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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 04/19/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matthew Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor GUEST SPEAKERS: HPC Staff Liaison Beth Novak-Krebs; Facilities Manager Rick Clark; Historical Society: Kathie Case, Tom Achartz, Kati Simons, Chris Honaas-Wildfang, Suzanne Berg, Paul Thorp, Kelley Regan, and Ann Higgins; HPC Members Robert Bowes, Devin Stanton Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. CITY HISTORICAL PROPERTY UPDATE Mayor Case noted the Council tries to engage with each Commission at a workshop at least once a year. Getschow noted there are Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) members present. The first half will focus on a staff update of historic properties. Jay Lotthammer, Park and Recreation Director, stated Staff talk regularly about the current state of the historical properties and what the future plans are. Beth Novak-Krebs, Senior Planner and liaison to the HPC, added Staff talk about the building, maintenance, and the grounds. A project from 2020 was a facelift to the heritage sites photographs, maps, and descriptions on the City website. Some of the historic sites have had improvements in the last few years since the update provided to the Council in 2019. Narayanan inquired if the website also includes information on which properties are rented out. Novak-Krebs replied she is unsure this information is provided on the website. Novak-Krebs stated the Smith-Douglas More House recently remodeled their kitchen, added a walk-in cooler, added electric heaters outside, and added decorative fencing in the back. They will also replace the screen fencing around their mechanical equipment. The City is revitalizing the rain garden near the front entrance. The Cummins-Phipps-Grill House upper level has been restored, trim and facia have been repainted, and the roof, outhouse, and shed roof will be replaced in the fall. Case inquired about the total of the grant. Novak-Krebs replied the roof replacement grant was for the total cost of replacement at about $103,000. City Council Workshop Minutes April 19, 2022 Page 2 Novak-Krebs stated in 2020 the Dorenkemper House siding was replaced. In 2022 the exterior was repainted and the sign has been replaced. HPC has been discussing how to increase awareness and appreciation of the house. Case inquired what the ideas were. Novak- Krebs stated HPC discussed hosting some events and opening the house up for tours. The Harvest to Halloween event at Riley Jacques was very successful. Toomey inquired about electricity at the home. Novak-Krebs stated there is limited electricity. Case added he would task HPC with imagining what the house could be in the future and working towards that. He would like to know what the use could be and if it is worthwhile to add utilities. Freiberg inquired about the amount of electricity. Rick Clark, Facilities Manager, stated 100-amp service was added when they did some recent improvements. Getschow stated there have been discussions about the exploration of getting updated utilities. HPC is exploring the ideas and cost associated. Hosting events at the site could help gauge if people are willing to go to the site. Case added a market study would need to be conducted. The site has a unique potential as there are not many opportunities to sit on a patio overlooking a lake in Eden Prairie. Narayanan inquired if the interpretive signs at the historical sites have QR codes. Novak- Krebs replied no, but it is a good idea. Kathie Case, Historical Society President, stated there always was a restaurant at Lake Riley starting in the 1920s with Lantern’s Inn. People who went to the beach would often get food. At some point the Riley Jacques house will no longer be rented, and there is potential to make it into an Airbnb home. There could be a brewery or coffeehouse next door. All the artifacts in the Dorenkemper house are owned by the Historical Society. There is furniture and antique items from the Dorenkemper family. Every summer the safety camp takes place there, and there is usually interest from the kids to look in the house. The Historical Society could work with the camp counselors to provide tours to the kids. It could be interactive with a scavenger hunt. Case added another factor to consider is the home is not sprinkled. Getschow noted the estimate to bring utilities to the house and the funds to do so could happen quickly. The key piece of information would be the market study to determine use. Novak-Krebs stated City Staff have been working collaboratively with True Friends to make updates to Camp Edenwood and discuss future updates. The Lion’s Den siding, windows, doors, and ADA ramp was replaced in 2020. The Birchwood Cabin has planned updates this year. True Friends submitted an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness, and the public hearing is scheduled for May 3. They’re proposing to replace the roof, siding, doors, and soffit and facia. The City has discussed the possibility of repainting the exterior of the Riley-Jacques Barn as well as the house in 2022 or 2023. The City installed card access for the doors. There are also discussions about a new roof at the Riley house. Case inquired what the future plans are for the Riley house. Getschow noted it is a year-to-year lease. The City could do a market study but would also have discussions with the renter. City Council Workshop Minutes April 19, 2022 Page 3 Lotthammer stated the Staring Lake Outdoor Center floors have been sanded and refinished. Staff completed the animal junction building, installed new LED bulbs, replaced the storage shed, and replaced the furnace. The Flying Red Horse has been reviewed by HPC and the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission (PRNRC). They will seek a bid for placing it in a public plaza to display near the light rail transit (LRT). They are optimistic it could be placed this year. Narayanan inquired how close it will be to LRT. Lotthammer responded if taking a left out of the Redstone parking lot towards Flying Cloud Drive. There is a small piece of land by the stoplight. LRT will be to the west of the Flying Red Horse. Toomey inquired if there will be a sign describing it. Lotthammer stated it will be elevated on a pedestal with an Eden Prairie sign and language describing its significance. II. EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Kathie Case, Historical Society President, thanked the Council and staff for their support. They have archived many of their historical records. Tom Achartz is the new curator. He has worked on the archives the last few years. They were busy during the pandemic with reorganizing the museum and their files. The Cummins-Phipps-Grill House has been restored and they look forward to hosting events. They will be partnering with the People Reaching out to People (PROP) Shop to host a vintage sale on May 6-7. They will also host their annual meeting there featuring Carol Kissner who has studied the Eden Prairie Cemetery. Achartz added he has been working on collective access (mncollections.org), the online archiving of what is used in the museum and houses. They have 4,000-8,000 items online. As the curator, he has been working on capturing more of the present. Kathie Case stated they continue to work on the oral histories project. They are working with the Preserve’s to host an event for their 50th anniversary. They are also working on an event for the old, consolidated school’s 100th anniversary in a few years. They continue to work on partnering with other nonprofits. She inquired about their Santa who works at the Cummins- Phipps-Grill House over the holidays. He chooses to not be immunized, and they worry about legal issues due to providing this service for kids at a City property. She called Eden Prairie Center and Southdale Mall to learn about their policies, and they are not requiring it. Neuville stated the Historical Society is free to contract with who they choose. Getschow added there has been interest at the Cummins-Phipps-Grill House for short films. Kathie Case replied there will be more filming happening in the future. Many of the Historical Society members plan to watch the short film “The Doll”. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) III. OPEN PODIUM IV. ADJOURNMENT