March 25, 2013 Work Session

  1. STREET LIGHT FINAL DESIGN SELECTION 7:00 – 8:00
    1. The council needs to finalize the color, arm style, and attachment locations in order for Millerbernd to begin construction on the street lights. Decisions should be made for the following items:

                                          i.    Color – Most cities have chosen black. – Reinhardt explained there is a need for some decisions.  Tolsma said there is a color chart and Strand was consulted about the color black.  Strand said black is the safe pick as it hides wear, it’s an easy color to match and it fades well.  Gloss was discussed and he warns against high gloss and prefers semi to flat gloss.  Tolsma said the common choice is black and there is a green color that is popular.  Sippel thinks whatever is in front of The Mist should be carried through.  Williamson said black is neutral enough and would match well with future changes.

                                        ii.    Arm Style – Bemidji (drawing 1) or Fairfax (drawing 2).  Reinhardt said there are two arm styles and arm style two was chosen.  Arm style one is the general preference but it’s the question of whether changing the arm style is a material change to the specifications of the project.  She said there is a minor change to the cost (.4%) and it is not a material change.  She said the slight risk is the second bidder could claim they had the lower bid for that arm style.  She said the risk is low.  Hughes wonders about a third arm style.  Reinhardt said she is comfortable with the risk.  Sippel likes option two because it’s a cleaner look and it’s already been voted on.  Bren agrees with the original choice also.  It’s decided to stay with the original option two.

                                       iii.    Banner/Flag Holder/Holiday Decoration Height – Up to this point council and staff have assumed a height of 15 feet to the lowest banner arm and flag holder (see attached drawings).  The concern is that the flag doesn’t hit the bottom of the light pole.  It is determined to use the same heights as the drawing.

                                       iv.    Banner/Flag Holder/Holiday Decoration Configuration – Should flag holder and holiday decorations be on the street side with the banners on the back side or vice versa? Most cities use the same configuration as the attached drawings illustrate.  Sippel thinks they should be displayed as drawn.  Hughes wonders about the placement of the flag and the banner.  It is determined to use the same configuration as drawn.

 

  1. TOUR DE TONKA 8:00 – 8:10
    1. Included is the permit application for the Tour de Tonka scheduled for August 3rd. The event is proposed to be very similar to last year, although both the 43 and 51 (new this year) mile routes are coming through Spring Park on the trail as opposed to just the 43 mile route like last year. Tim Litfin from Minnetonka Community Education noted that he did not expect the overall number of riders to increase substantially because they anticipate the 51 mile route to consist of mostly riders that have been doing the 43 mile route, but would like to accomplish a 50+ mile ride. Additionally, Tim will be at the April 15th council meeting to give a brief presentation and answer questions from the council.  Reinhardt explained this group came through last year.  Tolsma said the only difference is there will be two groups coming through.  The increase in riders should only be about 10-15%.  Reinhardt said this year’s application states 900 riders and she feels that is significantly higher than last year’s estimate.  Williamson said this is the back end of the route.  He said they won’t come through together and there will be a lapse between the two of them.  He wonders if the question is more about spreading of the group.  Reinhardt said they’ve got 9 am to 12 pm and she thinks that’s a pretty wide window.  Reinhardt doesn’t like this big increase.  She said last year was better and they did comply with the conditions but the weather was rainy and their turnout might have been less due to this.  Williamson said this event was really vetted last year and he was comfortable with how it was conducted so he’s comfortable with affirming this as long as they fulfill the obligations.  Bren said she has observed bike events to be very well managed and a lot of staff for safety.  Hughes asked about signage and Reinhardt said it’s been specified in the conditions.  Beck wondered about specifying single file riders on the trail only.  Sippel adds except when passing.  Race day contact numbers need to be provided, such as race director.  Tolsma confirmed they will be appearing at the second meeting in April.

 

  1. LORD FLETCHER’S OCTOBERFEST 8:10 – 8:20
    1. Lord Fletcher’s is planning an Octoberfest event on Saturday, October 5th. They will be having live music in a tent located in the parking lot directly west of the wharf. I spoke with Peter from Lord Fletcher’s this week and he explained that the tent will be completely enclosed and the only way into the tent will be from the wharf, unless fire code requires additionally entrance/exit points. The band will be located on the west end of the tent facing east towards the building. Peter stated that they would be happy to attend the next council meeting to answer any questions for the council.  Reinhardt said the admin committee discussed this in brief.  Tolsma said when speaking with Peter,  the tent will be completely enclosed and the entrance will be from the wharf area through the restaurant.  Williamson wonders about Mound Fire weighing in on this and Tolsma said they have been consulted and are still waiting to hear back.  Hughes wondered about people wandering around the parking lots. Tolsma said no, the entertainment will be inside of the tent and they will not be raising any flaps.  The music will be positioned towards the restaurant. 

 

  1. NORTHERN AVENUE SPEED BUMP 8:20 – 8:30
    1. The council will need to determine whether or not staff should install the speed bump again on Northern Avenue.  Tolsma said it’s that time of year again.  Williamson said he’s had complaints from three different people.  He said cars have to really slow down to about 10 mph and he thinks it might be a violation of state statute.  Reinhardt said the reason it is there because of speeding traffic using Northern Avenue as a cut through.  Williamson doesn’t like to impede traffic.  The majority of the council says no to putting the speed bumps in.  Reinhardt asked if a council vote is necessary and Beck said staff should be able to make the call.

 

  1. INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS
    1. StarTribune Article – Radon testing and mitigation procedures are discussed.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS – Williamson wants to follow up about the fire hydrant concerns.  Tolsma said he spoke with Goman and there are a few private ones at Tonka Ventures building.  Goman said he keeps records of where and when he flushes.  Williamson said he knows several people saying it’s not being done so he wants to see the records of the flushing.  Williamson said they should be open and flushed every year.  Williamson said it’s particularly important because of the dead-end lines in the city versus typical looping. 

 

Tolsma said there is an arrangement with Orono for every-other-weekend to provide on call services.  Goman is on vacation so Orono is on call.  Yesterday Rockvam noticed some seepage at the southeast corner of his large building.  The on-call Orono employee inspected the leak and decided to wait until today as it wasn’t leaking heavily.  It was found that it wasn’t a water main break but a crack on the sewer force main.

 

 Hughes said eight cities out of 14 must vote for bow fishing.  He said it appears to be a close vote.  It would prohibit night fishing.  Disposal of fish could become a city issue if fish are dumped.  Hughes said the AIS study has been accepted but the funding is coming back.

 

Paul Pearson presents a sketch of the flag connection and the pole. Williamson wonders about starting to look at funds for light poles, depreciation and replenishing funds.  He said the council should start thinking about this.

 

Adjourn: 8:02 p.m.