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2023.09.19 Work Session Packet 4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696 Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov Posted: Sept. 15, 2023 City Council Work Session Agenda Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 6:30 p.m. Council Chambers/Zoom 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 on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at ______ p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 4141 Douglas Dr. N., Crystal, MN and via Zoom. If the agenda items are not completed in time for the City Council meeting at 7 p.m., the work session will be continued and resumed immediately following the City Council meeting. The public may attend the meeting via Zoom by connecting to it through one of the methods identified on the City Council Meeting Schedule for Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. I. Attendance Council members Staff ____ Cummings ____ Bell ____ Eidbo ____ Gilchrist ____ Kamish ____ Therres ____ Kiser ____ Elholm ____ Onesirosan ____ Larson ____ Adams ____ Ray ____ Budziszewski ____ Revering ____ Sutter ____ Serres II. Agenda The purpose of the work session is to discuss the following agenda items: 1. 2024 Utility Reconstruction Project sidewalk and parking. 2. West Metro Fire-Rescue District Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. 3. Update on the 42nd Ave. N. utility undergrounding project. 4. City Council liaison reports.* 5. City manager monthly check-in. 6. Constituent issues. * 7. New business. * 8. Announcements. * III. Adjournment The work session adjourned at ______ p.m. * Denotes no supporting information included in the packet. 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. Memorandum DATE: September 19, 2023 TO: City Council FROM: Mark Ray, PE, Director of Public Works Ben Perkey, PE, Engineering Project Manager SUBJECT: On-street parking discussion for 2024 Utility Reconstruction area Background After the City Council work session on Tuesday, August 15th, an update letter was mailed to all the residential homes in the 2024 Utility Reconstruction area. This letter contained information on which side of the street the on-street parking and sidewalk would be on. Since then, one property contacted staff with concerns about the on-street parking decision. Staff met with this property and their two neighbors. The residents then reached out to Council Members Onesirosan and Kiser and had a follow up meeting with them. Council Members Onesirosan and Kiser asked that the on-street parking for the 2024 Utility Reconstruction Project be put on the September 19th work session agenda for further discussion. Additionally, another letter was hand delivered to all the homes in the 2024 Utility Reconstruction area on Friday, September 8th, and mailed to property owners not on that block, inviting residents to attend the September 19th work session to provide their input. The decision for which side the on-street parking is on dictates where the centerline of the road is. The centerline of the road is also where the crown of the road will be. Hence, this decision is actually a critical-path item and a final decision needs to be made to keep the project on schedule. Public input In the September 8th letter, residents who decide to attend the work session were asked to do the following in order to be respectful of everyone’s time at the work session: 1) Tell Council their preference for which side of the street the parking is on. 2) Keep comments concise, focusing on new or clarifying information for Council consideration. One important note is that this is not a formal public hearing. The goal is simply to gather resident input and provide staff with final direction on which side of the street the on-street parking should be on. Attachment • Work session invitation letter hand delivered to all homes in 2024 Recon Area. Recommended action Staff needs a final decision on which side the on-street parking should be on. 1 4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696 Tel: (763) 531-1000 • www.crystalmn.gov September 8, 2023 RE: Invitation to City Council work session Tuesday 9/19 at 6:30pm to discuss on-street parking Dear Resident/Property Owner: A few weeks ago, you received a letter (dated August 18, 2023) with an update regarding the proposed parking and sidewalk as part of the 2024 Utility Reconstruction Project. The letter stated that at a City Council Work Session staff were directed to proceed in the design process with both the sidewalk and the on-street parking lane on the east (Crystal) side of Louisiana Avenue N. Since that time a few properties have contacted both city staff and Council Members with feedback about the proposed on-street parking on the Crystal (east) side of the road. You are invited to attend the City Council work session on Tuesday, September 19 th at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The Council will be discussing on-street parking, taking resident input, and ultimately making a final decision on which side of the street the parking will be on. Please note that this will be the final decision point on this topic as this is a critical path item for the design team due to the impact it has on where the crown of the road is. In order to help inform the discussion on this topic, below is a list of considerations related to which side of the street parking is on. Parking on the east (Crystal) side:  Creates more separation between the sidewalk and travel lane of traffic.  Parking for the majority of residents is on their side of the street, in front of their home.  City of Crystal can regulate the parking because it is only allowed on Crystal side of the street.  If the parking were allowed on the west side (New Hope), then all the no parking signs would be located behind the sidewalk on the east side (Crystal) of the street. Crystal residents would have to mow and trim around the no parking signs. Parking on the west (New Hope) side:  If the parking were allowed on the east (Crystal) side and vehicles were parked on both sides of a driveway, the vehicles would obstruct the visibility of a driver trying to enter or exit their driveway. 2  The crown (centerline between directions of travel) of the road would be closer to the Crystal side so in theory, slightly less snow will be plowed into the east side driveways.  If a Crystal resident were to have a social gathering, more vehicles could park closer to their home. This is because there are fewer driveways on the west side of the street that force gaps in parking.  Louisiana Ave is a main plow route which means that it is plowed more frequently, including for snow accumulations less than 1.5” (which is when snow parking restrictions may go into effect). If a vehicle were parked right next to a driveway, the plow would not be able to clear the along the entire curb line at end of driveway and it would be more at an angle (due to the plow needing to go around the parked vehicle). In order to be respectful of everyone’s time and recognizing that the Council Meeting starts at 7pm (at which point discussion on this topic will end), we ask that people speaking at the work session do the following: 1) Tell Council their preference for which side of the street the parking is on 2) Keep comments concise, focusing on new or clarifying information for Council consideration. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, you are more than welcome to provide us with written comments that we will share with the Council. Please contact me at pw.projects@crystalmn.gov or (763) 531-1161 with any questions or comments. Sincerely, Ben Perkey Engineering Project Manager BACKGROUND In 2021 the Board approved the District apply for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER). SAFER was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, "front-line" firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA (NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments and/or NFPA 1720: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments). According to NFPA 1720 the West Metro Fire-Recue District (WMRFD) protects an urban area which is an area with a population greater than 1000 per square mile. An urban area requires a minimum of 15 staff to respond within 9 minutes 90% of the time to structure fires. At this time, a SAFER grant covers 100% of the salary and benefits of each full-time employee for three years. PROJECT DESCRIPTION WMRFD requested assistance to hire 3 firefighters at a cost per firefighter of $121,457. While we used to rely on a paid, on-call staffing model with a “come from home response,” turnout has become critically low in the daytime. Many factors beyond our control make it impossible for the paid, on-call firefighters to respond to daytime weekday calls. These factors include changing demographics, increasing work requirements, more dual-income families, traveling further to work, rising property costs displacing blue-collar families, and more intensive training requirements, to name a few. With dwindling daytime paid, on-call responses, our full-time staff (i.e., the command staff who work 10-hour staggered shifts from 0600 to 1800) are often the only firefighters available to respond to daytime calls in a reasonable timeframe. However, due to staggered shifts, days off, sick days, training, etc., the actual number of full-time firefighters available for a response is always below 8, and typically ranges between 3 and 6. This is insufficient to protect a district of 45,316 residents, significant critical infrastructure hazards, more than 2,000 calls per year, and is an unsustainable continued response model. A recent staffing analysis confirmed just how woefully inadequate our current staffing levels truly are. This report noted that we were unable to meet NFPA 1720 compliance at all between 0800 to 1600. The report also noted that at several working fires, the first-arriving apparatus had just two or three firefighters, below minimum staffing per NFPA. Additionally, since our only aerial is housed at Station 1 which is not staffed by career personnel, there is no guarantee that the ladder truck will hit the road during the daytime for a working fire. Even with supplemental staffing from automatic aid, we are consistently unable to amass 15 firefighters within 9 minutes. After-action reports have shown that the lack of firefighters prevents our crews from Memorandum To: Board of Directors From: Sarah Larson, Fire Chief Date: September 5, 2023 Subject: SAFER Grant performing all of the critical functions required for safe and effective fire attacks. Continuing to operate understaffed elevates the risk of injury to firefighters and civilians and increases the amount of property damage. With no hope of increasing paid-on-call staffing during the work week, the only solution is to hire more full-time career firefighters. The three positions requested in this grant will be used to staff a crew of four firefighters at Station 1 (located in the northeast part of our district) during daytime hours, Mon-Fri. The new positions will achieve four objectives: #1 – increase daytime staffing levels; #2 – reduce response times caused by distance and a major railroad bisecting the two cities; #3 – guarantee that the ladder truck responds to structure fires; and #4 – allow full-time staff to remain focused on projects by splitting the calls for service between stations 1 and 3. Increasing our total staffing level during weekday hours – when our call volume is highest, but paid, on-call staffing levels are lowest – will greatly improve operational capabilities. With a total of 11 career staff, we will be able to rebalance the shift schedule and bring our minimum staffing up from three to six, with actual staffing levels fluctuating between seven and nine. In combination with another seven to nine paid, on-call firefighters (average weekday turnout for a working fire) and two automatic aid units with another three firefighters each, we will achieve compliance with NFPA 1720. Currently, all of our career staff are concentrated in Station 3, which is the headquarters station on the District’s western side. With help from SAFER, the additional firefighters will enable us to put a daytime crew in Station 1. Not only will this provide better geographic coverage and reduce response times of the first- arriving unit across our service territory, but it will also enable us to staff our ladder truck during weekday hours and guarantee a response for this critical piece of apparatus. The three new positions would be hired as lieutenants and in addition to responding to calls for service they will also assist with IT, logistics, training, community outreach, and inspections. SAFER Grant Award Benefits include the following: $18,000 for Health Insurance $1,000 for HSA $102 for Life Insurance $13,275 for Pension $12,500 for Workers Comp Insurance $480 for Long Term Disability $1,100 for Employment Taxes Year Annual Salary Annual Benefits Total per Firefighter 1 $75,000 $46,457 $121,457 2 $78,000 $48,315.28 $126,315.28 3 $81,120 $50,247.89 $131,367.89 3-Year Total $1,137,420.51 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the Board accept the SAFER grant. Memorandum DATE: September 19, 2023 TO: City Council FROM: Mark Ray, PE, Director of Public Works Ben Perkey, PE, Engineering Project Manager SUBJECT: Undergrounding utility poles on 42nd discussion Background The current Long Term Plan allocates $1,000,000 from the street light fund in 2027 for the undergrounding of utility poles along 42nd Ave. In January 2023, the City Council authorized a contract to start gathering information about the existing utilities in the corridor, available right of way, and other factors that would impact the viability of this project. The initial project extents were Adair Ave on the east (city limit with Robbinsdale) and Hampshire Ave on the west. Additionally, Hennepin County does have a grant program for such projects. However, based on the grant timelines the city could not apply for that program until 2025 (assuming a 2027 construction). Currently, the grant could be up to a maximum of $500,000. Xcel Energy feedback The project team has been in regular communication with the Xcel design team and have gathered the following key points: 1) Xcel would need to underground the lines past the initial Hampshire Ave end point to tie into existing underground cable by continuing west to Louisiana Ave. 2) Xcel would need to underground east into Robbinsdale in order to install the appropriate switchgear equipment. This may be done by either installing more poles or adding facilities for undergrounding. 3) Some of the properties along 42nd Ave are currently fed by overhead wires off of 42nd. If the power is undergrounded along the corridor, those properties would all need new underground power services as well. 4) Due to the type of power along this corridor, both a three-phase powerline and a single- phase powerline would need to be buried. 5) Due to the existing right of way having a lot of buried utilities, Xcel would need a minimum of 9 feet of additional right of way/easement on the south side of 42nd. 6) Xcel’s current estimated cost for only their work along 42nd, from east of Adair to Louisiana Ave, is $7 million dollars (today’s dollars). It is also important to note that there are a significant amount of other costs that would be associated with this project. Comcast and Centurylink Comcast and Centurylink would have costs in addition to Xcel. However, based on the impact of Xcel’s need alone, staff wanted to check in with Council before more work was done communicating with Comcast and Centurylink. Costs The following is a list of project costs to provide context for the Xcel Energy portion: 1) Professional services overseeing the project (land acquisition, design, utility coordination) 2) Additional right of way/easement acquisition 3) Xcel Energy undergrounding 4) Centurylink undergrounding 5) Comcast undergrounding 6) New streetlights along 42nd that are fed by underground power 7) Restoration of impacted areas It is reasonable to assume that the total cost of just undergrounding the utility poles along 42nd Ave would exceed $10 million dollars in 2027. Attachments 1) Graphic showing the impacts of an additional 9 feet of right of way or easement on the south side of 42nd between Adair and Douglas. 2) Graphic showing the impacts of an additional 9 feet of right of way or easement on the south side of 42nd between Douglas and Hampshire. Recommended Action Staff is requesting direction from Council. Next steps in the project will be driven solely based on Council direction. Options could include: 1) Continue looking at undergrounding the entire corridor. 2) Consider undergrounding only a portion of the corridor. 3) Stop any further work on this project. CITY MANAGER MONTHLY CHECK-IN – SEPTEMBER 2023 Objective 1 - Strategic planning for continued implementation of Council priorities: • Thriving Business Community o Community Development staff continuing to work with developers regarding redevelopment opportunities o Continuing to work through and advocate for city and community's interest with Blue Line Extension and anti-displacement efforts o Continuing to work with the New Hope Business Association (CBA 2.0) o Developing UDC amendments that balance safe • Strong Neighborhoods o Continued implementation of Master Parks System Plan improvements o Ongoing traffic enforcement continues o Tracking the Crystal Airport/MAC/JAZB proposed ordinance amendments o Ribbon-cutting event at Bassett Creek Park Dog Park o Conducted resident meetings regarding the 2024 Utility Reconstruction Project o Implementing reduction of truck traffic on 53rd Ave N. efforts • Sound fiscal policies and practices o Continuing to seek additional outside funding for projects o Received county grant for additional habitat restoration work at Bassett Creek Park o Applying for DNR grant funding for additional forestry work o Council adopted the preliminary 2024 budget and levy at the September 5 meeting • Goals were providing levy relief (13.06% lowered to 10%), continuing important investments in the city, increasing savings for future capital projects, and replenishing the General Fund balance • The next 2024 budget meeting is a public presentation and the opportunity for public input on October 2 • Staff is continuing to update the long-term plan and will present in October • Welcoming and inclusive community o Inclusion & Diversity Commission – The Commission plans to attend all public events to continue educating the community about the commission Objective 2 - Work-Life Balance/Professional Development • Supporting staff wellness • Support staff’s continuing professional growth and development • Connecting with neighboring city managers on various local issues • Participate in metro and state professional organizations • Continuing participation in city manager leadership group • ICMA City Manager Credentialing will be awarded at the ICMA conference at end of September Page 1 of 1 4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696 Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov rlease hand this form to the City Clerk before the, meeting begins. To provide ample opportunity for all, speaking time is limited to three minutes and topic discussion is limited to 10 minutes. (Information provided on this form is open to the public) (please print clearly) The topic I wish to address is: '3r-''�{7r i1'1 Name: MC"I"i J Address- �r"�4o �I F ef4 Al, Zip Code: �5 l / Date:_ -{ /f Day Phone (optional): Email (optional): i Thank you for your attendance and participation. rlease hand this form to the City Clerk before do meeting begins. To provide ample opportunity for all, speaking time is limited to three minutes and topic discussion is limited to 10 minutes. (Information provided on this form is open to the public) (please print clearly) / The topic I wish to address is: _ Q'i 1 )'z-e.'j ' T['- - - Name:�f� (,t Jcy ll m U Address: LJ I' r Zip Code: Date'-- Y' Day Phone (optional): O—e) -7q % - - Email (optional): Thank you for your attendance and participation. Please hand this form to the City Clerk before the meeting begins. To provide ample opportunity for all, speaking time is limited to three minutes and topic discussion is limited to 10 minutes. (Information provided on this form is open to the public) (please print clearly) The topic I wish to address is: �# dr��i��lc� Y �l e" i'd Name: Zip Code: �S� �Z% Date: /Z/?.Zzz Day Phone (optional): Email (optional): Thank you for your attendance and participation. Please hand this form to the City Clerk before the meeting begins. To provide ample opportunity for all, speaking time is limited to three minutes and topic discussion is limited to 10 minutes. (Information provided on this form is open to the public) (please print clearly) The topic I wish to address is: Ul5l0, At, _A V . kPar. Name:_{(' ell Address:_ T 2-k 6 VI.$-/ GA_ 4ye- /k/ Zip Code: .s r61 -L Date: �� Day Phone (optional): Email (optional): Thank you for your attendance and participation. Please hand this form to the City Clerk before the meeting begins. 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