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5. HRSR 11-05-2007ITEM # 5. MEMORANDUM TO: Housing & Redevelopment Authority FROM: Catherine Mehelich, Director of Economic Development DATE: November 5, 2007 SUBJECT: Downtown Revitalization Project Update Attachments • City Council Meeting Minutes -October 8, 2007 • River's Edge Meeting Minutes -August & September 2007 • River's Edge Meeting Agendas -September & October 2007 The Bluffs of Elk River and Jackson Place Last week the City and MetroPlains Development celebrated the grand opening of Jackson Place. MetroPlains reported all 32 units (16 1-bedroom, 16 2-bedroom) have been successfully preleased with occupancy taking place over the next month. MetroPlains reported to staff as currently having 3 commercial leases at The Bluffs and 3 commercial leases at Jackson Place. Downtown Parking Study On May 14, 2007 the City Council authorized Carl Walker, Inc. to conduct a downtown parking study. Carl Walker, Inc. presented the completed study and recommendations at the September 17, 2007 Council meeting (joint with HRA). The City Council recently at its October 8`" meeting accepted the study on a 4-1 vote as a baseline and directed staff to reevaluate parking counts on a quarterly basis. HRA Commissioner Kuester was in attendance at the meeting. A copy of the Council minutes is attached. On its November 5`" meeting agenda, the Council will be discussing modifications to the staff King Ave parking lot as it relates to overnight parking for downtown residents/visitors, improvements to the north Hwy 10 parking lot, and a proposed methodology for conducting the quarterly parking counts. River's Edge Meeting Minutes Attached are the August and September 2007 River's Edge meeting minutes. The next meeting is scheduled for November 14, 2007. Staff continues to attend the monthly meetings as city staff liaison. S:\EDA\HRA\AGENDA\Year2007\11.5.07 downtown update.doc City Council Minutes Page 3 October 8, 2007 Police Chief Jeffrey Beahen indicated that the city experiences a savings by RSVP providing 2000 hours of volunteer service. He stated that it would cost the city at least $30,000 to hire an employee to replace the services RSVP performs. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS TO PROVIDE OFFICE SPACE FOR THE COORDINATOR OF THE RETIRED SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (RSVP) IN THE NEW SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER WITH A THIRTY DAY TERMINATION PERIOD ON THE LEASE. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.1. Continue Downtown Parking Study Discussion Parking Stud Ciry Administrator Lori Johnson indicated that the first item for Council consideration is whether or not to accept the downtown parking study. Ms. Johnson indicated that although there are some concerns and questions about the study, there are advantages to accepting the study as prepared. First, the study would give the city a starting point from which to make adjustments as parking patterns and volumes change. Second, it would give developers of new commercial space the parking data they need to help market their commercial units. Third, the study includes a list of recommendations that, if adopted, will help deal with current and future parking related items in a proactive way to help avoid parking problems. Ms. Johnson stated that questions have been raised about the validity of the study since the count used as the measure for the study was only taken on one day. She explained that Mr. Surna explained during his presentation that other cities have also questioned this methodology and have chosen to conduct additional parking counts, but the end result only changed by one or two percent. Ms. Johnson stated that the study should be viewed as a baseline for a given point in time and accepted knowing the parking data may change. She stated that staff suggests that parking counts by staff be conducted at least every six months. Ms. Johnson indicated that staff concurs with the list of recommendations included in the study and is prepared to begin working on the recommendations if the study is approved by the Council. Ms. Johnson explained that one of the recommendations is to adopt guiding principles for downtown parking as outlined in the study to help set expectations, define the mission, determine responsibilities, help plan for and manage the parking needs, as well as other related items. She stated that one of the recommendations is to designate a single department to be in charge of parking with the understanding that certain responsibilities would be designated to other departments. Staff is recommending the public works department be the department responsible for parking. The street division will still be responsible for lot maintenance and the police department will still be responsible for parking enforcement. Councilmember Motin indicated that he does not believe the study is representative of what parking in the area will be in the future once the downtown businesses and residents move in. He stated that it would make sense to accept the study and review the parking counts in six months. Councilmember Zerwas explained that he is concerned with the method used for the count but he believes that in order to move forward the study should be accepted as a baseline and additional traffic counts should be taken quarterly for at least the first year. He would like the counts taken over a two or three day period. City Council Minutes October 8, 2007 Page 4 Councilmember Farber stated that the study was flawed from the beginning because of the timing and because information was left out of the study. Councilmember Farber indicated the study contains good recommendations and should be accepted but the city should continue to conduct its own counts. He noted in accepting the study, he would like to acknowledge that it is flawed. Councilmember Gumphrey questioned if a firm would be hired to conduct the additional traffic counts. Councilmember Farber indicated that he would like staff to conduct the counts because he is not satisfied with the firm that conducted the parking study. Councilmember Gumphrey agreed that staff should conduct the parking counts. Councilmember Zerwas stated that he is in favor of accepting the study, specifically the recommendations called for in the study, requesting that it be treated as a baseline and reevaluated quarterly. He stated that during those quarterly reevaluations, he would like to see parking data collected over a three day period. He noted that he also does not believe the study is an accurate representation of what the future will be in downtown but he is not in favor of accepting the entire study as flawed. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS TO ACCEPT THE DOWNTOWN PARKING STUDY BY CARL WALKER, INC. WITH ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS SET FORTH IN THE STUDY; FOR THE STUDY TO BE TREATED AS A BASELINE AND REEVALUATED QUARTERLY; FOR QUARTERLY PARKING COUNTS TO BE CONDUCTED BY STAFF OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD AND BROUGHT BACK TO THE COUNCIL; AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE PARKING COUNT PORTION OF THE STUDY IS INACCURATE. MOTION CARRIED 4-1. Councilmember Moon opposed. Councilmember Motin noted that he did not vote in favor to accept the study because he does not believe the language in the motion should include that the study is inaccurate. He believes that the information is incorrect as it is expected to be in the future but is correct as of the date the study was conducted. He explained that he does not believe the study can be used as a marketing tool if the Council acknowledges it as inaccurate or flawed. Ms. Johnson indicated that staff will come back to the Council with recommendations for methodology on conducting and implementing parking counts. Parking Permits Chief of Police Jeffrey Beahen indicated that Public Works Director Terry Maurer, Community Development Director Scott Clark, Street Superintendent Phil Hals, and he met to discuss the parking permit process as it relates to the downtown businesses, specifically the permitted uses of the King Avenue lot. Chief Beahen stated that the consensus of the group was that they do not support putting employees, residential and visiting parking, and customer parking all in the King Avenue lot. Chief Beahen reviewed issues relating to permitting, signage, snow removal, safety, multiple uses in the lot, and enforcement as outlined in his staff report. Chief Beahen reviewed staffs recommendation as follows: ^ Employee parking -keep in the King Avenue parking lot with permits issued at a low or nominal fee. These permits would be issued knowing that with approximately 156 City Council Minutes Page 5 October 8, 2007 permits requested and only 96 parking spots available in the King Ave lot, parking would be on a first come, first served basis. ^ Residential parking -assign across Highway 10, on the south side of the tracks, west of Jackson. Staff would advocate that significant enhancements be made to that lot including: parking lot overlay, lighting, and other security features as directed by the Council. Council discussion took place on the employee permitting process. Ms. Johnson reviewed the motion the Council approved on September 17, 2007, reverting back to the former permitting system issuing yearly permits with a nominal yearly fee of $20 per permit. Councilmember Motin stated that he agreed with the first two or three recommendations in the staff report but did not agree with the other recommendations. Councilmember Gumphrey expressed concern over charging the public a fee for a parking permit. Councilmember Motin indicated that he believes that the fee should be higher to help cover costs associated with the permitting process. Councilmember Farber indicated that the city should acknowledge the fact that having pedestrians crossing Highway 10 is not the most ideal situation but agreed that labeling the intersection dangerous would land lock the downtown area. He stated that the parking lot needs to be utilized but should not be a permanent solution to the parking problem. Councilmember Farber questioned if there is a way to make the intersection more pedestrian friendly, especially in the winter. Public Works Director Terry Maurer indicated that he and Phil can develop a plan to ensure that snow is properly removed from the pedestrian route. Mr. Maurer stated that he contacted the District 3 Traffic Engineer for MnDOT to see what other forms of signage can be installed to make crossing Highway 10 more pedestrian friendly. Councilmember Gumphrey questioned what the plan is for the residents that require overnight parking. Chief Beahen explained that he has received 42 requests for parking permits in the King Avenue lot. He stated that he cannot find a way that co-mingling the residents with the employees and customers will efficiently work. Councilmember Gumphrey indicated that he is only concerned with providing parking spaces for the previous nine residences that requested parking. He stated that he is not concerned with the Jackson Square residents as they have already each been provided one parking stall. Councilmember Motin stated the King Avenue parking lot is a public parking lot and he does not believe any downtown residents should have dedicated parking stalls. He stated that he would support three-hour parking for the business part of the day, such as 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., and allowing anyone to park overnight. He doesn't see the harm with overnight parking but believes the snow removal issues need to be addressed. He noted that if those hours do not work for people they would have to park across Highway 10. Mayor Klinzing stated that it does not make sense to her to not allow overnight parking the entire year because of potential snow plow issues. Councilmember Zerwas concurred. City Council Minutes October 8, 2007 Page 6 Wendy Simonson, Kemper Drug -stated that encouraging residents to park in customer parking sets a negative precedent. She requested the employee parking be signed for the permitted overnight parking rather than the customer parking. Mr. Maurer indicated that if no overnight parking restrictions are in place during the winter months, the street department may not be able to plow the lot due to vehicles parked in all areas of the lot. Karen Attic, Olde Main Eatery -questioned if residents could park overnight in the back row of employee parking. It was noted that would require each parking spot to be individually signed. The Council questioned how the parking spots are currently marked. Chief Beahen indicated that there are signs on the light posts that point to a row of parking rather than individual parking spots. He noted that 24 of the spots in the back are deeded to First National Financial so that needs to be taken into account. It was noted that having each parking spot individually signed is a plowing nightmare. Chief Beahen indicated that the easiest solution would be the one as suggested by Councilmember Motin to sign the entire lot three hour parking and first come, first served in the evening. He stated that he understands the concerns of the businesses but does not see another viable solution. Mr. Hals indicated that there are a number of issues staff should consider including: how do we remove snow from the lot, how many overnight resident stalls need to be provided, and can the parking lot be entirely closed overnight following a snowfall. Mr. Maurer indicated that additional signage may be necessary for some of the overnight parking in the winter. Councilmember Zerwas stated that he believes the seasonal approach is good and that something similar to the winter street parking ordinance could be enacted. Mr. Maurer explained that staff suggested that overnight parking of residents be only allowed in the row of parking stalls adjacent to Highway 10 to allow the lot to be efficiently cleared of snow. Mr. Maurer noted that there are only 26 parking spots along this row which will not be sufficient for the number of residents that have requested overnight parking in the winter. Councilmember Motin indicated that there are other parking spots available if the 26 spots are full. Mr. Maurer indicated that if this is workable, it is the best scenario for plowing because it will allow snow removal while maintaining the parking for customers and residents. Ms. Johnson confirmed that staff's understanding is that the Council is leaning towards residential parking in the King Avenue lot overnight and staff will figure out how to do it. She stated that staff will work out a plan to facilitate parking, develop signage, and address snow removal issues. Chief Beahen stated that the Police Department is getting ready to issue parking permits and questioned if residential permits are necessary. It was the consensus of the Council that they were not necessary because the 26 overnight parking spots would be first come, first served. Ms. Attic explained that if residential permits are not issued she is in the same place she was before. She noted that the residents of Jackson Place have already been given 1.2 spots per unit and her tenants have none. Mayor Klinzing clarified that the city did not provide the Jackson Place residents with the parking spots. She noted that most of the discussion the Council has had is because of Ms. Attic's request for residential parking in the King Avenue lot. She stated that the Council is trying to be fair in addressing this request. City Council Minutes October 8, 2007 Page 7 Councilmember Gumphrey questioned how many residents have requested parking in the King Avenue lot. Chief Beahen indicated that there are nine above downtown businesses and an additional 32 from Jackson Square. Director of Economic Development Catherine Mehelich clarified that MetroPlains provided residential parking spaces as provided by code. Councilmember Farber would like staff to review the downtown parking standards. Marci VanValkenburg, Elk River Travel -questioned what prompted residents of Jackson Place to request residential parking permits for the King Avenue lot. Councilmember Zerwas indicated that it was the downtown business owners who requested residential parking in the King Avenue lot and the Jackson Square residents are responding to that request. Ms. Simonson -stated that the request was for current downtown residences to be grandfathered in and allowed parking spots in the King Avenue lot. Chief Beahen questioned if the Council would like parking enforced on weekends. Council consensus was to enforce parking Monday through Friday. Chief Beahen indicated that he does not want to speak for the businesses, but they may have concerns that residents and visitors will park in prime spots on weekends directly in front of and behind their businesses. It was noted that with the exception of overnight, parking is not currently enforced on weekends. Councilrnember Gumphrey requested that weekend parking be monitored. He stated that he would like the original nine apartments to be provided with an employee permit to park in the King Avenue lot. Councilmember Moon indicated that he does not have a problem with allowing the nine residents the option of purchasing employee parking permits. Councilmember Farber indicated that this may not address the problem as the issue is with overnight parking. Chief Beahen stated that nine of the parking stalls would be signed as overnight parking/permit required with the additional 17 signed only overnight parking allowed. He stated that this information as well as the snow removal recommendation will be included in the staff report to be brought back to the Council. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY TO ALLOW THE NINE PREEXISTING DOWNTOWN APARTMENT RESIDENTS TO PURCHASE EMPLOYEE PARKING PERMITS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Ms. Johnson indicated that staff will come back with recommendations on overnight parking and snow removal either October 15 or November 5. Mayor Klinzing recessed the meeting at 8:50 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:55 p.m. Mayor Klinzing indicated that there has been a request to move item 5.3.A. and 5.3.B. before item 5.2. Rivers Edge Meeting Agenda Wednesday, October 10, 2007 8AM Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room Treasurer's Report Jim Rudolph Secretary's Report Patti Hipsag Old Business City Update Street Reopening Dates Heidi Steinmetz Proposed Main Street Reconfiguration at Park Crosswalk Terry Mauer Fall/Halloween Decorating Events Donna Santa Downtown December 15, 2007 RiversEdge/Park & Rec Cosponsor New Business Welcoming New Residents and Businesses Boulevard Tree Lights Please email (simen003~u%umn.edu) or call Wendy at Kemper Drug (441-1353) if there is anything you would like added to the agenda. There is another working group meeting between the HRA and City Council at the Monday, October 8 City Council Meeting. The meeting begins at 6:30PM. Downtown Parking will again be on the agenda. If you have concerns about who should park where and what the fees should be, please plan on attending. Also, Kemper Drug is planning on putting together a welcoming bag for the new residents in the Jackson Place Apartments. If you are interested in doing this also, please let Joyann or Wendy know. Our goal is to have the bags out the first week that people move m. ERAAA opens their performance season with a comedian, C Willi Myles and a musician/vocalist Laura Harley on Sat. Oct 6, at 7:30PM at Zabee Theater. More information is available at www.ell~riverart.or~; Tickets are available at Kemper Drug, ERAAA office, Coborns Elk River and Albertville. Support the Arts Close to Home! Rivers Edge Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, September 12, 2007 The meeting was called to order at 8AM in the Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room. Present: Jim Rudolph, Wendy Simenson, Roger Hebeisen, Dave Rymanowski, Bill Houlton, Donna Busch, Jeff Gongoll, Heidi Steinmetz Treasurers Report: Jim reported that there is $1723.69 in the treasury. Secretary's Report: minutes were Minutes were accepted. (Dave moved, Bill seconded) Old Business: City Update: Heidi told jus that the Jackson Place apartments have been totally rented. It is hoped that the certificate of occupancy will be given out by Oct 1 so residents can move in. None of the Business storefronts have been leased yet in Jackson Place. A grand opening is being scheduled for the end of October. The Bluffs received their certificate of occupancy and tenants and businesses have begun to move in. The Bank of Elk River will be have an open house in honor of their finished remodeling and Jim Simpson's retirement and Pat Dwyer taking over as Bank president Sept 25th Planters to Mums: Meryl will be working on planting Mums soon. Meryl thinks that we need at least 15 more matching flower pots distributed around downtown to look nice. Terry Mauer is the person we need to initiate the discussion about additional pots with. Fall/Halloween Decorating & Events: Donna said she would help coordinate Halloween activities downtown with some of the other businesses. The initial plan is to offer trick or treating downtown on October 31St from 3 or 4 to 7. Ross Dimants from the Park Department told us that we could use the movie screen in the park and show a movie at dusk. We would have to pay for the movie and they would provide the screen. Donna's group will explore that option further. Santa Downtown Saturday, December 15, 2007 from 12 Noon to 3 PM: We are partnering with the Park Department to have Santa downtown in the RiversEdge Commons Park. If need be, the parks dept has heaters that could be used to keep people warm if it is a chilly day. We will once again encourage businesses to have holiday open houses that day. We are looking at getting the animals downtown again and Carolers singing in the streets. New Business: Proposed Main Street Reconfiguration at Park Crosswalk: Terry Mauer was out of town and unable to attend our meeting. He told Wendy that he would be available to attend our October 10th meeting. Heidi indicated that only a few people had attended the informational meetings that were held to explain the project. A discussion ensued that the letter notifying building owners and business owners of the meeting had not gone out to all interested parties. Heidi said that she had given the Public Works department her complete list, and would make sure that that was the list they used. Also, it was thought that the letter should have been more specific about the possibility of closing the intersection of Main and Jackson for 3 weeks. If the people receiving the letter had been better informed, it was thought that more people might have attended the meeting. Main Street between the Parrish Ave Bridge and Lowell Ave and Jackson Ave between Hwy 10 and Main Street is scheduled to be ground down and resurfaced next spring. Parking Survey Meeting: Bill Surna, the Parking Specialist/Studies Specialist, who conducted the Downtown Parking Study, is scheduled to present the study at the Sept 17, 2007 joint City Council /HRA meeting. Downtown Parking Permits will be reissued after the results of the study show what needs to be done and the City Council decides on a plan. Boulevard and Park Lights: The Park Department will be lighting the RiversEdge Commons Park for the Holidays. In the past Meryl and Wendy have taken the old lights off the boulevard trees and replaced them with new lights each fall. We are looking for volunteers to help with this again. Movies in the Park: Park and Rec is offering free movies in the RiversEdge Commons Park on Saturday evenings at dusk in Sept and Oct. The Greater Minnesota Credit Union donated a blow up screen and projector to them. The meeting was adjourned at 8:SOAM Rivers Edge Meeting Agenda Wednesday, September 12, 2007 8AM Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room Treasurer's Report Jim Rudolph Secretary's Report Patti Hipsag Old Business City Update Street Reopening Dates Heidi Steinmetz Planters Downtown to Mums Street Dance/Sidewalk Sale August 18th Fred Fall/Halloween Decorating Santa Downtown December 15, 2007 RiversEdge/Park & Rec Cosponsor New Business Proposed Main Street Reconfiguration at Park Crosswalk (Terry Mauer will attend our October Meeting to answer questions) Dates for Parking Survey working meetings Boulevard Tree Lights Bill Surna, the Parking Specialist/Studies Specialist, who conducted the Downtown Parking Study, is scheduled to present the final downtown parking study and findings at the September 17, 2007 City Council Meeting. The HRA is asked to call a special meeting for Monday ,Sept 17, 2007 at 6:30PM for the purpose of the presentation and discussion of the Downtown Parking Study in conjunction with the City Council and Downtown Parking Focus Group. This meeting is open to the Public. Please email (simen003(u;umn.ed~t) or call Wendy at Kemper Drug (441-1353) if there is anything you would like added to the agenda. Rivers Edge Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, August 8, 2007 The meeting was called to order at 8AM in the Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room. Present: Jim Rudolph, Patti Hipsag, Wendy Simenson, Roger Hebeisen, Dave Rymanowski, John Houlton, Tony Mikols, Patrick Grace, Heidi Steinmetz Treasurers Report: Jim Reported that there is $1,921.16 in the treasury. At this time we have only received dues from the following: Antiques Downtown, Elk River Chiropractic, Kemper Drug, Cliff Lundberg and The Bank of Elk River. (Please send your dues in to Jim Rudolph at the Bank of Elk River or Drop off at Kemper Drug) We are still waiting on payment for the ArtSoup Trolley from MetroPlains Management and C&S Builders. Secretary's Report: minutes were corrected to change the last secretary's report that John seconded the motion to accept them and it was actually Bill who seconded the motion. Minutes were accepted. (Roger moved, Dave Seconded) Old Business: City Update: Heidi told jus that the fence around Jackson Place will possibly be down by late September and the street restored to two way traffic. The Bluffs are waiting to receive a certificate of occupancy for people to move in. Planters to Mums: Meryl wants direction on planting Mums after Labor Day. Her goal is to move the roses to Handke Stadium and replace them with Mums. The Mums she will purchase will be ones that will withstand the winter. Meryl will ask businesses to "Adopt a Pot" for $20. The adoption papers say that the business promises to water the pot a minimum of twice weekly and has the option of bringing the mum home after Halloween or will allow Meryl to plant it in the Handke Stadium Perennial Garden. The adoption also states that Meryl will assure the business of getting your flower pot back next spring. Street Dance/Sidewalk Sale: August 18`h is the scheduled date. Fred is looking for people to help at the gate. Price will be $6 at night. Main Street will be closed between the Park and McCoys. The Music will have to be on the street. Talk to the City about turning off the water in the park at dark to prevent mishaps. Last year we split the advertising in the Star/News with McCoys. A motion was made by Jim and seconded by Roger to help pay for the ad. The motion carried. Fred is going to get a sidewalk sale/street dance banner printed to hang on the side of Kemper Drug. Parking Discussion Recap from July Meeting with Scott Clark and Chief Beahen: Karen Attiya, Beth Ramsey, Marcy VanValkenburg, Sharon Hvorka and Wendy met with Scott Clark and Chief Beahen to discuss ways to make parking in the King Ave Lot more business friendly. Karen said that not having parking for the apartments above Old Main was causing problems with getting renters. Many of us have part time employees or people that only need parking 2 days a month and it would be helpful to have designated spots for parking rather than having to try and pass permits back and forth. Some businesses have employees that start work before 6AM and the lot is posted no parking then. Scott Clark and Chief Beahen listened to our concerns but could not make any changes in the parking rules at this time. When the parking study is presented it will hopefully shed more light on these issues. For the present time the King Ave lot is not being enforced on Weekends and Holidays. The renters parking signs are down but overnight parking for renters is not being enforced. New Business: Music in the Park: Music is being offered in the Park at Lunchtime on Tuesdays from 11:30 to 12:30 during the summer. Halloween Decorating: It would be nice if we could decorate downtown for the Halloween/Fall Season. Looking for volunteers to organize decorating. Santa Downtown: We are looking at December 8th or 15th as possible dates to have Santa downtown along with his reindeer. We are looking for a volunteer to be Santa. Bills name was suggested as a possible candidate. Wendy will ask Park and Rec if we can have Santa in the park. We are looking for people to serve on a committee to arrange the event this year. We would like to once again invite Carolers downtown and encourage businesses to have special events/discounts that day to encourage people to come downtown. We also need to talk about decorating downtown for the holidays and for Santa's spot. Plans for downtown building completion celebration: Probably will happen next spring. (The Bank of Elk River will probably be planning a Celebration in September for completion of their construction). Dates for Parking Survey working meeting: Results of the survey are not available yet. We will be notified as to the date that the HRA will be getting the survey results. Other new business: The Arts Alliance has been exploring the possibility of setting up a storefront with gallery and office space in the Old Creative Genius Space until that building is scheduled for demolition. This is contingent on the results of the parking study and working out an arrangement with the City for use of the space. It was agreed that having an Art Space could be a beneficial for downtown. The meeting was adjourned at 9AM