07/31/1986 - City Council Special
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MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL
EAGAN, MINNESOTA
JULY 31, 1986
A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Thursday, July 31,
1986 at 6:30 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center. Present were Mayor Blomquist
and Councilmembers Smith, Wachter and Ellison. Councilmember Egan was
excused. Also present were City Administrator Tom Hedges, City Consulting
Planner John Voss, City Clerk Eugene VanOverbeke, Administrative Intern Cheryl
Johannes and City Attorney Paul Hauge.
CIP UPDATE
City Administrator Tom Hedges gave a brief update regarding the proposed
Capital Improvement Program which was originally presented at the July 10,
1986 workshop session. Issues raised included the referendum during the next
five years, combining parks and fire, and removal of the land purchase for
fire station from the CIP, removal of the pistol range and other small
equipment from the CIP and consolidate and reduce the amount of reliance on
equipment certificates into one issue. The need to acquire a new fire station
site was important to the Councilmembers, but staffing of the volunteer fire
department presented a question. The possibility of joint park and fire sites
was suggested by Mayor Blomquist for efficiency purposes.
Gene VanOverbeke, the City Clerk/Finance Director, was present and
indicated he had contacted nine cities and only four had said they used CIP's,
three used equipment certificates, others were using revolving funds. The
suggestion was made to set aside money to utilize the money on a priority
basis with another recommendation, including one department, owning all
equipment and renting to the remaining departments.
Another proposal was to dedicate a certain number of mills each year to
equipment and to buy new or replacement equipment from that fund.
1987 BUDGET MEETING SCHEDULE
The Mayor scheduled a special meeting of the City Council for August 26,
1986 at 7:00 p.m. regarding budget consideration.
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Special Council Minutes
July 31, 1986
24-HOUR EMERGENCY CARE FACILITY
Mayor Blomquist and Mr. Hedges met with a representative of Fairview
Ridges Hospital who indicated that they are proposing a 30,000 to 45,000
square foot 24-hour medical emergency care facility in the Town Centre 70
Addition, including a medical facility. There was discussion concerning
ambulance service which may become an issue in the near future.
DEVELOPERS TASK FORCE UPDATE
Mr. Hedges then reviewed with the City Council the recent deliberations of
the Developers Task Force, including lot sizes. There was discussion
concerning the potential of setting aside certain areas for higher test
housing. Zoning isn't necessarily the answer, but offering incentives to
developers and builders appeared to be more logical. Suggestions included
lessening the amount of the escrow agreement, promoting a housing tour,
identifying hard to build areas and consideration for reducing the width of
streets and authorizing more cul-de-sacs.
Consulting Planner John Voss stated that the larger up-front costs are
within the capacity of larger developer/builders, but smaller builders
generally in the large-lot subdivisions develop over a longer period of time.
In addition, it was suggested that the assessment period could be extended
beyond the current 5 year term for assessments within new developments.
One other proposal was to prepare an RFP and seek proposals from custom
builders to develop lots within the city.
COMMERCIAL USE DESIGNATION
Tom Hedges reviewed a letter from the City Attorney, Paul Hauge, and noted
that a meeting had been held with a proposed commercial developer in the City.
There were concerns about whether additional commercial would logically fit
within the Comprehensive Plan and it was determined that such proposals will
be looked at only in view of the existing Comprehensive Plan.
CHURCH SITE - ZONING
There were also concerns about the location of proposed church sites
within the City, noting that certain church groups have bought lots without
rezoning prior to their acquisition. In addition, safety and traffic issues
are relevant, particularly in the neighborhood areas, and it was proposed that
a letter be sent by the Administrator to the churches who have been known to
have purchased property and developers expressing the City Council's concerns.
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Special Council Minutes
July 31, 1986
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
PHH
Cit Clerk
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