Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 06/05/2012 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY,JUNE 5, 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. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS A. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD PRESENTATION Pam Spera, Chair of the Human Rights & Diversity Commission, announced that Daryl Stanton was selected to receive this year's individual human rights award for his work as a volunteer at Eden Lake School for the past three years. Mayor Tyra- Lukens presented the award to Mr. Stanton. Ms Spera said this year's human rights award for a business goes to C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. A group of employees at C. H. Robinson have planted and maintained a community garden on space provided by the company. They share the produce from the garden with PROP. Mayor Tyra-Lukens presented the award to the group from C. H. Robinson. Tyra-Lukens noted it is always wonderful to hear about the great things happening in our community. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Case added Items XIV.A.2 and 3. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 2 VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, May 15, 2012 as published. Motion carried 4-0, with Butcher Wickstrom abstaining. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, May 15, 2012 as published. Motion carried 4-0, with Butcher Wickstrom abstaining. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. REPUBLIC COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FUELING FACILITY by Clean Energy. Second Reading of Ordinance 12-2012-PUD-7-2012 for Planned Unit Development District Review on 24.32 acres and Zoning District Amendment within the I-2 Zoning District on 24.32 acres ; Resolution 2012-87 for Site Plan Review on 24.32 acres. Location: 9813 Flying Cloud Drive. (Ordinance No. 12- 2012-PUD-7-2012 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2012-87 for Site Plan Review) C. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 13-2012 ADDING CITY CODE SECTION 5.75 RELATING TO ILLICIT DISCHARGE DETECTION AND ENFORCEMENT AND ADOPT RESOLUTION 2012- 88APPROVING SUMMARY ORDINANCE FOR PUBLICATION D. DIRECT STAFF TO NOT WAIVE MONETARY LIMITS ON MUNICIPAL TORT LIABILITY ESTABLISHED BY MINNESOTA STATUTES 466.04 E. APPROVE THE CITY'S CAPITAL ASSET POLICY F. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER#1 FOR DEBBIE LANE AND ELLIE LANE DRAINTILE PROJECT G. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2012-89 AWARDING CONTRACT FOR THE MITCHELL ROAD STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO NORTHWEST ASPHALT, INC. H. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH HTPO FOR CONSTRUCTION SERVICES ON THE MITCHELL ROAD PROJECT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 3 I. APPROVE RELEASE OF AGREEMENT REGARDING SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS J. APPROVE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT WITH GRACE CHURCH FOR THE MITCHELL ROAD IMPROVEMENTS K. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2012-90 APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED PROJECT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR STERLING PONDS/PRAIRIE VILLAGE PROJECT AND CONSENTING TO EXECUTION OF AMENDMENT NO. 3,A SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT AND A RELEASE OF MORTGAGE L. AWARD CONTRACT FOR REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF THROUGH- WALL FLASHING AT WATER TREATMENT PLANT TO ADVANCED MASONRY RESTORATION M. SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR TUESDAY,JULY 17, 2012, REGARDING MODIFICATION OF TIF#12 AND RELATED TIF DISTRICT INFORMATION MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve Items A-M on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. CUMMINS—PHIPPS-GRILL PROPERTY CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT Getschow said official notice of this public hearing was published in the May 24, 2012, Eden Prairie News and sent to 5 property owners. The Eden Prairie Historical Society currently leases the Cummins Phipps Grill Homestead and has requested a conditional use permit(CUP) to allow certain activities to occur inside and outside the building. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval at its May 14, 2012 meeting. The Heritage Preservation Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the CUP with conditions regarding any changes to the use of the building or site, the shared parking area at the site, and prohibiting parking on the landscaped area around the house. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to close the public hearing and to approve the conditional use permit for Cummins Phipps Grill House. Motion carried 5-0. B. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES ENACTING FRANCHISE FEES FOR CUSTOMERS OF XCEL ENERGY, CENTERPOINT ENERGY AND MINNESOTA VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE IN THE CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 4 Getschow said for the past year and a half we have been discussing our future capital funding needs. The Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) studied many possible sources of revenue to fund our capital improvements and recommended enacting utility franchise fees on residential and commercial property. The City has provided presentations, an open house and work sessions about franchise fees to the community. There has been information about this on our Facebook page, on City blogs, in the newspapers and on the website. In addition to the outreach activities, we have chosen to hold a public hearing about the ordinance even though such a hearing is not required. Ellis said the purpose of the franchise fees is to provide for long term maintenance of our streets. The proposed ordinances allow the utility companies to conduct business in Eden Prairie, allow them to use the right-of-way, set provisions for operating in the public way, and will now include a section that establishes the franchise fees. There are additional costs to maintain the roads because the utilities are in the right-of-way. He gave a PowerPoint presentation that reviewed the current condition of the streets in Eden Prairie and the projected costs to maintain and upgrade the streets in the future. Ellis said the BAC recommended the franchise fee be a flat fee rather than an ad valorem fee, and the utility companies much prefer the flat fee. Franchise fees are fairly common throughout the metropolitan area and are easy to administer. The fees will provide a stable source of revenue for our street maintenance needs. He said the proposed fees will generate approximately $2,000,000 annually. Nelson asked why we are not planning to keep our roads at a pavement condition index of 80% rather than letting them drop to 70%. Ellis said it is primarily a matter of the return on investment. As the City ages, the investment required to maintain at the higher percentage outweighs the benefit. Tyra-Lukens asked what the difference in appearance would be for a street at the two different percentages. Ellis said the average person wouldn't notice the difference between a very good road and one in good condition. Nelson noted this is really a way of being fiscally responsible but keeping up with the peoples' expectations. Ellis said we anticipate re-evaluating in five years to see if changes to the fees are needed to keep up with the maintenance costs. Getschow said we have talked about assessments, and the BAC looked at those as one source of revenue for major maintenance and reconstruction. With the enactment of franchise fees we are looking far enough ahead that we will not need to look at assessments. The funds generated by the franchise fees will be dedicated to maintaining our roads. We are foregoing assessments and the volatility of a levy by implementing the fees. Case said he assumed the fees would cover all of the items involved in street maintenance and reconstruction, including curb and gutter, stormwater CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 5 management and sidewalks. He noted some older neighborhoods have never received street improvements, and the City's policy has been that everyone pays for those items the first time. He asked if the older neighborhoods would still be liable to pay for the construction of streets the first time,but would have maintenance or reconstruction paid for by their franchise fees. Ellis said they would have an obligation to pay one time for the urban street improvements. Case noted many cities are facing this issue, and there are different ways of funding street maintenance. Putting the costs for this into the general budget would result in a 6% tax increase. Special assessments are painful for those involved. He felt this is, in many ways, the fairest way of funding. There were no comments from the audience. Tyra-Lukens thanked staff and the BAC for gathering the information and working through the funding options. She thought it was good to take a longer time to discuss this and get information about franchise fees out to the public. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson , to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving a franchise for Xcel Energy; and to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving franchise fees for Xcel Energy. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving a franchise for CenterPoint Energy; and to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving franchise fees for CenterPoint Energy. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving a franchise for Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative; and to approve first reading of an ordinance adopting and approving franchise fees for Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, 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 A. EDENDALE PARKING EXPANSION & SITE IMPROVEMENT by Edendale Residence Inc. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3.25 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers and Zoning District Amendment in the RM-2.5 Zoning District on 3.25 acres (Resolution No. 2012-91 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 6 for PUD Concept Review) Second Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers and zoning District Amendment in the RM-2.5 Zoning District on 3.25 acres, Resolution for Site Plan Review (Ordinance No. 14-2012-PUD-8-2012 for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2012-92 for Site Plan Review) Getschow noted this item was on the Council agenda the first meeting in May. The project has been revised, and the parking area is now 80 feet away from the residential property. The garage is now 50 feet from the north property line. There will be an eight foot fence added along the parking area that is located 70 feet from the northern property line. Waivers are required for the fence height, tree replacement and maintenance free siding. Rosow noted there is an organizational change to the conditions added to the ordinance in lieu of having a development agreement. Case asked if the neighbors on the north side of the property were involved in the revision process. Jeremiah said they have been in contact with the two neighbors who are immediately to the north. One of the neighbors was very pleased with the outcome and response. Ms Robinson did question whether a couple more trees could be planted,but that would require taking out existing vegetation in order to plant more trees. Ms Robinson was invited to come to this meeting or to send an email, but we have not heard back from her. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to adopt Resolution 2012-91 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 3.25 acres; and to approve 1 st reading of the ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review and Zoning District Amendment in the RM-2.5 Zoning District on 3.25 acres. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve 2nd reading of Ordinance No. 14-2012-PUD-8-2012 for Planned Unit Development District Review with Waivers and Zoning District Amendment in the RM—2.5 Zoning District on 3.25 acres; and to adopt Resolution No. 2012-92 for Site Plan Review. Motion carried 5-0. B. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 2.80 RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL Rosow said this item adds clarification to our City code section concerning the right of administrative appeal. In accordance with State statute, the code is amended add that the City Council does not have authority over personnel matters. Case asked why we have to reiterate this in our City code if it is covered in State statute. Rosow said he wanted to have it stipulated in City code in case of questions about it. Case asked if this amendment would relate to a situation like the one that originated with the City Manager 10-15 years ago. Rosow replied there was not an CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 7 appeal to the City in that case, and there is not a playbook for how that happens. If someone is adversely impacted by a decision of the City Manager and wants to appeal that decision, the appeal is to District Court, not to the City Council. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve first reading of an ordinance amending City Code Section 2.80 relating to administrative appeal. Motion carried 5-0. C. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 9.05, SUBD. 11 RELATING TO EMERGENCY SERVICE COSTS Rosow said the Fire Chief asked if any changes were necessary to this section of the code to ensure the City can charge for emergency services it provides. This modification allows us the fullest authority possible to recoup costs. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve first reading of an ordinance amending City Code Section 9.05, Subd. 11 relating to emergency service costs. Motion carried 5-0. XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Bud2et Advisory Commission Report on City Council Compensation Tyra-Lukens said this was something the Council asked the BAC to look at. She noted Eden Prairie has traditionally been in the lowest range for comparable cities for compensation to the Mayor and Council Members. The BAC's analysis indicates that is still true when we are compared to our peer cities and other comparable cities. She noted this item was on the agenda for the last meeting but she asked that it be postponed to tonight's agenda so Council Member Butcher Wickstrom could participate in the discussion. She asked what the procedure would be if the Council decided to take action on the item. Getschow replied any change to Council compensation would be done through an ordinance, so action would be direction for the next meeting. He noted any change made to Council compensation would not take effect until after the next election. Aho said one of the recommendations from the BAC was to consolidate the technology component and the regular salary. He thought that would make it more transparent and would be similar to the City Manager's salary structure. The other item discussed was meeting pay, and he was still in favor of keeping that out of the compensation. He thought having one set salary amount is the right way to go. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 8 Butcher Wickstrom agreed with Council Member Aho about the structure. She noted she was very pleased with the research and analysis done by the BAC. She believed it is important for the Council to have a salary that is commensurate with cities that are similar to Eden Prairie. It also makes sense to have an adjustment for inflation. There has been no change since 2004, and the issue is providing fair compensation for the duties and responsibilities of the positions. She also thought we should keep the option for any Council Member or Mayor to turn back any of their salary to the City. Case said this is always a tough conversation to have. He noted we set a salary for the positions of Council Member and Mayor, not just for ourselves. Integrity needs to be maintained, and he thought it is important that Eden Prairie or any city in the State keep up with cities that are equal in size. He agreed that it should be simple, fair and somewhat equivalent to other cities of our size. Nelson agreed we should do the same as the City Manager's pay and include all compensation in one amount. She would prefer to see the compensation on the lower end rather than the higher end. She would not want to see the increase be any more than the percentage increase our staff was given. Tyra-Lukens commented that people don't do this for the money; however, she didn't think we are out of line asking for an increase. It is important that we are fairly compensated for the time we spend and the work we do. The BAC report talked about five cities that are pretty close to Eden Prairie in terms of size. The BAC made the comment that the comparison places the Eden Prairie Mayor and Council Member's pay at the lowest level. In addition, some of the other cities provide dental and health care. She would like to see the level brought up to the median of the other four cities for both the Mayor and City Council Member salaries. She noted we probably won't stay at that level for long as other cities will make adjustments to their compensation. Butcher Wickstrom said she agreed with the Mayor's proposal to get to the median. Case thought that seemed fair. Getschow said the current Council salary is $7,500 a year, and the Mayor's salary is $9,900. The median would be about $9,700 for the Council and $12,500 for the Mayor. Tyra-Lukens said it should be calculated by taking Eden Prairie out of the mix and calculating the median for the other four cities, and that is the direction to staff for the next meeting. 2. Dead Tree in Conservation Easement--Council Member Case Case said he received a call from a resident whose property backed up to a pond that is bordered by a 25 foot easement owned by the City. A large cottonwood fell down in the easement which makes it a "no touch" situation. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 9 The resident is interested in having it removed at their own expense. Case said he liked the concept of"no touch" and having large outlots and wooded areas that are completely natural;however,he was not sure that was what we intended for a small 25-foot border area. Tyra-Lukens said the intent was not to allow structures or clear cutting in the easements. This seems like one of the cases where a review process could be used to make exceptions. Aho thought we should not make it the resident's responsibility to take care of it. Nelson was not sure the "no touch" concept makes sense in a lot of cases. She thought we need to relook at the policy because it is having an impact beyond what it should be having. Rosow said the code states a conservation easement granted to a private property owner is to be preserved predominantly in its natural condition and no trees or shrubs should be planted or removed without prior written consent of the City. Getschow said staff understands things need to be evaluated on a case by case basis and will look into this further. Case said he was okay with staff s judgment,but staff needs to be made aware we have had this conversation. He thought there will always be gray areas in these matters. 3. Recent Tragedy on Hwy 101--Council Member Case Case said his condolences go out to the Trudeau family. He said the incident brought back memories of our conversations with Chanhassen, Carver County and Hennepin County about the Hwy 101 expansion. This incident has raised the issue again about the safety of Hwy 101. He would like staff to see what the current situation is regarding Hwy 101 and see if there is some path to go forward on this matter and possibly make this a priority again. He also asked if there is anything staff could or should be doing to make it safer for our residents if we find there are no plans to improve the road. Tyra-Lukens agreed with Council Member Case's suggestions and also offered condolences to the Trudeau family from all the City Council Members. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 10 1. Round Lake Park Donation (Resolution No. 2012-93) 2. Round Lake Park Contract Award Lotthammer reviewed the process the Parks Commission went through to develop a master plan and to do visioning for the City parks system. One of the high priority items to come from the process was the upgrade of Round Lake Park. He reviewed the design plan for the park. He noted the project was sent out for bids with some alternate items. The bids came back and the lowest one was about 5% less than the engineer's estimate. The funding for the project includes dollars budgeted in the CIP for 2012 and 2013 for Round Lake, some savings from the project at Lake Riley and savings from another play structure in the system. A lot of the projects funded by the 2005 referendum came in under budget, so staff is proposing $531,000 of that be used for this project. The donation on tonight's agenda is coming from the Miller/Garvin families who did a lot of fund-raising projects for Miller Park. They have raised another$7,500 towards improving accessibility across the City's park system. The Parks Commission reviewed the final plans and the contractors'bids last night and recommended we move forward with the project, including the alternates. Nelson said at a recent planning meeting we talked about a plan for adding more benches for seniors with mobility issues and asked if we have taken that into account in a big park renovation project like this. She asked if we have benches that will make this a walkable park for seniors. Lotthammer replied said there are benches placed around the lake along with fitness stations and picnic tables. Nelson asked if he believes it takes into account the seniors' request for walkability and more benches. Lotthammer said he believes it does. In addition we are placing concrete under existing benches and are providing new types and styles of benches at Round Lake and Staring Lake as well as improving the accessibility. Aho said it is wonderful to see the commitment to the community by our residents who raise money for projects in our City. Tyra-Lukens noted the Parks and Recreation Department does a great job of doing programming in our parks, particularly in the summer. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to adopt Resolution No. 2012- 93 accepting the donation from the Tom and Kathy Miller Family Foundation in the amount of$7,525 to assist with funding for accessible play features at Round Lake Park. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to award the bid for the construction of Round Lake Park Redevelopment Phase I to Odesa II. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2012 Page 11 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 Aho, to adjourn the City Council meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:36 PM.