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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/19/2009 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Ron Case, Jon Duckstad and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, 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. All Council Members were present. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Case added two items under Item XIV.B. Duckstad added one item under Item XIV.B. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. V. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS A. EDEN PRAIRIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Jan Mosman, Vice President of the Eden Prairie Historical Society, distributed copies of a report from the Historical Society regarding the Cummins-Grill property. She said the Historical Society believes the best working arrangements for the site would be to have the Historical Society working under and with the City. She noted the property is located within a community park surrounded by recreational amenities. It has been used by groups from Eden Prairie for many years and is nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Eden Prairie has spent money for improvements and maintenance of the site and also has received grant money for improvements to the property so the residents of Eden Prairie have a vested interest in the building and the adjacent gardens. She said since they last reported to the City Council in December 2008 they have had ongoing discussions and planning sessions with staff and various groups. She said the Historical Society is offering to take over a share of the maintenance work, supplies, capital improvements, fund raising and volunteering at the site. There is a major donor who is proposing to give a donation if a favorable long term CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 2 agreement with the City is signed. She noted this is the only nationally registered historic house in the City of Eden Prairie. Sydney Pauly, former Eden Prairie City Council Member, said we have seen the disappearance of building after building as land in the City has been developed. She said the Cummins-Grill House was a special case in that it had not been updated and was donated to the City. She said the Historical Society offered some money and the City Council joined in to hire an historical architect. They raised money throughout the community to help save this house and it has been a part of Eden Prairie for a long time. Young asked if the Historical Society is asking the City Council for consent to continue the written Memorandum of Understanding between the Historical Society and the Parks Department. Mosman said they would like to continue to work with the City and the Parks & Recreation staff to have an important part of managing the house. Young then asked what has changed to cause the Historical Society to come back tonight with this request. He said he recalled receiving the reuse study last summer and no action was taken on that. He thought the Historical Society then had an opportunity to come forth with options as we waited to see how the Pioneer Trail improvements would impact the reuse study. Neal said the Historical Society is here to update the City Council. They started out trying to replicate the Camp Edenwood model as best we could at the Cummins-Grill house; however, as time went on we mutually decided that would probably not be a model we would be able to replicate there. He said staff thought it was important to report that to the Council,but also to say there might be other models that can get close. They need additional time to discuss those possibilities, and time is available because the roadwork is just now under way. Young thought it might be good to schedule a workshop discussion to review this since it has been ten months since the Council was first briefed on the reuse study. Mosman said the prospective donor is willing to give us a little more time because they saw all the work that had been done with City staff. Nelson agreed this would be a good workshop topic. She encouraged them to keep going with this and liked the idea of working to get grant money. Duckstad asked about the reference to a grant and how much it would be. Mosman said John Gertz would have the best knowledge on that,but it would have to do with the improvements to accessibility, code compliance, and ADA compliance. She said Mr. Gertz is confident we would be successful in obtaining grant money for those types of improvements. Duckstad asked if they contemplated the grant money would cover the cost of putting those improvements in place. Mosman said the plan was that we would use the original large grant to try to obtain smaller donations to build a sustainable fund to maintain the house. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 3 Aho said he would like to see staff continue to work with the Historical Society to look for solutions and would like to see a workshop where we talk about what costs we have in the property and what it would take to maintain it. B. 2008 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT William Lauer, Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co. P.A., presented the 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. They gave a clean opinion on both the Basic Financial Statement and the Federal Single Audit. He reported the General Fund and the Enterprise Funds are in sound financial condition. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to accept the 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL OPEN PODIUM HELD TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the minutes of the Open Podium held Tuesday, May 5, 2009, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, May 5, 2009, as published. Motion carried 5- 0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE 2009 GENERAL FUND BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR FACILITY CAPITAL CHARGES C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-33 APPROVING AGREEMENT FOR 2009 MCA TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING PROJECT D. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BLUE WATER SCIENCE FOR ROUND LAKE WATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING FOR DUCK LAKE, RED ROCK LAKE,AND STARING LAKE E. ADOPT RESOLUTION No. 2009-34 APPROVING EXECUTION OF A CONSENT AND A SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT REGARDING REFINANCING FOR SUMMIT PLACE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 4 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-E on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. T-MOBILE CELLULAR TOWER-EP HIGH SCHOOL by T-Mobile Central LLC. Request for Site Plan Review on 67.33 acres. Location: 17185 Valley View Road. Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the May 7, 2009, Eden Prairie News and sent to 146 property owners. The T-Mobile project was properly noticed in the newspaper for the Planning Commission meeting on April 27, 2009,however notices to the affected properties owners were not mailed out. Therefore the Planning Commission's recommendation is invalid. The City Council public hearing received proper notice in the paper and notices were mailed to residents 10 days in advance of the meeting. After conferring with legal counsel, it was decided the Council should hold the public hearing, take comments, and close the hearing. A public hearing with the Planning Commission will be scheduled for June 8, 2009. A public hearing with the City Council will be scheduled for June 16"'. Neal said a proposed 120-foot T-Mobile cellular tower will replace an existing 100- foot light pole on the northeast side of the Eden Prairie High School football field. The light fixture will be reestablished on a new monopole at the 100-foot height with the cellular antennas placed above. The purpose of the site plan review is for a cellular tower greater than 80 feet tall. Neal said staff alternatives for consideration include: 1). Moving the integrated tower to the southwest side of the football field providing a setback of 450 feet from the residents more in line with code for non- integrated towers. 2). Locating a new independent cell tower resulting in an additional structure within the area already with a number of taller structures. All options meet the intent of City code. The developer's option integrates the cellular tower with the existing lighting standards on the northeast side of the football field, which best addresses T-Mobile's goal of improvement to its cellular coverage serving the adjacent residential areas. He said a standard FAA review will need to determine if the tower is considered an obstruction. No building permit will be issued until the FAA determination is completed. The 120-Day Review Period Expires on August 4, 2009. The Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the developer's option at its April 27, 2009 meeting. Jeremiah apologized to the applicant for any inconvenience and said we would like to take comment from anyone who came tonight before the Public Hearing is closed and the item is sent back to the Planning Commission. Sharon Mattson, 16771 North Hillcrest, said she objected to another eyesore within her neighborhood where they already have the bubble and lights from the stadium. She noted she has no problems with her T-Mobile service either in her residence or in coverage around Eden Prairie. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 5 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the Public Hearing. Case asked the reason for selecting that particular light pole rather than one of the other poles. Jeremiah said she was sure we have looked at alternatives, but she did not have that information so she will make sure to bring that when it comes back to the Council. Case said he assumed the School District has also studied the various options and asked if they held a hearing or discussion of this. Jeremiah thought it has only been reviewed at the staff level. Aho said in the information packet they said they wanted to use that specific light pole because of the proximity of the pole to the area they wanted to improve. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. B. HERITAGE SITE ALTERATION PERMIT FOR STARING LAKE PARK/ JOHN R. CUMMINS HOUSE PARKING PLAN OPTION I by City of Eden Prairie, Location 13600 Pioneer Trail. (Heritage Site Alteration Permit No. 2009- 02-004) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the May 7, 2009, Eden Prairie News and sent to five property owners. The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) has reviewed an application for a Site Alteration Permit for the John R. Cummins House located at 13600 Pioneer Trail. The permit application is for site alterations at the Cummins property due to the City's plans to relocate a ball field and Staring Lake Park parking onto the Cummins site. Effects on the City's parking lot will occur on the north side of the property. He said the City's parking lot plan, Option I for Staring Lake Park and the John R. Cummins House was reviewed per City Code, Section 11.05, Subd. 5.C. The plan was found to meet General Preservation Standards and minimize adverse effects as follows: • limit the parking to the northern boundary of the site to maintain open space; • place 50% of the parking outside the Cummins site; • minimize use of berms and rainwater gardens on the site; and • provide appropriate landscapingibuffers. Neal said the HPC reviewed the Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit application at its regularly scheduled meeting on April 20, 2009. The Commission voted in favor(6-0) of the Option I parking plan. The HPC recommends that the City Council approve Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit No. 2009-02- 004. Parking for the John R. Cummins House has been at the adjacent Staring Lake Park ball field parking lots west of the property. The parking lots primarily serve the nearby athletic fields,but also accommodate users of the off-leash dog park, archery range and John R. Cummins House. The current Hennepin County CSAH 1 (Pioneer Trail)roadway construction project will have impacts on both the ball fields and John R. Cummins House. The ball fields will be realigned to accommodate the road widening and have parking moved east of the fields, partially onto the Cummins site. Parking was designed to minimize the parking lot CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 6 footprint on the heritage site,but still meet the parking needs for all adjacent uses. Neal said a Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit is required to make any change in, on, or to a designated Heritage Preservation Site. Any proposed change, addition or alteration to a building, structure or site must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Historic Preservation Projects. The Heritage Preservation Commission, staff, MnDOT Cultural Resources Unit and State Historic Preservation Office reviewed the parking plan to ensure compliance with these standards. Jeremiah reviewed the site plan that showed the alterations needed for this item as well as the following agenda item. She said both are related to the impact of the Pioneer Trail reconstruction. The first item impacts the north side of the Cummins- Grill site. She noted the existing drives from Pioneer Trail into the house and the ball field will be eliminated and the access will be relocated to the east side of the property by the Sterling Fence property. Parking on the north part of the site will be rebuilt with additional parking on the west side. One of the ball fields will be reoriented. She said this particular site plan gained the recommendations of all the agencies involved, and the City Council is the final stop in the approval process. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to close the Public Hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Aho asked who will bear the cost to implement this plan since it is primarily due to the expansion of Pioneer Trail. Jeremiah said she understood this is going to be a part of the road construction and mitigation so the City is not expected to bear any cost. Aho asked if we will have to obtain an easement from the two commercial properties on the east because the proposed entrance on that side of the property looks like a private entrance. Lotthammer replied we already have that in place. Case noted this is a national historic site, and he thought the City is incredibly lucky to have Mr. Gertz on our staff as our Historic Preservation Specialist. He said he assumed Mr. Gertz spent many hours on this project and asked what other cities do in similar situations if they don't have someone on staff like Mr. Gertz. Jeremiah said they usually contract for these services,just as we often do when we are applying for grants. Nelson noted the Cummins-Grill House had access through its driveway for any delivery of materials and asked if there will be access to the house from the parking lot for those deliveries. Jeremiah said she understood there will still be access to the drive on the west side of the house through the parking lot on the west. We will look at other potential accessibility options as we move forward on this. Nelson found it impressive that all the agencies were able to come together on one plan. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to adopt the findings and approve Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit#2009-02-004 (Staring Lake CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 7 Park/John R. Cummins House Parking Plan Option I). Motion carried 5-0. C. HERITAGE SITE ALTERATION PERMIT FOR JOHN R. CUMMINS HOUSE/CSAH 1 by City of Eden Prairie, Location 13600 Pioneer Trail. (Heritage Site Alteration Permit No. 2009-01-004) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the May 7, 2009, Eden Prairie News and sent to five property owners. The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) has reviewed an application for a Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit for the John R. Cummins House located at 13600 Pioneer Trail. The permit application is for site alterations at the Cummins property due to the County's reconstruction plans of widening Pioneer Trail to a 4-lane divided roadway. Effects of the County's project will occur along the south boundary of the property. Hennepin County plan, CSAH 1 Typical Section 6, Compromise 2 (John R. Cummins House) was reviewed by the HPC per City Code, Section 11.05, Subd. 5.C. The plan was found to meet General Preservation Standards and minimize adverse effects as follows: • elimination of a right turn lane in front of the property; • reduction of the boulevard width in front of the house; • elimination of a retaining wall along the trail in front of the house; • incorporation of measures to protect significant trees associated with the Cummins House during construction; and • burying of overhead power lines in front of the house. Neal said access to the Cummins House, adjacent ball fields and park are currently via the Staring Lake Park entrance off Pioneer Trail along the west boundary of the Cummins House property. There is also an historic drive lane along the west side of the house that is used to access the property. Neal said a Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit is required to make any change in, on, or to a designated Heritage Preservation Site. Any proposed change, addition or alteration to a building, structure or site must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Historic Preservation Projects. The HPC, staff, MnDOT Cultural Resources Unit and State Historic Preservation Office reviewed the proposed County plan to ensure compliance with these standards. Staff recommends the City Council approve the Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit. Dietz noted the Council approved the plans in the general form as part of the county road project. The mitigation efforts of the county have been taken into account, and this action will reaffirm what has already been done. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt the findings and approve Heritage Preservation Site Alteration Permit#2009-01-004 (CSAH 1 Typical Section 6, Compromise 2). Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 8 D. ORDER IMPROVEMENTS AND PREPARATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR RIVERVIEW ROAD, I.C. 52-157 (Resolution) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the May 7 and 14 Eden Prairie News and sent to 99 property owners. The Director of Public Works and the City Engineer have completed a study of street and utility improvements for the segment of Riverview Road between Homeward Hills Road and Parker Drive/Sonoma Ridge. The feasibility study was received at the May 51h council meeting. The segment of Riverview Road between Homeward Hills Road and Parker Drive/Sonoma Ridge is a narrow bituminous surface in poor condition. There is no pedestrian facility serving the adjoining neighborhoods. The proposed improvements will correct these deficiencies and improve the visual character of the corridor. Dietz said all the property owners affected by the project received a full copy of the feasibility study for the project. The basic part of the project is to upgrade about 2000 feet of Riverview Road between Homeward Hills Road on the west and Parker Drive on the east. The existing roadway will be replaced by a 28-foot wide street with curb and gutter, install underground storm sewer, and a trail will be added. The project cost is $850,000, including pavement costs of$350,000 with the remainder of the cost for storm sewer, trail, storm water infiltration, sanitary sewer, watermain and engineering fees. The net assessable cost is estimated at$427,000 with the balance of the cost paid for by the City. Since the road is on our municipal state-aid system the City share will come from gas tax sources and the storm water utility. Dietz said there is a proposed assessment of$3970 for each property; however, some properties will not receive an assessment because some parcels were sold to private parties at time of the special assessment agreement and the developer requested those parcels be excluded. Some properties have prepaid the assessment. In 1999 the City Council authorized a mechanism to pay off the debt incurred with this special assessment agreement to minimize the impact on owners who wished to sell or refinance their property. He said the proposed assessment would have a 20- year repayment schedule beginning in 2010. The meeting tonight is to decide if we should build the project, and if it is approved, there will be another hearing later this fall to talk about the final assessments based on the final bids for the project. Dietz said the project would be substantially constructed by November with a final surface applied next year. He said the number one reason to proceed with the project is safety. There are no pedestrian facilities on the street, and there are upwards of 2500-3000 trips generated per day. He said there has been some discussion about just doing a mill and overlay,but that would create a safety problem because there would be some increase in speeds with a better road surface and still no pedestrian facility. He reviewed traffic counts and statistics in the combined corridor of Riverview Road and Homeward Hills. He said municipal state aid standards govern what we can do in this location so we cannot simply CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 9 widen the roadway without meeting the specific design requirements. Nelson asked if a mill and overlay would have to be just the width of the current roadway. Dietz said we would have to stay with the current width. He noted Riverview Road has been on the City Guide Plan as a major collector street since 1978. We would upgrade the roadway as an urban section rather than a rural section in order to minimize the use of right-of-way. He said the plan is to connect into the existing storm sewer system so it will not create any new connections to the creek valley or the river valley. There will be an infiltration basin that will infiltrate water from the over-sizing of the road and the trail. Dietz said the project fulfills a development obligation from 1989 when the Bell Oaks development was approved. The developers of Bell Oaks paid all utility costs and were responsible for their half of Riverview Road and the trail in conformance with three special assessment policies adopted in 1989. The key issue for the City was the Hustad property on the other side of the road. The lack of a specific development plan and the need for dedication of right of way caused a long delay in building this project. In 1996 City staff worked hard with a group of property owners in the neighborhood and got a preliminary design concept approved that was a lot like the one proposed this evening—specifically a 28 foot wide roadway and trail. Case asked from the City's perspective what happened to the money that was set aside from the developer. Dietz said it doesn't work that way. There are three specific policies that guide the special assessment/development process.. One policy is where the developer signs the special assessment agreement and it becomes a lien against the property. Another policy has the developer pay the full cost associated with the project. The third policy is that on collector or arterial streets we can assess by front footage areas or on a lot unit basis. Dietz said the special assessment agreement is a legitimate lien on the properties and right now there is a very competitive bidding climate. He noted there is another item later on the agenda for a resolution to rescind the resolution from 1999 that provided an amount of$3800 to pay off the special assessment. He said 21 parcels have already prepaid the assessment. The remaining Bell Oaks property owners have waived all right to appeal the special assessment. Once we receive the bids we will compute the final amount and come back this fall for an assessment hearing. He said if the Council authorizes this project there is another agenda item that would authorize an extension of the consultant's fees to finalize the plans for discussion under the DPW report. He noted State law requires a 4/5 majority vote of the Council to advance the project. Young asked when the portion of Riverview Road adjacent to the Vintage project was completed. Dietz said it was done in 2004, and noted we were ready for this project last year but a lot of issues and questions were raised by residents at that time because there are a lot of new owners in that area since 1990. Young asked how the development potential for Parcel 76 was determined. Dietz CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 10 said they estimated it based on what was done in the Vintage and Bell Oaks properties. It is 22 acres and a sizeable part of it is on the bluff. Young asked when was the last time we approved a special assessment on residential property based on the development potential of the parcel. Dietz said we did some on Sunrise Circle and Hilltop Road where some large lots had the potential to split once sewer and water became available. He said the number of lots depends on the circumstances. Young asked how an overlay would be paid for if the Council were to direct that be done. Dietz said we would not be able to expand the roadway, and we typically do not do a major improvement out of the General Fund. We have a pavement management system in place that is funded through property taxes and liquor profits. We reserve that for making repairs to roadways that have been brought to urban standards. Young asked if we have funds in the budget to do a mill and overlay of the street this year. Dietz said we have money in the pavement management budget but we haven't used that fund for this kind of thing in the past. Young asked if other projects would have to be postponed in order to do this. Dietz said probably not if it would cost about$100,000 to do an overlay. Duckstad said one of the sources of revenue available to pay for the project was state aid and asked if the difficulty the state is having with their funding would interfere with state aid for this project. Dietz said as gas prices taper off we will see a diminution of the available funding, but we do have a fund balance. We have enough resources available to do this project; however, in the years ahead we may not have as much available. Duckstad asked why we waited until now to work on the road if it was proposed as a major artery as long ago as the 1981 map showed. Dietz said there were no special assessment policies prior to 1989, and the catalyst for projects has been development in order for developers to pay as much of the project as possible. He said Dell Road north of County Road 5 was built this way. It has been our standard practice to have the developer pay for these kinds of projects. Duckstad said one of the reasons given to proceed was safety concerns, but when he looked at this roadway he assumed the same safety problems have existed for a long time. Dietz said as there has been more development and the traffic has increased to the current level of about 2500-3000 trips per day on that section of road. Duckstad asked if the information that indicated we would assess on the basis of front footage was correct. Dietz said we do that provided there is identical property on both sides of the road with the same potential,but we haven't used that practice very much. We would do this project on a unit basis because there is a problem with fairly assessing the property due to the irregular layout of the homes. Dietz said development projects were designed to have backyards on the street in order to limit the connection points on collector streets. There are only a handful of driveways onto Homeward Hills Road or Riverview Road. Duckstad asked if there was any reason why this project might not be put off so we CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 11 don't run into a problem where we are short of money to finish the project. Dietz said we have our share in the bank and the financing plan is in place. Nelson asked what has to go along with a 28-foot road according to the state aid rules. Dietz said we don't have nearly enough right-of-way to do a true conforming state aid rural section road, so there would have to be curb and gutter in place to meet the urban standard. Nelson asked if the trail and sewer and water would be extra and if the storm water infiltration pond would be essential. Dietz said it would be required by our own infiltration standards. Nelson said that means not a lot could be taken away except the trail. Dietz said having no trail would mean we still would have no pedestrian access. Nelson asked how long a mill and overlay would last. Dietz said he strongly recommended against an overlay because we have a responsibility to the public to not create a safety hazard. He thought that would happen if we create a situation where traffic speeds up and we don't provide for pedestrians. Mike Gresser, 10701 Riverview Road, said his driveway is on Riverview Road. He said the road in general is 24 feet wide, and there are no drainage problems on the road. He disagreed with the quoted pavement price of$6.25 and thought it should be $1.50-$2.00. He understood that state aid can be applied by the City to where they deem it to be applied. He said the special assessments for the south side of the road are newly proposed assessments, so the City does not have an existing agreement to provide for those assessments. He thought the City has a burden of proof to show it improves the value of the properties. He said over 100 people met with Al Gray and other staff members last year and they were asked to come together as a community to provide recommendations for the road. A group of residents met twice and reached a unanimous decision that the rebuilding of the road as proposed does not improve their property values and that it would be more fiscally responsible if the road were to be re-milled and repaved. He said the developer is no longer in business so we can't hold them responsible for the money. He thought it was debatable whether the liens are valid and enforceable. He said this is a rural section of the City and he thought we should wait for the area to be developed before assessing for development. He didn't know why this is such an urgent priority now since we have waited 19 years. He also thought this doesn't provide continuity to the roads in the area because the section to the east out to Hwy 169 will be improved later when that area is developed, and Homeward Hills Road does not have the same design as Riverview Road. Jim Dutcher, 11015 Bell Oaks Estate Road, said he has lived there for 10 years and has never seen an accident on the road. He said he would like to see some kind of police report that shows this has been a dangerous area. Will Schroeder, 10584 Boss Circle, said in 1989 the people that were the members of the corporation that formed Bell Oaks had the intent to pay a portion of the road construction. He said Dave Brown was the last owner of the land and over the years Mr. Brown has said if the City would call him he would be happy to put in the money he set aside. He thought the City was in error in not pursuing this sooner. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 12 Dan Wilczek, 10921 Purdey Road, said the trail is a "road to nowhere"because it will end at the Philippi property. He said the issue of safety on the road will be on the windy section of the road to the east where there is no plan for a trail. He has not seen a safety issue in the 18 years he has lived there. A resident on Burr Ridge Lane said the people here tonight will be the ones affected monetarily by this project. He noted the road was shot 14 years ago and development happened on both sides to this point. He asked if it was true there are no plans for a trail on the rest of the road to the east. Lotthammer said we do have a plan that takes the trail to Hennepin Town Road which then connects to the north/south trail. The resident thought we should consider extending the trail all the way down if this is approved. He thought this road is a disgrace to the City and a mill and overlay would only last a couple of years. Dietz said we have future plans for a completed trail system,but we can't build it all at once. He said the safety issue may not be critical right now because people don't tend to over drive Riverview Road due to its poor condition. It is unsafe to ride a bicycle on that road and a mill and overlay of the current road would exacerbate the problem. Richard Perry, 11198 Burr Ridge Lane, said there are no accidents because people are driving at slow speeds to dodge potholes. He didn't know how much we have spent to repair the road in 18 years but we can't go along patching it. He thought the project was not well communicated to all the people who use the road and who might have attended the meeting. Mark Halvorson, 10860 Purdey Road, said he understood that some of our taxes are slotted for redoing roads and asked why those funds haven't been applied for the road. Mike Lang, 10707 Sonoma Ridge, said he didn't feel this is the time to burden the taxpayers. He agreed the road is unsafe but that is because it has not been maintained. He supported re-milling and repaving the road. Pete Decesare, 10599 Parker Drive, said traffic there goes at 55 mph. He didn't think we should spend all that money in a time when we don't have it. It would increase the speeds on the road and run a higher risk of personal injury. He didn't understand how this project would positively affect the value of their homes. He added that Mr. Dietz has done an outstanding job listening to the residents' concerns. Anita Philippi, 10300 Riverview Road, said the storm sewers are not functioning in that section of Eden Prairie, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is seriously concerned about our storm drainage system in that area. She thought we need to fix that problem before we put more water into what is not working currently. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 13 Robert Jones, 10968 Bell Oaks Estate Road, asked how the proposal would affect the trees on his property and the feeling of driving down a country road. Dietz reviewed the trees that would be lost on Mr. Jones' property under the current set of plans. Bruce Mallory, 11027 Purdey Road, thought the speed will increase on this section if we go to 28 feet and then traffic will have to come to a halt for the sharp turn at the east end. Dennis Kudelka, 10600 Parker Drive, said a lot of issues in terms of tree loss and retaining walls are associated with a path. He thought eliminating the trail would alleviate a lot of issues. Margaret McGraw, 10413 Spyglass Drive, said she has driven this road for the 40 years she has lived there, and she cannot understand why the City has waited so long to fix this piece of road. She would like to have this repaired,but she thought if we do more to it than that we will increase the traffic speeds. Laura Bluml, 10540 West Riverview Drive, said she has a 24 year relationship with this section of the Eden Prairie. This road is the only way to get in and out of the entire area, and it is an embarrassment in its current state. She showed photos of the road conditions at various points. She was in favor of the planned improvements because of the safety factor and the longevity of the improvements and thought it would bring it up to the standards in the rest of the City. She said the improvements were delayed because large tracts of land were not developed yet. She said, contrary to the reports in the newspaper, this section of the road is not an historical property. She believed it is the City's responsibility to build this road and the proposed improvements are reasonable. She said she made many trips to City Hall when she was building her home, and the maps showed this road as a major collector road with a trail. She chose her home site based on the answers they received at City Hall. She thought most of the people opposed to the project here tonight are adjacent property owners because notice of the meeting was not sent to other residents who use the road regularly. Kevin Bluml, 10540 West Riverview Road, said he walks a lot in the City,but he doesn't walk along this road. He would like to be able to walk to Bloomington but that won't happen until this road gets fixed. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the Public Hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Duckstad said given the state of the economy, the fact that this project has been targeted for about 20 years, and the lack of evidence that there are safety hazards, he does not support the project as presented. He thought at one time the City may have been inattentive in taking advantage of a significant amount of money from a developer, and it would be unfair to the people that would now be put in a position to pay for the project. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 14 Aho thought it was important and helpful that everyone have their opinion heard. Regarding a mill and overlay project,he asked about the quality of the base materials in the roadway and what the life expectancy of a resurfacing would be. Dietz said we have not done any soil testing out there,but when we do a mill and overlay on urbanized streets it lasts somewhere between 12-15 years. He said water is a detriment to any pavement and if there is not proper drainage you probably cannot expect the roadway to last that long. Aho then asked what the cost would be to plan and bid a reclaim and repave project for the roadway. Dietz said staff has not prepared an estimate for that but he had no reason to seriously doubt Mr. Gresser's estimate;however, in order to meet our bidding obligations, we would have to prepare plans. Aho asked if our projected cost of$6.25 per square foot for the current plan was out of line with the $1.50-$2.00 cost for a reclaim and repave that Mr. Gresser stated. Dietz said our experience shows that$6.00 is right in the ballpark for reconstruction and the grading required is a substantial part of the cost. Regarding the drainage issue, Aho asked if doing this project with the sewer and water collection and connecting that to the existing storm water outlets would add a substantial new load to the existing system and create more problems. Dietz said Ms Philippi talked about some issues with the MPCA,however this project will infiltrate the extra water as a result of the widening and the trail and the rest of the water will go into the existing storm sewer system at Bell Oaks. Nelson said it looks like the portion of Homeward Hills Road south of Pioneer Trail does not have curb and gutter. Dietz said we have not had the ability to lay off some of the costs to development in that section, so the City would have to pay the entire cost. Nelson asked if that area has storm sewer. Dietz said there are some limited storm sewers and catch basins but no curb and gutter. He said the width of the roadway is adequate and it has pedestrian facilities. Nelson asked what the plans are for the area to the east of Parker Road where the road starts to go down hill and out to Hwy 169. Dietz said the most likely catalyst for something to happen on that section would be the redevelopment of the Philippi property, which is a very valuable property and will most likely be developed some day. When it is developed, we will be able to negotiate a special assessment that obligates the property to pay for this. He noted the money for the special assessment part of this project was never ours to have, and there may well be some contractual relationship between the developer and the property owner that spells out how it should be handled. The pending special assessment should have appeared in a title opinion. If it was overlooked in the title opinion, there may be cause for the owner to go to the title company. The special assessment agreement was properly executed, filed at Hennepin County, and has been part of the record since 1989. Nelson asked if doing a mill and overlay now means we can't do a project like this in the future. Dietz said he didn't know how long the special assessment agreement would last because we have already tested the limits. Nelson asked Mr. Rosow if CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 15 doing a mill and overlay would negate the special assessment agreement. Rosow said it does not necessarily negate the special assessment agreement,but the Council would have to be careful about the language used. Someone could say the City Council has abandoned doing the improvements, and it could be argued that takes away the underpinnings of the special assessment agreement. He said the reason an amount was set ten years ago for payment of these assessments to the City prior to actually having a project was to provide relief to homeowners so they could sell or refinance without a cloud over their title. Nelson asked if they could continue to prepay that if we don't rescind the previous amount. Rosow said the bank would know about it and should be asking who will pay for that. He noted the City has collected 21 of these, and we could continue to collect the money. Case thought the issue for him is not whether to build this to code some day but rather is this the right time to fund it in this way. He asked why the properties along Homeward Hills Road would not be assessed for improvements along that road. Dietz said that roadway existed prior to his tenure at the City, and we had no standard practice of collecting special assessment agreements. Case said he was a little confused because the development on the east and west sides of Homeward Hills Road would not have paid to build the roadway the first time. Dietz said when we are in the development process and this is the access road to that development, we are in a very strong negotiating position and are able to create special assessment agreements more readily. Case said if the development process leads the way, why not wait for the Gresser property to come on line and possibly adjust the density as we did for other developments in the bluff area and have the Gresser development pay the cost of improving the roadway. Dietz said if we were to try to do something where we put smaller lots or density at the top of the bluff, he thought we would have a lot of same people present this evening come back to say that wasn't what they bought into. There are large lot developments in this corridor, and he was not sure we could get a development through that would optimize the number of lots. He noted the proposed assessment is a fairly incremental increase to the taxes. He said all of the Bell Oak properties have given away their right to appeal this assessment. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Duckstad, to delay the Riverview Road project to a time indefinite and to instruct the Public Works Department to do a different project to mill and overlay Riverview Road between Homeward Hills Road and Parker Drive. Case said he would support the re-milling of the roadway. He thought it is not an issue of whether we should eventually build this to code or whether surrounding development should pay for the road,but rather the issue is how to stay consistent with the precedent. The Gresser property offers the route we have used in the past to do such a project. He agreed we have water erosion issues on the bluff that should be addressed first and thought we should put our efforts and energy into what is wrong down there. Duckstad said he was supporting the motion because at the present time the City CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 16 has a shortfall in the operations budget and may have a shortfall in our capital improvements program. Young noted neither our operating budget nor the capital improvements budget would be used to pay for this proposed project. Dietz said the municipal state aid monies are held by the state and when we apply for a project we have a fund that has been accumulating and we go through a process of plan approval and bid opening and then apply for the funds. The other source of funds for the project is related to storm water and we have a storm water utility fund. Duckstad asked if he could assure the state aid funding would be available at the appropriate time. Dietz said it is available today, and we have the ability to use it today and will not have to sell bonds to pay for it. Young said all the Council Members have spent a lot of time on this issue, and it is an important issue and a big one. He said all we are doing is passing the buck if we don't approve the project tonight, and he hasn't heard tonight how the problem of this road gets better if we push it off for another Council to make the decision. Aho said this is a tough and emotional issue that affects people's everyday life. He thought ultimately to do an overlay or some kind of reconstruction on this is a temporary fix and does not serve the public well. We will ultimately spend more money and will have multiple times of construction, and he thought that is a mistake. We would be better served to do it right the first time. He thought extending the trail out to Parker Drive and Sonoma Ridge would give people access to that section and that would be a safety improvement. He thought the traffic speeds will go up when the road is overlaid so there will be decreased safety. Nelson was concerned about the runoff waters on the bluff area and does want to see that get solved,but the road has to be improved this year. She was not convinced the trail along this road for a short section really does make it safe. The road does need to be repaired. She said it should last long enough with a reasonable cost so that ultimately we could reconstruct the road and get help paying for the larger project. Neal said the storm water issue has come up a couple of times. City staff is working closely with the MPCA and consulting engineers to define and remedy the problem. Case said this issue came up pretty solidly last summer and the Council pushed it off to this year. There has been a precedent set that we build roads based on our development projects, so he believed we are making this road temporarily safer by overlaying it but should follow our precedent and delay the full project until development occurs. Duckstad didn't think there is a dispute the road needs to be improved. His concern still lies with the payment of it. He said none of us know how soon the economy CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 17 will turn around, and he failed to see the urgency for the project in light of the other circumstances. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 3-2-0, with Aho and Young opposed. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Case, Duckstad, Nelson and Young voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. Report on the City Manager Performance Review Mayor Young turned over the meeting to Acting Mayor Aho who presided earlier this evening when the Council held a performance review of the City Manager in closed session. He said Mr. Neal first met with them and informed the Council he was requesting no increase in his salary for this year. Mr. Neal then left the room and Mr. Buell of PVI, the firm hired to do the performance review, gave a summary of the review. In general the consensus of the evaluation was a very positive review. The City Manager is doing the job the Council expected of him, and his performance as excellent. The results of the performance survey given to City Council Members and staff were very positive. He said the Council Members discussed the salary request and generally concurred with Mr. Neal's request that his salary not increase due to the economic conditions. Mr. Neal's contract calls for consideration by the Council of merit pay, and in order to keep his compensation flat, the Council decided to keep the merit pay at$4723.99 which is the same as last year. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to perform no salary increase for the next 12-month period and award merit pay in the amount of $4,723.99 so the total salary neither increased nor decreased from the prior 12 month period. Duckstad said he commended the City Manager for stepping forward and presenting his willingness not to take a salary increase. He thought that CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 18 showed a high degree of leadership and concern for the employees of Eden Prairie who may be laid off or who may be furloughed. He said he was not in favor of awarding the merit pay. Aho said if we were to not award the merit pay which is part of the total compensation package as it was designed in 2002, then we would actually be giving him a pay cut and not just a 0% increase in his total compensation. Case said the way that merit pay was setup when the contract was written was that it would be for the past 12 months. Mr. Neal has gone through the past 12 months and has followed through in an exemplary way on the City Council directives we gave him 12 months ago. He thought we may want to look at his compensation package at a workshop session,but it would be an example of bad faith if we were to promise it and then say "Sorry, you don't get it." Duckstad thought when we discussed this there was also an indication by our City Manager of a willingness to put off any decision on this. He thought the City Manager wanted to set an example of leadership so he was still not willing to approve this. Young said he has always had some level of concern and dissatisfaction about a compensation structure that includes merit pay. He was concerned that this compensation structure is so unique and people misunderstand the merit pay, so he thought it was a good idea for the Council to consider in a workshop session whether it makes sense to move to a different contract formula for Mr. Neal. He said he has an extraordinarily high regard for Mr. Neal and his performance is excellent. He thought the measure of performance really needs to be exceptional and the only way a degree of dissatisfaction can be expressed is monetarily. He did not concur with the recommendation for merit pay in this particular year,but that has not affected his confidence in Mr. Neal going forward. Neal said when he came here in 2002 this was the agreement prepared by the City Council at that point and it seemed like a good fit at the time. Since that time we have made changes in how we review staff. He would be open to talking about that with the Council whether in a workshop or in some other forum. Aho thought it would be in the best interest of Mr. Neal and the City if we made an adjustment to the contract and make it a total compensation package. He thought we should have that discussion going forward but we need to have some resolution on this issue tonight. He said he would be willing to amend his motion if someone would suggest what figure would be acceptable for the merit pay. Duckstad said he concurred that we should revise the contract in order to omit the problems we are having. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 19 Case called the question. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 3-2-0, with Duckstad and Young opposed. B. REPORTS OF CITY MANAGER 1. City Center Landscaping Neal said staff has developed a landscaping plan for this building that would consume less water and provide a greater natural area. We examined different options and thought we might need an ordinance exemption, but after considerable review and discussion it was determined our code would allow us to convert some of our more manicured landscaping areas into more natural ones. He said that will happen over the summer months and will reduce water consumption and maintenance costs. He said we will continue to maintain and water the landscape border around the boulevard. Nelson said she saw the plans for planting native grass and wildflowers and asked if we could obtain a modest amount of seed for wildflowers so it could be seeded with perennials. Neal thought we are intending to do this. We have some turf specialists in our Parks Department so we have used their expertise and developed this in house. (Note: The preceding item was taken out of sequence.) A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS (Continued) 2. Richard T Anderson Park— Case Case said he recently had an opportunity to be in the R.T. Anderson Park. It is an incredible park but a couple of the kiosks are being wrecked by weather and he asked staff to check on those. 3. Residents' Questions About Airport—Case Case said he met at a resident's house last week and Jeff Hamel, the director of MAC, stopped by. Several residents have said they understood the expansion of Pioneer Trail was being done to carry freight for the expanded runway at Flying Cloud Airport. Case asked City Attorney Rosow to address that issue. Rosow said Section 3.8 of the Flying Cloud Airport Agreement addresses cargo operations and states that major air cargo operations will not be able to use the airport. 4. Capital Improvement Projects—Duckstad CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 20 Duckstad said we are almost halfway through 2009, and he wondered if we will have any difficulty with our capital budget so that there will be a need to forego or continue any of the projects. Neal said we have a busy line-up of capital projects and he would like to draft a status report for the Council to present at the next meeting. B. REPORTS OF CITY MANAGER (Continued) 2. Enemy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Neal said this $627,000 block grant is part of the ARRA Act and we need to make a decision on this tonight because the deadline to submit an application is June 14. He said it is a noncompetitive grant so we only need to apply for it with compliant projects and we will get the money. He said we talked to the Council and staff about the wide array of projects this money could be used for. The projects submitted provide energy conservation and efficiency benefits to the taxpayers and are projects that were either on the current CIP or that would have been if we could have included them on the 20-40-15 project. He said they will yield operating savings into the future so they will save our taxpayers money on the initial purchase and on operating costs going forward. He reviewed the list of projects proposed. Duckstad asked if there are any strings attached to the funds. Neal said there are probably requirements that go along with it such as reporting requirements regarding what it is spent on and "Buy America"provisions. Aside from those types of requirements, we will put together the proposal to spend the money and they will review it. We are pretty sure these are items that will be approved. Duckstad asked if staff would bring this back to the Council if the funds do show up with a set of requirements. Neal said he is asking for approval of a set of projects but if the government changed the deal and made it very restrictive, staff would bring it back. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve McKinstry as the consulting firm to assist the City in obtaining the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and to assist the City in implementing the projects. Motion carried 5-0. At this point City Attorney Rosow noted it was now 11:00 PM, and a motion is required to continue the meeting past 11:00 PM. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Case, to continue the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Young called a break at 11:01 PM and reconvened the meeting at 11:10 PM. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 21 3. 2009 Budget Amendment (Resolution 2009-35) Neal said in February Ms Kotchevar and he gave the Council a presentation on the 2009 General Fund revenues and expenses, and it was becoming clear we had a potential problem with non-tax revenue from development. By the first week or two of May we are at about one-half of where we need to be and it is not likely we will catch up to where we should be on that revenue source. There is also a sizable decrease in our interest income. It appears our General Fund will be about $1,000,000 short, which is within the range predicted. They put together a plan to cover 1/z of the deficit with transfers from the Budget Stabilization Fund,reduce operations, and have a reduction of$300,000 on the personnel side. He thought this is the right direction to go to reduce some reserves and also reduce operating budgets. Case asked how much is in the Budget Stabilization Fund now. Neal said there is $5.7 million in that fund, and one option could be to use that money and not do any reduction in costs at all. We considered that just as we considered a lot of other options. He said we believe the economy is going to pick up,but city governments won't feel it for about a year afterwards because of the delays in our property tax revenue. We believe we will need those dollars for future budgets and don't think we should recommend consuming those funds on the front end. Case said we used $500,000 from the Budget Stabilization Fund in December, and we are taking another$500,000 now so we will be $1,000,000 behind. We will have to make that up and will have to look at a 34% increase in taxes next year just to stay even. Neal said he didn't think that is true although that it might be a policy piece decided by the City Council. Case said we need to get the $1,000,000 somehow. Nelson asked if Mr. Neal could tell us where, in general, the personnel reductions are coming from and how it will impact City services. Neal said we took a look at our operations and some are impacted by the downturn in a negative sense but others are affected in a positive sense. Some of our services have had an increase in demand. We looked for reductions in those areas that are connected in some way with the development of land. We also looked at other areas to see where there are positions or functions that we could restructure and spread the duties fairly to others or outsource them. He said there will be marginal decreases in service. There might be longer wait times for regulatory approval of things. We have built an organization here that was based on prompt and excellent customer service and we are ratcheting that back to a level that is still appropriate and still fulfills our citizen response. Nelson asked if this will impact the Police and Fire Departments. Neal said we have not recommended any decrease in the fire side of the organization. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 22 We have one vacant position in the Police Department that we have recommended be cut which will make it somewhat more difficult for the scheduling sergeants but there will be no discernable decrease in our police services. Aho said he liked the proposal to have a combination of reduction in spending and use of the Budget Stabilization Fund. He said the purpose of that fund is for those times when we need to draw on it. Duckstad agreed with the specific proposal because the adjustment was made with a reasonable balance to make up the shortfall. Young said he also agreed with that approach and he agreed we have the Budget Stabilization Fund set up for a reason, so he supported the proposed motion. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to adopt Resolution 2009- 35 authorizing an adjustment to the City's 2009 General Fund to reduce revenues and expenses by $1,000,000 and to direct the City Manager to make the necessary reductions in General Fund operations and budgets to implement this adjustment. Motion carried 5-0. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. CDBG-R Funds for Rehabilitation of Fraser Group Home Sites Neal said this is an item we would typically have on the Consent Agenda; however, he needed to disclose that his wife works for the Fraser organization at their school in Richfield. He noted there is no financial connection between that facility and the home sites in this item. Jeremiah said she mentioned at the last Council meeting we would get $69,000 from the ARRA Act for CDBG funding, and this item will use a good portion of those funds as a grant for rehabilitation. Staff believes this would be a good use of these funds and recommends approval. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the use of up to $50,000 in CDBG-R funds to rehabilitate the four group homes operated by Fraser Residential Services, a Minnesota non-profit corporation. Motion carried 5-0. D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR 1. Resolution Rescinding Resolution No. 99-157 (Riverview Road Special Assessment Pre-Payments) CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2009 Page 23 Dietz said Mr. Rosow has some thoughts and comments about this item. Rosow said this first item was predicated upon the approval of the project and would have rescinded the resolution that established the $3800 per lot pre-payment. He recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution to reaffirm Resolution 99-157,based on the earlier action by the Council this evening. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to reaffirm Resolution No. 99- 157. Motion carried 5-0. (Resolution 2009-36) 2. Professional Services Agreement for Revisions to the Riverview Road Construction Documents Dietz said this item is also moot as we will not pursue additional design work. He said staff will need direction for where to take the money for the mill and overlay of the roadway. Neal suggested Mr. Dietz, Ms Kotchevar and he meet and bring back options at the June 16 meeting. F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 11:28 PM.