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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-19-WSlt ,-ARZEN HILLS Approved: August 26, 2019 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JULY 15, 2019 5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the City Council Work Session at 5:04 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Dave McClung, Fran Holmes, and Steve Scott. Councilmember Brenda Holden joined via telephone at 6:00 p.m. Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault, Community Development Manager/City Planner Mike Mrosla, Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Todd Blomstrom, Finance Director Gayle Bauman, Public Works Superintendent Jeff Frid, Deputy Clerk Jolene Trauba, WSB Consultant Sue Polka, Met Council Councilmember Peter Lindstrom, and Kimley-Horn and Associates Environmental Planner Beth Kunkel 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Met Council Update Met Council Councilmember Lindstrom gave a brief introduction of himself. He mentioned that he was the Mayor of Falcon Heights for twelve years, served two terms as a Councilmember prior to that, and was appointed to the Met Council in March, 2019. He explained the Met Council's role is to look at issues that are best addressed at the regional level. Efficient land use, waste water and transit are the main items they deal with. He noted I&I grants will not be available in the future, but current grants can be used until September. Councilmember Lindstrom discussed the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) of which he is a member, noting that projects TAB recommends to the Met Council must be approved or not all at one time. Councilmember Lindstrom said he will provide a list of current available grants to the City Council. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 2 B. AUAR Update Kimley-Horn and Associates Environmental Planner Kunkel noted that their firm worked on the original AUAR in 2014. They've prepared an update as is required every five years. The update is relatively brief. They focused on the roadway system around the TCAAP site and the onsite cleanup, as noted in the Existing Conditions section of the report. She gave a short explanation of the items that have changed in the report. Planner Kunkel said with Council's approval, the document would go to the EQB Monitor, be published on July 29 opening a public comment period. Comments would be reviewed with the City and if there are no objections by State agencies or the Met Council then the City Council would adopt the update. A notice would be sent to the EQB Monitor notifying them of the adoption. The next update would be in 2024. Councilmember Holmes asked if any of the road projects made the traffic issues better or worse. Planner Kunkel responded that a number of the improvements in the last five years were identified as mitigation measures that should occur for the development as part of the 2014 document. Since road improvements have occurred but no development, the assumption is the road conditions are better now than they were five years ago and no trips have been added. City Administrator Perrault brought forth comments from Councilmember Holden. She wondered if the pre -mitigation and post -mitigation tables that graded intersections could be included in the AUAR as a reference. Mayor Grant and Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla agreed that those tables would be good to include. City Administrator Perrault said Councilmember Holden also wanted the AUAR to note that the MPCA gave a certificate of completion in the 2015-2016 time frame except for the 30 acres that weren't yet mitigated. C. 2020-2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Councilmember Holden was reached by phone to join the CIP discussion. Finance Director Bauman stated this was the first look at the preliminary 2020-2024 Capital Improvement Plan. Updating the plan doesn't commit the Council to the proposed projects, but it is a basis for the preparation of the 2020 budget. The CIP is being presented without TCAAP with the concept that the project will be self supporting. Finance Director Bauman discussed the Summary of Capital Improvement Plan Expenditures table that shows expenditures by department. 2020 is considerably higher than other years due to two street projects currently scheduled. 2022 is up due to a neighborhood street project. She also explained a Changes from Prior Year CIP chart showing the differences between the 2019-2023 CIP and the 2020-2024 CIP by department. She then began a review of the list of 2020 projects. Regarding Projects in 2020: ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 3 Councilmember Scott commented that in conjunction with the City Hall parking lot project, he would like to see the sidewalks replaced. Councilmember Holmes felt they should take the Gateway signs off of the list for 2020. Councilmember Holden and Mayor Grant agreed. Councilmember McClung said they have some important things coming up that aren't discretionary and agreed that they need to look at what is a must -have. It was agreed to take the item for new chiller and condensing units at City Hall off the 2020 list as it will be completed in 2019. Councilmember Holmes wondered why there would need to be new lighting in the City Hall parking lot. Public Works Superintendent Frid said going to LED is a big part of getting new lights, and they are no longer able to get parts for the current lights. One of the poles in the parking lot was hit and needs to be replaced. They are hoping to do parking lot, lighting, curb and sidewalk all at once. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom noted the payback to switch to LED lighting is approximately seven to 10 years. Councilmember Holden asked if some of the parking lot work could be done by City staff. Public Works Superintendent Frid replied that depending on the soil borings, there may be a problem with the base material and it could be a more extensive project than staff can do. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said they will have revised cost estimate by the next time the Council reviews the CIP again. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said there will be a bid opening the following day for hard court reconstruction of tennis courts at Cummings, Hazelnut and Royal Hills parks. Councilmember Holden asked about the parking lot at Hazelnut Park. City Administrator Perrault said they are essentially going back to square one on the potential purchase of the parking lot from the church as they have new pastoral leadership. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said he spoke with the Pastor. He reviewed the original purchase agreement and the current maintenance agreement and sent them to the church for review. A meeting is scheduled with Bolton and Menk later in the week to update the plan for the overall park and the parking lot. A pavement evaluation will also need to be done. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 4 Councilmember Holden felt they didn't need to have the new trails or new lighting, but money should be there for the reconstruction of the parking lot. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said the Department of Corrections construction crews may be able to build the new warming house at Hazelnut Park. Councilmember Scott wondered if there may be some prefab options for the building. Mayor Grant asked how much the temporary building that was used last season cost the City. City Administrator Perrault said it was approximately $4000. Councilmember Holden thought an agreement with the church in regard to the parking lot was needed before any other money was budgeted for other improvements at Hazelnut. It was decided to wait until after discussions with the church and the consultants before making a decision on budget amounts for that item. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom noted that due to higher than expected costs for playground equipment, the schedule was readjusted and replacement was for upcoming parks was bumped to later dates. Councilmember Holmes asked if they could get a breakdown of the equipment cost versus the installation cost. Public Works Superintendent Frid mentioned that the playground manufacturer contracts out the installation and they hold the liability for fall zones and hazards. Councilmember Holden asked to change the 2024 Lake Valentine Road trail amount to $1.2 million. Councilmember Holmes felt the City couldn't do two PMP projects in 2020, but Old Snelling Road should definitely get done. Finance Director Bauman clarified that meant the other projects would get moved back 2 years. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said that in Ramsey County's CIP the intersection of Old Snelling and County Road E is estimated at $1.5 million. Of that, Ramsey County has $1.1-1.25 million in funding, with $375,000 from the City. The road to the south would be the City's responsibility. Further discussion ensued regarding State Aid and cost of the project. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said he will look into Cummings Lane and Bussard Court to see if mill and overlay would be sufficient in those areas. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said the intent of the cost of the pedestrian crossing at Mounds View High School is for it to be assessed to the school. He ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 5 believes the bases of the signal system they are looking at could be placed in locations so they wouldn't be in the way for future road improvements. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom stated that staff is reviewing County policy, but anticipates the retaining walls along county roads and sidewalks are the city's responsibility to maintain. There are two retaining walls on the north and south sides of Indian Oaks on the west side of Hamline Avenue. The walls are crumbling and need repairs. He has been asking for the written policy from Ramsey County. Councilmember Holden asked how long ago lift station 10, that is scheduled for reconstruction, was done. Public Works Superintendent Frid responded that it had never been done. It is a submersible station and is at the point of needing pumps and plumbing, and new electric to standardize with the rest of the rehabs that have been done. Communications will stay the same for the lift stations, but will change for the water towers. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said the communications project involves updating the modems from the lift stations from 3G to 4G but the water system will go from radio communication to cellular. Regarding Equipment in 2020: Public Works Superintendent Frid said the replacement of the 2005 felling trailer could be pushed to 2021. Public Works Superintendent Frid said the Bobcat Toolcat is used to snowblow trails and sidewalks. Snow along County roads is dense and deep and the bobcats work hard. The 2010 bobcat is corroding due to salt. Between downtime and labor, maintenance and repair costs are high. Councilmember Holden asked what repairs had been done to the 2012 F250. Public Works Superintendent Frid replied the biggest expense involved rebuilding the front- end suspension. He wants to get a good trade in value while the transmission and transfer case are still working. It gets used for utility locating as well as plowing, so it gets used off road in construction sites. He felt between the two trucks, unit 203 (2012 F350) was in worse shape than unit 210. Finance Director Bauman reminded everyone that all of the vehicles/trucks on the list are paid out of the vehicle and equipment fund. There is an annual transfer into that fund and there is no other funding uses besides the equipment. If purchases move from one year to the next the fund balance would still be the same at the end of the two years. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained an equipment replacement schedule that could be implemented. Finance Director Bauman asked if there was anything else anyone wanted to comment on. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 6 Councilmember Holden left the discussion. Councilmember Holmes said she thought the water fund had a deficit for a number of years and wondered if something had changed. Finance Director Bauman replied that the water main replacement project was being double counted, bonding money has been used for projects that have occurred. Even with the utility study they reassess the fund each year. The surface water management fund looks to need bigger rate increases than originally predicted because some of the capital items projected in the utility rate study didn't take into account the Colleen Avenue drainage issue. Councilmember Holmes felt there isn't a need to do a study of the infrastructure projects as outlined in the staff memo. City Administrator Perrault said a study would help them to be more strategic with PMP placeholder amounts. There isn't a plan after 2024. The study would encompass streets, water and sewer infrastructure. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom explained paving condition ratings, water system rating systems and the need for an asset management program to set city priorities for repair and investment. Councilmember McClung felt the City needs to start looking further out with the best possible information. He is in favor of a study. Staff was directed to bring the infrastructure study back as a work session item. Councilmember Holmes said the dog park at Perry Park needs improvements. The infield needs to be cleaned up, it is dirty and muddy. Possibly plant a few trees for shade. Mayor Grant asked if the Public Works employees would be able to work on it. Public Works Superintendent Frid said they could the fix infield, but the outfield will still be wet. Finance Director Bauman noted that there will still be issues with the PIR Fund and the Public Safety Capital Fund. They could possibly reduce the transfers to the EDA and Equipment Replacement funds and increase into the PIR and Public Safety Capital funds. Councilmember Holmes recommended they get rid of the EDA transfer. City Administrator Perrault offered other suggestions for fund transfers. Bonding discussion ensued. Councilmember McClung felt short term fund transfers are a band -aid approach and a long term ideas need to be addressed. If items are placeholders can they be pushed out a year, or can staff determine when items will actually be needed? Sometimes placeholders make things look worse. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — July 15, 2019 7 The new fire station and lift stations are must haves, a warming house at Hazelnut Park is a like to have. Council decided to continue the meeting past 8:00 p.m. D. Council Tracker City Administrator Perrault and staff reviewed the Council Request Tracker with the City Council. MVHS — Lake Valentine Road, SLWA Breach Letter and Rain Garden Maintenance at Noble and Elmer Anderson were removed. Perry Park Dog Park Improvements, and Code Enforcement and Ordinance Regarding Vehicles/RV's were added. 2. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS Councilmember McClung noted that Shoreview had discussed the new fire station and next steps will be discussed at the next Fire Board meeting. Councilmember Scott said he would see everyone the following night at the Commissions and Committees picnic. Also, he attended the League of Minnesota Cities conference and would like to see Arden Hills receive more awards. Mayor Grant said he attended the Managers and City Administrators meeting, buckthorn removal by using goats was discussed. POL11i1.7►1 Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 8:27 p.m. k17 , idA " W."i, '.4 j , ne Trau Davidrant eputy Clerk Mayor