City Council - 11/23/2004 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 23, 2004 CITY CENTER
5:45—6:40 PM,HERITAGE ROOM II
6:45—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL:
Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and
Philip Young
CITY STAFF:
City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Dan Carlson,Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works
Director Eugene Dietz,Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert, Community Development
Director Janet Jeremiah, Communications Manager Pat Brink, Assistant to the City Manager
Michael Barone, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
Heritage Room I(5:45-6:40)
I. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS LITIGATION
Council Chamber(6:45—6:55)
II. OPEN FORUM
A. Thomas Briant—Heritage Preservation and Cummins Grill House
Mr. Briant, 15560 Boulder Pointe Road, has been an Eden Prairie resident since
1991. He said he is increasingly concerned over taxpayer dollars going to fund
historic preservation. He strongly opposed any new funding for historic
preservation. He said he views the Council's funding of historic preservation as
pursuing private agendas. Mr. Briant noted that historic preservation was rated
low on a list of priorities by residents on a 2001 survey conducted by the City,but
the Council has "chosen to disregard this." He questioned some
Councilmembers' assertions it is their duty to renovate old houses because
previous Councils chose to buy old houses. He challenged the Council to prove
that those former Councils wanted to the City to spend millions of dollars to
restore these homes.
Briant said Eden Prairie is a major urban area and, in his opinion,preserving old
homes does not enhance the quality of life. He said the money spent on the
Smith-Douglas-More House, the Riley-Jaques Barn, and the Cummins-Grill
House adds up to more than$2 million. He said the City now wants to pay
$200,000 for a land swap and$72,000 on maintenance for the Cummins-Grill
Council Forum Minutes
November 23, 2004
Page 2
House. Briant said the $2 million spent on preservation would have funded many
of the projects on the recently defeated Parks and Open Space Referendum. He
said these park projects would have been used by thousands as opposed to THE
number of people using the Riley-Jaques Barn and other historic buildings.
Briant called on the Council to "cease all future funding of preservation projects."
He recommended that the Council pass a motion to "let the voters choOse through
a referendum whether or not to fund historic preservation."
Councilmember Case said 30,000 patrons visited the Dunn Bros./Smith-Douglas-
More House in its first year of operation,while some park features see much less
use. Case also challenged some of the numbers presented by Mr. Briant, saying
he"costed out" some items twice in his analysis. Case said the Council has
always favored the use of grants and public/private partnerships over using
taxpayer funds for historic preservation. He stressed that he"doesn't feel the
Council can smirk on the actions of past Councils." Case said the 2001 survey is
"old news," and all of the priorities on the list came from focus groups that were
asked what items they considered important to Eden Prairie. Case said he
believes in"shotgunning out"to provide amenities to all sections of the
community.
Case noted that in the `80s, the public consensus was to keep the 169 intersection
at grade level,but that public opinion on that had changed by the late 90s. Case
said he "represents the people of today while keeping an eye on the past and on
the future."
Councilmember Young thanked Mr. Briant for his presentation, and said he
happens to share Mr. Briant's opinion. Young said that if historic preservation is
a vision the Council has, they need to say so.
IV. ADJOURNMENT