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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4A 08 05 2019 City Council Minutes 1 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES August 5, 2019 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Briggs called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Councilors Burkart, Braid, Erickson, and Thompson. None were Absent. Also, in attendance were City Manager Plante, City Attorney Schwarzhoff, Finance Director Erickson, Police Chief Frazer, Fire Chief Steinhaus, Community Development Director McCabe, Public Works Director/City Engineer Brotzler and City Clerk Orlofsky. PUBLIC FORUM Briggs: Reviewed the process for the public forum and explained that items scheduled for public hearing or items for which a public hearing has been held but no final action taken, are not eligible for discussion on the public forum. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY BURKART, SECOND BY THOMPSON, TO REMOVE ITEM 5E CONSIDER AP- PROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING MASSAGE THERAPY LICENSES FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR FURTHER REVIEW BY CITY STAFF AND APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. VOTE Briggs Thompson Burkart Braid Erickson Aye ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ Nay ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ The motion carried. APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 4A CONSIDER APPROVAL OF JULY 15, 2019 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES. MOTION BY THOMPSON, SECOND BY BRAID, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 15, 2019 REGULAR MEETING. VOTE Briggs Thompson Burkart Braid Erickson Aye ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ Nay ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ The motion carried. 2 DRAFT 08 05 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes CONSENT AGENDA Plante: Reviewed the items on the consent agenda. A. Consider Approval of Claims Listing: The motion carried. B. Consider Approval of the 2nd Quarter 2019 Investment Report: The motion carried. C. Consider Approval of the Preliminary 2nd Quarter 2019 Financial Reports: The motion car- ried. D. Consider Approval of a Resolution Approving a Temporary Liquor License for the Prior Lake VFW Post 6208: The motion carried. E. Consider Approval of a Resolution Approving Massage Therapy Licenses: Removed from the Consent Agenda for further review by City staff. F. Consider Approval of a Resolution Requesting the Conveyance of Tax Forfeited Properties by Purchase to the City of Prior Lake for Public Purpose: The motion carried. G. Consider Approval of a Resolution Approving the Haven Ridge Third Addition Final Plat and Development Agreement: The motion carried. H. Consider Approval of Resolution Authorizing the Mayor and City Manager to Execute a Standardized Professional Services Agreement Engineering Services Related to the 2019 TH 13 Watermain Repair Project: The motion carried. I. Consider Approval of a Resolution Authorizing Maintenance of Well #6: The motion car- ried. MOTION BY ERICKSON, SECOND BY BRIAD, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. VOTE Briggs Thompson Burkart Braid Erickson Aye ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ Nay ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ The motion carried. PRESENTATIONS 6A. Capital Improvement Plan Presentation and Adopt the Capital Improvement Plan Erickson: explained that the Capital Improvement Plan is a multiyear planning document that identifies projects for the next five years including the funding sources for the projects such as tax levy and bond proceeds. Brotzler: Reviewed the Parks Plan and all Projects in the Capital Improvement Plan. Burkart: Asked staff to describe the Water Tower Reconditioning. Brotzler: Explained that this project will maintain and extend the life of the water tower. Every seven years the City performs an inspection on the Water Tower to inspect the life of the water tower on the exterior and the interior. Burkart: Was pleased to see the debt per capita trending down but asked Director Erickson to share the debt service percentage of the operating budget from year to year. He presumes that would be a positive number to share with the residents. Is there a 2.7% benefit as a result of the increase in tax capacity. 3 DRAFT 08 05 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes Erickson: Explained that the tax levy preliminary proposed 8.25%, but yet the tax rate and market value rate are going down. One of the reasons that is able to happen is because the City has an increase in our tax capacity, an increase in the market value of properties in the City. So now that tax levy is spread across a larger base. That is how the City is able to reduce the tax rate. It was 2.4% of the proposed levy increase of 8.25% is supported by growth in the community. Burkart: Asked if it would be fair to say that really the City is asking for a 10.65% increase, and if you subtract the 2.4% benefit from that you get to the 8.25%. Erickson: Answered that the growth in the community is adding to the 8.25% increase. It is not adding on to it. It’s absorbing 2.4% of the levy change. Burkart: Asked is the existing residents seeing a benefit from that tax capacity increase. Erickson: Explained yes because the City is able to increase the tax levy and provide additional services based on the growth. Plante: Touched on tax capacity a little more. For the average home that doesn’t have any change in valuation, classification, or otherwise they would see a reduction on their City taxes with the numbers shown on the screen. The new growth is subsidizing the services that are available for our existing residents. Burkart: Said that when he looks at these numbers the residents don’t see a 2.4% benefit. The residents see a .5% benefit carry over to the existing residents. Erickson: Clarified that is what is shown in the tax rate. The 2.5% is a portion of the tax levy that the increase in capacity is supporting. Plante: Added that some properties may see a wider range of savings depending on what their valuation has done over the last year and their classification. The .5% is what the average benefit is across the City. There could be some properties that see a greater benefit. Braid: Asked where the mandates come from for some of these improvement projects. Brotzler: Explained that a number of the mandates are from the Watershed. So, the mandates are for compliance and requirements for projects within the Watershed, and also MPDES Requirements and EPA Federal Re- quirements. So, the mandates are for compliance and requirements for projects within the Watershed, and also MPDES Requirements and EPA Federal Requirements. Braid: Thanked staff for doing a good job on working through the Council’s concerns with doing two reconstruction projects in the same year and the debt burden and tax levy impacts it would have. Thompson: Questioned why the annual debt tax levy payments are increasing but the debt ser- vice is decreasing. Erickson: Explained that when the City looks at debt as a whole, they look at principal payments. Principal payments that are dropping off in relation to the new debt that the City is adding on. Street projects are amortized over ten years, the equipment purchases are amortized over seven years and street overlay is amortized over five years. So, it’s the mix of how the City is paying down the debt. Thompson: Added that one of her concerns is that you look at the debt that is dropping off it is dropping off fairly significantly, but the City is also adding new debt fairly significantly. She would like to see the debt drop by three million dollars annually every year to help bring the City debt down to a lower number. Erickson: Explained that he has a different philosophy on the City debts. For example, the resi- dents who will live in Prior Lake now should not have to pay for services in the future. Those who receive the benefit pay for the benefit. 4 DRAFT 08 05 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes Briggs: Added that he generally looks back to see how well the City did on their projections. In previous projections the City Council was comfortable with the debt levy at 3.9 million in debt service in 2020. AND change “In” to “For” before 2021.This council has trimmed $400,000 off that level of debt service in less than three years. In 2021 the City Council was com- fortable with 4.5 million in debt service. This City Council has successfully reduced the debt ser- vice versus what set out there as expectations for the residents three years ago. He doesn’t want the Council to lose sight of that as they help put the City on a sustainable financial trajectory. Briggs added that the Water Treatment Agreement that the City has in place with the SMSC suc- cessfully prevented the City from having to incur a significant debt burden that would have been muscled but the rate payers. Many citizens look at the utility rates and the tax bill and feel the City is grabbing from the residents in a couple of different ways. If the City would have built a Water Treatment Plant the increases on the rates would have been much higher than the 5.5% that is presented. This current Council has chiseled down about 15% of the expectations of the debt ser- vice burden versus what the previous City Council was going to have the City follow. Braid: Added that the infrastructure funding had not been previously addressed with the last Council and it is up to this City Council to set a sustainable, predictable, and fiscally responsible long-term plan. He does have some anxiety over the utility rate increases coming forward; how- ever, he would like to see the rate study before the City discusses those rates. Briggs: Added that he would also like to see some movement in the Utility Rates Study. Thompson: She cannot support this CIP because of the escalation of debt payment, the water rate increase, the 8.25% is too much. Braid: Added that he agrees that he has issues with this as well, however; when the City is look- ing at the 8.25% the City is not being asked to approve that percent tonight. It’s just what is being proposed. Burkart: Agreed with the idea of steadily decreasing the debt. He would like to discuss it at a fu- ture Work Session. What amount of debt makes sense for a City of this size? He’d like to see the debt services percentages versus the overall budget. MOTION BY ERICKSON, SECOND BY BRAID, TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND TO ADOPT THE BOND REIMBURSEMNT RESO- LUTION AS PRESENTED. VOTE Briggs Thompson Burkart Braid Erickson Aye ☒ ☐ ☒ ☒ ☒ Nay ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ The motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS No Public Hearings Scheduled OLD BUSINESS No Old Business Scheduled 5 DRAFT 08 05 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes NEW BUSINESS No New Business Scheduled COUNCILMEMBER LIAISON UPDATES Erickson: 7/16 Attended the Assessment Review Committee, 8/2 Agenda Review with City Man- ager. Braid: Attended 7/22 EDA Meeting, 7/22 PC Meeting was canceled, 7/25 Opening of the SMSC Cultural Center, 7/31 Communication for downtown businesses with the road project, 8/2 agenda review Burkart: 7/29 Unified Transit Task Force, 8/5 mobility management Meeting Thompson: 7/16 Assessment Team Meeting, 7/23 with Police Chief and EDA Director regarding short term rentals, 8/5 agenda review Briggs: 7/16 SMMC Quarterly Meeting, 7/17 Street Impact Fee Legislation, 7/22 Capitol Hill re- gards to bills currently before the legislators, 7/22 Meeting on Comprehensive Plans in areas of shared interest, 7/22 EDA meeting, 7/24 Scott County Fair Opening Appreciation Breakfast, 7/25 Grand Opening of SMSC Cultural Center, 7/26 Staffed the Rib Fest, 7/29 Walked the Downtown with Public Works Director Brotzler and Police Chief to discuss the upcoming road closers, 8/2 SCALE Executive Meeting OTHER BUSINESS / COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS 12A. Street Project Update City Engineer Brotzler provided an update. 13A. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY THOMPSON, SECONDED BY BRIAD, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:23 P.M. VOTE Briggs Thompson Burkart Braid Erickson Aye ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ Nay ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ The motion carried. _______________________ Michael Plante, City Manager