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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 08/07/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY,AUGUST 7, 2007 5:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Jon Duckstad and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, City Planner Michael Franzen, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Young called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. He said the Council meeting time was moved up from 7:00 PM to 5:00 PM so Councilmembers could participate in the events and gatherings for National Night Out. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,JULY 17, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, July 17, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,JULY 17, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, July 17, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. REVIEW OF SECURITY AT FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT Neal introduced Rick King, Chairman of the Flying Cloud Advisory Commission, who will give a report evaluating the current security at the Flying Cloud Airport. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 2 Mr. King said Councilmember Nelson asked questions about security at the airport in their February Workshop meeting with the Council. At that meeting the Council directed the Commission to review and make recommendations regarding the existing security at the airport. The Commission has completed their review and he will give a brief verbal update tonight to go along with the written report provided. King said they began working with former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger who had brought up a question at a Town Hall meeting. King and City staff met with him and went through his background information on security as a starting point. He said they met with Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) representatives, Fire and Police Department representatives, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security. They then called a special meeting of the Commission on May 31 where they had representatives from TSA, MAC, and the Fire and Police Chiefs in attendance. All of the representatives felt that the airport was very secure and among the top of its type of airport, that is general aviation, non-cargo and non-passenger. King said the Commission asked each of the representatives at the meeting to go through their analysis of the airport and make recommendations for improvement, and those recommendations are included in tonight's report. They determined there are always things that can be improved, for instance the Police Chief said there is never enough lighting. They looked at the perimeter fences and lighting and all kinds of security involved. Each of the representatives that came before the Commission found the security to be adequate. In addition, they did a full tour of the perimeter in a four-wheel vehicle and found the fences to be continuously secure. King said all parties involved did a great job and the Commission is lucky to have such dedicated people who came in and gave us their professional opinions. King said the MAC's participation this year was outstanding. Tim Anderson, Deputy Executive of MAC Operations, and Joe Harris, Manager of the Anoka and Flying Cloud Airports, are at tonight's meeting and they are the ones who were involved in the Commission meetings and made the reports. MAC replaced or added a total of 250 signs at the airport, something they were not asked to do. King toured the signage improvements and he thought it is looking much better. They also took the lighting comment by the Police Chief to heart and signed a contract with Excel to put in 16 new high-intensity lights in high-traffic areas and to upgrade all existing fixtures to high-intensity lights. The Commission is really pleased with that and he wanted to recognize Mr. Anderson for MAC's work to make the airport even safer. King said the report contains 11 recommendations, some of which are already completed. He noted one of the recommendations is that the Flying Cloud Advisory Commission should reassess the security every year. Nelson thanked the Commission and the MAC for this work. She thought it is important to keep up with everything. She was very glad to see we are doing those things that will keep the airport secure and the neighbors living around the airport safe. Young agreed with Nelson and was appreciative of the MAC's cooperation. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 3 Neal said he forgot to add Item XIV.B. regarding a green roof at the Community Center. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the amendment to the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE UTILITY MAPPING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH HTPO, INC., I.C. 07-5703 C. ADOPT RESOLUTION 2007-83 AWARDING CONTRACT FOR PIONEER TRAIL STORM SEWER IMPROVEMENTS TO KUSSKE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, I.C. 07-5701 D. APPROVE "CONSENT TO REPLACE WETLAND"AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH WETLAND IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ON THE VALLEY VIEW ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT, I.C. 02-5586 E. APPROVE RIGHT OF ENTRY AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS FOR TECHNOLOGY DRIVE STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, I.C. 075691 F. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH SRF FOR COMPLETION OF FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR STABILIZATION AND RESTORATION OF FOUR EROSION SITES WITHIN THE LOWER MINNESOTA RIVER WATERSHED DISTRICT, I.C. 07-5698 G. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH HTPO INC. AND PRAIRIE RESTORATIONS FOR COMPLETION OF WETLAND MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CITY-OWNED OUTLOT IN PONDS EDGE DEVELOPMENT, I.C. H. AWARD CONTRACT TO IMPERIAL DEVELOPERS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF COUNTY ROAD 4 BIKE TRAIL I. ADOPT RESOLUTION 2007-84 AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF THE HENNEPIN COUNTY JUSTICE INTEGRATION SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT J. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH ADVANCED ENGINEERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AE2S)TO PERFORM 2-YEAR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MODEL OF THE EDEN PRAIRIE WATER SYSTEM CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 4 K. AWARD CONTRACTS FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER INTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK AND THE SPORTS/WOOD FLOOR L. APPROVE ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACTS FOR COMMUNITY CENTER CONSTRUCTION TO RJM CONSTRUCTION M. APPROVE CONSENT OF ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY, SCHOOL DISTRICT 272 AND CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE RELATING TO ELECTION EQUIPMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve Items A-M of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. VACATION OF THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY EASEMENT OVER PART OF CANTERBURY LANE, VACATION 07-05 (Resolution 2007-85) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the July 19, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to five property owners. The property owner has requested the vacation of a part of the public right-of-way easement adjacent to her property. The public right-of-way easement was originally dedicated to allow the building of a cul-de-sac and the cul-de-sac will not be built. The property owner has maintained the portion of the easement to be vacated as part of her yard. The vacation will not result in conflicts with installed utilities. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt Resolution 2007-85 vacating the public right-of-way easement over part of Canterbury Lane. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS Nelson asked what Item 165824 for$59,629 was for and was it taken out of Parks Funds or General Funds. She thought it was a very high lighting bill for a dog park and she wanted more information on the item. Neal said Staff will research the item and will let all of the Councilmembers know. Young asked if it was a claim that needs to be paid. Neal said it is most likely a claim that has already been paid,but if there is an issue with it we can discuss it with Excel. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. The motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher, Duckstad, Nelson and Young voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 5 XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Budget Advisory Commission Process Update Neal said the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) has been meeting in May, June and July in deliberation and hearing proposals from City staff. Staff has finished their presentations to the BAC, and on Thursday night at 5:00 PM the BAC will make a presentation back to staff and others attending the meeting about their recommendations on the Version II 2008- 2009 budget. Those recommendations, staff comments and staff recommendations will be provided to Councilmembers in advance of the August 21sr City Council meeting. 2. Green Roof at Community Center Neal said when we began the design of the improvement projects at the Community Center we hoped to add a green element to the project. There is new construction on one part of the Community Center where we could add a green roof. Staff received a proposal for the green roof when the project was bid,but the cost of$140,000 was deemed too high. The contractor recently came back and gave a revised bid for the green roof of$84,870. Neal said there is a model of the product sitting in the hallway outside the Council Chambers that shows the actual plant material used to form the basis of the green roof. Because the green roof element of the project was rejected initially, we did not expect this to come back in this format. Staff has had some discussion and when we looked at it originally we planned to take some of the funds needed to finance it from the Storm Water Fund. This revised bid would need to be added as a contract amendment to the contract. Since it is significant enough and also a change of scope, staff brought it back to the Council for authorization. Lotthammer said the material provided in the information packet indicates some of the benefits of the green roof. The green roof will be visible from a portion of the windows in the meeting rooms at the Community Center. It would be a membrane-type of roof with interlocking trays for the plants on top of it that would add protection to the roof. It would help with heating and cooling costs as well as having a big impact on the amount of runoff from the roof. There are environmental benefits that are difficult to put a cost savings to,but it does improve the aesthetics and gives it more of a natural feel. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 6 Young asked about the justification for using the Storm Water Fund. Neal said he recalled it had storm water benefits to it, it was something we saw as a demonstration project, and we wanted to encourage more of this type of demonstration project in the community. Dietz said that was true and he thought the biggest issue we are now facing from the MPCA is we need to have a zero runoff rate from the community. Both the quality and quantity of water is limited by our permits. We need to get experience on our own on this so we can learn what works and doesn't work. We may look at some of the benefits on future retrofits of other City structures. Trying to minimize or eliminate water runoff is what this is all about. Young asked about the balance in the storm water fund. Dietz said it is $1.2-1.3 million. Young asked if that was all tied to specific projects. Dietz said we have a list of projects that goes out into the future,but this is a good demonstration project and we need experience in this kind of project in order to manage it with developers and builders in the future. Butcher thought it was a good idea to start to incorporate this kind of green in Eden Prairie. She asked how this would perform over our cold winters and what kind of maintenance we will have in the spring because of our extremes in temperature. Dietz replied this project is only 6-8,000 square feet. The Conservation Commission has requested that we study these kinds of things. Butcher thought we must have some data on the vegetation type and how it performs. Dietz said that is discussed in the packet information; however, no one on our staff has personal experience with this. It would be a small project but highly visible. We will probably be asking others to do this at some point, so we should be leaders instead of followers. Duckstad asked whether adding this so late in the process would cause any extra costs to any other part of the building already being built. Lotthammer said the originally accepted part of the project was a built-up roof and the roofing company is only a couple of weeks away from starting, so we need to decide on this soon. There are no additional costs that would occur from this other than what is being proposed tonight. We have a guarantee of one year on all the plants, and they would need to start them as soon as possible so they could grow before winter. The type of plants used is hardy in this climate and will grow dormant in the winter. The plants will absorb heat, so the cooling costs will be less and the green roof acts as an insulator in the winter. There are no actual cost analyses available on lowering of heating and cooling costs,but there would be a reduction in the roof top temperatures so they should be lower. Aho thought he understood some of the benefits but was concerned about the initial cost differential between the two roof types. Lotthammer said the additional cost for the green roof is $85,000, and they are motivated to use this as a demonstration project. Aho then asked what the long-term maintenance costs of this would be versus a built-up roof system. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 7 Lotthammer said they are saying it is similar to a built-up roof,but there is not a long history since not many of these have been around for a long time. Aho said typically we do not want water to stand on any roof,but in this case it is the opposite because you want water to stay there for the plants. Water weighs about eight pounds per gallon and that adds a significant weight load along with the weight of the soil and plants. He asked how much additional work would be required to support the increased load. Lotthammer said the intent is that the baskets or trays are to be water proof. This portion of the building was anticipated for the potential of a second floor and there is quite a bit of load-bearing capacity already built in, so the architect has no concerns about the load bearing issue. Aho asked if that meant there is no need for re-engineering of the completed construction. Lotthammer said that was true. Nelson asked if there are any costs we will incur by going with a different kind of roof. Lotthammer said this is the same contractor who is scheduled to do the built-up roof, and the only difference is the $85,000 they have calculated for building the green roof. Nelson asked who is going to do the long-term maintenance of the plants and will they inspect it or do we have to have someone knowledgeable to inspect it. Lotthammer said this is a local company and we have some advantage in their wanting this to be a demonstration project. After the first year we would be responsible for doing low-level maintenance and upkeep. The plants are in interlocking trays, so a tray could be removed and replaced if the plants died. Nelson asked if the green roof would preclude us from ever building a second floor on the Community Center. Lotthammer said one of the architects of the original building said that down the way it is a lot easier to replace a membrane and green roof if you want to add on. Nelson then asked if it would be possible to have a green roof on the second story if it is built. Lotthammer thought you would build it that way if that was the intent, and the interlocking trays could then be reused on the second story. Nelson said she liked the idea of this green roof. If we are going to ask other builders to do this, we should try it out. It is another way to do energy saving here in Eden Prairie. Duckstad said he has some concern when he listens to the comments about this type of roof being in its infancy and therefore not having a track record to determine if it is an energy saving feature or if it will eventually result in some problems or extra maintenance. Dietz said he would have some serious concerns about spending that kind of money if we were planning to replace an entire roof system with this,but this is a very limited project. The Conservation Commission has heard speakers on this topic and these roofs have been built in Europe for many years and also in the Chicago area. The CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 8 brochure talks about the difference in temperature and water retention on green roofs. This project offers us an opportunity to decide if we are going to push builders and developers to do this and provides us with some experience for a relatively small investment. Young said he was not thrilled with this project and thought we were happy with the built-up roof before. He believes $85,000 is a lot of money for the change order and we are in the middle of our budget discussions. He understood the funds would come from a designated fund,but at this time we aren't looking for new ways to spend money so this isn't something that he supports. Duckstad said he agreed with Mayor Young to the extent that this type of addition falls into the area of something we may want but not something we need. He would vote against this because of budget issues. Nelson believed we have to take a long-term look at budgeting. If it saves money over the long term by reducing energy costs, we are saving money. Young said he would be more comfortable if there were other cities in Minnesota that had built these so we could quantify savings instead of projecting them. He would be happy to follow someone else's lead and learn from their experience. Aho asked about the total square footage of this section of the roof. Dietz said it is about 6350 square feet. Aho said he thought the payback or return on investment for the $85,000 cost would come through the reduced energy costs of about$6,000 per year,but there would also be increased maintenance costs. He thought it would be a very long time before you could recover the total amount invested. Because of the extended period of time to receive a return on the investment and the increased maintenance costs for the project,he did not think he would support it. Butcher thought we made a commitment to go down the path of being a green city, and we already have been making changes to our energy consumption. She saw this as one more step in that commitment. Because it is a really small area, she thought it would be worth the risk involved to continue with our commitment to be a green city. Neal said he didn't have anything to add except that we regret the timing of this. This project is one of the decisions that have some policy implications and a price tag, so that is why this was brought to the Council. If there is no action or a negative action tonight, it won't happen. If there is a positive action, staff would prepare the change order. Young said it is worthy of study and we have made some commitments as Ms Butcher pointed out but he thought it comes down to a matter of dollars. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 9 C. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Dunn Bros./Smith-Douglas-More Property Jeremiah said Staff is looking for direction with regard to exploring potential options for the Smith-Douglas-More house. We are currently at a stage where the five-year lease with Dunn Bros. is due to expire this year. The Dunn Bros.' franchisee, Puregrace LLC, is interested in revisiting the lease and has expressed some interest in buying the property. Staff has not looked at the details of that and is not asking for a decision. If the options are to be explored, the next step would be an appraisal of the property and further discussions regarding the kind of offer and financing. Staff is looking for Council direction regarding whether we should continue discussions on sale versus lease or should we just bring back the lease option. Jeremiah said there is zoning in place that would retain the historic designation of the property regardless of ownership. The report mentions no consideration of removing the historical designation. The purchaser is aware of the zoning restrictions and the historic nature of the property as well as the need to go through the process of site plan review for any modifications to the property. The historic nature is part of the reason for Puregrace's interest because they like the unique aspects of the property. Young said Mr. Lindahl brought this to his attention a couple of times and he was aware there are some sensitive issues that were not put in the report. He thought the City Council should be presented with both alternatives, and his expectation is that the historic designation would remain intact if it is sold. Butcher said we have considered this property and the business on it to be a win-win situation for the City over the past five years. One of the reasons for that is because it is such a community center and serves the entire community in that capacity. Before we made the decision to rehabilitate the property and have it become a Dunn Bros., there were a lot of parents and youth who came to us to see if there was something we could do as a City to create a gathering place for our teenage youth. Once the Dunn Bros. property on one of our historic sites came to fruition, it became clear this served a wonderful function in our community as a gathering place for our youth. She would like to do whatever we can to keep Dunn Bros. at this location and to maintain public access to the building. She didn't think it was a bad thing to look at the multiple perspectives on the situation,but she thought it would not be preferable for the City to sell the property if there would be the possibility of no public access in the future. Even though the lease may be lower in terms of annual value, it is a revenue stream that is helpful to the City in paying for the costs of the building rehabilitation. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 10 Aho thought it is a wonderful facility, and whether we sell or lease it there is no guarantee that it will remain a Dunn Bros. coffee house. That is up to the market and the companies involved. In terms of the lease space it is stated that it has an initial annual rent of$60,558, or$18 per square foot. He asked if that is a net-net-net lease. Lindahl said it is a triple-net lease where they pay all the expenses. Aho said he was not opposed to either a lease or sale,but it would be good to get an appraisal of property and see if it is feasible. Duckstad said in light of the zoning regulations for heritage preservation he had no objection to the City getting an appraisal and exploring the possibility of selling the property. He thought we would be negligent if we did not look at that aspect since we are here to conserve. He would be in favor of the getting the appraisal and directing staff to look at the possibility of selling the property. Nelson said she could look at either option;however, she would prefer to keep it as a lease property because it provides a long-term revenue stream. If we sold the property, she would want to see proceeds go into the long- term revenue stream as well. She very much likes having this facility open to the public every day where people can come and go as they wish, and if we can possibly keep it in that kind of situation the City is better off for doing so. Duckstad said in connection with the possibility of selling the property, he would not be averse to continuing the decision to sell at a future date when we could get a maximum price if the real estate market is soft at the present time. Young thought we did not know enough to make a decision tonight, and he thought staff had the information they need in order to proceed. 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 Neal read the list of liaisons assigned to Councilmembers for their visits to the National Night Out gatherings. He noted there will be a moment of silence at 6:05 PM tonight in memory of the victims of the 35-W bridge collapse. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 7, 2007 Page 11 Nelson said she understood some of our Police force was called in to help with the bridge incident and we should thank them for their participation in that. She asked what part we played. Neal said we had a small group of about 12 officers that went down on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to do perimeter security. They had training scheduled for that time and officers scheduled to come in, so they helped with the bridge security instead of having the training. Aho noted he went down to work at the American Red Cross building on Thursday to help with the emergency. There were a lot of volunteers and food donations and it was good to see the outpouring of help. XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 6:04 p.m.