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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 04081986 Meeting Sheet I IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII ioiW Box:21. ; Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986 Document: CC MINUTES 04081986 • CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES April 8, 1986 The meeting opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call : Ranallo, Sundland, Enrooth, and Makowske. Absent: Marks Carrived at 7:36 P.M. ) . Also present: David Childs, City Manager; and Larry Hamer, Public Works Director. Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Mayor Sundland to approve the minutes of the March 25, 1986 Council meeting with the following changes: Page 3, para. 10: Substitute "east" for "west" in the first sentence. Page 7, para. 5: Substitute "obtained" for "gotten" in the last line. Motion carried unanimously. The Manager confirmed that there had been very few complaints about rubbish hauling service. Councilmember Enrooth said he thought any problems after the services were first converted had been solved when one driver was assigned the City service. • Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to grant a rubbish hauling license to Raste Management, Blaine; and contractors licenses to Solomon & Sons, Crystal and Rite Way Waterproofing Crenewal ) , as listed in the April 8, 1986 Council agenda packet. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Marks arrived at 7:36 P.M. Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Mayor Sundland to approve payment of all verified claims listed for April 8, 1986 in the Council agenda packet of the same date. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Marks indicated he had been appointed to serve on a committee which would restate the policies and goals of the St. Anthony Chemical Abuse Awareness Committee and to get a clear focus on just what the real purpose of the organization is. He said he anticipated this would take at least a month and since the committee decision would have a lot of bearing on just how the City's $1 ,200 contribution would be used, the Councilmember suggested it might not be necessary for the check to be written just yet. Councilmember Makowske said she agreed with that suggestion since, although that amount had been budgeted for that purpose, it had also been stipulated by the Council that they should be advised as to how the Committee proposed to use those funds. • Motion by Councilmember Enrooth and seconded by Councilmember Ranallo to table the City's contribution towards the Chemical Abuse Information Committee for further information on the programs the group would be following. Motion carried unanimously. -2- Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Marks to approve • payment of $25,108.11 to the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission for April sewer services charges. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hamer indicated the bill from Layne Minnesota for servicing and repair of Well #4 had come in way under the total amount estimated for the project. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Makowske to approve payment of $7,944 to the Layne Minnesota Company. Motion carried unanimously. A copy of the. February 28th li.sting of Verified claims had been resubmitted showing Check #01252 was to-be paid to the Springsted Company for bonding services and payment of that amount to the City's financial consultants, which had been tabled at the March 25th Council meeting, 'was theref ore authorized. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Ranallo to approve payment of $21 ,622.61 to the Springsted Company. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Makowske indicated she would be very disappointed to miss what appeared would be a very informative Ramsey County League of Local Governments meeting on Risk Management, April 16th. • Councilmember Marks indicated the special Youth Service Bureau committee he serves; on is continuing its planning sessions. The February Financial Report and March Liquor Operations Sales Summary were con- sidered and ordered filed, as .were the April lst staff meeting notes after a short discussion. The Manager reported Sroga's had obtained towing insurance. Mr. Childs also reported talking to Dirk Ammerman about -rezoning -his- property north of -the Ftsher-- project on the corner of 33rd Avenue and Stinson Boulevard N.E. and Mr. Ammerman had indicated he had no objections to the City downzoning his property, but would rather the zoning be changed to R-3 (,Townhouse) , which would permit a three unit townhome rather than just a duplex in case, sometime in-the future he might decide to replace the existing dwelling in that manner. The Manager indicated he perceived this request to be superior to retaining the current commercial zoning for that site. Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to request the Planning Commission to initiate the downzoning of the Ammerman property at 33rd and Stinson Boulevard to R-3, Townhome residential , as requested by the owner. Motion carried unanimously. In reference to the Fisher site south of this property, Mr. Hamer indicated he expected to continue his monitoring of the trucks which are parked there and had • warned the person 'he perceives to be the owner that those vehicles are parked illegally on that lot and. could be towed if not removed. Councilmember Enrooth suggested similar action should be taken related to another "eyesore", an apparently abandoned vehicle which has been parked most of the winter just south of the Fun -3- Center near the Union station in the St. Anthony Shopping Center. Councilmember • Makowske reported a good number of the globe lamps on the vacated Medtronics lot have been broken. Mr. Childs reported the North Suburban Gavel Association, to which he belongs, had selected Mayor Sundland to receive a "very prestigious" award for outstanding community leadership and the Manager issued an invitation to the other Council- members to attend the awards ceremony at Paul 's Place, May 21st. Robert Ardito, President of the Knights of Columbus Council #4381 , had submitted a request that his organization be permitted to sell tootsie rolls in the City, April 25th and 26th for the benefit of mentally handicapped people. Motion by Mayor Sundland and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to authorize the BVM Council of the Knights of Columbus to conduct the requested fund raiser in St. Anthony, April 25th and 26th. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Marks to accept the bids and award the contracts for road materials recommended by the Public Works Director as follows: Blacktop to Midwest Asphalt of New Brighton; Sealcoating oil to Koch Asphalt; Concrete to Wyatt Bros. Ready Mix; and Aggregate to Barton Sand & Gravel . Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Makowske indicated she perceived the "Suburban House Doctor Program" included in the Council agenda packet should be pursued but questioned whether there would be a lot of interest in the conservation and weatherization services in the City. Mr. Childs said the City had dispensed somewhere around $100,000 in CDBG funds for a similar program over the past 5 - 8 years, which had been targeted for low income families and a higher income group would be eligible for the funds this time. Motion by Councilmember Enrooth and seconded by Councilmember Marks to instruct the City Manager to send a letter of interest in the "Suburban House Doctor Program", under the conditions the Manager had proposed in his April 8th memorandum. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Ranallo to approve the third reading and adopt the ordinance establishing new water rates for the City. ORDINANCE 1986-003 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO WATER RATES; AMENDING SURDS. 2 AND 3 OF SECTION 550:00 OF THE 1973 CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ST. ANTHONY • Motion carried unanimously. -4- Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Councilmember Ranallo to approve the second reading of the ordinance which amends the City Zoning Map to change the use of the Fisher property;/ on the corner of Stinson Boulevard and 33rd Avenue N.E. from C, Commercial District, to R-3, Townhouse Residence District, for the purpose of constructing townhomes on the site. ORDINANCE 1986-004 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY ZONING MAP Motion carried unanimously. In his April 4th addendum to Mr. Hamer's March 21st memorandum related to the poor condition of the City's two main pieces of snow plowing equipment, Mr. Childs had advised that both required frequent and expensive repairs and that parts had become increasingly difficult to find. Because of this, the Manager indicated he per- ceived the necessity for the Council to give staff some direction as to whether to spend the money on repairs or to follow some of the alternatives for replacement of that equipment instead. Mr. Hamer discussed his suggestions related to the replacement of the Allis Chalmers grader with a larger plow truck which might cost about $50,0.00 as pointed out in Mr. Childs' memo, but indicated he perceived the need for replacing the Huber blade with a used one right away. Councilmember Ranallo indicated he did not perceive the Council could make that judgement on its own and would have to accept the recommendations of staff in that regard. Mr. Hamer indicated he could use both the truck and blade next year, but if that's not feasible, perceived at least some action would have to be taken regarding the blade which is all apart now and which would probably cost more to • repair than it would be worth as a trade-in. Councilmember Ranallo suggested both pieces of equipment could be considered in the 1987 budget and, if the .economics aren't there at that time, the budget would have to dictate only one piece be purchased in 1987. Mr. Hamer indicated that as far as the 1986-87 winter went, he perceived the City could replace the one blade and keep the Huber for which there is no trade-in value, for another winter season and then trade it in on the truck in 1987. The Mayor indicated he perceived the staff should do what is necessary to keep the streets plowed. Prior to recessing the meeting at 8:15 P.M. , there was a short discussion of the meeting scheduled to follow at 8:30 P.M., with the property owners along St. Anthony Boulevard relative to the reconstruction of that street from Stinson Boulevard to Silver Lake Road with Municipal State Aid funding. The Manager indicated that he perceived that, although the primary purpose of the meeting was to report back to the residents the City's progress towards retaining a 32 foot width under that funding, if the homeowners' reaction was favorable, it would be advisable for the Council to get the project moving that evening rather than wait for another two weeks. Mayor Sundland reconvened the meeting at 8:30 P.M. with about 27 residents present and indicated that he perceived the property owners! major concerns had been whether the City would be able to maintain low speed levels on the 36 foot wide street required for MSA funding. The Mayor also responded to the questions raised by Charles Kausel about the actual width of the existing street by telling him that though the street measured 33 feet from curb back to curb back, the 32 foot street surface would be the width used to describe a project that evening. Steve Campbell , the project engineer, and Glen Van Wormer, Chief Transportation Engineer, of Short-Elliott-Hendrickson, Inc. , updated the engineer's review of the '• 1 -5- project they proposed and provided further insight into the state standards for MSA streets. The project engineer again showed the slides which projected the total project cost to be $44G,OA0, of which. 7%, or $31 ,500, would be assessed to the abutting property owners under the City Assessment Policy. Mr. Campbell estimated this would run about $630 for an average 60 foot lot and he reiterated his firm's recommendations to replace the entire curb and gutter system; to abandon the existing 12 inch storm sewer line in the boulevards between Roosevelt and Wilson Streets, which would be replaced with an 18 inch line installed in the street; and to provide new sidewalk sections on an "as needed, as requested" basis. The engineer also indicated the soil testings had dictated the replacement of three feet of "very porous roadbed subbase" under a 7 inch structural section of pavement. Mr.,Van Dormer indicated his main function with Short-Elliott-Hendrickson was to work with municipalities to obtain MSA financing for their road projects and he proposed what he perceived might be a viable alternative for the City to maintain the existing 32 foot width for the new project and still use its accumulation of that type of funds for the project. The engineer told those present how the current rigid standards the state imposes on such projects had evolved over the past 30 years and said there is a variance appeal system available where, as in this instance, there is difficulty categorizing a street according to its traffic counts or carrying capacity, but indicated this could be a very time-consuming process for which there is no guaranty that a variance would finally be granted. Mr. Van Wormer said he perceived there might be a possibility that by modifying the terminology and projections for the street in question, it might be categorized • differently to allow a 32 foot width. The only problem with that width, he said, was that no parking would be allowed on either side of the street, where with a 36 foot wide street, parking would be permitted on one side. To have parking on both sides, it would be necessary to construct the street to a 44 foot width, the engineer added. The options the City had included a 36 foot wide street with its width offset so it would come four feet further to the north or south side or retention of the 32 foot width or even less, by providing parking bays, such as those on the other side of Stinson, Mr, Van Wormer said, but, he added, the residents would have to pay for the bay construction. The Short-Elliott-Hendrickson representative said he had personally observed that there was little or no parking on that street except that related to St. Charles functions or for special get-togethers in the homes. To accomodate the church's use of the street for parking, the engineer suggested the roadbed from Stinson Boulevard to Roosevelt street might be constructed to a 36 foot width with a gradual tapering off to 32 feet from Roosevelt to just before Silver Lake Road where the street narrows down to a one lane width. The extra width on the side of the church could all be allocated to the south side of the street so the same curbline could be retained all the way from Stinson to Silver Lake Road on the north side. Under that design, parking could be retained for the church but no parking allowed on either side from Roosevelt to Silver Lake Road. Mr. Van Wormer indicated he perceived that, by maintaining a 32 foot width with no parking for most of the street, the City would be able to keep the existing character of that street. He also indicated • that, even if the contractors have to go behind the existing curbline when they construct the new curbs, there should be no impact on the existing boulevard trees and the treelined street environment would be kept. -6- The engineer responded to statements made at the last hearing to the effect that "once you pave the street, you'll change it from a slow speed parkway to a high speed freeway" by saying he had driven at a higher speed than would be permitted down that road and seen for himself that the road surfaces condition permits cars to travel at almost any speed drivers might want, which is certainly not true of the same street further up the hill past the golf course. Because of this, Mr. Van Wormer indicated he doubted that with a smooth surface street, residents would notice any appreciable increase in speed which would probably not be true for the other stretch of roadway between the two highways where paving the street could certainly be expected to accelerate the driving speeds, If MSA funds are to be used for the reconstruction of the western section of St. Anthony Boulevard, Mr. Van Wormer advised it would be necessary for the Council to adopt a resolution to be sent to the state indicating that the City is willing to restrict parking on both sides of the street if St. Anthony is allowed to retain the 32 foot width for the project. When Councilmember Marks inquired whether a bike lane would be possible with the new design, the transportation engineer told him that as a matter of fact, the street could be striped four feet from the curb for bike traffic which might also discourage parking and would provide a barrier against cars driving behind the stripes. He said the stripes might even give the motorists the impression that the street was narrower than they might have expected. When the discussion was opened for input from those residents present that evening, Don Evertz . commented that when he was raking away the sand which had collected over the winter in front of his home at 2901 St. Anthony Boulevard, he became very • conscious of "how carelessly and fast people drive on that road". He indicated, however, that he perceived the engineers had proposed a "fantastic alternative" and that striping the road in the manner they had suggested, should assure that "we're not creating a four laner". Mayor Sundland agreed that striping the four feet on either side of the street might at least visually reduce the motorists' perception of its width. R. A. Knox, 2809 St. Anthony Boulevard, indicated he doubted the engineer's ability to foretell a reduction in speed from the proposed project and the homeowner wanted to know what possibility there might be for installing a stop sign at the Wilson Street corner. Mr. Van Wormer told him studies of traffic speeds, at actual installations had shown stop signs to be very effective in slowing down traffic for the first 100 to 150 feet on either side of the sign but beyond that point, he said, speeds have actually increased where signs have been put up in a location where it's not obvious to the motorist that he's on a :lower speed street. The engineer indicated speed measuring devices have actually shown the tendency is to first drive above the speed limit and then to slow down for the stop sign. Mr. Knox asked if that were also true about the sign which had been erected at Crestview Drive on 29th Avenue N.E. Mayor Sundland said some friends of his who live near that sign have reported &.avers in that area seem to be going faster and some slide through the stop sign when the roads are icy, resulting in more accidents at that spot than before the sign was installed. Councilmember Makowske indicated she lived in that same area and said she perceives the sign creates a false sense of security "which doesn't always happen". The Councilmember indicated her own • family had come "very close to being broadsided at that corner because of that expectation". Mayor Sundland recalled that there had been more accidents at the intersection of - Stinson Boulevard and Kenzie Terrace since the County had put in traffic semaphores -7- than there had been during the time the City had only "Yield"signs on that corner. . Mr. Van Wormer said that is the pattern which often develops when higher traffic control devices are installed and, the engineer indicated, the residents should not be too surprised to find the speed control they expected with the proposed sign is not as effective in the middle of the block. Charles Kausel , 2525 St. Anthony Boulevard, suggested putting "rumble strips" like those on highways on the street, perceiving ,that might encourage early morning speeders to use another street to get to work. Mr. Van Wormer agreed that most of the drivers who speed are commuters and suggested -the periodic presence of squad cars .on the street and writing a fewtickets might slow them down at least for a couple of months. The Mayor suggested .having these problems .periodically brought to the attention of .the, Council members and' staff might be beneficial since the City does have' the responsibility'of enforcing the' speeds on the community streets. He .encouraged the residents to report the violations they observe to the City Manager but cautioned against aski-ng for too strict .enf_or.cement by relating what had happened to another group of neigb!bors who had asked for tougher enforcement of speeds .on their street. The Mayor said the police issued around 27 tickets, the majority of which were made out to persons who lived on that street who then complained they were now "getting too much protection". Tim Horan, 2605. St. Anthony Boulevard, congratulated the Council and staff on "the nice alternative you have come .up with" and indicated he especially appreciated the speed with which they had responded to the residents' concerns. Mr. Horan said he had at first agreed with Mr. Knox about the sign at Wilson but after hear- ing what the studies proved about .the effectiveness of signs, he had changed his mind and now wondered about posting the street for 25 miles per hour in the same • manner as the street further up coming off the highway, is posted now. Mayor Sundland indicated the City could not post an MSA street for speeds less than 30 miles an hour without. permission from the ,Commissioner of Transportation and Mr. Van Wormer had already indicated he doubted a lesser speed for that street would ever be granted. Muriel Bochnak, 2600 St. Anthony Boulevard, said she had not attended the March 25th hearing, but indicated she would have to oppose making the street 32 feet wide if that meant no parking would be allowed on either side of the street. She added that she expected there would be a problem enforcing the parking restrictions during church services over the weekends if :parking is allowed only from Stinson Boulevard to Roosevelt Street because there are cars parked all the way down to her house every Saturday and Sunday. The homeowner indicated there would not be enough room in her driveway to accomodate all her guests at family affairs, especially in the winter, and, although she indicated she wouldn't want to see the loss of trees, Mrs.Boshnak said she did want her guests to be able to park in front of her house. She agreed that most of the parking on the street was done by those who attended St. Charles' functions, but the property owner indicated she had also noticed .cars parked in other localities occasionally. The Mayor explained the City's policy related to posting MSA funded streets. Mr. Knox commented that he liked the way traffic was funneled into one lane of traffic at the Silver Lake Road exit and was concerned that if the street is widened 36 feet between Stinson and Roosevelt, two lanes of traffic might be set up. He • said the engineers would have foreseen that possibility if they had made their study at 8:00 A.M. in the morning.. Mayor Sundland responded by saying if that section of street were also kept at 32 feet, .the church would lose only eight or ten park- ing spaces on the street, which he perceived could easily be made up on Roosevelt or Murray. -8- Dan Ganley, 2405 St. Anthony Boulevard and Brunis Smoka, 2513 St. Anthony Boulevard, • were of the same opinion that the church had plenty of parking spaces available along Stinson Boulevard and in the parking lots behind the church and school . Mr. Smoka said the only problem was getting the parishioners to use the spaces which were available. Louis Altmann said he lived right across the street from the St. Charles rectory and perceived a need to widen the street in that area to accomodate church traffic because, "People would probably continue to park there no matter what they are told". The Mayor observed that "there's enough representation of the church here tonight to get the message across" . Councilmember Ranallo commented that he per- ceived if the extra four feet are taken off the south side of the street, all the trees on that side of the church would probably be lost. Mrs. Bochnak commented that she had not yet been shown any reason for doing the street right now and indicated she did not consider the fact that MSA funds might be lost to be a good enough reason. Councilmember Enrooth told her the Council foresees the taxpayers are going to be faced with a large tax bill very soon to upgrade the streets in that part of the City which have outlived their normal lives. He said for the Council to turn down MSA funds which are available for only this street, might appear very irresponsible. Mrs. Bochnak was told further that, although those funds could be used to complete the reconstruction of St. Anthony Boulevard past the golf course, that project cost has been estimated at over $600,000 which is far more than the MSA monies the City has accumulated for this project. The homeowner was also advised that if the funds were used for the project further east, it would probably be 1994 before enough money could be accumulated again • to do this street. Mr. Knox was assured that the Council was considering only a '32 foot wide street at this point and the homeowner asked whether the stated intent to "to upgrade the quality of this street" included upgrading the lighting as well . Mr. Hamer said if the homeowner was referring to decorative lighting, he had contacted NSP who handles the City's lighting program, since the March 25th hearing and been told illumination would be lessened with that type of lighting and that the City would have to pay $12 where $6 is charged now per light per month for the existing intersection lights. And, the Public Works Director said, that would only be if the wiring is in. Only underground wiring would be acceptable for decorative lighting and Mr. Hamer said the only wiring in that area now comes from poles in the alleys. The City would have to pay to dig the lines into the street and the cost would run about $2 a linear foot so if the City bought the lights outright, the costs would be pro- hibitive, according to the Public Works Director. He then pointed out that the property owners along Anthony Lane South in the Industrial Park had requested decorative lights for their street, but nothing had come of their request because they were not yet willing to pay for that improvement. Mr. Kausel said he understood the Minneapolis Park Board had provided cable for lighting all along the Boulevard at one time, just as it had in the Lake of the Isles area, but the decision had been that it was not needed and the lights were moved to the alleys. Mr. Hamer indicated the system on the northside of the street is no longer usable. Mr. Smoka indicated he perceived the project had to be built to eliminate the flood- ings the homeowners in this area experience regularly. Mr. Childs reiterated that the 18 inch pipe, which is to be installed now, could not correct their drainage problem until after the main line on Wilson isoreconstructed. The Manager indicated he and Mr. Hamer had come to the realization that a feasibility study of that area's -9- drainage was needed because past efforts to correct the problem had not been successful . Mrs. Bochnak was told staff was certainly hoping the project could be undertaken sooner than eight years but were uncertain just how a project of that size could be financed since all the property owners up to 36th Avenue N.E. had already been assessed for the first project. Mayor Sundland explained the procedure which would be followed if the project were approved that evening. He said bids would be sought and presented to the property owners during an assessment hearing similar to the one held March 25th with the same notification process followed. Mr. Childs added that since the City's Assessment Policy dictates that the St. Anthony Boulevard property owners would only have to pay the same assessment homeowners on all City residential streets, whether they are MSA funded or not, have to pay, there would be no change in the $10.50 per linear foot the abutting property owners on the Boulevard would have to pay no matter what the total project cost might be. A further clarification of the 10% discount which the City would be offering for prepayment of the assessments followed, after which the meeting was recessed for a 15 minute informal discussion with the residents at 9:15 P.M. When Mayor Sundland reconvened the meeting at 9:30 P.M. , he indicated he perceived the time had come to take the first steps towards getting the project started, Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Councilmember Marks to adopt Resolution 86,-018 which would authorize the preparation of final plans and specifi- cations for the reconstruction of St. Anthony Boulevard to a 32 foot width (with MSA funding). RESOLUTION 86-018 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF FINAL PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR ST. ANTHONY BOULEVARD FROM SILVER LAKE ROAD TO STINSON AND ORDERING THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE STREET TO A THTRTY-TWO C32). FOOT WIDTH Motion carried unanimously. The Mayor commented that he perceived the two meetings on this project had been the most productive he had been involved in for a good many years. and he foresaw: that-the final decision reached that evening would allow the Council to initiate a program to maintain the infrastructure in that part of the City. He reiterated that all pro- perty owners would be notified when the assessment hearing is to be held. The Manager estimated it would take the engineers about six weeks to prepare the plans and another six weeks to clear them with the Department of Transportation which would mean the project could be started about the middle of June or first part of July. Mr. Childs estimated it would take about' 45 days to construct the project which would mean completion about the first of September. Motion by Councilmeniber Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Marks to adjourn the meeting at 9:48 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, • I H aCrowle (7 "y ( _/4a ATTEST: Mayor City C er