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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/30/1986 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL FRIDAY, MAY 30, 1986 5:30 PM, CITY HALL LUNCHROOM `LL COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mayor Gary Peterson, Richard Anderson„ George Bentley, Patricia Pide ock, and Paul Redpath CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J . Jullie, Finance Director John D. Frane, Planning Director Chris Enger, Director of Community Services Robert Lambert, Director of Public Works Eugene A. Dietz , Chief Building Inspector Wayne Sanders, and Recording Secretary Jan Nelson ROLL CALL: All members were present . I . CALL MEETING TO ORDER 4 Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 5:35 PM. : II . APPROVAL OF AGENDA The following items were added to the Agenda: IV . A. Bentley Update on Public Safety procedures for covering the community events scheduled for Sunday, June ; IV . B. Insurance bids; IV . C . Selection process Tor architect for Community Center expansion; IV. D . Lease of Minnesota Cities Conference . MOTION: Bentley moved, seconded by Redpath, to approve the Agenda as amended and published . Motion carried unanimously. III . DISCUSSION ON CITY HALL OPTIONS City Manager Jullie reviewed the seven options presented in his memo of May 16 , 1986. regarding City Hall space needs . He noted that the estimated cost to lease of $15 .00 per square foot (including taxes, maintenance and some allowance for lease- hold ) should be very close to the actual cost to lease space . He also noted that , regarding option #6, a proposal had been received from a developer to build an office building and lease it back to the City. In addition to the options presented in his memo, Jullie noted the following possibilities: A . Enlisting the aid of a leasing agent to assist in locating potential lease space as well as buildings to purchase and to City Council Minutes -2- May 30, 1986 determine the costs for lease or purchase ; and B . Directing the City Hall architect to look in detail at building on the Mitchell Road site and on the present City Hall site, with the idea that such building might be accomplished without the need for a referendum . Redpath asked when sewer and water would be available at the present site . Jullie said it would be two to three years , with a temporary addition to the septic system required during the interim . Redpath then asked what effect the proposed construc- tion of Hwy #212 would have on the Mitchell Road site . Jullie said that the City will lose the fire facility and part of the maintenance garage , but noted that the proposed location is speculative . Redpath noted that he wasn' t sure it would be beneficial to poll the referendum voters since we had received instruction and guidance from the results of the referendum. Anderson said that he had called members of the Referendum Committee and had determined that they believe the referendum was too hurried, that we should hire a consultant to find out what the voters will vote for, and that we should try to determine more closely f .r why it failed . A discussion followed regarding the direction that was given by the referendum vote . Bentley noted that he felt the site selected was the best site but that he felt the people in the community did not understand why that site was selected nor what was going on in general . He also said he believed that there was not enough time spent planning the building itself as to size , layout , and other con- siderations . .Peterson asked if the Council would consider moving only part of the staff to another location (option #2 ) . Anderson said the possibility of adding the new type of portable unit, such. as those manufactured by Gelco, that meets code requirements could be a solution to retaining the present building without split- ting up the staff. Discussion of the options provided by the portaspace units followed . Redpath expressed his concern about the fire hazards in the current building. Peterson asked Jullie to elaborate on the proposal from the builder to build an office building to our specifications (option #6) . Jullie said that the builder would purchase some property, possibly on the site already selected, would build the office building, and then would lease part of the building to the City . Jullie noted that there were concerns that this proposal had been, in effect, voted down:. Bentley noted that it would no longer be tax-free land . Jullie ex- plained the possible financing option of lease-purchase, a A x City Council Minutes -3- MaY 30. 1986 bond issue that would be tax exempt . He said this is a process z that would avoid the need for a referendum. Pidcock noted that she thought a time limit should be set on any temporary arrangements and that the main objective should be to build a building. Peterson noted his concern about building on the current site in terms of the "spot zoning" concept , and that building a larger City Hall complex here would encourage office or com- mercial building in the immediate area . Anderson said that he is in favor of holding another referendum in the spring, thus providing time to develop plans for the building and the site before the vote occurs . Jullie noted that building a smaller scale building of about 25, 000 square feet at the current site or on the Mitchell Road site would probably serve the needs of the City for about five years, and that the cost could probably be absorbed in the budget without requiring a referendum. Pidcock asked if such a build- ing could be added onto . Jullie said the architects could look into that . r Anderson expressed his concern about considering building on the current site because of the issue of "spot zoning- . Jullie noted that the School District is considering a location near here as an elementary school site , and that a neighborhood park area ::-ith athletic fields could be developed , thus creating a campus-like area. Bentley noted that he would like to see a leasing agent tired to pursue the possibility of leasing and to bring back the in- formation by July I . He also said he did not think the current site should be considered as a building site so that would leave the Mitchell Road site for consideration. He said that. , in the meantime , we should look into moving the entire staff out of the building into leased space while we pursue the issue of getting a permanent building built , whether by referendum or some other means . MOTION: Bentley moved , seconded by Redpath , to direct staff to hire a leasing agent to report back through staff by the first Council meeting in July with information on leasing one building with space enough for the entire staff and with Council chambers , to have the City architect look at the Mitchell Road site for future construction and come back to the Council with a plan to accomplish construction at that site that would be compatible with the existing Police Station, to exclude the current City 3 s City Council Minutes -4- May 30, 1986 Hall site from further consideration as a building site , and to redirect staff to assist in forming a Facility Committee that would recommend possible uses for the existing City Hall building. Motion carried unanimously . Speaking from the audience, Dick Feerick noted that he approved the choice of the Mitchell Road site and said he believed the referendum should be scheduled for this October. Marcia Lock- man noted that she felt many residents are concerned about high taxes and that it would be better to consider one issue at a time . James Ranow expressed his disappointment that the current site was eliminated from consideration. Planning Director Enger noted that, while there are a lot of alternatives, staff could probably put up with poor conditions if a decision were made within a short period of time so that they could at least see "light at the end of the tunnel . " IV . NEW BUSINESS A. Bentley - Update on Public Safety procedures for covering the communityevents scheduled for Sunday, Jun e� 1 . City Manager Jullie noted that two major events, Schooner ., Day: and "Ring Around the Landfill" , are scheduled for Sunday, June 1 , and that the Public Safety department has arranged coverage of both events. He said the Lions Club is prepared to handle the Schooner Days event in case Public Safety is called to handle the landfill event . B. Insurance Bids City Manager Jullie noted that coverage for this year will be accomplished through the League of Cities . He also said that one of our problems is the BMX track. Director of Community Services Lambert explained the prob- lems with the BMX track. He said two alternate possibilities for coverage of the track were not acceptable . He also said that the track is closed as of Sunday and that it will prob- ably have to be demolished unless an acceptable alternative for the insurance is found . Jullie said that the general liability limits are down to $600,000 per year, with a $1 ,000,000 umbrella coverage including a $50,000 deductible. Bentley asked if the coverage was per incident or total . Jullie said that is the total coverage . Bentley then asked j + k City Council Minutes -S- May 30, 1986 if the cost was covered in the budget . Jullie said it ,un would be 'very close to budget . C . Selection process for architect for Community Center expan- Sion Director of Community Services Lambert noted that Council had authorized staff to develop a Request for Proposal to get an architect who would work with a committee on the Community Center expansion. He said the R.F.P. is ready and outlined the procedure to be followed . He said that by July 15th staff will recommend to the Council an archi- tectural firm and a citizens ' committee of about 12-15 residents, including a representative from each of the athletic associations. He said the Committee will work with the architect on the program and preliminary design of the building. He said that there should be a drawing of the proposed building and a cost estimate available by September 15th. Peterson asked what impact the probable litigation will have on the architect ' s recommendations . Lambert replied that it should have no impact on the design of the addi- tion, but that the correction of the problem might impact the estimated cost of the addition since a settlement might ' not cover all the expense of the final solution decided upon and would then have to be included with the cost for expansion. ' Peterson asked if this expansion would take precedence over other athletic facilities . Lambert said it would not# that at the same time a plan for Miller Park and a softball 9 complex would be developed . x t Bentley asked about the timing of a referendum on this . Lambert said that he expected to have all the information available this fall and then to take three to four months to sell it before a referendum in the spring. Pidcock asked about the process used to find an architect . Lambert said the R.F .P. will be sent to the Construction Bulletin, that responses would be reviewed and four or five selected for interviews, and that the final selection would be made from those interviewed . Peterson noted that he was not sure that this is the right timing for this issue and that he felt a determination of how to proceed on City Hall should be made before this r City Council Minutes -6- May 30, 1986 process is begun . A discussion followed regarding timing and issues to be included on the referendum for the Community Center expansion. r Bentley noted that he thought this issue should be put on hold until the first meeting in July so that there would be time for a decision to be made on the leasing issue for City Mall . Anderson noted that he didn't want to delay . too much so that we would not be ready for a referendum in the spring. After discussion, it was decided to delay the issue until the first Council meeting in July . D . League of Minnesota Cities Conference City Manager Jullie noted that the League of Minnesota Cities Conference is scheduled for June 17-20 and that June 17th is a Council meeting. Discussion followed regarding the need to change the Council meeting date . It was decided to wait until the June 3rd meeting to determine if rescheduling was possible . V . ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bentley moved , seconded by Pidcock, to adjourn the ,d meeting at 7 s 1 5 Pm. Motion carried unanimously .