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01-21-2020 Regular CCMK, Meeting of the Elk River City Council ver Held at the Elk River City Hall Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Nate Ovall, and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: Councilmember Matt Westgaard Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Assistant City Engineer Jenna Fabish, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, Fire Chief Dickinson, Planning Manager Zack Carlton, Recreation Manager Steve Benoit, Records Specialist Katie Porath Parks and Recreation Commission Members Present: Chair Anderson, Commission Members Loidolt, Niziolek, Soltvedt, and Williams Parks and Recreation Commission Members Absent: Commission Members Holmgren and Rathbun I . Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve: 4.1 December 16, 2019 Regular Minutes January 6, 2020 Regular Minutes 4.2 Check register, check numbers 113181-113349 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Joint Powers Agreement with State of Minnesota for funding 4.4 Pay Estimates Motion carried 4-0. City Council Minutes Page 2 January 21, 2020 S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 City of Elk River Volunteer of the Month Mayor Dietz presented the January Volunteer of the Month award to Dar Johnson. He highlighted the following: ■ Member of government prayer team which meets weekly ■ Works weekly at Guardian Angels Care Center Coffee and Gift shop ■ Volunteers 36-40 hours per month as receptionist at Sherburne County Government Center ■ Has played organ and piano at her church and led adult choir ■ Led a prayer group at her previous church for 13 years ■ Acted as volunteer music director at her church 7.1 Zone Change R I C to R3 (Multi -Family), 732 Vernon Ave Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, the public hearing was continued to February 18, 2020. Moved by Councilmernber Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to continue the public hearing to February 18, 2020. Motion carried 4-0. 7.2 Copart of Connecticut, Inc., 15932 Jarvis St. NW • Easement Vacation: Right of Way • Simple Plat: Cascade Industrial Park Third Addition • Conditional Use Permit: Operate a Salvage Yard Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, the public hearing was continued to February 3, 2020. Moved by Councilmernber Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to continue the public hearing to February 3, 2020. Motion carried 4- 0. 7.3 Trunk Highway 10 Reconstruction Municipal Consent Ms. Fabish presented the staff report. PaIIRE1 B1 NATUREI City Council Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 3 Russell Fellbaurn, Development Project Manager for MnDOT, was in attendance. Mayor Dietz asked if this project included an additional right turn lane from the railroad tracks to Hwy 10. Ms. Fabish responded that a temporary connection to Hwy 10 will be completed in 2020 with Sherburne County's County 1 project. MnDOT's project will make the turn lane more permanent. Mayor Dietz asked if the new signals at Upland Ave and Proctor Ave will have flashing yellow turn signal arrows. Mr. Fellbaum confirmed they will have flashing yellow arrows like the one currently at Joplin St. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Mayor Dietz confirmed the project will be completed before the Highway169 project starts. He asked if the flashing yellow turn arrows at Proctor Ave and Upland Ave would follow the pattern of the one at Joplin St. Mr. Fellbaum stated each intersection would be evaluated by the traffic department. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to adopt Resolution 20-7 approving the final layout for Trunk Highway 10 reconstruction from Xenia Avenue to 4`' Street and the trail construction from Simonet Drive to Lowell Avenue (S.P. 7102-135) Motion carried 4-0. 8.1 Naming Rights Consulting Services Request for Proposal (RFP) Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. Councilmember Wagner asked if reference checks had been done for Front Burner. She confirmed The Superlative Group would be making only one trip to Elk River for Phase 1 and Phase 2 travel would be all included in the $10,000 itemized expenses. Councilmember Christianson said it would be helpful to have people come to speak in person. He would like to learn more about the return on investment from the two groups. Mr. Portner said an in -person or Skype interview may be possible. J r0 V E R 1 0 8AruR� City Council Minutes .January 21, 2020 Page 4 Councilmember Wagner agreed her preference would be to have interviews with the Front Burner and The Superlative Group since the Council already had a presentation from Staley Consulting. Mayor Dietz wondered if there was any guarantee the city would receive more money from naming rights than they were spending. Mr. Portner stated it was in the best interest of the companies to raise money as they were working on commission. He added the Council could arrange a special meeting to hear from these two groups or add the interviews to a work session. Mr. Hecker stated he would reach out to Front Burner and The Superlative Group to arrange interviews. Council recessed at 7:00 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened at 7:07 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by Chair Anderson. 9.1 Joint Meeting with Parks and Recreation Commission to Discuss Park Dedication for River Walk Apartments Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Pat Briggs, property owner, was in attendance. Mayor Dietz stated at the Council's last discussion concerning River Walk Apartments, the Council talked about the possibility of using land as part of the park dedication. The Council heard the Parks and Recreation Commission had recommended only cash, therefore the Council wanted to hear more from the Commission concerning their recommendation. Chair Anderson stated he had an opportunity to tour the land in question, however, his opinion has not changed, and he does not recommend taking land as part of the park dedication. He stated maintaining the land would be challenging and require substantial staff time. Commission Member Niziolek agreed and added the trail corridor at the top would be an amenity. Mayor Dietz wants to see this development work but is not in favor of changing the rules just for this development as it could cause problems in the future by setting a precedence. He suggested capping the fee at $500,000 as there are not many projects that surpass 102 units. He is not in favor of taking land in lieu of cash. P 0 9 E B E I B Y 'NATURE City Council Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 5 Councilmember Wagner wanted to figure out how to make this work for the developer. She brought up the idea of a graduated fee scale that would be in line with the current park dedication system. She is not willing to waiver from having a trail easement. Councilmember Christianson asked if the idea of capping would coincide with state statute. City Attorney Beck stated there is nothing legally to prevent capping and the graduated system has some logic, especially as projects get bigger. The city can go below the constitutional standards but not above them. Councilmember Christianson pointed out that, based on the information from similar cities, the City of Ramsey appears to welcome high density housing while the City of Elk River appears to focus on low to medium density. Mayor Dietz stated that, in 2012, when the comprehensive plan was created, it was planned for a city of 35,000. Mr. Carlton also offered the option of moving the planned appraisal study from 2021 to 2020 for more accurate numbers. Councilmember Ovall stated the challenge with this project is that it is a redevelopment vs a development. He felt the cost would deter people from high density development and didn't even factor in permit fees. Mr. Carlton suggested redefining the types of high density to achieve more precision. Councilmember Wagner clarified the city is not trying to stop high density development. Mayor Dietz agreed there are not many places high density could be placed within the urban service district area. Mayor Dietz asked Mr. Carlton to explore the ideas of both a capped fee and a graduated fee and bring it back to the Parks and Recreation Commission as well as the Council. 9.3 County State Aid Highway 12 (181 st Ave) Improvements and Proposed Hillside Park Access Change Ms. Fabish presented the staff report. Sherburne County is looking to start construction in June. Chair Anderson stated the user group was concerned about the Right In, Right Out access and was focused on the Tyler Street option to access the current parking lot. rP O w E R E l ® 1 NATURE City Council Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 6 Councilmember Christianson is curious to know what Sherburne County is willing to pay to help relocate the access to the parking lot. Council discussed the options of putting an access off Tyler Street. An easement would need to be acquired from the landowner to create an access. Mr. Hecker added the Minnesota Off -Road Cyclists (MORC) understood either of the access options would affect existing trails but the Tyler Street entrance would do the least amount of damage to current trail structures. Councilmember Wagner added the proposed access off Trott Brook Pkwy was steep and did not seem like a good option. Mayor Dietz agreed the Trott Brook Pkwy option might necessitate redirection of up a third of the current trail system. Commissioner Niziolek asked if there was any way to improve pedestrian safety, especially when trying to cross CSAH 12 (1815L Ave). The Council directed Ms. Fabish to talk to Sherburne County about the proposed Tyler Street option connecting to the current parking lot. There being no further business, Chair Anderson adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission at 8:23 p.m. 9.2 Religious and Educational Uses in FAST — The Point Zoning District Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Councilmember Christianson clarified that reinstating Religious and Educational Uses would only affect the FAST area. Mr. Carlton confirmed it would only affect the five lots in The Point Zoning District. Mr. Briggs stated his understanding was the uses were not intentionally removed and should be reinstated. Councilmember Christianson asked what the potential ramifications for allowing schools and churches in that area might be. Councilmember Wagner was in favor of leaving the definition as is. Mr. Portner stated that when something is reviewed in a zoning district it is evaluated for how it flows through the rest of the city plan, not just in one spot. P B! E B E I B Y NATURE City Council Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 7 Mayor Dietz felt that, due to the types of uses removed, several other properties throughout Elk River can no longer use their site for certain uses. It affects more than just this property. Councilmember Wagner asked Mr. Briggs why he was bringing two different uses for the property before the Council. Did he want staff to pursue a change in park dedication fees or did he want Education and Religious uses returned? Councilmember Ovall sees both sides of the argument but feels staff has investigated this issue and agrees with their decision not to make a change. It may have been an oversight to omit it but, according to staff, after consideration that change should have been made. Councilmember Ovallread comments submitted by Councilmember Westgaard out loud. Councilmember Westgaard is opposed to making a change. Councilmember Christianson felt the site was a different situation than Spectrum school because of its size, location, and the amount of time it has been vacant. Councilmember Wagner had asked Mr. Briggs for a timeline of his property ownership. She felt there were several options for the property use that had not been explored even when they were allowed and there had been enough time for Mr. Briggs to explore them. Mr. Briggs stated Councilmember Wagner was not aware of the plans that had been submitted. Mayor Dietz stated the majority of the Council felt the uses should not be changed. Mr. Portner asked the Councilmembers if they would like to tour the progress on the Multipurpose Facility prior to an upcoming Council meeting. 10. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:58 p.m. Wagner, Ovall Minutes prepared by Katie Porath. Aayor Tina Allard, City Clerk P 0 N E B 1 0 B 1 NA TUR