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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-23-12 CITY OF OAK PARK HEIGHTS • THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES I. Call to Order /Pledge of Allegiance /Approval of Agenda: Mayor Beaudet called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Abrahamson, McComber, Runk, and Swenson. Staff present: City Administrator Johnson, City Attorney Vierling, City Planner Richards, and City Engineer Long. Absent: None Mayor Beaudet added. "Olen Ave. Storm Water Improvements" as Old Business Item B. Councilmember Swenson, seconded by Councilmember McComber, moved to approve the Agenda as amended. Carried 5 -0. II. Department /Council Liaison Reports: A. Planning Commission: City Planner Richards reported that the last meeting of the Planning Commission was held on August 16 and the next meeting was set for September 13. He stated two items would be on that agenda: the Xcel Energy parking lot at Phil's Tara Hideaway and the McDonald's remodel. • B. Parks Commission: Councilmember McComber reported that the next meeting was scheduled for September 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. She stated the Parks Commission would conduct a park walkthrough that same evening beginning at Cover Park at 5:00 p.m. McComber also reported that the City held a community playground build on August 18. She thanked volunteers and those who provided donations for the effort. McComber reported that the playground ribbon cutting was scheduled for September 8. C. Water Management Organizations /Middle St. Croix: Mayor Beaudet reported that the next meeting of the Middle St. Croix Watershed ' Organization was scheduled for September 13, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Washington Conservation District Office. D. Other Liaison/Staff Reports: Councilmember McComber reported that she attended the visual quality meeting for the St. Croix River Crossing. She also reported that Deputy Clerk Pinski was nominated as the Vice President for the Minnesota Women and City Government organization. Mayor Beaudet thanked those who provided donations for the annual Party in the Park/National Night Out event which was held on August 7, • 2012. City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 2 of 7 • III. Visitors/Public Comment: Recce Award Deputy Clerk Pinski reported that Raymond Reinhardt of 5800 Olinda Avenue North and Philip Moe of 15148 Upper 63 Street North were chosen as the recycling award winners for the month of August. IV. Consent Agenda: A. Approve Bills & Investments B. Approve City Council Minutes — July 31, 2012 C. Approve Resolutions Accepting Donations for Party in the Park D. Authorize Staff to Executive Generator Service Agreement Councilmember McComber, seconded by Councilmember Runk, moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Roll call vote taken. Carried 5 -0. V. Public Hearings: None VI. Old Business: • A. St. Croix River Crossing Project City Attorney Vierling reported that three Resolutions were prepared for the City Council's consideration: Resolution A was for denial of the project; Resolution B was for conditional approval and in the alternative denial; and Resolution C was for approval and acceptance of the project. Councilmember Abrahamson, seconded by Councilmember McComber, moved to pass Resolution C in light of the letters received from Commissioner Sorel and Governor Mark Dayton by the City on that date. Councilmember Abrahamson stated that Governor Dayton was going to seek to make the City of Oak Park Heights whole in its costs, and made a commitment to seek $1.5 million in the next biennium. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved that the south frontage road at Oakgreen Avenue be pulled back from Highway 36 as far back as the north frontage road is from Highway 36 as the City Engineer indicated in the staff report in 1995. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved that the new sanitary sewer line and water main in • the first move area east of the Moelter Site be located outside of the MNDOT right -of -way to protect the piping if MNDOT should relocate the City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 3 of 7 • road in such a way as to impact the utilities requiring the City of Oak Park Heights to relocate the utilities at the City's expense. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved that the trails approved at the July 24, 2012 City Council meeting be included in the project. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved to include that grade- separated crossroads be constructed at Nova Scotia, Olene, and Oxboro to allow cars and pedestrians to cross Highway 36 with Highway 36 raised ten feet and the frontage roads lowered five feet to allow a 13.5 foot high vehicle to cross Highway 36, to allow for traffic flow across the corridor, and to preserve the three at -grade intersections as business and building owners have indicated they need. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved that a separate ramp be constructed to provide a place for a temporary weigh station as indicated in the 1995 approved • plan. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved to amend the Resolution with an additional now, therefore, be it resolved that the approved visual quality plan; Scenic Overlook plan; landscape plan; lighting plan; full reconstruction of Lookout Trail as indicated in Council Workshop notes of November 6, 1995 as indicated by Mark Benson, MNDOT project engineer; all items that remain in the 1995 MOU dated August 15, 1995; shall remain in force, and a place for the City to construct a `Welcome to the City of Oak Park Heights' sign in MNDOT right -of -way be provided subject to the same rules as the MNDOT welcome sign. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet moved that Minnesota name of the proposed bridge be Barbara H. O'Neil. Motion failed per lack of a second. Mayor Beaudet opened to the floor for public comment. John Siekmeier of Grant, President for the Jaques Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, came forward and read a Resolution from the MN Division of the Izaak Walton League of America that the Jaques Chapter reaffirmed on February 16, 2012 opposing a new St. Croix River Crossing either north or south of the existing bridge. • City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 4 of 7 • Dick Johnson of 5843 Oakgreen Court North requested that the City Council impose a requirement as part of the approvals to move the intersection at Oakgreen Avenue at least 100 feet north so that it would not impact his neighborhood as much. Chuck LeRoux, resident of Oak Park Heights and an Oak Park Heights Planning Commission member, thanked the City Council for the work they have done on the negotiation and requested the City Council move forward and vote in favor of the project. Chuck Dougherty, resident of 15330 58 Street North and a Planning Commission member, thanked everyone who had worked to get the project where it was and requested the City Council move forward to bring business to the area. Bill Davies, a local architect, provided the City Council with a design he proposed 15 years ago for the St. Croix River Crossing project that would have. minimal impact to the area. Councilmember Swenson stated that the City did everything in its power it could do and thanked the community for its support. He apologized to • those who were not supportive of the project indicating it was difficult to make everyone happy. Councilmember McComber stated she was proud the City was able to get to the point it had reached. Councilmember Abrahamson thanked Governor Dayton. He stated that without his commitment and the work of MNDOT staff, City staff, and councilmembers, the project could not have reached that point. He also provided a special thank you to Representative Lohmer for securing $1,000,000 for the project. Councilmember Runk thanked Congresswoman Bachmann and her staff and thanked his fellow councilmembers. Mayor Beaudet stated that the he believed all members of the City Council were acting in what they felt was in the best interest of the City. He provided the following statement: "This project will have the biggest impact on this city since the siting of the Allen S. King Plant was approved. I believe all the city impacts and cost associated with the project should be outlined prior to final approval. • "I support a project that would have improved the St. Croix River Crossing that can comply with the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act and protects City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 5 of 7 the local economies of both the City of Oak Park Heights and Stillwater. This project would be a two -lane tunnel in the central corridor and keeping the existing lift bridge open for traffic. This is a proposal brought by the Sierra Club and myself to the stakeholders to consider, and MNDOT and WISDOT rejected having the engineering firm who constructed the I -95 tunnel through the Baltimore Harbor to protect the view from Fort McHenry from making a presentation. It was a four -lane system with the people who travel to Stillwater and points to the north being able to go on the existing bridge and the bypass traffic could head through the tunnel and join up with the existing highway south of downtown Stillwater on a four -lane boulevard that carries the traffic to the existing highway. The cost of the tunnel, in 2002 dollars, was estimated at $50 million below the proposed selected bridge cost. If you travel west on Highway 1 -394 you see compromise in the Cities of Long Lake and Orono made by MNDOT: the existing two -lane highway and a two -lane freeway six miles long. When MNDOT made that commitment, 28,000 cars a day traveled over this roadway. Since the protection of the Wild and Scenic St. Croix River and its tributaries, 14 river bridges have been replaced. When the parties agreed and complied with the law in less than 36 months, the new I -94 bridge went from beginning of process to completion. Since this project needed an exemption from the Wild & Scenic River Act to the law, we can see this project would take a little more time. • "The current traffic figures for the project in that approximately g p J pp 9,000 cars a day cross over the existing bridge into Minnesota from Wisconsin. Only 30 percent, or approximately 3,000 cars a day, go under - . the Highway 5 bridge. All the rest get off the corridor prior to the Highway 5 bridge. There are 15,000 cars a day that get onto Highway 36 from Downtown Stillwater and along the corridor heading west on Highway 36 under the Highway 5 bridge, for a total traffic count of 18,000 cars a day. There are 13 public roads that intersect the current road from the existing lift bridge to the Highway 5 bridge for the motoring public to get on and off the road. With this proposed project, only five access points will remain. The local traffic is the problem: not the through traffic. Making improvements to the local traffic would solve the through traffic. MNDOT's solution is to fix the through traffic. And as the local traffic systems fails to improve, what will happen? "When the bridge opens, according to MNDOT, traffic will increase by 20,000 cars a day bringing the traffic count on the 36 corridor to levels where all the stop lights in the corridor will operate at D levels, with some stop lights operating at an F level, the poorest level of service. Thus when the bridge opens, 24,000 cars a day will be getting on or off Highway 36 over five intersections going west each day, and then add 20,000 new cars when the bridge opens. According to the 2001 Highway 36 corridor study (494 to end of bridge) a trip home on Highway 36 when the bridge opens City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 6 of 7 will be 32 MPH. This leads Highway 36 to a freeway design. This is what our local businesses have spoken twice about and pressured the local communities to make MNDOT support the current roadway design. Twenty -five percent of the property tax base in the City of Oak Park Heights is in this business corridor. To put this much property tax base at risk is a risk I can't take. The cost estimate in 2003 to make Highway 36 a freeway was $135 million. Add another $25 million (2001 dollars) to make Highway 36 a freeway to I -494. "A single family lot in Somerset is valued at $29,900 without a river view. That same lot is valued in Oak Park Heights at $70,000. A $400,000 business building in Wisconsin pays 50% less in property taxes than if the same building is in Oak Park Heights. Just 60 seconds to the east, there are 1,000 acres of open farmland at county road E exit, putting our business tax base at risk of raising property taxes. "The City of Oak Park Heights has not reviewed and approved the Visual Quality plan, noise levels and sound walls, Scenic Overlook plan, emergency service plan to the City, landscape plan, and high guard rails to prevent vehicles from leaving the bridge. These are details that need to be reviewed and approved before we approve the project. " MNDOT is changing the location of the sanitary sewer and water mains east of the fly ash disposal site, but left the pipe in MNDOT right -of -way. If MNDOT needs the right -of -way in the future for any reason, then the City must move the lines at the expense of $2 million in today's cost. "For the past 35 years we have asked property owners to protect the river, and if you have a deck on your 40 -year old home within the setback rules of the river, you we prevented from screening and covering your porch. Thank you to all the property owners who sacrificed to protect the river. Now we have government asking for the biggest intrusion into the river. "For all of the above - mentioned reasons, I cannot support this project." On the motion, roll call vote taken. Carried 4 -1, Beaudet opposed. Councilmember McComber also thanked former Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Oberstar for their work on previous transportation bills. Councilmember McComber, seconded by Councilmember Swenson, moved to direct that the cost -share for betterments that were defined by the commissioner and the governor be funded by City reserves with the sources being the renewal /replacement fund and /or the sewer renewal /replacement fund with no bonding, no increase in taxes, and no cost to the residents of Oak Park Heights. Carried 5 -0. City Council Meeting Minutes August 23, 2012 Page 7 of 7 Mayor Beaudet, seconded by Councilmember Runk, moved to appoint Councilmember Abrahamson to be the Council's representative to negotiate on the two remaining agreements. Carried 5 -0. B. Olene Ave. Storm Water Improvements Councilmember Abrahamson, seconded by Councilmember McComber, moved to award the bid to Hydrocon, Inc. subject to the final go ahead clearance from the City Attorney's office that all court permissions have been secured. Carried 5- 0. VII. New Business: A. Kowalski's Sign Variance — 5801 Neal Ave. N. Councilmember McComber, seconded by Councilmember Abrahamson, moved to approve the Resolution. Roll call vote taken. Carried 5 -0. B. Planning Commissioner Appointment: Dan Thurmes Mayor Beaudet, seconded by Councilmember Abrahamson, moved to approve the Planning Commissioner appointment. Carried 5 -0. C. Set Public Hearing for Increase in Off -Sale and On -Sale Liquor License Fees Councilmember McComber, seconded by Councilmember Abrahamson, moved to set the Public Hearing for September 25, 2012. Carried 5 -0. VIII. Adjournment Adjourned at 8:14 p.m. Respectfully sub T. itted, ontent and Fo en ' er Pinski a Deputy Clerk Mayor