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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008/09/22 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session 7 St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tern Sue Sanger, John Basill, C. Paul Carver, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt and Loran Paprocki. Council members absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Communications Coordinator (Mr. Zwilling), Director of Inspections (Mr. Hoffman), Housing Program Coordinator (Ms. Larsen), Planning/Zoning Supervisor (Ms. McMonigal), Mark Oestrich (Westwood Hills Nature Center Manager).and Recording Secretary (Ms. Larrea). Guests: Mark Wegner (President, Twin Cities &Western Railroad Company), Bob Suko (General Manager of Operations, Twin Cities &Western Railroad Company) and Jim Brimeyer. 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning -- October 6, October 13 and October 14, 2008 Mr. Harmening presented the staff report. Councilmember Finkelstein will be absent but would like to participate via teleconference for the study session of October 13, 2008. Councilmember Paprocki noted that at an upcoming study session he would like to discuss land sales money. Mr. Harmening responded that this item will be on the agenda sometime in October or November 2008. Mr. Harmening noted that the Surface Water Management Plan Update scheduled for discussion during the October 13, 2008 study session may be able to be put into a report. He is looking into this. Mr. Harmening requested a special study session for Tuesday, October 14, 2008 in order to discuss financing plans for upcoming significant capital projects It was the consensus of the Council to not have a special study session on October 14 and requested that the City Manager fit in the discussion on capital project funding as part of regular study sessions by rescheduling other items. 2. Twin Cities & Western Railroad Officials — Update to Council Mr. Wegner from Twin Cities Western Railroad (TCW) presented to the Council regarding the operation plans for their short-line railroad. He updated the Council on the Glencoe Railroad Switchyard in regards the affects on St. Louis Park. Study Session Minutes -2- September 22, 2008 Councilmember Omodt questioned what assurance they would have that railcars would no longer be sorted in St. Louis Park if they contributed money to have it moved. Mr. Wegner responded that they did not have a want or a need to sort within the City. It is inefficient and is only done now because it is necessary but they would not be able to guarantee that they would never need to sort in the City again. Councilmember Omodt questioned what they thought that the project would cost. Mr. Harmening responded that they are pricing the project at about$3 million dollars. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what the annual revenues of TCW were. Mr. Wagner answered that they are privately owned and stated that it would take them a significant amount of time to pay for this project alone. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what they would do if they couldn't get the money from Washington. Mr. Wegner responded that they would continue to operate the way that they currently are. Councilmember Sanger asked if they continued to operate the way they currently are what they foresee in their growth of operations. Mr. Wegner responded that they anticipate two trains a day that they would have to sort. They will have to change their hours of operation when LRT comes. There will be more sorting. Councilmember Paprocki asked if the funding was approved if TCW would agree that those rails used for sorting would no longer be needed. Mr. Wegner stated that he couldn't say much because they don't own the rails. Mr. Suko stated that a $3million yard is not going to accommodate all of the cars and they would still likely have to use those rails in some way. Councilmember Paprocki questioned what TCW would do if St. Louis Park told them they would only commit to funding if TCW agreed to no longer storing cars in St. Louis Park and no longer switching and sorting cars in St. Louis Park. Mr. Wegner responded that they would walk away from the project and continue operations as they are. Councilmember Paprocki questioned what they would do if they were allowed to store cars but not sort cars. Mr. Wegner responded that they couldn't agree to never having cars switched and sorted in St. Louis Park but they could consider no more then 5% sorting in a given year. Mr. Harmening stated that staff is interested in the Council's view of how to move forward on this topic. Councilmember Carver noted that as long as the tracks are on the ground someone else is going to want to make use of them. He feels that it would solve the problem for now, but they need to look at how beneficial it would be in the long run. Councilmember Basill said what they need to look at is that this is an opportunity to get rid of the sorting of rail cars. He noted that the City is never going to get rid of the storage of cars in St. Louis Park. Councilmember Paprocki stated that the real problem is sorting, the loud noise and the clanging of the cars. Study Session Minutes -3- September 22, 2008 Mr. Harmening stated that what he was hearing from this discussion is that there is not a likelihood of discontinuing the storage of cars in St. Louis Park but that it may be possible to create a deal to allow TCW to do sorting on a limit basis within the City with a limit of 5% per year. Council indicated they would want to have an agreement with TCW that provided an understanding what the limits would be as part of the Glencoe project 2. Southwest Transit Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Update Ms. McMonigal presented to the Council regarding the Southwest Transit Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The DEIS scoping meetings will be held in October. It is the City's chance to bring forth issues for study. Councilmember Sanger feels that the question facing the Council is what issues associated with the Southwest Transit need to be addressed environmentally. This includes traffic that is crossing streets, noise, the possibility of traffic being routed north and south trains traveling directly behind the high school, as well as other issues. Councilmember Sanger and Mr. Brimeyer discussed the memo that was sent to the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). They would like the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority (HCRRA) to consider both light and heavy rail in the Kenilworth corridors, possibly by moving or elevating the bike trail. They identified the issues of noise; the "Y" in the tracks; train sorting noise; traffic crossings, congestion that will occur with cars, rail and the ped/bike trail; rail near the Senior High; and grade separating the rail, trail and roadways. Councilmember Finkelstein would like to know how close they are to getting light rail in the City. Mr. Brimeyer responded that St. Louis Park is next in line. Mr. Harmening stated that the Council now has an opportunity to add language to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Councilmember Sanger has spoken to someone from the County regarding the potential bottleneck issue on the rail track and they have suggested hiring a consultant to survey the area. Councilmember Sanger raised the question to the Council if there was anything that should be added to the DEIS. Councilmember Paprocki noted that in the report they mentioned a whistle quiet zone. Councilmember Basill noted that if they want to have a bike and light rail line they would likely have to provide some sort of an alternative north/south connection. Councilmember Sanger added that there is one environmental issue that was not included in the DEIS, which is the issue of parking for the light rail. She questioned where people taking the light rail are going to park their vehicles and the environmental impact this could have. She noted that it is an environmental issue for the neighborhoods. Study Session Minutes -4- September 22, 2008 The Council asked staff to prepare a written statement to submit for the scoping process and asked City Manager Harmening to present at the October 14 scoping meeting. Ms. McMonigal stated that the staff would like to do two sessions of visioning with a representative group of Council, Planning Commission, neighbors and business owners regarding this issue. She asked for permission from the Council to move forward with these meetings which was granted. 3. Vision St. Louis Park Strategic Direction/Focus Area Update -- Working in areas such as the rehab loan program, development projects, permits etc.; encourage (and provide incentives where appropriate) green building design (LEED), creation of open spaces, environmental innovations, etc. Mr. Hoffman presented to the Council regarding the rehab loan program, development projects, permits, ideas to encourage green project design, creation of open spaces, and environmental innovations. Staff had several recommendations as far as how to move forward with these projects and was looking for feedback from the Council. Councilmember Paprocki is not in agreement with requiring green roofs. He feels that there are other "bread and butter" type items, such as increasing insulation that would better serve the City and its residents. Councilmember Omodt commented that it is possible that the City s going to be dealing with sustainability issues like people raising chickens and having "Victory Gardens." He doesn't want to overlook the possibility of addressing residents raising small livestock. He noted that the movement toward sustainability is a trend and is coming. Councilmember Paprocki noted that you have to look at the repercussions even with items such as composting. Councilmember Sanger has a problem that there is not a goal for open space. She asked if there is an area that they are still looking at for the open space. Ms. Larsen noted that the West End project incorporates open space and Mr. Harmening noted that Excelsior & Grand is evidence of planning that includes open space. Mr. Hoffman answered that they were looking at how it would fit into future rezoning but they have not looked at a specific area. Councilmember Sanger asked that staff would further look into the prospect of open space. Ms. Larsen answered that it could be included in the GreenStar Initiative. Councilmember Sanger noted that the City should look into upcoming projects where they may be able to introduce a "green" aspect. She noted that the City should be the leader in implementing green building/design. That the city should "walk the walk" and have green buildings if we expect others to. Study Session Minutes -5- September 22, 2008 Mr. Harmening noted that it may be a possible to use Geo-Thermal in the new fire stations. He noted that this would mean a greater cost in the front end. Ms. Larsen noted that the City's green remodeling pilot program provides models to residents as to how they can make "green" changes and what type of a saving they would see. They will be trying different "green alternatives" in some St. Louis Park homes in order to get real data and numbers. It will give residents information as far as how cost effective making these changes would be. Mr. Hoffman noted that most homes are not insulated to the degree that they could be or are using high efficiency furnaces. There is a lot of potential for energy savings with these types of functions. Councilmember Paprocki noted that items like insulation really have a pay off and will continue to pay off. It was the consensus of the Council to move forward with the recommendations presented by staff. 4. Vision St. Louis Park Strategic Direction/Focus Area Update -- Educating staff and the public on environmental consciousness, stewardship and best practices Mr. Zwilling presented to the Council regarding how they are working on educating the staff and the public on environmental consciousness and stewardship. The staff has stepped up Park Perspective by highlighting different green programs. The staff has also recommended utilizing strategic marketing to get people to visit the Westwood Hills Nature Center. Mr. Zwilling stated that he felt that there is a real need to educate the community in this area and support the nature center. Mr. Zwilling asked the Council for feedback if they are in support of the marketing and if they feel that it is a worthwhile endeavor. Councilmember Carver stated that he agrees 100% with the plan they have presented. He noted that he would like the opportunity to spread out the marketing throughout the community. Councilmember Paprocki noted that he feels that the City is missing out on a huge demographic. He doesn't want to market this to the people who already know about it. He wants to pitch it to people who don't know about it. He feels it would be worthwhile to target the marketing at kids because parents will accompany their children. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that there is a large percentage of residents who do not have children and that we should market to residents who don't have children. Councilmember Carver felt that it was an opportune time to talk to the schools. The Westwood Hill Nature Center could be a good introduction to science by using interactive learning. It was the consensus of the Council to move forward with the plan presented by staff. Study Session Minutes -6- September 22, 2008 5. City Manager's 2008 Performance Evaluation City Manager Harmening presented the staff report regarding how best to evaluate the City Manager's performance. It was the consensus of the Council to further explore using the 360 Program to evaluate the City Manager's performance. 6. Communications (Verbal) Mr. Harmening stated that Mr. Hoffman will be holding a meeting regarding rental licensing for townhomes and condominiums. The Cohen brothers will be filming in the City from November 2 — 6, 2008 and are looking for a place to erect a tent. Carpenter Park is currently an option. On October 7, 2008 there will be a Historical Preservative Commission meeting held. Mr. Harmening noted that Suburban Plumbing Supply was required by contract to take down their billboard by 2008. They have now resigned their lease with Clear Chanel. Councilmember Sanger noted that on October 16, 2008 the Rotary is holding a dinner. Councilmember Sanger has tickets for sale and will also be collecting donation items for an auction. The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 7. Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Mid-Year Update 8. August 2008 Monthly Financial Report 9. Comcast Franchise Fee Audit for 2005, 2006 &-2007 l r Th art-CA L. / / Nancy Stroth, CI ClerkJeff Ja�bs,, 7ayor 6/