12-09-2024 City Council Work Session Minutes1
CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
MINUTES
December 9, 2024
Mayor Ryan called the work session to order at 5:30 p.m.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilmember von Oven, Councilmember
Kimber, and Councilmember Schubert
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilmember McDonald
STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager, Charlie Howley, Public Works
Director/City Engineer; Matt Unmacht, Assistant City Manager, Jerry Ruegemer, Parks Director;
Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director; Patrick Gavin, Communications Manager
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Discussion: Cooperative Agreement with the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek
Watershed District for the Upper Riley Creek Ecological Enhancement Project
Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer delivered a presentation on the Upper Riley
Creek Ecological Enhancement Project (City Project 24-16), a $3.3 million creek restoration
project that is being led by the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District (RPBCWD). The
project would restore the stream bed, channel and floodplain. It would also restore habitat and
promote diverse vegetation. Currently, the exposed creek channel is allowing sediment to be
transported into Lake Susan and other downstream bodies. The sediment negatively affects the
water quality of the lake, which is listed as impaired by the MPCA. The city’s MS4 permit requires
that the city take steps towards eliminating the Total Maximum Daily Load of impaired water
bodies.
As part of the project, a Decant (short for “decontamination”) Facility has been designed and will
be included as a Bid Alternate. The Decant Facility is an innovative practice that supports the city's
MS4 permitting goals in a way that provides the ability to treat our excavated materials at the
Public Works site as opposed to hauling the waste to offsite locations, thus saving time, fuel, and
vehicle degradation. The elements of the Decant Facility include multiple at-grade bays where
materials can be dumped and dried. Once dried, the materials can be reused or brought to normal
landfills as opposed to hazardous waste landfills. The facility is essentially a paved area with walls
and a lean-to roof but not fully enclosed, underground storm and sanitary sewer piping, and water
and electrical services.
As part of a proposed Cooperative Agreement between the City of Chanhassen and the RPBCWD,
the administration of the design and construction of Decant Facility would be fully completed by
the RPBCWD. Construction would be fully completed by the City of Chanhassen. The city will
own and maintain the facility.
City Council Work Session Minutes – December 9, 2024
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The Council expressed its support of the RPBCWD’s work in improving the water quality in Lake
Susan and other downstream bodies. It did not feel comfortable committing to the Decant Facility
at this time but remained interested in exploring the possibility of the facility in the future.
Councilmembers said they would propose an official motion articulating their position during the
City Council meeting later that evening.
Discussion: Market Boulevard Improvement Project
Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer, reviewed a few options for the Council to
choose from regarding potential improvements to Market Boulevard. The alternatives were in
response to the previous City Council meeting on November 25, 2024, when the City Council
asked Mr. Howley to provide further details on how the planned project would impact traffic flow,
schedule, costs, and private property impacts. Mr. Howley reiterated the primary goals of the
project:
• Asset management
• Development/Redevelopment
• Financial Sustainability
• Operational Excellence
He then presented seven potential options for the Council to choose from. Some highlights:
• Alternative 1: This alternative is the same as the one originally presented by Mr. Howley
to the Council in the summer of 2024.
• Alternative 2: Single lanes each direction. No roundabouts, but with dedicated turn lanes.
This option allows through traffic between Highway 5 and 78th Street to get through more
easily but the intersections with Market Street and Market Square entrance are more
traditional rather than roundabouts. The medians in this option aren’t as wide as
Alternative 1 due to the existence of turn lanes.
• Alternative 3: Two lanes through the whole corridor between Highway 5 and 78th Street.
It adds left turn lanes but does not add right turn lanes.
• Alternative 4: Two through lanes through the whole corridor but without dedicated turn
lanes which results in limited impacts to private property on either side. Under this
alternative, the curb lanes do not change significantly from their current state. This option
adds a second through lane at the railway crossing that doesn’t exist today.
• Alternative 5: This option is very similar to option 3 but the street would be wider so as
to accommodate a median in which streetscaping (trees, etc.) could occur. There will be
dedicated left turn lanes. There will be two through lanes but not dedicated right turn
lanes.
• Alternative 6: This option is very similar to Alternative 5, but with dedicated right turn
lanes. This option focuses on car safety but comes at the expense of pedestrian mobility
and safety. This option also has significant impacts to adjacent private property.
• Alternative 7: This minimalist option would leave Market Boulevard similar to its current
state. There would be a repave and some asset management improvements, but any major
changes would be punted until a later date.
City Council Work Session Minutes – December 9, 2024
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Mr. Howley also presented the City Council with a “Decision Matrix” that laid out how each
alternative would affect such things as car safety, pedestrian safety, vehicular operations,
multimodal operations, downtown design character, right of way and easements, and costs.
The City Council thanked Mr. Howley for his quick and thorough work on presenting new options
for their review and asked him to send the Council copies of his options and the Decision Matrix
so that they could study them in greater detail in advance of the January 13, 2025, Council meeting.
City Council Roundtable
Councilmember Kimber expressed his desire to have the city effectively communicate with
residents affected by the ongoing Galpin Boulevard Improvement Project. He suggested that the
city articulate to residents such things as:
• What is getting redone
• When it is going to happen
• What will happen next year
• Specifics on the roundabout near Minnetonka Middle School West
Mayor Ryan and City Manager Laurie Hokkanen mentioned that the city is currently working on
such communications and would make sure that residents, especially those most acutely affected
by the improvement project, are fully informed about the details of this project.
Mayor Ryan adjourned the work session at 6:55 P.M.
Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen
City Manager
Prepared by Jenny Potter
City Clerk