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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP October 20, 1977 CITY of ANDOVER SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL HEETING - OCTOBER 20, 1977 MINUTES A Special Heeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Jerry Windschitl on October 20, 1977, 7:38 p.m" at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Anoka, Minnesota, to discuss the location of the tennis court and the progress of the comprehensive park plan for the City Hall site, Councilpersons present: Lachinski, McClure, Orttel, VanderLaan Councilpersons absent: None Also present: Midwest Planning and Research landscape architect, Tim Erkkila; Park/Recreation Commission Chairman, Phil Rzeszutek; Park/Recreatìn Commissioners, Monico Ancheta, Wes Mand, Tom Pahl, Glen Rogers, , and Judy Strandmark; City Clerk, P, K, Lindquist; and interested ~ ~ , \' \,' ., staff, V,' Mayor Windschitl explained that the Council was under the impression the location of the tennis court that was shown on the application for the grant was not the final location and that the final location would be determined later on, Now we find the tennis court staked out by the parking lot as was originally shown, The objections Mayor Windschitl expressed to this location are that the logical expansion of the parking lot would be to the east where the tennis court is proposed and the nearness of the court to the baseball diamond, Also, the Council does not have the expertise required to decide where the court should go in relation to the overall comprehensive park plan, Tim Erkkila, Director of Designing, !1idwest Planning and Research, a registered landscape architect, explained that he had no idea how the location of the tennis court shown on the grant was first determined, Midwest Planning assisted in the preparation of the grant application, When the grant was approved, work went really fast since initially all the work needed to be done this year, Mr, Erkkila explained he took steps to justify the suitability of the tennis court site as now staked out, He learned from ~gineer Stockwell that any municipal expansion planned for the future would be to the west of the City Hall, Under Midwest's contract, they will be providing park schedules on all existing parks; it is a matter of the correct sequence of how things are going, He had explained to the Park Commission the process of determining what the existing parks can function as, what can be done in the future, and where those parks will be, The intention is to discuss the use alternatives on a City-wide basis; and once you can determine how the plan comes together, then sketches are made as the last step, Mr, Erkkila discussed the sketches he had made on the Community Center explaining how he saw the Co~munity Center functioning for future develoTIrnent, The sketches showed two double tennis courts to the east of the parking lot which he felt worked well overall, If the tennis court site as proposed is not used, he was I at a loss to find a better spot without having to make a major rework, !1r, Erkkila explained the north area is a good central area for skating plus a warm-up building, with summer uses draped around it for the most efficient use of the area, Discussion was then on the City's proposed municipal building adjacent to the existing City Hall on thelwest and why it was planned that way, Imyor Windschitl explained that the size of the parking lot is not adequate and the logical extension is to the east, Discussion continued on the location of the tennis court -- they should be ncirth-~outh oriented away from disturbances that can be annoying, screening could be provided around the courts at this location to provide more privacy, the question of having two active sports next to each other, moving the tennis court to the north of the City Hall somewhere in the area of the hockey rink would increase the cost of the lighting contract, there is only limited parking at this time, and also, moving the tennis court to the immediate north of the hockey rink does not alleviate the problem of the proximity with the ball diamond, Wes Mand suggested that for a long-range solution, as the other - -- -. S~ecial City Council Meeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes pao;e 2 ball fields are developed, don't light or improve the existing ballfield to encourage people to use the new ones, By discouraging use of the existing ballfield, more privacy would be provided for the tennis courts if located where they are presently staked, Glen Rogers felt the Council should first decide the priorities between the Public Works section and the Park section of the area and what the City facilities are going to need in the next 10 to 20 years, He estimated approximately 10 to 15 acreS of land will be needed for pUblic works buildings, a fire barn, plus outside storage, which should be set aside first with park development around that, Councilperson vanderLaan noted that the Comprehensive Plan shows a central fire station here with supplementary fire barns located one every 6 square miles within the City, The Clerk also noted that she had informed Midwest Planning that the west area should be designated for public works, the east for parks, Discussion was on the life expectancy of a tennis court, Mr, Erkkila explained that courts are resurfaced about every 10 years but relatively few have been completely ripped out. Discussion was also on the expansion of the parking lot, Mr, Erkkila thought that the court now staked could be moved 100 feet from the existing lot, which could then provide approximately 1/3 more parking space, Another potential alternative for added parking would be to the south toward Crosstown Boulevard, That would easily-more than double the parking space, ~~, Erkkila also stated that the amount of parking spaced needed for people playing tennis is minimal, Discussion was also on moving the courts closer to the power lines and what can and cannot be done within the easement, Mayor Windschitl explained that the City cannot obstruct the ability of the power company to drive in the easement; that no permanent structure can be put there, Mr, Erkkila stated that there are some potential inaccuracies in his drawings relative to the easement on the property and the exact location of the City Hall, Everything is to scale as best as the material was provided to him, He felt that to the east of the parking lot there is room for possibly two double tennis courts, a double and a single court for sure, Judy Strandmark suggested moving this tennis court as far east as possible at this time, Then if there is room andl or monies available, more courts could be added to the west of this one, Mr, Erkkila stated there would be only a minimum cost for the extension, mostly for the wiring, I Discussion was then on whether there is any reason to reject the grant at this point or to wait to finish the court next year, I~, Erkkila stated the grant has been extended into next year but heldidn't know the exact date that was given, However, there has been no formal notice received on this, He also stated he is willing to go along with working a new layout for the recreational facilities, but was reluctant to propose the municipal bUilding complexlwithout additional compensation, The Clerk noted that the bids for the tennis court hav~ been awarded and delaying the project until next spring would increase the cost by at least 10 percent, The grant received barely covered the cost of the court at this time, She estimated it would cost the City about $3,000 City money plus 51,000 to Midwest Planning for redrawing the specifications, Discussion was also on whether or not this tennis c'ourt could be placed in some neighborhood park, !~, Rzeszutek explained that the Northwocds park was considered, Councilperson Orttel felt that one of the problems with placing the court at the City Community Center is that many tennis players do not have vehicles to drive' this far; he felt it would be better to locate the courts where the , population exists, Councilperson McClure expressed concern of deciding to move the tennis court to another location without first seeing plans on paper as to exactly how it will fit into the overall plan, I J1r, Erkkila stated the bid was made on the location east of the parking lot, Should that location change, the electrical bid would increase as the lighting system of tennis courts is relatively sophisticated and he didn't know whether the wiring facilities would handle the load of a double tennis court, Hr, Rzeszutek stated there is additional conduit Special City Council Meeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes Page 3 that goes out under the sprinkler system and out past the sod; the conduit is in there but the wires are not. Discussion was then on Midwest Planning and Research's cost for preparing the bid, I~, Erkkila explained the process involved and stated the $1,202 charge is not the entire charge, but only 3/4 of the total amount, He explained an 8 percent fee was applied before any time was expended on his part for lighting, fencing, and paving plans, He stated the plans can vary tremendously in terms of pavement, lighting, fencing designs, etc, Concerning the legal ramifications if the project is not completed this year, I~, Erkkila believed we can terminate the project at this point and the City is not obligated to any percentage of the contract, They could ask for payment for any work they did after the contract was signed; however, technicallY, they do not have a letter to proceed, Mr, Rzeszutek stated that at this point, due to cost, he would like to see it completed this year and he favored putting the court as far east as possible, Ms, Strandmark also agreed with that point of view, Mr, Erkkila felt that if the courts were put in the most easterly position at this point, he foresaw no other problem other than the electrical; he estimated about $200 for the extra trenching for wire service, He felt the eastern most court would be approximately 160 feet from the parking lot, but he would have to verify the exact location of the power lines, Discussion was that at the present staked location, the courts are close to the power lines already, what can and cannot be done on the ezsement, exactly how big that easement is, the accuracy of the sketches shovm, and the possibility of stadking two double tennis courts in the area if space is a problem, Mr, Erkkila stated to stack the tennis courts would increase the cost of adding a second court by $2,000 because of additional wiring and additional poles, Discussion was again on the distance from the parking lot to the power lines (I~, Rzeszutek stated it is about 200 feet to the wires), and the accuracy of the park plan sketches, Hr, Erkkila stated he had problems with his sources of material in determining exactly where the community hall is located on the property, It was then determined that there would not be rQrnm for two double tennis courts, Discussion was also on the cost of tennis courts in terms of service to the public, ~~, Erkkila explained the public demand for tennis courts has increased tremendously on a state-wide basis, but agreed that the cost is high in terms of cost per hours used. \ MOTIO!! by VanderLaan, Seconded by McClure, that I am satisfied that the site plan has taken into account the future and present park needs of the City Hall site and there are very valid arguments for proceeding with the courts this year, particularly in the financial argument; it is advanta~eous to proceed this year because of increased construction cots, the deadline of procuring bids, the City has invested a great deal of money in drawing the site plans and grant application, and I approve of the site as drawn with the exception of building the eastern most proposed court with this particular grant money; and I move that the CitÝ Council àccept that particular site for the tennis court, , , Discussion: Councilperson Lachinski stated he didn't feel he could agree with everything that was said in the motion, He believed an extra expenditure of $2,000 on lights for expansion of the double court is expensive and the resulting location of a further south double court would be less desirable, His preference would be to locate it northwest of the building, about the distance of the hockey rink, There's room, there's no problem with parking, and it is a short run with electricity, I Councilperson Orttel felt that this site plan did take into account park needs, but did not take into account further municipal building expansion, It was his feeling that those buildings should not be isolated in the back, but should be in the front; and for that reason he doesn't favor the easterly site for the tennis courts, Discussion continued on the exact dimensions of the area between the parking lot and the power lirrs and easement, the exact location of that tennis court in proximinity of the baseball field, and the Special City Council Meeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes Page 4 accuracy of Mr, Erkkila's sketches, I~, Rzeszutek stated that as it is staked out right now, the westerly edge lines up with the edge of the class 5 infield of the ball diamond, Anything that goes to the east would be in the outfield, Mayor Windschitl's concerns were being able to extend the parking lot and getting the courts away from the bleachers and the ball field, He felt he could support the motion if these two concerns were satisfied The Clerk then stated that the power lines easement is 150 feet, Meeting recessed ~t 9:20 p,m, to look at the area presently staked, Meeting reconvened at 9:47 p,m, Mayor Windschitl explained that the way it is staked at present it is about as far east as it can go, It would appear that the easement is on top of the last stake out there now, There is about 30 feet from the power wires to the stake itself, A tennis court could be set further south and closer to the west which would make it a considerable distance to the ballfield, Mayor Windschitl felt that putting the courts there would virtually eliminate the expansion of the parking lot, By not putting the court in this location, the parking lot could be extended even into the easement area, as he felt there would be no objection from the power company for putting a parking lot in the easement, After looking things over, Mr, Rzeszutek felt that putting the tennis court east of the parking lot would virtually eliminate the parking lot expansion, Moving it to the south, tennis players would be putting up with the traffic noise, He felt he would now favor northwest of the City Hall, Councilperson VanderLaan felt she wanted to see something that reflects more accuracy than what we have here; and suggested Mr, Erkkila come back on the 27th with another conceptual drawing and another recommendation for the tennis courts, and to investigate with more accuracy the easement and the exact location of the City Hall, Discussion was on getting the proper information to _gat the exact location, The Clerk suggested looking at the aerial mapping the City has, !~, Erkkila stated he believed this would not change the drawing very much as far as the use arrangements he has proposed, He felt there was enough slack in all of the situations to make everything work, The only problem is the tennis court in combination with preserving future options, That's the one dimention that is really lacking as his dimentions are based on architectual plans for where the building was sited, which didn't tie in with the quarter lines, !1]" Mand suggested looking into putting soccer fields or ball fields under the powr lines that wouldn't interfere with the easement, Councilperson VanderLaan suggested that M~, Erkkila check with the povæ company to address that particular problem to see whether we can do something with that easement, presenting any danger as far as activities that can be proposed, Mr, Erkkila suggested the City Attorney review the easement and advise the City on what can or cannot be done with the easement. Councilperson McClure withdrew the Second to the motion, Councilperson VanderLaan stated that based on the fact that additional observation and discussion has disclosed that there are some measurement inaccuracies in the presented drawing, she will withdraw her motion, Discussion was on whether the designing of the tennis courts a second time would come under the requirementsiof service provided by Hidwest Planning or should the City pay additional compensation for ¡the extra service, Mr, Erkkila felt that adjusting a concept plan for the Community Center park is his responsibility, However, now we're tying into revisions on the construction documents as following along with developing a good concept for the park site, The maximum cost for the work on the tennis court has been arrived at; he felt ~e are now talking about work to be done beyond that, He was very certain there would be added cost by the contractor if the court location were changed, and they will have to be negotiated with, 'as they bid on this exact location, I~, Erkkila explained that the , contractor bid on the location as it is now staked basád on his documents issued through the City and approved by the City Council, and the grant he worked from was issued from the Special City Council Meeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes Page 5 City, The electrical contract, on his recommendation and the Council's approval, WaS' not accepted because he felt that that was not the best price we could get, Hr, Erkkila redrew them at no cost and was about to release them for a new price, but held those up when he learned there might be a location change, Now someone has to. be responsible for coordinating negotiating prices with the contractor, who is going to be interested in extras, He felt the changes to be made are beyond his scope, an extra service that would not normally be provided; that he had acted in good faith, He also stated that the tennis court site was never an issue as far as he is concerned. Discussion was on the channels taken in the City for the approval of the tennis court, as no one on the Council remembered approving the authorization for Midwest Planning to proceed with the grant application nor making a final selection of the tennis court loca- tion, Mr, Rzeszutek stated that the grant application came up so fast, they told the Secretary to apply for it giving the City Hall site as the location. Monies for tennis courts were budgeted for the year 1977 as requested by Jerry Lapham, Park/Recreation Chairman at that time, Mr, R2eszutek felt there is a need in the City for tennis courts and stated in checking what they could buy for S12,ODO, the City could buy one single court without lighting, Discussion continued on the question of additional cost of moving the court location, Mr, Erkkila stated that if it is discovered that the tennis courts are not on City land, he will handle all the changes at no charge, He wasn't told to pick a spot for the tennis court, I~, Erkkila stated he would accept an additional fee of 8 percent of the additional charge submitted by the contracto~ and approved by the Council to cover the negotiations involved to work things out, Also, changing the electrical plans for the third time would amount to an additional S58 cO SlOO, He felt that the change in the location isn't his responsibility and the City should assume that part of it, , Mr, Erkkila explained the process he is going through with the Park Commission discussing what the City is going to grow to, what the likely standards are going to be needed in the City (how many tennis courts, etc,), the nature of the parks, local attitudes gathered from the surv. ey, \ deciding how many parI", are needed and where they should be located; the last step is the drawings, preparing the sketch plan of the park. That is why no sketch plans have been presented until this one to verify the park process, Imyor Windschitl stated that fromla professional nature, when some things go amiss, as the location of the tennis court in this case, it is the obligation of the firm to take the lumps and finish the jOb, He didn't feel there was any justification for the increased fee to llidwest Planning outside 'of an increase in construction, Mr, Erkkila stated he can accept that, I I~, Erkkila stated the contract signed is correct, and he will live up to that, which relates to the overall park plan and will work until the park plan meets the City's requirements and acceptance, He took issue with the specific request to prepare working d~awings for a particular tennis court adjacent to the par~~ng lot as a separate job enti~ely, He typed out the grant application at no charge, provided an estimate for construction; it was signed by the staff here, someone at the City made a sketch as to where the court should go, The documentation was clear, and that was the direction I~, Erkkila received from the City, I Discussion was onlwho made the drawing and who gave the authorization for Midwest Planning to proceed with the plans and specs at 8 percent of the cost of the project, The Clerk then presented the authorization that was signed hy herself; it had not received formal Council action, It was determined that om of the City staff members and a member of ~ddwest Planning actually I determined where the tennis court would be put for the grant application and drew up the drawings, Because of the time problem for applying for the grant, Council approval of the location was never given, Special City Council Meeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes Page 6 Councilperson VanderLaan felt it was not the City's responsibility for any additional charge if the tennis court is left essentially where it is, but that the City would fully accept the additional charge if the Council changes the location to somewhere north of the City Hall, !~, Erkkila felt this was fair, MOTION by VanderLaan, Seconded by HcClure, that the City Council, City of Andover, direct the Clerk to work with Tim Erkkila to secure the proper boundaries of the proposed tennis court and to further direct the Clerk to contact the City Attorney to interpret the allow- able uses within the power line easement and to present the corrected drawings at the City Council meeting scheduled for October 27 at 7:30, After discussion, Councilperson VanderLaan CORRECTED MOTION TO READ: City Council, City of Andover, authorizes the City Clerk to work with Tim Erl<kila, Park Planner, and TKDA to secure the correct boundaries of the City Hall property and to then reassess the correct location of the þroposed tennis court and to further direct the Clerk to contact the City Attorney to interpret the allowable uses within the power line easement, and to present the corrected drmvings at the City Council meeting scheduled for October 27 at 7:30, Second still stands, Discussion: Councilperson VanderLaan stated the motion intended to give the Clerk the responsibility to determine what is necessary as she is one to authorize the expenditure, Councilperson Lachinski expressed concern that they don't have to go a mile away to tie down the boundary, He felt the power company should have the lines tied down very close within their easements, Motion carried unanimously, Discussion was on what IT, ErkY~la needs to do to determine the proper boundaries and the eé1setlcnt line. He felt he should stake the easement for reference later so an additional survey wouldn't be needed a second time, Councilperson VanderLaan stated the motion authorizes the Clerk to secure the necessary information for J~, Erkkila, MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by Orttel, to authorize Hidwest Planning to provide an alternative location for the tennis court to the northwest of the City Hall building and to prepare plans and specifications for the change at a cost not to exceed $100; said location shall be determined after an alternative plan is proposed for the recreation portion of the City Hall, site and the intention is to have it presented to the Council on the October 27 meeting, I Discussion: Councilperson L'1chinski explained ""s asking ¡'T, Erkkila to see if the tennis courts can be put to the north; and if they can, to GO ahead and prepare the specs so the bidding p~ocess is not held up, Mayor ITindschitl stated the question with the easement was putting a soccer field, or somethinG similiar under it; he felt it was obvious that a tennis court couldn't be put farther east than it is staked now, The last motion was to clear up the easement situation and the site location of the City Hall, Council- person VanderLaan stated the motion is immaterial; we don't know the location of the City Hall -- how can we talk about a tennis court location, !~, Erk~ila stated he will correct these Community Center Park Plans to show one placed somewhere near the easement with the correct property .line and one located north someplace, He was certain one double court could be located ',to the east of the parking lot, but sensed the Council would not be happy with it at that location, lie felt to change to a northern site, we could issue the , . contractor a notice to proceed and in the same letter issue them the f~rst change order I and have them giye us a price on it, tfuyor Windschitl hoped the contractor could be contacted and a d:termination of the cost difference made by the 27th so that we can get going on it, Councilpersons Orttel and Lachinsk1 withdrew the Second and the t!otion, I Special City. Council Heeting October 20, 1977 - Minutes Page 7 Apuroval of Cl~i~s MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by Lachinski, to approve Claim Numbers 1472 through 1503 for a total amount of $24,613,24, Motion carried unanimously, MOTION by !1cClure, Seconded by Lachinski, to adjourn, Motion carried unanimously, IIeet1ng adjourned at 11:25 p,m, Respectfully sub~itted, ,~ c,-?<Ç~ Marcella'A, Peach Recording Secretary f., " !f I r' 11 off ¡rþ1