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10-13-14 Reg Mtg MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilembers Hotvet, Siakel, Sundberg, and Woodruff; Attorney Keane; City Administrator Jaynes; City Clerk Panchysbyn; Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and City Engineer Hornby Absent: None B. Review Agenda Sundberg moved, Hotvet seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 510. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, September 22, 20:14 Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of September 22, 2014, as presented. Motion passed 510. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Zerby 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. Recycling Contract Extension C. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 14 -086 "A Resolution Approving Licenses to Retailers to Sell Tobacco Products for CUB Foods Shorewood, Holiday Stationstore #12, Lucky's Station LLC 97, and Shorewood Cigars and Tobacco, Inc. D. Setting the Date of November 10, 2014, for the Canvassing Board Meeting E. Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 14.087, "A Resolution Electing to Not Waive the Statutory Tort Limits for Liability Insurance." CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 2 of 13 Councilmember Woodruff asked Director De3ong if there is a way in the Payroll Distribution General Ledger Distribution Report to consolidate the payroll, FICA, PERA contribution, employee insurance and workers compensation line items. Motion passed 510 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 by Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC) Representative Paul Stelmachers on LMCC Activities Mr. Paul Stelmachers did not come to report on Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission activities. Mayor Zerby noted there had not been a Park Commission meeting since Council's last meeting. S. PLANNING Mayor Zerby noted there had not been a Planning Commission meeting since Council's last meeting. 9. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS A. Approve Change Order No. 1 for 2014 Mill and Overlay Project Engineer Hornby explained that the meeting packet contains a copy of Change Order No. 1 for the 2014 Mill and Overlay Project. The Change Order is to essentially overlay sections of Enchanted Lane that were damaged by the flooding this past summer. The 2014 Mill and Overlay Project is in process. The Change Order does include mobilization costs because Enchanted Lane is quite a distance from the work currently being done. Staff thought the Enchanted Lane work could be added to that Project. The Change Order will increase the Project cost by $55,796; from $299,922 to $355,718. The unit price materials will be the same as for the 2014 project. The majority of the Change Order cost will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO 14 -088, "A Resolution Approving Change Order No. 1 for 2014 Mill and Overlay Improvements, City Project 14 -04." Motion passed 510. B. Accepting Petition and Authorizing Connection to the City Water Distribution System CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 3 of 13 Engineer Hornby explained the City received a petition from the owner of the property located at 25580 Nelsine Drive to connect and extend a water service to their existing house. There is access to the City's municipal water system at Eureka Road. Staff has been seeking quotes to extend the water service to the property line. Quotes have been out for about one and a half weeks but the City has not received any quotes. Staff will have to contact contractors directly to try and get quotes. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get contractors out at this time of the year. He noted that the property had been previously assessed for watermain. He stated that the owner may want to finance the remainder of the charge through assessment as well as any construction cost over the $10,000 connection fee amount. With the petition the property owner would have the right to reject the quotes the City received. Director Brown noted that the extension will require excavation across to Eureka Road thereby impacting Eureka Road. He explained that although horizontal boring would be possible, albeit more expensive, excavation would still be required to make the connection to the watermain because there is no service there at this time. This type of thing would typically impact roadway for one day. There is a way out at each end of Eureka Road so traffic should not be impacted much. Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, Adapting RESOLUTION NO 14 -089, "A Resolution Accepting Petition. and Authorizing a Residential Connection to the City Water Distribution System." Motion passed 510. 10. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. Review of Proposals for Request for Proposal for Renewable Energy Alternatives, City Project 14.09 Administrator Joynes explained. the City received nine proposals for its Request for Proposals (RFP) to explore potential renewable energy alternatives for the City. Staff reviewed and critiqued the nine proposals based on seven criteria. Staff recommended four firms for further consideration. The four firms are Barr Engineering, LHB Inc., Sebesta and SolarStone --WSB & Associates. The proposed costs varied significantly. Staff is familiar with each of the four firms and staff believes each firm could do the work identified in the RFP. Staff is looking for guidance from Council about how it wants to move forward with this initiative. Councilmember Sundberg noted she was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the responses the City received. She recommended adding CR Planning to the list of firms to be interviewed. She stated that she thought that firm's proposal covered everything she was looking for. That firm has experience working with city government; it worked with the City of Minneapolis in 2013. LHB and Sebesta are of less interest to her because she does not want an advocate doing the City's assessment because she wants the playing field to be fair. She does want a firm with deep renewable energy experience. She then stated she thought interviewing five firms could be too much. She suggested interviewing Barr, Solarstone/WSB, and CR Planning in a. work session setting. Councilmember Siakel stated she supports interviewing a maximum of three firms; the three recommended by Councilmember Sundberg would be fine. She then stated she agreed with interviewing the selected firms in a work session and allowing 30 minutes per firm. Councilmember Hotvet concurred. Councilmember Woodruff stated he would like to hear more from Barr Engineering and SolarStone. He thought the Barr RFP covered all of the things he thought Council is interested in and it seems that the firm will do things in a very methodical way. He then stated he thought the RFP submitted by CR Planning was okay but from his perspective the cost was way too high. He went on to state that he CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 4 of 13 thought the SolarStone proposal was not articulate enough to convey it would do as quality of a job as Barr. Councilmember Sundberg stated the cost for the CR Planning proposal was $26,382. Councilmember Woodruff noted that he looked at the cost incorrectly. Sundberg stated she is okay with interviewing four firms. Mayor Zerby stated he thought interviewing the three firms Councilmember Sundberg suggested would be fine. Administrator Jaynes stated staff will schedule a 1.5 hour work session to interview the three firms. B. Southshore Center Correspondence Administrator Joynes explained that he and Attorney Keane have been working on drafting correspondence to the other four founding Cities that co -own the Southshore Center (SSC) per Council's direction. Construction of the Center started in 1996. A Southshore Center Advisory Committee (SCAC} has been in place for about 1.5 years. The SCAC delved into the SSC's operations and a subgroup of the SCAC made a recommendation. to most of the member City Councils. Staff solicited opinions from the other four City Councils about their desires to participate in ongoing operations of the SSC. The City received mixed opinions from them and staff discussed the responses with Council. He noted the meeting packet contains a copy of a draft letter to the other four member City Councils asking the Cities to either join Shorewood in full participation of operating the SSC or to exercise the "Termination" clause outlined in Section 6 of the original Cooperative Agreement dated March 4, 1996. That clause allows a City to withdraw from operations of the SSC and retain their equity position in the original construction of the building.. The packet also contains a copy of a Notice of Termination document prepared by Attorney Keane, a copy of the original Cooperative Agreement and a copy of a document showing the projected capital improvement costs over the next 10 — 15 years. The letter highlights that continuing to operate the Center at the current level will continue to result in an approximate annual operating deficit of S70,000. He explained the letter was drafted. the way it was so as not to create an "in your face ultimatum ". The other four City Councils have mixed political opinions about how they want to approach this. A couple of the Councils asked that consideration be given to amending the Cooperative Agreement so they can get out of the arrangement and walk away from their City's equity position. He has heard from some people that there are disagreements about that. A City of Deephaven representative had made verbal comments that Deephaven was willing to divest itself of any activity and its equity position. Nothing has been submitted to that regard in writing. A letter sent from Deephaven did not say that. He asked the Deephaven City Administrator if that omission was intentional and he was told it was. The Notice of Termination lays out what most of the other 20 City Councilmembers want to do. That is to find a way not to be committed to future capital improvements. It also eliminates involvement in operational decisions for running the SSC assuming they withdraw. Consistent with Section 6 in the original Cooperative Agreement, it allows a member city to withdraw but preserves their equity position in the shared construction costs incurred in 1996. He noted it also states Shorewood will operate the SSC and make improvements to the building but the deficits Shorewood experiences while doing that will be deducted proportionally from each member city's initial investment. He stated that he anticipates that over the next 4 — 5 years the other four member Cities' equity positions will be gone. He thought CITY OF S14OREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page S of 13 Shorewood is on higher ground with that argument. He does not know how anyone can make the argument that they want to maintain equity but they do not want to participate in paying for anything. He noted Shorewood does not want to go to court over this even though he is confident Shorewood would win. He also noted he thought the document allows a city to withdraw gracefully. He stated he can understand that there may be residents who do not want their member city to give up its equity position in a building that their City helped pay for. But, it is not fair to Shorewood to have to pay all of the costs. Joynes stated staff suggests Council authorize staff to send the letter and Notice of Termination to the other four member City Councils. He then stated that Mayor Zerby spoke with staff earlier in the day about the Recitals and Notice of Termination. Staff distributed to Council a revised Notice of Termination. The second paragraph in the Agreement section was all that was changed. Attorney Keane explained the original Notice of Termination had made reference to retention of a security interest by the withdrawing SSC member Cities. The second paragraph in. the Agreement section which referred to that has been replaced with "Iii the event of a sale_ or liquidation of the Southshore Center to a third party, the City of Shorewood shall distribute proceeds to each withdrawing member city as provided in the Cooperative Agreement." That is consistent with the intent of the original Cooperative Agreement. Councilmember Hotvct asked if there is any way the document could be construed that a member city would get a specific amount of money. Attorney Keane explained the challenge with specifying a specific amount is Shorewood anticipates capital investments will have to be made to the building to keep it in usable functional form. Once those capital expenditures have been incurred a member City's proportional share of the improvement cost will essentially reduce a member city's original capital investment. Administrator Joynes explained that when the Excelsior City Council was considering the Shorewood Council's original request the Excelsior Council was somewhat divided about the extent of Excelsior's involvement. Some of that Council's membership wants to remain involved. The question for that Council is to what magnitude. He clarified that Shorewood invites any current member city to continue to remain a partner. If a member City Council wants to talk about continued participation it has to be meaningful participation. He stated Shorewood wants the SSC to continue to be a community center but he cannot recommend to the Shorewood Council that it should continue with the current financial arrangement. That would be unfair to the residents of Shorewood. Councilmember Sundberg noted she is supportive of what is being proposed. She stated she likes the idea of reducing a withdrawing member city's original capital equity by proportionally distributed costs for upcoming capital investment costs. But, she does not see that in the Notice of Termination document. Attorney Keane stated that should be clarified in the last paragraph of the document and that will be included in a corrected version. Administrator Joynes stated Section 6 of the original Cooperative agreement states "Withdrawal from this Agreement will not result in the forfeiture of the withdrawing City's undivided ownership interest in the Center but the withdrawing City's share of the costs incurred by the Cities pursuant to this Agreement if any, shall be recovered out of the withdrawing City's share of any proceeds resulting from. the sale or liquidation of the Center." Attorney Keane stated an adjustment can be incorporated into the Notice of Termination for those capital contributions. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 5 of 13 Councilmember Sundberg stated in the second to the last paragraph of the letter to the other member City Councils it states "While it had been our hope that all of the cities wouldfind a way to continue this asset as a joint venture, we understand the reluctance to proceed with a financial commitment." She noted she does not understand their reluctance to proceed and wants to remove that clause. That sentence will be changed to read "It had been our hope that all of the cities would find a way to continue this asset as a joint venture." Mayor Zerby stated from his perspective the subsidies that Shorewood has made to SSC operations over the last four years or so should have already reduced the original capital contributions made by the other member cities. To start the accounting now seems unfair to Shorewood residents. Councilmember Sundberg concurred. Councilmember Woodruff noted that he can understand Zerby's position but when considering it from the other four member cities' perspectives he can see where they would have a difference of opinion based on the arrangement Shorewood had with them when Shorewood took over temporary responsibility for SSC operations. Councilmember Woodruff noted that in the letter on page 2 in the third to the last paragraph last sentence "there" should be changed to "their ". He suggested changing the second to the last paragraph on that same page because he did not like the word commits and he wanted South Lake removed. That sentence will be changed to read "The City of Shorewood intends to continue operation of the center as a public resource for the community and would ask that we have clear and unilateral authority to do this." Councilmember Woodruff suggested clarifying the last sentence of paragraph 1 on page 3 to ensure it is understood that the withdrawing member cities will get back from their original capital investment is net of Shorewood's future capital investments. The last sentence will be changed to read "Withdrawal, however, will not result in forfeiture of the withdrawing cities' share of proceeds resulting from the sale or liquidation of the Center net of future capital investments by the City of Shorewood as provided in Section 6 of the Cooperative Agreement." Woodruff stated in the second to the last paragraph in the Notice of Termination there is a reference to quit claim deed. It is his understanding that if the withdrawing member cities do a quit claim deed they would be transferring their ownership to Shorewood. Attorney Keane clarified they would quit claim any interest they would have in the property the building is on. They would still have interest in the building asset. Councilmember Siakel noted that interest will diminish over time because of capital improvements that will have to be made. Councilmember Siakel stated per Mayor Zerby's earlier comments she asked if operating expenses Shorewood has incurred over the approximate last four years should be deducted from the equity positions for the other member cities. Or, does that start going forward. Attorney Keane stated the document was crafted to look forward, it does not go back to the time when Shorewood took over temporary responsibility for operating the SSC. Keane explained that staff is trying to have the City present the cleanest proposition based on the discussions that have occurred over the more than the last year. Shorewood has made it clear over the last year plus that the current financial arrangement is not sustainable. If the other member cities are not willing to sustain the asset then Shorewood is asking that they step back and allow Shorewood to be the trustee moving forward. Keane stated from a sense of fairness perspective Zerby's desire to deduct proportional amounts of the subsidies Shorewood made to CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 7 of 13 SSC operations over the last approximate four years from the other member cities' equity positions is valid. But, in terms of palatability for the other cities he thought it would be prudent that be prospective. Councilmember Sundberg suggested the letter make some reference to the amount of money Shorewood has contributed to SSC operations since it took over temporary responsibility for the operations. Attorney Keane stated point well taken. Councilmember Hotvet asked if there would be any harm in including a. report showing the subsidies made. Administrator Jaynes stated the documents are not clear when it came to who was going to ultimately have to pay for any subsidies when Shorewood was responsible for SSC operations. There is some disagreement with the other member cities regarding what they have contributed during that time period. He noted that he thought trying to retroactively factor subsidies into the rnix could cause more misunderstanding and cause animosity. Councilmember Sundberg stated given that she wanted to retract her suggestion. Mayor Zerby stated an agreement related to Shorewood temporarily taking over temporary responsibility for SSC operations was drafted but it was never executed by the member cities. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought it is Council's intent for the City to deduct future operating subsidies and capital costs from the withdrawing member cities' equity positions. He noted the original Cooperating Agreement only refers to capital costs. He stated the Notice of Termination and. the letter need to be clear that the member cities need to be fiscally responsible for their share of operating shortfalls and capital investments. Attorney Keane noted he was going to play the devil's advocate on that point. He explained the discussion is entirely around the capital asset. Shorewood understands investments have to be made to maintain the integrity of the capital asset. The operational expenses are really not attributable to what the other member cities invested in. It is a debatable point both ways. He stated he understands what Councilmember Woodruff is trying to accomplish. Councilmember Woodruff questioned what this Council is expecting to happen if the other member cities submit Notice of Termination. He stated he heard Attorney Keane say only their share of the capital expenses will be deducted from original capital equity position. If Council wants the City to get reimbursed for a portion of the operating costs that needs to be clearly articulated in the document. Woodruff stated there is some justification for doing that because the residents in the other cities will have the same rights as Shorewood residents to the use of the SSC. Keane stated the documents should reflect the desire of this Council. Mayor Zerby stated based on the way it is written it will take $300,000 in capital investments to wipe out the other member cities' equity positions if they withdraw. Director DeJong clarified it will take $700,000 in capital investments to accomplish that because Shorewood was responsible for one half of the construction cost. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought the original capital cost of the SSC was about $600,000 and Shorewood paid one half of that. Based on that, there would need to be $600,000 in capital investments in order to wipe out the other member cities' capital equity positions if only capital costs are used to offset the investment. If operating subsidies were to be factored in that would add about another $35,000 a year deduction based on the current level of operations. Attorney Keane noted that recovery is only based upon a triggering event; that is the City or the remaining member cities decide to sell the asset to a third party. He explained that in 1996 . the underlying CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 8 of 13 thinking that brought about the incorporation of that concept was that if the SSC was not profitable and the member cities decide to sell the structure to a third party there could possibly a windfall that should be distributed to the member cities based upon their investment. He stated that after 17 — 18 years of operating history Shorewood still wants the SSC to benefit the larger community. He does not think Council wants to abandon the SSC's mission and purpose and that would be required to trigger the sale of the asset to a third party. Councilmember Woodruff stated based on what he heard the only way Shorewood would possibly get any money out of the SSC is if it is sold to a third party. Even then it may not actually net any money based on what it contributes between now and the time of sale and what the sale price would be. He then stated he thought the documents are intended to clarify the control of the asset and the financial responsibilities of the member cities. He suggested the documents be revised for Council's consideration during its next meeting. He asked if there is a big rush to get the documents sent to the other four cities. Mayor Zerby stated he would like to bring this to closure before the end of the year. He does not want to educate new member City Councilmembers. He noted discussion about this has been going on for a long time. Councilmember Woodruff stated he wants to see the documents before they are sent out. Councilmember Sundberg stated she thought the changes are straight forward. Administrator Joynes stated staff will make the revisions and send the revised documents out to Council. If Council is okay with the revised documents then they will be sent out to the other member City Councils. There was Council consensus to have staff revise the documents and forward them to Council. If there are no changes needed the documents can be sent out. C. Request from Resident to Suspend the Deer Management Program at Site #2 Director Nielsen noted that Kevin Minchk, 27195 Marsh Pointe Court, submitted a request in writing to the City asking that the City suspend the 2014 Deer Management Program at Site 2; site 2 abuts Mr. Minchk's property. He also noted that in 2013 the City received the same request. He stated that Mr. Minchk is not present and had asked him to read his email into the public record. The email read as follows. Brad, I am writing you because of the post card I received in the mail regarding the upcoming 2014 Deer Management Program starting September 26 - 28 and running to November 21 — 23. I am requesting that hunting in Area #2 he suspended indefinitely. I live at 27195 Marsh Pointe Court and since last year there have been some changes to the area. The sidewalk along Smithtown Road has been completed and the Deer !Management Program in Area 2 presents a large public risk. With the main hunting area for Area 2 being in very close proximity to Smithtown Road and the new sidewalk an arrowed deer or startled deer could easily run out onto Smithtown Road and create a collision with a car or pedestrian walking on the sidewalk. Arrowed /startled deer will not hesitate to run directly into traffic or into a person. Not to mention that last November 1 was walking my dog and could very clearly see the hunter in his CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 9 of 13 tree stand from the Smithtown Road sidewalk. I must say a very disturbing site and secondly, I actually witnessed the hunter drag his recently killed buck across Smithtown Road and over to his truck. I have pictures of the deer being removed and also of'the hunter in the tree stand which I took with my iPhone. This Program has a large impact for me and my family because we are unable to get away from this troubling event. I feel privileged to live in such a beautiful location where I can eraloy the wildlife year round. I have been watching a few deer all summer and now.for 5 weekends I have to hope and pray that they live through fall or worse that an archer miss places an arrow and now I have a wounded dangerous animal in my yard potentially injuring my family or my two dogs or all innocent by stander driving down or walking on the sidewalk along Smithtown Road. This would be a horrific event if either occurs and it would fall squarely on the decision made to hunt this area. Lastly, the length of'this season is ofgreat concern. Now.for 5 weekends this fallI have to wonder each morning and evening is today the day that a wounded deer shows up in my yard. I am directly across the marsh for all of the hunting locations in Areas I and 2 and a prime target for wounded deer. I am asking that the Deer Prograrrr. in Area 2 he stopped immediately and the program as a whole be, further reviewed. Thank you_for your time. Kevin Alinchk Nielsen stated the meeting packet contains a copy of an excerpt of the minutes for the October 14, 2013, Council meeting when a very similar request was considered. Councilmember Sundberg noted that she lives in the Marsh Pointe area and therefore will recuse herself from this discussion. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought the Deer Management Program is a necessary program. The deer are causing significant damage to properties. He recommended continuing the hunt as planned. Fie stated that having met some of the bowhunters he believes they are extremely cautious. Councilmember Siakel stated she also supports with continuing with the Program as planned. The Program has been well thought out and been. in place for some time. She then stated she is not sure how the sidewalk along Smithtown Road has any impact on harvesting deer. She noted she thought continuing with the Program is important. Mayor Zerby concurred with the comments made by Councihnembers Siakel and Woodruff. He asked Director Nielsen to pass this resident's comments along to those bowhunters who harvest in that area. Director Nielsen stated that he has spoken to the representatives from Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) about placing tarp around harvested deer when removing them from the site. He explained the area being harvested near Mr. Minchk's is the island in the middle of the marsh. It is about 1200 feet from Mr. Minchk's property and about 500 feet from Smithtown Road. He stated there is no question that people can see the hunter, it is the same for a lot of the harvest sites in the City. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 10 of 13 Chris Lizee, 5707 Brentridge Drive, noted she supports the City's Deer Management Program. She also noted that her property is near Site 2 and that she has lived there for more than 22 years. She stated she and her family have supported the Program for the eight years it has been in existence. For most of those years her family has allowed bowhunters access to their property. She then stated her family finds the MBRB bowhunters are licensed professionals and certified marksmen and markswomen. They are courteous. The bowhunters come to her home and introduce themselves. Safety is critical to the bowhunters. Ms. Lizee stated she does not worry about deer being shot with an arrow and running rampant. She worries about deer running through her yard, destroying property and running across roadways in Shorewood all day long. She then stated the deer have only one predator and that is her car. She explained she hit a deer with her car about ten years ago. Unfortunately, the deer did not have any insurance so she had to pay a $500 insurance deductible for the damage to her car. Her 10- year -old daughter was with her in the car and was very scared by the incident. The police were called to dispatch the deer near the residents' front yards. Ms. Lizee noted she supports the MBRB bowhunters and the Deer Management Program. Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, approving that Site 2 be kept as part of the 2014 Deer Management Program as planned. Motion passed 41011 with Sundberg recusing. 11. OLD BUSINESS 1.2. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator and Staff 1. Trail Schedule Mayor Zerby noted the meeting packet contains a copy of the Trail Schedule. He stated it is his understanding that Council still wants the Planning Commission to hold a neighborhood open house about the possible Galpin Lake Road walkway.. He asked what the plan is for that. Engineer Hornby responded staff hopes to hold that sometime this year. Zerby stated he hopes that can be held yet this month before snow falls and before the holiday season begins. Zerby stated the Smithtown Road cast walkway plan indicates the feasibility report and Planning Commission walk of the area were scheduled to be completed by October 10. He asked for an update on that. Engineer Homby explained the draft feasibility report has been given to Director Nielsen and that Planning Commission will discuss the report on October 21. Council will be provided that information for its October 27 meeting. Zerby stated he would like to see the draft copy. Hornby stated he wants to ensure the report covers staff's points before it is presented to Council. Hornby noted Council will be provided with the same report the Planning Commission will receive. Zerby noted the walkway plan indicates a neighborhood open house is scheduled for October 30. He asked if arrangements have been made for that. Hornby responded no. Zerby stated the open house for the Smithtown Road west walkway was held at Minnewashta Elementary School and that seemed to work out well for residents in that area. Hornby suggested holding the neighborhood open house for the Smithtown Road east walkway and the Galpin Lake Road walkway on the same night. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page It of 13 Excelsior Boulevard Trail. Update Engineer Hornby explained that the curb along where the Excelsior Boulevard trail will be has been constructed and the Excelsior Boulevard pavement has been put down. The trail has not been constructed. He then explained that recently he and Director Brown attended a meeting with representatives from Metropolitan Council Environmental Services {MCES} during which they learned MCES did a field test of the soils in the location where the retaining wall will be constructed. MCES found the soils to be very soft. MCES told staff that the soils are unsuitable to construct a retaining wall on. Staff had further discussions with MCES about that. MCES is going to do some additional borings at the location where the wall would be. The proposed trail will be in a fill section from Trunk Highway 7. There are quite a bit of fill soils in that slope area. MCES has stated the strength of the soils is substantially low for a retaining wall. He noted there is another meeting scheduled for October 14 with MCES representatives. He also noted it is unlikely the trail and retaining wall will be constructed this year. Mayor Zerby noted that he has contacted MCES representatives and scheduled the meeting for tomorrow morning, October 14, at 8:00 A.M. Engineer Homby and Director Brown will be in attendance and he assumes Administrator Joynes will also be in attendance. The purpose is to discuss the trail project and possible solutions to the issue. He explained he has spoken with staff about this a few times over the last few weeks. He has come to the understanding that anything can be done; it is just a matter of money. He stated he hopes MCES will increase its share of funding for the trail project. He noted that at this time he is unwilling to accept that the trail will not be done. He believes it needs to be constructed. He explained the preparation of the trail is in place up until up to, he thought, a sewer manhole cover or stormwater manhole cover. Engineer Hornby explained there should be catch basins in the street where the storm sewer is. Zerby stated the manhole cover is in the middle of where the trail would go and it is above trail grade and noted he was surprised to see it there. Hornby explained it is a cleanout structure for the existing forcemain. Engineer Hornby clarified the City did not do a feasibility study for this trail. He explained MCES was going to do a project to add a redundant forcemain and it invited the City to put in some public improvements as part of that project. MCES considers the City's trail project to be an add -on to its project. The City and staff appreciates MCES having offered that. He noted that no one was aware of the poor conditions of the soils when the MCES project was being discussed. There were soil borings of the area but.they did not pick up the fill in the slope. He stated he thought MCES was going to take additional soil borings this week. 3. Clover Plantings Director Brown explained that clover plantings have been done. There is a 200 foot by 35 foot planting in. Cathcart Park. There is a 25 foot by 50 foot planting in Freeman Park. And, there is a 50 foot by 75 foot planting in the Skate Park. Public Works has been working with those that planted the clover to keep the sites watered when needed. Mayor Zerby thanked Director Brown and his staff for working so cooperatively with those that planted the clover. 4. Christmas Labe Update Administrator Joynes explained the copper sulfate treatment at Christmas Lake was done on October 4. The area was near the boat launch where Zequanox had been applied. The sulfate was applied to a slightly larger area. The barrier of the area at the boat launch will be extended because a few zebra mussels were CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 12 of 13 found outside of and near the barrier. People are pleased with the effectiveness of chemicals so far. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other agencies are applying for a permit from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to try potash (potassium chloride) treatment. The barrier material was delivered earlier in. the day to the Minnehalia Creed Watershed District and the barrier extension will likely be put in place sometime during this week. He noted it is very unlikely the boat access will be reopened in 2014. 5. Manor Parr Shelter Repairs Director Brown stated it is his understanding that the City has solicited a proposal from a contractor the Building Official knows to repair the shelter in Manor Park that was damaged by a vehicle. Director Nielsen stated the repairs will be done mid to late November. Mayor Zerby asked if there is any risk to the plumbing with the cold weather coming. Nielsen responded no and stated it will be protected to the degree that it needs to be. Nielsen stated the repairs will be an insurance claim. Other Engineer Hornby stated the City has applied for a grant for some inflow and infiltration repairs. The repairs will cost approximately $250,000. About $27,000 of that cost is eligible for grant reimbursement over the next three years. The City applied for a grant from the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources (BWSR) for the Shore Lane erosion issue. Mayor Zerby asked for an update on the signal project at the intersection of County Road 19 and Highway 7. Director Brown stated new signal poles are in operation and that the contractor has some cleanup work and concrete work to do, Director DeJong stated staff continues to work on new financial system implementation activities. Training on the employee self- service component and wrap -up activities for the use of credit cards for utility bills need to be done. He continues to enter prior -year, month -end balances into the new system for comparison reporting purposes. Mayor Zerby asked if all of the modules have been installed. DeJong clarified the City is not active on credit cards for utility bills nor on the employee self - service time sheet entry. Zerby stated on his utility bill it appeared that the "e" in the word code was missing. DeJong noted that the bills are being printed in house until. staff verifies the bills are correct and then the bill form will be sent out for commercial printing. Councilmember Woodruff stated on the top left hand side of the bill there is a block of text that talks about customer bank accounts that is not very clear. He read it three times before he figured out he does not have to do anything related to changing his bank account number. He had previously authorized the City to auto deduct his payment. He suggested that language be clarified. DeJong stated he will do that. Director Nielsen stated. the Planning Commission will review the feasibility study for the Smithtown Road east walkway project during its October 21 meeting. The Commission will do its trail walk that same evening. He then stated the Deer Management Program has taken place on two weekends this year. Four deer were harvested on the first weekend and six were harvested on the second weekend. Administrator Joynes stated he and Councilmember Siakel attended an Excelsior hire District (EFD) Board meeting on September 24. One of the items on the agenda was the EFD 2015 Operating Budget and the EFD 2015 — 2035 capital Improvement Program (CIP). Prior to that meeting the Operating Budget was passed on a 3/2 by the member cities' Councils. The CIP failed on a 312; a,4/1 or a 510 vote was needed to pass it. During that meeting the Board reached a compromise on the use of Operating Fund reserves. An amendment to the Budget, which was agreed to by all five of the member cities' CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 13, 2014 Page 1:3 of 13 Boardmembers, did three things with regard to the use of unreserved fund balance: 1) $30,000 is to be used for specific building projects — station floor apparatus sealing at both stations; 2) $30,000 is to be set aside in a Pension Reserve Fund for future :mandatory contributions to the Excelsior Firefighters Relief Association (EFRA) fund for pensions; and, $30,000 will be returned to the me-mber cities according to the 2015 funding formula (that will amount to about $12,000 — a $15,000 for Shorewood). The Board agreed that the two member city Councils that voted against the budget were to take action on the amended Budget first. If they choose not to approve the amended Budget then things will go back to the original action taken. Councilmember Siakel noted that from her vantage point the Board worked out the best compromise it could. She stated the biggest issue was about the use of undesignated Operating Fund reserves. B. Mayor and City Council Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought all members of Council received communications from Metro Cities and from the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) regarding the annual meeting scheduled for November 13. A set of policies from each organization have been distributed for review. If members of Council have not been provided with a link to the policies they should ask Administrator Joynes for that link. There is still about one and a half weeks remaining to comment on them. He noted that he and Mayor Zerby are going to attend the meeting. Councilmember Hotvet stated that she participated in the 2014 Dash for Hunger event in place of Mayor Zerby. The event was held at the Shorewood CUB Foods and hosted by the two local Rotary Clubs. The three teams raised more than $13,000 for the ICA Food Shelf. The team she was on gathered almost $1,800 in non - perishable items. Mayor Zerby stated he went to the EFD Open House and Safety Fair on October 2. It was a great event. 13. ADJOURN Woodruff moved, Sandberg seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of October 13, 2014, at 8:25 P.M. Motion gassed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: ScWt Zerby, ayor �4-y'� Pa-/y'-au-�tq1L\ Jean Panchyshyn, Cit Clerl