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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/04/24 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION PARK April 24, 2000 The meeting convened at 7.17 p m Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Robert Young and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present City Manager (Mr Meyer), Deputy City Manager (Clint Pires), Public Works Director(Mr Rardin), Community Development Director(Mr Harmening), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr Kleve), Planner (Ms Peterson), Housing Supervisor (Ms Schnitker), Director of Parks and Recreation (Ms Walsh), and City Clerk (Ms Larsen) 1. Charter Commission The following members of the Charter Commission were present Jim Schaefer, Paul Carver, Mike Sixel, Carol Walsh, Cindy Ahrens, Ruth and Norman Kirschner, Cheryl Ernst, Dorothea Moga, and Chair George Beck Mr Beck gave a brief review of their 1999 accomplishments, stating such activities as recommending and reviewing amendments to City Charter, ongoing review of legislation, and the election and recruitment of Charter Commission members Mr Beck stated that the Commission is currently reviewing the franchise policy Other goals they would like to complete in 2000 are the continuation of their review of sections of the Charter affected by the City's recodification project and determining what role the Civil Service Commissions have The Commission continually spends time focusing on the recruitment of new members and also annually reviews pending legislation that may affect the Charter Councilmember Sanger had concerns about redistricting Councilmember Brimeyer felt that the Commission should look at deleting references to cable franchises and civil service commissions Councilmember Latz inquired on the status of the recodification process 2. Louisiana Court Bonds The Mayor call to order a public hearing to approve the sale of bonds for the Louisiana Court project at 7 45 p m Present were Council members Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Robert Young, and Mayor Jacobs Mark Ruff of Ehlers and Associates and John Utley of Kennedy and Graven were both present at the meeting Ms Schnitker updated the Council on what has happened since the last Council meeting She stated that the uncertainty of MHFA has been resolved and formal approval will be granted on April 27, 2000 PPL has received bids from contractors, staff along with consultants will meet with PPL to review the bids and improvements that can be made within the budget Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing to consider a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation bond series 2000A for the Louisiana Court project The hearing was closed, with no one present wishing to speak Study Session Minutes -2- April 24, 2000 Councilmember Nelson felt that his concerns have been addressed and stated his intention to vote in favor of the resolution Councilmember Santa made the motion to approve the resolution, seconded by Councilmember Latz The motion passed 6-1 with Councilmember Young opposed Jim Scheibel, Director of PPL, thanked Council and staff for their participation and support in the project. It was motioned by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Sanger to adjourn the meeting 3. Art Funding Opportunities The study session reconvened Ms Walsh gave a brief background of the item and stated that Councilmember Brimeyer had previously asked staff to research funding options that other communities are using to fund arts in their community The City of Chaska has developers fund the arts in the community, for projects involving TIF the actual project cost may be increased and for other projects the developer pays for the public art The City of Fort Collins has initiated an "art in public places" policy For each construction project the developer must contribute a certain percentage or retain an approved artist to participate in the construction Fort Collins will also incorporate artistic value in all its construction projects and public places as well The City of Minneapolis provides neighborhood grants of up to $2000 per project to the neighborhood associations The City of Los Angeles has developed a trust fund that provides funding for cultural life that was established from the Transient Occupancy Tax Developers would also have a choice of dedicating money, creating a cultural facility, or commissioning work on their site depending upon the size of the proposed development Ms Walsh•stated that Council could also consider the option to have one percent of the project costs of new developments go towards funding for the arts Mr Meyer asked the Council for clarification on what they think the end result should be Councilmember Brimeyer felt that a small percent of project development costs should go towards public art Councilmember Santa asked Council if they felt that funding from the developers of project should go to that site or if the money should go into general fund Councilmember Sanger stated that she had a broader desire to encompass other areas of community aesthetics such as architecture and landscaping Mayor Jacobs was concerned with how the decision will be made on what type of art is selected, Councilmember Sanger replied that the standards would have to be set and funding could come from a community foundation Mr Meyer stated that staff will develop a package for future Council consideration and suggested that perhaps an architectural review board be assigned 4. Excelsior Boulevard Corridor Mr Harmening stated that the intent of this discussion is to select a traffic consultant for the Excelsior Boulevard corridor between France Ave and Highway 100 Council had previously directed staff to undergo steps for the selection of a consultant for the corridor. Staff has envisioned that the study be done in two phases The first will be a scoping process and Study Session Minutes -3- April 24, 2000 summary of existing studies The scoping process will bring about the second phase in which issues will be determined for further study Staff reviewed four proposals and selected BRW and SRF for interviews On completion of those interviews, staff would recommend that SRF be chosen due to their previous experience in that specific area However, staff is concerned that some residents may feel that the firm is too involved in the project and not able to objectively review the issues Also.SRF's costs for the first phase are higher than any others Mr Harmening stated that BRW will also be able to do the study and would like Council direction regarding the selection of a consultant Councilmember Nelson asked if BRW would also have credibility issues with the residents, Mr Harmening replied that there were two different public processes proposed by the two firms Councilmember Brimeyer felt that the first phase should be more narrow in scope to determine the existing conditions Councilmembers Sanger and Young agreed Mr Meyer stated that perceptions of the public are only one factor to consider Determining public perceptions is only a part of the baseline information that is needed Mr Harmening stated that phase two will not be complete if phase one does not identify everything that needs to be included Council then discussed the scope of the project Councilmember Sanger felt that a fresh look at the project needs to be taken She suggested that the project be done in three phases determine existing studies and needs, build on those studies and needs, and then incorporate it into a final result Councilmember Sanger suggested that they select BRW as the consultant and the other Councilmembers agreed Councilmember Latz stated that the credibility of sources needs to be a concern Councilmember Young felt that they needed to be careful to get input citywide 5. Sanitary Sewer Service Line Backwater Valves Mr Rardin said that he was looking for feedback from the Council on this issue He distributed a handout and indicated that he would like to discuss the following topics system problems and remediation, cost of units, cause of problems, and setting priorities Mayor Jacobs stated that public participation needs to be an element in the process and also suggested that an alarm be installed at the lift stations Councilmember Sanger felt that the city should take preventive measures to show due diligence rather than pay an insurance settlement in the end Councilmember Santa felt that a grant program would give residents the option to participate Mayor Jacobs asked the Council if they felt that such a program should be modeled after the Dutch Elm program Councilmember Brimeyer felt that would be acceptable with adequate conditions Council agreed to the staff recommendation to adopt a pilot program and install an alarm at lift station 19 Council agreed that there would be a $2,000 cap for the grant program with substantial participation on the part of the resident The Board of Equalization reconvened at 9:15 p.m. and was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Mayor Jacobs called the study session to order again at 10:00 p.m. Study Session Minutes -4- April 24, 2000 6. Traffic and access issues at Zarthan Ave. and W 16th St. Ms Peterson reviewed the most recent site plan for the Council Council questioned the configuration of in the intersection at Zarthan Ave and W 16th St Councilmember Brimeyer asked for an explanation on the project from Charlene Zimmer, a traffic consultant with SRF, She explained how land use dictates traffic flow and how road configuration can direct traffic to collector streets Staff and Council discussed redirecting traffic to facilitate an east-west movement and possible future connection to other side of Park Place Blvd They determined that cut through traffic in the neighborhood is currently minimal so redirection at the intersection has little or no effect on the neighborhood situation Councilmember Nelson had concerns regarding costs Mr Harmening replied that the signal for the intersection would be paid by Costco He said that another source of revenue would be the local contribution payment Mr Meyer asked when this would be implemented and suggested that they look at the cost of maintaining the signal Councilmember Sanger questioned why two driveways were needed for entrance to the townhomes Ms Peterson replied that based on traffic counts they needed every vehicle access point Mr Lindstrom stated that the Fire department needed total access to the development and would not support limited access Councilmember Young felt that the townhomes should be connected to the neighborhood Councilmember Sanger suggested offsetting the entrances to the townhomes so they are not directly on Alabama and adding parking bays Ms Zimmer replied that offsetting the entrances may create accidents and may not be practical However, she thought that the parking bays were a good idea Councilmember Young felt that all the issues raised have already been dealt with Mayor Jacobs stated that the Council should not try to design the intersection, but should let the traffic engineers be responsible for the design 7. MSP Real Estate Update/Development Contract Amendment Request Mr Kleve explained that changes that have taken place since the last discussion with Council He reported that all bids received for general contractors were above the budget for MSP MSP will try to fill the gap by cutting operating costs, adding equity to the project, and increasing rent MSP has asked the City/EDA to increase the number of years of TIF assistance from seventeen to twenty This could be paid off sooner if values increase faster than two percent per year Staff is reluctant to close on the property if there is a chance that the project will not move forward Council felt that the changes were acceptable as proposed Mr Kleve informed the Council that grant funds from Met Council and DTED had been released to help fund the project 8. Communications Mr Meyer informed Council that the School District has reached an agreement with PACE Council discussed the possibility of holding their regular meeting on July 5th and the feasibility of doing so Study Session Minutes -5- April 24, 2000 Mr Meyer also reported that despitemany rumors tb the contrary, no project plans had yet been submitted to the city for additional construction in the Shelard Park area 9. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11 05 p m City Jerk • May.