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06-10-24 CC WS MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2024 5:30 P.M. MINUTES fi���P►V»'I*o]I WK0191 IEl[All I&T Lit 02V I►i1:1AdIk! Mayor Labadie called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Labadie; Councilmembers Labadie, Callies, Maddy, Sanschagrin, and Zerby; City Attorney Shepherd; City Administrator Nevinski; Communication and Recycling Coordinator Wilson; Parks and Recreation Manager Czech; City Clerk/HR Director Thone; Planning Director Darling; Director of Public Works Morreim; and, City Engineer Budde Absent: None B. Review Agenda Zerby moved, Sanschagrin seconded, approving the agenda, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 2. RECYCLING CONTRACTS EXTENSION City Administrator Nevinski outlined some of the confusion regarding the term of the current agreement for recycling collection and when it expires. He noted that the City could approve an extension of the contract in order to either clarify the contract terms of come up with an RFP process for a possible vendor change. He explained that curbside organics has also been brought up for consideration and noted that the thought is that there will be changes coming from the County in the next five years or so in order to decrease the amount of materials that are going into landfills. Staff is looking for direction from the Council on which path they would like to choose moving forward. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that the timeline expectation is that curbside organics recycling will be required by 2030 and explained that the solid waste management plan will be finalized by the County in October of 2024 which will help cities know which direction they should take. Mayor Labadie stated that she was not sure it would pay to essentially `reinvent the wheel' if the County was coming out with a mandate in October. Councilmember Zerby asked Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson how Republic Services been as a service provider. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that he felt that Republic Services has been really great to work with and have been quick to respond when there have been issues. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 2of8 Councilmember Callies stated that Excelsior recently moved to curbside organics recycling. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that he knows that was being handled by Republic Services, but that was about all he knew. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked about the costs for this service in comparison with competitors who provide the same services. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that he did not know about cost comparisons. Councilmember Callies noted that she believed that they should move towards City-wide collection, and asked about staff ideas of adding organics collection. City Administrator Nevinski explained that Republic Services have said that they would be willing to provide the City with a quote to do curbside organics pick-up under the current recycling contract. He stated that staff could begin discussions with them if this is something that the Council would like to explore or could plan to have an RFP process for potential switching vendors in 2025. Councilmember Zerby noted that Excelsior has a single -hauler and asked if the City went to curbside organics if that meant there would be another set of trucks on the roadways. City Administrator Nevinski stated that it would mean another set of trucks because the organics trucks is a completely separate vehicle. Councilmember Zerby noted that at one point, the haulers were using special colored bags for their recycling so people could just put it in with their trash collection and then had robots that would pick them out when they were dumped. He stated that if they looked at something like this, he would be amenable to it and explained that he was not sure he was ready to jump at the idea of adding another fleet of trucks on the City's roads. Councilmember Callies stated that it was nice that the City has drop off sites, but noted that they were not very convenient. She stated that she thinks it would be a mistake to wait until 2030 for this type of action. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he believes the market for people who are interested in organics collection is growing and because of this, companies have made an investment in this and were looking for it to grow. He noted that if the Council was interested in implementing a curbside organics program, it would be an `all in' program for the residents regardless of whether they chose to participate or not. He explained that a ballpark estimate from Republic Services for this program would be about six dollars per month. Councilmember Maddy asked if the idea was for there to be weekly collection for that cost. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he was not sure, but would guess that it would be done weekly. Communications and Recycling Coordinator noted that it is most commonly done on a weekly basis, but has seen that change to bi-weekly during the winter months. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 3 of 8 Councilmember Zerby asked if this would also require an additional bin and noted that his household also has yard waste bins, which would mean that his household would have four different bins. Councilmember Callies stated that she felt that organics recycling was a huge issue and believes that if it were more convenient, more people would participate. She encouraged the Council to keep track of how many scraps their household uses and throws away within a week. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he was open to the idea, but would like more information about how it would work, the cost, and what interest there would be from the community. He stated that he would also be in favor of a one year extension to the current contract. There was consensus of the Council to direct staff to work towards a one year contract extension with Republic Services. Councilmember Maddy noted that he did not want to penalize backyard composters. Communications and Recycling Coordinator Wilson stated that he did not know how many households handled their own composting but believed that there were about one -hundred thirty that are signed up for the organics program. Councilmember Maddy asked how much the City was currently being charged for the organics collection sites. City Clerk/HR Director Thone explained that the City was charged about three -hundred sixty dollars per month for the drop-off sites. Mayor Labadie suggested in this time delay with the contract extension that the City take the opportunity to provide some type of education to the community about composting and organics collection. There was a brief discussion about the past discussion and controversy surrounding the City switching to a single hauler. City Administrator Nevinski clarified that the direction he has heard from the Council was to extend the existing recycling contract for a year and then, in 2025, develop an RFP for recycling services that would also include a curbside organics collection component. 3. FUNDING REQUEST FOR SOHI PARK City Administrator Nevinski outlined the request for twenty-five thousand dollars that has been received to assist with funding for SoHi Park as part of a public/private partnership. Councilmember Callies noted that she passes by this park frequently and there are always people using it. She stated that the City has its `own' parks, but felt that the staff report may have minimized the Shorewood residents that may use this park. She noted that the City has donated to things like fireworks for the community and felt that the City could consider a donation for this park also in the spirit of community. She stated that the amount requested may be too much CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 4of8 though because she did not think Shorewood should put in the same amount as Excelsior, since this was officially their park. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked about accessibility and ADA standards and how this park compared with the standards of Shorewood. He referenced its proximity to Highway 7 and a pond without having a fence and asked if those things created a safety issue or would put the City on the hook in terms of liability if they chose to fund a portion of the park. Planning Director Darling stated that all new playgrounds are designed with the ADA requirements but noted that the equipment does not appear to have a lot of inclusive play features, but clarified that she had not analyzed the equipment in depth. She stated that they do have a poured in place rubber surface which is wheelchair accessible. Park and Recreation Manager Czech noted that it was important to realize that ADA accessible does not equal inclusive and while this is ADA accessible, all the features were not necessarily designed for everyone to use. Councilmember Callies reiterated that she did not feel Shorewood should contribute the same amount of money as Excelsior since the park was located in Excelsior. Mayor Labadie noted that this was also located on church property which she also feels makes this a bit tricky because it is in a neighboring city. She stated that this is a beautiful playground that benefits the whole neighborhood, but she was not sure if the City should contribute budgetary dollars to a park that is not located within Shorewood and was located on church property in a different city when they have not finished making improvements to the City's own parks. She explained that some of those improvements have not been made due to budgetary restrictions and suggested that the City may be better off allocating money to the City's park. Councilmember Maddy stated that there is not a chance that he would support giving them any money for this private property in the next town over because it would not meet his threshold for spending tax dollars in this manner. Councilmember Callies reiterated that the City gave money year after year for the fireworks. She stated that she would agree that the request for twenty-five thousand dollars was too much and noted that she felt the issue of it being located on church property had been addressed by Mr. Lester. Mayor Labadie explained that historically, the City has given money towards the fireworks with the thought process that the City does not provide fireworks in the City. She stated that the amount that they have donated has essentially been the equivalent of one dollar per person, which has been a total of seven thousand five hundred dollars. She stated that this donation was not something that the City was locked into because it is reviewed on an annual basis. Councilmember Maddy stated that the City operates a park that is essentially located in Chanhassen. He stated that he thinks it is really nice that cities make their own parks and then share them with the broader community and reiterated that SoHi park was not the City's park. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he agreed with Councilmember Maddy that this request did not really fit what the City should be investing in. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 5 of 8 Councilmember Zerby explained that he belonged to one of the rotary clubs that had donated to this park. He noted that he had similar concerns when it was discussed at the rotary about it being privately managed by a volunteer organization as well as concerns about the longevity of the organization. He stated that he has been told that the church will maintain insurance over the park and noted that this park is the only one located on that side of Highway 7. He explained that he also had concerns that this would be used as a recruitment tool by the church since the park was located on church property and was told that there would be signs that made it clear that it was for everyone's use. He stated that he was also conflicted about this request because it would be nice for people to have something where they would not have to cross Highway 7, but it is located on private land and also had questions about how well it will be maintained. Councilmember Maddy asked if the church operated a school on that parcel. Councilmember Callies stated that she believed that it was just a church. City Administrator Nevinski noted that there is a fairly robust food shelf that is operated out of the church. Councilmember Maddy noted that the playground equipment is already built so it will be there whether or not the City contributes to it. Councilmember Callies stated that she thought that there were plans for additional phases and equipment. Mayor Labadie stated that this is a beautiful park and is something that is a great neighborhood amenity but did not know if Shorewood really should have any business in it. Councilmember Callies reiterated that she did not support donating the full amount that they have requested but felt that saying that the City did not have any business in this park was too strong. City Administrator Nevinski stated that even if the request was half of this amount, he was still sensing that there would still not be support from the majority of the Council because of the various concerns that have been raised. There was consensus of the Council not to include funding for the SoHi Park in the City's 2025 budget. 4. PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFFING City Administrator Nevinski explained that there is a vacancy within the Planning Department which has given staff the opportunity take a look at the Department and its future needs. He noted that part of the discussions was that Planning Director Darling was interested in retiring within the not too distant future. He explained that with this information in mind the thought had been to perhaps look at creating a Senior Planner type position for an individual who could potentially take on a department head role as a way to also do some succession planning through this hiring process. Councilmember Sanschagrin asked if hiring a more senior type of planner would save the City any expenses for other services, for example legal expenses or consultants. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 6 of 8 City Administrator Nevinski stated that potentially they could find someone who has a skill set so they would not have to hire a consultant. He noted that they had included money in the budget this year to hire a consultant to help them with the workload, for example the code updates, so a more experienced individual with those skills could potentially help get those things completed in- house and would help create more capacity. Councilmember Maddy asked how much money the City had allocated for a consultant. City Administrator Nevinski stated that the City currently has twenty-five thousand dollars allocated for consultant services. Councilmember Maddy asked how much code enforcement the Planning Technician position was doing and whether that would be the expectation for this other more senior position. Planning Director Darling stated that the code enforcement duties varies and noted that complaints are sporadic and were more frequent in the spring and the fall. She stated that Planning Technician Carlson was doing code enforcement and she would also have him doing all of the zoning permits, rental housing, and deer management. Councilmember Callies asked if, in the Senior Planner scenario presented by staff, the idea would be that this individual would know that the expectation was that they would be taking over Planning Director Darling's job when she retired. City Administrator Nevinski explained that he believes that they would characterize the position as having the opportunity to progress into a leadership position and become the director and noted that they would want to be careful that this outcome was not guaranteed. Mayor Labadie stated that she thinks the approach outlined by staff to pursue a Senior Planner made sense to her for the City. Councilmember Callies asked whether there would still be enough for a Senior Planner to do while Planning Director Darling was still with the City. Planning Director Darling confirmed that there would be plenty for a Senior Planner to do while she was still with the City. Councilmember Sanschagrin stated that he supported this approach. Councilmember Zerby asked if there were any other cities that have a similar staffing model in the area. Park and Recreation Manager Czech shared an example from Chanhassen for a different department that had done something similar with the idea of succession for one of their positions there which had worked out well. City Administrator Nevinski asked if there was hesitancy or concern from the Council about the Senior Planner title and the presumptiveness around the future of the position. Councilmember Callies stated that this is a big jump from what the City has had previously with the Technician position. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 7of8 Councilmember Zerby stated that he would like to see there be a few more reasons for this change, beyond succession planning. Mayor Labadie asked how many years of experience a Planning Technician would have versus a Senior Planner. Planning Director Darling stated that the expectation is that a Planning Technician would have a bachelor's degree and perhaps an internship or two along with some good writing skills. She explained that for a Planner position, the expectation would be possibly a master's degree or three to five years of experience, and a Senior Planner would have about five to ten years of experience. Councilmember Callies asked if a Senior Planner would still be doing some of the more rudimentary duties such as rental inspections and code enforcement. Planning Director Darling stated that she thinks that things like the rental inspections would be shifted back to the Building Official and noted that she did not feel there would really be an option for the Senior Planner not to be involved in code enforcement. She stated that doing code enforcement at the beginning of a job is actually a good thing because it helps them learn to apply the code. Councilmember Maddy asked for a realistic estimate of how much of the consulting expenses would be able to offset if the City hires a Senior Planner. Planning Director Darling stated that she felt there would be a benefit in being able to have two people working on the code amendments, which would reduce the amount of consultants needed, but explained that the City would still need to hire consultants for the Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Callies asked if Planning Director Darling was planning to be with the City for another five or ten years if the City would be considering hiring a Senior Planner or just a Planner. City Administrator Nevinski stated that he thinks that, in that scenarios, they would be looking at Planner. Councilmember Maddy asked Planning Director Darling if she endorsed this approach because she felt it was the best idea with the next person to be able to fill her shoes. Planning Director Darling stated that she thinks it would be a much nicer transition than the abrupt model would be for someone not familiar with the City. There was consensus of the Council that they were comfortable with the idea of moving forward with a Senior Planner position in the Planning Department, but would like more information on gains, beyond succession planning, with this approach. 5. ADJOURN Zerby moved, Maddy seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of June 10, 2024, at 6:47 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 10, 2024 Page 8 of 8 ATTEST: Je ifer 4abiifie, Mayor Sandie i`hone, City Clerk