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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/01/2013 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Workshop - Heritage Room H Mayor Tyra-Lukens was absent, so Council Member Case served as Acting Mayor. City Attorney Ric Rosow was also absent. I. CITY MONUMENVENTRANCE SIGNS Presentation Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah and Community Development Technician Tania Mahtani presented a PowerPoint on entry monument signage. Jeremiah noted that at their goal setting session, the City Council listed entry monument signage as a top priority. She said an entry monument signage program is included in the Strategic Plan for Housing and Economic Development as a medium priority project, with the Economic Development Fund identified as a source of funding. Jeremiah showed examples of several entry monument signs from other communities. She said tonight's discussion will touch on the following: • Budget • Number and size of signs • Location of signs • Landscaping • Building materials • Lighting • Design • Maintenance Jeremiah said there is $250,000 programmed for monument signage over the next two years, and those funds can be pulled from the Economic Development Fund. Staff contacted other communities that have monument sign programs to get an idea of costs. She said Burnsville recently paid $15,000 to develop designs for Council consideration. They estimate it will cost around $25,000 for final design,permitting,bidding and construction of the first sign. City Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2013 Page 2 Jeremiah outlined a potential process that includes the following: • Hire a consultant to complete a visual survey of design examples • Solicit input from Planning Commission and the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission • Based on the visual survey and commission input, consultant creates sign designs • City Council selects three designs to be posted on City Connect for broader public input • Present City Connect results to City Council and determine construction priorities Mahtani presented a map with 13 potential locations for entrance monuments identified along with estimated traffic counts: Possible Siizn Locations at Westbound Entrances Pioneer Trail (8,000) Anderson Lakes Parkway (5,250) 494 (51,000) Prairie Center Drive off 494 (12,900) Highway 212 (30,000) Possible Sign Locations at Eastbound Entrances Highway 5 (19,500) Highway 212 (23,000) Pioneer Trail(1,675) Flying Cloud Drive (4,400) Possible Sign Locations at Southbound Entrances Shady Oak Road (6,800) 494 (47,500) Baker Road (3,050) Dell Road (4,850) Mahtani provided information on presumed ownership of each location and factors that might affect sign/monument placement. Discussion Nelson said she likes the idea of having a sign on Baker Road, since the boundary between Minnetonka and Eden Prairie is not clear. Aho and Case said they would like to see a sign on Highway 5 eastbound. Case said there are three areas the City Council needs to discuss: 1. Do they want signs? (There was agreement that everyone present is in favor of monument signs.) 2. Where should the signs be placed? 3. Design process City Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2013 Page 3 Butcher Wickstrom said she would like the Council to have heavy involvement in the design. She suggested involving the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission (PRNRC) by soliciting their input at the appropriate point in the process. Lotthammer noted that the PRNRC member who had expressed the greatest interest in monument signs is no longer on the commission. Case said if groups other than the Council are used,he feels their tasks should be very clearly spelled out. He said it will be important to leave the final design decisions up to the Council. Butcher Wickstrom said it would be useful to get feedback from the larger community once some designs have been developed. Aho said that larger group could help with identifying branding ideas and developing several ideas the Council is comfortable with. Case said he very much wants to run with the branding idea. He wants the monument signs to make a statement about the fact that you are now entering Eden Prairie. What does that look like and feel like? Case said this is important work, and the right kind of signs could be critical in getting people here. Aho, Case and Butcher all agreed that they "want to do this right." Nelson suggested having different materials and shapes presented for consideration as a starting point for the design. Butcher said she favors taking an innovation approach. She would like to start with a blank piece of paper, and have the Council Members come up with options. She suggested beginning with what vision the Council has rather than looking at what already exists. She would like to have indigenous/regional materials brought in so they can see what they actually feel and look like. Case said he agrees with the innovation approach. He would like to retain a consultant who could lead them through the visioning process. He said the Council Members have their fingers on the pulse of what matters to the community. Case envisions developing three to five ideas that could be forwarded to a designer who would create concepts based on them. Butcher Wickstrom said she likes "blue ocean visioning." She noted that Baker& Associates did the City's branding a few years back. Aho said he agrees that before any designs are created, the City Council should take the opportunity to discuss concepts and visions. Butcher Wickstrom said she sees the process as an inverted inclusive one. Nelson said the creative piece could potentially be very expensive. She suggested the City Council put a figure on how much it is willing to devote to the project. Case said he feels that doing the creative piece of the process is critical. Case reviewed the outcomes of the discussions as follows: 1. Identify costs of visioningibranding piece of the process 2. Clearly define how the public fits into the process 3. Retain a designer that can take concepts from the branding process and develop sign samples 4. Decide on locations, and priorities of sites. The Council Members reviewed the 13 possible sign locations and provided input on their level of priority. Higher Priority Locations Pioneer Trail - Westbound 494 - Westbound Highway 212 - Westbound Highway 5 - Eastbound Highway 212 - Eastbound City Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2013 Page 4 494 - Southbound Baker Road—Southbound (perhaps a smaller sign) Pioneer Trail—Eastbound (perhaps a smaller sign) Dell Road—Southbound Lower Priority Locations Flying Cloud Drive - Eastbound Prairie Center Drive off 494 —Westbound (perhaps a smaller sign) Anderson Lakes Parkway—Westbound (perhaps a smaller sign) Shady Oak Road - Southbound Open Podium - Council Chamber II. OPEN PODIUM III. ADJOURNMENT