Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/21/2012 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Ron Case, and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. All Council Members were present. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Tyra-Lukens thanked Webelos Pack 597, sponsored by St. Andrews Lutheran Church, for presenting the colors this evening. III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS A. EDEN PRAIRIE READS UPDATE Rebecca Timmins, Chair of the Eden Prairie Reads Committee, gave an update of the Eden Prairie Reads program. She reviewed the objectives of the program and noted the book chosen for this year's City-wide read is The Hunger Games. On March 19 at the International School of Minnesota, the group will host an event that will include a simulation game and a panel discussion. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Case added Item XIV.A.1. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,JANUARY 17, 2011 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, January 17, 2012 as published. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 2 B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,JANUARY 17, 2011 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, January 17, 2012 as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE 2012 EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND SCHEDULE C. AWARD CONTRACT FOR WATER TREATMENT FACILITY PROCESS AND CONTROLS PHASE II IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT TO RICE LAKE CONSTRUCTION GROUP D. APPROVE CONTRACT WITH E.H. RENNER & SON TO UPGRADE MUNICIPAL WELL NO. 3 E. APPROVE PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SIRE TECHNOLOGIES' ACTIVE REVIEW MODULE F. APPROVE FINANCING OF 98 SETS OF TURN-OUT GEAR AND CLEANING SERVICE THROUGH A FIVE YEAR LEASE G. RECEIVE THE 2011 LGPEA PAY EQUITY REPORT AND APPROVE SUBMITTAL OF REPORT TO THE STATE H. DECLARE OBSOLETE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AS SURPLUS AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO DISPOSE OF PROPERTY Regarding Item E, Rosow noted they are still working on the exact language of the contract,but staff would like the Council to proceed with approval. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-Hon the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND ROSEMOUNT FOR DEED'S MINNESOTA INVESTMENT FUND LOAN Getschow said there has been a lot of discussion recently about the $24,000,000 investment in the community Rosemount-Emerson is making to renovate their facilities. With Rosemount's assistance staff was able to work with the State of CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 3 Minnesota Department of Employment and Development(DEED) to receive a $500,000 grant for this project. State statutes require a business subsidy public hearing and a Council motion to approve the grant whenever there is a subsidy provided to a business. He said official notice of the public hearing was published in the February 9, 2012, Eden Prairie News. Agreeing to the terms of the grant also requires that Rosemount create a minimum of 100 jobs at the facility at a wage of at least$13.00 per hour. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing and to approve agreement between the City and Rosemount, Inc. outlining terms and requirements of a $500,000 forgivable loan (grant) to be provided to Rosemount from DEED's Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF). Motion carried 5-0. B. REPUBLIC COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FUELING FACILITY by Clean Energy. Request for: Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 24.32 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 24.32 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the I-2 Zoning District on 24.32 acres and Site Plan Review of 24.32 acres. Location: 9813 Flying Cloud Drive. (Resolution No. 2012-26 for PUD Concept Review; Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment) Getschow said official notice of this public hearing was published in the February 9, 2012, Eden Prairie News and sent to 23 property owners. The proposed use is for a private compressed natural gas fueling facility for Allied/Republic trucks. He noted there will be 105 time-fill spaces, not the 191 spaces as stated in the synopsis. Pam Pullen, Associate Planner with Clean Energy, said they are partnering with Allied/Republic to provide them with natural gas so they can replace their petroleum fuel based fleet with natural gas. They will convert over 80% of the fleet to natural gas in the next few years. Tyra-Lukens asked if they are converting 80% of the fleet here or everywhere in the country. Ms Pullen said it will be across the country. Aho asked how they plan to fill the vessels used to fill the vehicles. Ms Pullen said the natural gas will come to the facility from pipes in the ground. The trucks are filled at night. Nelson asked if they already have a pipeline for the natural gas or if they plan to use the gas from the waste site. Ms Pullen said there is a natural gas line in the facility. Nelson asked if that meant there would be no new pipeline built for this project. Ms Pullen said that was correct. Case noted there were some initial concerns about safety for this project. He asked why this is considered a safe site. Getschow said some of the issues brought up at the Planning Commission concerned the proximity of the site to the Williams gas CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 4 pipeline. That particular pipeline is over 2000 feet away from the facility and does not pose a safety concern. He said staff feels comfortable with this project not being in close proximity to any other pipelines or any other safety hazards. Ms Pullen said there are specific guidelines of setbacks stated in the statutory requirements. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to close the public hearing; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-26 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 24.32 acres; and to approve 1 st reading of the ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning District Amendment within the I-2 Zoning District on 24.32 acres; and to direct staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. C. RIDGE AT RILEY CREEK 5Tx ADDITION by JMS Custom Homes. Request for: Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 2.02 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 2.02 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the R1-13.5 Zoning District on 2.02 acres and Preliminary Plat of 2.02 acres into five lots. Location: 9567, 9667, and 9687 Sky Lane. (Resolution No. 2012-27 for PUD Concept Review; Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2012-28 for Preliminary Plat) Getschow said the proposal is to plat three existing lots into five single-family lots. Official notice of this public hearing was published in the February 9, 2012, Eden Prairie News and sent to 23 property owners. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the project at the January 23, 2012 meeting. Case said he would like to hear from staff how this project fits into what the Planning Department would envision for the whole neighborhood if we had a master plan for such development. He was concerned that we approve 3-5 acre plots in a piecemeal fashion and we may not be sure they fit into what we would like to have as a long term master plan. Jeremiah said this does fit our kind of master plan for the area because it is completely within the zoning and comprehensive plan we set for this neighborhood. It fits the minimum requirements and leaves the door open to do potential future road connections. Getschow said in many scenarios the property owner drives the process when the development occurs. We need to think five to ten years ahead of the development process so everything will fit in. Case asked if, as a City, we proactively bring people in to discuss what we think might be happening 20-30 years from now and what we might do today to help us get there. He thought it is part of our role to try to facilitate appropriate development. Jeremiah said we have done that with a comprehensive plan update. We had a number of open houses and had at least one representative from the undeveloped area of the City. We do solicit those types of comments from the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 5 community. Case said it would be nice if we continued to promote our master plan so developers could be aware of what we have as our vision. A representative of JMS Custom Homes and Swanson Homes said they continue to build at the Ridge at Riley Creek and are working hard to keep it going. He said they have submitted a preliminary plat that requires no waivers and conforms with the zoning and guide plan. They were delighted to receive approval from staff and the Planning Commission. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, to close the public hearing; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-27 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 2.02 acres; and to approve 1st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review, and Zoning District Amendment within the R1-13.5 Zoning District on 2.02 acres; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-28 for Preliminary Plat on 2.02 acres into 5 lots; and to direct staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. D. EDEN PRAIRIE OFFICE RETAIL by Fendler Patterson. Request for: Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3.84 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 3.84 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the I-2 Zoning District on 3.84 acres Site Plan Review of 3.84 acres and Preliminary Plat of 3.84 acres into 1 lot. Location: 14675 and 14711 Martin Drive. (Resolution No. 2012-29 for PUD Concept Review; Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2012-30 for Preliminary Plat) Getschow said this is the prior BakeMark location between Martin Drive and Hwy 5. There are two related proposals included, reuse of the existing building for retail and office use, and construction of another 17,000 foot square foot building at the location. There are waivers required for parking, the front and side yard setbacks, a wall sign not permitted on street frontage, and to allow the increase of retail use in the I-2 district. He said the Planning Commission reviewed this and recommended approval 8-0 at the February 15, 2012 meeting. He said the Planning Commission and staff felt this was a unique use of retail in an industrial district. Bob Grootwassink, 15382 Mason Point Road, said he is the landlord for the project and is going to lease 27,000 square feet of retail and warehouse to Appliance Smart. He will use about half the 6000 square feet of office space in the building and will lease out the other half of the office space. There is an additional two acres of land on which to build another building in the future although he does not know who the tenant will be. Jack Cameron, representing Appliance Smart, said they are in the appliance recycling and retail business. They work for major appliance manufacturers with all their products so they need more display space for their product. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 6 Tyra-Lukens asked if the 45 parking spaces proposed will be adequate. Mr. Cameron said they sell more of a big ticket item so there are, at most, five to ten customers in the store at one time. It will be adequate parking for them. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to close the public hearing; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-29 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3.84 acres; and to approve 1st reading of the ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning District Amendment in the I-2 Zoning District on 3.84 acres; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-30 for Preliminary Plat on 3.84 acres into 1 lots; and to direct staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher Wickstrom, Case, Nelson and Tyra-Lukens voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Statement--Council Member Case Case said he has been a teacher in the Eden Prairie School District for the past 33 years and he plans to retire from the teaching profession in May when he reaches the "Rule of 90." Since early January he has been actively pursuing options for a training consultant position in the Twin Cities area. Two weeks ago he submitted an application to United Health Group (UHG). Because UHG has pending business coming before the Council soon, he plans to recuse himself from any future discussion or action this Council might take regarding UHG and to leave the Council Chamber during discussion of any topic related to UHG in the coming months regardless of how this particular effort to seek employment with UHG happens to conclude. If he were to obtain employment with UHG,he would continue to recuse himself from any action regarding UHG and would refrain from formal or informal conversation with his Council colleagues or City staff regarding any UHG matters that might come before the Council. He first considered seeking CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 7 employment at UHG or anywhere else in January 2012. The most recent Council action on a UHG matter was September 20, 2011. At no time has UHG approached him regarding employment; rather, it has been him reaching out to UHG in the last two weeks. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Resolution No. 2012-31 Authorizing Issuance,Awarding Sale, Prescribing Form and Details and Providing for Payment of$5,230,000 General Obligation Crossover Refunding Bonds, Series 2012A Getschow said there are two refunding authorizations on tonight's agenda and we will be hearing some really good news about the amounts saved by the refunding. Tammy Amdahl, Northland Securities, said the City received savings of $650,000 on this issue for crossover refunding bonds because we received a rate of 2.3%, not 2.79% as we had estimated. She said the second sale for $3,240,000 of bonds came in with a$304,000 savings, and we had estimated only saving an additional $130,000. Getschow said each time we do a bond issuance refunding, we have a bond rating call. Once again we received a AAA bond rating. He said less than 4% of all municipalities in the country have attained that rating. He noted these are direct savings to our taxpayers. One of our levies is our debt levy and, if we are able to reduce that levy, we will reduce our overall tax levy and our tax impact. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. 2012- 31 authorizing issuance, awarding sale, prescribing the form and details and providing for the payment of$5,230,000 General Obligation Crossover Refunding Bonds, Series 2012A. Motion carried 5-0. 2. Resolution No. 2012-32 Authorizing Issuance,Awarding Sale, Prescribing Form and Details and Providing for Payment of$3,240,000 General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Crossover Refunding Bonds, Series 2012B MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to adopt Resolution No. 2012-32 authorizing issuance, awarding sale, prescribing the form and details and providing for the payment of$3,240,000 General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Crossover Refunding Bonds, Series 2012B. Motion carried 5-0. Tyra-Lukens thanked Northland Securities and the City's Finance Department for being vigilant about pursuing these opportunities to refinance the bonds and in obtaining the almost$1,000,000 in savings. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 8 3. Resolution No. 2012-33 in Support of Metropolitan Council's 2012 Bonding Request for Southwest Light Rail Transit Getschow said Mayor Tyra-Lukens and he were approached by our Hennepin County Commissioner asking for our support, along with that of all the other cities along the Southwest LRT line, for the $25,000,000 recommended in the Governor's capital bonding bill that includes funding to continue the progress on the Southwest LRT project. We were asked to pass a resolution of support which will assist our State legislature in getting the bonding bill passed. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to adopt Resolution No. 2012- 33 in support of Metropolitan Council's 2012 bonding request for Southwest Light Rail Transit. Motion carried 5-0. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Resolution No. 2012-34 Authorizing Livable Communities TOD Grant Application for Town Center Stormwater Analysis Jeremiah said staff would like to apply for a Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development Pre-Development grant. The requested amount is for $45,000, with a city match of$15,000 which is available in our Public Works fund. She said the grant will help when we look at development proposals for the Town Center area. Those proposals have been deterred in some cases because it is difficult to make the stormwater work on individual redevelopment sites. She said we would also like to look at more innovative types of approaches to meet the functional needs, get some aesthetic facilities in the area and get some sound green solutions. We would develop a guide for future development in this area to implement green best management practices. She noted this is a new program through the Metropolitan Council specific to transit-oriented development. Staff feels this is a very good use of the funds. She noted there will be three different rounds of grant applications for this money. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. 2012-34 authorizing the City of Eden Prairie to apply for Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development grant funds for Town Center Stormwater Analysis. Rosow said there should be a small change to Point 3 in the resolution to authorize the Mayor and City Manager to submit on behalf of the City, not the Community Development Director as is stated in the packet material. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. 2. Resolution No. 2012-35 Authorizing TIA Desisnation Applications for Five Proposed LRT Station Areas CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 21, 2012 Page 9 Jeremiah said this approval is for five Transit Improvement Area (TIA) designation applications for the five stations along the half mile of future light rail development. DEED is looking at creating criteria for a future loan program. She said the TIA designation will probably be required for future rounds of TOD grants. This resolution will authorize the City of Eden Prairie to approve five TIA designation applications around all five of the proposed LRT stations. She said the language of the resolution should be changed to state the City Council of the City of Eden Prairie "approves the Transit Improvement Area plans," not "has approved the Transit Improvement Area plans" as stated in the packet materials. Tyra-Lukens thought it seems odd they don't automatically say any area designated for a transit station is a TIA. She asked if this is just a formality for the administrative process. Jeremiah replied she was not sure,but every single area that applied last year was designated. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. 2012- 35 authorizing the City of Eden Prairie to approve five Transit Improvement Area designation applications for the proposed City West, Golden Triangle, Town Center, Southwest Station and Mitchell Road Light Rail stations. Motion carried 5-0. 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 XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 7:51 PM.