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10-09-17 CC WS MinutesCITY OF SHORE' WOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2017 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 P.M. Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 6:01 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Johnson, Labadie and Sundberg; City Administrator Lerud; Planning Director Darling; Director of Public Works Brown; and, Engineer Fauske Absent: Councilmember Siakel B. Review Agenda Johnson moved, Labadie seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 2. TRAILS Administrator Lerud stated that during Council's August 28, 2017, work session staff presented its proposed 2018 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) which included changes discussed during Council's August 14 work session. The proposed CIP did not include trails because there was no funding source for constructing new trail segments. At that time, Councilmember Siakel suggested Council have a work session to discuss trails. He noted the meeting packet contained a copy of the Trail Plan Implementation Report dated October 2011. The Report was created by a Trail Committee composed of representatives from the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Park Commission, residents at- large, and staff. He explained the Committee prioritized trails into Phases: Phase I (3 — 5 years out), Phase II (5 — 10 years out), Phase III (10 — 15 years out) and Phase IV (15+ years out). The Report did not include estimated costs for any of trail projects. The Smithtown Road Trail has been constructed. The priority for the Mill Street trail segment has been lowered because the City of Excelsior currently has no intent to construct its segment. There is no funding for the Galpin Lake Road trail segment; the per foot cost to construct it is quite high. The City has contemplated using property tax abatement or a property tax abatement bond for property taxes generated by the Minnetonka Country Club (MCC) development to help fiend construction of trails. Because of the pace of development for the MCC site the tax abatement funding is not yet available. A copy of the Trail Plan Priorities map was distributed which was last updated in 2014/2015. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 2 of S He asked if Council believes the trail priorities are still appropriate. He stated Northwest Associated Consultants (NAC), the firm doing the City's Comprehensive (Comp) Plan update, discussed ideas for trails that are not separate from roadways in lower traffic areas (i.e.; possibly striping the shoulder) as a low cost way to provide more pedestrian areas without the cost of a separate trail. Lerud stated after staff receives direction from Council staff will update the Trails CIP. Mayor Zerby asked Director Brown to elaborate on the Committee's perspective noting Brown was the only person present who has served on the Committee. Director Brown stated the Committee's emphasis included the following. One is connecting existing trails, with a particular interest in connecting the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail to the Dakota Rail Regional Trail. There was interest in taking advantage of the safe routes to schools (SRTS) program. There was a desire to come up with safe pedestrian access ways to get to the Minnewashta Elementary School. Then there was what he termed "fill in trails ". Mayor Zerby explained it was his understanding that process started with identifying locations of significance for trails (e.g.; churches, schools, commercial areas). He believed the Committee used some type of weighting factor. He recalled there is some state law that stipulates schools only have to provide free transportation for students living outside of a two -mile radius of a school; otherwise parents have to find some other means of transportation or pay a subsidy. Safe pedestrian access to schools is very important. Zerby stated the potential Howard's Point trail loop shown on the Priorities map would be a challenge because of the limited amount of right -of -way (ROW). Director Brown stated narrow roadways and the topography would create a challenge. Councilmember Sundberg stated there would be room on the opposite side of the Lake. Councihnember Labadie stated there are the wetlands and a marsh over there and noted that from Smithtown Road up to Island View Road the power lines are on the west side of the road. At the intersection the power lines go over to the marsh side. Zerby then stated that he and Administrator Lerud had met with representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Hennepin County to discuss options. He learned that the County has a grant program the City could apply for and if awarded a grant the County would pay for up to 50 percent of the cost of an eight -foot wide bituminous trail and up to 25 percent of the cost of a five - foot wide concrete sidewalk. He went on to state he had spoken with two members of the City of Orono's Park Commission and heard they were very interested in revisiting the concept plan for a trail along County Road 19 from Shorewood to Orono that would connect the LRT Trail to the Dakota Rail Trail. [The Cities of Orono, Shorewood and Tonka Bay had agreed upon a concept plan. Hennepin County, Three Rivers Park District, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, and parks departments were also involved in those discussions] When Hennepin County gathered the three City Councils together to ask for their approval'bne member of the then Shorewood City Council prevented the project from moving forward because they had concerns about the cost of the project. The costs were not known at that time. Orono is now trying to resurrect that effort and trying to gain support for that effort from all three cities. He noted the County is aware of the need for the Mill Street trail segment. He thought that if Excelsior had been willing to move forward with its portion of that trail Shorewood would have moved forward with its portion also. He had recently spoken with the Mayor of Excelsior about that trail and he had some interest with moving forward with that but he is only one voice on the Excelsior Council. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 3 of 8 He stated he thought the new Shorewood Landing Senior Living development could be attached to a Galpin Lake Road trail segment if the City could get funding help from MnDOT. There is a pedestrian crossing at County Road 19 from the Excelsior side. He would like to have that mirrored on the Shorewood side. Councilmember Sundberg stated that until Excelsior is on board to construct its segment of the Mill Street trail she views a Shorewood segment as a connection to nowhere. Mayor Zerby stated from a devil's advocate position only, there are some people who think if Shorewood built its segment then maybe the Excelsior Council would rethink why it has to -date not constructed its segment and would then move forward with the project. Sundberg expressed concern that the plan would work but did support the reasoning for constricting the Shorewood segment to get people closer to Excelsior. Mayor Zerby stated from his personal perspective he would like the City to look for opportunities to connect trails. He thought a trail along Yellowstone Trail would be a way to connect to the existing 80 percent of a trail segment along Country Club Road which was constructed as part of the MCC development. There is already a large trail segment along Lake Linden Drive. Councilmember Sundberg asked if input has been solicited from residents along Yellowstone Trail and in the Howard's Point bluff area. Zerby stated he has not heard residents ask the City to build a trail along Yellowstone Trail. He has heard a large number of complaints about traffic and the impact on pedestrian traffic. Councilmember Labadie stated she, former Administrator Joynes and Mayor Zerby had met with Minnetonka Schools Superintendent Dr. Peterson about the possibility of having the School District contribute toward the cost of a portion of a trail along Strawberry Lane. One option discussed involved a tax increment financing (TIF) district. In various meetings afterward there was discussion about approaching the City of Chanhassen because the new development at the end of Strawberry Lane is located in Chanhassen and all the houses to the south of 62"d Street and north of Highway 7 are located in Chanhassen. She asked where those discussions have gone. She stated she considers a pedestrian link from Strawberry Lane to Minnewashta Elementary School as a vital link. Currently it is very unsafe for children to walk or bike to school on Strawberry Lane. A lot of the houses in the area included those built in Chanhassen are occupied by young families. Councilmember Sundberg asked if the grade school aged children living in Chanhassen attend Minnewashta School. Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Labadie answered yes, for the most part, unless their parents open enroll them elsewhere. Administrator Lerud stated he and David Drown, the City's financial advisor, had subsequent meetings with Dr. Peterson and the District's finance director about tax abatement bonds for MCC and about paying for trails. There appeared to be a willingness to do that but the District wanted to know what the benefits would be. Lerud then stated the next step in the tax abatement bond process would be to hold a public hearing. The hearing can be called at any time. The City needs to get the School District on board with that. He noted it is his understanding that there is a significant engineering issue along Strawberry Lane. The ROW is narrow for stormwater management improvements. It may be better to do the trail at the same time as the comprehensive stormwater management project is done. Councilmember Labadie asked if anyone has spoken with Chanhassen representatives regarding that recently. Administrator Lerud stated he has not and clarified Chanhassen could not be involved with tax abatement because they do not have taxing jurisdiction over it. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 4 of 8 Director Brown stated when the Boulder Cove development was built the City of Chanhassen was asked if it would participate in building the trail and at that time the answer was no. Councilmember Johnson noted he was the person who asked that question. Administrator Lerud commented that Chanhassen also said no with regard to Cathcart Park improvements. Engineer Fauske stated the comprehensive trail plan shows a future connection west of Highway 7 and through Church Road. Currently that part of Chanhassen does not have density. She then stated when the Boulder Cove development was built there was a lot of discussion at the planning commission level about the lack of a sidewalk to Minnewashta Elementary School. She thought that as children age in the Boulder Cove development in Chanhassen the Chanhassen Council may start to hear more from residents about the need for a safe pedestrian access to the School. Councilmember Johnson stated he approximated that 50 percent of the grade school children living in the Boulder Cove development attend the Minnewashta Elementary School. He then stated many of his neighbors question when the Strawberry Lane trail will be constructed now that the Smithtown Road trail is done. Director Brown asked if many of the residents living along Strawberry Lane would be supportive of a trail. Councilmember Labadie and Councilmember Johnson responded yes and Johnson stated even if it would require them to give up part of their front yard. Councilmember Johnson explained the parent pick up line for students at Minnewashta Elementary School is so long that a lot of parents park their vehicle heading south on Strawberry Lane, get out and leave the vehicle running, duck onto Strawberry Court go around to the back of the School to pick up their child and then go back to their vehicle. Councilmember Labadie noted that school gets out at 3:20 p.m. and there is already a pick up line at 2:20 p.m. Johnson stated there may be value in speaking with representatives from the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) about making that area along Strawberry Lane no parking during school hours. Director Brown stated Public Works often gets calls asking for help getting drivers to move so that the school buses can get through. Councilmember Labadie asked why Public Works gets called. Mayor Zerby stated that is a police issue from his vantage point. Councilmember Johnson stated that on curriculum night or for any other major event at the school, vehicle parking goes back to Alexander Lane. Director Brown stated from his perspective one of the most satisfying projects the City has ever done was the Vine Hill Road trail at Covington Road. He explained that once the City brought up the idea of a trail there the majority of residents supported moving forward with that project. Mayor Zerby noted the trail along Smithtown Road has been well received by residents. Zerby asked when Strawberry Lane is scheduled for major improvements. Administrator Lerud and Director Brown both stated it is not scheduled for 2018 or 2019. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 5 of 8 Councihnernber Sundberg stated that she thought a new trail along Strawberry Lane should be the highest priority. Councilmember Johnson concurred and clarified that is because of its proximity to the Mimiewashta Elementary School. Johnson stated lie thought the trail along the Country Club Road / Yellowstone Trail loop is a close second because a significant portion of the trail along Country Club Road is already built. Councilmember Labadie and Councilmember Sundberg agreed. He thought the Mill Street trail segment is the third priority but only if Excelsior is going to construct its portion of it. He noted he thought the conversation with Excelsior needs to be escalated. Labadie stated the focus could be on the top two priorities. Mayor Zerby noted he hears from constituents about the desire for the Mill Street trail segment. Councilmember Sundberg stated she has encouraged Shorewood residents to speak with their Excelsior friends about their support for the Mill Street trail segment. Mayor Zerby explained the Excelsior Council and staff were not pleased with the Hennepin County construction project along County Road 19 because it did not make room for a fixture sidewalk /trail. Councilmember Sundberg asked what can be done to improve Shorewood's relationships, in particular with Excelsior. It needs to be more than just the Mayors interacting. She thought it is important to work more constructively with the Excelsior Council but she is perplexed on how to do that. She noted she would also like the City to have a better relationship with Tonka Bay. Councilmember Johnson stated he would be willing to reach out to member(s) of the Excelsior Council specific to the Mill Street issue. Mayor Zerby stated he thought people should speak with Excelsior Councilmembers Jennifer Caron and John Beattie. Councilmember Labadie stated she would not recognize all the members of the Excelsior Council. Director Brown stated Shorewood had a joint meeting with the Excelsior Council a number of years ago. Mayor Zerby stated that effort did not go anywhere. Mayor Zerby recapped what he thought he heard. The only thing holding back Strawberry Lane improvements is money. Councilmember Johnson added and some logistical issues. Administrator Lerud stated stormwater management issues are part of that. Councilmember Labadie asked if the logistical issues can be overcome. Engineer Fauske stated there is a meeting with Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MC)vVD) representatives scheduled for October I lth to discuss long term planning for stormwater improvements for the west end of Shorewood and that would include the Strawberry Lane area. The major challenge is there is nowhere to put the water and the water table is high. Piping it to Lake Minnetonka is a permitting issue. Director Brown stated that along Strawberry Lane there are segments where the ROW is right behind the edge of the pavement. Mayor Zerby asked if would be beneficial to at some point have an open house for the residents living along Strawberry Lane to discuss potential improvements in that area. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 6 of 8 Director Brown stated in the past watermain extension drove a lot of the CIP schedule. Then roadway reconstruction /reclamation drove the schedule. And now stormwater improvements are starting to drive the CIP schedule. The City receives many complaints regarding drainage in the Strawberry Lane and the Grant Lorenz Road areas and all the way back to Freeman Park. Brown explained that it is likely that the ditch along Grant Lorenz Road will have to be realigned because it is not possible to fit a 60 -inch pipe along the roadway. The upstream improvements on either side of Smithtown Road will likely involve ponding and piping. All of that will take time to figure out. Brown noted that the LRT Trail is located on the site of a former railroad track. Councilmember Johnson stated he thought the past discussion regarding piping stormwater along Grant Lorenz Road and eventually on to Lake Minnetonka was because the water in the ditches along the LRT Trail was not making it to the existing culvert because of debris in the ditches. That is what he understood from the former City Engineer. It is also his understanding the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority ( HCRAA) will not clean out the debris in the ditch. He is astonished that the City would have to spend a significant amount of money to improve the drainage situations when a much simpler thing to do would be to clean out the ditch (including the dead trees) and stop people from putting things like wood chips in the ditch. Councilmember Sundberg stated she understands why Excelsior would not want to pay to put in a portion of the Mill Street trail segment in Excelsior because it would not be Excelsior residents that would benefit the most from using it; it would be Shorewood residents that would use it the most. She questioned if the construction cost should be shared. Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Labadie thought it should because Excelsior businesses would benefit from Shorewood residents coming to those businesses. Johnson stated there would be an economic benefit to Excelsior. Administrator Lerud stated what is most important to do is to identify a funding plan for constructing the high priority trails and determine how trail projects should be scheduled along with other projects. He then stated if Excelsior decided it was going to construct its portion of the Mill Street trail segment it would be unfortunate if Shorewood did not have the fluids to move forward with its portion. Mayor Zerby stated it was his recollection that Shorewood's portion of the Mill Street trail segment was going to cost about $700,000; it was for an eight foot wide trail. Maybe a Hennepin County grant could cover one -half of that cost. Administrator Lerud stated with regard to the LRT Trail there are two competing organizations. The HCRRA owns the land where the Trail is and the Three Rivers Park District (TRPD) leases the land. The HCRRA won't do anything about the ditch area and the TRPD wants to keep the trees in the ditch area. Engineer Fauske asked if the obstructed flow of stormwater runoff is solely the result of a maintenance issue. Director Brown explained there are a number of issues. One is the ditches are in a very flat area. Secondly the ditches were there from when the railroad track was in place and later they were not sized to carry stormwater. Councilmember Johnson asked when the culvert was installed at Freeman Park. Brown stated when he joined the staff 22 years ago that culvert was in place. Johnson stated there are a number of downed trees around that culvert. Administrator Lerud stated staff will report back about its meeting with the MCWD on October 1 lth. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 7 of 8 Councilmember Labadie stated that depending on the meeting with the MCWD it may be necessary to adjust the trail priorities. She asked if Excelsior is not going to construct its portion of the Mill Street trail segment then maybe it should be taken off of the Priority I (3 — 5 years) group. Then future trail funding could be used for other trails. The same would apply if it ends up being too challenging to build the Strawberry Lane trail segment. She then stated it might be premature to hold an open house about a potential Strawberry Lane trail segment until there is a better idea of what may happen. Administrator Lerud clamed the City has a Trail Plan; but it does not have any more funding to pay for construction of trails. Councilmember Labadie stated the Strawberry Lane trail segment has nothing to do with the other trails in the Priority II group. Maybe it should be broken out separate from that group. Councilmember Sundberg concurred. Councilmember Sundberg stated without Council having preliminary cost estimates it is difficult to finalize trail priorities. She then stated because Strawberry Lane goes to the Minnewashta Elementary School she has no doubt that it should be the top priority. Mayor Zerby stated if having walkability to school is a high priority then the Mill Street and Galpin Lake Road trail segments should also be high priorities. Zerby then stated he has spoken about trying to have a pedestrian safe access from near City Hall to the community gardens in Excelsior. That would allow residents to walk into Excelsior. He went on to state that he thought that anytime the City considers rebuilding a road it should consider pedestrian improvements if they are possible while clarifying he is not including cul -de -sacs. Councilmember Sundberg suggested that be added to the list to evaluate. Councilmember Johnson stated if the Minnetonka School District is going to help fund the construction of a trail along Strawberry Lane then he assumes the taxpayers within the District will ultimately be paying for that. Administrator Lerud stated the only way they would contribute toward paying for it is with tax abatement from the MCC development. Mayor Zerby asked how the safe routes to school program funding could factor in. Administrator Lerud explained that the City and School District could jointly apply for that program. But that needs to be done about two years out. He stated he thought the cap would be about $300,000. Councilmember Labadie asked if the application for a potential matching grant from Hennepin County is due by the end of 2017. Administrator Lerud stated that in addition to the grant program there is funding through the County's CIP. The County asks for projects to be included in its CIP. A one page list was submitted for a pedestrian access along Mill Street as well as for two others. The County evaluates the CIP programs by the end of the year. The County engineer had recommended the City get trails on that list. Councilmember Labadie asked if there is a limit for the number of trails the City can apply for. Lerud stated no and noted they have to be along County State Aid roads. Mayor Zerby stated that needs to be submitted a few years before possible construction. Mayor Zerby suggested Council and staff have a discussion about trails as part of the annual discussion about the CIP. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2017 Page 8 of 8 Councilmember Sundberg asked if the membership on the Excelsior Council has changed enough so that its reaction might be better. Mayor Zerby responded no; it believes Excelsior does not have the money to construct its portion of the Mill Street trail segment. Mayor Zerby noted that Excelsior expects to make $250,000 off of the parking meters it installed. That Council also discussed Excelsior needs to bond $10 million for road improvements. Councilmember Labadie asked if staff thought this work session was productive. Administrator Lerud responded yes. Labadie asked if staff had any questions for Council. Engineer Fauske asked for clarification on what estimates Council would like for trail construction. She thought she heard for the Strawberry Lane trail segment, the Mill Street trail segment and the country Club Road / Yellowstone Trail /Lake Linden Drive trail segment. Councilmember Johnson reiterated the estimate for Mill Street is $700,000 with a potential for a Hennepin County grant. He thought the estimate for Strawberry Lane should be refined after the October 11 t" meeting with the MCWD. Councilmember Sundberg stated she would also like an estimate for the Howard's Point bluff area trail segment. Mayor Zerby clarified that the estimates would require doing a feasibility studies and there would be a cost for doing them. Councilmember Labadie stated she does not think there is a need to focus on Priority III trails until their priority has changed. Otherwise the City would incur costs to do something that will likely be outdated by the time it is needed in 10 —15 years. Councilmember Sundberg stated she agreed with Mayor Zerby's suggestion that anytime the City considers rebuilding a road it should consider pedestrian improvements if they are possible. 3. ADJOURN Sundberg moved, Johnson seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session of October 9, 2017, at 7:02 p.m. Motion passed 4/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder Sc tt erby, or ATTEST: Sandie Thone, City Clerk