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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-22-2021 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh,City Council Members Richard Crosby,III,Matt Johnson,Aaron Printup and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick,Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards and Interim City Administrator Ron Olson. Others present: Stewart Crosby, Stephen Shurson, Marge Beard,and Kelly Grissman. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Crosby asked to pull item 10 from the Consent Agenda per Johnson's request. CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 8,2021 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 8,2021 3. SPECIAL COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 18,2021 4. CLAIMS/BILLS 5. APPROVAL OF LOCAL 49 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 6. APPROVAL OF KENNEL LICENSE RENEWALS 7. APPROVAL OF CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH GRANICUS 8. WATER METER REPLACEMENTS 9. REHABILITATION OF LS#16(REST POINT ROAD)AND LS#17(WILDHURST TRAIL) 10. BIG ISLAND DECLARATION AND CHANGE ORDER APPROVAL 11. PUBLIC WORKS RETIREMENT AND RECRUITMENT 12. SEASONAL EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENTS 13. DOCK AND SWIM PLATFORM FOR CITY BEACHES(21-033 &21-034) Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as amended.VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. Page 1 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER REPORT 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE) Edwards said this evening they will have Three Rivers Park District giving an update on their Master Plan progress on the Diamond Lake Regional Trail. They have a number of representatives from the district, Marge Beard,who is the District 1 representative Commissioner on the Park Board will give an introduction and after that they will turn it over the Stephen Shurson. Marge Beard thanked the Council and said Three Rivers is excited to be here and they kicked this off about a year ago working on the Diamond Lake Regional Trail. Throughout the year with all the ups and downs they have had a great experience in working with Orono residents and Staff and are very excited to share an update. She turned it over to Stephen Shurson the project manager. Mr. Shurson showed a presentation on screen and gave a brief overview and update on the analysis. Ultimately this evening,Three Rivers would seek the Council's support for the preferred route moving forward. Search corridors are part of the greater metro-wide plan that Met Council has put forth in the regional parks policy plan and the Diamond Lake Trail is one of those search corridors extending from the Lake Minnetonka area to Dayton/Rogers area. There are several different cities the trail would go through and it is about 20-21 miles long. This trail would be off-road, separated from the road,paved, 10 feet wide and one of the main goals of this project is to create a trail that is as park-like and scenic as possible. They would really like to see it as a destination-type of trail; Orono has many beautiful natural resource areas they would like to connect people to. It is a multi-use trail for pedestrians,bikes, in-line skating, dog walking, strollers,etcetera. Mr. Shurson pointed out being a Master Plan project, it is not something that will happen next year, it will take many years if not decades. After the Master Plan is complete later this year they will then begin to look into the property rights that are needed for the trail. The trail construction would not happen until that is complete which will take years or decades to realize the entire length of trail. He said they do need property rights from private property owners and they do not have much of that at all in the Orono area;they would do so on a seller basis only,negotiating that with the private property owners. He showed some graphics of the vision for the trail,a park-like,rural experience;where needed with big separated crossings of major highways which would be by bridge or underpass. He noted with all the wetlands located along the corridor,boardwalks would also be a key way to minimize impacts. About a year ago they had identified several different route alternatives in Orono and the entire corridor that the Council approved and Three Rivers made that public through public engagement. The public engagement happened from July to the end of the year and they had a lot of good information on the trails on their website. He noted people could place comments, as well as watch an informational video. To outreach,Three Rivers did a lot electronically with Facebook and newsletters, they put up a bunch of signs throughout the corridor, did pop-up events in parks and trails,and sent 3,600 mailings to property owners.As of today,they have already met with City Staff and the Parks Commission and today it is the Council's turn. He noted they have a preferred route for Orono as well as the other six communities.They are drafting the Master Plan and will bring it back to the City at the end of the year. At that time it will include a 30-day commentary for the public. Stewart Crosby showed an analysis and comment summary on screen of the sub-segments in Orono to take a look at some challenges, issues,positives and negatives of each of those. Starting with 08 along Spring Hill Road there were some safety concerns with both 08 and 07 where the trail would cross over County Road(CR)6 as it is high-speed traffic at 55 mph in both locations. Two options were reviewed going into Medina and going north; one is on Hunter Drive off of 07 and one is off Tamarack in 08. The Page 2 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE)—Continued preferred route is heading in the western direction of Tamarack. Mr.Crosby said in both locations the right-of-way varies for the roadway and they have had a conversation with the golf course managers about the trail to learn of their concerns and ideas. Further south at 06,the new trail would be an integral part of this trail and the Diamond Lake Regional Trail would incorporate the new trail on the east side of Long Lake. Three Rivers sees Summit Park as a potential trailhead for this facility and a location where residents and visitors could get onto the trail. 02 is a segment that goes between Wood-Rail Scientific and Natural area and provides many natural and scenic routes, and the public comments noted it would be very scenic and safer than bicycling on the road. There is a concern from residents in this area about loss of privacy and the narrowness of the road if the trail were to go in this location. He noted they did not receive any comments about 04 which is the new trail along County Road 112 and that trail would utilize the existing trail. 03 and 01 utilize the Luce Line State Trail. Three Rivers received several comments from the public and all of those were really interested in making sure the Luce Line does not get paved. The general consensus from the public is that they like to see that trail maintained as gravel. In Wayzata, they have the same 01 Luce Line Trail and Ferndale Road(W4)and several people preferred this route because they felt it was a more direct connection to the Dakota Rail Trail. W2 which uses Wayzata Blvd and Old Long Lake Road through Wayzata Country Club;they had some concerns about the safety adjacent to the golf course and the entrance to the Country Club,but there were others that felt it was a scenic segment. Mr. Crosby noted they went through the same analysis in Wayzata and looked at two different routes along Ferndale that would connect to the Dakota Rail Trail,and east and south along Wayzata Blvd and Berry Ave. Mr.Crosby moved on and showed the recommended route through Orono and Wayzata;the highlighted yellow is the route Three Rivers is recommending. Starting in the southeast,the trail which has yet to go before the Wayzata City Council,but would go up Berry Ave and Wayzata Blvd.to Ferndale Route,then goes north on Ferndale Road to connect to the Luce Line. It heads west on the Luce Line,rather than using Wayzata Blvd and Old Long Lake Road through the Country Club. Three Rivers has had conversations with the DNR and they are receptive to the idea of the regional trail using the Luce Line. At Old Long Lake Road,the route would use that road to get up to East Long Lake Road where they could use Summit Park as a trailhead and use the existing trail along East Long Lake Road going up to Spring Hill Road and heading west to crossing CR 6 at Tamarack. Mr. Crosby pointed out regarding the preferred route,he has highlighted in dashed blue some of the opportunities this route would create in terms of local trail routes and circuits people could do. He said they have noticed there are a lot of people walking and bicycling on Old Long Lake Road—if this Master Plan would come to fruition and they had a paved trail along Old Long Lake Road, it provides the opportunity for several smaller loop trails that people could utilize. They feel that this is a great opportunity for the regional trail to connect north and south,but also provides different opportunities for local community members to have different options for local trail loops. Mr.Crosby noted in the area just west of East Long Lake Road, it is a very challenging segment that goes from East Long Lake Road over to CR 112. Three Rivers has looked at this as an option for a potential partnership trail connection which is a really critical local trail connection that would allow people going east and west along CR 112,Wayzata Blvd.to connect to the regional trail and they have some ideas of how that might occur with a boardwalk over the storm water pond. Seals noted they had some resident complaints and asked Mr. Crosby to share which properties would be affected that Three Rivers would be looking to have access to. While this trail looks really nice,it is not necessarily something Orono needs and when she thinks about residents and what they ask for, she thinks they have really great trails and there needs to be a really good reason to disrupt someone's private property. She would like to have a better understanding of those private properties,because Seals prefers Page 3 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE)—Continued they do not drive a trail right through someone's lot and that is what it looks like on the map she was shown. Crosby said specifically the Tamarack area. Seals pulled it up on Hennepin County and it does go right between and it does not look good. Walsh wants to read a couple of things that were sent to the Council. One is from Chuck Morrison,who was just notified and could not be here tonight. They are in receipt of the plan,the trail, and the various routes,and are shocked that they would have a trail that would go through their backyard. Walsh does not know the specifics but those are Mr.Morrison's comments. He said they definitely oppose the western-most route to the greatest extent provided under law. Mr.Morrison's understanding is that upset residents on other routes that utilize existing easements and transportation corridors have managed to convince them that it should instead run through private property. There are no easements or existing corridors on Mr.Morrison's property or his neighbors' properties. Walsh received another comment from Robin Johnson who owns two properties on Tamarack, 1155 and 1325 Tamarack(one is in Orono, one is in Medina)and they have about 38 acres and are opposed to any trail going through either of their properties. Ms.Johnson thinks that would affect their property values,quality of life,etcetera.Walsh noted those are two people who would be very opposed and he thinks as a Council they would be opposed to any trail trying to go through private property or needing to take property besides all the existing easements and roadways they currently have in place. Mr. Crosby brought over a google map to show a little more clarity on CR 6 because the area they are talking about is right at the edge of the corridor map. He clarified they are talking about the trail coming along Spring Hill Road up to the CR 6 intersection and then heading north up Tamarack Drive. The current preferred alignment would then head due west to the corner of the Scientific and Natural Area and then head north. He pointed out the area where Chuck Morrison lives off of Knoll Manor Road and said the other letter of concern was from a neighbor. He said the trail would come up Tamarack and then head west,just north of Knoll Manor Road where these houses are. Walsh said there are no existing easements there currently,it is just the route they would like to bring it through. Mr. Crosby said that is correct. Crosby said that would be a problem. Seals said that is a bona-fide no on that. Walsh would have a hard time supporting that particular route. Crosby said on the other maps they were seeing, everything was south of that area. Mr. Crosby said that is correct. He thinks it might be helpful to notice that as they come through Old Long Lake Road the intent of the Master Plan would be not to utilize any private property,but they could put the trail in the existing road right-of-way. That likely would not occur until there is a project to improve Old Long Lake Road right through the area,so there would be some modifications made to Page 4 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE)—Continued drainage and vegetation,but within the road right-of-way. As they head up East Long Lake Road,this is a very challenging location with a very narrow right-of-way(only 30 feet), so Three Rivers will have to look at different alternatives to get the trail down heading north toward the park. One of those options would be a shared facility where the trail would be marked with"sharrows"and would actually be on the roadway rather than needing any private property adjacent to it. Walsh does not think there are any plans in the future for the extension of Old Long Lake Road,so he thinks they need to go to another option;he does not think that one is going to work. He knows Three Rivers wanted some kind of approval tonight and a lot of this is new information in terms of the new route. He could probably give disapproval—he does not know that he can tell which one will be the best —but he can tell the ones that will not work. Crosby noted this piece is not the problem, it is the north piece. Walsh said it is that north piece that cuts through the private property. If they had existing easements and roadways,that is what he recommends Three Rivers stays with and follows. Crosby stated it concerns him that they do not have that portion of the map up there. They show all the others where it tends to be working,but not when going through private property. Walsh noted it is that piece right there. Mr. Crosby appreciates that concern and the fact that Three Rivers mapping cuts off right there,it does show on the continuation as they look to the north and that was not the intent on Three Rivers' part. Their intent is to show all of the impacts as they are showing here so the City gets a full picture of the recommendation. Crosby thinks that is the biggest issue the Council has. They are not looking for trails to go through private property or to have any residents disrupted. Printup agreed. Seals would rather they not do the trail at all if that is the only option because it is just not right to the residents. Crosby asked if there was something workable on the road side or something else,but they would have to get it north some other way. Mr. Shurson added they should keep in mind this is a long-term planning project and they do show the line going through private property and need property rights to do so. He noted they do this on a seller basis—they will not force a trail through someone's property that does not want it. Along the Tamarack section,they would be within the road right-of-way until they reach the larger parcel which is owned by Ms.Johnson. He said they actually had a meeting with Ms.Johnson,heard her concerns and told her that they would be looking to build this trail at some point in the future on a seller basis. He noted Ms. Johnson may decide to sell or redevelop her property and that would be the point in which they would Page 5 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE)—Continued construct a trail on a basis that would be satisfactory to her or whomever she may sell the property to. Mr. Shurson said there is no forcing the trail on to private property and they are willing to wait. Walsh appreciates that sentiment,but what they are asking for is an approval for future potential,and he is not willing to even give approval for any future potential through that land at all. He does not even want it on the board as a possibility. Seals said no resident-even if they have to get Three Rivers' permission-wants to see a big trail going through their private land. Walsh said even if they wanted to 20 years from now,Walsh is not willing to put his stamp on it for a potential future possibility. Crosby said the stuff to the south they are good with. Walsh said as long as it is through the roads and right-of-ways,it is all good. Seals agreed. Walsh said everything until they get to Tamarack and go west. Kelly Grissman of Three Rivers said this particular area along Tamarack is an area that they are also working very closely with in Medina. Of the whole corridor,it is probably the area that is the most fluid in terms of the route. Medina is also going through this exact same process that Orono is going through and Three Rivers is working with them to figure out exactly the preferred route they would like to see going forward. Ms. Grissman thinks this is one area that could and will change based on what Medina is looking for. If it works for the City Council today,Three Rivers would still like to get some direction or indication of support for everything south of this so they can still work with Medina on how they can make these two tails connect. Walsh said he thinks they can agree on support of the south;he does not think there is any problem there. Ms. Grissman asked if it would please the Council if Three Rivers stopped short of this last parcel and just kept it directly within the road right-of-way. They could then come back to the Council once they have additional feedback from Medina and could propose a plan as to how to connect those two tails. Walsh said they will talk to Medina either way, so if they want to go up Tamarack and Medina says they can go through. Crosby said in concept,everything south of CR 6. Walsh thinks they are all in agreement for south of that and if Medina wants to continue up Tamarack, they are good with the right-of-ways and the Medina can solve the rest of it if they choose. Ms. Grissman thanked the Council. Page 6 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 14. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE(REMOTE)—Continued Johnson asked if Three Rivers is going to plow the trail once it is done. Ms. Grissman said that is a long time from now as they have a 20-30 year time frame. She would imagine that their policy and arrangement would change. Right now the arrangement with the cities is that cities have taken a very active role in winter maintenance if Three Rivers provides reimbursement of about$500 per mile. She imagines they may have a different arrangement with the cities in 30 years and may change what that winter maintenance looks like. Johnson asks because Orono took on the plowing on the Dakota Rail Trail and he thinks that it is rather disappointing that it is left to the cities to do. What ended up happening to make this work is that Orono had to start doing some plowing for other municipalities because they were not capable or interested. It puts the onus on the City of Orono and it is a trail—Johnson lives right off of it and observes it—the use is so much greater when it is plowed. He said before they take on more trail projects,they should do the very best with the ones they have. He thinks that includes plowing and making them accessible all year long before going on to expand into other trails. Seals thinks before they create more trails they are not managing full time,maybe they should allocate funds towards taking care of the trails they have. She said Johnson is 100%right,people love that trail. Johnson noted Three Rivers is doing a great job of maintaining the Dakota Rail Trail as far as usability, making repairs,making changes,but he thinks Three Rivers needs to commit to having it be all year round. Ms. Grissman very much appreciates that feedback and would be happy to bring that back to the Board for their future conversation on winter maintenance as it is something they have been discussing each year. It is an ongoing conversation and she hopes they have a plan that suits Orono's needs and desires in the near future. Johnson said this trail is from Wayzata through Orono, Spring Park,and Mound and for the first time ever it was open all winter. That is in large part because Orono was willing to take on the lion's share of it. Walsh hopes they can count on Three Rivers' support for continuing those conversations in figuring out how Three Rivers can handle it, or allocating more dollars to help manage that. Ms.Beard appreciates being here to hear the feedback from the Council. She knows that Orono took the lead on clearing the Dakota Rail Trail and she appreciates them very much. 10. BIG ISLAND DECLARATION AND CHANGE ORDER APPROVAL Johnson wants to understand what it meant for the City to declare a restriction on this property as a function of this body. If something occurs with their deed that would not have otherwise been there,and as a result of this bond they have an additional restriction. Edwards said in short,any time the City takes money from the state,they incur restrictions on the property they take the money to improve. About a year ago,they had to encumber the property when they took the DNR grant so they restricted the property on the title in favor of the Minnesota DNR. Now Page 7 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 10. BIG ISLAND DECLARATION AND CHANGE ORDER APPROVAL—Continued they are taking another batch of state money,this time through the Office of Management and Budget through the Department of Economic Development's deed to Orono. The property,in order to get that bond finalized,requires similar restrictions. Basically the state says they are giving Orono this money and they want to make sure they do not take the money,improve the property, and sell the property for a purpose other than what the money was given for. It is basically saying Orono will keep the property long-term and it will remain a public park for the benefit of the public. Attorney Mattick said that is it,they are taking money and in return Orono does not get to sell it until it is run past the state. He noted there are a lot of restrictions on that property even before this one. Johnson moved,Crosby seconded,to approve Big Island Declaration attached in Exhibit A; the Change Order No.4 for the extended ADA Trail in Exhibit B; and the associated engineering proposal from BMI in Exhibit C. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 15. LA20-000048—TIMOTHY WHITTEN OB/O I.JACOBS/A.JACOBS REVOCABLE TRUST, 1700 SHORELINE DRIVE,PRELIMINARY PLAT—RESOLUTION Barnhart stated at the last Council meeting,he was directed to draft a resolution of approval for the plat of Shoreline Estates;he has done so. The City Council added three conditions in addition to those Barnhart originally proposed. Those were incorporated into the conditions of the document and he summarized those in his background memo. Staff is recommending approval of the preliminary plat as part of that resolution. Since the meeting they have received some additional commentary from the neighboring property owner,and that has been provided to the Council. Walsh said at the last Council meeting they approved the recommendation with the changes and they really wanted some feedback from Hennepin County about the left-hand turn lane going to the east,which they did receive. It confirmed that the City's understanding is that the County would not recommend it based on a number of factors and that was what the City was waiting on. He said they are not looking for any additional comments at this point,as this is a preliminary plat. Crosby said it was the turn lane and what else. Walsh said it was just the turn lane they were looking for feedback on. Johnson said with that turn lane,does it go without saying that it has to occur without an encroachment. Attorney Mattick replied yes,there is no right for the Applicant to do anything on the Burwell property. Walsh stated any private property. Attorney Mattick said that is right. Page 8 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 15. LA20-000048—TIMOTHY WHITTEN OB/O I.JACOBS/A.JACOBS REVOCABLE TRUST, 1700 SHORELINE DRIVE,PRELIMINARY PLAT—RESOLUTION—Continued Johnson said it will be interesting because it is a ditch so he is curious how it will go with a power pole. It goes without saying that the County is saying the turn lane needs to be there and it will not encroach on the Burwell property. Attorney Mattick stated,in his opinion,there is nothing the Council can do to force Ms.Burwell to allow them to work on her property or put any improvements on that property. To him,that is just such an elementary and basic proposition. Walsh noted they would not make that recommendation or caveat to begin with at all. Johnson said they also have that visibility prior to the final plat approval. Walsh replied yes,there are plenty of things that need to get done before final plat approval. Johnson said including any potential damage to the trees on the Burwell property. Walsh noted that is all considered, absolutely. Johnson said the finding of the facts noted four outlots,and three were the lakeward lots and the fourth was for the driveway. Barnhart replied,for the road,yes. The most recent preliminary plat shows three outlots along Shoreline Drive and the one for the road. Crosby asked if all of those outlots are on the lake side. Barnhart replied three of them are on the lake side,and one is for the road. Printup moved,Crosby seconded,to approve LA20-000048—Timothy Whitten o/b/o Jacobs Revocable Trust, 1700 Shoreline Drive,PreliminaryPlat as drafted.VOTE:Ayes 5,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Crosby is wearing a green and gold tie and it is for NDSU as his daughter is graduating in May. Johnson noted he sold his house in Orono and found another one in Orono,which was a tough search. The market is tight and very competitive out there. His son is down in Texas and is not escaping the snow. Johnson would really like to see Three Rivers plow;he likes the ideas of more trails but said they should get really good at what they are doing and the ones they have. It is the same thing with the parks. Printup echoes what Johnson said;it took a bit to get Three Rivers to understand that Orono was not interested in that north route but he thinks they did it. He wants to ask their friends to the east in Wayzata,there is a bridge there by the Dakota Trail where it starts and there is more graffiti. He would like to get it cleaned up as it is inviting more and they do not want it oozing this way. Page 9 of 10 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 22,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT—Continued Seals noted the kids are going back to school full-time which is a really big thing. She is glad Johnson brought up the trail and agrees they need to do well with what they have before introducing more. Walsh is thankful that they have good citizens who alert the Council to this stuff as this is new info;they would not have known if Mr.Morrison and Ms.Johnson had not emailed. He loves the idea of the trails and as Johnson said they have done a great job with the trails and parks over many years. He is glad his kids are going back to school,also. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Olson updated the Council and said things are going pretty smoothly. He noted the Police Chief may want to address the Council at the next work session about some changes to use of force laws and his concerns about that. He thinks the Council should know what is going on. Attorney Mattick noted they have been doing some training on it and it has gotten more complicated. It is a new law without much guidance and everyone is waiting for everyone else to do the guidance. The Attorney General's office has done some but not a lot. The County Attorney's office has done some but not a lot. He said the City has been doing some training and some guidance because it does change the rules of engagement. Walsh said that will be a good work session and they will figure out what is going on and how they can continue to support the Police Department. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Attorney Mattick had nothing to report ADJOURNMENT Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to adjourn the meeting at 6:53 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. ATT ST: bk0-1 nna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 10 of 10