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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999/04/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES Is T. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION April 12, 1999 The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Chris Nelson, Tim Brimeyer, Susan Sanger, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Meyer); Superintendent of Engineering(Mr. Moore); Community Outreach Coordinator(Ms. McDonell);Director of Community Development(Mr. Harmening); Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Anderson); Planning Manager(Ms. Jeremiah); and City Clerk(Ms. Larsen). 1. Neighborhood Grants Martha McDonell introduced the item. Also present as a representative of the Grant Review committee was Bob Polland (Minnekanda Vista). Neighborhood leaders from Texa Tonka, Blackstone, and Aquila neighborhoods were also present. Mr. Polland opened the discussion by explaining the process the committee had used to determine which neighborhoods would receive grant awards. He also raised several areas where the grant committee desired input from council. The Grant Committee asked if neighborhoods should be required to spend down money from last year's awards, or if budgets should carry over from year to year. Another issue raised by the committee was the concept of"payback for profit", where neighborhoods that actually made a profit as a result of an award from the grant program, would be required to return money to the City. Some neighborhoods requested money to recognize their neighborhood leaders. The question was raised if awards should be made to fund these activities. Councilmember Sanger questioned whether placement of a water fountain at Fern Hill Park was a City responsibility. She said she seemed to recall the former Parks and Recreation Director had approved the water fountain idea. Ms. McDonell said she had been present at that meeting and explained the water fountain situation. Councilmember Sanger asked for clarification of Texa Tonka request where the neighborhood had asked for an advance of funds to make deposits for year 2000 plans. Ms. McDonell clarified that the grant fund year is from spring to spring, and that if the request was not honored, residents would be required to make deposits on facilities and equipment using personal funds with reimbursement from the grant fund in the future. Councilmember Brimeyer stated his support for the grant and the rest of the Council agreed that the request was valid. He also suggested that the policy of advancing funds is reasonable. IIn respect to neighborhoods making a profit, Councilmember Brimeyer stated that if an activity increases connectivity, ending with a profit would be acceptable. Councilmember Sanger stated that the cost of processing reimbursements from the neighborhoods would be greater than the benefit and agreed with Councilmember Brimeyer. Councilmember Nelson stated that he felt all neighborhoods should be financially self-sustaining. Councilmember Brimeyer suggested providing the neighborhoods with"seed money" so requests for specific amounts would not be subject to Council approval. Mayor Jacobs stated that the Texa Tonka request was valid. Ms. McDonell asked Council if budgets from the neighborhoods were needed. Council stated that grant awards should be continued through submittal of budget. 2. Surface Water Management Plan Public Works Director, Mr. Rardin, handed out a list of topics to by covered during the meeting. Pete Willenburg gave a brief overview of the plan and efforts in place, and explained the purpose of the night's handouts. Councilmember Nelson asked for clarification of the total amount spent in seven years. Councilmember Sanger asked how funding will be accomplished. Mr. Meyer stated that a GO bond and payback from the water utility fund with appropriately set rates would be used. Councilmember Brimeyer asked where the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District responsibility ends. Mr. Rardin responded that their responsibilities are regional while the City's are local. He also mentioned the planned event"Water Fair". Mr. Willenburg stated the Watershed District would first develop their plan. The City then develops theirs and submits it to the Watershed District for approval. Once approved the plan heads back to Council for approval. Councilmember Brimeyer asked about a mailing from the Minnesota Department of Health and what impacts the report requested in that mailing would have on the city. Mr. Anderson said that the report is a new requirement from the MDH and is in the process of being completed. He saw no problems with completing the report as requested. 3. Trail/Sidewalk Study Public Works Director, Mr. Rardin, discussed the master plan adoption process. He then showed the changes from the original map to the new map. Councilmember Nelson asked if there was a higher priority in placing a sidewalk on 40th Street between Wooddale and Quentin in light of recent citizen input. He also asked about a North/South roadway connection at Dakota Ave. Councilmembers Sanger and Brimeyer did not recall previous Council discussion regarding vehicular traffic. Mr. Meyer agreed that N/S connections identified in the Vision and Trail/Sidewalk studies focused on pedestrian and bike access. Council discussed crossings, funding sources and the cost of implementation and focused on details of the proposed plan. Councilmember Sanger asked if sidewalks would be placed on one or both sides of the street. Mr. Rardin replied that it would be specific to each site. She then stated that Council would like cost estimates of snow removal on the City trails and neighborhood sidewalks. She felt that neighborhoods would have questions about the responsible party for snow removal. Mr. Rardin stated that all of Phase One in the City and the sidewalks would be maintained. Mr. Meyer added that Phase One gives the City basic connections needed for citywide trail connection. Councilmember Sanger asked about citizens who want additional sidewalks. She suggested we develop a policy for handling additional requests Councilmember Latz asked how the City would notify affected residents. He thought the City should be prepared for questions such as"What about my yard". He also cautioned against sending out a survey after holding open houses. Barry Warner of SRF stated that the proposed timing of the survey would provide the City Council with a defensible position that the system is good for the entire community rather that just feedback from impacted neighbors Mr. Rardin discussed the need to providing adequate public information, assessing the neighborhoods support correctly, and felt the survey could answer some of the City's questions. It was suggested that education activities take place at neighborhood meetings as soon as possible. 4. Park Commons Preliminary Development Agreement Requirements Ms. Jeremiah gave a report on the status of the Preliminary Agreement and stated that the developer was unable to fulfill the agreement terms in the specified amount of time. Greg Esterman was available throughout the presentation to respond to questions. Councilmember Brimeyer felt that if the requirements of the agreement were not fulfilled the city was justified in terminating the agreement. Ms. Jeremiah asked Council to consider the market study that was conducted by Maxfield Research and Zimmerman/Volk on behalf of the City. The study indicated that retailers would want the visibility of Excelsior Blvd. However, the proposed Avalon Bay plan was significantly different. Council then discussed the participation of Federal Realty, a commercial developer that Avalon Bay has an interest in using in the project. 5. RC Zoning Ordinance Amendments Councilmember Sanger asked why the waivers were classified as"M-X"(mixed-use). Ms. Jeremiah stated that the waivers applied only to the"R-C"District. Sanger stated her concern that these proposed waivers might negatively impact land use and Council would have little input on the conditions. Ms. Jeremiah responded that the redevelopment plan could outline specific conditions of the waivers. Conditions to be waived would be clearly defined and the redevelopment plan would state that it is adopted as part of the comprehensive plan. 6. Land Use in Blackstone Neighborhood Councilmember Sanger informed council of a situation in the Blackstone Neighborhood where potential developers were attempting to purchase single family properties. Councilmember Nelson asked about home valuation and proposed zoning. Mr. Harmening explained that the proposal to increase residential density would go to the Planning Commission later in the week and that there were no plans to change the zoning classification from single family to another use. Councilmember Nelson asked if staff resources would be a problem should the city decide to conduct major study like the study done at Highway 7/Louisiana. Mr. Harmening informed council that per earlier Council direction, staff was in the process of developing a program for using targeted CDBG funds to strengthen the Blackstone neighborhood Mr. Harmening suggested that the Comprehensive plan process move forward as planned. He indicated that staff would be coming forward with a targeted plan for the neighborhood. Councilmember Sanger suggested distributing information to the neighborhood. Mr. Harmening replied that information would be included in the newsletter. 7. Water Tower Color Councilmember Nelson introduced the item. He explained that a petition was submitted with several hundred signatures to change the color the water tower near Zarthan Ave. The petition suggested painting the tower blue. Mr. Anderson stated that maintenance of blue paint was more difficult than the"warm sun" color already chosen, but the financial impact of the change was insignificant. Council instructed staff to paint the water tower blue as requested by the petition. S. Neighborhood Splits , Councilmember Nelson pointed out the size of the Minnekanda Vista neighborhood and informed council that it was premature to bring this before the council since there was no neighborhood recommendation yet, but he did feel that the neighborhood was unworkably large. Mr. Meyer stated that the boundaries had been set some time ago. Ms. McDonell gave a presentation about neighborhood size and cohesiveness as it relates to St. Louis Park neighborhoods. She stated that larger neighborhoods are the ideal because of the greater amount of resources to draw upon. When neighborhoods are too small they tend to fail quickly because there are only a few persons willing to take on leadership responsibilities. Mr. Meyer stated that since police data is gathered by neighborhood, consolidation of neighborhoods may be an option, but splitting neighborhoods would have a negative impact. 9. Ward 3 Council Member Appointment Process After a brief discussion, it was decided that the public would be notified and applications sent out. It was suggested that the application used for board and commission members be redesigned for this appointment to include a resume and essay portion. 10. Communications Councilmember Brimeyer raised questions about the Environmental Remediation at the Nevens site and also on the Mill City site relating to the Tax Abatement. 11. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. 4C) 4---"L-v-"-_ Al ty Clerk M.�./