2000-09-26HRA MINUTES - REG~ MEETING - SEPTEMBER 26, 2000
The Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, l~finnesota,
met on Tuesday, September 26, 2000, at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at 5341 Maywood
Road, in said City.
Those present: Chairperson Pat Meisel; HRA Board Members: Andrea Ahrens, Bob Brown (6:40
p.m. arrival), Mark Hanus, and Leah Weycker. Also in attendance were City Manager Kandis
Hanson, City Attorney John Dean, Mound V'~ons Coordinator Brace Chamberlain, and
Recording Secretary Diana Mestad. Others present: Dorothy and Bill Netka, Otw Burma, Johll
McKinley, Peter Meyer, Betty Hoy, John Bergerman, Tom Casey, Greg Petrich, Kay Hudstrom,
Lorrie Ham, Lowell Olson.
Chairperson Meisel called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
The City Manager added Item 5.1 "Proposal for Phase 1t Environmental Site Assessment of the
Lost Lake Dump" to the Agenda.
TAX INCREMENT FINAN~G.
1.0 APPROVE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 13~ 2000~ MEETING.
MOTION, by Ahrens, seconded by Hanus, to approve the Minutes of the September
15, 2000 meeting. The vote was unanimously in favor. Motion carried. 4-0.
1.1 STAFF REPORTS.
A. MEDIATION PROCEEDINGS.
The City Manager stated that the property owners in the John's Variety section of downtown met
with Staff and the mediator for presentation of the three options to provide additional parking for
the downtown. She stated that there is one abutting property owner willing to sell land for use as
additional parking space.
Brace Chamberlain, the Mound Visions Coordinator, stated that it is being suggested to use the
alley behind the buildings as a one-way access to the parking lot. The lot would have a one-way
exit to 110 southbound and would have 8 to 9 stalls. He stated that there is an apartment building
on the other side of the alley.
The City Manager pointed out three of the benefits to this plan including redevelopment of the
comer, an attractive lot in the new downtown area, and providing additional parking to the
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Mound HRA Minutes, September 26, 2000
l~uslnesses, glle further statec~ that two og the proposals under eonslderatlon would allow the
businesses to own the parking lot.
HRA Board Member Weycker asked whether this lot would be taken over when County Road 15
is widened in the future.
The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that he has been working with the County and they are
not anticipating widening this leg of County Road 15. What is important to the County is that the
lanes line up at the intersection.
The City Manager added that it was not in the County's 20-year plan to widen County Road 15 in
this portion.
I-IRA Board Member I-Ianus asked what was the likelihood of this being a workable solution and
remaining privately held by the businesses. The City Manager stated that she did not know at this
point.
HRA Board Member Brown stated that he was under the impression that County Road 15 would
be seven lanes wide and wondered why that was necessary. The Mound Visions Coordinator
stated that it would be 5 lanes at the intersection including 2 mm lanes.
HRA Board Member Brown asked if the County would allow an exit onto 110. The Mound
Visions Coordinator stated that this would be a fight mm only exit, as the County would not
allow let~ turns out of the parking lot.
I-IRA Board Member Weycker asked whether this was the most favored option at the meeting.
The City Manager stated that this was the only design presented, but that three payment options
were being considered; two of which allowed the businesses to own the lot. She further stated
that the property owners were expected to give their response to the options by October 11.
1.2 POST OFFICE
A. APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH WILLETTE
PROPERTIES.
The City Attorney stated that the Board was being asked to approve the settlement agreement on
the Willette property. The amount is $89,100 or $5.50 per square foot, which is .25¢ above the
appraised value. He further stated that the United property settlement was approved at a prior
meeting and this is the second half to this project.
MOTION, by Brown, seconded by Hanus, to approve the settlement agreement as
presented. The vote was unanimously in favor. Motion carried. 5-0.
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Mound HRA Minutes, September 26, 2000
1.3 REQUEST AUTHORIZATION TO PREPARK PLANS AND SPECII~CATIONS
FOR DEMOLITION OF OLD MOUND TRUE VALUE BU'H_.D~G.
This item was moved to the end of the Agenda to wait for the City Engineer's arrival.
1.4 DISCUSSION/ACTION ON EDC RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE
CHANGE IN PLANS FOR PARK AND RIDE FACILITY.
The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that after discussion with the County and the developers,
it has been determined that the original idea of creating a bus pullout is not possl~ole because of the
roadway design. Putting the pullout into the lot would consume a large amount of land. He
further stated that in other areas, metro transit is very popular and requires the use of ramps, but
this location is not expected to grow as quickly. In looking for alternative sites, it has been
determined that the best option is the True Value district which would allow shared parking with
the retailers. He stated that the surface lot would include $0 to 82 stalls. The post office would
require 6 of these stalls, the Park and Ride requires 50 stalls, and the remainder would be available
for retail parking. The EDC is recommending the HRA relocate the Park and Ride and amend the
Visions Plan accordingly.
HRA Board Member Ahrens asked where the post office parking spaces are currently located.
The Mound Visions Coordinator stated the spaces are on City owned property.
Chairperson Meisel asked, assuming the proposed land is contaminated, what level of cleanup is
required for a parking lot. The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that it would be easier to cap if
the contamination was a petroleum issue, but he was not sure what the extent of the cleanup
would be.
HRA Board Member Weycker asked whether all the parking spaces including those allotted to the
Park and Ride would be needed for retail. The Mound Visions Coordinator explained that peak
parking for the Park and Ride would be during the day, during the week, whereas the retail peak
times would be evenings and weekends. He felt this would be an efficient sharing of the space.
I-IRA Board Member Hanus pointed out that this plan would allow for vertical parking if it were
to become necessary in the future.
Chairperson Meisel asked whether signage would be used to restrict the Park and Ride parking to
a particular area. The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that the shelter could be located away
from the retail stores and this would encourage transit riders to park in that area of the lot. He
also stated that Metro Transit would contribute $100,000 to building the shelter.
HRA Board Member Hanus asked whether it would be possible to incorporate the shelter into a
ramp or tunnel in the future. The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that the additional costs
involved may not warrant doing so, but that a nice custom shelter could be built.
Mound HRA l~fmutes, September 26, 2000
HRA Board Member Weycker asked how moving the Park and Ride would affect the green space
grant. The Mound Visions Coordinator stated he has spoken with MNDOT and there were no
issues with building the Park and Ride in 2002 when the County road is built. He stated it was
possible to do the grant in phases.
HRA Board Member Hanus pointed out that there would be a timing issue involved and the City
could lose the grant money if the project was not completed by the deadline. The Mound Visions
Coordinator stated that there would not be a deadline to finish, but rather a deadline to begin the
work.
HRA Board Member Hanus further pointed out that if the realignment of County Road 15 was
delayed, it could delay the start of the Park and Ride and result in the loss of the grant. The
Mound Visions Coordinator agreed that was a possibility and stated that he will be asking
MNDOT for permission to split the grant and will also ask what the consequences of not
beginning the project until 2002 would be. He will get back to the Board with this information.
MOTION, by Hanus, seconded by Ahrens, to approve the new site for the Park and
Ride. The vote was unanimously in favor. Motion carried. 5-0.
1.5 PROPOSAL FOR PHASE H ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT OF THE
LOST LAKE DUMP.
The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that Phase I of the project is complete and reminded the
Board that they had previously approved $6,500 for Phase 11. He stated that it has been
suggested to enroll this site in the Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup program (VIC). The
estimated cost for this is $22,000 - $31,000. If laboratory analysis costs can be paid through the
MPCA brownfields program, the cost would be reduced to $12,000 - $16,000, but this
application has not yet been formalized.
HRA Board Member Hanus stated that there was a possibility that an outside party could double
the cost by contesting the study and stated that the Board needed to be prepared for increased
fees.
HRA Board Member Brown asked where the money for this study would come from. ~
Board Member Hanus stated that it would be I-IRA money and wondered if it was time to think
about selling a bond to cover these costs. He fiarther stated that this work must be done in order
to develop the property and wondered if the cost is reimbursable through TIF. The City Attorney
stated it was reimbursable, but that there is no TI~ money at this time.
MOTION, by Ahrens, seconded by Brown to approve the funds to enroll the
property in the VIC program contingent upon a written agreement for a
contribution from the MPCA brownfieids program. The vote was unanimously in
favor. Motion carried. 5-0.
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Mound HRA brunutes, September 26, 2000
The Mound Visions Coordinator stated that he has invited the property owner next door to join in
the study because he also wants to sell his property. The property owner would be paying his
own costs for this.
1.6
REQUEST AUTHORWATION TO PREPARE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS
FOR DEMOLITION OF OLD MOUND TRUE VALUE BUILDING.
The City Manager stated that if the Board was comfortable, they should go ahead with this issue
without the City Engineer, as timing was an issue.
I-IRA Board Member Hanus asked what the proposed cost was. The City Manager stated that she
did not know the cost, but that it would be the City's responsibility. The City Attorney stated that
a bidding process would determine the cost.
Motion, by Ahrens, seconded by Hanus, to recommend Staff proceed with the plans
and specifications for this project. The vote was unanimously in favor. Motion
carried. 5-0.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION by Ahrens, seconded by Hanus to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. The
vote was unanimously in favor. Motion carried. 5-0.
Chairperson Meisel reopened the meeting at 7:21.
Ken Custer addressed the Board and stated that Dave Willette did not attend tonight's meeting,
but that even though he agreed to the price for his property, he was not happy with it.
MOTION by Brown, seconded by Weycker to adjourn the meeting at 7:22 p.m.
The vote was unanimously in favor. Motion carried. 5-0.
Kandis Hanson, City Manager
Attest: Chairperson Meisel