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11-14-2016 CC Reg. Mtg MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14.2016 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 7:02 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Labadie, Sundberg, and Woodruff, Attorney Keane; City Administrator Lerud; City Clerk Panchyshyn; Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and, Acting City Engineer Koscielak Absent: Councilmember Siakel B. Review Agenda Woodruff moved, Labadie seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4/0. Mayor Zerby suggested Excelsior Fire District Chief Gerber address Council during matters from the floor regarding Item 10.1) on the agenda. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Work Session Minutes of October 24, 2016 Labadie moved, Sundberg seconded, Approving the City Council Work Session Minutes of October 24, 2016, as presented. Motion passed 4/0. B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 24, 2016 Labadie moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 24, 2016, as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Zerby reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Woodruff moved, Labadie seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolution Therein. A. Approval of the Verified Claims List B. 2017 Concession Operations Agreement C. City Hall Holiday Schedule and Office Hours CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 2 of 20 D. Authorizing Advertisement for Planning Director Position E. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 16 -0869 "A Resolution Directing Delinquent Charges be Placed on the 2016 Property Tax Rolls." Motion passed 4/0. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Chief Gerber noted that he wanted to make some comments about Item 10.D on the agenda which is the financing of the new aerial / ladder truck for the EFD. He thanked Administrator Lerud and Director DeJong for their efforts in preparing the lease - purchase agreement for Council's consideration. He also thanked Shorewood for its willingness to be a partner with the EFD again. He stated that the process is in the final stages of finalizing the agreement with the vendor. He noted that his commitment to all five EFD member cities and the EFD Board is that he will not ask to increase the EFD's budget in order to purchase the truck. He explained that after the purchase agreement is signed he anticipates that further on in the process there will be some change orders to the agreement. Unfortunately, he does not know how costly the change orders will be. After the first payment is made up front, any change orders after that will be paid for at the end and they will be paid for with funds out of the EFD's capital fund. Councilmember Labadie asked where people can view the video showing the operation of three trucks with different ladder lengths. Chief Gerber stated that can be found on YouTube under Excelsior Fire District aerial. Councilmember Woodruff suggested Council discuss Item 10.1) on the agenda while Chief Gerber was present. Discussion moved to Item 10.1) on the agenda. Discussion returned to this Item. There were no other matters from the floor this evening. 5. PUBLIC HEARING 6. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS 7. PARKS A. Report by Stephany Vassar on the October 25, 2016, Park Commission Meeting Park Commissioner Vassar reported on matters considered and actions taken during the October 25, 2016, Park Commission meeting (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). Councilmember Sundberg asked if there is any trend information on the use of the old hockey rink in Badger Park. Director Nielsen noted the Park and Recreation Coordinator does have some records on use. He stated the most used rink was the one in Badger Park and the second most used skating rink is the one in Cathcart Park. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 3 of 20 Councilmember Woodruff stated there are two types of uses; recreational use and organized team use. He asked if there has been any team use of the former rink in Badger Park over the last few years. Director Nielsen responded no. Director Nielsen explained that organized hockey league representatives had been asked what the needs were for rink space. The representatives indicated leagues did not use the rink in Badger Park. It concentrates its use in the City of Chanhassen in part because Shorewood charges a $10 per player annual fee and Chanhassen does not charge a fee. It uses Shorewood's rinks on an informal basis but the ice is not reserved. The representatives indicated that it is valuable to have a place for the younger hockey players to play. The Park Commission has been discussing the use of a portable board system and a reduced rink size. Younger players play half ice. The Commission is discussing locating that at Freeman Park. Councilmember Labadie asked Commissioner Vassar to have the Park Commissioner find out what the height of the portable boards would be and if there would be thick plexiglass on top of the boards. She expressed concern about having free skating around a hockey rink. She stated ten year old players are strong. A group of 20 high school players, boys or girls, playing could create a dangerous situation for free skaters. Commissioner Vassar explained that for the 2016/2017 skating season the Commission was considering a trial rink and possibly renting boards until it knows how much use a smaller hockey rink would get in Freeman Park. At one point the Commission had discussed making one City rink just for free skating. Leagues don't rent the ice for hockey any more but people still play hockey on the rinks every night of the week. The Commission was not working toward the free skate track for this season. B. Freeman Park Ice Skating Rink Director Nielsen explained that the Park Commission has recommended that the ice skating be established at Freeman Park replacing the hockey and free skating rink that used to be in Badger Park. The Commission discussed a couple of options for the location of the rink. The Commission thought it would be best to use the north end of the parking lot at Freeman Park. That end would be leveled off. It would be restored to parking when it is not used for skating. Portable boards would be put up for hockey in the fall and taken down in the spring. Those boards are plastic. Staff has been told it would take about two hours to put the boards up and to take them down. The Commission has not discussed what the height of the boards should be. For the 2016/2017 skating season the Commission wants to establish, at a minimum, free skating at Freeman Park and make use of the warming house which is what Eddy Station was designed as. The Commission would like to get people accustomed to coming to Freeman Park to skate. Based on estimates provided by staff the Commission recommended to Council that no more than $40,000 be spent to get free skating in for this season. The lights from Badger Park would be used. The bid for installing the lights is reasonable. The quote for grading that end of the parking lot is slightly over twice the estimate of $9,000; the one quote is for $18,950. The quote for the soil tests is $3,300; the estimate was $2,000. Staff and the Planning Commission are asking Council to authorize moving forward with the Commission's recommendation if the grading can be done for under $10,000. He thought one of the reasons for the high quote for the grading is because contractors had already started to lay off their workers. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 4 of 20 Councilmember Labadie stated she thought the proposed location was great. Unfortunately, that lot is used a lot in the spring when baseball, softball and soccer use the fields in Freeman Park. When the ice melts, she asked if that would compromise the parking lot to the extent that spring sports will be compromised and permanently cause damage to the parking lot which in turn would require more regrading. Director Brown stated that would likely be the case. Brown explained it would take ongoing maintenance in the spring. There will a timing issue especially when the winter season lasts longer and overlaps into the spring season. Getting the lot to thaw in time and be repaired could present challenges. Mayor Zerby stated he assumes Public Works does not have the equipment to do the grading. Director Brown clarified the City does have the equipment but Public Works is currently down one person and personnel are still sweeping roadways and there are watermains to flush. It is a timing issue with staff now. Councilmember Woodruff stated in the spring Public Works personnel will likely have to put barriers around the area of the parking lot where the ice was until it is dry enough to park on. The ice rink will take some time to melt because it will be thick. Director Brown stated the ice will have to be quite thick for it to be usable for skating because it will be over an aggregate base. Mayor Zerby asked if there is any type of textile that could be put over the aggregate before the ice is created to minimize the impact. Director Brown noted that most of the textiles are black in color and that is a problem for ice. Councilmember Labadie asked if there would be a drainage path for the ice melt to flow off of the lot. Director Brown stated it is a novel idea to consider putting an ice rink on the north end of the parking lot but it comes with some challenges. Councilmember Sundberg stated she thought the rink in Cathcart Park was open for about one month last season. Director Brown explained that during a typical winter the rinks have usable ice on them around the Christmas break. The latest the City has had usable ice has been around mid - February. That length of time has been less and less the last few years; there has only been skatable ice for 4 — 6 weeks. Councilmember Labadie noted that as soon as the ball fields are dry the sports organizations start using them. The condition of the fields is more important to the organizations than the condition of the parking lot. But, there has to be some place to park vehicles. Mayor Zerby asked staff if it has researched the cost of artificial ice. Director Nielsen responded no. Director Nielsen noted that the cost of the portable boards would be about $50,000. Mayor Zerby stated artificial ice could extend the skating season. Councilmember Sundberg stated the cost of artificial ice should at least be researched. Director Nielsen clarified that the grading of the lot and putting up the lighting would not preclude having artificial ice. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 5 of 20 Councilmember Woodruff stated he supports having an ice rink for the upcoming season. He then stated if the City is going to have a skating facility on the north end of the Freeman Park parking lot then the lighting and grading has to be done. Councilmember Sundberg asked if the north end of the parking lot is the only viable location. Director Nielsen noted there is a ball field to the north of the lot. The original master plan for Freeman Park did not include that ballfield. That area was to be for other uses. Putting an ice rink where that ballfield is was given some consideration. But, the Commission did not want to lose a ballfield. The Commission wants all of the parks to have a common green area for use. Another area near the lot was considered but there were utilities there. Putting ice over them would not be a good idea. Woodruff moved, Labadie seconded, approving a not -to- exceed amount of $40,000 to prepare the north end of the parking lot in Freeman Park for a free ice skating area which involves grading and leveling the surface, doing soil testing and relocating / installing of lights. Councilmember Sundberg stated she would support this, noting that she has concerns about the location and use. She also noted that she values having skating available. Councilmember Labadie stated the City took out the rink at Badger Park. She thought the children need a place to skate in the community; a place that is free to use. There is a warming house there. She supported giving it a try. Mayor Zerby stated he thought this is worth exploring. He noted that he was on the Council when Eddy Station was built. There was the idea of having an ice skating facility back then. He thanked the Park Commission and Director Nielsen for the time they have spent on this. He asked that staff research alternative surfaces for future years to give the City more control over the skating season. Motion passed 4/0. 8. PLANNING A. Report by Patrick Johnson on the November 1, 2016, Planning Commission meeting. Planning Commissioner Johnson reported on matters considered and actions taken at the November 1, 2016, Planning Commission meeting (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). 9. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS A. Accept Quotes and Award Contract for Public Works Ravine Restoration and Smithtown Road Sewer Extension Acting Engineer Koscielak noted that the meeting packet contains a copy of a resolution that if adopted would accept the quotes and award the contract for the Public Works Ravine Restoration Project and the Smithtown Road Storm Sewer Extension Project. She also noted that at the dais this evening Council found a copy of a revised letter of recommendation which also included a tabulation of the quotes the City received. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 6 of 20 She explained the City received four quotes for the project. The lowest quote was received from Kusske Construction Company L.L.C. Staff is asking that Council consider four options. Option 1 was to award the contract to Kusske for the Smithtown Road ditch improvements in the amount of $27,285.50. Option 2 was to award the contract to Kusske for the Public Works ravine improvements only in the amount of $71,582.50. Option 3 was to award the total quote package to Kusske in the amount of $98,848.00. Option 4 was to reject all quotes. Acting Engineer Koscielak noted that she and Engineer Hornby recommend Council reject the quotes because they thought the quotes came in higher than anticipated and to rebid the projects in the spring. Mayor Zerby asked if the project was in the budget and if so what was the amount budgeted, Director DeJong stated he does not have that information with him. Councilmember Woodruff stated Engineer Hornby had told him earlier in the day that the Smithtown Road ditch improvements were not budgeted for. It had not been planned to be a project. When Star Lane and Star Circle improvements were done and when the sidewalk was constructed across the street the drainage was changed. The ditch situation needs to be remediated. He noted that he had not asked about the ravine improvements. Director Brown explained when the Public Works facility was designed the major outlet for the site was out the north end of the parcel and then down to a drainage pond. Over the years there has been a substantial amount of erosion. In some spots the ravine is 12 or more feet deep. When the site was developed erosion was not given a lot of attention. Over the years Public Works has attempted to stabilize things with the equipment that was available. Staff is attempting to stabilize the area for good. He then explained street sweepings really amount to sand. Currently there are 1,400 cubic yards of combined street sweepings and clay material from watermain breaks on the Public Works site. Unless some of that is hauled away there will not be room for any more next spring. The sweepings have been tested and they were labeled as satisfactory for use as general fill material. If the City does not use that material for the ravine improvements the City will have to pay to have the material hauled away. He noted that the last time the City had material hauled away it cost about $25,000 — $26,000 and there was about one -third as much material as there currently is. He explained that staff thought that rather than pay to have the material hauled away the City could use it to stabilize the erosion issue. Mayor Zerby asked if the Minnetonka Country Club (MCC) could use that material. Director Brown noted that staff had asked the developer about that and at that time they did not want to do that. Zerby asked if the project has been in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and if Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is aware of the ravine issue. Maybe the MCWD would be willing to discuss grant opportunities. Director Brown stated it has floated in and out of the CIP as the problem has vacillated back and forth after stabilization attempts. Zerby stated he has had conversations with MCWD representatives about the MCC development and the stormwater flow from the site and then down the ravine. Councilmember Woodruff stated that during his conversation with Engineer Hornby earlier in the day Homby stated the bids are much higher than he thought they should be. He then stated that he supports bidding the project next spring. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 7 of 20 Woodruff moved, Zerby seconded, rejecting the quotes for the Public Works ravine restoration improvements and the Smithtown Road storm sewer extension, directing staff to find out if there may be any grant funding opportunities from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District for the improvements and directing staff to rebid the improvements in the spring of 2017. Motion passed 4/0. B. Accept Bids and Award Contract for Freeman Park Ice Skating Rink Acting Engineer Koscielak noted that the City received only one quote for the grading and leveling of the north end of the parking lot in Freeman Park to accommodate an ice skating rink. The quote amount was $18,950.00 which is substantially higher than anticipated. Staff recommends rebidding the project to try and get a bid for $10,000 or less. Sundberg moved, Woodruff seconded, rejecting the quotes for the grading and leveling of the north end of the parking lot in Freeman Park to accommodate an ice skating rink and directing staff to rebid the project. Motion passed 4/0. C. Accept Proposal for Professional Services for Geotechnical Exploration and Evaluation for Freeman Park Skate Rink Light Poles Acting Engineer Koscielak noted the City received a bid from American Engineering Testing, Inc. (AET) to provide professional services for geotechnical exploration and evaluation for the lights poles for the Freeman Park skate rink. The scope of the work included a not -to- exceed amount of $3,300. Staff recommends Council accept the proposal from AET as presented. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconded, accepting the proposal from American Engineering Testing, Inc. American Engineering Testing, Inc. for professional services for geotechnical exploration and evaluation for Freeman Park skate rink light poles for an amount not to exceed $3,300. Motion passed 4/0. D. Approve Change Order No. 1 for Trunk Watermain Improvements Acting Engineer Koscielak explained that during the progression of the 2016 Trunk Watermain Extension Project a number of unforeseen circumstances were encountered. One of them was there were traces of geotextile material between the existing layers of bituminous pavement. Therefore, the material is considered to be contaminated and it requires additional trucking to dispose of the material appropriately. The City is being asked to cover those additional trucking costs. Another was there was a tree the City originally wanted to save but has later determined that it has to be removed due to the location of other utilities. The contractor, Widmer Construction, has submitted a change order detailing the additional work items. Staff has reviewed the change order and recommends approval. The total cost of the change order is $21,293.25 and it would increase the contract amount to $1,124,149.38 (about 1.9 percent). Sundberg moved, Labadie seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 16 -087, "A Resolution Approving Change Order 1 for the 2016 Trunk Watermain Extension Project, City Project 16 -04." Motion passed 4/0. Councilmember Woodruff stated earlier during this meeting Council authorized payment of close to $440,000 to Widmer Construction. He viewed this as "in for a penny in for a pound" situation. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 8 of 20 10. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. Appeal of Administrative Hearing Officer's Decision Appellant: Quentin and Rebecca Irey Location: 26040 Wild Rose Lane Attorney Keane explained Quentin and Rebecca Irey own the property located at 26040 Wild Rose Lane. The Ireys appealed the City's issuance of zoning violations and a citation for their property. The appeal was then considered by the Administrative Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer heard the matter over two full days of hearings. Council had been provided with a copy of the findings of fact, conclusions and decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer. The Ireys and their representatives then appealed the Hearing Officer's decision. The appeal of that decision is what is being considered during this meeting. The appellants' representative will make an oral appeal to Council. Council will then be asked affirm the decision of the Hearing Officer or to reach a different conclusion with Council's own findings. Attorney William F. Mohrman noted he is an attorney at law in Minnesota and his business address is 150 South Fifth Street Suite 3100, Minneapolis. Attorney Mohrman stated he was sure Councilmembers are well aware, because of the political complaints made to the Council, that the Ireys have been renting their property in Shorewood for a little over one year on a short-term rental basis. Shorewood City staff found a violation of the Shorewood Code saying that the rental of the Ireys property was a commercial use of their property. His law firm prepared an appeal which was signed by Quentin Irey detailing reasons why that result was absurd. He explained that in this nation when a person violates a law the law must be on the books, it has to be in writing and it has to be clear. That is provided by the due process clause. The current Council recently passed a new law prohibiting short-term rentals. There is a common code, a statutory construction, that if you pass a new law which was meant to address something that was not covered in the past that meant the old code did not address it. It is clear under the Shorewood Code that there was no prohibition on short- term rentals of private property in Shorewood; unequivocally clear. What is also unequivocally clear in the event that this has to be litigated in District Court, noting he hoped that would not have to be done, is that the only thing that happened regarding that property is a number of Council's constituents complained to Council about the Ireys use of their property. He noted he understands that is a political matter. This is a nation of laws. Unless Shorewood's Ordinances specifically prohibited the Ireys from renting their property on a short-term basis Shorewood cannot do anything about it unless the Shorewood Code is amended which Council has done. There was a two -day hearing. In a sense he thought it was unnecessary. Time and again new arguments were being made; arguments he had to keep knocking down. He stated he thought Director Nielsen was a wonderful gentleman. Nielsen was very polite to him and to the Ireys and he was breathtakingly honest. He explained as a lawyer he tries to prepare questions that would elicit responses that would be favorable to his client's case. That is not illegitimate. That is why there is a system of laws and why there is an adversarial process. He explained that during the hearing he asked Director Nielsen if there was any provision in the Shorewood Code that prohibits someone from renting property in an R -1 zone for a year. Nielsen told him no. He then asked if there was something that prohibits renting for a month. Nielsen told him no. He CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 9 of 20 asked if there was something that prohibits renting for a week. Nielsen told him no. He asked if there was something that prohibits renting for a day. Nielsen told him no. He asked if there was something that prohibits renting for an hour. Nielsen told him no. Prior to the issuance of the citation to the Ireys there was nothing in the Shorewood Code that prohibited anyone from renting their property for whatever time period they wanted to. During City Attorney Keane's presentation to the Hearing Officer Keane made "great hay" about the amount of money the Ireys made off of renting their property. This is America; a person can make as much money as they want to off of their property. During the hearing he asked Director Nielsen if there was anything in the Shorewood Code that would restrict the amount of money that a person could charge for rental of their property. Nielsen told him no. Shorewood can enforce its ordinances and laws but they have to be in writing and people have to have notice of what they are. There was no prohibition on a person renting a property for any period of time and there was nothing detailing the amount of rent that could be charged. The "excuse" the Hearing Officer used in his decision was that the Ireys were using their property for a commercial use. The problem with that was the Shorewood Code has a specific definition of what a commercial use is. The Code defines it as "the principal use of land or buildings for the sale, lease, rental or trade of products, goods and services ". He got the Hearing Officer to admit during the hearing that the Ireys were not dealing with products or goods; that was clearly not happening on the property. He argued to the Hearing Officer "how are the Ireys renting a service ". He thought that provision deals with is if someone was using their home to operate, for example, a dry cleaning business. That would not be a trade of products or goods. Dry cleaning someone's clothes is providing a service. All that the Ireys were doing was renting their house to someone who was going to occupy it for a period of time as residents. He stated that one of the things he loves about going to District Court is it is a place where you cannot engage in real ridiculous arguments. He cannot understand how the City can argue that Ireys' rental of their property to individuals to use as a residence constitutes a commercial use. From his perspective it just does not fit. He explained he submitted an appeal to Council in writing. He asked Council to read it and decide what they think of it. Does Council think any of it fits into the City Code? The first argument in the appeal papers was the City cannot enforce its own code provise; it can only enforce the laws against people if they violate the laws that are in writing. None of the definitions in the Code apply here. It was clear the Ireys were not using it as a lodging house because a lodging house has to be rented to more than one group of people. The Ireys only had one tenant. The issue was raised that the tenants had guests over. Director Nielsen testified there was nothing in the Shorewood Code that prohibits people from having people come over to their house for a party or to come and sleep over. There is a limitation in the Code that there cannot be more than 75 people at the party or sleepover. The testimony was clear from the appellants' side and there was no evidence countering that there were ever 75 people at the property. He noted that Mr. Irey wanted him to emphasize another piece of testimony. He explained there were police complaints made at the property. The fact that the cops were called to go over to the property does not make it a commercial use. It may mean that the people that were at the property were violating City law. The police have a right to enforce City laws. The police never did. The police were called out to the property twice for noise problems or something else. But, the police did not issue a citation. Nothing CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 10 of 20 happened. A person would think that if there were problems going on at the property that some police citation would have been made against the property. He explained that during the hearing there was testimony about parking on the property. It was his recollection was that Director Nielsen basically acknowledged during his cross examination of him that he could not really testify that there had been illegal parking going on at the property. He thought the City Ordinance prohibits parking on grass, but Nielsen could not testify that the area people were parking on the Ireys' property (which has a large front area) was a grass area. If that was happening, it does not have anything to do with commercial use. He stated if this gets litigated things are going to get a little bit interesting. From a political standpoint he thought the Shorewood residents may not like short-term rental except for one weekend and that was when the Ryder Cup was going on. It was his understanding that there were a lot of houses in Shorewood that were rented on a short-term basis. Some people made a lot of money off that. He found it to be very coincidental that he received the decision that was issued on this case at 5:00 P.M. the weekend of the Ryder Cup. From his perspective, if the decision had been entered by the Hearing Officer earlier than that it would have caused a problem for the other residents (he noted people were requested to get their papers in the beginning of September). The delay in issuing that decision alleviated that problem. He noted that he would bring that argument up in a District Court proceeding. He thought the timing of issuing the decision that weekend to be beyond coincidence. By issuing it on that Friday it took care of all of the other residents' problems with doing short-term rentals. Now, to be consistent in the application of the law to the owners of properties located in Shorewood anyone who would be engaged in short-term rentals on any kind of lengthy basis would be conducting a commercial use of their property. With regard to the rental license, he explained that Mr. Irey, through his agent Mr. Owens, provided testimony that he paid the application fee for the license and was under the understanding that the rental license was issued upon payment of the fee for the license. That was inaccurate. That is not what the Shorewood Code provides; it was his client's understanding. Since that time the Shorewood Building Official has refused to issue a rental license to the Ireys because of problems with the property. This has been going on for close to a year. Every time the Ireys address a concern on the property new issues crop up. He finds that a little troubling. Usually what happens is an inspector inspects the whole property at once, creates a list of issues, people address the items on the list and then the rental license gets issued. What has happened in this situation is the Inspector came to the property and gave his client a list of issues. Then the Inspector came back and left them with a new list. From his vantage point, he does not think this is a situation where the laws have been applied in a fair and reasonable manner. Attorney Mohrman asked Council to overturn the Hearing Officer's decision, rescind the citation including the $300 fine to the Ireys, and allow the Ireys to rent their house consistent with the new ordinance, assuming the new ordinance is constitutional and properly drafted. He expressed hope that the rental license would be issued in the near future because all of the issues have been taken care o£ He offered to entertain questions from Council. In response to a question from Mayor Zerby, Attorney Keane noted Council can ask questions of the presenter. Councilmember Labadie stated it was her understanding that a rental license has never been obtained by Attorney Mohrman's clients. Attorney Morhman confirmed that. Labadie explained that is in direct violation of the Shorewood City Code Section 1004.03 Subd.I. To rent a residence requires a license. Attorney Mohrman's clients did not have a license and therefore they were fined $300. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 11 of 20 Labadie noted that she really takes offense to the tone Attorney Mohrman was using, to his insinuating that there is corruption and some sort of grand scheme. She reiterated his clients have been fined $300. That amount is the same amount that anyone in the Chambers would have been fined if they had rented their home without a license per the Shorewood Code. His clients are in violation of the Shorewood Code. Attorney Mohrman noted he did not think there was anything wrong with his tone. He stated the initial citation issued to his clients said that they would never be issued a rental license by the City because they were putting their property to a commercial use. He and his clients do not believe it is a commercial use. He does not think the City can legally refuse to issue anyone a rental license in Shorewood for any reason not specified in the City Code. If the rental license is issued then it would be up to Ireys to determine how they want to rent their property in the future. If the rental of their property is consistent with the City Code then there is nothing the City can do about that. Councilmember Woodruff noted he found Attorney Mohrman's tone and body language to be offense at the beginning of his presentation. He found that repugnant from an attorney who should be representing his clients and not threatening the people who brought the complaint which is now the City of Shorewood. He also noted that he had reviewed the 100 plus pages of material provided to Council in addition to what was included in the meeting packet. He stated there is no question that a rental license was not issued. The Ireys house was rented, regardless of the use, in violation of the Shorewood Code because there is no rental license. All of the discussion about whether the City has properly processed the application for a license and whether the inspections had been done correctly or incorrectly as well as the discussion about whether or not it was a commercial use was a sidebar. He agreed with Councilmember Labadie that the $300 fine is proper and he agrees with the Hearing Officer's decision on that. Councilmember Sundberg noted that she thought Councilmembers Labadie and Woodruff articulated what the concern is quite well. She clarified that this is not a political issue; it is an enforcement issue. She told Attorney Mohrman that for him to accuse Council of being political right at the beginning was insulting. Mayor Zerby clarified that this has not been a political issue for him. He noted that he has not received any calls from residents about this. He has only heard about this through staff and it was always discussed as an enforcement issue. He stated this seems quite clear to him. Shorewood's Code is a law and it must be adhered to. He explained the Building Official was to the property three times checking to see if issues had been corrected during the rental period. He stated the $300 fine is a fair penalty and he thought it should be upheld. . Attorney Keane explained the Hearing Officer identified 19 conclusions. Conclusions 1 — 8 establish the foundation and the jurisdiction in the Hearing Officer's conclusion. Conclusions 9 — 12 relate to the failure to obtain a rental housing license. Conclusions 13 — 19 relate to the conclusion that the use per se as cited in the violation is commercial use. He asked Council to consider making a determination regarding the rental housing license violation as submitted by the Hearing Officer as one conclusion. Council can then consider the determination regarding the commercial use as a second conclusion. He thought it has been presented very clearly by the appellant in their appellant arguments that they intend to litigate the issue of whether or not their use was a commercial use. He did not think Council needs to act on the commercial use conclusion. The lack of a rental housing license was not disputed. It is sufficient that Council reach a determination on that issue. Keane stated that he has been tracking this matter as handled by staff from the beginning. The check list of requirements as set forth by the Building Official for the issuance of a rental housing license has not CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 12 of 20 been cumulatively growing. The Building Official made his determination and put those requirements in writing. There are conditions that still have not been satisfied for the issuance of a rental housing license. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconded, denying the appeal of the Administrative Hearing Officer's decision and affirming that the property located at 26040 Wild Rose Lane and owned by Quentin and Rebecca Irey had been operated as a rental dwelling without first having obtained a license to do so in violation of Shorewood City Code Section 1004.03 Subd 1. Motion passed 4/0. The following comments were made after Item 10.B on the agenda. Bruce Johnson, 26060 Wild Rose Lane, noted his property is located right next to the Irey property. He thanked Council for agreeing with the findings from the hearing. He noted that he was cross examined by Attorney Mohrman for 45 minutes during the hearing. He asked what happens with the Irey property going forward. He explained that property had been rented out up until today. There were new renters there just about every weekend. The owners know that what they are doing is wrong yet they continue to do it. He asked how much longer the residents in the area have to put up with what is going on at the Irey property. Attorney Keane stated the question Mr. Johnson raised presents a policy question for Council. He explained that if there were any ambiguities in the Shorewood Ordinance the amendments were adopted made clear what the specific provisions of the Ordinance require. He noted the City does not have an escalated fine schedule. He suggested Council give consideration to that policy question. He stated the rental of the house on the Ireys' property is being continuously advertised on Airbnb and other similar sites. He explained the City can continue to issue citations and he thought the fine for each violation is $300. Director Nielsen clarified the fine amount goes up for each additional citation and he thought it goes up by 25 percent each time. Director Nielsen stated there had been an instance on a different type of matter where the violator was issued four citations and then the City threatened to take them to court. He then stated the fine schedule in the Code could be amended so that for each additional day of the violation the violator is fined. Judges do not appreciate doing that excessively. He noted that once the violator has appealed, which the Ireys did, the City stops any further action on it. The violator is not cited while the appeal is under process. He stated there may be a benefit in reconsidering that policy to stop issuing citations when an appeal is in process, especially when the violator is dragging the appeal process out. He noted that Council adopted an amendment to City Code Chapter 1004 (Rental Housing) regarding short-term rental during its September 26, 2016, meeting and it will consider minor amendments to the Zoning Code during its November 28 meeting which mainly makes the definitions in Chapter 1004 and the Zoning Code consistent. Councilmember Woodruff stated the Ireys do not have a rental license and that is a violation under the old City Code and the amended City Code. Therefore, any rental is in violation regardless of the duration of the violation. There needs to be a way to stop that. He commented that Attorney Mohrman as much as said the property was being rented without the Ireys having a rental license. Attorney Keane noted the Ireys are not disputing that yet the property is still being advertised for rental. Woodruff asked if the occupancy permit for the house could be revoked. Director Nielsen stated staff has discussed getting a restraining order should it come to that. Attorney Keane noted that he read in the Wall Street Journal that the City of New York has a fine for every daily violation of $7,500. He then stated this issue is about enforcement. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 13 of 20 Councilmember Labadie explained that the record indicates the property has been rented to 31 groups for a total of 114 days. The Ireys have admitted that. That is a blatant disregard of Shorewood's laws. The laws need to be enforced. The violation cannot just be ignored. Attorney Keane stated experiences and testimony Mr. Johnson offered during the hearing conveyed that the residents in what had been a quiet residential neighborhood are not being able to enjoy the quietness they are entitled to because of those renting the Irey property. That quietness should be protected in a Shorewood residential neighborhood. Sometimes the parties on the Irey property get excessively loud and there is a lot of traffic coming to and going from the property. Councilmember Sundberg stated the Ireys are flagrantly disregarding Shorewood regulations. She suggested staff and Council figure out a very powerful enforcement mechanism. Scott Owens, 5869 Idlewood Road Mound, stated he and his wife Jennifer have rented property to people for close to 20 years, including Section 8 rentals. He noted that City Attorney Keane had indicated that there had been no change on the list of items from the Building Official that needed to be addressed. He stated he thought there was a change in emphasis on certain items on the list. For example, he asked those present when the last time was that they had to come up with inspection approval for a water heater that is probably 18 years old. Or, when was the last time an inspector told you they wanted you to dig up the line for an outdoor natural gas grill even though there are bushes planted near the line. Councilmember Woodruff stated it seems that Mr. Owens has an agenda that he is not aware of. He noted that Mr. Owens is not a party to this and he is not a Shorewood resident. Mr. Owens clarified that he rents the Ireys' house and he is a legal resident of Shorewood. Councilmember Woodruff asked Mr. Owens if he is the Ireys' agent for the rental property. Mr. Owens stated the attorney is the agent and that he was just offering some additional information. Woodruff stated there is a rental agent referred to in the documentation. The Ireys' agent rents the house for them and takes care of daily management types of activities. He asked Mr. Owens if he is that person. Mr. Owen stated he is listed and he testified at the hearing and now he was just trying to clarify some things. Mr. Owens noted that he and his wife own properties in other cities. He stated there were 29 items on the list of things from the Building Official that needed to be addressed. Usually they get two or three items to address. They get the license and then they address the requirements. With regard to the quiet factor, for their other properties they rent when someone calls them about noise on a rental site they go over to the site. They respond to any call they get. The individual that just spoke to Council has his phone number. Yet, he never called them. Yet they will give people who work there their phone number. B. Assessing for Sewer Service Charges Director DeJong explained the owners of the property located at 5440 Wedgewood Drive have asked the City if the cost of replacing their sanitary sewer service line from the house to the sewer main could be assessed over a period of years. There is either a break in the service line or it has collapsed. The property owners have had to have it cleaned out several times because of backups inside of their house. The only permanent fix to the problem is to replace the line. The property owners are retired and on a fixed income. The approximate $2,000 cost to replace the line would be a hardship to their budget. The City has not previously assessed for the replacement of service lines. The City has assessed new installations of sewer lines. Many times those are part of a single project that gets assessed to property CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 14 of 20 owners when new service is put in. The staff he has spoken with at a number of cities indicated those cities do allow assessing for replacement lines and certifying the cost of the replacement lines on to the property taxes. After discussing this with Administrator Lerud they thought it would be appropriate to bring this before Council from a policy perspective. In 2013 the then Council discussed assessing watermain installations and water service line installations. A Council did agree to do that in a couple of instances. If Council decides to allow this, the property owners would have to petition the City for the service to be replaced and to waive their right to contest the assessment. DeJong noted staff is asking if there is Council consensus to assess for sanitary sewer service line replacement when it is petitioned for by a property owner. That would be done by approval on an individual basis. He also noted that if Council agrees to doing this then staff recommends that a policy be set at 2 percent over the current T -Bill rate for a period of up to 10 years. Mayor Zerby asked if the property owners were present. Director DeJong explained staff did not ask them to be present. Staff will let them know what the outcome of this discussion is. Councilmember Woodruff stated some cities have a program that gives low income people some relief for things like necessary maintenance on their homes. Those cities have set aside funds to provide for that. The City has not done that and noted it could if Council wanted to. He explained that he does not recollect the City ever allowing a property owner to put the service line to their home on an assessment. It is possible that was done when the municipal sanitary sewer system was installed in Shorewood in the 1970s. He expressed concern about setting a precedent by granting the property owners' request. He asked what constitutes financial hardship. He then asked if the City would do the same for a water service line. He clarified that he thought doing that would be okay in principle but he was struggling with how to keep the City out of trouble going forward with other similar requests. He asked what would stop someone from asking the City to assess for their roof replacement. He commented that he suspected there are probably other ways the property owners could finance the replacement of the sewer service line. In response to a question from Councilmember Sundberg, Attorney Keane explained that assessments must be paid off when a property is sold. Councilmember Labadie asked Director Brown how long he has worked for the City. Brown responded 21 years. Labadie then asked Brown how many times he can recollect there being a similar situation. Is there one every year or one every 10 years? Brown stated there are probably 2 — 3 a year. Labadie also asked if the replacement cost is about $2,000 to $3,000. Brown stated they probably range from $2,000 to $5,000. Councilmember Sundberg stated she would like to find a way to address situations like this where people are on a low fixed income without opening up the City to abuse in the future. Councilmember Labadie asked if there is any type of county program that could assist those property owners. Director DeJong responded he was not familiar with any. Director Brown noted that the assessment policy that is in place for the City does have a provision for a low income. He also noted that a dwelling unit must have a satisfactory sanitary service. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 15 of 20 Mayor Zerby stated he thought Councilmember Woodruff s question is somewhat addressed in Director DeJong's memorandum. It states that some cities are "... open to allowing repairs to be assessed since the original service installation was assessed at the time of installation." Councilmember Woodruff questioned that statement in the memo. He explained for a newly constructed house the sewer service is paid for by the builder which ultimately is factored into the cost for the house. The only situation he can think of where the sanitary sewer service line to the house would have been assessed was if there had never been any service in the area and a sanitary sewer system was put in by a municipality and the municipality elected to have the cost for the sewer service line from the street to the house included in the assessment for the sewer service. He stated the low income provision in the assessment policy is for things the City has an assessment policy for. If the City establishes a policy for assessing for sewer service line replacement then it could include a low income provision. Woodruff then stated if the City wants to provide assistance to low fixed income property owners he suggested the City put aside a pool of money and make borrowing from it be on a first come first served basis until the pool of money is used up. As money is paid back it would go back into the pool. Doing it that would help manage the City's financial exposure. He provided the example that if 1,000 of the owners of properties served by a private well wanted to connect to municipal water at a cost of about $15,000 that would cost about $1.5 million dollars. Mayor Zerby stated in the staff memo it states staff has identified three options to consider, noting Council can always add more. One of the three options is to establish a policy that allows staff to proceed with these assessments based on policy. He understands Council to be going in that direction. Councilmember Labadie noted that she has no interest in creating a pool of money for hardship situations because anyone can make an argument that it would be a financial hardship to have to spend money. She stated she agrees with allowing staff to proceed with establishing a policy. She noted that for those property owners it is a different type of hardship. She suggested the City help those homeowners to find a program that could help them. Councilmember Sundberg asked if the City could have a policy that allows the assessment for low income situations, noting low income has to be defined. Councilmember Woodruff suggested staff provide Council with the provision for low income the City currently has in its assessment policy. Mayor Zerby stated staff has recommended setting a policy at 2 percent over the current T -Bill rate for a period of up to 10 years. That is better than what the City is able to earn on investments. To have the assessment policy for replacements apply to something that had previously been assessed seems appropriate. Councilmember Woodruff asked if Mayor Zerby was saying if a property owner needs to replace a water or sanitary sewer service line from their house to the municipal system and if they are low income then they could petition for assessment. Zerby stated he was not sure the low income provision was necessary. Administrator Lerud stated the program would largely be voluntary. It would be set up so the average person takes care of themselves. The assessment would be a final backstop. He explained if there is a water leak between the curb stop and the house the City is not metering that water loss and if the property CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 16 of 20 owner does not fix the leak the City has the authority to fix it and assess the repair. By doing an assessment agreement the City would work with the property owner on terms. If the City has to do an emergency repair and assess it would be for one year at whatever percent the City sets; the property owner has no say in it. He noted that allowing for the type of assessment the property owners are asking for is somewhat of a public relations thing. Councilmember Woodruff stated if the City becomes aware of a faulty sewer service line can the City basically revoke the occupancy permit until it is fixed. Director Brown confirmed that and explained that every house has to have adequate sanitary facilities. Woodruff stated Council and staff have to determine the rules for assessing for repairs to connections to city water and sanitary sewer. Mayor Zerby noted those are the utilities the City provides in addition to stormwater management. Director DeJong stated there a limited number of things that a property can be assessed for; essentially utility and direct City service costs. An example of a service cost would be if the grass on a property is not mowed and if the City mows it the City can assess for doing that. The replacement of a private well is not the City's responsibility. Mayor Zerby stated based on this discussion it is his interpretation that Council would like staff to draft a policy and bring it back to Council for discussion. He asked staff if Council has provided enough guidance. Director DeJong responded yes. Councilmember Woodruff asked if there is an option to put the cost for the sewer line replacements on a time payment plan on their utility bill from the City. Director DeJong stated that could be done but it would be difficult to try and introduce an interest rate into that repayment schedule. He noted there is much better security for the City with the assessment process. Mayor Zerby asked the residents still present if they had something to say to Council. Discussion moved back to Item 10.A on the agenda. C. Council Consensus to Accept League of Minnesota Cities Policies Councilmember Woodruff stated that he will attend the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) and the Association of Metropolitan Cities (AMC) joint meeting on November 30. The AMC does its policy adoption during that meeting. Shorewood has an opportunity to vote on the policies. He has served as the City's representative to both groups. He intends to vote in favor of the policies. He has not received any negative feedback from members of Council on any of the policies. Councilmember Sundberg asked what is different about this one versus last year. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought there was a document that showed the differences. Mayor Zerby confirmed that. Councilmember Woodruff explained AMC has five different policy areas. He is quite familiar with the revenue and taxation area because he and Director DeJong are on that committee. He did not think that any of the changes are controversial or detrimental to Shorewood. There may be some things that a member of Council might think could be done another way but they really do not apply to Shorewood. Councilmember Sundberg commented that it would be helpful not to have to search for the changes CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 17 of 20 Councilmember Woodruff stated Council had been given a month to review the draft policies that will be considered. Mayor Zerby stated he reviewed the short document highlighting the changes and noted that he supports adopting them. He then stated he appreciates the guidance toward expanding the types of investments that cities would be able to invest in. Councilmember Woodruff clarified if that comes up in a legislative session the LMC and AMC would note that they were amenable to doing that. The relaxation would not open up the door wide. That was done because the City of Minneapolis wanted to have more latitude. There was Council consensus to have Councilmember Woodruff vote in favor of adopting the draft policies. Discussion moved to Item 11.A.1 on the agenda. D. Excelsior Fire District Ladder Truck Financing Agreement This was discussed after Item 4 on the agenda Director DeJong explained that there has been discussion with Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Chief Gerber about financing the lease - purchase of a new EFD aerial / ladder truck. During Council's October 24, 2016, meeting Council agreed that the City should finance the purchase of the truck at a rate of 2 percent. The financing agreement included in the meeting packet reflects the cost of the truck to be $770,000 and that would be the amount of the loan. The financing structure is similar to a previous lease - purchase agreement which City Attorney Keane had approved. The structure has worked well for two other purchases when Shorewood served as the financing institution. DeJong noted that staff recommends Council accept the terms of the Lease - Purchase Agreement and authorize staff to execute the Agreement with the EFD. Mayor Zerby stated Chief Gerber has been very diligent in preparing EFD budgets. Gerber has put forth a not -to- exceed budget amount. He noted that on October 24 he supporting a financing rate of 2 percent for the lease - purchase. He explained that by increasing the rate to 2 percent from 1.75 percent (the rate used for the financing of a different truck) there may have to be adjustments to other equipment needs for the truck. Therefore, he was reconsidering the 2 percent rate and preferred to go back to the 1.75 percent rate. The new aerial / ladder truck would benefit Shorewood and the rest of the EFD community. The difference between the two rates on a purchase that large has ramifications for other equipment related to the new truck and that could be somewhat shortsighted. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought the EFD would be getting a bargain with a 2 percent rate. If the District got financing from a third party he thought the financing rate would be between 4 percent and 6 percent especially because the lease has a funding out clause. The funding out clause means the leasing company could be stuck with the truck. He clarified he did not expect that would happen. He stated the market is moving up rapidly and noted the 10 -year bond is currently at approximately 2.2 percent and the 5 -year bond is at about 1.63 percent. He then stated from the standpoint of being good stewards for the Shorewood taxpayers' money he thought a 2 percent rate is appropriate. He went on to state that he found it difficult to believe that the EFD (with Shorewood being one of the five member cities) cannot find a way to cover an additional 0.25 percent in the budget going forward. Mayor Zerby stated it is his understanding that the additional 0.25 percent challenge has been solved. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 18 of 20 Councilmember Sundberg noted she supports a 2 percent financing rate. She stated that she thought it would be appropriate for Shorewood to receive a reasonable amount of money for providing financing at a rate that benefits the other four member cities as well. She noted she was very supportive of acquiring of the truck. Councilmember Labadie noted she also supports a 2 percent financing rate Chief Gerber stated the agreement reflects an amount of $770,000. He explained the purchase agreement has not been finalized and he anticipates the purchase price could go up a few thousand dollars. Possibly up to $774,000 or $775,000. He asked Council if Shorewood would provide more than $770,000 in financing. Councilmember Woodruff stated if the $770,000 is approved then Chief Gerber would have to come back and ask for an amendment to the Agreement for an additional few thousand dollars. Chief Gerber clarified that EFD would not ask for an amendment; it would take the funds out of its capital fund. SG noted that his commitment has been to stay within the EFD's overall budget. Director DeJong stated he thought Chief Gerber was asking if the $770,000 is a hard dollar figure. He then stated in the motion approving the terms of the Agreement Council could authorize an amount up to $780,000, for example. Mayor Zerby stated when the other member cities approved the purchase of the truck he asked if they approved some amount. Chief Gerber noted the total budget for the truck is $862,225 and he is not going above that. That includes the truck, associated equipment and financing costs. Gerber stated that whatever is ever is increased in truck costs has to be reduced in equipment costs. Councilmember Woodruff stated if Chief Gerber wants an amount different than $770,000 he asked Gerber to tell Council what amount he wants or Council can delay approving the Agreement until Gerber comes back with a different amount. He noted that he does not want to approve a range. Chief Gerber suggested the amount to be increased to $755,000. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconded, accepting the terms of the 5 -year Lease - Purchase Agreement between the City of Shorewood and the Excelsior Fire District for a new aerial/ladder truck for an amount of $775,000 at a financing rate of 2 percent and authorizing staff to execute the agreement. Councilmember Woodruff noted the Agreement states the loan would come out of the Water Fund and the interest earned would be put into the General Fund. Mayor Zerby noted that he strongly supports the purchase of the truck and Shorewood providing the loan. Motion passed 4/0. Discussion returned to Item 4. 11. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator and Staff CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 19 of 20 1. Property Valuation and Tax Review Director DeJong explained that he and Administrator Lerud recently met with the Hennepin County Assessor and learned a little about what might be happening with property valuations for 2017. The Assessor has to set values on January 2, 2017. Valuation notices are mailed to property owners in the March — April timeframe. The City scheduled its open book meeting for May 2, 2017. There are 2441 residential properties in Shorewood. For properties where the house has not been modified or remodeled in any significant way the Assessor told them the following with regard to the property owner's total property tax bill (not just the Shorewood portion of the tax). The total tax bill includes taxes for Shorewood, the School District, Hennepin County, and the other taxing jurisdictions. Almost 79 percent of them will have a property tax bill increase of less than 5 percent. About 78 percent will have an increase of $300 or less. Almost 57 percent will have no increase or a decrease. DeJong noted the Truth -in- Taxation hearing is scheduled for December 5, 2016. Councilmember Woodruff clarified that is not the time to discuss a property value; it is the time to comment on the tax Shorewood is going to levy. Other Director Brown explained there was an issue with one of the speed awareness displays along Country Club Road. The issue is a known warranty issue. The display has been sent to the vendor to be repaired. If the same thing were to happen to the other display it would be covered under warranty even if the warranty period has expired. Mayor Zerby stated he a number of residents have expressed concern to him about the corner at Glencoe Road and Yellowstone Trail. They have concerns about curbing that has been put in place making the roadway surface much more restrictive than it was in the past. Google Earth maps do not seem to match the plan that he was given. He asked if there is more investigation being done about the curbing. Acting Engineer Koscielak stated she has spoken with Engineer Hornby about that because he is the one that has been included on the emails. She explained that now that the blacktop is down it looks a lot bigger. She understood why residents had concerns when they could not drive near the curb. Now that it is a paved it is a foot wider than it was before. The intent of the curb was to keep drivers from cutting the corners on to private property. If Council wants the curb removed that could not be done until spring. Zerby stated he received another email today expressing grave concern about that corner. He asked staff to give the residents a little more reassurance. Director Brown stated he was aware that Engineer Hornby had referenced the Boulder Cove subdivision where there was a similar situation where curbs were installed and they made the roadway look different. He recommends Council leave the curb in place throughout the winter and revisit this in the spring. He reiterated the roadway surface is wider than it had been. If the curb is still really an issue in the spring Council can ask to have it removed then. Mayor Zerby stated Hornby told him that there is some rework that has to be done so removing the curb would not require a Council to consider a change order. He asked staff to send let residents know what the plan is. Director DeJong stated the insurance consultants made a presentation to staff about health insurance changes for City employees. He prepared a report that he shared with Administrator Lerud. It appears the average increase would be about 5.4 percent in 2017. That is good news for the City. The increase is much lower than in the past few years. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2016 Page 20 of 20 Director Nielsen stated that to date 16 deer have been harvested as part of this year's Deer Management Program. There will be at least one more weekend of harvesting. Councilmember Woodruff asked if the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) resources are going to harvest out on the Islands. Nielsen stated he would talk to the MBRB hunt coordinator about that. Mayor Zerby stated he had heard that during the last Planning Commission meeting Director Nielsen stated he was going to retire around the end of February 2017. Nielsen responded something like that. Zerby then stated the City had done a good job about notifying nearby residents about various projects impacting roadway travel. But, he has not received any alerts about Yellowstone Trail. Acting Engineer Koscielak stated she would add Yellowstone Trail to the traffic email alert. B. Mayor and City Council Councilmember Labadie asked residents to help make Shorewood be a strong community and she encouraged residents to reach out and introduce themselves to others they do not know. 12. ADJOURN Sundberg moved, Labadie seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of November 14, 2016, at 9:16 P.M. Motion passed 4/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: rby, Akavor Jean Panchyshyn, Ci Clerk