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1982-05-11 Council minutesPage No. 1651 May' 11, 1982 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of ' the Adjourned Meeting Held Tuesday, :May 11, 1982 In accordance with.action.takeii.at the regular meeting of ' the City Council on May 4, 1982, the adjourned meeting was continued at 5:00.-P.M. at the City:Hall, 750 South Plaza Drive, Mendota.Heights, Minnesota. :Mayor Lotkwbod.called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. The following members were present-..:Mayor Lockwood, Counc-ilmembers Hartmann, Losleben, Mertensotto.and Witt. AGENDA Mayor Lockwood noted that the Council should spend 11-2'.to. 2 hours discussing the-:matters as listed in the agenda, .namely the fire station, senior citizen housing, and Mendota Plaza improvements. After several introductory comments, he asked City Administrator Johnson for comments. DISCUSSION City Administrator Johnson reviewed:matters concerning the proposed fire station. He noted that the Fire Study Commission did not make any single,-strong recommendation for location. He noted that the current discussion involving placement at the Herb-.Warnke:. site was by concensus*,xather than by design. He suggested that consideration be given to locating the fire station in the-Plaza ] -4 area, noting that it would be more compatible,, and access to future TH 149 might be better. He suggested that several site plans and reports be prepared and studied, thereby allowing an orderly process for Council consideration. , As concerns senior citizen housing, he noted that a housing element would be needed, either with .a HUD: assisted Wilder development or if Mendota Heights issued bonds and was the developer. In either case, a housing element must be prepared that meets Metro Council approval. He noted also that rezoning changes would be needed. A density.change would be necessary on the Perkegwin parcel and a complete. change in zoning would be necessary for housing on the Plaza site. As to-the Mendota.Plaza, he suggested that the.City Council should determine what development it desires in this area. He suggested that Sheehy should present realistic plans for future development or dispose of land,at a low price for some other entity to proceed.with development. He suggested that Howard prepare several schemes for develop- ment which would show improved circulation5 access and visibility. This concluded the City Administrator's comments. Mayor Lockwood asked Howard Dahlgren to comment on the three topics. Planner Dahlgren presented a very short history of the plans for TH 110. He indicated that a focal point for Mendota Heights should be developed.- He noted that the Plaza has Page No. 1652 May 11, 1982 not been especially successful over the years. At this point, he produced a sketch noting that the southeast quadrant of TH 149 and TH 110 could be enlarged by using some of the TH 149 right-of-way. He noted how the.additional area could lead to Plaza improvements. He made several comments concerning the senior citizen housing and noted that the City could proceed with a number of schemes. At this point, Mayor Lockwood asked each Council member to comment on the agenda topics. Councilwoman Witt noted that the fire station should be located on the Plaza property. She noted that the City should respect the desires of the Perkegwin property owners as concerns location of the senior citizen housing or fire station. There is probably less need for park property now than there was in the earlier design. She wondered about uses for the old fire station site. She also wondered about uses for the TH 149 right-of-way north of TH 110. Councilman Hartmann noted that.the fire station is number one in priority. It should have south facing doors, but where should it be located? He indicated the need for more study on the senior citizen housing. He wondered if the Plaza site is sufficiently'large enough to accommodate a senior citizen structure. He noted that the access to the Plaza is deplorable, that McDonalds traffic is minimal because of difficult access during busier hours. He recommended improving access to the Center. Mayor Lockwood noted that possibly the City has not tried hard enough to upgrade the Center; enlarging the acreage would be a good idea. He noted that immediate-plans might be held off, pending making plans for long range improvements. He also noted that the City should deal with Mn/DOT officials to make plans for use of the platted TH 149 right-of-way. He indicated the desire to prepare a feasibility study to test the fire station location at South Plaza Drive and new TH 149. Additional studies should be prepared if they can be done at a reasonable cost. He also noted that one possibility for fire station location would be to acquire the Herb Warnke- property, move the house to an adjacent site and then locate the station permanently on the,Warnke' site. He noted that TH 149 would need to have an overpass for easy access by senior citizens to the Plaza. He again suggested some more serious and diligent discussion with Mn/DOT officials and the Plaza owners. Councilman Mertensotto noted that one course of action would be to do nothing. He reviewed the work of the Fire Study Commission and,the several schemes for providing fire protection services within the community. He noted that the location of the present fire station has served the community for many, many years. He noted that if the Lake- ridge proposal would have proceeded with development, this discussion would not have been necessary; a fire station would have been in existence at this time. He noted the Page No.1653 May 11, 1982 fire station could go on the Werneke site and that he would support the Werneke site. He.expressed no strong feelings on the Plaza improvements. He noted that if a liquor license is issued, some other public improvements should be -made in return. He noted that access to.the Center should be improved. Councilman Losleben reviewed some information from a Citizen's League report on senior citizen housing. He noted that he .had spent a considerable amount of time with Mr. Frank KubItschek from Amherst Wilder. He noted that Mendota Heights needs to develop a housing plan. Mr. Kubitschek indicated that Wilder would subsidize 20% of the units and they are interested in a Mendota.Heights.location. He indicated the ability to.pro.vide some form of senior citizen housing, either through City means or with the Wilder Foundation. He noted that the fire station discussion had involved an excess amount of studying.- and that.action should be taken at the present.time. -He—.noted that developer incentives should be developed for the Plaza, one of which would be improving circulation. He wondered about inviting Wilder representatives out to the next meeting. Mayor Lockwood noted the conclusion of individual Council comments and that responses were proper;at this time. Councilman Mertensotto expressed concern that the City should proceed with caution on financing a senior citizen housing structure. He noted that the City.offices, including Engineering and Police, are operating efficiently and economically in the Bank Building and that there is no need for City Hall discussions at the present time. He wondered about initiating fire station construction at the Werneke site.at this time. Councilman Losleben indicated that he was ready to.move on fire station construction at this time. Several members wondered about additional assistance from Planner Dahlgren and Mayor Lockwood queried as to the cost of additional study. Planner Dahlgren indicated that he would need to know the various elements of further study before he could prepare any cost estimates. He was excused at 7:08 P.M. in order to attend another meeting. After further discussion, Mayor Lockwood noted that the minutes should reflect the following: A) Wilder representatives should be invited to.a Council meeting in the near future with special invitations also to.the Planning Commission members and Howard Dahlgren. B) Staff should proceed with,a screening process applic- able to.the list of architects.interested in design- ing the fire station. It was noted that staff would propose criteria.and apply it to the list, subject to Council approval at a future meeting. Page No. 1654 May 11, 1982 ADJOURN There being no further business.to come before the Council, Councilman Hartmann moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:30 o'clock P.M. 777 Kathleen M. Swanson City Clerk ATTEST: Robert G. Lockwood Mayor