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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 01/16/2018 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,JANUARY 16, 2018 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, Ron Case and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Captain Greg Weber, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, City Planner Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Jan Curielli Workshop - Heritage Room H I. COMMISSION WORK PLANS A. CONSERVATION COMMISSION Beth Novak-Krebs, Staff Liaison for the Conservation Commission, reviewed the accomplishments of the Conservation Commission in 2017. The Commission was expanded to nine members which provided an opportunity to pair up in smaller groups to work on each of the four sustainability focus areas corresponding to each of their particular area of expertise. The Commission also has four Student Commission members this year. The Commission participated in several events during the year, including the Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Expo, Arbor Day and Green Fair, and the Eden Prairie Open House. Commission members have participated in other groups, including the Energy Action Plan, and the Aspire 2040 focus group. In 2017 the Commission gave out the Sustainable Eden Prairie awards for the first time. The Commission members designed a self- guided tour of sites with sustainable features around the City. Novak-Krebs said in 2018 the Commission will help implement the Partners in Energy Plan and will review the Aspire 2040 plan. The Commission plans to develop a"Beginner's Guide to Sustainable Eden Prairie" class for each of the four focus areas. They would like to start a program for individuals to adopt a storm drain and will work with the Communications Department to explore avenues for outreach. She said the Commission completed their Pollinator display graphic in 2017 and are working on the Energy graphic this year. They provided articles and input for City-wide media. The Commission has partnered with several groups, including the Wild Ones, the Minnesota Bee Squad and University of Minnesota Turf Research, and will continue to learn from experts in the area of sustainability. In 2017 they toured the Nine-Mile Creek Watershed District's Discovery Point offices as well as the City's renovated Outdoor Center. They plan to have a tour of the recycling facilities in 2018 and will tour several City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 2 City parks and facilities that have sustainable features. She noted at each meeting one Commission member gives a presentation on a topic area for the benefit of the Student Commission members. Tyra-Lukens commented it seems natural the Conservation Commission would meet with other commissions, such as the Planning Commission, and asked if they have started to do that. Novak-Krebs replied they have met with Parks & Recreation, and they would like to meet with others as they fit into the schedule. Nelson asked if it would be possible for them to film the speakers that present to the Commission. Novak-Krebs said that was a great idea. Case asked if it would be good for the Conservation and Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission to weigh in on watershed district issues to provide expertise and feedback to the City Council. Getschow said a lot of the Council discussions so far have dealt with rules and policies; however,he thought the Commission could weigh in on the idea of how policies would fit into the resources. Some of the concepts could be taken to the Conservation Commission and others. Case said he thought it would be good to have the Commission's advice on concepts in addition to the advice the Council receives from the watershed districts and City staff. Aho thought the Planning Commission could have a role in that discussion as well. B. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION Bob Barker, Vice Chair, and Fire Chief Esbensen, Staff Liaison, gave a presentation of the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission's (FCAAC) accomplishments and goals. Barker reviewed the Commission's charter which includes such items as monitoring the Final Agreement with MAC and advising the City and MAC with regard to matters affecting the operation of Flying Cloud Airport(FCM) and working with the City and MAC to reduce nighttime noise and to improve the appearance of the airport. In 2017 the Commission was advised on operational changes at the airport, including hangar construction in the south area, reconstruction of taxi lanes and efforts to reduce runway incursions. The Commission encourages MAC to reach out to the households filing the most noise complaints to understand why certain operations generate complaints and to educate people on what is and isn't considered normal. They continue to engage with constituent groups at the meetings such as when MnDOT representatives gave an update on UAS (drone) operations and when discussions were held with a resident about specific noise issues and possible solutions. The FCAAC also monitors developments in aviation regulations Barker reviewed the Commission's 2017 accomplishments towards specific goals, such as reviewing the revised pilot guide and monitoring the new public viewing area at the airport completed in October. In 2018 the Commission plans to continue to monitor developments in regulations regarding UAS; monitor and evaluate the impact of the Super Bowl traffic on the airport and Eden Prairie residents; visit the airport to meet with airport staff and businesses to learn their City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 3 concerns and ideas regarding noise from operations; provide comparisons of noise complaints and airport operations for the Council; and monitor progress of the Joint Airport Zoning Board (JAZB) in developing a new airport zoning ordinance. He reviewed the map showing noise complaints and operations at the airport in 2017. Aho asked if there is any way to estimate how many aircraft will be coming to the airport for the Super Bowl. Esbensen replied at peak time there will be a total of 30 slots per hour for the airport, split between arrivals and departures. Barker said they are devoting one of the runways to park aircraft during the event. Esbensen said they expect 400 flights in and out at the peak, and there will be 200 aircraft parked at the airport during the event. Nelson asked about security around the airport during the event. Esbensen replied the City will have staff assigned and will have special equipment available. Tyra-Lukens asked about deicing operations. Barker responded FCM does not normally have deicing available,but for this event they will set up deicing stations at each end of the runway. Tyra-Lukens asked where they will get the deicing stations. Barker said an outside vendor will provide the services. Airport staff also consulted with the MPCA about the recovery of the used deicing materials. Case commented MAC believes this will be the most impactful experience ever for the airport. He also believed 2018 will be an active year at the airport. He has heard the airport businesses may want to revisit Ordinance 97. He thanked the Commission for being there as we go through what could be a difficult year and noted the Council will be leaning on the Commission for expertise and feedback. Barker responded the Commission enjoys a good working relationship with MAC, and he believed the Commission can leverage those relationships. Tyra-Lukens noted Chief Esbensen mentioned jets dropping people off for the Super Bowl and asked how many flights of that type might occur. Barker replied we don't know the specific number. There are a lot of business aircraft that come and go from the airport as well as personal aircraft. Tyra-Lukens said she was curious about the drop in operations since 1990. Barker replied a drop in pilot training could be a big piece of those statistics. Butcher Wickstrom commented the Council has been so confident about the function of the FCAAC and its approach using civil discourse since 2002. She was very pleased with how the Commission has performed. C. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION Greg Leeper, Vice Chair of the Commission, distributed copies of the Human Rights and Diversity Commission's (HRDC) 2018 work plan. He reported the Commission has been very active this year and their size expanded from seven to nine members, with six student members. He gave a presentation that reviewed their accomplishments in 2017 including partnering for special events with groups City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 4 such as Eden Prairie Reads, Grace Church, Prairie Meadows Apartments and PROP. They reviewed applications for the 2017 Human Rights Awards and selected the winners of those awards. The Commission spends 20 minutes at each meeting to hear topical presentations from City staff and community organizations to learn about concerns and to look for partnerships in the community. Leeper reviewed the 2018 goals for the Commission: to elevate the visibility of the HRDC, increase listening avenues within the community, and enlist the cooperation of the community. In 2018 they plan to have several monthly awareness campaigns to draw attention to such concerns as human trafficking, Black History month, and native American awareness. They will encourage distribution of the City's welcome packet to residents of apartments who do not now receive the information. They will be working with Police Captain Weber for a"Coffee with a Cop" event, probably in April. In addition, they will be planning a special recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Eden Prairie Manifesto and will work with Parks & Recreation to plan for and to hold an International Festival. Aho asked if the Commission has made a conscious effort to reach out to the churches in Eden Prairie. He noted there is a feeling the churches want to help but don't know where to focus their efforts. He believed the Commission would be the perfect catalyst to help. Leeper said they have worked with Grace Church for the Human Trafficking event. The Commission also works with the PROP Shop which is connected to the churches. Tyra-Lukens noted Grace Church came to us about partnering, and she thought that could go both ways. Aho said churches have reached out to him and asked him where they could help. He thought it would be good for the Commission and the churches to work together. Case said both Pax Christi and Emmanuel Lutheran are working on social justice concerns, and the Commission could help facilitate those efforts. Nelson suggested something might be done with the concerns about cutting back on opioid usage. She noted she enjoyed the international forum on issues and would like to see that done at least every other year because she gained quite a bit from that event. Getschow said it might be good to do the "Coffee with the Council" again. Butcher Wickstrom thought celebrating the 25th year of the Eden Prairie Manifesto is fantastic. She believed Mayor Harris would have been very pleased to know we are still going strong with that. We need to celebrate the event but also talk about where we go from here. Tyra-Lukens said she was invited to attend an event at a mosque in the Opus area where the audience was about 80% Eden Prairie residents even though it was located in Minnetonka. One young man talked about how important it is for their community to know the local police officers. She thought something that focuses City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 5 on relationships between high school students and police officers would be good. Leeper said that has been part of the Commission's discussions with Captain Weber. D. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Steve Olson, Chair of the Heritage Preservation Commission, and Lori Creamer, Staff Liaison, reviewed the Commission's accomplishments in 2017. Olson said they received three legacy grants and have raised $2200 to date from the street sign fundraiser which will be used for future preservation work. Jim Clark received the Yd annual Preservation Award, and the Commission did two project reviews. The Commission worked on the inventory of historic properties and received a roster of archeological sites from the Historical Society. After receiving the roster of sites, the Commission discussed what they should be doing with that information. As a result of that discussion,representatives of the Mdewakanton Sioux community visited one of the Commission meetings. The Commission wants to continue to build a relationship with the tribe and plans to tour the tribe's new museum later this year. Case said he was pleased to hear of the relationship with the tribal community and asked if they have recognized their ties to the Eden Prairie clan. Olson replied there were discussions of origin stories and some tobacco stories. Olson said there will be a presentation later in the meeting tonight about the archeological finds at the CSAH 61-Flying Cloud Drive improvement site. Olson reviewed their 2018 work plan and said they will continue to interact on the Aspire 2040 plan, pursue a grant for work on the upstairs of the Cummins-Grill house, assist Eden Prairie High School with a legacy grant project, work with a consultant on interpretative signs at Lake Riley, continue the efforts to nominate the Smith Douglas More House to the National Register, and several other activities. Nelson asked if placing the Smith Douglas More House on the National Register would impact its continued use as a coffee house. Olson replied it should actually enhance the ability to garner grants. Butcher Wickstrom commented the facility has been approved for adaptive use. She said the important things would be any heritage trees and plantings that were done earlier in the history of the house. Butcher Wickstrom asked if the Commission has ever applied for a National Trust Grant. Creamer said they have not. Butcher Wickstrom noted the trust grants offer more money, although they are tough to get. It might be possible for Eden Prairie to get one because of all the historic sites we have. E. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION Larry Link, Chair of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission, reviewed the Commission's accomplishments for 2017 which included reviewing City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 6 Community Center use to evolve their programs and to balance public and rental time; recognizing those who make donations; reviewing and providing input for the multi-year renovation of Riley Lake Park; providing input for the wayfinding and master plans of the Outdoor Center; working with the Conservation Commission on projects such as native plantings and pollinator-friendly plants; encouraging student member's involvement with the Commission; providing input for programming and design of the dryland training area in the Community Center;reviewing the use of the City's rental properties; and providing input on art and culture with the Eden Prairie Players, Staring Lake musicals and other projects. He noted the Commission holds their meetings at various facilities around the City, including the Community Center, the Outdoor Center, the Art Center, the Senior Center and the Maintenance Facilities. Link said the Commission plans to have joint meetings in 2018 with the Conservation and Heritage Preservation Commissions. They will encourage input from community residents and will advise staff on the public art and plaza for the Southwest Light Rail Transit project. They will review bike and pedestrian paths and hold the grand openings of renovated Riley Lake Park and the new Cedar Hills Park. Case said he has received concerns that the dog park is closed in winter when it is used for cross country skiing. He asked if there was a way to separate the two functions so the dog park could remain open in winter. Lotthammer said staff has been taking some counts this winter and plans to come back in the spring to see if there could be a compromise. Aho noted people are continuing to use it as a dog park. Tyra-Lukens said she has heard that part of the Hennepin County bike trail is falling apart. Lotthammer replied there was a washout on part of the trail. The trail is under the jurisdiction of the Three Rivers Park District, and they are waiting for the federal government to take action. F. PLANNING COMMISSION Andrew Pieper, Chair of the Planning Commission, and Julie Klima, Staff Liaison, reviewed the Commission's accomplishments in 2017. The Commission reviewed 14 development parcels, considered two variance applications, and approved eight code amendments. In addition, they had good discussion about such topics as storage facilities and participated in the kickoff of the Aspire Eden Prairie 2040 project. He reviewed some of the larger development projects, including the Prairie Bluffs Senior Living project, Elevate at Southwest Station, and the Scheels project at Eden Prairie Center. In 2018 the Planning Commission will continue to act in its statutory capacity and will coordinate with other commissions. They plan to focus on Aspire 2040 and will continue to review development proposals that come in. Aho said the Commission members do a great job and noted it is difficult to review the big projects that come through. City Council Workshop Minutes January 16, 2018 Page 7 Open Podium - Council Chamber III. OPEN PODIUM IV. ADJOURNMENT