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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-08-WS ~ ~HILLS Approved: February 25, 2008 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION JANUARY 22, 2008; 5:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Harpstead called to order the City Council Worksession meeting at 5:36 p.m. Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead; Councilmembers David Grant, Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes left at 9:15 p.m., and David McClung Absent: None. Also present: Interim City Administrator Jim Willis; Assistant City Administrator Noah Simon; Finance Director Susan Iverson; Public Works Director Gregory Hoag; Civil Engineer Kristine Giga; Stacie K vilvang, Ehlers & Associates; 2. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Councilmember Holden requested that Council Communication and TCAAP Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities be added to the agenda. Councihnember Grant requested that the B-2; General Business District - RFP for Small Area Plan be discussed before the Market Study Update. Councilmember McClung requested the TCAAP Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities topic be placed on the agenda as Item A. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember McClung seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - January 22,2008 2 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. TCAAP Proiect Manager Roles and Responsibilities Interim City Administrator Willis stated he would only be with the City until the City Administrator is hired and suggested someone more permanent be assigned the role of TCAAP Project Manager. Ms. Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates reported she had never attended the GSA meetings as these were attended by staff. Consensus reached to have Stacie Kvilvang, the City's TCAAP Project Manager, attend all TCAAP meetings including the discussions with the Army and GSA B. Highway 10 and 96 Discussions Interim City Administrator Willis stated he has met with staff, the County, and Mn/DOT to glean information on the project. He stated these are major arterial roads requiring improvement and creating stress in the community. He stated the challenge is to find a solution to minimize the impact and address the issues. Public Works Director Hoag reported that during the August 13 and 20, 2007, City Council Worksessions, discussions were held regarding the status of the Highway 10 and County Road 96 projects. He stated that as a result of the Worksessions, another concept was developed with less impact to the west side of Highway 10. He commented that this design was discussed with the City Council at the September 17, 2007, W orksession where representatives from Mn/DOT offered to take an independent look at this project and have an in-house team of designers attempt to design other options. Public Works Director Hoag reported that Mn/DOT held an internal design meeting for this project on November 28,2007, and on December 6, 2007, the City received copies of the concept and phasing options designed by MnIDOT. Public Works Director Hoag requested the City Council to continue discussions on the Highway 1 O/County Road 96 projects and provide direction for the next steps. Councihnember Holden expressed confusion with the earlier packet received by Council in that it contained three concept plans. She requested an explanation of these options and the difference between each. Public Works Director Hoag replied the previous plans Council had received came with no explanations. Mn/DOT is present tonight to explain the process which developed the new concept and additional phasing options. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - January 22,2008 3 Mr. Jim Tolaas, Ramsey County, stated that $7 million in federal funds were received for the grade separation of Highway 10 and County Road 96. Public Works Director Hoag reported the decision to remove the signals at the intersection, replace local access, and develop concept plans has been made. He reported public involvement has included two major community meetings, meetings with neighborhood groups, and numerous Council worksessions. He stated the next step is to obtain Council approval of an interchange concept so Mn/DOT can begin preliminary design; conduct a NEP A process to address social, environmental, and economic impacts; and refine the preliminary design to consider options to reduce impacts, develop accurate construction costs and consider project phasing options. He stated this process would take about 24 months before construction begins. Public Works Director Hoag presented the process to date for the proposed projects. Mr. Chris Roy, Mn/DOT presented the Mn/DOT design concept option. He displayed aerial photos as reference and pointed out the options discussed. He presented two phasing concepts that would allow the City to build the project in phases based on funding and need. He indicated this type of analyses would be done during the preliminary design. He stated the interchange option would need to be determined prior to selecting a phased option. Councihnember McClung questioned who would be in charge of the interchange project. Mr. Roy replied the lead agency would be in charge and indicated that the lead agency is the City of Arden Hills. Councihnember Holmes commented she thought the purpose for phasing was to not begin Phase 2 until all households had been relocated. Mr. Roy replied the preliminary design would be required to determine the impacts and the right-of-way requirements. He stated there would be fewer impacts during Phase 1 of the project. Councilmember Grant commented that he understood there is a greater cost involved with the phasing option versus doing it all at one time. He questioned what the additional cost might be. Mr. Roy replied the cost would be about 10 to 20 percent greater to do the phasing options. Mr. Roy reported the state funding opportunities include Mn/DOT's offer to design the Highway 10/County 96 grade separations, other in-kind services related to the design and construction of the local access interchange would be pursued such as a State bonding request for local access interchange, and other grants such as a cooperative agreements and local roads projects through Mn/DOT. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - January 22,2008 4 Mr. Tolaas, Ramsey County, stated that Ramsey County funding includes turn-back funds to improve County Highway 96. The County has also been awarded federal funding in 2011-2012 for Highway 10/County 96 grade separation. Public Works Director Hoag stated Mn/DOT, Ramsey County, and City staff to agree on a single preferred concept and the next step includes Council approval on a preferred preliminary design. He distributed the concepts that Mn/DOT, the County, and City staff agree should be moved to preliminary design. Discussion ensued on the July 23,2007, concept and the Mn/DOT concept. Council reached consensus to move forward with the July 23,2007. Council directed staff to place the July 23, 2007, concept on the January 28, 2008, agenda. C. Market Study Update Mr. Jay Thompson, VP/Maxfield Research, Inc. presented the findings of the Housing Market Analysis and Demand Estimates for the TCAAP Site. He reported the study projects housing demand through 2020 and gives recommendations on the amount and type of housing that could be built in the TCAAP site to satisfy demand from current and future residents. Mr. Thompson reported the study indicates that the TCAAP site has many features that make it highly desirable for housing; thus, the overall housing demand exceeds the 1,750 units planned. He pointed out the detailed information in the Housing Recommendations section of the report. He stated there is demand for more housing than TCAAP can accommodated, the TCAAP location setting and access make it highly appealing for housing, and new housing would appeal to existing residents and workers in the area. Discussion ensued. Council reached consensus to direct Staff to place the Market Study on the agenda for acceptance. Council directed staff to place this information on the City web site. Councilmember Hohnes left the meeting at 9:15 p.m. D. 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update City Planner Lehnhoff stated staff requests feedback on the topics and ideas in the draft vision, policies, and strategies for the chapters in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan. He indicated staff also requests a review of the overall City vision statement. He explained ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - January 22,2008 5 this is meant to be a progress update and to get initial feedback on the overall topics within the Plan. Discussion ensued on the Comprehensive Plan. Recommended changes were captured by City Planner Lehnhoff. MOTION: Councihnember Holden moved and Councilmember McClung seconded a motion to extend the meeting time of the meeting to 10:15 p.rn. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). E. B-2; General Business District - RFP for Small Area Plan City Planner Lehnhoff stated the 2008 Budget includes $35,000 for the preparation of the small area plan. He expressed concern that $35,000 would not be enough to do everything. He commented the most important first step is to determine a vision for the B2 area. He stated some of the implementation steps could be completed by stafflater in the year after the Comprehensive Plan is completed. Councilmember Holden commented she prefers it just get it done and not give more work to staff. She asked ifthere is a way to stratify the plan. City Planner Lehnhoff stated we should issue the RFP and request a cost breakdown for each section. Mayor Harpstead stated the value of the information is critical to the City. He indicated that if it comes in over $35,000, it is an area where it needs to be done right. Discussion ensued. Mayor Harpstead questioned the use of a steering committee. Councilmember Holden commented her preference would be members from the B-2 District on the Committee. Discussion on the makeup ofthe committee ensued. Consensus reached by Council to include two property owners, one neighborhood member, one other resident, and one councilmember. F. Council Communication Councihnember Holden requested that the rules on Council communication be distributed to staff. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - January 22,2008 6 Council reached consensus to task staff to survey Council members as to how they prefer to communicate relative to phone calls, emails, and such. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Public Works Director Hoag suggested feedback on dates for extra TCAAP meetings. He requested that a set date once per month be established to discuss only TCAAP. Discussion ensued. Consensus reached to direct Staff to determine a meeting schedule. 5. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mayor Harpstead moved and Councihnember Holden seconded a motion to adjo '\ting at 10:25 p.m. The motion carried (4-0). ~ ~ ~c...J""" Ji Willis erim City Administrator