City Council - 01/20/2015 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY,JANUARY 20, 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, City Engineer Rod Rue, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and
Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Ric
Rosow, and Recorder Jan Curielli
Workshop - Heritage Room H
I. COMMISSION WORK PLANS
A. CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Conservation Commission Chair Greg Olson reviewed the commission's 2014
activities and work plan for 2015. The commission plans to recommend best practices
for energy conservation in Eden Prairie by continuing to provide recommendations on
the GreenStep Cities program as the requirements for attaining Step 4 are finalized.
They will also study the Regional Indicators initiative and the recommendations of
that program. They plan to celebrate the end of the 20-40-15 program and support the
successor to that program. They will monitor and track the sustainability features of
the Eden Gardens development. In addition, they plan to recommend ways to develop
a comprehensive recycling and reuse program that will include recommendations on
organic waste collection, possibly by setting up a drop-off location for organic waste.
As part of their promotion of water conservation, they plan to promote and encourage
native landscaping and the infiltration of water resources. They will meet with the
three Watershed Districts to learn more about their recommendations and programs.
Nelson said she would like to see commission members keep track of conservation
best practices other cities are putting into effect that may provide new ideas.
Case would like to see some of the items on the plan prioritized and would like the
Commission to advice on a successor program for 20-40-15. He noted the Council
could use assistance in helping the three Watershed Districts remain consistent. He
commented he has always wanted Eden Prairie to promote more native landscaping
and would encourage our continuing to model that for the public.
Tyra-Lukens was pleased to see that the commission plans to track the sustainable
features of the Eden Gardens project. She noted mayors of other cities are very
interested in that program. It would be good to document sustainability features of
that development. Case suggested establishing a focus group.
City Council Workshop Minutes
January 20, 2015
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B. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION
Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission Vice Chair Keith Tschohl reviewed the
commission's 2014 activities and 2015 work plan. Tschohl said the commission's
goals for 2015 will fall into four main areas: monitoring the Final Agreement with
MAC; providing education and information about the airport; addressing matters as
directed by the City Council; and working with City staff and MAC to reduce noise
and improve the appearance of the airport. The Commission will monitor the Letter of
Agreement generated in December 2014 following an open forum held for residents,
businesses and airport management to discuss concerns about helicopter training
operations. They plan to reorganize the website,present a biannual review of security
at the airport, and make their annual tour of the airport. Tschohl also reviewed a
summary of 2014 noise complaints and displayed a map showing the location of the
complaints. There were 5328 noise complaints in 2014, compared to 5156 in 2013.
He noted fewer households filed complaints in 2014; however, once again 63% of the
noise complaints came from a single household.
Case noted he made his first noise complaint call this year when a helicopter came
over his house more than 15 times one day. Tschohl said the tower tries to split the
location of the flights if they can. Case said the Final Agreement called for traffic to
go down a certain distance from residential areas,but he did not think we were
dealing with helicopters at the time the agreement was made.
Nelson asked if attempts have been made to contact the very dissatisfied households.
Mike Wells, Flying Cloud Airport Manager, said MAC contacts every first-time
complainant. Complainants can also request calls at the time they enter the complaint
on the website. Fire Chief Esbensen said Jennifer Lewis is in charge of noise
complaints at MAC and she reports at every Commission meeting.
C. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Heritage Preservation Commission Chair Ed Muehlberg reviewed the commission's
2014 activities and 2015 work plan. Muehlberg said their focus this year will be on
public awareness, information and signage. CLG grant funds will be used to install
interpretive signage and Legacy Grant funds will be used for the Riley-Jacques
Interpretative Plan. They plan to explore other grant opportunities this year and to
continue the work at Riley-Jacques. They want to review and update the historical
resource inventory files. They would like to establish an on-going preservation award
in the City. They will have joint meetings with the Historical Society and the Parks
and Recreation Commission. They will coordinate with the IT Department on
updating the GIS maps.
Nelson suggested copies of the new signs be put online. Muehlberg said that is part of
the plan to add more links and connections to the graphics.
Case said it would be interesting to have historical maps similar to the map done by
the Park and Recreation Department for parks information. It could include
City Council Workshop Minutes
January 20, 2015
Page 3
information on sites and kiosks with directions to those places. He said he appreciated
the commission's wanting to update our inventory because we are losing our
historical properties. He suggested the commission partner with the Historical Society
on their project to document stories from another generation of Eden Prairie residents.
Butcher Wickstrom suggested having a history of Eden Prairie online and
highlighting some of the earlier neighborhoods in the City. Case agreed and noted
The Preserve was the first large-scale PUD in Minnesota.
D. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION
Human Rights & Diversity Commission Chair Sandra Filardo reviewed the
commission's 2014 activities and 2015 work plan. The commission is currently
accepting nominations for the annual Human Rights Awards, which will be presented
in May. They plan to work to further the Eden Prairie Manifesto. They want to
promote education and dialogue about Muslim neighbors and will partner with
several different groups on programs during the year. They plan to work with Girl
Scout groups about issues of gender.
Tyra-Lukens asked about the effectiveness of their cinema series and if that was part
of a national program. Patricia Fenrick, staff advisor to the commission, said it was a
national program that was designed to be an opportunity to educate people on human
rights. Tyra-Lukens asked if that program will be continued this year. Filardo said it
will and they believe it will be more effective as they plan to partner with other
groups.
Nelson asked if the commission has looked at doing art from the various cultures and
countries of origin that are represented in Eden Prairie. Fenrick said they could
explore that area because they would like to tap the skills of the various groups.
Filardo noted this year they plan to explore cooking classes with the different groups.
Case suggested they explore partnering with the City's Art Center. He liked to see us
take advantage of opportunities to market our diversity. He suggested we find
individuals to tell a story and then publicize it because there are some amazing stories
among the various diverse groups in our community. Aho suggested capturing the
stories and putting them on our website.
E. PARKS, RECREATION & NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION
Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission Chair Hutch Coburn reviewed
the commission's 2014 activities and 2015 work plan. He reported the Aquatics and
Fitness Center expansion project is on track for a June 1 Phase 1 walk through and a
December 2 Phase 2 walk through. They expect that expanded facility to have a
significant impact on the community. This year development will begin on the Cedar
Hills neighborhood park, the last neighborhood park to be developed in the City. That
park will be uniquely situated in Eden Prairie and they hope to make it a showcase of
native flora and fauna. They will be involved in the SWLRT station area planning.
New registration software will be implemented in March.
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January 20, 2015
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Tyra-Lukens said she was struck by the number of seniors coming to the Senior
Center from other communities. She thought it was important to keep them coming so
we can offer more programs. She asked if we monitor usage of the parks if there are
no fees involved. Lotthammer said the lifeguards make counts and the customer
relations leads check in on the various facilities.
Aho asked if we are still getting input on the arts now that we have integrated that
commission into the Parks Commission. Coburn believed that has been a positive
move. They had concept use of art at Round Lake and art will be especially important
for the SWLRT station planning.
Nelson would like to see a one-stop place for searching out facilities for various age
groups, especially those for very young children.
Case said the only parks-related complaint he received in 2014 was regarding the
process people must use to reserve the Riley Barn. He suggested we find a way to
make that process more fair. Lotthammer said the commission talked about rentals at
their last meeting and plan to move towards a November start date rather than
January. The software conversion may provide more online reservation potential.
They may also consider having a penalty for canceling at the last minute.
F. PLANNING COMMISSION
Planning Commission Chair Steven Frank reviewed the commission's 2014 activities
and 2015 work plan. He noted this is the first time the commission has created a work
plan. He reviewed the broad goals for the commission to build knowledge of the
commission members to further optimize the planning process, and to ensure strong
coordination between the commission and the Eden Prairie strategic initiatives. They
plan to discuss design standards,provide input on the Transit Oriented Design (TOD)
ordinance, review the guidelines for the Town Center, review the Housing and
Economic Development strategic plan and have initial discussion around the 2018
Comprehensive Plan update. He noted their first priority is to review developments as
they come along.
Nelson suggested we may need to look at how we handle those parcels of land that
are between two streets, such as the new O'Reilly Auto Parts development. Because
we have no design standards for that particular situation, we may need to make a
decision for the future about how we want to have those developed. Frank said that
also raises the issue of how our design standards incorporate how we feel about aging
properties.
Aho asked about the impact on the commission's work of the Met Council's plans,
such as their Thrive 2040 program. Julie Klima, staff advisor to the commission, said
they had some discussion about the Thrive 2040 program last spring. Frank said a
broader issue they will include in the future is "competitive surveillance" of what is
going on in other areas to make sure our ideas are fresh.
City Council Workshop Minutes
January 20, 2015
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Case suggested it might be time to have some groups give feedback, similar to the
work done several years ago by the Senior Issues Task Force. It could all tie into the
2018 Comprehensive Plan. Frank said the whole issue of demographics is important
so we can learn what the potential implications will be for Eden Prairie.
Open Podium - Council Chamber
II. ADJOURNMENT