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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-10-19 Agenda A • CITY OF ARDEN HILLS Operations & Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, October 19,2000 at 7:00 p.m. Arden Hills City Hall, 4364 West Round Lake Road 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of minutes from the September 21, 2000 meeting (if available). 4. Old Business: A. Explanation of LGA and HACA funding programs for cities by Arden Hills City Accountant, Terry Post B. City Streetlights C. City Entry Signs 5. New Business • 6. Staff Update 7. Council Update 8. Other Business 9. Next Meeting Date 10. Adjournment Please contact Pam at (651) 633-5676 if you are unable to attend this meeting. • MINUTES OF ARDEN HILLS OPERATIONS & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING • October 19, 2000 Attendees: Mark Kelliher, Terry Nygaard, Chuck Stoddard, Clayton Zimmerman, City Treasuer/Accountant Terry Post, Council Liaison Lois Rem. Guest: Council Member David Grant. Chuck Mertensotto arrived at approximately 8:15 P.M. Terry Nygaard recorded the proceedings. Meeting called to order at 7:05 P.M. by Chairperson Mark Kelliher Minutes of the September 21, 2000 meeting were corrected and approved. Review of State Aid Formulas Reviewed comparison of state aid dollars provided to area communities previously distributed by Terry Post. Comparison shows significant disparity among communities, particularly with respect to homestead and agricultural credit aid("HACA"). Arden Hills receives substantially less aid than neighboring communities under existing formulas. Mr. Post provided historical prospective and explanatory materials provided by state officials. Discussed potential pursuit of legislative help to get inequity corrected, including engaging a lobbyist and identifying other communities similarly affected. Gene Rainieri to be invited to next meeting to help discuss further. City Entry Signs Resumed discussion held during previous meetings concerning entry signs for the city. Identified the following sites as appropriate for signs: • Hwy. 96 & I-35W • • Co. Rd. D & Cleveland Avenue • Co. Rd. D & Lexington Avenue • Co. Rd. E & Lexington Avenue • Hwy. 96 & Lexington Avenue Committee to recommend to Council a budget of$15,000. All signs would be same size; nothing more elaborate at Hwy. 96 & Lexington despite size and cost of Shoreview's significant entrance marker. City Hall identification excluded because regarded as part of City Hall project. Committee's recommendation to cite expression of civic pride and business and residential identification of city boundaries as reasons for placement of signs. Also,occasion of City's 50th Anniversary in 2001 is an appropriate time to consider entry signs. Signs could note anniversary in some fashion. Council Update Ms. Rem reported that the Ingerson neighborhood road reconstruction project had been deferred pending Council's reconsideration of its Pavement Management Program. Meeting adjourned at 9:10 P.M. OCT-19-00 THU 03:24 PM P. 02 • CITY OF ARDEN HILLS Operations And Finance Committee Minutes Thursday, September 21, 2000 Arden Hills City Hall, 4364 West Round Lake Road Called to order at 7:00 p.m. \a ►' 1 2,nnN\erg,u� sibdd4,-c) Attending: Mark Kelliher, Ray cCnraw, Chuck Mertensotto, Terry Nygaard, Chuck Stafford, Dwayne Stafford, Director of Public Works, Lois Rem Council Person and Mayor De:mis Probst. Approval of August 17, 2000 minutes. Topics of Discussion: • City of Arden Hills Entry Signs: Issues- keep costs down but quality high, use of new city logo, dimensions, locations of signage, materials (granite, wood, etc). • Welcoming of guest, Mayor Probst& discussion of the new City Hall. • • History of how we got to where we are now with the new city hall, financing of project, site selection, Referendum on new City hall, Lease vs, build analysis. Discussions of Public Works Facility: independent vs. shared facility, where we are today in discussion w/other users of a joint facility. How do we pay for the facility? • Street Lighting Policy- should we have one for citizens and businesses w.io request them? • Comments from Dwayne Stafford: New water meter installations are on i;chedule. • Reminder to attend 1st Truth-in-Taxation meeting on December 4, 2000. Adjournment: 9:15 p.m. VS / `r -D 410 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS MEMORANDUM DATE: September 22, 2000 TO: Joe Lynch, City Administrator FROM: Dwayne Stafford,Public Works Director SUBJECT: Informational Street Signs Background The Arden Hills Public Works Department occasionally receives requests for the installation of information type street signs. These would include Dead End, Curve, Deaf Child,No Turn Around (several tight cul-de-sacs have these) Playground, etc. Historically, the Public Works Director has brought these requests to the Operations and Finance Committee who review the requests and make a recommendation to the City Council who then may authorize the installation of a requested sign. • The Operations and Finance Committee has determined that this process involves wasted time by Staff, City Council and the Operations and Finance Committee. Recommendation The Operations and Finance Committee recommends City Council authorize the Public Works Director, upon receiving a petition from 75% of the residents of the affected block, to have informational type signs placed, as requested, if the Director determines the sign is useful and appropriate. Signs not included in this recommendation would be the regulatory types of sign such as Stop, Speed Limit, No Parking, etc. • • 4,NNESO2.4 Jew clr 6 e ,yY ,c,(10�O Minnesota Department of Transportation � 3 Transportation Building °F'�" 395 John Ireland Boulevard • St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1899 October 9, 2000 LfREC ,IED UL Greg Brown E=s t( Arden Hills City Engineer BRW Inc. 700 3rd Street South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415 Dear Mr. Brown: As you may be aware, the Minnesota Legislature mandated a study of the effectiveness of ramp metering in the Twin City Metropolitan area. The legislation requires the Minnesota Department of Transportation to shut down ramp meters, and report the traffic flow and safety results of that action to the Legislature by February 1, 2001. I am writing to ask for your help. Specifically, the consultant team hired to conduct the study asked that we solicit your cooperation by requesting that you not adjust the timing of your signal systems during the entire ramp meter evaluation phase. This is to ensure, as much as possible, that the • "before" conditions that are studied mirror the"after"(ramps-off) conditions. The shut down will occur starting on Monday, October 16, 2000. The ramp meters will be off about four to six weeks. We intend to keep you and the public informed of any developments regarding this study via a comprehensive communications plan. As part of that plan, we have established a ramp meter study page on the Mn/DOT Website (click on"hot topics"). That site will be updated regularly and already contains much more detail regarding the study than could be put into this letter. I invite you to bookmark and regularly visit the site. Its address is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/rampmeterstudy/facts.html Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Elwyn Tinklenberg Commissioner • Encl. An equal opportunity employer • .4,01ES07. Minnesota Department of Transportation F e Transportation Building 395 John Ireland Boulevard St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1899 Ramp Meter Study Fact Sheet (9/22/00) Background A bill passed by the 2000 Legislature requires that the Minnesota Department of Transportation study the effectiveness of ramp meters in the Twin Cities metro area by conducting a shutdown study before the next legislative session. The results will be shared with the Legislature and the public by Feb. 1, 2001. The goal of the study is to evaluate the traffic flow and safety impacts associated with turning off all ramp meters. Specifics of Ramp Meter Study The study began with a four-to-six week pre-study data collection the week of Sept. 11, in order for the consultant to compare against the data collected when the ramps are shut down in October. In total,both the"before" and "after"data collection should take about 10 to 12 weeks. Cambridge Systematics, Cambridge, Mass., is the consultant that will conduct the study. The study will cost$651,600. • The consultant will be studying four freeway corridors that have been chosen as representative of the system. The location of these corridors will not be made public, so as to maintain the integrity of the data. Study objectives include: • To fully explore the impacts of ramp metering on freeways, local roads, and on transit operations. • To identify the public perception of ramp metering. • To compare Minnesota's ramp metering system and timing strategies with other regional systems across the country. To measure customer satisfaction, the consultant plans to use a series of focus groups and telephone surveys to talk to 1,540 users of the system. The consultant will be looking for individual traveler-oriented perspectives regarding ramp meters and ramp meter operation. Ramp meters in the Twin Cities There are 430 ramp meters on approximately 210 miles of freeways in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Ramp metering began in the Twin Cities in 1969 with a pilot project on I-35E in St. Paul. Ramp meter timing is based on real-time traffic conditions that are set by computers located at Mn/DOT's Traffic Management Center. • An equal opportunity employer , 4NESO? :° Minnesota Department of Transportation 1F �� Transportation Building °F11* 395 John Ireland Boulevard • St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1899 Q and A for Ramp Meter Study (9/22/00) Q: When will the shutdown occur? A: The ramp-meter study that includes shutting off all ramp meters in the metro area will occur sometime in October and last from four to six weeks. A four-to-six week pre-study data collection began the week of Sept. 11. This pre-data collection will enable the consultant to compare this data with data collected when the ramp meters are shut down. In total, both the "before" and "after"data collection should take about 10 to 12 weeks. Q: Will all the ramp meters be turned off? A: Yes, all 430 ramp meters will be shut off during the study. Q: Are you going to tell the public when the shutdown is? If so, why? A: The Ramp Meter Study Advisory Committee decided to notify the public a week in advance of the shutdown. The consultant decided that they will take into account the impact of any type of anticipatory behavior. The consultant estimates that it will take one to two weeks for traffic to settle down when the meters are turned off The consultant believes that alerting the public could speed up this transition time. • Q: What will the study cost? A: The study will cost $651,600. Q: What are the study objectives? A: Study objectives include: • To fully explore the impacts of ramp metering on freeways, local roads, and on transit operations. • To identify the public perception of ramp metering. • To compare Minnesota's ramp metering system and timing strategies with other regional systems across the country. Q: What will the consultant be measuring? A: The consultant will study four freeway corridors that have been chosen as being representative of the system. The location of these corridors will not be made public, so as to maintain the integrity of the data. The consultant team will collect data that will help it evaluate the impacts of ramp metering on travel time, safety, travel time reliability/predictability, the environment and energy • An equal opportunity employer • ) and A Page 2 and volume (the number of vehicles the system carries). This data will be collected on both freeways and parallel alternate routes. Additionally, customer satisfaction will also be measured. Q: How will the consultant measure customer satisfaction? A: The consultant plans to use a series of focus groups and a telephone survey of users of the system. They will measure individual traveler-oriented perspectives regarding ramp meters and ramp meter operation. In total, 1,540 system users will participate in the market research. Q: Why is Mn/DOT doing this study? A: A bill, passed by the 2000 Legislature, requires that Mn/DOT study the effectiveness of ramp meters in the Twin Cities metro area by conducting a shutdown study before the next legislative session. Q: Does Mn/DOT support the study? A: Mn/DOT is fully committed to conducting a scientific study of ramp meter effectiveness. • Q: Will there be citizen/community involvement in the study? A: Two committees are helping to guide and implement the study to ensure the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. • An Advisory Committee provides policy oversight and helped select the consultant. The committee also helped devise the proposed study work plan, measures of effectiveness and evaluation measures. David Jennings, President of the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, chairs the Advisory Committee. Other organizations represented include: • Association of Minnesota Counties • Department of Public Safety- State Patrol • Hennepin County Community Health Department • Southwest Metro Transit Commission • Four State Legislators • FHWA • Murphy Warehouse Company • AAA • Metropolitan Council • Mn/DOT • Citizens League • • Metro Transit • City of Eagan I • QandA Page 3 • A Technical Committee provides technical guidance, expertise and quality control. It also represents the public, and provides technical guidance to the consultant selection process, the study work plan and measures of effectiveness and evaluation methods. It is chaired by James Grube, Director of the Hennepin County Transportation Department. Organizations represented include: • Pollution Control Agency • Dakota County Highway Department • City of Ramsey • City of St. Paul • MnIDOT's Metro Division and Office of Investment Management • Metropolitan Council • City of Minneapolis • Metro Transit • Ramsey County Public Works • FHWA Q: Is the consultant taking into account the changes in weather or lighting conditions that will occur in the before and after study? What about days with a high number of • incidents? A: The consultant intends to flag bad weather days (rain/snow), high incident days, and dark vs. light conditions (both during the "before" and the "after" data collection). The data will be grouped and analyzed into separate categories. If there is a statistically significant difference between groups, the data will be analyzed separately and comparisons will be made for data under similar weather/light/incident conditions. Also, the consultant will analyze data across groups to identify differences in the effectiveness of ramp metering under varying weather/light/incident conditions. Q: Will the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)lanes and ramp-meter bypasses be open to single-occupant vehicles during the study? A: No. The HOV lanes and ramp-meter bypasses will operate as usual and will be open for buses, car/vanpools, and motorcycles during regular hours. The State Patrol will enforce these lanes and bypasses as usual. Q: What will the ramp meters look like during the study? A: The ramp meters will be flashing yellow during the study,just like they are during off- peak periods. • • QandA Page 4 Q: If the system collapses,will Mn/DOT stop the study? A. Mn/DOT has identified a process and a set of triggers— including our obligation to provide for a safe traveling environment, economic impacts and total system failure - that would cause us to consider early termination. However, early termination would occur only after those trigger conditions were met and only after extended conversations between Mn/DOT, the Departments of Public Safety, the Advisory Committee, the Governor's Office, and the leadership of the Transportation Committees in both the House and the Senate. Legislative involvement with this decision is imperative because it is under its mandate that Mn/DOT is conducting this study, and any kind of early termination of the study needs to comply with Legislative intent. Q. What do you think will happen when the ramps are shut down? A: It would be inappropriate for Mn/DOT to speculate as to what will occur when the meters are shut off Q: How can I get more information on the ramp meter study? A: Visit Mn/DOT's web site at: www.dot.state.mn.us and look under"Hot Topics." •