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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.b. Minutes of the May 14, 2008 City Council Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS MAY 14, 2008 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular work session of the City Council was held on Wednesday, May 14, 2008. The meeting was held in the conference room at City Hall, 2875 145 Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Council Members Baxter and Shoe Corrigan were in attendance. Council Members DeBettignies and Sterner arrived shortly thereafter. Staff members present included Interim City Administrator /Community Development Director Kim Lindquist, City Engineer Brotzler, City Clerk Domeier, Assistant City Administrator Foster, Senior Planner Zweber and Finance Director May. DISCUSSION 2.A. WHEP Presentation Terry Pearson thanked the City Council for supporting the WHEP program. Mr. Pearson and Jane Porterfield provided more information about the program and summarized the results of the 2007 wetland monitoring. Mayor Droste suggested that Mr. Pearson and Ms. Porterfield provide the same presentation to the neighborhoods. 2.B. City Administrator Executive Search Process Richard Fursman with the Brimeyer Group was in attendance and provided suggested search timetables for an August or September City Administrator start date. City Council preferred to move forward with the timetable including the August 2008 start date. Mr. Fursman stated that applications would be due by June 21. He added that department heads have expressed interest in participating in the interviews. Mr. Fursman explained the process for the May 15 open forum. He added that the profile information will be disseminated on May 19 to the City Council for consideration and approval at the May 20 regular meeting. 2.C. Robert Street Corridor Transit Feasibility Study Sam O'Connell, Transit Specialist, with Dakota County was in attendance to provide a presentation on the feasibility study. Council Member Sterner questioned the demographics of the study. Ms. O'Connell responded that the study included the 2030 projections. Council Member Shoe Corrigan questioned if research was done to see how other cities of similar size improved their transit systems. She found it hard to determine the number of users because the current transit is not convenient and underutilized. She thought the metro area was behind in mass transportation. Council Member DeBettignies stated it was time to act on transportation instead of spending money on developing plans. Mayor Droste stated that the studies need to be done to make the progress happen so a funding mechanism can be determined. Mayor Droste stated the need to support the proposed study. Discussion ensued regarding the transit locations and funding issues in the metro area. Interim City Administrator Lindquist spoke of the transit options with the UMore development. She questioned if the ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS MAY 14, 2008 City Council wanted to preserve a corridor through the business park would they be willing to make that investment. Council Member Shoe Corrigan did not want to plan for a project without a commitment. Mayor Droste supported the transit plan using County Road 46. Ms. O'Connell stated that the transit options would depend upon the development of UMore. Ms. O'Connell will send the City Council additional research information compiled from other U.S. cities of similar size. The City Council thanked Ms. O'Connell for her presentation. 2.D. Transit Plan, ENG 0126 Interim City Administrator Lindquist stated that the process was started long before and was presented to the City Council approximately two years ago. A public input process was started as part of the plan and a transit task force was established. She also explained how the transit plan tied in with the 2030 Comprehensive Guide Plan Update. Chuck Rickart with WSB Associates, Inc. presented the draft Transit Plan to the Council. Council Members requested that the transit taxes associated with MVTA generated by the City be included in the plan. Mayor Droste wanted the plan introduction changed to include the transit history and monies spent in Rosemount. Ms. Lindquist stated the City will score higher in federal solicitations with the Downtown redevelopment project increasing the density. Mayor Droste wanted it to be known that the City was frustrated with the opt -out alternatives. He wants the City to aggressively take a stand in the system. Council Member DeBettignies stated that the plan could be shortened and to the point. Ms. Lindquist understood that the action plan could be better stated but indicated that some of the language was needed as part of the 2030 comp plan update. Conversation continued regarding the frustration with the transit options in Rosemount. Mr. Rickart stated that the issues are regional and that MVTA has not been providing the service. He understood that the City Council wanted stronger language included in the plan. Council Member Baxter stated looking at what MVTA has done for the City and looking out 20 years the City should look to the Robert Street Corridor for transit. Mayor Droste disagreed because most Rosemount residents work in Minneapolis. Ms. Lindquist suggested strengthening the transit ties to UMore. The City Council agreed that UMore would be the driving factor for transit in Rosemount. Council Member Shoe Corrigan wanted the UMore information documented within the 2030 comp plan. Mr. Rickart stated that MVTA recently requested three express services from Rosemount to St. Paul, Minneapolis and Mall of America. He added that he would provide the City Council with a revised transit plan including the hard data and other issues discussed. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS MAY 14, 2008 2.E. Dakota County 2009 -2013 Draft CIP City Engineer Brotzler explained the CIP modifications and requests as proposed in the staff report. He requested City Council input and direction on the contents of the proposed letter. Council Member Shoe Corrigan questioned the intersection of Shannon Parkway and McAndrews. Mr. Brotzler stated that the City submitted a cost estimate and layout for the project. He stated the County wanted to review the project to determine if they would fund the project. The City Council discussed the safety issues associated with the project in relation to other safety issues on County roads. Mr. Brotzler noted that Dakota County Transportation staff has offered to address the Council regarding County transportation issues. The Council indicated their desire to have Dakota County Transportation staff at a future regular Council meeting. The City Council wanted to add the CSAH 38 /McAndrews project to the CIP request. Mayor Droste wanted hard data on the number of accidents and information provided on other safety issues to present to Dakota County Transportation staff. The City Council questioned the equity and justice in the maintenance cost share requirements. Mr. Brotzler pointed out that as part of the transportation plan the County plans to review their cost share requirements. Council Member Baxter would like a fair say in determining access if the City is paying 45% of the cost. Mr. Brotzler summarized the items to discuss with the County engineers including CSAH 38 and Shannon Parkway, safety issues, funding, trails and communications. Council Member DeBettignies wanted a County presentation on how they measure safety and access. 2.F. Fiber Quotes Finance Director May requested consideration of connecting City buildings to a fiber network that would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of City staff. He provided background on the quotes received from Dakota County to connect the Community Center and Fire Station #2 to the County /State's fiber network. He stated that the National Guard wants the City to obtain an easement before fiber could be put in the ground at the Community Center. If the City Council was considering moving forward he asked them to hold off on the Fire Station #2 quote based upon conversations with FTTH. He then provided more information about the fiber located at Fire Station #2. Council Member Shoe Corrigan questioned the investment in the Community Center. Mr. May stated the Community Center has a great need to be connected to fiber. He talked about the frustrating issues in the current operations and how the fiber would benefit the employees. Mayor Droste did not support spending funds for Fire Station #2. Mr. May questioned the risk if the fire station would be used as an EOC. The current DSL would suffice for day to day operations but would not be able to serve as an EOC. The City Council supported installing fiber at the Community Center but wanted to delay installation at Fire Station #2. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS MAY 14, 2008 UPDATES Quiet Zones Update City Engineer Brotzler stated that funding questions were raised at the last work session. He has learned that those types of improvements on the municipal state aid system qualify for state aid funding. State aid funds can also be used for County roads as part of off system improvements. He requested clarification on the option to use at the 145 intersection. The City Council agreed on Option 3 at the 145 intersection to install a 4- quadrant gate system. Rosemount Liquor Liquor Violation Interim City Administrator Lindquist stated that Rosemount Liquors has started to serve the 11 day suspension. She explained the violation penalties agreed to by Rosemount Liquor. Mayor Droste provided background on his meeting with the owners. Council Members Shoe Corrigan and Sterner expressed their concerns with the violation. Council Member Shoe Corrigan wanted to find out the policies other businesses use to prevent this type of violation. She also wanted to check with other cities to find out what they have done on fourth violations. She did not agree with the penalties and thought the issues were very serious. Council Member Baxter agreed with the suspension for the third violation per Chief of Police Kalstabakken's recommendation. Council Member Sterner agreed with the penalties outlined and suggested all customers carded for the next 36 months. Greg Clausen Day Mayor Droste will sign the proclamation. League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference and Marketplace Mayor Droste and Council Member Sterner planned to attend the conference. Centex Homes Evermoor Glendalough Development Interim City Administrator Lindquist stated that Centex Homes has applied for minor amendment to build homes within the Evermoor Glendalough development. Staff has sorted through the proposed housing elevations and chosen those which fit the development. Steve Ach from Centex Homes was not pleased with the elevations chosen by staff and may call the Council Members to discuss. Ms. Lindquist stated the proposed minor amendment will be sent to the City Council for consideration and approval on May 20. UMore Interim City Administrator Lindquist recapped a meeting with UMore on May 12 where the EIS was discussed including an end use plan. After the meeting, Ms. Lindquist sent previously written letters to the UMore rep detailing that the EIS would not include the property's end use plan. The UMore rep was in agreement with information in the letters and apologized for the misinformation presented on May 12. Mayor Droste stated that UMore has four conceptual plans. He spoke of the various plan features. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS MAY 14, 2008 AFSCME Interim City Administrator Lindquist provided updated information about the union's stance on the newly created inspector position. Mayor Droste stated the broader the scope of the job description the better the job security. Council Member Baxter stated he was not interested in negotiating the job description. Meeting Calendar Interim City Administrator Lindquist provided a calendar of events from May through August. ADDITIONAL UPDATES Council Member Sterner questioned if Departments could investigate ways to save gas costs in preparing for the 2009 budget. Mayor Droste received a request to have more high school baseball team leagues. Mayor Droste received a complaint from Carlson Tractor about the purchase of recent City equipment. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council, Mayor Droste adjourned the meeting at 10:32 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier, City Clerk