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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06.07.2022 City Council Meeting MinutesMedina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 1 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 7, 2022 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on June 7, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor Martin presided. I. ROLL CALL Members present: Albers, Cavanaugh, DesLauriers, Martin, and Reid. Members absent: None. Also present: City Administrator Scott Johnson, Attorney Dave Anderson, Finance Director Erin Barnhart, City Engineer Jim Stremel, City Planning Director Dusty Finke, Planning Intern Colette Baumgardner, Public Works Director Steve Scherer, and Chief of Police Jason Nelson. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (7:01 p.m.) III. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA (7:01 p.m.) The agenda was approved as presented. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (7:01 p.m.) A. Approval of the May 17, 2022 Work Session City Council Meeting Minutes Moved by Albers, seconded by Martin, to approve the May 17, 2022 work session City Council meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. B. Approval of the May 17, 2022 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Moved by Martin, seconded by Cavanaugh, to approve the May 17, 2022 regular City Council meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. V. CONSENT AGENDA (7:02 p.m.) A. Approve Resolution 2022-41 Accepting the Resignation of Community Service Officer Justin Cook and Authorize Recruitment of Vacant Community Service Officer Position B. Approve 2022-2023 Liquor License Renewals C. Approve Hackamore Road Agreement with WSB D. Approve Resolution 2022-42 Accepting Donations for the 2022 Bike Safety Rodeo E. Approve Agreement for Uptown Hamel Study Martin commented that the City will miss Cook. She also thanked everyone that made donations to the bike rodeo. Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. VI. COMMENTS (7:04 p.m.) A. Comments from Citizens on Items not on the Agenda There were none. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 2 B. Park Commission Scherer reported that the annual park tour was held on May 18th with a regular meeting following. He stated that the Three Rivers regional trail was discussed, and no consensus was reached. C. Planning Commission Finke reported that the Planning Commission will hold three public hearings the following week to consider a PUD Concept Plan for a rural subdivision, Cates Industrial Park Comprehensive Amendment request, and a Concept Plan for an amendment to the Medina Clydesdale Marketplace PUD. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Hamel Townhomes (7:08 p.m.) DesLauriers recused himself from this item. Johnson stated that the Preliminary Plat and Site Plan have been updated based on the input of the Council at the last meeting. Martin commented that she believes staff captured all the comments of the Council from the last review. 1. Resolution 2022-43 Granting Preliminary Plat Approval Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Albers, to Adopt Resolution 2022-43 Granting Preliminary Plat of Hamel Townhomes subject to the recommended conditions. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Resolution 2022-44 Approving Site and Building Plan Review Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Albers, to Adopt Resolution 2022-44 Approving the Site Plan of Hamel Townhomes subject to the recommended conditions. Motion passed unanimously. DesLauriers rejoined the Council. B. Diamond Lake Regional Trail (7:10 p.m.) Johnson stated that on June 15, 2021 the Council approved a conceptual route for the Diamond Lake Regional Trail (DLRT). He stated that since that time Three Rivers Park District has worked on a Master Plan, the comment period has now expired, and Three Rivers Park District is now requesting each of the communities pass a resolution of support for the DLRT. Martin asked if there had been any significant deviations from what was previously approved for the conceptual route through Medina. Stephen Shurson replied that there were no deviations from the route previously approved by the Medina City Council. He commented that the Master Plan is designed to document those previous discussions, public engagement, and previous research. Martin commented that she did focus on the Medina route and did not notice any deviations. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 3 DesLauriers referenced the cities that support the trail and noticed that Long Lake was missing. He asked if there was a reason that community did not support the trail. Shurson replied that they had proposed that the existing trail along Highway 112 would be converted to a regional trail where Three Rivers would take over ownership and maintenance and while the public and businesses supported the concept, the City Council felt that introducing a higher level of traffic into the downtown area would cause congestion and pedestrian traffic. He stated that the City declined the option to convert that segment of trail. DesLauriers stated that perhaps in the future Long Lake will change their mind. Shurson commented that the good news is that there would still be connectivity. Martin commented that during the public hearing process there was quite a bit of discussion related to the power of eminent domain and that the Park District would not exercise that route. She asked if that is simply the policy of the current commissioners or whether that is set in policy. Kelly Grissman, Three Rivers Park District, replied that it is not written into statute that they cannot exercise eminent domain, but it is written into statute that in order for the Park District to exercise that tool, the city would have to authorize that tool. She stated that the city could choose to take that tool off the table through a cooperative agreement that will come forth at a later time. Martin agreed that she would feel more comfortable if that is included in the cooperative agreement. She asked if the cooperative agreement would be between the Park District and all cities, or between the Park District and each individual city. Grissman replied that the Park District would have agreements with each individual city in order to customize the details to the needs and desires of that community. Shurson reviewed the next steps in the process, should this resolution be approved. Martin recognized the lengthy review and discussions the Council previously had on this topic and appreciated the cooperative efforts of the Park District throughout that process. 1. Resolution 2022-45 of Support for the Diamond Lake Regional Trail Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Martin, to Adopt Resolution 2022-45 Supporting the Diamond Lake Regional Trail Master Plan. Motion passed unanimously. C. Electric Vehicle Charging Ordinance (7:20 p.m.) Johnson stated that at the April 19th work session, staff brought forward the proposed ordinance and a few changes were required to be made which were then reviewed by the Planning Commission at its May meeting. He stated that a few more changes were suggested by that body and an updated version is provided for the Council to review. Baumgardner provided background on the draft electric vehicle charging ordinance and its intent, noting that she provided a higher level of background and information at the Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 4 previous worksession with the Council. She reviewed the sections of the proposed draft ordinance, recommendations, and related incentives. Martin asked if the landscaping reduction incentive would be on the interior of the site. She was unsure that would be a big incentive as most developers of retail are building to sell. DesLauriers commented that 50 percent is a lot and suggested 25 percent as the reduction. Martin stated that perhaps up to 50 percent is allowed with specific minimums identified. Albers asked if the current cost to be EV ready for commercial would be about $7,200. Baumgardner provided a copy of an email showing the associated cost estimates. She noted that the final step to go from EV ready to EV installed is missing as those costs vary dramatically. Finke stated that this incentive was in response to feedback from the Council pertaining to offsetting the cost of installation of some level of EV readiness. He stated that reduction of landscaping would allow for some additional square footage of space in the building to offset the cost of installation. Baumgardner continued to review the proposed incentives. Cavanaugh asked if there would be a reason to keep parking lot islands, in terms of safety or maneuverability. Finke stated that if islands are necessary to provide turning radius, those would still be required. Baumgardner continued to review the proposed incentives. Martin noted that she was a bit concerned with the density incentive until she read the proposed language which includes caps. Baumgardner reviewed the input received by the Planning Commission and its recommendation at its May meeting. Martin stated that perhaps there should be additional language added to the tree incentive to ensure there are some trees on the site and how that incentive is applied. Baumgardner commented that the incentive would only apply up to the recommendation for the type of development. She stated that if two stations would be recommended, the incentive could be applied up to that standard. Albers stated that he is unsure if he is in agreement with the tree incentive. He suggested not using the tree incentive. He noted that not all vehicles will be electric and therefore trees will still provide value. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 5 Cavanaugh commented that any trees can fit on the site as provided for in the tree replacement ordinance, should be placed on the site. He stated that perhaps the City incentivize developers by giving some type of credit or proportional reimbursement for including EV infrastructure. He stated that if the incentive is linked to tree replacement payment, some sites would have the incentive available, and others would not. He suggested instead, using the general tree fund to contribute a percentage of the cost for a site to become EV ready. Martin asked for clarification. Cavanaugh provided examples of two parcels whereby under staffs proposal, one site with trees would have access to reimbursement for EV infrastructure and a non-treed site would not. He instead provided a suggestion where the City would assist a developer in becoming EV ready by contributing a percentage of the cost using the general tree fund. Finke stated that the City has identified a more active role of forestry management using that fund. Martin commented that diverting tree fund dollars to EV would seem contrary to the purpose and intent of that fund. She stated that she would lean towards simply removing that tree incentive. Barnhart provided additional details on the environmental fund and explained the different line items within the fund. Albers stated that he would prefer to use that fund to offset the cost of trees for residents to purchase and plant rather than offset the cost of an EV charging station. Reid stated that she is unsure what the answer would be. DesLauriers agreed to remove the tree incentive, noting that it could be added at a later time. Cavanaugh commented that the first three incentives provided by staff take away from the aesthetics of the property and would not be infavor of this. He clarified that his suggestion was to allow development to occur as it does today and a portion of the funds that are paid into the general tree fund could be used to contribute a percentage towards EV charging readiness. Albers stated that he would prefer to allow developers to respond to the market rather than incentivizing that. He stated that developers can already obtain subsidies to install the equipment and therefore would be in favor of the ordinance without the incentives. Martin commented that she does agree with that statement in respect to single-family and townhome developments. She could not recall ever hearing from an owner of an electric vehicle express concern with the costs to install an in-house charging station. She stated that she does like the recommendation or incentive for multi-family housing. She asked the Council if some type of incentive program would make sense. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 6 Cavanaugh agreed that some type of incentive would make sense, on the commercial side, to ensure there is infrastructure in place in the future. Albers stated that he would not support an incentive. Reid commented that she believes that this should be market driven and did not support incentives. DesLauriers stated that he would agree that the EV charging should be market driven. He noted that Polaris has a few charging stations, and they are rarely used. He stated that if the stations are needed, the market will bring them. Martin confirmed the consensus of the Council to remove the incentives from the proposed ordinance. She suggested that staff bring back an amended ordinance with that direction. VIII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT (8:10 p.m.) Johnson had nothing further to report. IX. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL REPORTS (8:10 p.m.) Martin commented that she did attend the bike rodeo which was enjoyed by the children and also attended the Honor Guard memorial service. She stated that she and Albers also attended the fire district planning meeting. She stated that Albers is heading a subcommittee that will create a vision for that potential district. She commented that the Uptown Hamel banners look great and thanked Reid for her contributions. X. APPROVAL TO PAY THE BILLS (8:12 p.m.) Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to approve the bills, EFT 006381E-006402E for $77,371.66, order check numbers 052977-053040 for $199,500.84, and payroll EFT 0511883-0511914 for $61,234.07. Motion passed unanimously. XI. CLOSED SESSION: CONSIDERATION OF LAND ACQUISITION AT PID 11- 118-23-21-0005 OR PID 11-118-23-32-0003 PURSUANT TO MINN. STAT. SEC. 13D.05, SUBD. 3(C) Moved by Martin, seconded by Albers, to adjourn the meeting to closed session at 8:14 p.m. in consideration of land acquisition at PID 11-118-23-21-0005 or PID 11-118-23-32- 0003 pursuant to Minn. Stat. Sec. 13D.05, Subd. 3(c). Motion passed unanimously. The meeting returned to open session at 9:00 p.m. XII. ADJOURN Moved by Albers, seconded by Cavanaugh, to adjourn the meeting at 9:01 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Kathy Martin, Mayor Attest: ____________________________________ Scott Johnson, City Administrator