City Council - 01/21/2003 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORUM
TUESDAY,JANUARY 21,2003 CITY CENTER
5:00-6:25 PM,HERITAGE ROOM II
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL:
Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ron Case, and Jan Mosman, and
Philip Young
CITY STAFF:
City Manager Scott Neal,Police Chief Dan Carlson,Fire Chief George Esbensen,Public Works
Director Eugene Dietz,Director of Parks and Recreation Bob Lambert,Management and Budget
Director Don Uram, City Attorney Ric Rosow, City Engineer Al Gray,Assistant City Engineer
Rod Rue, Traffic Engineer Randy Newton, City Planner Mike Franzen, and Recorder Lorene
McWaters
Heritage Room H
I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Councilmember Case presided as Acting Mayor in Mayor Tyra-Lukens absence. The
meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
III. TH 169
A. Proposed Construction
MnDOT staff presented a proposed plan for grade separated interchanges at
Anderson Lakes Parkway and Pioneer Trail on TH 169. Tom O'Keefe,MnDOT
Area Manager; Wayne Norris,MnDOT Area Engineer; and Ron Rauchle,
MnDOT Consultant from SRF discussed the proposal.
Norris said the project is necessary to relieve traffic congestion and increase
safety at the interchanges. Norris said the design allows for future addition of a
third lane without major impacts.
B. Issues with Proposed Construction
Norris said the City has expressed interest in extension of the noise barrier on
Hennepin Town Road. MnDOT has conducted a noise analysis,which does not
indicate that a barrier is necessary under MnDOT guidelines. However, each
project includes money budgeted for aesthetics (typically from 3 to 7 percent of
the project budget). Norris said part of the aesthetics budget could be used to
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January 21,2003
Page 2
extend the sound barrier,with the understanding there will be less money
available for landscaping, etc. Norris said MnDOT is proposing the same type of
sound barrier solution for a Bloomington location.
Based on input from two public information meetings MnDOT for residents of
Bloomington and Eden Prairie,Norris said he did not feel there were serious
issues with the project at Pioneer Trail.
The Anderson Lakes Parkway interchange consists of a folded-diamond design on
the west and a diamond on the east,with turn lanes. The proposed design will
require a raised median, so left turns from Garrison Way will no longer be
possible. City staff has analyzed the increase in traffic this change will cause on
Amsden Way. The study indicates about 300 vehicles per day will be diverted to
Amsden Way. Staff believes this is a reasonable level of traffic, and it is a better
long range solution than installing signals at Garrison Way. MnDOT did look at
the possibility of purchasing a couple of homes and connecting Garrison Way to
Hennepin Town Road,but recommended against it since it would significantly
change the character of the neighborhood and would be cost prohibitive.
MnDOTs initial design would have resulted in an impact to 9-10 acres of Three
Rivers Park District land(Anderson Lakes Parkway). At the Park District's
request,MnDOT refined the exit ramp design by tightening the radius on
southbound 169. Under this plan,permanent impacts were reduced to about
seven acres. Norris said MnDOT had met with Park District staff and received
concurrence on their design and a proposed mitigation plan.
Councilmember Butcher asked if there is a communication plan in place for the
impacted neighborhoods. Norris said every impacted resident has received a card
inviting them to two public information meetings that have been held. About 250
people attended the most recent meeting, held in mid-January. City and MnDOT
staff said it appeared that most of the meeting attendees were residents of
Bloomington. Dietz said that the tenants of Preserve Village Mall are going to be
the most impacted property owners.
C. Proposed Staging and Impacts
Norris said MnDOT had looked at variations of two staging plans for the
construction at Pioneer Trail. Under one plan, construction would be staged so
that some degree of access (right-in/right-out)would be maintained at all times.
This would require installation of a temporary signal at a bridge crossing, which
could present visual safety problems. The other plan,preferred by both MnDOT
and City staff,would completely close access at Pioneer Trail during
construction. This plan is preferable mainly because this phase of construction
could be completed in one construction season. MnDOT stressed that of the three
interchanges involved(Pioneer Trail,Riverview Road, and Anderson Lakes
Parkway),two of the three will be open at all times. Closing the intersection at
Pioneer Trail entirely for a period of time would likely have two impacts. There
will be some noticeable traffic diversion impacts as well as economic impacts to
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January 21,2003
Page 3
commercial properties in the immediate area. Dietz noted that there is no full
closure of Anderson Lakes Parkway planned at any time.
D. Construction Schedule
Under current revenue projections, a desigwbidibuild process would be followed
with the contract to be let in 2008 and construction beginning in 2009. However,
if the legislature allocates"new"money to transportation projects this year,the
project could be let as a"desigrubuild," and construction could begin as soon as
2004.
E. Proposed Construction at TH 169/1-494
Because of time limitations,this portion of the discussion was skipped.
F. Public Meeting for Environmental Assessment
MnDOT will compile comments gathered at the Public Information Open House
and forward them to the City. Bloomington has already granted municipal
consent for the plan, and MnDOT will be presenting the plan to the City of Edina
(which has indicated they plan to pass a resolution in support of the project).
G. Request for City Council Municipal Consent Date
MnDOT said they would like to ask the City Council for municipal consent at it's
February 4 meeting,however a public hearing may be required before municipal
consent can be granted. All of the Councilmembers present indicated general
support for the plan; however, Councilmembers Case and Butcher indicated they
would not be comfortable providing consent before residents are fully informed of
the proposed plan and given an opportunity to provide public comment.
Councilmember Young said he was not in favor of holding a public hearing on the
project unless it is required by law. Case said he prefers to err in favor of holding
a public hearing even if it is not mandated. Butcher agreed and said it will be
important to use all available communication tools, including the newspapers and
the City's website, to inform the public about the project. Councilmember
Mosman agreed with Butcher and Case. Young said there is a certain amount of
angst related to any road construction project, and he is concerned about adding
another layer of procedure if it is not required by statute.
City Manager Scott Neal suggested that the Council develop a protocol for how
far above the legal requirements it wants to go when considering road
construction projects. It is preferable to not have an open-ended process because
it becomes difficult to determine when"enough"input has been solicited.
Councilmember Case said it would be difficult to set rules for this since each
project is different. Dietz said he would check with the City Attorney about
whether or not a public hearing is required by law and will advise the City
Council via memorandum.
Council Chamber
V. OPEN FORUM (Scheduled participants, 6:30-6:50 p.m.)
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January 21,2003
Page 4
A. Representative of Northland Securities
Dick Osmunson of Northland Securities presented the results the City's bond sale.
He said a resolution awarding the bond sale appears on the Council Agenda under
the Consent Calendar for Council approval.
B. Perry Forster—Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District
Watershed District Board Chair Perry Forster presented a check to the City for
$11,375. This represents half of the cost of a project to repair a portion of the
Purgatory Creek bike trail that was damaged due to a pipe failure.
VI. OPEN PODIUM (Unscheduled participants, 6:50-7:00 p.m.)
VII. ADJOURNMENT