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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 11-29-2004 ~ . ~~HILLS Approved: December 13, 2004 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 29, 2004, 7:00 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CALL TO ORDERJROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Beverly Aplikowski called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:04 p.m. Present: Mayor Beverly Aplikowski, Councilmembers David Grant, Gregg Larson, Lois Rem, and Brenda Holden. Absent: None. Also present were City Administrator, Michelle Wolfe; Director of Operations & . Maintenance, Tbomas Moore; Finance Director/Treasurer, Murtuza Siddiqui; Community Development Director, Scott Clark; Assistant to the City Administrator, Schawn Johnson; Recreation Program Supervisor, Michelle Olson; City Engineer, Greg Brown; and Recording Secretary, Kathleen Altman. 1. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Councilmember Grant requested item 7C be moved to item 6A. MOTION: Councihnember Larson moved and Councilmember Rem seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 13, 2004 Special City Council Work Session B. October IS, 2004 City Council Work Session C. October 25, 2004 City Council Meeting D. November 3, 2004 City Council Canvassing Board Councilmember Holden requested the following changes: September 13, 2004 City Council . Work Session, Page 2, Sth paragraph, 4th sentence change signed to signing. IIEarthlAdminlCouncillMinutes IRegularl2004 111- 29-04.doc ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29, 2004 2 . Councilmember Grant requested the following changes: October 18,2004 City Council Work Session, Page 6, 5th paragraph, first sentence should read: Councilmember Grant raised concerns that during the past 3 years Arden Hills roads were not chosen solely on the basis of PCI rating. Councilmember Rem requested the following changes: September 13, 2004 City Council Work Session change the heading time to read 5:00 p.m.; October 18, 2004 City Council Work Session, Page 6, 5th paragraph, last sentence, should read: He noted that south of Lindeys and Old Snelling Avenue..." October 18, 2004 City Council Work Session, Page 6, 8th paragraph, delete the following sentence: The Chatham, Karth Lake, and Edgewater neighborhoods all scored very low on the PCI test. Councilmember Larson requested the following changes: None. Mayor Aplikowski requested the following changes: None. Ms. Wolfe requested the following changes: None. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to approve the September 13, 2004 City Council Special City Council Work Session as amended; the October 18, 2004 City Council . Work Session as amended; the October 25,2004 City Council Meeting as presented; and the November 3, 2004 City Council Canvassing Board as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 3. CONSENT CALENDAR a. Claims and Payroll b. Ordinance No. 350: Approval of2005 Fee Schedule c. 2004 Perry Park - HCM Architects-Payment #2 d. 2005 Lift Station Rehabilitation Project - Authorize to Begin Plans and Specifications e. Motion to Approve 2005 Liquor Licenses f. Convention Visitors Bureau Agreement - Establishment of a Lodging Tax and Ordinance No. 351: Establishing a Local Lodging Tax g. Resolution No. 04-59: Authorizing Application for Recycling Score Grant Funds for 2005 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 (5-0). 4. PUBLIC INOUlRIES/INFORMATlONAL . Mayor Aplikowski acknowledged and welcomed the Boy Scout Troops in attendance at the meeting. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29, 2004 3 . 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 6. NEW BUSINESS C. County Road E Sidewalk Ms. Wolfe stated the Council needed to make a decision regarding the construction of the sidewalk on the County Road E bridge. This decision was needed so it could be provided to MnDOT as part of the application for Cooperative Agreement Program funding. Specifically, the Council needs to decide on which side of the bridge to construct the sidewalk (north or south). The City Council might also choose to detemline whether or not to proceed with construction of a sidewalk west of the bridge to Old Snelling. Ms. Wolfe noted staff had received some e-mails and messages from residents with their comments and those have been provided to Council for their review. Ms. Wolfe stated in discussions with the traffic engineers regarding safety; they indicated that . basically it would be safer to not have pedestrians cross at the freeway ramps. The degree of increased safety, however, might be marginal to significant depending on other information that that they did not have, such as the number of pedestrians and final destinations. Ms. Wolfe requested the Council indicate whether to build the sidewalk on the north or south side of the bridge and authorize staff to notify MnDOT of that decision and to determine whether or not to proceed with the construction of the sidewalk west oflhe bridge and to authorize staff to proceed with plans and the funding application process. Mr. Brown stated he had nothing further to add, but would answer Council's questions. Council member Rem asked what caused the project cost to increase from the original estimate. Mr. Brown replied the initial feasibility report had a cost ranking from $60,000 to approximately $180,000. He noted there were a number of add-ons, such as railings, painting, pilaster, which added approximately $50,000. He stated the north/south sidewalk had also added costs to the proj ect. He presented to Council the various improvement options that were available and the costs of such improvements. He indicated the cost of steel had also skyrocketed and the estimates had been increased to reflect that material cost increase. Councilmember Holden asked for an explanation of the state's grant process. She noted it was her understanding that one side of the street was more favorable in the state's opinion and the . City could get grant funds if the sidewalk was put on that side of the street. Mr. Brown summarized the grant process. He indicated he had not heard anything from the State that they would prefer a sidewalk on one side or the other. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29, 2004 4 . Councilmember Grant stated he understood if the sidewalk goes all of the way to Snelling Avenue, it would score better. He also heard if they chose not to do a sidewalk, it would also score better. He asked which was correct. Mr. Brown stated there was an article in the newspaper that if the sidewalk to Old 10, it would score better. He indicted he had checked into this and found out this was a subjective decision and it would not be necessarily affected by any type of a rule. Councilmember Holden asked if they would also get points for an 8-foot shoulder. Mr. Brown replied she was correct and they would probably weigh on the merits if it were wise to have an alternative route for pedestrians in this corridor. Mayor Aplikowski stated she has been challenged this week to think to the future and she believed it would make sense to put sidewalks on both side of the bridge - north and south. She stated she had spoken with the City Engineer if this was feasible and he has indicated it was. She asked Council if they would be interested in considcring this option. Councilmember Rem statcd she believed the safest side to put the sidewalk in was on the north side, but she realized the north side was more cxpensive than the south side, but believed this was a better option for safety reasons. . Councilmember Holden stated she was not sure they would get the pedestrian volume to put sidewalks in on both sides, even 20 years from now. Mayor Aplikowski noted this was a connection to the retail part of the City and the two different parts of the City. She stated she had heard from the residents if the path were safer, they would walk or bike to the retail section. She stated she did not know about the pedestrian volume. Ken Birk asked if anyone had every considered a pedestrian bridge instead of modifying the existing bridge. Mr. Brown replied the cost increase for a pedestrian bridge was extensive. Jean Lumberg, stated she had just heard about this sidewalk this past week. She stated from past experience, one State Department did not necessarily know what other State Departments were doing. She asked if they had explored if the State and County together were thinking about making a four-lane bridge. She noted this was an entry into the retail area and she believed a four-lane bridge might be in the future somewhere. Mr. Brown stated he had checked with both the County and MnDOT and a four-lane bridge were not being proposed in the foreseeable future. Howard Kern, 1400 West County Road E, stated he appreciated the Council's comments tonight. He believed this came down to a choice between cost and safety. If cost were the only concern, they should only put the bridge improvement in and not put in a sidewalk. However, if . safety was a concern, then they should put a sidewalk on the north side because it would eliminate the mixing of pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic. He noted they could eliminate the crosswalks entirely on the south side of the bridge so pedestrians would not cross across the bridge on the south side. He indicated all of the homes on the north side, except for two, had ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29,2004 5 . turnaround driveways, which may be safer for pedestrians. He stated there were also breaks in traffic on the north side. He indicated if they were looking forward and looking outside of the box, tbe logical path from the tunnel at Tony Schmidt Park would to have a sidewalk on the north side. He stated there would also be less homes impacted on the north side compared to the south side. He indicated the areas pedestrians could cross the street could be at the bowling alley or McDonalds. He noted the biggest issue when it came to safety was that no one would have to cross over traffic if the sidewalk was on the north side ofthe street. He requested they make their decision based on safety issues. CounciImember Larson stated they needed a sidewalk and it made the most sense to put the sidewalk on the south side of the street. He stated he understood the logic of putting the sidewalk in on the north side of the street, if all things were equal, but all things are not equal. He indicated the south side had fewer homeowners than the north side; the south side had no utility conflicts; if the sidewalk was on the south side, it would connect two City trails; it could connect the crossing of the bridge to the only trail which runs the length of County Road E; there would be minimal grading and no retaining walls if the sidewalk was located on the south side; it would not have any homeowners prevented from parking in their driveway if the sidewalk was located on the south side; there were no adverse private driveway impacts; the PTRC, City staff, and City Engineer had all recommended putting the trail on the south side; and the north side would cost considerably more to put in a sidewalk. He stated there were crosswalks at the . existing ramps and Council had not been given any acknowledgement that there was a significant safety concern. He stated if all things were equal, they would not locate this on the south side of the street because of the ramps, but all things were not equal. He stated he had looked at other freeway bridges within the community that had this type of a situation and in most cases, pedestrians were crossing freeway entrance and/or exit ramps. He indicated this had been done frequently in the City as well as other Cities. He stated they had no evidence that it might be safer to put the sidewalk on the north side versus the south side. He noted this was all speculation. He stated it did not make sense to spend $211,000.00 more on a hunch. He stated the Fire Department would soon be coming to the Council for money for a new fire truck, which amount would be less than what they were proposing to spend on this sidewalk. He indicated they did not have a good basis for deciding to spend this additional amount. He stated as long as he has been on this Council, he believes the Council has been fiscally conservative and this is what the residents wanted. He indicated they did not have the information that told them that they should spend this type of money on a project simply because pedcstrians were going to cross the on illld off ramps at Highway 51. Councilmember Grant stated he was not speaking for or against the north side. He stated he had wanted for a long time to solve the Snelling bridge trusses. He indicated with respect to other crossings in the City, there was no other choice because there are turning radiuses on both sides of the street. He agreed they were fiscally conservative and the question here was balancing all of the various priorities ~ cost versus safety. He stated there were times that they . wanted safety. He stated he would not be interested in a sidewalk on both sides. He asked if they did option B, would Council come back at a future time and add a sidewalk on the other side, or where they essentially blocked in to one side. Mr. Brown replied they would generally -------- ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29,2004 6 . be locked into their decision. He noted if the bridge were replaced in the future, a walkway would probably be put on both sides at that time. Councilmember Holden stated she understood the City Engineer had recommended building on the north side of the street. Mr. Brown replied the north side of the street was preferable if money was not an object, and if some solution could be made for the garage that would be too close to the sidewalk. Mayor Aplikowski asked Council make a firn1 decision on this tonight and to look into the future before any final decision is made. Councilmember Holden asked if they could spend MSA money on a fire truck. Councilmember Larson replied he was not implying they could use MSA money for the purchase ofa fire truck. He was simply using it as an example of what $211,000 would buy. Lee Kern, 1400 West County Road E, asked how much of the money was the City responsible for. Councilmember Grant summarized what the State would be contributing and what the City would be contributing. He noted however, this was a grant application and there was no guarantee the City would receive this money. . Ms. Kern asked if they were putting the cart before the horse because they did not even know what the funding from the State was going to be. Mr. Brown stated the City had applied for the $266,000 for a sidewalk on the north side and depending on what happened tonight with the Council, they could amend their request. He stated they were asking for the full amount and the State might pay for everything, except for possibly five or ten percent of the total for engineering costs. Ms. Kern she understood the concern about the house on Pascal, but this driveway had a 40-foot parallel driveway, which would allow them to be off of tbe street. Troy Fields, 1404 County Road E, stated he had the only children that lived on the south side of County Road E and he would prefer the sidewalk be located on the north side of the street. He noted there were more children located on the north side of the street and he did not want to see all of those children cross County Road E to get to the sidewalk on the south side of the road. He stated he did not see any more children moving in on the south side of the road. He noted County Road E was a big detriment and parents would not want to raise children on this road. He indicated they needed to look forward and attract families with children and not make it so families would not move in this area because of safety issues. He stated the trail from Lake Johanna could only be put in on the north side of the road and so the only choice here was the north side of the road because this was the only place were it made sense for safety reasons, no matter what the cost. . Keith Gilbert, 1466 Skiles Lane, stated he did not believe either side of the road was safer than the other side. He noted in order to get to the other side of County Road E, a pedestrian would ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29,2004 7 . need to cross the road at an intersection. He indicated he believed this discussion should be about connectedness. He stated it made more sense to have this sidewalk on the south side. Mayor Aplikowski stated she believed there should be a sidewalk on both sides of the street, but she did not believe she had the support of the rest of the Council. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the building of the sidewalk on the south side of the bridge and have a sidewalk continue west of the bridge on the same side and to authorize staff to proceed with plans and the funding application process and to notify MnDOT of that decision. The motion failed (1-4) (Councilmembers Grant, Holden, Rem and Mayor Aplikowski). MOTION: Councilmember Rem moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve building of the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge and have the sidewalk continue west of the bridge on the same side and to authorize staff to proceed with plans. Councilmember Larson stated he was going to vote against this because there was no evidence that there would be a safety increase and also because Council did not have a plan for the garage . that would be in the way. He noted his main concern was with the increased cost of putting a sidewalk on the north side. Colleen Hoffman, stated she knew the resident who lived in the home with the garage and she believed that resident would not have an issue ifher garage would be moved. Mayor Aplikowski stated she understood Councilmember Larson's concerns about the money, but it appeared the remaining Councilmembers wanted to spend the money to get this resolved. The motion carried (3-2) (Councilmember Larson and Mayor Aplikowski). Mayor Aplikowski requested staff come back to the Council with a proposed solution to the garage issue on Pascal. B. 2005 City Council/Citv Staff Retreat Facilitator Ms. Wolfe stated staff recently contacted a number of neighboring communities to compile a list of potential retreat facilitators for the 2005 City Council/City Staff Retreat. After reviewing the list of potential retreat facilitators, City staff contacted Barbara Strandell, James Prosser, and Carl Neu and requested they submit a bid proposal to the City for the January 2005 retreat. City staff checked the references on the three candidates. Staff requested the City Council's input . regarding the selection of a retreat facilitator. Mr. Johnson stated most of the costs were very similar, except for Neu & Company, who would need to come in from out of State and there would be travel costs involved. ---------- ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29,2004 8 . Councilmember Rem stated her preference would be Ehlers & Associates, She noted Neu & Company had a good reputation, but she was not sure she wanted to spend the money they were asking for. She stated she did not know Barbara Strandel\. Councilmember Larson stated it appeared from the cost breakdown, Ehlers & Associates, costs came in better. Council decided they would retain Ehlers & Associates as the 2005 Retreat Facilitators, C. Approval of Three Year Lahor contract with O&M Emplovees Ms. Wolfe stated the O&M Bargaining Unit approved a tentative agreement. She noted this was unchanged from what was reviewed and discussed at the most recent closed session, Councilmemher Larson commended the City staff for their work on this agreement. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the proposed tentative agreement with ruOE Local 49 for a three-year bargaining unit agreement (2005-2007). The motion . carried unanimously (5-0), 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Approve Selection of Credit Card Vendors Mr. Siddiqui stated currently the City does not accept credit card payment for its services, Services that could be paid by credit card included permit fees, licenses, utility payments, fines, sports recreation registration, etc, Over the past year, the City had received a number of inquiries from the residents and contractors encouraging the City to accept credit card payments. He noted staff had engaged in conversation with three vendors and reviewed their pricing structure, Staff recommended the Council authorize staff to enter into a contract with Certegy Card Services for the processing of the City's credit card transactions for a term of one year, with an option to renew, Councilmember Holden asked if the setup fee included the machine. Mr. Siddiqui replied it did. Mike Gonzalez, Certegy Card Services, stated they were an international company. He explained the credit card payment process. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a . motion to authorize staff to enter into a contract with Certegy Card Services for the processing of the City's credit card transactions for a term ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29, 2004 9 . of one year, with an option to renew. The motion carried unanimously (5- 0). B. City Hall Meetinl! Room Policy Mr. Johnson stated staff has revised the City Hall Meeting Room Rental Policy per Council's request. He indicated staff would reevaluate the policy and user fees after one year. He noted the building would be staffed for meetings as follows: Seasonal staff provided by the Recreational Program Supervisor; volunteers from the full time City Hall staff; and Operations and Maintenance on call staff member. He recommended approval of the proposed City Hall Meeting Room Rental Policy and fees. MOTION: Councilmember Rem moved and Councilmember Larson seconded a motion to approve the City Hall Meeting Room Rental Policy and fees. Thc motion carried unanimously (5-0). CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Ms. Wolfe - Thanked the City of Shoreview for the passes to use their Community Center. She stated the City Manager of Fridley was attempting to put forth an effort to encourage MnDOT to . take care of their right-of-ways and noted she would present this at a future meeting. Mr. Clark - Outlined the agenda for the November 30, 2004 TCAAP meeting. Councilmember Holden - Stated she had attended the School Board meeting and there was a lot of concern about the proposed school closures. She noted the school district would be asking for some assistance from the Cities. She stated she noted there was a request from Ramsey County coming up for a waste disposal site coming before the Planning Commission. She indicated she understood that Council wanted an indoor facility and asked why this had not been done. Ms. Wolfe stated she had been told the Council did not want the facility to be located where the County had originally proposed it. Councilmember Grant - Stated he walked parts of County Road E and noticed the ballard next to the electrical box next to Insty Prints had been knocked down again. He requested staff check into this. Councilmember Rem - Stated the TCAAP meeting was scheduled for tomorrow. The Economic Development Commission was meeting on Wednesday morning. The Planning Commission meeting was on Wednesday night. Councilmember Larson - Stated on Friday morning they would be meeting at 7:30 a.m. . regarding the 1-35W Coalition. He stated they had a Fire Board meeting recently and they all agreed there would be a special meeting in .T anuary to agree upon the pro-ration of costs between the three cities for how tbey were going to allocate operating and capital costs in the future. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 29,2004 10 . Mayor Aplikowski - Stated Council had received a request from the I-35W Coalition regarding renewing the City's membership Mayor Aplikowski adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 9:25 p.lljl. .>1 -" ~/U4~~' ~rl ~rLdf~,Al{,{;f/r / Bever A ikowski Michelle Wolfe Mayor City Administrator NOTICE OF MEETINGS The next Regular Council Meeting will be held Monday, December 13,2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the Arden Hills Council Chambers. . .