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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 05-24 CCM Regular Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER 1N THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 24, 2021 VIA ZOOM 1. INFORMAL OPEN FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL CALL TO ORDER INFORMAL OPEN FORUM The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Informal Open Forum called to order by Mayor Mike Elliott at 6:48 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Mike Elliott and Councilmembers Marquita Butler, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Councilmember April Graves was excused. Also present were Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards, Community Development Director Meg Beekman, City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. Mayor Mike Elliott opened the meeting for Informal Open Forum, noting that it may need to be extended considering this is the first meeting since the City Council passed the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution and there are several folks on the line for Open Forum. Cheryl Batson stated she wanted to express some concerns with the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. She believes that change is necessary so all in Brooklyn Center can feel safe but believes it needs to happen in a planful way implementing one change at a time and carefully evaluating each change before going to the next step. Ms. Batson stated it seems the timeline is very compressed and four months is a quick way to do these broad sweeping changes. She thinks it needs to be acted on in a way that police officers, mental health professionals, and citizens of Brooklyn Center are consulted in defining what are dangerous situations and develop teams necessary to deal effectively with the dangerous situations. She stated all the key players need to feel able to fully participate in an atmosphere of cooperation and respect to come up with a fully safe workable plan for all citizens, business owners, and professionals. Ms. Batson stated this is the time to not focus on division but to focus on healing and reasonable safety for all. Ms. Batson stated there are several aspects of the resolution she is concerned about. Specifically, and briefly, she is concerned that the only citizens that can be part of the Community Safety and Violence Prevention Committee are people who `have been arrested, detained, or have had similar contact with Brooklyn Center Police.' She thinks it should be more inclusive and open to people from other police departments, other places such as Minneapolis, and other citizens of Brooklyn Center should also be given a right to be on this Committee including citizens who have never had OS/24/21 -1- experience with police officers other than, perhaps,traffic tickets, speeding tickets, and things like that. Ms. Batson stated the idea is creating a safe community not just for those in contact with police but for the vast majority of people who have never had contact with police except for those things such as traffic tickets. Also, one group of citizens should not be able to hold such an exclusive and powerful role when all the citizens of Brooklyn Center must live with the results. She stated these recommendations should be voted on in an election,not just in a Committee meeting, maybe a special election so people can privately vote so their voices can all be heard, noting these sound like really important, needed, and necessary far-reaching changes. Ms. Batson stated the police need to be trained to only and in very rare instances, use lethal force. She believes this training should be carried out by police departments or other such programs that have a good safety record not only to the citizens experiencing police interaction but also a good safety record for the police themselves, other citizens, visitors, and business owners experiencing the unlawful behavior by an unlawful citizen. She also thinks it is very important for the safety of the vast majority of law-abiding citizens that the police need to be armed and able to use weapons in those rare instances when less forceful means fail. An instance would be finding the murderer of a child and being unable to stop them and help that family find justice. Ms. Batson stated she believes that armed police officers are needed and necessary as part of some mental health responses such as domestic violence, mental health issues with a prior history of violence, and people under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This comes from her own 20 plus years of in-patient mental health professional experienced in a setting where loaded guns and other lethal weapons have been used and pointed and implemented on unarmed professionals. She stated there was a professional stabbed very near the heart and nearly killed, lots of property destruction, and other physical violence towards staff and other patients, and the police have been needed, only when necessary and only when the mental health professionals have failed. If they are in the background, have proper training, know they cannot use lethal force unless necessary and tried non-lethal means, and have time-honored de-escalation skills training, which the police departments in this area don't have, then the police can be an important part of the team and the police can be armed and safe to the community. She stated she also sent a letter to Mayor Elliott and the Council Members. Mayor Elliott stated they will move ahead with implementation in a way that is going to be measured and will rely on resources and key studies. He stated on the mental health response, he can certainly see what Ms. Batson is saying about police responding with mental health professionals and if he didn't know better, he would say he agrees with that for the same reasons Ms. Batson states. The truth is that we have a model in Eugene, Oregon, for example, the CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) model, where police do not respond with mental health professionals and that program has been running for close to 30 years. He stated they have some 27,000 calls per year and 1% of the time they call for police backup and have had no deaths. Mayor Elliott stated if he did not have that information, he would also say the police need to respond too because there could be some dangerous situations. He asked Ms.Batson if she feels better understanding there's a program where the police are not going with the mental health professionals and it can work. OS/24/21 -2- Mayor Elliott stated again the City will be very measured and look at what is safe and has worked in other places,be practical about it, and will not put in place a system that will make things worse and not better. They will rely on data, experts, professionals, and inclusive of all people in Brooklyn Center. Also,the Committee will not just be people who have been arrested or detained by Brooklyn Center police. He wants to be clear that they will center the voices of people who have been detained, arrested, and in some cases abused by police because those people understand the problems with the system and can give us real examples of where the system has failed. In the end, the whole point is not to make the system less safe. It is to make it safer and especially for those people that have been brutalized by it. Ms. Batson stated,respectfully, she has worked in systems as a mental health professional that has worked as Mayor Elliott described them and also seen them not work. The type of population she works with tends to be a very high-risk population, trained in the use of weapons, knows ways to work with weapons, has head injuries which is a known factor for violence and have chemical dependency issues. She explained when you have all of those together and they are already doing a violent act, it is hard for a mental health professional to safely stop that and it usually involves several mental health professionals together. She stated just having police in the background can stop it then and there because if they're part of it, they know it's a possibility that it can go further, and sometimes that calms it down. Ms. Batson stated she is concerned for the citizens of Brooklyn Center that they won't be able to get well-trained mental health professionals to implement these teams, noting she is only talking about that small percentage of very high-risk situations. The vast majority of inental health situations can be dealt with by a mental health professional very safely. Mayor Elliott stated we all share those concerns about safety and extreme cases where there is a need for law enforcement to be part of the picture. He stated there has been a model in place for 31 years that has worked through those concerns and developed a model where they can call for police backup when it's needed, or triage, and figure out when law enforcement is needed to respond. He stated that the model has been tested and proven to be very effective and at this point, neither he nor Ms. Batson has what it takes to stand up this type of program on its own. It will require relying on a lot of experts and people like Ms. Batson who have experience in this field, and people who have implemented models like this. Ms. Batson stated she was not aware there was a program that Brooklyn Center is looking into that would involve the police, if necessary. But she knows these very high-risk situations go down in a heartbeat so someone will end up getting hurt if they can't be part of the team from the start. Mayor Elliott asked Ms. Batson if it provides her some degree of comfort to know the CAHOOTS Program in Eugene, Oregon, has been working for 31 years. Ms. Batson answered in the affirmative. Mayor Elliott encouraged her to learn more about that program as we all move down this road together. He stated the City Council is concerned about maintaining safety for residents at all times by implementing these systems change and that is a model with a good record because they have worked out the kinks. He restated that 1%of the time they do call for police backup and have had zero deaths in that 31-year history. He thanked Ms. Batson for her comments. OS/24/21 -3- Lovetee Polahn stated she is a tenant at Georgetown Park, is attending her second attending, and she represents the voices of tenants who are hurt and frustrated about the way they have been treated by their landlord. She stated she hopes those in leadership will be able to look at these things and help them. There is not a security camera and their cars are being damaged but the landlord has said she can do nothing about it, which is frustrating because they do not have any money in saving for all the damages. They have pleaded with the landlord to give them a security camera,noting there are a lot of complexes in Brooklyn Park that have security cameras. The next thing is that they have only limited parking at Georgetown Park and don't have enough garages. Because of this, if you leave your car out, bring in groceries, by the time you are done, your car has been towed. This is another expense they have no budget for and it is affecting them. The third thing is they are putting in some parking lots but you have to pay $50 a month for those spaces. She stated they don't have money for the upcoming parking spaces, if you have a unit, you should have parking for it, and if they are putting in extra parking, it should not be at the expense of the tenants. She stated there are laws in place for tenant protection but it is not enough. She explained when she moved to Georgetown Park in 2019 the first thing that happened was, she fell on the ice in the car park because they did not clean up the snow on the pathway. She had to walk with crutches for six months and when she notified the landlord, she was told it was her negligence but it wasn't. She stated she wasn't going to wait so she started to hold her rent but was scared of eviction when she was going through that. Ms. Polahn stated they came to repair her water because she only had cold water for a week and when they came to repair it, they turned the water up to an (inaudible) degree but that is not what they were supposed to do. Her son got burned and has scars on his face. She stated all these things she talked with her landlord about and they said there was nothing they could do about it. Also, the carpet is dirty. They had a situation where they had to fix another unit and wanted to pass through her unit to fix the neighbor's unit. The dishwasher leaked and flooded her carpet. When she notified Georgetown Park, they said there is nothing they could do but the carpet was soaked, started to smell, and that was detrimental for her kids and herself, a single mom with four kids. She stated she pleaded with them but no one will help her. She stated when she scheduled a cleaner for the carpet,they said they cannot refund the money so she thinks there needs to be better tenant protection. She stated it is not because she does not have good credit, or cannot afford their homes, and their community is a little bit different, because if you compare her community with a white community it is a little bit different, not because they are all black so they should live dirty. She stated they pay money and deserve a better unit and facility to live in. She stated this is the voice of all the tenants that live in Georgetown Park. She asked the City Council to help them because they are not happy, it is not safe, and it is too frustrating. Mayor Elliott stated he is sorry to hear about these issues, noting there are many the City needs to address and follow up on. He agreed that towing is problematic because there is not enough parking, to begin with, and it is an extra cost burden that makes it difficult to afford other things needed for the household. He stated staff may be more aware of these issues and already spent time working on them. He felt that to understand what will make a difference for tenants at Georgetown Park and other parts of the City, the City Council needs to spend time listening to the community soon. Mayor Elliott stated it sounds like the Georgetown Park tenants are organized and already meeting so this is an opportunity for the City to learn what is happening, noting they OS/24/21 -4- speak for others around the City as well and these real-life health issues deserve the City's attention. He thanked her for her comments and stated staff will be in touch with the Lofte Ulum. Ms. Polahn restated their concerns with parking and towing and stated they should be given a warning and also given time. She stated she also needs a $220 refund to dry her wet carpet. Councilmember Butler stated she met with a group of tenants and a couple of ACER staff in early April and e-mailed staff a list with even more issues. She stated ACER staff has contacts for all tenants that are part of the committee so she will forward that e-mail to Dr. Edwards. Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards asked Councilmember Butler to forward that information so staff can follow up on it. Mayor Elliott stated issues surrounding housing and tenant protection need to be turned into as a City Council to understand what people are experiencing and what the City can do to effectively put policies in place. He stated he heard from all members of the community about having some dedicated time and space as the 15-minute Open Forum before the City Council meeting every two weeks is not enough. Diane Sannes stated communication from the Mayor, Council, and staff is very important to all of the residents, noting some have looked at the City's website daily. She asked for an update on the website that was supposed to be completed this spring. She also asked if citizens have been asked for input, which would be key since they are the biggest users of the website. She noticed something new today but it was obsolete and old information. Dr. Edwards explained a new website is being constructed so for the past month, a static page has been displayed. Today there was a soft launch of the new website but there is still much work and background to be done over the next week to a week and a half. Ms. Sannes restated the information she saw was old and obsolete, several years old, and many residents would like to help our city as we move forward in the future. Mayor Elliott agreed the information needs to be updated as soon as possible. Lori B. asked the City Council to remember they have a community that can help, reach out to people who are in need and report back with further information. She stated she is happy to help the woman from Georgetown Park to get these issues resolved. Mayor Elliott stated it is important to help one another and that is the model the City is moving towards, to rely more on each other. Marie Vincent, Georgetown Home, added her voice to Lofte Ulum and asked the City Council to do a follow-up on her concerns soon as they are in danger. She is also a single mom of four, like Lovetee Polahn, and has a special needs child who is five years old. Her main problem is her carpet and she spoke with Nicole who told her the carpet was installed in 2016 so it cannot be changed. Ms. Vincent asked if there is a law to say how long the carpet has to stay because her OS/24/21 -5- carpet smells, she has to keep using air freshener, and her five-year-old baby has rashes on his neck because he loves to lie down on the carpet Ms. Vincent stated the complex is dark and if you pass by the second door, you can't see who is walking behind you. She stated she is afraid, a single mom, and does not have the money to go on her own. Ms. Vincent asked the City to come to their aid, help them, and solve these problems so they can live a better life here. Mayor Elliott thanked Ms. Vincent for adding her voice to Lofte Ulum and stated staff will follow up this week. He supports having a meeting with these residents because the issues exist at Georgetown Park and other areas of the City and should be addressed by the City Council. Jackie Graham stated she wanted to echo some of the comments made by Cheryl regarding the resolution and add a few of her own. She is a 40 year resident of Brooklyn Center, is very invested in our community,but as many of us are,they have concerns about the recent events. Ms. Graham stated relating to the meeting when the resolution was voted on when she has been involved in corporate meetings or other meetings for issues with school districts, they have to sign in and be residents immediately impacted or have some sort of connection to the content. In school meetings, they had to be members of that school community. What she saw at the meeting was that many of the speakers had very impassioned comments to make but were not from our community. There were many speakers from our community who did not get an opportunity to speak because no time limits were imposed. Many meetings, including corporate meetings she has attended, have had a timekeeper and people have been asked to be prepared to speak and limit their comments. Because there were no time limits, even though they were mentioned, they were not enforced. That limited the ability of many residents and discouraged others from even attempting to share their voices. Ms. Graham stated when a resident did make a personal comment, some very reactive situations occurred and he was removed. Yet non-residents were allowed to express some very specific comments and went unchecked. When she had asked a question, the Mayor ignored her and walked away. She stated that made her feel devalued and as a long-time resident, that was very telling actually and she was very discouraged by that. Ms. Graham stated Mayor Elliott and the Council Members represent all of the residents of Brooklyn Center and our community and the focus has been so narrow in some of the meetings she has attended that, as Cheryl said, she is concerned that everyone has a voice at the table and she is not seeing that. Ms. Graham stated she also shares Cheryl's concern about the makeup of the committees that the Mayor has proposed and thinks those who have been impacted certainly should have a voice at the table but there needs to be a balance. She would consider herself as one of those since she was robbed at the Holiday Station on Bass Lake Road so she has had some interaction that may make her eligible for that committee. Ms. Graham stated the one thing she has not heard is any discussion of how we are going to fund this, noting a lot of infrastructures will be needed to support the successful implementation of the programs. She stated she knows the Mayor has a lot of faith in the CAHOOTS Program and the success they have had but she hasn't had time to review what the program is. She stated they have been successful but asked if the City has analyzed the demographics of their population and is it a similar type of demographic as our community. She does a lot of evidence-based research for her OS/24/21 -6- . blems. She asked�f ot'ust the data that tells her wh�at she wants to ear, s she has to analyze is n J 'ob and one of the thing ht have been�ssues or p unities that implemented these kind�riah�ge J dldn t they, analyze similar comm has had and whY but also the data that also t�ll�s her where there m� the City has had the chance pOTS Program n Center can go �n�°�'�'�ng that. and did not have the su 1 ess that the CA rtici ate, noting 40 the obstacles, so Brook y eer for any t}'Pe �f �ommittee and S been very proud of our City. ast and she Ms. Graham o f fere d t o v o l u n t n Center a n d s h e h as al�'�'ay eo le who n time to be in Brookly n,t made her as proud as she has b e e n us�hh p p years is a lo g the last few months Wa�l take an effort that invola tha whehhe Jv`'e lived across the Unfortunately, e but lt �,�,e all need a voice• she would like to see that chang • wl�l meet the needs of our 'atel impactedbecause we a1T S�aeedein ouhh�meS in fe t, were immedl Y rotested, o y street from the po�ice station, p htful non-reactive way so � to approach this in a thoug ed that occur�'ed. asked the City not just the immediate needs of the trag y to her at that City long te�� olo ized for not listening for speaking and aP g ented on his interaction with the S Graham He comm Mayor Elliott thanked M • oint to be available. S�at his kitchen table a he mee ng rneeting. He stated he makes it a P Stating he had a Diet Pep In terms of limiting oke at that meeting, entleman• Council meetings gentleman wh� Sp they legally cannot do as C�ty eeting that they ' e having conversations so he a� ismolmething t e g e beg��ing °f the m tim ed businesses in to Brooklyn Center residents, th ouncement at th n Center or o`�'n are open to the public but he made an a� Worked in Brookly in So no one could say n Center, the City wanted peOPle �'�'hO ���e in Brooklyeak. He stated the lines W v a Zoom�w Te called on byn Center n Center to come uP and sp .-I.hpSe attending Brookly et in line to speak. �,�,as made to center Brook y who could eno de 1 heygaised their hands so some effort Clerk in th as voices. ic at hand but he because of the top orit in the room, reed it was a passionate meeting eO le have Elliott ag im. He stated those p p ices to a or en those who do not share th h�ices of the maJ o f vo M Y ea eOple to speak, eV ree w encourag p and those who actively dls Sessions and we want theO le�,a a We �„�ant to people from all voices, ood p p ers ectives at several of the Liste Brooklyn Center has g shared their p P be shared because we arell lcan thr ve a d feel safe. ontinue to do so, see a community where a ht and encouraged her to c eaking up tonig laces where this has not worked lauded Jackie for sp les he is aware of,places like Mayor Elliott app ortant questions such as whether there are p she is asking�mp in that in mind. He stated the examp al� �oices of Brooklyn noting be keep g Will keep centering oin to be the and they w�l�certainly eO le Who are g g ver Colorado, it has been successful but to eCe �iolence are pHe en�ouraged all to embrace Den ' laces most affected by p S eak and to make Center. He noted the p ublic safety in the room because it strikes oill ten toythose vo ces�'`'hwell Touriaed p loudest vo�ces �,�,hat we can those voices as we are alUdoma ely, the City wants to be sure there is a d to a variety of situations in our community. room for those voices. ard to the oppo�unity to System that has the tools to respon onses and looks forw unit , which reciates the MaYor's resp � MS. Graham stated she app e is very open to all of the voices in our comm listen and participate. She stated sh -7- 05/24�21 was one of her concerns because she didn't see all of her neighbors there, her Latina or Hmong or Viemamese neighbors, and some of them have been impacted as well. She suggested we need to find ways to reach out to some of those members of our community who may not be as comfortable bringing their voices in public. Ms. Graham stated we have a very diverse neighborhood. She embraces that, wants to assure all are heard, and it is an inclusive discussion as we move forward so we can do what is best for our entire community. She stated she has lived in Brooklyn Center for a long time and plans to stay until they carry her out feet first so she wants to make it the place she knows it can be. Mayor Elliott again thanked Ms. Graham for her comments and agreed we need to make more of an effort to get our more diverse community at all of our public meetings, noting there were Spanish and Hmong interpreters present and an effort was made to reach out to those communities but nowhere where we need to be. He stated this is our greatest opportunity to bring the great diversity of our communities to the table on all of the important issues being addressed to shape the future of our City. Randy Christensen stated there were two different places to line up at the meeting and typically at meetings with controversial topics, you try to make sure it is fair to those for and those against so they line up in different lines. Then you can alternate for and against comments. He noted if all the people in support rush to get in line first and those at the back of the line are against it, they never get to speak if we run out of time. He explained this is one way to ensure there is a fair way for people who are for or against a particular item on the agenda to be able to get their voices heard. In the future, he would appreciate it if that could be a little more available to make sure those for or against have an opportunity to speak. Mayor Elliott stated that is an interesting idea that he will think about but his first reaction is that some people may have something they like and don't like about an item. No one else wished to address the City Council. Mayor Elliott thanked all who spoke this evening. He stated he thinks there is more the City should be doing as a result of the Listening Sessions and he hopes the City can tick through all the issues raised effectively so they can be addressed and something comes from these comments, but it is always an issue of capacity. Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Butler seconded to close the Informal Open Forum at 7:51 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. RECESS & RECONVENE Mayor Elliott recessed the meeting at 7:51 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 7:55 p.m. 2. INVOCATION OS/24/21 -8- Mayor Elliott agreed with the suggestion of Councilmember Ryan to skip the invocation since the meeting is starting one hour later than usual and Councilmember Graves is not present. 3. CALL TO ORDER REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Regular Session called to order by Mayor Mike Elliott at 8:00 p.m. 4. ROLL CALL Mayor Mike Elliott and Councilmembers Marquita Butler, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Councilmember April Graves was excused. Also present were Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards, Director of Public Works Doran Cote, Community Development Director Meg Beekman, City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. 5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Ryan moved and Mayor Elliott seconded to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda, and the following consent items were approved: 6a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. May 3, 2021 —Special Session 2. May 8, 2021 —Special Session 3. May 10, 2021 — Study Session 4. May 10, 2021 —Regular Session 6b. LICENSES HOSPITALITY ACCOMMODATIONS G6 Hospitality Property 2741 Freeway Blvd DBA Mote16 Brooklyn Center MN 55430 MECHANICAL LICENSES Forward Air, Inc. Ffm LLC 9449 Wright Bros Ct SW Cedar Rapids IA 52404 Hertz Mechanical Inc. 19561 Vernon St Elk River MN 55303 South-Town Refrigeration& Mechanical 6325 Welcome Ave N Brooklyn Park MN 55429 OS/24/21 -9- Street Plumbing Inc 11804 River Hills Dr#5. Burnsville MN 55430 Yale Mechanical 220 W 81 St St Bloomington MN 55420 RENTAL INITIAL (TYPE II—two year license) 5329 Penn Ave Dorothy Rouser 6325 Brooklyn Blvd Obafemi Oladeji/Koladex Venture 4201 Lakeside Ave #105 Cindy Bohler 4201 Lakeside Ave#116 Cindy Bohler 4207 Lakeside Ave #125 Don Stenberg 7000 Oliver Ave N Pascal Enohyaket 6925 Scott Ave N Hamdi Omar/United Providers RENEWAL (TYPE IV—six-month license) 3218 63`d Ave N My Truong/Madison Ave Homes LLC RENEWAL (TYPE III—one year license) 1300 67th Ave N Roger& Elizabeth Family Properties 6101 Beard Ave N B&M Wallman/BMW Holdings Beard Ave Apts c/o Halverson & Blaiser Group 5001 Ewing Ave N Mary Ann B Neil—met requirements 5301 Russell Ave N Midwest GIR Group—met requirements 3224 62°d Ave N Michael Mills 5112 70th Ave N IH3 Property Illinois 5415 Emerson Ave N M Silverstein/MNSF II—met requirements RENEWAL (TYPE II—two year license) 5400-02 Russell Ave N Tai Pham 5327-29 Queen Ave N Alvin Stachowski 509 61st Ave N Tim Daniel—met requirements 3207 67th Ave N Elijah Nyambane—met requirements 5214 Ewing Ave N My Trong & My Lam—met requirements 7143 France Ave N Yi Lin/CAML LLC 6418 Girard Ave N Genet Gashaw—met requirements 5618 Hillsview Rd Bobbie &Nita Morlock—met requirements 5818 Humboldt Ave N Jay Olson 6212 Kyle Ave N Kristine Rousseau—missing CFH certificate RENEWAL (TYPE I—three year license) 6642 Dupont Ave N Kevin Motarjemi 7218 Grimes Ave N Shawn& Djuana Banks 4201 Lakeside Ave #316 Maria Moldenhauer 7030 Regent Ave N Dougal Allen Wahl/Rifive Inc OS/24/21 -10- SIGNHANGER'S LICENSES Topline Advertising 11775 Justen Cir Ste A Maple Grove MN 55369 6c. RESOLUTION NO. 2021-74 AUTHORIZING PROPOSED USE OF AUTO THEFT PREVENTION GRANT Motion passed unanimously. 7. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS/DONATIONS 7a. OPPORTUNITY SITE PRESENTATION SERIES: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards introduced the item and invited Ms. Beekman to make the staff presentation, noting this is an informational item and action is not requested tonight. Community Development Director Meg Beekman explained the purpose of this presentation series is to provide regular updates for City Council on particular topics related to the Opportunity Site that can be recorded and posted to the website. Ms. Beekman noted there has been a bit of a pause and the last presentation was specifically an overview of the process, decision points, and milestones for the Opportunity Site, the master plan as well as the Alatus project for Pride in Living (PPL), and the Resurrected World Faith Ministries project that is a partnership formed to work on the initial development. At that meeting, the City Council had specific questions about the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) process that Alatus and PPL have initiated as part of their project directive. For this presentation, staff has asked Daniel DeJoone, from Braun Intertec, to provide an overview of the environmental assessment process, as well as how it is specifically being applied to the Alatus/PPL development project. Braun Intertec is an environmental engineering firm that routinely conducts environmental assessments for both public and private projects. They have been engaged by Alatus to be the consultant that conducts the environmental assessment for their Brooklyn Center project, which is underway. The environmental review process includes a public comment period as part of the statutory requirements. Mr. DeJoone will speak to the public engagement requirements as well as what is being planned for this project as it relates to the environmental review. Daniel DeJoone, Braun Intertec, introduced himself and described his background. He provided a PowerPoint presentation describing the general process of the EAW, which is a State process from the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act requiring EAWs and Environmental Impact Statements(EIS)based on certain criteria. The Minnesota Environmental Policy Act(Act)is about 50 years old and the obvious objective is to assess the possible environmental impacts of a proposed project. There are other objectives, one of which is to provide the public access to the decision-makers. The public has an opportunity to provide input on a project and the process allows public awareness of a project and gives opportunity to provide opinions and accountability for the decision-makers and delegates authority to a local community so it is not a State- or centralize-driven process. The authority comes from a State statute with the decision made by a OS/24/21 -11- local government body called a Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU). Mr. DeJoone stated the Act is defined in Minnesota statutes and codified in Minnesota rules and is overseen by the Environmental Quality Board(EQB)who defines and publishes the process but does not make the decision at the end. He noted the Act defines thresholds for activities so multiple housing unit projects of a certain size will either require an EAW or an EIS or maybe it's small enough that it does not require any sort of formal review under this Act. Mr. DeJoone presented the three types of environmental review, the EAW to provide a brief discussion of topics to determine if an EIS is required. The EIS is a more involved study to look at potential environmental impacts. The third review is unique to Minnesota and is called an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) which is a hybrid between the EAW and EIS. It is a powerful planning tool to evaluate potential environmental impacts but also used for larger areas that encompass more than a single development or project. It is used in urban development/redevelopment as a planning tool to look at different scenarios. This process can be completed once for a region/area so each project does not require individual environmental review. Mr. DeJoone provided more detail on the EAW, which is the approach to be used for the proposed Alatus/PPL development project. He explained the EAW lays out the basic facts of the project and the result is to determine if an EIS is needed. The EAW provides permanent information including informing the public about the project, identifies ways to protect the environment, and addresses potential impacts and ways to lessen or mitigate those impacts. The EQB website defines the EAW process. Mr. DeJoone reviewed the topics addressed in the EAW, noting they are predefined and included in an EQB template. He explained that accumulative effects refer to potential effects of the project in conjunction with other projects/activities occurring around it. Mr. DeJoone stated the environmental review thresholds for an EAW have 20 different categories. He provided an example using a metropolitan area city with a population between 20,000-100,000 and advised of the resulting threshold for a mandatory EIS commercial institutional development, housing, and mixed-use like the Alatus proposal. He explained the EIS is a more detailed evaluation of potential environmental impacts and identifies ways to avoid impacts, alternatives, and methods for reducing impacts. It is an interdisciplinary approach that includes natural, environmental, and social sciences and is not meant to approve or deny a project but instead act as a source of information to guide approval and permitting decisions. He described each step in the EIS process, noting it includes published notice and a mandatory 30-day public comment period. Following the public comment period,the RGU has 15-30 days to make a decision but may request more information and extend the decision period, if needed. The point of the decision is not to issue a permit or approval, it is to determine the need for an EIS. There may be public comments and they may ask the developer to modify certain things to address comments/concerns about potential environmental impacts. Typically,this is the end of the process and the RGU determines that an EIS is not needed. If the RGU feels like more information is needed, then they would determine that an EIS is needed and that would kick off another process taking many more months. Mr. DeJoone explained that once the RGU decides on whether an EIS is needed, the RGU writes findings of fact and provides a written response to substantive comments, and within five working days of the decision, a Record of Decision is issued. In the Record of Decision, the RGU may ask for certain conditions to be met to modify the project or lessen the impact impacts and those things OS/24/21 -12- can be written in City permits/approvals that come later. He restated that the EAW process does not have a formal permit issuance, it has a Record of Decision made at the end. Mr. DeJoone stated the Opportunity Site and Alatus project proposes a mixed-use development on Blocks 1 l, 12, and 13. They drafted an EAW and are looking potentially at moving forward with a public notice in the next month or so and then a 30-day public comment period. If the City wishes to have an open house or public meeting, it is within their discretion to do that. He stated once the 30-day public comment ends, shortly after, a decision would be made as to the need for an EIS. Mr. DeJoone stated the AUAR might be available for the larger Opportunity Site in the future to include potential options or different development scenarios that look at the larger area and prevents the need for individual blocks to go through the EAW process. Mr. DeJoone provided his contact information and offered to hear comments and answer questions. Mayor Elliott thanked Mr. DeJoone, noting this is a lot of information. He asked whether Mr. DeJoone has already completed an EAW. Mr. DeJoone stated they have drafted the EAW on behalf of Alatus so they have that draft in their possession and if Alatus is comfortable and approves it, the EAW will go to City for staff review before going out for public comments. Mayor Elliott asked if the EAW was paid for by Alatus and will determine whether an EIS is needed. Mr. DeJoone answered in the affirmative. Mayor Elliott asked what is the determination based on that. Mr. DeJoone stated the determination is based on whether there are significant environmental impacts that are not addressed or need additional study/mitigation. Mayor Elliott asked if that determination is made by the EAW preparer or the City Council. Mr. DeJoone stated it will be the determination of the City Council and when it goes out for public notice, it will go to the Pollution Control Agency (PCA), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Metropolitan Council, and Hennepin County. He noted a lot of public resources agencies have an opportunity to comment on it so the City does not have to rely on Alatus or Braun Intertec. Rather, the City gets input from technical experts at resource agencies and the public with varying levels of technology. The EAW template lays out the questions and topics they respond to and explains how they think the project would have environmental impacts or not. He explained it is the combination of that process that the City then determines whether or not an EIS is needed. Mayor Elliott asked if it is typical for the developer to hire someone like Braun Intertec to do this work. Mr. DeJoone confirmed that is the customary approach. Councilmember Ryan noted this requires no formal action. Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson seconded to receive the report. Motion passed unanimously. Mayor Elliott stated the folks at the table originally, the committee on the Opportunity Site, were adamant that an EIS was needed so he is looking forward to having the public process where they can engage with the public and other governmental agencies. OS/24/21 -13- 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8a. ORDINANCE NO. 2021-01 AMENDING CHAPTERS 7 AND 19 OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCE REGARDING WASTE AND ORGANICS RECYCLING BY HAULERS Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards introduced the item and stated the City Council is asked to hold the second public hearing on this matter, adopt the ordinance on second reading, and adopt a resolution for summary publication. He invited Mr. Cote to make the staff presentation. Director of Public Works Doran Cote explained that this item is the second reading of an ordinance amending Chapters 7, Health Garbage and Sanitation, and 19, Public Nuisances and Petty Offenses, of the City Code of Ordinances regarding waste and organics recycling by haulers. He noted Hennepin County Ordinance 13, adopted in late 1998, requires all cities to provide the opportunity to participate in curbside collection of organic material by either contracting for City- wide collection or require haulers to provide that service upon request of a resident or household. Mr. Cotes stated Article 1 of the amendment has been amended to add definitions for bulky waste, compost, source-separated compostable materials, trash, and waste, walk-up collection service, and waste hauler license, noting each definition is detailed in the staff report. Article 2 of the amendment includes Subdivision 1, The hauler shall replace, at its expense, damaged waste containers; and, Subdivision 6, yard wastes must be placed in a yard waste collection cart or compostable bags that are separate from other waste. Mr. Cotes stated in Article 3, new subdivisions were added with the most notable being Subdivision 2 that now requires license applicants to include organics for recycling or yard waste far individuals to make special arrangements for that collection. In Subdivision 5, the vehicle specifications were updated to be more in tune with what the City expects the condition of collection vehicles to be in. In Subdivision 12, a provision was added that the collector must take the yard waste to a disposal site or transfer site licensed by the State of Minnesota to manage yard waste. Subdivision 13 addresses source-separated compostable materials and requires they collect and transport to a licensed and permitted facility designed to manage source-separated organics. He noted that some provisions were removed that are no longer applicable, such as the open burning of waste which is now prohibited. In Article IX, Chapter 19, the definition of garbage was refined. Mr. Cotes stated that concludes his presentation and offered to answer questions. Councilmember Ryan stated his understanding that should these ordinance amendments pass, it is a mandatory requirement to recycle solid recyclables but the participation and recycling of organics are optionaL Mr. Cote stated that is correct and if approved, the ordinance will go into effect June 23, 2021. Councilmember Ryan asked if the thrust of this policy change, at both the State and County levels, isn't the motivation to reduce the demand on landfill volume. Mr. Cotes stated that is correct. OS/24/21 -14- Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked if there is a fee affiliated for people who choose to opt- out. Mr. Cotes stated the fee would be borne by the property owner who chooses to have organics collection through their hauler. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated she composts at her home so she would not want to pay to have her compost hauled away, noting others within the City would feel the same. She originally thought you had to pay regardless if you chose to have organics taken away or you compost at home so she appreciates that. Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Butler seconded to open the Public Hearing. Motion passed unanimously. Randy Christiansen referenced Article 2, Subdivision 1, and asked for background or the purpose to require the hauler to pay for the containers because that type of blanket statement restricts or � disadvantages a start-up hauler or smaller haulers. Mr. Cote explained this provision was added for the hauler to replace, at its expense, damaged waste containers because typically, it is not the property owner that is damaging the waste container. Oftentimes, it is the hauler that is damaging the waste container when loading the waste. That is the reason this provision was included, noting it is also a requirement for all Hennepin Recycling Group cities who have included it in their proposed ordinance amendments. Mr. Christiansen stated he understands and if it only applies to the recycling bin,that is appropriate and he understands that sometimes the hauling company damages the container. But in instances where that is not the case, this language disadvantages smaller haulers to do the proper good thing for their clients and decide whether to replace the container at their cost or charge them. He stated this blanket statement requiring the hauler to replace it, regardless, seems to go against choice on that matter. Mr. Christiansen thanked staff for the answer and agreed it made sense that the larger haulers would like that. No one else appeared to address this item. Mayor Elliott moved and Councilmember Ryan seconded to close the Public Hearing. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Butler seconded to approve the second reading and adopt ORDINANCE NO. 2021-01 Amending Chapters 7 and 19 of the City Code of Ordinance Regarding Waste and Organics Recycling by Haulers. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Butler seconded to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 2021-75 Approving summary publication of the Ordinance. Motion passed unanimously. OS/24/21 -15- 9. PLANNING COMMISSION ITEMS None. 10. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ITEMS None. 11. COUNCIL REPORT None. 12. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Butler seconded adjournment of the City Council meeting at 8:39 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. STATE OF MINNESOTA) COLTNTY 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 Regular Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on May 24, 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 June 14, 2021, Regular Session. � �� ;� City Clerk Mayor OS/24/21 -16-