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.
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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.
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