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Meeting
Minutes
Tuesday, September 25, 2007,
at 6:30 p.m.
1. Introductions/Roll
Call
Commission
members present: Randy Neprash, Jan Vanderwall, Ernie Willenbring, and Jim
DeBenedet
Commission
members absent: Joel Fischer
Staff
present: Duane Schwartz, Public Works Director; Deb Bloom, City Engineer
Others
present: None
2. Public
Comments
None
3. Approval
of August 28, 2007, Meeting Minutes
Member
Vanderwall pointed out that no one had volunteered in the previous meeting
for the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Duane Schwartz said that
Chair DeBenedet had responded to the email that was sent and has volunteered
to be the representative.
Member
Willenbring moved to approve the minutes of the August 28, 2007, meeting of
the Public Works, Environment and Transportation Commission. Member
Vanderwall seconded.
Ayes: 3
Nays: 0
Abstained: 1
Motion
carried
4. Communication
Items
Twin Lakes AUAR Update
Mr.
Schwartz relayed to the commission members that their comments from the
previous meeting had been referred to the City Council.
Sweeper
Grant Update
Mr.
Schwartz said there has been discussion with the PCA and BSWR, and they are
not funding that type of purchase this year. Staff will continue to look for
other resources.
Open
House Participation
October
13 is the City open house. Commission members were invited to participate.
Member Vanderwall volunteered to be there from noon until 2:00. Chair
DeBenedet volunteered to be there from 10:00 to noon.
Comprehensive
Plan Participation
Chair
DeBenedet has volunteered to represent the commission on the new Comp Plan
Steering Committee.
Bridge
Data
Deb Bloom went over the information on Roseville bridges that was given to the commission.
Rice Street TAC Update
Mr.
Schwartz said the last meeting had been postponed so there wasn’t much new
information.
Har
Mar Development Update
Ms.
Bloom updated the commission on the latest news. Har Mar was not supportive
of the intersection change.
5. Pathway
Master Plan Discussion
Mr.
Schwartz provided some background information on this topic and asked the
commission for suggestions for changes and on how the city can garner support.
Member
Vanderwall said over the many years he’s worked for the school district,
they’ve looked at pathways as a strong safety need. He said children who
live less than two miles from school have to walk so it’s important to have
safe pathways at least on arterial roads.
Member
Willenbring asked why school patrols can’t be used to help younger students
across busy streets. Member Vanderwall said it would be a paid position,
which could be a budget problem, and that it would only take care of the
intersection—children would still be walking along unsafe roadways.
Member
Vanderwall said that the highest pathway priority for students is County Road
B2. He said that of all the students walking to school, more than half of
them end up on County Road B2. Member Neprash said the city had tried to put
in a pathway on B2 in 2005, but it was torpedoed by the residents on the
street. Mr. Schwartz said a grant application was filed with Safe Routes to
School last year, but it was not funded. Member Vanderwall said there were
other sources of funding that could be applied for. Ms. Bloom said in her
experience what works best with grant applications is to have a well thought
out plan in place before applying.
Member
Willenbring suggested coming up with a pared down pathway master plan with
County Road B2 as a priority. Ms. Bloom said the plan currently lists the
cost for constructing a pathway on B2 to be $1.7 million, which would put a
pathway on both sides of the road. The cost for one side of the road from Lexington Avenue to Rice Street is $370,000. Member Vanderwall said that doing only one
side of the road is a worthwhile improvement.
Member
Vanderwall said he was on the original pathway committee, and he thinks it
would be a good idea to start a new committee. Mr. Schwartz said a
recommendation to the City Council would be the place to start. Mr. Schwartz
listed some stakeholders that might want to get involved: Parks &
Recreation people, Planning Department, schools, biking and walking interest
groups, Public Works, residents and businesses in Roseville. Member
Vanderwall added Ramsey County Active Living Group.
Member
Neprash asked if the commission’s main interest was a trail on B2, starting a
pathway committee seemed like overkill; but if they wanted to get into a
broader scope of interest, then it might be warranted. Member Vanderwall
said that for him it wasn’t only B2 but that both Victoria and Rice Streets
are great locations for pathways. Member Vanderwall thought that the whole
city should be re-evaluated for pathways. Mr. Schwartz said staff supports
revisiting the entire pathway master plan and would support a new pathway
committee. Ms. Bloom said that there are new issues today, such as water
quality, that probably weren’t considered when the original master plan was
formulated.
Chair
DeBenedet said when thinking about safety of school children they had to keep
in mind that kids walk to the school grounds other times than just for
regular class hours.
Member
Vanderwall moved to recommend to the City Council that a pathway committee be
reconvened with a deadline stated for an end result, possibly in March.
Chair DeBenedet added that the scope would be to re-prioritize. Member
Neprash seconded.
Ayes: 4
Nays: 0
Abstained: 0
Motion
carried
6. Cool Cities / Emissions Software Discussion
Mr.
Schwartz briefly explained how this software works and referred the
commission to previous packets for additional information. The City Council
has referred this topic to the commission for recommendations. Mr. Schwartz
said there has been some interest from Northwestern College in getting
students involved in service projects for the city; and the high school
originally brought this topic to the City Council, so there might be some
intern-type assistance available.
Member
Vanderwall moved to recommend that the City Council purchase this software.
Member Willenbring seconded.
Member
Vanderwall said this should not just be an internal tool.
Member
Neprash said they should definitely go back to the high school class that
initiated this. He also suggested sending out some kind of article or
newsletter, as telling the story is half the battle.
Ayes: 4
Nays: 0
Abstained: 0
Motion
carried
7. Welcome
Signs Discussion
Mr.
Schwartz said that staff had researched the signage locations the commission
had proposed. All locations except Snelling at Roselawn are feasible.
Mr.
Schwartz asked if the commission wanted to include the Roseville Visitor’s Association
banners as part of their recommendation. The Roseville Visitor’s Bureau
would be purchasing and storing the banners, but they would expect the city
to do the installation.
Mr.
Schwartz said he has been in contact with the company that made the park
signs but has been unable to get any cost information at this time. Member
Willenbring said they had to keep maintenance costs in mind as well.
Mr.
Schwartz said the Council has been asked to submit additional budget requests
by October 15. Funding for signage is not currently in the City Manager’s
budget so if it was to be added, an amount would have to be decided at this
time.
Member
Vanderwall suggested setting a $6,000 amount, which should cover two signs,
and then revisiting this topic in the spring to possibly add more locations.
The two locations he suggested are the east end of the city on Hwy 36 and the
north end at Snelling and County Road B. Chair DeBenedet said he would
rather wait for specific cost information before making a recommendation.
Member Neprash said waiting until the spring appealed to him because they
could get more information from other sources before making a
recommendation.
Member
Vanderwall said that the Roseville Visitor’s Association banners are a
different situation because there is no budget change and wondered if the
commission wanted to make a separate recommendation for them. Mr. Schwartz
said he knew the Visitor’s Association wanted to get the banners up before
the holidays.
Member
Vanderwall moved to table the “Welcome to Roseville” sign discussion. Member
Willenbring seconded.
Ayes: 4
Nays: 0
Abstained: 0
Motion
carried
Member
Vanderwall moved to support the Roseville Visitor’s Association request to
place banners on streetlights in certain areas of the city with staff
approval of locations. Member Neprash seconded.
Ayes: 4
Nays: 0
Abstained: 0
Motion
carried
8. Agenda
for next meeting – October 23, 2007
Presentation
by Finance Director Chris Miller regarding 2008 utility rates
Har Mar PUD
2008 Pavement
Management Plan
“Welcome to Roseville” Sign Discussion
Rice Street TAC
9. Adjournment
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