08-14-2023 City Council Work Session MinutesCHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
MINUTES
AUGUST 14, 2023
Mayor Ryan called the work session to order at 5:30 p.m.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilman McDonald, Councilman von
Oven, Councilwoman Schubert, and Councilman Kimber.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager; Matt Unmacht, Assistant City Manager;
Eric Maass, Planning Director; Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Don
Johnson, Fire Chief; Jerry Ruegemer, Park & Recreation Director; Bob Generous, Senior
Planner; Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director; Lt. Lance Pearce, CCSO; Rick Rice, IT Manager; and
Kim Meuwissen, City Clerk.
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Quinn Gadow, Phillips Edison (owner of the West Village Station LLC – a Lunds & Byerlys-
anchored shopping center)
INTERVIEW YOUTH APPLICANTS FOR COMMISSIONS
Commission applicants Nischay Pattanashetty and Ryan Farnan were interviewed for youth
commissioner openings on the Park and Recreation Commission and the Environmental
Commission.
2024 PRELIMINARY GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND LEVY DISCUSSION
Finance Director Kelly Grinnell stated that tonight’s update on the preliminary budget and levy
would be more in-depth, including detailed explanations for increases and decreases. Topics to
be discussed include the preliminary General Fund budget, preliminary Capital Improvement
Program (CIP), market values, and preliminary tax levy and tax impact.
The proposed 2024 General Fund budget is balanced. Key revenue increases are due to a shift of
expenses from the Transportation Infrastructure Management (TIM) Fund to the General Fund,
transfers in, increased interest rates, and an increase in charging for services. A comparison to
the 2023 adopted budget shows a total increase of 9.7% in the preliminary 2024 budget. General
Fund revenue sources include property taxes, cable franchise fees, licenses and permits, fines and
penalties, intergovernmental, charges for services, transfers in, and other revenue. A 2021 to
2022 revenue comparison with state-wide averages by population class was presented. General
Fund expenditures by function in descending order are public safety, general government, public
works, parks and recreation, and community development. An expenditure comparison with
state-wide averages was presented, as well as a comparison to the 2023 adopted budget, which
shows a total increase of 8.4% in 2024. Key changes in each expenditure function were reviewed
in detail. The General Fund balance was defined, and breakdowns were shown in the non-
spendable, restricted, and unrestricted (committed, assigned, and unassigned) categories.
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Ms. Grinnell reviewed in detail the budgets for the Park Renovation Fund, Preliminary 2024-
2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), and the Park Acquisition and Development Fund.
Concerning market values, Ms. Grinnell presented residential, commercial/industrial, apartment,
and agriculture market values from the Carver County Assessor’s Report for Taxes Payable in
2024, as well as Chanhassen’s 2023 market value distribution in descending order: residential,
commercial, apartment, and agriculture.
Ms. Grinnell stated that the total proposed preliminary (maximum) levy for taxes payable in
2024 is $14,455,000, which is an increase of 7.4% over the 2023 levy. The projected tax rate is
21% compared to 20.2% in 2023 and 22.4% in 2022. A chart and a table showing levy
projections from 2024 to 2033 were presented. A tax comparison chart created by the City of
Eden Prairie in 2022 was also presented, showing Chanhassen with the lowest city tax. Examples
of the impacts of annual and monthly tax increases for residential property owners on five
different home values were presented, as well as impacts on example businesses.
Ms. Grinnell provided the future budget schedule:
• September 11 City Council Work Session – Maximum tax levy discussion
• September 11 City Council Meeting – Set preliminary levy
• November 13 City Council Work Session – Review CIP, Debt, and Utility Funds, and
budgets for all funds
• November 27 City Council Work Session – Parks funding discussion
• October 23 City Council Work Session – Utility Fund and 2024-2028 CIP discussion
• December 11 City Council Meeting – Hold Truth-in-Taxation public hearing and adopt levy,
budget, and fee schedule
Ms. Grinnell concluded her presentation by asking the council to consider and discuss the
following questions:
• Is the council comfortable with the preliminary General Fund budget and levy?
• Does the council want to consider a levy increase to fund additional street or trail projects?
• Is the council supportive of the use of fund balance for unfunded items such as park
renovation projects?
• Does the council have any other items they wish to be considered?
The city council discussed the presentation and asked questions. The discussion included asking
about the trend across the state on preliminary city budgets (8.4% average of all Minnesota cities
per Ms. Hokkanen), programming budget for events at the future Civic Campus, 2023
accomplishments concerning park and trail improvements, performing a deep dive into parks and
maintenance, increasing the number of street improvement projects, concerns about legislative
tax increases, the need for increasing publication to four issues of the Chanhassen Connection
newsletter, if there are projects that can be postponed, smoothing of future year budget increases,
educating the public on why levies need to increase, and continue to educate residents on the
impact of the percentage of the overall levy increase by providing actual cost increases for the
city portion of their property taxes.
Mayor Ryan recessed the work session at 6:55 p.m.
Mayor Ryan reconvened the work session at 8:05 p.m.
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FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION ON CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD) ZONING
DISTRICT ORDINANCE
Planning Director Eric Maass presented recommendations for updates to the CBD zoning code,
including the permitted uses table, accessory uses table, interim uses table, two options for
conditional uses tables, lot standards table, and setbacks and height standards table.
Council discussed commercial/retail uses on the first floor of a building in the CBD, whether
existing commercial/retail uses adjacent to a residential area would stay commercial/retail if the
site redevelops in the future, not allowing single-story strip malls, mixing commercial and
residential uses, clarifying definitions, retaining existing businesses, signage requirements, fast
food and drive-through restaurants, downtown west area, sidewalk displays, building height, and
sidewalk setbacks.
Mr. Maass stated that the next steps would be to present updates to the Planning and Economic
Development Commissions, hold a public hearing at the Planning Commission, and ordinance
adoption at a City Council meeting.
FUTURE WORK SESSION SCHEDULE
August 28, 2023
• Meeting Canceled
September 11, 2023
• Presentation of Preliminary 2024 Levy and Gov Fund Budgets; 2024-2028 Gov Fund CIP
September 25, 2023
• Fire Station Open House
• City Council Roundtable
October 9, 2023
• Police Contract Service Levels Discussion
October 23, 2023
• Presentation of Preliminary 2024 Utility Fund Budgets and 2024-2028 CIP
November 13, 2023
•
November 27, 2023
• Final Review of Proposed 2024 Levy, Budgets, and CIP for all funds
December 11, 2023
• City Council Roundtable
The work session adjourned at 9:11 p.m.
Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen
City Manager
Prepared by Kim Meuwissen
City Clerk