City Council Workshop

WORKSHOP MINUTES OAKDALE CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 27, 2024 The City Council held a workshop on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at Oakdale City Hall, 1584 Hadley Avenue North, Oakdale, Minnesota. The meeting began at 5:03 PM. Present: Mayor Kevin Zabel Council Members: Noah Her Jake Ingebrigtson Andy Morcomb Susan Willenbring City Staff Members: Christina Volkers, City Administrator Sara Ludwig, City Clerk Jesse Farrell, City Engineer Andy Gitzlaff, Community Development Director Luke McClanahan, City Planner Nick Newton, Police Chief Lori Pulkrabek, Communications Manager Jim Romanik, Public Works Manager Kyle Stasica, Finance Director Kevin Wold, Fire Chief Others Present: Stan Karwoski, Washington County Commissioner Kim Lindquist, Director of Planning, WSB Kevin Peterson, Washington County Design Engineer Wayne Sandberg, Washington County Engineer/Public Works Director OAKDALE MARKETPLACE AND OAKDALE STATION PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS STUDY City Planner Luke McClanahan provided a brief introduction of the agenda item. In response to Mayor Zabel’s question about deviations from the original mid-2000s Planned Unit Development (PUD) aside from The Harlan development in 2022, Mr. McClanahan recalled three other deviations. Mr. McClanahan reviewed the drive time analysis and restaurant access comparison, noting that the five-minute drive radius indicates the area currently functions as a neighborhood commercial site. Kim Lindquist, Director of Planning for WSB, reviewed the two concept site layouts in great detail, providing the reasoning for the placement of the potential types of developments. WORKSHOP MINUTES FEBRUARY 27, 2024 PAGE TWO In regards to Concept Site Layout 2, Ms. Lindquist noted the community’s and City’s desire for restaurants in that area, however, the real estate professionals noted hesitation due to the start up costs and failure rates of these types of businesses. Ms. Lindquist highlighted a few takeaways including the fact that increased commercial development attracts more commercial development, the need for flexibility from the City regarding types of developments within the PUD, and the need for additional rooftops/higher population density to drive more retail development. In response to Mayor Zabel’s question about discussions with the land owner of Myron’s Service Center, Mr. McClanahan noted that redevelopment is in their future plans, but the specifics are unknown. In response to Mayor Zabel’s question about discussions with Target related to redevelopment opportunities due to a possible reduction in their parking lot needs, Ms. Lindquist said her perception is that Target would not be interested in reducing parking capacity. Community Development Director Andy Gitzlaff added that there would be no possibility for a pad site on the north side of the PUD as it would reduce visibility for Target from 34th St N. Council Member Ingebrigtson stated that this PUD is not a great site for restaurants. Council Member Morcomb expressed his hesitancy to support more residential developments in this area due to the comments from the community and the Planning Commission. Mayor Zabel noted that there is a proposed mix of residential and commercial developments because there are not enough unique commercial uses to fill the PUD. He expressed support for a majority of residential uses with supplemental commercial developments throughout. Council Members Ingebrigtson and Willenbring agreed. Mayor Zabel added that the PUD could provide broad guidance for mixed use. Council Member Her supported identifying a use preference within the PUD while leaving the option open for other types of developments. Council Member Morcomb asked if a broader PUD would hinder developers. Ms. Lindquist stated that the City should set clear expectations for the PUD. In reference to the southwest portion of the Oakdale Station PUD that requires environmental cleanup, City Administrator Chris Volkers noted that some cities use their Economic Development Authority (EDA) to get a site ready for development. She added that the Oakdale EDA could take on the environmental cleanup of the Raleigh Creek portion of the site to prepare it for development. Mr. Gitzlaff said that Washington County has grant money available to do a Phase 1 and Phase 2 site cleanup of contaminated sites in Oakdale. Mayor Zabel stated that the Oakdale Marketplace PUD discussion will have to carry over to the following workshop meeting. WORKSHOP MINUTES FEBRUARY 27, 2024 PAGE THREE CITY OF OAKDALE/WASHINGTON COUNTY PARTNERSHIP Washington County Commissioner Stan Karwoski stated that the goal of this discussion is to get everyone on the same page about the City/County partnership. Washington County Design Engineer Kevin Peterson introduced Commissioner Karwoski and Washington County Engineer/Public Works Director Wayne Sandberg. Mr. Peterson highlighted the recent partnership success between the City and the County related to transportation, community development, public safety, water quality, and other areas. The County cost participation policy benefits and timeline were reviewed. The policy allows for municipal consent authority over County projects within their community, but also protects the County from having to adhere to unreasonable and costly municipal requests. Mr. Peterson touched on five completed joint projects between the City and the County. Lastly, the CSAH 13 (Hadley Avenue/50th Street) Pavement Improvement project was brought up, noting that the County is funding the entire project, however, closure of the 900-foot trail gap between Helmo Ave N and Olson Lake Trail N is not part of the project. Mr. Peterson added that Washington County is hoping to address the CSAH 14 (34th St N) trail extension from Trunk Highway (TH) 120/Century Ave N to Granada Ave N within their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Council Member Ingebrigtson shared his appreciation for working with Commissioner Karwoski. Mayor Zabel stated that the County has been an excellent partner especially in relation to projects that the State may have neglected. He noted that the City has adopted a case-by- case approach with County projects that have an impact on Oakdale. He added that the return on investment for the City is evaluated prior to making any final decision. In response to Council Member Morcomb’s question about County-owned roads and trails, and the intent of the County to turnback ownership of trails to the municipalities, Mr. Peterson clarified that this is not the intent. The County maintains ownership and long-term maintenance with the expectation of the City providing minor day-to-day maintenance. In response to Council Member Ingebrigtson’s question about why the 900-foot trail gap between Helmo Ave N and Olson Lake Trail N was not closed initially when the trail was first built, Commissioner Karwoski indicated that trails were a controversial topic in the early 2000s. In response to Mayor Zabel’s question about County CIP projects slated for the next 3-5 years, Commissioner Karwoski noted that the METRO Gold Line study will likely take place in 2026, and be completed in 2027, which will look at turning city streets back to the County. Mr. Peterson added other projects are the Century Ave and TH 36 interchange, signal improvements related to the Highpoint Dr N development, and trail opportunities near Tartan High School. WORKSHOP MINUTES FEBRUARY 27, 2024 PAGE FOUR Commissioner Karwoski shared that of the total $48.8 million cost of the five completed joint projects between the City and the County, the City’s cost was only $7.218 million, or less than 15%. Council Member Ingebrigtson noted that he has heard several compliments about the new Helmo/Bielenberg Bridge. OTHER/URGENT Mayor Zabel informed the group that per Minnesota State Law, a public meeting cannot be held after 6:00 PM on the same day as a major political party precinct caucus. Because two major political parties are holding their precinct caucus this evening, the City’s meetings must be concluded by 6:00 PM. Mayor Zabel laid out a couple options including calling an emergency meeting for later in the week to handle the regular meeting agenda items or push all non-urgent items to the March 12, 2024 regular meeting. Finance Director Kyle Stasica noted that claims need to be addressed tonight. Ms. Volkers said she can authorize payment in an emergency situation. In response to Council Member Morcomb’s question about the three-day notice posting requirement, Mayor Zabel said there is an exception for emergency meetings. NOTE: Per legal, this situation would not qualify as an emergency meeting. Ms. Volkers reported that the City Attorney as well was caught off guard by the precinct caucuses which relate to the new Presidential Primaries happening now. She added that the award of bid item can carry over to the next regular meeting. Mayor Zabel suggested moving the remaining agenda items to the March 12, 2024 meetings and try to lighten the workshop meeting agenda, if possible. ADJOURNMENT The workshop was adjourned at 5:59 PM. Respectfully submitted, Sara Ludwig, City Clerk