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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/06/2008 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2008 7:00 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 7:00 PM. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Young thanked Boy Scout Troop 342 from United Methodist Church for presenting the colors. III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Neal added Item XIV.B.1. Request for Art Center Update. Young added Item XIV.A.1. Discuss Council's Review of City Manager's Performance. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. V. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS A. SENIOR AWARENESS MONTH PROCLAMATION Sharon Steiner, Chair of the Senior Advisory Council, reviewed the activities planned for Senior Awareness month. Mayor Young read a proclamation proclaiming May 2008 to be Senior Awareness Month. B. SESQUICENTENNIAL PROCLAMATION Betsy Adams, Chair of the Heritage Preservation Commission, reviewed the plans for the City's continuing sesquicentennial celebrations. Mayor Young read a proclamation proclaiming May 11, 2008 as Eden Prairie Heritage Day. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 2 C. CAMP EDEN WOOD MASTER PLAN Lotthammer said at the June 19, 2007 meeting the City Council authorized staff to prepare and submit a public project to the State for consideration for inclusion in the 2008 State Bonding Bill and to authorize a consulting agreement with Brauer& Associates to assist in the preparation of the submission document. Since that time, staff and consultants have met with many groups and organizations and have developed a nearly complete master plan. He said the bonding request for 2008 was not funded but we received encouraging feedback for future submission, possibly in the 2010 request. Lotthammer listed the organizations that provided input into the current master plan: Minnesota Historical Society, Eden Prairie Lions Club, Friends of Birch Island Woods, Friendship Ventures Board and staff, State of Minnesota Legislative Committee, three Eden Prairie advisory commissions and the City Council. He noted George Watson of Brauer and Associates and Chuck Liddy of Miller Dunwiddie attended all of the meetings and are present tonight. He said the many meetings allowed them to learn a lot more about some of the things to be mindful of as we move forward with renovation and new construction. He reviewed some of the challenges that will be faced as the project moves forward. George Watson of Brauer and Associates said there are ten major program elements. He reviewed several of the major program elements including expansion of the year-round housing, financing, remodeling of the old dining hall, restoration of the historic site and updating of the health center. He noted the site itself is challenging, especially the entry to the site. There is a need for better access and additional parking spaces, a better storm water treatment, augmentation of the maple/oak/basswood forestation, removal of invasive species in some areas, replacement of three buildings that are not compatible with the historic buildings, trails through the camp and the wetland, and a gated access to the wetland trail from the camp. Chuck Liddy of Miller Dunwiddie Architecture said he consulted on the buildings and the historic district. He noted they were able to use an early site plan for the area and also had aerial photos from the 1930's. They had good meetings with the people from the State Historical Society. He said the Historical Society provided a grant for re-roofing several years ago, and the Friendship Venture group got a grant from the Historical Society to do restoration of the dormitory which means the Historical Society will review progress at the facility in the near future. He showed examples of what the new buildings might look like, noting they would be kept in character with the existing historic buildings and have a design that would have similar roof slopes, overhangs, and window patterns. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher, to accept the Camp Eden Wood Master Plan and to direct staff to continue to assist Friendship Ventures with the coordination of improvements and solicit state bond funds on behalf of the project. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 3 D. VETERANS MEMORIAL SCULPTURES Lotthammer said the process for approving the Veterans Memorial called for review of the sculptures by the Arts and Culture Commission and the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission before coming to the City Council for approval. He said both commissions approved the sculpture. The Parks Commission expressed some concern about how women were represented in the proposed sculpture and whether the sculpture would apply to all branches of the service. The Veterans Memorial Task Force members addressed those concerns satisfactorily, and the Parks Commission recommended approval. He noted the Arts and Culture Commission was shown the granite globe sculpture,but there has been a revision since that commission reviewed it to make the sculpture a brass structure that is also a globe and signifies world peace. He said the brass piece was substituted because it will be more cost effective in light of the weight of the granite sculpture and the unstable soils at the site. He said they are ready to move forward with the final phase of design and to engage some of the artists who will construct the sculptures. Nelson asked if the brass sculptures will also be placed in a fountain setting like the original granite one was. John Mallo, Veterans Memorial Task Force, said they just decided on Sunday to go with the bronze globe, and the committee has yet to meet with the artists to discuss the sculpture. Nelson said she liked the concept of the water and she encouraged keeping that concept. Young said he really liked the original concept of the granite globes. However, he noted the Task Force has done an incredible amount of work over the last year in getting the plans and raising dollars so he thought this should be a decision of the committee and the Council should respect that decision. Aho noted it was a big challenge to raise the money necessary to put together a nice memorial display like this. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the sculptures as presented by the Veterans Memorial Fundraising Committee for inclusion in the Veterans Memorial at Purgatory Creek Park. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,APRIL 15, 2008 MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, April 15, 2008, as published. Motion carried 5- 0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,APRIL 15, 2008 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, April 15, 2008, as published. Motion carried 5- 0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 4 VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH FLAGSHIP BANK FOR ATM AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER C. ACCEPT BASE BID AND ALTERNATES GI, G2 AND G3 FROM NORTHWEST ASPHALT INC. FOR OVERLAY OF CITY CENTER AND FIRE STATION PARKING LOTS D. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2008-50 DECLARING ABANDONED PROPERTY E. APPROVE COMMUNITY CENTER CATERING SERVICE AGREEMENTS F. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH CLUTS OBRIEN, STROTHER ARCHITECTS FOR ARCHITECTURAL REMODELING SERVICES FOR THE ART CENTER G. APPROVE PROPOSAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ROUND LAKE WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING FOR DUCK LAKE, RED ROCK LAKE AND STARING LAKE BY BLUE WATER SCIENCE, I.C. 02-5581 H. AWARD CONTRACT FOR SCENIC HEIGHTS WATERMAIN IMPROVEMENTS, I.C. 075704 I. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2008-51 APPROVING PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND ORDER ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF FLYING CLOUD DRIVE, I.C. 07-5708 J. APPROVE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND ORDER ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR STABILIZATION OF PURGATORY CREEK, I.C. 07-5698 K. AWARD CONTRACT TO TRAUT WELLS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF MUNICIPAL WELL NO. 16 L. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SRF CONSULTING GROUP FOR TH 212/SHADY OAK ROAD INTERCHANGE CONCEPT STUDY,I.C. 08-5728 M. AWARD CONTRACT TO ODESSA II FOR EDENBROOK NATURE TRAIL & BOARD WALK PROJECT—PHASE II CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 5 N. AWARD CONTRACT FOR 2008 BITUMINOUS OVERLAYS TO MIDWEST ASPHALT, I.C. 08-5723 O. AWARD CONTRACT FOR 2008 SEAL COATING TO ALLIED BLACKTOP COMPANY, I.C. 08-5723 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-O on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. KONA GRILL Request for: Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 4.44 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 4.44 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the Commercial Regional Service District on 4.44 acres and Site Plan Review on 4.44. Location: West of Flying Cloud Drive, north of Regional Center Road. (Resolution No. 2008-52 for PUD Concept Review, Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the April 24, 2008, Eden Prairie News and sent to 21 property owners. This project is for an 8,700 square foot Kona Grill restaurant as part of the Windsor Plaza mixed use project currently under construction. Windsor Plaza included two end cap restaurants. These restaurants were conceptual in design. Kona Grill will be constructing one of the end cap restaurants requiring a site plan review and PUD waivers. Neal said because the outside patio area is now part of the building, two waivers will be required through the PUD: 1. Front yard building setback from 35 feet to 24 feet along Flying Cloud Drive. A similar front yard setback waiver was granted to the Windsor Plaza five-story portion of the building. 2. Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the overall Windsor Plaza building from 0.69 to 0.70. City Code maximum is 0.40. The FAR is consistent with what was anticipated for this portion of the Town Center. Neal said the project is consistent with the MCA Study and Planning Principles for the Town Center. The plans have been revised by Kona Grill to add natural stone columns between the patio windows to align with Windsor Plaza's cast stone piers and wall. The 120-Day Review Period expires on July 24, 2008. The Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the project at its April 14, 2008 meeting. Jeremiah noted the enclosed patio area has large glass windows that can be raised to provide an open air atmosphere during nice weather. She said representatives of Kona Grill were present tonight and available for questions. There were no comments from the audience. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 6 MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to close the Public Hearing; to adopt Resolution No. 2008-52 for Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 4.44 acres; to approve 1st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning District Amendment within the Commercial Regional Service District on 4.44 acres; and to direct staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. B. VACATION OF DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENTS OVER LOT 1, BLOCK 1,AND OUTLOT C, COLUMBINE ROAD ADDITION, VACATION 08-02 (RESOLUTION NO. 2008-53) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the April 17, 2008, Eden Prairie News and sent to 27 property owners. The property owners have requested the vacation of all the drainage and utility easements to facilitate replatting of the lots to Castle Ridge 2nd Addition. The drainage and utility easements were originally dedicated with the Columbine Road Addition plat. New drainage and utility easements have been dedicated with the Castle Ridge 2nd Addition project. He noted this is a housekeeping matter. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing and to adopt Resolution No. 2008-53 vacating all of the drainage and utility easements lying over, under and across Lot 1, Block 1, and Outlot C, Columbine Road Addition, according to the recorded plat thereof, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Butcher 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 XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. Discuss Council's Review of City Manager's Performance Young said the Council met in closed session this evening to consider the annual performance review of the City Manager. He said it was a two-part review process and was coordinated by Harry Bruhl of Personnel Decisions. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 7 He noted Mr. Neal received very high marks for his performance during the last 12 months. Mr. Neal's contract provides for a performance bonus in an amount not to exceed 3.5% of his salary. They are also recommending an increase of 2% in his base salary. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the City Manager's performance payment in the amount of 3.5% of salary and the increase in the base salary of 2%. Duckstad said he had an opportunity to participate in the review, and he believes our City Manager continues to do a good job. He was also in favor of a pay increase,but not at the level that is advanced at this time. He thought at the present time the economy is such that many feel we are going into a recession and that is a factor that should be considered when we consider raises for public employees. We also have a sagging real estate market which has a consequential effect on real estate valuations which are the basis for our City taxes. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and he thought this is a bad time to give the level of raise that is proposed. He said on this basis he will vote against the motion, noting his vote does not indicate that he does not recognize the good job the City Manager has done but rather takes into account the economy and other items. Young said it was very important that people clearly understand the two very different percentages involved. The Council is not increasing Mr. Neal's salary by 5.5%. The City Council negotiated Mr. Neal's contract six years ago and intentionally put a performance component in it so that he could receive a performance award of up to 3.5% if he met his goals for the year. His base salary would be higher if we did not have that performance pay. He said he very much likes the fact there is a performance component to the compensation. He noted the only real increase is the 2% base salary increase. Butcher said Mr. Neal's performance as City Manager is exceptional and that came out in the comments from Council Members, staff and those who come in contact with him. She thought the increase is exceedingly well deserved, and it is not an enormous amount of money. She said Eden Prairie's salary for the City Manager is commensurate with our peer cities. Minnesota generally has a much lower pay scale altogether for city managers than do other states, which sometimes makes it difficult to attract high performing city managers to the state. She thought Mr. Neal's performance is exceptional and is a great model for city managers in the area. She thanked Mr. Neal for his service. Nelson said she also thought we need to look at what is the performance increase and what is the salary increase. She noted the overwhelming response from staff and community members about Mr. Neal's communication skills. She thought the 2% increase in pay is very appropriate in this kind of economy. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 8 VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 4-0-1, with Duckstad opposed. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Request for Art Center Update Neal said Council Member Duckstad has asked to schedule an update on the Art Center to cover the timeline for improvements that were presented at the last meeting, their fund raising plans, and the programs proposed at the center. Mr. Lotthammer and his staff will have this ready for the June 3rd City Council meeting. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Recreation Cost Recovery Lotthammer said one of the recommendations of the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) in 2007 was to have staff familiarize the City Council with the Recreation Programming Cost Recovery Policy that was originated in 1995. He said the cost recovery has been measured by determining the expenses for the program and the revenue from fees and then calculating the percentage of revenue to expenses. There are goals established depending on the categories of programs. Some things have changed in the 74 separate program areas we measure, and 12 of the 74 need to be changed. The 12 changes proposed are reflective of what has been happening over time. He noted staff looked 12-13 years back to see trends. Of the twelve to be changed, five should have a lower cost recovery and seven should have a higher cost recovery. He said the changes proposed would allow us to hit all of the numbers for 2008-2009 and reflects what we have been doing for the past 12 years. He said staff is looking for City Council affirmation of the changes tonight. Nelson said in the past we have just done one fee for all the classes with no difference in fees for residents versus nonresidents. She asked if staff has considered going to a slightly higher nonresident fee as a consideration to try to increase the percentages in order to compensate for the fact that the City has some funds involved for some of the programs. Lori Obiazer, Recreation Services Manager, said they conducted research with other cities to see the trends. She noted they have not charged a fee for nonresidents since there has been on-line registration due to the costs of administering different levels of fees. They looked at other communities to see if they charged different resident and nonresident fees, and the majority of communities do not. She said they try to offer the classes to residents but it can be beneficial to have nonresidents fill empty slots. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 6, 2008 Page 9 Nelson asked if there is any instance where a class is oversubscribed and residents can't get in because of over-registration of both residents and nonresidents. Obiazer said that used to be true but has not been the case recently. She said they can expand the class size or add another session if necessary so they have not seen that as a significant problem. Neal asked Council Members to let staff know if they hear of such circumstances. Aho noted that might be an issue in the new Art Center because of limited space and class size, and he thought they might want to factor that into those discussions. Obiazer said they would most likely have Art Center member rates like Edina and Bloomington do. They would expect a 120% cost recovery at the Art Center, so the classes there will cover 100% of the cost plus 20% for administration costs. Lotthammer noted going from a 50% to a 75% cost recovery might not necessarily cause a fee increase because we have already been getting that cost recovery at the current rate for many of the programs. He noted there are also some programs that had fee increases because of 2008-2009 budget constraints. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher, to accept proposed adjustments to the cost recovery goals for various recreation programs as proposed. Motion carried 5-0. E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5- 0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 8:10 PM.