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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/07/2014 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014 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. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS A. PRESENTATION OF NATIONAL AWARD FOR FIRE PREVENTION PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS State Fire Marshal Bruce presented the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) Life Safety Achievement Award for 2013 to Fire Chief Esbensen. Mr. West said the Eden Prairie Fire Department was recognized for the second year in a row with an award from NASFM for its highly effective fire prevention and education strategy. Only twelve departments in Minnesota received this award for exceptional performance. B. RECOGNITION OF FIRE INSPECTOR RICK HAMMERSCHMIDT Chief Esbensen said the Eden Prairie Fire Department implemented a rental housing program in June of 2006, which has brought the number of fires in our large, multi-family rental housing units to zero. Cities of the same or similar size and demographics continue to have significant fires in their multi-family dwellings. Chief Esbensen presented an award to Fire Inspector Rick Hammerschmidt for his efforts in creating a well-organized program that benefits the City, the residents, and property owners. Mayor Tyra-Lukens thanked Chief Esbensen and the firefighters for their efforts. She noted the rental housing ordinance implemented in 2006 was a great decision. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 2 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Tyra-Lukens added Item XIV.A.1. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, September 16, 2014, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, September 16, 2014, as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. AWARD CONTRACT TO ACCELERATED TECHNOLOGY FOR AQUATICS CENTER PHASE I AUDIO, VIDEO AND DATA TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT C. AUTHORIZE ENTERING INTO PERMANENT USE AGREEMENT WITH METROPOLITAN AIRPORTS COMMISSION FOR USE OF CEDAR HILLS PARK D. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2014-97 AUTHORIZING FILING OF AN APPLICATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRUE FRIENDS FOR A HENNEPIN YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAM GRANT FOR PLAY STRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AT CAMP EDENWOOD E. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2014-98 APPROVING APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION JUDGES AND STUDENT ELECTION JUDGES FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2014, GENERAL ELECTION F. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MARCO TO UPDATE THE CITY'S TELEPHONE SYSTEM CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 3 G. ADOPT POST ISSUANCE COMPLIANCE POLICY H. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2014-99 APPROVING RENEWAL OF MUTUAL AID PACT WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY CHIEFS OF POLICE I. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SRF CONSULTING GROUP FOR PRELIMINARY DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE HIAWATHA AVENUE EXTENSION PROJECT MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve Items A-I of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Nelson 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 XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Use of Flashing Sisnal Lights at Night -- Mayor Tyra-Lukens Tyra-Lukens said a resident asked her why Eden Prairie does not use flashing signal lights at night. She asked Public Works Director Ellis to respond. Ellis said some communities do have flashing lights late at night. It is prevalent in rural communities;however, it is rare in Minnesota,particularly in the metropolitan area. People here are not accustomed to it, and MnDOT and Hennepin County have made a decision to not go to flash mode. The Federal Highway Administration did a study that showed a 30% increase in accident rates with the use of flash mode. In addition, there are very few intersections with signal lights that are under City control. He said staff would not recommend we go to flash mode in the City, although they could study the timing of signal lights to see if there are excessive delays. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 4 B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Approve Lease Between the City of Eden Prairie and Supervalu Inc. for Space at the Eden Prairie City Center Property Getschow said the Council is being asked to approve a lease between the City of Eden Prairie and Supervalu Inc. for 40,513 square feet of rentable area. He noted the City owns the 230,000 square foot City Hall debt-free,but it is not completely occupied by the City. Almost 70,000 square feet became available after C.H. Robinson left earlier this year. There is another 40,000 square feet that the School District leases for Community Education. The five-year lease with Supervalu would start on March 1, 2015, and would include some improvements to the building. Supervalu would have an option to take the remaining 33,000 square foot space within the first six months, and would have one right of first refusal following that. We would plan to continue to market the remainder of the space. Nelson asked if there was no one who was interested in taking the whole space. Getschow said we had at least one entity that was interested and we began discussions on a lease,but they chose to stay in their current location. We had discussions with at least two other businesses that wanted to lease a portion of the space. We have seen that the market for 70,000 square foot offices is much less than that for the 30-40,000 range. Case asked how this lease compares to the rates paid by C.H. Robinson. Getschow said C.H. Robinson was under a net lease, whereas this is a gross lease; however, considering the operating costs, this lease is at or above what C.H. Robinson was at when they left. Aho asked how it looks in terms of breaking out the additional space for entrances and other considerations. Getschow said a lot of our discussion has been about the entrances and the parking. We have talked about breaking the space into two or, at most, three spaces. Butcher Wickstrom asked what percentage of parking is included in this lease compared to the overall number of spaces. Getschow said there is a lot of space in front of the area formerly leased by C.H. Robinson, and it continues down to the fire station. The parking designated for Supervalu is next to Community Education and near the fire station with some spaces that go from the fire station to the natural median in the parking lot. Butcher Wickstrom asked if there would be a conflict for parking at weddings and other events held in the City Center. Getschow said Supervalu would be primarily a day-time office operation so the parking lot would be empty on weekends and evenings. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve a new lease between the City of Eden Prairie and Supervalu Inc. for the space at the Eden Prairie City Center property located at 8100 Mitchell Road. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 5 2. Watershed District Rules Getschow said at the September 2 meeting the City Council asked staff to do some research into rule-making by the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District. At the September 16 meeting the City Attorney and the Public Works Director gave reports on a watershed district's rule-making ability and the status of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek rules. He said City staff has been working with the watershed district staff for more than a year giving comments on the rules, testifying about our concerns, and promoting our desire to have a coherent set of rules, City-wide. Ellis said the majority of the 46 watershed districts in Minnesota have some form of rules. He noted we work most closely with the Nine Mile Creek and the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed Districts. The Nine Mile Creek Watershed District began issuing permits in 1973, as did Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek. In 2007 Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek decided to suspend their rules. Eden Prairie was required to update our plan to match the requirements of the watershed districts. In 2008 the City approved a local water management plan that would take over the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District rules and that would follow the rules made by Nine Mile Creek. Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek is now interested in restarting that regulatory program. He said we have tried to get consistency of the rules with those of Nine Mile Creek, and we suspect they will be bringing changes to the rules that will provide parity. Ellis said the concern of staff was that we have the ability to maintain our regulated features in the future,because the rules would keep us from doing that. He said Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek has indicated they might be willing to be flexible. There is also a concern about the MS4 permit which allows the discharge of stormwater from our City into the waters of the State. He thought these rules complement that. We have been discussing these items with Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek and have expressed our concerns. He explained their requirements for a stormwater permit would have two triggers: at least a 5,000 square foot area being disturbed (which would be equivalent to the landscaping of an average lot being completely redone); and 50 cubic yards of soil being removed (which would be equivalent to a 20 X 20 foot addition to a house). Getschow said there are varying degrees of issues. We had concerns that some proposed rules were above and beyond the rules of Nine Mile Creek. There has been some communication and concern about their ability to make any rules at all. If we were to pursue that path, the City Attorney would need to do additional research. That would be an option for the Council to consider if the rules set by Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek do not meet our approval; however, we don't have to make a decision on this tonight. Nelson asked if the triggers would be only for property that goes immediately to a wetland, stream or lake. Ellis said there are several rules within what is being proposed. The stormwater rules include a trigger for a stormwater permit. Other CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 6 rules deal with buffers and are separate from the stormwater rules. Claire Bleser, Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek District Administrator, explained the triggers for buffers are for wetlands or streams, not lakes. She said a change that would trigger the permit and the buffer rules would take effect on a property adjacent to a stream or wetland. Aho said we are currently living under a set of rules from one watershed district and are looking at implementing a set of new rules from another. As long as the rule sets are in line, we would have consistency. It seemed to him that we are looking at making the rules consistent, and he had no trouble with that. Ellis noted that was our goal from the beginning. There are three areas in the proposed rules that are a little different: high risk erosion areas; tracking groundwater appropriations; and the protection of our streams. Currently we don't have buffers on streams, and those areas are ripe for erosion. Case said the Council has not suggested we don't want rules nor that we don't want watershed districts. We do have a sense from some residents of an issue with the process. He wanted our staff to work with Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek to make sure the rules are the best for everyone. He didn't feel comfortable tonight that everything is okay. Before we move on this,he would like to have a public hearing to hear from our residents about the impact of the rules and if this is the right way to go. We could then give clearer direction to staff. He said he felt the watershed districts are not paying attention to the political aspects of this. As an elected body, the Council's job is to protect the process. Getschow said tonight was an update and an opportunity to get Council feedback so there isn't any decision point now. The City isn't making these rules,rather it is a reaction to the rules. We could talk about some type of process to get feedback from the entire community about the rules of all three watershed districts in our City. That process could then impact the updating of our local water management plan. Getschow said staff needs to research how close the rules are. It is our understanding the buffer requirements for lakes were removed in response to the residents' concerns. Aho thought we do need to work with the watershed districts to develop a plan that meets our residents' needs and the City's needs and that gives consistency across the City. He would like staff to continue to move forward and was pleased to hear Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek is listening and is open to making changes. He noted our decision point comes at the end of the process after they have enacted their rules. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 7 1. Agreement with Ice Castles LLC to Provide an Ice Castle Attraction at Miller Park Lotthammer said staff has been working with the organization, Ice Castles LLC, a firm that builds ice structures in northern states. While the structures are not castles, they are structures that can be walked through. The structures are lit at night with different colored lights. The history is that the structure becomes a regional attraction so it would have an economic impact in our City. We are looking to place it in Miller Park because that park sits empty most of the winter. A group of City staff discussed with Ice Castles LLC what the impact would be on the infrastructure and had discussions with Bloomington about their experience with a similar structure at the Mall of America. The group came to the conclusion it is something that could work. If it works well, Ice Castles LLC would like to do this for multiple years; however, tonight's agreement is for one year. Sections of the structure would be handicapped accessible and all operations of the structure would have compliance with State law. Tyra-Lukens asked if the water charges are incorporated in the monthly fee. Lotthammer said they are. Tyra-Lukens asked three questions: if the lighting would disturb the neighbors; if there would be protection from temporary signs all around the community; and if there are some things we could do with our Parks and Recreation programming in Miller Park this winter to provide good synergy. Lotthammer replied Ice Castles LLC would have to follow all our current sign regulations in the City which are fairly restrictive. Social media would be a large driver in their marketing of the attraction. Most of the lighting is internal and is quite minimal. The attraction would be located to the right of the splash pad within a wooded area and separate from the sightlines of the neighbor's yards. He said they are working on ideas for other programming at Miller Park this winter. Regarding signs, Rosow commented this is a situation of the City acting as a landlord. The tenant can advertise regionally for the attraction, but in Eden Prairie they are limited to our codes regarding signage. Aho said it looks like a great project,but there could be some impacts to our parks. There also might be some other costs we could incur as a result of this. Lotthammer said we plow the roads in the park and would plow through the parking lot as well, which would require some costs for manpower. Any upgrades to the electrical system would be at their cost. The site itself is on non-irrigated, mowed grass. Other cities reported having minimal damage to the turf. The impact to the park would be from people driving through. The Bloomington Police Department told Chief Reynolds the impact to security was really non-existent. Nelson said she has received calls from people complaining that Miller Park has too few port-a-potties. She asked how we would make sure there would be enough facilities for this attraction. Lotthammer said it would be their responsibility to place the appropriate number of portable toilets to serve visitors at the structure and those would be supplied at their expense. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 7, 2014 Page 8 Nelson asked if there is any down side to our new playground if it is used by kids in the winter time. Lotthammer said they have not seen damage to the playgrounds after use in the winter. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to authorize entering into a Use Agreement with Ice Castles LLC to provide an ice castle attraction at Miller Park. Motion carried 5-0. E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:11 PM.