Loading...
City Council - 05/15/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2007 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Jon Duckstad and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, City Planner Michael Franzen, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Young called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS A. NATIONAL POLICE WEEK PROCLAMATION Mayor Young read a proclamation proclaiming May 15, 2007, to be Peace Officers' Memorial Day and the week of May 13-19 as National Police Week in the City of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. City Manager Neal presented the new Parks & Recreation Director, Jay Lotthammer, to the Council Members. Mayor Young welcomed Mr. Lotthammer. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Butcher said she would like to add a comment under Item XIV.A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS. Neal said he will have three brief reports under Item XIV.B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL PLANNING SESSION HELD ON TUESDAY,APRIL 24, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council Planning Session held Tuesday, April 24, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 2 B. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD ON TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2007 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the City Council Workshop held Tuesday, May 1, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. C. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, May 1, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5- 0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. PLANNING COMMISSION Neal noted this is another in the continuing series of regular presentations to the City Council of what is happening with the boards and commissions. He introduced Planning Commission Chair Ray Stoelting and Staff Liaison Mike Franzen. Chair Stoelting presented a slide show that reviewed the duties, responsibilities, and current activities of the Planning Commission. He said they have four current activities: Comprehensive Guide Plan Update—The Commission has held workshops to review individual chapters of the Guide Plan, the document that establishes the direction of growth for the City. They are currently about half way through the document and will bring a draft to the City Council in September or October. Town Center Design Guidelines - The Town Center Design Guidelines are intended to be a working document for the City for property owners, developers and consultants to communicate visually how the Town Center should be built and how it should look. Some of the key topics addressed were streetscape, architecture, public space, public art and alternative transportation. They will be working on draft guidelines for the draft ordinance at their next meeting and their recommendation should come to the Council early this summer. Active Community Planning—The Commission is involved in active community planning, which is a new program created by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Design Center. The program offers grants to cities and counties that want to incorporate active living principles into their community planning. The City of Eden Prairie received a grant of$73,670 in 2006 to look at ways to modify the Guide Plan and zoning ordinances to include more active living principles. The Commission will hold workshops this summer covering air and water quality, alternative transportation, sidewalks and safety issues, housing, and spaces for recreation. They will make recommendations in the draft Guide Plan and the Town Center Design Guidelines to promote more active living. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 3 Project Review - In 2006 the Planning Commission reviewed 35 projects and 12 variances. They reviewed the projects for conformance with two documents, the Comprehensive Guide Plan and City Code. The Commissioners receive packets before each meeting and they review the information in the packets prior to the meeting. They hold a public hearing on each project,hear testimony from the project applicant, and listen to comments from property owners, residents and City staff. They then prepare an advisory recommendation to the Council. Council Members thanked Stoelting and Franzen for the presentation and for the hard work done by the Commission. VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. BLUFF COUNTRY VILLAGE 2—d ADDITION - MOUNT Second reading of Ordinance No. 15-2007-PUD-3-2007 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 5.8 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 5.8 acres, Zoning District Amendment in the Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District on 2 acres, Site Plan Review on 2 acres and Preliminary Plat of 5.8 acres into two lots and one outlot. Location: Hennepin Town Road & Pioneer Trail. (Ordinance No. 15-2007-PUD-3-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-60 for Site Plan Review) C. BLUFF COUNTRY VILLAGE 2—d ADDITION - TREK Second reading of Ordinance No. 16-2007-PUD-4-2007 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 5.8 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 5.8 acres, Zoning District Amendment in the Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District on.7 acres, Site Plan Review on.7 acres and Preliminary Plat of 5.8 acres into two lots and one outlot. Location: Hennepin Town Road & Pioneer Trail. (Ordinance No. 16-2007-PUD-4-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-61 for Site Plan Review) D. FLYING CLOUD BUSINESS CENTER EAW. Request for Approval of an EAW. (Resolution No. 2007-62 for Finding of no significant impact) E. AUTHORIZE APPROVAL OF BIDS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FOR COMMUNITY CENTER DASHERBOARDS, FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS,AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS F. APPROVE ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACTS AWARDED BY THE CITY FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER RECONSTRUCTION TO RJM CONSTRUCTION G. AWARD CONTRACT FOR 2007 BITUMINOUS OVERLAY PROJECT TO BITUMINOUS ROADWAYS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 4 H. AWARD CONTRACT FOR 2007 STREET SEALCOATING TO PEARSON BROS. INC. I. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER FOR PHASE II OF THE NONDEGRADATION ANALYSIS BY WENCK ASSOCIATES J. APPROVE PROPOSAL TO COMPLETE PHASE III OF THE NONDEGRADATION ANALYSIS BY WENCK ASSOCIATES K. DECLARE OBSOLETE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AS SURPLUS AND AUTHORIZE DISPOSAL OF EQUIPMENT L. AUTHORIZE AMENDMENT FOR A 60-DAY EXTENSION TO THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR THE SALE OF 4.8 ACRE SITE OWNED BY THE CITY AND LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1, BLOCK 1,AND OUTLOT C — COLUMBINE ADDITION (Presbyterian Homes) M. ADOPT THE CITY'S FINANCE AND BUDGET POLICIES N. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2007-63 AUTHORIZING A LEASE PURCHASING AGREEMENT WITH THE HRA FOR THE THIRD SHEET OF ICE O. DIRECT STAFF TO NOT WAIVE MONETARY LIMITS ON MUNICIPAL TORT LIABILITY ESTABLISHED BY MINNESOTA STATUTES 466.04 P. APPROVE ICE RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE EDEN PRAIRIE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-P of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. VACATION OF PART OF THE DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT OVER LOT 4, BLOCK 2, CARMEL, VAC. 07-02 (Resolution No. 2007-64) Neal said notice of this public hearing was published in the April 26, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 6 property owners. The request is to vacate part of the Drainage and Utility easement to facilitate the construction of a garage addition. He said normally this would be considered a housekeeping action item; however, we received some new information concerning this item. Dietz showed the location of the property on a map, noting the home was built in the late 1980's. He said the owner wanted to add another stall on their garage and proposed to vacate half of the 10-foot drainage easement along the lot line. Such easements are typically five feet on each side of the property line, but there was no record of why this is wider than normal and they found no utilities in the easement. When adjacent property owners were notified of this request, the owner to the east CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 5 notified us that this is where his sewer and water service is located. Because of that situation, staff is proposing to vacate only 20 feet of the five-foot easement along the lot line to accommodate the garage addition in order to avoid putting the addition over the sewer and water line and still provide access to the lines. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt Resolution 2007-64 vacating part of the drainage and utility easement over Lot 4, Block 2, Carmel, subject to the modifications as suggested by staff. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. The motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher, Duckstad, Nelson and Young voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. City Manager's Performance Review Young said the Council met in closed session prior to the meeting to conduct the performance evaluation of Mr. Neal for the year just concluded. He said the Council discussed and considered the evaluations presented by its consultant and the Council's own evaluation of Mr. Neal's performance. The Council concluded that Mr. Neal's performance this past year was excellent. Based on Mr. Neal's performance the Council determined it was appropriate to award Mr. Neal a merit payment award of 3.5% of base salary and to increase his base salary by 2%. He said the Council was unanimous in both decisions, and Council Members were very complimentary of Mr. Neal for his service to the Council, staff and to the residents at large. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the award of a lump-sum merit payment of 3.5% of Mr. Neal's base salary and to increase Mr. Neal's base salary by 2%. Motion carried 5-0. 2. Comments on 2002 Agreement on Flyins! Cloud Airport Butcher said she wanted to comment regarding the Open Forum and Open Podium discussion as well as the various letters, emails, and letters to the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 6 editors of the newspapers. She said it all indicates there is much anxiety surrounding Flying Cloud Airport. There are many questions and concerns and there is some misinformation as well. She said this Council has never had a discussion about changing the 2002 final agreement. It is her personal view that we stand by our negotiated agreement that we worked so hard to get. When there were divergent views from individuals expressed tonight, everyone seemed to stand on that agreement and it provided common ground. She would like to set a meeting date during a workshop to hold a Council discussion in order to ameliorate some of the concerns and worry. She thought it would give residents a perspective from each Council Member of how we stand on the airport. Because this is a new Council, there are fears there will be a shift in perspective. Such a discussion would help to clarify, answer questions, and hopefully dispel anxieties. Duckstad said he went back to check the City Guide Plan update which incorporated the facts surrounding the final agreement and made reference to what is called a proposed expansion of Flying Cloud Airport in Chapter 6 under 6.5. The Guide Plan update does say the City policy supports only those changes to the airport that would retain the airport's fundamental character. The Guide Plan update further states in part that the City and MAC have executed a final agreement and the City finds the commitments contained in the final agreement will mitigate the potential adverse environmental consequences of the expansion and maintain the character of the airport. On this basis the City withdrew its opposition to the proposed airport expansion. As far as he knew, the Guide Plan has never been altered and continues to exist to date. He reviewed the restrictions on activities listed in the final agreement, noting this is a legal contract that to his knowledge has never been amended or changed, and he stands by the final agreement. Nelson asked whether we should discuss this at a workshop or on the record at a Council meeting. Young thought it appropriate to hold a discussion at a workshop because we reserve Council meetings for action items. Neal said typically this type of item would be referred to a commission or discussed at a workshop meeting. He said June 19 and July 17 are possibilities for workshop dates. Aho thought we did not need to dedicate a whole workshop to this. He said he also supports the 2002 agreement and sees no change to that agreement. He thought we are doing a great job of monitoring it through the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission and other monitoring methods. Neal said there are prohibitions on what the City can and can't do in the final agreement. If the Council is contemplating passing a resolution, the City Attorney should review it for any prohibited language in the document. Butcher thought it wouldn't just be a discussion one by one,but also might provide a good opportunity for new Council Members to understand what CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 7 the agreement is all about, so it would be more of an informational or background discussion. She would prefer to have a workshop and would prefer to have it sooner rather than later. Duckstad concurred with Mr. Neal's suggestion that any proposed resolution be examined by our City Attorney. He thought the resolution proposed at the Open Forum tonight may in some ways collide with the terms of our final agreement, and he did not want to adopt a collateral resolution that change in any way the terms of the 2002 final agreement. Nelson thought a workshop is a good idea. She supports the 2002 agreement and she didn't think we should be in opposition to it. The question for her is, are we changing our level of support. She thought if we are neutral as we have always been, we need to make a statement that we are neutral and we don't intend to urge the expansion of the airport. She thought there are enough questions in the eye of the public that we are not remaining neutral. Duckstad had no objection but wondered if there was any feeling that we should refer it to the Flying Cloud Advisory Commission for their study, evaluation and recommendation. Young had no objection to a public discussion by the City Council on this matter;however,he has some reservation that the people engaged in the public debate will be comfortable with anything short of a level of commitment against the airport that he was not inclined to do. He thought some of the public anxiety has resulted from some unfortunate and malicious public comments made by some individuals. He thought it would be fine to talk about it; however, if people perceive that bringing sewer and water into the airport is in contravention of what our policy has been,he did not think they will be satisfied. He said he does not support the proposed resolution, and he will answer specific questions about the airport but won't support generalities that would be subject to different interpretations. A discussion followed regarding the date for the workshop. The consensus was to meet at 5:00 p.m. on June 5. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) Neal introduced Sue Kotchevar, City Finance Manager, and William Lauer, Principal in the firm of Malloy Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. Mr. Lauer noted the Council Members received three documents as a result of the audit: the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, a Special Purpose Audit Report and a Management Report which is their executive summary of the audit results. He reviewed his firm's role as auditor of the City's CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 15, 2007 Page 8 financial statements, noting they found the City's financial records and documents to be in excellent condition. Lauer reviewed the information in the Management Report regarding the governmental fund operations. He commended the Council for the decision to transfer $3,200,000 at the end of the year to set up an internal service fund to set aside funds for the long-term vacation and sick leave liability. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to accept the 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Motion carried 5-0. 2. Follow-Up Memo on Helicopter Procedures at Flying Cloud Airport Neal distributed a follow-up memo on helicopter procedures at Flying Cloud Airport after we requested the flight paths be moved. He said the revised and clarified airport letter will go out to our legislators tomorrow. 3. Transportation Bill in Legislature He said the Governor vetoed the transportation bill today. There were two line items of interest to us: there was $500,000 to fund the Environmental Impact Statement(EIS) for the Southwest LRT project; and an increase in municipal state aid that would provide an additional $500,000 per year for our local roads. He said there will be a transportation bill at some point this year. C. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5- 0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 8:17 p.m.