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City Council - 03/01/2022 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Police Captain Chris Wood, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. DELL ROAD Mayor Case stated this is one of the last roads to be built out in the City, but the topography is challenging at this site. Ellis stated engineering staff have had a number of conversations over the years with adjacent landowners about the project. The presentation will review the work done thus far and some of the challenges of the project. Narayanan inquired why the project is being considered. Ellis responded it is one of two gravel roads in Eden Prairie, the other being Valley Drive. This is one of the major collector roadways. Part of the reason it remains gravel is the Marshall Farm is still being utilized as farm, but some day it will be developed and drive the need for this road to be improved. The City wants to be in the position to build the road when the development happens. Decisions need to be made about layout and cost. Carter Schulze, Assistant City Engineer, presented an overview of the project. The project history has been ongoing, and there have been multiple neighborhood meetings over the years. The Eden Prairie Road connection was completed in 2020, as well as County State Aid Highway 61 (CSAH61) improvements. The project is listed in the City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) estimated at $8.1 million. Some of the key components are the alignment of the road, road grades upwards of 14.5 percent, creek crossing culvert enhancement, trail plans, utilities, private property, and the development timeline. Case inquired about the land built up on either side of the creek crossing. Rod Rue, City Engineer, responded much of this was due to the road washing out over the years and the addition of gravel. City Council Workshop Minutes March 1, 2022 Page 2 Schulze stated over the years many options have been considered. Staff have looked at options of no project, a cul-de-sac, paving it to be safer with rural state aid and urban state aid. The cul-de-sac option is a greater cost due to retaining wall costs. It would eliminate the connection from the north to the south. Therefore, the classification as a state aid road would go away. A state aid rural section has certain specifications and standards. The difference between rural and urban state aid are the curb and gutter. Rural state aid could be problematic because of the design speed requirements. With a 40 mile per hour (mph) road and a six percent superelevation, the road would need to run through current properties. The City would also be unlikely to get a variance without meeting those requirements. The road would also need to be wider factoring in the drainage ditch. A state aid urban section, a consistent design with the City’s collector streets, would be a 32 foot back-to-back section with an eight foot trail along the side with curb and gutter. It would be a 30 mph design, utilizing the existing corridor, with a trail on the west side. The only requirement in question with urban state aid would be the 14 percent downhill grade for the bike and roadway. Case inquired which part of Dell Road was recently rebuilt. Schulze replied the intersection of Dell Road and CSAH61 grade was raised by the County. Schulze stated the 2014 Bike and Pedestrian Plan recommends an on-street bicycle lane, but there is not enough space on the road with the 32-foot section. With the other requirements for the project, the preference is for a shared-used trail to the side. The Riley Creek Master Plan shows some trails along the creek corridor, so this would be factored in with an additional culvert. These trails would tie in with the Crestwood Terrace eight foot path and the CSAH61 ten foot path. Rue noted the City had to request a variance for state aid urban when rebuilding Eden Prairie Road for exceeding the three percent maximum grade at ten percent grade. One of the requirements for the trail variance was to add a flat rest area to the side of the trial about every 500 feet. Schulze stated in 2021 there were about 500 vehicles per day, one direction, on average utilizing the road. In 2020 the traffic study for Eden Prairie Road projected about 1,065 vehicles per day both directions. They are both 30 mph speed limits, collector roads, and have similar adjacent development potential. In regard to funding, CIP funds would be utilized for design and construction cost. The urban state aid option is what staff recommend. There would be special assessments for this project, but it would not cover all of the cost. Utility funds would cover the cost of the utility requirements. Ellis added if we lose the state aid funding opportunity, the franchise fee and pavement management fund would need to cover the cost and it would be catastrophic to the pavement management program. Schulze stated the Dell Road project has 15 parcels and 15 plus units. For comparison, the Eden Prairie Road project had 9 parcels with 13 units. Case inquired how many units are City Council Workshop Minutes March 1, 2022 Page 3 within the Marshall parcel. Schulze responded Marshall Farm is 30 acres. Nelson inquired if the road across from Marshall Farm has curb and gutter. Schulze replied yes. Schulze stated the Eden Prairie Road project was roughly $16,000 per unit. Case inquired if neighborhoods served by the road would also be assessed. Ellis responded yes. Case noted for first-time road developments property owners are always assessed. Ellis added Staff intend to assess similarly to the way Eden Prairie Road assessments were done in terms of fairness and equity. Schulze stated there have been multiple neighborhood meetings, most recently a meeting last year. The main focus has been urban alignment following the existing corridor. Staff has received mixed feedback. The City is working to create a road design that works best for the neighborhood and the City. Another detail to consider is the area is not currently served by sewer and water. It presents challenges as it is below the existing sanitary sewer, so it would require lift stations. Public lift stations require a lot of capital cost and ongoing maintenance. The other option is residents have a private lift station and they pump their own water to the nearest connection. When the Meadowcroft neighborhood was developed they put a culvert across riley creek. The culvert is failing and would likely be included in this project and assessed back to the property owners if they approve of the work. This project would be tying into the intersection at Turnbull Road with no large-scale plans to build out the road. Case inquired if there are sewer and water connections to Turnbull Road. Schulze replied no. Rue stated the sewer connection would need to come from the east. It is limited on how far the gravity can go. The western portion would require a lift station or private grinder pumps. Freiberg inquired about the cost of private grinder pumps. Rue replied about $10,000 to $15,000. Case inquired if they would be permitted to stay on septic systems. Rue responded if sewer and water was brought into the area, they would be required to connect at some point. They could delay payment for five years with no interest. Residents would pay for the lift station and improvements up to the assessment cap. Ellis stated public lift stations are more substantial and cost about $600,000 to $1 million. The street project could be completed and come in at a later date to do the water and sewer without tearing up the street. Case inquired about the timeline. Rue stated the development of the Marshall Farm property would be the catalyst for this project. Case inquired if the property would develop, and the road would remain as is. Ellis replied dust is a large issue as well as environment issues with the street continually washing away into the creek. Narayanan inquired about the next step. Schulze replied a feasibility study. Toomey inquired about the funding. Rue responded the funding comes from the City’s State Aid annual allotment. Case inquired if the project would happen before the development of Marshall Farm. Ellis stated Mabel Marshall’s house would need to be purchased, and the City has been unwilling to purchase. City Council Workshop Minutes March 1, 2022 Page 4 Getschow noted there is a statutory process for road project assessments. Passing a resolution to order feasibility report is the first step, then adopting a resolution accepting the report and ordering the improvement, holding a public hearing on the improvement, and later holding a public hearing on assessments. Narayanan inquired about the cost compared to Eden Prairie Road. Rue responded this will probably be the most expensive corridor the City has built. Case inquired if it will be acceptable to do a culvert versus a bridge. Ellis stated a culvert should suffice since it is a creek rather than a lake. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM A. ALLINA HEALTH – NEW EDEN PRAIRIE CLINIC William Katsiyiannis, MD, shared a presentation about the new Allina Health Eden Prairie Clinic. Eden Prairie is currently underserved and to his knowledge does not have a practicing cardiologist. They began looking at opportunities to come to the city seven years ago. They would like to provide better care to more people at a better value. They have been recognized nationally as the twentieth best cardiology practice in the world this year. They are working to change the experience and compress the timeline for patients. Case stated the Council is excited to have MD Katsiyiannis in Eden Prairie and welcomes the Allina Health Eden Prairie Clinic. B. STEVE WAGNER, MICHAEL KARAS, DR. HARRY FERNANDEZ – CREEKWOOD PARK Michael Karas, 9301 Wilderness Cove, stated there are issues, especially on the weekends, with noise levels at Creekwood Park from kids in the summertime at night. There has been very loud music with inappropriate language. This has increasingly become an issue in the last few years. It has been suggested to call the police, and he feels that isn’t the best use of police time. He has called the police a few times. A few years ago, some of the large trees were removed which has made the noise easier to hear. It makes their back yard less enjoyable. Case responded he would like to have a meeting with neighbors in the area in April. It would be more ideal to meet at the park on a summer evening. He wants to hear what neighbors are experiencing and to have a conversation with Staff about what they have been doing and what can be done. Steve Wagner, 9325 Wilderness Cove, reiterated his concerns from when he spoke to Council in January. He emailed suggestions to the Council and was told he would hear from the Mayor. City Council Workshop Minutes March 1, 2022 Page 5 Case responded he likes the ideas and would like to get ideas from both Staff and the neighbors. He would like to get examples from what is being done at other parks. He was under the impression that they would arrange a meeting closer to the summer to discuss the park. Wagner stated his concerns have been dismissed. Wagner asks for the ideas to be implemented. Case replied he understands his perception. He suggests they meet in late March. III. ADJOURNMENT