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10/13/1998 - City Council Special 00368 MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL Eagan, Minnesota October 13, 1998 A special City Council meeting was held on Tuesday, October 13,1998 at 5:00 p.m. in the Eagan Municipal Center Community Room. Those in attendance were Mayor Egan and City Councilmembers Awada and Blomquist. City Councilmember Masin arrived at 5:30 p.m. City Councilmember Wachter was absent. Also in attendance were Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa, Chief of Police Geagan and City Administrator Hedges. 1999 AQUATIC FACILITY BUDGET City Administrator Hedges presented the draft 1999 Aquatic Facility budget, stating that this operation is a new service and it has been necessary for staff to research operating data on aquatic facilities in other communities and the proposed budget relies on that information. He stated that the facility is labor intensive and will require a large number of seasonal employees along with the 1.9 FTE. The City Administrator briefly reviewed operating supplies and commented on the proposed allocation of $165,000 to debt service and $50,000 for renewal and replacement. He stated that the total expenditures are estimated at $887,950 for the operating budget and the projected revenues equal $890,000. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa presented the estimated revenues for the Aquatic Facility, stating that the user fees have been priced based on a City Council philosophy that the Aquatic Facility will be required to support itself through user fees and will not require a tax subsidy. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa reviewed research and assumptions for attendance, further analysis on the proposed budget of the revenues and expenditures, an in-depth review of pricing options, a discussion on valued pricing and additional considerations relative to season tickets and other special considerations for admission pricing. He stated that all these considerations result in a user fee of $7 for daily entrance and a resident season pass priced at $48 for an individual with each subsequent family member at $38, which is based on the cost pricing approach. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that given this scenario, a family of four would purchase a season pass at $162, which is equivalent to 23.14 single admissions for the family or 6 per individual. With approximately 12 weeks in the season, this averages one visit every two weeks. Mayor Egan raised a question about the $165,000 and whether this amount for debt service is included in the operating budget. City Administrator Hedges stated that the total debt service requirement as agreed in the financing plan adopted by the City Council is included in the operating budget. Mayor Egan asked why the study proposes that the Eagan facility will generate more users than the St. Louis Park facility. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that the Eagan facility is larger and has a larger population of kids, especially given the statistic that approximately 40,000 residents in the City of Eagan are under the age of 18. City Councilmember Awada expressed concern about the cost accounting presented for the concessions, stating that staff needs to prepare additional analysis with a specific program breakdown and whether the concession operation will generate a positive revenue stream. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that currently, as a part of the expenditures, staffing, electricity and the purchase of merchandise have been budgeted. which is offset by the proposed revenue stream. He stated that this information can be broken out for specific City Council review at a later budget presentation. Mayor Egan stated that the expenditures, which include a base budget of $637,950, the addition of debt service at $165,000 and renewal and replacement at $50,000, do not total the $887,950 budget as presented. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that an amount designated for capital in the amount of $35,000 is the difference and further reviewed that budget amount. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa spoke to the pricing options, stating that the proposal for the City of Eagan for user fees is very similar to daily admissions and season pass arrangements in S1. Louis Park, Edina, Richfield, Bloomington and Crystal. He further reviewed pricing structures of other 00369 Page 2/Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes October 13,1998 communities outside the metropolitan market, many located in the Greater Chicago area, that range from $5 to $12 for daily admission fees. He further stated that the Aquatic Facility will be a recreational opportunity similar to Wild Mountain Water Slide, Beaver Mountain, first run movies, Camp Snoopy, the Minnesota Zoo and similar type attractions, all of which charge in the range of $6.50 to an all-day pass at Camp Snoopy at $18.95. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa went over in detail the logic for pricing the season tickets and spoke to other methods, which include discount books and photo ID being considered by Apple Valley, resident cards which have been tried by various communities and other methods for selling season admission to the facility. City Councilmember Masin stated that her experience with a municipal swimming pool is to encourage a high daily use and $7 is prohibitive. City Councilmember Awada stated that in her opinion, there should be no non-resident season passes. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that it was his knowledge that St. Louis Park had issued 8,300 season passes, and they chose to hold back non-resident season passes. City Council member Awada suggested that the City Council consider a special pricing bracket for young tots, possibly they should be free. Director of Parks & Recreation Vraa stated that cities have considered both height and age as determining factors if there is a special pricing structure for tots. Mayor Egan stated that the Aquatic Facility is being built for families and to enhance additional, recreational alternatives for youth, so let's not build in any disincentives with restrictive pricing. City Council member Awada again stated that whether the City agrees to either height or age, there should be special pricing, which could be free, for the newborns to approximately 3 year olds. City Council member Blomquist agreed that there should be some special pricing consideration given to our youth. City Council member Blomquist further asked that staff reanalyze the budget estimates considering a special pricing structure, taking into consideration that a certain number of the users could be young children; what will this do to the revenue forecasts based on the user fee proposal presented by staff? Mayor Egan stated that there appears to be a consensus toward a fee that emphasized the family with some reduction for children ages newborn to approximately 3. City Council member Awada stated that she agrees with Mayor Egan and further questioned whether there could be a further reduction for youth and seniors, similar to ski passes and a higher user fee rate for non- residential. City Councilmember Masin stated that consideration should be given for the many years the Cities of Richfield and Bloomington have accommodated families and youth from the City of Eagan. Mayor Egan stated that his biggest question is whether there will be a price resistance at $7. Mayor Egan thanked the City staff for the detailed research and recommendations for the proposed Aquatic Facility budget and especially the facts regarding user fees. He stated that it has been the City Council's philosophy that the Aquatic Facility will be required to support itself through user fees and will not require a tax subsidy and requested staff to bring recommendations based on questions and s~gestions from the City Council to the next budget meeting. POLICE DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENTAL PRESENTATION City Administrator Hedges stated that beginning in 1997, the City Council selected a department to review and analyze as part of the budgetary process with Parks & Recreation receiving a more thorough review the first year. He further stated that it was agreed by the City-Council early this spring that the Police Department would be asked to present detailed information about their operations in the budget request for 1999. Chief of Police Geagan commented on the 1997 Annual Report that was distributed to each member of the City Council. He further stated that the department has compiled a presentation that includes each of the program functions for the Police Department, including general administration, patrol, investigation, emergency management and technical support, support services, communications and animal control. Chief Geagan introduced members of the team that compiled the information, incl,-!ding Captain Swanson, Captain Sewald and Administrative Assistant Southorn, who were also present for the presentation and discussion. Chief Geagan reviewed staff levels and the Eagan calls for service. He reviewed in some detail both programs and outcomes for community oriented policing. Chief Geagan also reviewed special detective tasks and commented on gang activity statistics during the past two to three years. He provided 00370 Page 3/Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes October 13, 1998 some detail on the status of the more violet crimes that have occurred in 1998. He also stated that fraud and forgeries that are computer-related have experienced a 40% increase, which has involved some special training for police investigation. Chief Geagan also reviewed the emergency management, stating that this was an active part of police operations given the two severe storms that were experienced in May of 1998. He further commented on the Clerical Unit, reasons for the half-person increase for the evidence room and what the City experiences in the operation of its communication center. Following brief comments and questions by the City Council, Mayor Egan thanked the Police Department for an excellent presentation. OTHER BUSINESS City Administrator Hedges provided information on two lawsuits, including a recent Supreme Court decision on the Johnson Dodd Road case and the Court of Appeals decision regarding the Country Joe litigation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Mayor Egan invited everyone to stay for the collaborative meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m. October 13, 1998 Date ~~Q~ TLH