HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-10-15 Work Session Meeting MinutesMINUTES
OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
COMMUNITY ROOM, CITY HALL
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2024
5:30 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:3 I p.m.
ROLL CALL
Answering rollcall were Members Agnew, Jackson, Pierce, Risser, and Mayor Hovland.
Absent: None
Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager; Zoe Johnson, City
Management Fellow; Chad Millner, Engineering Director; Brian Olson, Public Works Director; Derek
Leonard, Sidewalk Inspector; Andrew Sciopini, Transportation Planner; Tom Swenson, Assistant Director —
Parks and Natural Resources; Shawn Anderson, Streets Supervisor; David Yanagisawa, I.T. Specialist; Jennifer
Bennerotte, Communications Director; and Sharon Allison, City Clerk.
2025 Legislative Platform Preparation
City Manager Neal explained that the 2025 Legislative Platform was to stage where they were looking for
input from the Council by November 15, 2024.
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed the desire for a tracked version of the legislative changes
version of the priorities; feedback from residents about concerns regarding expanding the sales tax; desire
for more clarity around who would get benefits from the sales tax; post office preservation; and the desire
to know some data points, such as, how many people have gone through the innovation lab.
Sidewalk Maintenance Policy
Director of Engineering Millner explained that staff was seeking direction on the City-wide sidewalk
maintenance policy as well as specific direction on the portion of sidewalk on Concord Avenue from Valley
View Road to 64th Street that was just built. He reviewed existing conditions of sidewalks including type,
total mileage, City or privately maintained, or unmaintained.
Director of Public Works Olson reviewed the history of winter maintenance on the sidewalks; current
ordinance requirements; addition of Safe Routes to School sidewalks that are outside of the ordinance
requirements; importance of the City complying with the same requirement as for private residents to
complete snow removal within 48 hours; issues they have had with the trackless machine ripping up yards
in the Country Club district; and the possible need for different equipment and additional staff.
Sidewalk Inspector Leonard gave an overview of summer maintenance; how the inspection program works
by focusing on one of the 4 quadrants each year; what kinds of things they are looking for within the
inspections; the rating systems; determination of which projects to tackle in order to bring them up to the
standards.
Staff discussed the desire to be proactive rather than reactive; repair requirements of residents within 2I
days and if not done; situations where the City could do the work and assess the property owner; and the
feeling that it was unfair to require a resident to take on ADA improvements.
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed snow removal; sidewalk repairs; what criteria was used
for winter and summer maintenance; the oddity of requiring a homeowner to repair a sidewalk that has a
tripping hazard in front of their home; and the City's current assessment policies.
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r n Allison, City Clerk
James B. Hovlan•, Mayor
Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/October 15, 2024
Staff reviewed six possible maintenance options, including overall costs, levels of service, and staffing that
would be required.
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed mileage; costs; current capacity; difficulty in meeting the
48-hour requirements; staffing needs; additional equipment needs; alternatives for building in flexibility rather
than hiring a permanent staff person; and possible inclusion of the Twin Loops as maintenance for the City.
Transportation Planner Scipioni outlined some additional considerations needed in order for the sidewalk
maintenance policy to address questions related to what criteria determines when the City will maintain the
sidewalk; what the target level of services should be for all sidewalk snow clearing; and whether the winter
and summer maintenance responsibilities should be the same.
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed maintenance of sidewalks located on County roadways;
possibility of maintaining a 24 hour shift but with the same number of machines; desire to have a better
understanding of the variable costs and fixed costs; existing staffing; concerns about Wooddale; if there may
an additional option based on comments from the Council about the variables and what could be done in
order to be a bit more flexible; whether the determination about the level of services could be based on
what the City can afford; future budget considerations to take into account with changes to sidewalk
maintenance; Active Routes to School (ARTS) plans and which sidewalks were called out in the plan;
common sense decisions on maintenance choices; importance of allowing flow along Concord; how other
cities have managed winter maintenance choices for sidewalks; ways that they could reduce the overall
amount of miles plowed; what was currently in the ARTS and Ped and Bikes Plans. The Council also
addressed details about the plowing practices along Concord Avenue and Wooddale Avenue; whether the
City should actually assess adjacent property owners for improvements to sidewalks; PACS Fund uses;
whether sidewalk repairs should be considered as asset preservation and not operational; Transportation
Commission review of various plans; development of Safe and Equitable Mobility Action Plan (SEMAP);
projected funding that may come out of the Active Transportation Funding package from the State; need for
the sidewalk machines to go out more than for just the initial clean-up because of what can happen when
the street plows come through and cover them back up again; possibility of adding two staffing shifts on the
same machine as a possible interim step for increasing service; Minnesota Department of Health requirement
for maintaining ADA compliant access to walkways year round; if there may be grant money available to
assist in operational expenses for maintaining the ADA compliant access through the City; and the
importance of safety for staff members who handle winter sidewalk maintenance because of the variables
involved.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Minutes approved by Edina City Council, Nov. 6, 2024.
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