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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993/06/29 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session MINUTES CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA 111 Tuesday, June 29, 1993 Call to order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 7 :10 p.m. Present were Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, Larry Mitchell, Gail Dorfman and Lyle Hanks . George Haun arrived after the meeting convened. Also present were the City Manager (Mr. Meyer) , City Attorneys (Jim Steilen and Paul Tietz) , Director of Public Works (Mr. Grube) , Director of Community Planning (Mr. Hagen) , and Manager of Westwood Hills Environmental Education Center (Mr. Langefels) , and Administrative Asst. (Mr. Larson) . 1 . Deer Management Council reviewed the proposal for a deer management task force to be formed. Mr. Langefels said the Park and Recreation Commission was in favor of such a task force to assess the problem in the City. He noted the deer population currently is excessive according to experts from the Department of Natural Resources. The task force will present a recommendation to Council at its first meeting in October. It was the consensus to place this item on the formal Council agenda of July 6, 1993 . 2 . Application from HealthSystem Minnesota for revenue bond financing Bill Telleen, Park Nicolett and Joseph Colianni, Dain Bosworth, were present to discuss the application. HealthSystem Minnesota reiterated its request for waiver of administrative fees in selected components of the refinancing. The item will be placed on the July 6 agenda for formal Council action. 3 . Wayside House request for rehab funds It was the consensus of Council that the Executive Director of Wayside House be apprised that the maximum the City is willing to pay per unit is $1, 500 or a total of $31, 500 as opposed to the request of $2, 381 per unit or a total of $50, 000 . Council directed this item be placed on the July 6 agenda for formal action. 4 . Suburban Plumbing redevelopment Jim Voss, redeveloper, Ralph Gross (SPS) and John Strittmatter (Ryan Construction) , were present with a model and schematics of111 the proposed redevelopment of the SPS property. Parking, landscaping, berming were discussed at length. Mr. Voss will come up with options relative to the east parking lot to reduce the number of spaces and increase the landscaping. In response to a question relative to financing, Mr. Steilen said the City will provide $600, 000 in funding this Fall and when the permanent loan comes through, probably in about 18 months, the City' s commitment will be somewhere between $0 and $300, 000 depending on the loan SPS receives. He said the issue of title to the little piece of land abutting Hwy. 7 is solvable and they are working on it . Staff was directed to place this item on the EDA agenda for July 6 to set a public hearing on the project for July 19 . 5 . Twin Lakes management activities Jim Grube reviewed the memo before Council . Councilmember Dorfman understood how the flooding could be controlled but asked about the issue of algae and other elements in the water wondering if dredging would actually do any good in the long run. Mr. Grube discussed these concerns in some detail . Staff was suggesting a neighborhood task force be formed to consider all the issues and present recommendations to the Council . Included in this task force would be representatives ofIII Benilde St . Margaret ' s and the Princeton Court Townhomes who are immediately affected by any activity in the Twin Lakes area. Staff directed the item to be placed on the July 6 agenda for formal action relative to formation of a task force. 6 . Bassett Creek Watershed agreement This report considers the issue of the City's participation in the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission. The City has participated in a Joint Powers Agreement with eight nearby communities since 1968 and participates in a prorated sharing of administrative costs. The Board of Water and Soil Resources has mandated that all Joint Powers Agreements be updated and brought into conformance with recent legislative action by July 27 . Staff is concerned about new Commission duties to regulate groundwater within the Bassett Creek Watershed. The item will be placed on the July 6 formal agenda. In the meantime, staff will -continue to research in order to provide Council with proper perspective at this meeting for action. 7 . Traffic signal : Monterey/Excelsior Blvd. Councilmember Haun said that although the County had received the City' s request for upgrading of this signal, a resolution needed to be passed by the Council and forwarded to the County. Staff was directed to prepare such a resolution for the July 6 111 meeting. Also staff was directed to hold a neighborhood meeting. Mayor Hanks indicated Commissioner Andrews felt this project could be implemented in 1994 instead of waiting to 1995 . 8 . Other business Councilmember Jacobs brought up the subject of the metered lights on the on-ramp to south Hwy. 100 from Excelsior Blvd. He felt these lights did nothing but make entrance to Hwy. 100 worse and suggested a letter be sent to MnDOT expressing the City's objection to these lights. It was the consensus to place on the July 6 agenda for formal action. Mr. Meyer said the City would be printing in-house 100 copies of the League of Women Voters ' booklet on St . Louis Park to be distributed to schools, libraries, etc. The meeting adjourned at 8 :50 p.m. 101Atrth R=; ording Secretary