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6.3. SR 05-05-1997 iver Date: Police Department Subject: Memorandum ITEM 6.3. Mayor aha City Council Thomas D. Zerwas, Chief May 2, 1997 of Police~.. DOWNTOWN PARKING ENFORCEMENT This is to inform the city Council that I contacted most of the downtown businesses on May 1, 1997, in regards to parking enforcement. I indicated to them that parking enforcement would start on May 12, 1997. As a general rule, most were very understanding. However, there were a few that were very unhappy about this issue. Secondly, in discussing the handicap parking issue with downtown businesses, I would recommend we eliminate the handicap space under consideration in front of the Elk River Star News building. If you have any questions, give me a call. TDZ/kma enc. 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 723 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-2324 · Fax (612) 441-8937 -'ity of iver FROM: DATE: MEMORANDUM Sandy Thackeray Michelle Dwyer May 1, 1997 SUBJECT: 1997 Parking Stickers City Railroad Parking Lot The Bank of Elk River 7 at $12.00 = $ 84.00 Anthony Mikols Studio i at $12.00 = $ 12.00 Buy the Book I at $12.00 -- $ 12.00 Commuter Tickets 16 at $12.00 - $192.00 TOTAL 25 at $12.00 = $300.00 13065 Orono Parkway ° P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 ° Fax: (612) 441-7425 City of River CITY RAILROAD PARKING LOT PARKING POLICY Parking tags are required for vehicles parked in excess of the permitted number of hours. Parking sticker fee for merchants and employees is $12.00 per parking space. The $12.00 fee covers up to three parking tags per space. This gives a downtown business the ability to distribute stickers for the sam e stall to employees who work at different times. o Parking stalls will not be numbered allowing businesses and employees to park on a first-come, basis. 25 stalls will be designated on the west end of the former railroad lot (near Hunt's Feeds) as a contract site for commuters. 5. The contract parking area for commuters will be posted. o Commuters will also be required to purchase a parking tag from City Hall at $12.00 per stall. However, only one tag per stall will be allowed for commuters. The City will continue to monitor the parking lots for usage and may adjust the number of contract stalls accordingly. Any comments or suggestions regarding this policy may be addressed to the City Clerk. s:\admin\parklot.doc 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 -("/ '-~(~ To: EIk R From: iver Date: Police Department Subject: Memorandum Thomas D. Zerwas, Chief of Police~ . April 24, 1997 DOWNTOWN NANDICAP P~KIN~ At your request, I have been re-evaluating the handicap parking in downtown Elk River. I contacted Curt Wiehle from the Minnesota State Building Code Division. Curt is responsible for ADA and handicap parking issues. As a result of my conversation with Curt, I have come to the conclusion that there is a need to recommend a change in the placement of handicap spots in the downtown area. I presented my proposal to the Planning Commission on April 22, 1997. The feedback I received was very positive. The planning Commission unanimously approved my recommended proposal. I have also consulted with Street Superintendent Phil Hals, City Planner Steve Ach, City Administrator Pat Klaers, and some of you, as well. I also spoke with a few business owners and citizens downtown. As a result of my conversations with the people mentioned above, I recommend changing the handicap parking as previously approved by the City Council. A map of the downtown area with the placement of the proposed handicap parking spaces has been included with this memorandum. I will be in attendance at Monday's council meeting to discuss any further comments or suggestions. TDZ/kma enc. 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 723 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) oA1-2324 · Fax (612) 441-8937 ~ELK RIVER DDWNTDWN HANDICAPP PARKING ooc~ eO~, q MAIN Z EXISTING HANDICAPP PARKING I MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, MARCH 31, 1997 Members Present: Me ml~X~e~rs Absent: \ Staff Pres~,~: Mayor Duitsman, Councilmembers DJetz, Thompson, Farber, and Holmgren None Pat Klaers, City Administrator; Sandra Thacker~. City Clerk; Peter Beck, City Attorney; Steve Ach, City Planne/r/, Terry Maurer, City x Engineer; and Lori Johnson, Finance DireCtor / Call MeX~ing~To Order Pursuant to ;St,?e call and notice thereof, the m'Seting of the Elk River City Council was called to ~er at 5:00 p.m. by Mayo~,D'0itsman. Consider A.qenda~ /" The following items w~dded t/o/fhe agenda: 2A. Engstrom MemoriaX~un/C(' 2B. Downtown Handica~/~arking Study 2C. Perkins Flag Issue // ~ COUNClLMEMBER FARB,E,~ MOVED ~,.APPROVE THE MARCH ,31, 1997, CITY COUNCIL AGENDA AS/AMENDED. CO~ClLMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTI~I CARRIED 5-0. / 2A. Enqstrom ~emorial Fund / COUNC(L-MEMBER FARBER MOVED TO SEND A MEMORIAL IN HONOR OF ARNE ENGSTROM'S DAUGHTER. COUNClLMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Downtown Handicap Parkin.q Study Councilmember Farber indicated that he would like to reconsider the handicap parking plan that was adopted by the Council on March 17. He indicated that he did not receive the letter from John Purmort that was supposed to be given to the Council regarding this issue. He further indicated that because the issue concerns public safety, the police chief should have been involved in the decision making process. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER MOVED TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE AT THE APRIL 21, 1997, CITY COUNCIL MEETING. MAYOR DUITSMAN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. rch 17, 1997 e4.~ COUNCILMEMBER FARBER MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF A HOLLAND FORD TRACTOR MODEL 8770 IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,828 AND A MODEL E LIQUID MANURE SPREADER FROM MALECHA SALES FOR $26,551.52 TO BE USED FOR HAULING SLUDGE FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED .5-0. Discussion on Downtown Handicap Parkin.q Phil Hals discussed the need for extra handicap accessible parking stalls downtown. Phil reviewed the plan which was presented to the Council last month that would add two handicap accessible to the south side of Main Street and one stall in front of Kemper Drug. Phil Hals also reviewed the responses to the plan which he received from downtown property owners. Mayor Duitsman entered into the record a letter of support to Phil Hals from the Chamber of Commerce. Councilmember Farber questioned the logic of having two handicap stalls together as opposed to placing them in different locations. COUNClLMEMBER DIETZ MOVED TO APPROVE THE HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE PARKING PLAN FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA AS PRESENTED BY PHIL HALS. COUNClLMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-1. COUNClLMEMBER FARBER OPPOSED. 4.8. 6.1a. Update on Park and Recreation Survey City ~tor Pat Klaers explained that Decision Resources has prepared a draft park creation survey. The Coungfl reviewed the survey questions. ~IETZ MOVED TO THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS FROM THE EQUIPMENT RESEI IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,800 FOR THE COUNCILMEMBEi ARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE COUNC PARK AND F COMMUNITY MOTION CARRIED Request by Cynthia Therapeutic Massc City Planner Steve Ach indict conditional use permit to o Salon located at 19112 Freep( Mayor Duitsman opened th, the matter Mayor Duitsmal COUNCILMEMBER FARBE! iVED TO AP CYNTHIA SANBORN TO !RATE A hal Use Permit to Operate a ]se No. CU 97-3 that Cynthia Sanborn is requesting a a therapeutic massage business at her Hair roue. There being no one for or against ~ublic hearing. OVE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR INCLUDES THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE AT 19122 FREEPORT STREET WITH T~ :OLLOWING CONDITIONS: 1. THE APPLICANT RECEIVES APPROVAL OF A LICENSE FOR THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE FROM THE CITY. ITEM 4.7. ~ity of 'ver FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM Mayor and City Council Phil Hals, Street/Park Superintenden(t~ '~r' March 17, 1997 Downtown Handicap Parking I have received input from three downtown business owners, two of which letters are attached for your review. In a phone conversation with Jim Simpson from The Bank of Elk River, I received the following comments: The Bank of Elk River has a handicap parking stall available in their parking lot. The present handicap stall on Main Street should be made "No Parking" due to the fact that when there is a vehicle parked in that stall, it restricts visibility for vehicles exiting the bank driveway. A count of the city-provided parking stalls in the downtown area is in excess of 200, which requires seven handicap parking stalls. Staff supports the creation of two van accessible stalls in front of the marked crosswalk from the Jackson Square parking lot to the south side of Main Street, as per original proposal. As Keith Holme indicated, we need to add one more van accessible stall in the lot west of Kemper Drug. Creating the handicap stall on Jackson (in front of Kemper Drug) will likely involve removing one other stall to allow for the additional stall width and the adequate maneuvering space needed south of the Highway 10 crosswalk. Several residents, who requested the handicap parking on the south side of Main Street, plan to attend the March 17, 1997, Council meeting to offer their comments. I will also be present at this meeting to discuss this issue. s:\council\handiprk.doc 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 MAR--14--9? FRI 05:29 PM E.R. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 612 441 $409 P.01 Elk RiverArea Chamber of C_xnnmerce March 14, 1997 Mr. Phil Hals City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 490 Elk River MN 55330 Dear Phil: I have seen your suggestions for changing the handicapped parking situation in downtown Elk River. The concerns cited appear to be consistent with some calls we've received in our office, asking why there aren't more access points along Main Street for the physically challenged. It makes sense for customer's convenience to add van accessible stalls on the south side of Main Street. This plan should remove barrier perceptions and make it easier to get to all businesses to obtain the products and services they each provide. I'll be in much after the March 17 meeting of the City Council to hear the outcome of this approach. (Now, if we could only work to do something about the problem of the railroad crossings at Main and Jackson - we get a lot of calls concerning those!!) Sincerely, lackie F. Schuelein Executive Vice President 509 Highway 10 · Elk River, Minnesota 55330-1415 · (612) 441-3110 Feb. 28,1997 Sir, I recently received your letter dated Feb. 21,1997 concerning handicap parking spaces for the downtown area of Elk River. You detailed how a group of seniors has come forward with concerns of the number of stalls available to them. The enclosed map, of existing sites, helped me understand why this perception has been reached. The handicap stall across from The Depot has been unmarked since our first snowfall of the winter. The sidewalk sign has been down for sometime, and the street markings covered with snow. With proper marking and maintenance, that stall would be an excellent spot for access to both the gazebo and a crosswalk. This is also an excellent spot for a handicap parking stall as it provides for unloading of handicap vans to the sidewalk side of the street. I feel that easier access to the gazebo, for senior or handicap parking, would be in Jackson Square. This location would also provide safer unloading of these vehicles, for lack of through traffic, and also provide a view of the gazebo entertainment without leaving the vehicle at all. This area of parking is seldom used after the normal working hours of the majority of businesses downtown, whereas your proposed site, for handicap stalls, removes five parking spots for two businesses that stay open as long as nine hours longer than others in the area. The proposed two handicap stalls and crosswalk remove five spots from local businesses that try to compete with the myth of 'more parking at the mall' These five spots are occupied from 9:00am to 12:00am most days and always on Friday and Saturdays. It was for that very reason the city council recently resurrected these spots after declaring them as NO PARKING zones. As I recall, it was by unanimous vote. That declaration of the NO PARKING zone was to "create a better view of the river", and I feel this new proposal is a veiled measure to that end. These two spots would definitely be more costly to implement, than repainting two stalls in Jackson Square, and would create an unloading problem for handicap vans. The vans would unload away from the proposed crosswalk and create a hazardous exit into traffic. By putting the spots in Jackson Square, we could still put in the crosswalk, keep the spot next to the gazebo which also provides safe exit to a sidewalk, re-mark the existing spot across from The Depot, and no parking spots would be lost to downtown merchants. Please re-think these proposals you submit with the businesses of downtown in mind. The Depot is handicap accessible and sees the need for handicap parking, but our business must accommodate a wide range of guests to satisfy the $5,000.00 property taxes due Elk River each year. We have vacant buildings that can house vacant parking spots, why 'handicap' a business with an unsafe seldom used parking spot? If we are to, someday, attract a new tenant to the old hardware store site, we should keep parking at a premium. Enclosed is my proposed parking concept for handicap spots Thank You o~~urm~rt The Depot 701 Main St. Historic Downtown Elk River, Mn. 55330 X I., .I Z <E _J EXISTING CROSSWALK --) REMOVE HANDICAPs:c__._ ,,d~'~'t' PARKTNO <E-J ~.~D~¢,,,.~AIN STREET W _J __J <E PROPOSED HANDICAPP PARKING GREEN SPACE CINEMA BUILDING il MATN ELK DO~/NTO~/N PARKING £XIST]NG CRD$$VALK Z EDW RIVER HANDICAPP EXISTING HANDICAPP PARKING \\\\\\\\\\\\ CINEMA IIUILI]ING ;~MOVI~ HAN~ICA~ STREET