Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 08-10 CCM Work SessionMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA WORK SESSION AUGUST 10, 2020 CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council/Economic Development Authority (EDA) met in Worlc Session called to order by Mayor/President Mike Elliott at 7:19 p.m. The meeting was conducted via Webex. ROLL CALL Mayor/President Mike Elliott and Councilmembers/Commissioners Marquita Butler, April Graves, Kris Lawrence -Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Curt Boganey, Deputy City Manager Reggie Edwards, Public Works Director Doran Cote, City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP (LITTER AND TRASH NUISANCE) Cont'd Deputy City Manager Reggie Edwards resumed the discussion regarding picking up trash and litter in Brooklyn Center. He requested feedback and comments from the City Council, Councilmember/Commissioner Graves stated, for short -team solutions, she likes the following items in the staff presentation: #1 (additional Code enforcement for commercial businesses), #3 (an Ordinance related to shopping carts) and #5 (beautification incentives). She added 1 and 3 are administrative and staff -focused, while 5 is more of a collaborative approach. She noted she likes the balance of those 3 approaches. Councilmember/Commissioner Graves stated she would support the second strategy related to an educational campaign about litter. She added, although it is important for City Staff to partner with businesses, it may be beneficial to have a Commission at some point. She noted an educational campaign would be more visible and possibly more effective. Councilmember/Commissioner Graves stated prevention measures would be helpful, and she would need to learn more about them. She added she is interested in exploring clean-up actions and business district beautification. She noted she is open to discussing all the measures. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated she especially likes the Ordinance related to shopping carts, similar to that which is in place in Minneapolis. She added she concurs that businesses should be encouraged to keep their property clean and free of litter. 08/10/20 -1- Mayor/President Elliott stated City Staff has done a,really great job of putting together some strategies that can have impact in the short and long term. He added there is a consensus around having businesses pay the cost of keeping their properties clean, as opposed to taking the cost on as a City, and he concurs with that, as these are largely businesses that can afford to keep their properties clean. He noted he would like to see additional information about the potential degree of effectiveness of the proposed approaches, for example, a review of the Minneapolis shopping cart Ordinance, to see what impact the Ordinance has had on the problem since it was instituted. Mayor/President Elliott stated he would like more information on the resources that would be required to make these approaches successful. He thanked City Staff for the presentation, which is well thought-out and very promising. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated she believes the City should take more responsibility for the aesthetic appearance of community gardens and landscaped areas. She added there are areas on 63`d Avenue that are overgrown with weeds, that were supposed to be beautiful gardens, as well as landscaped areas along Brooklyn Boulevard that are not being maintained. She asked whether maintenance of those gardens is the responsibility of the resident, or the City. She noted she would support having the City allocate adequate finance resources to maintain those gardens. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated this discussion is about taking pride in the community and cleaning up litter on the ground. She added the City's gardens and landscaped areas are not well -maintained, and that sets the tone and projects an image that the City does not want to convey. She noted she understands there are budget constraints and staffing issues due to COVID-19, but the gardens and landscaped areas should be maintained, or replaced with grass or solid surface. Mayor/President Elliott stated he concurs with Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence - Anderson's comments, particularly about the flower gardens along the curbs. He added many residents have complained that the City is not taking care of those gardens. Mr. Boganey stated he would like to ask Public Alf orlcs Director Doran Cote about the rain gardens on 63rd Avenue, and whether they are the responsibility of the City or the resident. He added maintenance of landscaped areas along Brooklyn Boulevard is the City's responsibility. He noted this has been observed, and maintenance will be increased along Brooklyn Boulevard. He noted the City currently has about one-third of the seasonal staff that is typically hired, but there will be an upgrade in maintenance on Brooklyn Boulevard. Public Works Director Doran Cote stated some residents have adopted the rain gardens and care for them. He added there is a limited number of seasonal staff that also maintain the rain gardens. He added City Staff discussed this issue that morning and committed two seasonal staff and 2 interns to do intense maintenance on Brooklyn Boulevard, Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated a volunteer effort could be launched to maintain parks and landscaped areas, to reduce staff time but also increase community pride. She added she lives on 63`d Avenue, and the neighbors could come together to each spend 15-20 08/10/20 -2- minutes a month maintaining the flower gardens and keep them well-groomed. She noted this might be something to consider under the current budgetary constraints. Mr. Boganey agreed, adding he would review at the "adopt a park" program, which was designed for volunteer projects in the parks. Councilmember/Commissioner Ryan stated, following up on Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson's suggestion, he is involved with the Lions Club and they are looking for outdoor service projects as part of their public service activities. He added parks clean-up was one of their ideas, and the "adopt a park" program would be a good way to organize groups and residents of the neighborhoods, and free up staff time to address other common areas that are blighted with litter. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated church youth groups and other organizations could adopt a particular corner for maintenance and beautification. She added this could be accompanied by a positive media campaign and would be a goodwill gesture within the community. Mr. Boganey stated City Staff will review this issue and report back to the City Council. He added City Staff are reviewing labor-saving equipment that would improve efficiency in parks clean-up. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated the equipment would probably be helpful for parks maintenance, but the neighborhood gardens and landscaped areas would benefit from volunteers who are willing to pull weeds. Mr. Boganey stated parks maintenance equipment would free up staff time to work on beautification of the Citys landscaped areas. Mayor/President Elliott stated he needs to end the meeting sooner rather than later. He added he is still processing at happened earlier in the meeting, and he needs to step away. He added Councilmember/Commissioner Butler can take over if the rest of the City Council wants to continue this discussion. He noted he would like to schedule another work session to address the Housing policy. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson stated the City Council can reschedule so the Mayor/President can weigh in on some of these other issues, including Housing, which is a large issue. She added her preference would be to adjourn the meeting early and reconvene at another date. Councilmember/Commissioner Ryan stated he appreciates and respects Mayor/President Elliott's feelings. He added Mayor/President Elliott should be involved in the remaining discussions that are respectful of each other's positions. He noted he supports Mayor/President Elliott if he feels the need to step back at this time. Mayor/President Elliott stated he appreciates the comments of Councilmembers/Commissioners Lawrence -Anderson and Ryan. 08/10/20 -3- Mayor/President Elliott stated he would like to adjourn the meeting, noting another meeting is scheduled to focus on Housing. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson requested that the City Council receive a text message from City Staff when a Special Meeting is scheduled. She added this is pursuant to the Special Meeting that was held on Friday, August 7, 2020, of which she was not aware. She apologized for not joining that meeting as she was up north doing maintenance on her property. Mr. Boganey agreed that City Staff can send a text to alert Councilmembers/Commissioners about Special Meetings. He added the City Council set that meeting date and time at their Monday, August 3, 2020 Special Meeting as a continuation. He noted City Staff can send out a text message regardless of whether the meeting was scheduled or not, and also if the meeting time is changed. City Clerk Barb Suciu stated a meeting is scheduled on Friday, August 14, 2020 for canvasing the primary results. Mayor/President Elliott requested that City Staff send a text reminder for that meeting. ADJOURNMENT Mayor/President Elliott moved and Commissioner Lawrence -Anderson seconded adjournment of the City CouncilBconomic Development Authority Work Session at 8:38 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. STATE OF IvvNNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKL,YN 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 the City Council from the City of Brooklyn Center Work Session held on August 10, 2020. 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 August 24, 2020, Regular Session. City Clerk Mayor 08/10/20 -4-