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01-13-09 WSJanuary 13, 2009 Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Mayor Maxwell called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm. Present were Mayor Maxwell and Council members Halverson, Brausen, Rowan, Youakim and City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Steve Stadler, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Waldack, Park Board members Doug Datta and Aaron Kuznia 2009 Street Improvements/Sidewalks: Steve discussed the plans for the sidewalk along 2"d Street North that is recommended to be a part of the 2009 Street Improvements. He stated that the standard size of a sidewalk is 6 feet; staff is recommending 5 ft to minimize the impact of the property owner at 203 5th Ave North (Mr. and Mrs. Leo Waldack). Steve also provided council with three alternatives which is represented in Figure 1, 2 and 3. Figure 1 shows the standard sidewalk/blvd/curb configuration that is the City standard design. Staff prefers to set sidewalks away from the proposed back of curb to allow for snow storage, signage and provide a safety buffer between pedestrians and motorized vehicles. In this case, to avoid a large tree near the driveway of this property, a portion of the sidewalk is set back approximately 10 feet from the back of the curb. Figure 2 shows the trail ending at the 203 - 5th Ave North Property and exiting out into the street. Pedestrians would need to navigate the street for approximately 150 feet before re-entering the sidewalk at 5th Avenue North. This particular street is not a heavy traffic corridor that is especially dangerous for pedestrian; however, it does present an inconvenience for pedestrians and does not promote the use of the regional trail and highly developed City Park. Figure 3 shows a compromise sidewalk configuration that is placed directly behind the curb at 203 5th Ave North. The first alternative puts the sidewalk approximately 25 feet from the house and would likely be perceived as overly intrusive. As 2"d Street North is not a heavy traffic street, the need for a buffer between the sidewalk and street is less critical. This is the preferred option of City Staff. Council discussed all three alternatives with the owner of 203 5th Ave North present. Council member Brausen asked if there was a cost for the project. City Manager Getschow stated the cost would be approximately $5,000. Council member Brausen then asked if there was a way that this could be scaled back because he is concerned about the cost. Council member Brausen stated that these are tough economic times and we have to start looking at ways to cut costs. Council member Brausen stated that he can see the need of the sidewalk but wonders if this is the best way to spend money right now. City Manager Getschow stated that Mr. Stadler and Mr. Bradford could look at other parts of the overall project to find savings also. Mayor Maxwell asked Public Works Director, Stadler if there is room for a bike lane. Steve stated that Figure 2 shows the trail going directly to the street. Mayor Maxwell asked if that is marked and Steve stated it is not. Council member Youakim asked if putting in a bike trail would narrow the street and PW Director Stadler stated it would. Mayor Maxwell asked about narrow streets and Stadler stated that street in Minnetonka Mills are 32 feet. Mr. and Mrs. Waldack stated that if the sidewalks go in they would be concerned about trees. City staff felt that trees would not be impacted with this proposal. Mr. and Mrs. Waldack also asked about who will be doing the maintenance of the sidewalk. Public Works Director Stadler stated that the homeowner would take care of it unless there was a large snow amounts then it would be plowed. Mr. and Mrs. Waldack indicated that they January 13, 2009 Page 2 would be happy if there was no sidewalk. Mayor Maxwell asked if they could tolerate a sidewalk there and they stated that if it were along the curb line that would be fine. They also were concerned if the irrigation system that they have would be o.k. Stadler stated that they may need to relocate but the contractor would be taking care of that. Mr. and Mrs. Waldack were also wondering if the utility pole would be removed that is in that area. Staff will check into that and work with them. Council member Brausen stated that he is confident the project will go well because staff communicates with the neighborhoods. Stadler stated that they would put a 5 ft apron in for the driveway with a nice slope to it. Mayor Maxwell stated whether we put in a new sidewalk or not you will be getting a new apron. City Manager Getschow stated that it does not have to be decided tonight, however a decision about the sidewalk should be made within the next 30 days. Council member Halverson stated that she is o.k. either way if the sidewalk goes in or doesn't go in. Council member Rowan stated that he is leaning towards having the sidewalk- he doesn't expect people to walk in the street. Council member Youakim stated the sidewalk makes sense to be fair with the City. She also stated that right now we could get really good bids because of the economy. Council member Brausen stated that the city needs to look at ways to save money. He stated he is proud of what we have done in the past but with the tough economic times we need to spend wisely. The $5000 might be money that we could use in the future towards something else. We should wait to see how the economy is going to bounce back. City Manager Getschow stated that he wants the council to keep in mind the project is being split over two years and providing relief to the capital improvements plan and to the homeowners through delayed timing of assessments. Public Works Director Stadler stated that they always try to scrutinize projects before going before the council. He stated that he is doing this in the most cost effective way possible. Consensus was for staff to continue to work with the affected homeowner to find the best solution for a potential sidewalk in this area. They will report back to Council before the project is approved for bidding. Zion Lutheran Parking Lot Lease: Public Works Director Stadler stated that the city staff first approached Pastor Randall Neal, Zion Lutheran Church Senior Pastor about along-term lease for use of their parking lot in early 2007. Developing such a lease was a Park Board goal from their 2007-2008 strategic plan. The Church was also interested in parking lot improvements and began planning for a capital funding campaign. Upon approval of the Minnetonka Mills Rd street improvement project, the Church worked with Bolton & Menk for the design of parking lot improvements. One idea Pastor Neal and Steve Stadler discussed was the City sharing in lot improvement costs with along-term lease arrangement. The economic downturn occurred and the Church delayed its plans for parking lot improvements. January 13, 2009 Page 3 They do have a completed design for the north 1 /3 of the parking lot (adjacent to the church). In late October the Public Works Director received a proposal regarding the City's continued use of the parking lot, which includes an annual rental fee. The Park Board considered this item at its December 15th meeting. The Board would like to continue partnering with the Church for parking lot use via a lease agreement. However, they felt that it could be reasonable argued that the City need for the Church lot would be reduced to just picnic events if additional parking stalls were added along the north side of 2"d Street North, adjacent to the park. Accordingly, the proposed annual fee in the lease agreement could also be reduced. Public Works Director Stadler said that the City has had an informal agreement with the church. It might be in the City's best interest to try to get solid interest in parking lot, come to terms of continued use, language to assure improvements on parking lot, add 20 new stalls, and work with relationship with the church. Council member Halverson stated that the City has swept and painted the lines in the parking lot. Council member Rowan asked how much it would cost to rebuild the parking lot with curbs. Public Works Director Stadler stated that it would cost approximately $200,000. Council member Rowan asked if they needed that big of a lot. Public Works Director Stadler stated he didn't know. Council member Rowan stated that there is no signage stating that it is only the church's parking lot. Mayor Maxwell suggested that the City needs to sit down and talk about awin/win solution, keeping in mind that the City uses the parking lot 6 months of the year. He stated that we need to share with the community because there is too much invested in the park to ignore. Mayor Maxwell stated that the church wants to have a good relationship with the city. He stated that if the church has 140 parking stalls then the City could use 40 to 60 parking stalls. The Mayor stated that the City needs to sit down and talk about this further. Consensus was for a meeting to be set-up with the Church to discuss the lease further. State of the City City Manager Getschow stated that the State of the City planned for Monday, March 16 will be sponsored by the City, Twin West and the HBCA at the Arts Center. He stated that HCBA has agreed to provide food again this year as a "Taste of Hopkins" event. City Manager Getschow stated that the City and it co-sponsors will be sending out the invitations. He stated that there once again should be interactive audience participation with the Council providing the presentation. The Council then discussed the potential format and content for the event. January 13, 2009 Page 4 Other: Council member Halverson stated that she received an invite to a luncheon on January 22nd and wondered if anyone was going to it. City Manager Getschow stated that he would not be able to attend but it is with the Rotary group of which he is a member. Council member Brausen, Halverson and Rowan stated that they will probably be going. Council member Brausen stated that the Clock Tower is not working again and it was just fixed. City Manager Getschow will check into it. Council member Youakim talked about the League of Minnesota's list of mandates. City Manager Getschow stated that the City has previously provided the Council with a list of mandates. He and staff will review this list and add items if necessary. Council member Youakim stated that there will be a Legislative "Town Hall" Meeting on January 26th at the Depot. City Manager Getschow handed out the monthly economic development update. City Manager Getschow stated that there have been discussions about what the City can do during these economic times. The 2009 budget is complete and the City is a relatively good position. However, there could be further cuts to the MVHC in 2009 and the 2010 budget could be affected by the housing market slump. As result of this, the budgeting process will begin earlier this year and there will be more meetings with employees to gather input on the 2009 and 2010 budgets. City Manager Getschow handed out forms for his evaluation and asked that everyone return them to Debbie and she will compile the information and it will be discussed at a work session. City Manager Getschow stated that there has been discussion about increasing the fee for filing Truth-in- Housing reports and possibly creating/increasing fee's for inspection. Council member Brausen suggested looking into what other cities are doing for fees. With no further business, a motion was made by Brausen, seconded by Youakim to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:3 5 pm. Debbie Sperling, Secretary ATTEST. Eugene J. ax ,Mayor