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07-28-14 CC WS MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 P.M. Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 6:02 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Hotvet, Siakel, Sundberg, and Woodruff, Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and, City Engineer Hornby Absent: City Administrator Joynes, City Clerk Panchyshyn B. Review Agenda Sundberg moved, Woodruff seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 510. 2. 2015 — 2019 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Director DeJong noted the Mayor and several members of Council suggested starting discussions about the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) earlier than they have started the past few years. He stated the CIP is a planning document. It goes out 10 years with the focus being on the first five years. That information is included in the City's Financial Management Plan. The discussion during this meeting will focus on changes staff has identified for 2015 — 2019 when compared to the 2014 — 2018 adopted CIP. There will also be discussion about some unresolved issues that are not included in the CIP and that staff needs direction on. That direction will impact the CIP and the 2015 tax levy. DeJong explained there are two changes to the Equipment Replacement CIP for 2015. There is the addition of a Trail Plow for an estimated cost of $160,000 as recommended by Director Brown. The plow will come with mowing attachments. The lead time for the plow is nine months out. That purchase eliminates the need for the replacement of the Ford tractor /mower which was scheduled for 2015 for an estimated cost of $84,000. That results in an approximate increase to this CIP of $76,000 not including the trade in value for the tractor. Director Brown explained many communities are going to the type of plow he has recommended. The City of Edina has five of them. The City of Hopkins has some also. The machine is four feet wide. Plowing roadways is the City's priority during the snow season. The snow is plowed on to the boulevards first. Then the trails get plowed. That can take 2.5 — 3 days and some residents complain about that. The machine proposed can move at a reasonable speed very efficiently. He has resisted recommending that the City purchase a single - purpose machine for many yews. He went to look at the plow after he found out a boom attachment can be purchased for the machine. Currently staff rides on an open machine (there is no cab). One operator has been hit by debris. The operator has to drive the mower into the ditches and sometimes the mower gets stuck. The proposed machine can stay on the roadway and the operator can CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 2 of 8 ride enclosed. Staff thought plowing the Smithtown Road west sidewalk with the wing -plow would work okay. Unfortunately, it caused some damage to the curbs and the surface. Mayor Zerby asked staff to comment on the nine month lead time from order to receipt. Director Brown stated that is what he has been told. He then stated he spoke with a vendor who intends to order six of them and he offered to reserve one for Shorewood. The vendor thought he would not have any problem selling it if Council does not approve that purchase. Councilmember Hotvet asked if the trail plow can be used on all types of trail / sidewalk surfaces. Director Brown stated it will work on concrete, asphalt or gravel surfaces. Mayor Zerby asked if it will work on the LRT. Brown responded yes. Councilmember Woodruff asked if the purchase was made in 2015 would the City be able to take advantage of the sales tax exemption. Director DeJong clarified the City is already eligible for that exemption. Councilmember Siakel stated if Council is committed to responding to people wanting trails then staff has to have the tools and equipment to do the job. The trail plow seems to be a reasonable purchase. Councilmember Sundberg concurred and stated she thought it would be a prudent use of funds. Councilmember Hotvet stated the purchase is less expensive than repairing a damaged trail each year. Director DeJong explained there are two changes to the Street Reconstruction CIP. Strawberry Lane / West 62 "d Street to Cathcart Park have been added in 2019 for an estimated cost of $1,365,000. That would bring the Street Reconstruction Fund into a deficit state in 2019 if something is not done for additional financial resources. Eureka Road North was also added in 2019 for an estimated cost of $260,000. For a number of years it had been planned as a Minnesota State Aid (MSA) road and the improvement would have been mostly paid for with MSA funding. Because the roadway will not be reconstructed to State standards it has to be paid for out of the Street Reconstruction Fund which is funded through tax levies. Strawberry Lane / West 62nd Street have also been added in 2019 to the Trail Construction Fund and to the Stormwater Management CIP each for an estimated cost of $345,000. It would cost around $800,000 for a trail along Strawberry Lane / West 62nd Street if it were to be constructed as a standalone project. Councilmember Woodruff stated something has to be done with Enchanted Lane. There is no funding in the budget for 2014 or 2015 for that. Director DeJong stated he has that highlighted as an unresolved issue on his next slide. Woodruff explained that during 2010 Council had extensively discussed the possible reconstruction of Star Circle and Star Lane. The reconstruction had been scheduled for 2011. The property owners along those two roadways were extremely vocal about not wanting that done. They thought it was not necessary and a waste of money. That project was terminated. Those roadways are in the 2015 Street Reconstruction CIP for an estimated cost of $453,000. He suggested doing something less than reconstruction for those roadways and save maybe one -half of the cost. There is also a line item in the Water CIP and in the Stormwater Management CIP for those two roadways. Some of that may not be necessary. Woodruff then explained that during 2007 Council had extensively discussed the possible reconstruction of Amlee Road, Manitou Lane and Glen Road. The reconstruction had been scheduled for 2008. The property owners along those roadways were extremely vocal about not wanting that done. The property owners along Glen Road were adamant about not granting the City any easements. That entire project was terminated. A mill and overlay of some of the roadways was done. Amlee Road and Manitou Lane CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 3 of 8 are back in the 2016 Street Reconstruction CIP for a combined amount of approximately $650,000. He thought there were less than 16 houses along those two roadways. There is no thru traffic on those roadways. He does not think that is a worthwhile expenditure. He thinks something much less expensive could be done while still meeting the needs of those residents. There is also a fine item in the Stormwater Management CIP for those two roadways and some of that may not be necessary. Woodruff stated the money saved by cutting back on the projects he just mentioned could be used to help fund Strawberry Lane / West 62 "a Street improvements. Mayor Zerby asked how Amlee Road fits into the 20 -year Pavement Management Plan (PMP). Director Brown explained that when the underlying soils become saturated the soils start to move around. It is not as cost effective to do a mill and overlay when that is the case. A nice surface will be put down and in five years that surface will look the same as it did before the work was done. Pavement reclamation is very similar. The decision flow chart used to help in deciding whether a roadway should be reclaimed or reconstructed takes the condition of the underlying soils into consideration. Soils that move around make reconstruction necessary from an engineering perspective. Council could decide just to have a mill and overlay done. But that may not be the best investment dollar for dollar for asphalt. The City would get a few years out of it. Engineer Homby explained that during the first few months of spring and summer he had contact with quite a few residents from the Amlee Road, Mannou Lane and Glen Road area. He thought there is a desire to have drainage improvements. There are some lots that are landlocked. The stormwater has nowhere to go. When it overflows it ends up in houses. He noted a handful of residents were very willing to donate easements and work with the City on a solution. Councilmember Siakel stated Strawberry Lane needs significant improvements. It should be done right. It would be nice if that could be done sooner than 2019, including the sidewalk. She suggested revisiting the 20 -Year PMP to see if the priorities could be adjusted in order to fit Strawberry Lane in sooner. She noted the City just redid two roadways without extending watermain because residents did not want to be assessed for that extension. She asked if the reconstruction of those two roadways could have been pushed out. Or, did they get reconstructed because of their placement in the PMP. Director Brown clarified the 20 -Year PMP is based on a philosophy set by Council. He explained the roadways were rated based on the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) System. He rerated the City roadways, with the exception of those on the Islands, last fall. The philosophy was to maintain roads to a rating of four or better. The ratings help set the priorities in the PMP. That is why those two roadways were reconstructed. Councilmember Siakel clarified she was not criticizing previous decisions that were made. She asked if there is a less expensive option that would meet the true needs of the neighborhood. She noted that she does not claim to be a roadway improvement expert. She asked if there would be value in reassessing the PMP. She stated she views Strawberry Lane, Summit Avenue and Enchanted Lane as the priorities. Councilmember Sundberg stated if a neighborhood is adamantly opposed to a roadway improvement she asked if that is taken into account when making a decision about what to do. Director Brown stated the 20 -Year PMP is based on technical analysis. Staff leaves the politics to Council. Sundberg stated if a roadway improvement is put off because of residents' opposition she asked what the ramifications are to the City. Brown explained the City ends up spending additional funds to patch. He noted the City has a responsibility to make sure there is safe travel. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 4 of 8 Director Brown stated that 50 percent of the people want a roadway reconstructed and 50 percent don't. Council and staff get caught in the middle when there is a roadway that continually has band aid repairs made to it. Residents eventually start to complain that the City only makes band aid repairs to their roadway. When the City decides to again reconstruct it the other portion of the residents show up to oppose that. That is what happened with Star Lane and Star Circle. Councilmember Woodruff stated Council makes the political decision after considering technical input from the engineers and resident input. He noted that in some cases there is no right answer. He then stated that Strawberry Lane is a 2019 funding issue. He suggested putting that funding issue off. He then suggested having serious discussion about what to do with Star Lane /Star Circle and Amlee Road/Manitou Lane. He clarified he is not proposing any CIP budget changes at this time with the exception of funding for Enchanted Lane. He stated there is a lot of money in the Street Improvement Fund and that will not be exhausted in the next 18 months. Therefore, there is enough money to improve Enchanted Lane with existing money knowing that the money needs to be replaced. Councilmember Siakel asked if the real issue for Star Lane/Star Circle and Amlee Road/Manitou Lane projects was the watermain extension that was proposed as part of the projects. Mayor Zerby clarified that some of the opposition had to do with the proposed design of the roadway. For example, the width of the roadway, curbing, cul de sacs and so forth. Councilmember Woodruff stated from his perspective for Star Lane and Star Circle a number of residents opposed spending their tax dollars to reconstruct the roadways. They did not think it was necessary based on the number of cars that travelled the roadways. Some of them did not think it was in that bad of a condition. He suggested making another run at it. He then stated it is his understanding there are a number of stormwater management issues in the Amlee Road and Glen Road area. Based on discussions the last time those roadways were considered those issues could only be addressed if the roadways were reconstructed. The residents along Glen Road were up in arms about reconstruction. They were told the stormwater issues could not be addressed without reconstructing the roadway. The residents accepted that. He does not recollect the residents along Amlee Road and Manitou Lane being as vocal. Mayor Zerby stated when a roadway has decayed to a certain level it will more quickly become necessary to make more expensive repairs. Council needs to decide if reconstruction or reclamation needs to be done to ultimately save all taxpayers money. He noted that roadway improvements are funded out of the General Fund. Councilmember Siakel asked staff to rerate the roadways being talked about and bring that to Council for discussion. Councilmember Woodruff suggested discussing Star Lane and Star Circle in a work session. He noted that watermain extension has not been taken off of the table. Mayor Zerby stated that multiple times he has stated that anytime watermain extension is going to be considered that discussion should begin two years in advance of construction starting. He noted that a work session discussion about this is most appropriate. Zerby asked to move on to something else. Director DeJong highlighted what staff thinks are a number of unresolved issues. ➢ Park Improvement CIP — The Park Improvement CIP reflects $523,000 for improvements to Badger Park with $118,000 of it being in 2014. The engineer's estimate is over $1 million CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 5 of 8 regardless of which concept is chosen. He thought it is unlikely the $118,000 budgeted for 2014 will be spent because a decision has not been made about what improvements should be made. ➢ Equipment Replacement CIP — The purchase of a snow plow in 2015 has been added for an estimated cost of $160,000. That will be partially offset by the elimination of a tractor /mower replacement for $84,000. ➢ Street Reconstruction CIP — Shady Island Road and Enchanted Island are only scheduled for seal coat in 2017. They are scheduled for a mill and overlay in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Strawberry Lane / West 62 "d Street improvements are now projected to be a reconstruction instead of a mill and overlay. Eureka Road North improvements will not be to MSA standards and therefore will be fully paid for by the City. The only upcoming MSA projects are trails. The trail along Strawberry Lane will not be eligible because that roadway is not MSA eligible. Nor is West 62 "d Street MSA eligible. ➢ Trail CIP — The Strawberry Lane trail has been added to the Trail CIP in 2019 because the cost to build the trail when Strawberry Lane is reconstructed reduces the trail cost significantly. ➢ Stormwater Improvement CIP — Stormwater improvements in the Strawberry Lane / West 62 "d Street areas are included in 2019 CIP although undecided. Eureka Road North area improvements are undecided and not in the CIP. There is nothing included in the CIP for improvements to address the stormwater management issues in the Shorewood Oaks development, Freeman Park and adjacent areas to the northwest that have recently been discussed. Mayor Zerby stated there have been a couple of new house construction projects over the last couple of years. He asked how much in park dedication fees have been collected. Director DeJong stated the City received $55,000 in 2013 and the budget projection for 2014 is $30,000. That anticipates six new houses on lots that do not currently have a house on them. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought the park dedication fees go into the General Fund. Director DeJong clarified they go into the Park Improvement Fund and noted there is a $42,000 transfer into that into that Fund from the General Fund planned for 2014 — 2019. Woodruff explained Director DeJong's staff memorandum stated the 2013 year -end balance in the Park Improvement Fund was approximately $213,000. At the beginning of 2014 about $280,000 was transferred into the Fund from the proceeds of the sale of the City -owned property right behind City Hall. Therefore, there is almost $500,000 in the Fund. Director DeJong clarified that the 2014 transfer in budget of $325,414 includes the approximate $287,000 from the proceeds plus the $42,000. Director DeJong explained that the $133,000 for park capital improvements in the 2014 Park Improvement Fund includes the $118,000 for Badger Park Improvements. The projected 2014 year -end balance in the Fund is approximately $436,000 and an additional $42,000 will be transferred in at the beginning of 2015. Councilmember Siakel stated the City ought to be able to get some Badger Park improvements done with that amount of money if they are broken apart. Mayor Zerby noted that the Park Improvement CIP has $70,000 for field improvements, $175,000 for parking and road improvements, and $157,000 for Park Amenities. Siakel asked if a decision has been made about the orientation of the field in Badger Park. Director Nielsen stated the Park Commission still prefers the north/south orientation. Nielsen noted the engineers have been directed to create a Concept 1.5 plan and that the Commission will discuss that concept during its August 19 meeting. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 6 of 8 Councilmember Hotvet stated that she served as the Council Liaison at the Park Commission meetings January — June 2014. It is her understanding that the Commission would like to get improvements to the field started soon. She asked when a decision about orientation has to be made. She thought field improvements are a top priority for spending some of that money. Councilmember Sandberg expressed concern about doing much to Badger Park before the direction for the Southshore Community Center (SSCC) is known. Planning for the Park and the SSCC should be done simultaneously to ensure there is a harmonious fit. She noted she might needlessly be worrying about that. Councilmember Hotvet expressed concern about continually moving improvements to the field off. She stated establishing turf is a multi -stage process. Councilmember Siakel stated based on discussion it seems that if there is going to be a field in Badger Park it will basically be in the same location. It just needs to be reconstructed. She noted she can support moving forward with that reconstruction. She stated that before any other major improvements are made there needs to be a decision about the SSCC. Councilmember Woodruff suggested considering doing the field and the parking lot in 2015 Councilmember Siakel noted it was more than just the park parking lot that needs to be improved. The entrance to the SSCC was included in parking and road improvements. Councilmember Woodruff stated he considered that a detail and suggested a reasonable placeholder for parking and road improvements be included in the 2015 CIP. The discussions about specifics can be had after the budgeting process. Woodruff then stated that the amounts in the CIP are not representative of what the current cost estimate will be based on what Director Nielsen has stated. Director DeJong clarified the amounts if the CIP are old. Woodruff suggested plugging the current amounts into the CIP. Councilmember Siakel stated there will a surplus in General Fund reserves (reserves above the 60 percent policy maximum) at the end of 2014. She noted that she would be comfortable spending about $80,000 of that to help fund the purchase of the snow plow for trails because it is a one -time purchase. Councilmember Woodruff stated he has told the Park Commission that if the City needs to spend $500,000 on Badger Park improvements in 2015, noting that he does not think that is the case, staff and Council could probably figure out how to come up with that. He noted that he does not want to run the Park Improvement Fund to zero. He stated that another $42,000 will be transferred into the Fund in 2015 and there will be another $50,000 of park dedication fees. Director DeJong cautioned against assuming that there would be $50,000 in park dedication fees because the $55,000 in 2013 was the highest amount received in ten years. Councilmember Siakel stated there was discussion about the safe routes to school (SRTS) grant opportunity a number of years ago. A trail along Strawberry Lane connects with the Minnewashm Elementary School. She asked staff to provide an update on the SRTS grant program during Council's next meeting. She would Iike to know: what the grant consists of; what has to be done to apply for it; is there a staff member in place who will execute that; and, how long it will take to put a SRTS plan in place and prepare an application. Mayor Zerby noted that Director Nielsen has stated that the Planning Commission has been discussing SRTS. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 7 of 8 Director DeJong explained that Director Brown has informed staff that the inspection of the West Water Tower (the one near the Minnewashta Elementary School) has been completed. During the inspection it became apparent that there was ice damage caused by last winter's extreme cold. Those repairs, in addition to the planned rehabilitation work on the Tower, will necessitate an extended time out of service. Therefore, the rehabilitation and painting project needs to be postponed until spring of 2015. The Radi0 /ISP Communication project will also be postponed until after the Water Tower project is complete. He reiterated that the 2010 discussion about extending watermain along Star Lane and Star Circle as part of the proposed reconstruction project was very contentious. He stated that it may be better to do just a mill and overlay rather than reconstructing the two roadways. He noted that three or four property owners have indicated they have arsenic issues in their well water. The rest were adamantly opposed to municipal water being installed. DeJong explained that Eureka Road North is scheduled for reclamation in 2019. That precludes a full sewer system being installed. The types and costs of improvements needed to address at least some of the stormwater management issues in that area are not known at this time. Director Brown explained he and Engineer Horaby have taken complaints for many years about stormwater issues in the Shorewood Oaks area, the Strawberry Lane area, Peach Circle area and the areas downstream from there out towards Grant Lorenz Road. The stormwater ultimately crosses Smithtown Road and flows adjacent to Grant Lorenz Road and out to Edgewood Road. The grades between those areas are extremely flat. About one year ago staff started to discuss a potential major conveyance system to address that entire area. That would be a comprehensive approach. New development and expansion opportunities would be factored in. That type of system would be very expensive. But, it would be there for the long term. Engineer Hornby explained the area to the east of Eureka Road South over to a little west of Cathcart Drive has been very problematic especially over the last couple of years. Because the area is so flat, it will take some major facilities to get the stormwater out of there. From an engineering perspective it would be best to try and combine those areas into one stormwater management system. It may be difficult to do that because of the flat grade but at least it should be considered. A drainage study needs to be done that covers that area. The goal should be to drain the stormwater to the north. Mayor Zerby asked if staff intends to involve the MCWD in the study. Engineer Hornby responded yes and stated the MCWD should be involved early on. Hereby explained that once stormwater is put into pipes rather than into open channels the ability to filtrate it is taken away. Therefore, the goal would be to use basins to control volume and rates and possibly recharge some of the local groundwater table. Having the MCWD involved would be a good idea. Director Brown stated that from his perspective this will likely result in the Freeman Park wetland project resurfacing as part of the effort. It would be a key component. Zerby noted that Shorewood taxpayers pay a significant amount of tax that goes to the MCWD. It would be nice if some of that could come back to the City to help with stormwater management improvements which would help out the MCWD as a whole. Councilmember Woodruff stated he would like staff to write a direction statement with very high level costs and then have a serious discussion between Council and staff. He then stated that about seven years ago the then Council approved an analysis that included a list of prioritized the drainage problem areas within the City. Some of the problematic stormwater management areas that have been discussed were included in that list. Others were not. A number of the problem areas have been addressed over the last CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES July 28, 2014 Page 8 of 8 few years. He suggested creating a long -term stormwater management plan somewhat like the 20 -Year PMP. Director Brown stated the answers Councilmember Woodruff is looking for will not be known until a drainage feasibility study is done. Councilmember Woodruff suggested funding for the feasibility study be included in the 2015 budget. Mayor Zerby stated he appreciated discussing the CIP early in the budget process and he would like to do that going forward. 3. ADJOURN Woodruff moved, Hotvet seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session of July 28, 2014, at 6:57 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: lea -r— PhImIky -1-4 : Jea&Panchyshyn, City Cleriff