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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.b. Minutes of the October 14, 2008 City Council Special Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS OCTOBER 14, 2008 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a special work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Tuesday, October 14 at 8:30 p.m. in the conference room at City Hall, 275 145t Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order with Council Members Baxter, DeBettignies and Sterner in attendance. Council Member Shoe Corrigan was absent. Staff members also present included City Administrator Johnson, Finance Director May, City Clerk Domeier, City Engineer Brotzler, Community Development Director Lindquist, Assistant City Administrator Foster and Chief of Police Kalstabakken. DISCUSSION 2.A. Request for Shannon Parkway Redesign City Engineer Brotzler snmmari7ed the background information as provided in the staff report. Chuck Rickart with WSB Associates provided information on the existing conditions and the proposed alternatives for Shannon Parkway. Mr. Rickart recommended that the road should not be altered. Council Member Sterner questioned the plans for sidewalks on both sides of Shannon Parkway. Mr. Brotzler replied that there was no date certain for the trail on the west side of Shannon Parkway. Mayor Droste stated that it would cost $25,000 to $50,000 to make the road three lanes. He questioned the cost to remove the existing striping. Mr. Brotzler explained the labor intensive costs to remove the striping. Mayor Droste questioned when the road would be resurfaced. Mr. Brotzler stated that the road was not scheduled to be resurfaced to a date certain but it would be out over at least five years. Discussion ensued regarding the locations of the crash history provided in the staff report. Mr. Rickart stated that Shannon Parkway would not be any safer by changing the number of lanes. Mr. Brotzler added that no matter which design each one will have different issues. He also provided the history on the feasibility of Shannon Parkway. Residents in attendance expressed concerns on the excessive travel speeds, pedestrian crossings and the three lane design on Shannon Parkway. Council Member Baxter questioned if three lanes would cause the traffic to slow down. Mr. Rickart replied no and provided information on similar situations in other cities. He added that the width of a road is still the same with the road along the edge. The road would not be narrowed. Mr. Brotzler stated that if the speed limit were lowered a speeding ticket could be thrown out because the state authorizes the limit He noted that state statute was very specific on the authority a city is given to establish speed limits Installing additional stop signs was within the City's purview. Discussion was held regarding the use of an electronic speed sign and if the device would cause traffic to slow down. Police Chief Kalstabakken provided more information about the traffic stops over the past few weeks. He added that with the electronic speed signs the shock factor would wear off. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS OCTOBER 14, 2008 Council Member Baxter supported re- striping the road when the time comes but did not support spending the funds at this time. It was decided that the City Council would have further discussion about the Shannon Parkway configuration and the allocation of money to do something sooner when re- striping the road. 2.B. 2009 Budget Discussion Finance Director May requested feedback on the proposed budget and draft CIP for 2009. He explained the levy amount and tax rate as outlined in the staff report. The total levy was increasing at less than one percent. Discussion ensued regarding the local tax rate comparisons. Mr. May explained that staff factored in losing the market value homestead credit for 2009. The City Council did not have any changes to the proposed budget. 2.C. Special Assessment Overview 2008 Street Improvements Project, City Project #418 City Engineer Brotzler summarized the project as outlined in the staff report. He provided more information about the proposed assessments and assessment methodology. He noted that the sidewalk improvements included in the project were completed with City sidewalk funds and were not assessed or included in the assessment costs. Mr. Brotzler stated that the assessments were 36% less than estimated. Community Development Director Lindquist stated that CDBG funding would be available for the income eligible to cover the assessment. She stated that the CDA would administer the program. Mr. Brotzler added that the CDBG information was provided to the property owners. Mr. Brotzler stated that the public hearing would be held on October 21. 2.D. Cellular Telephone and Smartphone Usage Policy Assistant City Administrator Foster stated the proposed policy was an update to the existing policy related to cellular telephone and smartphone usage and incorporated an allowance program. The City Council was in agreement with the proposed policy. Ms. Foster stated the item would be considered at the October 21 regular meeting. UPDATES Denver tours Discussion was held regarding the trip to Denver, Colorado with the University of Minnesota to tour massive redevelopment areas that are comparable to the UMore property. The event will take place from November 16 -18. The regular meeting scheduled for November 18 would be rescheduled to November 19. Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Mayor Droste provided information about the program which educates citizens on issues National Guard members face when returning from Iraq. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS OCTOBER 14, 2008 ADJOURMENT There bring no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by Sterner, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier, City Clerk