HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.03.04 Work Session Minutes
COUNCIL WORKSHOP
MINUTES
CITY HALL SPACE NEEDS
May 3, 2004
Present:
Absent:
Also Present:
Ristow, Cordes (arrived 6:20 p.m.), Fitch (arrived 6:12 p.m.), Fogarty
Soderberg
David Urbia, City Administrator; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant;
Mike Cox and John McNamara, Wold Architects
Wold Architects discussed with Council what would be important to them in a new City Hall
facility. There are 8 Planning Objectives:
1. Shared Conference rooms of multiple sizes within departments and accessed off of
the public lobby.
2. An information desk/counter at the main building lobby.
3. Conference rooms to include counter space for staging.
4. Small work stations for shared copiers/printers throughout the office areas.
5. Space/parking for loading and unloading city vehicles.
6. On site parking for city vehicles.
7. General building storage for archival files and equipment.
8. Secure file process and storage.
Next they discussed location such as where the Council Room should be located in City Hall.
Council liked the arrangement at Lakeville where the Council Room is off of the main lobby.
Lakeville has seating for 128 people. Mr. Cox suggested a glass wall for the Council Room to
allow an overflow audience to view the proceedings. Council agreed the Council Room should
be on the first floor. Mayor Ristow felt the departments with the most traffic should also be on
the first floor. Councilmember Fogarty suggested that Building Inspections and Engineering be
on the second floor. She liked how Apple Valley has a conference room adjacent to their
Council Room. This is where the Council holds their pre-meetings and it is well-utilized. It is a
good sized room and could be used for Council Workshops.
(Councilmember Fitch arrived).
Mr. Cox then talked about capacity. Apple Valley's Council Room is 2400 sq. ft. and has
seating for 104 people. Hutchinson has 1300 sq. ft. with seating for 62. Rosemount has 1000 sq.
ft. with seating for 50. The size usually correlates with the city's population. Mr. Cox suggested
2400 sq. ft. Councilmember Fogarty liked the idea of the glass wall. It would be less disruptive
with large crowds. Mayor Ristow stated with 50 people there is not enough room. Meetings
have been held off site, but then the equipment and convenience is not there. If we are going to
plan for it, the expansion should be there. Councilmember Fitch stated he could count on one
hand the number oftimes the meetings have overflowed. To plan a Council Room for large
meetings once a year, we could use the schools or the library. He did not want to see the space
wasted. Councilmember Fogarty stated some Planning Commission meetings have a full room.
She felt it was % full a lot of the time. Mayor Ristow stated as the city continues to grow and
with upcoming developments, there could be issues. It would be good to have the room for
expansion. Looking at longevity of the building, he felt the population would be there to account
for the size. Councilmember Fogarty agreed.
(Councilmember Cordes arrived).
Council Workshop Minutes
May 3, 2004
Page 2
Mayor Ristow felt it would be nice to have enough room so Council does not feel boxed-in. Mr.
Cox stated it is hard to change a Council Room. Conference Rooms and offices are easier to
change.
Mr. Cox gave Council two options to proceed:
1. Develop a Master Plan up to 2400 sq. ft. by including 2 conference rooms to be used
for expansion, or
2. Develop a Master Plan for 2400 sq. ft. for a Council Room. This would allow for 75
people beyond Council and staff.
Mr. Cox had spoken with Councilmember Soderberg prior to the meeting and he agreed with
2400 sq. ft. Councilmember Fogarty also agreed with 2400 sq. ft. Councilmember Fitch stated
that was fine, but he did not want to build a monument to themselves.
The next topic was flexibility. Mr. Cox stated some cities use the Council Room for other things
such as renting it out for special events. Mayor Ristow would not recommend that because of
the equipment. Councilmember Fitch agreed. Councilmember Fogarty stated the city does have
other facilities for that type of use. Councilmember Cordes stated the room is used most nights
during the week.
Mr. Cox stated regarding organization, currently the presenter is offto the side versus in the
center with the audience behind. Lakeville has the presenter in the center with a screen behind
Council. Mayor Ristow stated with the screen offto the side like it is now, most of the audience
cannot see the screen. Councilmember Fogarty felt it was more inviting to the audience to
participate with the presenter off to the side. As far as placement of staff, they could be part of
the Council table or in Apple Valley they are off to the side in a jury box. Some cities have the
City Administrator and Attorney at the Council table, others are called up as needed. Mayor
Ristow felt it was confusing to the audience to have staff at the Council table. Councilmember
Fogarty agreed, but wants the staffto have a spot and not be in the audience. Mayor Ristow
agreed. Mr. Cox stated the sight lines are better with the Council table raised. The City
Administrator and Attorney could be seated down a level.
Mr. Cox then asked the Council about research space to speak with residents such as a
conference room. Councilmember Fogarty stated it would be nice to have a space at City Hall to
meet with people and have the resources of City Hall available if needed. Councilmember
Cordes stated the 2400 sq. ft. could include a couple Conference Rooms. Mr. Cox stated they
would be 350 sq. ft. each, the same as the current conference room. Councilmember Cordes felt
to have a separate conference room just for Council would be a waste of space.
Mr. Cox will meet with Council again on May 24,2004 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting adjourned at
6:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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~thia MulleruExecutive Assistant