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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 08-08-2005 (2) . . . ~ ~ILLS Approved: August 29, 2005 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2005, 5:00 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING CALLED TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Beverly Aplikowski called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:10 p.m. Present: Mayor Beverly Aplikowski, Councilmembers David Grant, Gregg Larson, and Brenda Holden. Absent: Councilmember Lois Rem. Also present were City Administrator, Michelle Wolfe; City Attorney, John Miller; Director of Operations & Maintenance, Thomas Moore; Finance Director/Treasurer, Murtuza Siddiqui; Community Development Director, Scott Clark; City Engineer, Greg Brown; Assistant to City Manager, Schawn Johnson; City Planner, Pete Hellegers; and Recording Secretary, Kathleen Altman. 1. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. July 26,2005 Special City Council Meeting Minutes B. July 18, 2005 City Council Meeting Minutes C. July 18, 2005 City Council Work Session Minutes D. July 11, 2005 City Council Minutes MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to approve the July 26, 2005 Special City Council Meeting Minutes as presented, the July 18, 2005 City Council Meeting Minutes as presented, the July 18, 2005 City Council Work Session Minutes as presented, and the July 11, 2005 City Council Minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). I \Metro- ine!. uslardenhills IAdminICounci1\MinuteslRegular\2005108-08-05 Approved.doc ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 2 . 3. CONSENT CALENDAR a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. 1. J. k. . I. Claims and Payroll Lift Station #4 and #9 Reconstruction - Partial Payment #1 to Gridor Construction, Inc. Payment #6 to Arnt Construction for the Edgewater Neighborhood PMP Project Final Payment to MCI Builders, Inc. for construction of the Perry Park Pavilion Resolution #05-51: Minnesota Department of Transportation Administrative Variance for tbe 2005 Red Fox-Grey Fox PMP Project Authorize City Staff to Prepare Plans and Specifications for tbe 2006 Lift Station Reconstruction Project in the amount of $26,600 Resolution #05-48: Approve the Appointments of Nancy Kneeland and Rob Davidson to the Economic Development Commission Resolution #05-49: Designating the National Incident Management System as the Basis for All Incident Management in the City of Arden Hills Resolution #05-50: Promoting the Use of Intrastate Mutual-Aid Agreements in the City of Arden Hills Final Payment to Amt Construction for the Ingerson - 2003 PMP Project City Council Acceptance of the 2006 PMP Ridgewood Neighborhood Feasibility Study and Public Hearing Schedule Date Approval of the bid submitted by Valuation Group, Inc. for $17,000 to perform a property appraisal ofthe TCAAP property. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Larson seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). 4. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Gale Van Buskirk, 1390 Arden View Drive, summarized what she believed it meant to live in America and requested that Council listen to the citizens. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Awardinl!: the 2005 PMP Red Fox/Grev Fox Proiect Bids . Mr. Brown stated bids were received and opened for this project on June 29, 2005. Bids were received from six contractors with Amt Construction Company submitting the low bid with a total ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 3 . bid amount of $1,375,247.66. The low bid was approximately $35,000 greater than the Engineer's estimate. He recommended the award of the 2005 Pavement Management Program to Amt Construction Company, Inc. for the total amount of$I,375,247.66. Councilmember Holden asked what was happening with the Xcd Energy parking issues in this area. Mr. Brown replied Xcel Energy had begun some of the work that was being done in conjunction with Qwest. The main parking issue was with East Side Beverage and they had prepared a draft scheme to get parking on their site. He stated East Side Beverage needed to finalize their parking and they were looking at possibly using some of Smith's parking across the street. With respect to Intemational Paper, the project as is, included the removal of the frontage road on the west side ofInternational Paper and they want to shorten Fox Road, which would take some property of Intemational Paper and they were working with them on a purchase of this land. He noted this purchase would be of benefit to the City, but it was possible to also do the project as is, and if they could not reach a mutual agreement, they would proceed with the project as proposed. . Councilmember Grant asked if there was a poor bidding environment at the current time because all of the bids came in over estimate. Mr. Brown replied unfortunately inflation was catching up and generally when they had a lot of bids and they were in a fairly tight pattem, he felt it was a good representation of the market at this time and it was an underestimate on his part by not catching up with the current costs of construction. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to award the 2005 Pavement Management Program bid to Amt Construction Company, Inc. in the total amount of $1,375,247.66. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Larson moved to instruct staff to adjust the CIP budget by an increase of $80,000.00. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). B. Extension of Roval Oaks Purchase Al!reement . Mr. Clark stated on July 18, 2005, the City Council voted three to two to approve the Planned Unit Development and related documents for the Royal Oaks condominium office park located at the old City Hall site at the southwestern quadrant of Hamline A venue and Highway 96. Since the P1auned Unit Development required four votes to affirm, the project was denied. Due to this action staff is seeking direction from the Council on how to proceed with the disposal of the property. He indicated there appeared to be three general options: Do nothing for a selected period of time; renegotiate with Royal Oaks regarding a new purchase agreement; or start a new sales process which could include a request for proposal, marketing by signage and/or contacting selected developer/brokers as appropriate. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 4 . Councilmember Holden asked if they renegotiated with Royal Oaks Realty, would the existing Purchase Agreement be null and void. Mr. Clark responded that was correct. Mayor Aplikowski asked if they did nothing, wben would it be necessary they look at this again. Mr. Clark replied they would need to look at this again in the next couple of years before all of the reports previously prepared were outdated. Councilmember Grant stated he would not support retail or restaurant businesses on this site. Mr. Clark responded retail or restaurant businesses would not be allowed. Mayor Aplikowski noted a number of residents wanted to speak and asked Council if they wanted to hear the comments. Councilmember Larson noted Council has heard many hours of resident comments and indicated he would support only new information being presented. Councilmember Grant noted the proposed design was previously turned down by Council, so it was not necessary to address the design. He indicated he would like to receive comments on the three options being presented to Council tonight. . Stan Harpstead, 1277 Nursery Hill Lane, thanked Council for honoring the community's core values. He believed a new purchase agreement was in order and recognized redevelopment was necessary. He stated timing of this was also sensitive and encouraged Council to tie the community together with the TCAAP development. He asked Council to have an open bidding process for this property. Rebecca Hauch-Schmid, 1313 Karth Lake Circle, requested Council keep in mind that whatever happens with the property that they stay true to the integrity of the neighborhood. She noted there were a lot of children in the area and that this was a neighborhood. She asked they preserve their neighborhoods. . Gale Van Buskirk, 1390 Arden View Drive, requested Council keep in mind inflation with the price of the property. She requested a new purchase agreement indicate a specific sized development. She believed the purchase price was too low and requested they also look at this. She asked why let a purchaser pay 2004 prices (appraisal in November 2004) for property in 2006? She noted property values increase due to inflation. She noted the current Purchase Agreement did not address extensions or changes to the agreement and asked how would this be legally amended. She indicated the current Purchase Agreement was not specific as to the development size, in that it states "an office/condominium project of approximately 70,000 square feet." She asked why the size was not specified, at least with an upper limit. She asked if other developers could submit their proposals for developing the property if Royal Oaks proposal is not extended. She indicated the purchase price in the Purchase Agreement is extremely low compared to a current Arden Hills commercial property with offer pending. As understood, Collins ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 5 . Commercial is purchasing 130,680 square feet for $980,000, which is $7.50 per square foot. Royal Oaks is purchasing 294,466 square feet for $1,385,000, which is $4.70 per square foot. If Royal Oaks paid $7.50 per square foot, the purchase price would be $2,208,495 (7.50 x 294,466). The difference between $2,208,495 and $1,385,000 is $823,495. Mike Giel, 4534 Keithson Drive, asked if Council had agreed that the major problem with development of the area was traffic. He stated he believed someone on Council had noted the traffic problem needed to be addressed prior to any development. He asked if there would be any possibility to address the traffic situation first keeping in mind that there would be a development at some point. He noted the land was not going anywhere and if current values continued, the land should go up in value. He recommended Council address the traffic issue prior to a development being proposed. Councilmember Larson stated the City was in a unique situation because this was land owned by the City and the Council was stewards of this land. He indicated he had voted for the development previously and he believed that was a good development. He believed if the density was reduced, the value of the property would also be reduced. He stated it would be great if the developer came back and offered the same amount of money with less density, but he did not believe that would happen. With respect to access, he still believed there should not be any access onto Hamline Avenue. He indicated he would support the renegotiation of the Agreement with Royal Oaks Realty. . Councilmember Holden stated price was an important issue, but asked why they were only getting $5.00 per square foot for the property. She believed the land was worth more and believed Council owed it to the citizens to obtain the best price for the land. She indicated she had attended seven neighborhood meetings last week and the number one comment she received was that the residents wanted open/green space and they wanted to keep their neighborhood rustic looking. She noted they had a stewardship to the community. She stated the citizens did not want more asphalt. With respect to traffic, she was concerned about "U" turns being made if this development would have passed. She indicated she would not support a development of 70,000 square feet. She noted she would support a development oflesser density with a Hamline access. She stated she was in support of renegotiation of the Agreement, but she wanted a totally different proj ect. Mayor Aplikowski stated if Council was going to instruct staff to renegotiate with Royal Oaks, what was the size of development they would support. Councilmember Holden stated she would support a development size 2/3rds of 70,000 square feet. . Councilmember Grant stated he was also concerned about the density and traffic, especially the "U" turns being required. He noted Council also represents the people who traveled through the City, as well as the residents who lived in the City. He stated he wanted to see a lower density development with a well designed access onto Hamline Avenue. He cautioned people to not compare commercial properties to each other because there were sizable differences between ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 6 ~ commercial developments. He stated he was looking for less density, less traffic, and more green space. He did not believe maximizing the density automatically made them a good steward. Mayor Aplikowski stated they had a willing developer who showed willingness to wanting to be in the City. She stated she would rather work with the known developer rather than putting it on the open market for another year. She recommended they renegotiate with Royal Oaks Realty. MOTION: Mayor Aplikowski moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to reopen negotiations with Royal Oaks Realty. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). Councilmember Larson asked how they were going to do this with respect to density, access, and traffic. He asked if they would address this at a Work Session to try and reach a consensus. Mr. Clark responded staff had a good general idea of what the Council wanted and recommended staff meet with the developer and bring back a proposal fTOm the developer for review by Council. Mayor Aplikowski requested staff also follow-up with Ramsey County about a stop light on Hamline Avenue and curb-cuts off of Highway 96. Councilmember Holden asked what did renegotiate mean and how long would this take. Mr. Clark replied he believed Council should be able to have a Development Agreement completed by October 1,2005. . C. PC 05-18 Mitchell Minor sub-division Mr. Hellegers stated at the August 3, 2005 Planning Commission meeting the Commissioners recommended approval of the minor subdivision and lot consolidations, after making a finding that the proposed subdivision and consolidation will not have an adverse impact on the surrounding properties or on the community as a whole, subject to one condition as noted in staffs August 8, 2005 report. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to adopt Resolution No. 05-52, approving the requested Minor Subdivision and Lot Consolidation. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. TCAAP Update Mr. Clark updated the Council on recent TCAAP developments. B. Miscellaneous . Mayor Aplikowski thanked the Mayor of Long Prairie for attending tonight's meeting and requested he give an update on his City. ~ . . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 8, 2005 7 Long Prairie Mayor Rasmnssen summarized the industry base they had in Long Prairie. He invited the Councilmembers to visit Long Prairie. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Ms. Wolfe - No report given. Councilmember Holden - Stated the Newsletter articles were due on August 17. She stated she had attended seven neighborhood watch meetings this past week. CounciImember Grant - Stated after next weeks work session, he was unavailable for an undetermined amount of time due to work obligations and he would keep staff advised of his schedule. Council member Larson - No report given. Mayor ApIikowski - Stated she had also attended seven published neighborhood watch meetings, as well as one unpublished meeting. She indicated she was unavailable until next Monday's meeting. She noted there was a Mayor's meeting on Thursday, August II, to discuss their participation in the 800 megahertz and invited any Councilmembers who were interested to attend. Mayor ApIikowski adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:45 p.m. L~~~/~' ,-/lJ~uluJJt~ / Beverly plik wski Michelle Wolfe Mayor City Administrator NOTICE OF MEETINGS The next Council Meeting will be held Monday, August 29, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Arden Hills Council Chambers.