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01/08/2008 - City Council SpecialAGENDA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY JANUARY 8, 2008 5:30 P.M. CONFERENCE ROOMS 2A & 2B EAGAN CITY HALL -SECOND FLOOR I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA II. INTERVIEW CHARTER COMMISSION APPLICANTS III. DISCUSS OPEN SPACE SURVEY IV. OTHER BUSINESS V. VISITORS TO BE HEARD VI. ADJOURNMENT Agenda Information Memo January 8, 2008 City Council Meeting II. INTERVIEW CHARTER COMMISSION APPLICANTS ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To conduct interviews of Charter Commission applicants. FACTS: • Per the direction of the City Council at the December 3, 2007 City Council meeting, openings were advertised for eight positions on the Eagan Charter Commission. • Notice of the Council's intent to fill the open positions was published in the City's legal newspaper and was also posted on the City's website. • The deadline to submit applications was Wednesday, December 19. • The City received twenty four (24) applications. • Per the direction of the Council, the interview process was scheduled in the same manner done so for advisory commissions, meaning that each applicant received a letter from the City inviting him/her to a 10-minute interview with the City Council. • Applicants were asked to arrive a few minutes early for their interview. • Included as an attachment are proposed interview questions. The three questions proposed are the same general questions that the Council asks of all advisory commission applicants (the term Charter Commission has simply been substituted for advisory commission). For advisory commission interviews, additional questions are also asked pertaining specifically to the advisory commission to which the person seeks appointment. While these questions are to serve as a guide, the Council always has the right to deviate from these questions and/or ask other questions they feel are appropriate. • To be consistent with the City's advisory commission appointment process, background checks were completed by the Eagan Police Department on all applicants. All of the background checks came back clear. • Appointments to the Charter Commission are scheduled to be made by the Council at the January 15, 2008 City Council meeting. ATTACHMENTS: Enclosed without page number is an "interview binder" for each Councilmember, which includes the applications submitted, an interview schedule, and proposed interview questions. Agenda Information Memo January 8, 2008 City Council Meeting III. DISCUSS OPEN SPACE FUNDING SURVEY ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: Receive City Council direction regarding item, and consider directing formal action regarding a survey to the January 15, 2008 regular City Council meeting. FACTS: • An Open Space Committee of the Council, consisting of the Mayor and Paul Bakken, was formed at the direction of the Council at the August 14, 2007 City Council Workshop. The committee was given the task of exploring the process and timeline for holding a bond referendum to fund open space acquisition. • The Open Space Committee met on December 27, 2007. • The committee requested that this item be brought forward to the Council given timing restraints associated with completing a survey this winter/spring. • Funding for a survey was included as one of the uses of the Open Space Acquisition program set up as part of the Community Investment Fund at the August 14, 2007 Council meeting. • No official action is needed tonight; rather, any official action could be taken at the January 15, 2008 regular City Council meeting. ATTACHMENTS: • Enclosed on page ,~ are the meeting notes from December 27, 2007 Open Space Committee meeting. a Meeting Notes Open Space Committee Date: December 27, 2007 Time: 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Location: City Hall Present: Mayor Maguire, Council Member Bakken, City Administrator Hedges, Parks & Recreation Director Johnson The committee agreed that the first step in determining whether or not the City should hold a bond referendum to fund open space acquisition is to hire a survey firm to conduct a phone survey of Eagan residents. The purpose of the survey will be: o To gauge the overall likelihood of an open space referendum being approved by Eagan residents. o To determine if voters would be willing to approve a referendum based on a program similar to the Dakota County's Natural Areas Project or if it is necessary to list specific acquisitions. o If in favor of a referendum, how much are Eagan residents willing to raise their property taxes for this program? o If in favor of a referendum, what uses do Eagan residents find appropriate for open space lands? • The committee discussed whether or not it would be possible to hold a referendum in conjunction with the 2008 General Election. It was decided that it would be possible, but to only move forward once survey results are obtained. • The committee discussed the need for a citizen based task force. It was decided to wait until after the survey results are obtained to further discuss the tasks and make-up of a citizen's committee. • The committee considered combining the open space questions with the larger, community-wide survey schedule for 2008. The committee decided that a separate survey would allow for more timely and focused results concerning the open space issue. The committee also reviewed the 2005 Community Survey results relating to open space. It was decided that updated results are needed. • The committee discussed possible avenues for having a survey completed including contacting the Trust for Public Land and private survey firms. The committee decided to use a private first rather than TPL to avoid any perception of bias in the survey methodology. Staff was directed to contact the survey firm of Decision Resources to discuss a survey process and timeline with a goal of presenting a contract for services at the January 8 Special City Council meeting. • The committee briefly discussed the definition of "open space" and "Eagan Core Greenway". Maps from the Dakota County Corridor Resource Analysis and the Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway were reviewed. The APrC's Acquisition Criteria was also discussed as a tool for recommending possible acquisition sites. The committee will discuss further at a future meeting. 3