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08/25/2003 - 00026146CITY OF FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 25, 2003 The Regular Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Billings, Councilmember Wolfe and Councilmember Bolkcom MEMBERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: William W. Burns, City Manager Richard Pribyl, Finance Director/Treasurer Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Frederic Knaak, City Attorney PRESENTATION: Mayor Lund presented a Certification of Appreciation to Girl Scout Troop 2458 for outstanding volunteer service in the care of the Welcome to Fridley monument at the corner of Mississippi and University Avenue and their landscape efforts. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council meeting of July 28, 2003. APPROVED. OLD BUSINESS: 1. SPECIAL USE PERMIT, SP #73-07, FOR CENTRAL AUTO PARTS, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1201 — 73 1/2 AVENUE N.E. (WARD 2). Dr. William Burns, City Manager, explained that the motion arose as a result of staff enforcement of 1973 and 1992 special use permits for Central Auto Parts. Staff recognized violations of these permits and requested that Council consider whether or not to revoke the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 2 permits. In the process, a timetable has been developed for future actions needed to correct violations of both permits. The property owner and the operator have agreed to take the corrective actions as proposed by staff. Staff recommended that Council combine the requirements of the two permits as revised together with the stipulation that those requirements supersede the earlier special use permits. Staff recommended that Council adopt the revisions as a new Special Use Permit #03-14 and that staff conduct an annual compliance of the newly issued permit. APPROVED SPECIAL USE PERMIT #03-14 NEW BUSINESS: 2. AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE SIGN PLAN FOR THE EAST MOORE LAKE SHOPPING PLAZA, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1250 EAST MOORE LAKE DRIVE (WARD 2). Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the amendment would allow the vertical dimension of the wall sign to be increased from 24 inches to 32 inches. The amendment was consistent with the sign plan criteria and would serve the tenants of the Plaza by allowing greater visibility. Staff recommended Council's approval. APPROVED. 3. APPROVE TOWER SITE LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF FRIDLEY AND AT&T WIRELESS SERVICES OF MINNESOTA, INC. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said that AT&T Wireless proposed to construct a 125 foot monopole in the southeast corner of the City's recycling center site. The lease applied to a 30 foot by 30 foot area together with access rights to and from 71st Avenue. For use of the site and the access, AT&T Wireless would pay the City $1,350.00 per month. The amount would be increased annually by 5% or the rate of inflation whichever was greater. The term of the lease would be five years with options to renew for four additional five-year periods. The City Attorney reviewed the lease and concurred that it met the City's needs. The monopole would not have an adverse affect on the recycling site. Staff recommended approval. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 4. APPOINTMENT — CITY EMPLOYEE: Dr. William Burns, City Manager said that after testing eight internal candidates for a firefighter vacancy, staff recommended the appointment of Renee Long. Ms. Long has served the Fridley Fire Department since October, 1999, as a paid on-call firefighter. Ms. Long's credentials include an Applied Science Degree in Fire Protection from Hennepin Technical College, an advanced certificate in emergency management, certification as a hazardous materials technician, certification as an emergency medical technician and certification as an emergency medical FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 3 services instructor. Ms. Long has also been an EMS instructor for Allina Medical and Minnesota Medical Training Services. Staff recommended Ms. Long's appointment. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 5. APPOINTMENT — PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION: Dr. William Burns, City Manager, stated that staff recommended the appointment of Dolores Varichak to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The term would expire April 1, 2005. APPOINTED DOLORES VARICHAK TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION. 6. CLAIMS: AUTHORIZED PAYMENT OF CLAIM NOS. 112881 THROUGH 113062. 7. LICENSES: APPROVED LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 8. ESTIMATES: APPROVED THE FOLLOWING ESTIMATES: Creative Curb Contractors, LLC 64358 — 375th Street Watkins, MN 55389 2003 Miscellaneous Concrete Repair Proj ect No. 3 51 Estimate No. 2 ..................................................................... $8,749.33 No one in the audience spoke regarding the proposed consent agenda items. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: Councilmember Bolkcom asked that Item No. 3 be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda. Mayor Lund asked if there were any members in the audience who wished to remove any items for further consideration. Ms. Nancy Jorgenson, 5730 Polk Street N.E., asked to move Item No. 4 to the regular agenda for further discussion. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 4 MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom, to approve the consent agenda with the removal of Items No. 3 and 4 for further discussion. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, second by Councilmember Billings, to approve the agenda with the addition of Item Nos. 3 and 4. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: There was no response from the audience under this item of business. PUBLIC HEARING: 9. CONSIDERATION OF LEVYING A TAX IN EXCESS OF THE INDEX PROVIDED IN THE FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Barnette, to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPENED. Mr. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, explained that this was a public hearing to define the need to levy taxes in excess of Fridley's inflationary index as defined in the City Charter. A public hearing notice was published three times. On July 28, 2003, a resolution was passed in compliance with Chapter 27, Section 702, Subd. 2, that defined the need for a tax levy greater than the defined index. The need was due to the State legislature cutting City state-aids for 2003 and beyond. The total reduction in state-aid for 2004 to the City of Fridley will be $1,103,605. Due to the reduction in revenues, one of the major cost reduction plans was to eliminate the naturalist program at the Springbrook Nature Center. Staff has received requests for a City levy for an additional $275,000 in taxes needed to support the programming, maintenance and administration for the naturalist programming. In order to provide the possibility of levying an additional $275,000, which will exceed the Charter imposed limit on property taxes, staff prepared a resolution with the appropriate ballot language on it. The resolution must be approved by a 4/5 Council vote. This resolution would put in motion the election process that would ask the voters whether they would like to pay the additional taxes to maintain the programs at the Nature Center. After this public hearing was been closed, the ne�t business would be to vote on the resolution approving the ballot language regarding the levy. Should the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 5 process move to an election this fall, and the levy were to fail, staff would pass a final resolution levying taxes without the $275,000. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Pribyl if the motion were to fail, would the citizens have any other recourse. Mr. Pribyl indicated that the resolution must pass in order for the referendum to be included on the ballot. Mr. Pribyl said there was one more Council meeting on September 8, 2003, in which to act on the levy. Mr. Malcolm Mitchell, 1225 Regis Lane N.E., Chair of the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation Board of Directors, urged Council to vote to place a referendum on the November 4, 2003 ballot to raise $275,000 per year to support the ongoing operations, programs and maintenance of Springbrook Nature Center. He asked Council to let the people decide if they want additional taxes to be used to continue to support programs at Springbrook Nature Center. Mr. Mitchell urged the Council to support the referendum for the current year. Mr. Mitchell presented two petitions in support of the referendum, one petition was signed by voting citizens of Fridley. The other was signed by non-residents, and non-voting citizens of Fridley. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Barnette, to receive into the record the two petitions. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Tom Myhra, 6360 Able St. N.E., Fridley, said he did not sign the petition because some of the volunteers were not able to answer important questions such as cost. He said he felt that the vote should be put off, because there were many unanswered questions. Ms. Nancy Jorgenson, 5730 Polk St. N.E., Fridley, said she met with Mr. Pribyl, Finance Director, earlier this year. She said that a Naturalist was hired on August 1, 1974, prior to the vote to turn Springbrook into a nature center. At that time, the Parks and Planning Commission and City Council were considering a golf course. In about 1981, the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation, working with social service clubs within the community, did much of the work out at the nature center. Grants were obtained from the State of Minnesota and Anoka County and the building was built. In 1981, the completed Springbrook Park was turned over to the City of Fridley. From 1974 to 1981, the City of Fridley ran a naturalist program. There were three paid staff people. As the park turned over in usage, the cost was about $77,000 a year for those three positions. If you work that figure forward using inflation, you will find that 93.8% of Springbrook's budget for this past year, would be that same $77,000 annualized. To say that the City of Fridley has put the money into the Springbrook Nature Center for the naturalist program and it was never going to do that is a fallacy. Councilmember Barnette told Ms. Jorgenson that in 1974, a consultant was contracted with to determine the best use of North Park, which it was called at that time. There was an e�tensive study conducted before a determination was made as to whether it should be a golf course or a FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 6 nature center. The determination by the consultant was that the best use of that land was a golf course. That triggered the polarization and the referendum. Ms. Jorgenson said the golf course was passed by the commissions and City Council. Councilmember Barnette indicated that the commissions and City Council voted based upon the results of the consultant's report. Ms. Jorgenson said the residents voted two to one for a nature center. Councilmember Barnette stressed that it was not staff that made the recommendation for a golf course at that time. He said that the committee that looked into having a golf course or nature center was made up of ten members, five were for a golf course and five were for a nature center. The committee was not biased, but considered the recommendation of the hired consultant. Councilmember Billings said that the public hearing was for considering a special election in November 2003 on how to provide funding for the future. He asked Ms. Jorgenson what her position on the 2003 election was. Ms. Jorgenson said she was in favor of going ahead with the election. Mr. Mark Schwartz, 5940 Si�th Street, expressed his concern that taxes have gone up 43% because of the school levy and insurance premiums, gas, and home insurance prices have also gone up. He said he did not feel he should pay for something he did not use. He felt that the people who used Springbrook Nature Center should pay for it. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Schwartz if he wanted the question on the ballot. Mr. Schwartz asked if the levy was the only option or if there could be other creative financing. Mayor Lund said that the supporters of the Springbrook Nature Center think that the taxpayers should pay for this amenity whether they use it or not. The Springbrook Foundation wanted to raise other funds for capital improvements or more amenities at Springbrook Nature Center and donate it to the City. Mr. Schwartz said he still felt that he paid enough taxes. Councilmember Bolkcom said that she thought that according to the City Charter, the City Council was not able to impose any new fees for the residents of Fridley. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said that the Charter dealt with new fees that had citywide applicability opposed to a narrow user applicability. There was always a cost in levying any kind of fee and there was an uncertainty about using fees to fund a program. Councilmember Bolkcom asked the City Attorney if new fees could be imposed under the City Charter. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 7 Mr. Frederic Knaak, City Attorney, said the term "fees" did not include Park and Recreation Department participation fees. He stated that the fees could be classified as Park and Recreation Department fees. Mr. Dave Kondrick, 280 Stonybrook Way, member of the Planning Commission and Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said that the Parks and Recreation Commission did not like the idea that park programs would have to be cut because of factors beyond its control. He said that the Parks and Recreation Commission was in favor of a referendum to occur this year to gather money to handle the program activities for the Nature Center. Mr. Robert Moseman, 7533 Fourth Street N.E., said that the Springbook Nature Center levy would not cost the taxpayers too much. He thanked Council and Anoka County for keeping the local taxes to 2% to 3% a year, which hardly kept up with inflation. He said he felt that the school board raised taxes 14% to 15% every year and the City had kept taxes low. He thought the Springbook levy would be very low compared to the taxes imposed by the schools. Mr. Peter Meyerhoff, 1350 Hillcrest Drive, asked if they put the referendum on the ballot in November, in what way would they be harming the City of Fridley or the Fridley residents and how would it help the residents if they did not put it on the ballot. Councilmember Barnette said that the value in postponing the referendum unti12004 was that in a general presidential election, there would possibly be a 70% voter turnout, which gave a much broader voter base. Traditionally, in school board elections, less than 10% of the people vote. He said there might also be value in waiting a year to resolve the unanswered questions. Councilmember Bolkcom said it might be a detriment to postpone the referendum until later, because there was no funding for the programs in 2004. She said she felt that having the programs at the Nature Center did enhance the City. Councilmember Wolfe said that statistics show that most people do not vote in a non-presidential election year. Ms. Bonnie Awes, 275 Ironton Street N.E., said she supported the referendum. She suggested collecting fees from non-resident users. Ms. Lara Chandler, 4558 Si�th Street N.E., Columbia Heights, asked how much the City had in unreserved funds and if the vote was postponed for a year, what would happen to the Nature Center. Mayor Lund said there was about $18 million dollars in unreserved funds. He said the City was using about $1.8 million per year from those funds to balance the budget. Ms. Chandler asked if the referendum was postponed a year, what would happen to the Nature Center. She asked why it could not be supported for another year and how the golf course was going to be paid for. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 8 Mayor Lund said that the funding for the ne�t year was up in the air. He said Council might discuss a fee structure for residents and non-residents. Ms. Chandler asked how the golf course would be paid for. Mayor Lund said that that issue was not part of the discussion. Mr. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said that if a golf course had been built, it would have been built with revenue bonds, and it would have been operated with the revenues and proceeds from the golf course. Councilmember Billings asked Mayor Lund if he addressed the cost of street repair in his State of the City address. Mayor Lund said there were not sufficient funds in the street reconstruction project. The City had approximately 18 miles of City streets that were not up to current standards, and they were repairing them at the rate of 1.1 miles per year. The City was spending about $250,000 of City funds, but was getting about $400,000 back in grants, state-aids and assessments. Councilmember Billings said the street reconstruction project cost about one-quarter of a million dollars a year and it was about a fifteen-year project. It will cost a total of about $4 to $5 million dollars of the $18 million dollars currently in unreserved funds, and Fridley was spending the unreserved funds at the rate of a little under $2 million dollars per year. If Fridley continued to spend at that same rate, it would take ten years for those reserves to go away; however, it would take even less than that because each year Fridley earns interest on the reserves and as the reserves go down so did the interest. Dr. Burns, City Manager, said that over the last five years including the projected years, we would be spending down the fund balances by about $5 million or about $1 million dollars per year. Where the $1.6 to $2 million comes from is the budgeted internal transfer to the general fund to make the general fund work Internal transfer does not automatically equate in a dollar for dollar loss of reserves. In addition, Fridley spends about $500,000 or more per year out of reserves or internal transfers on capital improvements. We have targeted a lot of the reserves we have for street improvements and the 18 miles of streets are streets without curbs and gutters. Once we are finished with the 18 miles, we will be doing other repairs and are going back to year one, so it is not a finite project. If we burn our reserves, there is not money there to pay for the improvements and that is a large reason the reserves are being maintained. Councilmember Billings said that a portion of the state-aid was eliminated by the legislature and then they are only allowing cities to levy back approximately 60% of the total loss. Councilmember Billings indicated that the legislature makes changes that continue to affect cities and their budgets. Ms. Julie Anderlie, 255 Rice Creek Boulevard N.E., said she was a teacher at the Fridley Middle School, and she wanted the community to be aware of how involved the Springbrook Nature Center was with the schools. In Grades 5 through 8, there was a program in every grade that FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 9 involved the naturalist coming and co-teaching and supplementing the curriculum. She felt it was a very valuable program. She said she supported the referendum on the ballot. Mayor Lund said the School Board had spoken with the City Council and expressed their appreciation for the Springbrook Nature Center programs within the schools and their support for a referendum. Ms. Kate Kemper, 7857 Alden Way, Fridley, noted that the first referendum drew 78 percent of the voting citizenry in Fridley. She said she felt that the turnout would be just as good this fall. Ms. Donna Bahls, 7514 Alden Way, said that she and her husband collected about 250 signatures in a variety of neighborhoods around the City. She said that about 90 percent of the people that they talked to were in favor of the petition and enthusiastic in their support. She stated that she did not hear anyone in favor of postponing the vote unti12004. Mr. Lenny Brandt, 190 Craigbrook Way, indicated he was not in favor of the levy and urged the Council to stick with the City Manager's proposed budget even though there would be cuts made. Mr. Brandt said he thought cutting back on the Nature Center would be the least damaging cut to the City. He urged Council to make the necessary cuts. Mr. Collin Jones, 54 Locke Lake Road, asked how much money per person the taxes would be raised if the referendum passed and if it did not pass would there be fees passed. Mayor Lund said it would cost $22 per year for a$160,000 home. He said they were looking at charging fees and other options. Councilmember Wolfe asked Mr. Pribyl what the tax would be on homes that were valued at $200,000 or $230,000. Mr. Pribyl said that the cost for a$200,000 home would be approximately $27 per year. Mr. John Howard, 7549 Tempo Terrace N.E., said that in 1971 the City of Fridley purchased the land called Springbrook with federal grant money and in 1974 the City voters voted in favor of a nature center instead of a golf course. If the golf course would have been built and the taxpayers had been taxed the money that it had cost the City to run Springbrook so far, he was sure there would not be a golf course there now. He said the City had proposed an increase in the tax levy to $275,000 this year which was a 3.4% increase. He said he felt the Nature Center could be run without staffing and there were ways it could be funded without having a referendum or without tax money from the citizens. He said he believed that if a referendum were proposed, non- residents be charged a yearly fee or a one-time fee that was given back to the City along with the program fees that were collected. He thought there should be a line item on the tax statement, so every person in the City that paid his or her taxes knew how much money was going to the Nature Center. He said tax dollars should not be used to fund the Springbrook Nature Center. He did not believe that this was a tax that all Fridley taxpayers should have to pay. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 10 Councilmember Barnette asked Mr. Pribyl if the levy would be applied against businesses and industries. Mr. Pribyl said that the levy would apply to businesses and industries. Using a$3,000,000 valued commercial building, the levy would be approximately $794 per year. Councilmember Barnette asked if the referendum should pass, would the levy be a line item on a property owner's tax statement. Mr. Pribyl said that according to the Department of Revenue, the only way that would happen was if Fridley's representatives to the state legislature made a request for it to be a line item and it was passed by the legislature. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the levy passed in November would the money be on the taxes in 2004. Mr. Pribyl said that the taxes would be levied and collected in 2004. He explained that it would not be a market-value referendum but a form of net tax capacity, which actually put it with the normal levy. This would exempt allowing a special line item. Even if there was a special bill introduced from the legislature, the levy would not be listed as a separate line item because of the form of tax that it was--net tax capacity rather than market value tax. Representative Barb Goodwin, Minnesota House of Representatives, said she was asked by residents to get involved in the Springbrook issue several months ago. She said she supported the Springbrook Nature Center. She said she and Representative Bernardy fought hard against the state-aid cuts to cities, particularly the inner ring suburbs that needed the state-aid the most. She indicated that options could have been explored sooner. Councilmember Billings said the challenge was to keep the Nature Center operating at the full funding level despite the cut in state-aids. He said that the City Manager presented the proposed budget to the City Council on August 24 and the budget could not be voted on until December because it was mandated that public hearings be held to discuss the budget in December. Between now and December, the City Council had to figure out how much money to spend on Springbrook. He said he agreed with Representative Goodwin that other options should be explored, however, there was a timetable that had to be followed and it did not allow much time. He said the State Legislature put the cities in a position to make these types of decisions due to the cuts in state aid funding to cities. Representative Connie Bernardy, Minnesota House of Representative, said that the majority of the legislature put cities in this position. She said that the "no new taxes" pledge was no new state taxes, but local taxes and fees would be increased. She said that property taxes would go up or cities would lose valuable services such as the Nature Center. She said she supported putting the funding for the Nature Center on the ballot and let the voters decide if this was something that they wanted to preserve in Fridley. She commended the City Council on having some of the lowest tax rates and said that Springbrook improved the image of Fridley. She encouraged the City Council to vote for the referendum. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 11 Ms. Karen Shragg, Director of Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, said Fridley should never consider cutting back the Nature Center. She said the City should find ways to fund the Nature Center because it was an essential service. She thought the referendum seemed to be the best avenue at this time Councilmember Barnette asked Ms. Shrog how many staff inembers were cut at the City of Richfield and were any staff inembers cut at their nature center. Ms. Shragg said that twenty staff inembers were cut and they were cut from every department. She said that two staff inembers were cut at Wood Lake Nature Center--a custodial service position and a seasonal naturalist position. Councilmember Barnette asked if they charged any fees. Ms. Shragg said that Wood Lake's parking and programs were free. Free programs were offered to the public schools for students K through 6. However, Richfield charged $2.50 per child for every non-resident. They also had volunteers that have done enough fund raising so the seasonal position had been replaced. Councilmember Barnette asked how many funds were raised through fundraising activities. Ms. Shragg said that they recently raised $20,000 and this fall they would probably raise approximately $9,000. The funds were kept in a separate fund to fund the Nature Center. Councilmember Barnette asked what the total budget was for Wood Lake Nature Center. Ms. Shragg said the total budget was about $380,000. Richfield would raise about $65,000 of that amount this year in general fund money and close to $30,000 from fundraising efforts. Ms. Nylo Laduke said that she was not a resident of Fridley, but used the Nature Center. She said the Nature Center would not be closed, but would be a passive park She said it was not a park, but a Nature Center, and urged Council to let the people vote and decide by allowing the referendum on the ballot. Mr. Ken Christiansen, 7525 Fourth Street N.E., said he was a 40-year resident of Fridley. He thought the City Council should allow the vote so that the people could decide the issue. Ms. Jeanne Chase, 291 Rice Creek Terrace, said she signed the petition and asked that the City Council put the levy up for a vote. She felt it was up to the people to decide. Ms. Jody Jakubik, 8145 Ruth Street N.E., has been involved with the Nature Center as a mother and day care provider. She said the children in the community have benefited from the Nature Center. She urged the City Council to consider the benefits the Nature Center would have on the future children of Fridley. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 12 Mr. Roger Ticks, St. Paul, said he would like the City Council to consider the resources they would lose if the site were developed. Ms. Dorrie Sielaff, 7121 Riverview Trail, said she was impressed with the volunteers of Springbrook She said that Springbrook benefited everyone in Fridley. She would like to see a referendum this fall if that was the only possible way to fund the Nature Center programs. She said she was not worried about paying more taxes, because Fridley's taxes were already low. She said that Springbrook was a project of former Mayor Bill Nee who believed in and supported the Nature Center. She thought the City should keep Springbrook as a nature center in memory of Bill Nee and his hard work. Mr. Blaine Jones, 54 Locke Lake Road, said he supported having a referendum as a ballot issue this fall if there was no other way to fund the Nature Center. He thought the Nature Center was a good outlet for many children. He stated that hospitals and businesses use the nature center for their patients and employees. He thought the Nature Center was a valuable resource, but not as a passive park It took someone to teach children how to appreciate nature and the staff at Springbrook did a very good job. Mr. Doyle Mullin, 6801 Hickory St. N.E., said that the citizens should be able to vote on whether or not they want to leave a legacy at Springbrook to be looked at 300 years from now. Mr. Dean Saba, 6325 Van Buren Street N.E., said all of his children had been immensely enriched by what they learned at Springbrook Nature Center. He asked if the future children and residents of Fridley should be denied that learning opportunity, and urged the City Council to allow the citizens to decide this year on whether or not they wanted to support the Nature Center. He invited the City Council to join the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation to help make the Nature Center better, but asked that the Nature Center be voted on this fall. Mr. Tom Myhra, 6360 Able St. N.E., said that earlier, a young lady misquoted him and said that he was against the referendum. He believed there should be a referendum, but it should be a meaningful one where people had an opportunity to find out about the costs and the opportunities. He said the referendum should be held ne�t year. Mr. Malcolm Mitchell, 1225 Regis Lane, said that the City Council told Springbrook supporters that shifting funds was not a possibility. He said they have proposed to the City Council a referendum to support the additional dollars needed to support Springbrook and maintain the Nature Center for the City. He said that the volunteers understand the position the City is in, because of loss in state aid funding. This was an opportunity to test whether or not the citizens of Fridley were committed enough to an amenity in Fridley. He thought from the petitions signed that the public desired to have a vote this fall on the Springbrook issue. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Dr. Burns to explain how he arrived at the cuts that were made, how the department managers were involved, and the decisions that were made. Dr. Burns explained that this year, staff had to cut a lot out of the budget and the Nature Center was about 15% of what was cut. Staff cut over $2 million. He said the loss in state-aid would to FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 13 about $1.75 million by 2005 or 86% of Fridley's state aid. Fridley has been using reserves and still faced some unknown costs. With all things considered, as valuable as it was, staff had to cut what was considered to be less essential than police, fire or public works services. Dr. Burns explained that every department took some major cuts in the budget. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if there were a referendum and it passed, but between now and then there were funds raised for the SpringbrookNature Center, for example $100,000, could the amount on the ballot could be reduced after the referendum passed so that a lesser amount could be levied. Mr. Frederic Knaak, City Attorney, said the referendum was for a specific amount so that was the amount that had to be levied. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the ballot question could be changed so that it read "up to" a certain amount. City Attorney Knaak said it would have to be approved in a resolution, so the resolution could be amended to say "up to" $275,000. Councilmember Bolkcom indicated that there might be innovative ways to raise some money so that the whole $275,000 would not have to be levied. City Attorney Knaak said that it depended how the resolution was worded. He said the current resolution was worded so that the $275,000 would be levied. If the language was changed to include the phrase up to $275,000, then annually a determination could be made as to what was required and then that levy certified to the County. The ballot language did control what was levied to the County. He said that with language that read up to, in essence Council would be putting a cap on the levy. Councilmember Billings said that pursuant to Chapter 275, an additional levy voted on in a special election, prior to September 1 in the levy year may be levied in that same levy year and subsequent years. An additional levy approved at a general or special election after August 31 in any levied year, shall not be levied in that same levy year, but may be levied in subsequent levy years. Even though this election was in November, it would apply to taxes collectable in 2004. If that was the case, how would you apply the language or sentence before that which said anything before September 1 could be collected in the same levy year. It would be impossible for us to go back and levy that for any particular year. Mr. Pribyl said that in the new law adopted, the phrase "prior to September 1" was struck and "on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in any levy year" was added. He said this language superseded the other language. If the levy was collected this year, it would be payable the ne� year. Mr. Mullin said that the supporters of the Nature Center would like to see the wording stay the same, so that the levy language would stay at $275,000. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 14 Councilmember Bolkcom said that instead of saying it was going to be $275,000 every year, including the inflationary figure for every year, we should consider taxpayer money and other ways to raise some money rather than levy the full $275,000. If there was any way to compromise, this might be a great opportunity. She asked if there would be a shortfall if there was an unforeseeable cost for the Nature Center. Dr. Burns said that there would be a shortfall. Mr. Mullin said it was his understanding that the $275,000 would cover staff and other operating costs at Springbrook Nature Center, including general maintenance kinds of activities. If there was a major issue in terms of capital, there was the question of whether the Springbrook Foundation would share some responsibility of the costs. But for general operation and maintenance, the $275,000 would be there to pay both staff and other operating costs. The Foundation Board would continue to do things to try to generate fees and revenues where it made sense to do so. The Foundation Board would be there to work with City Council in terms of facility activities, programs, and some revenues. Councilmember Wolfe said that so far, working together was giving the Springbrook supporters exactly what they wanted. He said he had not seen a compromise yet. He stated that he had not seen a contribution from the Springbrook Foundation during the last 15 years to help finance the Nature Center. Mr. Mullin indicated that a grant was sought and funds were raised in the past to finance the shop in the back of the building and to put a$20,000 roof on the Exhibit Room. He said that the citizens should have a chance to tax themselves if they chose to do so. Councilmember Wolfe said the Foundation said they were going to come up with money and that was not happening. The only proposal so far was to tax the citizens of Fridley. Mr. Mitchell said the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation has contributed on an annual basis to help buy equipment, a camera, and other enhancements for Nature Center programs. He said the Foundation said they would share some of the costs to raise dollars. The City Council said that option would not work The only solution on the table after that was a referendum and that was what they had been working on. Councilmember Wolfe said he brought up charging fees but that was not acceptable to the Foundation. Mr. Mitchell said that fees were discussed, but the City Council said it would not work; therefore the Foundation moved to the ne�t step which was to take it to the people. Councilmember Bolkcom said that rather than have the levy moved to ne�t year, she proposed to change the language so that it would say "up to" a certain amount so that other options to raise revenue could be looked at. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 15 Mayor Lund offered a compromise that would include putting a three-year limit on the levy. He said that would give the City an opportunity to try to come up with new funding. Councilmember Barnette said he had four possible options: (1) do not approve the resolution; therefore there would be no referendum, funding would not be there and the City would maintain the Nature Center as a passive park; (2) approve the resolution, put it on the November ballot and if it passed, the Nature Center would get its funding and the programs and staffing would continue; (3) approve a similar resolution to put on the ballot in November of 2004, (4) approve the resolution for a referendum in 2004 which partially funded the Nature Center, which would encourage the organization to raise some money for any additional funds. He said they received a letter from the Anoka Conservation District supporting the Nature Center. The letter did suggest delaying the referendum for a year, to take some money out of the City's reserves and fund it partially. This would give people time to get questions answered and it gave the City an opportunity to look at fees. He said the Springbrook Nature Center had always received tremendous support from the City Council when the funding was available. Councilmember Bolkcom said that the fifth option was to fund the Nature Center and take it out of reserves. Mr. Mitchell said that there was one more option and that the language "up to" might be appropriate, but "not less than" should also be included. He said that language similar to "up to $275,000, but not less than $200,000" would give a core or base to operate. Councilmember Bolkcom said her concern about Mayor Lund's proposal was that in two or three years, this process would start over again. She said it made sense to have the referendum this year regardless of what the language would be. Mr. Mullin reiterated that the vote belonged on the ballot so that the people could decide. Mr. Myhra indicated that the vote should be held off until ne�t year, until more information had been given to the voters. Councilmember Wolfe said that statistically more people voted during a presidential election year, and the citizens should have accurate information. He said he would like to see the referendum put to a vote in 2004. Councilmember Bolkcom said the concern about putting the referendum on the ballot this year was because there was no funding right now for any personnel or programs at the Nature Center. Ms. Rose Meyerhoff, 1350 Hillcrest Drive, voiced her support for a referendum this year. Mr. John Howard said he felt that the Springbrook Foundation should be able to raise some money and possibly lower the referendum amount. Councilmember Billings expressed concern that if $275,000 was levied, and other money was raised, how would the money raised over and above the $275,000 be spent. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 16 City Attorney Knaak said his response to the concerns as he understood them, was that the language in the current resolution required that the City levy $275,000 and this language would require the City to spend that amount on administration, maintenance, and programming at the Springbrook Nature Center. Additional funds and fees collected would have to be spent on the Nature Center. If less money was needed, the money not spent could be set aside for future funding for the Nature Center. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if a fee structure was initiated, would those moneys beyond the $275,000 have to be used towards the Nature Center. City Attorney Knaak said that once you fix the levy amount that would have to be the amount levied. Any additional fees would be independent of the $275,000 levied. When there were additional fees, there were additional questions. If they were not recreational fees, but were new fees, the City would have to get voter approval for those as well under the Charter. He said one possible solution for more flexibility was to remove the restriction as to how the funds could be spent, such as putting the money in the general fund which would give more flexibility to use funds from other sources. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if that could be done with the way the resolution was written now. City Attorney Knaak said it could not. Mr. Mitchell asked if the City Council tabled the item, they give the public an opportunity to respond to any changes made. Dr. Burns said the general practice was if any fees or grants were collected, those moneys would go into the general fund. City Attorney Knaak said if there were new fees collected, there might be other difficulties. Mr. Pribyl said that the way the levy was written now, it would add $275,000 to the general fund. Any revenues that were collected for recreation activities at the Nature Center would also be applied to the general fund. Councilmember Billings said that one purpose of finding alternative sources of revenue would be to minimize the tax burden on the citizens of Fridley. With any language, any of those fees could not be used to minimize the taxation on the citizens of Fridley. Dr. Burns said the suggested language by Councilmember Bolkcom would be a vehicle to overcome that problem. Mr. Pribyl said that because of the language in the Charter, if you levied a certain amount, that amount needed to be levied the ne�t year. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Barnette, to close the public hearing. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 17 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 11:55 P.M. MOTION by Councilmember Billings, seconded by Councilmember Barnette for a five-minute recess. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED APPROVAL OF A FIVE-MINUTE RECESS. City Council reconvened at 12:00 a.m. NEW BUSINESS: 10. RESOLUTION DECLARING A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2003, TO LEVY A TAX WHICH IS IN EXCESS OF THE INFLATIONAL INDEX FOR TAX LEVY REQUIREMENTS FOR 2004 TO THE COUNTY FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONTINUING PROGRAMMING AT SPRINGBROOK NATURE CENTER. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe, to table the item until September 8, 2003. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. RESOLUTION CERTIFYING FINAL TAX LEVY REQUIREMENTS FOR 2004 TO THE COUNTY OF ANOKA. Mr. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said the 2004 proposed tax levy complied with State law and the City Charter. The total proposed levy for 2004 was $6,758,745. This would include the $275,000 that would be used for the Springbrook Nature Center if approved in an election process this fall. The amount was 16.1% higher than the amount in 2003. In 2004, the City will lose $1,103,625 in LGA. The State was allowing cities to levy back up to 60% of LGA for 2004. We have incorporated that into the levy that we are proposing. The 2004 State levy limit with the 60% levy back of LGA was $6,483.745. For this resolution, we have added in the $275,000 for a total of $6,758,745 for the total proposed tax levy. This was a proposed tax levy, it could not be exceeded when the City did the final certification in December, but the City could always roll it back. He said that Council could approve it and then roll it back or table it until the ne�t meeting. Councilmember Billings said that if the resolution were adopted tonight, it would certify the maximum amount and then in December, the City could roll it back if there were changes. Mr. Pribyl agreed. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 18 Councilmember Billings said that passing it at a higher dollar level has no negative impact on anything that is done to the Charter, unless it is determined that the City would want to have an amount larger than $275,000 on the final levy resolution. Mr. Pribyl said that this amount would go on the truth and taxation statements. He said that said that if Council was concerned about what goes on the truth and taxation statements, it would be better to table the item. Dr. Burns said that this levy is levied up to the limit, so that nothing could be added to the amount in the resolution. MOTION made by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom, to table the resolution until the September 8, 2003, City Council meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 12. RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2004. Mr. Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said the 2004 budget as presented was in accordance with Chapter 275 of Minnesota State Statutes regarding the certification of the proposed budget to the County Auditor before September 15, 2003, and also complied with Section 705 of the City Charter. In 2004, the budget for the City has been cut back The first major issue the City had to deal with was the loss of $1,103,605 in local government aid for 2004. Other revenue losses occurred due to economy-based changes. The proposed 2004 budget was being presented this evening along with a resolution to approve it. As in the past, the City Manager will provide an in-depth overview of the 2004 budget on December 8, 2003. The remaining steps in the budgeting process were the public hearing, the resolution approving the final tax levy and the resolution approving the final budget for 2004. They were scheduled to for the Council meeting on December 8, 2003. If there were a need for a continuation of the public hearing, the final budget would be approved on December 15, 2003. The total budget resolution totals $12,495,132 or a reduction of 14.28% from that of the 2003 budget. This is a proposed budget. The final budget would be presented in December. Councilmember Billings asked for clarification on the differences in dollar amounts in the resolution and the budget book. Mr. Craig Ellestad, City Accountant, said the budget book was to be done and distributed by a certain date. The $275,000 Springbrook designated money was added after the budget book went out, so that amount was not incorporated in the budget book It was, however, incorporated into the resolution. The numbers would be reconciled at the ne�t Council meeting. MOTION by Councilmember Billings, seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom, to table the item until the September 8, 2003, City Council meeting. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 19 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. APPROVE TOWER SITE LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF FRIDLEY AND AT&T WIRELESS SERVICES OF MINNESOTA, INC. (ITEM NO. 3 ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if this site was one of the sites that was originally identified as a site for this type of agreement. Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said that it was. MOTION made by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Barnette, to approve the tower site lease agreement between the City of Fridley and AT&T Wireless Services of Minnesota, Inc. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 4. APPOINTMENT — CITY EMPLOYEE. Mr. Bob Bennek, 660 Helene Place N.E., said he would like to speak against the appointment not against the individual. He said he wanted to support the individuals who were excluded from the interview process. He thought this appointment would help keep the morale of the Fire Department at a low point. He said he could not understand why some of the fire department members were excluded. He would like the item tabled until it could be discussed further with Fire Department. Ms. Lara Chandler, 4558 6th Street N.E., Columbia Heights, said she also opposed the appointment. She said she thought the City Council should investigate the person the City was looking at hiring. Ms. Nancy Jorgenson, 5730 Polk Street N.E., said that several years ago, there was a very similar incident and it turned into a lawsuit. Mr. Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, said a very thorough hiring procedure was followed. Based upon that hiring process, the appointment should be made. Dr. Burns said he was very confident that the right criteria was used in determining who was eligible. He said he thought the three-part process was fair and that the City came up with the best person for the job. Ms. Chandler said she would like to know what the testing process was for this position, and what the job requirements were. Councilmember Billings asked if the testing procedure was flawed in any way. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 25, 2003 PAGE 20 Dr. Burns answered no. Councilmember Billings asked if anyone who met the posted qualifications for the position was excluded from the process. Dr. Burns answered no. Councilmember Billings asked Dr. Burns to provide Ms. Chandler with a copy of the posting, including the qualifications. Dr. Burns said the testing process was a three-part process. One part involved a written examination concentrating on firefighter skills; the second part involved a training exercise in which the eight candidates were asked to provide a training program to the Fire Administration; and the third part was an oral interview followed by a computer simulation exercise in which the candidates were asked to address a hypothetical simulated scenario on the computer. He said it was an objective process and the winner clearly scored higher than the other candidates. Ms. Chandler asked for a copy of the testing results. Dr. Burns said the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief had met with the paid on-call firefighters and explained the testing. MOTION made by Councilmember Billings, seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom, to concur with the appointment as presented by the City Manager. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 13. INFORMAL STATUS REPORT. There were no informal status reports. ADJOURNMENT MOTION made by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe, to adjourn the meeting at 12:35 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE AUGUST 25, 2003 CITY COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNED AT 12:35 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ������ Kathy Fischer Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor