HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-09-2010
CITY OF -t=~ *
DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE
WASHINGTON
FEBRIJARY 9, 2010
MINUTES
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers
located on the firsf floor of Aubum City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Aubum, WA. Committee
Members present were: Chair Lynn Norman, Vice Chair Sue Singer, and Member Nancy
Backus.
Staff present included: Mayor Pete Lewis, Interim Planning & Development Director Kevin
Snyder, Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain, City Engineer Dennis Selle, Assistant City ,
Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Traffic Operations Engineer Scott Nutter, Traffic Engineer Pablo
Para, and Planning & Development $ecretaryRenee Tobias.
Audience Members present were: Gail SpuRell, Jack Saelid, Kathleen Keator, and Val
Erickson.
II. CONSENTAGENDA
A. Meeting Minutes - January 26, 2010
Member Singer moved and Member Backus seconded to approve the minutes as
amended below. -
, MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0
Page 3, third paragraph: Change sentence to read, Further, the Committee did not have
a problem with a: green space in lieu of a plaza.
Page 5, fifth paragraph: Change to read, The City's bike route maps shows Ot Street as
a future bicycle route as shown in the City's Transportation Comprehensive Plan. Page 6, third paragraph: Change the last sentence to read, It is illegal to condemn
private property for economic development, and furthermore, the City Council would not
support it if it was IegaL Mayor Pete Lewis stated that recently, State Attomey General Rob McKenna wrote a
newspaper article based on a study that was done on a numbec of cities, using, this .
article to say that Aubum had condemned public property for econornic developmenf.
The City Attomey had already talked to this organization that did this study and noted
that they confused two different efforts.
When the City put in an application for an Economic Development Agency (EDA) grant, the City noted that downtown Aubum was in fact a blighted area as described by the
State's stafute. This terminology was used in the EDA grant application. Completely
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Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes Februarv 9. 2010
separafe from that, the City had designed City Plaza circles along Division Street and for
the first of those, Council had support condemning property in order to complete the
traffic circle. As it tumed out, the City never took it to condemnation because the City
bought the one bar that was on the edge of that area. The organization that produced
fhe sfudy merged the two different statements and policies and tried to show them as
one - that it was an economic development issue: It has been refuted by Aubum's City
Attomey and State Attomey General McKenna has now said he will make no further
statements, including about Auburn, and understands that Auburn did not, in fact, do
what was originally stated.
Chair Normanfurther added that at the time the City was submitting the EDA grant
application, Council discussed in detail the use of the word "blighted" and had stated
they were not comfortable doing so. But in order to meet the requirements of the State
and Federal governments, the Council was pressed into using their terminology. It was
not something that the Cify Council came up with.
III. DISCUSSION
A. Signal Controller and Service Equipment
Traffic Operations Engineer Scott Nutter distributed photographs of paststandard boxes
and current standard boxes, along with information and photographs regarding signal
cabinet contents.
Mr. Nutter spoke about the scope of items needed inside the cabinets to support traffic
signals, the reasons why the cabinets are the height and width they are, and the material
used for the cabinetry. Mr. Nutter reviewed with the Committee the photographs
depicting the first generation of'battery backup cabinets (3 cabinets) and current
standard configurations (2 cabinets) where the battery backup is part of the new Puget
Sound Energy metered service.
The signal cabinet needs to be close to the intersection as the technician must be able
to see the entire intersection to verify vehicle detection, approaching traffic when
changing the signal to flash for emergencies or signal configuration changes. Further, it
is a safety issue that the signal technician needs to be able to see traffic when working
behind the cabinet in case they need to move out of the way of traffic. The mefered
service cabinet should be within 50 feet of the signal to shut off power in an emergency.
The door swing on the signal cabinets is approximately 30 inches and the battery
backup cabinet has doors which open on both sides. Puget Sound Energy requires 36 _
inches of clear space around their meter pedestal and the meter must be 5 to 7 feet
above ground.
Using standard, off the shelf brushed aluminum cabinets is economical. Additionally, if'
the aluminum cabinet is tagged with graffiti, it can simply be removed with industrial
chemicals which leave the cabinet looking like it did before the graffiti. This is not the
case with the older style cabinets which are painted gray.
Signal cabinets contain 120 volt AC power and low voltage and service cabinets contain
120 and 240 Volt AC power. Both need to be kept dry and above any potential standing
water. With a high water table at some locations, some of the existing bases fill with
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Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes Februarv 9, 2010
water and flows into the cabinet. The voltage used is greater than what Qwest or
Comcast use for their fiber optics, which prohibits the signal operator sitting on a stool in
front of the cabinet and the chance of coming in contact with water.
City Engineer Dennis Selle noted that many downtown building footprints are built right
up to the sidewalk. Therefore, signal cabinets were mounted on poles and have not
been modffied due to this. In future developments with intersection improvements, the
cabinets could be set back and the City can look at screening opportunities.
Chair Norman asked the Committee that when they see innovative or different ways to
screen the cabinets in other jurisdictions to please take a picture and share with staff:
Committee and staff discussed updating the Downtown Urban Center Design Standards
with language about screening options for signal cabinets. Staff agreed that reviewing
photographs of other jurisdictions' screening efforts would assist staff in providing the
Committee with recommendations for screening and tanguage for the Standards.
B. A Street SE (Main Street to 3rd Street SE)
Traffic Engineer Pablo Para distributed an aerial photograph of the A Street SE corridor
from E. Main Street to 3`d Street SE/Cross Street SE. Mr. Para reported on the traffic
analysis that looked at changing A Sfreet SE from 2 southbound lanes and one
northbound lane to one southbound and one northbound lane with a finro-way tum lane.
These changes would provide sufficient space and flexibility to add bike lanes or wider
sidewalks or parking within the current streef width.
The traffic analysis was based on the 2015 traffic model volumes. Some of the
assumptions of the analysis included the A/B Corridor being completed. The analysis
showed that there was not a significant negative impact on traffic on A Street SE
befinreen E Main Sfreet and 2"d Sfreefi SE. However, a significant impact would occur at
3"d Street SE/Cross Street SE with removing the second southbound lane. Mr. Para also
stated that it was feasible to install traffic signal at 13t Sfreet SE and A Street SE which
would facilitate safe easUwest pedestrian access across A Street SE.
Mr. Para reported that the model did show,that traffic diverted when the second
southbound lane was removed. The volumes decreased, but not significantly.. Again,
this is predicated on the completion of the A/B Corridor. Staff stated that the, proposed
change meets the City's level of service standards for projected traffic volumes. Staff
recommended that these changes not be made until the A/B Comdor is completed.
Committee supported staff's recommendation.
C. Status of the City Hall Plaza
Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain stated that staff met on January 27, 2010 to
discuss the 2010 Capital Project spreadsheet and resouccing of the project. Staff
confirmed fhat the Plaza design funds are in the 2010 Capital Facilities Plan. Planning
staff are working on consultant selection, scope of work, and contract..
The consultant will be hired to design the Plaza based on the approved 2009 City Hall
Plaza Renovation Master Plan and the prioritization effort by the Committee. Staff
distributed a worksheet, "City. Hall Plaza Final Preliminary Plan°, which identified the
Committee's prioritization for short and long range elements of the project. Committee
reviewed the worksheet, providing feedback to staff.
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Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes Februarv 9. 2010
IV. ADJOURNAAENT
There being no further business to come before the Downtown Redevelopment
Committee, Chair Norman adjoumed the meeting at 5:08 p.m.
APPROVED THIS DAY OF APRIL, 2010.
WAAAA
Lyn orman, Chair e ee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary
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