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CCM 12/17/2018 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY DECEMBER 17, 2018 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 6:59 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember Barnette Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: Wally Wysopal, City Manager Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Dan Tienter, Finance Director/City Treasurer Rachel Workin, Environmental Planner Julie Jones, City Planner APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: NEW BUSINESS: 1. Resolution Approving Final Plat, P.S. #18-01, by the City of Fridley, with Consent from Industrial Equities River Road LLC, the Property Owner of 5601 East River Road and ABCFGS Holdings LLC, the Property Owner of 5851 East River Road, to th Allow for the Dedication of the Potential 57 Avenue Extension; and Resolution Approving a Registered Land Survey, Prepared for the City of Fridley by E.G. Rud & Sons, Inc., with Consent from ABCFGS Holdings, LLC, the Property Owner of 5851 East River Road, to be Deeded to the City for Right-of- Way Purposes. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-66 AND RESOLUTION NO. 2018-67. 2. Resolution Confirming the Statutory Level of Tort Limits. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-68. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 2 3. Resolution Approving the 2018 Gifts, Donations and Sponsorships to the City of Fridley. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-69. 4. Resolution Approving Plans and Authorizing a Call for Bids for the Locke Park Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project 17-509. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-70. 5. Approve Lease Termination Agreement Between the City of Fridley and the North Suburban Hospital District (Ward 1). APPROVED. 6. Approve Sidewalk Easement for Unity Hospital Property (Ward 1). APPROVED. 7. Appointment to Commission. Mr. Wysopal stated this is an appointment of David Ostwald to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority effective upon the swearing in of HRA commissioner Steve Eggert to the City Council. That swearing in will take place on January 7. APPROVED. 8. Claims (183346 - 183405). APPROVED. ADOPTION OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adopt the proposed consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No one in the audience spoke. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 3 ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 9. Resolution Certifying Final Tax Levy Requirements for 2019 to the County of Anoka. 10. Resolution Adopting a Budget for the Year 2019, a Revised Budget for the Year 2018 and the 2019-2023 Capital Investment Program. Dan Tienter , Finance Director/City Treasurer, stated his presentation will provide an overview of Items 9 and 10. After the presentation, he would recommend Council take action on both items. Mr. Tienter stated since their meeting on November 26, there have been a handful of significant revisions to the budget. In summary, there was a $500,000 shift in the Locke Park Water Treatment Rehabilitation Project. It was originally budgeted for $3.8 million in 2019, and now $3.3 million is being budgeted for 2019 and $500,000 for 2020. Mr. Tienter stated there is a decrease in the traffic signal maintenance project of $425,000. That reflects an agreement the Council approved with Anoka County to have them pick up a larger than previously anticipated portion of that project. Mr. Tienter stated there is the addition of a $230,000 street sweeper project. Mr. Tienter stated they made some revisions to the carryover to the West Moore Lake Drive trail project which resulted in an increase of about $120,000 to the 2019 budget. It is important to note that the overall cost of the project has not changed. It just reflects how much money is going to be spent in 2018 versus 2019. Mr. Tienter stated with the additional street improvement projects, there was an increase in the transfer from that fund to the general fund of about $6,600. Those monies are to offset staff costs and other overhead costs associated with executing those projects. Mr. Tienter stated in total the changes are actually a decrease to the budget of about $568,000 for fiscal year 2019, although it is important to stress that some costs have shifted into other years. Mr. Tienter said they have gone through the budget in previous meetings in some detail. The budget will be just under $50 million for revenues. The big amount in 2017 was the receipt of the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 4 bond proceeds for the Civic Campus. Overall as to expenditures, again, just under $50 million. There is about a difference of $1,135,000 after transfers and depreciation and other items. As they discussed at previous meetings, those will be picked up by fund balance, mainly in the capital project funds. Mr. Tienter stated moving into the proposed 2019 property tax levy, as a reminder the City is required to certify a proposed and final levy. They did the proposed levy on September 24. The City needs to certify the final levy. The City certifies the final levy to the County per statute five days after December 20 of each year. That final levy cannot exceed the proposed levy except for certain items outlined in State law. Mr. Tienter stated at this point in time, the recommendation in the proposed budget is for a 4.64 percent increase overall in the property tax levy. That reflects a slight decrease in the debt service levy, and then a 6.5 percent increase in the three non-debt service levies. Last year, the increase was 4.86 percent. Mr. Tienter stated as to the effect on residential homesteads, as they have anticipated with the increased value, they are assuming about $860 for City taxes on a home valued at just under $203,000. That would be a 4.6 percent increase or about $38. About $83 of that change is actually attributable to the increase in valuation. Mr. Tienter stated the State does provide two different property tax credit refunds, one for the regular homestead which takes into account the income that the household has in terms of the refund; and the other is a special homestead credit which accounts for larger than anticipated year-over-year changes. If property owners are interested in either of these programs, they can always reach out to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. If they would like any assistance City staff can help. Mr. Tienter stated staff recommends Council adopt the 2019 budget, the 2019 through 2023 capital investment program, the property tax levies as presented, and a revised 2018 budget. If approved, staff will certify the levy to the County by the end of the week. Mr. Tienter stated based on the process to date, staff is recommending two actions: first, a resolution certifying the property tax levy requirements to Anoka County; and, second, adoption of the various budget documents. Section 7.02.01 does require an affirmative vote of at least four members of the City Council for any property tax levy change that exceeds 5 percent. As previously mentioned, for three of the four property tax levies there is a recommended increase of 6.5 percent. Mayor Lund asked when he talked about the special tax cut, is there a threshold. Mr. Tienter replied, yes, it is to reflect larger than anticipated increase in property taxes. He thought it was a 12 percent increase or $200. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2018-71, Certifying Final Tax Levy Requirements for 2019 to the County of Anoka. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 5 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2018-72 Adopting a Budget for the Year 2019, a Revised Budget for the Year 2018 and the 2019-2023 Capital Investment Program. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTIONS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. Resolution Approving the 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Fridley and Authorizing Staff to Distribute to the Metropolitan Council. Julie Jones, City Planner, stated this is the Council’s last view of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan before staff submits it to the Metropolitan Council. It is still a work in progress. There are basically ten components in the Comprehensive Plan; and the ten components are guided by the Metropolitan Council. Ms. Jones stated the water supply section and the local water management section are actually plans separate on their own. Council approved the water supply plan in 2016, but they have incorporated it into the City’s Comprehensive Plan. They might find they look a little different and that is because there are separate guidelines for those from other agencies besides just the Metropolitan Council. Ms. Jones stated they have gone through a three-year long development process to develop the Comprehensive Plan which started in 2016. They gathered data and input from the public. They have analyzed that data and the City’s needs and trends that are happening in the marketplace and have followed a format the Metropolitan Council provided on-line. Staff committees were developed to draft those chapters based on the data that was gathered in the format required by the Met Council and obtained feedback throughout the process on the draft chapters from the City’s advisory commissions, volunteers, and the community. Ms. Jones reportedthey held a public hearing before the Planning Commission about a year ago and the City Council reviewed it last March. Those chapters and that format the City Council approved were submitted to 23 surrounding jurisdictions who had the opportunity to review and provide feedback to Fridley. They had six months to do that which was due this past October, and since then, staff has incorporated the feedback from those different agencies into the copy that is before the Council for final review now. Ms. Jones stated there are some key features to the Plan she would like to point out. One of them is the City’s future land use map on page 29 of the Plan. A lot of people are always curious about what is predicted to change. Fridley is a fully-developed community, so there cannot be that much predicted to change, but Fridley does have some land the City is guiding in this Plan to change as far as land use. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 6 Ms. Jones stated they also have 21 potential redevelopment areas that are found on a map on page 30. They have a traffic congestion forecast on page 106 in the Transportation Chapter that may be of interest and as mentioned earlier, the City is still pursuing a Burlington Northern th Sante Fe railroad bridge overpass at 57 Avenue, which is mentioned in Action Steps on page 108 of the Transportation Plan. Ms. Jones stated they also have a map on page 124 in the Transportation Plan of priority trail connections which is something staff will be updating soon, as they are starting to work on updating the Active Transportation Plan for the City. Ms. Jones stated there is a massive list of stormwater management projects that begins on page 271, which is a ten-year plan for those items. There is a bluff impact zone map plan on page 313, which might be of interest to people who live along the river or on one of the creeks in the community. Ms. Jones stated as to the Action Steps, the real to-do list of the Comprehensive Plan, begins on page 335, which is not just about our public facilities but about all of these topics in the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Jones stated as far as zoning related to those 21 potential redevelopment areas that are noted in the Plan, there are 8 that are actually guided to change in zoning she wanted to point out. One of them the public has asked about the most is the Girl Scout Camp which is currently zoned Institutional. That is a new zoning classification staff created while updating the Comprehensive Plan to satisfy some of the requirements that Metropolitan Council wanted the City to change in its zoning. The Girls Scout Camp is slated to change from Institutional to Residential zoning. The Holly Center site, which was guided in the City’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan for redevelopment, is guided for Mixed Use as well as the old City Hall site and the Cummins Office Building next to it. Ms. Jones stated, also guided as Mixed Use is an area around Osborne Avenue, including the Bob’s Produce site and the building that Mike’s Foods is located in. On the southwest corner of Osborne and Highway 65 there is an area slated for redevelopment that is also guided for Mixed Use. On the southeast corner of Mississippi and Old Central, there is land guided for Mixed Use. Ms. Jones stated there is a section of single-family properties in the northeast end of Moore Lake, where there are some very deep, large, single-family lots that are guided in the Plan for multi-family residential development - potential for townhomes or condominiums. Ms. Jones stated, finally, northeast of the intersection of 694 and University Avenue, is an area that was guided in the City’s comprehensive plan ten years ago for multi-family development that continues to be guided for that. Many of those properties in that area are zoned multi-family now. Ms. Jones stated what is unique in this Plan compared to the City’s plan ten years ago is the Mixed Use zoning classification. The City did not have that zoning classification before. They also have given attention to care for the City’s urban forest in this Plan, because Fridley is a Tree FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 7 City USA now, and there are, of course, all the impacts of the Emerald Ash Borer infestations causing the City to pay more attention to its urban forest. Ms. Jones stated staff noted concerns in the Plan over food security because there are very few neighborhoods in the City, where people can safely walk to get fresh food. Ms. Jones stated they are mentioning native landscaping/native-friendly planting areas in the Plan. That is something new from ten years ago too, that staff is focusing on. Again, with the Council’s recent adoption of the Energy Action Plan, staff incorporated that into the Comprehensive Plan, as well as emphasis on access to solar which was a requirement placed on the City by Metropolitan Council to be included in the Plan. Ms. Jones stated Fridley is planning for a bus rapid transit line to come through Fridley, but all proposed new BRT lines are under a renewed study by Metro Transit. Ms. Jones stated there is a definite focus on bike/pedestrian access and safety in the Plan. They also have an alternative transportation node from National Park Service maps, which was incorporated into the Plan. The approved Safe Routes to School plans have been incorporated into the Plan. Ms. Jones stated there was a Highway 65 intersection study recently done by Metro Transit and MnDOT that is mentioned in the Plan and could potentially have some intersection impacts on Highway 65 in the future. Ms. Jones stated that the Council heard from MnDOT last week about the University Avenue Audit, and that is part of kind of a larger focus they have in the Plan, which is focusing on the safety needs of University Avenue. Ms. Jones stated there is mention of creating a parks master plan to guide development and redevelopment of City parks which is something new in the Plan. Also, there is a whole new chapter called “Economic Competitiveness,” which the City did not have before. Those efforts are not necessarily new. The City, in particularly the Housing Redevelopment Authority, has been working diligently to support the City’s businesses over the years, but the City has a whole new section about that now. Ms. Jones stated they have new rules from the DNR for the Critical Area, which is that part of the City between East River Road and the River. And, of course, they have the new Civic Campus and the action steps in the Plan related to that. Ms. Jones stated the Implementation Plan is the last chapter and that is what she refers to as the to-do list. Ten years ago they had 59 action steps. In this Plan they have over 200, which is a very aggressive to-do list, but she believes staff has been very thorough in trying to address all of these topics and think through the needs of the City. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 8 Ms. Jones stated the next step is for the City Council to adopt the resolution. That will direct staff to submit the draft to the Metropolitan Council, which is due by the end of this month. The Metropolitan Council gets six months to review the Plan. Mayor Lund asked Ms. Jones when she spoke about food security and walkability and access to fresh produce at farmers markets and things, what is the security portion of it. Ms. Jones said that is a term in the planning world that means, can you safely get to fresh food to eat healthy and live healthy. Councilmember Bolkcom stated at their last conference meeting, the City Manager mentioned how staff had saved money the way they developed the Plan, so she asked if staff could expound on how much has been done by the staff. Fridley has some great expertise in its own staff. Scott Hickok , Community Development Director, replied he really wanted to recognize Julie Jones and her efforts. A document like this takes three years. In the planning world you have your short-range planning, the action items that come before you on a regular basis for land use action, and then you have the long-range planning that really looks out 20, 30 years. This comes with an enormous amount of effort and focus. This is really a compilation of 30 years of planning activity Ms. Jones has done now. Once again, completing a ten-year extension to the Plan she did ten years ago. Mr. Wysopal mentioned at their last meeting about how this can save a City $80,000-$100,000 easily in consulting fees when staff can do this internally. The department managers did a phenomenal job. This is probably one of the most beautiful and best- valued documents that will be turned into the Met Council this year. The words, the photographs, and the thought that goes into where we are going in Fridley, he thought was something the citizens could be very comfortable with. He really encourages people to take a look at the Comprehensive Plan. If you even just pick one chapter you are interested in, you will have learned a lot about the City. Councilmember Barnette stated it is very impressive. He asked whether they mentioned anything about the crossing over from the Civic Center to go south on University Avenue. They have the entrance for the Fire Department to go north. He hopes they would be able to exit over to University so the Fire and Police can go south on University. Ms. Jones replied, no, it is not. That is something that just recently came up. They have new things that come up every day. Councilmember Barnette stated with regard to those six lots north of Moore Lake Beach on Old Central, he sees where three of those are owned by the City. He asked if people still lived in the other three. Ms. Jones replied, yes. Councilmember Barnette asked if the plan was to eventually purchase those properties. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 9 Ms. Jones replied, to her knowledge, no. There are no immediate plans. If someone ever wanted to develop something there, then it is guided in the Plan so it can be a permitted use in the future. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2018-73. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. Resolution to Approve Contract for Recycling Services With Allied Waste Services of North America LLC. Rachel Workin , Environmental Planner, stated she is presenting two items, the first is for the curbside recycling collection contract with Allied Waste Services which does business as Republic Services. The foremost reason it is most important to recycle is the environmental benefit that is associated with recycling. It involves 90 percent less energy to make an aluminum can out of recycled materials as compared to virgin aluminum; 50 percent less energy to create a glass bottle using recycled glass compared to using virgin glass; and 75 percent less energy to make paper using recycled materials compared to virgin paper. Ms. Workin stated there is also a huge economic benefit associated with recycling. In 2017, $690 million dollars’ worth of material was recycled. This industry supported 37,000 jobs in Minnesota. In addition to the environmental and economic benefits of recycling, you have to think of what would the alternative be. Great River Energy which is currently where most of Anoka County’s waste is sent to be converted from waste into energy has announced its intentions to stop accepting this material starting January 15. Following that closure and their plans to distance themselves from this plant, most of Anoka County’s waste will begin to be landfilled again. There is not very much landfill capacity left in the north metro. Industry representatives are looking at alternatives which will likely involve construction of new landfills or shipping material out of state. Ms. Workin stated recycling is an easy alternative to kind of shift that pressure off our landfill system and our waste to energy plants. It is an easy thing people can do every day to make a difference. Ms. Workin stated the MPCA has set a goal for the metropolitan area to divert 60 percent of materials from landfills and waste energy plants by 2030. We are currently at a 39 percent diversion rate so there is room to go. Ms. Workin stated the City of Fridley Code, Chapter 113, requires that the City of Fridley provide recycling services to residents in single-dwelling units and multi-dwelling units up to 12 units. Residents in buildings of up to 12 units also must be provided recycling; however, that is through a direct contract between their apartment manager and the recycling provider. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 10 Ms. Workin stated the City’s current contract is with Allied Waste Services which does business as Republic Services and it includes bi-weekly collection from residential properties of up to 12 units. This contract began on May 1, 2012, when the City began its single-sort recycling system, and is set for expire on May 1, 2019. Ms. Workin stated it was a very dramatic year for recycling. They may have read about it in the news. Previously, 30 to 40 percent of the United States’ recycling went to China; however, starting this year, China announced a new regulation which bans certain materials including importation of mixed paper. They also set a contamination standard of .5 percent which meant they would no longer accept materials that had more than .5 percent of contamination. The impact of this has been a big shift within the recycling market. Material that previously went to China had to go other places, and as those markets received more material, it decreased prices. As facilities attempted to meet this .5 percent contamination rate, they had to increase processing costs as it slowed down their lines to do a better job sorting. So far there have been no applications for waivers to the MPCA which is what would be required if a material recovery facility would want to landfill any material as opposed to recycling. Here in Minnesota all recyclable material is still being recycled. The other impact of this is there is the creation of a lot more domestic markets. As a result of the new policies coming out of China, we are going to be seeing a lot more new markets developing to respond to this material. Ms. Workin stated knowing that the City’s current recycling contract is going to end and aware of the changes that are happening in the recycling industry, staff went out for proposals to find out what would be the best option for Fridley and its residents. The City received five responses and, based on the criteria that was outlined in the request for proposals, selected Republic Services as the recommended proposal. Ms. Workin stated their proposal breaks down their services into two costs: the collection cost which is what it costs them to go to your house and pick up the material and a processing cost which is how much it will cost them to process that material at a material recovery facility. The collection cost starts at $2.50 and increases 3 to 3.5 percent per year which is an industry standard. Ms. Workin stated the processing cost is a formula which is based on the amount they earn from the sale of recyclables, subtracting the processing cost, and the cost to dispose of any residuals which are those materials which end up at the recycling facility that should not be there, such as plastic bags. Ms. Workin stated in 2019, this processing cost would be $.48 per household per month, making the total cost $2.98. This processing cost changes annually; however, there is an option for the City to exit if there is a dramatic fall in the price of recyclables or to find a different processing facility. If the processing cost goes down, the City would see its overall rate with Republic Services go down to the point where it could become a credit the City would receive. Ms. Workin stated residents will notice no obvious changes to the program. They will continue to be serviced on the same collection schedule, and they will have the option to upsize to a larger recycling cart at no charge or obtain an additional cart at no cost. If a resident has a one-time or FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 11 infrequent amount of a large amount of cardboard, they can flatten and bundle the cardboard, place it next to their cart, and it will be collected by Republic Services for recycling. Ms. Workin stated she is asking the Council to adopt the resolution. Mayor Lund stated it is interesting when she mentioned that currently 39 percent of items are recyclable and hope to achieve 60 percent. He has to believe that he and a lot of other people are already doing that just by virtue of looking at the recycle cart and the garbage cart. His recycle cart is always overflowing within the two weeks, and his garbage cart is almost always near empty. In fact he would get a smaller garbage cart but it is too much of a hassle to get one. Over this last seven years with the single sort it has been a real boon for our community, and he would expect elsewhere it is the same story. Ms. Workin replied, yes, the single-sort recycling has removed a lot of barriers that people previously faced with recycling and has had a dramatic effect on the impact of our members. The places where they are really seeing room to improve are with the City’s multi-family properties, so the City continues to increase its outreach to people in apartments related to recycling. That number also includes commercial properties. It is only recently that commercial properties were required to provide recycling, and that is based on the amount of trash they generate. They expect that number to increase as more commercial properties begin to recycle or improve their recycling programs. Mayor Lund stated the other thing that needs to be done is people still need to have a better education and understanding of what is recyclable. One of the biggest things is pizza boxes. They do not want them because they are food contaminated. There are a lot of plastics and what he does at his home is look at the bottom of the container, and if it has the recycle arrow triangle with a number, 1 through 7, those are all recyclable. He sees a lot of plastic still in the garbage. There is a lot of comingling of what could be in trash and what should be in recycling and vice versa. Ms. Workin replied that is a great point. It is always good to take a look and remind yourself of the basics of recycling--the aluminum cans, the glass bottles, the plastic bottles, the paper and cardboard which are your really easy go-to’s and the big wins. The cost of disposing of trash that ends up in the recycling has a huge impact on the price they end up paying for the service. While it may seem counter intuitive, they do recommend that when in doubt, throw it out. If you are not sure it is recyclable, and if you cannot find that answer, it might be best to put it in the trash. City staff is available if residents do have a question about whether something is recyclable. People are more than welcome to call or e-mail, and staff will find that out for them. Mayor Lund stated and that goes hand in hand with why China is no longer accepting contaminated recycling items. They are not as valuable as they once were which means people are doing a pretty good job. When a whole ship has to turn around and go someplace else because China will not accept it anymore because people are comingling trash with things that do not belong in the recycle, again, it comes down to you have to hammer home that education. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 12 Ms. Workin stated people have to remember that recycling is an environmental but also an economical activity. If there is not that market, if it is too expensive, the market is going to respond accordingly. There are many items, for example, plastic bags or Styrofoam, which cannot be recycled curbside but there are options to recycle them at drop-off facilities. Councilmember Bolkcom stated the other thing is organics. She asked whether pizza boxes are considered organic and could be added to that collection. Ms. Workin replied, yes, they would be considered an organic material. It is estimated that over 30 percent of our trash is organic material and could be recycled. The City has an organics recycling program also with Republic Services which costs $10 a month. Residents can sign up on-line at fridleymn.gov/organics. Once you get started it is a really easy-to-use program. If you have been traditionally recycling, it is really easy to make the switch over to organics recycling as well. The City also provides the compostable bags that are needed to start the program, and staff has heard a lot of really great feedback from residents who are trying to live a lower waste lifestyle who have opted to start organics recycling as well. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2018-74. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. Approve 2019 Agreement for Residential Recycling Program Between the City of Fridley and County of Anoka. Ms. Workin stated this is related to the grant funding provided by Anoka County to support the City’s recycling programs. This is a grant the City receives every year from the County. The City is receiving it a little earlier than usual this year. In previous years, the City has not received this contract until the second quarter of the year. It is great to know early on how much money the City has to work with to support its programs. Ms. Workin stated Anoka County has provided money from the State through the SCORE and LRDG programs. They distribute this money to cities based on population. The City of Fridley is allocated a certain amount of money based on a formula. This formula has stayed the same compared to previous years except for the organics grant. Last year the City only received $.50 per household; however, this year it will be receiving $1.00 per household. The amounts have also gone up based on increases in the City’s estimated population. The total amount from these categories the City is being offered by Anoka County is $106,879. The City was also eligible for an additional $20,000 which the City applied for and was offered which brings the total offer by Anoka County to $126,879 which is an increase of a little over $6,000 from 2018. Ms. Workin stated in addition to the City’s standard offerings of drop-off events, the curbside program, and education, the City will use this additional funding to promote the curbside organics program as well as continue to enhance the drop-off programs. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 13 Ms. Workin stated in 2019, the City is going to continue to partner with Green Lights Recycling to offer six events. The first event will be January 12 at Green Lights Recycling from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will be another event every other month on the second Saturday following that. Residents should expect to see the first mailer regarding these in anticipation of the March event, and they can learn more information about these programs and the materials that will be accepted at fridleymn.gov/dropoff. Ms. Workin stated what staff found by hosting events at Green Lights is they are able to serve more residents than when they hosted the events at the City’s own facilities for a decreased cost. They did find that they collected a decreased amount of tonnage in 2018 as compared to 2017; however, this could be attributed to a variety of different factors. They have also found that by holding these events at Green Lights Recycling they are able to significantly decrease the wait times for people attending these events. In 2018 all residents who went to Green Lights were in and out in less than 15 minutes. She asks that Council approve the 2019 agreement for the residential recycling program funding. Councilmember Bolkcom stated they had six events but really only three more people come through. Is it because now people have just got rid of all their mattresses and those other things? She would think if the City had more events, they would have more customers or is it just because people are spreading themselves out because they cannot come in January so they come in March. What does she attribute it to? Because if there is less wait time, you would think they would want to come. It is not that much further away and is pretty easy to get to. It is amazing how quick you do get through there or you do not have to wait in line, if all you have is shredded which is like they did in the past. She asked what other things will they do to encourage people to bring more of their stuff there or are they just happy with the program as it is. Ms. Workin replied those are great questions and was it something staff was looking at as they had this change in the program. One note about the numbers from 2017 is the May event also included people who were shredding paper but perhaps not dropping off items which could account for an increased in the actual number. They also heard from some residents about concerns driving the additional five miles to Green Lights Recycling; however, staff believes that even with the increased drive time the overall experience will be much quicker than when the City had the events at its public works facility. Ms. Workin stated people can also take advantage and drop off hazardous waste materials at Anoka County’s household hazardous waste facility which is nearby and accepts paint and other household chemicals at no cost. Staff believes that by continuing education related to those events, they will be able to increase the numbers. They do think residents are spreading their visits out over the six events instead of having to wait for three events. In the past when the City only had events in April, July, and October, sometimes people would wait eight months to get rid of an item. They are seeing people are disbursing more over the six events. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether there was anything else the City can accept or recycle. Ms. Workin replied, they are accepting the same items at these events that the City has in previous events with the exception of, and her historical knowledge of this is somewhat limited, FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 14 they did accept wood pallets at one event in the past. However, there is a risk that if you get any treated wood you have to dispose of all of that material as waste; and the City would not be able to use SCORE funds to do that. Accepting pallet wood is a somewhat risky offering, and residents are able to recycle pallets at Menards here in Fridley. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what about other wood products? Ms. Workin replied, most treated wood products need to be disposed of through a specialized handling facility that accepts construction and demolition waste. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to approve the 2019 Agreement for Residential Recycling Program between the City of Fridley and County of Anoka. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 14. Informal Status Reports: There were no informal status reports. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Varichak, to adjourn. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:08 P.M. Respectfully submitted by, Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor