City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes City Council Workshop Thursday, November 16, 2017 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Clark Arneson; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Works Director Jon Haukaas; Interim Police Chief/Safety Services Manager Dan Szykulski; Finance Director Joe Huss; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; City Engineer Jean Keely; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 6 - Councilmember Clark, Councilmember King, Councilmember Garvais, Councilmember Jeppson, Mayor Ryan, and Councilmember Swanson Absent: 1 - Councilmember Hovland 3 New Business 3-2 UPDATE TO THE CITY OF BLAINE SNOW AND ICE CONTROL POLICY Attachments: 3.06 Snow and Ice Control Policy - Nov 2017 Attachment 1 - Snow Plow and Salting Routes 2017 Attachment 2 - Anti Icing Routes 2017 Attachment 3 - Cul-De-Sac Plowing 2017 Attachment 4 - Sidewalks and Trails 2017 Public Works Director Haukaas stated the City’s original Snow and Ice Policy was last updated by City Council adoption of Resolution No. 09-07 in January 2009. Updating the policy is warranted due to the increase in mileage of streets, sidewalks, trails and numbers of cul-de-sacs. Additionally, updating the policy is necessary to reflect changes in operational routes, equipment, and technology City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes November 16, 2017 usage. He explained this update will correct the references in City Code pertaining to winter parking restrictions. Staff provided further comment on the policy and requested feedback from the Council. Councilmember Jeppson questioned if people could be parking overnight in the Club West neighborhood. Public Works Director Haukaas explained a citation could be written if the vehicles were parked on the street for over 48 hours. Council consensus was to support the Snow and Ice Control Policy as presented. Discussed 3-1 RADISSON ROAD AND 116TH AVENUE/ARNOLD PALMER DRIVE Attachments: Traffic Counts - 116th Ave and Aspen Lake Dr 2017 Traffic Incidents_hotspots Radisson_116th_Rev11072017 Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres stated the City Council has worked with the neighborhoods east of Radisson Road and 116th Avenue on traffic concerns since 2013. Several Council workshops were held to discuss neighborhood concerns, two neighborhood surveys were sent out, and a Special Council meeting was held. The City also worked with the Anoka County Highway Department on design alternatives for this intersection. He commented on a survey that was completed by the City in 2014 and the accident areas of concern were reviewed in further detail with the Council. Councilmember Clark thanked staff for providing the Council with the accident data for this intersection. He noted this information was previously unavailable. He questioned how much data would have to be collected in order for the City to take action. Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres explained there was no set amount of data that had to be collected, but rather action would be based on the severity of the accidents. Mayor Ryan discussed the potential of closing the medians and how this would impact traffic flow. He commented that much of the traffic concerns for this area originally came from construction traffic. Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres stated construction traffic in this area has slowed down. Councilmember Clark commented he did not like having the ability to take a left onto Radisson Road from 116th Avenue as he believed this was a dangerous movement within the intersection. He asked if staff had traffic counts for the intersection of 116th Avenue and Radisson Road. City Engineer Keely stated the last traffic counts from the County were 18,900 vehicles per day on Radisson Road City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes November 16, 2017 north of 109th Avenue and 10,500 vehicles per day north of Lakes Parkway. This is not excessive for this arterial roadway. She provided further comment on the traffic counts for Lakes Parkway. Mayor Ryan expressed concern with the number of trucks and trailers stopped in the median blocking traffic. Councilmember Clark questioned what the threshold would be for higher than normal accidents for this area. City Engineer Keely reported the County would continue to monitor this area and she would be in contact with them. Council consensus was to direct staff to continue to monitor this area and to review this item again at a future worksession meeting. Discussed 3-3 2018 PROPOSED BUDGETS - WATER UTILITY FUND AND SANITARY SEWER UTILITY FUND Finance Director Huss updated the Council on the progress of the Proposed Utility Budgets in preparation for formal adoption of the 2018 budget at an upcoming Council meeting. He reviewed the water and sanitary sewer budgets in detail with the Council, commenting on proposed rate increases for the future and requested direction on how to proceed. Councilmember Jeppson requested further information regarding the City’s well system. Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Therres provided the Council with additional information on the City’s wells and water towers. He explained the City should not abandon any of its wells as it is important to have redundancy in the system. Councilmember King requested staff inform the public of the water and sewer rates in an upcoming newsletter. Council consensus was to direct staff to bring this item forward for approval as proposed and for staff to communicate the proposed budgets in an upcoming newsletter. Discussed ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 3