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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-18-00 WSr. }. LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT MEETING MINUTES MARCH 18, 2000 The retreat was called to order by Mayor Zaun at 8:00 a.m. at the Lakeville Water Treatment Facility Community Meeting Room. Those present: Mayor Duane Zaun; Council Members Betty Sindt, Lynette Mulvihill, and David Luick; City Administrator Robert Erickson; City Engineer Keith Nelson; Parks and Recreation Director Steve Michaud; Finance Director Dennis Feller; Administrative Assistant John Hennen; Economic Development Specialist Rita Erpelding; State Representative Mary Liz Holberg; Scott Midness and Fred Dock of Barton Aschmann Associates; Jeff Larson, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee; and Alan Brixius, Northwest Associated Consultants. ITEM #1: REPRESENTATIVE HOLBERG - 2000 LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE ON TRANSPORTATION FUNDING Representative Holberg briefly highlighted the three separate transportation funding bills proposed by the Governor, Senate and House. The Governor's plane proposes to cap license fees at $75 which will be a significant decrease for Minnesotan's that own the more expensive type vehicles (i.e., SUV's). The funding distribution in the Governor's proposal is weighted towards mass transit. The Senate plan has an emphasis on mass transit also with the distribution of $70 million to the metro area and $5 million to the out state areas. The Senate plan also has a line item of $12 million designated to the Wakota Bridge along with $1 million for snowmobile trails in the state. The House plan is weighted more towards roads and highways versus mass transit. The House proposes to create a Transportation Commission and would require Mn/DOT to study on-ramp-metering issues. Representative Holberg and Council Members briefly discussed the mass transit issue.. Mayor Zaun indicated it is appropriate that Lakeville consider some type of mass transit for the community. ITEM #2: RECAP/STATUS OF ITEMS/ISSUES DISCUSSED AT 1999 RETREAT Mr. Erickson highlighted some accomplishments and outcomes as a result of the 1999 City Council Retreat. The 1999 Community Survey results precipitated a new communications plan and the hiring of a part-time Public Information Specialist. The number of questions asked in future community surveys should be reduced to encourage greater resident participation. There is money in the budget to ask a limited number of questions to Lakeville residents regarding what they believe are the top five • issues in Lakeville. March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 2 The 1-35 and Count Road 50 Interchan a Desi n Alternative Stud was atwo- ear Y 9 g Y Y process that ended with the business community supporting the alternative design which evolved from the public review process and endorsed by the City Council. Staff recently met with HOM Furniture that is considering the purchase of the Bill Jackson property east of County Road 5, north of AMERICINN, and west of Kenyon Avenue. The store would be one the largest in the 11-state area. The challenge of the project will be the realignment of Kenyon Avenue and right-of-way acquisition that would require the use of two and one half acres estimated to be worth $500,000. In 1999, County Road 5 reconstruction project was completed. The project included plantings and the construction of a major decorative block wall, which is consistent with the Corridor and Gateway Design Study recommendations. Mr. Erickson mentioned that the City has not received as many applicants as expected for the Area Arts Center Advisory Board. A challenge regarding the Area Arts Center project will be how to finance the construction of the parking lot proposed to be constructed on the existing All Saints Catholic School parcel of property located on the northwest corner of 209t" St. and Howland Ave. Council Member Sindt asked if the City should consider purchasing the house at the corner of 209t" and Howland Avenue. Mr. Erickson indicated Goodyear Tire owns the property and that the City may want to consider purchasing the property. • Council Members and staff proceeded to discuss Scott Count 's one-year moratorium Y on development. Mr. Erickson mentioned that because of the phasing of the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA), developers are being pushed outside of the metro area and into .the out- state regions. The Builders Association of the Twin Cities recently learned that there is going to be an allocation in sewage treatment capacity that is a concern of the organization. Growth will most likely be slowed down because of the lack of sewage treatment capacity versus the lack of land within the MUSA. Mr. Erickson mentioned that he and the Mayor recently had a positive meeting with members of the VFW. The VFW inquired about installation of an off-premise sign to be located on Holyoke Avenue. Mayor Zaun indicated VFW members felt good about the City coming to one of their meetings and sharing information about proposed downtown projects with the group. As part of the Zoning Ordinance Update, staff has spent a significant amount of time reevaluating Planned Unit Developments (PUD) and how they are related to townhome developments. Because of the amount of time spent on the PUD evaluation, Mr. Erickson indicated this process consumed five months of time on the Zoning Ordinance Update. The Planning Commission and staff do not see the need to eliminate PUD's at • this time and believes some of our best developments are a result of PUD's. March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 3 ITEM #3 -DISCUSS VACANCY ON CITY COUNCIL (Staff excused themselves from the meeting.) Mayor Zaun briefed the Council on what he thought the Council would consider as requirements for filling the vacant Council seat. Because he thought the Council would want to make the appointment as quickly as possible, he indicated that he had contacted two members of the Lakeville Planning Commission.. Both indicated they would be willing to serve on the Council. Council Members discussed the upcoming workload and indicated their desire to keep the Planning Commission intact. Discussion followed as to other individuals who could meet the requirements. Mayor Zaun was directed by Council Members to contact several individuals and report back to the Council Members at the regular Council meeting on March 20, 2000. ITEM #4 -REVIEW DOWNTOWN PARKING STUDY Mr. Erickson introduced Scott Midness and Fred Dock of Barton-Aschmann Associates who proceeded to review the Downtown Parking Study. The study which was endorsed by the Downtown Lakeville Business Association (DLBA) evaluated existing and future parking supply and demand in the downtown area and parking strategies and options to • enhance the viability of downtown and facilitate new commercial and office development. The study area for the project is bounded by 205t" Street on the north; McGuire Junior High on the south; railroad line on the west; and. Holt Avenue on the east. Within the sub-area of the study area, parking usage surveys were completed. The study concentrated on three parking areas. Parking Area #1 consisted of off-street parking behind the businesses on the west side of Holyoke Avenue; Parking Area #2 consisted of on-street parking on 207t" Street and Holyoke Avenue and Parking Area #3 consisted of the parking lot serving Lakeville Mall and Enggren's Mall on the east side of Holyoke Avenue. The parking count results indicated that in Parking Area #1 on the weekdays vehicles were parked for long periods of time, which results in a low turnover. Parking in this area peaked at 10 a.m. Parking Area #2 was used by customers of the businesses nearby more so than by the employees. Parking in Area #2 was for the most part less than. one hour in duration. Parking in Area #3 was consistent with the hours of operation of the businesses in the two malls. Council Member Sindt asked the consultants how much difference they would see in parking habits if the Post Office .carrier facility relocated to the industrial park. Mr. Midness indicated he doesn't see much change if the retail portion of the Post Office would continue to exist downtown. Mr. Erickson indicated he was recently informed by the Post Office that the carrier facility will stay in the downtown for the next three years. • If the carrier facility stays in downtown longer than three years, a shortage in parking will March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 4 occur. Mr. Erickson recommended that Barton-Aschmann Associates re are a p p supplement to the study that will show two alternatives indicating what would happen regarding parking if the carrier facility does or does not move out of the downtown area. Mr. Erickson also indicated that the City may need to place restrictions on on-street parking because employees are parking in front of businesses in some cases for a significant amount of time. Ms. Erpelding mentioned that architect Gary Tushie has utilized this report in the development of design guidelines for the historic downtown buildings. A survey of downtown retail businesses indicated that they would like more convenient parking, time. limits. on parking in the downtown area and believe the lack of downtown parking prohibits growth in the area. A Citizen Survey indicated that residents currently do not have a problem with the parking downtown and found off-street parking convenient. Council and staff proceeded to talk about tandem (parallel). parking alternatives, and angled parking on Holyoke Avenue. In addition to adopting the parking study, Council Members will be asked to authorize the Public Works Department to stripe parallel parking stalls on Holyoke Avenue and direct staff to include parking study recommendations in the zoning ordinance. Council Member Luick recommends that the number of parking spaces that will be created because of the striping of parallel parking on Holyoke Avenue be determined prior to the final presentation of the study. • ITEM #5 -REVIEW COMPREHENSIVE PARK AND OPEN SPACE SYSTEM PLAN Alan Brixius of Northwest Associated Consultants (NAC) indicated the update of the plan started in February of 1999. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee spent a considerable amount of time on the document, including conducting several public neighborhood meetings. The document was prepared by using current. data gathered during the recently completed Comprehensive Plan Update. The 2020 Land Use Plan indicates 5 percent of the total land area is designated for park land. Mr. Brixius highlighted tables in the document regarding inventory of existing parks, school facilities, active playland area, and summary of proposed park search areas. Park and Recreation. Committee Chairperson Jeff Larson mentioned that a major issue with the Comprehensive Park and Open Space Plan will be funding of park projects. Residents are inquiring about establishing amenities along trails such as benches and water fountains. Council Member Mulvihill suggested. that individuals could possibly donate these types of amenities.. Council Member Sindt inquired about the possibility of expanding the current Senior Center because of the large number of seniors that utilize the facility. Mr. Erickson and Mr. Michaud mentioned this could be a challenge due to the proximity of adjacent residences. The. Council directed staff to complete the public hearing process at upcoming Park and • Recreation and Planning Commission meetings. The City Council requested the ,> ,~ March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 5 .document be resented to them n I ri r -forty in i to the Met Council f r p o e ast time p o to and g t o their review/approval ITEM #6 -REVIEW CITY HALL SPACE UTILIZATION STUDY Mr. Hennen. provided background information regarding the City Hall Space Utilization Study. Mr. Hennen reminded the Council they reviewed the Space Utilization Study Proposal at two Work Sessions along with consideration of outsourced services. A Building Committee was established which included a representative from each City Hall Department along with Council Member Sindt and Dennis Feller who each served on the original building committee for City Hall. At the time that City Hall was constructed, it was anticipated the building would meet the City's needs for 10 years. Since the building was occupied in January of 1990, the departments of Human Resources, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Information Technology (IT) have been added to City Hall. .Architect Gary Tushie of Tushie Montgomery Associates reviewed with the Council the proposed 5,568 square foot addition to the west wing along with .the renovation of the existing west wing (6,012 ft) to meet the needs of Administration, Community and Economic Development, IT and Human Resources through 2010. The existing Administration Department, City Council Office and interior corridor would be renovated . to include additional office and work station areas for future Administration employees, Cable Coordinator Office and an additional .editing bay for Cable Department employees. Mr. Tushie proceeded to highlight the renovation of the north wing which include minor renovations to the departments of Building Inspections, Engineering and Parks and Recreation to provide the departments with offices and work space area to address their immediate and five-year needs. The existing North Meeting Room is proposed to be renovated into office area for GIS and Environmental Resources employees. Council Member Sindt inquired. about the matching of the brick on the building. Mr. Tushie indicated that the existing Belden brick is easier to match than most bricks. Off- setting the addition six feet from the existing building will also make it difficult to notice a difference in brick color if there was any. Council Members discussed placing a Lakeville logo on the floor of the rotunda along with the installation of roll down windows in the departments that are located off the rotunda. Mr. Erickson indicated that a roll down gate will be installed in the west corridor for security purposes. If the Council approves of the renovation plans, the north wing should be done immediately this fall so the departments are up and running in the spring of 2001. Mr. Erickson also indicated that staff should begin to inform the public that as of Labor Day, the North Meeting Room can no longer be used as a public meeting room. Alternative rooms groups could utilize include the Water Treatment Facility Meeting Room and Heritage Library Meeting • Room.. March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 6 Council directed staff to have Mr. Tushie a ear at a future Cit Council meetin to pp Y g present the final Space Utilization Study and Building/Renovation Plan for approval. ITEM #7 -REVIEW CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2000-2004 City Engineer Keith Nelson presented the 2000-04 Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) which included for year 2000 the Ipava Avenue extension; Dodd Boulevard reconstruction; sidewalks and trail lighting installation along Heritage Drive; Cedar Avenue reconstruction; Highview/Gardenview realignment; Kenyon Avenue realignment; and the construction of Wells #14 and #15. Council Member Sindt inquired about the entrance to Ardmore Mobile Home Park. Mr. Nelson indicated that the road elevation will be lowered and sight lines improved at the park entrance. Council Member Luick asked if the developers share of costs could be included the CIP. Council directed staff to include within the CIP a schedule delineating the developers share of costs. The City Council directed staff to include the total cost of each project including city, county, state and federal share cost in the CIP if available. Mr. Nelson stated that the trail on the north side of 165t" St. extending from Highview Avenue to 1000 feet west, should be added to the CIP. Mr. Nelson stated that the Highview Avenue trail from 165t" St. to 172"d St. was not included in the CIP. Council Member Luick attended the March 8t" neighborhood meeting and informed Council Members of the residents concerns. Council directed staff to include $25,000 in the year 2000 for design and $100,000 in 2001 for construction of the trail. Finance Director Dennis Feller discussed financing of 2000-04 CIP. Mayor Zaun indicated he had a discussion with Economic Development Commission (EDC) members regarding the possibility of increasing the Park Dedication Fee to finance the cost of gateway corridor improvements. The EDC's highest priority is the Cedar Avenue Corridor between County Road 46 and Dodd Boulevard. The estimated cost to enhance this section of road is $500,000. The EDC and Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will be directed to create a subcommittee to review this extensive enhancement proposal The Council and staff discussed the construction of the parking lot south of Jerry's Yamaha as part of the Area Arts Center project. The City Council stated that the parking is to be constructed in 2000 and financed from tax increment bond proceeds. •.. March 18, 2000 City Council Retreat Minutes P. 7 ITEM #8 -OTHER BUSINESS Council Members reviewed the Downtown and Heritage banner proposals and unanimously selected proposal A that has the word Lakeville spelled horizontally on the banners. The City Council Retreat was adjourned at 2:20 p.m. Respectfully sub fitted, hn Hennen Administrative Assistant • •