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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/08/22 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study SessionffJSt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA AUGUST 22, 2016 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spann, Tim Brausen, Gregg Lindberg, Thom Miller. Councilmembers absent: Steve Hallfin, Anne Mavity, Susan Sanger. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Engineering (Ms. Heiser), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas). Guest: Ryan Griffin & Nancy Rose, Transportation Workgroup; Chris Iverson, Transportation Coordinator; Karen Atkinson, Children First. 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning — September 6 & 12, 2016 Mr. Harmening presented the proposed Study Session agendas for September 6 and 12, 2016. There will be a special meeting on September 6 to discuss budget and rental housing market status. Brent Wintenberg from Marquette Advisors will attend and provide an update on housing market trends. On September 12, the council will take a road trip to the Eastman Nature Center in Dayton, Minnesota. Mayor Spano asked to have Brent Wintenberg weigh in on developers who are more interested in building apartments in St. Louis Park rather than condos or townhomes, as apartments hold no liability for the developer. He added he would like more information about property ownership and what legislation exists related to warranties for rentals, as well as for owned homes. Councilmember Miller asked when Walker Lake would be discussed as it relates to the comprehensive plan. Mr. Harmening stated he will follow up and schedule specific dates on future agendas for these two items. 2. Living Streets Policy Ms. Heiser, along with Ryan Griffin and Nancy Rose, members of the Environment and Sustainability Commission (ESC) Transportation workgroup, presented. Mr. Heiser noted that since April, several departments including Administration, Community Development, Engineering and Operations & Recreation have been working with the ESC's Transportation workgroup on developing a Living Streets Policy. The goals are to: • Create biking and walking connections • Storm water quality • Support the urban forest • Enhance neighborhood livability • Strengthen the safety and security of streets • Reduce life cycle costs Study Session Minutes -2- August 22, 2016 The City's Complete Streets Policy is about how the right of way is used, including appropriate accommodations for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit. Living Streets builds on this policy and adds elements of neighborhood livability, balancing the needs of right- of- way users and people that live there. It was noted that the Living Streets Policy will formalize existing practices used to design street projects. Similar policies have been adopted and are in use in Edina, Maplewood, and North St. Paul. A draft of the policy will be brought to the council for discussion later this year. Mr. Harmening directed a statement to Mr. Griffin and Ms. Rose that the concept of narrowing a street or eliminating parking on a road is not necessarily received positively by people living in the neighborhood. He asked if the Transportation Work Group is currently considering this as a part of the policy for the city. Mr. Griffin stated that having a strong vision is important; however, the steps that the city would take to implement the vision are not set in stone. Ms. Heiser added that sometimes one size does not fit all, and there will be language in the policy to include exceptions for projects based on things such as cost or neighborhood feedback. Councilmember Lindberg asked if the policy would merely solidify the practice since the city is already looking at these items. Likewise, he asked from a practical perspective, if Texas Avenue would look any different with this policy in place. Ms. Heiser stated staff has been working with the ESC on this policy since April. Many of the principles in the policy are being applied to the Texas project. She added that this process, plus getting feedback from residents along Texas Avenue, will help inform the design. Councilmember Lindberg stated flexibility is important. Councilmember Miller stated he would like to see the council adopt something similar to the Living Streets Policy. Having a formal policy in place will support council goals and help guide staff. He asked if this policy would apply to county roads within St. Louis Park. Ms. Heiser stated that the county typically will do what they want. However, if the city has a policy in place or something is written into the comprehensive plan, the county is more inclined to comply. Councilmember Miller asked if the county or state will pay for Living Streets. Ms. Heiser stated usually the city is asked to pay for these items. Councilmember Miller asked if this policy should wait to be discussed during the visioning process. Councilmember Lindberg agreed the council's adoption of a Living Streets Policy seems very important, and if the city has a clear strategic direction, that will help with county projects. Councilmember Brausen stated he is totally supportive of a Living Streets Policy and is glad to hear about rain gardens being included. He added that he also cares about lighting but did not see much in the policy about this. He has concerns that the city may be over lighting streets at night. He would like to see what can be done about this. He added he would prefer to move forward with the policy sooner than later, noting this is consistent with the council's goals. Councilmember Lindberg stated this policy frames the conversation and shows this is the right thing to do. However, he asked if the city needs additional public input on this policy. He added that he wants to be sure the council is checking in with ward residents on an ongoing basis, especially when working on the big decisions. He added that the council needs to be able to answer why and how this policy best represents the more immediate and close to home needs of narrower streets that are in front of residents' homes. Study Session Minutes -3- August 22, 2016 Councilmember Miller added these are ward issues but even as an at -large -member, he has had people say to him that at times they don't feel like the council is listening. Mayor Spano stated the council and staff are meeting with and considering feedback from residents on each project. He added this should happen each time there is a new project; however, the council needs to be careful not to skew the broad conversation. He stated it might be helpful to hear from the community. Mayor Spano asked staff what the timeline is for implementing this policy. Ms. Heiser stated the goal would be to bring it back to a future study session by the end of the year as a draft for further discussion. Councilmember Brausen suggested publicizing Living Streets information on the city website and also through the ESC and Parks & Recreation. Ms. Rose added she believes there should be input from groups within the city. Ms. Heiser stated staff will keep the council informed and updated, and will bring the draft policy back to a future study session. 3. Youth Advisory Commission At Mayor Spann's suggestion, the council asked that the topic of creating a Youth Advisory Commission be placed on the agenda. Mayor Spano stated he has been researching this idea on various city websites throughout the United States and wanted to bring information to the council for discussion. He noted the visibility of young people this past year has been notable. He added he wants to get a sense of what the youth want, and what is important to them for the future of St. Louis Park. This will be a high level discussion around concept. Mr. Hatmening noted he invited Karen Atkinson, from St. Louis Park's Children First organization, to be a resource during the discussion. Councilmember Brausen stated he is very interested in doing this, noting the biggest issue is recruitment of youth for positions. He added that most of the city's commissions have youth participation, and he is totally supportive. Councilmember Miller added he is also very supportive of this idea of focusing on youth. Councilmember Lindberg added this is a fantastic idea, which helps open conversations about what the community will look like in the future. He added this gives the city a platform to fill roles on corranissions and to create camaraderie. It also helps create synergies with the school district, and he would be willing to be an active part of developing this. Mayor Spano stated he is glad the city has youth representation on its commissions, but added it is also a challenge as it can be difficult to get youth to speak out. It might be beneficial to have several youth members on each commission, rather than only one. Youth are maybe more willing to speak up with more support from their peers. Mayor Spano noted that he saw some great ideas from other cities' youth advisory boards, adding there is much that St. Louis Park can draw on. Study Session Minutes -4- August 22, 2016 Mayor Spano stated it might be helpful for every commission to have a mission statement related to youth. Also, youth should have a voice in policy making and recommendations to the council, while participating in events and service projects. He noted that many cities offer a college scholarship to youth who serve on the board and this would be another item that could be considered for St. Louis Park He added there would be requirements for qualification, as well as term limits. Additionally, it would be helpful if the youth advisory board had a structure similar to that of the council, in that youth representatives from each ward could be included, as well as at -large members. Mr. Harmening noted there would be a good amount of asset building with this project, also. He asked Ms. Atkinson about the role of the Youth Development Committee in St. Louis Park, Ms. Atkinson stated the Youth Development Committee is Superintendent Metz's Advisory Council, which includes members from grades 5-12. They meet over lunch and input is given on a wide range of topics. She noted that this committee has been on hiatus; however, the website states they're a district -wide group with goals to train, develop leaders, and do community volunteering. She added that at one point, each youth was selected by their respective principal, but now they apply for the positions. She noted that in the future the program will also include private school youth. Mayor Spano asked the council to think about whether the youth advisory board should be youth that live in the city, those that attend schools in the city, or both. Mayor Spann stated Councilmember Sanger emailed him with her thoughts on the subject and she felt it was not clear what the charge and focus of the Youth Advisory Commission might be. She added if a group like this is created for youth, might there also be groups like this created for other special interests, including women, seniors, and others — and asked if this would be fair. Councilmember Brausen asked who on staff would be engaged in and have capacity to support the Youth Advisory Commission on social media, and would the city have the budget for this or would it also require more staff time. Mr. Harmening added that possibly the school district and the city could partner on this initiative. Councilmember Miller stated this could be a possibility, but would kids of color be involved, and would they have the resources to apply for these positions. He added that equity and diversity of the group will be very important. Mayor Spano stated that partnering with the schools would ensure getting a good cross section of youth membership. Councilmember Lindberg added that the group will need a focus and purpose that the council should define to set a baseline expectation. He stated that while partnership with the school district is important, focus only on those youth who are public school students may be a miss. He added will be important to find youth representation from all demographics. Councilmember Brausen stated he likes the idea of youth staying on the board until age 21, and he would also like to see it be opened up to youth that are beyond high school age. Mayor Spano directed Mr. Harmening to contact several of the cities the Mayor researched and return with recommendations to the council. He also asked Mr. Harmening to work with Ms. Study Session Minutes -5- August 22, 2016 Atkinson to craft a plan and a definition of what the Youth Advisory Commission might look like. Councilmember Miller added he would like to see youth recruited for the visioning process, also. Communications/Meeting Check -In (Verbal) Councilmember Brausen asked about the Ree Center naming, who will pick the final name, and if it would come before council for approval. Mr. Harmening stated the focus group would recommend the name to the council. Councilmember Miller asked if the council will have a chance to review the city website changes before it is completed. Mr. Harmening stated yes. Mayor Spano noted he will be adding a short bio on himself to the city website and invited the council members to do so as well. Mr. Harmening added he will have Ms. Larson contact council members about this. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 4. July 2016 Monthly Financial Report 5. City Website Redesign Update 6. Fiber -to -the -Premise (FTTP) Update 7. Outdoor Recreation Facility Naming an 8. Costco Expansion Melissa Kennedy, City Clerk