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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 03-08 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 MARCH 8, 2021 CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council/Economic Development Authority (EDA) met in Work Session called to order by Mayor/President Mike Elliott at 9:03 p.m. The meeting was conducted via Zoom. 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, Community Development Director Meg Beekman, City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. MAYOR'S SENIOR AIDE POSITION (CONT'D) City Attorney Troy Gilchrist stated he has reviewed the City Charter about the structuring of employment outside the City Manager. He expressed concern that this proposal does not square with the City Charter, which states, "The City Manager appoints all officers and employees of the City," and in another provision, "No member of the Council shall dictate the appointment of any person to the office or employment by the City Manager." He added he wanted to raise this as a concern and look into it further. He noted he would like to review the City of Minneapolis, and the California city referenced by the Mayor/President and provide a more complete review for the City Council/EDA's consideration. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated he has done some general reading of the Charter as an amateur, so he appreciates Mr. Gilchrist's points. He added he supports a more thoroughly researched review of this issue to ensure compliance with the City Charter. He noted he has concerns about how the position would be organized, in terms of fairness for all Commissioner/Councilmembers, and the organization of the added capacity to support Commissioner/Councilmembers in the exercise of our duty as policymakers, not as administrators or functionaries of the City. He reiterated his support of deferring any decisions until a review by the City Attorney is completed. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated she tends to agree with comments she has already heard. She added her initial reaction was that this position would help do policy research and assist the City Council/EDA in working more intentionally. She noted she also felt the position was not meant for the City Council/EDA at large, and some of the duties are already undertaken by the City Manager and Community Engagement. 03/08/21 -1- Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated the City is engaged in current contracts with other organizations, like the housing study and the City Council/EDA's work with Common Sense. She added it will be helpful to look at this more holistically and hear more information from the City Attorney. She noted she does not feel ready to approve the position as it is proposed today. Commissioner/Councilmember Lawrence -Anderson stated she agrees with Commissioner/ Councilmember Graves that this issue should be reviewed holistically. She expressed concern about who the person would report to, and whether this is the right way to go about it. She asked whether the person would be accountable to the Mayor/President as well as the City Council/EDA. Mayor/President Elliott stated the position would serve not only the Mayor/President but the City Council/EDA as a whole. He added he is just presenting this and some questions need to be answered about the City Charter. He added he is passionate about supporting the community and moving people forward. He noted he is appreciative of the City Council/EDA's comments. OPPORTUNITY SITE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION Ms. Beekman reviewed the Opportunity Site Master Plan, on which planning began in 2006. In 2018, a partnership was formed with Alatus LLC for the development of City -owned parcels. Community engagement workshops and pop-up meetings were held in 2018, but the pandemic disrupted the process, which was put on hold in April 2020. Ms. Beekman stated City Staff intends to reboot the strategy work and engagement efforts and ensure community involvement. The City has engaged with NEOO Partners, led by D'Angelos Svenkeson, to represent the EDA with Alatus. D'Angelos Svenkeson, the co -Founder of NEOO Partners, stated his firm has worked on many economic development place -based initiatives in Ramsey County. He added the goal for the City of Brooklyn Center and the EDA is to determine how to create pathways for direct communication and participation in the planning process, and for community partners to lead the engagement work. Mr. Svenkeson reviewed roles and responsibilities for community partners, a task force, and an engagement manager, as well as a timeline and budget, adapted from the community engagement document. The goal would be to start engagement in April 2021 to continue through May and July with completion in August. Mr. Svenkeson stated the reality of the moment has meant that large, multi -year conversations must be grounded with something that is tangible and current. People are dealing with the pandemic, civil unrest, and a recession, so asking them to think about 15 years in the future may not be fruitful. A strategy can be implemented to pilot engagement work on the first 15 acres and determine priorities within an investment timeline focused on Blocks 11, 12, and 13. Mr. Svenkeson stated a potential development is being planned for Blocks 11, 12, and 13. Alatus has partnered with Project for Pride in Living (PPL) and Resurrecting Faith World Ministries 03/08/21 -2- (RFWM). The proposed planned development includes roughly 750 units of housing in a combination of market -rate, mixed -income and affordable housing spectrum units. Mr. Svenkeson opened the discussion for questions from the City Council/EDA. Mayor/President Elliott stated he is glad to hear Mr. Svenkeson talk about a community -driven approach, as he has been thinking about the concept of human -centered development. He stressed the importance of asking what problem needs to be solved, for whom, and what does the community need to thrive. The frustration we have had with this development is that it has been largely designed by City Staff, and then taken to the community for input. Human -centered development would involve going to communities for input and using that information to drive the development and design of what ultimately gets built. Mayor/President Elliott stated the City Council/EDA should be driven by the needs of the community and not the developer's timeline. He stressed the importance of identifying the community's needs and then identifying the right developer. He added he is not sure if this is the right developer, but he is glad to hear that the consultants intend to take a community -driven approach to this work. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan thanked the Mayor/President for being open and direct. He stated it is foolish and naive to be indifferent to the timeline for Alatus. Planning fbr this site has been going on since 2006, and many other local sites including the former Armory site in Arden Hills, have languished with economic potential that was not being realized. This developer has been willing to commit time and resources to this development, and the City should not be insensitive to Alatus's timeline, especially as they only plan to build three blocks. There is a burden of proof on the part of the City that we are prepared to move forward with something tangible, and that has been demonstrated at the former Jerry's Food Site, where we built Sonder House despite strong skepticism from surrounding communities. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated he is pleased to see that NEW has been brought in as they appear to have the necessary expertise. Mayor/President Elliott stated, for the record, the Arden Hills site has been under lawsuit related to lack of affordability and lack of engagement. He added that is what happens when you move ahead without addressing critical issues. He noted he does not support rushing unnecessarily, and a lot has changed since the RFP went out. He added he begs to differ that there will not be any other suitable developers. Mayor/President Elliott stated he is looking forward to this plan being developed in a way that it will be embraced by a community. He expressed concern that young people do not have places to go in the community. He stressed the importance of engaging the community fully to provide a design based on the needs of the community. Ms. Beekman stated City Staff are seeking City Council/EDA direction on timeline strategies, budget allocation, and level of engagement, as well as a potential community advisory task force. 03/08/21 -3- Mayor/President Elliott stated there is value in having a community advisory group, but the City Council/EDA should talk about who will be in that group. He added it should be mostly Brooklyn Center residents. He noted he needs more time to look at the timeline and to get back to D'Angelos. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated she supports what has gone into the engagement process so far, and efforts can be made to expand on those efforts and figure out how to best seine the people with who the city needs to engage with. She added it will be a matter of being involved and moving into collaboration, working with a smaller but well-resourced group within the task force, to make sure all the demographic and stakeholder groups are present. She added she is excited to see these efforts move forward and appreciates the work that has gone into the presentation, and she fully supports moving forward while listening to staff about capacity and strategies. Commissioner/Councilmember Butler stated she agrees with Commissioner/Councilmember Graves about being intentional about who is involved in the engagement. She added a large segment of the community has no idea what the tentative plans are for the Opportunity Site. She stressed the importance of making sure everyone knows the plans and ensuring that youth are brought to the table. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves referred to "defer," which says "ongoing." She added the process needs to be ongoing regardless of the focus area, as this is a pilot, and an iterative process and the City can learn from it and inform community engagement in general on an ongoing basis. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated he is less concerned about money than about the time factor, and the City Council/EDA should listen to City Staff for recommendations regarding the pilot project, which is only 3 blocks of the vast site which is the future of the City. With additional engagement, we will have the opportunity to move forward. He added he is not supportive of community advisory groups for the pilot project, as the engagement work has been done. He added he would consider a community advisory committee to guide that more in-depth discussion on the Master Plan, for the balance of the site. Mayor/President Elliott stated he vehemently disagrees with Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan's statement. Advisory groups are incredibly important when talking about human -centered development. He stressed the importance of hearing from the community, regarding what do we need to do to serve the people who live here. He noted he agrees strongly with Commissioner/ Councilmember Butler that we have not done enough work to engage the community properly. Mayor/President Elliott stated 3 blocks is 15 acres, which is about half of the land the City owns. And that is a lot of lands. He added the City needs to take a step back and do this right. Ms. Beekman stated the total City -owned property is 45 acres, with 35 contiguous acres. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated, so his remarks are not misrepresented, he is absolutely in favor of robust community engagement, which is what he observed in 2019. He added he hopes as we move forward that we learn more about effective community engagement. Mayor/President Elliott stated the time is 10:05 p.m. and a motion is needed to continue the meeting. 03/08/21 -4- Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan asked City Staff whether they feel they have received enough input and adequate direction. Ms. Beekman stated City Staff hoped to receive feedback about the approach and focusing on the pilot project as a way to ground engagement work and content and use it as an opportunity to leant from the process and inform the larger master planning work. City Staff is also seeking direction concerning the budget, which can be sought later when community partners are identified. Ms. Beekman asked whether the City Council/EDA is comfortable with City Staff seeking out community partners. She added it is hoped that the City Council/EDA will agree to have 20-30 minutes set aside at each City Council/EDA meeting to focus on the Opportunity Site and receive regular updates. Mayor/President Elliott stated he is not comfortable discussing community engagement after 10:00 p.m. He added a Work Session should be scheduled during the daytime to focus on the community engagement plan. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated she felt that consensus was reached 15 minutes ago. She expressed her appreciation for Ms. Beekman's clarifying comments. She added she is ready to move forward. She noted her main concern is about getting regular updates rather than stalling the process before it gets started. Mayor/President Elliott stated there are many parts of this engagement plan that he likes. He added, however, if we do not get the community's voice in this, people will say they were not engaged. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated the City Council/EDA and City Staff have been interacting with people and meeting with stakeholders. She added another meeting about the same thing is not necessary before any action can be taken. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated we have a consensus. Mayor/President Elliott stated people come to him to say that this is not what they have in mind. He added he has been involved in this effort for a few years, and a follow-up discussion will help if we can have it during the daytime. Commissioner/Councilmember Ryan stated he appreciates the comments of Commissioner/ Councilmember Graves. He added we are arguing circularly, saying we should delay this until we have engagement, but trying to move forward with the next stage of engagement. He added the Development Director has a better understanding of time constraints and if she is confident this process can be put into operation then he supports it, and the City Council/EDA has a consensus and should move on. Commissioner/Councilmember Lawrence -Anderson stated she appreciates Commissioner/ Councilmember Grave's comments. She added she believes we need to move forward and that is her comment. 03/08/21 -5- Mayor/President Elliott stated he agrees we need to move forward, but this meeting needs to occur during the day so the community can give input in the community engagement plan. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves stated there are ways to get community input moving forward. City Staff can hear what is currently being discussed and ensure that feedback can be taken. She added she is trying to put her confidence in City Staff, and what has been presented tonight. She stressed the importance of moving this forward. Commissioner/Councilmember Graves asked whether the next agenda item can be moved to the next meeting. Mr. Boganey agreed. Mr. Boganey stated it seems there is a majority consensus of the City Council/EDA to move forward. -Postponed. FRANCHISE FEES — AGREEMENTS AND PROGRAM ADJOURNMENT Councilmember/Commissioner Graves moved and Councilmember/Commissioner Ryan seconded adjournment of the City Council/Economic Development Authority Work Session at 10:15 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 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 Work Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on March 8, 2021. 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 March 22, 2021, Regular Session. ftb_6_16V�tc Barbara Suciu, City Clerk ---------------- Le�zz'X�D Mike Elliott, Mayor 03/08/21 -6-