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2024-03-12 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 12, 2024 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Jason Holt, Council Members, Sherrie Pugh, Paula Larson, Kathy McEnaney and Kevin Castellano. Members absent: None Others present: City Manager Jesse Dickson, Deputy City Manager Maggie Reisdorf, City Attorney Scott Landsman, City Clerk Kevin Kelly, Community Development Director Sarah Smith, City Engineer Matt Bauman, Deb Vertnik, Stephen Vertnik, Austin Wiberg, Curtis Taets, Jaime Taets, Marc Doepner-Hove, Jerry Jerome, Dan Saatzer, Margie Saatzer, Tom Venable, Jess Hill, Joe Bruns, Pete Meyer, Kate Radke, Daniel Radke, Ronald Stein, Evam Satterstrom, Phil Velsor, Tim and Sandy Flodin, Kara Schmitz, Barb Zimmerman, Tiffany Beitler, Ben Colianni, Kirk Lau, Johann Chemin, Colin Charleson, Michelle Herrick, Mary Davis. Consent agenda: All items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature by the Council. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence. 1. Open meeting Mayor Holt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledae of Alleqiance 3. Approve agenda Dickson said he has an amendment to the agenda which is removing Item 4C, a public gathering permit for Surfside Park. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh, to approve the amended agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by Pugh, seconded by Castellano, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $334,384.49. B. Approve minutes: February 20, 2024 Special Workshop Meeting — City Council/ Planning Commission February 28, 2024 Workshop Meeting February 28, 2024 Regular City Council Meeting C. REMOVED 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. No one came forward. Mound City Council Minutes 6. Orono Police Department Activity Report for February 2024 Sergeant Colin Hennessy, presented the Activity Report and said while he reviewed the report, he noticed the white out of the total address of the location of incidents in the report. Hennessy said he will remind the OPD office staff to leave the street visible. Hennessy said there has been higher call and lower call volumes at different days in February. Hennessy said recently neighborhoods came together over a tragic incident. Hennessy said there has been more theft from motor vehicles with a couple happening in Mound. Hennessy reminded the Council and the community to keep valuables in vehicles out of site. Larson asked about the white out of the entire address. Hennessy asked for the OPD staff to keep the address number omitted but would like the street name to be visible. 7. Franchise Fee Amendment Landsman said the Council passed the ordinance to revise utility fees in December. Landsman said Xcel Energy didn't object to the fee increase but would like the Sunset Clause language be put back into the City Code. Landsman said the Sunset Clause will continue to the end of 2025. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh to approve the following ordinance. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Ordinance No. 03-2024 amend Chapter 74, Appendix A regarding Franchises 8. Request to Rename Auditors Road to Harbor Place Larson recused herself from the discussion. Dickson said this is the culmination of the discussion on the renaming of Auditors Road to Harbor Place. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh to approve the following ordinance. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Ordinance No. 02-2024 Amending Appendix B of the Mound City Code as it related to street naming. 9. Surfside Park Improvements Matt Bauman, City Engineer, said the City received 11 bids for the improvement project. Bauman said Blackstone Contractors is the recommended vendor as they came in as the lowest bidder. Bauman said there will be additional work by Public Works staff and electrical rework on outlets. Bauman said a couple bids were received on the electrical work in which Egan Companies won the bid at $9,750.00. Bauman said the Council will need to decide on which alternative bid; either for sod or seeding. Bauman said he recommends the sod alternative. Bauman said the recommended bids will allow the project to come in close to the original budgeted amount. Larson said she has asked for a summary of in -kind expenses for the project and would like to table the Surfside Park Improvement budget discussion for two weeks because she doesn't have the budget numbers on paper. Holt said the Council has talked about the budget many times. Larson said she wanted the Council to be completely transparent to let the taxpayers know. Larson said she wanted the budget numbers to study for two more weeks. Pugh said the bids on the project have come within the budget and asked Larson what she is asking for. Larson said she wants to see the in -kind work by City Public Works staff itemized and how much work by City staff will supplement the project. Holt said this has been discussed many times by the Council that City staff were going to do prep work at Surfside Park. Pugh said the City staff contribution to the project is not in -kind work. Mound City Council Minutes Tiffany Beitler, 1350 Game Farm Circle, Minnetrista, said to those who are opposed to the Eli Hart Playground (EHP), where have you been the last two years? Beitler said the Eli Hart Foundation (EHF) has been active on social media, have held many fundraisers, have been promoted throughout the community and world, attended many Parks and Open Spaces and City Council meetings, held community events and had numerous newspaper articles written and news broadcasts made about the EHF. Beitler said the EHF has never received any opposition except from the two City Council members. Beitler said there is a signed contact with the City and the organization and fundraising has been in motion for two years. Beitler added the community supports this project through 700 donations including a large number of social organizations which she listed. Beitler said 100 local companies supported the project. Beitler said the community overwhelmingly supports the EHP project and came together to make this happen. Johann Chemin, 6039 Beachwood Road, said this project is not set in stone. Chemin listed a number of items on the presentation he provided which included: • Page 10 of the Surfside Park Master Plan (SPMP) from 2018 which called for more open and green space. • SPMP had the support from the entire community • Page 37 of the SPMP said the playground should be constructed with natural materials • Page 34 of the SPMP produced a diagram of the playground area, • Chemin said the EHP is too large and a dramatic change from the 2018 Master Plan. • The EHP doesn't blend in and blocks views and bigger is not better • There will be parking issues and attendance will be low in off-season • The budget in the SPMP was $180K in 2018 which grew to $290K with the EHP and the increased size of the playground • Chemin said the EHP playground should move elsewhere such as Shirley Hills School. Peter Meyer, 5748 Sunset Road, said he has lived in Mound for 42 years, was a Parks Commissioner in the 1990's for eight years and on the City Council. Meyer said he was part of the group which started the nature conservation program in Mound which preserved and created nature areas. Meyer said there is a green space problem in the City and is in favor of the EHP but he didn't know how large the playground plan is. Meyer said Surfside is a multi -use regional park and was surprised by the Park Commission approval of such a large playground and would like to see it smaller. Barb Zimmerman, 5503 Three Points Blvd., Austin Wiberg, 2290 Commerce, Kara Schmitz, 25845 Birchwood Road, Shorewood, Jess Hill, 2217 Beachwood Lane. Zimmerman said their group is with the Spirit of the Lake (SOTL) festival and appreciative of the City's support and is in support of the EHP. Zimmerman said they are a little concerned about of the location and the size of the EHP. Zimmerman said the SOTL is a tight fit and the timing of the construction is also a concern with the SOTL being scheduled for July. Hill said there was concerns with the white stakes marking the layout of the EHP. Hill said the SOTL layout crew thought the location of the EHP looks workable. Hill said there are questions about the work being done before SOTL. Bauman said there are recommending the sod alternate and expect the contractor to have the work done by early June so the turf should be ready for SOTL. Mary Davis, 3021 Inverness Lane, said she was frustrated by the lack of access to the lake when she moved to Mound. Davis said the EHP is by a lake and by the beach and it makes her sick that the open space is going to be destroyed and has the City Council considered another location. Mound City Council Minutes Margie Saatzer, 2625 Westedge Blvd., said she moved to Mound in 1984. Saatzer said she has used the park for many years and thinks the EHP is too large and Surfside Park is already too crowded on the weekend. Jamie Taets, 4637 Carlow Road, said her daughter and other young adults worked on raising money for the EHP and spent countless hours working with EHF members to make EHP happen. Taets said there has been quite a bit of non-factual, horrible items posted on social media about the playground. Tom Venable, 5991 Ridgewood said he moved to Mound in 2009. Venable said he is the Board Chair for WeCab. Venable said he is a member of the Mound Rotary which raised $40K for the playground from seven rotary groups in the metro area. Venable praised the EHF and the kids for the message they sent to the community which has been inspiring. Venable said he is thankful to the EHF to raise awareness and provide education on mental illness. Davis said she thought it was a win, win and felt horrible what happened to Eli Hart. Davis thought it would help with the healing. Davis said what has gotten us off track is the emotion for the playground and you can't make a decision off of emotion. Davis said the space at Surfside shouldn't be taken up by the EHP. Beitler said the opposition is based on things that are not true. Beitler said there is no budget shortfall and the City was always going to do ground work at the site. Beitler extolled the design of the playground and its natural elements which were supported by the Parks Commission. Joe Bruns, 2630 Setter Circle, said he wants to get Setter Circle paved and what happened to the liquor store profits and have they been diverted. Castellano said the liquor store funds can be used for a number of different projects and those funds are approved each year. Joe Bruns said the EHP will cause increased incidents in the lake due to the increase in children. Bruns wondered who will take up the annual maintenance costs and where is the money coming from. Castellano said maintenance will come through the Parks and Public Works budgets. McEnaney said she wanted to clarify with Beitler that she is in awe of the EHF fundraising efforts. McEnaney said she has consistently voted no because of the size of the EHP and is supportive of and impressed by the EHF. McEnaney has been in town for 36 years and the success of Surfside Park is for the green space. McEnaney said she wanted to stick with the 2018 SPMP. Larson said she applauds the heartfelt job the EHF has accomplished and the fundraising is commendable. Larson said she has been smeared on social media because she spoke up. Larson said the Council has a fiduciary duty and the Council shouldn't think with its heart. Larson has asked from the beginning to make the EHP smaller. Larson said the playground is too big and the Council did try to reign in the size of the playground before the EHP approval. Larson said there is a win, win for taxpayers which is to put on the brakes on the EHP before SOTL. Larson said parking at Surfside is a problem and trees will have to be removed. Larson said she wants to move the EHP to the new Harbor District Park which has parking, the trail, and places to eat at nearby. Larson quoted the Joni Mitchell song "Pave paradise and put up a parking lot." Pugh said she sits on the Parks Commission and the City has a park system with a variety of parks including larger parks such as Highland, Philbrook, Three Points and Surfside. Pugh said during the SPMP process the City Council has also dedicated a new park in the harbor district which will hold Mound City Council Minutes events. Pugh said the Harbor Park is placed there because there will be parking and those events will feed into the downtown business district. Pugh said everyone says they want green space but adding parking at parks would take away from the green space of those parks. Holt said he has worked with the EHF since he became Mayor and the EHF has made many connections through grants and donations. Holt said the process is too close to the finish line to change the location of the EHP. Holt said the staked area depicting the location of the EHP has been moved and offers more useable space at Surfside Park. Holt said the City needs to move forward on the EHP especially with the bids which have been received. Holt said this is a split issue. Bauman said there is a resolution to award the EHP bid award to the lowest bidder. Larson said the Mound 2018 Master Plan listed the #1 need from the public is green space. Larson called for a roll call vote. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh, to the award bid to Blackstone Contractors, for alternate 1 with addition electrical work by Egan companies. Holt, Pugh and Castellano voted yes. Larson and McEnaney voted no. Motion carried. 10. Lift Station Improvements Bauman said this agenda item is an approval of the authorization of the bid for the lift station improvements based on an updated cost estimate of $850K which is up from the Capital Improvement Plan estimate of $625K. Bauman said the reasons for the cost increases include a different pipe laying application, the addition of different pipe work, the relocation of the force main and a couple of Inflow/Infiltration fixes to the system in this area. Bauman said the engineer's estimate adds an additional $75K. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. RESOLUTION NO. 24-24: RECEIVING REPORT AND AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND ORDERING ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE 2024 LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT 11. Stop Sign on Tuxedo Blvd. at Brighton Blvd. Bauman said the Stage 1 review was completed on the Tuxedo Blvd. stop sign removal. Bauman said this street crossing has had incremental changes for ADA improvements since 2016-2017 and in 2022 the City added crosswalk striping and crosswalk signage to the intersection. Bauman said the Tuxedo/Brighton intersection doesn't need a stop sign on its own due to the low number of incidents. Bauman said another factor is the presence of the crosswalk with the large sweeping curve of Tuxedo Road. Bauman said Bolton and Menk recommended advance warning signage and stop signs. Bauman said other flashing warning items were presented as an alternative to the crossing. Bauman said there are options other than the stop sign which would be the construction of the sidewalk to the City line for $400K. Bauman said the City could add another 1,000 feet in the other side of the street for $100K. Bauman said this cost would be assessed to abutting property owners. Bauman said the flashing warning signs cost would be $35-60K. Mound City Council Minutes Bauman said the City could pull the two Tuxedo stop signs but would need a contractor to grind out the crosswalk stripping. Bauman said this would lead to the unsafe conditions prior to the placement of the stop signs. Bauman said he recommends no change to current situation and to not remove the Tuxedo Blvd. stop signs. Bauman said there could be a Stage 2 review engineering study conducted which could take pedestrian and traffic counts and take those numbers into consideration. Larson asked if there has been a problem with pedestrian accidents at the intersection. Larson said is there an accident count of the intersection. Bauman said there would have to be research to find out the number of accidents. Larson said she did drive Tuxedo Blvd. past the intersection and believes the stop sign does interfere with the flow of traffic on Tuxedo. Larson said there is a petition which was signed by 71 residents with a majority of the people in the area wanting the stop signs removed. Kate and Dan Radke, 3062 Brighton Blvd., said they live close to the intersection and are so thankful for the stop sign. Kate Radke said there is a school bus stop on the corner and it was super dangerous with speeding cars before the stop sign. Kate Radke said she understands the stop sign does slow down cars but safety is more important. Dan Radke said that prior to the stop sign his neighbor would have trouble backing out of their driveway as it was dangerous before the stop sign. Evan Satterstrom, 3069 Brighton Blvd., said he agrees with the report to keep things as they are. Satterstrom said the stop sign and cross walk has made the neighborhood walkable and drivers have been cited for excessive speed on Tuxedo. Satterstrom said there is wildlife in the wetland on the intersection as well. Satterstrom said a car in his driveway was totaled by a car going too fast on Tuxedo Blvd. Ron Stine, 3048 Brighton Blvd., agrees with what was said by the previous speakers. Stine said the speed of cars on Tuxedo is excessive. Stine said he proposed the intersection control at the Tuxedo/Brighton intersection in 2008. Stine said there is a lot of pedestrian traffic at the intersection. Stine said he agrees to keep things in place. Deb Vertnik, 5217 Windsor Road, said she put together the petition. Vertnik said people are running the stop sign. Vertnik said the OPD said they are citing drivers for running the stop sign but are not ticketing. Holt said there is a process for review which was done after the petition received from Vertnik. Vertnik said she walked door to door, talking to residents and there were only six people who did not sign the petition out of 70 who did sign. Vertnik said she stopped at about 100 houses. Vertnik said she is in favor of safety but drivers are running the stop sign. Vertnik said she observed eight vehicles running the stop sign during a recent observation of the intersection. Holt said the City took the petition and put it through the Stage 1 review process. Holt thanked Vertnik for working to make Mound a better place. Phil Velsor, 3232 Gladstone Lane, said he pushed for the crosswalk and stop sign when he was a City Council member. Velsor said the petitioners said it is an inconvenience versus pedestrian safety. Velsor said if there is no stop sign that there should be sidewalks on both sides of the street. Velsor Mound City Council Minutes said the OPD should not be stopping drivers without giving them a ticket for running the stop sign. Velsor said the stop sign solar sensor at Tuxedo needs to be fixed. Mary Davis, 3021 Inverness Lane, said she liked the stop sign being added to Tuxedo Blvd. Steve Vertnik, 5217 Windsor, said there are pedestrians walking along the street who are not being safe. Vertnik said during winter conditions it is unsafe to have the stop sign and wants the stop sign removed. Holt said the stop sign was approved by a previous City Council and said he voted in favor of the stop sign and would like to leave it alone. Castellano said he will stick with the City engineer's recommendation. Pugh said she is in favor of keeping the City walkable. Pugh said she supports the stop sign and supports safety and walkability and believes the City should communicate more effectively. Larson said the OPD should enforce speed laws and a crosswalk or stop sign will not deter any driver if they are intoxicated or not paying attention and going 60 miles per hour. Larson said she favors the petition and the 71 people who want to remove the stop sign and crosswalk. McEnaney said she weighs the cost to make changes ($15K) versus leaving the signs in and said she will vote to keep them. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh, to reiterate Council support the engineer's report. Holt, Pugh, McEnaney and Castellano voted yes. Larson voted no. Motion carried. 12. Comments/ Reports from Council member Council Member Pugh — Attended City Day on the Hill at the State Capital and met with State Representative Myers and State Senator Morrison for the water treatment plant. Pugh said there may not be a bonding bill. Pugh encouraged residents to write their representatives in favor of the bill. Council Member Larson — Nothing Council Member McEnaney — Nothing Council Member Castellano — Nothing. Castellano said the Harbor Wine and Spirits are up $25K and are bucking the trend where liquor stores are down at this time. Pugh said there is a personal touch at the liquor store. Mayor Holt — Holt said the City was awarded $959K in Federal funds for the water treatment plant project. Holt commended Erin Hoversten and Bolton and Menk for moving fast on the grant application last year. Senators Klobuchar and Smith and Congressman Phillips signed on to the Manganese Removal Project legislation. Dickson said it is a very competitive program so any amount is a good showing. Holt said the next Council meeting will hold the State of the Water by the City Engineers. 13. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from staff/City Manager: Police Commission Meeting tomorrow. B. Reports: Fire Report — January 2024 Liquor Store Report — February 2024 C. Minutes: D. Correspondence: Mound City Council Minutes 14. Adjourn MOTION by Castellano, seconded by McEnaney, to adjourn at 9:04 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. j�, Mayor Jason R. Holt l Jerk Attest: Kevin Kelly,