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10/24/2000 - City Council Special Special City Council Minutes October 24, 2000 Page 1 of 1 00306 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL EAGAN, MINNESOTA OCTOBER 24, 2000 A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Tue::JY, October 24, 2000, at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Eagan Municipal Center Building. Present were Mayor Awada and Councilmembers Blomquist, Carlson, Bakken and Masin. Also present were City Administrator Hedges, Assistant City Administrator Verbrugge, Senior Planner Ridley and Administrative Specialist Hertel. ROLL CALL & AGENDA ADOPTION Councilmember Blomquist moved, Councilmember Carlson seconded a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of Administrator's Update to Other Business. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 REVIEW THE NEW MINOR SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS City Administrator Hedges gave an overview. Councilmember Bakken suggested that Council and staff look to the past examples because the times that are most noteworthy are the ones when proposals have been turned down. He stated that the City should find a way to codify the standards and aim for lot size consistency in neighborhoods. Councilmember Carlson stated that the City should get rid of the ordinance and all preliminary subdivisions should go through the full preliminary and final subdivision process. She expressed concern about property owners that divide their property, sell and leave Eagan; she further stated that the neighborhoods and the City would benefit from the full public notification process. Councilmember Masin asked if it was true that the area property owners were not noticed regarding the subdivision proposals that had come before the Council. Senior Planner Ridley stated that, per the ordinance, all property owners contiguous to the property require notice. Councilmember Masin asked if there had been any surveys of the subdivision applicants after the process was complete. Senior Planner Ridley responded that the City conducts quarterly surveys of all development projects completed during the previous quarter in the City. Councilmember Masin stated that she had received a complaint that the subdivision process took too much time. Mayor A wada asked that the Council provide direction to Community Development and the City Attorney so they would be able to prepare a draft with the Council's changes. Councilmember Bakken stated that the City should proceed with adopting an ordinance that sets standards for neighborhood consistency, but if it is not legal or feasible to do so, the ordinance should be eliminated. Councilmember Carlson asked that the staff and City Attorney write a set of standards that regulates setbacks and other related subdivision components. Senior Planner Ridley stated that the City can Special City Council Minutes October 24, 2000 Page 2 of2 likely write the ordinance in a way that requires use of average neighborhood lot sizes as the standard. 00307 REVIEW MVT A PILOT KNOBIY ANKEE DOODLE ROAD TRANSIT SITE FINAL DEVELOPMENT City Administrator Hedges gave an overview. Senior Planner Ridley reviewed the picture representation of the proposed development and explained that the City could retain control of the easement for future development for future streetscaping purposes. Mayor A wada stated that her primary concern was having the ability to do streetscaping according to a yet undefined streetscaping plan, but wanted to retain the flexibility to do so in the future. Councilmember Carlson expressed concern about who would pay for the development of that easement since it had been MVT A's responsibility according to the development agreement. Councilmember Masin asked if the City would have to pay for the clock on the structure. Senior Planner Ridley stated that the MVT A or the developer would pay for the clock. Councilmember Masin stated that the intersection should have benches and a community space for gathering. Councilmember Carlson stated that the intersection is busy and loud and not conducive to public gatherings. She restated her concern about who would pay for the streetscaping. Councilmember Blomquist stated that the clock tower on top ofthe building was unique. She commented that the MVT A may not assume responsibility for maintenance of the easement if they do not develop it as part ofthe agreement. Mayor Awada stated that the Council can require maintenance as part of the development agreement. Councilmember Carlson stated that the Council should hold the MVT A responsible for maintenance of the easement. Councilmember Blomquist echoed her comments. Councilmember Masin informed the Council that they comprised 1/6th of the MVTA and should consider the development as a partnership. Councilmember Bakken cautioned that the development would not look like the picture after the addition of signage and traffic to the busy intersection. Councilmember Masin suggested the MVT A escrow the amount it would have spent developing the easement to the City. Mayor A wada moved, Councilmember Bakken seconded a motion to require MVTA maintenance of the easement, a clock feature with four faces on the grid above the proposed structure, and the MVT A to escrow the amount to spend on the easement development to the City for future use. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 DIRECTION RE: CONSULTANT RFP PROCESS City Administrator Hedges gave an overview. He stated that the engineering RFP is overdue, but noted the Council's decision to delay the RFP in 1998 due to the workload. Councilmember Blomquist stated that the Council needs a "report card" to ensure that the City is getting the best value for its' citizens' dollars. She commented that Special City Council Minutes October 24, 2000 Page 3 of3 a review of the consultants should be done every three years and stated that it was inexcusable for the Council in 1998 to have ignored engineering. Councilmember Masin stated that there is no accountability at the City and there is no documentation of the RFP process. She stated that in her eight years on the Council, she had only had one opportunity to review the City Administrator, one to review the City Attorney and one to review the engineering consultants. Mayor A wada stated that except for engineering, which was delayed by the Council, the other RFPs are on schedule. Councilmember . Carlson stated that the Council should move forward with the engineering RFP immediately and should expand the process to include communications/public relations. Councilmember Masin stated that no matter what, when the timeline for reviewing consultants comes due, the staff should proceed with the RFP process. Mayor Awada reiterated that the Council decided to delay the engineering RFP in 1998 and that the staff had followed the Council's explicit direction. 00308 Councilmember Blomquist suggested scheduling a consultant review in the non- election years to give new Councilmembers the chance to spend a year in office before making decisions regarding consultants. Councilmember Bakken suggested that the RFP process be cascaded so the workload is manageable every two years, but emphasized the importance of having a set schedule. Mr. Ross Johnson expressed concern that there is no set schedule for the RFP and review processes and stated that citizens should be able to participate in the evaluation process. Mayor Awada stated that the consultants are hired on a project basis and there is some flexibility about which firms the staff may go with for a given project. She likened it to a preferred vendor list instead of a strict consultant system. City Administrator Hedges clarified that a review and a new RFP were two separate items and suggested establishing schedules for each. He stated that the Council has not done reviews of consultants in the past, but the staff will coordinate such a review if it is the pleasure of the Council. Councilmember Bakken suggested the Council proceed with the RFP process on a two year basis beginning in 2001 with Engineering, Legal, and CommunicationslPublic Relations, followed in 2003 by Fiscal and Auditing services and in 2005 with Banking and Insurance. City Administrator Hedges asked the Council if they wanted to set a review schedule as well. Councilmember Carlson stated that the review of the consultants should be done by the staff. Councilmember Masin stated that she wanted the engineering RFP to be top priority. Councilmember Bakken moved, Councilmember Carlson seconded a motion to schedule the RFP process with engineering, legal and communications/public relations to be completed in 2001, fiscal and auditing services to be completed in 2003 and banking and insurance to be completed in 2005. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 Special City Council Minutes October 24, 2000 Page 4 of 4 00309 DIRECTION RE: CITY ADMINISTRATOR REVIEW PROCESS Councilmember Carlson asked for the information generated in the retreat settings with the organizational consultant. Councilmember Masin stated that this review should happen this year and that the review should be contracted to an outside firm. Mayor Awada moved, Councilmember Carlson seconded a motion to refer this matter to the personnel committee. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 OTHER BUSINESS CITY ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE City Administrator Hedges reviewed the application for the Red Robin's license to use amusement devices. Mayor Awada moved, Councilmember Bakken seconded a motion to approve the license. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 City Administrator Hedges reviewed the meeting schedule for October, November and December and gave a brief update on the recent fire and explosion. ADJOURNMENT The City Council adjourned at 6: 17 p.m. OCTOBER 24, 2000 Date If you need these minutes in an alternative fonn such as large print, Braille, audio tapes, etc., please contact the City of Eagan, 3830 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan, MN 55122, 651-681-4600, (TDD phone: 651-454-8535). 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