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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 08-25 CCM Study Session i 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 AUGUST 25, 2008 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Study Session called to order by Mayor Tim Willson at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Tim Willson and Councilmembers Kay Lasman, Mary O'Connor, Dan Ryan, and Mark Yelich. Also present were City Manager Curt Boganey, Director of Fiscal Support Services Dan Jordet, Acting Director of Public Works /City Engineer David Peterson, Community Development Director Gary Eitel, Planning and Zoning Specialist Ron Warren, Police Commander Tim Gannon, Assistant to the City Manager Vickie Schleuning, IT Director Patty Hartwig, and Carol Hamer, Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS AND QUESTIONS Councilmember Yelich requested further explanation regarding the rental license on tonight's City Council meeting agenda for the property at 2100 69 Avenue North in relation to the excessive calls for disturbance of the peace according to the City ordinance. Mr. Boganey replied he is not certain that the ordinance would make reference to excessive calls as it relates to this issue. Essentially, the ordinance indicates that if a single family property has a number of calls of this type, such as loud noise, if that is deemed to be excessive it allows the police to require that the landlord take appropriate action in order to bring the property back into compliance. He believes that if the landlord fails to do, the City has the right to have the landlord take action to have the offending tenant removed from the premises. Commander Gannon stated the ordinance is often used for apartments but can also be used for single family residential properties. He reviewed the procedure followed with notification letters and advised that three violations within 90 days are routed to the City Council for review. He explained often after the second notice there is an eviction process. With this specific property there were five calls within the 90 day timeframe, but the property owner is entitled to due notice to respond. Councilmember Lasman requested information regarding the rental license on tonight's City Council meeting agenda for the property at 6813 Humboldt Avenue North, B101, and whether there are different tenants involved in the calls for service. Mr. Boganey stated the property was vacated on March 31 by the tenant associated with the calls. There have been no further violations since the property was vacated. 08/25/08 -1- MISCELLANEOUS Councilmember O'Connor asked whether a date has been set for the next 57 and Logan Avenues meeting, and whether there is information on where the testing pipe will be located. Mr. Boganey replied a date toward the end of September has been targeted. There have been conversations with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) regarding the location of the testing pipe. City staff has suggested a location on the northern portion of the property in an area that would be close to midway between the street and the highway side of the property. The MPCA has yet to respond to that suggestion. Councilmember Lasman stated at the Evergreen Park neighborhood meeting the residents inquired about the possibility of putting chains across the entrance of the park to address after hours situations. Mr. Boganey replied this suggestion has not been considered yet. In reviewing the matter he's asked that the Recreation Director have the issues related to the park referred to the Park and Recreation Commission and asked if they would investigate and review the various complaints received. The Commission may hold a meeting with the neighborhood and obtain feedback to understand the various concerns and issues related to the location of the basketball park, parking, etc. The suggestion regarding the chains across the park entrance could be included with that review. Councilmember Lasman stated a resident inquired about the ordinance for transient peddlers and merchants. She asked whether the topic will be included on a future work session. Mr. Boganey replied this topic will come back to the Council in the next several weeks. Councilmember Lasman requested discussion from the Council on whether a statement should be made that there is no endorsement or authorization for using the City's logo on campaign literature. It was noted that disclaimers should be included on campaign literature that includes the City logo. There was discussion that there is not a trademark or copyright on the City logo. Mr. Boganey advised that he believes copyright law does not require that an individual register their copyright; once you produce it you have the copy write and others cannot infringe on that copy write, even if it has not been registered. He pointed out that the issue being raised is more of a policy issue than a legal issue. The point that has been raised is whether the Council has any concerns about whether or not citizens viewing the sign would misinterpret the City's position and somehow think that the logo represents some type of endorsement, approval or City sponsorship of that particular candidate. Many people will not even recognize it as the City's logo, but some may look at it and think it is the City's approved candidate. He advised to the best of his knowledge the use of the City logo does not violate any City adopted policy prohibiting the use of the logo. The majority consensus of the City Council was to direct staff to draft a statement stating that if candidates choose to use a city symbol it is in no way an endorsement by the City. The statement should not in any way suggest disapproval of a candidate, in the same way that it does not suggest endorsement. The statement should be included in the Council Update and emails for Council to provide feedback, with the final statement released to the press. DISCUSSION OF WORK SESSION AGENDA ITEMS AS TIME PERMITS WEBCASTING PRESENTATION 08/25/08 -2- i Ms. Hartwig introduced the item and stated the City has been researching webcasting options for years. Staff has been working with the Northwest Suburbs Cable Communications Commission NWSCCC) and its member cities in acquiring a contract with Granicus, Inc., a leading provider of webcasting solutions to local government agencies. A contract was signed in mid -May 2008. Brooklyn Center and Crystal have been the first cities in the NWSCCC to implement this technology. Ms. Hartwig stated benefits of the webcasting include the ability to reduce costs of responding to incoming requests for City Council meeting information, while providing website visitors a quick turnaround time for information and 24/7 access. Ms. Hartwig provided a brief presentation on the webcasting of City Council meetings. She stated beginning September 8, 2008, the City Council meetings will be broadcast "live" through the Web. In addition, an archive of City Council meetings will be available for one year, and it will be determined whether to keep the archives available longer on -line. There was discussion on the possibility of archiving previous years' meetings at City Hall on DVD. It was noted that the cost for the webcasting is paid through NWSCCC; the cost is not paid through the General Fund. SECURITY SERVICE AT CONVENIENCE STORES COUNCILMEMBER RYAN Councilmember Ryan stated he has done some brainstorming with a resident, Chris Warner, in relation to security issues at the Super America located on 69 Avenue and Brooklyn Boulevard. The suggestion being brought forward is to require that Super America provide security guards at their store in the evening hours, and if this is not done that the City acquire the authority to limit the hours of such convenience stores. Mr. Boganey stated staff believes there is a significant issue that the store owners have not adequately addressed. Super America has been given one week since the most recent meeting to follow up, which would be the first week of September. At the staff level, they are not satisfied with the landlord's actions to control and maintain the property in a safe, secure, neighbor friendly manner, but staff is working with them to try to get them to do so. ADJOURN STUDY SESSION TO INFORMAL OPEN FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Lasman moved and Councilmember Ryan seconded to close the Study Session at 6:45 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. RECONVENE STUDY SESSION Councilmember Lasman moved and Councilmember Ryan seconded to reconvene the Study Session at 6:52 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Bo ane stated staff will prepare responses and co the Council on each of the issues presented g Y p p p copy at Open Forum tonight. 08/25/08 -3- I The discussion continued on the issue of security service at convenience stores. Mr. Boganey stated staff is working with the store owners, and is not at this point satisfied with the progress; however, this could change if at some point in the future progress is shown. There is no suggestion to the Council that other tools should not be made available. He suggested the City Attorney provide a brief overview in terms of what the parameters would be if the Council were to want to adopt an ordinance of some sort to regulate the activity at the location. Mr. LeFevere advised there may be a lot of questions that staff and Council need to work through about the need for such an ordinance and the effectiveness of such ordinances. There are many things to consider, including that they do not want to displace a problem from one location to another. There may be alternative ways of addressing the problem, such as curfew enforcement. Legally speaking, the principal concern is that the ordinance treat all similarly situated business the same; it would not necessarily apply only to gas stations or convenience stores. That is part of the challenge in coming up with an ordinance when imposing a new kind of requirement on a business; they do not want unintended consequences. The ordinance will still need to be enforced and effective, and having security guards does not guarantee that things will change. There was discussion on action being taken by Super America to address security concerns. Commander Gannon stated Super America has entered into a contract with Westec for a remote monitoring system that has been put in place within the last month. The lot and the interior of the store are monitored and Westec notifies the store and the Police Department through an audio alert when loiterers need to move along. Commander Gannon stated the Police Department would much rather have the security on site with employees addressing problems immediately, but this is a backup and it also keeps employees honest and up to par. The system is in place at the Super America located at 57 and Logan Avenues, and there has been quite a bit of success there. Concern was expressed on the possibility of the Police Department becoming an extension of the monitoring system. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Lasman moved and Councilmember O'Connor seconded to close the Study Session at 7:01 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 08/25/08 -4- STATE OF MINNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) The undersigned, being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1. That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of a Study Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on August 25, 2008. 2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held at Brooklyn Center City Hall. 3. That the City Council adopted said minutes at its September 8, 2008, Regular Session. City Clerk Mayor 08/25/08 -5-