01-14-2015 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 14, 2015 the property owners impacted would likely be willing to grant easements for these noise walls. The Administrator noted that these walls are outside the boundaries of this project, but there will be an opportunity to address them in the "Corridors of commerce" project on 694 in 2017. The Administrator reported that another issue that needs to be reviewed/addressed is staining that has occurred on the concrete retaining walls. The Administrator pointed out that Mayor Blesener and the Vadnais Heights Mayor had raised this issue repeated. He indicated that he would forward pictures of the problem to the MN DOT representatives. Montour agreed and noted that these stained walls result in a poor appearance as people are driving through Little Canada. Montour stated that Little Canada should receive the treatment that other parts of the Metro area receive. Kauppi indicated that she would have someone evaluate this problem. The City Administrator then noted that the Phase fl project has limited impacts on Little Canada. He did not the concerns that have been expressed relative to the concrete batch plant location, but indicated that the Phase I location was better than the location the contractor had proposed in Ryan Industrial Park. Montour stated that it was his opinion that the batch plant location on the freeway impacted traffic given trucks were using local streets to leave and return to the batch plant. There was extensive discussion about the batch plant location for Phase 11 which Herzog indicated would likely be in the same general area, but on the west side of the freeway. He noted the conflicts that can occur when multiple contractors share these locations. Therefore, it is likely that the two contractors would continue to have separate concrete batch plants. Fischer asked if MN DOT could restrict certain routes for the concrete trucks. Herzog indicated that routes can be restricted through the posting of weight limits. However, the posting of State Aid Streets must conform to State Aid regulations. The Administrator noted that the City does not have the ability to post County Roads, but it may be possible to work with the County on that issue. Gade also suggested that weight limit enforcement could be stepped up. Herzog also suggested that the Public Works Superintendent attend the MOT meetings with the contractors. Issues of concern can be raised with the contractors at these meetings. The Administrator indicated that another issue of concern is reimbursement to the City for the Little Canada Road bridge enhancement. He reviewed the history of this issue, and the subsequent agreement with MN DOT to reimburse the City its expenditure of $76,000 through a cooperative agreement with Ramsey County. The Administrator reported that he discussed this issue with the County Engineer who has indicated 3