Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - October 27, 201511 C I T Y O 6q P Nb 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULt VARU N.W. • AN UUVLK, MINN t SUTA 553U4 • (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss City Campus Expansion Master Plan /15 -22— Engineering 3. Discuss Kelsey Round Lake Park Master Plan/15 -11 — Engineering 4. Discuss City Regional Trail Oversight — Administration 5. 2016 Budget Development Discussion— Administration 6. Other Business • 7. Adjournment C� I Ew 1 0 7 ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING— OCTOBER 27, 2015 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trade, October 27, 2015, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila, Valerie Holthus and James Goodrich Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Public Works Director /City Engineer, David Berkowitz Others DISCUSS CITY CAMPUS EXPANSION MASTER PLANIIS -22 • Mr. Berkowitz introduced Mr. Tim McILwain and Dan Lind from HCM Architects and Nick Ekhoff from Loucks to the Council and audience. Mr. Tim MclLwain reviewed the stakeholder comments with the Council. Andover Family Fun Feat Stakeholders preferred Concept C because it gives plenty of space to have all of the activities, is near the Community Center, and they would have parking close by as well. Anoka- Hennepin School District Stakeholders preferred Concept A because it does not connect 1541h Avenue with the Campus. They also feel the sports dome should not reside on the campus because it would take up too much space. Mayor Trade asked if the School District had any positive feedback about the connection of 154`' Avenue to the Campus. Mr. Berkowitz stated city staff met with the School District representatives and they are open to a connection but it has to be proven out that it is a safe connection. Staff suggested working with a traffic engineer and look at the details of the Oak View Middle School parking lot flow and how the road would impact that. He thought the next step would be to do that evaluation. Councilmember Knight asked if the sports dome proposed is inflatable or not inflatable. Mr. Dan Lind stated it would be inflatable. Mr. Steven Anderson, Building and Ground Director for the Anoka - Hennepin School District, stated in the beginning they thought it made sense for a sports dome on their site because it • Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —October 27, 2015 Page 2 would benefit both the school district and the city and they thought it would only take up five acres, not an additional six acres. They also thought the dome would be placed in the wooded area between the Community Center and Oak View Middle School. They thought that made sense and that both would benefit from it because they could have curriculum in there during the day and the Community Center/YMCA could have activities in there in the evening and weekends. He stated one of the concerns with the shared access is that the trucks would have to pull into the parking lot, back up and cross the sidewalk in order to back up to their loading dock. The path that goes around the building is a fire access and not used by commercial vehicles. He stated they are open to discussing access from 150 Avenue and understood that connection is important to the City but they need to look at what will happen to traffic and how it would be designed. He stated they do have busses that load on that end of the building along with parent pickup which are also some of the concerns they have. Mr. Nick Ekhoff thought they could redesign how the road connects to Hanson Boulevard so it did not have to go all the way into the site. Mr. Anderson stated they have talked about a frontage road and what it would look like. He did think they needed to take a more analytical look at the traffic flow and how it could develop. • Mr. McILwain stated the Andover Park and Recreation Commission Stakeholders liked Concept A with the division of the different areas. They would like to have the outdoor ice rink moved closer to the indoor ice rink. He stated the Andover Park and Recreation Commission Stakeholders liked the location of the Public Works facility in Concept C. They did not think a terraced area was ideal and felt the park should be located closer to Sunshine Park and the school. They also thought the play area was too large and there seemed to be large areas of open space that will need to be maintained. They did not like having two roundabouts on either concept. Andover YMCA/Community Center Advisory Commission Stakeholders comments consisted of moving Public Works to where the performance area/flexible open area is located along with an option to explore moving Public Works completely off site. Their concerns with Concepts B and C were with vehicle traffic increasing significantly. Mr. McILwain stated the Andover Public Works Department Stakeholders comments included locating the Public Works building new the southwest or northwest corner of the campus which would take the large vehicles out of the way of the public and give them room to expand in the future when needed. There was discussion about the costs of remodeling the current Public Works buildings versus building new. • Mr. McILwain stated they could remodel the current Public Works facility but they would have to work around Public Works or move them out for nine months to a year before the remodel was done. Mr. Berkowitz stated what would be ideal would be to build a new Public Works facility and then repurpose the building either in the short term or long term. • Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —October 27, 2015 Page 3 Mr. MclLwain stated with Concept B the Public Works Department Stakeholders would still like the Public Works building to be moved to the southwest or northwest corner of the campus but they preferred Concept C. Councilmember Holthus stated she would be concerned with public works traffic going out onto 150 Avenue by the school. Mr. Berkowitz stated if the Public Works building were moved away from the Community Center most of the trucks would be going out onto Nightingale Street and they would also look for an access out onto Crosstown Boulevard. Mr. McILwain reviewed the comments that the City Council had in regard to the concept plans. Mr. Berkowitz stated as they move forward with the safe passage to school they will be looking at the potential for an underpass across Hanson Boulevard to the elementary school. He noted this will tie in the east and west sides. Mayor Trade stated for the families that live in Winslow Hills, they don't have a safe way to get from the east side of the road to the west until they get to the Hanson Boulevard and Crosstown Boulevard intersection. Mayor Trade stated they want to add an underpass where it will be used and valuable to the • community. Councilmember Knight asked if it would be wise to move recycling out of the general area of supervision. Mayor Trade wondered if they needed to have a central recycling when they have recycling available at their homes and Coon Rapids has a large recycling facility. Mr. Berkowitz stated there is a lot of time put into maintaining the recycling center. Mr. McILwain summarized the presentation with the Council and Stakeholders. Mayor Trade and the City Council thought the consultants and staff should move forward with a traffic study for 154th Avenue and to bring back more information on the possible relocation or an expansion of the existing Public Works facility. There was discussion regarding the recycling center and either getting rid of it when the campus is created or move it with Public Works to maintain. Mr. Kellogg asked if there is potential to collaborate with the County on potential recycling spacing. Mr. Dickinson stated the County actually provides funding for their facility and we work with them very closely on the activities that take place there. Mr. Berkowitz stated they built the new site with County money. The City Council would like to have the large memorial garden removed and focus on a planting • area and memorial at an entrance. The YMCA representative thought the plans look great and is excited for the process. • Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — October 27, 2015 Page 4 Councilmember Bukkila thought it would be beneficial to have directional signs leading people to the Community Center and campus area because right now the people who come to the City get confused on how to get into the Community Center parking area. Mr. Erick Sutherland thought in regard to the sports dome if it were ever to be constructed on the District's site he thought the City would still be interested in partnering with them in some way. He thought there would be a lot of interest from all of the north suburbs having access to the dome. Ms. Sheila Shuler, Andover Baseball Association, stated her concern is losing the baseball fields to the north of the Community Center and she would like to see the fields replaced somewhere else in the area. She stated the City Hall field is used typically 4 nights a week and the Oak View fields are used 2 to 3 nights a week. Mr. Tony Howard stated he would hate to be shortsighted in what they do and they need to make sure they have enough available space to be able to expand in the future. He did not think they could be min malistic in what they are doing. He thought they also need to look into the future for Public Works and what might be needed in the next twenty years. • Mr. Frank Kellogg stated his concern is with parking and what will the parking be like in the future if they were to increase their usage by thirty percent. He stated they should look to alternative energies and see how they could benefit from integrating them into the project. Fire Chief Streich stated he would be in favor of Concept C and moving the Public Works building to separate the pedestrians from the large equipment. Brian Kraabel, Utilities Manager stated he would like to see Public Works moved also. Ms. Joy Orvis, Community Advisory Committee, stated a lot of people use the sidewalks and trails in the City and she is concerned with the width being proposed for sidewalks. She would like to see trails built rather than sidewalks because trails are wider and can accommodate both bikers and walkers. Mr. Dickinson summarized the discussion, confirming that a Public Works relocation decision would need to be supported by additional analysis; confirming that a connection to 154" Avenue is desirable and a traffic study would be supported; confirming the removal of a sports dome from the Master Plans; confirming the location of a veterans memorial at the Nightingale Street and Veterans Memorial Boulevard intersection; confirming if a relocation of the recycling center is done, it would be within the Public Works campus footprint; confirming the preservation of as many of the mature and desirable trees as possible and that the existing Public Works storage building be reviewed for the repurposing in the event of a Public Works relocation. • RECESS AND RECONVENE The City Council recessed at 7:24 p.m. Ah Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — October 27, 2015 Page 5 The City Council reconvened at 7:35 p.m. DISCUSS KELSEY ROUND LAKE PARK MASTER PLAN 115 -I1 Mr. Haas reviewed the Kelsey Round Lake Park Master Plan with the Council. Park and Recreation Commission Chairperson Shane Stenzel stated they held a neighborhood meeting and ten to fifteen residents were at the meeting and many stated they wanted to see a lot more connecting loops with interpretive areas along the pathway. City Staff reviewed the Park Master Plan with the City Council. The City Council indicated they would not want a future trail connection from the current trail to Round Lake Boulevard through the back yards of existing homes. The Council is in favor of extending the dead end trail to an existing road. Mayor Trude stated she would like to see a list of priorities from the Park and Recreation Commission. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like feedback also. • DISCUSS CITY REGIONAL TRAIL OVERSIGHT Mr. Aerie Larson stated he came to the City Council at a meeting in September 2014 to talk about a path along Prairie Road and Crosstown Boulevard because they do not have any connection to an existing trail from their development and the road is very busy and dangerous. He is requesting the City build a trail that connects their development to an existing trail for their children to use. There was discussion between staff and the Council regarding the possibility of putting a trail along Crosstown Boulevard. The City Council asked staff to discuss with the developer along Crosstown Boulevard the possibility of purchasing an easement for a trail connection to the neighborhood from Crosstown Boulevard. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed a possible new trail along 7°h Avenue to connect to the new City of Anoka trail. He stated they sent out letters to the property owners in the immediate area and no one was interested but one property owner was interested a little further north. He showed on a map where a new trail could connect to the nature trail and conservation area in Anoka. He stated the next step would be to contact Anoka and see if a connection would be possible. • Mr. Dickinson stated at the October 6, 2015 City Council meeting, City Administration was asked to bring the topic of Trails Oversight to a Council workshop for further discussion. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the Regional Trail Oversight with the City Council. • Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —October 27, 2015 Page 6 Councilmember Bukkila stated what she would like to see is not give the Park and Recreation Commission oversight but to see a role for them integrated to the review process on an annual basis. Chairperson Stenzel stated as long as there is some opportunity to provide some input on trails. He wanted to know who owned that oversight at the plat level. Mr. Berkowitz stated all departments look at trail opportunities when a plat proposal comes in and then ultimately goes to the City Council for review and approval. Councilmember Goodrich indicated he liked keeping it the way it is. Councilmember Holthus thought they should keep the trail segments that are within parks with the Park and Recreation Commission and the decision of the trails throughout the City should stay with the City Council. Mayor Trude stated she liked the idea of another set of eyes looking at trails and connections and thought the Park and Recreation Commission would be a good filter for the trails. Councilmember Knight agreed. Mr. Berkowitz stated they are going to start going through a Comprehensive Plan update which • will start next year. Part of that will be review of trails, staff can put it in front of the Park and Recreation Commission to get ideas on how this can link into their parks programming. Councilmember Holthus stated they also have periodic meetings where the Commissions meet with the Council and thought trail connections could be reviewed then. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like their ideas and discussion to be separate from the Council's. 2016 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson explained the City Council adopted at the September 1' regular Council meeting a preliminary 2016 Budget and Tax Levy. The levy captures new growth providing for an approximately a 4% increase in the gross levy. Mr. Dickinson noted that relative to the tax rate the fiscal disparities distribution may impact the rate. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the 2016 Budget progress with the City Council. Councilmember Goodrich stated he really liked the community survey that was done a few years ago and would like to do that every couple of yews. He thought this was money well spent and tunes them into what people want in the City. The Council agreed. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the budget guidelines with the Council as it relates to the General Fund iFund Balance reserve. He reviewed the City of Andover Financial Policies and the Fund Balance policy objectives to provide for cash flow and for unforeseen items. The cash flow Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — October 27, 2015 Page 7 reserve is to provide for 6 months operations and the unforeseen items between 1% and 3% of budgeted expenditures. Mr. Dickinson stated the health insurance budget has now been reduced to a 5% increase from the original projected 25% increase. That is a General Fund Expenditure Budget reduction of $58,262. That then frees up additional Fund Balance. Mr. Dickinson reviewed Council contributions and it was agreed to remove Hope for Youth and replace with Stepping Stone. Mr. Dickinson reviewed with Council a potential General Fund Fund Balance transfer to the Trail Fund stating it would be cleaner to do that transfer in 2015 rather than 2016. The Council concurred. OTHER TOPICS There were no additional topics. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Goodrich, . to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary •