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Home My WebLink About1998/07/13 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF ST. Louis OFFICIAL MINUTES PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION July 13, 1998 The meeting convened at 6 15 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Jim Brimeyer and Mayor Gail Dorfman. Staff present: City Manager(Mr Meyer); Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening); Planning Manager(Ms. Jeremiah);Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Anderson); Public Works Director(Mr Rardin); City Assessor(Mr Stepnick); EDA Counsel (Mr. Bubul) and City Clerk (Ms Larsen) 1. Park Commons Discussion Staff updated the Council regarding activities related to the Park Commons Phase One, Block 1 project. Mr Harmening opened the discussion with some brief statements and informed Council that he wished to receive the Council's feedback regarding certain issues related to the redevelopment project. He shared a map showing the concept plan which showed Block 1 and Block 2 of the Phase I development Ms. Jeremiah informed Council that the Met Council Livable Communities grant application was due in 1-1/2 weeks and that staff was working diligently to complete the application. RFQ's have been sent out for Developers and responses are due on July 20th. Council discussed the"Jennings Block" in the development area. Mr Harmening stated that Mr. Jennings was working closely with staff and that staff felt that definite progress was being made. He said both parties are aware that there is a need for close collaboration to ensure a successful project. Mayor Dorfman asked about size specifications for the low income units to be part of the development and added that she felt they should be large enough to handle large families. Joanna Brownstein explained how Holman Tax Credits would be used for housing and also shared a summary of the proposed phase one housing mix showing unit size, and numbers of proposed units. Mayor Dorfman emphasized mixed housing as a requirement for receiving the grant funds. Ms. Jeremiah, Mr. Harmening and Mr. Anderson brought Council up to date on progress being made acquiring the single family homes. She indicated that 6 houses were yet to be acquired. Mayor Dorfman asked what the people in those homes thought about timing.. Mr Harmening said that residents have had ample opportunity to learn about the development plans and asked Council how they felt about the schedule, which is moving much faster than originally anticipated. Councilmembers indicated that they wanted the acquisition to continue to move quickly. Staff said that they would move forward with negotiations and possible condemnation proceedings 2. Update on Frauenhsuh proposal for the development of southwest and northwest quadrant of Highway 7 and Louisiana Avenue Mr. Anderson gave a brief background on history of this issue and said that the current development plans had been scaled down considerably from what was originally proposed. Councilmember Young stated that based on the information contained in the report, he could not support the project He did not feel that the return on the City's investment would cover even basic services such as police, fire, traffic, etc Mr Anderson said that staff was working with Frauenshuh on structuring the development agreement so that the city would capture future appreciation in value on the property Councilmember Nelson asked if this land was part of the Reilly consent decree. Mr Meyer said that technically it was not, but it is in an affected area. Mr Bubul added that he had doubts that the City has any recourse for additional funds from Reilly Councilmember Nelson asked if the City would be liable should the new owner need to do additional remediation in the future. Mr. Anderson said that that would also be built into the agreement. Councilmember Latz was troubled about the loss of the parking ramp. Mr. Meyer said that if Council was uncomfortable with the deal as it is, the addition of a parking ramp would make the proposal even more undesirable. Councilmember Brimeyer asked if the Oak Park Village TIF District could be expanded. Councilmember Young said that he did not feel it would be wise to pay cash from the Oak Park Village district. Councilmember Brimeyer responded that he would feel comfortable taking money from the district if it were to be used for the public pieces of the development such as parking, utilities, etc. Councilmember Sanger asked how the City could be assured that the development would pay off after 25 years Mr Anderson said that the development would be structured as a"pay as you go" model. Both Councilmember Young and Councilmember Jacobs indicated that they could not support the project. Councilmember Sanger felt that in increase in the density would make the proposal more economically viable Discussion ensued about the value of local business retention. Mayor Dorfinan asked if there were other locations in St Louis Park that could house the proposed use Mr. Anderson said there was nothing available now Staff indicated that the proposal would be refined and agreed to bring the issue back to Council at a future meeting 3. Alley Paving Policy (unpaved alleys) Mr. Stepnick outlined a proposed alley paving policy which would give more weight in the alley- petitioning process to property owners who pay the most for alley paving special assessments (direct benefits ) Under this policy, alley petitions that comply with this additional policy would be allowed a preliminary engineering hearing, public hearing and special assessment hearing The purpose of this additional policy is to encourage more alley paving in the city. He also presented a list of the City's alleys which indicated the paving status of each Mayor Dorfman asked what the benefits of alley paving would be to the community. Mr Rardin responded that paving results in improved drainage and easier cleaning and snow removal. Some discussion occurred as to whether the Council should made a decision to pave all of the City's alleys. After this discussion it was agreed that the incremental step of adopting the proposed policy was the more logical course of action. 4. Reorganization of Public Works Mr. Rardin educated Councilmembers on the restructuring of the City's Public Works Department. He presented a brief historical perspective and organizational charts for the current reorganization. Councilmember Nelson asked if the City expected resistance from staff. Mr. Rardin stressed that no employees would lose their job or have their pay reduced. Councilmember Sanger asked how the new structure would benefit our customers. Mr. Rardin explained that the changes in structure will allow for the Public Works Department to work in a more proactive mode. He also felt the new structure would help to instill in employees the desire to continually improve, to become competitive, and to become accountable. It would also address concerns over priority setting, coordination, and cooperation between employees, Divisions, and Departments. Councilmember Brimeyer asked how this fits in with the Parks and Recreation Department. Mr. Rardin responded that it could also benefit that department and that he will be working closely with the new Parks and Recreation Director to align services and job assignments. 5. Golden Auto -Rail Interconnect Staff met with Council to discuss the retention of a consultant to provide project management services relating to undertaking the various tasks as outlined in the preliminary agreement between the City of St. Louis Park, St. Louis Park Economic Development Authority and Hennepin County. Mr Meyer said that after conducting an interview process City staff is recommending retaining the services of Richard L Koppy of RLK and Associates to serve as project manager He felt Mr Koppy would be able to devote more time and energy to the research needed to pull the various groups together on this issue and that Mr Koppy had the experience in working with other consultants that will need to offer their expertise to the research effort. He also stressed the Mr. Koppy's skill in dealing with neighborhood groups. 6. Communications Mr. Meyer informed Council of an upcoming Vision St. Louis Park Outcomes Committee meeting. • mars qty Clerk Mayor