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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 09/15/2015 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 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, 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. All Council Members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION Tyra-Lukens mentioned several upcoming City-sponsored activities including the One Act Plays starting this weekend, the Eden Prairie Art Crawl on September 26 and 27, and the Fall Harvest Celebration on October 3. IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Nelson added Item XIV.A.1. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, September 1, 2015, as published. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 2 B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, September 1, 2015, as published. Motion carried 5-0. VIL REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIIL CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. WAND CORPORATION by Wand Corporation. Second Reading of Ordinance 10-2015-PUD-5-2015 for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 2.88 acres; Zoning District Amendment within the I-2 Industrial Park Zoning District on 2.88 acres. Location: 7575 Corporate Way. (Ordinance No. 10-2015-PUD-5-2015 for PUD District Review with waivers and Zoning District Amendment) C. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE 11-2015 AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11 RELATING TO SIGNS AND ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2015-88 APPROVING PUBLICATION OF SUMMARY ORDINANCE D. AWARD CONTRACT FOR ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND PAYMENT TO INVOICE CLOUD E. APPROVE CONTRACT WITH BAKER& ASSOCIATES FOR LIQUOR STORE UPDATES F. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2015-89 APPROVING THIRD AMENDMENT TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR TIF DISTRICT 15 (SUMMIT PLACE) G. REJECT BIDS FOR WATERFORD RD. AREA SUMP PUMP COLLECTION SYSTEM PROJECT H. AWARD CONTRACT FOR PAINTING BRIDGE FASCIA BEAMS L ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2015-90 DECLARING COSTS TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT ROLL AND SETTING HEARING DATE J. APPROVE QUOTE AND AUTHORIZE LOGIS TO REPLACE NETWORK EQUIPMENT AT FIRE STATION 4, PUBLIC WORKS AND WATER PLANT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 3 K. APPROVE CONTRACT WITH ST. CROIX RECREATION FOR PURCHASE OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT FOR CAMP EDENWOOD L. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH ICE CASTLES LLC TO PROVIDE AN ICE CASTLE ATTRACTION AT MILLER PARK Getschow said Item VIII.K. will be moved to follow Item IX.B. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-J and L on the Consent Calendar. Aho said a number of residents commented on the appearance of the park after last winter's event and also about the traffic for the event. He asked how the event worked out in the end and what plans they have for the future. Case said he would also like to hear a review of the revenue received and what we anticipate revenue to be for the next event. Getschow said the item is to enter into an agreement with Ice Castles LLC for another event in 2016. The event was a success in 2015, and the rent the City charged recovered costs and more. The rent for 2016 has been increased from $2800 to $3,500 per month. The City will also collect more revenue if the attendance is higher. Ice Castles LLC is responsible for restoration, and there was some restoration required at the last event. Ice Castles LLC actually added some drain tiles to the area they used. Ice Castles LLC is responsible for the snow and ice removal. He said traffic is a question. The first and second weekends of the event in 2015 had some traffic issues, but they made some changes in terms of exiting. Ice Castles LLC plans to have timed ticketing in 2016 which should make for smoother traffic. He noted we received some good feedback from businesses in Eden Prairie who felt their businesses were enhanced during the event. Staff believes the event will be another successful operation in 2016. Case asked if they bond for restoration. Getschow said they have liability insurance for the event. Rosow said they do bond for restoration. Case asked if Ice Castles LLC participate in enhanced police enforcement costs. Getschow said he was not aware of any enhanced costs, but there were some police engaged in the event. Case asked if there was any discussion about Ice Castles LLC hiring overtime officers or reserve people to help with traffic control. Getschow said he could check with Mr. Lotthammer who was involved in the discussions with Ice Castles LLC. Case commented he heard a lot of positives from people, and it was positive publicity for Eden Prairie. He was okay with the next event if there was no long term damage done last winter. Aho said it was a very positive event and seemed to be very well received. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 4 IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT MUNICIPAL CONSENT PLANS (RESOLUTION NO. 2015-91) Getschow said we must again consider municipal consent to the Southwest Light Rail Transit(SWLRT)because of changes in the plan made after our previous action for municipal consent. Ryan Gonser, representing the Metropolitan Council, reviewed the 14.5 mile project and gave a summary of the changes in project scope made this summer to reduce the cost by $250,000,000. He reviewed the plans for the light rail line and the schedule for municipal consent. He said the next step in the process after municipal consent will be the design advancement. Tyra-Lukens asked those speaking at tonight's public hearing to restrict comments to three minutes. Donna Azarian, 9068 Waverly Court, said the SWLRT does not have the population density needed to succeed. She was concerned the LRT will bring crime to the City and will have a negative impact on traffic because the line travels across several of the most dangerous intersections in the City. She was concerned the residents of Eden Prairie were not given an opportunity to vote for or against the project yet the residents are expected to pay for it. She did not believe Mayor Tyra- Lukens could have an unbiased vote because of her service on the Corridor Management Committee. Adam Auxier, 7256 Gerard, said he has been an Eden Prairie resident for two years and is excited for the SWLRT to come here. He believed it is critical to the City. Ruth Charchian, 14897 Valley View Road, said she moved to Eden Prairie 40 years ago and has watched the City grow up over the years. She thought the City Council has done a great job as the City developed. We have every amenity we could want in Eden Prairie and have a wonderful life style and culture. She was fearful that everything we have created is going to be diminished with light rail, as it will eviscerate the heart of the City. We have enough people in the City now, and most of the development has been completed. She did not want to give access to criminals and did not want to subsidize the riders that don't pay. Roxann Johnson, 9009 Sutton Drive, expressed concern and opposition to the SWLRT, although it appears there is no recourse now. She did not support this decision that was made by an unelected governmental body. She was concerned about the ability of the SWLRT to pay for itself. She believed there are many convenient ways to move people around safely without tearing up our city and spending multiple millions of dollars while disrupting businesses and disturbing our life style. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 5 Leslie Scharpen, 7312 Franklin Circle, was concerned that light rail in other cities does not provide a profit, and SWLRT will cost ten times the amount of money put into a bus service. He believed the money could go toward other projects such as repairing our roads and bridges. Jeff Strate, 15021 Summerhill Drive, regretted the removal of the Mitchell Road Station from the plan and the deferring of the Town Center Station; however, costs have to be met. He has looked at the SWLRT plans very carefully, and he supports the changes in the plan. He said the process has been extremely open with boards, panels and community residents engaged in this over the last 12 years. Bob Kennedy, 11442 Burr Ridge Lane, said he has been here since 1962 and has watched many changes occur. He believed the light rail is ridiculous, and we don't have the density to support it. He was concerned it will change the City dramatically. Steve Smith, 6824 Jeremy Court, works near the light rail line and does not see any power lines now, but he was concerned those lines will return with this project. He urged the Council Members to vote no. Sheila Kihne, 11683 Welters Way, noted she had to miss her child's soccer game to attend tonight's meeting. She attended the meeting in May and expressed her opposition at that time. She said it is a $1.8 billion project that we do not need. Jeffrey Simon, 8900 Bradford Place, said there are many arguments against the light rail and some arguments for it. He was concerned the Council Members are going along with a decision against all the facts and are just buying into a social planning agenda. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Aho said he has received questions and comments from many residents and business owners on several points. He asked if we have completed a traffic study at Southwest Station that considers the projected impact of 34,000 riders by 2040. Eliminating the Mitchell Road Station will change the makeup of the line and will have a large impact on the number of people coming and going from Southwest Station. Ellis replied staff has worked very closely with the Project Office on impacts based on current and future businesses out to 2040. A requirement of the project is that conditions may not be in failure mode by 2040. Analysis was done for Southwest Station as well as the other stations. Aho asked if there will be enough improvements to the local infrastructure so that the conditions will not degrade substantially. Ellis replied there is one intersection at Flying Cloud Drive and Technology Drive that is of some concern. We have been having discussions about the operation of that intersection and want further analysis about that. Those concerns have been included in our municipal consent response. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 6 Aho asked if the City of Eden Prairie is being asked to add any funds as a result of the changes and how we are providing our share of the reduction. Ellis replied the City is looking at the possibility of dedicating land for the City West Station and have looked at assuming the cost of developing West 72nd Street. These costs are in-kind contributions. We are also looking at whether the aesthetics of the higher infrastructure is right and if it fits the character of the community. Aho asked if we are being asked to spend any General Funds or Capital Funds for the project. Ellis said there is no funding coming from the City for the SWLRT line. There may be costs for sewer and water lines under the alignment, but those would be added because that would be a good time to do those improvements. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. 2015-91 approving the physical design component of the revised preliminary design plans for the Southwest Light Rail Project within the City of Eden Prairie. Aho commended the Project Office for all of the communications and the excellent job they have done in reaching out to the community. He noted the City is being asked to give municipal consent just on the physical design components, not whether Eden Prairie accepts light rail or whether we want it. We have heard from residents who have many concerns. There are some businesses that feel they will be harmed by the route as it runs along Hwy 212 on the northern side of Eden Prairie. There are concerns about the route for the line running next to hotels on Flying Cloud Drive where it will cross the entrance to the hotels and will require bells for safety. There was concern that the bridge over Technology Drive goes across one of our best parks, Purgatory Park, and will detract from the beauty of that park. The parking at Southwest Station is pretty well used now by Southwest Transit, and there are concerns that eliminating the Mitchell Road Station will increase the amount of parking at Southwest Station and cause conflicts for parking there. Aho noted he is a member of the Board of Southwest Transit. They developed a Memorandum of Understanding between Southwest Transit and the SWLRT project that Southwest Transit will continue to be a local provider of service and also provide express service to downtown. He was concerned that situation might be threatened in the future if SWLRT does not see the expected ridership and if funding becomes an issue for Southwest Transit. He was also concerned that the traffic level at Southwest Station will become onerous without the Mitchell Road Station. With everyone coming to one transportation hub it will become extremely busy. He said he believed Eden Prairie and the Twin Cities need a multi-modal transportation system, but we have an award winning transportation service with Southwest Transit that can be scaled up or down. For those reasons he planned to vote in opposition to the municipal consent on the design changes. Nelson shared Council Member Aho's concerns about the capacity of Southwest Station for parking. She noted the bus system will be a great way to bring people into the area from further west. She also would like to have the Major Center Area Station put in now. She believed light rail is important for the whole City. Many of the people who spoke have lived in Eden Prairie for a long time, but one young CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 7 resident was excited about light rail. City surveys have shown there is a high percentage of our population who want the service to come here. She did not believe it will be the end of our buses. She noted buses and roads don't pay for themselves either. A lot of our business community are excited about having another way to get their employees in and out of the City. The SWLRT will reduce congestion on the roads. She wanted to bring the businesses and capacity here rather than letting the light rail dollars go to another area. She noted UNH wanted the SWLRT to come here, and there are a lot of other employers near where the line comes into Eden Prairie. She was not 100% happy with the changes, but she thought it was time to get the line going again. She urged that the Town Center Station be put in as soon as possible and that we make sure the SWLRT looks as nice as possible. She planned to vote in favor of municipal consent. Butcher Wickstrom said she will support the motion as she did the last time we voted on municipal consent. She appreciated Council Member Aho's concerns and shared many of them. She hoped we are voting on design plans that are preliminary and will get some answers to our questions as we go along. She said at the previous public hearing she related her experience as a commuter who drives and experiences daily the serious traffic problem in our region. We do need SWLRT. We have looked into the future, and we believe this is the right direction to go. It is always difficult to make decisions that look out 20-30 years into the future, but she believed in this project. Case noted we all have personal opinions on the validity of light rail itself and whether we should be spending so much money on this. The Council's vote does matter, but only in the context of what we are voting on tonight. We have not been empowered to vote light rail up or down,just as we were not allowed to vote for or against the expansion of Flying Cloud Airport in 1998. We are being asked to vote if we approve of the changes in the design component as they impact Eden Prairie. Tyra-Lukens appreciated all the comments and noted she agreed with most of the comments that were made. She deeply regretted the loss of the Mitchell Road Station. She was concerned about the impact of traffic on Southwest Station as well as the impact on Southwest Transit, but that is not what we are dealing with tonight. We need to make sure the alignment change of SWLRT allows Southwest Transit to continue to serve a great need. We do need a multi-modal transportation system, and right now the only options in Eden Prairie are Southwest Transit or driving. She believed there will be a demand for this service. There are people who work along the line who will use SWLRT to get to their jobs in other locations along the line, not just to get to downtown. She was concerned about the bridge over Technology Drive and along Purgatory Creek Park. Purgatory Creek Park is a very noisy city park. She was concerned about SWLRT's visual impact on the park but did not see any way around it. She has represented Eden Prairie and Southwest Transit on committees related to the SWLRT for over 12 years. During that time she has tried to make sure light rail is the most beneficial and has the least negative impact if it is to be built. She was convinced the Project Office will continue to work with us on the issues we have identified. She believed the loss of the Mitchell Road Station CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 8 was a mistake, but there was a lot of money at stake and changes to the design were necessary. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 4-0-1,with Aho opposed. B. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS FOR GLEN LAKE CHILDREN'S CAMP Getschow said the Glen Lake Children's Camp located at 6350 Indian Chief Road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA)is required to make any change in, on, or to a designated Heritage Preservation Site. The City of Eden Prairie leases the Glen Lake Children's Camp and property to True Friends whose mission is to provide life- changing experiences that enhance independence and self-esteem for children and adults with disabilities. True Friends has been working with the City on a plan to upgrade the playground equipment to meet the needs of the clients who are served at the camp. He said they received a grant for the project, and the City took on the role of general construction contractor. The project was recommended by the Parks Commission, and the COA was recommended by the HPC. Randy Boser, COO of True Friends, said the plans are to upgrade the very old swing set. The structure will be located within the historic district, so they worked with the UPC to design a playground that minimizes the amount of grading and the number of changes to the landscape to make it fit well within the historic district. They have a lot of campers that attend the camps who have mobility issues. The new playground equipment is very accessible and has a very large sensory environment. Butcher Wickstrom had concerns about the COA and the expansion of the equipment from a swing set to a very large playground area. She noted this is a National Register site and is a very important site to Eden Prairie and the State of Minnesota. The landscape is historically important. While she agreed with the idea of providing some playground equipment, she had several concerns including the large size of the structure. She thought both the materials and the colors are inappropriate for an historic site. She would like to hear what the Watershed District has to say about the amount of dirt being taken from the area. Butcher Wickstrom asked Ms Jeremiah to review the equipment planned and the specific location. Jeremiah reviewed several of the pieces of equipment included in the plans for the playground. The area is about 90 X 80 feet, and a three-foot retaining wall is used to get the area flat. She noted the structure is quite far into the site. Mr. Boser pointed out the five existing historic components on the site and the location of the playground. He noted they have tried to keep as far away from the historical structures as possible and minimize the impact on the site. The Watershed District said they would need approval only for the soil erosion involved. The playground will be built on a slight slope so it isn't just one large, flat surface. He reviewed the three colors to be used for the equipment. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 9 Getschow said the UPC had discussions about how the colors could best fit in the area. Mr. Boser said they had some preliminary discussions with the HPC which led them to work with the vendors on the colors and the grading. Tyra-Lukens asked if this project will require any sidewalks or trails to get from one pod to another. Mr. Boser said there is an existing trail that is used to access the playground, and there is an ADA-acceptable slope between the different areas. Butcher Wickstrom asked about the primary material of the components. Jeremiah believed it is recycled plastic. Mr. Boser said the poles and supporting structure is coated steel, and the slides and other components are a strong composite plastic. The surface will be woodchips and wood fiber. Tyra-Lukens said her understanding is that safety standards for appropriate park equipment change very fast, and she asked if this could be rebuilt to what is currently there. Mr. Boser said there is a standard 30-year old swing set there now that could not be built again because it is not accessible and does not meet the needs of the children who use it. Nelson noted the UPC voted 7-0 for approval of the project, and it seems to be beyond the historical area. She liked the idea of replacing the old swing set with a current updated playground. She thought the use for this particular land is in harmony with the original use of the site. It looks like a fun place that won't harm the historical nature of the site. She noted other parts of the country have many more historic places with playgrounds. Many of the things that are supposed to look like natural things do not work out. She believed it will be okay to go with the color scheme considering the fact the structures can be removed. Case thanked Council Member Butcher Wickstrom for her stand over the years to protect our historical features. He did feel that anything that will be done could be undone. This is an adaptive reuse of an historic property and is a good compromise of use and historic integrity. In all of our dealings to preserve historic properties over the years, we have used the criteria that a structure was okay if it could be taken off the historic site once it was added. He would have to defer to someone who knows what fits the needs of these children and would trust that our staff and the proponent have looked at that. Because it can be undone, he would defer the decision and the details to the people involved. Butcher Wickstrom was concerned about the historic context of the area. We need to make sure the use of the property is for children, but she thought we could do better than this. She did not want to settle for something that feels so far outside the context of this very rustic camp. It feels very jarring to her as a historic preservationist. She noted the minutes from the HPC meeting indicated they also had concerns about the project. She would like to see if it is possible to use different materials for the equipment. Aho appreciated Council Member Butcher Wickstrom's sentiments regarding the historic nature, but he did not know what we would do differently. He did not CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 10 think we have many options when we are required to get a structure that meets today's standards. We have to get the equipment from someone, and he thought every vendor would provide very similar structures. He did not know if you could build it in such a way as to keep the historic look while meeting the safety standards of today. He also thought the cost to construct the equipment from scratch would be prohibitive. Tyra-Lukens said she is thrilled that Camp Edenwood is there and is using the facility for something like the original use. She noted in order to function well in today's world and within today's legal system we reach an impasse in what we would like to see in the historic area and what would be affordable that would meet safety standards. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing and to adopt the Findings of Fact and approve Certificate of Appropriateness 2015-01- 001 for the removal of existing swing set and construction of modern, accessible play structure. Motion carried 4-0-1,with Butcher Wickstrom opposed. Getschow said the Council now needs to vote on Item VIILK, which was removed from the Consent Calendar to follow approval of the COA. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve Item K of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, 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. Notice from PROP--Council Member Nelson Nelson said she received a notice from PROP that their food shelves are extremely low. She encouraged members of the community to go through their pantries to help fill up the food shelves at PROP. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 15, 2015 Page 11 B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER Getschow noted he was able to find out during the meeting that Ice Castles LLC did pay for any extra policing needed for traffic control at the 2015 event. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 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 8:40 P.M.