I’ve kind of given up on how to appropriately name these posts.  So you get what you get.  Anyway, here’s what we’ve been up to since the last update.

LRT Pedestrian Bridge

Unceremoniously killed by the Met Council and Hennepin County. Read more about it here.  We did meet with Congressman Keith Ellison who pledged his support to try to resolve this favorably for us. The project will be built with about a billion dollars in Federal cash, so hoping we have some leverage here. He already sent a letter on our behalf. More to come.

Temporary Health Care Dwellings

We opted out, as I described here. Now on to developing a replacement ordinance.

Quiet Zones

Installing the necessary road upgrades so we could get quiet zones so trains would not routinely sound their horns when crossing Douglas or West Broadway.  This is still on the radar and progressing through the labyrinth of bureaucracies that have to approve of such a thing.

Crystal Frolics!

Was great this year.  I hear the fireworks were great. I was probably in bed. 10:00pm is way past this guy’s bedtime. I was in the dunk tank along with Mayor Adams, Councilmember Parsons, and a few city commissioners. We raised about $400 for local food shelves.

Who Likes Big Trucks? Everyone. 

Well this is fun. A local resident (that I happen to be married to) and mother of a truck-obsessed toddler contacted the public works department to see if they had ever considered renting out one of the rooms at the public works garage for kids’ birthday parties- including a tour of the building as part of the party. That proved too difficult to work out from a logistical and risk management standpoint, but the public works staff did come up with a neat concept where a truck could stop by and visit the kid’s house during the party, and public works would supply some fun props for photos. The resident would pay a fee to cover the staff time, etc. Community outreach + happy kids = win/win. We were the guinea pigs for the process, and worked out a few kinks, but based on the overall success I’d expect to see a public works party package available to Crystal residents soon. I offered that we could rent out council members for parties too, but was politely told that “council member in a late model Jeep Cherokee” didn’t have the same draw as “real life construction guy in a big truck”.

Budgets

The city budget process is underway, and things look ugly this year.  We’re looking at sizable increases or drastic cuts. I’d like to sugarcoat it, but I can’t.  Stay tuned.  The preliminary levy gets passed in September. After that we can lower it but can’t raise it.

Links and Info

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

As always, a lot going on in our city.  Here are the highlights of the meetings that happened in May and early June 2016.

Recognizing Officer Gabe Storz – Officer Storz was recognized for saving the life of a 2-week-old baby.  The baby was choking and stopped breathing.  Storz responded to the call and was able to get the baby breathing again.  Baby Eleanor was about 7 weeks old at the meeting.  Listening to the 911 call of the panicked mother was chilling.  I’m not ashamed to admit some sawdust flew into my eye and I needed a few moments to get myself back together.  Mama and baby and the hero pictured above.

Recognizing Officer Caleb Selin – Officer Selin was recognized for being the MADD Rookie Officer of the Year, and for his lifesaving actions at a house fire.  Selin ran toward the flames to save a life. These guys are amazing.

Annual Audit/Financial Report – Each year the city’s financials are audited by an outside auditing firm. Crystal once again received an “unmodified opinion” on our annual financial audit, which is a name only an accountant could dream up, but is the best opinion you can get.

Welcome to Beacon Academy – Beacon Academy is a public charter school that will be relocating from Maple Grove to Crystal.  The school will be taking over the building currently occupied by a church and school at 34th and Nevada.  The council approved a conditional use permit and site plan for the school’s plans to expand the building. They have a lot of work to do before school starts.

Long Grass – The council approved an amendment to the wording of our code pertaining to long grass.  Somebody read it and interpreted it to mean they only had to mow a majority (51%) of their lawn.  So, we clarified you actually have to mow the whole thing.  Sorry, Mr. Clever Guy.

Open Book (Property Valuation Appeals) – There are two options for cities on how to handle appeals to property valuations- they can either have a Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (how Crystal currently does it) or they can use the Open Book process (how Crystal will do it going forward).  Many residents find the formality of going before the board intimidating.  The Open Book process allows residents who wish to appeal their valuation to work directly with the county assessors, on a more flexible timeline that meets their needs.  The residents do not give up any opportunity to appeal by using this process.  Many of our neighboring cities have adopted the Open Book process and it has worked well for them.

Blue Line Update – The Blue Line Project Office began discussions with the neighborhood north of Bass Lake Road that will be impacted by the removal of trees and relocation of the tracks as part of the Blue Line project.  The goal is to secure visual screening that will help mitigate the impact of the new project.  The council doesn’t really have a say in this process, but we are advocating for our residents on this piece, to make sure the final solution is workable for everyone.  Negotiations continue on the pedestrian bridge at Bass Lake and West Broadway.  We are going on a tour of bridges in a few weeks so that we can get some ideas for what will be workable for our bridge.  The county wants to rush some improvements to the at-grade crossings at that intersection. The council (generally) would prefer to put the brakes on and make sure we have a good solution rather than a fast solution. There is also concern about someone using the new at-grade improvements as an excuse for not needing a bridge, so I’m keeping my eye on that closely.

Open Meeting Laws – The council received our annual training on Open Meeting Laws.  There’s a lot of detail and nuance to this issue, but the bottom line is that the public’s business should be conducted in public, and that attempts to get “creative” with workarounds (as happens in other cities- not Crystal) are not a good thing.

Railroad Quiet Zones – The city is in the early stages of working through the red tape required to pursue Railroad “Quiet Zones” at the Douglas and West Broadway crossings of the CP rail line.  The feds think our plans are OK, but the county objected to them.  I would have figured the other way around, but you really can’t predict or control a bureaucracy that’s this convoluted, I guess.  Work continues to get the county to get their act together.  I’d like trains to blow their horns less.  How about you?

We’re about to head into the summer months, which means we theoretically meet a little bit less.  Only one formal council meeting currently scheduled for July and August.  That is, as always, subject to change.

Links and Info

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

I’ll just skip the part where I make excuses for why I haven’t written lately and just get on with the update for March.

The city council typically has two meetings per month, but we had to move our first meeting in March due to precinct caucuses (state law doesn’t allow council meetings on caucus night) so we had meetings on February 29 and March 15.

Council Meeting Highlights

Appearances – Police Chief Revering gave an award to a mother and son (Jennifer Auger and Cameron Auger-Pippi) who called the police on some suspicious activity and ended up preventing a domestic violence situation.

Commissions – We appointed a bunch of commissioners to city commissions as part of the annual reappointment process.  Work continues on refining the process for recruiting, selecting and appointing commissioners to ensure maximum success.

Donations – The city made donations to the NEAR and PRISIM food shelves. The money used to make the donations was raised by Crystal council members and commissioners who volunteered to bag groceries at Cub Foods in 2015.

Light Rail – This topic has been talked about quite a bit. We passed a resolution that did not affirm or deny municipal consent for the Blue Line Extension.  Read more here.

Public Works Equipment and Projects – We approved a number of new items for public works, including a new sewer camera system, a box plow attachment, and a some new sewer pumps (yay!).  All of these were items that were in the budget for the year.  We also approved this year’s sewer relining project and the next steps in this year’s street and alley reconstruction projects.

One exciting thing we did this year is purchased some equipment and shared the cost with Robbinsdale. This will help both cities save cost while giving us both access to equipment we need.  This was a great, creative solution brought forth by our public works department.

Work Session Highlights

Police Annual Report – We reviewed the PD’s annual report, which is now online for you to review as well.

Local Board of Appeal and Equalization – We reviewed the local board of appeal and equalization, which is a fancy way of saying we talked with the assessors from the county to refresh ourselves on the process for appealing tax valuations.  Much more on this to come.

36th and Regent Study – A few years ago, the council looked at options for “enhancing” (or some may say “correcting”) the traffic situation at 36th and Regent.  One option that was proposed was a mini-roundabout.  The council didn’t take that option off the table, but we also didn’t love it.  I’ll be door-knocking that neighborhood with a proposed drawing to see how residents in the area feel about the idea.

Street Maintenance Fund – We are currently in phase 15 of a 16 phase project to reconstruct every street in Crystal.  Once that ends, we will enter a maintenance mode, to ensure that we maintain the roads we rebuilt.  The council had the first of what will be many conversations about how to approach maintenance going forward, with an eye toward eliminating special assessments for maintenance.

In the Community

There were quite a few charity bowling tournaments in the past few weeks- The Light of Crystal, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, and bowling for Rocco the police K9.  I bought a bowling ball.  The picture is from the Rocco event.

On March 19, the Crystal Council joined West Metro Fire and bagged groceries for tips during the Firefighters Fighting Hunger drive. Pictures here.

Links and Info

While my blog posting has been light, I’ve been getting better at Facebook, so you can keep up with me there, if you are so inclined.

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

Well, here we are again.  I’m behind on my updates and staring at a daunting pile of paperwork to recap.  I’m not kidding.

This is the pile of paperwork I have gathered since last time I wrote an update, just a few weeks ago.

People sometimes ask me if this job is what I expected, or what the biggest surprise was after getting elected – and I often point to the volume of paper that you get.  There’s just so much of it.  And 95% of it is must-read.  It’s rare that you get something you can just skip over.  Not complaining, just surprised.

Anyway, enough about my paper piles.  I will continue to play with the format of these updates, including the frequency and the content.  I’m sure that I’ll get the perfect system nailed down right about the time it’s time for me to hand off the (figurative) Ward 2 keys off to the next Ward 2 rep.

That is figurative, by the way.  Much to the disappointment of a friend’s kid who asked, I did not get a key to every lock in the city when I was elected.

On to the Update…

Budgets

The big thing that happened over the last few weeks was the final vote on the city’s 2016 budget and tax levy, which happened on December 1.

There are several levies that make up your total tax bill.  The total property tax levy went up by just a hair under 3% (2.99%) over 2015, to around $9.6 million.  The total city budget is higher, because the city gets revenue from other places (like LGA, permit fees, etc.), but revenue from property taxes account for the largest percentage of the budget.

How the levy increase will affect you is another story.  I’ve been (slowly) working on a presentation that explains how property taxes work, as much for my own benefit as for the benefit of others.  But suffice it to say, it’s complicated.  You may see a larger increase than 3%, or your taxes may not change, or may even decrease.  I know that’s an unsatisfying answer, but this is the type of explanation that lends itself more to graphs and charts, not words, so I’ll get that presentation worked out and post it when I do.

We’re working on changes to the budgeting process that will, in my opinion, make it easier to track where the money goes, and crucially, to help us identify funding needs for long term capital planning.  So if you’re the type of person who pays close attention to the city budget, you’ll see some accounting changes coming up.  If you’re not the type of person who pays close attention to the city budget, just know we’re focused on making sure we’re responsible with your money.

Utility Rates

Along with the tax levy, we approved the utility rates for 2016.  Water rates, as I’m sure you remember, were increased in the middle of 2015 by $1.00 per 1000 gallons of water (or 1/10 of one cent per gallon) help pay for the water main break repairs (which are now complete, but not paid for).

The other portion of your utility bill, which includes charges for storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and street lights, saw modest increases.  The largest increase was in sanitary sewer rates which went up by $2.50 per quarter, or $10 per year.  This was due to large increases from the Met Council, who charges cities for sewage treatment. Expect these costs to continue to rise, as the Met Council has already announced fairly significant rate increases for the next few years.

Code Review Task Force

The city’s code review task force continues its task of reviewing our city code line by line looking for revisions.  The first batch of changes recommended by the task force will be voted on at the council meeting on December 15 (tonight).  Most of the first round of changes are bookkeeping type changes that either strike unnecessary parts of the code or make the code easier to read.

Important but not glamorous work.

Coming Up – Blue Line Municipal Consent

The first part of 2016 looks to be heavily focused on the so-called “Municipal Consent” process for the Blue Line/Bottineau/Whatever-they-are-calling-it-today Light Rail.  There will be several opportunities for Crystal residents to let the council know your thoughts on the plans, as they exist now, for the LRT that would go through Crystal.

As with everything government related, this is a byzantine process that doesn’t exactly mean what you would think it would mean based on the name.  When I have more details about how and when you can share your feedback, I will let you know.

Coming Up – Station Area Planning

Along with the LRT project process, there is a parallel but mostly unconnected process related to Station Area Planning (see what I was saying about byzantine?).  For this one, Hennepin County hired some consultants to work with the city on developing a plan for the land around the proposed station.

A group of citizens met a few weeks ago at the library to give feedback on the plan.

Because we happen to have a park right next to the station, a lot of focus is on Becker Park, and you may have seen some options for the park in the newspaper.  Just know that everything is really preliminary right now.  There’s a lot left to do, including answering the all important question of who would pay for this stuff.

The consultants will be back in January to present the full plan they came up with (based on our feedback) and then they will leave and we (Crystal) will have to figure out what we’re going to do (if anything) from a zoning and planning standpoint because of LRT.

This is the first chapter in what will be a very long process.

Coming Up – Long Range Planning

The council is going to continue to work on long range planning.  We had our first meeting about long term goals, and the focus of 2016 will be on getting the fiscal house in order so we can properly plan for future needs.

The council is also looking into whether Crystal can (and if so, should) become debt free.  Believe it or not there are cities out there that don’t use debt, and actually have a cash reserve set aside for emergencies.  Whether or not this is possible for Crystal, and what it would take to get there, are questions that need to be answered.  I look forward to digging into it.

 

Links and Info

The next council meeting is in about 2 hours.

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

 

Photo:  The Crystal Crime Prevention Board presents a check for the proceeds of the first annual Run for ROCCO.  I had other photos from this night but I wanted to use the one that had my lovely wife (the lady in blue that’s not the police officer) in it.  Erin is on the Crime Prevention Board.  Pat Bedell is the board president and is in the middle holding the check.

Well I’m a bit behind schedule… I missed an update so I have a lot of ground to cover.  Therefore I’ll be sticking to the highlights of the highlights.

In addition, I want to point out that the City is now putting out a summary of council meetings after each meeting.  Here’s a recent example.  So if you’re looking for a high level overview of what we covered, you can find those on the City’s Facebook Page.  This is an initiative of our new Communications Director, who has been doing a great job with our social media channels and city events.

This recap covers the Charter Commission Meeting on September 17, Work Sessions on October 1, 6, 8, and 20, Council Meetings on October 6 and 20, and West Metro Fire Board Meeting on October 14.

Work Session Highlights

• Code Review Task Force Report – The council received our first report from the Code Review Task Force, covering the changes they are suggesting for the first few chapters of the city code.  The task force had a number of recommendations for how to restructure the code to make it more usable, as well as some changes to ordinances found in the first few chapters.  The council now has to take up and discuss the proposed changes. We will be tackling changes to content as the task force goes forward, and we’ll implement all the structural changes at the end of the review.
• Advisory Commissions – The council has been discussing changes to our advisory commissions and have decided upon a strategy for next year.  All the commissions will remain, but we’ll be making some structural changes to the city code to allow for future flexibility in adding or changing commissions to meet changing needs.  Probably the biggest change is to move to an annual process for recruiting and interviewing commission members instead of the piecemeal process we currently have.
• Capital Improvement Funds – The council discussed a different approach to accounting around capital improvements in the city. This will lead to a more transparent and easier to understand budget by breaking out operations (payroll, insurance, office supplies) from capital improvements (new trucks, water pipes, etc.)  We also continued the discussion on how to move toward paying for street maintenance through the levy instead of street assessments.
• Bassett Creek Trail – We received an update on the Bassett Creek Trail that Three Rivers Parks is constructing in Crystal and New Hope.  We are seeking more input from affected residents so we can minimize any negative impacts from the trail.
• Quiet Zones – The council approved a plan from city staff to hire an engineering firm to study the feasibility of implementing Quiet Zones for train crossings in Crystal.  This would mean that freight trains coming through Crystal would no longer blow their horns at crossings.  The study is the first phase in what will be a long process, and will help us get an accurate cost estimate for what it would take to complete this work.

Council Meeting Highlights

• Police Department – The mayor swore in two new officers, and Chief Revering presented a number of commendations and medals to members of the PD for their work in the Barway Collins Case. The Patrol Division officers who earned commendations are pictured above.  Chief Revering also won an award for her work in the case.
  
• Street and Alley Reconstruction – We took a number of actions related to Phase 14 and 15 street and alley reconstruction projects.
• Budget – We held an extra public hearing beyond what is required by law to solicit feedback on the proposed budget.  The budget process will continue through the end of the year.
• Tobacco Violations – We set a civil penalty for Liquor Barrel Wine and Spirits, who recently sold tobacco to a minor.  After discussion the council settled on a one day suspension of their tobacco license, and a $100 fine.  This is less than the maximum allowed under ordinance, but an appropriate penalty based on the facts of the case.
• New Businesses – We approved a Commercial Kennel License for Pet Supplies Plus, a new pet shop opening at the Crystal Shopping Center, and a conditional use permit for a new business that’s opening in the old Thriftway building.  That will be a hardware store, a deli with a drive through, and a thrift store.  I’m very excited to welcome all of these new businesses to Crystal!

Charter Commission Meeting

The Charter Commission continues to look into Ranked Choice Voting, a confusing and expensive alternative to the way we vote now.  Action on RCV by the Charter Commission has been officially delayed until after the 2016 elections, but the commission continues to discuss the topic.

I continue to oppose this method of voting, which has been shown to disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters.

West Metro Fire Board Highlights

I serve as Crystal’s council representative on the West Metro Fire Board.

This month we continued our strategic planning, with a focus on what the structure of the District should look like in the future, discussed options for how to deal with our aging Aerial Lift, and discussed then deferred action on proposed updates to the District’s grievance process.  I asked for a continuance in the grievance process so I had an opportunity to more fully study the issue and get feedback from the firefighters who would be using it.

In The Community

• Barnyard Boogie – I checked out the Barnyard Boogie with my Toddler.  It’s an event at the Community Center that includes a dance and a petting zoo, and it’s awesome.  Next year, find a kid and check it out.
• Halloween at Crystal Shopping Center – Another dance event for kids (sensing a theme yet?), this one included a costume contest and Trick-or-Treating at stores in the mall.  My little lion had a good time.

In the Community – Upcoming Events

• Halloween At the Fire Station – The West Metro Fire-Rescue District is hosting their first annual Halloween event this year. They will have firefighters in costume at all 3 fire stations, so bring your little ghosts and goblins (and Frozen Princesses and Snowmen) to the nearest fire station and check out the fire trucks! Crews will also be out on the streets handing out glow sticks and glow in the dark fire hats to help keep the little ones safe and visible. More here.
• Light of Crystal Halfway Happy Hour – At the Crystal VFW in November.

The next council meeting is November 3.

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

This recap covers the Council Work Sessions on August 20, September 1, September 10, and September 16; the Council Meetings on September 1 and September 16; the EDA meetings on September 1 and 16; and the City Code Review Task Force meeting on August 27.

Work Session Highlights

Work sessions in August and September were relatively light on content as the focus was really on the budget process.

• Phase 15 Street Reconstruction – We did talk in depth about the Phase 15 street reconstruction process.  As a reminder, the city is in Phase 15 of 16 phases to completely rebuild all of the streets in the city.  The affected area for Phase 15 is around Twin Oaks Park in the north part of the city. There are a number of steps to these projects, and we are at the part where we are reviewing the feasibility report, which explains the project in detail.  Residents impacted by the construction (and the assessments that come with it) will have several opportunities to provide feedback to the council, and will receive direct communication about the process.

The Budget

On September 1 we voted to set the preliminary budget for the city for 2016.  We set a number in September, and then we can’t raise the amount higher than that, but we can lower it.  The final number is set in December.

The preliminary budget for 2016 was set at just over $13 million, of which about $9.5 million will come from property taxes. This is a 3% increase (or roughly $300,000) over 2015.

The preliminary budget we adopted keeps city services level to where they have been while providing for some basic increased budget pressures (like wages and health insurance).

I hope to be able to provide some more details about the budget soon, in an easy to understand format.

I don’t anticipate the bottom line number will change dramatically, but we may shift where some of the money is allocated to better fit our long term needs.

In the long term, I hope to be able to pursue a new approach to the budget process that is more transparent and easy to understand for everyone.  The process in use today, in my opinion, is too complicated, too time consuming for all involved, and isn’t structured in a way to get meaningful public feedback.

Council Meeting Highlights

• Herzing University 50th Anniversary – The mayor made a proclamation recognizing Herzing University for their 50th anniversary.  Herzing has a campus in the north part of Crystal, and their President John Slama is a very involved member of the Crystal community.
• Almsted’s Fresh Market Day – The mayor made a proclamation that September 22, 2015 was Almsted’s Fresh Market Day in Crystal, in recognition of Almsted’s 15th anniversary in Crystal.  Owner Jim Almsted is also a very involved member of the Crystal community, and Almsted’s is very supportive of many community events in Crystal.
• Deputy Chief Mike Meehan Resolution – The council passed a resolution thanking Deputy Chief Mike Meehan for his service to Crystal and congratulating him on his new job as chief of the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department.
• Preliminary Levy – As I mentioned above, we set the preliminary levy amounts on September 1.
• CenturyLink/Undergrounding of Utilities – The ongoing saga regarding the change in an ordinance to allow new utilities to be added to existing poles continued with ordinance readings on September 1 and 16th  For background, see here. I voted against it on the 1st, and for it on the 16th.  My opposition was always to the way CenturyLink handled the process, not necessarily to the ordinance change, so I figured by the 16th I had made my point abundantly clear to everyone involved and was OK voting for the end product.
• City Manager Evaluation Process – Earlier this year the council identified deficiencies in the way the City Manager position is reviewed and evaluated, and determined we would hire a consultant to help correct those deficiencies.  The council authorized the mayor to enter into a contract with one of the firms we received bids from.  The existing process does not provide meaningful actionable feedback or allow for clear goal setting.
• Closure of Brunswick Avenue – The council authorized the closure of a portion of Brunswick Avenue near Basset Creek Park. The long term goal is to close the entire portion of the road that goes through the park.  Fun fact- it’s the only gravel road remaining in Crystal.

EDA Meeting Highlights

• EDA Levy – Although the EDA is made up of the city council members, the The EDA is a separate entity with its own levy (which is much smaller than the city tax levy, and is capped by state law). The EDA set the levy amount to $246,000, which is below the cap of about $269,000 and is a 3% increase over last year.
• Lot Sale- The EDA authorized the sale of a lot at 5626 Vera Cruz for new home construction.
• New Acquisition – The EDA authorized the potential acquisition of a foreclosed home at 4354 Xenia Ave.

City Code Task Force

The City Code Task Force met for the third time and is really starting to gain momentum.  They will be presenting their first report to the council on October 1, and have already reviewed three chapters of the city code.

In The Community

• Glow Golf – I golfed in the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Glow Golf tournament on September 3, and yes, golfing in the dark did somehow improve my game.
• Traffic Symposium – The city held our first Traffic Symposium on September 10.  See a quick recap here, with more to come.
• West Metro Fire Recognition – I attended the West Metro Fire District’s annual recognition event on September 12. It was a great event, and was fun to see so many great firefighters recognized for their work. I invited West Metro to present about the award ceremony at the September 16 council meeting so we could get some public recognition for the team at West Metro.
• Halfway Happy Hour – The Light of Crystal’s Halfway Happy Hours are back. Events are on the 15th of each month and they have all the locations selected for the rest of the year. Connect with the Light of Crystal on Facebook here.
• Public Works Ribbon Cutting – The ribbon cutting for the new Public Works facility was on September 16. See some pictures from the event here, including a semi-creepy picture of the mayor looking like he’s going to cut me with the oversized novelty scissors.

In The Community – Upcoming Events

• Run for ROCCO – The Crystal Crime Prevention Board’s Run for ROCCO 5k event is Saturday September 26.
• Walk-a-Thon – Meadow Lake Elementary’s 4th annual walk-a-thon is October 3 at 9am.  Bouncy houses, petting zoo, face painters, and of course, walking.
• Halfway Happy Hour – October 15 at El Loro

A special note of congratulations to my colleague and friend Elizabeth Dahl on the birth of her daughter, Charlotte.

The next council meeting is October 6.

You can watch the video of council meetings here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

This recap covers all of July, which is a bit different because there was only one council meeting, instead of the usual two.  Specifically, I’m covering the Work Sessions and Council Meeting on July 14, a special EDA meeting and work session on July 20, and the July 23 Code Review Task Force Meeting.  There was a West Metro Fire Board work session originally scheduled for July 15 but it was rescheduled for August.

Work Session Highlights

• Old Public Works Facility Site – The council discussed some of the history of the new public works facility, and then discussed what to do with the land that the existing facility sits on (roughly 41st and Brunswick) once the new building is opened.  Ultimately we decided to put this discussion on hold until the new building is open and we’ve had some time to transition.  The question is whether to hold the land, re-purpose the land for a different city use, or to redevelop the land into single family homes.  High density housing is not a use that is being considered for this property.
• Blue Line LRT Update

  The council received an update from the Blue Line LRT project team on the Blue Line project.

  Specifically we talked about the current “S-curve” rail crossing at 48th Avenue and were presented with options on how to “fix” the crossing to make it work better with the light rail.  A number of the proposals (including the ones preferred by city staff) would trigger a “turnback” of West Broadway from the county to the city, meaning that West Broadway would become a city street and would no longer be a county road.  That means that Crystal taxpayers would be on the hook for maintenance of that road going forward.  I expressed my displeasure to the Blue Line team and the County, explaining that it is their project that is requiring a change to the crossing, not a city initiative, therefore it is ridiculous to make Crystal take over the road (and the cost) because of something the Met Council and the County are doing to us.  I encouraged the county to re-think their position on the “turnback” provision, as I feel it’s an artificially imposed penalty on Crystal.  We’ll see what happens.

  We also discussed the station area planning process, which is the process to talk about potential redevelopment options around where the station would be.  That process will happen later this summer.

  The project team also informed us that their new projections say they need more parking spaces, so they presented a new plan for the Bass Lake Road station that includes a parking lot, as it should have in the first place.  I’m glad they came around on that issue.  The notion that we would have a station but no parking was always one of the silliest features of the plan.

  I continue to be skeptical about this project and it’s impact on our city.  The price is now expected to balloon past $1,000,000,000, which is an amazing burden on taxpayers at all levels.  In addition, Crystal seems to be an afterthought to many of the plans.

  I will continue fight to make sure that if this project gets built, the negative impacts to our city are minimized, and that the needs of our city are represented.  We cannot sit by and allow this to just happen to us, we need to make sure we are loudly advocating for ourselves in this process.

• CenturyLink –

  The council had a special work session at the request of CenturyLink to discuss issues they had with one of our city ordinances.

  In June the council voted to relax our ordinance on undergrounding new utility lines at the request of CenturyLink and Comcast.  Despite the fact that CenturyLink reps were aware of this process, they waited until after we had the second reading of the ordinance to raise concerns with the language.  I have been quite frankly disgusted with the way CenturyLink has handled this whole situation. At the work session CenturyLink reps basically said “change your ordinance or we won’t expand our service in Crystal”.

  Ultimately, what CenturyLink is asking for is not entirely unreasonable.  They want to be able to add new lines to existing poles.  The only real downside to this is that we’ll most likely never see the utilities run underground.  But, we’re also not seeing new poles get added.

  But the way the company went about seeking the change to the ordinance, their posturing at the meeting, and the fact that they have been unable or unwilling to resolve an issue for one of my constituents that has been going on for over six months, makes it very difficult for me to consider voting for this change.  I told CenturyLink I don’t think they are good partners, and their behavior since our meeting has not changed my mind.  I also have concerns about their lack of maintenance of their existing equipment in Crystal.

  We’ll be voting on a new, new ordinance in August.  I really don’t know where I’ll land on this.  I want to bring competition into our community so we have more choices, but CenturyLink’s inability to be a good partner has me having second thoughts about going out of our way to accommodate them.

Council Meeting Highlights

• Housekeeping – A few housekeeping items: the second reading of the Bloody Mary Law ordinance (first day for 8 AM Bloody Marys in Crystal is August 23!) and adoption of a new data practices policy.
• Projects – We approved the 2015 Alley Reconstruction project, and a new boiler for city hall, both planned projects.
• Gaulke Pond Homes – We approved the final plat for the new subdivision on Douglas Drive at about 39th Ave.  Lot sales can start now, and construction could begin as soon as this year!  FYI, the house that’s there now is currently for sale and will be staying there.
• Fire Budget – We approved the 2016 West Metro Fire Budget, about a 3.5% increase over LY.
• NWHHSC Withdrawal – The city formally voted to withdraw from the Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council.  I talked about this last month.
• Point of Sale Inspections - Another topic I covered last month, the council voted 6-1 to repeal the requirement that you get a city inspection prior to selling your home.  Second reading is in August.  While I certainly understand and appreciate concerns about maintaining the quality of our housing stock, I think that there are ways to do that don’t require government interference in a private transaction.

EDA Meeting

We had a special EDA meeting to approve the sale of a city owned lot to a builder who lives in Crystal, Day Construction.

City Code Task Force

The second meeting of the City Code Task Force was in July, and they got through part of their assignment to review chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the code.  The group is working through their process and they will continue to refine it and adjust as time goes on.  I heard some great suggestions already, and they are just getting started.  A lot of the first round suggestions have to do with improving the readability and overall user friendliness of the code, which is much needed.

In the Community

• Crystal Frolics was July 23 – 26 and was awesome this year.  I was in the Dunk Tank with Mayor Jim Adams, Council Member Casey Peak and Fire Chief Sarah Larson raising money for local food shelves on Saturday night.  It was steamy that night, so the water actually felt so good I volunteered for a second shift!
• There was a ribbon cutting for the new playground at Bassett Creek Park on July 29.  I captured some good pictures of the Mayor testing out the new equipment at the playground.
• On July 22, my almost 2 year old son and I checked out the musical stylings of the Splatter Sisters at Welcome Park, part of this Summer’s Music in the Park series.  They were good, but that song about the old lady who swallowed the fly is pretty demented.

In The Community:  Upcoming Events

• Night to Unite is next Tuesday.  Check out this great map created by the Police Department that has all the party locations on it.  If your neighborhood doesn’t participate, pick a close by party and join them!
• Crystal Lions Corn Feed is August 8. All you can eat corn for $6.  Details here.

Newsletter

The inaugural issue of my neighborhood newsletter is out.  I’m dropping it at as many houses as my feet and schedule allow. Check out the online version here.

The next council meeting is August 18.

You can watch the video of the council meeting here and find the agendas and meeting notes here.  Audio recording of work sessions can be found here. Check the city calendar for updated meeting dates, locations and times.