Workshop meetings are informal discussion style meetings that are open to the public. No official city business is conducted; therefore official minutes are not kept. The summary below is provided for informational purposes only. It has been generated from notes for the Woodbury Council Report cable show (as seen on SWC-TV Channel 16) and is not a comprehensive report of workshop discussions and events. For more information about any agenda item, contact the Administration Department at (651) 714-3523 or by e-mail at woodbury@ci.woodbury.mn.us.
This report is a summary of the May 20 Council workshop meeting.
For many years, the city has had a policy of allowing senior citizens and disabled persons to defer assessments for public improvement projects. The most recent revision to that policy was adopted in 1996. It replaced a fixed dollar definition of an eligible home with a variable number based on the Metropolitan Council's definition of an affordable house. This allows the limit to increase over time.
Recently, a senior citizen couple approached Council Member Hurst and city staff regarding the deferral policy. The couple would have been eligible for deferring an assessment, based on their home value in 2002. Because of the increase in their home's value this year, however, they are no longer eligible. Their situation illustrates a potential problem with using the Metropolitan Council's affordable house as the measure.
The Metropolitan Council definition is based on income; that is, an affordable house is defined as one affordable to a family earning 80 percent of the median income and paying no more than 30 percent of their income for housing.
In recent years, home values have risen much more than income, so fewer citizens will have a home value that qualifies for the deferral. A home that has been owned for many years may be a substantial asset, but the homeowner's income may not be adequate to afford the additional cost of a proposed assessment.
The Council discussed options for addressing this at the workshop. There was general agreement that the policy should be amended. Discussion focused on a different alternative for the home value, relating it either to the average home value in Woodbury or the average home value in the metro area.
There was a stronger sentiment favoring the Woodbury average and making the eligibility standard a percentage of that.
Staff will do more research and bring back an amended policy for Council approval.
The change would be enacted in time to apply to the assessments for the Park Hills street major maintenance project.
Each year, staff reviews golf course operations with the City Council. At the May workshop, operations and financial results for 2002 were discussed.
Eagle Valley Golf Course opened for the 2002 season on April 12 and closed November 12. The course was open for play 213 days; however, 56 days were fully or partially affected by bad weather. This reduced the full days of play to 157. The number is lower than the 179 full days for 2001, and the 183 in 2000. Total rounds played in 2002 were 33,893.
This volume was below the forecasted number of 39,000 rounds in the original business plan for the course. Weather was the most significant factor.
On the plus side, group lessons had good participation and the leagues were at full capacity. A number of improvements in landscaping, including 50 additional spruce trees, were made in 2002.
In terms of revenues, the golf course is meeting all its financial obligations in terms of operations and debt service. However, there were budgeted equipment purchases and course improvements that were delayed.
For the 2003 season, the senior club is being expanded. In addition, policies for group reservations have been adjusted to allow groups of eight to 40 players to make reservations for off-peak times at any time with advance payment. A new twilight program has been introduced to increase use during off-peak times.
The golf course manager said the new programs are already having a favorable impact in 2003.
Council members asked for a comparison of current revenues to the original business plan prepared for the golf course. The golf course manager will provide additional data; he noted that the course is doing better than the original plan, however.
In addition to golf course operations, the City Council also reviews the Bielenberg Sports Center revenues and operations each year. At the workshop, the sports center manager recapped 2002 financial results and operations.
Bielenberg Sports Center was open for business with the west ice sheet for 11 months, and the east ice sheet for six and a half months. The field house was open the entire year; however, there is little business from June through August.
While the sports center is designed to serve Woodbury groups, it also relies on supplemental use from others outside the community in order to be self-supporting. In 2002, ice hours sold totaled 3,554, which represents a slight increase from 2001. Field hours sold totaled 633, a slight reduction from 2001. Open programs saw a slight dip, mostly due to the number of Woodbury Hockey Club tournaments on weekends.
In terms of revenues, the 2002 operating results indicate a net income of $86,048. The results are slightly better than projected. The center is covering its operating expenses and also the debt service on the expansion that was built a few years ago. Revenues also are helping to re-establish a positive balance in the equipment reserve fund and to provide a cash flow reserve.
Turf replacement affected the overall budget for the sports center. In the original equipment replacement plan, the turf was to be replaced in 2004; however, there were problems requiring its replacement in 2000.
In 2003, staff has begun working on various ways to improve services and programs and ways to drive enough revenue to keep rental rates in line with the market.
At the workshop, there was discussion about energy improvements at Bielenberg. Xcel Energy did a study of energy usage and improvements that could add efficiency.
However, the improvements require some expenditures. The Council would like to find the funding since the improvements will lead to long-term savings.
As part of the budget process for 2004, staff will look at ways to fund energy improvements at Bielenberg Sports Center and other city buildings.
At the April 9 meeting, the City Council considered a proposed policy allowing for design of public improvements by engineering firms employed by the project developer. Along with that policy, the Council considered two requests - from Dancing Waters and Stonemill Farms - for private design of the utility and street improvements needed for the two developments. The Council approved these requests, but placed the policy on the workshop agenda for further discussion.
This issue of private design was raised by several developers who believe they can have better control and lower costs if they can do the improvements themselves. The city has allowed private design of street and utility improvements in the past with Wedgewood and Eagle Valley. However, the city's general policy has been that improvements must be designed by one of the city's engineering consultants.
Staff is recommending a change in policy that would allow developers meeting certain conditions to do private design. Staff surveyed other communities regarding this issue and found there is no standard practice. Some follow Woodbury's original approach of allowing no private design, and some do improvements only through private design.
Under the proposal presented to the Council, inspection of the improvements would still be done by the city's consultants to assure that city standards are met. Our engineers also would review the plans prior to their being accepted.
The policy recognizes that one of the primary motivations for developers to request private design is lower cost. Staff believes that some of the savings should be passed on to create more affordable housing and help the city meet its goals in this area. As a result, the proposed policy links approval to do private design to meeting requirements for affordable housing.
In addition, the city wants to restrict private design somewhat. The original draft policy set 40 acres as a minimum size for private design of public improvements. This was intended to limit the number of projects and engineering firms with which the city's engineering division must deal and increase the likelihood that projects will only be done by firms with sufficient capacity to meet city requirements.
At the workshop, the Council discussed raising the minimum to 120 acres. The policy will be revised in accordance with the Council's discussion and placed on a meeting agenda for approval. Council also requested that the staff report back on how things go with Dancing Waters and Stonemill Farms doing private design of the improvements for their developments.
Detailed information on agenda items is available on the May 20, 2003 City Council Workshop Agenda.