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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-17-08-WS Approved: March 31, 2008 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MARCH 17, 2008; 5:00 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDERlROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Stan Harpstead called to order the City Council Work Session meeting at 5:04 p.m. Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, and David McClung. Absent: Councihnember David Grant (excused). Also present: Interim City Administrator Jim Willis; Assistant City Administrator Noah Simon; Public Works Director Gregory Hoag; Civil Engineer Kristine Giga; Stacie Kvilvang of Ehlers & Associates; Fie Chief Tim Boehlke, Lake Johanna Fire Department; and Recording Secretary Beth Bostrom. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Councihnember McClung moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (4- 0). 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Lake Johanna Fire-Budget. Capital Facilities Needs Study Councilmember McClung stated Public Works Director Hoag would present a needs assessment study request. Pnblic Works Director Hoag stated that the assessment is primarily a spin off of the Station 1 study which was scheduled for 2007. He explained that a few Board members have requested a further look at proper location, consideration of whether the existing location is best, and additional issues from the fire departments long range plan. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17,2008 2 Commissioner Holden asked for the status of the Arden Hills Fire Station 1 assessment. Fire Chief Boehlke stated that the RP was completed before the Assistant City Administrator left. He explained that the Board began a discussion to look beyond Station 1 for the entire fire district. Discussion ensued regarding consideration of a needs assessment for Station 1. Fire Chief Boehlke stated that the fire service is frequently involved in responding to medical calls with the EMS instead of police who are stretched with other calls. Councilmember McClung reviewed that the assessment samples of three area cities in the council packet can be used as a guideline. He explained that they need to decide what specifically they want to look at before starting the process. He commented that the cost involved needs to be determined. He suggested that a professional company should be used for the assessment. Councilmember Holden stated that money will be needed for trucks, staffing, and building which will take time to plan. Discussion ensued regarding future needs and funding of the stations and staffing. Fire Chief Boehlke stated that a goal should be to respond to a fire in four to six minutes and it is currently a six to seven minute response time. Public Works Director Hoag explained how the Roseville fire department handles their shifts. He explained that cost savings may be seen with paid on-call staff and by not having a fulltime paid staff because help is available only when needed. He explained that 95 percent of the Roseville runs are handled by five people staffed at one fire station. Discussion ensued regarding how to meet staffing needs of the fire department. Councilmember Holden asked for more details on what the financial impact is of reducing the response time. Councilmember McClung stated that they would work to add this in to the RFP. Councilmember McClung requested that the Board work with Fire Chief Boehlke to refine their request for City Council later this year and bring it back up in January, 2009. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct Staff to initiate a needs assessment on all issues to be completed in early 2009. Councilmember Holmes asked about nuisance fire calls at Bethel. She explained that Northwestern College is considering converting the Holiday !un to dorms and asked for some suggestions. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17, 2008 3 Fire Chief Boehlke stated that all the room alarms at the hotel go to a central office which requests a fire dispatch. He explained that technically with a change of hands the building should have fire sprinklers. He explained that with 300 students and four stories he would prefer to go there even if it is a false alarm to make sure people are safe. He explained that he is not concerned about the volume of calls. B. TH 10/CR 96 Preliminary Design Issues and Positions Mayor Harpstead stated that tonight's meeting is a continuation of a Council public meeting and will be used to review the draft position document. Stacie Kvilvang of Ehlers & Associates stated that after reviewing the Council video and notes she would like to review some things that were changed from the proposed position paper. She commented that the design constraints, numbers one through six, are not in a particular order. She commented that I-694 should remain in the position paper and be discussed. She referred to the sound study with the separation of Highway 10 and County Road 96 along with the development of TCAAP. She explained that MN/DOT will look at the sound study and is responsible for payment of the study of I-694. She explained that safe pedestrian crossing connecting to trails when crossing over or under Highway 10 or County Road 96 was added. She explained that access for residents to Highway 10 and County Road 96 was included. She stated that MN/DOT has not found a signalized intersection to be viable but City Council believes it is a viable option. Conncilmember McClung asked what will happen when the proposed plan is completed. Ms. Kvilvang explained that in a month or so they will return with work projects to review. She explained that a noise study will be completed and results can be reviewed. She commented that they will review the mitigation along with who covers the costs. She reviewed they would look at the roadways with medians and trail widths. She explained they would look at exit ramps and pedestrian access to the bridge along with associated costs. She stated that they anticipate this information to be roughly available for the Council meeting on April 14th. She explained that they should have estimates on the Highway 10 north and south alignment of the roadway and intersections. She explained that they could discuss medians and boulevards at Highway 10 and County Road 96 on the western area where it affects Arden Manor. She explained they could look at the north end where there will be an exit ramp from Highway 10 onto County Road 96. She stated that they could review pedestrian crossing options for crossing over or under Highway 10 and County Road 96. Mayor Harpstead stated he feels the April 14th date is too soon for all of the information to be available. Ms. Kvilvang stated that they will provide what information they have available at the time. She explained that they will review what the minimums are for all options and will work from there once the impact is understood. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17, 2008 4 Councilmember McClung asked who the technical expert is on behalf of the City that will evaluate the responses received back from the State and MnlDOT. Ms. K vilvang stated that they have access to staff with SRF and WSB and the City engineering staff without bringing in additional staff mg. Councilmember McClung requested that an expert traffic engineer be involved on the City's behalf. Ms. K vilvang stated that if Council considers this critical they will look into it. Interim City Administrator Willis stated that there will be City cost involved in consulting with an expert. Councilmember McClung stated that this type of decision should not be made without technical expertise. Mayor Harpstead asked how this lines up with the timeline of the County. Ms. Kvilvang stated the County is working to begin pre-design in Mayor June. She explained that they are working to get some decisions made to lead up to this. Civil Engineer Kristine Giga stated that SRF, Bolton and Menk and Jacobs Edwards and Kelcey are in the City's transportation engineering pool. Councilmember Holmes asked about State, County and MN/DOT communication and response. Ms. Kvilvang stated that they will collect this information and share it with the City. Councilmember McClung questioned if items should be prioritized. Mayor Harpstead reviewed the list of changes. He commented I-694 noise mitigation plans would be funded from an outside source. He explained the I-694/35W and 35E project are only impacted as they relate to noise in the position paper. Mark Benson, SEH representative, explained that existing sound levels are maintained to verify that the noise model is accurately predicting future noise levels. Councilmember McClung stated that he is concerned with the wording in the last sentence of City perspective that says "mitigation that may be required." He commented that it is not specific enough relating to costs. Mayor Harpstead requested that the fourth line of the City Perspective on MnlDOT Project, section I, the term "measures and costs to see if noise can be reduced" be added to the City perspective. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17,2008 5 Councilmember McClung confirmed that the items discussed can be changed in the future. Ms. Kvilvang agreed that future changes can be made. Discussion ensued regarding sound mitigation. Mayor Harpstead questioned if any changes should be made to section II. Councilmember McClung stated that if the highway goes up and over noise mitigation should be necessary. Discussion ensued regarding sound study collection methods and locations. Councilmember Holmes questioned design constraint number three which says "minimize impact to Arden Hills by considering the impact." She suggested that they consider the impact of minimizing specific aspects such as the shoulder or a trail but not minimizing the entire area. Mayor Harpstead mentioned that wording should be consistent throughout the plan for safe pedestrian crossing and access where there is a bridge with a shoulder. Councilmember Holmes asked if design constraint number five regarding safe access to pedestrians to "cross County Road 96 to access trails" is clear. Mayor Harpstead stated that this is a historic perspective relating to navigating the bridge. He explains that the word "cross" refers to going over the bridge. Councilmember Holmes inquired if they should prioritize items in number II. She stated that the first, third and fourth items are priorities based on citizen input. Councilmember Holden stated that items are intertwined and it is too early to set priorities. She stated that priorities may be decided later when costs are known. Mayor Harpstead asked if changes should be made for number III. Councilmember McClung stated that the language should be stronger for design constraint number one. Discussion ensued regarding the wording of III, design constraint number 1. Consensus of the Commission was to change the wording ofIII, aspect number one to: "GaR An at-grade signalized..." It was agreed change the wording of design constraint #1 to "Reyiew optioR to Determine if an at-grade..." Councilmember McClung stated that they need a construction plan in mind when working with MN/DOT so that they have input to the process. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17, 2008 6 Mr. Benson stated that signalizing the TCAAP intersections would be similar to the volumes and operation of the signal at County Road 96 and highway 10. Mayor Harpstead questioned if the volume for turning traffic was taken into consideration for TCAAP and County Road 96. He asked that they have better numbers to use in looking forward at the project. He explained that the 2030 volumes would create a turning hazard entering onto I- 694. Councilmember McClung requested numbers for the Highway 10 diagonal for 2030 which relate to turning. He eXplained that some current turns will not be possible in the future. Discussion ensued regarding future road use. Councilmember Holmes commented that she would like a design constraint to be to compare the cost of a signalized intersection and a diamond interchange. She commented that the City perspective should include a consideration of costs, timing, and phasing options. Councilmember McClung commented that he agrees with adding a request for costs of various options for design constraint number one. Councilmember Holden commented that they would like the project as far north as possible. Ms. Kvilvang stated that they would look at the alignment to see what is possible. Councilmember McClung stated that this would depend on stacking up to I-35 and will be reviewed. Ms. Kvilvang suggested including in design constraint number 4 a review of costs associated with realigning Highway 10 so that it is spelled out. Mayor Harpstead asked if the position paper is ready to come before Council on the 31 st. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct Staff to prepare this to go before City Council on the 31st. Mayor Harpstead asked if anyone else present would like to respond. Kristi Effinger, 1969 Banyon Street asked if an email with comments from another resident about a conversation with MnlDOT was included in the comments. Ms. Kvilvang stated that the comments have been forwarded. AI Hilgers of 1536 Briarknoll Drive asked what factors are involved in the criteria MN/DOT looks at compared to the study done 20 years ago. He stated that there are differences and would like Council to look at it. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17, 2008 7 Mr. Mark Benson stated that federal and state standards are being reviewed. He commented that most major highways in the Twin Cities will exceed the state standards for noise. He explained that traffic volumes would need to increase by half or decrease by half to impact a recognizable change in noise. He stated that they review walls for ten and 20-foot heights and the impact of change in noise. He explained that the cost of the wall is taken into consideration versus the change noise. He stated that the Federal Highway Administration determined the amount that can be spent on sound abatement so there are guidelines. Mr. Hilgers stated that MN/DOT can make it possible that walls can be built to help with sounds. Gerald Garner of 4652 Prior Circle stated that he has 46 years of experience with MN/DOT. He stated that he thinks the traffic volume on Highway 10 is greatly exaggerated. He commented that if a light is added by the arsenal it would help traffic going north. Cheryl Fish of2059 Todd Drive stated that ifthere is a signaled intersection going into TCAAP it would act as a meter for traffice going on to 35W. Mayor Harpstead requested a recess at 7:07 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 7: 13 p.m. C. Citv Administrator Recruitment Mayor Harpstead stated that they will conduct some interview meetings on the evening of March 24th and in the morning of March 29th. He commented that he would tell Harry Brull of PDI to start the process. Mr. Brull joined the meeting by speaker phone. Harry Brull ofPDI stated that they will interview six candidates divided between the two dates. He suggested adding a half hour to the time for a Council orientation. Mayor Harpstead suggested they meet at 6:00 p.m. on March 24th for the orientation and then have interviews on each hour to follow. He discussed that on Saturday, March 29th the interviews would start at 8:30 a.m. Mr. Brull suggested having a brief meeting following the meeting with the candidates to discuss whom to consider. Mayor Harpstead suggested meeting prior to the Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 31st to discuss the candidates. Councilmember Holmes stated that she will not be able to attend the meeting that night but can make her preferences known prior to the meeting. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17, 2008 8 Mayor Harpstead reviewed the questions to consider in interviewing for City Administrator. He suggested that leadership, accountability, integrity, ability to create momentum and direction to the City would be qualities he looks for. Councihnember McClung stated that he would like someone who is not a follower but can lead and make plans to bring before Council. Councilmember Holden stated that she would like someone who could work from the goals and take a direction to move the goal forward. Discussion ensued regarding leadership qualities to seek in recruiting a City Administrator between Council and Mr. Brull. Mayor Harpstead reviewed the questions that he brought to suggest for the interview. Councilmember McClung asked that the Council be allowed the time to work in creating goals and follow through to plan them. Mayor Harpstead reviewed that there is an interview evaluation form. Mr. Brull explained that the evaluation was created from his experience. He explained that he has designed questions for the Council to review and consider asking the candidates. He suggested asking questions regarding previously handled circumstances versus asking questions about specific situations in Arden Hills. He suggested asking roughly the same questions of all candidates. Mayor Harpstead suggested that each Councilmember review the list and put a question list together by Friday to forward to Mr. Brull. Mr. Brull requested the questions on Monday. He stated that he would contact the candidates and forward their resumes to Council for review. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS None. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - March 17,2008 9 ADJOURN MOTION: Councihnember McClung moved and Councihnember Hohnes seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). stead adjourned the City Council Worksession at 8:12 p.m. ~~ - CITY OF ARDEN HILLS REQUEST TO APPEAR BEFORE: CITY COUNCIL/ PLANNING COMMISSION EN HILLS If you wish to address the City Council or Planning Commission, please follow the suggestions listed below. Thank you. (PLEASE PRINT) Date 3// Name Phone p , h �___ . - � ! -- ------ .___ _ Address _ Agenda Item you wish to address y .._... --- ..._. _.. -_._... ........_....__....._...._ Company of Individual Representing (if applicable) Note: Please complete this form so that you may be recognized at the appropriate time on the Agenda. You are under no obligation to speak if you decide against it during the meeting. Please state your full name, address and phone number so the record of your comments will be complete in the minutes of this meeting. Thank you. CITY OF ARDEN HILLS lt REQUEST TO APPEAR BEFORE: CITY COUNCIL/ PLANNING COMMISSION AREN HILLS If you wish to address the City Council or Planning Commission, please follow the suggestions listed below. Thank you. (PLEASE PRINT) Date L Name Phone ...........- ............ Address //T ...............................-.................I..........—.-.............-................................. Agenda Item you wish to address ................ .......................................................... ........ .............. ............---------------- ............................. ......... ........----....... Company of Individual Representing (if applicable) ............ . ........ ............... .......................... ........... —---------- ..............-.-.......... ............... .............. Note: Please complete this form so that you may be recognized at the appropriate time on the Agenda.You are under no obligation to speak if you decide against it during the meeting. Please state your full name, address and phone number so the record of your comments will be complete in the minutes of this meeting.Thank you. CITY ODrARDDIN HILLS REQUEST TO APPEAR BEFORE: CITY COUNCIL/ PLANNING COMMISSION HILLS if you wish tO address the City Council O[ Planning Commission, please follow the suggestions listed below. Thank you. /PLEASE PRINT) Date Name Phone Address It -n 19 MiV 1 Agenda Item you wish to address pany of Individual Representing(if applicabie--j Note: Please complete this form so that you may be recognized at the appropriate time on the Agenda. You are under no obligation to speak if you decide against it during the meeting. Please state your full name, address and phone number so the record of your comments will be complete in the minutes of this meeting. Thank you.