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01-11-05 WSJanuary 11, 2005 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -January 11, 2005 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on January 11, 2005, at the City Hall. Council members Brausen, Johnson, Rowan and Thompson were present. City personnel present were Public Works Director Steve Stadler and Housing Coordinator Kersten Elverum. Also present was Jeff McMenimen from Hoisington Koegler. Excelsior Boulevard Streetscape Review Mr. Stadler said the estimated cost for this part of Excelsior Blvd. had been too low. The CIP estimate had been $750,000; the present estimate is $1,677,750. Hoisington-Koegler has extended the design on the other parts of the boulevard and used the bids from those sections to estimate costs. Mr. McMenimen said at the kick-off meeting he saw the budget was not enough as underground utilities and lighting would be $250,000. He feels the preliminary cost analysis is a "tight estimate" without real schematics. He estimates $1.3 million in "hard costs" or $1.6 million with "soft costs." Mr. Stadler said when he saw those numbers he felt he had to come to the Council, especially as there is a new finance director and a bill from Hennepin County still "hanging out there" for other portions of Excelsior Blvd. Besides this financial concern, Metro Transit has backed off from their promises as their ridership has dropped and they no longer see a need for afull-blown park-and-ride lot. Another consideration is the timing for Xcel Energy's start on their part of the design; also in this section Hopkins would be responsible for the designing and installing of the streetlights, not Xcel. He would like to move the project back to 2006 so he could have a better handle on the financial picture, confirm the Xcel timing, etc. Mr. McMenimen said he feels this section is really the most important section as it serves as a "front door" to Hopkins when one comes off Highway 169. Answering Council questions, Mr. Stadler says he thinks the Hennepin County bill will be around $4.9 million. This has been budgeted with TIF money and municipal state aid money. He feels the transit people are trying to back out completely, which he finds very disappointing as they had indicated they wanted to be part of this project. Mr. McMenimen noted there are no costs for the city in that part of the schematic. He added that demolition costs are a big factor here, especially the present median under Highway 169. The south side is very cost effective as it is mostly turf beds and some trees for screening. There may need to be a low (2 1/2 feet) sight wall on the north side. Xcel work would be a big factor as their work would need to be finished before the north side could be streetscaped. Mr. Stadler said he feels bids would be higher if he put them out now. There will be no actual road work, but curb and gutter work. The project should take 3 months or less. Mayor Maxwell said he wished work could proceed as right now people are excited about the project. Mr. Thompson suggested contacting the contractors on the other parts to see if they could offer suggestions on cutting costs and wondered if using concrete rather than pavers might cut cost. January 11, 2005 Page 2 General Consensus was Mr. Stadler should put together a funding plan with Christine, talk to Xcel about scheduling, talk to Luther and Metro Transit about what they _ will or will not do and then report back. If it is feasible bids could be put out, and if they are too high, the project could be put off unti12006. Hopkins CDBG Funding Policy Ms. Elverum said Council had asked that this issue be brought back for discussion following the public hearing for the 2004 allocation of CDBG funds. These are federal funds through the Urban Hennepin County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program; the program allows 15% of this to be allocated to social service activities. This year the grant dropped from $145,000 to $120,000. For the past two years Hopkins has limited its social work allocation to Hopkins Minnetonka Family Resource Center with allocations of $7500 and $5000. The rationale for this is that they do services that would otherwise need to be answered by City staff and they take referrals from several departments including Police, Housing and the Activity Center. The social activity amount has been limited as the money spent on rehabilitation of homes has a double value - it helps people stay in their homes and it maintains the community. The cut in the grant means there is less money for rehabilitation and there has been a big increase in requests in the past few years. She noted there would be a public hearing the second meeting in February. Mayor Maxwell commented that other social programs have been picked up by city departments if they felt they were important enough, citing the police department picking up the Sojourner program. Mr. Genellie commented further discussion on the whole issue could be incorporated into the planning of the 2006 budget. Mr. Thompson noted the CDBG program has many safeguards for the homeowners; he is surprised they allow 15% to be used for social activities. General Consensus was to leave the allocation as it is at present and have further discussion during later budget planning. Other Mr. Rowan noted he would not be at the next council meeting but would be at the next work session. Mr. Thompson had several issues. He asked about the problem with. the liquor license and Munkabeans. Mr. Genellie said they told him they came to "surrender" their license and understands it had to do with not paying sales tax. He asked about Serenity Cafe; Mr. Genellie said Rick Davidson is working with them. He asked about the Goodrich Ave. right of way; Mr. Genellie said it will be on the agenda on February 1 for Council to set a public hearing, probably for March 1. He added on January 25 unimproved right of ways in general will be on the agenda. Mr. Thompson asked if the potential leasing of the Art Center to the Road to Emmaus Church will cause parking problems. Ms. Johnson asked if there had been an update on the Depot. There had not. Mayor Maxwell had several issues. He asked about the Parker office. Mr. Genellie will get an update. He asked about the Ugorets matter. Mr. Genellie said he had received a draft of agreement today, and it looks like it will settle. He asked about January 11, 2005 Page 3 Stobbe. Mr. Genellie will get an update. Mayor Maxwell said he knows Little League wants the whole complex at Maetzold Field. This will need to be looked into. Mr. Genellie handed out copies of information for the kick-off meeting on Shady Oak Road on Feb. 8. He noted a sign company from Georgia has started a lawsuit because Nancy Anderson told them they could not get permits for 678 sq. ft. electronic billboard signs in Hopkins. They have started a lawsuit with Eden Prairie, who is being defended by the League, as will Hopkins. He added remodeling for the Police Dept. is going well. Mayor Maxwell noted the city holiday party will be Jan 20. He also commented he liked the new ashtrays in front of City Hall. Ms. Johnson moved adjournment. Mr. Thompson seconded. On a 5-0 vote the meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: Eugene J axwell, Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS: