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2015.12.10 Work Session Packet Posted: December 4, 2015 CRYSTAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA Thursday, December 10, 2015 6:30 p.m. Conference Room A Pursuant to due call and notice given in the manner prescribed by Section 3.01 of the City Charter, the work session of the Crystal City Council was held at ______ p.m. on Thursday, December 10, 2015 in Conference Room A located at 4141 Douglas Drive, Crystal, Minnesota. I. Attendance Council members Staff ____ Peak ____ Norris ____ Adams ____ Dahl ____ Deshler ____ Kolb ____ Libby ____ Parsons II. Agenda The purpose of the work session is to discuss the following agenda items: 1. Ideas and suggestions for projects and assignments for advisory commissions 2. Council goals/priorities/vision for 2016 and beyond III. Adjournment The work session adjourned at ______ p.m. Auxiliary aids are available upon request to individuals with disabilities by calling the City Clerk at (763) 531-1145 at least 96 hours in advance. TTY users may call Minnesota Relay at 711 or 1-800-627-3529. 4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696 Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov Memorandum DATE: December 3, 2015 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Anne Norris, City Manager SUBJECT: Ideas and Suggestions for Project and Assignments for Advisory Commissions At its November 12 work session, the Council discussed coming up with ideas for projects and assignments for the advisory commissions. The Council will use this list in providing guidance to the commissions. Listed below are comments from the City Council and staff liaisons to the commissions. Environmental Quality Commission  Figure out a way to get volunteers to maintain rain gardens when residents do not  Develop community creek/pond clean up days were we pick up litter, remove brush along creeks and ponds. City would provide labor for chainsawing, but volunteers would carry out the brush  Start fund raising for storm water projects  Work with Mike P to develop educational items for people not to put grass clipping in the street, use less salt on driveway, and other water-quality related stuff  Listen to the annual report that Dave does related to our water runoff (ok I have no idea what it is THDML?).  I also think they were dedicated to be the technical group for one of the watersheds.  Perhaps bring back the Storm sewer Baseball program?  Work on something related to Bees or pesticides  Is there anything related to Forestry that they could do or help with? Organize a tree sale or take over the arbor day event.  This commission may also want to reduce the number of meetings it holds each year. Maybe it should look at a different meeting day as it can conflict with CC work sessions sometimes.  Think local  Develop a plan with a bias toward action, not talking. I want to see events. The Tech Dump was a great one. How about litter pickups/beautification projects?  Don’t spend one second on organized trash hauling. It’s not going to happen. Move on.  I heard about an adopt a storm sewer program when you all addressed the council earlier this year. Let’s get that revitalized. That could have a huge impact. How about going door to door to get sponsors.  Continue to look for ways to reduce waste, offer recycling events, and maybe they could be in charge of hunting down a carrier and taking over the responsibility of the curbside pick up event. Give them a budget amount that can be allocated towards that service and see what they come up with. Another thought might be to come up with some education pieces regarding recycling, and we could insert their research in either a utility bill or maybe the Quarterly Community newsletter. It would certainly help get the word out to residents about their mission and what they work on as a group. Just a thought  I think for the EQC perhaps organizing clean-ups would be beneficial. I know this can fall under P&R but it honestly would be more suited to EQC.  Simplified backyard garden designs that would be low maintenance. not only could this help the parks but beatify the city.  Tech research projects to identify new tech and how it could assist the City to reduce our overall resource burdens. And I mean new ideas. Not the same ol same ol we keep hearing  Can EQC help with MAC?  Offer Classes with Parks and Rec? (Composting? Etc)  Work on lake Water quality in Crystal...Bassett Creek Park for instance.  Park Clean ups- partnering more with Parks and Rec, and engaging residents/community on keeping the streets/parks clean and healthy  Removing Invasive Species (buckthorn, etc)  Educating/Engaging residents on watershed issues  Engaging residents on keeping up their rain gardens, he lping out  Paper shredding event Human Rights Commission  Reduce the number of meetings throughout the year (Annually, bi -yearly or quarterly meetings). Could become similar to Employee Review Board in that they meet once a year for an annual meeting and then only meet when required. The council could then call upon them to meet if and when a Human Rights issue presents itself or if they would like the commission to focus on a particular issue.  Think local. This is the Crystal Human Rights Commission. Why are you here? W hat do you want to do in our community?  Nothing that divides our community into groups- focus on things that unite us and make Crystal better.  Identify local groups or individuals working to do good, and highlight them.  It sounds like everyone is quitting and there really isn't many people if any left. 3 members left is sort of what I heard. Maybe that is one that can kind of go by the wayside if there isn't much, if no more Community interest. I wouldn't publicly disband it, nor would I say anything out loud, but I'd like to see it just sort of fizzle out and die a slow " very quiet death". Let sleeping dogs lie is something I learned once and that analogy might be useful with this commission. That is just my opinion though and if there is int erest from some in the Community I'm willing to hear about it and go from there. How is that for tap dancing?  Considering all the stuff with Paris and all, perhaps the HRC could take on outreach to mitigate the building tensions towards persons of Middle Eastern dissent. Also, conflict de-escalation training would be a good one to look into for them. Most people could benefit. Obviously the aforementioned event would not have been helped by this training but there are many other circumstances that are far more likely where it could help people.  Focus on creating community within Crystal and bringing together the diverse cultures, meeting needs we find here.  A Human Trafficking/Safety Event  Domestic Abuse support - how could they help? The Police get more ca lls about domestic disputes than anything else  Connect with local non-profits and give them more visibility in Crystal.  Focus more on service projects like partnering up with various local charities for coat/food/toy drives.  Talk about how residents can help the homeless (care packages, etc)  Addressing our rising domestic violence issues (partner with the police?)  Do something with crime prevention board  I love their Constitution Week idea, that was great, and I would like them to develop that further for next time. Parks and Recreation Commission  Vision for each park and the parks collective  Key topics include: MAC park, Bassett Creek Park (with potential creek modifications and scheduled dredging in 2021)  Fundraising for specific projects  Volunteerism  City beautification (Elizabeth Dahl’s project)  More in the neighborhood meetings  Education of the public  City advocates - PR  Take leading role in Becker Park re-imagination project  Finish and publish the long range plan for parks – including getting prices for things so we can start building a long range capital plan and/or look for creative funding sources  They seem to have a good work plan that they adhere too. Not sure I'd butt my nose in that group other than mention that it would be nice if they would spend some time on Becker park and the "re imagined" look, meaning, what can we afford to implement quickly, what time frame for the more expensive parts of the project., etc. Other than that, they seem to offer many recreational ideas, they are active and passionate about the parks and since that group seems to be "clicking" and have momentum I would prefer to let them continue on their merry way and not mess with what works.  I think Parks and Recs has been doing quite well.  Becker Park (What do they want to do now that we have the idea of a "Reimagined Park" ?)  MAC Park (How should it look and how can we raise/get money for it)  Create a "Friends of the Parks" Program (a membership/perks based program designed to increase sign ups/park use and bring in more $$...though this might be something I/the council do with them?)  Work with Council to create a Short and Long Term Vision for Parks AND a general timeline  I would like for them to coordinate with EQC on environmental issues. There is so much crossover, and I think they should work together. Planning Commission  In addition to their normal development review function: o Reviewing the station area plan for the Bottineau LRT o Reviewing sign, subdivision, and zoning codes for revisions based on feedback from the City Code Review Task Force and City staff o In late 2016, begin preparations to update the Comprehensive Plan  Study the concept of tiny houses and how they could possibly fit into Crystal. What would it take from a zoning perspective? How would they work? Are th ere any EDA properties we could use as a pilot or test? The City Council should discuss which projects and assignments it is interested in suggesting to the advisory commissions. The Council should also discuss how best to share this with the commissions. Memorandum DATE: December 3, 2015 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Anne Norris, City Manager SUBJECT: Council Goals and Priorities – 2016 and Beyond At a recent work session the Council discussed developing goals for the next year and beyond. To provide some historical context, listed below are the strategic priorities the Council developed with the assistance of a facilitator in 2013-14: - Financial stability: Financial stability will be sustained by proactively managing the reduction in LGA, by matching service levels to available resources and by maintaining a stable tax rate. - Open, Respectful Communication: Commitment to communicating with each other and the community in a respectful and open manner. To be transparent in actions and demonstrating care, consideration and respect for the opinions of others. - Long-Term Planning: Planning to achieve goals and maintain community investments. Establishing long-term plans for all serve areas and infrastructure systems. - Redevelopment: Redevelopment and renewal of commercial and residential property to the health of the city. The city will lead efforts to maintain the value of those properties. - Marketing the City: Promoting the community and its assets to the larger region. A greater understanding of what Crystal has to offer is central to maintaining our high quality of life. To expedite the discussion, Council members and senior staff are providing me their goals/priorities/vision for 2016 and beyond by December 8, 2015. I’ll compile the list for discussion at the December 10 work session. The Council should discuss whether the list of suggestions is complete and how to prioritize the list of suggestions at the December 10 work session.