Memo- County Roads 73 & 5 Task ForceMemorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Steven C. Mielke, City Manager
Date: April 10, 1998
Subject: County Roads 73 and 5 Task Force
Attachments
OFFICE OF THE
CITY MANAGER
At its October 21, 1997, regular Council meeting, the City Council directed staff to work
with the Mayor to establish a task force. Since then, Mayor Redepenning and the City
Manager have spoken with representatives from the Belgrove neighborhood, as well as
two traffic consultants, for ideas on how to move forward from here.
The Mayor and I are recommending that a task force be formed with membership from
the neighborhood, two or three at -large members from the community (potentially an
411 HBCA member), one Council member, and the Mayor.
The purpose of the task force would be to review past actions and recommendations,
discuss options, obtain additional information if necessary, and to submit
recommendations to the Council for consideration.
A lot of information is already in place from past and current studies, but the committee
should be given the latitude to bring on additional advisors if necessary to obtain
additional information.
In light of this recommendation, the neighborhood has already recommended four to
five individuals to serve on the committee. They include Jerry Lavin, Marge and /or
Tom Hance, Ed Anderson, and Ross Bartz. We would suggest that the remainder of
the committee be appointed by the Mayor with input from the City Council.
If you have any additional questions prior to the Council work session, please feel free
to contact me or Mayor Redepenning.
the application to the City Attorney to review for compliance with the City of .
Hopkins's gambling policy. The City Attorney will report back to the Council at its
next meeting. The applicant must also provide the City Attorney with a resolution
or equivalent documentation indicating that the membership of the Knights of
Columbus supports this application. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council
Member Maxwell, aye; Council Member Jensen, aye; Council Member Hesch, aye;
Mayor Redepenning, aye. The motion carried unanimously.
Council Member Johnson returned to the table at 8:45 p.m.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
1. Authorize Phase II, Depot Coffee House (CR97 -195)
Jim Parsons explained that Phase I of the Depot Coffee House project is complete
and that the request is being made for Council to authorize Phase II. Students from
the Depot Coffee House Board said that after Phase I there is approximately
$84,000 in cash, pledges, materials donations, and skilled labor donations. Staff
recommended a review of the insurance coverage for the next phase of
construction. Mr. Parsons said that volunteers are covered under the City's policy,
but Workers Comp Insurance should be verified if contractors are doing work.
Council Member Jensen moved and Council Member Hesch seconded a motion to
adopt Resolution 97 -106, authorizing Phase II of the Depot Coffee house
renovation. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Maxwell, aye;
Council Member Jensen, aye; Council Member Hesch, aye; Council Member
Johnson, aye; Mayor Redepenning, aye: The motion carried unanimously.
Mayor Redepenning commended Council Member Hesch for her foresight and
extreme effort in bringing this project to this point.
Mayor Redepenning called a three minute break at 9:02 p.m.
2. Decision on County Road 73 improvements (CR97 -190)
Steve Stadler reviewed the issues for improvements to the County Road 73 /County
Road 5 intersection, the 5 Street North /County Road 73 area, and the County
Road 73 /State Highway 7 area. Mr. Stadler told Council that the neighborhood and
business groups in the areas expressed opposition to the improvements.
The Council decided to break the presentation into three sections represented by
the areas.
Area 1: County Road 73 and County Road 5 intersection
October 21, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Page 4
Council discussed the improvements and "mediated process" as opposed to
facilitated. Several residents of the Bellgrove Neighborhood Association spoke
against the signalization of the intersection, stating that signalization would not
necessarily contribute to safety, but the opposite. Studies involving intersections
were sited. A few residents offered support for the signals.
Council Member Hesch moved and Council Member Johnson seconded a motion to
reject the improvements outlined in the SRF proposal for County Road 73 and
County Road 5, and instructed staff to work with the Mayor to establish a task
force. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member Maxwell, aye; Council
Member Jensen, aye; Council Member Hesch, aye; Council Member Johnson, aye;
Mayor Redepenning, aye. The motion carried unanimously.
Mayor Redepenning called a three minute break at 10:17 p.m.
Area 2: County Road 73 and 5 th Street North
Steve Stadler told the Council that the City of Minnetonka is committed to the re-
alignment of Minnetonka Mills Road even if the intersection is not done. Medians
north of the Highway 7 intersection on County Road 73 were discussed.
Redevelopment of the Hopkins House site and the impact of the changes to County
Road 73 on that were discussed. General consensus was that a decision could not
be made until more information was gathered.
Mayor Redepenning moved and Council Member Jensen seconded a motion to
support plans to realign Minnetonka Mills Road and continued the decision to
signalize the intersection of County Road 73 and 5 th Street North to a future
meeting. They instructed staff to ask Minnetonka for a timeline and if the project
is dependent on signalization. They also requested that staff talk with Hospitality
House, owner of Hopkins House, about future development. A poll of the vote
was as follows: Council Member Maxwell, aye; Council Member Jensen, aye;
Council Member Hesch, aye; Council Member Johnson, aye; Mayor Redepenning,
aye. The motion carried unanimously.
Area 3: County Road 73 and State Highway 7
Steve Stadler went over the improvements for Area 3. A representative of Town
and Country Dodge noted the negative impacts to their business as stated in their
impact statement.
Council Members discussed the plan and finding alternatives to the plan that would
alleviate the safety concerns.
October 21, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Page 5
Council Member Jensen moved and Council Member Johnson seconded a motion
to ask the Mayor and City Manager to formulate an outline of a task force to study
the County Road 73 upgrades on the south side of State Highway 7, the north side
of State Highway 7 and at the intersection with 5 Street North, and bring that
outline back to the Council. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council Member
Maxwell, aye; Council Member Jensen, aye; Council Member Hesch, aye; Council
Member Johnson, aye; Mayor Redepenning, aye. The motion carried unanimously.
3. Consider 1S Street North parking and traffic control (CR97 -191)
Steve Stadler told Council that portions of 1St Street North were removed from
State Highway Aid to allow the City to have more control over the types of traffic
utilizing the street. Mr. Stadler said that stop signs at the intersections and signs
limiting the tonnage of vehicles using the road to five tons should discourage truck
traffic. Mr. Stadler also addressed parking issues on 1s Street North.
A discussion of parking followed.
Council Member Maxwell moved and Council Member Jensen seconded a motion
to adopt Resolution 97 -105, Resolution approving traffic control changes to 1s
Street North with no parking on either side of 1s Street North. A poll of the vote
was as follows: Council Member Maxwell, aye; Council Member Jensen, aye;
Council Member Hesch, aye; Council Member Johnson, aye; Mayor Redepenning,
aye. The motion carried unanimously.
4. Plan of action, storm and sanitary sewer systems
Steve Mielke reviewed for Council the twenty -eight steps already taken by City
staff to alleviate flooding and sanitary sewer back -ups in the City. Mr. Mielke then
went over the plan of action to eliminate the problems along with the time lines for
the projects. Mr. Mielke explained that by adopting Resolution 97 -104 the Council
would be ensuring those residents who are affected that the plan of action to
eliminate the problems will go forward. Mr. Mielke said that because of the time
constraints, notification of the residents had not taken place. The Council
indicated that they would like input from the residents regarding the plan of action.
Council Member Jensen moved and Council Member Johnson seconded a motion
to continue this item until the November 5, 1997 meeting to allow staff to notify
residents of the scheduled action. A poll of the vote was as follows: Council
Member Maxwell, aye; Council Member Jensen, aye; Council Member Hesch, aye;
Council Member Johnson, aye; Mayor Redepenning, aye. The motion carried
unanimously.
October 21, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Page 6