The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1999/09/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF ST LOUIS OFFICIAL MINUTES PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION September 27, 1999 The meeting convened at 7 04 p m Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Robert Young, Ron Latz and Mayor Jeff Jacobs Staff present Deputy City Manager (Mr Pires), Director of Community Development (Mr Harmening), Public Works Director(Mr Rardin), Public Works Coordinator(Mr Merkley), Operations Superintendent (Mr Backlund), Cable Television Coordinator(Mr Dunlap), and City Clerk (Ms Cindy Larsen) 1. Amending or renewing the Paragon Cable Franchise to upgrade to 750 MHz Kim Roden and Matt Haviland of Paragon Cable were in attendance at the meeting to address concerns about the need for an amendment to the existing cable television franchise Ms Roden first gave a brief summary of Paragon's proposed extension/renewal Mr Haviland then gave an overview of services provided in St Louis Park, current bandwidth capability, system architecture, construction plans for the proposed upgrade and services that would be available in the future Councilmember Sanger asked for assurance that future needs could be addressed and current problems with reception would be alleviated She also asked how costs would be distributed to pay for an upgrade Ms Roden responded that an expanded system would be better able to handle demand for services and that rates would be established to cover the cost of the upgrade Councilmember Latz asked what the annual gross revenue from St Louis Park was Mr Dunlap estimated that to be approximately $4 million annually Councilmember Latz did not feel an extension to the current franchise agreement was necessary He believed that language in the current agreement already required Paragon to complete the system upgrade Ms Roden disagreed with Councilmember Latz's interpretation of the language contained in the franchise agreement After discussion it was agreed that the City's Attorney should be consulted about the language and terms of the existing franchise agreement'and that the item should be discussed again following receipt of that information 2. CSM Project—Blackstone Neighborhood Staff asked Council to address several items related to the proposed from CSM Corporation for a proposed hotel and residential redevelopment project at 5901 Wazata Boulevard Several representatives of the developer were also present to answer council's questions Specific issues raised were Study Session Minutes -2- September 27, 1999 • Project economics/Amount of TIF assistance • Local contribution requirements • Acquisition dynamics • Fiscal disparity impact • Planning/Zoning process • Impact on the Neighborhood Councilmember Latz asked about the disposition of the billboard on the site He was not in favor of a city contribution that would go toward removal of the billboard Mr Carlin stated that Naegele would find relocation an acceptable alternative Councilmember Latz pointed out that if the billboard were moved rather than removed, the cost of the fiscal disparity would be offset Councilmember Nelson asked how acquisition of existing structures and properties was going Mr Palmatier stated that homeowners were waiting for assurances that this project would indeed be completed and did not feel there would be significant opposition Mayor Jacobs was supportive of the proposal and felt that staff should move forward with negotiation of a development agreement Councilmember Nelson stated that he did not want condemnation to be part of the acquisition process He also requested more information on the billboard and how it's disposition would affect the project's feasibility Mr Harmening summarized the discussion saying that council • Was generally in support of the project • Wanted fiscal disparities taken from the district • Did not want condemnation to be part of the process • Wanted projects to service the local contribution • Wanted to see options for billboard disposition He informed council that he would initiate the rezoning of the property Councilmember Santa wanted the neighborhood to know that if this project did not go through, another one would Councilmember Sanger asked that no improvements be made to 16th street that would encourage traffic to use that street to access the development 3. Towing Contract Chief John Luse and Captain Rod Walker discussed options for renewing the city's towing contract They presented a comparison survey and discussed response time, chain of evidence, length of the contract and a cancellation clause A representative of All Hours Towing, the city's current contractor stated that a longer contract would give them the ability to purchase of property rather than utilize their current lease agreement He also pointed out that in practice, other cities generally renew rather than request bids as contracts expire Study Session Minutes -3- September 27, 1999 4. Lawful Gambling Andrea Poehlor, Attorney with Campbell Knutson; was present to answer Council questions regarding the City's authority to conduct financial audits of gambling organizations in the city It was her opinion that because the State is the licensing authority, the city had little authority to require additional investigation beyond an initial background check provided for by statute, unless part of a criminal investigation The extent of the initial background check could, however, be more extensive than what is currently being done Following discussion, council directed staff to prepare an ordinance which imposed a trade area restriction for distribution of proceeds from lawful gambling conducted in the city, and to also provide an option to establish a city-administered fund of up to 10%of the net profits to be used for administration and regulation of gambling activity in the city Council also directed staff to prepare materials in advance of first reading informing gambling organizations about the proposed ordinance 5. Storm Water Utility Scott Merkley, Public Works Coordinator, presented to council guidelines for dealing with flood problem areas, the draft flood proofing grant program, the policies for the city's stormwater utility and the draft stormwater ordinance He pointed out changes to the policies which had been incorporated as a result of previous discussions with Council Mr Merkley also outlined a plan for the public information process which would include articles in the Park Perspective and the St Louis Park Business Line, a presentation to the Business Council and utility bill stuffers He offered to present public feedback to the council at a future study session meeting 6. Snow and Ice Policy Harlan Backlund, Public Works Operations Superintendent, presented Council with a draft policy for"Snow Plowing, Clearing, and Ice Control" reflecting the current practice of the City Staff noted that at times it is impossible to clear snow from designated sidewalks in conformance with Ordinance requirements In addition, staff identified several sidewalks and trails now being cleared by the City which have not been authorized for clearing by the Council Council questioned the current practice regarding overall City maintenance of sidewalks and requested staff to bring back relevant information to a future Study Session ( Study Session Minutes -4- September 27, 1999 8. Executive Session A motion to adjourn the study session and move to executive session for discussion of threatened litigation by Christianson (4312 Coolidge Ave S ) was made by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger Motion passed unanimously 9. Adjournment The study session reconvened at 10 24 p m and was adjourned at 10 25 p m y Clerk M. %r