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City Council - 04/21/1998 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP MEETING REVIEW PRELIMINARY CONSTRUCTION PLANS FOR COUNTY ROAD 1 TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1998 6:30 PM, CITY CENTER Heritage Room H COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Jean Harris, Sherry Butcher- Younghans, Ronald Case, Ross Thorfinnson, Jr. and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY STAFF: City Manager Carl J. Jullie, Assistant City Manager Chris Enger, Director of Public Works Eugene Dietz, City Engineer Al Gray, Assistant City Engineer Rodney Rue, Director of Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Bob Lambert, Council Recorder Jan Nelson REPRESENTATIVES OF HENNEPIN CNTY TRANSPORTATION DEPT.: Bruce Ploaczyk, Chief Design Engineer, Craig Twinem, Project Design Manager, Brad Moe, Sr. Right of Way Agent, Guy Nowlan, Roadway Design Engineer ROLL CALL All members were present. I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. H. REVIEW LAYOUT PLAN FOR CSAH 1 BETWEEN TH 169 AND TH 212 Dietz reviewed the two layout plans on display, noting that the top one was the layout prior to the public meeting on March 19th and the bottom one is the layout showing the changes made based on some of the comments received and input from City Staff. He said Phase 1 construction will be a four-lane road with an 18-foot wide median for the entire length from TH 169 and TH 212. There are trails on both sides of the roadway. Because it is an ISTEA project, the plans have to be submitted by the end of the year in order to get Federal funds. There will another public open house on May 4 so the residents can discuss issues at that time. The Public Meeting is scheduled for May 5. Dietz introduced the representatives from Hennepin County. CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP AIENUTES April21, 1998 Page 2 M. REVIEW IM PACTS AND INPUT FROM RESIDENTS RECEIVED AT PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE ON MARCH 19, 1998 Dietz reviewed a list of concerns received from residents at the open house in March. Those concerns were: 1. Need for the Roadway There are 11,000 vehicles per day on CSAH 1 now, with 20,500 projected in 20 years. 2. Trails on Both Sides This is consistent with our transportation plan. 3. Noise There is no requirement for noise mitigation on the project. There are limited areas of impact, one of which is at the townhomes near Sherman Drive. There is no room for noise mitigation at that location; however the County may have to buy right-of-way, and that money could be used for landscaping and noise mitigation. Harris asked if there is any possibility to do partial mitigation. Dietz said we did mitigation along Townline Road because we were working with Minnetonka; however, that fence is not high enough or thick enough for noise mitigation. 4. Speeding The Police Department can do a better job of enforcing speed limits with the new road design. 5. Landscaping This is a separate project that will be completed after construction. We will follow our Tree Preservation policy, but there aren't many that will be lost on this project. 6. Construction Impacts Dietz said people have asked if the roadway can be shifted; however, it was shifted early on towards the Welter Property. There will be some grading impact along Mill Creek and it was shifted somewhat to the north near Pax Christi. It reduces the set-back there, creating a variance situation. There will have to be a new exit from the cemetery constructed out to Woodridge Circle. There will be a significant amount of retaining wall required at points along the roadway, and the costs will be shared equally with the County. CITY COUNCHJ/STAFF WORKSHOP MINUTES April21, 1998 Page 3 Rue said there are several day care locations along the way, and there will have to be some temporary fencing done around those operations. He said the County will usually pay the day care operators to replace the perimeter fence. Dietz noted we will try to keep them in operation. 7. Pedestrian Bridge over Hwy 212 Dietz said there will be very little work done on the west end of this project so this item was given a low priority. There may be an opportunity in the next phase of construction, but it will be an expensive project. 8. Trail Underpass at Purgatory Creek Dietz said this is proposed. It will cost$75,000-$80,000, so it is probably worth pursuing. 9. Burg Power Lines They have asked NSP to come up with the costs for this. If those are reasonable, this is something that can be pursued. There are some limitations about what they will bury. 10. Bennett Place Signal This will be put in. The County has determined that it meets the warrants for a signalized intersection. 11. Blossom Road Connection Dietz said the cost to do that will be prohibitive. They are recommending that this not be pursued; however, it remains a possibility in the future. 12. Street Closures Sherman Drive and Portal asked that the streets be closed; however Staff thinks it is a bad idea. We are short of roadway connections in the community, and it makes sense to keep as many as possible. There will be protected left turn lanes with the new roadway. 13. Heritage Preservation Issues Dietz said the Wolf School will lose some steps. Craig Twinem said they will build a retaining wall in order to stay out of the foundation. CITY COUNCEUSTAFF WORKSHOP M NUTES April21, 1998 Page 4 IV. COUNCIL DISCUSSION AND COMAIENTS Tyra-Lukens asked about construction on the east end of the road. Dietz said there is a driveway proposed for the entrance to the Hustad Development, but there are no commercial driveways on the new plan. Thorfinnson asked what the cost will be. Twinem said the estimate before the changes was about$6 million. Dietz said $3.5 million will come from ISTEA funding. County Road 4 was nearly the same length, and that is going to be somewhat less than 1.2 million. Thorfinnson asked if we will know the cost by the time it comes back to the Council. Twinem said we will have a ballpark estimate on May 5th. Dietz noted this will come from State Aid funds, and we will probably have to sell State Aid bonds. We also have County Road 4 and Scenic Heights road to consider. Thorfinnson asked if we would repay the bonds when the state aid money comes in. Dietz said we would do that; however, we haven't worked out the details because we don't have the final version. Harris asked why the pedestrian bridge would have a low priority. Dietz said it is not practical to do at this intersection because the grades are all the same. We are not doing any work at the western end of this project; however, with the next phase of CSAH 1 construction we can take a look at it. He said Bob Lambert has suggested using the Old Pioneer Trail behind the SuperAmerica station; however, a bridge at this location will be very expensive. Harris was concerned because if there are trails on both sides of the road, people will try to cross at that point. Dietz noted there is a trail only on the north side of CSAH 1 west of Hwy 212. Case said at a meeting of the Suburban Rate Authority, an attorney mentioned a lawsuit in which the judge ruled that cities have the right and power to stipulate the need for underground utilities. The attorney believes the language is upholdable in court. They also said that cities can stipulate NSP pay for burying the lines. He thought we should touch bases with the League on this, because there seems to be some breaking news on this issue. Jullie asked what input the residents will have to the process of developing the landscape plans. Rue said we plan to have neighborhood meetings for pieces of the project and will give them a chance to have input about species planted and other issues. We will replace the original landscaping one-for-one, and the rest would be by the requirements of the Tree Preservation Ordinance. There will be some small areas where we may have to get permission to plant trees outside the right of way. Tyra-Lukens asked if there is landscaping on the median. Twinem said it is shown as concrete now; however, they have done medians with grass. Polaczyk said that is usually done with a minimum 20-foot median. Tyra-Lukens thought having a green median might decrease the perception of it being a freeway. Twinem noted that grass does break up the appearance; however, it often dies because of the salt. He said the City would be CITY COUNCIUSTAFF WORKSHOP MINUTES April21, 1998 Page 5 responsible for maintenance of a grass median. Case asked if there is any way to put in boulevard trees. Dietz noted they really take a beating from plowing and salting operations. Dietz thought we need to explore the possibilities. Tyra-Lukens asked if we could use a different color of aggregate on the medians. Twinem said they could credit for the cost of ordinary concrete and the City would pay for the extra costs. Dietz said it would be difficult to patch. Rue said other locations have used stamped concrete or paver brick. Thorfinnson asked what the process is from here on. Dietz said there will be a Public Meeting on May 5, but no Public Hearing is required. By having two open houses we hope to answer as many questions as possible. This project is a crucial part of our transportation plan. The next phase will be from Hwy 212 to Hwy 4. Thorfinnson asked what the Council will be asked to do at the May 5th meeting. Dietz said we will approve the layout plan conceptually in terms of having the median, four lanes, an underpass, the trails and the retaining walls. Thorfinnson asked if that will still leave room for individual people to work with the County as it goes forward. Dietz said he thought the relationship between the County and property owners has improved greatly since the Townline Road discussions. Dietz said the preliminary discussions about the area around Nick Welter's home call for building a retaining wall and putting in a driveway out to the roadway. We have asked the County to appraise the value of the home and the acreage to compare to the cost of the retaining wall and driveway so we can make a good economic decision about the situation. Enger asked what has been the general reception of people along the road. Twinem said most of the people think we are building too much roadway and are questioning the need for a four-lane facility. Rue said the top four or five issues on the list were the main ones. We provided comment cards to fill out and this was a summary of those cards. Dietz said there has been a lot of work done on the project, and there will still be a lot of work after the preliminary plan is approved on May 5. Rue thought we will continue to find ways to lessen the impact. Alan Gray said most everyone who abuts the roadway needs to remember a lot of people out there will be impacted by this, and we won't hear from those who understand that it is a necessary part of the transportation system in the City. Dietz noted the adjacent property owners knew it was coming, and now they want to make it the best they can. V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m.