Loading...
City Council - 09/04/2012 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Ron Case, and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. II. COLOR GUARD/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Case added Item XIV.A.1. Getschow noted a change to Item VIII.C. on goldenrod paper. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,AUGUST 21, 2012 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, August 21, 2012 as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,AUGUST 21, 2012 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, August 21, 2012 as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 4, 2012 Page 2 VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. ADOPT RESOLUTION 2012-122 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF THE MEADOWS AT RILEY CREEK C. ADOPT RESOLUTION 2012-123 APPROVING MASTER PARTNERSHIP CONTRACT WITH MNDOT D. AWARD CONTRACT FOR VEHICLE EXHAUST EXTRACTION SYSTEM FOR FIRE STATIONS TO TNC INDUSTRIES, INC. E. APPROVE FOURTH RESTATED JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHWEST TRANSIT F. ACCEPT OPERA (LOCAL OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM) GRANT IN AMOUNT OF $10,000 AND APPROVE PURCHASE OF ROAD WEATHER INFORMATION SYSTEM MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-F on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. GOLDEN TRIANGLE TECH CENTER by Northmarq Real Estate Services, LLC. Request for: Zoning District Change from I-2 to Office on 11.10 acres, and Site Plan Review on 11.10 acres. Location: 7905 Golden Triangle Drive. Getschow said this proposal is to change the zoning of the site from I-2 to Office to allow for 100% office use in the existing 90,590 square foot building. Official notice of this public hearing was published in the August 23, 2012, Eden Prairie News and sent to 10 property owners. The proposed plan meets parking requirements based on 100% office use. Two conditions of approval are related to the approval of a Traffic Demand Management(TDM) plan and repair of the existing retaining wall located along the north property line. The Planning Commission voted 7-0-1 to recommend approval of the project at the August 27, 2012, meeting. Ben Yarborough, Northmarq Real Estate Services, said they want to change the zoning from I-2 to Office. Prospective tenants require more office space than is currently allowed under the I-2 zoning classification. The existing site plan shows 419 parking stalls, and they plan to add 41 additional stalls. The TDM plan has been submitted to the City. They will provide the $19,500 deposit required when the TDM plan is approved. They have also submitted a plan and request for a permit to repair the retaining wall. They expect to spend four to six weeks to repair the wall. They believe the change in zoning will attract quality tenants to their building. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 4, 2012 Page 3 Aho asked if there are any changes planned to the building. Mr. Yarborough replied there will probably be tenant-driven improvements. Butcher Wickstrom asked about the availability of and demand for office space in the Golden Triangle area. Mr. Yarborough replied they have found that people are looking for more office space than is available under the current zoning classification, at least for their building. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing; to approve 1st reading of the ordinance for Zoning District change from I- 2 to Office on 11.10 acres; and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher Wickstrom, Case, Nelson and Tyra-Lukens voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Sump Pump Drainage--Council Member Case Case said as a result of his travels around the City he has some concern about possible consequences of our attempts as a City to keep our clean water from going into the sewer system. We have tried to get sump pumps to drain more appropriately than draining into the sewer system. There are streets in wet areas of the City where pipes are going from the sump pumps to the streets and causing the gutters to be slimy. There have been incidents where people have slipped on the gutters in those areas. He understands from Mr. Ellis that we have some pilot projects to address the concern. He wanted to make sure this is a priority item for our stormwater drainage fund and that we have identified the neighborhoods where this problem occurs. Ellis said through our Inflow and Infiltration (I & I) program we have noticed a number of residents who are pumping into the street. Last year we started to put six inch perforated pipes in the ground so people can use those to drain CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 4, 2012 Page 4 their sump pumps. We did the first drain tile project on Debbie Lane, and it was very well received. We are currently doing a second project at a cost of about$215,000 in the northwest part of the City. We are planning to budget about$100-150,000 per year to continue to do drain the projects. The projects will be funded by taking 50% of the cost from the stormwater drainage fund and 50% from the sanitary sewer fund. Staff wanted to ease into the projects to make sure we have the right design. Case asked if the Waterford neighborhood is on the list and how a particular street would rise to the top of the list. Ellis replied they do a cost benefit analysis on the neighborhoods to see if there are enough homeowners affected and if there is a nearby storm sewer to tie into. He asked anyone in the audience who has such a concern to forward information to City staff. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Resolution 2012-124 Certifying Proposed 2013 Property Tax Levy, Accepting Proposed 2013 Budget, Setting Public Hearing Date & Consenting and Approving the HRA Tax Levy Getschow said we need to set this year's preliminary tax levy and budget by September 15. He noted the City is in the second year of a two-year budget cycle. He noted we found some savings over the past year and were able to bring the proposed budget increase closer to 2.5%. The tax levy is tied to that, and staff is proposing a preliminary levy of 0.9%. The levy amount could still be lowered between now and the end of the year. The second piece of positive news is the tax impact. Last year's 0.9% levy equated to a $6-7 annual increase for a median value home. This year the same 0.9% levy increase equates to an $18 reduction in the tax on a median value home. The resolution tonight also sets the date for a public hearing on December 4 and consents to and approves the HRA tax levy. Case said the Council had several meetings throughout the year to struggle through this. He understood that every 1% increase in the levy generates $300,000, which could be an argument for not increasing the levy. However, setting the levy at a 0% increase would extend the time we are living on borrowed money, and we are trying to undo that cycle. The 0.9% increase allows us to continue to wean ourselves off living on savings. Getschow said that was true, and a lot of this plays into the economic environment we are in. In this case we have, in the last two or three budget years,reduced the annual operating deficit from $1,600,000 to about$500,000. The budget the Council is being asked to consider will continue to fund services at the current level and will not use one-time dollars that come in. We would have to use one- time revenue if the levy was not increased. Development revenue for the year is already at or ahead of what we budgeted for the year. Many times that revenue comes in but the expense related to the development doesn't come until later so we want to level that out. He noted development revenue is tracking very well to a point where in 2013-2014 we might be able to raise CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 4, 2012 Page 5 the revenue line and cut into the deficit even more. Nelson said in two weeks we will be talking about the next round of possible green projects we may want to incorporate into the budget. She asked if this budget allows for some of those projects. Getschow replied it allows for those projects in a couple of different ways. Some smaller ongoing projects such as LED lighting are built into the General Fund. Medium sized projects would be funded by their payback, and larger projects would be related to debt. Nelson said she wanted to make sure we weren't going to lock ourselves out of being able to do some green projects. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Case, to adopt Resolution 2012-124 that certifies the proposed 2013 property tax levy to be $32,549,320; sets December 4, 2012, as the meeting which will include discussion of the budget and provide for public comment; accepts the proposed 2013 budget of $42,750,579; and consents and approves the HRA tax levy of$200,000. Motion carried 5-0. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development Grant Application (Resolution 2012-125) Jeremiah said this is a resolution authorizing the City to apply for Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development(TOD) grant funds to develop a TOD zoning ordinance for the City and the area around five proposed light rail stations along the Southwest LRT corridor in particular. She said we anticipate the need for this type of ordinance to ensure all those areas are very walkable and have the type of zoning in place that will attract the type of development we want there. The timing is critical, and these areas are eligible for TOD grant funds. The ordinance would require approximately $75,000 worth of resources, including hiring a consultant. The request is for a grant of $60,000, with the City providing $15,000. We can realize a part of the $15,000 as in-kind services but are also recommending that$7,500 come out of the Economic Development Fund. We will be trying to attract businesses and entrepreneurs into these TOD areas. The work on a TOD ordinance could not take place in the near future without the grant resources, and we will be able to complete the work within two years if we receive the grant. Aho asked Ms Jeremiah to expand on the scope of the project, to explain how these stations will affect the businesses already there, and what the possible effect might be on our existing transportation. Jeremiah said the scope is addressed more in the transitional station action planning process. The five cities along the Southwest LRT line are partners in the process and just went through the consultant interview process. Hennepin County is working with the recommended consultant on the specific scope of the project, so the planning is underway. As we answer questions on how it will operate, we also want to be thinking about what kind of development might be attracted to this CITY COUNCIL MINUTES September 4, 2012 Page 6 area and how we want to guide the future of the area. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to adopt Resolution 2012-125 authorizing the City of Eden Prairie to apply for Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development grant funds for a Transit Oriented Development(TOD) Zoning District Ordinance. Motion carried 5-0. 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: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to adjourn the City Council meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 7:35PM.