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10-24-16 CC Reg Mtg MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016 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 7:15 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councihneinbers Labadie, Siakel, Sundberg, and Woodruff, Attorney Keane; Acting City Administrator /City Clerk Panchyshyn; Finance Director DeJong; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and, City Engineer lJornby Absent: None. B. Review Agenda Mayor Zerby asked that a report by Planning Commissioner Maddy on the October 4, 2016, and the October 18, 2016, . Planning Commission meetings be added before Item 8.A on the agenda. Councilmember Woodruff stated a couple of residents had asked him if Item 9.13 could be discussed earlier on the agenda. There was consensus to do that. Director Nielsen stated the applicant asked that Item 8.13 be postponed. Sundberg moved, Woodruff seconded, approving the agenda as amended. Motion passed 510. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Work Session Minutes of October 10, 2016 Labadie moved, Siakel seconded, Approving the City Council Work Session Minutes of October 10, 2016, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 10, 2016 Sundberg moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of October 10, 2016, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Zerby reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Sundberg moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolution Therin. A. Approval of the Verified Claims List CITE' OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 2 of 16 B. 2017 Community Tree Sale C. Accept Donations for the January 13 —15, 2017, Arctic Fever Event D. Professional Services Agreement with AET — Construction Materials Testing for 2016 Trunk Watermain Improvement (Oppidan) E. Adopting RESOLUTION NO 16 -084, "A Resolution Approving Work Order 3 for the Smithtown Road East Sidewalk Extension Project, City Project 14 -10." Councilmember Sundberg noted that one of the donations for the Arctic Fever event is from WSB & Associates. She asked if the City generally accepts donations from its contractors. Acting Administrator /Clerk Panchyshyn stated the City has in the past. Councilmember Siakel stated she does not think that is a problem. Sundberg suggested Council discuss the appropriateness of doing that at a later date. Councilmember Labadic noted who the other donors for Item 3.0 are: Shorewood Professional Building; Lucky's Station LLC; American Legion Post 259; and, Clarence Clofer Auxiliary Unit 259. She thanked all five donors for their donations. Motion passed 5/0. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Chris Gehrke 24650 Smithtown Road, noted his property is located directly across from the Minnetonka Country Club (MCC) development near the north entrance to the site. He stated when he left his home to come to this meeting he could hear large trucks with their backup alerts going off. The impact on his family of the construction vehicles going to and from the site as well as working on the site has been significant. He explained that his wife had reached out to a project manager with Mattamy Homes (the developer) asking that the construction vehicles use more than just that one entrance on to the site. The project manager indicated that the City asked them to use only that entrance. He noted there are road restrictions for the smaller roadways around the site. He asked the City to open up some of the other entrances in order to allow the vehicles going to and away from the site to be spread out. He stated he understood that would only delay the inevitable as the development is built out. He noted he has spoken with two of his neighbors, Paul Hirsch (24590 Smithtown Road) and David Cooley (24725 Smithtown Road), and both have submitted written concerns they also have about the construction traffic to him. Mr. Gehrke again asked if there would be a way for vehicles to use more than just the north side entrance to get to and from the MCC site. He thanked Council for its time. Engineer Hornby explained that through the public process for the MCC development project when the plans for the project were being approved the City had identified, as did residents, that Smithtown Road and the entrance on the northeast corner of the site is what was to be used. Smithtown Road is the roadway that can handle the traffic the best. It is built for it with regard to its depth of section and its width. Yellowstone Trail is not and that is the only other access point at this time. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 3 of 16 Councilmember Labadie asked what the hourly restriction is on truck traffic. Engineer Hornby stated it is the same as the construction work hours which are 7:00 A.M. — 7:00 P.M Monday through Friday. Councilmember Suudberg asked if the noise generated from trucks backing up is the real issue. Mr. Gehrke stated a lot of the trucks do not have the right brakes; the brakes on them create a loud screeching noise. He noted if he said there was one mega truck every five minutes lie would be grossly understating things. Mr. Gehrke asked if the other entrances could be opened up for the smaller regular pickup trucks. The vehicle traffic for those size trucks is going to increase significantly when the construction of houses starts. Mr. Gehrke submitted the written comments from his two neighbors for the record. 5. PUBLIC HEARING 6. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS A. Hennepin County Commissioner Jan Callison — Update on County Board Activities Mayor Zerby welcomed Hennepin County Board of Commissioners Chair Jan Callison who was present to update Council on Hennepin County Board activities. Commissioner Callison explained the Ridgedale Library is going to close for extensive remodeling in the spring of 2017. It has been almost 20 years since the last remodeling was done. There is a need for some updating, reconfiguration of spaces, some modernization, and the replacement of mechanical systems. Staff estimates it will take eight to ten months to do the work but by saying it will take one year no one will be disappointed if it reopens early. The courts and the social service center will stay open during that time period. For this 2016 election Hennepin County is providing electronic poll (e -poll) books for use throughout the County except for the City of Minneapolis. It is the second County in the State to have them. The system should be more efficient. It also should be more secure in a variety of ways. This is the first year Minnesota has had no- excuse absentee voting. As of today, October 24, there have been 99,000 absentee ballots issued in Hennepin County and 56,000 of them have been received and accepted. The overlay of County Road 19 has been completed. The at -grade crossing at the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail at County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 19 is complete. She asked Council to provide her with their feedback or their constituents' feedback about the crossing. There may be some potential changes to organics recycling in Hennepin County. The Hennepin County Board is discussing the possibility of changing the County's ordinance so that all haulers would be required to offer the option of organics pickup. The County's SCORE funding would possibly change. SCORE is the Governor's Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment. Currently most of the cities in the County receive SCORE funding; those are state dollars that the County redistributes. Those dollars are currently tied to recycling. The SCORE funding would be changed to encourage organics recycling. Those cities that have more residents doing organics collection would receive more SCORE funding and those that have less would receive less SCORE funding. County staff will bring that recommendation to the Board for discussion later this year. She thought County staff has been speaking with city staff. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2416 Page 4 of 16 Mayor Zerby asked if the organics recycling is residential and not commercial. Commissioner Callison stated she thought it was residential and noted she would confirm that. Zerby stated he thought commercial would be beneficial especially in a city like Excelsior where there are a number of restaurants. Callison stated commercial is a large percentage of the waste production in Hennepin County and noted commercial can be more complicated. Commissioner Callison explained Hennepin County's highest property tax base up until this year was in 2008. The County has reached that number again for 2017; the property tax base has recovered. But, the property tax base is different in a couple of ways. One way it is different is the percent of the base that is related to apartments has grown. Apartments are a bigger share of the base and that means the single - family residential portion of the base is smaller. Another difference is that equalization (i.e.; getting back to the 2008 level); if developments, remodels and additions to houses were removed the base would not be at the 2008 level. Growth is what brought the base to the 2008 level. For most of the cities in the County they are still below what the assessed property tax value was in 2008. She highlighted the Hennepin County proposed budget for 2017. It is anticipated that spending will decrease slightly in the County by about $80 million out of a $1.9 billion budget (about 2.57 percent). It is also expected that taxes will increase and that means that the area where spending is anticipated to be less is not supported by County property taxes. The 2017 proposed increase in the property tax collection is 4.49 percent. For 2017 the County is going to incur the cost of body cameras as jurisdictions add body cameras. The Hennepin County Sherriff's Office is going to add body cameras. The Hennepin County Attorney will be affected because those cases have to be prosecuted by him. That camera data has to be stored, reviewed and transcribed. The number of child protection cases continues to drastically increase. In 2008 the County had about 11,000 cases reported and it is anticipated there will be 22,000 in 2016. That requires additional staff to answer phones, conduct investigations, and go to court. Lawyers are needed to prosecute cases. Foster families are needed as are services families. The MNSure computer system impacts the County. The County workers have to now use that system to get people on to public insurance. That system is not robust; it is not as good as the system the County use to use. Even though the system needs to be refined a lot more the State is requiring the County to move more people on to that system which is much slower. The County needs more staff in order to provide the same level of service that it provided before. She explained that for a median valued home in Hennepin County which is $256,000 the County's property tax would increase $10 per year. For a median valued home in Shorewood which is $409,000 the County's property tax will decrease $57 per year (or 2.9 percent). Commissioner Callison thanked Councilmember Sundberg for her participation on the Hennepin County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. Councilmember Siakel asked if there has been any advancement in making organics recycling easier. She stated ,the Shorewood community is aging. Households have a trash cart, one or two recycling carts and maybe a yard waste cart. Adding another container for organics was maybe too much. Commissioner Callison stated she has done organics recycling for commercial pickup at her home for about 10 years. She explained she has a kitchen size bin in her garage. She takes the bag out of it and puts it in her regular CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 5 of 16 trash can when it is to be picked up. When she first started organics recycling she downsized her regular trash cart to the smallest possible and she changed that pickup to every other week. Councilmember Siakel stated she thought the new at -grade crossing at the County Road 19 and LRT trail intersection has been an improvement. She noted that she does not want the need for an above -grade crossing to be forgotten. She stated there is still confusion about who should stop at the at -grade crossing. She then stated she thought it would be worthwhile for representatives from the Cities of Shorewood and Tonka. Bay and the Three Rivers Park District (TRPD) to push the above -grade crossing forward. She noted it would be helpful to have Hennepin County's support to make that happen. Commissioner Callison stated that was a TRPD project. Councilmember Labadie asked if there is a Hennepin County drop location site for used children's car seats. She noted that shelters and donation sites cannot accept them. Commissioner Callison stated car seats go out of compliance because safety regulations change. Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought there are a number of opportunities to change some signal lights in the area (not just Shorewood) to left turn allowed on a flashing yellow arrow. He asked Hennepin County to investigate those that are not that way on county roadways. Commissioner Callison stated the County has started to do that. Woodruff stated having that type of light helps traffic flow better. Woodruff then stated he is aware of one traffic light that does not allow that where a driver can wait for 5 — 8 minutes to turn on green yet there is no traffic coming the other way. Commissioner Callison stated she would pass that information along. Mayor Zerby stated that according to the Hennepin County website if a car seat is less than five years old, is in good condition and has not been involved in a vehicle crash it can be given away or donated. If it does not meet that condition the County recommends putting them in the garbage. Councilmember Labadie asked if local garbage haulers will take them. Commissioner Callison stated if they fit in a garbage can the haulers take it away. Councilmember Sundberg asked that the City and possibly Hennepin County make a bigger effort to educate people about how to follow the rules of the at -grade crossing of the LRT trail. Commissioner Callison asked if more signage would help. Sundberg noted she thought it would. Commissioner Callison stated she would have Country staff contact staff at Shorewood. Sundberg thanked Commissioner Callison for serving the area and for taking on the Chair responsibility for the Board of Commissioners. She stated that she has found her involvement with the Hennepin County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee to be very interesting. She thought the County personnel who are working on the plan are doing a good job. The volunteer time spent on that initiative is impressive. She then stated from her perspective the planning the County goes through is not a rubber stamp effort. Councilmember Siakel asked what Hennepin County's tax increase was for 2016; she thought it was about 4.5 percent. Commissioner Callison noted it was close to that. �JlR- 8. PLANNING Report by Planning Commissioner Maddy on the October 4, 2016, and the October 18, 2016, Planning Commission meetings. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 . Page 6 of 16 Planning Commissioner Maddy reported on matters considered and actions taken at the October 4, 2016, and the October 18, 2016, Planning Commission meeting (as detailed in the minutes of those meetings). A. Conditional Use Permit and Variances Applicant: Marc and Kerri Hexum Location: 5205 Howards Point Road Director Nielsen explained Marc and Kerri Hexum own the property located at 5205 Howards Point Road. The Hexums propose to demolish the existing house and garage on the property and build a new home with an attached garage. Their property is quite substandard with respect to its R -lA /S, Single - Family Res idential /Shoreland zoning district. Instead of 40,000 square feet in area, the lot is only 13,534 square feet. The buildings on the property do not comply with any of the R -1A /S setback requirements and the amount of impervious surface on the site is 51.2 percent, whereas the limit is 25 percent. Their proposal requires a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) for construction on a substandard lot and four variances: 1) lot area; 2) lot width; 3) front yard setback; and, 4) maximum impervious surface in excess of 25 percent. He highlighted a comparison of the zoning requirements, the existing site and the applicants' proposed plans. Front Yard Setback Side Yard Setback Rear Yard Setback Percent hnpervious Floor Area Ratio R -IA /S Requirement 50 feet Total 30 feet, no less than 10 feet 44.2 feet* 25% maximum 30% maximum Existing Proposed 28 feet 35 feet 11 / 11 feet 12.5 / 20 feet 34 feet 44.2 feet* 51.2% 28.2% unknown less than 30% The rear yard setback takes advantage of the average lakeshore setback provision for the properties abutting each side of the subject property. He noted that what is being proposed would be a drastic improvement to the existing condition. He stated he does not think the City has seen such a drastic improvement in all of the items and especially the hardcover requirement. Nielsen then noted the Planning Commission held a public hearing on this request and voted unanimously to recommend approval of the C.U.P. and variances. The meeting packet contains a copy of a resolution for that. Councihnember Woodruff stated the Minnehaha. Creek Watershed District (MCWD) implemented a strict restriction a few years ago regarding setbacks. He asked if the MCWD needs to review the proposal. Director Nielsen clarified this is consistent with what the MCWD does and that is based on a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources requirement. Mayor Zerby noted the applicants were present. Councihnember Siakel noted that what the applicants are proposing would result in a lot of improvements. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 7 of 16 Councilmember Labadie asked if the two existing garages are going to remain on the site. Director Nielsen clarified that everything currently on the lot will be demolished. Siakel moved, Sundberg seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 16 -O81, "A Resolution Granting a Conditional Use Permit and Lot Area, Setback and Hardcover Variances and a Variance to Build on a Substandard Lot to Mark and Kerri Hexum, 5205 Howards Point Road." Motion passed 510. B. Rezone Property from R -2A, Single and Two - Family Residential to C -1, General Commercial Applicant: John Benjamin Location: 24250 Smithtown Road This item was postponed at the applicant's request. Discussion moved to Item 9.B on the agenda. C. Amendment to Chapter 1101 - Flood Plain Management Regulations Director Nielsen explained that periodically municipalities must update their floodplain regulations. The most recent updates are primarily changes to the floodplain maps. There are also some minor text changes between the current model ordinance and the City's Ordinance. The Planning Commission reviewed the changes and recommended adopting the amendment. The City sent out a notice to residents based on direction from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) letting property owners know that certain properties may be subject to floodplain regulations that were not before and other property owners whose properties were removed from floodplain maps. He noted he thought the FEMA flood plain maps are just about worthless. It is very difficult to determine from the maps if a property is in our out of the flood plain. Staff intends on sending out a memorandum to the same mailing list telling them how to access the City's floodplain map information. He displayed a copy of the map titled City of'Shorewood 100 -Year^ Floodplain Boundary Changes Since 2004 Flood Insurance Study and highlighted areas where the classifications changed. (A copy of the map was included in the meeting packet.) Enchanted Island and Shady Island have been removed from the flood maps; or at least reduced in the floodplain. The map indicates the entire border of Lake Minnetonka on the west side of Shorewood has an increase in floodplain area except for the east side of Howards Point. He noted staff intends on sending out a memorandum this week to the same mailing list telling them how to access the City's floodplain map information. He demonstrated the process that would be described in the follow -up memo. Following the process property owners can view a contour map of their property to find out if their home is outside of the floodplain elevation. If they cannot read a contour map they can come to City Hall and staff will help them. If their property should not be on the floodplain map in most cases the property owner can take the City's map and show their mortgage company that their house is outside of the floodplain elevation and they should not have to carry National Flood Insurance. If their mortgage company wants a letter from the City the City will provide that. Nielsen noted the flood elevation for Lake Minnetonka is 931 feet and a house has to be one foot above that. He also noted that the ordinance included in the meeting packet makes references to sections but the section numbers are for the model ordinance. They need to be changed to the City's format. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 8 of 16 Councilmember Woodruff stated he thought it would be appropriate for staff to help residents work through the process if need be. He then stated the ordinance and the letter refer to November maps. Yet, the maps referred to are from 2004. He asked where the new maps are. Engineer Hornby clarified the new maps will be on FEMA’s site after the new regulations are adopted by the State on November 4, 2016. Woodruff asked that staff confirm that FEMA puts the new maps on its site. Woodruff then stated both Islands are designated as low risk for flood zone. He does not think there is any house out there that is in the floodplain. Woodruff went on to state residents can buy flood insurance even if their house in not located in a floodplain. But, it can be quite expensive. Woodruff moved, Sundberg seconded, Approving ORDINANCE NO. 534, “An Ordinance Amending the Shorewood City Code to Replace Existing Chapter 1101 in its Entirety with a Revised Chapter 1101 (Flood Plain Management Regulations) and Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 16-082, A Resolution Approving Publication of Ordinance No. 534 by Title and Summary.” Mayor Zerby stated the ordinance contains a comment about manufactured houses. He asked if the City allows them. Director Nielsen noted the City has to allow them per the state; there is only one is Shorewood. He explained the City has requirements for them. For example, they have to have a permanent foundation and they have to be a certain size. Director Nielsen stated references to mobile home parks, camp grounds and industrial property were removed from the model ordinance. Councilmember Siakel stated the map indicates the all of the two Islands are not in a floodplain. Director Nielsen stated it says they are not; they are in a reduced flood hazard. Councilmember Woodruff explained there are different levels and the Islands are still in the X level in general and that means reduced/low risk for flooding. Motion passed 4/0/1 with Labadie abstaining. 9. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS A. Accept Quotes and Award Contract for Guard Rail Improvements – Lake Linden Drive and Excelsior Boulevard Engineer Hornby explained the City does have existing guard rail along Excelsior Boulevard. It has aged and appears to be a reduced height from where it should be today. Guard rail will be added along Lake Linden Drive and Yellowstone Trail. There is $40,000 budgeted for that in the 2017 Capital Improvement Program for roadway maintenance. The City solicited quotes from a number of contractors and it only received one quote. The lowest responsible quote received was from Warning Lites with a low quote of $27,000.20. Staff recommends Council accept the quote and award the contract to Warning Lites. The plan is to get the work done this fall. Sundberg moved, Labadie seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 16-083, “A Resolution Accepting Quote and Awarding Contract for the 2016 Guard Rail Project to Warning Lites for an Amount Not to Exceed $27,000.20.” Motion passed 5/0. Discussion moved to Item 10.A on the agenda. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 9 of 16 B. Zoning Permit for Incidental Use of Public Right -of -Way Applicant: Alex Ugorets Location: 175 Brentwood Avenue This was discussed after Item 8.13 on the agenda. Engineer Hornby explained that Alex Ugorets, 175 Brentwood Avenue, Tonka Bay, submitted a request for a zoning permit for the incidental use of public right -of -way (ROW) off Timber Lane to provide a second access to his property. Staff has received comments from both the applicants and the residents in the area. It appears that there has been an access to the Timber Lane ROW since late 2008 or early 2009. The meeting packet contained copies of aerial photographs reflecting that. The house on the 175 Brentwood Avenue property had been replaced. Timber Lane may have acted as an access point during the construction of the new house. A 2009 photo reflects the restoration of some turf that went out to Timer Lane. There is also a 2014 photo that shows the access from a street view. When working with Planning Department personnel it was determined that there is not enough direct combined frontage to allow a secondary access per the City's Zoning Code. The access could be allowed by approval of an incidental use of the public ROW. He noted staff recommends approval of the incidental use of the public ROW for an access to Timber Lane subject to the following conditions. 1. The access point does not exceed four feet in width. 2. The access is not used as a secondary driveway. 3. The access is not used for parking of vehicles. 4. The applicant does not use the access for the purpose of storing motor vehicles including boats, snow machines, all- terrain vehicles, cars, trucks and other motor vehicles through this access. 5. The access does not impede drainage off the street. 6. The access is turf or wood chips surfaced. 7. The access is maintained by the owner. 8. Non - public signs are not allowed in the City ROW. 9. Upon reasonable notice, the use of the access will be restricted or cancelled if the City finds the condition of the access is not in compliance with the terms as stated. He noted that the packet contains copies of resident correspondence the City received. Hornby stated that if Council concurs with staff's recommendation to approve the request Council should direct staff to prepare a resolution approving the request including the list of conditions of approval for Council's consideration. Alex Ugorets, 175 Brentwood Avenue, explained the access from Timber Lane to his house has existed for many years. He has a 2000 photo from Hennepin County that clearly shows that driveway. He and his family have lived there for eight years. The access was part of the vacated St. Louis Avenue that was vacated by either Tonka Bay or Shorewood many years ago. Their house was designed and built with the Timber Lane access point in mind to access their backyard and the trail. He clarified that he was not asking for a new driveway. He wants to improve the existing driveway that he already has. He explained that all he needs is an approximate 12 foot wide gravel access point to make it more obvious to help in trying to keep people from parking in front of it. The access point is used by CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2416 Page 10 of 16 vehicles twice a year when he brings a vehicle in or out of storage from his underground garage; that can only be accessed from that side. His father stores a car there when he goes to Florida. It may also be used if his landscaper needs to bring materials to his backyard. He stated approving his request would not affect the traffic patterns on Timber Lane. His guests do not park on Timber Lane. He noted there are numerous residential properties in Shorewood that have two frequently used driveways and some do not meet the Shorewood standards. He stated that approving his request subject to the conditions stipulated would only further restrict his use of that access point. He explained that this year he has noticed a significant increase in cars and boat trailers being parked on Timber Lane. For whatever reason, they were always parked in front of his access point blocking it. Timber Lane was not designed or built to accommodate all of those cars and boat trailers; therefore, they park in the grassy area. of the shoulder, his access point, making their access point a mud puddle and creating deep ruts at the edge of his property. He thought that because the access point was not obvious people did not realize they were clocking it. He noted he bought and put out two signs which disappeared after a few days. He bought two more signs which were torn out and thrown onto his property. He explained he was informed by City staff that putting private signs in the public ROW is not allowed and staff suggested he apply for a permit to improve the existing access point. He reiterated that he wants to make the access point more obvious so people do not block it. He stated he is only talking about a 12 foot wide section of Timber Lane and that is less than the length of one car. He stated there is no drainage ditch or any type of drainage system along Timber Lane (a cul -de -sac). Therefore, much of the stormwater drains on to his property. Because of that, a mulch or turf access point does not work. The surface needs to be impervious. He is happy to pay for doing that and provide proper drainage with a culvert or whatever. He then stated his main request can be solved by allowing him to post two signs asking people not to block his access. He has also filed the application before Council this evening. He clarified he is asking the City to post two no parking and do not block signs. If Council will do that he will withdraw his application. If the signs are not approved then he is asking that he be allowed to have an access point 12 feet wide that is paved with bituminous or concrete. He stated if neither of those two things is acceptable or if Council has questions or concerns he would like to know that so he can weigh his options. He could possibly withdraw his application or speak with a lawyer before the application is approved with the conditions recommended by staff. Mr. Ugorets stated if Council approves his application with staffs conditions it makes his access more restrictive for him and that is bad. If Council denies his application it is also 'bad. Stephen Farnes, 5445 Timber Lane, noted that he and a lot of his neighbor oppose giving the rights to the applicant, who lives in Tonka Bay. He explained Timber Lane was setup in 1949. There has always been somewhat of a green strip that separate Timber Lane from Tonka Bay. The purpose of that was to keep people from Tonka Bay from thinking they had access on Timber Lane; it is a cul-de-sac with has some very expressive homes around it. A request the nature of the applicant's request has never come before the Shorewood City Council even though Timber Lane was established prior to the extension of the City of Shorewood. He asked who gave the applicant the impression that he had access to Timber Lane. He stated the applicant indicated he designed his home thinking that he had access to Timber Lane. He hoped staff did not tell him that because that is bad information. CITY OF SHO,REWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 . Page 11 of 16 He explained that at one time he was considering purchasing the applicant's property. The previous owner of the property had a modest house and he worked his land. Someone else purchased the property. The house was replaced with a house that had about 6,000 square feet of living space over 4 levels. The lower level is over 2,000 square feet; it faces south. There is a garage stall there also. He had spoken with Director Nielsen early on in the construction of the new house and indicated that he had hoped the new property owner did not think they could have a driveway on to Timber Lane. Nielsen stated that would not be possible. During construction Timber Lane was used as an access point; he told Nielsen that he did not want them to make a habit of that. The property owner is growing things in his back yard and they have structures there. Big trucks go back and forth periodically. Mr. Farnes stated there is no advantage to Shorewood to grant the applicant the rights requested. He then stated there are a couple of other properties located in Tonka Bay that could piggyback on to this. He went on to state the applicant confirmed that he wants to have a wide driveway that would access the lower level of his house. IIe does not think that should be allowed. He cautioned against letting that be the "foot in the door" for other property owners. He thought approving the applicant's request could set a precedent. He appreciates there is no way to access the applicant's back yard except via Timber Lane but it should not be Shorewood's problem to fix. Ron Zenk 5435 Timber Lane, noted that four of the nine property owners along Timber Lane are present this evening and another sent a letter to the City. IIe explained there are four driveways and mailboxes around the cul -de -sac and there already is no parking on that side of the circle. Having no parking in front of the access would eliminate one of the treasured parking spots. He stated he thought it would be possible to arrange for on certain days to have things like landscaping delivered. He then stated that although it would be an incidental use permit it would be a permanent parking ban for that spot. He noted there is not a compelling need to benefit Shorewood. It would harm some Shorewood residents for a marginal benefit for Tonka Bay. He clarified he was not intending to offend anyone. Mike Kramer, 5425 Timber Lane, noted that he has lived in his house for about 36 years. He also noted Tonka Bay has much less restrictive side yard setbacks. Therefore, it would be difficult to get much more than a wheelbarrow on either side of the applicant's home to get things to his backyard. He explained that what the applicant wants to use as a driveway was previously used to access a garden in the back yard. He did not think vehicles were used to go back there. He stated it is clear that the applicant needs to get to his backyard. From his perspective he does not have a problem with granting an incidental use access there in order to get to the applicant's back yard. Bringing a vehicle in /out once or twice a year or bringing landscape materials back there is not an issue for him He noted he was surprised to learn about the garage Mr. Farnes alluded to. He stated parking on Timber Lane is a concern but he does not understand why the loss of one parking space would be a big issue. He stated he thought the problem could have been solved if the applicant had been allowed to put up the no parking in the driveway signs. He noted he would not want the access to have an asphalt or concrete surface; that would make it look to permanent. He also noted there is a drainage issue in that area. He explained the city engineer has looked into how the stormwater flows in that area. He stated the previous owner of the applicant's property was a little mislead in hoping that water would run up hill. The previous owner had hand dug a ditch along the trail ROW (it was the railroad ROW at that time) from his property to near the trail crossing at Timber Lane. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 12 of 16 He reiterated that area has a drainage problem. He suggested the Shorewood and Tonka Bay city engineers discuss how the problem could be handled. He explained there are two culverts, one to the far east and one to the far west, that are supposed to drain that area. Unfortunately, they do not do a very good job of draining. Two years ago the high water basically flooded the applicant's back yard so the applicant built his gardens up higher. Mr. Kramer stated that maybe letting the applicant put up a couple of signs and asking him to let the grass grow and allowing him to put a little sand or dirt there periodically could provide the applicant with the access he needs. Pete Wattson 5495 Timber Lane, noted he does not know about the property. He stated he came to the meeting to listen and learn about the request and recommendations. From his perspective, for a narrow access covered with woodchips along with the conditions identified by Engineer Hornby make sense to him. Because the applicant has indicated that the conditions would not work for him, he suggested the application be rejected. Maybe something else could be worked out at another time. Councilmember Siakel stated allowing what the applicant has requested does not comply with Shorewood's Zoning Code. She thought staff identified from her perspective some reasonable conditions. But, the applicant has indicated the conditions would make it worse for him. Therefore, she supports denying the request. Councilmember Sundberg concurred with denying it and stated that maybe something more feasible could be developed but she was unsure that is the case for this. Councilmember Woodruff stated that he does not think it would be appropriate for Shorewood to grant this access. He would support denying the request if for no other reason than if the City puts the access in as an official approved use any future owner of the property could use the access for various purposes especially because there is a garage on the back of the house that faces to the back yard. Councilmember Labadie stated neighborhood issues are always difficult. She commended the applicant for going through the proper channels with the City. She stated one of the residents who spoke this evening summed up the issue of Tonka Bay having such small side yard setback requirements. That is not Shorewood's problem. She noted the backyard access does not comply with Shorewood's Code. She stated that although she will feel bad about doing so she will also vote to deny the request. Mayor Zerby asked Director Nielsen if there is a difference between Council denying the application versus Mr. Ugorets withdrawing his application with regard to his options going forward. Director Nielsen stated it is a little late to withdraw his application now because it is before Council for action. Director Nielsen stated when he spoke with the City Attorney earlier in the day the Attorney reminded him that the applicant does not have the length of frontage that lots need to have two driveways. Shorewood properties need to have 240 feet of frontage to have two driveways. Because the applicant's property frontage on Brentwood Avenue and Timber Lane combined does not meet the 240 foot requirement it would require a variance. Mayor Zerby stated parking is difficult on many of the City's roadways. He noted parking is allowed along Timber Lane but that causes him some concern because of the narrow width of the roadway and the needs for emergency vehicles. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 13 of 16 Siakel moved, Woodruff seconded, denying the incidental use of the public right -of -way for access to Timber Lane from 175 Brentwood Avenue. Mayor Zerby stated that he does not think the request fits with the Shorewood Code and that the Attorney's opinion is very accurate. Motion passed 5/0. Discussion returned to Item 8.0 on the agenda. 10. GENERAL /NEW BUSINESS A. Ladder Truck Lease Purchase Agreement with Excelsior Fire District This was discussed after Item 9.A on the agenda. Director DeJong explained the City has been approached by Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Chief Gerber about the City's possible desire to finance its new aerial truck; the EFD Board has approved the purchase of. The truck and equipment for it would cost about $770,000. It would like to have the same financing arrangement that it has on its Engine 22 lease. The rate interest rate for Engine 22 is 1.75 percent over the course of five years. That is a reasonable interest rate currently in terms of other investments the City could get for a five -year period. lie thought the interest rate is more likely to go up in today's investment environments then it is to go down. If Council approves moving forward with this, he will prepare a formal lease purchase agreement and applicable legal documents for consideration during a Council meeting in November. He noted he thought it prudent to give Chief Gerber some indication of whether or not the EFD can expect Shorewood to do the financing. Councilmember Siakel stated she thought the City of Tonka. Bay wanted to provide a portion of the financing. Director DeJong stated he thought Tonka Bay may want to finance up to $150,000 of it. Siakel asked what needs to be done to confirm what Tonka Bay wants to do. DeJong noted that he had not spoken with Chief Gerber in the last week. Siakel stated there needs to be a clear understanding of what Tonka Bay wants to do. If Tonka Bay wants to participate then that should be allowed to happen. COAncilmember Woodruff expressed his surprise that the City of Deephaven does not want to finance a portion of it. He stated he would like the interest rate to be 2 percent because he anticipates that in two months that will be the interest rate on a 10 -year bond. The interest rate should be where the market is going and not where it has been. He thought 2 percent would still be a good deal; much better than the EFD could get from a lending institution. Woodruff stated the staff memorandum indicates the funding would come from the General Fund. The General Fund does not have the money to do that. He asked where the cash is going to come from. Director DeJong stated the General Fund has a fluid balance in excess of $4 million. Woodruff explained if that financing was taken out of the General Fund it would bring the balance down below the level specified in the General Fund Balance Policy. He is not interested in changing the Policy to finance the truck. He stated the Water Fund could make a loan. He asked staff to come back with a good answer to the funding source. DeJong stated from a technical standpoint if the cash was taken out and the payback was considered a receivable it would not be considered as part of the fund balance any more. DeJong noted that he did not think through the ramifications of that from a balance sheet standpoint. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 14 of 16 Woodruff then stated the City has excess reserves of about $500,000 and that would not be able to cover the financing even if Tonka Bay financed $150,000 of the lease purchase. Director DeJong stated he was attempting to fund the financing out of a place where there is a benefit to some tax supported services. Ile then stated there is plenty of balance in some of the enterprise funds to finance the truck. But, then the interest would go into the enterprise funds. Councilmember Woodruff stated Council could decide the interest goes somewhere else and noted that he could support that. Mayor Zerby stated there is some arnount of interest the City would be saving by not financing it through a Iending institution or by bonding. Councilmember Woodruff stated the City would save one -half of the interest. Zerby stated there would be a savings to the City by using cash as opposed to financing with an outside institution or bonds. Councilmember Woodruff stated he does not want violate the City's Fund Balance Policy and risk lowering its bond rating. Councilmember Siakel stated she thought Council agreed that it would like the City to fund the truck but it wants to know how that would be done. Council needs to know that answer soon. Councilmember Woodruff concurred. Woodruff moved, Siakel seconded, directing staff to prepare a ladder truck lease purchase agreement with the Excelsior Fire District for an amount of approximately $770,000 at an interest rate of 2.0 percent and to get that before Council as soon as possible. Motion passed 5/0. 11. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator and Staff 1. Trail Schedule Mayor Zerby stated it appears that the punch list items for the Smithtown Road East Sidewalk Extension Project have been completed. Engineer Hornby clarified there are still a couple of items that need to be taken care of but they are not noticeable to the average person. Hornby stated he prefers not to keep the project open into 2017 but if that becomes necessary the City will withhold some of the honey due to the contractor until those items are addressed. Zerby thought the sidewalk looks good and he thanked staff for its efforts. 2. Monthly Budget Report Mayor Zerby noted the meeting packet contains a copy of the September 2016 Monthly Budget Report. Councilmember Siakel stated the 2016 year -to -date budget is in good shape and noted that it will be in better shape at year -end because the City will receive permit fees for the Oppidan senior living project by then. Other Director Brown stated the City will take delivery of its new snow machine in the next week or two. The snow machine is for clearing the walkways. He then stated Public Works staff is in the process of doing CITY OF SI OREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 15 of 16 the last round of roadway patching. The sealcoat project has been completed. The sweeping of,roadways will be started in the near fixture. Sewers are 'being jetted and water mains are being flushed. He noted that during October he rates roadways for the condition they are in. That effort is just about complete. Mayor Zerby stated he thought the paint on the traffic signals at Vine Hill Road and Old Market Road is coming off. He asked if it would be possible to have other agencies cost share in improvements to them. Director ,Brown explained the signal at Vine Hill Road has been held off because of the anticipated signal replacement project and noted he would assess the signal at Old Market Road, Engineer Hornby explained the wear course was placed on Star Lane and Star Circle. There is a minor drainage issue in that area that he is working on. The seeding of Badger Park was done earlier in the day. Watermain work has started; the surfaces for Yellowstone Trail, Glencoe Road and Park Street were finished today. The plan is to have the roadways paved by mid- November. CenterPoint Energy is replacing its gas main and services in conjunction with the watermain extension project. Hornby then explained that for the Minnetonka Country Club (MCC) development project a lot of its road work is being done. There are heavier trucks going to and from the site. The aggregate base is being hauled in. Once that is approved for paving there will be the heavy trucks hauling bituminous in. After that the volume of heavy trucks should go down. The project had planned to have the paving done by the end of October but that is more than a week behind schedule. Couneilmember Sundberg asked if that information has been conveyed to Chris Gehrke, 24650 Smithtown Road. Hornby stated he would contact him via email. Mayor Zerby stated a resident asked him why the roadways are not cleaned with water instead of dry brushes. Engineer Hornby explained that once water is put down it becomes mud and the fines get stuck in the pavement. Using a pickup broom works the best. Engineer Hornby explained the City did receive scores back for federal funding it applied for through the Metropolitan Council for the Galpin Lake Road Trail segment construction. There were seven applications. The Shorewood project scored the lowest of the seven. He thought that was more of a cost effectiveness issue. lie clarified that does not mean it won't get funded. He stated he anticipates hearing about funding in December. Acting Administrator /Clerk Panchyshyn stated she is primarily focused on the upcoming election. Attorney Keane thanked Mayor Zerby and South Lake Minnetonka. Police Department (SLMPD) Chief Meehan for bringing the need to update the regulations regarding sexual offenders to staff's attention. Staff will do that shortly. B. Mayor and City Council Couneilmember Labadie provided an update on a recent SLMPD Coordinating Committee quarterly meeting she attended in place of Mayor Zerby. She encouraged people to be thankful of Chief Meehan. She thought he was very responsible and fiscally observant chief of police. She explained there is funding earmarked for a new community service officer vehicle. Meehan has decided to not move forward with that purchase at this time. She then explained that many public safety agencies are using dashboard cameras. The agencies have budgeted for the purchase of the cameras but they did not budget for the storage of immense amount of data that must be stored. The SLMPD had considered updating from dashboard cameras to body cameras. Meehan has recommended not to move forward with the update at CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2016 Page 16 of 16 this time. The body cameras are more expensive and require more data storage capabilities. She noted that she was impressed that he had the foresight to move forward with that slowly. Councilmember Siakel asked if Chief Meehan provided any insight on what storage would cost. Mayor Zerby explained the data has to be secured in a manner that makes it legitimate for court use. Not all service providers have the type of encryption that is required. Councilmember Siakel asked if there are advantages of one type of camera over the other. Mayor Zerby noted the SLMPD is in the process of updating its dash cameras. He stated that body cameras provide more expansive views of what is occurring. He explained the SLMPD upgraded its digital system for the facility a few years ago. That has the ability to plug the cameras into it and go out to the service it connects to. Councilmember Labadie noted the SLMPD is in the process of hiring. She also noted the SLMPD displayed its new police badges and uniform patches to the Coordinating Committee. Mayor Zerby thanked Councilmember Labadie for attending the meeting in his absence. Councilmember Sundberg stated she is participating on the Hennepin County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee which is just starting its effort. She can already tell that it is leaning heavily toward the City of Minneapolis. She will be working with representatives from other western suburbs to make sure their needs are taken into account. The demographics in the suburbs are quite different. She noted it is a three year process. Mayor Zerby thanked Councilmember Siakel for filling in for him as mayor during his absence. He recognized the incoming City Administrator Greg Lerud who was in the audience. f MENER' B11i1 "111 Woodruff moved, Labadie seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of October 24, 2016, at 8:56 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: Scout " r°by, #ayorT Jedi Panchyshyn, City Olerk,