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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 02-09 CCM Study Session 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 FEBRUARY 9, 2015 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 April Graves, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Lin Myszkowski, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Curt Boganey, Police Chief Kevin Benner, Planning and Zoning Specialist Tim Benetti, Assistant City Manager/Director of Building and Community Standards Vickie Schleuning, and Brittney Berndt, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS ANDQ UES TIONS Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson requested the following correction to the Study Session minutes of January 26, 2015: Page 2, bottom line: "...measures for both municipal Liquor Stores #i, for both employees and patrons." Page 4, Stn Paragraph, 2°a Line: "She volunteered to assist with the Santa visit for 2015." Councilmember Ryan requested the following correction to the Study Session minutes of January 26, 2015: Page 1, 6th Paragraph, 1 st Line: "...Community Police Partnership and Multi Cultural Advisory Committee..." It was the majority consensus of the City Council to accept the correction the January 26, 2015 Study Session minutes. Councilmember Graves requested discussion on Item 8c, Proposed Use of 2015 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds, in particular what is the review process of applications and the scoring mechanism that is in place. City Manager Curt Boganey stated that all the information regarding the review process would be part of the presentation that is slated on the agenda. 02/09/15 -1- He was open to answering questions regarding clarification on the program itself but referred to the presentation for any questions regarding the applications or review procedures. Councilmember Myszkowski asked for clarification regarding the applications and why some had benefit reporting while others were missing this element. Mr. Boganey stated there is not one uniform application so it is up to each applicant to submit what they believe to be a comprehensive request for funds. Most of the applications will have the same information included but not reported in the same format. Councilmember Ryan expressed that this is a typical year where more applications come in for the social services portion of the funding and thanked the staff for their hard work in reviewing each application. DISCUSSION OF WORK SESSION AGENDA ITEMS AS TIME PERMITS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS SECURITY City Manager Curt Boganey explained the recent current events, more specifically the shooting that occurred in New Hope Council Chambers, led the City of Brooklyn Center to look at the security around the City Council meetings. He stated that typically in the past the staff had an informal procedure in which the appropriate staff reviewed the agenda to see if there were any items that might be `hot-button' issues. At this point in time, Mr. Boganey explained that the staff is now in the process of making this a more formalized procedure, in which they will talk to other staff to see if any reports of individuals who might/could cause harm. Depending on the risk assessment for each individual meeting, a decision will be made on what action will need to happen, whether it is a police officer attending the meeting or just alerting the Councilmembers to the risk. He explained that the City has been looking at technology upgrades and this could be a possible time to include security features involving the City Council meetings within the technology upgrade. He referred to Assistant City Manager/Director of Building and Community Standards Vickie Schleuning's team who is handling the technology upgrade project. Mayor Willson concurred with Mr. Boganey that having a police officer attend the meetings if necessary would be a great idea, not only to maintain order but also as a deterrent. He had reviewed the list complied by Ms. Schleuning's team and agreed that there were some good ideas listed and he would be interested in seeing pricing. He reminded everyone that even if new security measures were put into place, it would not deter someone who had a mission to do harm. Councilmember Ryan stated that the safety issue has weighed on his mind in the past and is thankful that it is being brought up to the Council for resolution. He explained that the best possible solution in his mind would include modifications to City Hall not only to make it safer for the staff but more functional. This would include a better escape route for people who are in the Council Chambers to exit in case of an emergency or a lock down feature for the main doors in case of a threat causing a lockdown of the building. He expressed not only concern for those on the Council but also staff and the citizens who attend the meetings. 02/09/15 -2- Mayor Willson recalled in the past years if there was an issue that residents were upset about and the staff identified as a `hot-button' issue there have been police officers in attendance. He remembers that this technique worked well not only to maintain order in the Chambers but also to make sure all the citizens remained peaceful. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson questioned where the exit leading out of the Chambers led. Mr. Boganey explained that the door directly to the right of the room led out into the hallway where the door to the left led directly into the public works office. He explained that both exits are on the list for possible improvements with the upgrade project. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson would like to see the door directly behind the secretary be an exit only door rather than having entry and exit, and if the door needed to be for entry then it could possibly have a key or swipe key added. She would also like to see the addition of a panic button for the Councilmembers to press if a situation escalates. Councilmember Myszkowski concurred with the thinking of Councilmember Lawrence- Anderson recalling similar safety concerns when she served on the school board. Councilmember Graves stated that she was impartial to the safety concerns mainly because of her role in other organizations. She stated that her first thought would be how to disengage the individual or how to deescalate the situation. Mayor Willson agreed with Councilmember Graves in the thought of how to deescalate the situation but he liked the idea of also adding safety measures within a reasonable budget. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson agreed with the Mayor and requested that staff gather pricing of all the safety measures on the list and present that to the Council. Mr. Boganey stated he could get the pricing materials as requested but reminded the Council that the ideas on the list were just what the staff brainstormed and he was not making any recommendations at this time. He also added that if any Councilmember felt unsafe at any time and requested a police officer to be present, he would work with the Police Chief to get a uniformed officer present for that meeting. CONSIDERATION OF MODIFYING SETBACK REQUIREMENTS OF FRONT PORCHES-INITIAL FINDINGS AND COMPARISONS OF OTHER CITY ORDINANCES, DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS RELATED TO MODIFYING SETBACK REQUIREMENTS Mr. Boganey referred the matter to Planning and Zoning Specialist Tim Benetti who introduced the item, discussed the history, and stated the purpose of the proposed ordinance which was referred to staff at the July 22, 2014, Council meeting. Mayor Willson explained to Mr. Benetti that the pictures in the slideshow depicting the proposed changes to the ordinance were misleading because the home in the picture showed a sidewalk and boulevard, which is not the case for all residential lots. He explained that he would have liked to have seen photos depicting different rights-of-way widths that occur in the City, such as the homes that have a five-foot boulevard rather than the sidewalk depicting extra space. He 02/09/15 -3- indicated that even with the photos in question, he is supportive of having front porches added to the ordinance. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson brought up a news article that depicted the surge of front porches on homes and how they have now become a standard practice in home building because of all the good things that they bring to the community. She stated that after hearing the presentation, her personal limit would be around eight feet, which would be enough room for chairs or rockers to be placed. Mayor Willson concurred but inquired how the wording would be placed within the ordinance because the word "porch" could be open to interpretation. He explained that they would need to make guidelines so the porch didn't become an extension of the home with walls and doors. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson explained that in her mind, "porch" was referring to an open porch concept. Councilmember Ryan stated that after driving through the City's neighborhoods, he noticed there are quite a few homes with porches on them already that, in his opinion, bring up the value of the homes. He explained that he was in favor of allowing homeowners more flexibility on how their properties are used. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson concurred with Councilmember Ryan and expressed the need for the Planning Commission to look at this idea, develop guidelines, and present those for Council consideration. Councilmember Graves concurred with the ideas that the Council had adding that when she lived in St. Paul, porches were one of her favorite features regarding the homes in that City because of the community they built. Mr. Benetti indicated the Planning Commission will look at this and bring it back with guidelines for a vote at an upcoming City Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Myszkowski seconded to close the Study Session at 6:45 Motion passed unanimously. 02/09/15 -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/Work Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on February 9, 2015. 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 February 23 2015, Regular Session. t City Clerk Mayor 02/09/15 -5-