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04 15 2025 City Council Work Session MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the City Council Work Session Tuesday, April 15, 2025 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a work session of the Mendota Heights City Council was held at Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota, CALL TO ORDER Mayor Levine called the work session to order at 5:00 pm. Councilors Lorberbaum, Maczko, Mazzitello, and Paper (arrived 6:25 pm) were in attendance. Others present included: City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson, Assistant City Administrator Kelly Torkelson, Public Works Director Ryan Ruzek, Finance Director Kristen Schabacker, Park and Recreation Director/Assistant Public Works Director Meredith Lawrence, Community Development Manager Sarah Madden, Assistant City Engineer Lucas Ritchie, Natural Resources Director Krista Spreiter, and City Clerk Nancy Bauer, CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT Mayor Levine provided introductory comments and back ground on city council codes of conduct noting that many cities have a City Council Code of Conduct. She highlighted examples included in the packet from the City of Edina and the City of Shakopee. City Administrator Jacobson said that council behaviors towards each other, staff, the commissions, and the public are being looked at for a code of conduct. A separate document (operations document) could be created that could discuss examples like conflicts of interest, open meeting laws, and accepting gifts from the public. Assistant Ciry Administrator Torkelson asked if the code of conduct would be applied to the city commissions. There could be an enforcement mechanism for the commissioners. Councilor Mazzitello stated what he would like to see in the code of conduct: 1) Ethicality —don't make a decision until you have all the information and 2) Social media — commissioners using it regarding city issues and possibly violating open meeting laws Assistant City Administrator Torkelson reported that social media and open meeting laws are discussed at new commissioner training. It was the consensus to combine the different behavior expectation examples from the two cities into one for a City Council Code of Conduct for Mendota Heights and try to keep it to one page. April 1 S, 2025, Mendota Heights City Council 6Vork Session Minutes Page - 1 Mayor Levine stated that this would need to be brought back to the Council after every election to be agreed upon by the Council. CITY ADVISORY COMMISSIONS City Administrator Jacobson reported that the city council had discussed a review of city advisory commissions during the 2025 budget development process and again during the recent strategic priority exercise. She noted that Mayor Levine has provided general direction that city commissions should only meet if they have a decision to make. The time investment for both staff and residents for these commissions is considerable and should be used wisely. Council discussed what should be discussed at a city council work session as compared to what should be discussed at an official meeting. Mayor Levine stated that no decisions are made at a work session. All work sessions are open to the public to attend. It is a chance to have an informal discussion of topics. Mayor Levine continued by saying that the Natural Resources Commission purpose came out of the Natural Resources Management Plan. The Parks and Recreation Commission purpose has traditionally been to recommend the use for the Park Improvement Fund. As that fund is decreasing, there are fewer funds left for the commission to recommend to council. It does have role, but it is not like it was 30 years ago. They may not need to meet every month if there are no decisions to be made. City Administrator Jacobson stated that the Planning Commission is a required commission and, therefore, separate from the current purpose discussion of the other commissions, including the Airport Relations Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission, Councilor Lorberbaum commented Yhat she likes to hear the commission discussions to learn why they made the decision they did. Park and Recreation Director/Assistant Public Works Director Lawrence stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission has had a lack of business agenda items. She thought maybe two meetings for the rest of the year could be held to discuss business. Mayor Levine cormnented that she was hearing that it is ok to cancel meetings if there is a lack of business. Councilor Mazzitello asked if the commissions could be used to repurpose their roles. Councilor Maczko commented that the Natural Resources Commission has work that needs to be done. The Parks and Recreation Commission meetings should be cancelled if there are no business items to discuss. Councilor Maczko asked for information on the Noise Oversight Committee (NOC). City Administrator Jacobson gave background information on the Noise Oversight Committee at the MSP Airport which the City of Mendota Heights is a member city. April 1$ 2025, Mendota Heights City Council Work Session Minutes Page - 2 Councilor Maczko asked if the Airport Relations Commission could give the Council information regarding their purpose. Assistant City Administrator stated that the commission roles are to advise the City Council. The Council should direct the commissions regarding topics or issues that they would like to be advised on. City Administrator Jacobson stated that the Airport Relations Commission could be restructured to be called on as needed. It could be more of a committee as opposed to a commission. The city abides by the rules of the FAA and there is little that the Airport Relations Commission can do regarding airport noise complaints or other issues. She noted that it was a very relevant commission when it began. The Airport Relations Commission and Noise Oversight Committee have aged and are redundant with each other. Mayor Levine summarized that the three commissions (Planning, Natural Resources and Parks and Recreation) should meet as needed and possibly change the Airport Relations Commission to a committee structure. Assistant City Administrator Kelly Torkelson asked if the City Commissions would be held to the same standard as the City Council regarding the Code of Conduct. There are existing potential conflicts of interest on city commissions that might be of concern if the code of conduct were extended to include commissioners. Park and Recreation Director/Assistant Public Works Director Lawrence stated that a Parks and Recreation Commissioner is currently a TRAA baseball commissioner. They are asking for capital improvements and more tournaments. Councilor Maczko stated that staff should not take direction from commissioners and should take direction from the City Council. Park and Recreation Director/Assistant Public Works Director Lawrence said TRAA has sought special requests such as prepping additional fields. This would not be an issue that would be brought to the City Council. Mayor Levine stated that if there were a code of conduct it would have rules for staff and commissioner interactions. She suggested the chair make a phone can to the commissioner and remind them that their job is not to discuss staff duties or request additional resources. City Administrator Jacobson suggested having a discussion with chairs and reminding them of their roles and responsibilities on the commission. Councilor Maczko suggested stating to the chairs their responsibility is to advise the City Council. Councilor Mazzitello stated that this situation does appear to be a conflict of interest, and the commissioners need to be reminded of their roles and responsibilities. ACACIA BOULEVARD POWER LINE RELOCATION Public Works Director Ruzek stated that in the 2025 budget, there is $10,000 for Xcel Energy to do a detailed cost estimate to relocate power lines to the south side of Acacia Boulevard but remain overhead as part of the capital improvements from the Oheyawahe task force recommendation. Apri115, 2025, Mendota Heights City Council Work Session Minutes Page - 3 Xcel Energy is estimating that it would cost approximately $400,000 to bury the power lines on the north side of Acacia Boulevard and the funding is not in the project budget. The cost estimate to move the power lines is $250,000 - $300,000 and is also not in the budget. Staff had asked Xcel Energy to begin the detailed cost estimate and were informed that they would only consider one option, not analyze both options. Xcel Energy reported that there is a City Requested Facilities Surcharge (CRFS) program. The burying of the power lines at $400,000 could be spread out to all subscribers in the city and would result in an estimated fee of $1.97 per household, per month for three years. Councilor Maczko stated he was not in favor of collecting another fee from residents and asked what the benefit of burying the power lines or moving the power lines. The answer was that it would make the site more authentic to its original state. The want versus the need of power lines was discussed. Councilor Mazzitello asked if sponsorship or a grant could be sought for the funding. Public Works Director Ruzek said there could possibly be a grant, and the maximum amount would be $90,000. It was the consensus not to spend the $10,000 for the detailed cost estimate. SIBLEY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY TURNBACK Public Works Director Ruzek stated that MnDOT is no longer interested in owning Sibley Memorial Highway. At the April 6, 2021, City Council meeting, a tumback opportunity was presented to the city. At that time, the City Council wanted to keep the roadway as a functioning road and MnDOT would do a mill and overlay on the road before turning it back to the city. This road would then be a part of the City's state aid system. With a mill and overlay done by MnDOT the road is estimated to last 15 years before another improvement project is needed. The existing roadway is largely rural with an urban section at the north end of the road. The existing bituminous varies in thickness with an average of 13.4 inches in the rural segment. There is no base material, and the true rehabilitation history is unknown. The section of roadway by St. Peter's church was reconstructed in 1994 with full curb and gutter installed. The 30% design plan by MnDOT shows on the rural section of the road a 2" mill, 4" overlay (bituminous surfacing), ribbon curb on both sides of the road, and a right turn lane to southbound lane at the Highway 13 intersection. The urban section (under the Mendota Bridge) would be a 4" mill and overlay. This work would cost approximately $1,384,303. When a full -depth reclamation is needed (about 2040) it would cost about $2,657,503 with maintenance such as a chip seal being done before 2040. Staff feel it is best to discuss the options with MnDOT to do a full rehabilitation. In 12 to 15 years, the city could also consider whether to keep the road as a roadway. The history, traffic count, and use of Sibley Memorial Highway was discussed. Councilor Paper asked the purpose of the ribbon curbing. Public Works Director Ruzek replied that it helps hold the edge together. Councilor Mazzitello stated that ribbon curbing was part of the original April 15, 2025, Mendota Heights City Council Work Session Minutes Page - 4 proposal in 2021. Staff felt that ribbon curbing was not necessary based on the rural condition of the road. If MnDOT pushes back on the staff recommendation, staff would recommend offering to pay the difference out of the City's state aid account. Public Works Director Ruzek stated that in 2021, the City Council felt it was important to keep the road for access reasons. If the city did not take the road back, MnDOT was planning to make the road a cul-de-sac. Councilor Maczko agreed that it was important to keep the road for two ways in and two ways out. If the road is built with two lanes and with shoulders, the cost would come down and it would be more conducive for access reasons. Councilor Mazzitello stated that the Marie Avenue treatment should be considered by MnDOT and they give the city $800,000. There are no properties to assess for this road work. Staff will discuss with MnDOT available options for the roadway improvements. ADJOiJRNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:53 pm. /Yffti S phani 13. Levine, Mayor ATTEST: N cy IUuer, City Clerk April -I5, 2025, Mendota Heights City Council Work Session Minutes Page - 5