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CCM 05/26/2020 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY MAY 26, 2020 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember Ostwald Councilmember Tillberry Councilmember Eggert Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: Wally Wysopal, City Manager Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Daniel Tienter, Director of Finance/City Treasurer/City Clerk Ryan George, Deputy Public Safety Director James Kosluchar, Director of Public Works Joseph L. Sathe, City Attorney Dave Mol, Redpath and Company Brad Slawson, 47 Pub and Grub Mary M. Tjosvold, Crooners Greg Asproth, Two Stooges Sports Bar and Grill Mike Doolittle, Fridley American Legion APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 1. Local Board of Appeals & Equalization Meeting May 11, 2020. Councilmember Ostwald stated former Councilmember Barnette was not present. APPROVED. 2. City Council Meeting of May 11, 2020. APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS: 3. Adopt Resolution No. 2020-21 Repealing Resolution No. 2020-14 in its Entirety and Approving a Subdivision, Lot Split, LS #20-01, to Create Two Single Family Lots from the Lot Located at 1340 Hillcrest Drive (Ward 2). Wally Wysopal, City Manager, stated this is a technical correction as requested by the Anoka County in filing this item. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2020-21. 4. Receive Bids and Award 2020 Street Rehabilitation Project No. ST2020-01. RECEIVED BIDS AND AWARDED 2020 STREET REHABILITATION PROJECT NO. ST2020-01 TO C & L EXCAVATING. 5. Adopt Resolution No. 2020-25 Approving Gifts, Donations and Scholarships for the City of Fridley. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2020 – 25. 6. Adopt Resolution No. 2020-22 Authorizing Signing an Employment Agreement Between Certain Employees Represented by Local No. 1986. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2020 – 22. 7. Claims: 188906 – 189034 APPROVED. ADOPTION OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the proposed consent agenda with the correction. Seconded by Councilmember Tillberry. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No one from the audience spoke. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Tillberry. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 3 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 8. Adopt Resolution No. 2020-24 to Approve and Accept the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2019. Dave Mol, CPA, Redpath and Company, provided an annual financial report overview for fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. MOTION by Councilmember Ostwald to adopt Resolution No. 2020-24. Seconded by Councilmember Eggert. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. Adopt Resolution No. 2026-26 Approving Temporary Waiver of City Code Permit and Zoning Requirements to Promote Physical and Social Distancing for Business Activities During the COVID-19 Health Pandemic. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have faced numerous challenges as they have sought to comply with orders and keep their staff employed while keeping patrons safe. On March 3, 2020, the Governor’s order to shelter in place caused people to stay home. On March 16 the Mayor declared a local emergency. On May 20, 2020, the Governor allowed restaurants to open outdoors with some restrictions. Mr. Hickok stated Fridley’s restaurants have been great regarding compliance. They offered curbside, delivery and pickup options. It was tough on their staff and their businesses. As an example, early in May, Crooners Supper Club and music venue began offering concerts in the parking lot but left caveat for those to be postponed if the Governor’s order would be extended which it was. Crooners’ concerts have been rescheduled for June 1, 2020. Fridley staff and Crooners’ staff have worked closely together on details, and he is happy to say there will be concerts. Mr. Hickok said restaurant owners are looking for some sort of relief and an opportunity to get back to providing service and great food. Staff analyzed the potential for restaurants to offer safe distancing and the like. Staff researched other cities’ approaches to see what they are doing. Staff liked the City of Eagan’s approach which appeared to include all of the things Fridley was interested in which included shortening the approval process. Mr. Hickok stated the resolution in part asks the City Council to allow staff to make some decisions at the staff level. It provides a straightforward checklist for restaurants to assure safety and consistency with the laws. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 4 Mr. Hickok said one of the most important items on the list is how the eating area will be laid out. They can just give City staff a sketch. It does not have to be architecturally drawn. Eagan’s also included a sunset date. This has been consistent amongst their peers as they have looked from city to city. They are hoping there will be an end, there will be a sunset date, and they can get back to life as they knew it. Mr. Hickok said the City Attorney did review it and had no major concerns with it. Many cities are taking a very similar approach. Mr. Hickok stated when the City Attorney talked about the restaurants’ dining being on the restaurant’s own property, they will need to consider what that means to a restaurant that is in a multi-tenant complex or a shopping center. That is where the creativity and the open- mindedness come in. They are talking about the confines of basically the lease description or outside sidewalk, to a covered walkway, to some things like that. Mr. Hickok stated the beauty of this process is that it is designed to be safe but not cumbersome. A permanent amendment to this ordinance would be time consuming and would not allow the businesses to have opened up right away. A permanent amendment allowing relaxation of food service and alcohol service process was not being sought by the owners of the restaurants nor by the City of Fridley staff. Mr. Hickok stated this process being offered has its checks and balances. Safety is still the top priority while allowing some flexibility and some short circuiting of a normally longer process. So far businesses seem to be happy with this simplified process. Cost to administer and review this process is minimal. The Twin Cities North Chamber wanted to make sure he told them they appreciate this. He knows the City’s other Chamber does as well. Mr. Hickok stated staff recommends approval of this this resolution. Mayor Lund stated after the Governor spoke on the May 20, he saw late the next afternoon the League of Minnesota Cities had weighed in, questions had been asked, and also the charitable Gaming Commission has responded that outdoor gambling is permissible if it is in the outdoor dining area. He asked that in the considerations here, in Part 2 of this temporary outdoor dining registration form, that gambling shall not be conducted in temporary outdoor, that be either stricken or charitable gaming may be conducted. Mr. Hickok stated so done. He failed to mention there was a staff committee that worked on this. Ryan George has been very instrumental in his work on this as it relates also to the service of liquor as well as alcohol. This was news to all of them. That is how quickly this is moving, but just last week this announcement had not come out about the gaming. Staff would also include that in the Council’s recommendation and approval. Mayor Lund stated he did have an e-mail submitted to him which he forwarded to Council and some staff. He would like to enter it into the record. It is an e-mail from Route 47 Pub and Grub, and the proprietor-owner is in the audience. It is an e-mail relating to the gambling, which FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 5 they already basically addressed, and the other is about consideration for reduction of several fees. MOTION to enter e-mail received by Mayor Lund from Route 47 Pub and Grub and its owner. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Bolkcom stated the resolution does not have an end date, it is a temporary one. It is in the dining registration form. Should they add that in somewhere? This resolution could be hanging around a long time. However, there is a sunset date of November. Mr. Hickock replied they do reference it when they talk about it being effectively immediately and then can be repealed by the Council at any point. However, it would coincide with the termination of the local peace time emergency, November 15. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she would like to hear from the City Attorney. Joseph L. Sathe, City Attorney, stated having the termination date for this resolution to coincide with the peace time emergency is a practical approach. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Attorney Sathe if they were okay with it. Attorney Sathe replied, yes. Councilmember Bolkcom stated if the Governor changes his mind, we are covered with the wording in our resolution. Mr. Hickok replied, this moves with it and was designed to do that. Attorney Sathe replied, it coincides with the Mayor’s resolution which he believes is also contingent on the Governor’s emergency. They are all synced up already and this just adds another tail onto that. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Captain George if he feels there are any additional issues. Ryan George, Deputy Public Safety Director, replied, the bars and restaurants in Fridley right now do have a very good culture of compliance. They do not have any problem properties per se and this sort of abbreviated approval process the City has, will go through the Fire Marshall, Public Safety, and Community Development so there are some checks and balances. They will be making sure that everything is set and everything will be conducted in a manner that is safe, and everyone will be complying with regulations set forth by State and local agencies. He does not anticipate any additional burden on the police and fire staff. They are operating at their full staffing right now. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 6 Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it can be revoked. Captain George replied, it could be. As part of the City’s on-sale liquor licenses, they do have compliance checks and if somebody does violate any portion of the on-sale liquor licenses they do have civil penalties in place and revocation is one of the options in addition to funds. He does not anticipate any issues, especially with smaller crowds and good management at this point. Councilmember Tillberry asked if they will be enough. Captain George replied some of the establishments have an existing patio endorsement for their bar and restaurant. Normally that approval process would go through Council and it is kind of a lengthy process. The intent behind this resolution is to streamline that process and allow for a patio or an outdoor dining area to exist in a place that otherwise would not have existed in the past and go through an administrative review process. They are ensuring that it is safe but also it is an opportunity for a business to open and maybe try and make some money. Mayor Lund stated by streamlining the process, it gives some flexibility to the City staff to operate much quicker, but it is still going to be done on a case by case basis. They are going to work really hard to get these people up and running at least to the best of their abilities without jeopardizing safety. Mayor Lund stated there are several restaurant operators. He asked if there were copies of the resolution available for them. He asked whether it was the understanding that with the passing of this, they will reach out to restaurants so they can start looking at what they can do. Mr. Hickok replied, they can contact them as soon as tomorrow morning. They could go on even tonight electronically and could take a look at the check sheet they have there. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how all the business owners ended up here tonight. Mayor Lund replied the Governor made the announcement. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they needed to contact anyone else. Mayor Lund replied, yes. They are not all here. A good majority are. Word spreads fast. Brad Slawson, 47 Pub and Grub, stated it has been challenging and they expected that. Their business plan was to hopefully show a profit in their third year, and they were on track to do that until COVID-19. They are going to be in it for the long run and make this plan work. However, if you have been in the facility, and most of them have, their whole business plan is designed around big parties, big bands, after work celebrations, retirement parties, all the things that for the near future they cannot do. He does like the idea of having concerts in the parking lot. They want to try and do one on their patio. They did reopen a few weeks ago. It is going slow, but they are going to keep on growing it. All in all, things are going well as planned. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 7 Mr. Slawson stated the City has been supportive. He has been a good owner in the City with minimal problems. They try and do their best with staying in compliance with what the City wants them to do. Fridley has been great to work with. He has a need, he makes a phone call, and he gets a call back. It is not always what he wants to hear but he gets the answer and he knows how to move forward. He said Ryan George has been awesome to work with. Mr. Slawson stated as far as his e-mail, they are asking for a freebie. They do not mind paying their fair share. Their liquor license is approximately $10,000; and the City allows them to pay half of that, approximately $5,000 before June 1. Their e-mail is asking the City to relax that and let them pay month-to-month. His liquor license is established as if they are open with his big stage, his capacity of 800 or so people; and now he can only have 50 people. He is asking for his liquor license to reflect his capacity. Of course, if the Governor’s rules change and allows them to go inside at 50 percent, of course they will pay more than that. In his mind it is easy to do. Mr. Slawson stated there are only around 7 of them in the City. His opinion is that it is something they can achieve. Between now and next Monday, he needs to know the amount he needs to pay. He did pay fees last year in full and the very last month of last year they were not allowed to sell alcohol. He believes that is an easy one to get a credit back. One month this year they were not allowed to sell alcohol either. Some of those things he is asking for, they were not even able to utilize the license. If the answer is, no, he will cut a check on Monday and will survive it. If they can find ways to help out the businesses, he thinks that would be a fair approach to a matter that has been very difficult as best. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Slawson whether the licensing year he is referencing to begins April. Last year meaning March. Mr. Slawson’s e-mail does allude to pretty much those things he would like to see. He will have to give the City a few days to ascertain what they think is fair. Mr. Slawson stated he will keep in touch with Captain George on that. They will be looking at some things, maybe a tent with bands. It will be challenging. Mayor Lund stated to Mr. Slawson hopefully his landlord is giving him some sort of a deal. Mr. Slawson replied, so far, he has been good to deal with, but his landlord has his bills, too. He said it just depends on how long it is going to last. Those are the unknowns. If he was assured they could open up again in July, it is worth paying the $5,000. Mary M. Tjosvold, Crooners, stated they are very excited to be able to have their drive-in on an 18-wheeler, flat bed. They will have about 50-60 cars in their parking lot. However, it is a long haul for restaurants and being she is also in the healthcare business, she does not see this virus ending in any short time. Greg Asproth, Two Stooges Sports Bar and Grill, stated they have had their place for 32 years. This is the toughest year for them. It has been tough on their approximately 40 employees. Rules have been hard to follow and understand. He thinks Fridley has been more progressive than a lot of cities. Their landlord has already given them his little notice, but they are working their way through it. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 8 Mike Doolittle, Fridley American Legion, stated they are hurting. They have to do it together. They are a non-profit. The money they do make goes to veterans, the community, and the schools. Unfortunately at this time, they have to stop those donations just for the Legion to survive. Anything the City could do to help would be appreciated. And of course, time is getting short. They had thought about maybe tables outside to the north. Mayor Lund stated they will take a look. Staff has a pretty good handle on this, and they certainly understand the dire need. If they can make it work, they will. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they want to, on page 74, put gambling “shall not” be conducted. Captain Ryan stated the amended application will read, “lawful gambling may be conducted at permitted premises in accordance with rules and regulations established by the Minnesota Gambling Control Board.” MOTION by Councilmember Eggert to adopt Resolution No. 2026-26. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if something could be put on the City website about this. Let people know this is something they are allowing in their City, and they can reach out to their local restaurants. 10. Adopt Resolution No. 2026-23 Authorizing and Approving an Interfund Loan for rd the 53 Avenue Lift Station Improvement Project (Project No. 20-519); Approving Alterations in the Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2020, and Accepting Bids and Awarding a Contract for the Same. rd James Kosluchar, Director of Public Works, stated the 53 Avenue Lift Station is one of 14 lift stations the City owns and operates; 13 of those are sanitary lift stations and one is a stormwater rd lift station. This one is located in Ward 1, just north of 53 Avenue and west of Trunk Highway 65. The project is in the 2020-2024 capital investment plan scheduled for year 2021. rd Mr. Kosluchar presented a graphic from 53 Avenue looking toward Target of the existing lift station. Basically the existing lift station is in that small pad area underground. It serves properties south of I-694 and east of Trunk Highway 65 plus other properties in its vicinity west of Trunk Highway 65. Those are generally large commercial. Mr. Kosluchar stated the existing lift station is constructed mainly underground. It was built in 1959. A modular construction. It was what they called a canned lift station. It has been rehabbed several times since then. It operates two 5-hp submersible pumps with 200 gallons a FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 9 minute of capacity. It has a 9-foot deep, 4-foot diameter steel wet/dry well. There is a SCADA system so that operates the computerized controls and ties it into their central controls. Mr. Kosluchar stated it does not have emergency power. They do have a generator they can pull out on a trailer there. There is a panel antenna and hatch above ground in the roadway clear zone. It is not the safest location working out there. They usually work in pairs. One person goes down and one person has to basically watch and ensure that person is safe in the confined space entry. So, you are exposed to traffic. In addition to that, it is just a hazard having this out in traffic. Mr. Kosluchar stated this was one of four lift stations they evaluated as most critical in 2017, and the valuation concluded that replacement was the best option. The proposed lift station would have a partial above-ground footprint. It would be relocated east of the Target driveway, rather than in between the two driveways. Mr. Kosluchar stated there is planned replacement, upgraded component sensors, electronics, and a dedicated emergency generator. This is the most distant generator for the Public Works garage and it has frequent outrages. That area of community is not as robust with regard to power. In addition, it frees up the portable generator for use by the City. There is a prefabricated generator/control building. Mr. Kosluchar stated they bid the project on April 21, and these bids were open online. They used QuestCDN. The City was able to take the bids electronically, open them all at the absolutely correct clock atomic time, and used Microsoft Teams so bidders and staff could all log in together. Mr. Kosluchar stated six responsive bids were received, and the lowest responsive bid was from Pember Companies of Menomonie, Wisconsin, with a low bid of $726,807.50. The Engineer’s estimate was a bit lower, by 11 percent, $655,925.00. While the bid was above the project estimate, the bids did show consistency. Staff thinks the cost increase was due to the installing of the wetwell with limited space even though the construction/demolition is phased. Mr. Kosluchar said if they were to replace the lift station where it is currently located, they would have to bypass the pump continuously while things were reset. By moving off the pad that is relatively unsafe anyway, they are actually able to build the new lift station, do a change order, and then demolish the existing lift station. Therefore, it is less difficult and costly in its existing location. They conferred with the consulting engineer. They do not believe the City will obtain a price reduction with rebidding the project. They think the contractor is right, and the Engineer’s estimate just missed a couple of items that ended up driving the cost of the project up. Mr. Kosluchar stated assuming Council awards the project tonight, they would have private utility work starting and running through mid-next year. Material purchases, June-May, construction of new lift station in April-September, and demolition of the existing lift station by September 2021. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 10 Mr. Kosluchar stated the Capital Improvements Fund has bidded construction expenditures rd starting in 2021. They do have that 53 Avenue Safety Improvement project which includes the turnabout. They are resurfacing which is planned to start in 2022. In order to reduce the holiday season impact to Target and other retailers, this season construction is strongly preferred from January through September 2021. Mr. Kosluchar stated it also requires substantial lead time to obtain requiring material payments starting in 2020 to adhere to this most desirable schedule, and utility extensions may also require some advance payment. Mr. Kosluchar said staff recommends funding the project through the Interfund Loan Program established for this purpose which would be reimbursed by the Sanitary Sewer Fund. The Interfund loan from the Community Investment Fund would be the one for the $140,000 project and expense amount and 1 percent interest rate for up to 10 years with a minimum annual payment of $88,689. Additional details are included in the Council’s packet and a resolution amending the budget accordingly is attached for approval. The resolution requires approval of four-fifths vote of Council to approve the budget amendment in accordance with the City Charter. Councilmember Bolkcom stated on page 78 at 1.05, it states it requires at least four members of Council for this unexpected budget authority. On page 79 at 2.05 it says the City may amend the terms of the loan as described as such in Section 2.02 at any time by resolution. She asked if that needed a 4 out of 5. Mr. Kosluchar replied, he did not believe so. That 4 out of 5 is for the budget amendment. Dan Tienter, Finance Director/City Clerk, stated the City Charter requires the budget amendment to be adopted by a four-fifths vote, whereas Interfund loans can be approved by a simple majority of the City Council. It is worth noting, however, that because all these items are contemplated by one resolution, the practical effect is that it has to be passed by a four-fifths vote this evening. Councilmember Bolkcom said it only makes sense they do one at a time. She asked if there was any difference in cost doing it January through September versus doing it at a different time of the year. Mr. Kosluchar replied, no He said he thought it was actually a good schedule for a contractor to know they have construction right out of the gate next year. Generally, it is a good thing to lock down some construction jobs early. Councilmember Eggert asked if Target would be interested in construction at their main entry during the holidays, but with the schedule he would also imagine they are keeping that entry open although they are constructing. He asked if the piece that is in their driveway go away or does that stay until the roadwork is done? FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 11 Mr. Kosluchar replied, the phased construction enables them to have this happen earlier in the rd season. If they were to do the 53 turnabout and the utility all at once, you can imagine the contractors would be on top of each other. Phasing it is kind of essential. As far as access, there is never a good time to restrict access and do the demolition work, etc; but the contractor is required to keep one of the two aisle ways open of that eastern access point so there is also a western access point for Target (and the other businesses). Where the lift station sits right now, in that small median, one of those two access roads on either side will be open to two-way traffic. They are wide enough to accommodate two-way traffic. Councilmember Eggert asked if that was during the road construction. Mr. Kosluchar replied, that will be during the utility construction. Subsequently, during the road construction, it is going to be a little more difficult because there are going to be times when the westerly or the easterly access has to be closed. It will be a choice between those two. The roadway construction will be much more impactful. A roadway will widen their entrance quite a bit. They will end up with a better entrance. Target had talked to the City about the time the rd City applied for the funding for 53 or shortly thereafter and wanted to rework the entrance. Councilmember Eggert said they had been engaged with the City on these conversations. Mr. Kosluchar replied, absolutely, and this is their acceptable means of going about this. In a two-year phase. Councilmember Ostwald asked under Section 2.05, what instances could they forgive the principal and interest. Mr. Tienter replied, at this point in time, if they adopted a resolution terminating the Interfund loan by a simple majority, they could forgive it at their discretion. Councilmember Eggert stated they created this investment fund for projects like this, and they should emphasize to the public this was an excellent vehicle to work out of cash instead of borrowing money for this project which would have additional cost. They have the cash and they can move on this, document it all, and be paid back. MOTION by Councilmember Tillberry to adopt Resolution No. 2026-23. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. Adopt Resolution No. 2020-27 Authorizing Entering into Cooperative Agreement #1036170 with MnDOT for Trunk Highway 47 Fencing and Landscaping Project. James Kosluchar, Director of Public Works, said Item Nos. 11 and 12 are related. This is for approving two agreements for a fencing and landscaping project. The proposed project is along thth Trunk Highway 47, University Avenue, between 37 Avenue and 69 Avenue. That does FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 12 extend to the City of Columbia Heights. The proposed project is in the 2019-2024 capital investment plan scheduled for 2020. In 2019 the City Council, staff, and residents actively participated in a planning effort to envision and identify improvements along Trunk Highway 47, University Avenue in Fridley. This effort resulted in a summary report presented to the City Council on June 24, 2019. Included in the recommendation were improvements to enhance safety and improve corridor aesthetics. Mr. Kosluchar stated in 2019, City staff discussed plans with MnDOT for replacement and removal of the existing Highway 47 right-of-way fencing in Fridley. The fencing had obviously fallen into disrepair. Through some discussion with the great team they worked with at MnDOT, they were able to identify areas where the fencing could be removed completely. The City Council subsequently approved Resolution No. 2019-29 which included and identified the disposition of fencing or segments identified for removal permanently. There were segments that were identified for replacement with alternative buffers or fencing. Mr. Kosluchar stated for this project, MnDOT will fund the project for fencing replacement at $840,000. This is what they had set aside for replacing all the fencing along this corridor. The City requested funding be directed to landscaping insofar as possible where the fencing will be removed and no new fencing will be put in or an alternative buffer or alternative fencing will be put in. Mr. Kosluchar stated the City also requested to perform in-kind services by administering the project which is reimbursable by removing the fence which is an in-kind reduction in costs and allowing the segment at Rice Creek (which is not visible from the roadway) to remain. All these in-kind services and reductions totaled an estimated $240,000. MnDOT has agreed to apply whatever savings there are to landscaping, and MnDOT has completed fencing plans incorporating those revisions the City requested. Mr. Kosluchar stated the fencing in Columbia Heights would be replaced entirely with black chain link as planned originally. MnDOT also recently completed landscaping plans increasing those improvements in accordance with the reductions as he mentioned. It includes enhanced landscaping in Fridley. They have had multiple staff reviews of that. Mr. Kosluchar stated there are trees included and native perennials and ornamental grass that are quite frequent in the plans. The plantings are directed largely to medians, and the City’s operation staff indicated this would probably be the most beneficial because of the difficulty of any future construction, and these blocks of plantings about 30-feet in length would be spaced every 120-150 feet in the median. They will try some more variable spacing once the construction is underway. They may try to have more density of these planting blocks towards the intersection to give the impression you need to slow down for a driver. They are also alternating small caliper trees in these blocks. th Mr. Kosluchar stated the median between 694 and 57 Avenue is proposed to be planted entirely. It is between I-694 and the north ramps to be accurate. Staff identified this as a gateway that is difficult to access for maintenance. The project has a guardrail removed which is helpful but it is really hard to get out there. There are a lot of vehicles and just to get into that FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 13 median is tough. There are substantial quantities of feathery grass which will require limited maintenance out there on the median. The plans also include some medium-sized edge plantings st to create a buffer. An example is from the west side of 61 to Mississippi. Mr. Kosluchar stated the plans are still under final review by MnDOT and are subject to their approval. The City has gotten good feedback so far on them. Plans do include a two-year warranty for landscaping. They do not include an irrigation system. City staff states they would prefer to water than to put money into an irrigation system out there. Mr. Kosluchar stated plans do not include decorative fencing. Mr. Hickok is leading the negotiations on those. That is yet to be funded. Plans do not include fencing along I-694 particularly with WoodSpring and replacing that fence there. Unfortunately, that is federal jurisdiction and will not be included in this project. Mr. Kosluchar stated the plans do not include lighting, but they may be the able to include lighting. They are working actively on that and possibly putting in a conduit, for instance, on the median if they decide that is a good option for that. Staff will come back and revisit with Council on that. Mr. Kosluchar stated there are two agreements, one is a Cooperative Agreement with MnDOT which is in draft form. It is going through State approval right now. Staff is asking for some advanced approval of the draft so the project can move forward to bid more readily, and they would come back to Council if there were any substantial changes in the Agreement. Mr. Kosluchar said Fridley is providing construction oversight and management for the project. It will not override the funding for the project in Columbia Heights and Fridley which includes reimbursement to Fridley for construction oversight and management, and then it assigns maintenance of the improvement. Fridley would maintain the landscaping between basically rdth 53 Avenue north to 69Avenue. MnDOT would maintain the remaining landscaping which is some trees down in Columbia Heights and all fencing that is installed in the project which is very little in Fridley. Columbia Heights will have a very similar situation to what Fridley has where MnDOT is maintaining the fence and they are maintaining any trees in the right-of-way. Mr. Kosluchar stated the second agreement is a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the City of Columbia Heights, again in draft form, and he is requesting advanced approval. He has discussed it with staff, and they seem to be okay with it. There are no big commitments Columbia Heights needs to make. Just allowance for Fridley to be there and work. The project will be completed in accordance with plans for MnDOT. Fridley again will provide construction oversight and management. Columbia Heights would provide access for the project for Fridley and its contractors and agents. There is no cost to the Columbia Heights and no maintenance required by them. Mr. Kosluchar stated the anticipated timeline is they look at advertising for bids next month, by the end of June have bids in hand, and award on July 13. Fence removal can start once the agreements are in place (June through August). Replacement would be July through October of this year; plantings would continue into spring of next year. They are working on the best FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 14 schedule to get the best pricing from the contractors whether it is fall or spring planting, and then the landscaping warranty ends two years hence. Decorative fencing is to be determined. Mr. Kosluchar stated on Trunk Highway 47, because people came to meetings and talked about safety as well, he wanted to do an update on other things that were happening. There are minor safety improvements ongoing along the corridor. There is LED lighting upgrades by MnDOT which is literally like night and day at the intersections. There are striping upgrades that are going to be happening which have been planned for awhile. There is a Planning engineering study for Trunk Highways 47 and 65. There will be two public meetings. There will be more opportunity for input. They are also looking into a good option for some corridor lighting. Mayor Lund stated going back to the timeline, it showed moving of the existing fence and then replacement of fence and yet the decorative fence to be determined. He asked for the distinction between the fence that they are going to replace with and how is that different from the decorative fence. Mr. Kosluchar replied, in Columbia Heights there will be a replacement schedule for the replacement of the chain link fence. Mayor Lund stated so where the fencing is going to be replaced, they are going to keep the cyclone fencing in there for now. Mr. Kosluchar stated maybe they will leave those segments for last and then make the decision at that point. Mayor Lund stated it is great they are moving along with this. He thanked MnDOT for taking citizen input. Here they are a year later after those visionary meetings and there are some significant changes that are going to happen already this summer and more forthcoming. He wants people to really take note that their voice has been heard. st Councilmember Eggert stated he recalled a street project on University between 61 and Mississippi, he asked if that project is moving forward and how does it coordinate with this project. Mr. Kosluchar replied that project is going to move forward independently, and it will be a City project. They remember there was one image where there were some wedge plantings, this will enable the City to put in those additional wedge plantings along the University frontage road in that case. He would expect within the next month and one-half they will have a feasibility report on all three of those projects. Mr. Kosluchar stated they did have a last meeting he believed in January this year. They will probably be budgeted for 2021. They will need a little more time. They are managing a lot of projects at this time. Mr. Kosluchar stated for this year, he does not know they would do the best job, so he would want to maybe hold off as there are some elements they may want to include such as a walkway thth in that particular segment, some wider ponding area on 67 to 68. There are three segments FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 15 there. Two of them north of Mississippi and one just south. They will get landscape treatment. They will get some landscape screening to start out with. They will get that planted, and then they will be able to work between the City’s right-of-way and MnDOT’s right-of-way kind of behind those. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about landscaping warranties. Mr. Kosluchar replied, the contractor is required to pay for those. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so the contractor puts them in but the City waters them. They cannot come back and say, well, you did not water. Mr. Kosluchar replied, they can certainly augment the City’s watering. It will not necessarily be a requirement, but they should be monitoring and working with the City. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the size of the plants. Mr. Kosluchar replied, no, the trees are like 1 ½ inch caliper. They do need to be of a smaller size in order to be placed in the median. Some of the grass will be 1 ½ to 2 feet tall. They are not going to be full size, but yet not small enough to get hit by a mower by accident. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the fencing. Mr. Kosluchar replied, on the decorative fence the verdict is still out on maintenance. There are some ways they can accommodate that, but the City does maintain some segments of that already. There are some repairs and costs associated with that. Councilmember Bolkcom asked as to the other public meetings, does Mr. Kosluchar think those will happen this year, considering COVID-19. Mr. Kosluchar asked which public meetings she was talking about. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the future of some of the other segments. Mr. Kosluchar replied, he would say they would. They are talking now about the 2021 street project. They might be able to have a limited amount of people there who maybe do not have the technology or ability to get online. They even talked about just prerecording, doing their presentation, and have people give them comments and questions. Then working back and forth with questions and answers after that. They really do not want to lose the value of the input of the public--especially from people who live along that corridor. Councilmember Ostwald asked if the City has the equipment to water the plants? Mr. Kosluchar replied, yes, they do. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 16 MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No.2020-27. Seconded by Councilmember Tillberry. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. Approve Cooperative Agreement for the Administration of Construction of Fencing Replacement and Landscaping on Trunk Highway 476 (University Avenue) in the Cities of Columbia Heights and Fridley. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve a Cooperative Agreement for the Administration of Construction of Fencing Replacement and Landscaping on Trunk Highway 476 (University Avenue) in the Cities of Columbia Heights and Fridley. Seconded by Councilmember Tillberry. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. Informal Status Reports. There were no informal status reports. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Ostwald to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Eggert. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:50 P.M. Respectfully submitted by, Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor