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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/05/26 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session f/fSt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA MAY 26, 2015 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, Anne Mavity, Susan Sanger, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr Harmening), Director of Operations & Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Director of Engineering (Ms. Heiser), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Planning/Zoning Supervisor (Ms. McMonigal), Rec Center Manager (Mr Eisold), Recreation Superintendent (Mr. West), Environmental Coordinator (Mr. Vaughan), Housing Programs Coordinator (Ms. Olson), Communications & Marketing Coordinator (Ms. Larson), Environment & Sustainability Coordinator(Ms. Pinc), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes). Guest: Mr. Steve Maurelli (RSP Architects). 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—June 1 & June 8, 2015 Mr. Harmening presented the proposed special study session agenda for June 1 Sc and the proposed study session agenda for June 8th Councilmember Brausen requested that staff provide Council with information about the City's cost to provide TIF as well as a schedule of current TIF projects and anticipated TIF projects. Councilmember Sanger requested this information include all projects and not just TIF projects. 2. Presentation of Design Development Phase for Outdoor Rink/Multi-Use Facility Ms. Walsh presented the staff report and introduced Mr. Steve Maurelli. She stated the City received a grant from Met Council to study the soils and the report would be available in the next couple of weeks. She added that the studies encountered typical items, including asbestos and vapor, and it was possible that some venting of the site would need to be done Mr Eisold discussed the changes in the cost estimates. He advised that the design of the roof structure was changed to add cabling which resulted in the biggest adjustment to the cost at this stage of the design. He stated it was also necessary to add underground storage for storm water. Mr Maurelli presented several drawings of the proposed facility and a 3D version of the facility. Councilmember Brausen stated he liked the plans and noted it would be important to carefully manage storm water capacity vis-à-vis Wolfe Park and to make sure the system had sufficient capacity to adjust for climate change He asked if the driveway could use pervious pavers. Mr. Maurelli replied there were a lot of ways that pervious surfaces could be used in the project. Councilmember Brausen stated he would like Council to consider adding pervious pavers to the design of the project. Study Session Minutes -2- May 26, 2015 Councilmember Sanger asked what other uses the facility could accommodate. Mr. Maurelli stated that the baseball association had indicated an interest in using the facility as well as lacrosse and soccer. Mr. Eisold stated the dry floor surface could be used for things such as weddings, car shows, expos, farmers markets, and craft shows. Councilmember Sanger stated she continued to have mixed feelings about this project, adding that there were a lot of community members who were not members of youth associations. She asked what percentage of the year the facility would be used for hockey and skating and what percentage would be available for other community purposes. Ms. Walsh replied the facility would be used for hockey approximately five months out of the year. Councilmember Mavity suggested that Council consider other locations to install pervious surfaces because of the issues with contamination if pervious pavement is used in the parking lot It was the consensus of the majority of the City Council to continue to support this project and to direct staff to move forward with the construction document phase of design for the project. 3. Southwest LRT Update Ms. McMonigal advised that the largest cost cutting measure for St. Louis Park was the CP swap and this item had been placed in a category as "infeasible" or net neutral to the budget. She stated in order to switch it back to how it is today, it would save some money but would cost nearly as much because of the one-year delay as a result of the environmental work that would be required. Mr. Locke stated the base project included the trail bridge east of Beltline that went over the freight and light rail tracks and related to the LRCI whereby Three Rivers would be extending that bridge over Beltline. He stated the cost savings identified by the SPO would eliminate the trail bridge over the tracks and leave it at grade unless someone else paid for the trail bridge. Councilmember Sanger questioned the safety of the SPO's proposal to have an at-grade trail crossing over the freight rail and light rail tracks. Councilmember Spano stated that he raised safety concerns at the CMC meeting, and Met Council staff indicated they would use the Green Line as a model where everything on the Green Line was at-grade with striped pedestrian crossings, extra lights and signage and no additional safety items. Councilmember Mavity stated that Council had been telling the community for many years that the City would fix that crossing when light rail came and she felt it was imperative that the City fulfill its promise to construct a grade separation of the trail whether or not light rail ever comes to the area. Councilmember Sanger agreed that Council made a commitment regarding the Beltline crossing and that the previous changes were intended to be temporary, adding if that meant the City had to Study Session Minutes -3- May 26, 2015 contribute a portion of the overall cost, she was comfortable with doing that in order to get it done right She stated she was okay with the proposal to shrink the park and rides if there was some assurance they could be built in such a way that another level could be added in the future or they could be expanded in some fashion to address an increase in demand Ms. McMonigal stated the FTA indicated it would accept a reduction in the park and rides if proof of parking was demonstrated or the ability to add another level was shown. Council continued its discussion regarding the trail crossing at Beltline and other potential reductions to the project budget. Ms. McMonigal advised that the SPO would be putting together information on the cost saving measures in the coming weeks and the CMC would be meeting on June 3rd, June 24th, and July 1st, and the Met Council was expected to make a decision on July 8th 4. Draft Strategies/Two Year Action Plan for a 2015-2025 City Council Goals and Priorities Mr. Harmemng presented the staff report and draft strategies for Council consideration. He recited the five goals developed by Council at its annual workshop in January and stated that staff developed specific strategies to deliver on the goals over the next ten years as well as action steps over the next two years. Redevelopment around the three SWLRT stations is maximized to the fullest extent possible Mr. Locke presented seven strategies and the two-year action plan to accomplish redevelopment around the three light rail stations. Councilmember Brausen stated he fully supported the strategies and two-year action plan. He requested that staff provide cost summaries on a regular basis that outlined the City's financial commitments in order to understand both current and anticipated costs in the context of the City's overall commitments Councilmember Mavity noted it would be important to also include information on anticipated revenue from the redevelopment. She stated that Ms. McMonigal and Mr. Hunt recently gave an informative presentation at the Southwest LRT Community Works Committee meeting regarding all the development going on in St Louis Park, particularly around the light rail stations, and suggested that the presentation be provided to Council. She stated she noticed that a lot of the new projects being built had a lot of windows at the street level that made it look like a department store type of business and was hopeful that the form based code would address the idea of having more doors on these developments Councilmember Sanger stated she was generally okay with the proposed strategies and action plan. She stated the strategies did not include a contingency if the park and ride was moved to the County site. She also questioned if additional zoning ordinance changes were required beyond the form based code and whether to consider limiting the amount of square footage for retail in general to avoid big box projects in the City. It was the consensus of the City Council that the draft strategies and action plan related to Goal #1 is in keeping with Council's expectations. Study Session Minutes -4- May 26, 2015 St. Louis Park is a leader in environmental stewardship, sustainability and resiliency Mr. Vaughan presented the strategies and two-year action plan related to Goal#2. Councilmember Spano felt that the goal to increase participation in the curbside organics program was too low and would like to see this goal at 30%. He stated he did not see anything in the report about challenges to reaching any of these goals. Councilmember Mavity noted the City of Paris recently passed a law that all new buildings must have a green roof and suggested the City consider that as it looked at green building codes and what other incentives or directives might be implemented. Councilmember Sanger agreed with finding ways to encourage recycling and to make it easier to recycle, but questioned whether there was a need to start another recycling center when there are already private recycling companies in existence. She agreed with the strategy to decrease impervious surfaces but was concerned that Council had approved projects with little green space and zero setbacks and this was contributing to the problem. She was hopeful that staff would work with Community Development staff to increase the amount of pervious surfaces and find ways to protect green space. Councilmember Hallfin stated he would like to see further information about a possible recycling/reuse center. Councilmember Lindberg stated as the City encouraged more single family remodeling, there was a lot of waste generated that could possibly be used by other St. Louis Park residents. He stated he would like to see more emphasis on providing all neighborhoods with access to community gardens and to have the City actively facilitate this rather than the neighborhoods. He felt there was also an opportunity for the City to engage in more strategic planning around these goals and to put some metncs around the goals as a way of measuring results. Councilmember Brausen spoke in favor of the proposed strategies and action plan. He stated the plastic bag and polystyrene issue had taken on a high level of public interest and suggested the City consider promoting environmentally conscious proposals for public discussion. It was the consensus of the City Council that the draft strategies and action plan related to Goal #2 is in keeping with Council's expectations. St. Louis Park is a technology-connected community Mr. Harmening advised that this item would be presented to Council in June St Louis Park has top ranked schools, a well maintained and diverse housing stock, and strong, vibrant neighborhoods Ms Olson presented the strategies and two-year action plan related to Goal #4. Councilmember Mavity stated that public art had been an important part of the City's development approach and suggested the City have an inclusionary art policy. Councilmember Sanger stated there were a number of neighborhoods that were not currently organized and suggested the City focus on actively organizing those neighborhoods. She felt the City needed to put more emphasis on improving architectural design guidelines. She requested that Council have a discussion about how to promote single family homes and move-up housing. Study Session Minutes -5- May 26, 2015 Councilmember Hallfin stated he would also like to have a discussion about increasing the amount of single family housing in the City He urged the City to utilize its various boards and commissions in any way possible as it related to these goals. Councilmember Lindberg stated he would like to have a more robust conversation about move- up housing and what the City might do to increase or provide further resources for move-up expansions. Councilmember Sanger stated that any move-up housing needed to be in scale with the neighborhood around it and that should be part of the architectural design guidelines. Councilmember Lindberg encouraged staff to continue to reach out and engage the rental community. He discussed an initiative at Meadowbrook about the importance of partnerships among all the players and suggested having Ms. Trummer talk with Council about that imtiative. It was the consensus of the City Council that the draft strategies and action plan related to Goal #4 is in keeping with Council's expectations. St. Louis Park has high quality community amenities and facilities Ms. Walsh presented the strategies and two-year action plan related to Goal #5. Councilmember Mavity questioned whether there was community support for an archery range. She encouraged the City to remain mindful of gender equity in sports. Councilmember Sanger felt that a possible community center should be added to the list and urged staff to give more thought to the growing senior population and whether to have more focus on one or more facilities for this demographic. It was the consensus of the City Council that the draft strategies and action plan related to Goal #5 is in keeping with Council's expectations Mr Harmening advised that staff would continue to revise this document following the technology presentation in June and bring it back to Council for review and formal approval this summer. 5. Update on Organizational Culture Initiatives Mr Harmening presented the staff report and discussed his ongoing conversation with all City employees about the culture of the organization. He stated that employees were asked why they work at the City, what motivates them, and were asked to provide descriptors of the culture. He stated that employees answered the "why" statement with"we believe our public service makes a difference" and came up with three descriptors: being highly responsive to the needs of the community and each other, being collaborative with each other as a team and the community as a partner, and being committed to providing programs and services of the highest quality that consistently fulfill the needs of our customers in an innovative, effective and respectful way. He stated that each department will now engage in an exercise on what it looks like to be responsive, to be collaborative, and to provide the highest quality programs and services. He stated the City will also be doing an employee survey to assess the pulse of the organization and will be instituting a customer service training program. He stated this initiative will be integrated into the City's recognition program as well as all job descriptions and performance evaluations, and Study Session Minutes -6- May 26, 2015 will be incorporated into the City's employee orientation program. He presented examples of posters that will be installed in each department depicting images of being responsive, being collaborative, and providing high quality programs and services He also presented a video of a number of employees being interviewed about their jobs and how they make a difference. Councilmember Brausen suggested putting the employee video on Ch 17. Communications/Meeting Check-In (Verbal) Mr. Harmening discussed his email to Council regarding the potential ban on plastic bags and polystyrene and distributed a proposed process for Council's consideration and ultimate decision on this issue. He suggested that the June 22'd study session include an expert stakeholders' panel that would give each of the groups 20 minutes to articulate their views on a potential ban. He stated that the City of Minneapolis had a citizen committee working on a proposed policy, and they were invited to the June 22nd meeting to talk about their work. Councilmember Mavity asked if the City had discussed a possible ban with Hennepin County Commissioner Greene. Mr Harmening replied that County staff had indicated that the County Board was not interested in moving on a countywide limitation on plastic bags at this time. He stated the proposed process also included a listening session in August for the entire community, adding that staff would like Council to provide policy direction prior to the listening session. Mayor Jacobs adjourned the meeting at 9:52 p.m. Written reports provided and documented for recording purposes only. 6. April 2015 Monthly Financial Report 7. Update on SWLRT Station Area Form-Based ode 8. Inclusionary Housing P1 licy Review 1 Melissa ennedy, City Clerk Jeff Ja abs r ayu,r