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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-04-16 Work Session Meeting MinutesPage 1 MINUTES OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION COMMUNITY ROOM, CITY HALL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2025 5:30 P.M. 1.0 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2.0 Roll Call Answering rollcall were Members Agnew, Risser, and Mayor Hovland. Absent at rollcall were Jackson and Pierce. Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager; Chad Millner, Engineering Director; Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager; Zoe Johnson, City Management Fellow; Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications Director; Pa Thao, Finance Director; Jesse Meyer-Ruud, I.T. Support Supervisor; and Sharon Allison, City Clerk. 3.1 FRANCHISE FEE DISCUSSION Engineering Director Millner presented a review of Edina’s current utility franchise fee structure and provided two options for generating an additional $1 million in revenue to support street reconstruction efforts, based on direction from the Council Retreat. Option 1 maintains the current flat fee model, with increased fees for all customer classes, doubling the fees for commercial/industrial customers, while option 2 shifts to a percentage-based model, applying a 4% fee to each customer’s gross utility charges. Peer city comparisons were presented, showing both flat fee and percentage-based models in use. Millner noted that directions were needed by May to proceed with the regulatory and ordinance update process, with official adoption targeted for July or August for start date January 2026. Council discussions were: Edina is unique in how it uses the fees, appreciated the peer city data, supported staying in the middle range, favored a percentage-based model for its link to energy use, questioned the 4% rate, potential impacts on some customers, favored the predictability of a flat fee, and requested that the franchise fee discussion be brought back for further discussion at a future meeting when all five Councilmembers were present. 3.2 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Katy Sen, the City’s lobbyist from Messerli Kramer, provided the Council with a legislative update: the legislature is currently in recess and will return to close out the session on May 19; deadlines for finance and policy bills have passed but some may still advance through alternative pathways; three Edina-specific bills are making good progress - bonding for the Vernon Avenue Bridge, a TIF bill for France Avenue, and a construction sales tax exemption for Braemar and Fred Richards, that strong local advocacy has helped position these bills favorably. And spoke about broader challenges facing the legislature, including a rocky start to the session, the Senate operating below full capacity, a tied House, difficulty in reaching legislative agreement this year, and uncertainties caused by potential federal cuts. 4.0 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Allison (May 7, 2025 12:18 CDT) Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/April 16, 2025 Page 2 Sharon Allison, City Clerk Minutes approved by Edina City Council, May 6, 2025. James B. Hovland, Mayor Audio copy of the work session available.