Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/07/23 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session 11:1STILou(lsCTY OFFICIAL MINUTES RK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION I JULY 23, 2007 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, John Basill, C. Paul Carver, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Loran Paprocki, and Susan Sanger. Councilmembers absent: None Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Housing Program Coordinator (Ms. Larsen), Community Development Director (Mr. Locke), Housing Supervisor (Ms. Schnitker), Finance Director(Mr. DeJong) and Recording Secretary(Ms. Schmidt). Guests: Darryle Henry, Vice President, Duke Realty; Dale Emter, Duke Realty Pre-Construction Manager 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning Mr. Harmening and Council discussed study session agenda planning. Councilmember Paprocki inquired about a Council weekend winter workshop. Mr. Harmening stated he would check Council's schedules and try to arrange one. 2. Preliminary Business Terms for Duke Realty's Proposed West End Project Mr. Locke presented the staff report, updating Council on where the project currently is and what the next steps would be. Darryle Henry, Vice President Duke Realty, reported they have recently joined with Jeffrey R Anderson Real Estate, a retail lifestyle developer out of Cincinnati, on a joint venture for the project. Mr. Henry showed illustrations and updated Council on changes that have been made. He stated Whole Foods is no longer part of the project, so they will split that area into two. He also stated they would be bringing retail into Park Place and have added more connectivity from West End Boulevard to Park Place. The plans include a second level office space and have replaced the visible parking ramp with a proposed underground 400 space parking facility, with the theatre plan remaining unchanged. He stated the plan shows West End Boulevard as the designated public space, and that it would be having several pop-up points for people to enter the complex. Councilmember Sanger stated it appeared they had added two new driveways. Mr. Henry stated they were created as a right in, right out for service truck access with designated hours of operation. Mayor Jacobs inquired about the truck entrances and asked if people would be able to access them. Mr. Henry stated the entrances for cars and trucks be separate. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what the cost increase would be for the underground parking. Mr. Henry stated approximately three million dollars. Councilmember Carver asked if there would still be the same number of parking spaces. Mr. Henry stated yes. Councilmember Carver asked about the width of one of the malls. Mr. Emter stated 40 feet with pedestnan access only. Councilmember Carver asked what type of stores Study Session Minutes -2- July 23, 2007 would locate in the pedestrian access only mall areas. Mr. Henry stated typical type shops, with Joseph Banks and Lane Bryant in the center. Councilmember Carver asked if there was access into the office and shops from the ramps. Mr. Henry stated there would be access from below grade through popup points that would be located throughout the site. Councilmember Carver asked where the indoor gathering space would be. Mr. Henry stated it was still in its original location. Councilmember Sanger asked for a companson of both plans to total retail commercial square footage and how people coming by foot, bus and bike would access it. Mr. Henry stated it remains about the same square footage, but they were trying to push it higher, stating approximately 335,000 — 340,000 square feet would be retail, hotel, and office space He stated this plan allowed for more access points and pedestrians would come through the ramp and access at a popup point. Councilmember Sanger asked about the bus transit stops. Mr. Henry stated it would remain as originally proposed. Councilmember Sanger asked how they would address the Express bus riders parking in the ramp. Mr. Henry stated it would need to be monitored. Councilmember Omodt asked if there would be any big box stores. Mr. Henry stated it is their intent to add them and they were working on this. Mayor Jacobs stated the revised plan appears to be a better overall plan. Mr. Henry stated it would also be easily identifiable as you dnve by. Councilmember Paprocki asked who would absorb the additional cost. Mr. Henry stated it was yet to be determined. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what the total TIF number would be. Mr. Locke stated the preliminary numbers had been given to Ehlers & Associates for their review. Mayor Jacobs stated concern with the length of the TIF. Councilmember Finkelstein thought the new design was better but was still concerned with the length and amount of the TIF. Mr. Locke stated the developer would be taking the risk of moving forward until the preliminary plat is approved. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what would happen if they could not come to an agreement after the process had started. Mr. Locke stated the City might end up with 30 acres of vacant lots waiting for someone to build on. Councilmember Finkelstein asked how much Duke has already spent on assembling the parcel. Mr. Henry stated they already own most of it, stating they added the tennis club and that was approximately four million dollars. Mayor Jacobs asked if there would be any on-street parking. Mr. Henry stated no. Councilmember Paprocki asked about parking for on-site police and Mr. Henry stated there would be space in the garage. Councilmember Sanger asked for more details on the public space. Mr. Henry stated they would like to add a conference room on the second level. Councilmember Finkelstein asked the size of the conference room. Mr. Henry stated approximately 700 square feet. Mr. Locke stated the Community Planning Committee and SRF would be reviewing the details Councilmember Sanger asked at what point would they have an idea of the amount of TIF needed and if they would be dealing with a TIF district for each portion of the project. She also stated concern that the draft indicated a portion was not due to be completed until 2014. Mr. Locke stated they hoped to come back to Council within the next month with the TIF figures. Study Session Minutes -3- July 23, 2007 He indicated the TIF analysis stated they would need to create one TIF district for the entire project, and there was a five-year limit for completion. Mr. Locke stated the 2014 completion is for additional office buildings, and the impact of office buildings coming at a later time would reduce the amount of increment that the City decided to allow Duke. Councilmember Sanger asked if the retail portion would be jeopardized with office buildings coming later. Mr. Locke stated it would be more advantageous to have it completed sooner rather than later. Councilmember Sanger stated it appeared the new plan presumed Golden Valley agreed to the Joint Powers Agreement. Mr. Locke stated they have met with Golden Valley staff and there seemed to be renewed interest. Mayor Jacobs stated the LEED certification is an important requirement, and that he would like to see it as' high as possible. He also suggested the crosswalks be prominent and easily accessible. Councilmember Sanger agreed with additional crosswalks. Councilmember Carver suggested accommodating for parking on Park Place, suggesting it would be more pedestnan friendly. Councilmember Paprocki agreed, stating that with the proposed layout, the businesses would have trouble attracting customers to that area. Mr. Locke suggested coming back to Council the end of August with updates on the business terms and TIF number information. 3. Land Sales Proceeds Mr. Locke presented the staff report. Council and staff had discussion on what the goals for the land sales proceeds should be and how best to accomplish them. Mayor Jacobs felt Council shouldn't make the decision, suggesting public process in the decision. Mr. Locke reminded Council the City is not allowed to invest the money because it is public money. Council thought a committee with the vision of the community be established to decide on how best to handle the net land sale proceeds, with updates provided to Council. It was the consensus of Council to direct staff to layout an outline with the purpose of the committee and start the process to select committee members. 4. Semi Annual Housing Report Ms. Larsen presented the staff report. Council and staff had discussion on the recent Star Tribune editorial. Council suggested staff contact the Star Tribune and educate them on what is actually happening in the City. Councilmember Carver asked who defines affordable housing. Ms. Schnitker stated the Met Council does. Councilmember Paprocki stated the report seemed under budget. Ms. Larsen stated 2007 has been a productive year with transformation-move up loans exceeding the projection. Ms. Schnitker stated there were three applicants that would still like to continue the process if money were available. She stated they could transfer money from other funds to try and meet program needs. Councilmember Paprocki asked if money could be shifted from the discounted loan Study Session Minutes -4- July 23, 2007 money into the transformation loans. Ms. Schnitker stated that have already designated approximately $100,000 to cover three loan requests that were in the system. She also stated in recently reviewing the budget they were able to move another $70,000 into the transformations loan, which may be enough money to fund the three existing applications. Councilmember Sanger asked if staff is taking a waiting list. Ms. Larsen stated not at this point. Councilmember Sanger agreed with Councilmember Paprocki with suggesting the money be transferred from different funds. Councilmember Sanger asked if the figures included homes in foreclosure. Ms. Larsen stated it was only houses that have actually been sold and gone through the sheriff's sale. Councilmember Sanger suggested tracking the data through the inspection and police department and provide assistance to help prevent foreclosures. Ms. Larsen stated in their review of those calls, only 11 out of 1,000 had been foreclosed on for that period of time. Councilmember Sanger stated there might be people that are in and out of the system and asked how that could be tracked. Ms. Schnitker stated there may be people that may have been missed, stating the only way they find out is once they reach the sheriff's sale. Councilmember Sanger asked if there are inspection issues during the process, asking if there were things the City could do to provide them with help, alleviating problems for the neighbors around them. Ms. Larsen stated the County is working on establishing some foreclosure counselors and education to help with the impact of the foreclosure. Councilmember Carver asked how the current rate compared to that of the past five years. Ms. Schnitker stated records were not available to do a comparison. Ms. Schnitker stated the State has recently passed laws to curb predatory lending. She stated the legislature passed a law requiring venfied income loans, with stated income loans no longer allowed. Mr. Locke agreed that predatory lending was too readily available. Councilmember Finkelstein suggested providing some options for owner-occupied, single-family homes for low and moderate income. Ms. Schnitker stated they were working on affordable housing and looking at different options. Councilmember Sanger suggested using discounted first-time buyer money. Ms. Schnitker stated the State still has the program available. Councilmember Sanger suggested doing a demonstration project similar to Blackstone. Ms. Schnitker stated it was something they could review. Councilmember Basill stated concern with the discounted home loan levels cutting off too soon and asked if anything could be done with the levels. Ms. Larsen stated the state loans are not negotiable. 5. 2008 Budget Overview Mr. DeJong presented the staff report. Mr. Harmening stated the overview was in its rough stages, with finance being faced with many challenges. He also stated the actual line items would be provided at a subsequent meeting for their review. Council and staff discussed the levy process, percentages and possible impact on taxpayers. Study Session Minutes -5- July 23, 2007 6. Vision Update Mr. Harmening presented the staff report. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if vision updates would be reported to the community. Mr. Harmening stated yes. Updates Mr. Harmening stated staff had been working with TOLD (the Excelsior & Grand Developer) and ESG(the architect) to have Excelsior and Grand certified as a LEED neighborhood. Mr. Harmening reminded Council they had until election time to increase Council salaries if they so desired. It was the consensus of Council to not raise their salaries for 2008. The meeting adjourned at 9:18 p.m. Wntten Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 7. 2007 Volunteers in the Park Annual Report 8. Floodplan Update: Park Nicollet LOMR Application 9. June 2007 Monthly Financial Report 10. Quarterly Investment Report (April—June 2007) 11. Park WiFi Update 1111111/ Nancy Stroth, Ci Clerk J:',f J:c-obs, Mayor