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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/19/2004 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2004 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and Philip Young CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal,Parks &Recreation Director Bob Lambert,Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, City Planner Michael Franzen, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Theresa Brundage I. ROLL CALL/ CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. RECOGNITION OF CERT/FIRE FIGHTER HURRICANCE ASSISTANCE Fire Chief George Esbensen provided a history on the City's CERT program. He reported that 38 members were recruited into the program that began two years ago with a federal grant. He explained the training and drills and said FEMA called Labor Day weekend looking for CERT members and firefighters to assist with the hurricane damage in Florida. Esbensen said Assistant Chief Scott Taylor escorted the group to Florida for the effort. Taylor explained that the trip lasted two weeks with 5 CERT members and 9 firefighters. He said there were two days of training in Atlanta before the group was deployed to Florida. He said nationwide there were 4,000 members who helped in Florida. Taylor presented photos from the trip and explained the process for those who assisted hurricane victims. He said the group also helped the Red Cross with a special needs evacuation center and set up approximately 3,000 cots and beds. Tyra-Lukens thanked the group of CERT members and firefighters who participated in the hurricane assistance and presented them with a certificate of appreciation. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Under Reports of Councilmembers, Case added a report on Southwest Metro Transit recent awards. Neal said staff requested removal of Item VII.E. to allow time to review comments and adding Item VII.L. A resolution adopting City comments of the 2030 Transportation Policy Plan.Neal said staff also requested adding Item XIV.D. a report from Parks and Recreation Director concerning the Picha Property Option Agreement. CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19, 2004 Page 2 Neal also added four items under Report of City Manager. MOTION: Mosman moved, seconded by Case to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY OCTOBER 5,2004 MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Young to approve the minutes of the City Council Workshop held Tuesday, October 5, 2004. Motion carried 4-0 with 1 abstention. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2004 MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Case to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, October 5, 2004. Motion carried 4-0 with 1 abstention. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. BEST BUY by Best Buy. 2nd Reading for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 5.39 acres,Zoning District Change from Office to Commercial Regional Service on 5.39 acres, Site Plan Review on 5.39 acres. Location: 7901 Flying Cloud Drive. (Ordinance No. 28-2004-PUD-15-2004 for PUD District Review,Zoning District Change, and Resolution No. 2004-146 for Site Plan Review) B. PRAIRIE PINES by Epic Development. 2nd Reading for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 5.09 acres and Zoning District Change from Rural to R1-13.5 on 5.09 acres. Location: 9576 Crestwood Terrace. (Ordinance No. 29-2004-PUD-16-2004 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Change) C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-147 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF BEST BUY SECOND ADDITION D. AUTHORIZE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH MALLOY,MONTAGUE,KARNOWSKI,RADOSEVICH & CO., P.A. FOR AUDITING SERVICES FOR 2004 TO 2006 E. AUTHORIZE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPORTS FACILITIES COMMITTEE TO ASSIST IN DETERMINING FAIR ALLOCATION OF CITY SPORT FACILITIES (This item deleted from Consent Calendar at this meeting.) CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 3 F. AUTHORIZE HIRING OF A PLANNING CONSULTANT TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPING PLANS FOR TRAILS WITHIN THE RILEY CREEK PURGATORY CREEK CONSERVATION AREAS G. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-148 AWARDING CONTRACT FOR MILLER PARK SOFTBALL FIELD BUILDING TO AMERICAN LIBERTY CONSTRUCTION, INC. H. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-149 REQUESTING SPEED STUDY FOR PIONEER TRAIL (CSAH 1) FROM THE WEST LEG OF CSAH 4 TO THE WEST CORPORATE LIMIT I. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-150 APPROVING MASTER UTILITY AGREEMENT WITH MNDOT FOR TH 212 DESIGN BUILD PROJECT FROM CSAH 4 TO CARVER COUNTY 147,I.C. 935305 J. AUTHORIZE ISSUANCE OF GRADING PERMIT FOR CITY STORAGE FACILITY,I.C. 00-5519 K. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-151 REGARDING THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL'S 2030 TRANSPORTATION POLICY PLAN AND FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT L. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2004-152 APPROVING CITY COMMENTS REGARDING THE 2030 TRANSPORTATION POLICY PLAN (This item added to Consent Calendar at this meeting.) MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young,to approve Items A-D and F-L of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. 2004 SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS HEARING (Resolution No. 2004-153) City Manager Scott Neal reported that official notice of this public hearing was published in the September 30, 2004,Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 50 property owners. He said each year the city council holds a public hearing to consider levying the special assessments that have been identified over the previous 12 months. Neal said this year the Council will address a list of supplemental assessments for such things as trunk exclusions, lateral exclusions and trunk utility assessments. The total amount proposed to be assessed in 2004 is $672,487.75. City Engineer Alan Gray gave a detailed assessment of the various charges. He said everything is pretty routine and basically there are no new projects. He said all the assessments are basically for trunks,projects approved in the last year, or for ongoing projects. Gray said two objections to the list have been received and CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 4 are in the council packet.He said staff recommendation is to adopt the assessments as proposed. Brian Post of 6890 Kingston Dr. spoke regarding special assessments on two residential properties at the end of Wilderness Cove.He said he is confused as to the assessments for these two properties. He said if the property was mowed by the city,he is objecting to the special assessment for a bill for a one-time mow because he had the property mowed on 6/21/04 and 7/8/04. Dietz explained that in June, Mr. Wagner came to the city about mowing these areas and at the time,he was concerned that it be done quickly. Dietz said the city sent a notice to Mr. Post that came back"address unknown."Dietz said Stuart Fox notified him that the notice was resent to a Kingston Drive address late May or early June. Dietz said he thinks it was mowed by the city in the early part of June and no further complaints have been received from Mr. Wagner, so Mr. Post has been keeping up with the mowing since then. Dietz said Fox advised him that each of the lots were mowed one time in the early part of June. Post said he never received a notice at his Kingston Drive address. Dietz said notices such as these are not sent certified mail and the city relies on addresses obtained from the county system. He apologized and said the city does its best to get the notices to the correct address. Case clarified that there was nearly two months of growth prior to Post's first mowing of the properties. Post said he was at the property at the end of May and directed the contractor to mow when it was time to do so. There were no further public comments. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young, to close the public special assessment hearing for the approval of the 2004 special assessments; and adopt the resolution approving all Special Assessments presented in the fall of 2004. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Case,to approve the Payment of Claims. The motion was approved on a roll call vote with Butcher, Case,Mosman,Young and Tyra-Lukens voting"aye." X. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XI. PETITIONS,REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS 3UH. APPOINTMENTS CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19, 2004 Page 5 XIV. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. Case—Southwest Metro Transit awards Case said Chaska, Chanhassen and Eden Prairie have a joint powers agreement to manage the transit system and it is a phenomenal system. He reported that last week Southwest Metro Transit received the American Public Transportation Association's Outstanding Public Transit System Award—one of four in the nation and the only one in metropolitan areas with ridership under 1,000,000. Case said in addition, the Minnesota Public Transit Association named Len Semich, executive director of Southwest Metro Transit, as its Transit Professional of the Year. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. New Audio Visual Equipment Neal reported that new audio visual equipment will be installed in the council chamber after the election and prior to the second meeting in November. 2. Protocol For Public Hearings Neal said earlier this summer the council asked staff to research protocol for conducting public hearings, especially voluntary protocols if a public hearing was anticipated to be long. He said Mike Barone has done research and it has been passed on to the mayor and will go to the council for comments. 3. Letter from ADC Telecommunications Neal read a letter from Ed Jorgenson, ADC Telecommunications director of real estate,regarding a recent decision regarding the company's world headquarters on Technology Drive. According to the letter,ADC is planning to lease approximately 100,000 square feet of office space and will be able to accommodate a tenant up to 400 employees. Neal said the company wanted to let the city know the headquarters is not moving and this is a business decision for the company. 4. Clean Indoor Air Ordinance Neal reported that Hennepin County adopted a clean indoor air ordinance that will apply to bars,restaurants and other indoor facilities beginning March 31, 2005. He said earlier this year, the city approved a voluntary program and this ordinance goes farther than the voluntary program and he asked if the council wanted to still go forward with the voluntary CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 6 program. He said he's not sure it serves the same need and does consume staff time and money and with the mandatory ordinance coming up in March,he's not sure it's of much use to go forward with the voluntary program. Mosman asked if the county ordinance covers work spaces such as offices. Councilmembers responded that it does not,but does cover bars and restaurants. Mosman said the voluntary program was for bars and restaurants. Case commented that maybe the Council wants to have discussions in January or February about joining with Bloomington on slightly stricter measures. Tyra-Lukens thanked the members of the City's Clean Indoor Air Task Force for their time and efforts. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Major Center Area Study Jeremiah reported that the Major Center Area is a 1,200-acre area within and surrounding Prairie Center Drive and Valley View ring road system including Eden Prairie Center mall and the Southwest Metro station area. She said staff is recommending appointment of a 13-member Task Force representing business and property owners/managers,residents of the Major Center Area(MCA), and at-large representatives from the Community Planning Board to provide feedback on the MCA Study. Jeremiah noted that staff is still working with Sears to get a representative from their organization and there is not a name yet so it is recommended to leave that part of it open ended. Jeremiah said SRF Consulting, Inc. in partnership with Ingraham & Associates is recommended to work with the MCA Task Force and a Technical Advisory Committee of City and agency staff on a Land Use, Transportation and Wayfinding Study of the Major Center Area. She said staff will work with both bodies to finalize the scope for the study, and use that as the basis for the contract that will be brought back to the council for formal approval at a later date. Tyra-Lukens commented that she is pleased to see a person on the task force that is a senior resident of The Colony because transportation is an issue for seniors. MOTION: Butcher moved to appoint to the Major Center Area(MCA) Task Force the following members: - Alara Younz General Manager of General Growth CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 7 - Bill Burgess, Store Manager of Walmart - Ed Flaherty,President of Lariat Companies - Greg Olsen,Vice President of Anchor Bank - Kathy Nelson, Community Planning Board Member - Louise Pelcher,Resident of The Colony - Mark Naintvedt, Owner of Noresman Oil - Melody Denyer,Property Manager of Lincoln Parc Apartments - Pat Mulqueeny,President of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce - Patrick Sarver,Director of Land Planning for Hartford Group - Ray Stoelting, Chair of the Community Planning Board - Terry Pearson, Resident of Weston Woods - Representative of Sears (To be Determined) And further moved to direct staff to prepare a scope/contract with SRF Consulting,Inc. for a land use, transportation and wayfinding study of the Major Center Area. Seconded by Mosman, motion carried 5-0. D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Picha Property Option Agreement Lambert reported that about a year ago, the city entered into an option agreement with the two Picha families on a 4.4-acre parcel adjacent to Birch Island Woods and that option expires today. He said he has been in contact with property owners in the last couple weeks to see if they were interested in offering the city an extension of the option and they indicated they would extend the option for one year for a price of$10,000,but the price would increase to $850,000. Lambert said the Pichas said they would also consider selling the property for$800,000 if the city would enter into a Contract for Deed before the end of the year. The Contract for Deed would require payment of 6% on the balance during the term of the contract, and the length of the contract cannot exceed five years. Lambert said city staff is not recommending extending the option or entering into a purchase agreement for the property because none of the three areas of funding designated for acquiring the property have,been successful. Mosman said in late summer when council asked about a possible trade with the status of LAWCON property, Lambert sent a letter and received a letter back from the agency with a positive tone that said it's possible. She said she thought this meant the city was going to pursue how to make it happen and nothing has been heard since then. She said she would have a difficult time voting against it without knowing if any of the other things could be pursued. She said she heard some money has been raised. She CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 8 said at this point she would hate to eliminate all options without at least pursuing what the council had directed to have looked at. Mosman said she would like to see and hear if all options have been exhausted—to find out from the Friends of Birch Island Woods to see if in St. Paul if there is any possibility that anything else can be done. Continue pursuing additional funds from the state and with the Friends of Birch Island Woods, any other activity that might be ongoing. Case said staff needs direction. He said in talks with Friends of Birch Island Woods, there are some fallback plans they still have and Mr. Lambert needs to continue to have discussions with them. Mosman said no action is needed because the option is expiring,but it should be agreed to ask staff to continue pursuing other arrangements for trade on the LAWCON and the possible sale of the property and find out from Friends of Birch Island Woods if there are any other options. Case noted that the trade is actually hard money that would be used to buy ourselves out of the Cummins Grill obligations and purchase land contiguous to a park. Lambert asked for clarification. He said he thought the direction was to find out if we had the option to do that trade. He said he does not recall council giving staff direction to pursue that by getting an appraisal of the property and going further. He said if we're talking about a trade with the land,we still have to come up with$800,000 and he has not heard direction as to where the money would be coming from. Case said his intent was to direct staff to pursue the possibility of what would it look like and can it happen. He said all that council got back was one thought from the DNR that it is possible. Lambert explained that the DNR said if the appraisal worked out and if the appraisal on the land to be acquired worked out, the DNR would need a reason why the city would want to do it and then it would be forwarded to the National Park Service. He said the DNR said it could work,but is not going to commit to it until they would see all that and it takes money to do appraisals and show where the money is coming from. Lambert said if you don't have money to buy it in the first place,why would we go through the exercise and pay for appraisals. Case suggested a workshop discussion on this issue. Tyra-Lukens said it would be useful to have this item as a workshop and suggested council members work with Mr. Neal to make sure their specific pieces of information needed to make a decision are available. Butcher said the HPC needs to be involved. CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 9 Neal reminded the audience that the November schedule for council meetings will be the 9th and 23ra because of the election on November 2. He said he believes that November 9 would be available for a workshop and he will check that. Young said he agrees that the council should have a discussion on the Cummins Grill house. He said the option for the Picha property should not be renewed and he hopes something can be done with it. E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XIV. OTHER BUSINESS XV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:01 p.m. CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 19,2004 Page 10 C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Major Center Area Study D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT