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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil_Connection_100411Council reviews enterprise budgets and plans At a work session prior to its regular meeting, the Council reviewed the operating budgets, capital improve-ment requests and business plans of Centennial Lakes Park, Edina Aquatic Center, Edina Liquor and Edinborough Park. Among the capital improvement re- quests for 2012 are a bathroom addition at Centennial Lakes Park’s Hughes Pavilion, completion of a surf ride simulator at the Edina Aquatic Center and remodeling of Edina Liq- uor – Southdale. The total 2012 budget for capital improvements at the four enterprise facilities is $1.39 million. Council Members gave managers of the facilities a handful of ideas to consider as they reviewed the busi- ness plans. The Liquor Operations Director was encouraged to further explore the creation of a wine club or customer loyalty program. The man-ager of Centennial Lakes Park was asked to consider additional uses, including a children’s playground, for the current lawn games area at the park. The Council will review budgets, capi- tal improvement requests and busi-ness plans for the Braemar Arena, Braemar Golf Course and Edina Art Center at its meeting Oct. 18. The Council is expected to review the City’s tax levy and General Fund budg- et in November and will hold a public hearing on the final budget Dec. 6. Council approves website redesign, intranet projects The Council approved the Communi-cations & Marketing Department’s plans to redesign the City’s website and create an intranet for employees’ use. In July, the City issued a request for proposals in order to find a partner to create a dynamic website that is designed and organized in a manner that allows users with limited comput-er experience to easily find and ac- cess information; acts as a marketing tool for the City to highlight the com-munity, its assets and attractions to potential residents and businesses; is easy to update and modify; can be viewed on mobile devices and incor- porates additional components such as ecommerce, email subscription service, video streaming and GIS. JesseJames Creative’s proposal rose to the top of 21 submitted with its “OrgCentral” content management system. Besides helping to develop the key content areas and functional elements of the site, their solution will allow for: Additional social media book- marking functionality People/ constituent management Working areas for City Council, boards and commissions, work- ing groups and others “My Edina” dashboard Better integration of blogs and citizen engagement blogsite Dynamic calendars and event management Document and resource librar- ies The “RFP Zone” Built-in “mail blaster” for “City Extra” use, which will allow us to discontinue service with another third-party vendor Built-in polls and surveys More photo and video galleries Streamlined ecommerce More robust staff directory The not-to-exceed cost to complete the redesign project, incorporate the City’s existing golf and skating lesson registration systems and build an online reservation system is $79,500. JesseJames Creative will also create the City’s intranet at a cost of $25,000. The Council is expected to act on a contract for the project, which is estimated to take 16 weeks to complete, at its next meeting. Council OKs liquor licenses for Pittsburgh Blue The Council approved liquor licenses for a new restaurant at the Galleria. Pittsburgh Blue is scheduled to open this fall at the Galleria in the space formerly occupied by Kozy’s. The City approved on-sale intoxicating and Sunday sale liquor licenses for the restaurant after staff reviewed the restaurant’s plans and the Police Department completed background check with no negative findings. A summary of the Oct. 4 Edina City Council meeting Oct. 6, 2011 Volume 13, Issue 18 Council Connection Upcoming meetings: Public Art Committee, 4 p.m. Oct. 6 Park Board Naming & Dona- tions Work Group, 12:30 p.m. Oct. 10 Heritage Preservation Board, 7 p.m. Oct. 11 Park Board, 7 p.m. Oct. 11 Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Oct. 12 City Contacts City Manager Scott Neal 952-826-0401 Assistant City Manager Karen Kurt 952-826-0415 City Clerk Debra Mangen 952-826-0408 Finance Director John Wallin 952-826-0410 Communications & Marketing Director Jennifer Bennerotte 952-833-9520 Planning Director Cary Teague 952-826-0460 We’d like to hear from you … If you have any comments, call Communications & Marketing Director Jennifer Bennerotte at 952-833-9520. The text of this publication will be availa- ble online at www.CityofEdina.com. www.CityofEdina.com Council gives nod to Comcast plans The Council approved requests to accommodate Comcast’s plans to renovate its driveway and parking areas. Comcast is proposing to renovate its existing driveway and parking areas to accommodate an increase in the number of employees within its exist- ing three-story building located in the City of Minnetonka at 9699 Data Park Drive. The plans include con- struction of a new parking lot that would be partially located within Edina. A small wetland would be filled to accommodate the parking lot. Wetland credits are requested to be purchased with the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District, for wet-lands to be created off-site. The property located in Edina had been zoned “R-1, Single-Dwelling Unit District,” and guided “Low Densi-ty Residential.” As a result, Comcast requested rezoning from R-1 to “POD -1, Planned Office District,” a Com-prehensive Guide Plan Amendment from “Low Density Residential” to “Office,” and a site plan review. The Council approved all requests. Site plan approval for the project is also required from the City of Min-netonka, and as the City of Edina’s regulatory authority regarding grad- ing, drainage and wetland impacts, approval for filling the wetland is required by the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District. Council awards bond sale The Council awarded the sale of $14.55 million in General Obligation Bonds to finance various public improvements within the City. After Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service upheld the City’s triple-A bond ratings, eight compa- nies bid on the bonds. Piper Jaffray & Co. of Minneapolis was the low bid- der. Proceeds from Series 2011A has two purposes: to fund various water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer projects and for the City’s Permanent Improvement Revolving Fund to pay for the 2011 street reconstruction projects.