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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/07/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session III St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA JULY 6, 2015 The meeting convened at 6.15 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tern Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, Anne Mavity, Susan Sanger, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager (Mr Harmemng), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Director of Engineering (Ms. Heiser), Principal Planner (Ms McMonigal), Senior Engineering Project Manager(Mr. Sullivan), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes). 1. Southwest LRT Update Ms McMonigal presented the staff report and discussed the cost reductions voted on by the CMC and forwarded to Met Council. She explained that it was important to Eden Prairie that the line go to the Southwest Transit Station and Eden Prairie agreed to defer the Town Center station and delete the Mitchell Road station. She stated it was important to Hopkins to keep the Shady Oak park and ride and it was important to St. Louis Park to keep the trail bridge over Beltline, adding that this allows Hennepin County to retain the Federal grant it received for the trail separations at Wooddale and Blake. She stated the park and ride at Beltline was reduced to 268 spaces versus 541 spaces and staff continued to work with the SPO on a possible joint development in this area She advised that Hennepin County offered to donate the Rail Authority right-of-way, totaling $30 million, and this amount would be matched by the Federal government. She stated that Hennepin County also offered another $8 million in environmental response funds and Community Works Funds, and the County was looking to the cities to make up the remaining gap of approximately $9.5 million. Mr. Locke stated that the parking lot at the Beltline park and ride incorporated a large portion of the frontage road right-of-way and the SPO was looking to the City to vacate that land for free. Councilmember Sanger asked if there had been any discussion about the parcel of County land adjacent to the Beltline station area and whether the SPO would turn over this parcel to the City in exchange. Mr. Locke replied that had not been discussed with the SPO He stated any items deleted from the budget that any of the cities were willing to pay for, could go back into the budget. One of the items being considered by the City was the trail underpass at the Louisiana Avenue station at a cost of$600,000. If the City wanted this trail connection, the City would need to come up with half the money and the FTA would pay for the other half It was the consensus of the City Council to include the trail underpass at the Louisiana Avenue station at a cost to the City of$300,000 Councilmember Spano provided a summary of the recent CMC meetings to address the $341 million gap in funding He advised there was discussion about whether the cities would be willing to put cash on the table to help reduce the budget and whether St. Louis Park was willing to contribute $2 million, whether Minnetonka was willing to contribute $2 million, and whether Hopkins was willing to contribute $500,000. He stated that Eden Prairie did not offer any cash Special Study Session Minutes -2- July 6, 2015 but agreed it would donate land and Minneapolis indicated it would not object to the Cedar Lake trail bridge separation He pointed out that no firm commitments were made at the time of these discussions. Councilmember Mavity felt that a City contribution of$2 million was reasonable. Councilmember Sanger agreed that a $2 million contribution was reasonable but felt it was unreasonable that Minneapolis refused to contribute any cash, especially since Minneapolis had the highest number of stations and received a $30 million incentive that would cover the Cedar Lake trail bridge. She stated she was willing to have the City contribute $2 million contingent on Minneapolis making a contribution in cash. She acknowledged that Eden Prairie was not making a cash contribution either, but noted the biggest budget cuts were affecting Eden Prairie. Councilmember Lindberg did not think that a contingency that Minneapolis must contribute cash was in the best interests of what the City had tried to accomplish throughout the course of this project. He was reluctantly supportive of having the City contribute $2 million and stated it was important to find a funding source for this regional project because the City would enjoy significant long-term benefits from an economic standpoint Councilmember Hallfin expressed frustration that other cities were not willing to contribute as much to see this project completed He stated he considered giving up on the project because of all the roadblocks put in front of the City He indicated he was still willing to try, but if there were any more roadblocks going forward he was prepared to walk away from the project. Mayor Pro Tern Brausen spoke in favor of contributing $2 million and stated the project would provide substantial benefits to the community and region as a whole. He opined at some point the State was going to have to pay some of the additional cost. Councilmember Mavity asked about funding sources and how the $2 million might impact the budget. Councilmember Spano stated that the $2 million contribution could be paid out over a number of years and would not have to be paid all at once. Mr. Harmening stated that SPO is identifying those parts of the project that, in the end, will be owned by the City, e.g., sidewalks and trails, the underground infrastructure, etc., and there are funding sources available to the City versus using the property tax levy to pay for the potential $2 million contribution. Councilmember Lindberg stated it would be important for Council to consider all funding sources as well as to reprioritize the budget to find the most efficient way to fund this so that a significant levy increase was not needed. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to prepare a resolution of support for the $2 million local pledge for consideration at the July 20, 2015, City Council meeting. Councilmember Sanger asked if a provision could be included that cities who make local contributions would have first claim on receiving a pro rata reimbursement of any available contingency funds. Special Study Session Minutes -3- July 6, 2015 Councilmember Spano advised that this was discussed by the CMC and received support, adding that Met Council has cut the number of rail cars on the line to decrease the budget and this would be the first thing added back into the project. 2. Xenwood Avenue Update Mr. Sullivan presented the staff report and provided a descnption of the potential west and east alignment for Xenwood Avenue and associated costs and impacts. He advised that the east alignment had challenges associated with it, including the substantial grade change to get under the railroad tracks and Camerata Way would not align with Xenwood under this alignment. He stated that the Cityscape Apartments'would lose approximately 50 parking stalls and this would need to be discussed with the Cityscape Apartments He stated the east alignment also impacted the McGarvey site and the road would be about 15' lower than the existing grade at this location He described the west alignment recommended by staff and stated there were better sight lines with this option, adding that the west alignment required a taking of the automotive service company and a portion of the McGarvey site. Councilmember Sanger asked if it was true that Met Council or Hennepin County was going to insist on closing off the median on Wooddale so that people coming from the eastbound ramp would not be able to get across. Mr. Sullivan replied in the affirmative. Councilmember Sanger stated if that was the case, she did not think the Xenwood underpass was worth it because a good portion of traffic would not be able to use this if they were coming from the north or west and given the fact that the price had skyrocketed so much. Councilmember Mavity stated that Cityscape had approximately 160 apartments and another 300+ apartments and a hotel planned for this area. If the Xenwood underpass was not constructed, all that traffic would come in and out of the service road on a right in/right out and would become one of the busier intersections in the City. She felt the City needed to move forward on this and agreed that the price was more than Council wanted to see and requested that the City move forward with the neighborhood meetings before any final decisions are made She added the City dust put in the traffic light at 36th and Xenwood and she was surprised to learn there is no left turn arrow for traffic coming down 36th Street. Councilmember Spano spoke in favor of the west alignment alternative and to continue working on the costs and impacts of this alignment. Councilmember Lindberg felt the west alignment made the most sense but was concerned that the cost had increased from $13 million to $18 million. He felt that Council would need to consider whether to put 300 units on the McGarvey site because the cost of this LRCI was driven significantly by the fact that the PLACE development was so dense. He also suggested that Council take a good look at the Wooddale and Highway 7 intersection and whether to use this money to solve that problem as opposed to the Xenwood underpass. Councilmember Hallfin agreed with Councilmember Lindberg and felt the City should stop working on the Xenwood underpass all together. Special Study Session Minutes -4- July 6, 2015 Mayor Pro Tem Brausen spoke in favor of the west alignment alternative and to continue working on the costs and impacts of this alignment. Councilmember Mavity reminded Council that they had indicated several times over the last two or three years that they wanted development on the McGarvey site and Council was on the record as supporting transit oriented development and recently approved a resolution supporting the City's application for a grant to facilitate that development. Mayor Pro Tern Brausen adjourned the meeting at 7:27 p.m. Lia-Aevide 1')`6-` '11 m titat ../\ Meli sa Kennedy, City Clerk Tim Brausen, ayor Pro Tem