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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.07.08 CCM STUDY SESSION7/8/24 -1- DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA STUDY SESSION JULY 8, 2024 CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in a Study Session called to order by Mayor April Graves at 6:01 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor April Graves and Councilmembers Marquita Butler, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Dan Jerzak, and Teneshia Kragness. Also present were City Manager Reggie Edwards, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Siobhan Tolar. COUNCIL MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION ITEMS Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated on page ten, paragraph seven of the previous Regular Session meeting minutes need an edit to refer to the "former Mayor" instead of just "Mayor." Then, on page 12, paragraph five, there is an error with a pronoun usage. During the study session, Ms. Suciu was referred to as Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Barb Suciu sometimes and Ms. Suciu sometimes. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked if we can research the Sun Post contract, now a paid subscription, to see if they are required to deliver so many copies to residents. She requested that the city attorney look into the city's options. Many constituents have complained about the requirement to pay for the newspaper. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson read an email from a concerned resident. They expressed concern regarding an event with free tobacco, unlicensed sales, and a large crowd. She showed a photo to Mayor Graves. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked how the Police Department is managing the situation. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked for an update on the overnight duty crew. It was fully budgeted for in 2024, but the council has yet to receive an update. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson requested the City Manager Review be rescheduled in light of survey results. 7/8/24 -2- DRAFT Councilmember Jerzak added he also received a complaint about the tobacco being distributed. He requested that staff present to the council on the event licensing and monitoring process. When he worked in code enforcement, no one worked on the weekends. He asked if law enforcement is informed of events on the weekends. Councilmember Jerzak pointed out he has also requested that the employee survey presentation be moved up to before the City Manager review. Councilmember Kragness stated Dr. Edwards also requested the review be moved up. City Manager Reggie Edwards requested that the contract review be moved up. Staff has been providing their expertise in the survey review process. It is a tool for development rather than evaluation. Councilmember Butler agreed the conversation the council has been having relates to future decisions. She stated she doesn't have an issue moving up the meeting. Mayor Graves stated she would like the meeting to be sooner as well. She suggested the meeting be at 5:00 p.m. on August 12, 2024. Ms. Suciu pointed out that the Clerk's Office would handle absentee voting that day, so starting a meeting at 5:00 p.m. would be difficult. Dr. Edwards stated staff can look at timing and location options. Councilmember Jerzak pointed out that no action was requested for item Resolution 2021-73. Mayor Graves stated the agenda item is an opportunity to review the resolution and provide direction to staff as needed. Councilmember Jerzak asked if the council wanted to learn about the event permitting process. Mayor Graves agreed she would like to know more about the process and how the process can be improved. She suggested that the staff prepare a presentation for a future work session. Dr. Edwards noted there is an event permitting process. Staff will speak with one another to determine what happened with the aforementioned event. He pointed out the event didn't go through the proper channels. Councilmember Jerzak added there was a complaint about a park poster. Staff temporarily sprayed over it and will power wash it later on. He stated he would like to see a process to confirm an email has been forwarded from the council to the proper staff. It was a suggestion previously made by Councilmember Butler. Mayor Graves stated that the council has already agreed on such a confirmation process. Dr. Edwards stated the weekly update includes details on any emails received by staff. 7/8/24 -3- DRAFT Councilmember Jerzak stated he wants a system to ensure Dr. Edwards isn't inundated with emails from forwards. Mayor Graves suggested forwarding the inclusion of CCing other council members. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson suggested the emails include a BCC instead. Dr. Edwards pointed out that each Councilmember may receive emails from their constituents or various individuals. He stated he would brainstorm options to optimize the process. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated emails with multiple Councilmembers CCed or BCCed would indicate their awareness. Councilmember Jerzak noted Mayor Graves previously requested Councilmembers review information from the conference she attended in New York. He reviewed it entirely before the meeting. He asked if the council would be interested in a work session item to review the state and vision of the Opportunity Site. The market conditions and developers are in new places compared to when the Site was initially imagined. The age of the Tax Increment Financing and the sunk cost fallacy must be considered. Mayor Graves noted there is likely a coming presentation on the Opportunity Site. Dr. Edwards stated there is a website with information on the Opportunity Site. Mayor Graves asked if there was a presentation on the Opportunity Site and an introduction to the new Community Development Department staff. Dr. Edwards confirmed there is a scheduled presentation. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked if Dr. Edwards would speak with Fire Chief Berg regarding the overnight duty crew. Dr. Edwards explained that the staff has been applying for grants. They haven't heard back from the grant projects yet. There is a budget only for two firefighters, and the grant would hire three additional firefighters to have a fully-staffed program. The two budgeted positions haven't been hired yet as they are waiting to launch the program entirely. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson pointed out the two firefighters could be hired and work at peak hours. It would cover two days per week. Dr. Edwards stated he would speak with Chief Berg about some options and present them to the council at a future meeting. Councilmember Kragness stated she would like an update as it was presented as a starting point for the program. She added she would like an update on the Deputy City Manager job posting. Dr. Edwards stated that the staff had onboarded the search firm. There should be a posting next week or so. Councilmember Kragness pointed out that meeting a quorum of Commissioners was challenging due to a lack of commitment. She believed that the issue created the new appointment process. One person received higher recommendations from the council than most of the other applicants, 7/8/24 -4- DRAFT but they are not on the list of appointments. The time of the Councilmembers is valuable. They were asked to provide input twice, and it wasn't taken into consideration. Mayor Graves stated she considered everyone's scores. The applicant in question didn't even answer why they wanted to be on the Commission in their application. Personal relationships with the people may have influenced scores by Councilmembers. Additionally, Mayor Graves received reports of uncomfortable interactions with the applicant from community partners and staff, which is not in line with the decorum guidelines set by the Council for Commissions. Councilmember Kragness asked if Mayor Graves asked if the information about negative interactions was received before or after the Councilmembers gave input. Mayor Graves stated it was both before and after. Councilmember Kragness asked if Mayor Graves considered informing the council of her insights. Mayor Graves stated she just did. Councilmember Kragness stated that math is the math, and it is confusing that the calculations weren't considered. Mayor Graves explained that the scores helped, and she wanted the council members to have a voice in the process. If the council wants to continue providing input, Mayor Graves welcomes their input. If they prefer not to be involved in Commission appointments, they don't have to provide input. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated she appreciates the opportunity to provide input. Councilmember Kragness stated she does not want to participate in the future. She was asked twice to provide input and will not in the future. Councilmember Jerzak pointed out that the Charter allows the Mayor to make all appointments. He doesn't want to speak negatively about any community members, and it is already difficult to fill the Commissions. He stated he would accept Mayor Graves' explanation. Mayor Graves stated the council also needs to consider who is already serving on Commissions. It is more important to appoint new people to Commissions than to appoint folks to multiple Commissions. It might be a valuable question to add to the application. Councilmember Lawrence- Anderson added another important piece, which is balancing legacy members along with new members. Councilmember Kragness stated the council should be aware of who is serving on the Commissions. Mayor Graves stated she is generally aware of Commissioners but doesn't know if their terms have expired or if there are other changes. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson noted there used to be an annual appreciation meeting for the Commissioners with updates on the Commission's projects and goals. Commissioners are unpaid volunteers, and they should be recognized for their service. Mayor Graves agreed with the suggestion and noted she also missed the regular meeting. She added community organizations could also be included. 7/8/24 -5- DRAFT There was a council consensus to add a question to the Commission applications regarding past or current commission service. Councilmember Jerzak stated the council needs to discuss that Dr. Edwards was the second choice for Golden Valley. There may need to be a closed session. Dr. Edwards previously indicated he would like to discuss his experience with the council. Many community members have asked questions he does not know how to answer. Councilmember Butler pointed out that Dr. Edwards has the right to apply for jobs if he wants, but this doesn't reflect his commitment to Brooklyn Center. Councilmembers can have individual, private conversations with Dr. Edwards if they choose. Councilmember Kragness stated something needs to be communicated to the public. It is fair for the public to question the city's stability, considering that the city manager was looking elsewhere for employment. Mayor Graves noted that the messaging point makes sense, but Dr. Edwards has the right to apply for jobs as he wishes. Community members may draw their own conclusions. Councilmember Kragness stated that someone is not committed to a role if they are applying for a job. Dr. Edwards does have the ability to apply to other roles. Another term needs to be used. Mayor Graves stated they are not there to debate language. RESOLUTION 2021-73 Mayor Graves asked if the council would be amenable to push the item to a future meeting when there is more time. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson agreed to postpone the item. Councilmember Jerzak stated he would like to hear from the Police Chief and other personnel about their input. Dr. Edwards confirmed he could speak with staff. He had not previously asked them to prepare presentations for the council. He asked if there are specific sections the council would like for staff to weigh in on. His understanding of the item was that the council should have a discussion without influence from staff. Councilmember Jerzak explained that the council wants to collaborate and refine Resolution 2021- 73. They want to maintain its spirit while improving it. Mayor Graves stated resolutions aren't pieced apart regularly, and this one, in particular, impacts jobs. This resolution doesn't impact every aspect of the city. However, it was inspired by unfortunate events in the city. The Resolution doesn't dictate the details of operations but is an encouragement and reminder to do better. Staff recommendations may be valuable, but it is 7/8/24 -6- DRAFT ultimately the council's decision. The staff's role is implementation. The first round of discussions may be better suited for the council alone. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated that the maximum amount of information and collaboration at the beginning of the discussions would be valuable. Mayor Graves asked if the council wants additional feedback from staff on the sections the council has already reviewed. Councilmember Jerzak stated he wants the staff's perspective on the fourth item within the Resolution. Councilmember Kragness noted she sees the Staff input as an opportunity to understand what the city is already doing related to the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Act. Then, the council can determine what additional efforts need to be implemented. Mayor Graves stated that part of the discussion will be determining which aspects of the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Act they want staff to prepare reports on. At the next meeting, Dr. Edwards requested that the council focus only on two sections of the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Act. Councilmember Jerzak noted his agreement. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson explained she appreciates the perspective of the new Police Chief. CITY MANAGER MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION ITEMS This item was not addressed. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Graves adjourned the Study Session at 6:44 p.m.