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102504 CC Reg Min .;, . . . . ~ CITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 25,2004 MINUTES , 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Love; Councilmembers Garfunkel, Lizee, Turgeon, and Zerby; Administrator DawsoI1; Attorney Keane; Engineer Brown; Finance Director Burton and Planning Director Nielsen( arrived 7: lOP .M.) Present: Absent: None B. Review Agenda Lizee moved, Garfunkel seconded, Approving the Agenda as' presented. Motion passed 5/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Co~ncil Executive Session Minutes, October 11, 2004 Turgeon moved, Garfunkel seconded, Approving the City Council Executive Session Meeting Minutes of October 11, 2004, as presented. Motion passed 4/0/1, with Lizee abstaining due to absence at that meeting. B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, October 11, 2004 Garfunkel moved, Turgeon seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 11, 2004, as presented. Motion passed 4/0/1, with Lizee abstaining due to absence at that meeting. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Zerby moved, Garfunkel seconded, Approving the Motions on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolutions Therein: A. Approval of the Verified Claims List B. Staffing - None C. Authorize Expenditure of Funds for Southeast Water Tower Inspection Services D. Proclamation in Support of Kids Voting CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 2 of7 . E. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 04-090, "A Resolution Granting a Setback Variance and Variance to Expand a Nonconforming Structure to Ronald and Melanie Rogney, 5950 Grant Street." Motion passed 5/0. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were no matters from the floor presented this evening. 5. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. Recognition of Park Commissioner Pat Arnst, and Planning Commissioners Deborah Borkon and Donna Woodruff Mayor Love, on behalf of the City of Shorewood, thanked Park Commissioner Pat Arnst and Planning Commissioners Deborah Borkon and Donna Woodruff for sharing their time and talents to be part of the City's Commissions in recent years. While he noted the absence of Ms. Borkon and Ms. Woodruff, he stated the City greatly appreciated their efforts volunteered on the Commissions and he wished them well in their future endeavors. . Mayor Love thanked Ms. Arnst for her efforts as Park Commissioner and Chair as she championed balanced use of the City parks for local residents and the entire South Lake Minnetonka community. He noted her many accomplishments as well as her courage and energy in working with the many programs throughout the City. He also noted her contribution through the volunteer Gardener program that beautified the parks' entrances as well as City Hall, and he noted the wonderful addition of the Skate Park as part of her seven and one-half years work on the Park Commission. Mayor Love then presented Ms. Arnst with a plaque of appreciation from the City for her work, time and talents graciously given to the City. Ms. Arnst stated she appreciated all the work and efforts from all Commissioners she had the pleasure of working with in the past seven years. She thanked the Commissioners for their tolerance, and gave special recognition to Howard Young for identifying the need of seniors in the parks throughout the City. She also thanked Jeff Bailey for helping her to realize a change was necessary in providing girls equal opportunities for park usage, and she thanked City Staff for their hard work, dedication, patience and determination in working with the Park Commission issues. Ms. Arnst wished all parties present good luck in future endeavors. B. Report by Tim Litfin, Minnetonka Community Education and Services Executive Director . Tim Litfin, Executive Director of the Minnetonka Community Education Services (MCES), stated he was happy to be able to meet with Council this evening with regard to changes being made within the MCES program. He stated MCES was moving forward in new and positive ways, wanting to continue past relationships, and enhancing current relationships as well. He noted several community events that MCES would be participating in such as the Rake-a-Thon, Kids Voting program, and Adopt-A-Family program for the holidays. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 3 of 7 . Director Nielsen arrived at 7: lOP .M. Mayor Love stated Council had heard a report from Tad Shaw, Shorewood's representative to the MCES Advisory Board, at the last Regular City Council meeting. At that time, Council was concerned about the selection criteria for a broader-based Advisory Board. Mr. Litfin explained, while the letter explaining the broader based Advisory Board had arrived prior to his employment with the MCES, he understood the idea to have a broader based Advisory Council including several new groups in effort to have more voices and needs heard by MCES. He noted the negative impacts to that approach would be that working with such a large group might prove challenging, and thus, smaller committee work was anticipated. In response to Councilmember Turgeon's question, Mr. Litfin also explained the Advisory Council would still remain, but would be enlarged; however, representation was currently being solicited from City Councils for the new Advisory Council, rather than residents at large. Councilmember Garfunkel stated it had been his experience that it was difficult to work with such a large group of people in trying to establish policy, as it was quite difficult to focus that many people toward one goal effectively. He also stated the groups that were designated had the potential to attempt to exercise a single agenda rather than view the broader based picture as was the intention of MCES at this point. . Mr. Litfin stated it was the hope of the School Board that this newly proposed Advisory Board would help to provide connections and to work with each group as "part and parcel" of a larger group. He stated he would carry the concerns of Council. back to the. School Board at its next. discussion of this topic. Mayor Love, on behalf of the Council, thanked Mr. Litfin for being present this evening to meet and discuss these issues with Council. 6. PUBLIC HEARING There were no public hearings scheduled for this evening. 7. PARKS Since there had not been a meeting of the Park Commission since the last Regular City Council meeting, there was no report given. 8. PLANNING Commissioner White reported on matters considered and actions taken at the October 19,2004, Planning Commission Meeting (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). . CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 4 of7 . A. Setback Variance Applicants: Carl and Ali Zinn Location: 5820 Ridge Road Director Nielsen explained the property owners proposed converting an existing attached garage into living space and constructing a new attached garage in the front of the house. He also noted two private roadways served the property, with the eastern boundary being Ridge Road, providing the primary access to all the houses between Christmas Lake and Silver Lake. There was also a secondary road over the Zinn property that became a private drive just past the Zinn property line. The applicant proposed to locate the garage in the flat area at the front of the property. Due to the location of the second private road the proposed garage required a setback variance of 25 feet. Upon analysis of the case, Director Nielsen noted this case was consistent with the provisions for granting a variance and based on the property conditions Staff recommended approval of the setback variance. Council had no questions regarding this case. Garfunkel moved, Zerby seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 04-091, "A Resolution Granting A Setback Variance for Carl and Ali Zinn, 5820 Ridge Road." Motion passed 5/0. B. Variance from Hardcover Regulations Applicants: Dick and Kelly Cassidy Location: 26140 Birch Bluff Road . Director Nielsen explained the applicants had a purchase agreement for the property located at 26140 Birch Bluff Road and proposed to demolish the existing home on the property and build a new home that would necessitate a variance of the 25 percent hardcover restriction. The property was located in the R- lCIS zoning district and was subject to Shore land regulations. While the lot was nonconforming with regard to area, it was deemed buildable under City Code because it met 70 percent of the required minimums for that zone. He also went on to explain the topography of the site rose approximately ten feet to the existing home and then dropped off abruptly to Lake Minnetonka to the north. A loop driveway served the existing home. Director Nielsen stated the applicant also proposed removing an existing shed down by the lake in effort to mitigate hardcover on the property. At present, the impervious surface on the site was 33.7% of the lot area. Director Nielsen then explained the proposed house eliminated the loop driveway by creating a side loading approach on the higher part of the lot. The proposed home would contain 7,390 square feet of floor area divided between three levels. The new three-car garage would have 887 square feet of floor area. He noted the maximum hardcover for the Shore land district was 25 percent. While the proposed plan reduced the impervious cover to 29.67 percent, hardcover for the site remained in excess by approximately 8 percent. To that end, the applicants proposed mitigating the variance by using a permeable brick paving system. . With regard to the issue of substandard lots, Director Nielsen explained the applicants' request complied with most of the criteria associated with development of a substandard lot. The proposed house complied with the setback requirements of its zoning district; however, proposed hardcover for the house exceeded CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 5 of7 . the 25 percent maximum by 4.67 percent. Also, the floor area of all structures on the property would exceed the 30 percent ratio to lot area, as the ratio of all structures to lot area would be 37.7 percent. With regard to criteria for a variance in this case, Director Nielsen stated the request did not seem to meet any of the criteria necessary for granting a variance in this case. Furthermore, he stated there appeared to be inadequate information related to the use of permeable paving systems as a way to mitigate impervious surface in lot development. Director Nielsen also noted the Planning Commission had decided to study the issue of use of permeable paving systems as part of its 2005 Work Program, and should the City believed these paving systems had merit in offsetting the impervious surface regulations, the regulations should be changed by ordinance amendment. For these reasons, the Commission had voted unanimously to deny the request for variance in this case. Mayor Love stated he agreed with the Planning Commission recommendations for this case, as did Councilmembers Lizee and Turgeon. Turgeon moved, Lizee seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 04-092. "A Resolution Denying a Setback Variance for Dick and Kelly Cassidy, 26140 Birch Bluff Road." Motion passed 5/0. 9. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. Planning Commission Appointment . Administrator Dawson explained there was a vacancy on the Planning Commission since Commissioner Woodruff had recently resigned from that position, with a term that expired February 28,2005. He also explained City Staff had contacted two individuals that had interviewed for the Planning Commission positions vacant earlier in the year and remained interested in working on the Commission. Council indicated a preference to be able to contact these two individuals prior to appointing a new Commissioner for the Planning Commission. Administrator Dawson stated this item would be placed on the next Regular City Council Meeting Agenda for further consideration. 10. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS A. Approve Plans, Specifications and Estimates for Freeman Park/Shorewood Oaks Drainage Project Engineer Brown explained that during the October 11, 2004, City Council Meeting, Staff was provided direction regarding finalization of the design documents for the drainage way to be constructed between the properties of 26030 and 26040 Shorewood Oaks Drive. In preparation for the construction, the out lot between the properties had been surveyed and staked to illustrate the alignment of the drainage way in the field. After stakes were placed, an impromptu meeting was conducted with the two homeowners adjacent to the outlot. Mr. Healy and Ms. Siverts agreed to a revised alignment that was a compromise between the original plan documents and a straight centerline, which did encroach onto Mr. Healy's property of 26040 Shorewood Oaks Drive. Both property owners agreed in principle to the compromise, and Staff was now submitting the documentation for approval of the plans, specification and estimate for this proj ect. . . . . CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 6 of7 In response to Mayor Love's question, Engineer Brown explained that since the contractor was in the area working on other projects, this project could be completed, weather permitting, within the next two weeks. Turgeon moved, Zerby seconded, Approving the Plans, Specifications, and Estimates for Freeman ParklShorewood Oaks Drainage B. Authorize Expenditure of Funds for .Freeman ParklShorewood Oaks Drainage Project Engineer Brown explained this item would provide funding for the Freeman ParklShorewood Oaks Drainage Project. He also explained, in response to Councilmember Zerby's question, that due to the grade tolerances required for this project, it would be wise to use a contractor to perform the work. Turgeon moved, Lizee seconded, Authorizing Expenditure of Funds for Freeman ParklShorewood Oaks Drainage Project. Motion passed 5/0. C. County Road 19/Country Club RoadlSmithtown Road Intersection Project Engineer Brown explained the bids for the County Road 19/Country Club Road/Smithtown Road Intersection Project were opened on October 20, 2004. He stated he was pleased to announce the lowest bid was from Eureka Construction Inc., in the amount of $3,566,322.45. He also explained it was vitally important to note that $1,523,066.60 of the total was eligible for State Aid reimbursement. Engineer Brown stated that, upon verification of this amount with the State, he was informed that while the City of Shorewood had. placed 'a reserve for advance funding with the State Aid Offices, funds were not guaranteed, since fund availability was available on a "first-come/first-served" basis. The State currently reported zero funds were currently available for advancement. Due to this late development, Staff was now reconsidering the financing alternatives to be considered for the project. He also stated it was anticipated that the award of the project would be placed on the Regular City Council Meeting Agenda for November 8, 2004. Administrator Dawson stated there were several alternatives being investigated for the funding of this project, including a bonding process. He also stated representatives from Hennepin County were taking a favorable position with regard to the bids. Councilmember Turgeon stated she was concerned representatives from Hennepin County were only allotting $200,000 to pay a $1,600,000 debt that had been created due to problems with the Hennepin County process for this project. In addition she stated the County had known the City would need to borrow Minnesota State Aid (MSA) funds for the project, and that the City had invested a great deal more than $1,000,000 for the project to date. She also noted there were many aspects to the project that were under the control of Hennepin County, including the delay for construction. She stated she would not support bonding for this project. Mayor Love questioned whether there would be some money anticipated by the State based on the idea that some municipalities might not utilize their funding from MSA funds as requested. Engineer Brown explained that there was a flaw in the MSA funding mechanism that mandated that municipalities had twelve weeks to utilize requested funds without financial penalty for expiration due to false requests. He stated he thought it important to begin working with people at the County level that would be supportive of the City in this project. Also, he thought it important for the Council to contact any County . . . .'" _Ii CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 25, 2004 Page 7of7 representatives that would be supportive of the City's situation in this matter. Engineer Brown also stated the State was eager for the City of Shorewood to utilize these funds, so he anticipated some relief Gould be realized from the State as well. Further, Engineer Brown explained, in response to Councilmember Garfunkel's question, that the County . was also eligible for State Aid funds, and one option might be to have the County "bankroll" the project. Councilmember Garfunkel stated he was still experiencing "sticker shock" as it seemed the City was being asked to provide $1,600,000 of a $4,500,000 project and he did not think this seemed quite right in this case, as County Road 19 was a County roadway. Administrator Dawson stated there were many alternatives to research and he believed there would be greater certainty about this matter at the next Regular City Council Meeting. 11. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator & Staff 1. County Road 19 Construction Update Engineer Brown stated there was nothing additional to report on this matter at this time. B. Mayor & City Council Mayor Love reported there would be a meeting of the Excelsior Fire District Governing Board on Wednesday, October 27", 2004 at the West Side Station beginning at 6:30P.M. 12. ADJOURN Zerby moved, Lizee seconded, Adjourning the Regular City Council Meeting of October 25, 2004, at 8:03 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Sally Keefe, Recording Secretary ~ Woody Love, Mayor