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2021-11-15 Council Work Session Minutes CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the City Council Work Session Held November 15, 2021 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a work session of the City Council, City of Mendota Heights, Minnesota was held at the City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Levine called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm. Councilmembers Paper, Duggan, Mazzitello, and Miller were also present. City staff present included City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson, Assistant City Administrator Kelly Dumais, Public Works Director Ryan Ruzek, Recreation Program Coordinator Meredith Lawrence, and City Clerk Lorri Smith. PARKS AND RECREATION STRATEGIC PLANNING DISCUSSION Recreation Coordinator Meredith Lawrence presented the Council with the first draft of the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. City staff worked with the consultant, Hue Life, to draft the plan.. Staff also solicited community feedback from resident through surveys and listening sessions. The plan outlines the guiding principles, goals, action items, and the desired outcomes the Council envisions for the city. It serves as a framework for staff to plan and execute the vision. Ms. Lawrence reviewed the sections of the Strategic Plan, including the strengths of the department, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, the guiding principles and key performance indicators. The appendix to the Strategic Plan included the 2040 Comprehensive Plan-Chapter 4 Parks & Trails, the Asset Management Plan, Hue Life Strategic Planning Goals Documentation, Hue Life Community Engagement Documentation, and the Current Planning Calendar. Mayor Levine asked how the Asset Management Plan works with the Capital Improvements Plan. Ms. Lawrence stated that the Capital Improvements Plan is used for budgeting purposes and the Park Asset Management Plan is a staff working document.The Asset Management Plan includes detailed descriptions of the park maintenance and improvement projects the city anticipates over the next five year period. It supports and provides guidance for the Capital Improvement Plan. Councilor Duggan referenced the key performance indicator #4 Number of Volunteers Processed. Ms. Lawrence stated that volunteers will need to be background checked before working with youth. Councilor Duggan questioned #10 Listening Sessions. Ms. Lawrence stated that was requested by the Park and Recreation Commission. Regarding the Key Performance Indicators, Mayor Levine stated she liked ff L For 92, she would like to see the special events listed. She stated that#3 is the only indicator regarding sustainability. Regarding #7, she would like to see the number of projects completed on time and within budget. Regarding #10, she would like to see the number of people attending each listening session. Mayor Levine would like to add to the Key Performance Indicators, a review of the previous year, the number of fields per resident, number of acres of parkland, and the number of grants received. Regarding Opportunities and the demographic included in that section, Councilor Mazzitello stated he would like to see future projections included to see if Mendota Heights is trending older or younger. Councilor Paper questioned the inclusion of the private golf courses in the introduction section. Mayor Levine stated she feels they should be included, along with playgrounds at the schools, since they are assets to our community. Councilor Miller stated he would like to see the department partner with the area schools. Mayor Levine stated that she would like to see a list of what is needed each year for the Parks and Recreation department to fulfill the plan, and how will we achieve those goals. City Administrator Jacobson stated that is listed out in the Asset Management Plan, but decisions do need to be made before some goals can be implemented. Ms. Lawrence stated that she will make the adjustments suggested for the plan, and take this to the December Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. The final draft will be on a Council agenda in January or February. FIELD AND USE POLICY &FEE SCHEDULE The Field and Use Policy and associated fees were discussed with the Council. Recreation Program Coordinator Meredith Lawrence stated that the fields are in high demand and the MHAA (Mendota Heights Athletic Association)is the primary user of the fields. She noted that the field space is not utilized the best that it could be, because of blanket permitting. Overall, Ms. Lawrence stated the City does have enough facilities for the use required. She provided the Council with 2021 actuals showing the field use, number of participants, and revenue. Ms. Lawrence stated that field prep does involve two city employees. She noted the attendance at the tournaments is growing each year. The fees charged by area cities were reviewed. The recommended changes from the Parks and Rec Commission were reviewed. They are recommending to eliminate tennis court reservation fees, to allow MHAA to submit Mendakota tournament requests the first business day of January, and to formally reduce the cost for tournaments for MHAA to a not-to- November 15, 2021 Council Work Session-Budget Page 2 exceed fee of$498 per weekend tournament. It was also noted that the Parks and Ree Commission would like to see the fees charged to MHAA for weekend tournaments reduced to $0 in the near future. Councilor Paper stated there must be a better way to control the field use. Councilor Mazzitello suggested the city only allow field use reservations for a three hour block of time, and charge for the use. The implementation of the Dakota County Ordinance 110, relating to solid waste management, was reviewed. This new regulation required all events that involve 300 or more participants to follow regulations to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills and improve the quality of the materials being recycled. The requirements include the sponsor of the event to submit a detailed plan on how waste will be handled,provide the city with details regarding the waste hauler that has been contracted for the event, work with the city on the best placement for the dumpsters and ensuring the dumpsters are clearly labeled, event sponsors must attend a training on the proper waste and recycling practices, and submit a deposit to ensure the park is properly cleaned up after the event is over. If the event involves a concessions stand that will prepare non-prepackaged food, the sponsor must organize organics collection at the event. City staff is recommending that the event sponsor be responsible for the costs associated with the new solid waste management ordinance. The consensus of the Council was to not eliminate the tennis reservation fees. The consensus of the Council was to allow MHAA to reserve Mendakota fields for tournaments starting in January. The consensus of the Council was to reduce the MHAA tournament fees to a not-to-exceed amount of $498. Councilor Mazzitello expressed concern that$498 does not cover the staff time involved in tournaments. He stated he feels that the costs should be equal for all user groups. He suggested allowing the $498 fee for tournaments,but also eliminating the blanket permitting that has been allowed in order to make better use of the fields. He also suggested that tournaments sponsors be responsible for the solid waste fees. Mayor Levine stated that she is concerned about the costs that may be associated with the solid waste requirements. She stated she feels the city needs to support MHAA. Councilor Paper suggested increasing the user fees for user groups#4 and#7. The Council recommended that staff review these recommendations with the Parks and Recreation Commission before final approval by the Council. November 15,2021 Council WorkSession-Budget Page 3 COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson reviewed with the Council members a timeline for reappointments to the Commissions, which is similar to previous years. The Council members were in agreement to proceed as presented. OPEN MEETING LAW City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson reviewed with the Council the open meeting law that requires meetings of governmental bodies be open to the public. During the declared COVID-19 pandemic emergency, governmental bodies held meetings via interactive technology (WebEx). Ms. Jacobson clarified with the Council that since the City is no longer under a declared emergency declaration, meetings being held with remote participants must ensure that members of the Council and public can all hear and see each other. It was noted that the City of Mendota Heights is not capable of holding meeting in this manner. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Levine adjourned the meeting at 9.00 p.m. Stephanie Levine Mayor ATTEST Lorri Smith, City Clerk November 15,2021 Council York Session-Budget Page 4