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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014/04/28 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session J1/ St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA APRIL 28,2014 The meeting convened at 6:43 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tem Susan Sanger, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs and Anne Mavity. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Director of Operations and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Director of Engineering (Ms. Heiser), Planning/Zoning Supervisor (Ms. McMonigal), Senior Engineering Project Manager (Mr. Sullivan), Controller (Mr. Swanson), Recreation Superintendent (Mr. West), Rec Center Manager(Mr. Eisold), and Recording Secretary(Ms. Hughes). Guests: Lisa Greene (Community Education Director/Staff Liaison for CEAC), Nick Jacobs (CEAC member), Cailey Hanson-Mahoney (CEAC Youth Member), Jim Beneke (Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Chair), and Victor Pechaty (Hammel, Green and Abrahamson). 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—May 5 and May 12,2014 Mr. Harmening presented the proposed special study session agenda for May 5th and the proposed study session agenda for May 12th. Councilmember Spano suggested having Linda Trummer from the Meadowbrook Collaborative meet with Council to talk about the work of the Collaborative. Mayor Pro Tem Sanger suggested that Council schedule a bike ride and/or canoe ride. 2. Community Education Advisory Council(CEAC) Mayor Pro Tern Sanger introduced Ms. Lisa Greene, Community Education Director and Staff Liaison for CEAC. Ms. Greene introduced Mr. Nick Jacobs, CEAC Secretary, and Ms. Cailey Hanson-Mahoney, CEAC Youth Member. Mr. Jacobs advised that CEAC members attended a facilitator retreat in August 2011 and one of the primary offshoots of the retreat was the idea of having conversations rather than lectures or presentations. Ms. Hanson-Mahoney advised that a youth retreat with Youth Development Committee members was held to learn more about what youth members think about community education and ways they relate to the community. Mr. Jacobs stated that CEAC is interested in partnenng with other groups in the community to reduce redundancy and make programming more effective and reported that a joint meeting with the Human Rights Commission is scheduled for May 20th to discuss ideas for working together. Study Session Minutes -2- April 28, 2014 He added that CEAC is also hoping to work with the newly created Environment & Sustainability Commission. Ms. Greene referenced the 2012-2013 annual report and presented the current community education catalogs as well as a card recently created as a marketing tool to increase membership and awareness of CEAC. Councilmember Hallfin stated that Council has been discussing a potential community center project and asked how a community center project fits into CEAC's planning. Ms. Greene indicated that she reported to the Senior Advisory Council about a potential community center and some of the seniors expressed concern that a community center would displace the Lenox Center, adding that she felt the City would still need the Lenox Center. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger requested comment about what CEAC sees as emerging trends in community education. Ms. Greene stated that one area of focus is retiring baby boomers and how to attract and engage this demographic and another significant area is early childhood education and early learning. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger thanked Ms. Greene, Mr. Jacobs, and Ms. Hanson-Mahoney for their report. 3. Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission 2013 Annual Report and 2014 Work Plan Ms. Walsh presented the staff report and introduced Mr. Jim Beneke, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. Mr. Beneke presented the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission's 2013 Annual Report and 2014 Goals and stated that the Commission still needs a student representative. He advised that the Commission has agreed that the City's parks need to be reviewed to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the City has budgeted funds for this project over the next several years. Ms. Walsh advised that the City recently finished an inspection of all its facilities that resulted in a few minor things that need to be completed as the park areas are redeveloped. Mr. Beneke stated the Commission reviewed the trail and sidewalk plan with particular attention paid to the Highway 100 project to ensure adequate trails are included in the project. He stated the Commission reviewed the landscaping and trail work as part of the remeandering of Minnehaha Creek and the Commission hosts the annual creek cleanup that is scheduled for May 3`d. He stated the Commission continues to review the potential community center project and is hopeful that the project continues to move forward. He stated the Commission's 2014 goals include ADA compliance, continuing to foster improved community group relationships, assisting and facilitating other parks and recreation users, continued involvement in the potential community center project, continuing to take a role in environmental stewardship, and supporting other City initiatives such as Connect the Park and Health in the Park. Study Session Minutes -3- April 28, 2014 Councilmember Hallfin suggested that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission meet with the Planning Commission to talk about items of mutual interest. Councilmember Spano requested further information about how the Commission is making sure that new immigrant communities are being included in programming. Ms. Walsh reported that a meeting has been scheduled on Wednesday, May 21st, at 4:00 p.m. to talk about how to connect with underserved kids throughout the community. Mayor Pro Tem Sanger asked if the Commission has talked about how to increase awareness of the remeander project of Minnehaha Creek and the development of trails in this area. She also urged the Commission to consider what can be done to further the idea of making the entire creek a regional resource. Ms. Walsh stated the Commission has not specifically talked about the project and agreed to bring this item to the Commission for discussion. Councilmember Lindberg stated this was also a good question for Three Rivers to consider and represented a great opportunity for Three Rivers to look at greater connections regionally. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger thanked Mr. Beneke for his report. 4. Update on Community Center Project Ms. Walsh presented the staff report and introduced Mr. Victor Pechaty from Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. She explained that the building could be done in three phases with the first phase comprised of the wellness/fitness component including gymnasiums, workout areas, and a walking track as well as the first phase of the parking ramp. She indicated that phase 2 and phase 3 are interchangeable phases, however, the second phase of parking would need to be completed during either one of these phases. She stated the cost for completing phase 1 is approximately $30 million, the cost for completing phase 2 is approximately $9.7 million, with $4.7 million representing the cost of the second phase of parking, and the cost for completing phase 3 is approximately $10.4 million. She reviewed next steps and stated that a schematic design process would include renderings of what the building would look like and the estimated cost to enter into the schematic design phase is $300,000-$400,000. Councilmember Hallfin stated he preferred to hold off on the schematic design process until the City has more concrete answers related to the Southwest LRT project. Councilmember Spano stated he did not yet have a level of comfort with respect to the City's potential investment in Southwest LRT and did not want to spend money at this time on schematic design for a community center facility. Mr. Pechaty explained that schematic design represents the first phase of a project and is reflected as 15% of the overall cost of a project. He stated the fees for a project are measured by the construction cost, i.e., typically 6-8% of construction, so they took the estimated construction cost for the building and applied a 7% proposed fee, or 15% schematic design cost. He added that the proposed schematic design process would include all three phases of the project. Study Session Minutes -4- April 28, 2014 Councilmember Lindberg stated he did not want to push this project too far down the road and wanted to see the project built, adding he recognized the significant cost of the project but felt that the City has demonstrated the need for a community center. He agreed that the City should also take a little more time to figure out its costs associated with Southwest LRT before embarking on a community center project. Mayor Pro Tem Sanger stated she did not want to kick this project down the road at all, adding that she felt the City was always going to be in the position of having future capital costs without all the details, whether related to Southwest LRT or some other project and it was her preference to enter the schematic design process. She stated the longer this project is delayed, the more costs will go up and the City should take advantage of current low interest rates, adding that when projects are done in phases, it tends to cost more versus doing the project all at one time. Councilmember Spano pointed out that the City would need to budget approximately $625,000 per year to operate the facility above and beyond the capital costs. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger asked how long Council was willing to delay the community center project and stated it may be a year or two before the City has answers regarding Southwest LRT. Councilmember Brausen stated he was in favor of entenng the schematic design phase and forestalling the final decision on whether to build a community center, adding that the cost of delaying the project could easily eat up the amount required for the schematic design phase. Mr. Harmening advised that the funding approach to the Southwest LRT improvements could include GO bonds, use of TIF, and possible partnerships with other organizations, e.g., Park Nicollet, and the funding approach for a community center would involve issuing GO bonds. He pointed out that the City has started to build levy capacity for operating costs or capital improvements to help defray future operating costs. Mr. Swanson advised that the City has approximately$650,000 in the Capital Replacement Fund that is slated for bonding needs or operating costs. Councilmembers Hallfin and Spano reiterated that they were not prepared to spend money on this project at this time given the anticipated costs related to Southwest LRT. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger and Councilmembers Brausen and Lindberg stated that they were prepared to spend money on the schematic design phase at this time. It was the consensus of the City Council to have a further study session discussion regarding this item after the City Council meeting on May 5th . 5. Southwest LRT Preliminary Design Plans Mr. Locke presented the staff report and municipal consent plan summary table. He advised that since the last Council meeting, new plans were issued for the Kenilworth north tunnel portion resulting in a shift of the deadline for municipal consent to July 14th. He stated that Council can still go forward with its public hearing on May 19th but may wish to take a little more time before considering the resolution for municipal consent given the deadline extension, which would provide the City with additional time to continue working with the SPO to resolve issues and make modifications to the plans. He distributed a draft table identifying changes the City wants Study Session Minutes -5- April 28, 2014 to see in the Louisiana Avenue and Wooddale station plans and noted that the table outlining changes to the Beltline station will be presented to Council at its next meeting. He stated the Louisiana Avenue station location is currently shown in the base plans near Oxford and the City has suggested moving the platform to a location near Methodist Hospital and this would cost an additional $18-23 million. He indicated that staff has further reviewed the station locations and determined that the south location is probably 500' to 1,000' closer to Methodist than the Oxford location. If the Oxford location is ultimately the location for the platform, it would be important to focus on securing a good pedestrian connection from Oxford to Methodist. Councilmembers Lindberg and Hallfin agreed. Ms. Heiser discussed the proposed 20' retaining wall at the tight curve connecting Oxford St. to Edgewood Avenue needed to accommodate the freight rail connection to MNS southbound. She stated that the City has commented that today this is a generously paved corner that makes it possible for semi-trailer trucks to make this turn. By reducing the pavement in this area, it does not meet the minimum turning radius needed for the trucks that use this area. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger indicated this should not be a local expense and if trucks cannot make the turn in this area, the SPO should pay for the necessary improvements to accommodate trucks. Mr. Locke reviewed the locally requested capital improvements for the Louisiana Avenue station and stated that if the Louisiana Station ended up with the station platform at Oxford, the SWLRT project would not be removing the south switching wye tracks, and the City has identified this as an important objective, something the City would want to do even if removal of the south switching wye tracks are not needed to accommodate the Louisiana station location. He then reviewed the Wooddale station plan changes and the improvements needed to the intersections and the kiss and ride locations. He stated the base plans currently show a kiss and ride on Yosemite and another on the south frontage road of Highway 7. He stated that the City has indicated to the SPO that they should eliminate the kiss and ride on the frontage road due to traffic concerns on Wooddale near the frontage road. He advised the City has suggested moving the Wooddale Station platform to the east closer to Yosemite in order to eliminate the temptation for people to stop on Wooddale and in order to get people closer to the Xenwood traffic signal on 36th. He stated that the City is also working with PLACE on the former McGarvey Coffee site, and staff believes the frontage road by McGarvey should be changed in order to maximize the amount of land consolidated into one site. A new access to the site and the south frontage road should be created by extending Xenwood under the trail/rail corridor to the frontage road. He stated that other locally requested capital investments include the trail/Wooddale grade separation and acknowledged it may be difficult to get the SPO to pay for this. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to proceed with scheduling the public hearing with an open house on May 19, 2014. Mayor Pro Tern Sanger asked what other types of contingencies the City might attach to its municipal consent resolution. Mr. Harmening stated that the City Attorney's privileged correspondence to Council addressed municipal consent and conditional consent and suggested that Council meet with the City Attorney to discuss the municipal consent resolution as well as possible agreements with the Met Council on outstanding issues. Study Session Minutes -6- April 28, 2014 Councilmember Spano indicated that the Met Council made it clear that applying conditions to municipal consent would amount to not giving consent. He stated he wanted to make sure that the City reaches agreement on these items prior to municipal consent and urged Council to use the additional time created by the deadline extension to work through these issues before voting on municipal consent. Mayor Pro Tem Sanger requested that the City's list include an agreement in writing from the Met Council that they will officially remove the MN&S reroute possibility from any further study or consideration, assuming the project goes forward with the shallow tunnel approach. Councilmember Spano stated that Met Council would have to obtain the City's consent if they were to come back with a possible reroute. Mayor Pro Sanger stated that in theory, Met Council could go forward with the shallow tunnel and keep freight trains in the Kenilworth corridor and then three or four years from now, they could bring it up again, adding she would like to have an official declaration regarding this issue. Councilmember Lindberg stated this issue has been looming over the project and felt it was a critically important issue and agreed with Mayor Pro Tern Sanger. Councilmember Spano stated that Met Council does not have the legal authority to make the declaration requested by Mayor Pro Tern Sanger and he did not want to give the community a false sense of security about this issue. Council also discussed the meeting today with the Governor that was attended by Councilmember Spano and Mr. Harmening. Communications/Meeting Check-In (Verbal) Mr. Harmening advised that the Highway 7/Louisiana Avenue intersection shutdown will occur tomorrow night. He also advised that the recognition of Mr. Dennis Moms will take place at the May 5th Council meeting. The meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 6. March 2014 Monthly Financial Report 7. First Quarter Investment Report(January—March 2014) 8. Nestlé (Novartis) Property Update 9. Dissolution of Minnesota Community Capital Fund (MCCF) 10. Cedar Trails Housing Improvement Area (HIA) - Disbursement of Remaining Funds 11. Update on Community Emergency Response Team(CERT) 12. Update on Outdoor Refrigerated Ice Study 13. Update on 2014/2015 Neighborhood Grants Nancy StrCtY Clerk S san Sanger, ayor Pro Tem