HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014/08/08 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular f/fSt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
AUGUST 8, 2014
1. Call to Order
Mayor Pro Tern Mavity called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tern Anne Mavity, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg
Lindberg, Anne Mavity, Susan Sanger and Jake Spano.
Councilmembers absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs.
Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Community Development (Mr.
Locke), and Recording Secretary(Ms. Fischer).
Guests: Congressman Keith Ellison (Fifth Distnct, MN), District Director Jamie Long, and
Distnct Scheduler/Community Representative Sean Broom.
2. Roll Call
3. Discussion with Congressman Keith Ellison
• SWLRT — Federal Funding; Joint Development at Beltline Station; Other
Related Items
• Renewal of Federal Transportation Funding
Congressman Ellison thanked the City Council for its municipal consent vote and stated it was
his belief that Southwest LRT was going to be great and would benefit the entire region. He
indicated that the Federal funding has been extended through May 2015 and the Highway Trust
Fund also funds this project, adding that it was not an easy vote for him because the money used
to fund the Highway Trust Fund was going to fund long term unemployment.
Mayor Pro Tern Mavity explained that two of the light rail stations in St. Louis Park have been
designed with large parking lots, which is not reflective of the transit oriented development that
the City has been working on.
Mr. Harmening stated that the Beltline station will have the second highest ridership of any of
the stations along the entire route and the design of the Beltline station is less than desirable from
a transit oriented development perspective. He stated the City would like to work with Met
Council and the FTA on a joint development project for the Beltline station and try to leverage
some CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation Air Quality) funding to help make that joint development a
reality, adding that a joint development project is critically important to the City as well as how
the Beltline station functions and having a 600 stall at grade parking ramp at this location does
not represent what the City is trying to accomplish at its light rail stations.
Congressman Ellison stated it seems there are opportunities to create more density and figure out
how to get more parking but agreed that a big parking lot does not make sense. He assured the
City Council that he was in agreement with the City on this issue and stated his office would
work with the City to get moving on it.
Special Council Meeting -2- August 8, 2014
'Councilmember Spano stated he felt it was important for Met Council to design a line that
services its customers and that is easy to access and provides amenities for riders, and the City
Council is concerned that its light rail stations, as currently designed, do not serve those needs.
He added the City Council believes the current design will result in a significant number of
people trying to access the stations and getting caught in backups and congestion and the City
Council is concerned about the way the stations have been laid out both from a development
perspective and from a functional and operational standpoint.
Councilmember Spano advised that Hennepin County Commissioners Callison and Greene have
asked him to attend a meeting next week with Hennepin County and CMC representatives to talk
broadly about contingency funds and how contingency funds are to be allocated to communities
along the line.
Congressman Ellison stated this might need to be a locally focused meeting and it might not be
the right time for his office to be there, but stated if the City wants him there, he will be there.
He agreed that every opportunity needed to be pursued to lower greenhouse gases and congestion
and increase walkability, adding he felt it was in everyone's interest to do this project right the
first time.
Councilmember Sanger pointed out that one of the rationales for building Southwest LRT was to
spur economic development and increase the tax base and there is no tax base gain with a surface
parking lot and no jobs are created.
Congressman Ellison requested that the City Council inform him whether his office should be in
attendance at the upcoming meeting and to provide information about his role in this matter. He
agreed to ask Sean to start looking at options from their standpoint, adding that he would call
Met Council if the City Council wants him to place a call.
Mr. Locke explained that the goal of the SPO staff and Met Council is to include a couple of
joint development projects in the overall plan to be submitted to the FTA and at this point the
Beltline station is one of those joint development projects, however, it is not included in the base
budget and the SPO is anticipating using contingency money to fund the joint development
project at Beltline. He stated the SPO is supportive of a joint development project at Beltline and
encouraged the City to apply for a CMAQ grant this fall, which, if successful, could be an
important piece in matching the FTA money on the joint development project.
Congressman Ellison stated that vanous communities along the line will have things they want to
see included in the project and indicated it would be nice to consider all these things as a whole.
Councilmember Spano stated he sees this situation as very analogous to the funding that
Congressman Ellison helped the City secure for the Wooddale overpass because of the safety and
traffic issues. He stated the City is confronted with some of those same challenges in making
sure that light rail functions properly and safely.
Congressman Ellison asked if there was any private sector interest in this, adding that if housing
and retail are incorporated into a project it might help the process.
Mayor Pro Tern Mavity stated that the Southwest Community Works Committee has station
plans for all stations along the line and the City's vision for its stations is well reflected in those
documents and agreed to provide Congressman Ellison with copies of those documents. She
indicated that joint development is key and requires Federal funding and Congressman Ellison's
Special Council Meeting -3- August 8, 2014
help would be appreciated. She stated that grade separation at Beltline is also important,
particularly since the City is planning 100 years ahead and this represents the best time to
achieve grade separation at Beltline.
Congressman Ellison stated his office was with the City all the way and would push as much as
possible.
• Freight Rail Safety Issues (e.g., Bakken Oil)
Congressman Ellison stated that the longer, heavier trains are a big concern and the Obama
administration recently responded with some oil safety rules by phasing out older tankers, a
mandatory speed of 40 mph, and requiring advanced braking systems. He advised that his office
is working with Representative Hornstein on this issue, adding that the government has to step
up and deal with this issue. He asked if the City has experienced a noise problem with the trains.
Councilmember Sanger replied in the affirmative.
Mayor Pro Tern Mavity stated one of the key issues is having trains crossing at grade in the City,
adding that there are three ways to move north/south in the City and two of those routes are
where long trains are parked sometimes for days and this represents a safety issue.
Councilmember Sanger stated the longer trains are blocking intersections for longer periods of
time, which is a traffic and safety problem for every community along the line, adding that this is
why an underpass is needed at Beltline and Wooddale.
Congressman Ellison stated this issue is on their radar and they will be engaging the Obama
administration on how to deal with this evolving situation, adding that he believes these rail lines
should be rerouted around urban areas. He stated the Safe Freight Act and the Freight Rail Trust
Fund Act creates a funding source for safety improvements and he would be working closely
with the City on this issue.
• Update on Immigration and Central America Child Refugee Issues
Congressman Ellison advised there are approximately 170 unaccompanied minors in Minnesota
who are being cared for by private families or charitable organizations. He stated that President
Obama proposed $3.7 billion for a number of things including border security, which he felt was
a waste of money since $18 billion is already being spent on border security. He stated President
Obama also proposed more immigration judges due to the massive backlogs as well as money
for counseling for these kids and money for facilities for these kids and some relief for local
governments. He advised that he could not vote for the House bill and the Senate refused to take
it up resulting in a stalemate and he was hopeful that Congress could come back in September
and fix the problem. He discussed the CAFTA agreement that allows the United States to sell
American commodity crops to those countries, thus undermining the local sustainable
agriculture. He stated there have been several meetings in Washington about this and
discussions about how the current plan for economic development for these countries is not
working and what it will take to build a sustainable economy in these countries.
• Update on Organics Collection Program in St. Louis Park
Special Council Meeting -4- August 8, 2014
Congressman Ellison requested input on a bill he is working on called "Zero Waste Cities" that
would set up Federal grant programs to raise standards and get the organics and composting
movement going.
Mayor Pro Tem Mavity stated that St. Louis Park has been a leader on organics recycling with its
resident driven Environment Commission as well as its organics collection program. She
advised that PLACE, a nonprofit developer, is considering a housing project near the Wooddale
light rail station that would use energy from an anaerobic digester to power the housing.
Mr. Harmening stated that last October, the City began its voluntary organics recycling program
and noted that St. Louis Park is the only city in Minnesota with a comprehensive curbside
organics collection program. He advised there are currently 1,300 households participating in
the program with approximately 42 tons of household organics per month being diverted from
the landfill to be composted.
Congressman Ellison felt that the energy for these types of programs was where it should be at
the local level and that the Federal role should be to help coordinate these programs.
• Other Topics
Congressman Ellison stated that his office is in for the long haul in terms of Southwest LRT and
he wants to step up and help at the proper time.
Councilmember Sanger stated there needs to be a lot more transportation funding in the metro
area and requested Congressman Ellison's help in securing additional funding for the Highway
Trust Fund in order to create a stable and predictable source of transportation funding.
Congressman Ellison agreed to carry that message to Washington on the City's behalf.
Mayor Pro Tern Mavity thanked Congressman Ellison for meeting with the City Council.
4. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
Nancy Stroth, City Clerk Anne Mavity, Mayor Pro Tem