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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/11/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CTY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES I TLOUIS CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION RK November 27, 2006 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. at Fire Station No. 1. Councilmembers present: John Basill, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Loran Paprocki, Susan Sanger, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Councilmember C. Paul Carver amved at 6:45 p.m. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmemng); Fire Chief (Mr. Stemmer); Director of Inspections (Mr. Hoffman); Public Works Director (Mr. Rardin), City Engineer (Mr. Brink); Finance Director(Mr. DeJong); and Recording Secretary(Ms. Samson). Guests present from BKV Group: Ted E. Redmond and David R. Kroos. From Ehlers & Associates, Jessica Cook. 1. SW LRT Street Crossing Beltline and Wooddale City Engineer Scott Bnnk started the discussion regarding options and recommendations provided in the recently completed report by SRF Consulting Engineers. Staff is seeking Council direction for the Regional Trail crossings at Beltline Blvd. and Wooddale Avenue. Mr. Brink said staff is recommending a grade separated crossing. Councilmember Sanger asked if it would be possible to go from two lanes to one. Mr Brink said staff can look at the feasibility of one lane on Beltline Blvd. Councilmember Basill asked if the new signage increased safety Councilmember Finkelstein said more enforcement is needed. Councilmember Sanger feels the bikers should have refuge in the middle of the road but the refuge should be higher and wider. Councilmember Sanger doesn't want to move the Wooddale crossing to Highway 7. Councilmember Sanger would like to prohibit nght turns on red from Highway 7 so that trail users would have a break in traffic to allow them to cross. Councilmember Finkelstein doesn't want to move the Wooddale crossing to Highway 7 either and would also like right turns onto Highway 7 prohibited. Director of Public Works Mike Rardin said the decision to allow or disallow right turns on red from Highway 7 would be the decision of Hennepin County Councilmember Carver is in general agreement with crossing options #4, which is a traffic signal with crosswalk, and #10, which is center median with refuge (widen road) for Beltline Blvd. Councilmember Carver said the city cannot get by with one lane. Councilmember Sanger asked in #4 and #10 could be combined. Mr. Brink responded yes. Mayor Jacobs doesn't want to spend $100,000 and then do it again. Mayor Jacobs said the consensus is to choose the low cost option for now. Councilmember Sanger asked if staff could explore picking up a few feet on either side of the roadway. City Manager Tom Harmening said a signalized crossing would be better. Study Session Minutes -2- November 27, 2006 Mr. Rardin said staff will need approval from the railroad and more information from Three Rivers Park District and the railroad. Mr. Harmening said a refinement of costs would also be needed. 2. Sanitary Sewer Backup Policy Mr. Rardin presented the staff report. He said the homeowner's insurance will cover the first $5,000 of damages incurred from sanitary sewer backup.. Councilmember Basill likes the change, i.e., city reimbursement will only be considered once to an owner and will be limited to out-of-pocket expenses over$5,000 but not to exceed $50,000. Councilmember Finkelstein is troubled by the change and a $50,000 limit is too much; it should not exceed $10,000. Councilmember Finkelstein would like to promote a total no-fault policy, residents must provide documented reimbursement, and he does not favor replacement value. Councilmember Sanger agrees with Councilmember Basill. Councilmember Sanger asked if the sanitary sewer backup policy could be funded from the sewer fund. Mr. Harmemng replied yes. Councilmember Omodt said a $50,000 limit is acceptable, however, Councilmember Paprocki said a$50,000 limit is too high. Councilmember Carver said analyze the data and said that the deductible is acceptable. Mayor Jacobs would like to lower the $50,000 limit. Councilmember Sanger said the city should encourage the use of backup values in homes to prevent sewer backups from happening. Mr. Rardin said staff will work with the League of Minnesota Cities and return with a report. Mr. Harmening summarized: The maximum limit will be $40,000 for St. Louis Park—the $40,000 is after the $5,000 deductible. 3. 2007 Enterprise Fund Budget Discussion Finance Director Bruce DeJong said the purpose of this discussion is to review the proposed budgets and utility rates for each of the enterprise funds that St. Louis Park operates. Jessica Cook from Ehlers and Associates discussed the water fund. Ms. Cook discussed incurring and allocating costs, which included a tiered rate system. Councilmember Basill asked if the tiered rate system would be punitive and he would like to study the data in greater detail. Councilmember Sanger likes the prospect of the tiered rate system Ms. Cook also discussed the storm water system. Councilmember Finkelstein asked about redevelopment in St. Louis Park and connection fees. Ms. Cook responded that currently St. Louis Park doesn't charge a connection fee, however, Ehlers is recommending the city establish a connection fee beginning in 2008 of$1,000 per unit. 4. Fire Station ')(bur Council and staff toured Fire Station No. 1. Study Session Minutes -3- November 27, 2006 5. Facilities Planning Study Fire Station Phase Director of Inspections Brian Hoffinan said no major policy decisions will be made tonight. Ted Redmond from BKV Group presented highlights from the "Fire Station Needs Assessment Study—Final Draft—BKV Group" Comm. No. 1183.09. Mr. Redmond said in addition to a space needs assessment, there are functional issues as well. Mr. Redmond said the report is a function driven assessment. He presented site plans for Fire Stations No. 1 and No. 2. Mayor Jacobs asked, in terms of tonight, what is needed from the Council. Mr. Hoffinan said the city is probably looking at a 3-5 year time frame for making a decision and said a newly constructed fire station or fire stations would be good for 40 years. Mayor Jacobs said the city needs to start a public process to educate the public. Mayor Jacobs would like to incorporate geothermal or solar energy into any new fire station. Mr. Harmening remarked that staff is not recommending a remodel of the fire stations.. Councilmember Sanger doesn't want fire trucks to have to back-in to any fire station. Education is needed to avoid rumors. Councilmember Sanger asked what will become of the two old fire stations particularly to include data on response time and safety. Mr. Harmening reported that as a result of the study session meeting of November 27th, Council has requested staff to undertake the following steps over the next four to six months: 1.) Undertake a detailed site study to include: Identify potential sites for two stations or a single station; map citywide fire risk; evaluate depth of coverage and response time of station site scenarios and create direct comparisons of a single station vs. a two-station fire service model; recommend preferred fire station site scenario(s); identify potential site acquisition and development costs associated with the site scenario(s). 2.) Evaluate funding options. 3.) Determine options for utilization of existing stations if new station(s) are built. This would include options for the location of the current Utilities Division operation, e.g., stay in current location at Station No. 1 or move and/or other possible uses of the structures by other departments. 4.) Undertake an effort of communicating with the public on the facility needs of the Fire Department. 5.) Return to the Council in four to six months to present findings. Staff will return to Council in spring 2007 to review its findings and present options for Council consideration on how to proceed with the selection of fire station site(s) and levels of service. 6. Future Study Session Agenda Planning The meeting ended at 10:32 p m. `%_ c________ , City Clerk 1 )teccri54 __ ,J Mayor Y u