10-26-2022 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 26, 2022 7 shelter, picnic tables, benches, drinking fountain and entry kiosk, and noted the park amenities are being procured directly by the City in order to reduce markup and capitalize on any end-of-year sales. He stated the remaining items such as grading, sidewalks, fencing and landscaping have been bundled into a site improvements project that will be publicly bid late this fall. The Parks & Rec/Community Services Director stated the funding for this project is coming from $576,000 from City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, $196,000 from Fund 400, a $300,000 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grant, and a $400,000 donation from the Little Canada Recreation Association. He noted he is still looking for additional donations and grants. Torkelson introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 2022-10-118 –APPROVE THE PIONEER PARK PLANS & SPECIFICATIONS AS PRESENTED AND AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING FOR BIDS The foregoing amended resolution was duly seconded by Miller. Ayes (5). Nays (0). Resolution declared adopted. GATEWAY SIGNAGE COMMITTEE REPORT The Community Development Director stated that “Enhancing Identity and Empowering Community” was one of the four strategic directions included in the City’s 2019 Strategic Plan. She reported that one of the strategic initiatives related to this direction was to consider updating the gateway signs that are located in multiple entry points to the City to enhance the community’s identity. She explained that a task force of representatives from various boards and commissions have been meeting over the last six months to consider options and discuss recommendations for improvements to the City’s existing ‘Welcome to Historic Little Canada’ signs. She stated that the task force also discussed the current locations of signs and if additional locations should be considered. She reviewed the list of findings the committee recommended, and stated this could be a 10-year long project. Fischer stated the staff report included information on what the signs should not say, but asked if there was some guidance from the committee on what the signs might say. The Community Development Director stated they want to keep it simple. Torkelson noted that the new trend for cities is now signs that simply say the city name, and maybe also a logo. Fischer suggested making monument signs be a style that is harder to vandalize, noting the missing letters from the Vadnais Heights sign. Torkelson stated there was an effort by the committee to mark areas where the signs could go. Discussion ensued about the estimated costs and design styles. The City Administrator reminded the City Council that none of the funds for signs are included in the capital improvement fund, and these alone could drain that fund. Torkelson noted that the committee recognizes that these signs would be nice to have, and maybe funds can be determined at a later date. Keis asked if the trails are all marked. The Parks & Rec/Community Services Director noted that he is working on three different park related sign projects right now.