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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/02/28 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION PARK February 28, 2000 The meeting convened at 7 00 p m Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Sue Santa, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs Staff present City Manager (Mr Meyer), Deputy City Manager (Mr Pires), Planning and Zoning Supervisor (Ms Jeremiah), and City Clerk (Ms Larsen) 1. Human Rights Commission — 1999 Year End Report and 2000 Workplan The following members of the Human Rights Commission were present Mark Berg, Emily Wallace Jackson, Herb Isbin, and Lynn Littlejohn The Council discussed how they would like to interact with all commissions Mayor Jacobs stated that he would like to meet with each commission at least once or twice a year and staff informed council that meetings are scheduled with all commissions for the year 2000 He emphasized the importance of informal meetings with all the commissions Councilmember Brimeyer agreed that the Council should be in contact with the commissions more frequently than in the past Councilmember Brimeyer felt that the Human Rights Commission should take a more proactive role in helping people to acclimate into the community Councilmember Latz suggested that the commission also be more proactive in education and prevention rather than focusing on being advocates for individuals Councilmember Nelson commended the commission for their good work and accomplishments in 1999 He said he would like to see the commission take a more advisory role to the Council and that the administrative chain of command should be followed Mr Latz replied that he did not feel as if the chain of command process is always in the best interest of the victim Mr Berg then explained the process followed when the commission intervened at the most recent hate crime incident He felt that the response of the police department in this incident did meet the guidelines of the City's hate crime policy Mr Latz stated that he felt it was appropriate for the Human Rights Commissioners to contact the victims Mr Meyer stated that Sgt Lorin Kramer was the Police Dept liaison to the commission and could facilitate interaction without following a traditional chain of command He also stated that if the City's hate crime policy is not followed properly, that information needs to be communicated to him so that he can work with the Chief of police to make necessary changes in police procedures Mayor Jacobs felt that the commission could be helpful to people who are unfamiliar with our culture and work environments Councilmember Brimeyer said he would like to see the commission identify their monetary and staff needs Mr Isbin asked the Council how they liked the format of the annual report The Council agreed that the formatting of the report was fine Study Session Minutes -2- February 28, 2000 2. Park Commons Commercial Leasing and Design Present at the meeting were Greg Esterman of AvalonBay, Alan Blom of Grubb and Ellis, and Dennis Sutcliff, design consultant for the project Ms Jeremiah discussed the proposed direction for the commercial development and overall design She stated that she was pleased with the expertise and local knowledge brought to the development team by Grubb and Ellis Mr Blom gave a brief background of his career and stated that he Grubb and Ellis is exclusively focusing on urban retail development Councilmember Nelson asked Mr Bloom about the town green concept, building heights, focus on Excelsior Blvd and when the plans would be back for review Mr Bloom replied that the town green from the consumer standpoint should not be too wide, that retail development is successful when consumers can cross-shop Council then discussed other communities and how green space can both add and detract from the design They stated that civic use of the development was important but does need to be balanced with a retail component Mr Esterman warned of the change in cost structure if the building is height is too large Councilmember Nelson stated that he wants to be sure that the neighborhood needs are satisfied regarding the project Councilmember Latz felt that the neighborhoods were not the only stakeholder in the project and stated his support for higher density in the area Mr Esterman was concerned with creating the right"feel" for the area Mr Meyer replied that the architectural style is also important and the scale should be consistent for human use and interaction Councilmember Brimeyer inquired about how the retail portion of the development was coming along Grubb and Ellis replied that there was a huge response to retail opportunity They also stated that the retail development must be on Excelsior Blvd They added that the area has always been commercial and the consumer pattern of shopping should not be changed They suggested that 39th St could better hold service businesses and small businesses and it should not serve as a major retail focus They said the area will develop as it becomes more known Councilmember Nelson inquired when the plans will be available Mr Esterman replied that they would be ready in ninety days Grubb and Ellis stated that they will need to move very quickly to draw the retail aspect Ms Jeremiah replied that staff would be working closely with the developer on creating a design and retail plan 3. MSP Real Estate Update/Business Points—Mill City Plywood Tom Kleve presented an overview of the business points of the MSP/Mill City Plywood site • development agreement After answering miscellaneous questions from Council regarding details of the plan, he informed Council that the Tax increment Financing Plan and Development Agreement would be presented to Council for approval at the March 20th meeting 4. Excelsior Boulevard Corridor Traffic Study Staff presented for Council review a preliminary scope of work outline relative to a traffic study of the Excelsior Boulevard corridor from France Avenue to Highway 100 and associated street network north and south of the boulevard They requested that Council provide direction to staff regarding the study and scope of work Study Session Minutes -3- February 28, 2000 Mr Harmening opened the discussion by presenting a history of traffic issues and neighborhood concerns He stated that the cost of the proposed traffic study was significant and that financing options were unclear Councilmember Nelson felt that before a full blown traffic study is undertaken, a baseline should be established using historical data as well as current counts already available Councilmember Brimeyer asked if neighborhood residents had been involved in creating the scope of work Mr Harmening replied that they were and their comments and requests had been instrumental in drafting the scope of work Councilmember Brimeyer also felt it would be helpful to define parameters prior to undertaking the study He felt it important to be clear about what questions the study should attempt to address Mayor Jacobs did not want to see development delayed as a result of undertaking a traffic study Councilmember Brimeyer suggested that as the area develops it may become feasible to implement Travel Demand Management Strategies 5. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds for'2000 Staff presented to Council recommendations for funding priorities for the 2000 CDBG program running from July 1, 2000 through December 31, 2001 Council briefly discussed the recommendations and asked that they be brought forward for public hearing on March 20th Mr Meyer stated that he felt the staff had done a fine job of creating a CDBG program that makes a significant positive impact on the community 6. City Council Contact Procedures Posted on Web Site Council held a discussion about contact procedures and informed staff that they felt each Councilmember should determine how they prefer to have address, phone numbers and email addresses listed Staff agreed to prepare information and to distribute to each Councilmember for corrections and additions 7. Communications Mr Meyer informed Council that a date for the council retreat had not yet been determined 8. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10 10 p m y Clerk Mayer