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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998/11/02 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOiIIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA November 2, 1998 1. Call to Order Mayor Gail Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7 34 p m. 2. Presentations Mayor Dorfman presented Certificates of Appreciation to Phyllis McQuaid, Jim Rhodes and David Payne for their dedicated service to the Parktacular Task Force and Board. On behalf of all the members of the Parktacular Board Member, Phyllis McQuaid thanked the City Council for their tremendous support. On behalf of the business community and as President of Special Services District#2, David Payne commended the City and City Staff for their excellent work in that project area. 3. Roll Call The following Councilmembers were present. JeffJacobs, Chris Nelson, Sue Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Jim Brimeyer, and Mayor Gail Dorfman Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer); City Attorney(Mr. Scott), Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening), Planning Manager(Ms Jeremiah), Director of Public Works(Mr Rardin), Planning Coordinator(Ms Erickson); Human Resource Manager(Ms. Gohman), and Financial Director(Ms McBride) 4. Approval of Minutes 4a. City Council Meeting of October 19, 1998 With minor corrections on Page 7, the minutes were approved as presented. 4b. City Council Study Session of September 28, 1998 With the following corrections, the minutes were approved as presented. Page 15, note Eric Galatz was the Attorney for SPS and add Councilmember Brimeyer to list of those in attendance at executive session 4c. City Council Study Session of October 26, 1998 The minutes were approved as presented 5. Approval of Agendas a. Consent Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the consent agenda The motion passed 7-0 II b. Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the agenda The motion passed 7-0. c. Resolutions and Ordinances By consent, Council waived reading of resolutions and ordinances 6. Public Hearings 6a. Case No. 98-36-CP Public Hearing to Consider Comprehensive Plan Amendments Modifying Chapter 16 Resolution # 98-143 Judie Erickson, Planning Coordinator, presented a staff report and recommended that Council approve the resolution to adopt changes to the Comprehensive Plan, forward amendments to the Metropolitan Council for review, and approve the summary publication Agnes Lawless, 3320 Louisiana Avenue South, #107, was in favor of the amendments and desired to save the park for the future Florence Flugaur, 3320 Louisiana Avenue South, #412, was in favor of the amendments and appreciated the opportunities the neighborhood had to express concerns and respond to plans as they progressed Nancy Rubino, 3720 Louisiana Avenue, Safety Chair of the Oak Hill Neighborhood Association, was in favor of the amendments. Al Putler, 31st and Sumter, asked staff to clarify the zoning code on the map. Kim Awney, 3129 Edgewood Avenue South, Co-President of the Lenox Neighborhood Association stated that the association was in support of the Task Force recommendation. Christopher Konans asked about the status of additional single family homes proposed for the area. Ms Erickson clarified that the area would remain green space with no development of single family homes. The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. Councilmember Latz indicated that the message Council received from both residents of the neighborhood, the Task Force and surrounding area residents was that the park should remain a park. He commended the Task Force for their work and indicated his support of the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Councilmember Young inquired what revenues would pay off debt incurred in the past for purchase of this property Ms. Erickson stated that there were annual costs of pumping ground water from these areas, but the debt from purchasing the property had been paid off. Councilmember Young commended the work of the Task Force and noted that the Task Force did recommend some move-up housing on this property He believed that the City had a great opportunity with City owned property develop move-up housing as recommended Vision St. Louis Park He felt the opportunity was missed and believed it would be hard in the future to ask other neighborhoods to accept any kind of move-up housing on City property. He felt it would be difficult to ask developers who owned property that was not already designated for housing to change the zoning designation to housing Councilmember Young stated that the Task Force proposal for an office building wasn't crucial because the cost of development with environmental remediation might have been a wash with revenue generated He stated that there will be costs incurred to develop this park and was unsure where money would come from to pay for it Councilmember Young could not support the resolution without additional housing components added to the plan designation Mayor Dorfman stated that the Apple Valley Redi-Mix site had been designated for 30 housing units per acre and that single family housing would be a permitted use on that property Councilmember Nelson noted that he was in favor of preserving the green space and park, but explained that development of the park land could cost the City a tremendous amount of money. He asked residents to consider a referendum to fund this and other park improvements. He also indicated that the City would need to find funding to cover the continuing remediation in the area. Since there would be no development, other methods of funding remediation efforts would need to be identified Councilmember Sanger was in favor of adopting changes to the Comprehensive Plan, but didn't want to lose sight of the need for move- up housing in this area She hoped that whatever housing would be proposed for the multi-housing site would be of a move-up nature with amenities such as condominiums or town homes She said this issue underscores the need to find move-up housing units elsewhere in the community She recommended that Council consider move-up housing needs and locations in a future Study Session Councilmember Latz clarified that any taxes that would have been received as a result of development in the area would have had to pay for soil remediation in order to make that development occur He indicated that this would come nowhere near covering the soil remediation costs whether it was developed or not developed on the Oak Park Village Park site. Ms. Jeremiah stated that other options have been explored to cover on-going costs and that funding is currently coming from the utility fund Councilmember Latz asked if the development of additional multi-family housing at the Apple Valley Redi-Mix site would require a lot of remediation and if it would increase tax revenue for the City Ms. Erickson stated that due to the fact that the property is currently privately owned, staff has not been able to complete the type of environmental exploration to determine the amount of II remediation necessary 1 Councilmember Jacobs was in favor of keeping the area as green space, but stated the need to examine alternative ways to fund the annual costs of maintaining the area as green space and developing the park into a real park i Mayor Dorfman was in favor of;adopting the changes to the Comprehensive Plan and commented on the growth of soccer in St. Louis Park. She felt the area needed to be maintained as open space, but believed the Council needed to be more vigilant in identifying other areas for the development of different kinds i f move-up housing. It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve a resolution to adopt changes to the Comprehensive Plan, to forward amendments to the Metropolitan Council for review, and to approve the summary publication. The motion passed 6- 1. Councilmember Young opposed 6b. Case No. 98-21-CP Case No. 98-22-CP Public Hearing- Continued from City Council Meeting of September 22, 1998 Resolution # 98-144 Judie Erickson, Planning Coordinator presented a staff report and recommended approval of the resolution Mary Thorpese of Wayside House, 3700 Park Center Boulevard was happy to see a change in designation from civic use to aJ civic mixed use because it allowed more flexibility to Wayside House. Dr. Richard Freese, Senior Vice President of Health System Minnesota and Lead Physician for Park Nicollet Clinic, was happy with changes in regard to civic-mixed use, but was very concerned about the roads proposed to go through their campus Mayor Dorfman stated the Task Force had a challenge to maintain balance and create a special place that benefits the whole Community Ms Erickson stated that continuing study was being done and that the Task Force was studying proposed roadway connections They would be making specific recommendations regarding the location, feasibility and design of any proposed roadway connections She indicated that if any of the proposed roadway connections were found to be unfeasible, staff would bring back changes to Council Councilmember Brimeyer asked staff to clarify the extension of the east/west road Ms. Jeremiah explained that tie Town Center Concept Plan did show an east/west connection and that the Park Commons West Task Force had pointed out that it had not been included on the amendment that was brought before Council at the previous public hearing It was something they were considering and they would make further recommendations Steve Kramer, 3900 Ottawa Avenue South, questioned the need for the proposed north/south roadway and raised a concern for safety He was concerned that area residents would use the roadway as a `cut-through" rather than as access to the park. Mayor Dorfman asked Ms. Jeremiah to comment on the design of the project as it related to traffic and pedestrian access Ms. Jeremiah stated that that the idea of the north/south roadway connection was to allow automobile and transit to penetrate into the area, to allow sidewalk connections to be accommodated on both sides of the road way, and to allow on-street parking on both sides of the road way. It was foreseen as a very slow speed road way that would accommodate all of these different uses Ms. Jeremiah reiterated that the Task Force was taking a very close look at it in regard to the potential design and location of the roadway before final recommendations were made The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date Mr. Meyer, City Manager clarified that the north/south road way as currently proposed didn't really touch into Wolfe Park The idea was for it to be a multi-use street, but not intended to be a primary access into Wolfe Park Mayor Dorfman stated that the intent was for Town Center to be quite crowded with activity and the idea of the road was to provide some access and was clearly not designed not to be a cut through. Councilmember Nelson thanked Council for granting a 30 day delay to consider Comprehensive Plan changes and believed that the Park Commons West Study had time to consider the proposal. He noted that there was currently no agreement on the north/south road and that the group would continue to consider these changes Councilmember Sanger moved that the following wording changes to alternative Chapter 13 and Chapter 15 be made Councilmember Brimeyer seconded the motion Chapter 15 - Add etc after sculptures and murals for public art that is permissible Chapter 13 - In regards to maximum and minimum uses, she wasn't sure how the term was defined, but believed it should be apartment or condominium use and not restricted to rentals Chapter 15 - Add and highlight bicycle access within the Park Commons area under the Livable Community Principals Councilmember Nelson accepted the friendly amendments as recommended by Councilmember Sanger. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to approve a resolution adopting changes to the Comprehensive Plan with those changes recommended by the Park Commons West Study, to forward amendments to the Metropolitan Council for review, and to approve summary publication The motion passed 7-0. 6c. Official Map Amendment-Trail Designation Portion of Hutchinson Spur Property near 31st St. Case No. 98. 98-03-OM Janet Jeremiah, Planning Manager presented a staff report and recommended approval of the Official Map Amendment I I The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve First Reading of an ordinance that amends the Official Map trail designation and to set Second Reading for November 16, 1998. The motion passed 7-0 6d. Amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance Case No. 98-32!SO/ZA The Mayor closed the Public I Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to continue the public hearing until November 16, 1998. The motion passed 7-0 7. Petitions, Requests, CI mmunications- None 8. Resolutions and Ordinances I 8a. Compensationl- 1999 Resolution # 98-145 Nancy Gohman, Human Resource Manager presented a staff report, stated that all items were within the 1999 budget constraints and recommended approval. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt the resolution and approve the City Manager's Compensation Plan for 1999. The motion passed 7-0. 8b. Establishing employer contributions for employer-provider cafeteria style benefit programs for 1999 covering non-union positions Resolution # 98-146 Nancy Gohman, Human Resource Manager presented a staff report reviewing the recent bid process. She stated that based on review of the market, benefit increase levels, and internal comparisons, it is recommended that the City increase its contribution by $20 per month for non- union employees and non-union supervisors for both single and dependent insurance levels for employees working over 30 hours per week, and $10 per month for non-union part-time employees An equal dollar contribution increase is recommended for both single and dependent benefits levels to ensure the benefit difference does not widen between the two groups. She noted that staff has recommended adding funds to budget for consulting fees to start an employee committee and review insurance plans to determine best coverage for the future Councilmember Brimeyer suggested building a critical mass similar to what Business Health Action Group had done in order to negotiate with providers for the best coverage Councilmember Sanger was opposed to all employee benefit benefits that did not actually narrow . the gap and ultimately eliminate the gap of the contribution by the City to individuals who have family verses than those who do not She believed it was inequitable to compensate people differentially based on a private lifestyle choice that had absolutely nothing to do with job performance or contributions to the City Councilmember Nelson requested that this issue be discussed at a City Council Study Session in the near future. Mr. Meyer, City Manager stated that staff would like to have some discussion with City employees about this issue and would be incorporating this into the study process Councilmember Young was opposed to the proposed ordinance amendment and desired to move away from the large difference in pay in benefits between single and dependent coverage insurance employees. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt a resolution establishing employer contribution to the cafeteria style benefits program for 1999 covering non-union supervisory and non-supervisory employees The motion passed 5-2 Councilmembers Sanger and Young opposed 8c. Zoning Ordinance Amendment- "R-3" Two Family District Case No. 98-29-ZA Ordinance# 2128-98 It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve Second Reading of the proposed ordinance to permit multiple family dwellings and associated accessory structures in existence prior to December 31, 1992 in the"R3" Two-Family District, approve the ordinance summary, and authorize publication The motion passed 7-0 8d. Resolution Providing For The Sale of Up to $4,305,000 In General Obligation Tax Increment Refunding Bonds. Resolution # 98-147 Kathleen McBride, Finance Director presented a staff report It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to approve the resolution. The motion passed 7-0 8e. Resolution Authorizing the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of the Issuer's Multifamily Housing Revenue Refunding Bonds (Park Ridge Apartments); Approving the Form of and Authorizing the Execution and Delivery of the Bonds and All Related Documents. Resolution # 98-148 It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the resolution. The motion passed 7-0 8f. Resolution Authorizing An Agreement Between The City And HLB Tautges Redpath,LTD. For Audit Services For The Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1998 Resolution # 98,149 By consent, Council approved the resolution. 8g. Traffic Study No. 534 Stop sign installation north service drive I-394 and Shelard Parkway Resolution # 9050 By consent, Council accepted the report for filing and adopted the attached resolution authorizing the stop sign installation described 8h. Traffic Study No. 536: Basketweave stop signs on W. 35th Street between Rhode Island Avenue and Texas Avenue and a four-way stop at Quebec Avenue Resolution # 98-151 By consent, Council adopted the resolution authorizing the installation of stop signs in a basketweave pattern on W 35th Street between Rhode Island and Texas Avenues, and a four- way stop at Quebec Avenue i 8i. France Avenue County State Aid Highway (CSAH) Revocation Resolution # 9�8-152 By consent, Council adopted the resolution concurring with Hennepin County's request to revoke portions of France Avenue 9. Reports from Ofliceis, Boards, Committees *a. Police Civil Service Commission Minutes of October 20, 1998 1 By consent, Council accepted report for filing *b. Vendor Claim Report By consent, Council accepted eport for filing 10. Unfinished Business' 10a. Board and i Commission Appointment(s) - None 11. New Business - None 12. Miscellaneous - None 13. Claims, Appropriations, Contract Payments 1 I 1 Partialsa. Contract Payments Resolution # 98-153 Thomas& Sons Construction, Inc. Concrete Sidewalk& Street Lighting $3,448.50 Contract no. 47-98; Project No 98-06 Ron Kassa Construction, Inc Alley Paving Cont No. 58-98, Proj No 94-23 $22,830 40 Hardrives, Inc. Construction of Excelsior Boulevard, Phase H -Monterey to $246,530.84 France Avenue Contract No. 14-98 By consent, Council approved and authorized payments Finals Grazzini Brothers -Rec Center Renaissance $1,555 00 Contract No 4122 Anchor Fence of MN, Inc -Rec Center $9,414 70 Renaissance Contract No. 4105 By consent, Council approved and authorized payments 14. Communications Mayor Dorfman indicated that the RV Ordinance had gone into effect and staff was available to answer questions about how residents could best comply She stated that the screening elements of the ordinance would go into effect in July, 1999 Mr Meyer indicated that staff would provide Council with memo on reaction and types of calls from residents in regards to this issue and some of the ways the education and compliance process would occur Mayor Dorfman reminded residents of Election Day, November 3rd and encouraged them to get out and vote 15. Adjournment It was moved by Councilmember Dorfman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adjourn the meeting at 9.15 p m The motion passed 7-0 / 4 fa • C. Clerk Mayor