City Council Meeting - 2023-11-20

Detailed briefing

City Council Meeting — November 20, 2023 • Council conducted an orientation for its new term, reviewing council and city-manager responsibilities, budgeting, public-meeting rules, voting requirements, and the roles of city boards and commissions. Council then approved its rules of order. • Council did not adopt board or commission term limits. Members discussed the value of institutional knowledge and the difficulty of recruiting volunteers, alongside concerns that long service can limit openings for new participants or make boards intimidating to join. Staff will provide a breakdown of board term lengths and conduct a survey of the public and board members. The discussion is expected to return in January. • Downtown sidewalk snow and ice removal remained unresolved. City code places Central Business District clearing responsibility on property owners, with a 12-hour standard, but the city has often cleared sidewalks before that deadline. Members said the existing rule can be difficult to monitor and enforce. Staff will ask the DDA whether it will share snow-removal costs, develop options to revise the ordinance, and enforce the current ordinance in the meantime. Council also discussed concerns about businesses that leave snow or ice uncleared and snow pushed onto sidewalks outside the downtown district. • Council voted to eliminate the skate park use fee. Staff said the newly completed, unfenced concrete skate park cannot be practically monitored for fees, and reduced staffing is expected to lower costs more than the historic fee revenue. The city may add a donation box and conduct user surveys to better understand where users come from. Staff said the park has already drawn visitors from outside the area, and a formal dedication is planned for June. • In reports, staff said the city is awaiting a DNR decision on a skate-park landscaping grant and expects word by year-end on an energy-infrastructure grant application for electric projects. The Christmas-tree lighting is scheduled for November 25. A fundraiser is planned for rebuilding the eastern portion of the boardwalk. The Planning Commission approved the Holy Childhood Church site plan, approved a special land use for a yoga studio, and recommended approval of the capital improvements plan. Worth watching: • Whether the DDA agrees to share the cost of downtown sidewalk clearing. • The proposed rewrite and enforcement approach for the downtown sidewalk ordinance. • Results of the term-limit survey and the January follow-up discussion. Upcoming: Council budget meetings are scheduled for December 4, 11, and 18. Why it matters: The council’s follow-up decisions will affect access to local boards, winter pedestrian safety, downtown costs, and the long-term operation of the new skate park.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.