HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 09/20/2005 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL BOARD JOINT MEETING
OPEN FORUM/OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher,
Ron Case, and Philip Young
SCHOOL BOARD: Chair Jill Scholtz, Vice Chair Barbara Gabbert, Board Members Carol
Bomben, Ann Haines, Phil Rose, Greg Olson, Tim Fox
SCHOOL DISTRICT STAFF: Superintendent Melissa Krull, Executive Director of Business
Services Patricia Magnuson, Director of Student Services Gretchen Durkot, Executive Director
of Educational Services Larry Leebens, Communications Director Camie Melton Hanily
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, Economic
Development Coordinator Dave Lindahl, and Recorder Deb Sweeney
Heritage Room H
I. METHAMPHETAMINE LABS & USE—CAROL BOMBEN
School Board member Bomben shared that her eyes had been opened by a County
presentation on meth labs and meth use. She asked if the Council had looked at this
issue. Mayor Tyra-Lukens said it had not. Currently there are about 5 labs a year in
Hennepin County, vs. 27 in Anoka County. The problem is spreading from rural areas.
Police Chief Dan Carlson said police sometimes find abandoned containers, or the City
gets fire calls related to suspected meth labs. Two years ago there was a large meth lab in
a twin home. The ATF was brought in and a federal grant handled the expensive
cleanup. Neal noted a draft ordinance on meth lab cleanup is almost ready to be
presented to the Council.
Bomben said the problem is use as well as labs. School board member Ann Haines
concurred. Meth use is growing among suburban students, who use it to boost energy for
activities and study. The community should seek opportunities to look at this issue,
whether on a staff or board level. Meth destroys families and can impact the best and
brightest. Bomben agreed to notify Councilmembers of future workshops and to share
information from the packet.
II. ANDERSON SCHOOL/COMMUNITY CENTER LAND EXCHANGE IDEA—
SCOTT NEAL AND BOB LAMBERT
Superintendent Melissa Krull said efforts to raise funds to restore and move the Anderson
School schoolhouse are progressing well. Preliminary discussions proposed locating the
schoolhouse at Prairie View. The new idea proposes locating it at Oak Point School.
Anderson School task force leader Betsy Adams explained this site makes the
schoolhouse accessible to all Eden Prairie students, fits well with the Oak Point history
curriculum, and provides an attractive site for the school. It would,however,require a
land swap.
Neal explained the proposed site is City land. It is located across Staring Lake Parkway
from Oak Point. The small existing parking lot would serve the schoolhouse. In return,
the district is proposing to swap the land just south of Eagle Way, the east entrance to the
High School. Lambert said this land would be needed were the Community Center to
add a new rink. The City is already maintaining the land. In addition, the Staring Lake
parcel is already almost all school use. It would be an even swap of 59,706.73 square feet
of school property for 59,703.70 square feet of City property. The swap would benefit
both sides.
Tyra-Lukens said the swap would benefit the City even without the schoolhouse. In
addition, the Oak Point site has more drive-by and allows all the students in the district to
utilize it. Krull said other districts might use it as well. Case noted the parcel was given
to the City in negotiation for the townhome development agreement, and that Minnesota
History is now part of the sixth grade state standards. It is great how all these pieces come
together.
School Board Member Greg Olson asked if losing the parking lot would be a problem for
school events. Case said the lot is rarely used and shouldn't create a conflict. Adams
clarified the lot would remain, with the schoolhouse sited to the west of it. Butcher
remembered the Cahill schoolhouse program from when her kids were young and
wholeheartedly supported the swap. Adams thanked the Board and Council for their
advocacy, noting neither the City nor the School District is contributing any funds.
III. DEBRIEFING ON 2005 SUMMER EMERGENCY EXERCISE AT EDEN
PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL—DAN CARLSON
Carlson and Sergeant Jim Morrow explained the City conducted a joint training with
several neighboring cities this summer simulating a school shooting at Eden Prairie High
School. Over 194 emergency personnel participated in the 5-hour training. The primary
objective was to work on police/fire relationships. Previous training exercises revealed a
need to do cross training, so fire personnel would have a basic understanding on tactical
coordination and police would better understand rescue operations. This kind of
coordination is rarely done,but with new threats, it is important for both fire and police to
be able to go into an unsecured area and rescue people out. The exercise was loosely
based on the school hostage situation in Chechnya, where terrorists took over a school.
Carlson noted the FBI hostage team is five hours out, so it is important for local forces to
be able to react. Through the scenario, fire, police, and medical personnel all learned a
great deal. Hosting the scenario was a huge win for the community. Now, many
personnel have first-hand experience of our high school. In addition, the exercise
promoted a paradigm shift. Traditionally, forces will hang back until an area is secure, or
wait out a hostage taker to avoid provoking more shootings. With an "active shooter,"
the mindset needs to change. Carlson noted that after an "explosion" in the building, fire
moved in within 14 minutes and rescued people out—unheard of. The metro area is a
nationwide model for how to do scenarios and drills.
Haines asked if the police had any recommendations for the district. Carlson said school
staff observed the exercise, and police talked to security at the high school about it.
Scholtz applauded their leadership. Carlson noted the exercise cost about$20,000, which
was funded by a federal grant. Aho said this was a bargain. Carlson said the department
does build in overtime for training and takes a preventative stance. Tyra-Lukens thanked
the district for the use of the building.
IV. HIGHWAY 212 PROJECT—GENE DIETZ
City Engineer Gene Dietz updated the group on Highway 212 construction, using a wall
map. Tree cutting will start this week. Thursday, they will start driving piles for the Dell
Road bridge. November Is'will see the construction of a new Dell Road entrance to
Miller Park. The Candlewood Parkway entrance to Miller Park will be closed, with a
pedestrian bridge offering access from that neighborhood.
Eden Prairie's portion will be complete at the end of 2006, with the road extending to
Powers Blvd. in fall 2007 and to Cologne in 2008. The overall cost is $238 million.
Dietz said the completion of Scenic Heights Road all the way to Dell Road would help
the City a great deal with traffic and bus routing.
Lindahl asked how the completed 212 would impact traffic on T.H. 5 and Pioneer Trail.
Dietz said this in unknown,but it is expected to alleviate traffic and make the intersection
of T.H. 5 and County Road 4 work better. Olson asked about the Flying Cloud
Drive/Prairie Center Drive intersection. Dietz said it would be done this week. The
Mitchell Road and Technology Drive intersection will go well into November due to the
complexity of doing the project while keeping the road open for emergency vehicle
access. The Anderson Lakes overpass over Highway 169 will be complete next month.
Work on Interstate 494 northbound will continue through the end of next year.
V. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE—DAVE LINDAHL
Economic Development Coordinator Dave Lindahl reported the Eden Prairie economy is
thriving. A few years ago, there was much concern after several office spaces became
vacant. Best Buy moved out, and ADC hit hard economic times. Today, Eden Prairie
office development has many exciting developments. Wells Fargo is moving 600-800
employees into the ADC building. Kroll and CH Robinson are both aggressively growing
and swapping around office space. CH Robinson is building a new 150,000 square foot
building in the Eden Bluff Corporate Center, and there may be one or two more.
Stratasys is leasing two buildings off Martin Drive and looking to add another 250,000
square feet,preferably on-site to form a corporate campus.
Development in the Golden Triangle area is also looking up. Vacancy rates were 50%
three years ago,but are just 20% today. The William Austin Center has brought in 1,000
employees. Foss Swim School will have a corporate headquarters and a new pool. The
old Best Buy building has been bought and will be rented out. The future of Vikings
Winter Park remains uncertain if a stadium deal goes through. The City is seeking a seat
at the table. The area does have good potential for redevelopment should the Vikings
relocate.
The City currently has three parcels for sale: residual land from the fire station, slated for
neighborhood commercial, the old police station lot for commercial mixed use, and a
Columbine Road parcel, 4.5 acres prime commercial, which could possibly support mid-
rise condos with restaurants or retail on the first floor. The City is also conducting a
survey of businesses to see if efforts at improving communication have been effective.
Scholtz asked how the economic development might impact commuter patterns.
Jeremiah said the LRT project is generating figures out to 2030. Congestion will worsen
substantially without transit. The new 212 should help, as would an LRT or dedicated
busway,particularly attractive to commuters. Jeremiah noted the Hiawatha LRT serves
recreational users as well.
VI. COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS UPDATE—JANET JEREMIAH
Jeremiah said demographers expect the population in the metro area to increase by a
million people by 2030, with half a million new households and over 600,000 new jobs.
The City is working with the Met Council to update its 20-year comprehensive plan.
Eden Prairie monitors new housing units to estimate population. As of January 1st, the
estimated population will be 62,811. Jeremiah predicted regional growth will create
development pressure, with more infilling as large single-family parcels are developed.
The main place to add residents is the Metro Center Area, which should be made more
walkable and transit oriented. There is also potential to add residents in the Golden
Triangle area, whether though condos, mid-rises, or even high-rises. The City will also
look at its affordable housing plan. Jeremiah invited the Board to participate in the
process and to attend the MCA Open House September 27t'.
Olson asked if there would be a lot of kids in that growing demographic. Jeremiah said
there would definitely be more kids, but since there will be more multifamily housing, the
average household size will go down. Single-family homes average 2.8 people;
apartments and townhomes average 2.1. Olson said seeing the City projections would be
helpful for district planning. Lindahl said the City used to be very involved with the
district forecast and working together made sense.
VII. HURRICANE KATRINA RESPONSE
Neal said although Eden Prairie is not expecting evacuees now, he had talked to Krull
about their potential impact on the schools. Fire Chief George Esbensen said the City
volunteered early to help,but lack of coordination in New Orleans means we have not yet
been called to help. It will be a long recovery, so it's likely the City will help in the
future. The City is honoring FEMA's request to go through official channels. Firefighters
did help with Channel 9's collection of supplies.
Tyra-Lukens asked about the impact on the schools. Krull said the district is ready to
accept any students if the City accepts evacuees into housing. The school district
employee charitable drive has been moved up and will run longer.
Haines asked how the schools could assist in a time of disaster, as an evacuation site, for
example. Esbensen said the City plans for all different kinds of hazards, together with its
partners. The Red Cross is in charge of congregate care and has already contacted schools
and churches so they may be called upon when needed to provide shelter.
Council Chamber
II. OPEN FORUM
A. TAXES AND SPENDING—PAUL WENDORFF
Resident Paul Wendorff announced the formation of the Eden Prairie Taxpayers
Alliance, which aims to collect data on City budgets, inform the residents, and
comment on the budget. Wendorff expressed concern about increases in spending.
He said the Alliance would be active in the coming budget and levy process.
III. OPEN PODIUM
There were no speakers for Open Podium.
IV. ADJOURNMENT