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1987-01-13 Council minutesPage No. 2363 January 13, 1987 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Special Meeting Held Tuesday, January 13, 1987 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the special meeting of the City Council and Park and Recreation Commission was held at 7:00 o'clock P.M. at City Hall, 750 South Plaza Drive, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Mertensotto at 7:05 P.M. The following members were present: Mayor Mertensotto, Councilmembers Blesener, Cummins, Hartmann and Witt. Also present from the Parks Commission were Marsha Knittig, Carol Damberg, Robert Leffert, and Robert Doffing. Planning Commissioners present included Jerry Morson, Dorothy McMonigal, Bill Burke, Ultan Duggan. City staff members present included Treasurer Larry Shaughnessy, Administrator Kevin Frazell, Public Works Director Jim Danielson, and Barton-Aschman consultant Barry Warner. APPROVAL OF Minutes of the December 9, 1986 Park and Recreation MINUTES Commission meeting were approved by the Commission members as previously submitted. DISCUSSION OF Mr. Barry Warner indicated that the Henry Sibley ATHLETIC site had ranked highest on their survey of COMPLEX potential facility sites, mainly because the property already exists and is available at minimal or no cost. He then decribed the proposed development program, which includes two softball fields, a junior-high size baseball field and soccer field, all lighted, then a second unlighted soccer field, corrections to existing soccer fields south of the high school, lighting of existing tennis courts, and construction of a comfort station and storage building. Mr. Warner said the cost of this development, including design and contingencies, is estimated at $1,00,792. He then went over aspects of the memo describing the discussions between the school district and City of Mendota Heights staff, including scheduling compatibility, coordination, maintenance, control by a joint committee, and liability. Mr. Warner's memo included an estimate that the existing school property and facilities already in place have a value of approximately $660,000. He then went over an attachment showing the time needed to complete construction of a useable field, Page No. 2364 January 13, 1987 including the referendum vote, design detail, bidding, property acquisition, construction, and finally, turf preparation. Councilmember Blesener said that she felt there was a need to add a playground area for small children, since families frequently bring small children when attending athletic events. Parks Commissioner Bob Leffert said that the Commission had attempted to keep the proposed bond program at a minimum to meet the community's current needs. City Administrator Kevin Frazell discussed the implications of cost sharing between the City and the school district. He said that officials from both sides had agreed that the benefit was probably about a 50-50 split, except that the lighting would be fully to the benefit of the City only, since the school district does not schedule athletic events after dark. He said that when the school district is given credit for the property and facilities in place it will be bringing to the agreement, most of the million dollars of new construction cost would fall to the City. There was then some general discussion about whether the school district should be given full credit for the southerly soccer fields, which already exist and are in use by school district and community groups. Mayor Mertensotto said that he felt the need to tie down the issue of ownership and control, and that the City would not want to leave itself at the mercy of the school district in the future. Mr. Warner indicated that he thought the cost estimates provided, when coupled with a 10% contingency allowance, were sufficiently accurate for the purposes of a bond referendum. BIKE/PEDES- Consultant Warner indicated that the proposed trail TRIAN TRAIL plan will provide particular points of origin and PLAN destination, and will link to trail systems in surrounding communities. He said that the cost reported in his memos anticipate some outside agency funding other than City funding only, but warned that it did not seem likely that the City could count on grants for Dakota County, since they are no longer that committed to bike trails. However, he said that State Highway Department funds might be available for roads eligible for Municipal State Aid and County State Aid funding. The cost of the bike trail system varies from $500,000 to $700,000, depending upon assumptions about outside funding. He also said that these NEIGHBORHOOD PARK IMPROVE- MENTS TOTAL COST OF BOND ISSUE & TAX CONSEQ- UENCES Page No. 2365 January 13, 1987 cost estimates were about a year old now, and should probably be increased by about 5%. There was some discussion among those present about which numbers should be used for the purposes of a bond issue. City Administrator Frazell indicated that it would be possible to go to the voters seeking authorization for the total amount, but as the trails are developed, and if and when outside funding becomes available, the City would simply choose not to issue the full allocation of bonds. Mayor Mertensotto said that he thought we should try to go with off-road trails as much as possible for safety reasons. Barry Warner went through his memo of June 13, 1986, which detailed a minor amount of improvements to existing neighborhood parks. He said that with an 8% design fee, the City should probably anticipate about $105,000 for these improvements. There was discussion about the need to develop parks in the south east area of the City, on land to be dedicated by Tandem Corporation in connection with their residential developments. However, it wa generally decided not to include money for that development in the bond issue, but to use existing and receivable funds in the Park Improvement Fund. Commissioner Bob Leffert said that the proposed park development plan was meeting basic needs as determined by the survey done by the Commission a couple of years earlier. Commissioner Doffing added that the highest priority of citizens responding to that survey was trails and scenic nature opportunities. City Treasurer Larry Shaughnessy went over his memo outlining the tax implications of various sizes of bond issues and the operating costs connected with maintaining an expanded park system. A copy of that memo is attached hereto and made a part of these minutes. He said that debt service for the existing bond issue expires in 1992, and it would be possible to stagger the new bond issue to lessen the initial impact on homeowners and other property taxpayers. Barry Warner said that the total bond issue needed to complete the athletic complex, trails plan, and neighborhood park improvements would range from $1,605,000 to $1,860,000, depending on assumptions about outside assistance for the bike trail plan. CONSULTANT ROLE IN BOND REFERENDUM PROMOTION ADJOURN ATTEST: Page No. 2366 January 13, 1987 Mr. Shaughnessy said that there would probably also be about $20,000 in bond issuance costs. Barry Warner indicated that Barton- Aschman could do such things as prepare community information materials and put together a slide show. However, everyone agreed that it was important that community people do the actual promoting of the bond issue. He said that a basic decision needed to be made on the philosophy of marketing a bond issue, i.e., do you market to special groups, provide very little information, etc. Mayor Mertensotto responded that he felt the issues should be openly marketed to the entire community. Upon survey by Mayor Mertensotto, there was a consensus of the Council, Parks Commissioners and Planning Commissioners that the City should proceed to develop a bond referendum in the amount of $1,860,000. A target date for the referendum is Tuesday, April 21, meaning that the Council would have to call for the referendum at its second meeting in February. It was further agreed that the Parks Commission would take the matter up at a meeting in the near future, and send a resolution to the City Council requesting them to set a referendum. Consultant Barry Warner was asked to get a proposal back to the City for their assistance in preparing materials for marketing the bond issue. There was also agreement that the Council and Parks Commission would need to work together to develop a marketing strategy for how best to sell the proposal. There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:34 P.M. Kevin Fraze Charles Mertensotto, Mayor dministrator CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS MEMO JANUARY 7, 1987 TO: Mayor, City Council, City Administrator & Park Commission FROM: Larry Shaughnessy, Treasurer -SUBJECT: Future Tax Estimates Attached is a tabulation of future tax estimates which could be expected for the approval of a Park Bond issue. Two changes from our tabulation of last year have affected the figures. 1. Valuation growth has been and is expected to be at a higher leval over the next two to three years. 2. The interest rate used in the calculations has been reduced from 8 1/2% to 6 3/4% by virtue of improvement in the bond market and our improved credit rating. NOTE: The Parks Fund balance currently stands at $230,160, and there are $91,000 of receivables from approved plats. LES:madlr attachment