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04/07/1998 - City Council Special MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL EAGAN, MINNESOTA 00112 APRIL 7, 1998 A regular meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Tuesday, April 7, 1998 at 5:00 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center Community Room. Present were Mayor Egan and Councilmembers Awada, Blomquist, Masin and Wachter. Also present were Parks Superintendent Olson, Street Superintendent Erhart, Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa, Director of Finance VanOverbeke, Director of Public Works Colbert and City Administrator Hedges. VISITORS TO BE HEARD Mayor Egan asked if there were any visitors to be heard, acknowledging that no one was present for this item. DISCUSSED PRESENT A TION FOR WINTER TRAIL MAINTENANCE OPERA TIONS/PUBLIC HEARING City Administrator Hedges stated that at the direction of the City Council, staff was directed to review and summarize ordinances from other communities that have established winter trail maintenance operations and provide some additional analysis on the proposals the City Council would like presented at the winter trail informational meeting. Director of Public Works Colbert provided background on information that was compiled to prepare the public presentation options. He stated that trail segments were categorized into four basic areas including; 1.) major arterial roads, 2.) community collectors, 3.) neighborhood collector streets, and 4.) local streets. Director of Public Works Colbert then presented two plan options for the four functional classifications which were differentiated as the base plan and alternate plan. He stated that the base plan would provide for the winter trail maintenance of approximately 78 miles, while the alternate plan is designed to maintain approximately 45 miles of trails. Director of Public Works Colbert stated that the base plan provides, in most cases, trail maintenance on both sides of arterial and collector roads, while the alternate plan primarily limits the winter maintenance of trails to one side. Neither plan provided for maintenance of recreational or local residential trails and sidewalks. Director of Public Works Colbert also provided a private plowing map that identifies those properties that have direct public street access and as a result would be directly responsible for plowing trails adjacent to their property. He presented another map that shows a trail and sidewalk plowing to residential, businesses and other areas that are maintained for the work force or persons walking to a business establishment. Director of Public Works Colbert reviewed six (6) basic issues the City Council will need to address before adopting a formal program. He stated that those issues are described as follows: 1.) Scope which is how many miles of trails should be maintained. 2.) Time frame for service delivery or how quickly should the City remove the snow on trails. 3.) Frequency or what accumulation of snow fall will determine snow removal operations. 00113 Page 2/Special City Council Minutes April 7, 1998 Director of Public Works Colbert further stated that regarding frequency, the present policy states a minimum of a two inch accumulation will require snow removal operations, and when the unfortunate death that occurred to a gentleman in a wheelchair on Lexington A venue occurred, the ~mount of snow on the trail adjacent to Lexington A venue was measured at one inch. 4.) Who should remove the snow including adjacent property owners, city resources or contractual services. 5.) Funding, how should the City pay for the winter trail maintenance program. Colbert also presented information estimating the cost based on one inch versus two inches of snowfall for each plan and the related tax impact to various market value residential properties. Director of Public W <?rks Colbert also reviewed a sidewalk and trail survey that was conducted by staff for sixteen (16) suburban communities and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul about their policies regarding winter trail maintenance. He made reference to the trail survey on which City Councilmembers expressed their appreciation for the study and information. City Councilmember Masin asked if there are ADA regulations that require the City to provide winter trail maintenance and, further, would support a trailway maintenance program that makes the trails safe. City Councilmember Blomquist stated that winter trail maintenance is a hot topic and the City Council needs to consider expanding the winter trail maintenance program. She further raised a question regarding the funding specifically about how the staff calculated the per household cost for winter trail maintenance. Director of Public Works Colbert stated that the property tax funding chart is based on property valuation and the impact to each single family residential property is dependent upon their taxable market value similar to the amount of city taxes paid. City Councilmember Awada stated that she is supportive of the alternate plan stating that it is the least expensive and yet provides winter maintenance for forty-five (45) miles of trails. Director of Public Works Colbert stated that staff is looking for direction on the program the City Council would like presented to the public at the informational meeting. City Councilmembers expressed support for City Councilmember Awada's recommendation to present and begin the program with the forty-five (45) mile alternative. City Councilmember Wachter stated that the correspondence he has been receiving regarding the trailway maintenance seems to vary on whether residents should plow the trails or whether they should be performed by the City at an expense to the entire community through property tax. He further stated that the maps presented by the Director of Public Works are helpful and should be used for the presentation. City Councilmember Wachter also stated that it might be preferable to plow trails on the north side of county roads that run east/west due to the additional sunlight those trailways receive. City Councilmember Blomquist stated that even though she agrees with City Councilmembers in principal, it is often times difficult to anticipate the use according to the criteria for the trail maintenance program. Mayor Egan stated that the City could use both criteria if no one lives on the southside, the trail is then maintained on the north and both the criteria and additional 00114 Page 3/Special City Council Minutes April 7, 1998 sunlight have been satisfied. Mayor Egan further stated that it is important to listen to the people, which is an important reason for the public informational meeting. The City Councilmember A wada stated that the desired outcome for the neighborhood meeting is based on four (4) points including; I.) is forty-five (45) miles enough trails to be maintained during winter months, 2.) who should clean trails for private property, 3.) should snow accumulation be based on a one inch or two inch snowfall, and 4.) should the ordinance require winter snow removal by residents, some combination of residents and City or total removal by the City. Superintendent of Parks Olson stated that the City has a video, that is approximately ten (10) minutes in length, that could be included at the informational hearing. Mayor Egan stated that whatever policy is adopted by the City Council it is imperative that the City constantly re-evaluate the effectiveness of the snow removal program to properly allocate both financial and personnel resources for the program. City Councilmember Wachter stated that there could be some impact on shrubs once the snow and ice is removed from the trails. He stated that due to the salt that is placed on city and county roads and plowed to boulevards, it is quite likely that salt from the roadway could impact shrubs and trees. Mayor Egan asked for consensus from the City Council as to how the neighborhood meetings should be approached and, after a brief discussion, it was agreed that one community meeting would be held on a Monday or Thursday in early May and then placed on a regular City Council meeting as an action item. Director of Public Works Colbert provided clarification to the discussion stating that all costs presented for the winter trail maintenance program are based on the City utilizing contractual services for the actual maintenance of trails. Mayor Egan thanked the staff for their research and presentation. PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE Director of Public Works Colbert stated that due to the amount of precipitation, Nichols Road by the Minnesota River will be closed due to annual spring flooding. He further stated that Cliff Road by Schultz Beach is within twelve inches of water going over the road and, if this should occur, Wilderness Run Road will be designated as a detour/alternate route until the flooding subsides. Director of Public Works Colbert also stated that high water levels on east Thomas Lake are causing concerns for several families who reside adjacent to the lake, and stated that there is a project being initiated by his department to increase the outlet capacity of west Thomas Lake to provide some relief to those properties. He further stated that the storm water master plan will also be updated and will address some of these concerns. 00115 Page 4/Special City Council Minutes April 7, 1998 DAKOTA ELECTRIC EMERGENCY GENERATOR City Administrator Hedges stated that the Director of Parks and Recreation is present and could answer any questions regarding a proposal to acquire and locate a generator for the Municipal Center campus. City Councilmember Wachter asked about the location on the Municipal Center campus and where the generator is being proposed. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa discussed the location and provided information regarding the payback in electrical rates, which is nine (9) years, if the generator is acquired. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa introduced Doug Larson, a staff person from Dakota Electric Association, who is available to answer any questions. Mayor Egan stated that this item will appear on the regular City Council agenda later that evening for further discussion as an action item. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Egan adjourned the Special City Council meeting into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing labor negotiations and litigation. April 7, 1998 Date TLH