City Council - 04/16/2002 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORU.I
TUESDAY,APRIL 16, 2002 CITY CENTER
5:00- 6:25 PM,HERITAGE ROOM H
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL:
Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ron Case,David Luse and
Jan Mosman
CITY STAFF:
City Manager Carl Jullie,Public Safety Director Jim Clark,Public Works Services Director
Eugene Dietz, Director of Parks and Recreation Services Bob Lambert, Community Development
and Financial Services Director Don Uram, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene
McWaters
Heritage Room II
I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
III. SOUTHWEST METRO TRANSIT UPDATE
Len Simich,Executive Director, and John Kragness,Financial Director, of Southwest
Metro Transit provided an annual update for the Council. Simich said ridership was up
seven percent in 2001. Two commuter coaches and a trolley were added to the fleet.
Construction of a 700-900 staff parking ramp is underway on the site. Negotiations with
North American Properties are progressing, and they expect to begin of construction later
this year on the commercial segment of the site.
Although MVET funding is lower than had been anticipated, Simich said they expect to
be able to maintain the current service level throughout 2002. Ridership has been flat in
recent months (particularly since the September 11 terror attacks),but Simich said he
expects it to pick up again as the economy recovers. He said they would like to complete
the parking deck to the 900-stall capacity now instead of stopping at 700. It would be far
more costly to add the final level later.
Kragness said the Dial-a-Ride service has seen a decline in recent years, although it is
still performing at a relatively good level at more than four rides per hour. SWMT is
proposing replacement of Dial-A-Ride with local regular ridership routes. Kragness said
that although local ridership routes were tried unsuccessfully several years ago in
conjunction with Dial-A-Ride,he believe local ridership routes will work well as a stand
alone program.
SWINIT is initially proposing four local routes. One route would serve SuperValu,City
West Parlx.•ay and the Golden Triangle. A second route would run along Malley Vie..,
Road to the intersection of 4 and 5.The third route would serve Anderson Lakes
Park-..ray,Eden Prairie Center, and the Chestnut Apartments. The final route would run
in the Preserve. hragness said he does not have figures on anticipated ridership for these
routes,but said the level of use would depend on the work population in the areas served.
IV. COUNCIL GOALS
Mayor Tyra-Lukens reviewed the goals Councihmembers presented at Council meetings
in January and February, and asked for further discussion of these items.
PRICommunication of MAC Final Agreement
Councilmember Luse recommended the City make a strong PR statement as soon as a
final agreement with MAC has been reached. He said suggested bringing Zero
Expansion in on the announcement so they can receive recognition for their part in
pushing Council action. Councilmember Case said he appreciated Luse's enthusiasm for
marketing the final agreement,but he feels those who have seen the negotiations through
from the beginning might want the opportunity to discuss PR strategies in a setting other
than a Council Workshop. City Attorney Rosow reminded the Council that the City's
special airport counsel,Akin Gump,has a local PR professional on retainer to help with
the PR aspects of the negotiations and announcement of an agreement. Rosow said that
he,Akin Gump and the PR consultant have been discussing an announcement strategy.
Town Meetings
Council agreed to pursue the idea of holding town meetings,possibly one every two
months with a Councilmember and Service Area Director teamed up to tackle a particular
topic. Councilmember Luse will work with Parks Director Bob Lambert,
Councilmembers Sherry Butcher and Mosman will work with Public Safety Director Jim
Clark, and Councilmember Case will work with Public Works Director Gene Dietz.
V. OTHER TOPICS
Council Chamber
VI. OPEN FORUM (Scheduled participants, 6:30-6:50 p.m.)
A. Thomas Briant
Briant introduced himself as an attorney and Eden Prairie Resident, as well as a
member of the Minnesota Accommodation Association,Minnesota Restaurant
Association, and the Cigarette Manufacturers Association. He asked the Council
not to proceed with any action to regulate to second hand smoke. In his opinion
the Minnesota Clean Air Act adequately addresses second-hand smoke. He said
he believes the Minnesota Partnership Action Against Tobacco (1b1PAAT),.which
was formed as part of the settlement the state's lawsuit against cigarette
manufacturers,has not used its funds as mandated. He said MPAAT has funded
organizations that are pursuing smoking bans as a tactic to force individuals to
stop smoking. He said Mike Hatch has asked I%SPAAT to cease funding for local
ordinances, and that a hearing is scheduled on'May 17 in Ramsey County on this
issue. He said some Eden Prairie restaurants already have voluntary smoking
bans. He said only three Minnesota cities and one county have adopted second-
hand smoke ordinances,while 22 cities have chosen not to pass ordinances.
Briant told the Council that pursuing a second-hand smoke ordinance would be
divisive, and asked if they really want to be the first suburb to tackle such a
controversial issue.
B. Jeff Strate, Sharon Stephens,Doug McEvers,Lorie Nelson
Jeff Strate, Eden Prairie resident, addressed the Council regarding Sever
Peterson's request to move a City-owned house slated for demolition onto his
property. Peterson's property is within the boundaries of the proposed Minnesota
Wildlife Refuge. Strate asked the Council not to grant the variances required to
move the house onto the Peterson property. He said such a move would be
contrary to the overall plans for the City's park system and would place an
unnecessary burden on local taxpayers. Lorie Nelson, executive director of
Friends of the Minnesota Valley, agreed with Strate that the house should not be
moved onto the Peterson property. Nelson said proposed location of the house
would interfere with a planned"burn"by the Fish and Wildlife Service and would
raise the value of the land,thereby costing taxpayers more when the purchase is
finally made. Doug McKevers, an Eden Prairie resident, said he owns 200 acres
of native grassland in Lake County. He said he knows from personal experience
that if a house is moved onto the property, the Fish and Wildlife Service will have
a hard time conducting the necessary"burn." Sharon Stevens, Eden Prairie
resident and legal counsel to the Sierra Club, said that in her opinion moving the
house onto the land would automatically increase the value of the land, and thus
the raise the price the taxpayers would have to pay to acquire it.
VII. OPEN PODIUM(Unscheduled participants, 6:50-7:00 p.m.)
Derek Rettel,manager of the Redstone Grill Restaurant that is under construction in Eden
Prairie, said they have taken painstaking care to make sure all guests,both smoking and
non-smoking, are accommodated. He strongly urged the Council to delay any action on a
possible second-hand smoke ordinance.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT