Loading...
2015-02-24 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 24, 2015 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers of the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Mark Wegscheid, Council Members Heidi Gesch, Ray Salazar, Kelli Gillispie, and Jennifer Peterson Members absent: None. Others present: Director of Finance/Clerk/Treasurer Catherine Pausche, City Attorney Melissa Manderschied, Public Works Superintendent Ray Hanson, City Engineer Dan Faulkner, Community Development Director Sarah Smith, Katie Morford, Senator David Osmek, Troy Tasche, Kevin Ehlinger, Chuck Henke, Peter Meyer, Libby Lucas, Jennifer Frizzler. 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 Council Member or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence. 1. Open meeting Mayor Wegscheid called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. Pledae of Allegiance 3. Approve agenda Pausche requested item 4D be added to the consent agenda. MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Gesch, to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Gesch, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $1,027,980.04 B. Approve minutes Feb 10, 2015 regular meeting C. Approve permit applications for Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church Knights of Columbus On -Sale Liquor Permit, with fees paid 1. Shrimp Fry, Mar 6, 2015 2. Shrimp Fry, Mar 20, 2015 D. (added) RESOLUTION NO. 15-15: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT PROPOSAL FOR GEOTECHNICAL EXPLORATION SERVICES FOR POTENTIAL CITY PROJECT — WATERMAIN LOOP FROM BARTLETT BOULEVARD TO TYRONE LANE Mound City Council Minutes — February 24, 2015 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. Troy Tasche, 5207 Sulgrove Road, stated contractors working February 11th on new construction at 5240 Sulgrove and 5239 Seabury caused the new road to crack. Tasche said he wanted to bring it to the attention of the council and asked that it be investigated. 6. Visit by Senator David Osmek Senator Osmek said he is conducting his annual visit of cities in Senate District 33. Senator Osmek handed out new cards and mentioned that he was elected Minority Whip which is mainly an administrative role that ensures a logical flow to proceedings. Senator Osmek was also made ranking member of the Energy and Environment Commission. Senator Osmek highlighted accomplishments from 2014, including getting the Mound TIF bill passed. Senator Osmek said his district is a split between urban and rural interests. Senator Osmek summarized a bill he has proposed for Met Council reform, including the representatives having to get resolutions of support from districts being represented and staggering the terms to allow for continuity. Senator Osmek handed out Bill S.F. No 80 that proposes that MNDOT could get permission from cities or counties for projects, which would significantly impact the influence of cities. Osmek emphasized how important it is to watch these proposals closely. Discussion ensued about the Met Council proposal to clarify what was being proposed. Osmek clarified that it is so the cities can endorse the Governor's appointee prior to the Senate confirmation. Upon confirmation of a four-year term, any city can propose a recall but other cities would have to agree. Manderschied asked if city size was weighted for districts where cities are very different in size. Senator Osmek said he did consider it but felt weighting did not provide enough benefit to further complicate the process. Senator Osmek said the next redistricting is in 2022. Senator Osmek stated he opposes the Governor's proposed pay increases for state employees and the new Senate office building. 7. Faulkner gave a summary of the Grandview Street Improvement Project to date, including discussion on adding a sidewalk option. Faulkner said the cost of a sidewalk the length of Grandview would have increased the assessment approximately $1,000 per unit, with the total cost of adding a sidewalk estimated at $110,000. The Westonka School District asked that a sidewalk be added for the one -block segment between Bellaire and Commerce with the school district and city sharing in the cost. Faulkner reviewed the three options presented in the packet and stated he created the scenarios assuming the three-way stop would remain at Bellaire and Grandview. Faulkner presented the pros and cons of each option, including concerns if cars backed up at stop sign, an east bound car may not see students crossing at the mid -block crossing. Faulkner stated that the three private homes who would be impacted by a road shift had not been noticed. Faulkner noted bikes are allowed on sidewalks in neighborhoods, just not business districts. Charles Henke, 5357 Grandview Blvd, said he lives at the corner of Grandview and Bellaire and that the majority of students cut across his lawn to go south on Bellaire. Henke noted people are not obeying the no parking and do not enter signage. Henke said he is against a sidewalk on the south side and that a sidewalk on the north side would make more sense. Gillispie Mound City Council Minutes — February 24, 2015 asked if he has observed a lot of students walking and Henke said probably 20 to 30. Henke said most of the pedestrian traffic goes toward Bellaire and not down Grandview. Libby Lucas, 5664 Grandview, asked why the sidewalk would extend to her house and Wegscheid said the thought is to have students cross at controlled crosswalks at the three-way intersection. Lucas said there are not that many students walking, perhaps 10. Peter Meyer, 5784 Sunset Road, said Grandview does get icy with a slope. Meyer said the school was built in the 1950's and, as far as he knows, there have been no accidents. Meyer said if it was a safety issue, he would support it, but he does not feel it is. Jennifer Frizzler, 5777 Grandview Blvd, said she is confused about widening the road and then narrowing it because back-ups occur with parents dropping kids off and she is concerned a curve would complicate the situation. Gesch asked if the center of the road would line up before and after Bellaire and Faulkner said it would not but that it would transition and not be abrupt. Faulkner said that all three options involve a shift in the road. Wegscheid pointed out that it just seems that the risk is being shifted and that safety would require crossing at the intersections, not mid -block. Wegscheid clarified that residential property owners would not be assessed for the sidewalk requested by the school district. Wegscheid clarified the change in the center line would be transitional. Salazar said he visited with the three neighbors on the south side and said that all three were in favor of a sidewalk on the north side and that no one expressed a concern about losing frontage due to the shift in the road. Salazar said that in the interest of public safety, he is in support of adding the sidewalk. Salazar said he witnessed an event at the school that demonstrated there are parking issues and commotion. Gesch said she struggles because she feels the safety issue is solved at Commerce and that the bigger issue is the Bellaire area. Gesch suggested a crosswalk at Bellaire and Grandview and adding a short sidewalk on the north side to connect to the school sidewalk. Gesch said other larger safety issues exist if people are letting their kids jump out of the cars mid -block. Gillispie stated she never saw a lot of pedestrians during the busy time when she has been in the area. Wegscheid requested that the council start to review the options. Option 1 to create a south side sidewalk was eliminated by consensus. Option 3 to widen the street and create a pedestrian shoulder was eliminated because it was seen as an inadequate solution for the cost. Wegscheid said the original Option 2 is a sidewalk on north side, but that Gesch has proposed a modified Option 2 that includes adding a crosswalk at the three-way intersection, adding a sidewalk on the north side from Bellaire to the school sidewalk, and not widening the road. Discussion ensued. The council discussed costs and agreed the school district should be responsible for any costs. MOTION by Gesch, seconded by Salazar, to direct staff to work with the school district to look at extending the existing sidewalk west to Bellaire and creating a crosswalk at the intersection. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 8. Kevin Ehlinger, Mound Westonka Rotary President, requesting discussion on Mound City Council Minutes — February 24, 2015 Concept Plan proposal from M -W Rotary for the Mound Harbor District Ehlinger proposed a temporary usage project for the Auditor's Road District to increase vitality and traffic until development takes place. The Rotary, through a partnership with local business owners, would fund the project at no expense to the city. Ehlinger stated that Norlings Landscape will donate three large trees that can be moved at a later date, and Bruce Stillman, owner of Big Stone Mini Golf, will rent art sculptures for the project. Gillispie asked about the trees and whether or not they would get to the stage where they can't be relocated. Gillispie requested the responsibility for removal be clearly spelled out in writing. Salazar stated he liked the idea and would like to see it remanded back to staff and the Parks Commission. Wegscheid said the disposition of the trees and fixtures would be spelled out in an agreement. Smith said staff did some preliminary review of the space because the City uses some of the space for storage and maintains the grounds and those concerns have been conveyed to the Rotary. Smith said the agreement may need to go to both the HRA and the City Council. Smith emphasized the agreement will be written with the needs of redevelopment in mind. Gillispie asked about the size of the instruments and how transportable theyare. MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Gesch, to remand the Rotary proposal back to staff and the Parks and Open Spaces Commission to come up with an agreement for consideration by the Council and/or HRA. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Faulkner summarized the need to change the lift station that will be replaced in 2015 from D2 to C2. Lift station D2 would be included with the 2016 CIP/Street Project on Lynwood. Faulkner said this will be the first prepackaged lift station to be bid, but an alternate will also be bid to build with the precast concrete structure that has been used in the past for the larger stations. Faulkner reviewed the cost estimates for each alternate. Faulkner said if the project is approved the bids will be taken in April with construction in later summer. MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Gesch, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. RESOLUTION No. 15-16: RESOLUTION RECEIVING REPORT AND AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND ORDERING ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE 2015 LIFT STATION RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT 10. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from Council Members/City Manager The Mayor announced the Harbor Wine and Spirits customer appreciation wine sale. Gesch stated that the Parks Commission will be marketing the Adopt a Green Space program and will be working on grant writing. Gesch said the commission wanted the council to know there may be a match required if a grant is received. Gillispie said the annual Moonlight Trail Night is taking place on March 7th from 6pm to 9pm and that there will be a shuttle going back and forth between the Minnetonka Drive In and Mound True Value if participants don't want to walk both ways. Mound City Council Minutes — February 24, 2015 B. Minutes: C. Reports: D. Correspondence: 11. Adjourn MOTION by Gesch, seconded by Gillispie, to adjourn at 8:55 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Mark Wegscheid Attest: Catherine Pausche, Clerk