CC WS 2021 08 23CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
MINUTES
AUGUST 23, 2021
Mayor Ryan called the work session to order at 5:30 p.m.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilwoman Rehm, Councilwoman
Schubert, Councilman McDonald, and Councilman Campion.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager; Charlie Howley, Public Works
Director/City Engineer; Kate Aanenson, Community Development Director; Ari Lyksett,
Communications Manager; Jake Foster, Assistant City Manager; and Jerry Ruegemer, Park &
Recreation Director.
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Lisa Sayles-Adams Eastern Carver County School District 112
Celi Haga Eastern Carver County School District 112
Ron Meyer Eastern Carver County School District 112
Beth Holm Eastern Carver County School District 112
EASTERN CARVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 112 REFERENDUM
PRESENTATION
• Superintendent Sayles-Adams and Finance Director Ron Meyer walked through a
PowerPoint Presentation.
• Eastern Carver County School District 112’s (ECCS) goal is raise awareness on referendum
and ensure that City Council has accurate information.
• ECCS has strong graduation rate, 92%, which is significantly higher than state average.
Chanhassen High School, 95%.
• Previous referendums strengthened community partnerships, including the Chanhassen High
School baseball stadium and Chanhassen Red Birds.
• Shared April 2021 community survey data, 89% rate the quality of ECCS as good or
excellent, 91% trust the school board and administration to do what it right for students, and
94% agree that community receives a good value for its investment in local schools.
• Overview of how ECCS spends revenue: 82 cents of every dollar goes to students. Have cut
$10M in costs prior to 2019 referendum that didn’t pass.
• 70% of school district funding comes from State of Minnesota. State funding has not kept up
with rate of inflation. If it had, ECCS District 112 would have received $7,070 per pupil vs.
actual $6,567.
• Cited additional challenges that informed decision to go for referendum: COVID-19 impacts,
failure of 2019 referendum, and unexpected decrease in enrollment.
• Received one-time federal dollars that had specific uses. Also, dollars were allocated based
on demographics and 112 was on the low end of dollars received in Minnesota.
City Council Work Session Minutes – August 23, 2021
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• Unexpected loss of 300 students during the pandemic has large financial impact.
• School Board approved one question for the November 2, 2021 Referendum. 10-year levy to
increase general education revenue by $550 per pupil. Tax impact on $375,000 home would
be $20 per month.
• Cited four categories if referendum approved: Restore, Sustain, Protect, and Invest. Lower
class sizes at elementary schools by 1.5 students, additional elective options, keep 5th grade
band, maintain school bus walk zones (currently offer tr ansportation to students within two
miles of school), maintain gifted and talented services.
• Current funding is $980 per student, referendum would increase to $1,530.
• Shared tax impact chart and invited any interested parties to visit 112 website to use tax
calculator for their specific property’s impacts.
• Shared info on how and where to vote. Provided link to www.eccsvote.org.
• Sayles-Adams shared her personal outlook – we want to invest in our schools so that our kids
have the best options available to them. And also, we want our kids to come back to Eastern
Carver County and raise their kids in our communities and our schools.
• Mayor Ryan thanked the district for the presentation and the overall partnership between the
city and schools.
• Councilmember Schubert asked if the revenue will fluctuate based on enrollment. Meyer:
Yes, it will. It will also increase by inflation for the first time. This is common in other
districts.
• Mayor Ryan reiterated thanks for great communication around the referendum, knows
community appreciates getting information.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV) POLICY DISCUSSION
• Chief Johnson provided an overview to the policy.
• Chief Johnson noted that our policy is narrower and easier to define because we are not using
UAV’s for law enforcement purposes.
• Chanhassen has benefited from use of Mdewakanton Sioux UAV’s but sees value in having
technology in house for quicker responses.
• “Pilots” / operators will be required to have FAA part 107 license.
• UAVs provide safer alternative to current practices – i.e. finding hot spots on roof during a
house fire rather than putting person on a ladder.
• Mayor Ryan inquired about where the drones would be stored. Chief Johnson responded that
one will be on a Fire Department engine and one will be stored at City Hall, assuming we are
able to acquire multiple. Mayor Ryan clarified she was asking where the data would be
stored. Chief Johnson responded that the unit has an SD card and the MN Data Practices Act
applies.
• Councilmember Campion asked Chief Johnson to review the attached quote and what is
being proposed.
• Councilmember Rehm asked if we would have savings by having the technology in house.
Chief Johnson responded that we don’t pay for mutual aid, but would have greater speed of
deployment.
• Mayor Ryan noted that the policy is on the consent agenda for adoption.
City Council Work Session Minutes – August 23, 2021
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DISCUSS CITY WEBSITE UPDATES/OVERHAUL
• Mayor Ryan provided an intro, noting that City Council has talked at multiple points about
their dissatisfaction with the current website
• Ari Lyksett stated three goals for a web project: complete redesign, simplification and
improved resident experience, and ADA accessibility.
• Councilmember Schubert said she noticed how many places use actual photos of their city
and she really likes that. She also liked the simple drop-down navigations. Be cognizant of
background colors and make it easy to read.
• Councilmember Rehm inquired why CivicPlus has such a backlog, and Granicus can fit us
in.
• Councilmember Schubert inquired about staff time that would be required and whether it
would impact other priorities. Lyksett replied that either way, the website needs to be her
number one priority. A refresh feels like a better investment of time because we will get the
outcome we are looking for in a shorter amount of time.
• Councilmember McDonald said he had reviewed the sample websites, but thought aside from
the pictures, the websites are mostly the same. What kind of user interface technology would
a new site bring? If we are going to something new, it should offer more. Current site does
get a little busy. How can we help people navigate to where they need to be, quickly?
• Lyksett said that if Granicus is selected, they provide insights into most visited pages and that
becomes the top navigation buttons, specific to your community.
• Councilmember Campio n inquired about whether websites come with apps and encouraged
staff to look at an app and being able to push out more information and notifications.
• Mayor Ryan shared that one aspect of the website being clunky is the amount of outdated
information that is produced from the search function.
• Mayor Ryan polled the council as to interest in a complete redesign and found consensus to
proceed with getting quotes and making a recommendation at a future Council meeting.
• Councilmember Rehm liked the examples that were sent and thinks it would be fun to have a
hipper, more innovative website.
• Staff will come to back to City Council in next month with quotes and a timeline. Staff will
also seek additional input regarding likes/dislikes, and design preferences of the City
Council.
FUTURE WORK SESSION SCHEDULE
The meeting adjourned at 6:40 pm.
Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen
City Manager
Prepared by Kim Meuwissen
City Clerk