City Council Workshop

10801 Town Square Dr. City of Blaine Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final City Council Workshop *While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Thursday, September 12, 2013 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A Meeting Number 13-44 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: Bob Therres, Acting City Manager/Public Services Manager; Thomas Sweeney, City Attorney; Bryan Schafer, Planning Director; Joe Huss, Finance Director; Ward Brown, Financial Analyst; Chris Olson, Police Chief/Safety Services Manager; Jean Keely, City Engineer; Roark Haver, Communications Technician; Jane Cross, City Clerk; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 4 - Councilmember Kolb, Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, and Councilmember Swanson Absent: 3 - Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Bourke, and Councilmember Herbst 1 Bill Goff, MnDOT Metro Districts, Brad Larson, MN Pass, and Bob Benke, Project Coordinator for 35W Corridor. Mr. Goff gave an overview of the project, which started in 2009 and involves twelve cities and four counties. He gave an overview of the project’s four goals and the proposed corridor four viable alternatives. He gave an overview of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) evaluation and the projected 2030 BRT ridership. He gave an overview of MnDOT’s five-point vision for a managed lane. He gave an overview of six points of the implementation plan and a summary of the total corridor expenditure as of 2011. Councilmember Swanson commented MnDOT did look at building new lanes. Councilmember Kolb arrived at 6:39 p.m. City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final September 12, 2013 Mr. Benke stated the next steps will be Phase I, Hwy 36 to Hwy 10. He noted that this phase is $120,000,000 short in funding. He stated the MnDOT Commissioner will work on raising funds with the legislature. He commented the Federal gas tax has not been raised since 1980. He stated “earmarks” may be brought back. He noted the project is well received by Met Council. He stated an engineering document would take approximately 18 months in order to apply for Federal funding. Mayor Ryan stated the cities to the north are not in favor of managed lanes. Councilmember Hovland asked what Blaine can do to help the project (i.e., lobby legislators). Mr. Benke replied communicating with legislators and the governor. He stated a meeting will be held with all the northern cities invited to build support. Councilmember Swanson stated the project needs funding from the Federal government like the project on 35W south received. He noted that 610 should be completed within 5 years. 2 WS 13-52 PROPOSED RECONSTRUCTION OF 125TH AVENUE FROM RADISSON ROAD THRU HARPERS STREET INTERSECTION Sponsors: Keely Attachments: 125th Avenue Improvements-Location Map.pdf Acting City Manager/Public Services Manager Therres stated staff met with Anoka County Highway Department to discuss the City’s proposed 125th Avenue and Harpers Street intersection improvement project. He stated in the meeting the County shared their improvement project plans for 125th Avenue from Radisson Road to Harpers Street in 2016. He stated the discussions led to the County moving their project timeline forward to 2015 if the City would take the lead on preliminary engineering and surveying. He noted combining the projects into one in 2015 would be more efficient and cost effective. Councilmember Swanson asked if the County has the funding for the project. Acting City Manager/Public Services Manager Therres replied a joint powers agreement would be written. Councilmember Kolb asked how the residents would be impacted by the project being pushed out. Acting City Manager/Public Services Manager Therres replied the signal intersection would not be done. He stated the parking work would be done as planned. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final September 12, 2013 Councilmember Kolb suggested sending letters to the residents to explain the project delay in detail. City Engineer Keely stated the County is going to use State Aid funding and the project is in their capital improvement plan. She noted that the project would be a 2014/2015 project due to right-of-way issues. Discussed 3 WS 13-53 PROPOSED 2014 PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Sponsors: Keely Attachments: 2014 pmp location map.pdf City Engineer Keely stated the Engineering Department has begun the selection of streets for the 2014 Pavement Management Program. She stated streets are selected based on condition ratings. She gave an overview of the program’s plan, which consists of four roads that are Municipal State Aid Streets (MSAS), various roads for bituminous overlays and 14 roads for partial reconstructions. Councilmember Kolb stated she is favor of paving Jefferson. She asked if turn lanes will be added. Councilmember Swanson asked when 87th and Hastings would be reconstructed. City Engineer Keely stated the Council will receive more detail on the Pavement Management Program to review at the October 10, 2013, Workshop Meeting. Councilmember Hovland asked about fixing the roads near the airport. Acting City Manager/Public Services Manager Therres replied Xylite was repaved, but no further work is planned. He noted the airport does not plan to expand in the near future. Councilmember Swanson noted the airport did pay half the cost for Xylite. Councilmember Hovland asked about street markings on Oak Park Boulevard near the Library. Councilmember Swanson stated he has concerns about not putting the asphalt over the curbing around Aurelia Park. Discussed 4 WS 13-54 PROPOSED RECONSTRUCTION OF FLOWERFIELD City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final September 12, 2013 ROAD AND RESTWOOD ROAD WITH THE CITY OF LEXINGTON Sponsors: Keely Attachments: Location Map.pdf City Engineer Keely stated the City of Lexington has expressed a desire to do a joint project with the City of Blaine to reconstruct Flowerfield Road from Naples Street to Lexington Avenue and Restwood Road from Naples Street to Lake Drive in 2014 or 2015. She stated Flowerfield should be broken into two projects. She proposes going ahead with the Flowerfield work east of Lake Drive in 2014 and the rest in 2015. Councilmember Swanson commented he has received complaints about Flowerfield Road. Mayor Ryan commented Lexington plans to split the project costs - City will cover 70% and assess 30%. Councilmember Hovland asked about the City of Lexington moving utilities from a Blaine resident’s yard on Flowerfield. He noted that the residents on Flowerfield are sensitive to the City doing work in the area. Discussed 5 WS 13-55 2014 PROPOSED SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS BUDGET Sponsors: Huss Attachments: 2014 Proposed Charitable Gambling Fund Budget Finance Director Huss gave an overview of the preliminary budgets for the Cable Television Fund and the Charitable Gambling Fund. He stated the funding source for the Cable Television Fund is comprised from franchise fees and subscribers’ fees. He stated the net cable franchise fees are projected to increase for 2014. He noted the proposed capital/equipment upgrade cost for 2014 is estimated to be higher due to aging equipment replacements/upgrades. Councilmember Hovland asked if the reserve balance continues to grow and not be used. Councilmember Swanson replied renewal of the franchise will be expensive and the reserve fund will have to cover the cost. Councilmember Swanson noted the building will be paid off in 2017 and one-year advance payment is kept in the reserve fund. Finance Director Huss stated the funding source for the Charitable Gambling Fund is comprised from four active organizations’ proceeds of 10% of their City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final September 12, 2013 net profits from charitable gambling operations. He noted the proposed charitable contributions for 2014 is projected to be lower than 2013. Councilmember Hovland would like a workshop on the City’s 50th anniversary event. Mayor Ryan stated the committee is working on a letter. He noted the celebration would be a year-long celebration. Council had discussion on taking an active role on planning the 50th anniversary. Councilmembers Hovland and Kolb are interested in participating in the planning. Council had discussion on the celebration committee. Finance Director Huss proposed increasing funds to the Alexandra House and funding the Historical Society. He asked about funding Beyond the Yellow Ribbon for 2014. Councilmember Kolb suggested funding a small amount to the Creating Communities organization. She noted the City used to support them in the past. Councilmember Swanson suggested looking into using the tourism funds and grants for funding the 50th anniversary celebration. Discussed Mayor Ryan requested the Police Department and City Engineer to give an update on the Aspen Lake Road issue to the October 10, 2013, Workshop. City Engineer Keely replied a letter was mailed on August 8, 2013, to the active builders in The Lakes requesting all vehicles use the parkways to access construction sites. Councilmember Kolb asked if there are any traffic counts and noise issues around the new Wal-Mart. She noted she is not aware of any issues. Councilmember Swanson asked for a status on the striping on the roundabout. City Engineer Keely replied people are driving over the striping. Council discussion on pedestrians crossing in a roundabout. ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 8:33 p.m. City of Blaine Page 5