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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011/05/31 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular JIf st. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA MAY 31, 2011 1. Call to Order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Phil Finkelstein, Anne Mavity, Paul Omodt, Julia Ross, Susan Sanger, and Sue Santa. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Community Development Director (Mr. Locke), Planning/Zoning Supervisor (Ms. McMonigal), Communications Coordinator (Mr. Zwilling), and Recording Secretary(Ms. Hughes). Guest: Dave McKenzie(SEH, Inc.) la. Roll Call 2. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions and Discussion Items 2a. City of St. Louis Park Freight Rail Policy Resolution Resolution No. 11-058 Mr. Locke presented the staff report. Mr. Thom Miller, 2900 Yosemite Avenue, appeared before the City Council as Co-Chair of Safety in the Park and stated that they want absolute mitigation to the same level of safety and livability that exists today. He thanked the City Council and City staff for all of its work and stated that they do not feel the County and the State have worked to the same degree as the City on this issue. He also thanked the City for hiring SEH Consulting, for returning resident's telephone calls and emails, for allocating the necessary staff time, and for hosting the listening sessions. He stated that the listening sessions represented a watershed moment for residents and people felt that they could speak to a governmental unit that listened to them. He expressed thanks to the City Council for passing the 2010 resolution and for considenng the updated resolution this evening. He indicated that the resolution matches the goals of the community and Safety in the Park, with one of those goals being Safety in the Park's full support of SWLRT. He stated that they understand this is a complex issue with several parts moving simultaneously with the light rail project and he hoped that as the project moves forward, the City Council will treat it with the same openness and respect as it has in the past. He asked the City Council to give consideration to how Safety in the Park can help, such as reaching out to legislators and/or Mn/DOT, obtaining more signatures on their petitions, or possibly conducting more research. He stated that Safety in the Park would like to enhance the City's political capital to work with the County and other communities on this issue. Councilmember Sanger expressed her thanks to staff for including her proposed amendments in the updated resolutions. She suggested that paragraph #4 under "NOW, THEREFORE"be amended to state"Supports the rerouting of TCW coal and other trains to western Minnesota in any case..." and felt this might strengthen the City's position. Special City Council Meeting -2- May 31, 2011 It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to adopt a Resolution No. 11-058 updating the City's freight rail policy, as amended. Councilmember Mavity expressed thanks to the many residents who have been involved in this matter and stated that the City Council and the City all want what is best for St. Louis Park. She stated that she would be voting against the resolution and supports the reroute of trains away from the light rail corridor. She explained that she felt it was important to bring up a different viewpoint that many people share as to why this is not best for St. Louis Park, including the safety of people using the light rail as well as the north-south connections represented by Beltline and Wooddale which would be negatively impacted with this intensity of use. She stated that this project will not add freight trains to St. Louis Park, but it is a matter of where the freight trains will go through St. Louis Park and it is important that the City reduce the overall time that freight trains spend in the City. She noted that right now, the trains are spending 3-4 hours in the switching wye banging, clanging, and stopping, and that is when trouble arises. She felt that in order to fix this problem, the wye has to be removed and a north-south connection created so that trains can get to where they need to go. She stated that safety at the high school is also critical, but the reality is that the Dakota crossing has not had a fatality or other serious accident while Beltline has had several fatalities and serious injuries. She indicated that it does not appear that safety has been adequately addressed at Beltline, even though this area will see an increased intensity of use. She also indicated that Council has discussed the potential increase in trains on MN&S, but TCW representatives have indicated that the maximum number on any given day would be 353 cars, representing a decrease in the use of that line from what had run on that line for decades. She reiterated that she felt it was important to express this divergent viewpoint. Councilmember Omodt expressed his thanks to all the residents who have participated in the discussions and attended the listening sessions. He noted that there have been car- bike accidents near the high school and there have been problems with people crossing the train tracks at Dakota which has taken years to resolve. He pointed out that the fatalities at Wooddale and Beltline did not involve train-car interactions. Councilmember Sanger stated that she supports the resolution for a number of reasons, including that it is viable for freight to co-locate with the SWLRT in the Kenilworth corridor. She added that not only can it be co-located, but the two can be constructed in a manner that is better because the freight will have a shorter route than if rerouted to MN&S, there will be no tight, blind curves, there will not be the discrepancy of elevation which will require the construction of interconnects, there will be fewer at-grade road crossings using the Kenilworth corridor, it will be much cheaper to build in the Kenilworth corridor, and keeping freight in the Kenilworth corridor would be consistent with the historical use of that corridor which at one time had up to 14 tracks. She added that she felt that any reroute would be done cheaply and without sufficient mitigation for the safety and quality of life of St. Louis Park residents and businesses. She expressed concern that the EAW is predicated on the 2030 Rail Plan which would significantly increase the amount of freight rail traffic and passenger rail on MN&S over the next several decades and the City needs to minimize that from happening. She agreed with Councilmember Mavity's concerns regarding increased traffic at Wooddale and Beltline if light rail is constructed parallel to the existing freight rail, but felt that those issues could be mitigated and represented a manageable problem. She also agreed that it will be important to get rid of the wye, as long as a southern interconnect is built. Special City Council Meeting -3- May 31, 2011 Councilmember Finkelstein stated he felt that light rail is an important development and will tie the communities closer, but the County's plans for mitigation are woefully inadequate and appear to be laying the groundwork for future increased intensity and use of these tracks. He indicated that the City needs to remain realistic in terms of what control it has with respect to this project and overall appropriate mitigation. He reiterated that the mitigation approach by the County and State is adequate and disagreed with the County's use of the term "betterment" as it relates to the mitigation required by the City. He added that the County has not met the criteria set forth in the City Council's earlier resolutions. Councilmember Mavity stated that one of the key pieces of the light rail stations is the job generation and economic development envisioned by this project. She explained that one of the key reasons she supports routing freight away from light rail is the increased economic investment to be drawn into the City without freight rail at these locations. Mayor Jacobs stated it is important to note that this resolution does not and is not intended to jeopardize or delay light rail. He indicated that whether freight goes on Kenilworth or on MN&S, there are significant gaps in the proposed mitigation and the updated resolution provides the City with greater leverage to get the kind of mitigation needed. The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Mavity opposed). 3. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:06p.m. ))13btizo‘. %. NancyStroth, Y Clerk Jeff Jaco Mayor s,