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10-22-12 CC Reg Mtg MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Liz& called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Lizee; Councilmembers Hotvet, Siakel, Woodruff and Zerby; Attorney Keane; Interim City Administrator Joynes; Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: None. B. Review Agenda Mayor Liz& stated she inadvertently left a Planning Item off of this evening's agenda. Therefore, she asked that Item 8.13 Conditional Use Permit (C.U.P.) for Auto Repair Business for Triple B. Equities, LLC be added to the agenda for discussion only. She noted that the Planning Commission held a public hearing on this item during its October 2, 2012, meeting. Formal consideration would be given to this item during Council's November 13, 2012, meeting. Director Nielsen asked if there is a way to give conditional approval this evening. The goal is to open the Auto Repair Business by November I'. It would not have been a problem if had been placed on this agenda. Attorney Keane noted the C.U.P. will not be final until the official vote is taken. Tonight it may be possible to get an indication of the way Council is leaning. Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, approving the agenda as amended. Motion passed 510. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Executive Session Minutes, October 8, 2012 Zerby moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Executive Session Minutes of October 8, 2012, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. B. City Council Work Session Minutes, October 8, 2012 Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, Approving the City Council Work Session Minutes of October 8, 2012, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. C. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, October 8, 2012 CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 2 of 12 Havel moved, Zerby seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 8, 2012, as presented. Motion passed 510. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Lizke reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolutions Therein. A. Approval of the Verified Claims List B. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 12 -065 "A Resolution Approving Licenses to Retailers to Sell Tobacco Products for CUB Foods Shorewood, Holiday Station Store #12, and Shorewood Cigars and Tobacco, Inc." C. Setting the Date of the Canvassing Board Meeting D. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 12 -066 "A Resolution Supporting the Grant Application Made to the Hennepin County Capital Improvement Program 2013 Sidewalk Participation Program." E. Approval of the 2013 Concessions Operation Agreement Motion passed 5/0. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were no matters from the floor presented this evening. 5. PUBLIC HEARING None. 6. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. Report on ICA Food Shelf by Cathy Maes, Executive Director Mayor Lizee introduced Cathy Maes, the Executive Director for the ICA. Ms. Maes noted ICA stands for Intercongregation Communities Association. The organization refers to itself as ICA Food Shelf (ICA). The summary of Ms. Maes' presentation is as follows. • ICA is supported by 36 member congregations as well as hundreds of businesses and civic and community groups. • ICA is served by food banks. The banks purchase the food from the companies such as General Mills and Cargill. The food funnels down to the food shelves. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 3 of 12 • ICA serves the communities of Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Shorewood and Woodland. • The number of households ICA serves increased 112 percent between 2008 and 2012. The amount of food provided increased 134 percent over that same period. A great Board of Directors, and an incredible staff and the communities enabled ICA to handle that growth. • Over 50 percent of the households the ICA serves have come for help in the last few years. • About two years ago ICA had clients who had to wait more than two weeks to get food because ICA could not keep up with the needs. • ICA's large location on the property of St. David's Episcopal Church opened in 2007. A group helped ICA with being able to open its facility in the Excelsior about two years ago. Since then a mobile food shelf has been launched; it is the first in the metropolitan area. • People deliver carts of groceries to residents in senior high rise apartments on Monday and Tuesday evenings. • ICA's warehouse in Minnetonka can store over 90,000 pounds of groceries. It gives out more than the warehouse can hold in one month. It has a cold storage location where it can store frozen meats. It has a location that can store non - perishables. • ICA is much more than a food shelf. It helps people stabilize. The money contributed to ICA also goes to help people with their rent or mortgage payments and utilities. Residents want to remain in the school district. Seniors want to remain where they know people. ICA helps over 50 households each month for a cost of about $40,000. ICA does not help a household financially until they have been process through the Hennepin County system and been denied assistance. • During the last year ICA hired an employment specialist who has helped over 60 people get jobs. The jobs are not just low level jobs. There are at places from Cargill to Burger King. • More than 850 households came to the ICA in a month. • ICA serves more than 50 pounds of food per person. • She witnessed an ICA client earlier in the day trying to fit all of the groceries she picked up at ICA into her minivan. The client probably had a family of five or six and she was given enough food for two weeks. • ICA tells people that if they have a family of four and come for groceries twice a month that saves them over $550 a month. That should help the family have money to pay their rent or mortgage and their utilities. ICA does not limit the number of times a person can come for help. • Approximately one in seven Minnesotan's experience hunger. That amounts to 411,000 in the Twin Cities. • Although Shorewood is a blessed area it is not without need. ht 2012 ICA has served about 20 households in Shorewood. Those households were helped with food, rent or mortgages and utilities. The cost of what they received was about $2,500. That amount is not a lot when compared to what is done in Excelsior, Hopkins and Minnetonka. • The difference people make together helps their neighbors. ICA's mission is to help its neighbors in need. • One client served wrote ICA that the first time she went to ICA she went home and cried because she could have her granddaughter over and be able to feed her the things she liked to eat and drink. Another client wrote and thanked the ICA for helping her so she did not have to choose between food and medications. Ms. Maes stated her reason for coming this evening was to start the conversation about what Shorewood residents can do to help their neighbors so more neighbors don't go hungry or default on a mortgage and lose their home in foreclosure. She then stated lack of food is a symptom of something else. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 4 of 12 Mayor Lizde stated Council appreciates Ms. Maes for coming this evening and again telling people how people's needs have grown. She noted Ms. Maes has increased the visibility of ICA by the events she does, by engaging with the school district, by working with rotaries and cities, and with the shop in Excelsior. She asked Ms. Maes what else she is looking for from the average Shorewood resident. Ms. Maes stated the average household could help by donating cash to the ICA. The ICA has increased buying power. Money means more than a bag of groceries. She then stated that children go buy the $5.00 bag of groceries at CUB Foods and they are a blessing. She noted that ICA is coming into its biggest time of people donating. Its biggest time of need is in the summer. That's when its bank accounts are at their lowest. She encouraged people to continue to give to ICA during November and December, and not to forget to give to ICA during the July and August. Councilmember Woodruff stated one of the slides shows the Islands located in Shorewood; the zip code there is 55364. Another slide about usage information has a table which shows the zip code for Shorewood as 5 533 1. He asked if there is something that can be done relative to those residents on the Islands. Ms. Maes noted that she was not aware that there are two zip codes in Shorewood and she will look at the need for those residents. Councilmember Hotvet thanked Ms. Maes for bringing awareness about changes that are creeping into the Shorewood and the surrounding communities. She asked Ms. Maes to explain how ICA is working with the Minnetonka School District. Ms. Maes explained when she started with the School Board free /reduced lunch was at approximately 3.2 percent and now it is above 8 percent. That is a big increase in particular when considering the population growth. Any social workers in the Minnetonka Public School or Hopkins Public Schools have a bottomless offer to come to ICA and grab a CUB tote filled with snacks. ICA knows children come to school hungry and that social workers have been funding snacks. At Minnetonka High School ICA started a new program where it delivers backpacks filled with food for children to pick up and bring home. When the children return the backpacks they can be refilled. ICA is helping in a couple of rooms to feed 30 — 40 children at the High School breakfast. The children show up at 6:30 A.M. to get breakfast. She stated from her vantage point residents in the School District should be blessed to live in it. She noted that about 60 percent of ICA's work is done in Hopkins, about 20 percent is done in Minnetonka, and the Excelsior location brings in the rest. She stated the giving in the communities of Deephaven, Greenwood, Shorewood and Woodland is very good. Councilmember Siakel stated she works outside of her home and she recently attended meeting in Denver, Colorado. Every time the group gets together it does a community service project. In Denver the group of about 20 people chose a local food shelter. For four hours they scrubbed floors, restocked shelves, cleaned, picked things in the community garden, and learned more about what the shelter does. She asked Ms. Maes if ICA has projects outside of, for example, a shopping spree and bagging groceries. Does ICA ask for groups of volunteers from businesses in the community to do projects? She stated Shorewood has community gardens and there is a big one in Excelsior. She asked if ICA has a plot set aside for it. Ms. Maes stated ICA is always looking for more community gardens. There are gardens scattered across the area. Five or six of them are big. She explained ICA has people who pick up food at all of the farmers markets after the markets close from those vendors who want to donate their food. ICA does really well with fresh produce in July through September. ICA has more than 60 volunteers every day. Groups would be for doing special projects, and ICA will find the projects if they get groups. ICA is always looking for a couple of people to fill in. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 5 of 12 Councilmember Hotvet asked if ICA's website has a list of special projects. Ms. Maes stated it does. Ms. Maes thanked the City for its partnership and Council for its leadership. A. Report on the October 9, 2012, Park Commission Meeting Park Commissioner Edmonson stated for the past two years he created an event to help raise money for the food shelf. This year he built a golf course in his yard. CUB Foods (at Highway 7 and Highway 101) contributed a lot of the food for the event and Cellars Wine & Spirits in Shorewood contributed beverages. The event raised a couple thousand dollars. He then stated he toured an ICA facility and he encouraged people to go and observe the operation. He challenged households in the community to think outside of the box about ways to raise money. Park Commissioner Edmonson reported on matters considered and actions taken at the October 9, 2012, Park Commission meeting (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). Councilmember Siakel stated she was the Council Liaison at the last Park Commission meeting. There was some discussion about the future of Badger Park. There was also discussion about possibly having Council attend a Park Commission meeting in January or February 2013 to talk about the future of the Park. 8. PLANNING A. Comprehensive Plan Amendment — Smithtown Crossing Redevelopment Study Director Nielsen noted the Planning Commission has been working on the Smithtown Crossing Redevelopment Study for a couple of years. A copy of the third draft of the Study Report is included in the meeting packet. The third draft was placed on the City's website for a 30 -day comment period and the comments received were posted. Nielsen highlighted the changes between the second and third drafts of the Repot. • An Executive Summary was added to the front of the Report. • Numerous changes were made to the Study Area map. Gideon Glen, the South Lake Public Safety facility property and the Southshore Community Center were removed from the Study Area. Gideon Glen was labeled as a conservation area. • The acreages in the appendix were clarified. • Graphics were revised to be more readable. • The Vision Statement was replaced with Redevelopment Guiding Principles. • A Zoning Map was included. There is a graphic showing the Study Area overlaying the Zoning Map. • Some photographs were replaced. For example, one of a tall building was replaced with one of a lower building. • The second draft considered allowing taller buildings. The third draft stated any property currently zoned residential in the Study Area will remain residential and the building height will be limited to the current restriction of 35 feet or two and a half stories. For properties in the commercial district the current height restriction of 40 feet will apply. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 6 of 12 • The Concept Sketch presented at the open house and the last public hearing is included at the end of the report. It is not intended to show how buildings would be laid out. Nielsen explained there were not many people at the last public hearing on this. He noted the comments received from them were favorable. He then noted the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Study. He explained if Council agrees with the Commission's recommendation the Study Report will be forwarded to the surrounding communities for review. Once that 30 -day review period is up it will be sent to the Met Council for its review and approval. Mayor Lizee stated it has been a great project for Council, the Planning Commission and the community. She expressed her appreciation to Director Nielsen and the Planning Commission for all of its time and efforts on this, and for making a strong effort to reach out to the public. Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO 12.067 "A Resolution Adopting an Amendment to the Shorewood Comprehensive Plan 2009 Pertaining to the Smithtown Crossing Development Study." Motion passed 510. B. Conditional Use Permit for Auto Repair Business for Triple B. Equities, LLC Mayor Lizee stated she added for discussion the amendment to conditional use permit (C.U.P.) for an auto repair business for Triple B. Equities, LLC (Triple B) to this agenda. She apologized to the applicant for not getting this on the agenda in advance. It can be voted on during Council's next meeting scheduled for November 13 " The applicant should be able to get some idea of the way Council is leaning this evening. Director Nielsen clarified it was his error in not getting this item on the agenda. He thanked Mayor Lizee for her graciousness. He extended his apology to Council and to the applicant. Director Nielsen explained Triple B represented by Blair Bury owns the property located at 24470 Smithtown Road. In 2001 Triple B was granted a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) to operate an auto sales business on that property. The auto sales business is no longer in operation. Mr. Bury proposes to lease part of the property and the easterly 4,000 square feet of the existing building to Jim and Jae Steinwand to operate their minor auto repair business. The property is zoned C -1, General Commercial and it contains just over 40,000 square feet of area. (It used to be zoned C -3.) The building contains 7740 square feet of floor area with Triple B using 3740 square feet of it for personal storage. The City's Zoning Code does allow minor auto repair business as a conditional use in the C -1 zoning district. Auto repair minor is different from auto repair major. Nielsen reviewed the conditions associated with the minor auto repair conditional use 1. The applicant is not proposing to sell or dispense motor fuel. Sale of motor oil will be limited to oil change service. In this regard, the storage of new and used oil is subject to the requirements of the State Fire Code and should be subject to review and approval by the Excelsior Fire District. 2. There is no proposal to change the architectural appearance or functional plan of the existing building. 3. There is no change proposed for the existing site plan. The amended C.U.P. allows outdoor sales of vehicles in the front of the property and it limits it to eight; the same as the original C.U.P. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 7 of 12 4. Drainage for the property remains unchanged. 5. The parking area in front of the property is curbed and striped per City Code requirements. 6. No change is proposed to site lighting. 7. No fuel pumps are proposed, nor should any be allowed. 8. No change is proposed to landscaping. Staff recommends additional landscaping be incorporated along the rear yard of the property, even if it is placed inside the fence. The rear of the building is quite exposed to the Gideon Glen Conservation Open Space property and the residential uses to the north. The front of the property is well landscaped. The Planning Commission supports Staff approving the landscape plan. 9. Parking and outside storage are already well screened from the view of nearby residential zoning districts. 10. The site has one driveway onto Smithtown Road and no change is proposed. 11. Signage for the property is subject to the restrictions for the C -1 zoning district which allows up to three signs, one of which can be a freestanding sign. The total area of signage cannot exceed 10 percent of the area of the building silhouette, as viewed from the street. The existing freestanding sign structure on the property is nonconforming in that the two faces are not parallel. Therefore, both faces of the sign will be counted against the total allowable sign area. That will be reviewed as part of the sign permit. 12. With respect to noise, it is recommended that no service work be allowed to take place outdoors. The proposed hours (8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday) should be adequate to prevent any disturbance to nearby residential development. 13. Outdoor storage should be limited to the confines of the existing fence system. In no instance should the front parking area be used for any kind of outdoor storage. 14. Future modification of the conditions of approval is not anticipated. Any such modifications would be addressed as part of code compliance issues that may occur. 15. The subject property is part of the Smithtown Crossing Redevelopment Study, which was just approved by the City Council. While the proposed use is not consistent with the character of commercial development envisioned by the Study, it does comply with current zoning regulations. The Study recognizes that individual sites may develop independently. The mitigating factor in this case is that neither the site nor the building is being changed at this time. Nielsen noted the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approving the C.U.P. and including the fifteen items he just reviewed. Approval of the C.U.P. should include a requirement that a landscape plan for the rear of the property be subject to review and approval by Staff. He asked Council to give the Steinwands permission with the understanding that these conditions will be in the resolution and that they have to abide by them upon adoption. Councilmember Hotvet stated she was the Council Liaison at the Planning Commission when this item was discussed. During that meeting Mr. Bury and Mr. Steinwand answered the Commission's questions. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 8 of 12 Councilmember Woodruff stated people like to drop their cars off at an auto repair business before they go to work. Therefore, Council may want to authorize an earlier start time of possibly 7:00 A.M. Director Nielsen stated the Planning Commission did address this. The Commission has been discussing a noise ordinance and if that ordinance were to allow earlier hours this conditional use permit could be amended accordingly. In response to a question from Woodruff, Mr. Bury stated he uses part of the building for personal storage and at this time he has no plans to change that. Councilmember Siakel stated one of the conditions states in no instance should the front parking area be used for any kind of outdoor storage. She asked where drop -off cars will be stored on the property. Director Nielsen stated the Steinwands are not proposing to have auto sales, but Mr. Bury wants to leave that option in the C.U.P. Nielsen stated if the gate is locked or closed they could leave their cars in those parking spaces. The cars would be brought into the rear storage areas before being brought into the shop. Mayor Lizde suggested waiting until spring to do any planting. Councilmember Zerby stated he thought this would be a nice use of the building. He then stated he assumes any environmental concerns are addressed in the City Code. Director Nielsen stated the most significant of that would be what becomes of used oil and one of the conditions stipulates that be subject to the review and approval of the fire department. Zerby commented there will be three car repair businesses within a very short distance of each other. Mayor Lizde noted Council cannot vote on this now and it cannot say how it would vote. She commented that she is pretty enthusiastic about the plan. The Planning Commission did hold a public hearing on this and it has unanimously recommended approval. Director Nielsen asked Council if it would be willing to grant conditional approval subject to incorporating the conditions into the resolution. Attorney Keane noted he does not recommend setting that precedent of granting C.U.P.s subject to. He stated this is not an agenda item. Asking Council to grant conditional approval procedurally puts Council in a tough spot. He commented that the applicant can certainly get a flavor of Council's preferences from the discussion. He noted a certificate of occupancy is subject to approval of the amended C.U.P. Director Nielsen stated the Steinwands were trying to be open for business by November I'`. Councilmember Woodruff stated based on the Councilmembers' body language it seems to him that Council is likely to approve this. He asked the other Councilmernbers if they would be amenable to having a ten minute special meeting on October 29' to discuss this item only. Interim Administrator Joynes stated it can be held as long as it meets the requirements for notification. Interim Administrator Joynes stated at this time this is all about assumption and risk. Could there be a possibility that Council may turn this down? Council does not want the applicant or the Steinwands to count on approval at this time. If they believe that everyone is being forthright and if they need to take action to be ready to open for business on their desired date they can do that but they are taking a risk. Councilmember Woodruff stated the City's mistake is the reason this was not on the agenda. He feels bad about that, noting Council did not have anything to do about it. He then stated if it is allowable he would like Council to have a special meeting on October 29"'. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 9 of 12 Attorney Keane stated this item can be continued to a date certain and post the appropriate public notice. Mayor Liz& asked if the meeting could begin at 5:00 P.M. on October 29, 2012. There was Council consensus to continue this to an October 29, 2012, City Council special meeting with the start time being 5:00 P.M. 9. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS None. 10. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. Logo for Trail Projects Interim Administrator Joynes stated the meeting packet contains a copy of a memorandum from Julie Moore, the Communications Coordinator, asking Council to authorize an expenditure not to exceed $250 to hire the services of Elise King Marty to develop a simple logo that will tie all trail projects together over the years. Ms. Moore believes having a logo will help in putting a good marketing plan together for the trail system thereby increasing the chances of securing grant funds. He expressed his agreement with Ms. Moore's perspective. He noted this would like to be done right away because there are grant opportunities coming up. He stated Ms. Moore also recommends Council authorize her, Director Nielsen and Councilmember Hotvet to make the final logo design decision. Mayor Lizde stated it is a very clear memorandum and a wonderful idea. Lizee moved, Zerby seconded, authorizing expenditure of funds in the amount of $250 for the development of a simple trail logo design by Elise Kling Marty, and authorizing Director Nielsen, Communications Coordinator Moore and Councilmember Hotvet to approve the final logo design. Motion passed 5/0. it. OLD BUSINESS None. 12. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator and Staff 1. Monthly Financial Report Director DeJong stated the meeting packet contains a copy of the September 2012 Monthly Budget Report. The budget is about normal for this time of the year. He noted a copy of the quarterly investment report is not included in the packet because he and an outside resource are making changes to how investments are tracked and not all of the details have been worked out. The November 13, 2012, meting packet will contain a copy of the report. B. Mayor and City Council 1. Minnetonka Family Service Collaborative CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 10 of 12 Interim Administrator Joynes stated that Councilmember Hotvet asked that Minnetonka Family Collaborative Council (MFCC) be placed on the agenda for Council to decide if it wants to appoint a representative to the MFCC. Councilmember Hotvet explained the Minnetonka Family Service Collaborative is a group of service providers that service the Minnetonka public schools and their families and that population. There is a council member from the City of Minnetonka. She has gone to the MFCC's last two meetings, and it meets nine times a year. It does not meet in the summer. It is a multi - agency collaborative. She noted that South Lake Minnetonka Police Chief Bryan Litsey has joined the group. She stated being part of the group is a great way to keep a finger on the pulse on what the needs in the community are. The group is very active. She volunteered to serve as a representative for the City. Mayor Lizee stated it is a wonderful opportunity and that she had not been aware of this group. Councilmember Hotvet stated it has been around for many years. Lizee thanked Councilmember Hotvet for volunteering to represent the City. Lizee moved, Zerby seconded, nominating Councilmember Hotvet to serve as the City's representative to the Minnetonka Family Collaborative Council and asking her to provide Council with periodic updates. Motion passed 510. 2. Galpin Lake Road Sidewalk/Trail Mayor Lizee stated Andrew Morrow, a resident, is present to talk about a Galpin Lake Road Sidewalk/Trail. She noted he was present for Council's September 24, 2012, meeting. Andrew Morrow, 5935 Galpin Lake Road stated he is before Council this evening to ask the city to fund a feasibility study for a Galpin Lake Road Sidewalk/Trail. He noted a couple of things have happened since he attended Council's September 24` meeting. He explained Hennepin County issued three CIP sidewalk/trail grant opportunities. Applications must be submitted by November 1, 2012. Julie Moore, the City's Communication Coordinator, is actively pursuing them. There is also a new grant fund opportunity for safe routes to school and applications must be submitted by February 2013. He noted Ms. Moore was able to obtain a copy of report from the City of Excelsior on a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) coordinated project to bring a sidewalk from College Point to the east side of County Road 19 along the south side of Highway 7. The MnDOT component he is advocating is to the west side of County Road 19. He commented that when he was before the Excelsior City Council a few weeks ago he received pushback on whether or not there was a requirement to have a sidewalk. Mr. Morrow noted his goal is to get the right packet to Engineer Landini before August 2013 for a 2014 project. He stated he thought that is possible with Director Nielsen's help. He then stated he needs to make sure everything is covered because there are many agencies that would be involved. He noted he thought the first step in the process would be a feasibility study. Director Nielsen stated the Trail Implementation Plan has the Galpin Lake Road trail segment on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for 2014. He then stated he thought it is a little soon to be doing a feasibility study. However, what came up during Council's September 20' meeting was considering at least the portion along Highway 7 before 2014. He explained for the cooperative agreement the City of Excelsior had with MnDOT in 1998 MnDOT ended up paying for 90 percent of the cost of the trail. A cooperative agreement is worth pursuing sooner rather than later. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 11 of 12 Nielsen then stated there is a feasibility study under way for the Smithtown West trail segment (from the Shorewood /Victoria border to the Minnewashta Elementary School). He reiterated Mr. Morrow's comment that the City is looking into grants in conjunction with the County Road 19 trail segment (from the LRT Trail at County Road 19 to near the Tonka Village Shopping Center) and hopefully the Smithtown West segment. He noted that earlier this year Council assigned responsibility for the implementation of the Trail Implementation Plan to the Planning Commission. He suggested routing this request for a feasibility study through the Commission. Councilmember Hotvet stated that she does not think it is too soon to do feasibility study. In order to reach out for grant opportunities there needs to be a relatively solid cost estimate. She noted she does not see any downside to find out what the cost would be. She clarified she is not saying go ahead and construct the trail. She stated this trail segment is part of the Trail CIP and the Trail Implementation Plan. Councilmember Z,erby stated he does not think the City should keep going back and forth between the Planning Commission and Council. That segment is already on the plan. It is one of the priorities. Resident feedback has indicated there is a desire to have more walkability. He noted there are opportunities for partnering with other organizations. Councilmember Hotvet stated this is an example of a resident who has a great interest, gets involved and becomes engaged with the community. Councilmember Woodruff noted he thought there is good reason to do this. He recommended waiting to do the feasibility study until after the City has gotten some indication from MnDOT what it thinks this walkway should be because it will be driven by MnDOT requirements. Director Nielsen stated he thought that could be incorporated into the feasibility study. Woodruff stated he does not want to spend a lot of engineering money only to find out MnDOT have a different idea. Mr. Morrow stated the only data points he has are some of the other projects that were done around the area. Councilmember Siakel asked if it is necessary to do a feasibility study to proceed with applying for a grant. Director Nielsen responded the farther along with planning the better the success with a grant. Nielsen stated that this is one that could be applied for in next year's round of grant opportunities. He noted Staff has not seen the information on the safe routes to school grant. Councilmember Hotvet noted that with a lot of grants the City has to provide matching funds. Councilmember Siakel stated she supports trails and safe routes to schools, and that safe routes are long overdue. She explained the Trail Committee categorized trail segments into priority groups. She then explained the Staff has commitments to work on the feasibility study for the trail segment along County Road 19 and for the Smithtown West trail segment. She cautioned against over burdening Staff. She stated she can support doing this feasibility study soon, but she does not want to spend time and money on it if it is going to sit on a shelf and then have to be redone. Mr. Morrow stated maybe the feasibility study is not the first step; maybe it is working with MnDOT first. Councilmember Woodruff suggested asking Staff to come back to Council during the next meeting or two with a plan on how to approach this including milestone dates. Something that will confirm the City is on track for a 2014 implementation. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 2012 Page 12 of 12 Mayor Lizee thanked Mr. Morrow for coming this evening. Other Councilmember Woodruff explained the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District (LMCD) Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Task Force met on October 19, 2012. The main topic for discussion was the Lake Minnetonka AIS management plan. It will be presented to the LMCD Board on October 24, 2012. He noted that he has nothing to hand out to Council this evening because it was recommended to hold off doing that until the LMCD Board discussed it. He then noted that the recommendation is for the LMCD to commit a substantial amount of funding towards AIS management in future years. Councilmember Zerby asked why the plan is not available to the public. Councilmember Woodruff stated it is public, and that he was asked not to distribute it before the LMCD Board saw it. Zerby asked if it is on the LMCD's website, Woodruff stated he does not know, but it will be in the LMCD Board's meeting packet and if that is on the website then the plan will be also. He noted the packet was sent out last week. Mayor Lizee stated the packet has been mailed out to the members. Mayor Lizee stated on October 18, 2012, the Minnebaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) held its Watershed Heroes award event. Over 120 people attended the event. She explained the City of Shorewood was presented the Innovation in Government Award. It earned the award for recent and past triumphs. In 1999 it became the first city in the United States to pass an ordinance banning the use of phosphorus fertilizer. More recently, it has been taking an active role in preventing the spread of AIS. It has partnered with the MCWD and the Christmas Lake Homeowners Association to increase protections at Christmas Lake. In 2012 it became the first city in the state to pass an ordinance requiring boaters to have an inspection before launching a boat into Christmas Lake. The Minneapolis Park Board used the City's ordinance as a model ordinance. Lizee congratulated the City, the City's residents and organizations who supported the efforts and came to the forefront (much like Mr. Morrow has on trails), staff who has pursued these efforts and the past and current members of the City Council who stayed true to the vision. She thanked them all. She also thanked the MCWD. She displayed the plaque the City was awarded. i . I Zerby moved, Woodruff seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of October 22, 2012, at 8:18 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED Christine Freeman, Recorder Christine Lizee, Mayor S. Joyyfes#norim City Administrator /Cleric