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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/23/2004 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 23, 2004 CITY CENTER 5:45—6:40 PM,HERITAGE ROOM II 6:45—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and Philip Young CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Dan Carlson,Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz,Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Communications Manager Pat Brink, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room I(5:45-6:40) I. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS LITIGATION Council Chamber(6:45—6:55) II. OPEN FORUM A. Thomas Briant—Heritage Preservation and Cummins Grill House Mr. Briant, 15560 Boulder Pointe Road, has been an Eden Prairie resident since 1991. He said he is increasingly concerned over taxpayer dollars going to fund historic preservation. He strongly opposed any new funding for historic preservation. He said he views the Council's funding of historic preservation as pursuing private agendas. Mr. Briant noted that historic preservation was rated low on a list of priorities by residents on a 2001 survey conducted by the City,but the Council has "chosen to disregard this." He questioned some Councilmembers' assertions it is their duty to renovate old houses because previous Councils chose to buy old houses. He challenged the Council to prove that those former Councils wanted to the City to spend millions of dollars to restore these homes. Briant said Eden Prairie is a major urban area and, in his opinion,preserving old homes does not enhance the quality of life. He said the money spent on the Smith-Douglas-More House, the Riley-Jaques Barn, and the Cummins-Grill House adds up to more than$2 million. He said the City now wants to pay $200,000 for a land swap and$72,000 on maintenance for the Cummins-Grill Council Forum Minutes November 23, 2004 Page 2 House. Briant said the $2 million spent on preservation would have funded many of the projects on the recently defeated Parks and Open Space Referendum. He said these park projects would have been used by thousands as opposed to THE number of people using the Riley-Jaques Barn and other historic buildings. Briant called on the Council to "cease all future funding of preservation projects." He recommended that the Council pass a motion to "let the voters choOse through a referendum whether or not to fund historic preservation." Councilmember Case said 30,000 patrons visited the Dunn Bros./Smith-Douglas- More House in its first year of operation,while some park features see much less use. Case also challenged some of the numbers presented by Mr. Briant, saying he"costed out" some items twice in his analysis. Case said the Council has always favored the use of grants and public/private partnerships over using taxpayer funds for historic preservation. He stressed that he"doesn't feel the Council can smirk on the actions of past Councils." Case said the 2001 survey is "old news," and all of the priorities on the list came from focus groups that were asked what items they considered important to Eden Prairie. Case said he believes in"shotgunning out"to provide amenities to all sections of the community. Case noted that in the `80s, the public consensus was to keep the 169 intersection at grade level,but that public opinion on that had changed by the late 90s. Case said he "represents the people of today while keeping an eye on the past and on the future." Councilmember Young thanked Mr. Briant for his presentation, and said he happens to share Mr. Briant's opinion. Young said that if historic preservation is a vision the Council has, they need to say so. IV. ADJOURNMENT