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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20120522 PCM JTM PLANNING COMMISSION – CITY COUNCIL JOINT MEETING MINUTES MAY 22, 2012 PAGE 1 Call to Order: Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Special Joint Meeting of the Planning Commission and City Council was held on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 6:30p.m. Present were Planning Commissioners Ege, DiNella, Demuth, Weber and Miller, and Council members DeBettignies and Shoe-Corrigan. Commissioners Powell and Irving were absent. Council members Weisensel and Kearney were absent. Also in attendance were City Administrator Johnson, Community Development Director Lindquist, Senior Planner Zweber, and Recording Secretary Hanson. The Pledge of Allegiance was read. 2. Election of Temporary Vice-Chair. In the absence of Chairperson Powell and Vice-Chair Irving, Commissioner Ege called for nominations for temporary vice-chair. Commissioner DiNella nominated Commissioner Ege as temporary vice-chair. There were no other nominations. Commissioner Ege closed the nominations and asked for a vote on the nomination that was made. Ayes: 5. Nayes. None. Commissioner Ege was appointed as temporary vice-chair. 3. UMore Park Remedial Investigation. Janet Dalgleish, Environmental Planner of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety representing University Services gave a brief background on the UMore property that was included in the investigation. Ms. Dalgleish introduced Rick Kubler and Jim Eidem who will be making the presentation. As a result of the investigation, there were three key findings. 1-No conditions that will prevent future development. 2-The investigations, including past studies, are sufficient for developing preliminary response actions at all of the sites investigated, except for three which are called the data gap sites. 3-Additional studies will be needed but they will be based on the plans of future developers. Rick Kubler, Attorney at Gray Plant Mooty, outside legal counsel to the University of Minnesota, provided the GOW historical background and steps preceding the remedial investigation. Council member DeBettignies asked when the property was removed from the superfund list because he has had residents tell him it is still listed as a superfund site. Mr. Kubler and Ms. Dalgleish stated that the property was removed in 2000 from the State permanent priorities but may still be listed on their main page as a property that was once listed. Mr. Kubler stated the property will always be a superfund site but that it is now administratively closed. Planning Commissioner Miller asked which areas of the property have caps installed and what controls are in place for monitoring them. Mr. Kubler responded that George’s Used Equipment (GUE) – Deep is a small section of that area that has a cap; the burn pit area has a clay cap; there is no cap on the Porter Electric site; and both GUE-Shallow and US Transformers (UST) have a soil cap. He further stated that the University is not to dig nearby or disturb the caps and are inspected monthly. PLANNING COMMISSION – CITY COUNCIL JOINT MEETING MINUTES MAY 22, 2012 PAGE 2 Mayor Droste asked how many of the Formerly Used Defense (FUD) sites in the US have been completely remediated by the government. Mr. Kubler responded that the US Government built more than 77 ammunition sites and they have cleaned up a number of the sites as part of a program started in 1984. Jim Eidem, PG, Senior Hydrogeologist and Remedial Investigation Project Manager at Barr Engineering, provided the remedial investigation process and findings. Planning Commissioner Miller asked how many soil borings were conducted and their location. Mr. Eidem stated there were less than 50 soil borings used to gain an understanding of the vertical extent after the trenches were conducted. Commissioner Miller further asked if there were soil borings conducted on the capped areas of the property and if any other contaminants were looked for in those areas. Mr. Eidem stated they did not focus much on those locations because of the existing caps. He further stated that the primary contaminants monitored for were the 5 mentioned substances: arsenic, lead, mercury, PAHs and PCBs. He stated those sites will continually need to be managed and the uses are restricted. Council member DeBettignies asked if there will ever be development on the protected capped areas. Mr. Kubler responded that development would be possible depending on the area: there is no cap on the Porter Electric area and commercial industrial development would be allowed such as a parking lot or commercial building; the GUE-Shallow and UST sites would also allow a parking lot, but not residential activities; and there would not be any development allowed on the GUE- Deep at this time. Mr. Kubler further stated it would be possible to get approval to remove the material that is encapsulated there but development in those areas would not necessarily be needed considering the amount of developable acres available in UMore Park. Council member DeBettignies asked about the leased areas in Category 4 and the determination of the origin of material on site, by GOW or by the leasing tenant. Mr. Eidem stated that in future investigations of the lease sites, they will look at the historical uses of the site and the current tenant uses to decide what to analyze. Ms. Dalgleish stated that most of the current leased sites are agricultural, some industrial, and the investigation is a component of the lease close-out. Planning Commissioner Miller asked about the data gap properties contained in Category 8 and what will be done to address those sites. Mr. Eiden stated there are three sites of concern in the central portion of the property that are suspected disposal sites. He stated as part of the investigation, some areas were excavated, surface samples were taken in other areas; there will be more investigation in the future. Mr. Kubler added that the comprehensive plan and master plan are currently in process and more investigation will be conducted after the land use for those areas are determined. Planning Commissioner Demuth stated that Barr Engineering prepared an excellent report and that she was surprised by the elevated levels of certain items. She asked if there is any plan of having the Army address these contaminations since they are responsible. Mr. Kubler responded that there have been discussions with the Corp of Engineers and they informed the University that they are addressing over 1000 sites nationwide based on need, i.e. groundwater aquifers nearby or hazardous substances on the surfaces. Mr. Kubler stated that the GOW site is not a significant priority as the substances are not at toxic levels. He further stated that discussions will continue with the Corp and the MPCA. PLANNING COMMISSION – CITY COUNCIL JOINT MEETING MINUTES MAY 22, 2012 PAGE 3 Mayor Droste asked how many miles of sewers are on site and how deep they go. Mr. Eidem stated the sewer system was mapped by the County and the depth generally ranges from 4 to 15 feet. He stated the system goes for many miles and in their investigation, they focused on the central joints and turns with larger usage. Based on the camera work and video, Mr. Eidem stated they did not find any significant failures. Planning Commissioner DiNella asked what percentage of the 3500 acres was subjected to the investigation. Ms. Dalgleish responded that the uses of the property were first focused on and a small portion of an area may have been actually tested in a larger area if the use was the same in the whole area. Council member Shoe-Corrigan gave a summary of her understanding of the next phase stating that as the City looks to future redevelopment, the investigative reports both current and historical will be compared to the site use recommendations to determine whether or not more testing and remedial investigations will need to be completed on the property. Council member DeBettignies asked if there are tunnels on the property and it was confirmed that the tunnels are the sewers. Planning Commissioner Demuth asked how asbestos was addressed in the remedial investigation. Mr. Eidem stated that asbestos was identified as an issue in the Phase I investigation but was not part of the remedial investigation because the main focus was environmental releases. He further stated that asbestos isn’t typically a substance that is tested for, but prior to the investigation, a protocol was established not to disturb any of the asbestos areas. th Planning Commissioner Miller recommended that the information provided at the June 28 public meeting be in a bigger format than a printed PowerPoint presentation to insure that the public can see the details of the presentation. In closing, Planning Commissioner Ege recommended holding public comments for the public meeting on June 28, 2012, which will be held in the Banquet Room at the Community Center. Adjournment There being no further business to come before this Commission, Commissioner : Miller made a motion to adjourn, second by Commissioner Weber, the meeting was adjourned at 8:11p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Kathie Hanson, Recording Secretary