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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/10/14 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session it-3CITY OF Minutes SAT LOUIS City Council Study Session RKL October 14, 1996 The Study Session commenced at 7:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Gail Dorfman and Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, Sue Sanger, Jeff Appelquist, Ron Latz, Robert Young and Jim Brimeyer. Also present were the City Manager(Charlie Meyer), Deputy City Manager(Joanne Kutzler), Director of Inspections (Ernie Petersen); Director of Parks& Rec (Cris Gears), Planning Coordinator(Janet Jeremiah), Director of Community Development(Tom Harmening), Admin Asst/City Clerk(Ms. Larsen), Housing Coordinator(Ms. Quarfot), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Anderson), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin) and Personnel Officer(Mr._ Wysopal). 1. Council Policy Issues Mayor Dorfman inquired regarding specific policy issues Councilmembers wished to address in the near future. Jim Brimeyer informed the Council that he thought it would be a good idea to look at the concept of 360° performance evaluations. He also expressed interest in developing a policy for a Metro Fire Department where there would be fire departments in the four quadrants of the metro area. Sue Sanger inquired about a Dial-a-Ride or internal transit system for St. Louis Park. Robert Young wishes to study vibration measurements. Mayor Dorfman suggested Council address the DNR Deer Research proposal. 2. NSP Substation Jim Rhodes of NSP presented to Council a request for a permit to build a substation in St. Louis Park. He presented a geographic report of the suggested location for the substation and informed Council that NSP had reviewed several sites. After reviewing soil conditions, proximity to neighborhoods and other factors,NSP believes that the location originally proposed is still the most desirable. He invited Councilmembers to view other substations located in the west metro area so that they would have a better idea of size and configuration of modern substations. Councilmembers questioned why St. Louis Park needed a new substation. Mr. Rhodes explained that a substation is a sort of"circuit breaker". Feeder lines are already in place to off-load the power as it passes through. A new substation would provide reliability and reduce outages as St. Louis Park's power needs increase as they are expected in the future. The St. Louis Park position is key because this location is directly under a major transmission line. Building the substation on the targeting property would eliminate the need for extra towers. Tom Harmening gave a brief history of the substation issue. NSP was issued a permit to build on the property in the mid-80's, but did not build at the time. Consequently, their permit expired and the zoning ordinance was amended to include a setback greater than that which would allow for a modern substation to be built on the site. Robert Young expressed reluctance to allow for the substation at that location citing the fact that Eliot View neighborhood was already "stressed"with other issues and asked if there were other alternative locations to place the substation. Mr. Rhodes replied that other locations had poor soil conditions or elevations and were not suitable for this project. Sue Sanger asked if there was a direct correlation between the substation on one lot and the proposed playground on the other. Mr. Rhodes said that there was a definite correlation in that NSP need assurances that.one of the sites would be available for the substation. Mr. Meyer inquired as to the proposed time line for building. Mr. Rhodes indicated that they would not even begin the project for another 4 - 5 years when needs are expected to become more noticeable. He also stated that other locations outside St. Louis Park were unsuitable due to development and restrictions placed by other communities. Jeff Appelquist asked how exhaustive NSP's search for alternate locations had been. Mr. Rhodes offered to share a report prepared in 1983. After much discussion, Council requested Mr. Rhodes to bring this issue back to a future study session with more complete information on the feasibility of choosing another site, pictures of other substations in adjacent communities and site report. 3. Neighborhood Revitalization Commission Grants Charlie Meyer informed Council that residents of Cobblecrest neighborhood have objected to the use of City funds for a project they felt was endorsed by only some members of their community. The Community Development Department and the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission will be addressing this and other issues of this type in the very near future. Yvette Mullen outlined the current process for making grant applications which is at this time still identified as a"pilot"program. Staff and the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission recognize that some modifications may need to be made in the grant application process. Council discussed briefly each of the proposals included in the second round of funding applications. There was some concern regarding the Westwood Hills application which had been denied by the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission because they felt a computer program at the Nature Center was not specifically oriented toward neighborhood connections, but rather, had city-wide implications. Sally Vellick of the Westwood Hills neighborhood group explained to Council that though their proposal would be a benefit to the entire community, the creation, staffing, training and funding would be provided by members of the neighborhood association. They felt that if the concerted efforts of neighbors could indeed benefit the entire community, it should be considered as a positive element to their proposal rather than a detriment. After discussion, Council agreed but felt reluctant to overturn the decision of the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission because they felt it may negatively impact the relationship between Council and Commission. Widdy Shreves, Chair of the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission, stated that she felt the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission would not have a problem with Council overturning their decision and reiterated the point that this is indeed a pilot program and felt adjustments would be made as the process continued to be evaluated. Council agreed to address the Westwood Hills neighborhood proposal at their regular meeting of October 28. The Neighborhood Revitalization Commission had also denied a funding request for the Meadowbrook neighborhood playground based on the fact that their group was not yet fully organized and therefore did not meet the basic criteria for acceptance of the proposal. They agreed that the proposal is a worthy one and expressed their hopes that playground funding could be obtained through alternative funding sources. 4. Twin Lakes Park Cris Gears, Director of Parks and Recreation brought forward to Council a request by residents to lower the elevation of the "hill"that had been created by dredged material extracted from the lake. Neighbors feel this hill presents aesthetic and safety problems and is not what they had expected based on preliminary discussions of park design. At the time dredging took place, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) had informed the City that the cost of removing the dredged material would be approximately $1 million. Under new MPCA rules, this material can now be buried or used under new projects (parking lots, etc.) thereby reducing the cost of relocation to approximately $30,000. Sue Sanger asked why this was a City problem and not a Watershed District problem. Mayor Dorfman replied that she felt it was appropriate to approach the partnership for help in dealing with this situation. After discussion staff was directed to explore and present to Council and neighbors alternatives for removal of as much of the dredged material as possible, and designs for re-grading material left in the park. 5. Charrette Update Tom Harmening and Janet Jeremiah reported that grant money from the Metropolitan Council had been received. They presented to Council a schedule of charrette activities and asked if Council was comfortable with the format. Questions regarding process for including walk-ins, staff and Council participation, number and composition of groups and role of the Design Team and Facilitator were asked by Council members and addressed by Ms. Jeremiah. Council expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming event and offered their full support to staff. 6. Rec Center Renaissance Contracts Cris Gears, Bob DeGrote of STS and Don Hacked of Kraus Andersen Construction were present to report to Council information regarding soil conditions at the Rec Center Renaissance Project site. The landfill debris on the site through weather and shifts in soil is exposed in several places at the surface and would have caused liabilities at the site regardless of the current project underway. Soil containing the debris is being sifted, good dirt moved to other sites and materials that will not decompose are being landfilled. Discussion ensued as to how, with 25 soil borings in the area, problems with soil conditions remained undetected until after digging began. Bob DeGrote responded that soil borings are not 100%accurate. Some problems were anticipated and consequently"add/deletes"were placed in the contract. Charlie Meyer indicated that soil conditions warrant creation of a new fund and TIF funds would be available. Precedent has been set with numerous projects which require public funds for environmental remediation. 7. Water/Sewer Line Ownership Before discussion began Charlie Meyer cautioned Council and members of the audience to refrain from commenting on pending litigation regarding this matter. Mike Rardin pointed out attachments which give historical perspective to this issue. The City now has the ability to spread assessments over several years which eases the burden of assessment payment for homeowners. Mr. Rardin also submitted for Council review a comparison of policies followed by other cities in the metro area. Several Councilmembers questioned whether it was feasible for the City to take responsibility for the sewer lines up to the stop box. If that were the case it could be marketed to the public as a kind of"insurance" against future sewer line problems. Costs would conceivably be spread out over the entire city as an addition to the water/sewer utility bill. An increase in utility bills of approximately 5% would cover costs associated with the program. After discussion, Council agreed that a program of this nature would only appeal to some residents and that costs related to sewer line problems are considered by most residents to be an obligation of home ownership. Therefore, Council's recommendation to staff was to continue the current policy related to ownership of sewer lines and to initiate a program which would allow residents to make payments over the course of several years on sewer assessments to their property. 8. Suburban Alliance Wally Wysopal shared with Council the dissolution status of Suburban Alliance. Larger members of the alliance have agreed to remain partners until all business is final. Hennepin County is continuing to fund all programming costs in full. A Suburban Alliance staff person plans to set up a work area in the St. Louis Park Police Department very soon. That person will continue to work on all necessary business until the situation is fully resolved. Meeting adjourned. � v p . Gail Dorfman, Mayor Cindy Larsen, Recording Secretary