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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/08/10 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session ,f`St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA AUGUST 10, 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 Engineering (Ms. Heiser), Director of Operations & Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Planning and Zoning Supervisor (Mr. Walther), Solid Waste Program Coordinator (Ms. Fisher), Public Works Services Manager (Mr Merkley), Senior Engineering Project Manager (Mr. Elkin), Senior Engineering Project Manager (Mr. Shamla), Public Works Superintendent (Mr. Hanson), Associate Planner (Mr. Kelley), and Communications and Marketing Manager (Ms. Larson). 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—August 17 and August 24,2015 Mr Harmening presented the proposed special study session agenda for August 17th and the proposed study session agenda for August 24th 2. Polystyrene Food & Beverage Containers Ms. Fisher presented the staff report and noted that the staff report includes additional information requested by Council regarding microplastics found in the Great Lakes and fresh water systems, information on New York City's determination on the recyclability of polystyrene, the State of Minnesota's waste characterization study, and the HERC or Hennepin Energy Recovery Center studies regarding emissions and ash. She reviewed the proposed goals and potential policy options for Council consideration as well as proposed next steps. Councilmember Brausen spoke in favor of the goal adopted by the City of Minneapolis with the addition of a goal to minimize litter. He stated he was in favor of banning polystyrene food packaging including cup lids and supported phasing in a ban on cup lids to give the industry time to develop alternative products He added he was okay with the proposed timeline and felt it was important to have plenty of community outreach and education. Councilmember Sanger stated she was in general agreement with the goals but felt it was pointless to have a goal of increasing recyclability since there is no way to recycle this particular product. She did not agree with requiring businesses to take these products back because people will not make a separate trip to give back their product, which cannot be recycled anyway. She agreed with a ban on cup lids and did not agree with allowing exceptions for hospitals and nursing homes. Councilmember Lindberg stated he would like further conversation about the recyclability of the product because it was his understanding from the expert panelists that recyclability does not make economic sense but that there are solutions available Ms. Fisher stated that recyclability is an issue in this region and there is currently no hauler or MRF (material recovery facility) that will take the product. Study Session Minutes -2- August 10, 2015 Councilmember Mavity concurred with the general goals but questioned whether they encompassed everything that Council wants to accomplish. She stated she would not recommend that staff spend more time on researching recyclability and agreed that no exceptions should be allowed She added she would like to have a draft policy available for public comment so that people have something to react to during the listening session. Councilmember Lindberg stated he would like to further discuss the staff resources needed to enforce a ban on polystyrene and plastic bags as well as the City's financial commitment He stated that while the cause is noble and worthy and accomplishes the City's goals from an environmental perspective, he questioned whether the City might see greater benefit in something like expanded curbside recycling of organics. Councilmember Spano referred to the Hennepin County statistic indicating that 30% of the waste stream is food and approximately 12% of the waste stream is paper. He questioned whether the City's resources might be better spent in other places such as offering free curbside organics recycling for a few months as a way to get people to sign up for this service Councilmember Sanger questioned whether a ban on polystyrene should state what businesses should be using instead of polystyrene and perhaps encourage use of takeout containers that are compostable or recyclable. Councilmember Lindberg stated if the City is going to ban polystyrene for takeout containers and suggest that compostable containers be used, it will be important to make sure residents have access to recycling the material and urged Council to thoroughly give consideration to the entire waste stream. He also asked about resources necessary to provide a means for residents to compost in the parks and other public places. Councilmember Mavity felt strongly that a ban on Styrofoam was the appropriate direction to take and stated it might be helpful to have a three or five year plan in place that addresses these issues so that staff is not overwhelmed trying to do everything at once. Councilmember Hallfin stated the City wants to be a leader and felt this could be the next step in being leaders. He stated he was in favor of banning polystyrene and if staff becomes overburdened, they will need to tell Council so that Council can act accordingly. He also supported the Minneapolis model regarding organics collection where all residents pay for it Council discussed staffing requirements and enforcement of a possible ordinance. Councilmember Mavity felt there would be opportunities to partner with Hennepin County on a ban and possibly share some staff costs. It was the consensus of the City Council to agree with the proposed goals for banning polystyrene in St. Louis Park. It was also the consensus of the City Council to pursue an ordinance similar to the City of Minneapolis It was also the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to prepare a draft policy for consideration by Council prior to the listening session and to have the draft policy available for public comment at the listening session. It was also the consensus of the City Council that the ordinance would not include exemptions for hospitals or nursing homes. Study Session Minutes -3- August 10, 2015 3. Excelsior Boulevard Traffic Discussion Mr. Locke presented the staff report and provided historical background regarding the 2001 Excelsior Boulevard traffic study and staffs work with SRF to review that document and perform an updated audit in the context of future development in the corridor. Ms. Heiser discussed the key considerations of the analysis including a review of existing traffic operations at all corridor intersections and surrounding areas compared with the level of service existing in 2000 and assumptions made in the redevelopment scenarios. She advised that the audit found that the corridor is not achieving the levels previously anticipated, e.g., the area east of Monterey during the PM peak is 1,300 vehicles fewer than anticipated in the earlier study. She advised that average daily traffic was reviewed and there was either a decrease or no change in all of the average daily trips (ADT) in the corridor compared with the earlier study She stated there are some pinch points such as the Park Commons intersection at Monterey and there was a deliberate decision to leave the intersection the way it is today. She stated that concerns have been expressed about cut-through traffic and a mitigation plan was prepared with recommended mitigation measures but at this time, none of those triggers for mitigation have been met and is the reason no actions have been taken. She advised that Excelsior Boulevard east of Highway 100 is robust enough to handle daily traffic and the area west of Highway 100 has been identified as requiring mitigation to address congestion projected in 2030 Councilmember Hallfin asked if information could be posted online that includes information on the average subsidy per vehicle trip so that residents can see how much the City is subsidizing whenever someone gets in their car Councilmember Sanger felt the City ought to be focusing on known problem areas and two of the biggest areas of concern are Highway 100 where Excelsior and Wooddale come together and the other area is Park Commons and Monterey Council continued its discussion regarding the previous traffic study and the Bridgewater development proposal. Ms. Heiser explained that staff reviewed the Monterey and Park Commons intersection and options include installing a traffic signal, however, a traffic signal at this intersection would be 230' from Excelsior Boulevard and the intersection and northbound traffic on Monterey will back up and block the intersection; as a result, staff is not recommending a traffic signal at this location She stated that another option is to allow a right-in/right-out only so traffic will not be able to take a left turn out of the lot, which would resolve the issues at Trader Joe's. Councilmember Brausen stated that the traffic study reassured him that the City is not seeing the level of congestion anticipated for this area except during rush hour and there is adequate roadway capacity. He added he was assured that staff continues to address feasible solutions. Councilmember Mavity agreed and stated that system capacity is sufficient in general but there are some pinch points at intersections that are causing issues and those are areas the City needs to make sure it is spending time on before the Bridgewater project or other projects are approved. Study Session Minutes -4- August 10, 2015 4. Unimproved Alleys Ms. Heiser presented the staff report and explained that the City has 16 miles of concrete alleys and 5 2 miles of unimproved alleys, of which 2.36 miles are asphalt and 2.85 miles are gravel. She discussed the City's assessment policy and recommended that the assessment policy be reviewed and updated. Councilmember Sanger felt that the policy should be modified related to the City's policy of assessing people 30% even if they have no driveway or garage on the alley Councilmember Lindberg agreed and stated the impact of this policy is significant in Ward 1 and Ward 3. He acknowledged the significant cost from the City's perspective as well as from a resident's perspective and stated he would like to come up with some creative solutions that lessen the financial burden on residents. Ms Heiser stated the City has very few unimproved streets and the City's policy states if a street is unimproved, it has to be reconstructed with curb and gutter. She stated the City's assessment policy is currently $20 per foot for residential and 100% for commercial and multifamily properties. She advised that staff would be bringing this matter back to Council for policy discussion in September. It was the consensus of the majority of the City Council to direct staff to prepare an updated assessment policy for Council consideration that encourages improved alleys and streets. 5. Wooddale Avenue & Highway 7 Temporary Interchange Modifications Ms. Heiser presented the staff report. Mr. Shamla advised that MnDOT prepared crash diagrams showing accident locations and that MnDOT was in agreement with the recommendation of eliminating the left hand turns at each off ramp of Highway 7 to Wooddale. He stated that the turning movement from southbound Wooddale to eastbound Highway 7 would not be restricted due to the high traffic volumes at this location It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to pursue the recommendations to improve safety at this location. Ms. Heiser reported that the ramp at Highway 100 southbound to Highway 7 is being shut down because MnDOT is in the process of shifting traffic to the east side of the highway. She stated that Barry Street is opening next week and the ramps will be opening on Minnetonka Boulevard by Labor Day Mr. Shamla distributed information regarding the trail and explained that the Southwest LRT Project Office has asked MnDOT to extend the center median so there is no disruption to Highway 100 traffic during light rail construction. He stated the contractor has suggested that the trail detour follow Beltline and use the pedestrian bridge over County Road 25 and Highway 7 bridge in order to maintain a trail crossing of Highway 100 during construction of the regional trail bridge. Council agreed with the proposal put forth by the contractor related to the trail crossing. Study Session Minutes -5- August 10, 2015 Communications/Meeting Check-In (Verbal) Councilmember Spano requested a study session discussion regarding things the City can do on social media to remind people about the businesses along Minnetonka Boulevard that remain open during the Highway 100 project. He also asked if there was any interest in discussing tiny houses at a future study session. Councilmember Sanger suggested that the City hold a parade or kid bike parade when the Minnetonka Boulevard bridge reopens. Mayor Jacobs adjourned the meeting at 9:17 p.m Written reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 6. Bass Lake Preserve Restoration Project Update 7. SWLRT Update AAP • . !, %._, /1/ 4� Melissa Kennedy, City Clerk Jeff J. o/, ay