HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-20 City Council Work Session MinutesMINUTES
OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE
EDINA CITY COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
5:30 P.M.
Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Answering roll call were Members Brindle, Staunton, Fischer, Anderson, and Mayor Hovland.
Staff in attendance: MJ Lamon, Community Engagement Coordinator; Kaylin Eidsness, Senior Communications
Coordinator; Stephanie Hawkinson, Affordable Housing and Development Manager; Scott Neal, City Manager;
Lisa Schaefer, Assistant City Manager; Sharon Allison, City Clerk; Chad Millner, Engineering Director; Cary
Teague, Community Development Manager; Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications and Technology Director;
Casey Casella, City Management Fellow; Bill Neuendorf, Economic Development Manager; David Yanagisawa,
I.T. Specialist.
"BETTER TOGETHER" COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM
Ms. Eidsness and Ms. Lamon explained that the term "Better Together" was a replacement for Speak Up Edina.
Staff focus group helped to select bangthetable as the online engagement platform. BetterTogetherEdina.org is
up and running featuring the W. 58th Street Reconstruction project showing project timelines, staff contacts,
etc. One example of how the site would be used was that it allows those who cannot attend a meeting to still
participate in the process and provide feedback. Staff was asked if BetterTogether could be used to address
commentary on Next Door. Staffs response was City staff could only respond to questions directed to the
City. Ms. Lamon said the goal was to drive traffic away from Next Door to BetterTogether where staff could
dialogue and engage with the community. Other tools available included a feature similar to Council
Comments. Council would be to share their comments online and interact with the community without
violating the Open Meeting Law. Council was encouraged to become familiar with the site and to provide
feedback at Council's upcoming retreat.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY
Ms. Hawkinson explained that the revisions to the Affordable Housing Policy was based on ongoing discussions
and feedback received over the past seven months. She said it was likely that revisions to the policy would be
an ongoing process. Council discussed the revised policy and offered several changes. The consensus was to
remove the policy from the Council's agenda for more discussion.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Minutes approved by the Edina City Council, March 5, 2019.
Sharon Allison, City Clerk
James B. Hovland, Mayor