City Council - 01/06/2015 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY,JANUARY 6, 2015 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah,
Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City
Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
Workshop - Heritage Room H
Council Member Nelson was absent.
I. SOUTHWEST LRT LOCALLY REQUESTED CAPITAL IMPROVMENTS (5:30-6:00)
Public Works Director Robert Ellis reviewed items staff is recommending for inclusion on the
City's list of locally requested capital investments (LRCI's) as part of the Southwest LRT
project. LRCI's are betterments that fall outside the current project scope and budget. The
current list of LRCI's includes:
• North-south road in town center
• Golden Triangle Station Trail
• Southwest Station Trail
• Embedded track in Town Center
• Technology Drive Reconstruction Extension
• General enhancements
Ellis said including these items with the design phase of the project will allow the City to take
advantage of economies of scale and provide a reduced design cost. The City pays for design of
the items, and they are included as alternates when the project is bid. Funding for construction
will be determined later, and could include grant awards, county or city funds, or project
contingencies. Ellis said there are indications that the project office is trying to reduce the cost
of the project and that contingencies may be eliminated; however, if Eden Prairie wants to be in
consideration when it comes time for construction of LRCI's the City will have to provide the
designs now so they can be cleared through the project's environmental review.
Town Center North-South Road
Ellis said Eden Road will be extended as part of the project,but under current design it ends in a
cul-de-sac behind Brunswick Bowl. Staff feels that the addition of a north-south roadway that
connects to Singletree Lane will enhance access and traffic flow in the Town Center area. The
estimated cost of design of the north-south road is $145,000.
City Council Workshop Minutes
January 6, 2015
Page 2
Trails at Golden Triangle Station and Southwest Station
Staff recommends extending the existing trail at Golden Triangle Station to connect to more
employers. The cost for design, which will require retaining walls, is approximately $42,000.
Design of the extension of the Southwest Station trail would be about$32,000. Council Member
Case questioned how many people would actually use this trail. Community Development
Director Jeremiah said the trail would likely serve retail employees and residents. Ellis noted
that the costs of some of these designs are already in the City's Capital Improvement Plan.
Embedded Track in Town Center
Ellis said the current project design calls for most of the track to be ballasted, meaning that
crushed rock is used to hold the ties in place. In some urban or high density areas, tracks are
embedded. Staff strongly feels that the tracks in the Town Center area should be embedded to
allow it to better blend into the built environment. Ellis noted that much of the SW LRT
alignment follows the trail corridor; however, this is not the case in Eden Prairie Town Center.
Mayor Tyra-Lukens said the stretch of track along Technology Drive seems more visible than
the portion in the Town Center. She asked why that portion would not be embedded. Ellis said
the cost for embedding the stretch along Technology Drive would be $3.2 million, as opposed
to $450,000 for Town Center.
Technology Drive Reconstruction Extension
Ellis said there is a 200-ft. portion of Technology Drive that is not included in the project
design. Staff feels that it should be upgraded along with the rest of the project, even if it is at
City expense.
General Enhancements
General enhancements recommended by staff include upgrading portions of fencing from chain
link to a more decorative, durable product, especially in high visibility areas. Chain link
fencing costs about$40 per foot, whereas the two upgraded examples Ellis displayed are $100
per foot and $150 per foot. Council Member Butcher Wickstrom said chain link fencing would
need to be replaced more often than the upgraded fencing, so that would offset costs.
Ellis said bridge aesthetics is another general enhancement staff recommends. He noted that
there will be five bridges in Eden Prairie, some of them very large. He said use of color and
ingenuity can go a long way toward improving the look of bridges. Enhancing bridge aesthetics
can add up to five percent of the bridge's total cost. This would include such things as
decorative railings, color enhancements, and special architecture.
The final enhancement Ellis recommended was upgrade of the OCS poles. He said the poles
are basically H beams bolted into concrete footings. The poles can be painted or replaced with
tubular poles that match street lighting and traffic signals. There will be approximately 290
OCS poles in Eden Prairie. Painting the poles increases the price by $500 per pole. Upgrading
to tubular adds $1,000 per pole.
Next Steps
Jeremiah said Eden Prairie appears to be further along than other cities in identifying LRCI's.
She said that is partly the result of Eden Prairie staff responding to the numerous comments
City Council Workshop Minutes
January 6, 2015
Page 3
relating to aesthetics received during public hearing process. Getschow suggested scheduling
follow-up meetings with the other SW LRT cities to begin the process of coordinating LRCI's.
Ellis said staff will request approval of design costs some of the LRCI's at the January 20 City
Council meeting. He reiterated that this does not require the City's commitment to construction,
but ensures they will be included as alternates during the bidding process. Council Member
Aho asked when funding sources will be determined. Ellis said the Executive Board will
determine how contingencies will be spent. It has just begun meeting and setting criteria.
Jeremiah said there are two main sources of grants —HCRRA and Met Council. She said the
biggest challenge currently facing the project is in securing state funding.
II. 2015 APPOINTMENTS AND SCHEDULE (6:00-6:30)
Getschow said he contacted individual Council Members to determine if changes to
appointments are desired. The Council Members indicated they wish to maintain their current
appointments, with one exception. Council Member Nelson, who was not able to attend the
workshop, will reach her term limit on the Eden Prairie Community Foundation in June.
Another Council Member will need to be appointed to replace her. Case indicated he is willing
to fill the spot. Getschow said Nelson is willing to take Case's spot on the Southwest Cable
Commission if he is appointed to the Foundation. Butcher Wickstrom said she is willing to
serve as Case's alternate on the Foundation.
Getschow also reviewed proposed council meeting, workshop and commission recruitment
schedules. The proposed schedule calls for one Council meeting in June, July, August and
November. Getschow proposed holding a goal setting and strategy meeting in early April. Since
the Eden Prairie Reads event is scheduled for the first Tuesday,he suggested holding the goal
setting and strategy meeting on Wednesday, April 8. Council Member Case cannot attend the
meeting the meeting that would normally be held on the third Wednesday of March (March 17),
so Getschow proposed moving the meeting to March 24. Mayor Tyra-Lukens will be out of town
the week of March 24,but all of the Council Members present said they are available on March
31. It was agreed that the second meeting of March will be held on March 31. The second
meeting of December will be cancelled if the budget is adopted at the December 1 meeting. The
schedule will be formally adopted at the regular Council meeting. Getschow distributed a draft
list of workshop topics for 2015. An update on the monument sign project and a joint meeting
with the Heritage Preservation Commission will be added to the list of topics.
Open Podium - Council Chamber
III. OPEN PODIUM
IV. ADJOURNMENT