Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-01-14 MINUTESCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION January 14, 2002 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a meeting of the Public Works Commission of Cottage Grove was duly held at the Public Works Garage, 8635 West Point Douglas Road, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on January 14, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Ken Boyden called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Members Present: Ken Boyden, Robert Eddy, Steve Ingram, Dan Massarotti, Tim Mathison, Randy Eckstein, Jan Wuorenma Staff Present: Les Burshten, Public Works Director Harry Taylor, Public Works Supervisor Allan Larson, Public Works Technician Also Present: Jim Wolcott, City Council Member Tom Thompson, Erik Peters and Jerry Bourdon of Bonestroo & Associates 3. APPROVE MINUTES On a motion by Dan Massarotti seconded by Tim Mathison, the December 10, 2001 Public Works Commission minutes were approved unanimously. 4. ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS None 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Water Quality - Tom Thompson, Erik Peters, Jerry Bourdon Because of a recent request made by this Commission regarding water quality and ponds, Tom Thompson and Harry Peters were asked to speak at tonighYs meeting regarding these topics. 7om Thompson distributed a handout which described three surface water management practices done in Cottage Grove: Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 2 • Water is transported from the City to the river (1980) • Use of dry ponds and other rate control methods (1984) . Utilize rate and volume control while providing for water quality treatment (Present) The report indicates the City has reviewed the Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) twice in response to improved information and changes in management goals and regulations. Further influences to the SWMP include: . City goals • Landownerconcerns . Laws and regulations • Inter-community issues . Geography concerns "What are the best management practices for low impact development? Best management practices (BMPs) are structural or nonstructural practices or a combination of practices designed to minimize the impacts of development on surface water quantity and quality. Commission Member Eddy inquired whether there are any laws that indicate water flowage in a developed area must remain as it was in the pre-developed stage. Thompson responded that the City requires both predevelopment and post development flows be the same or less. Regarding the terms rafe control and volume confrol, Commission Member Massarotti commented the two terms seem synonymous. Bourden responded that ponds take care of the additional volume of water that will come off the site after development; Water is retained, then released at the same rate would development not have occurred. Thompson went on to state that Non-Structural best management practices (BMPs) include: ✓ Pollution source reduction ✓ Impervious area reduction ✓ Land use planning ✓ Conservation designs ✓ Cluster development ✓ Zoning The above listed practices all have an impact on how much drainage or how much pollution leaves the site. Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 3 Structural BMPs include: ✓ Ponds ✓ Grass swales/ditches ✓ Infiltration basins ✓ Storm drainage pipes and catch basins ✓ Erosion control practices (sed traps, basins, silt fences) Pond design characteristics include: ❖ Drv Ponds (detention basins) All of the water that is generated on a site that enters a dry pond eventually leaves the pond, therefore, it starts in a dry state and ends in a dry state with limited sediment and nutrient removal. ❖ Wet Ponds (retention basins) These types of ponds provide rate control but differ from dry ponds in that they always have water in them. Wet basins provide a water quality treatment of the retained water and provide removal of sediments, phosphorus and other pollutants. ❖ Reqional Ponds are designed to be the larger ponds to handle major drainage areas of the City. They provide additional rate control beyond development ponds along with additional quality treatment. ❖ Infiltration Basins cannot be used for flood control, which is important to realize. Ponds are still needed for this function. Infiltration basins are similar to a dry basin in that they have no ability to hold water back. Other infiltration basin characteristics include: 1. Designed to maximize surface area/minimize depth 2. Capture and treat runoff closer to the source 3. An option for areas with sandy soils (they don't work well with heavier soils) 4. Design life span is shorter than other options 5. Space constraints may require a pond for water quality requirements. Commission Member Wuorenma inquired whether the City of Cottage Grove had any infiltration basins. Thompson replied that there are a few in town. He went on to state that infiltration basins are set up to capture and treat runoff closer to the source and catch water right away as it runs off, for example, a parking lot. A pond is designed to catch sediment and can be cleaned eventually. Infiltration basins would be more costly to clean because soils on the site would be compacted with equipment as maintenance work is being done which may affect the function of the infiltration basin. Thompson also stated that the infiltration systems do not impact the aquifers. Water going into an infiltration basin is entering a shallower strata while an aquifer is much deeper. Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 4 Other current design issues include: • Pond slope benching (allowing access of equipment to maintain the pond) • Skimmers (opening is submerged below the normal water level so floatable leaves and other things donY enter the storm sewer) ■ Easements versus outlets (which method provides more control for the City to be able to access a site?) ■ Runoff volume control • Retrofit of existing systems • Expanded best management practices Commission Chair Ken Boyden noted the best interest of the City must be kept in mind when these ponds are placed in residential areas. He inquired whether these areas are owned by the City when they become ponds? Thompson replied that this varies from development to development and some ponds are private and some are city-owned. Boyden stated that the bottom line with private ponds, sewers, and water issues is that if something fails or becomes a problem, the City ultimately has to get invoived. Bourdon agreed that one of the problems with private ponds is that ultimately, the City will be held more and more accountable as time goes on so control must be retained. "What percentage of ponds are natural and how many are man-made?" inquired Massarotti. Bourdon responded that the majority of ponds are man-made and doesn't believe there are many natural occurring wetlands. He added that Cottage Grove, in particular, is in a ravine with sandy soil. Public Works Director Burshten noted that iYs important for this Commission to understand that based on liability and safety issues, ponds must be built responsibly so accidents do not occur. He does not feel the integrity of our system should ever be compromised since it has worked well in the past and engineering has done a fine job over the years. Commission Member Eddy added that many parts of the country are not as fortunate with the availability of fresh water as we are in this area. He would like to see more of a focus on how we can reserve the benefit of fresh water and inquired whether the City could make better use of holding ponds so less "good" water from the wells is used. Engineering staff will continue to work steadily with the county involving many of the same issues (groundwater recharging, watershed districts). Council Member Wolcott expressed concern regarding the number of ponds being built in the City and feels the more ponds being put in, the more maintenance work that will have to be done, as well as dealing with the safety aspects. Thompson stated the pond by Burger King is a rate control pond and added that Home Depot has specific requirement on how deep the water can get in their parking lot and the current storm water system in place did not meet those requirements. The pond in Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 5 that area is being built to absorb the initial "hiY' from the parking lot to slow the water down so it enters the existing pipe system without having to increase pipe sizes. Boyden inquired from a public safety aspect, is it feasible to have the ponds fenced? Thompson responded that this solution may present a maintenance problem since the fence would have to be removed each time work has to be done. The representatives from Bonestroo were thanked for their presentation this evening. B. Technical Review 6.1 CASE ZA02-001-CP02-002, SP02-003, and V02-004 Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. have applied for a zoning amendment to change the zoning from R-2, Residential Estate, and UR, Urban Reserve, to B-2, Retail Business; a comprehensive plan amendment to change the land use from residential to commercial; and a site plan review with variances for a new department store to be located on East Point Douglas Road an Harkness Avenue. Allan Larson indicated items discussed regarding the project were sidewalks along Harkness and entrances to the site. He went on to state that traffic signal modification work will be done on 80` Street as well. 6.2 CASES ZA01-058, PP01-059, and SP01-O60 (continued from August 27, 2001) Thompson Land Development has applied for a zoning amendment to change the zoning from R-2.5, Residential, and R-5, Medium Density Residential, to PUD, Planned Unit Development and a preliminary plat and site plan review with variance of a multi- family residential development consisting of 300 dwelling units to be located on the northwest corner of 70� Street and Hinton Avenue. Case is pending. 6.3 CASE PP01-075 (continued from October 22, 2001) Heritage Development of Minnesota has applied for a preliminary plat for a proposed subdivision, Acorn Ridge, which would consist of 24 lots for single-family homes. This subdivision would be located on the south side of 70� Street, west of Granada Avenue. Bonestroo has met with MnDOT to work out the ponding and drainage issues, however, there remains some minor drainage issues to be addressed. At this point, the only grading the developer is proposing to do is the grading necessary to get the road and pond in, along with a few driveways. The remainder of the grading for each individual home will have to be reviewed when each plan is submitted which will require each individual homeowner to be responsible for their own grading. 6.4 CASE CP02-009 Mike Rygh has applied for a comprehensive plan amendment to change the land use from low density residential to high density residential to allow a senior housing project Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 6 as part of the mixed-use development to be located on the northwest corner of 70th Street and Hinton Avenue. This case is also on hold pending further information. 6.5 CASE TA02-005 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a zoning text amendment to amend Title 5, Chapter 4, of the City Code relating to animal control. 6.6. CASE TA02-006 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a zoning text amendment to amend Title 4, Chapter 6 of the City Code relating to open burning and recreational fires. 6.7 CASE TA02-007 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a zoning text amendment to amend the City's noise ordinance, Title 11-6-17 of the City Code. Allan Larson stated the above items are amendment changes to the codes and public hearings will be held. 6. OLD BUSINESS: A. Thompson Grove Pavement Manaqement — Update Burshten stated plans and specs are being worked on. Issues being dealt with at this time pertain to additional work residents may want on their driveways. Contractor recommendations for this work may be made available to homeowners. The other issue being addressed is sewer connection work since some residents are interested in extending sewer service from their home. Homeowners will be assessed for the work. It has been recommended by the City Council that the project be completed in a two- year/one-year phase rather than three years. Residents attending the neighborhood meetings were enthusiastic about a one-year project. Realistically, the project will likely extend into the second year. A final decision will be made when bidding is complete. 7. PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE Burshten reported with the lack of snow this year, crews have been addressing other work including: � Street Sweeping ■ Brush Cutting ■ Tree Trimming • Interior painting at City Hall and Police Department. A new janitorial service began work with the City on January 2, 2002. Public Works Commission January 14, 2002 — Page 7 8. CITY COUNCIL UPDATE ■ A three-year Police Labor Agreement Contract was approved ■ An acting mayor and commission liaisons were appointed. ■ Possible locations for a"Park and Ride" facility were considered. 9. ENGINEER'S REPORT No further comments. 10. COMMISSION COMMENTS AND REQUESTS. None. 11. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn was unanimously passed. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Storby