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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 01/18/2005 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY,JANUARY 18, 2005 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, 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 7:02 p.m. All members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING JANUARY FOR THE RECOGNITION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING,JR. Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens read the Proclamation and Manifesto. Following the reading, Larry Piumbroeck, Chair of the Human Rights and Diversity Commission, gave an overview the City's Human Rights Award and Dr. Jean L. Harris Youth Scholarship Award process. Piumbroeck said the Human Rights Awards are given to outstanding individuals, a non-profit organization and a business. He said the nominations will close March 28, 2005 and recipients will be selected in April and recognized in May. Piumbroeck said nomination forms can be found on the city's website or at City Center. Piumbroeck said there will be two recipients of the Dr. Jean L. Harris Youth Scholarship Award that will be given in May. He said each recipient will receive a one-time $1,000 award and explained that volunteerism and community service are the main criteria for the award. He said applications for the award are posted on the City of Eden Prairie website in the resident section and are also being sent to guidance and career resource offices in area schools. He said application deadline for this award in also March 28, 2005. IV. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Neal added scheduling of a joint meeting under Report of City Manager. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case to approve the Agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 2 VI. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,JANUARY 4, 2005 Butcher clarified she wanted an annual meeting to be included that one of her goals. Therefore, on Page 7, the first paragraph should begin "Butcher said one of her goals would be to work more closely with the business community, continuing Meet and Greets, have an annual meeting and collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce to identify opportunities and discuss business issues." MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Young, to approve as amended the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, January 4, 2005. Motion carried 5-0. VII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. EDEN HEIGHTS ESTATES by Premier Development. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 24.78 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 24.78 acres, Zoning District Change from R1-22 to R1-13.5 on 18.62 acres, and Preliminary Plat of 24.78 acres into 47 lots. Location: Southwest corner of Pioneer Trail and Eden Prairie Rd. (Ordinance No. 1-2005-PUD-1-2005 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Change) C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2005-12 AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR UTILITY AND STREET IMPROVEMENTS ON VALLEY ROAD AND HILLTOP ROAD, I.C. 05-5642 D. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2005-13 EXTENDING CONDITIONAL USE AGREEMENT WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY FOR ELECTRONIC GEOGRAPHICAL DIGITIZED DATA FOR USE IN MAPPING E. APPROVE ADDITIONAL DESIGN FEE FOR SEH, INC., FOR FINAL DESIGN OF TH 212NALLEY VIEW ROAD INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS, I.C. 01-5543 F. ADOPT RESOLUTION 2005-14 APPROVING ROADSIDE LANDSCAPING AGREEMENT WITH MNDOT G. AWARD CONTRACT TO BRAUER & ASSOCIATES FOR TRAIL PLANNING SERVICES H. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR WATER FILL STATION IMPROVEMENTS AT THE WATER PLANT, I.C. 04-5630 MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-H of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 3 VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. HENNEPIN VILLAGE OFFICE— COMMERCIAL GUIDE PLAN CHANGE AND PUD AMENDMENT by United Properties. Request for Comprehensive Guide Plan Change from Office to Industrial on 20 acres, Comprehensive Guide Plan Change from Neighborhood Commercial to Office on 4.5 acres, and Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 51 acres. Location: North of Highway 212, east of Spring Road. (Resolution No. 2005-15 for Guide Plan Change, Resolution No. 2005-16 for PUD Concept Amendment) City Manager Scott Neal announced that official notice of this public hearing was published in the January 6, 2005, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 3 property owners. He said this project is an amendment to the office and commercial portion of the Hennepin Village PUD. The changes are as follows: • Reduce the size of the neighborhood commercial use from 30,000 s.f. to 9,000 s.f. • Decrease the amount of office use from 473,800 to 364,000 s.f. • Add 173,550 s.f. of industrial use. Neal said the Community Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend approval of an alternative guide plan change and PUD plan as follows. Recommended Land Use • Building sites 1, 2, and 3 be guided both office and industrial. • Building sites 4, 5, and 6 be guided office. • Building sites 7, 8, and 9 be guided office, industrial and neighborhood commercial. Recommended PUD use • Building sites 1, 2, and 3 concept approval 205,000 s.f. office and industrial. • Building sites 4, 5, and 6 concept approval for 228,000—352,000 s.f. office. • Building sites 7, 8, and 9 concept approval for 30,000 s.f. neighborhood commercial and 64,400 s.f. office and industrial. Neal said approval is based on future development for all sites must be based on office standards. He said loading must be within an enclosed loading court and there must be an appropriate transition to the adjacent residential areas. City staff and the developer agree with the alternative land use and PUD plan as recommended by the Community Planning Board. Jeremiah pointed out that there has been some discussion of a change to residential on some properties in this area,but that is not part of the current proposal. Regarding the reduction of commercial use from 30,000 s.f. to 9,000 s.f., Case asked what the city had hoped would go in there, what is being lost from what was hoped to go in there and what there is room for now. Jeremiah said the developer requested the reduction to a total of 9,000 s.f.,but specific plans on what will be there is yet to be discussed. She said it could potentially include a restaurant or small bank. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 4 There were no public comments. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young, to close the Public Hearing; and adopt the Resolution for Guide Plan Change from Office to Office/Industrial for building sites 1, 2, and 3; and Office/Neighborhood Commercial to Office/ Neighborhood Commercial/Industrial for building sites 7, 8, and 9; and adopt the Resolution for Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 51 acres; and direct Staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating Staff and Board recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. B. EDEN DEVELOPMENT ADDITION by Eden Development. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 3 acres, Zoning District Change from I-General to I-2 on 3 acres, and Site Plan Review on 3 acres. Location: 7875 Fuller Road. (Resolution No. 2005-17 for PUD Concept Amendment) City Manager Scott Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the January 6, 2005, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 16 property owners. He said this is for a 15,880 square foot building addition and the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the project to the City Council at its December 13, 2004 meeting. The building addition meets the requirement for the I-2 zoning district. The outside storage will be permanently removed from the site. The plans have been revised to provide screening of the rooftop mechanical equipment. Jeremiah said there has been a question regarding providing fire sprinklers in the building. She said staff has indicated that it is a city building code requirement from which you cannot waiver and Fire Chief George Esbensen is present to answer questions. Elmer Wedel, 9039 Gould Road, said he is concerned about the cost of fire sprinklers on the property. He said in checking with other suburbs, if you have two sprinkler hydrants on a property, this property would be at the front and also the rear, they require you to sprinkle the new building, but not the existing building. Wedel said there is a two-hour fire separation between the buildings and it is a cost concern. Chief Esbensen said Eden Prairie is one of the many cities in the state that adopted the 1306 modification to the building code that says buildings of a certain square footage are required to have sprinkler protection. He said it is a safety issue to help small fires stay small. Case commented that the old section is 88,000 s.f., which is not insignificant,but the rationale at the time the building code modification was passed made sense and there is no option to waiver from it if we wanted to. Aho asked if the rules are being applied retroactively to the structure because of the 1306 requirement. Esbensen said that is correct and the city has offered to work with the owner to phase into that to reduce the financial burden. Neal said in some cities there are CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 5 special assessment programs where they allow the building owner to have the system installed and special assess it over a defined period of time. He said that type of program could be developed here. Case asked why the second hydrant and running the water line down the cul-de- sac shouldn't be assessed to all properties that will benefit. Dietz said it could be done,but special assessments require a special process and the fact that there might be some general benefit to the neighborhood may not be a special benefit. He said the line that is being proposed is there to charge the sprinkler system and the hydrant itself is $2,200 and part of the exact plan that was originally proposed. Dietz said the law says that we must prove that the increased value to the other properties is at least equal to the special assessment and the other properties have water service and it might be difficult to show special benefit for that. There were no further comments. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to close the Public Hearing; and adopt the Resolution for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3 acres; and approve 1 st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review and Zoning District change from I-General to I-2 on 3 acres; and direct Staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating Staff and Board recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. C. MAINTENANCE OUTDOOR STORAGE SITE By the City of Eden Prairie, Request for Rezoning from Rural to I-General on 17 acres. Location: 9955 Flying Cloud Drive. (Ordinance for Zoning District Change) City Manager Scott Neal reported that official notice of this public hearing was published in the January 6, 2005, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 2 property owners. He said this proposal is to rezone property from Rural to I-General to allow the City to operate an outdoor storage area for the operating functions of the utility, streets, and park and recreation departments. The Community Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the rezoning to the City Council at the December 13, 2004 meeting. This site needs to be rezoned to I- General in order for the City to use the property for outdoor storage of materials and equipment. The proposed plan meets the required setbacks. Neal said the plan includes the required screening of the outdoor storage from public roads and adjacent land uses and also includes the required stormwater treatment pond. The proposed buildings have not been designed. When completed, these designs will be submitted to the Planning Commission and City Council for a site plan review. There were no public comments. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Young, to close the Public Hearing; and approve 1 st Reading of the Ordinance for Zoning District Change from Rural to I- General on 17 acres. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 6 Case asked what the city would be doing about stormwater drainage and potential groundwater infiltration from vehicle storage. Dietz said the packet does include the site plan that is nearly final in terms of the grading. He said there are two ponds on the site that are intended to be dry ponds,but the city is doing everything on the site that would be expected of a private developer. He said the idea that there would be storage of confiscated and towed vehicles would require a special design but in the beginning that kind of use is not anticipated. Tyra-Lukens said it appeals to her that there is the potential of saving taxpayers $12,000 per year for storage of towed and impounded vehicles. She asked if the improvements would eat up the savings and if not, why not do it right away. Dietz said the city could do it right away but is currently under contract with a towing company. He said the city could explore that but would have to pave the site and a fair amount of improvements could be made to accommodate the $12,000 per year. Motion carried 5-0. D. VACATION OF CONSERVATION EASEMENT OVER PART OF THE PINES AT SETTLERS RIDGE (Resolution No. 2005-18) City Manager Scott Neal reported that official notice of this public hearing was published in the January 6, 2005, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 12 property owners. He said a conservation easement was required for The Pines I development for protection of the wetland, wetland mitigation area and wetland buffers. However, inadvertently the recorded easement included the structure setback area. Neal said only the wetland and wetland buffer are required by ordinance to be covered by a conservation easement. This vacation reduces the size of the easement to conform to City Code requirements and eliminates current and future encroachment issues for adjacent property owners. Staff recommends approval of the vacation. Neal said this item was required because there was an error in the way the easement was recorded and so the council is not giving up something it wanted, it is putting something back the way it was first approved. There were no comments from the public. MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Butcher, to close the Public Hearing; and adopt a resolution vacating the Conservation Easement over part of The Pines at Settlers Ridge. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young, to approve the Payment of Claims. The motion was approved on a roll call vote with Aho, Butcher, Case, Young and Tyra- Lukens voting "aye." X. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 7 XI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. BASEBALL ASSOCIATION REQUEST REGARDING GRAND STAND FACILITY AT MILLER PARK Lambert reported that the Eden Prairie Baseball Association has renewed its request to donate $250,000 toward the construction of a baseball stadium at Miller Park. He said this has been a vision and goal of the baseball association for 10 years. The first phase of this baseball stadium would cost approximately $850,000. Future phases would also be constructed through partnership improvement projects between the City and the Baseball Association, similar to how the Baseball Association is assisting in the funding of improvement of baseball fields throughout the community. This proposal would require funding from the park fund of$600,000. Lambert said Tom Siering, president of the Baseball Association is present tonight to answer questions. He said Siering has been a strong proponent of having the association become a partner with the city in improving baseball facilities. He said for the last three years, the association has come to the city with matching funds on a 50150 basis to do improvements on baseball fields throughout the community. Lambert said he applauds the efforts of the Baseball Association because it is a great example of what the city would like to see from athletic associations that want more use of facilities than what other taxpayers are using and are also willing to pay for extra use of those facilities. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to authorize preparation of plans and specifications and to take bids for construction of a grand stand that would include restrooms, concessions, storage facility, covered seating and an enclosed announcer's booth for the baseball field at Miller Park. Case asked if$600,000 from park fund fees is used here, what gets pushed back. Lambert said nothing gets pushed back and he has been consistently conservative on his projection with what revenues would be expected each year in the park fund. He said some excess money has been built up so that projects can be moved forward rather than pushed back and he has recommended this project move forward because the leadership of the Baseball Association is expected to change over the next few years and current leaders are willing to contribute funds now. Case said he supports this project and this is not just extra money,it is real dollars that would've been available down the road for something. Lambert said the parks commission voted in favor of this project because they believe it is the kind of facility all Eden Prairie residents will appreciate and not just players will enjoy the use of it. Aho asked if this stadium was part of the referendum that failed. Lambert said there was a question on the referendum asking for residents to support putting money aside to match funds for athletic associations that do things like the baseball stadium and it was part of that single question that did fail. Aho asked if CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 8 this is enhancing an existing field that is currently being used for playing. Lambert said that is correct. Aho asked how we get to the point where we put this project above projects where there are no facilities. Lambert said that is always a question but do you take away the incentive from groups like the Baseball Association who raise funds and support their own construction and enhancing of facilities they are using? He said people have always had to wait for facilities and it is not an easy decision. Aho asked if we do this project are we then saying we don't have funding to do other projects. Lambert said the issue is because the Baseball Association has brought money forward, and because this is already on the capital improvement plan, should we move it forward. Lambert also pointed out that in all issues listed in the referendum, of the $26.5M to $27M, we were taking $4.5M from the cash park fee fund, so this is simply taking one of those properties that were going to be constructed by cash park fee money anyway. He said instead of$1.2M for this project, it is scaled down to $850,000 to be done in phases. Butcher said she loves the plan and asked how the other commissioners responded to the one park commissioner's comment on delaying this to a referendum. Lambert said Rob Barrett, chair of the Parks Commission, said he'd rather delay it until after a decision was made on a referendum. Young said he is concerned that this was a referendum issue a year ago and if we are contemplating doing a referendum in 2005, he thinks it could be sensitive to pay for it out of cash. He said he is concerned that some people may ask how much the city really needs in tax dollars and if the referendum doesn't pass, what will be paid for in 2006 out of cash. He said his preference would be to incorporate this with any discussions about a referendum and decide what would be part of a referendum and what would be part of cash park fees. Neal said a joint session will be scheduled between the Parks board and the council to discuss when that type of discussion can take place. He said the question for the council to consider is that if citizens had authorized a referendum, what would have been done is it would have accelerated the pace at which this project would have been completed. He said the discussion on what would be accelerated and what would have been done anyway is a discussion for the council and Parks board to make sure that their view of the future of the capital improvements plan is consistent with the council's. Butcher said her only worry is there is $250,000 earmarked as a donation for this and she would hate to see that money not be used to go toward this. She asked if the project were delayed, would the money still be available from the Baseball Association. Tom Siering said he cannot say whether the money will be there a year or two from now. He said there will be a transition within the association within a year or two so the money is earmarked now,but he cannot guarantee it for the future. He CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 9 said the association firmly believes it has shown a commitment by funding the $250,000, and has a goal to be the best baseball association in the state. Tyra-Luken asked if this were put to referendum and approved, when would be the earliest that construction could begin. Lambert said one of the options the council might want to consider is to authorize approval of plans and specifications and not go to bid. He said it could be included in or delayed until after the referendum and construction could begin next year. Case said the proposal is a different proposal than what was on the original referendum. He said it is a downscaled project with more private monies. Tyra-Lukens clarified that the council would be looking at this proposal one more time after tonight before giving approval. Aho asked what the intended timeframe would be. Lambert said it would probably start mid-summer for opening next spring. Motion carried 5-0. Young stated his preference would be to table it. He said he likes the proposal and will support it but his statement was cautionary. Tyra-Lukens thanked the Baseball Association and said the entire community should be impressed with the fundraising of the association. She said it is a great example of how the city tries to provide facilities to all aspects of the community, but the extent of support that the Baseball Association has shown to baseball- related projects is more than any other organization in the community. B. EDEN PRAIRIE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION PROPOSAL FOR AN OUTDOOR WINTER RECREATION AREA Neal said this is the next phase of a discussion between the city and the Eden Prairie Hockey Association. He said he and Lambert met with two representatives from the Hockey Association and they proposed a new proposal that was fundamentally different that what the city had seen before. He said Lambert advanced it to the Parks board and now to the council. The Eden Prairie Hockey Association would like to see two outdoor refrigerated hockey rinks incorporated with an outdoor recreation area that may include a large outdoor free skating rink with music, a concession stand that would serve these users and include an outdoor plaza where people might enjoy hot chocolate, snacks, etc. while watching skaters and listening to music. The concept would hopefully also be able to serve other winter recreation facilities and would become a focal point in the community during the winter months. Lambert said with refrigerated rinks goes team equipment, zambonies, team rooms, and concessions. He said he thinks the idea makes enough sense to at least ask the council to do a feasibility study to see if it makes sense at all. He said it is interesting and creative enough to at least evaluate. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 10 Case said with rinks like this, the season can be extended from late October to early March and it works. He said it at least deserves to be looked at. Butcher asked if once the feasibility study is done would it go to the Parks and Recreation Commission before coming to the council. Lambert said that is correct. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to authorize staff to obtain quotes for planning services to provide concept plans for developing a winter recreation area in a community park that would include refrigerated outdoor ice and serve other winter outdoor recreation activities. Motion carried 5-0. C. PROPOSAL FOR FARMERS MARKET AT PURGATORY CREEK RECREATION AREA Neal asked Rosow to clarify what the council is being asked to do tonight. Rosow said the manner in which the request was presented to the council was vague in terms of what exactly the council would be approving. He said the heart of the matter is that there would have to be presumably a lease agreement between the city and the proponents to lease an area of the park for a designated number of days for use as a Farmer's Market. He said the approval tonight would be to direct staff to prepare such an agreement that would take into account other topics that were discussed pertaining to approval of parking, zoning amendments, appropriate conditions for clean-up, hours of operation, and operation and maintenance of the market. Rosow said it would be to approve staff developing an agreement to operate subject to the conditions. He said council action would be to move to approve that the staff prepare for council consideration a lease agreement for the use of the park as a Farmer's Market subject to conditions including obtaining written approval for use of adjacent parking, approval of zoning amendments, and setting conditions regarding clean-up and hours. Case said initially he likes the sound of a Farmer's Market but this particular proposal is problematic because he didn't realize how much for-profit it would be and would compete with other businesses in the city. Case said the city has three indigenous farmers and he'd still like to see the city sponsor some type of Farmer's Market festival. Young said a Farmer's Market can be a nice amenity for a community,but this proposal is a business plan that does compete against close-by businesses that have invested in the community and he cannot support it. Butcher said the city already has a number of Farmer's Markets and businesses that provide the same service. She said she is not comfortable with the proposal. Aho said the council needs to be uniform in terms of application of rules and regulations to all businesses and all residences. He said location is the issue and if it were on private land, all rules and regulations would be applied as in all other proposals. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 11 Rosow suggested moving to table it and said it is also acceptable to have no motion or direction to staff and the matter would not move forward. Councilmembers agreed to give no direction to staff and to make no motion. XII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS A. POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS STUDY Neal explained that this is to appoint a representative to represent the City of Eden Prairie on the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) Southwest Corridor Alternative Analysis Study and place a member on the Policy Advisory Committee. He said two citizens have represented the city in the past,but he thinks it is important to have a representative from the council. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve appointment of Councilmember Aho as the Member and Janet Jeremiah as the Alternate to the Policy Advisory Committee for the Southwest Corridor Alternative Analysis Study. Motion carried 5-0. XIV. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER Neal said he and Lambert are trying to set a dedicated time for the Parks Commission and Council to meet to discuss long-term CIP issues with the park dedication funds and also plans for a referendum in the future. He asked councilmembers to check schedules and Lorene McWaters will send queries this week. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Shuldhiess Family Property Lambert explained that there are two residential lots within the proposed boundaries of Riley Lake Park. A 60-foot wide lot owned by Ernie Shuldhiess at 9281 Riley Lake Road, and a 91-foot wide lot owned by the Shuldhiess family estate at 9291 Riley Lake Road. On September 2, 2003, the City Council considered action on acquiring the Shuldhiess family estate lot. He said the City's appraisal was for $360,000 and the family CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 12 was asking $495,000. The staff did not recommend taking any action at that time and the Council tabled any action on this property. Recently the realtor for the property indicated to the City that the parcel is on the market for$349,000. City staff believes the asking price is approaching what the value of the property would be to the park. Staff would recommend negotiating with the property owners to determine the lowest price at this time, and then requesting the Council to determine if it has any further interest in this property. Lambert said someday in the future, if the city does not acquire these lots, there will be people living in the park and future councils will wonder why the city allowed the situation to occur. Lambert said the asking price is now around $339,000 and it is at least worth looking at because it is best to acquire the properties when there is a willing seller. Case asked what monies would be used to purchase the properties. Lambert said it would be park dedication fees. Rosow commented that if Lambert likes the result of the negotiations with sellers, Council could authorize staff to bring back a proposal in the form of a purchase agreement. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to authorize staff to negotiate for acquisition of the Shuldhiess property at 9291 Riley Lake Road and report back to the Council on the cost to acquire that property at this time. Young said he has difficulty with this because there is not a compelling need to spend this amount of city dollars to buy this property. Case said the idea of having a section of park that is off and by itself is not the worst thing in the world; it's not great but it's OK. He said he would like to talk in great detail before expending funds. He said he is OK tonight with just looking at this. Aho said he would like to evaluate this in relation to all other projects before moving to go ahead with it. Motion carried 4-1 with Young opposed. 2. Lis!htins! of Softball Field#4 at Round Lake Park Lambert explained that staff is proposing to light field#4 in a manner similar to what is currently at field#2 and#3. Light poles, light fixtures, and lighting pattern will be done in a similar manner. He said all property owners within 1,000 feet of the ball field were notified and no phone calls were received and nobody attended the Parks Commission meeting. He CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 13 said the estimated cost for lighting of Round Lake field#4 is approximately $62,000 to $65,000 and that amount was collected by the softball players for field improvements and there would be no tax dollars used for this construction project. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young, to authorize staff to prepare plans and specifications and take bids for the lighting of softball field#4 at Round Lake Park. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Land Acquisition Needs Lambert showed a map of the trail system and explained that the majority of the land acquisition required to complete the Park and Open Space System plan relates to acquisition of land necessary to complete trail systems. He said the city has acquired 95 percent of the land for the parks system,but there are a few key parcels left to acquire. He pointed out each of the parcels and explained topographical characteristics and logistics for acquiring the parcels or obtaining trail easements. It is important to have a public record of the City's interest in acquiring these parcels of land especially if the land acquisition is from another governmental agency, or if we ever apply for grants for acquisition. Seven of the properties are owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The State may determine to sell those properties or may decide to grant an easement for trail purposes and retain ownership of the property. As long as the property remains in public ownership it makes little difference to the City of Eden Prairie unless the State would determine at some time in the future to sell the property. There are six other parcels that might be acquired through dedication, or a combination of dedication and purchase, when the adjacent property is developed. Lambert said the reason for making a list of these parcels is to have a record of what is on the list and that council agrees these parcels should be on the list for this council and future councils. Aho asked if by putting these parcels on a list we are just saying these are properties of interest to the city and parks system and if they come available we are interested. Lambert said if they come available we are interested and don't be surprised if we say we would recommend moving forward now on some of them. Aho asked if MnDOT owns them, is there a cost associated with the easement. Lambert said generally they give it to the city at no cost. Rosow suggested deleting the words "and should be acquired if feasible" because that is close to authorizing an acquisition. Case asked Lambert why the city would not move immediately on the lands that have no cost. Lambert said a resolution has not yet been prepared for them. Case asked staff to move ahead with the ones that have no cost for the rights to have the trail there. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 14 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the list of land acquisition needs and ratify the placement of these parcels within the Park and Open Space System Plan. Young stated he will support the motion but he is not a big supporter of acquiring the Shuldheiss properties. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Proposed Revisions to the Park Fund Capital Improvement Program Lambert explained that each year City staff propose revisions to the estimated revenue and expenditures in the park fund in order to assist the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission and City Council in determining priorities for fund expenditures and estimated revenue and expenditures over the next five years. The park fund does not include general fund capital improvement projects, but is limited to capital improvement projects that would be funded from park dedication fees, grants, donations and revenue from adult athletic fees and interest accrued within the fund. Revenues as of mid-December 2004 for this year totaled $1,237,010. This included $1,053,270 in cash park fees. Expenditures to date from this fund total $1,513,128. The fund balance is $5,663, 079. The revisions to the park fund include moving the expenditures for the baseball stadium up from 2008 to 2005 and increasing the total estimated cost of that facility from$600,000 to $850,000. Other adjustments have been made based on decisions made by the Commission and Council during the year relating to planning for trail projects, off-leash dog exercise areas, etc. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Young, to approve the revisions to the Park Fund Capital Improvement Program as proposed in the January 3, 2005, staff report. Motion carried 5-0. E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR 1. ADC Request Re2ardim Construction of Technolo2y Drive Dietz explained that concurrent with the development review and approval process for the ADC campus, the City and ADC have entered into a Tax Abatement Agreement that allocated $1.4 million of tax revenue towards roadway and related improvements necessitated by the development. There have been amendments to the Developers Agreement, which among other items, include time extensions for completion of the work. During discussions regarding an additional time extension, ADC and City staff have reached consensus that the project, City and ADC needs would be best met by elimination of the Tax Abatement Agreement in favor of a Special Assessment Agreement that results in the following: • Technology Drive would be constructed in accordance with the terms of the Developers Agreement. CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 15 • The City of Eden Prairie will contribute an identical $1.4 million towards the project(plus certain costs for elements planned for by the City, i.e., watermain and landscape items). • The City of Eden Prairie would become the project manager for construction of the improvements. • ADC would be assessed their portion of the costs over a ten-year period. • A new budget would be established for the project. Dietz said he is transmitting to the council the copy of a letter from ADC that requests we get rid of the tax abatement agreement and authorizes staff to develop documents that would support the general conclusions of this transmittal. He said there would really be three documents —one that nullifies the tax abatement agreement, one that is a special assessment agreement, and one that is a modification of the developer's agreement that exists on the property. Neal said this is an item that had one time been considered for the Consent Agenda but he asked that Dietz handle it in open session because it is an item that council had to make new decisions on policy at the time. He clarified that the initiation of this request comes directly from ADC and the city did not encourage them. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to direct staff to develop a Special Assessment Agreement with ADC to replace the existing Tax Abatement Agreement for the purpose of constructing Technology Drive between Mitchell Road and Southwest Station. Motion carried 5-0. 2. Support of Legislation to Provide Funding Options for Street Improvements (Resolution No. 2005-19) Dietz explained that this resolution provides city support for a street utility initiative developed in partnership with the League of Cities (LMC), the City Engineer's Association of Minnesota(CEAM), and the Minnesota Public Works Association (MPWA). The resolution requests enabling legislation for street utility authority to Minnesota cities. A street utility will provide another funding option for the 80% of our street network that is not funded by Municipal State Aid. The maintenance and reconstruction of these streets (80% of our network) is currently funded through the Capital Improvement Fund, the General Fund, and special assessments. This legislation initiative is listed as one of LMC's top legislative priorities for 2004. Dietz said the transportation utility may be the best solution for the future and staff recommends approval of this resolution. Young said he is sensitive to raising revenue by anything other than property taxes because funding by other mechanisms complicates it for residents. He said he is prepared to support enabling legislation for CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 18, 2005 Page 16 providing funding options, but he does not support all the findings or recommendations. He suggested deleting the current"NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED..."paragraph in its entirety and starting the following paragraph with "NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,..." Tyra-Lukens said she would also rather raise revenue with property taxes, but she thinks the city needs tools to be proactive enough to plan for the future. Case said in the best of all worlds, it would be on property taxes but he would not want to limit options this early. Neal explained if this resolution is adopted, multiple copies will be shared with our two representatives and state senator and the credibility and authority of the city council will be behind it to ask the representatives and senator to vote in favor of the legislation. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Young, to adopt resolution supporting legislation to provide funding options, particularly the authority to establish a street utility, for city street improvements striking the "NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED..."paragraph in its entirety and starting the following paragraph with "NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,..." instead of`BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,..." Motion carried 5-0. F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XIV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 9:16 p.m.