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City Council - 08/01/2000 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORUM TUESDAY,AUGUST 1,2000 5:00-6:55 PM, CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOM III CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ronald Case,Ross Thorfinnson,Jr., and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Chris Enger, Parks & Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert, Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram, and Recorder Lorene McWaters I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER—MAYOR JEAN HARRIS Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. H. APPROVAL OF AGENDA III. CITY FINANCING—PHILOSOPHY AND DIRECTION FOR TRANSPORTATION City Manager Chris Enger stated that the purpose of this workshop was to develop funding strategies and directions for transportation. The objectives were to consider: • Budget implications of the property tax levy for the City and Southwest Metro (SWMT) • Next steps the Council may wish to take Enger noted that$40 million in transportation needs are projected for Eden Prairie over the next several years and that most are currently unfunded. He said the Council will need to consider transportation funding strategies, including the possibility of using some levy funds to get critical transportation projects off the ground. Finance Director Uram stated that the number one need identified for the City is transportation and has been since 1997,yet the City is struggling to find ways to fund important transportation projects. Enger noted that despite the fact that half of all people who work in Eden Prairie work in the Golden Triangle Area(GTA), developed land within the area is currently underutilized compared to other adjacent suburbs' uses. Much of the GTA is occupied by warehouse space. However, there is an ongoing need for prime office space,which the GTA could accommodate if traffic problems are addressed. Enger and Uram presented data on the Golden Triangle to illustrate how improving transportation in this area would provide the "most return for the money"for Eden Prairie residents as well as those who commute to Eden Prairie. COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES August 1, 2000 Page 2 Current taxes per square foot of Golden Triangle property is$.31/sq. ft. With major transportation improvements,much of this space could be developed or converted to prime office space,resulting in a possible increase in taxes to $.54/sq. ft. Proposed transportation improvements include HOV slip ramps ($9 million),I-494 related improvements ($5 million), and system capacity improvements ($8 million). Staff believe these improvements would significantly relieve peak hour congestion,resulting in a noticeably improved business environment. Market value per square foot in the Golden Triangle could be expected to increase from$55/sq. ft. to $100/sq. ft. Enger pointed out that when Best Buy chose to build their new headquarters in Richfield rather than the Golden Triangle,they cited unmitigated traffic congestion as a major factor. Enger said the City and Council need to work proactively on traffic concerns before another large development opportunity is lost. SWMT staff has indicated an interest in up $600,000 increase in their levy for 2001,which is the amount allowed by the state. This would be a 25 percent increase over last year's levy. The City has projected an increase of 6 percent for SWMT,which is the same level increase proposed for the City's levy. The possibility of levying above level could be used to fund infrastructure improvements within the City. Mayor Harris explained that any additional money collected through the City levy that is not earmarked by the Council for SWMT could be used to help begin to fund critical transportation projects. These dollars could be used to leverage other available funds (e.g., MNDOT funds). Councilmember Tyra-Lukens asked whether the issue with MNDOT is really availability of money. Councilmember Thorfinnson said that he believes the issue is largely money. He feels that MNDOT is receptive to the ideas Eden Prairie has proposed for the Golden Triangle,but there isn't much money available. Public Works Services Director Dietz noted that Eden Prairie is already ahead of other communities in gathering empirical data to support our need for transportation funding. MNDOT has announced they will turn off ramp meters for a several weeks this fall to gather data about how the absence of metering affects traffic flow. Eden Prairie has already begun a comprehensive traffic study that will provide baseline data to help analyze the effects of turning off the meters. Case asked why the participating communities had decided to opt out of Met Transit. Enger said that the cities believed that we could provide better service at a lower cost, and that this has proven true. Met Council subsidies are higher. Case said that he wondered if using the levy to fund transportation projects rather than just SWMT challenges the whole philosophy behind public transit. Case said it feels "toll- roadish"and wondered if the Council is being asked to make state-level decisions. Tyra- COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES August 1, 2000 Page 3 Lukens asked if a special taxing district for the Golden Triangle has been considered as a way of obtaining fends. Thorfinnson said this is one of the options available to the Traffic Management Association(TMA) and that they may consider this. Tyra-Lukens asked why she personally, as a resident of Eden Prairie,pay for congestion mitigation in the Golden Triangle when it appears to mainly benefit commuters who don't live in the community. Enger noted the possible increase in property tax revenue from transportation improvements. Thorfinnson also noted that once the seed money for GTA projects is obtained, increased property values in the Golden Triangle are expected to fund further transportation infrastructure improvements. Enger said he believes that if the City is going to increase the levy,using some of the money for infrastructure improvements would be more effective than dedicating all of the funds to transit. Thorfinnson and Tyra-Lukens noted that in addition to reducing traffic congestion,transit is also important as a means of minimizing environmental damage and providing equal access to transportation, and that these issues should also be considered. Councilmember Butcher asked whether or not SWMT has the option of obtaining funds other than through local levies. Thorfinnson said SWMT does have other sources of funding,but only for capital needs not for operating costs. Case noted that the City's idea of installing HOV slip ramps for multiple occupancy vehicles could be considered a mid-road approach to transit. Enger asked the Council to consider whether it makes sense at this point to look for ways to obtain dollars to put toward a transportation"seed fund." Mayor Harris said she doesn't think there is really a choice,that the City is going to have to take a multi-modal approach toward funding transportation projects. She said it looks as if the City will have to take a more assertive approach in encouraging MNDOT to provide funding for some of the proposed projects. Tyra-Lukens asked when the City Survey would be conducted and what input the Council will have on content of the survey. Enger said the survey is tentatively scheduled to take place in October, and that staff will be asking the Council for their input. Enger said that based on input from the City's consultant, staff is considering development of a community forum/brainstorming type session that uses open-ended questions to help better identify emerging needs. Case said he is afraid that useful quantitative data will be missing if a focus group type approach is used. Tyra-Lukens agreed, and said she has used the results of the last telephone survey a lot. Enger said staff would take these comments into consideration when working with the consultant to develop the survey process and that Council will be updated when the survey is scheduled and how their input will be obtained. COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES August 1, 2000 Page 4 M. OTHER BUSINESS V. COUNCIL FORUM VII. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m.