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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-18-24-SWS Request for Special City Council Work Session A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or by any two Councilmembers. Reason for meeting: 1. Public Inquiries/Informational 2. Response to Public Inquiries 3. Agenda Items A. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion 4. Council/Staff Comments Adjourn Requested Date: 11/18/2024 Requested time: 5:30 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: 11/14/2024 Mayor or Council Member Date / / Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: 11/14/2024 Date meeting to be held: 11/18/2024 Time of meeting: 5:30 pm Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. 11/14/2024 Signature of City Clerk Date City of Arden Hills ▪1245 West Highway 96 ▪ Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.792.7800 ▪ Fax 651.634.5137 ▪ www.cityofardenhills.org ,!It �-AI�EN HILLS Approved: December 9, 2024 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 18,2024 5:30 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDERIROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the Special City Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Tom Fabel, Brenda Holden, Tena Monson and Emily Rousseau Absent: None Also present: Interim City Administrator Jessica Jagoe; Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; and City Financial Consultant Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Interim City Administrator Jagoe stated at the November 7th Special Work Session, the City Council reviewed the 2022 Term Sheet and Memorandums of Understanding for the Civic Site and Parks related to the future development of Rice Creek Commons (RCC)/TCAAP. The City Council discussed some of the previously considered uses for the Civic Site and there was consensus on a reaffirmed intent in purchasing the 1.6-acre site with the negotiated terms as previously agreed upon in the MOU with the Developer. Additionally, the Council scheduled this work session for further discussion of the Parks MOU, park amenity needs, and trail connectivity within Rice Creek Commons. Staff was directed to work with the Developer and our parks consultant to bring back visuals and additional information relevant to the parks planning. For this work session discussion, staff has included the November 2016 background information for the ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 2 selection of parks programming and initial calculations of park costs. Key points identified in the Parks MOU approved on December 12, 2016 were as follows: • Developer would coordinate the design of the Creek, Hill, and Town Center parks and the final designs are subject to City Council approval. • Amenities would be in conformance with the attached TCAAP Park Standards • City and Developer will work together on the timing and who will be responsible for construction and future maintenance of the Parks. • Park dedication fees may be modified to align with the final design costs. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained the TRC amendments approved in January 2024 included rezoning of the 32 acres in the southwest corner of the California parcel from Flex Office to Residential. At that time, the Developer had indicated they would intend to develop and include park amenities in this neighborhood. This will need to be included as part of future discussions with the Developer for dedication of Open Space and desired park amenities as the Developer is working to get staff an approximate acreage for open space planned in this neighborhood. Interim City Administrator Jagoe reported the TRC allows minor adjustments to the location and area of the required Open Space as identified on the TCAAP Regulating Plan to be reviewed by the JDA. Section 3.3, JDA Development Review Process—Permitted Adjustments Table states "The area of any required Open Space may be reduced by no more than 3%." The JDA required criteria "The location of Open Space in the Hill and Creek Neighborhoods may be moved within those neighborhoods. Shall include required amenities identified by the City's TCAAP Master Parks and Open Space Plan." Staff reviewed the language that was included in the 2022 term sheet between the City and Alatus and requested direction from the Council on how to proceed. Councilmember Rousseau asked how the park and green space was originally decided. Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers, commented this was done through the planning efforts and considering the density of the project. She indicated the Council considered what the appropriate size park should be for this development. Councilmember Rousseau requested further information regarding the proposed park standards and asked if there was opportunity for the developer to be flexible with this. Ms. Kvilvang reported she recalled from the PTRC and the City Council, that these were the amenities that had to be in the park. She commented Alatus was open to revisiting what should be included in the neighborhood parks. Councilmember Holden indicated the pocket parks in the Creek and Hill neighborhoods would be owned by the City. She questioned who would own the amphitheater. Ms. Kvilvang explained she thought this be owned by the City as well, but noted she could look into this further. Interim City Administrator Jagoe reported Attachment D states future agreements will be entered into for the future maintenance of the park maintenance and park improvements. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 3 Councilmember Holden inquired who would be responsible for the maintenance of the land surrounding the stormwater pond. She stated she understood the city would be responsible for the maintenance of the pond. Ms. Kvilvang reported this would be publicly owned as well. She commented she was unsure if this would be City or County maintained. Mayor Grant recalled the City did not want to own the parks or the stormwater feature. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen stated in Attachment H, the Creek, Hill and Town Center parks were laid out, along with the ownership and maintenance. He explained the ownership was listed as public and the maintenance was the master HOA. Ms. Kvilvang recalled that the City did not want to step in and develop these parks, but the City would own the parks. Councilmember Holden stated she recalled former environmental attorney Mike Comadecca had encouraged the City Council to not own this park land. Ms. Kvilvang indicated this was when the City was having discussions with Ryan Companies and there was discussion about acquiring land for park development. Councilmember Holden commented Mike Comadecca recommended the City not own this park land specifically, because no matter how clean it was something could be found that could not be cleaned. Mayor Grant asked if the City had an agreement that the parks were publicly owned. Ms. Kvilvang explained this was included in the memorandums of understanding that the parks would be publicly owned. Councilmember Monson stated the concern that was voiced, was that the City should not own land on TCAAP due to environmental concerns. Councilmember Holden reported this was the case. Councilmember Monson asked why the City would then be pursuing a civic site. Mayor Grant commented the City was not real wild about this either. Holden stated the City was uncertain if Alatus would be giving the City land for Councilmembery g g y a civic site so this was not a reality for the Council. Councilmember Monson indicated the City would be getting land for a civic site. She reported she was comfortable with owning the civic site along with the parks. Ms. Kvilvang stated if there was concern owning public land, the City should have concern about residents owning the land. She reiterated that the comments from Mike Comadecca had to do with acquiring the land prior to cleanup. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 4 Councilmember Monson explained the previous concerns regarding owning public land was prior to the land being cleaned to a residential standard. Ms. Kvilvang commented this was the case. Councilmember Holden did not believe this was true. She indicated the City's environmental attorney told the City to never be in the line of title for this land. Mayor Grant concurred noting the City would be in the line of lawsuits. Councilmember Fabel stated the cleanup process cleaned the ground up to ten feet. Councilmember Holden indicated this was only three to four feet in some areas, because this was where the water table was. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen reported it was his understanding the ground was cleaned down to the water table, where that may be. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained the TRC language has a reference to open space classifications, which talks about public open space. She indicated these locations were identified on the regulating plan and tied to the Creek, Hill and Town Center. Mayor Grant asked when the plaza in Town Center became a park. Interim City Administrator Jagoe reported she just included this as a visual to show the Council some of the connectivity to the neighborhoods. Mayor Grant commented the Town Center Plaza was part of the development and was not previously considered to be a park. However, now this area was considered a park. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained she would have to verify when this change may have occurred as it is identified on the regulating plan and parks area plan as Open Space. Councilmember Holden stated this area was right in front of the civic site on purpose to allow it to be utilized for a farmers market and open space. Mayor Grant anticipated this would be a really nice area, but asked how this area became a park. He reported the only identified park areas were the Creek, Hill and Town Center site. He believed plaza should be a developer responsibility. Councilmember Holden explained the plaza would have no park equipment. Mayor Grant suggested the Council address each park one at a time. He recommended the Council start with the Creek neighborhood park. Councilmember Monson asked if there would be a two parks in the Creek neighborhood. Councilmember Holden commented park 2 would not be owned by the City. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 5 Ms. Kvilvang reported park 2 would be a pocket park or private open space that would be developed by the HOA. Further discussion ensued regarding the additional pocket parks that would be developed by future HOA's. Councilmember Rousseau supported the City pursuing an all-abilities park for one of the neighborhood parks. Councilmember Monson stated she believed this was a good idea and suggested the City Council set a policy on what amenities should be included in the parks. Bryce Shearen, Parks Consultant, Bolton & Menk, believed it would be a best practice to say all parks would be as accessible as possible. However, he noted one park could have a universal design. Councilmember Holden commented she was not interested in setting policy. She indicated the Hill neighborhood park would be less than three acres in size. She stated the other parks would be five acres in size, which meant there would be more land to play with. Councilmember Rousseau supported the City creating a destination park within this development. Mayor Grant proposed the most accessible park be the Town Center Park. Councilmember Monson stated she did not support establishing which park would be the most accessible, but rather wanted to set standards that all parks would be as accessible as possible. Ms. Kvilvang commented the Town Center Park was proposed to resemble Central Park in Maple Grove. Councilmember Fabel requested further information regarding accessibility when it came to park design. Mr. Shearen described the ADA accessible standards that had to be followed in parks noting this had to do with grade and the ability to get a wheelchair through the park. Councilmember Holden stated she did not believe the Creek neighborhood park had parking. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen noted this park would have on street parking. Councilmember Monson asked what other cities were doing, when it came to setting policies before pursuing new park development. Mr. Shearen stated he did not see other cities setting policies. He indicated other cities were considering visions and trends. He further commented on the high level trends that could be considered for the Creek neighborhood park, which included a bike pump tracks, dog park, native planting and education opportunities. He did not believe adult soccer would be the best use for the ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 6 greenspace because the greenspace would not hold up. He recommended the City Council consider installing dedicated pickleball courts within the new parks. He stated if competitions would be held in this park, more parking may have to be considered. Councilmember Rousseau thanked Mr. Shearen for this information. She stated she could support removing the adult soccer field and would be interested in seeing how this would impact the park design. Mayor Grant suggested the Council consider the large scope items for this park, noting the alignment could be considered in the future. Councilmember Rousseau asked if there was a likelihood in the southwest corner of the development. She commented on how there would now be 500 more homes in this area. Councilmember Fabel stated there would be, noting it was within the design. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained this could be discussed with the developer, noting there was currently no open space dedication in this area. Ms. Kvilvang stated a privately owned HOA park may be located in this area. Councilmember Monson questioned what type of ballfields or amenities were most needed in the community. Recreation Supervisor Johnson reported he met with the youth baseball associations and noted there was a need for the intermediate sized ballfields. He discussed how a turf field could become a flagship field and noted soccer fields were also in need. He recommended if an all inclusive park were pursued that fencing be considered around the entire play structure. He indicated pickleball would be another amenity that would be used in the community. 'Councilmember Monson stated the council would have to consider if the City wants to have community recreational parks or if a high end competition turf field space should be created within TCAAP. Councilmember Fabel asked if football space was needed. Recreation Supervisor Johnson explained youth tackle and flag football has been taken over by the associations due to the number of children needed to play. Councilmember Holden questioned how much space would be needed for a competition turf field. Mr. Shearen estimated the City would need to have 10 to 20 acres for a competitive sports complex. Councilmember Monson indicated the City does not have enough land to pursue this, which meant the idea of a competitive turf field/complex could be eliminated. Mayor Grant questioned where the City could accommodate pickleball courts. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 7 Councilmember Rousseau recommended the tennis courts in the Hill neighborhood park be eliminated in order to make space for pickleball courts. Councilmember Monson suggested the number of parking spaces be considered within the Hill park to ensure it could support parking for six pickleball courts. Councilmember Rousseau asked if the sand volleyball court should be reconsidered. Mr. Shearen stated he was going to propose another use for this space. He commented further on his recommendations for the three parks within TCAAP. Councilmember Monson questioned if a skate park or ninja obstacle course should be considered. She inquired if Bolton & Menk should go back and revise the plans based on the recommendations and based on the discussion from the Council before the Council further discussed the park options. She stated she would be open to this. Councilmember Rousseau indicated the Council has a gap when it comes to capturing the history of this site. Councilmember Fabel stated he supported Councilmember Monson's suggestion to have Bolton & Menk reconsider the park plans and noted this was in alignment with the paragraph three in the memorandum of understanding. Councilmember Holden commented the plans can be revised, but she supported the Council providing input on if the soccer field should remain, or if this park would have a full sized basketball court. She suggested the Council provide more feedback on where the inclusive park should be considered. Ms. Kvilvang supported the Council having an idea on the bigger picture items that would be included in these parks. She explained Alatus will hire designers for the neighborhood parks with the City's contractors to work on the final details for these parks. Councilmember Rousseau indicated she had an interest in a dog park. She recommended native landscaping opportunities be pursued for each of these parks. She reported she was interested in an amphitheater. Mayor Grant stated he supported the amphitheater moving forward as well. Councilmember Holden asked if the County could be asked to put a dog park within the gray area. She noted the wildlife corridor was another great amenity within this development and she recommended the City work with the County to take advantage of this natural greenspace. Mr. Shearen commented he has a huge team of landscape architects that would assist with designing these parks. He requested the Council provide him with high level amenities and noted he could then work with his staff to layout the parks with the proposed amenities. Councilmember Rousseau stated she had some concerns with the cost of maintaining a hockey rink. She questioned if the City should be focusing on using the waterway space versus having a hockey rink in a City park. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 8 Mr. Shearen reported the trend for outdoor hockey rinks was shifting. He noted outdoor hockey rinks were expensive to maintain. Councilmember Fabel stated there were a lot of kids using the rink at Freeway Park. Councilmember Holden recommended the hockey rink be pulled out of the Creek neighborhood park. Councilmember Monson summarized the comments from the Council noting one park was to be universally inclusive/accessible with fencing with sensory friendly amenities. In addition, the Council discussed dropping the baseball fields and hockey rink. She indicated the Council would like to have a full sized basketball court and recommended the tennis court be switched out for pickleball courts. She stated the Council would like the sand volleyball court switched out for a dog park or skate park, or some other interesting amenity. She commented she liked the idea of the County doing the dog park. She stated she understood bathrooms would be expensive but she would like to see these considered, along with a drinking fountain with a water bottle filler and shade cover. Councilmember Fabel reported given how space was a minimum, he suggested the basketball court being half court. Councilmember Holden clarified tennis courts were not proposed at the Creek neighborhood park. She asked what amenity should be given up in order to provide space for pickleball courts. She suggested the park building be given up. Mr. Shearen stated a park building with restrooms would cost$500,000. Interim City Administrator Jagoe asked the Council if it was being suggested that Mr. Shearen take the feedback from the Council back to his staff and that the plans for the three parks be further refined with cost estimates in preparation for further discussions with Alatus. Councilmember Holden asked how Mr. Shearen would be billing for this work. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained Mr. Shearen would be billing the City. Mayor Grant indicated he supported the Council following the MOU with the understanding the City will do the planning and the developer will build the parks. He supported the City working with Alatus given the language within the MOU. Councilmember Holden recommended significantly different playground equipment be considered for the Creek and Hill neighborhoods. Councilmember Monson explained she recently visited an obstacle/ninja course in Golden Valley and suggested the City consider pursuing a park amenity like this for one of the TCAAP parks. Councilmember Fabel suggested a climbing wall be considered, noting they do not take up a great deal of space. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 9 Councilmember Rousseau questioned how water would be used throughout the development. She asked how the waterways within the development could be used recreationally. Councilmember Holden indicated the creek does not always have water in it. Ms. Kvilvang reported this was the case and noted the stormwater pond may not always have water either. She said Alatus considered putting in a pumping system to augment and ensure that there would be water there, but then you run into problems with all of the environmental issues and other things that need to be looked at. Councilmember Monson supported the Council holding further discussions about the stormwater pond, noting she would like to see this being an attractive amenity. She referenced the Lakes and the year round water feature there, noting that private companies installed mini golf and paddleboards, for example. Ms. Kvilvang said is it probably augmented in some way. Councilmember Holden stated that that water feature is not a stormwater pond, it's like a recreational lake and the reality was the stormwater pond many not always have water. Councilmember Monson asked what that would look like to augment this. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said we would need to work through the DNR and used Snail Lake as an example as that is augmented by pumping. He noted there is a whole environmental process to go through to make sure you can do it. Councilmember Holden stated you have to have the water to pump to get it in there. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said yes, and where is the water coming from. Councilmember Monson indicated she would like the City to have a real conversation about this and expressed concerns about a dry waterway. Ms. Kvilvang noted that is always a question Public Works gets when people move by a stormwater pond and it's a wet year and then the next year it's dry, they want to know why their pond is dry. It is because it's a stormwater pond. Councilmember Monson suggested that this should be talked about and made bigger than a stormwater pond. Could there be a dual use and how could that work. Councilmember Holden questioned where the water would come from, noting that is the issue. Ms. Kvilvang commented this could be further discussed with Alatus as they already know the answers. Mayor Grant stated the Council would also have to consider how the edge of the stormwater pond should look. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 10 Councilmember Holden indicated she was interested in learning how much land the City would be getting in the southwest area of the development before deciding where all of the park amenities would be located. Councilmember Monson supported the JDA and County further discussion the park in the southwest corner. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained she would work with Alatus to see what she could learn about their plans for the southwest corner. Councilmember Rousseau suggested the JDA discuss the southwest corner. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen reviewed Attachment G noting the proposed park ownership and maintenance was addressed within this document. He explained all of the ownership would be public except for the Hill open space and HNP-3. He noted Town Center B and Town Center A would have to be maintained by the City. Further discussion ensued regarding the park land ownership. Interim City Administrator Jagoe indicated she would do more research into the public and private ownership for the park land. Ms. Kvilvang explained the next steps would be to figure out where Alatus and the County were. Councilmember Rousseau suggested the Council revisit this issue on December 5 or December 12 if staff has more information at that time. Mayor Grant commented at some point, the Council will have to review the term sheet. Councilmember Monson stated this had been put on hold until after the County's closed session meeting on November 26. Councilmember Holden indicated she had not committed to meeting again on December 5 and December 12. Interim City Administrator Jagoe explained dates had been discussed, but nothing was scheduled or confirmed. Mayor Grant indicated he did not have these meeting dates on his calendar either. Councilmember Holden stated she could meet on December 16. The Council agreed to tentatively hold a special meeting on Monday, December 16 at 5:30 p.m. Councilmember Monson recommended this meeting be open to the public. Mayor Grant stated this could hinder the City when it came to future negotiations if the term sheet were discussed. He recommended the December 16 meeting be open to the public but not televised. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 11 Councilmember Holden stated Bob Lux has always respected the City Council in the past and explained not televising the meeting would mean it was not available for viewing, except for those in attendance. Councilmember Monson commented perhaps Mr. Lux would not watch the video. Councilmember Holden supported the meeting not being televised. She stated this has worked in the past. s Council consensus was to not televise the December 16 special City Council worksession meeting. Councilmember Holden asked if the City Council would still meet on December 16 if nothing happens at the County on November 26. Mayor Grant supported the City Council discussing the term sheet on December 16 and not having this hinge on the actions of the County. Ms. Kvilvang commented on the proposed park dedication fees. Mayor Grant noted the City typically set its park dedication fees in December. Ms. Kvilvang reported the City Council could set its park dedication fees and noted adjustments could be made mid-year. Interim City Administrator Jagoe reported the special work session meeting scheduled for December 16 would not be televised. She indicated she could have Ms. Kvilvang at this meeting, along with the City Attorney Ms. Land. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Councilmember Fabel stated last Thursday he met with Bob Lux along with a group from New York which does real estate organization and low income housing. He explained Alatus was working with this organization on two other projects and this group may be interested in a partnership with Alatus for Rice Creek Commons. Councilmember Rousseau explained the Rotary Club would like to adopt Floral Park. She suggested a meeting be set up between the Rotary Club, staff, two members from PTRC along with a PTRC liaison to discuss this initiative further. Councilmember Holden recommended the Council consider how much this initiative would cost Public Works. She suggested the process document be brought back to the Council for further consideration at a future worksession meeting. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 18, 2024 12 ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 7:45 p.m. qJuier—Hanso ---n David Grant City Clerk Mayor I III i