HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/07/11 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes
City council study session
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
July 11, 2022
The meeting convened at 6:35 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Sue Budd, Larry Kraft
Councilmembers absent: Lynette Dumalag, Nadia Mohamed, Margaret Rog
Staff present: City Manager (Ms. Keller), Deputy City Manager (Ms. Walsh), Engineering
Director (Ms. Heiser), Engineering Project Manager (Mr. Sullivan), Public Works Director (Mr.
Hanson), Public Works Operations Manager (Mr. Stevens), Building and Energy Director (Mr.
Hoffman).
Guests: None.
1. Connected infrastructure system introduction
Ms. Heiser presented the staff report.
Councilmember Kraft noted he would like to include sidewalk snow removal in the discussion,
and revisit costs of cleaning all city sidewalks. He added he is expecting this topic to be
discussed alongside all infrastructure system discussions.
Mayor Spano agreed the council did not come to consensus on clearing snow from sidewalks
and staff was to bring back costs of this work to the council for further discussion .
Councilmember Brausen asked about tree canopy and that he feels this should be included in
the infrastructure discussion.
Councilmember Kraft agreed and stated tree inventory is also a critical discussion related to
infrastructure.
Councilmember Brausen added he would like to also discuss public versus private trees and a
legacy tree ordinance, at some point. Ms. Heiser indicated that it was her understanding that
trees would be a part of the environmental stewardship system.
Mayor Spano stated he would like to discuss infrastructure as it relates to trees and tree
removal. He would like to see how the city balances trees with sidewalks. He also noted he is
interested in discussing funding of capital projects and understanding the maintenance costs
over time and life cycles to determine long-term policy and costs. He stated there is not a
benefit to the city to building infrastructure that is not usable at certain times of the year, such
as the issue of not clearing sidewalks. He will want to know the 10–20-year long-term
information related to infrastructure.
Councilmember Brausen asked about the living streets policy and stated prioritizing bicycling
and walking over maintenance of city streets does not recognize that most streets are used for
vehicle traffic. He stated he cares about bicycling, but noting that the city prioritizes bicycling
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and walking over vehicle traffic is inaccurate and does not reflect the actual usage of the city’s
infrastructure, adding it should all be an equal priority. He noted transit is important as well and
stated a discussion is needed on this prioritization.
Mayor Spano stated he is fine with the policy, but added it is not at any cost, it is about finding
the right balance and moving away from prioritizing vehicles, but understanding it does not
always work like this, and that in some instances this will be adjusted.
Councilmember Budd stated more innovative ways of transport ation need to be prioritized.
Councilmember Kraft stated he agrees with Councilmember Budd, and added if you are not
thinking about walkers, bikes and then vehicles, the city will not get there. He added he would
not be in favor of changing this but understands Councilmember Brausen’s point .
Councilmember Kraft referenced comments from Councilmember Rog, noting she would like to
include curb cuts, streetlights, mini roundabouts, and other safety improvements in future
discussions.
Ms. Heiser stated the traffic control policy report can be expanded to include a discussion on
traffic calming/traffic management, and information on streetlights can be shared.
Councilmember Kraft added there is more research on carbon sequestration in cement and
stated this might be added into the discussion as well.
Councilmember Budd asked what the cost is to get to the pavement condition goal of OCI 70 or
higher, noting the city’s average is 61. Ms. Heiser stated she is not certain if the city can get to
that goal, but staff can look at it.
Councilmember Kraft added if the goal of 70 is not reachable, maybe the goal should be
changed. Ms. Walsh noted, however, the city is working toward the goal and making progress.
Councilmember Kraft stated it would be helpful to see the pavement condition numbers broken
out a bit between commercial, residential, and industrial roads.
2. Sidewalk maintenance
Mr. Hanson presented the report.
Mayor Spano asked what determines if the sidewalk is a community or a public sidewalk. Ms.
Heiser stated the community sidewalk definition is generally on busy streets, quarter mile
spacing and directly adjacent to parks, schools, businesses and make major connections to
other cities.
Mayor Spano stated he agrees with adding the NOAH properties to this sidewalk maintenance
program. He asked if the city has looked at high density housing areas, and if these are places
where sidewalks should be cleared. Mr. Hanson stated yes, adding this was also looked at
related to the NOAH property review and those were added to the list.
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Mayor Spano thanked staff for their assessments on sidewalks and infrastructure.
Councilmember Kraft asked what sidewalk width is too narrow to clear. Mr. Hanson stated four
(4) feet is too narrow, however five (5) feet is also difficult to clear if overgrown.
Councilmember Kraft asked how effective snow removal would be on a sidewalk in good
condition. Mr. Hanson stated the sidewalk can generally be cleared down to ¼ - ½ inch of snow
remaining. He added machines with blowers are not able to be adjusted very well. Mr. Hanson
noted if they can get at the snow before it becomes compacted, they can get it much cleaner.
Councilmember Kraft thanked staff for their work on this. He stated he is interested in being
able to do more snow clearing on sidewalks and hopes that more can be added over time. Mr.
Hanson stated that could have a maintenance or staff impact.
Councilmember Brausen stated he is supportive of the staff report related to the NOAH
properties. He added he is not interested in the additional costs of cleaning all sidewalks within
the city. He stated there will always be complaints about sidewalks because of freeze/thaw
issues. Councilmember Brausen also noted the costs of upgrading water mains as well as other
costs the city will incur.
Councilmember Budd stated she is happy staff was able to add NOAH properties to the
sidewalk maintenance program.
Councilmember Brausen stated that Councilmember Rog suggested diverting funds from alley
improvements to do this, but noted he is not interested in diverting those funds.
3. Bollard protected bikeways
Mr. Sullivan presented the staff report.
Councilmember Brausen stated he would be in favor of adding bollards during the summer, but
he is having difficulty with the costs. He is interested in slowing drivers down.
Mayor Spano stated if it cost $70,000 per year and a seasonal approach is used, he would be in
favor of this. He added he would like to have bikes on roads that are less traveled by vehicles.
He liked the approach and staff recommendation.
Councilmember Brausen stated he is also in favor of the staff recommendation.
Councilmember Kraft noted using the same staff for clearing snow from sidewalks to install
bollards in the summer might be a way to save on costs. He stated he is also supportive, and a
seasonal approach makes sense. He stated he is interested in seeing a map of all the bike routes
that are separated in some fashion, adding the more there is a network of separated bike lanes,
the more people will use them.
Ms. Heiser stated staff can come back with a more detailed report and noted there is an
updated area on the website with Connect the Park information .
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Councilmember Kraft read comments from Councilmember Rog, noting suggestions to delay a
portion of the alley improvements to cover the costs if needed.
Mayor Spano stated he is not in favor of diverting funds from the alley projects to cover costs
for bollards. He added this conversation about balancing between use and cost effectiveness of
bollards is helpful.
Councilmember Budd stated she is also supportive of staff’s recommendation.
Ms. Heiser stated staff will conduct community engagement as a part of this project because
the bollards on Dakota Ave. were not received well and noted staff would bring this back to
council for approval. She added that staff would review all buffered bikeway locations and only
install seasonal bollards where there is not a parallel separated facility.
Mayor Spano indicated that approval to do this work would not have to come back to council
prior to implementation and that staff should focus their engagement on informing property
owners of the bollard installation.
4. Minnesota state law allowing purchase of food and beverages with hemp -derived THC
The council discussed this new state law and its effects on the city.
Councilmember Brausen stated he would like to look at a moratorium on this issue to study the
impacts to the city and licensing. He asked about prohibiting sales until the city can develop a
regulatory policy or framework and examine any unintended consequences.
Councilmember Budd asked about regulations for bars within the city, and licensing. Ms. Walsh
stated bars have liability with selling liquor. Councilmember Budd asked for more details from
staff on regulations.
Councilmember Kraft stated the League of Minnesota Cities is working on materials to help
cities understand and navigate the new state law. He stated the city’s legislative priorities
reflect support for this, and he would be open to a moratorium as well on this issue to take
time to get feedback from the League and clarity on the new law.
Mayor Spano stated the taxation of this product was looked at by council, adding he is also
interested in a moratorium on this for now. He asked staff to look at what other cities have
done when legalizing this, the framework or approaches that were used, and information about
how taxation might be utilized if this is allowed or prohibited.
Mr. Hoffman stated retail establishments could decide to sell this product and it also could
technically be served in a restaurant or bar. He added regulation of the sale of the product
could be addressed through licensing.
Councilmember Brausen stated because this is a food item, it cannot be taxed, so this will need
to be looked at also.
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Mr. Hoffman stated a moratorium could be put together quickly and a timeline could be
established by staff. He added staff could also come back to council with information on
licensing options.
Mayor Spano stated this does not need to be rushed and could be further discussed at a future
study session.
Councilmember Brausen stated he has concerns about retail establishments or liquor license
holders starting to sell the product before the city adopts a moratorium.
Councilmember Budd stated she would support a moratorium sooner rather than later .
Councilmember Kraft stated he is open to a moratorium also. He noted understanding the
regulatory piece is important.
Mr. Hoffman stated he will discuss this with the city attorney and come back to council with
more information.
Councilmember Brausen stated modeling this after the city’s tobacco regulations would make
the most sense.
Mayor Spano asked what other states are doing related to serving this at a restaurant or in
drinks and added he would like staff to survey restaurants holding a liquor license and retailers
on this topic to determine if they are interested in selling this type of product.
Mayor Spano noted home-based business sales should also be discussed if that is something
that would be allowed under the new law.
Communications/meeting check-in (verbal)
Mayor Spano stated a mailer went out related to ground water at Highway 100 and County
Road 3. He noted water treatment plant #4 was upgraded to address this specific issue related
to ground wells. He added the city has been advocating for many years related to this
superfund site and funds that could be recovered by the city.
The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Written Reports
5. Proposed purchase agreement for 4300-26th ½ Street
Councilmember Brausen referenced the written report and stated he is not comfortable with
spending these funds unless he understands the benefit back to the city. He wants to learn
more about the land trust before making this investment.
______________________________________ ______________________________________
Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor
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