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02-24-20 WS MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2020 6:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Johnson (arrived at 6:30), Labadie, and Siakel; City Administrator Lerud; Planning Director Darling; Director of Public Works Brown; and, City Engineer Budde Absent: Councilmember Sundberg B. Review Agenda Siakel moved, Labadie seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 3/0. 2. WESTERN SHOREWOOD STORMWATER PLAN DISCUSSION City Administrator Lerud stated that it has been two meetings since the Western Shorewood Stormwater Plan was presented to the Council. He noted that meeting was cut a bit short because of time constraints and noted that staff wanted to make sure that all of the Council's questions were able to be answered which is why it is back before the Council. Jennifer Koehler, Barr Engineering gave a brief presentation regarding the problem areas and their recommended options for addressing the issue: Shorewood Oaks, recommended solution — abandoning the sump system and require private property owners to daylight sump pump /foundation drain discharges and surface. Strawberry Lane North, recommended solution — install storm sewer under the proposed trail routed east to Smithtown Pond. Strawberry Lane — South of Trail — recommended solutions — install storm sewer along Strawberry Lane south of regional trail and upsize storm sewer along Shorewood Oaks Drive, or install storm sewer along Strawberry Lane and storm sewer east to Freeman Park following the existing trail alignment. Freeman Park, recommended solution — lower outlet elevation and create a conceptual design that minimizes maintenance. Grant Lorenz Channel, recommended solution — Smithtown Pond maximized with extended detention outlet and stabilization along the Channel. Noble Road, recommended solution — increase downstream channel capacity and replace Noble Road culvert. Beverly Drive, recommended solution — replace drainage system from Beverly Drive and along Cajed Lane including installation of inlet in low area north of Beverly and west of Cajed. Mayor Zerby asked if the City had been in contact with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District about any of these projects and the possibility of jointly funding them. Public Works Director Brown noted that they have been contacted and at this point, are lukewarm about jointly funding the projects. He stated that they are in favor of the projects and like that the City is looking at the whole area and not simply doing piecemeal projects. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Page 2 of 3 Ms. Koehler stated that the MCWD does not have a cost sharing program with cities, but they are supportive and have offered to help find grants. She stated that she also pulled together a variety of funding sources that could potentially be used to help fund these projects. City Administrator Lerud stated that he thinks the City should consider a bonding bill request because this has regional implications so perhaps the State would participate. Councilmember Johnson arrived at the meeting. Councilmember Siakel asked if all these projects needed to be done as one big project. City Engineer Budde stated that they have been looking at how these projects may fall within the CIP and upcoming road projects. Public Works Director Brown stated that during the strategic planning retreat the Council talked about putting together a sturdy CIP that can stand the test of time. He stated that he believes that this plan is one of the hinge points of putting together that CIP. He stated that staff needs buy in and feedback from the Council on these projects so they can be incorporated into the CIP. Councilmember Siakel suggested that the City should also be looking at whether the City charges enough for stormwater fees. Public Works Director Brown explained that City Administrator Lerud had been working with David Drown's staff to put together the financial picture for each piece of this stormwater plan. He stated that initially they think it may involve raising stormwater rates and as doing some bonding. Councilmember Siakel stated that she feels the City needs to get something done in this area. Mayor Zerby asked why the projects would be starting upstream rather than downstream. Public Works Director Brown stated that staff has debated that question internally as well, but Barr Engineering has worked out some of the phasing ideas. Ms. Koehler explained some of the challenges in timing of the projects and noted that they basically tried to look at when implementation makes sense. The Council discussed some of the other potential areas that have problems and whether these plans will help alleviate them. Public Works Director stated that he and Ms. Koehler have discussed getting together with Three Rivers and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and demanding that they do some ditch maintenance and clean those out, but question whether they will step in and take care of that or not. Greg Larson, 25535 Orchard Circle, asked when the public would find out about these plans. He stated that he does not think members of the public know anything about them. Mayor Zerby noted that it a difficult question because all of the meetings are recorded and available for the public to view or listen to. He stated that there is a monthly newsletter that is published. Mr. Larson stated that none of that information has been included in the newsletter. He stated that the quarterly newsletter used to have the back page devoted to development. He stated that the local newspapers also used to cover the City meetings and that is no longer done. FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Page 3 of 3 Mayor Zerby noted that the City moved away from a quarterly newsletter about twenty years ago because it moved to distributing a monthly newsletter, and the city cannot determine what is published in the paper. City Administrator Lerud stated that he is going to take Mr. Larson's suggestion and the next newsletter has a part dedicated to that kind of development information. Councilmember Siakel stated that the reason the City is even looking at these projects is because residents have come in and brought it to the Council's attention. She explained that the Council is just studying these projects at this point and has been working on doing more to get people engaged and informed of these types of projects. Mayor Zerby expressed his frustration with trying to find ways to successfully communicate this information to residents and stated that he takes Mr. Larson's concerns very seriously and assured him that the City will try to do a better job at making sure people know about these projects. Mayor Zerby said the city uses many methods to get information to residents, but the city cannot force people to know. Councilmember Labadie stated that the projects being discussed are long term projects and the City is still in the discussion phase for them. Mayor Zerby asked when the earliest project would be started for the stormwater plans being discussed. City Engineer Budde stated that he believes the Strawberry Lane project is slated for 2023 or later. Public Works Director Brown stated that with the Council's support, staff will start inserting these projects into the CIP. City Administrator Lerud stressed that this is a draft work in progress proposal and nothing has been decided yet. 3. ADJOURN Siakel moved, Johnson seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of February 24, 2020, at 7:00 P.M. Motion passed 4/0.