewood Pond development which has 62 units but there
is no memory care or assisted living there. The development is age restricted. When it was first
developed it used to be owners had to be at least 62 years of age. That has since been changed to 55 years
of age. He noted there is Beef -five Homes nearby and there are facilities in the City of Excelsior. He
stated lie is still not sure where Shorewood fits in the picture with regard to the need for this type of
senior housing.
Mr. Fenske stated communities have been bracing this type of housing because they do not want their
residents who have lived in the community for a long time or all of their life to have to move out of the
community. Seniors also add a lot of value to the community. They have a high participation rate in
volunteer work and other activities than the community at large. Seniors like to stay close to their
families and friends. Without the alternatives of different types of senior housing options seniors will
have to move out of the community.
Mayor Zerby stated the area is quite affluent and a lot of seniors do tend to move out of the area to less
harsh climates.
Councilmember Woodruff stepped out of the mecting.
Mr. Fenske noted they typically move there in their early retirement years. But, once they start needing
services and when they become more frail a large number of them do move back.
5. ADJOURN
Hot-vet moved, Siakel seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session ot<September 8, 2014,
at 6:59 P.M. Motion passed 310.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Christine Freeman, Recorder
Sc t Zerby/'Mayor
.ATTEST:
VIA
.lean Panchyshyn, City Clerk