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07/23/1998 - City Council Special Minutes of the Special City Council Meeting June 23, 1998 Page 1 OC224 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL EAGAN, MINNESOTA JUNE 23, 1998 A Special City Council meeting was held on Tuesday, June 23, 1998 in the Community Room of the Municipal Center Building. The meeting began at 5: 18 p.m. and was chaired by Councilmember Sandra Masin. Those present were Council members Awada, Blomquist and Masin; Mayor Tom Egan arrived at 5:50 p.m. Councilmember Wachter was absent from the special meeting. Also present were City Administrator Hedges, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Peterson, Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa, Director of Public Works Colbert, Senior Planner Ridley and Intern to the City Administrator Hertel. A motion to approve the agenda was made by Councilmember Awada and seconded by Council member Blomquist. The agenda passed unanimously. VISITORS TO BE HEARD All visitors opted to wait until other members of their parties were present before making their presentations. YANKEE DOODLE PARK AND RIDE EXPANSION Director of Public Works Colbert introduced this item and introduced Beverly Miller, the Executive Director of the MYTA, Leslie Vermillion of the Dakota County Highway Department and Jim Lasher, the consultant representing the MVT A. Mr. Colbert stated that the MYTA is proposing an expansion of their site to accommodate increased ridership. He further stated that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has transferred their property (the corner triangle of the current lot on the corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road) to the MYT A for this purpose. Mr. Lasher, representing the MYT A, stated that the MYT A is approaching the Eagan City Council to inform them of four considerable changes from their current plan. First, he stated that they will be requesting a reduced setback of 10 feet as opposed to the regular 20 feet and have agreed to the expansion of the right-of-way on the property given to them by MoDOT. Director of Public Works Colbert reminded the Council that this may create problems with snow removal and storage in the winter, both at the Park and Ride site, as well as on the curbs lining Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle. Second, Mr. Lasher further stated that the MYT A is proposing a change in landscaping. According to Mr. Lasher, the site is heavily landscaped and has no visibility from the road. They intend to open up the area by planting trees every 30 feet and in the long run intend to install a 3 or 4 foot hedge as well. Third, with the reduced setback, Mr. Lasher stated that the MYTA proposal was designed in accordance with the future expansion plans of those roads, but their proposal would change the distance between the curb and the parking lot from 44 feet to 39 feet. Fourth, Mr. Lasher informed the Council that the traffic flow will change with the proposed plan, with buses moving into a turnaround and exiting on Pilot Knob Road instead of on Yankee Doodle Road. Mr. Lasher stated that the MYTA would Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 2 oe225 like to start construction by this fall; they will be requesting a site plan amendment, expand their lot, file a revised plat and file a PUD. Council member Masin asked why the MYT A had prepared a plan that was not consistent with the current configurations of the streets at the location. Ms. Vermillion stated that the MYTA was planning for the expected needs of the future. Councilmember Awada clarified that the snow removal issues won't surface until after the expansion of Yankee Doodle. Mr. Lasher also clarified that the snow removal from their parking lot will be stored on the hill near the highway and won't impede the City's snow removal. Councilmember Blomquist asked about the retail expansion mentioned in the presentation and Ms. Miller informed her that they would be pursuing targeted retail for the area, including services for commuters and possibly a day-care facility. Council member Awada expressed support for the day-care facility; she then stated that she did not support the proposed changes in the landscaping and also stated that she had no problem with the setback issues. Council members Blomquist and Masin stated that they have no problems with the plan as proposed. APrC RECOMMENDATION FOR TEEN CENTER PROPOSAL City Administrator Hedges introduced the item, informing the Council that the Advisory Parks Commission was prepared to report on the teen center issue that had previously been directed to the Commission by the City Council. He also introduced Ann Hantelman and Don Chapdelaine from the YMCA. Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Peterson reported that the Advisory Parks Commission met last week and discussed this issue and that a task force including Council member Masin, Michael Vincent and a group of approximately 5 teens have been meeting on this issue as well. She stated that the teens who have been part of this discussion concluded that they are not interested in having a teen center at the YMCA for two reasons: 1) the expense of the yearly fee to participate and 2) the location of the YMCA. According to Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Peterson, for that reason, the Commission recommended to the Council to pursue a teen center development in the mezzanine at the Civic Arena, also stating that the teens have volunteered to raise the money for the construction, estimating that they could raise $50,000. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa informed the Council that the expected costs of developing that area were $95,000, not including maintenance and staffing in future years. Council member Masin asked about the vision for the mezzanine area. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa responded that the area is located near additional bathrooms and was intended for multiple uses, including concessions and registration. He stated that the Mighty Ducks Grant application had been delayed until next spring, if granted, the funds would be used to build a wall in the mezzanine area of the Civic Arena. Council member Masin turned the issue to the representatives from the YMCA to discuss their proposal. Ann Hantelman of the YMCA applauded the Council's attention to this issue and stated that she considered it an important issue for Eagan. She also Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 3 00226 stated that the capital development of a teen center is not the greatest expense and that the real expenses come from maintenance and professional staffing, which the YMCA is prepared to cover with a nominal yearly fee for the center of$25. She further stated that the center does not turn away youth on the basis of ability-to-pay and that their staff is sensitive to those issues and situations. Ms. Hantelman outlined a plan to expand their current facility to specifically accommodate the needs of teens, highlighting the extensive options the YMCA has to offer, including computer access, a gym, a swimming pool, a climbing wall, board games, table games, television and "hanging out" space. The YMCA will be targeting the 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. period during the school year, a time in which juvenile crime has been prevalent. Ms. Hantelman emphasized the benefit of having professional staff in place at the YMCA as resources for teens. Council member Masin asked if the YMCA would be interested in possibly staffing the area of the Civic Arena. Ms. Hantelman responded that they were open to options and working together; she also recognized the need for transportation issues to be resolved about the location of any facility. Council member Masin suggested using DARTS busses in off-peak times. City Administrator Hedges returned the discussion to actions for the Council to pursue and outlined two primary options: 1) the City Council can appropriate funds to the YMCA for their project or 2) the City Council can form its own program, staffed by volunteers as stated before to be located in the mezzanine of the Civic Arena. Mayor Egan stated that the Lions Club has not come forward with any volunteer help and expressed concern about relying on volunteers to staff a facility. The other Council members corroborated his sentiments. Council member Awada expressed serious concern with the proposal for the mezzanine area, stating that this could easily become a problem area without being highly supervised by professionals. She supports the YMCA proposal because it addresses her staffing concerns. She further stated that it is not the City's mission to supervise teens or provide programming for them, expressed concern about the actual ability of teenagers to raise such a substantial amount of money for this project, and stated that if this was a disaster, it would be very hard to take away a facility paid for by the efforts of this group of teenagers and the City would have to support a failing project. Council member Blomquist asked for clarification on what action the Council had already taken on this issue, stating she thought they had already allocated $75,000 to the YMCA. City Administrator Hedges informed her that the Council had directed the issue to the Advisory Parks Commission and had not specified any appropriation of money to the YMCA. Mayor Egan stated that he shared Councilmember Awada's concerns, that he considers the YMCA proposal generous and that the mezzanine proposal doesn't fit into our current purpose as a City government. Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 4 Councilmember Blomquist stated again that she thought they had already appropriated funds to the YMCA and asked them how much they would charge after the program was up and running. Don Chapdelaine of the YMCA stated that the yearly fee would be $25 and that the YMCA scholarship program gives out about $80,000/year in scholarships to those who cannot afford the cost. 00227 Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa stated that he knows this program will be very expensive to run and stated that it would require considerable additional staff and ongoing funding, and cannot be supported given the Parks and Recreation Department's current resources. Council member Blomquist expressed concern about volunteer staffing again and Councilmember Awada restated that this is not directly the City's responsibility. Council member Masin disagreed, citing a facility in New Brighton that was jointly run between Community Education and the City of New Brighton. Mayor Egan mentioned that there is a teen center called the Depot located in Hopkins. He then went on to express concern about liability, survivability and budget impacts of creating a center in the Civic Arena. He said he considers this somewhat foreign to the City's purpose, especially given the presence of the YMCA in the community. Superintendent of Park and Recreation Peterson stated that the Cities of Apple Valley and Burnsville have planned and developed their own teen centers, using bond referendums in Apple Valley to fund the center and in Burnsville, using the vacated maintenance facility. Michael Vincent stated that the YMCA proposal was different from the proposal the teens wanted. He encouraged the Council to take a step back and go slowly with the process. Council member Awada stated that she did not support the mezzanine location, and stated that the City should not be involved in the staffing or programming of a teen center. Councilmember Blomquist expressed discomfort with liability issues with equipment for the Civic Arena, which may be disturbed by unruly teens. Council member Masin said she is open to a variety of sites and thought that the Civic Arena site may be best given.transportation issues. She further emphasized that teen centers are a city priority in other cities and that the City of Eagan is behind its neighboring communities in this respect. Mayor Egan supported the idea of partnering with the YMCA, but not to be the administrators of any programs. Council member Masin reminded the Council that the Commission had recommended the mezzanine site. Council member Awada said that she was bothered that the YMCA proposal was not even addressed in the recommendation of the Commission. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa responded that the Commission had concentrated on what the users of the facilities (the teens) had wanted, and that did not include the YMCA. City Administrator Hedges informed the Council that the plans for this have been delayed already and that the YMCA needs to know if they have support for their plans; he suggested continuing this until the July 7 City Council meeting at which time they could consider the YMCA proposal formally. Councilmember Blomquist expressed her discomfort with this process and said that something like this should be put to the whole community. Mayor Egan stated that he is Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes June 23, ] 998 Page 5 00228 interested in receiving public opinion, that he favored the YMCA option, opposed the Civic Arena location, would like to partner with the YMCA on this issue, and that the costs were higher than he had expected. City Administrator Hedges suggested the Council review the proposal by the YMCA at the July 7 meeting and decide at that time whether or not to proceed and in subsequent meetings the issue of the Civic Arena could be addressed individually. Mr. Vincent said that the teens were a valuable part of the process and should continue to be included as the City considers partnering with the YMCA. The Council decided to proceed according to the recommendation of City Administrator Hedges and consider the proposals separately, with the first proposal to be heard at the regular meeting on July 7, 1998. STORM UPDATE City Administrator Hedges informed the City Council that Dakota County has been declared a federal disaster area according to the Robert 1. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Director of Public Works Colbert informed the Council that they have been receiving requests by citizens to use the wood chips produced as a result of the clean-up efforts. He asked the Council for direction about how to respond. After brief discussion, the Council determined that citizens could come pick up any wood chips they wanted, but that the City does not want to get into issues of delivery. CEDARVALEDEVELOPMENTPROPOSAL Mark Parranto of Delta Developments came before the Council to get feedback about how he should proceed with his development proposal for the Cedarvale area. He stated he will be requesting a zoning change to accommodate a multi-family townhome development. He reported that there have been neighborhood meetings where he has met continued resistance and asked for direction from the Council. Councilmember Awada responded to him saying that the proposal cannot be considered at this time because the Council needs to review its vision for the entire Cedarvale area and revise the Comprehensive Guide Plan accordingly. City Administrator Hedges informed Mr. Parranto that the review process for a master plan study of the greater Cedarvale area should have taken a total of90 days, and that the City is currently about 45 days behind schedule. The Council assured Mr. Parranto that when the time comes for reviewing proposals for the area, his will be considered and that no proposals from anyone will be considered until the Master Plan Study is completed. TREE REFORESTATION Councilmember Awada introduced the issue of widespread tree reforestation in the City of Eagan as an effort to replace the trees damaged by the May 30 Storm. The Council responded positively, and emphasized the valuable opportunities for service, community involvement, business involvement and City leadership. The Council will consider an action plan for this project at their next work session. Eagan Special City Council Meeting Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 6 00229 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Egan moved and Councilmember Awada seconded a motion to adjourn the Special Meeting. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Mayor Egan thanked Council member Masin for chairing the meeting and invited everyone to stay for the Collaborative Meeting at 7:00 p.m. JL1rE 23, 1998 DATE TLH