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02-03-14 CC Spec Mtg MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 MINUTES CONVENE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 5:30 P.M. Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 5:34 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Hotvet, Sundberg,, and Woodruff, Attorney Keane; City Administrator Joynes; City Clerk Panchyshyn; Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and, City Engineer Hornby Absent: Councilmember Siakel B. Review Agenda Mayor Zerby asked that Item 5 Letter of Support for Tax- Exempt Status for Joint Power Agreement Organizations be added to the agenda. Director Brown asked that Item 6 State Highway 7 Trunk Highway Project at County Road 19 and Item 7 Deicing Chemicals be added to the agenda. Zerby moved, Woodruff seconded, approving the agenda as amended. Motion passed 4/0. 2. Conditional Use Permit Amendment for Building Addition Applicant: Minnewashta Elementary School (Mtka. School District 276) Location: 26350 Smithtown Road Director Nielsen explained that Minnetonka School District 276 (the District) is proposing an addition to the Minnewashta Elementary School (the School), located at 26350 Smithtown Road. It is proposing to add two classrooms and a music room at the north end of the building. The classrooms are being built to accommodate a state mandate requiring schools to provide for all -day kindergarten. They are not intended to increase capacity. This does require a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) because schools are a conditional use in residential zoning districts. The school property is located in the R -lA, Single- Family Residential zoning district and contains 18.2 acres of land. In the past parking and drainage have been an issue. The District overcame the parking issue with its last addition which was in 2008. Because capacity is not being changed no additional parking is needed. The District's original plan included a small infiltration basin just north of where the addition will be located and a small increase to a pond on the very north end of the site. After working with the City Engineer and making some revisions to how the drainage gets to that retention basin there will not be a need to deal with the pond on the north end. The City Engineer has a couple of minor technical comments such as specifying what type of plants to put in the retention basin. He noted that staff and the Planning Commission have recommended approval of the C.U.P. CITY OF SHOREWOOD SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 2 of 7 Councilmember Woodruff stated when the District last had a construction project at the School there was concern about construction traffic on Smithtown Road. He asked how that will be addressed this time. Director Nielsen explained the City Engineer has recommended there be a traffic plan including parking. Paul Bourgeois, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, stated there should be ample parking most school days and noted the parking to the west is maybe one -third full. Nielsen noted the Engineer does not want construction vehicles to travel on Strawberry Lane or Cathcart Drive. Woodruff then stated the staff report states "... the addition is not intended to increase the capacity of the school, but rather to accommodate a state mandate requiring schools to provide for all -day kindergarten." Yet, the email from Mr. Bourgeois states the District is proposing to add two classrooms and a music room. The music room is not required by the mandate. Paul Bourgeois, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, Minnetonka School District 276, thanked Council for considering their application. He explained that the music activities (band, orchestra and chorus) are currently being held in various rooms. A few years ago the District made a concerted effort to increase participation in those activities at the elementary level. The School needs the music room to accommodate that growth. Councilmember Hotvet noted that she is pleased to know that the arts are growing. Mayor Zerby stated he thought this is a great idea. Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 14 -006, "A Resolution Granting a Conditional Use Permit for the Expansion of Minnewashta Elementary School, 26350 Smithtown Road." Mayor Zerby stated he assumes staff and the District's representatives have been working with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). Director Nielsen responded that is correct. Motion passed 4/0. 3. Approval of Rate Structure for Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Charges Director DeJong explained the meeting packet contains a copy of a proposal to raise the utility rates for sanitary sewer and stormwater as proposed by Ehlers based on the results of the rate studies it completed in the fall of 2013 for those two utilities. The rates need to be increased to support projects. Those two enterprise funds are dropping in cash. The quarterly sewer residential flat rate would go from $70.00 to $72.85. The City does have a low income rate which five out of over 800 customers are on. It would go from $46.66 to $48.57. He noted that during Council's January 13, 2014, meeting he had proposed a usage based rate. He explained he supports increasing the current flat rate in the current utility billing system. He does not want to convert to a usage based rate in the current system. He recommends doing that after the new utility billing system is operational. He clarified he is proposing an increase to the sewer flat rate at this time and then going to the usage based approach for the billing in July 2014. Councilmember Woodruff stated that last fall he indicated that he did not support the concept of paying for stormwater management improvements done as part of trail construction projects out of the Stormwater Management Fund. From his perspective part of the reason the stormwater rate needs to be increased is because of that concept. His rationale for not supporting that concept is that work is only CITY OF SHOREWOOD SPECIAL. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 3 of 7 being done because a trail is /was being constructed. He called the raiding of the Stormwater Fund somewhat of an artifice to find money to fund trails. He considers the utility increase proposed for stormwater to be a backdoor way of taxing the residents to build trails. He does not think it is appropriate to do that. He recommended finding another funding mechanism for trails that is upfront and to clearly identify that is what is happening. He prefers bonding for the construction of trails. He noted that if Council moves forward with paying for some stormwater improvements done as part of trail projects out of the Stormwater Management Fund there will be enough money to construct the Galpin Lake Road trail segment in 2014. Beyond that there is no money to fund trails. He stated if trails are so darn important to this Council then Council should step up and figure out as grownups how to fund them rather than hide the cost in the Stormwater Fund. Councilmember Hotvet clarified Council is not hiding any tax or fee for trail construction. She stated it is wise accounting practice to correctly label what is being paid for whether it is part of a larger project or a project of its own. She thought it prudent to have line items which indicate what capital improvement expenses are being paid for. Councilmember Sundberg stated Council and the City have been transparent about this all along. The public record is very clear. She noted she is comfortable with proceeding with things as proposed. Mayor Zerby noted he had attended a number of open houses about trails which the public had been encouraged to attend. There had been numerous concerns about stormwater management issues raised by the public during those open houses. He stated he views trail projects as somewhat of a two for one because some drainage problems are solved as a part of the project. Therefore, it is only fair that some stormwater improvements are paid for out of the Stormwater Management Fund. He then stated he thinks trails are important, and Council is just moving forward with the Trail Implementation Plan. Sandberg moved, Hotvet seconded, Approving ORDINANCE NO. 507, "An Ordinance Titled `License, Permit, Service and Miscellaneous Fees'," regarding the stormwater management utility and sanitary sewer service rate increases proposed by staff. Motion passed 3/1 with Woodruff dissenting. 4. Approval of the 2014 — 2023 Capital Improvement Program and 2014 Enterprise Budgets Director De7ong noted that Council and staff have discussed the 2014 — 2023 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the 2014 Enterprise Budgets a number of times. He then noted that the copies of the Enterprise Budgets for the Sewer Fund and the Stormwater Management have incorporated the rate increases approved under Item 2 on the agenda. He recommended Council adopt the resolution approving the 2014 -2023 CIP and 2014 Enterprise Budgets. He noted all of the CIP projects scheduled for 2014 are funded. But, funding has to be increased in subsequent years. Councilmember Woodruff stated the Park Capital Improvements Fund is a problem for him. In the Park Improvements CIP there is $133,000 allocated for projects in 2014 and $413,500 in 2015. By the end of 2015 there will be a $181,000 deficit in the Fund. The path to start towards that deficit starts in 2014 because of the $118,000 allocated to start the Badger Park Improvements Project. The Fund goes into a deficit in 2015 when that project is completed. He stated Council needs to get real about how it is going to fund things rather than keep on kicking the budgetary can down the road. He then stated Council has discussed transferring the proceeds from the sale of the residential property the City had owned. That would keep the Fund from going into a deficit state in 2015. Or Council could take some of the Badger Park improvements off of the list. There should be a sound 'funding plan for the 2015 CIP projects. CITY OF SHOREWOOD SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 4 of 7 Mayor Zerby clarified that the Park Capital Improvements Fund shows a positive balance of approximately $160,767. Councilmember Woodruff stated if you take that balance and add $42,000 to it (that amount is normally transferred from the General Fund to that Fund) and then spend the $413,500 allocated in the CIP for 2015 it ends up with a deficit of $181,000. Director DeJong clarified that Council had already agreed to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the residential property the City sold into the Park Capital Improvements Fund. Council will be asked to approve that transfer in the near future. That will be about $288,000. He explained that many of the individual improvements identified for Badger Park are not solidified. The estimated construction costs provided by WSB & Associates for the Concept I option for shifting the ball field 20 — 30 feet to the south and making improvements to the north parking lot is about $66,000. The Park Improvements CIP has allocated $100,000 in 2014 to reorient the field to east/west. If the field is moved to the south a little there is a possibility new lights would not be needed; the existing lights could just be refocused. That would be a potential savings of about $70,000 for Badger Park improvements in 2015. Therefore, it is possible the funding needed for Badger Park may be there. He noted a long -range plan does need to be developed. Councilmember Sundberg stated she has concerns about some of what is being proposed for Badger Park. She believes the whole Council does. There are a number of things that have not been finalized. She then stated the funds allocated for Badger Parks is very fluid. She noted she will approve the CIP and Enterprise Budgets as presented with the understanding Badger Park improvements are a big issue for Council. Councilmember Hotvet expressed her agreement. She stated the Park Commission has only had one meeting this year and she was Council's liaison to that. The Commission had a lot of discussion about Badger Park improvements. Mayor Zerby stated Badger Park improvements are definitely on the City's to do list. He then stated from his perspective a budget is a guiding document. The projects will not move forward until Council approves them. He went on to state Council is aware of the challenges associated with the Park. Sandberg moved, Hotvet seconded, Adopting RESOLUTUION NO. 14 -007 "An Ordinance Adopting the 2014 — 2023 Capital Improvement Program, Capital Fund Projects Budgets and 2014 Enterprise Budgets" as presented by staff with the clarifications Council has made. Councilmember Woodruff stated he is torn. He noted he does not want to vote against the budgets or against some of the Badger Park improvements. He suggested amending the motion to include the transfer of the proceeds from the sale of the residential property to the Park Capital Improvements Fund. Without objection from the maker or seconded, the motion was amended to include authorizing the transfer of the proceeds from the sale of the residential property located at 5795 Country Club Road from the General Fund to the Park Capital Improvements Fund. Motion passed 4/0. 5. Letter of Support for Tax- Exempt Status for Joint Power Agreement Organizations Administrator Joynes noted the meeting packet contains a copy of a draft letter from Mayor Zerby that if Council supports and approves it will be sent to State Representative Cindy Pugh and State Senator David Osmek in regards to support for state sales tax exemption for Joint Power Agreement (JPA) CITY OF SHOREEWOOD SPE,CIAh COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 5 of 7 organizations. He then noted South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) Chief Litsey has made an effort to try and get the State legislators to understand this issue. There seems to be some movement on the issue. Staff placed a copy of an update from the League of Minnesota Cities regarding actions that are occurring related to that. Mayor Zerby stated this is an important issue and he had stated so before. He then stated that he has heard some comments on the legal side that cities are already tax exempt so this should not be a legal issue anyway. It does need to be clarified at the State level. He thanked Chief Litsey for pushing this forward. He stated he hopes Council will support sending the letter. Councilmember Woodruff noted he supports sending the letter of support. And, that the LMC and Metro Cities support the tax exemption for joint power organizations. He stated in addition to the two public safety organizations the City also belongs to Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission which is also a joint power organization. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconding, endorsing sending the letter from Mayor Zerby to State Representative Cindy Pugh and State Senator David Osmek asking them to support state sales tax exemption for Joint Power Agreement (JPA) organizations. Motion passed 4/0. 6. State Highway 7 Trunk Highway Project at County Road 19 Director Brown stated there are some challenges with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) signal modification project at the intersection of Trunk Highway 7 and County Road 19 (Oak Street). He explained that because of the detours that will be in place with the Metropolitan (Met) Council forcemain project and the City of Excelsior's farmers market and other activities Excelsior's main street is basically shut down from Thursday at noon through the Saturday during warmer months. It became apparent that the detour routes MnDOT proposed would not work effectively. He noted that people were not aware of MnDOT's detour plans until late last week and that prompted calling an emergency meeting. Those in attendance included representatives from the Cities of Shorewood and Excelsior, the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD), the Excelsior Fire District (EFD), Met Council and MnDOT. A number of alternatives were discussed and they were narrowed down to two. One was to shut down the left turn lanes and right turn lane on to County Road 19 for two (possibly three or four) weeks during the project. People did not think that was acceptable. There was discussion about closing down the turn lanes during non -peak times but that would only have given the contractor six hours of time to work and would result in driving up the cost of the project significantly. The other option considered was to allow limited access and giving the contractor the ability to work at night. Those in attendance thought that was the best option. People understood there would be noise and vibration during construction hours. Brown asked Council for feedback on what he presented and indicated he will bring that back to MnDOT. Councihmember Woodruff stated he agreed that closing down the turn lanes would be a disaster and noted that closing them down off peak will be a major inconvenience. Director Brown explained that MnDOT had talked about routing traffic to Christmas Lake Road and have traffic go back around. Those at the meeting were not in favor of that. West bound traffic could overshoot the intersection and then take a right on the street that goes by the Excelsior Grill and go on to Water Street. He stated MnDOT originally proposed starting its project on July 1. It was encouraged to postpone CITY OF SHOREWOOD SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 6 of 7 the project until September or October 2014 which it agreed to do. Because of funding constraints MnDOT needs to let its project relatively soon. Councilmember Sandberg stated the working at night would be the preferable approach. She noted there are a number of residents that live in that area. And, night time traffic could be an issue. She asked what night time hours meant. Director Brown responded 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. and a possible one hour shift each way. Mayor Zerby noted that Director Brown had been involved with two other intersection projects and therefore he has confidence that Brown will help sort things out. He stated he is open to Brown's suggestions. Councilmember Hotvet asked what the construction hours were for the Old Excelsior Boulevard project. Director Brown stated he thought they were typically 6:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. In response to a comment from Councilmember Woodruff, Director Brown explained the lane closures are estimated to be two weeks long and the total project is estimated to be four weeks long. Brown noted he thought the project will take four to six weeks. Mayor Zerby asked what the timing is this summer for the Met Council forcemain project. He asked how the MnDOT project overlays with that. Director Brown stated he does not have a great answer because MnDOT has a number of movable components in its schedule until it is able to bid the project and work with the contractor to finalize things. Councilmember Woodruff asked Director Brown to provide Council with a graphic for the MnDOT project. He assumes MnDOT has one. 7. Deicing Chemicals Director Brown explained there have been a number of snow events already this winter season. Most cities are logging approximately 28 snow events where they sent their plows out. That is typical for an entire season. The Public Works Directors and Superintendents in the Lake area were called to an emergency meeting on January 30 to discuss the inability of deicing companies (Morton Salt and Cargill) to supply deicing chemicals. Public Works makes an effort to try and keep Shorewood's salt/sand bin full for that reason. During his 18 -year tenure with the City it has been fairly typical to receive a notice from the supplier in mid to late February or early March stating they are cutting off all orders for the season. Because Shorewood Public Works has kept the City's salt/sand bind full or close to full it has been able to deal with that. The City has never received a supply notice as early as it did this season. The product is mined and comes out of the City of Duluth and is transported down to the City of Minneapolis by river barges. Each supplier tries to estimate how much product to stock pile in Duluth. Once the Mississippi River freezes agencies cannot get any more product. He is working with the State of Minnesota and Hennepin County to try and find a way to get additional product. Cargill and Morton Salt have conveyed that the only contracts they will ship product for are the State of Minnesota contracts and the County contracts because they are under a different form of contract. He is researching if alternative deicing chemicals are available. He noted that four other communities adjacent to the City that are in the same position. Ile clarified the City is not in a crisis and that he is hopeful he will find supplier of another alternative product. CITY OF SHOREWOOD SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2014 Page 7 of 7 Mayor Zerby stated in the State of Wisconsin a byproduct from cheese and pickles is used to help with deicing. Other Director Brown noted that earlier in the meeting Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Chief Gerber called him out of the meeting to talk about the massive power outage that is affecting sporadic areas in the west part of Shorewood. Xcel Energy has indicated that power should be restored by 7:57 P.M. He explained that the two of them will speak at 8:00 P.M. and if the power is not restored by then they will consider opening up the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which is located in the Public Safety facility in Shorewood and talk about what kind of resources are needed for residents. Councilmember Sandberg stated the power went out at 4:30 P.M. Power also went out in areas of the Cities of Chanhassen and Victoria as well. Mayor Zerby stated that from previous conversations he has had the variability of the outage has something to do with where the power is on one side or the other of the trail where the old railroad tracks were. Director Brown stated on January 28 there was a public safety meeting and there was discussion about how few times the EOC is activated and the desire to operate the EOC effectively and close to seamlessly when it is needed. The power outage may be a good opportunity to put that in play. 8. ADJOURN Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, Adjourning the City Council Special Meeting of February 3, 2014, at 6:18 P.M. Motion passed 4✓0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: Scott r'by, May t) Je n Panchyshyn, City Clerk