Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-06-09 Work SessionMeridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4:31 p.m., Tuesday, June 2, 2020, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Joe Borton, Luke Cavener, Treg Bernt, Jessica Perreault, Brad Hoaglun and Liz Strader. Also present: Chris Johnson, Adrienne Weatherly, Bill Nary, Caleb Hood, Dale Bolthouse, Warren Stewart and Joe Bongiorno. Item 1: Roll-call Attendance: __X__ Liz Strader _____ Joe Borton __X__ Brad Hoaglun __X__ Treg Bernt __X__ Jessica Perreault __X__ Luke Cavener __X__ Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Okay. Well, with that we will call this meeting to order. For the record it is Tuesday, June 9th at 4:31. We will begin this meeting with roll call attendance. Item 2: Adoption of Agenda Simison: Item 2 is adoption of the agenda. Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: We are going to add -- and I would like some feedback from Chris or from whomever. We are going to add an Executive Session prior to Item 5-A. Are we going to move this Executive Session to -- where would you like me to move this exec -- what would you like to call it? Simison: Mr. Nary? Nary: Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, I would suggest moving it as the first item for the Department Reports Action Items . So, I would make it the new 5-A -- Bernt: Okay. Just move everything down? Nary: Yes. Bernt: Okay. Perfect. With that said, I would like to add Item 5-A as Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206 -- I can't read my handwriting. Is that (1)(c), (f) -- (c) and (f); is that correct? Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 2 of 20 Nary: Yes. Bernt: All right. And, then, we will move the current 5-A and B to B and C. If that makes sense. With that I move that we adopt the agenda as amended. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I will second that. Simison: I have a motion -- Cavener: (c) and (f). Sorry. Right; Mr. Nary? (c) and (f)? Nary: Correct. Yes. Simison: I have a motion and a second -- and a second to amend the agenda. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. Item 3: Consent Agenda [Action Item] A. Approve Minutes of June 2, 2020 City Council Work Session B. Approve Minutes of June 2, 2020 City Council Regular Meeting C. Meridian High School Pedestrian Pathway Easement D. Ten Mile Crossing No. 4 Pedestrian Pathway Easement E. Turf Farm Subdivision No. 2 Pedestrian Pathway Easement F. Final Plat for Hensley Station No. 1 (H-2020-0050) by Northern Land Development, LLC, Located at 462 N. Black Cat Rd. G. Final Plat for Movado No. 8 (H-2020-0040) by Evans Development, LLC, Located Approximately 1/2 Mile South of E. Overland Rd., on the West Side of S. Cloverdale Rd. H. Final Plat for Oaks North Subdivision No. 7 (H-2020-0049) by Toll Southwest, LLC, Generally Located Near the Half -Mile Mark on W. McMillan Rd. Between McDermott Rd. and Black Cat Rd. Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 3 of 20 I. Final Plat for Oaks North Subdivision No. 8 (H-2020-0053) by Toll Southwest, LLC, Generally Located at 6060 W. McMillan Rd. J. Final Order for Warrick No. 2 (H-2020-0044) by Schultz Development, Located at 2445 E. Amity Rd. K. Final Order for Warrick No. 3 (H-2020-0045) by Schultz Development, Located at 2445 E. Amity Rd. L. Development Agreement for Allmon Subdivision (H-2019-0135) with TBC Land Holding (Owner) and Todd Campbell Construction, Inc. (Developer), Located at 5885 & 5875 N. Locust Grove Rd. (Parcels S0530142200 and S0530142050) M. Third Addendum to Development Agreement for ICCU at TM Creek MDA (H-2020-0016) with Brighton Land Holdings, LLC (Developer) and Idaho Central Credit Union (Owner), Located at 3152 W. Peak Cloud Ln. N. Memorandum of Agreement Between the City of Meridian and Meridian Development Corporation for Contribution to 2020 Concerts on Broadway O. Subrecipient Agreements for Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding P. Approval of Purchase Order #20-0309 to Ferguson Enterprises for Fiscal Year 2020 New Development Water Mete rs and Meter Equipment for the Not-to-Exceed Amount of $335,559.00 Q. Resolution No. 20-2214: A Resolution Authorizing the Third Continuance of a Local Disaster Emergency Declaration and its Terms for an Additional Thirty (30) Days; Authorizing the Continued Immediate Expenditure of Public Money to Safeguard Life, Health and Property; and Providing an Effective Date R. AP Invoices for Payment - 06/04/20 - $1,920.08 S. AP Invoices for Payment - 06/04/20 - $358,939.44 T. AP Invoices for Payment - 06/10/20 - $186,823.01 Simison: Item 3 is the Consent Agenda. Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 4 of 20 Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we approve the Consent Agenda, for the Mayor to sign and for the Clerk to attest. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I will second that. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve the Consent Agenda, for the Mayor to sign and Clerk to attest. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. Item 4: Items Moved From the Consent Agenda [Action Item] Simison: There were no items moved to No. 4 on the agenda. Item 5: Department / Commission Reports [Action Items] A. [Amended on to Agenda] Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206(c): To acquire an interest in real property not owned by a public agency, and 74-206(f): To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated as provided in chapter 1, title 74, Idaho Code Simison: So, wi th that we will move to Item 5-A, Executive Session. Do I have a motion? Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we move -- we go into Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code 74- 206 (c) and (f). Cavener: Second, Mr. Mayor. Sorry. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adjourn into Executive Session. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, the clerk will call the roll. Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 5 of 20 Roll call: Bernt, aye; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Hoaglun, absent; Strader, ye a; Perreault, yea. Simison: All ayes. MOTION CARRIED: FOUR AYES. TWO ABSENT. Simison: We will adjourn into Executive Session. EXECUTIVE SESSION: (4:34 p.m. to 5:06 p.m.) Simison: We now have four people, so , Council, do I have a motion? Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: Excuse me. I move that we come out of Executive Session. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I second the motion. Simison: I have a motion and a second to come out of Executive Session. Discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. All ayes. Motion carries. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. A. Public Works: Budget Amendment in the Amount of $3,051,214 for Land Acquisition at Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) Simison: So, Item 5-B is from our Public Works Department, a budget amendment in the amount of 3,051,214 dollars. I will turn this over to -- I don't know if it's Dale or Warren. I'm going with Dale, since he's unmuted. Bolthouse: Yeah. Simison: Mr. Bolthouse. Bolthouse: Good evening, Council. Thank you for the opportunity to present this amendment to you. As you are aware over the last several years Public Works has been opportunistically looking at property surrounding the wastewater treatment facility Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 6 of 20 commonly known as the Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility or W RRF and we have gone after a couple of different opportunities and have been unsuccessful as development continues to apply pressure to the property around there and things. So, we have before us an opportunity to purchase contiguous property. It's a 40 acre parcel to the north of our facility. That really represents the opportunity to support long-term growth of the wastewater facility. Presents an opportunity to gain secondary access to the current future facilities, as well as give us the opportunity to control some of the property around the wastewater treatment facility as -- as development continues to encroach from all angles. You have previously approved -- or Council had previously approved some funding for the opportunity and we are seeking the balance of the property. We have completed our due diligence and have uncovered no issues of concern. Surveys have been completed, environmental assessments have been completed, and we are prepared to proceed with the acquisition of this property and would seek your approval in supporting that acquisition and I would be happy to stand for any questions. Simison: Thank you, Mr. Bolthouse. Council, any questions? Okay. If not, do I have a motion? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Because it's in the long term best interest of the city to acquire this land co- located next to our existing facilities, I move that we approve Item 5-B, the budget amendment, in the amount of 30,051,214 dollars for land acquisition at the Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility. Hoaglun: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve the budget amendment . Is there discussion on the motion? If not, I will ask the clerk to call the roll. Roll call: Bernt, yea; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Hoaglun, yea; Strader, yea; Perreault, yea. Simison: All ayes. The amendment is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Simison: Thank you very much, Dale, Warren, for all your work on getting this to this point. Bolthouse: Thank you. Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 7 of 20 B. Community Development: Fairview Avenue Roadway Widening and Access Update Simison: Okay. Item 5-C is an update discussion, information from our Community Development Department. I'm going to turn this over to Mr. Hood to start us off in this discussion with ACHD. Hood: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of Council. Chris, if you could give me control. There we go. It says disabled participant screen sharing. There we go. Can you all see that okay? Bernt: Yes, sir. Hood: All right. So, again, Mr. Mayor, Members of Council, Caleb Hood here presenting an update on a project I have been a part of for the last few months , a part of the project team at ACHD. They have asked me to share with you the status of that project. There is actually two projects here and I will talk about that in a second, including the concept design and next steps. Initially this project was just the intersection at Fairview and Locust Grove and as we got into looking at that project , for those of you familiar with the stretch that goes from Locust Grove towards Eagle, there is already portions of three lanes in each direction and so they really saw an opportunity to expand the scope of work from just the intersection to do the roadway widening all the way back to Eagle Road and take care of both of those kind of concurrently. So, this -- this project has ballooned, if you will, or, again, changed in scope just over the last few months from an intersection project to an intersection project and roadway widening project to seven lanes and I will have a slide that will show that, too. Justin Lucas is on the call , so if you have any questions he is representing ACHD. Brian McCarthy is actually the project manager at ACHD, so most of the slides and exhibits you are going to see tonight are put together from him or most of this presentation is from him. I have done some slight modifications, but, essentially, it's a presentation he gave to the ACHD commission on May 20th. I would also just note before I get into the heart of the discussion here , that I have discussed this project twice with our Transportation Commission and they don't really have any concerns with the direction this is heading, at least at the concept stage. So, just wanted to provide you that information as well. All right. So, I mentioned really two projects being designed concurrently. I mentioned I think, too, that Fairview Avenue is going to be seven lanes , then, between Locust Grove and Eagle Road and, again, I have got an exhibit here, but for those of you that know, there is a merge lane if you are heading westbound after you cross Eagle Road -- there is already three lanes there and you merge just before you get to Hickory, so that -- a lot of that will be retained. They will widen the intersection through Hickory and make it three lanes each direction with a channelized center turn lane and medians and, again, I got an exhibit that will -- that will show you that a little bit better here in a minute. Curb, gutter, sidewalk, buffered bike lanes, street lighting and, then, U-turns, and three-quarter access points and, again, I will -- I will walk you through the corridor here in a second. So, that project is actually very high on the city's priority project list . That's -- that's our number four priority project and, then, the one that was added -- again opportunistically -- is to widen that intersection at Fairview and Locust Grove. So, the Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 8 of 20 Fairview legs -- so, the east and west legs of that intersection will actually be nine lanes wide and I will show you that here in a se cond and, then, seven lanes on the north and south legs on Locust Grove, again, curb, gutter, sidewalk, buffered bike lanes. Pedestrian refuge islands on Fairview. Because Fairview is so wide, nine lanes wide, each lane being roughly 11 or 12 feet wide , they are putting a pedestrian refuge basically midway for pedestrians, so that they cross in two stages. Cross halfway and, then, cross the next halfway. If you didn't do something like that it would be like a 45 or 50 second delay to get a pedestrian all the way across the roadway. So, they are -- it's being designed with that -- with refuge islands on -- again on the Fairview sides if you are on Locust Grove crossing Fairview and there are some right-in, right-out driveways and, again, I will walk you through that. This was not as high on the city's priority project list . It's number 34. So, I just wanted to have you have -- share that background information with you. And, then, again, they are currently at the concept design phase and I have got a slide at the end that talks about next steps, but that's roughly 30 percent designed. So, what we are going to talk about -- they are still -- you know, this is a first draft, if you will. So, nothing necessarily set in stone, but there has been work done, there has been crash analysis, traffic analysis done and this is where they think the project is heading. So, let's start. I'm going to go from west to east. So , the far west -- west edge of the project is near Stonehenge Way, Jericho Road. There is a drop lane on Jericho, so through the intersection it will be, again, three lanes in each direction. If you are westbound and you stay in that far north -- north lane it will drop at Jericho. You have to turn right at Jericho. It won't continue through that intersection. Just a couple of other things to note. And, please, stop me if you see anything that looks odd or you want it explained. Black is asphalt. So, you can kind of see this. And, then, the concrete intersection. So, if you see gray like that, that's concrete. This will be asphalt. The yellow largely is paint , although in this situation that -- if you can see my pointer, there is actually a raised concrete media in there. So, there -- it's paved, but there is also -- and, then, curbing is red and striping is yellow. So , if you see red that's a physical barrier or a curbing and yellow is -- is paint for the most part. And so we can look at that a little bit more. I do want to focus on Stonehenge just for a second. That is actually a full access point. So, Stonehenge you can turn -- if you are, again, westbound let's say on -- on Fairview Avenue you could turn left or southbound onto Stonehenge Way. There is quite a few residents that are back in here and even some of the businesses here that this is a fairly major access point. There has been discussion about does that -- should this be a full access point or not. Right now it is designed as a full access point. The other thing they are talking about at the highway district is prohibiting pedestrians from crossing. So in Idaho this is a legal crosswalk here . Any intersection is a legal cross -- unmarked crosswalk, unless posted otherwise. So, ACHD is talking -- is it a good idea to have pedestrians crossing particularly on the east side of that intersection, because they are crossing so many lanes of traffic. So, potentially they won't have them cross on the east side , maybe just signage across on the west side, because you have got a little bit less of a -- an area to cross there. But, anyways, I just wanted to call that to your attention a little bit. There are changes to the -- the existing Dutch Brothers, Goodwill complex driveway. This will go to a right-in, right-out. Same with the Crunch Fitness access. You can see, again, that center median will be extended and you will only be able to turn right -in, right-out of these accesses and that's true for the other accesses as you get closer to the intersection Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 9 of 20 and even through the intersection. I wasn't planni ng on really highlighting anything on the north or south legs here. I'm not quite sure what -- what's going to end up happening with Wilson. There is some traffic here. That serves as kind of a backage road to D&B. There is quite a bit of traffic that uses this and over time I think Wilson, once it gets punched through to Webb -- and I will show you Webb if you are not familiar with that. It's a new road in Meridian. Will get even more use. This is a -- this is my commute home a lot of nights. This is a scary intersection sometimes. This backs up -- you get the dual lefts onto westbound Fairview stacking sometimes and you do get -- there is some conflict points here with both people turning on to Wilson and trying to turn out of Wilson especially. But anyway. So, right now it's a full access point. I'm going to keep moving on. This access at McDonald's and Keybank is already right-in-out, so no real change there and kind of same for the first access on McDonald's, but D&B today you can actually turn left into their first or western most driveway. Again, that will be restricted to just a right-in, right-out. I'm also going to tie that in with the conversation here that goes in between the Fred -- Fred Meyer fuel facility, Sa-Wad-Dee, Subway. There is a laundromat in here as well. This driveway -- there is a lot of crashes here. It's one of our high crash locations and so ACHD is proposing to make that a right-in, right-out access as well. From there or Avest back you will see these three-quarter movements. So, three-quarter moment is I can -- now, I'm going to go the other way, I'm a motorist traveling eastbound. I can turn across traffic to get onto Avest, but if I'm coming out of Avest and trying to get onto Fairview I can only make a right turn. So, that three-quarter turn is a left-in, but no left out and that's pretty common as you will see through the rest of this corridor. Again , looking at these drivers you can't turn left out across Fairview to merge into tra ffic, because you are crossing, you know, four and sometimes five and six lanes if you are actually trying to cross and, then, go a different direction. So, any questions thus far? That's kind of a lay of the land here. This is pretty standard, but there are some business impacts, obviously, to, you know, the existing condition as far as -- as far as access goes. But I want to just pause before I move to the next segment. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener, I believe. Cavener: Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Caleb, to that point -- and maybe it's -- now is a good time for either you or Justin to kind of chime in. I am curious about what level of engagement and collaboration we have had through this process with the area businesses and maybe sharing what education has been provided to them and any feedback that we have gleaned. Hood: Yeah. Good question. I was going to touch on that a little bit more at the end , but we can certainly do that now. So, there is -- later this week, so on Thursday ACHD is going to put a lot of the same information up onlin e. With COVID they are not doing a -- an in-person open house, but it's my understanding that they have been reaching out one on one to businesses and making contact. I just got an e -mail actually today from the Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 10 of 20 project manager. I will just read you a couple of blurbs from what he told me. He said we have reached out to many of the businesses already and have done a handful of one on one meetings already. So far it seems most businesses understand the need for the project and at least through the conve rsation it doesn't appear there are any -- there are anyone strongly against it right now. We are asking the businesses to still submit comments formally through the open house as well. So , on the 11th, again, there will be an online open house and it's not a, you know, login between 3:00 and 6:00 of an open house, it will be open online to review and comment. I'm not quite sure how long they are leaving that open. I don't have that in my notes. I will also just mention in my answer I have talked to Sean with the Chamber and I wasn't able to attend last Thursday because I was at a -- doing that walk audit. But last Thursday at noon. ACHD did attend the Chamber economic development subcommittee -- I think that's the right name of that -- that group -- and presented and answered questions and, again, didn't get a whole lot of feedback is my understanding from that meeting . So, ACHD is reaching out. Again, they have reached out to the city and that's one of the main reasons I'm here with you is you may get calls from businesses, so I wanted to make sure everyone on Council understands at least where the project is at and next steps to move forward. So, yes, the city's been sort of passive in our involvement with the business outreach and ACHD is really taking the lead, but we are trying to help get the word out , too, and -- and address any concerns there may be from businesses or other property owners along the corridor. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thanks. I think it would be interesting for me to understand with these types of really an informational update, you know, do we have the ability to influence the outcome in terms of what ACHD will do? And I guess what I'm trying to figure out is what direction do you need from Council, if any, or if it's purely informational -- Hood: Yeah. Strader: -- does it make sense for our Transportation Committee to formally approve these, similar to how we have a Planning and Zoning Commission approval for things? Is that even possible? And, then, just, finally, is there an expert that looks at the safe routes to schools and the pedestrian aspects of these projects ? Hood: Yeah, let me -- Simison: Caleb, let me take the first part and, then, you can take the second part. Hood: Okay. Simison: I mean we can successfully influence as much as our relationships are strong with our partners at ACHD and we can do that formally through a letter or informally through other conversations. You know, ultimately it will be their decision on what they Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 11 of 20 do. So, that's -- that's the short answer to the first part. I will let Caleb speak to the second part about who all looks at what aspects. Hood: And, first, Mr. Mayor, Council Woman Strader, I want to just apologize for maybe not putting that -- this isn't just an update, it is seek -- seeking feedback. They do want to hear from the city. So, if you have any comments about what I'm walking through , like the Mayor just said, you know, they may or may not change anything, but if you have concerns, please, share that with me and I can pass that along either through a formal letter, if that's what you would like to do, or just -- you know, I can just verbally tell them or put it in an e-mail. So, yeah, they definitely want our input on this at any stage . So, again, if you have concerns about a certain driveway or the pedestrian design and I actually have one I want to call to your attention here in a minute and would request that we send a semi -formal letter to ACHD or a memo requesting some consideration here. So, I'm sorry I didn't kind of set that foundational . This isn't just an update. Please provide that -- you know, ask questions, provide feedback as you have it. Your other question, so -- two other questions regarding the Transportation Commission action. They are not empowered to take any action currently. They are a recommending advisory board to you. And, again, I talked to them and they didn't have an official recommendation or require that you -- you know, request that you make any official -- take any official action on this. Excuse me. Your last question, then, about an expert reviewing safe routes to schools and other things. Yes, they have multiple subject matter experts. This one , as far as safe routes, I did -- that actually didn't come up, but pedestrian and bicycle flow is certainly looked at and I know school boundaries are looked at as well. There is not an expectation that an elementary school age kid , for instance, crosses either one of these roadways, so that really doesn't come into play very much in this situation . But, yes, they do -- they do look at that and have experts -- professionals that -- that are looking for those things. Strader: Mr. Mayor, a quick follow up. Simison: Yes, Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thanks. Yeah. I guess where I'm coming from is actually just out of a place of, you know, I -- I am not an expert at all on transportation and I guess what I'm kind of getting at -- maybe it's something for a future topic, but, you know, if there was a more formal sort of assessment from our transportation committee , even if it was a recommendation, but something a little more formal where they could point out things to consider or concerns and we can follow up with them, I would appreciate that type of expertise if we are really looking to give formal feedback on something . That's all. Hood: So, Mr. Mayor, I will, again, just start off by apologizing that this isn't formal. They didn't have anything or maybe it would be a little more formal . I would have put in my memo that, hey, the commission really is concerned about crashes at this location and thinks we should do X. Here it is more -- they have reviewed it and -- and don't really have a -- again, a formal recommendation. But there are times that that does occur. So, Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 12 of 20 I think we have a process, but I'm willing to sit down with you and we can walk through that a little bit more and if you want to formalize that more or whatever I'm open to change. Strader: Yeah. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Mr. Mayor, if possible I would like to maybe just provide a little bit more background for Council Member Strader, because I think your questions are -- are really on point in this -- in line so much with where the Transportation Commission wants to go , but to Caleb's point, I think the Commission on -- on I think two separate occasions discussed this and asked I think a lot of questions similar to some questions that we are kind of asking here tonight and Caleb did a great job of I think addressing those concerns, which is probably why you are not seeing a lot of other formal recommendations. I mean their discussion was really around thank you for this information. There is not opposition. There aren't any requested or suggested changes. They were pleased I think with -- with what was presented to them. Strader: Thank you. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Before we move from this intersection just a couple of questions for Caleb. Caleb, over behind Dutch Bros, the various businesses, Stonehenge Way, I know that's a parking lot in front of the various businesses . I can't tell if that parking lot has access to Stonehenge Way. Hood: Uh-huh. Hoaglun: Right. Yes. Right there. Hood: Uh-huh. Yes, sir, they do. Hoaglun: Okay. So, it's likely we will see some folks come out to be -- make a left turn back onto Fairview, so just something to be aware of. The other thing -- I don't want to assume, but I'm assuming the raised medians that we see, they are firetruck and police car friendly in terms of -- it's not a straight 90 degree curb to street, but an angled curb that allows them -- if they need to crossover? Hood: Mr. Mayor, Councilman Hoaglun, yeah, I actually haven't asked that question, but typical design -- and Justin can correct me if I'm wrong -- is a mountable curb -- rolled Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 13 of 20 mountable curb center median. So, I just made a note. I will just verify that. But I assume that -- that they can be mounted. Hoaglun: And, Mr. Mayor, Caleb, I assumed that as well, but I wasn't sure, so thanks for checking. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Just a couple questions. Don't know if Caleb or Justin want to answer, but could you give us some background on how this came to be ? It sounds like it wasn't in the five year -- integrated five year plan. So, how this came to now be a priority on ACHD's part. I'm glad that it's in our top five. So , I want to -- I want a little background on that and, then, secondly, I have noticed a lot more of these limited access and safety measures being put in at -- at a lot of the newer intersections in the city, but I have noticed that they cause a lot of bad behavior, too, so people are flipping around doing U-turns, driving into people's driveways to turn around , you know, going down side streets that normally wouldn't get traffic, et cetera, and I'm curious if -- if -- Justin could -- could share on if that's creating other -- other accidents that -- you know, other issues. So, I just see a lot of -- kind of a lot of bad behavior going on , people being impatient and not wanting to go a quarter mile down the street to get around a median or something like that. Hood: So, Mr. Mayor, I will -- I will maybe tackle the first part and, then, yeah, you directed the second one to Justin, so I will let him -- I want to be clear. Again, the intersection was actually in -- in the program. It's the next -- it's the mile widening back towards Eagle Road. So, basically, this slide has been a top priority project not only for the city, but for ACHD. It has some issues with, again, safety, with congestion, so it checks a lot of the cost benefit boxes when you look at it from an ACHD perspective . The other mile wasn't -- it's in the CIP, so it's in the longer range plan, but, again, the staff looked at it and said we -- we should be opportunistic in this and not just stop basically at Avest where it's already widened to seven lanes, if we did some -- it's more than just slight tweaking. But if we -- if we improve these other kind of pieces in between, boy, we could get seven lanes out of this whole thing. So, I just wanted to clarify that, that this intersection has been -- it's -- it's progressing kind of as scheduled. It's the mile segment widening that really wasn't -- that's been accelerated and I will pass the baton to Justin. Perreault: Thank you. Lucas: Yeah. Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, first off can you hear me? Just want to verify. Cavener: Yep. Lucas: Great. Yeah. Caleb's answer on that was -- was perfect. Yeah, we have been working on this intersection and it has been in the integrated five year work plan for a long Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 14 of 20 time and it has been a long standing priority for the city. The -- the medians, they can be, you know, controversial and there is, you know, different issues associated with those. Here we are actually using what we are calling these channelized turn lanes where the turn lanes are still functioning , we are not closing off, you know, all of the accesses, we are allowing most of the access, except for the left out to continue, and the left out is the -- you know, kind of the most dangerous movement that can occur out of these -- out of these driveways. Now, does that change the travel pattern around this area ? Certainly, you know, you are going to have more people trying to find their way back to Locust Grove or Fairview potentially making U-turns and all the intersections will be -- accommodate U- turns. In many parts of the country the U-turn is a very standard movement. Here in Idaho we are getting used to that. So , I can't perfectly answer your question. With any design, you know, there is -- there is pros and cons and we carefully look at the safety associated with the design elements and that's why we go out to the public and talk to the businesses and get as much information as we can to try and make the access points as safe and functional as possible. Simison: Thank you, Justin. Hood: All right. Ready to move on to the next slide then? Simison: Yeah, Mr. Hood, if you could move on and talk about this next opportunistic -- and I love your use of that word and just remember that from our meeting yesterday. We do things that are opportunistic, not necessarily that are in our plan immediately. Hood: Yes. I do -- before I go to the next one, I do want to just call out that center refuge island on either leg. So, I mentioned that kind of in my opening remarks . So, there is a little pedestrian refuge area on either side, again, for the staging of pedestrians to make that two stage crossing, so -- okay. On to the next segment. And I have actually got the next three quarters of a mile or so broken into two different slides zoomed in a little bit , so we -- so we can actually make it out a little bit more and I would encourage you just as I kick this off to -- if you haven't been in this part of town you should probably go check it out, because Webb -- there is a lot of stuff happening down Webb towards Pine, so that roundabout that we have had for several years now, there is development happening in that Pine 43 project and there is hundreds of units that are coming online and commercial that's coming in here. So, Webb at some time in the near future will -- will be a fairly major roadway. Councilman Cavener and Perreault were -- both participated this last week in a walkabout of Meridian and this is one of the areas we actually audited . You can see from this diagram this is actually a part of the city's pathway network. So, we have got an extra wide sidewalk, multi-use pathway on one side of Webb right now and this is -- I cued it up earlier a little bit -- one of the things that -- that I would like to maybe ask ACHD to consider a little bit more is a pedestrian crossing here at Webb . It sounds scary; right? A seven lane roadway. I'm not excited about crossing that. But if I'm living just off screen here in some of the multi -family that's going up and even single family and all that -- all that there, there is -- there is places I want to go and I'm not likely to go back a third of a mile in either direction to cross at -- at either Locust Grove or at Hickory. So, a -- they don't call them HAWK signals anymore, but a HAWK signal type of treatment here may Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 15 of 20 be appropriate, because, again, it's an attractive nuisance essentially. You are -- you are just placing out of access there these places that I may want to go and Fred Meyers is just off your map here, too. I just can't envision many, if any, people going out of direction a thousand, 1,200 feet, to get to these places. They are going to take some chances and cross here. So, anyways, that's -- we can talk about that some more, but that would be my -- one of my requests on this project is to have ACHD really consider putting in a pedestrian protected signal at this location. Simison: Hey, Caleb? Hood: Yeah. Simison: One of the things that we have noticed at City Hall is that at intersection s pedestrian movements don't really seem to work great because of multiple reasons. Is there a reason why you would -- you or ACHD would do that versus an actual light? Is the light just not in vogue at this distance ? Hood: No. So -- good question, Mr. Mayor. The real -- the issue is -- and I will just point out without getting into all the history, the Pine 43 developer wanted a signal here back in the day. ACHD said it doesn't meet warrants. That may sound familiar. We have heard that before, especially with the signal out here even at Broadway and Meridian Road, and -- and the reason it doesn't is because these businesses aren't that busy ; right? I mean compared to Fairview 30 some thousand cars a day, this isn't there. And even Webb, even though I called it a major roadway collector, it's still not -- now, if there were another Webb leg this way, yeah, I think it would meet the warrants for a signal , but because of this north leg basically being a driveway and a pretty low volume commercial traffic , it's not going to meet those warrants. So, we could simply request a signal and not be specific about pedestrian, but that's really my main concern or request would be about pedestrian traffic. So, yeah, that's -- that's why. The warrants on the north leg have never been modeled to be -- to warrant a full -- a full signal here. Simison: I guess my bigger thing is a pedestrian crossing at these places where people will use it as a signal to try to get out , I don't know if that would be the case here or not , because you can't do a left-hand turn movement, but just the concerns -- I think we have showcased why HAWKs at intersections are not the best. Hood: And, Mr. Mayor, just to follow up a little bit on that, they wouldn't actually put it right in the throat of the intersection , it would be offset and they would have to, obviously, change some of the decel lanes for -- for those left movements and into the site , but -- but generally at this intersection . Simison: Okay. Hood: And it would most likely even have a pedestrian refuge; right? You wouldn't expect a pedestrian to cross all seven lanes at the same time. It would have a refuge area where, Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 16 of 20 again, at two stage crossing. We don't need to design it now, but, yeah, it wouldn't be right at the intersection. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: And may I add -- so, Caleb did a great job presenting that. The consultants that were there that were taking us through this and showing us just -- just really giving us eyes to see what they see, they -- we had some discussion about, obviously, ACHD will do the design, but we had some discussion about what type of crossing would work well and they really pointed out to us how significant -- how significantly important this particular intersection is for pedestrian crossing, because there really is no other pedestrian -- there is all driveways to the east and west, there is no other street where they could cross, unless they go all the way down to Locust Grove. But what I wanted to say is that on the north side of Fairview there there is -- there are several -- there are several eating areas and several businesses that don't exist and won't exist at all to the south side. So, they can't -- the residents would not be able to go south on Webb and get out to Pine or get out to anywhere else where there is places to -- to eat and recreate. That north side is really where all of that is for -- for those residents to access in the Pine 43 development. Hood: So, I'm going to just continue on and I don't have much more in this segment , just, again, the -- the channelization of that center median to look at left-in, no left-out driveways for the remainder of the corridor until we get up to the -- the Hickory Way intersection. So, unless there is any other questions or comments on this segment , I think I'm going to go to the next slide. So, that match line I -- I included this to kind of show the intersection of Hickory. We kind of went -- went there before. So, again, I mentioned before most of this westbound lane already exists . There will be some widening through the Hickory Way intersection. So, this intersection will have to be rebuilt. You also have -- there is a lane today, right, you can get in and there is three lanes through Hickory Way, but the north side of this intersection will have to be rebuilt to accommodate the -- the additional lane westbound. The only thing really I think on this slide I want to call to your attention is this driveway between Great Floors and Snake River Yamaha. So, this is -- has been for the last -- boy, time flies. So, I don't actually remember when ITD through CenterCal put the center medians in Eagle Road, but ever since that time they also put the center median in Fairview here and so this driveway -- I have seen cars -- in fact, I have done it. Been at some of these businesses here -- will drive through the driveway here, so I can make a left out, because this is the only driveway between Hickory and Eagle that you can turn left. So, instead of turning right and making a U-turn through this intersection, you get a lot of traffic -- in fact, Snake River was not real happy when that first happened, they saw a huge amount of traffic through their parking lot and they were putting up cones and bikes and all kinds of stuff to try to -- so, it's not being fully restricted, but at least in the concept they are showing , again, that same left-in, but no left-out. So, that's important and -- and kind of to Councilman Hoaglun's question before, there is connectivity through to Hickory, so if you wanted to get out to this intersection you could Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 17 of 20 make that maneuver. But, again, potentially, you know, just, honestly, if I'm at Red Robin say, I'm probably not going out to Eagle Road, because I can only go southbound. If I want to go, you know, back to the west I'm probably going all the way through here and coming out to Hickory to -- just so -- just to point that out. We have good cross-access there. I don't see anybody cutting through there , but those businesses, right, are going to see that traffic, which is kind of how it's intended, although you do have back out parking on a lot of these. So, without belaboring that too much I just wanted to -- that's mainly the change here is, again, some roadway improvements, Hickory Way, and, then, the further restriction on this driveway from a full driveway and the main reason for that is you got this dedicated left, then, into the turn bay at Hickory, so you don't want people to -- you know, turning left out of this driveway potentially smacking somebody. There is nowhere to merge; right? You would have to get all the way over into a through lane. So, anyways, I think with that, Mr. Mayor, here is the -- kind of the schedule and the next steps. I mentioned that open house. It will open up online later this week, so these similar exhibits and more -- there is crash data, there is volume to capacity information, there is a lot more I imagine that -- that ACHD will put on that website and, then, any -- any feedback you want to share with me I can share with the project manager and they will share with the ACHD commission what they hear both from the city, from other stakeholders on July 22nd, refine the design. A second open house -- and I guess I want to pause there just for a second. Who knows what the world will look like in a few months , but September they are planning on doing another online open house and I guess I just wanted to make that clear with everybody, you know, typically there is an opportunity to meet and there is -- they have been doing one-on-one meetings it sounds like and probably will continue to do that , but there is typically a physical , you know, show up at ACHD or a local church or school or something and we can talk to you across the table and look at a roll plot and explain it to you type of open house. That is not the current plan with -- with this project. So, I just wanted to call that to your attention. And you can see the rest of the schedule to buy the right of way and , then, construction in -- in 2023. So, with that I know we are about a quarter to 6:00, so, Mr. Mayor, I apologize for going a little long, but I will stand for any questions or feedback you want to share. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: So, Caleb, there are not any -- any improvements or changes being made to the Fairview and Eagle intersection as part of this ; is that right? Hood: Correct. Mr. Mayor, Council Woman Perreault, correct. All those improvements currently exist. Again, there will be a cut line somewhere in here that they will add that -- that third lane here. There is some ramp improvements I think kind of back through here. There is a -- there is not a pedestrian ramp if memory serves , but largely no improvements, you know, kind of east of -- of what was done when that center median was put in five years ago, whenever that was. Perreault: And there are no pedestrian islands in the Fairview-Eagle intersection; is that right? Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 18 of 20 Hood: Yeah. Those -- those refuge islands we talked about at the other intersection -- correct. There are no -- there -- there isn't that same situation on any of the legs. Perreault: Thank you. Simison: Council, any additional questions or comments or thoughts on official city response to this issue? And I can -- we can, obviously, ask you to think about it and come back in a week or two to see if there is anymore thoughts or actions. Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I think that would be okay. I would -- I would be supportive of that. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: I don't know that I will be able to attend the open house , but I -- I hope that they record it, because I really like to hear from the business community and just get familiar with the concerns or questions that they have. So, maybe the other Council Members would like to do the same if -- if they do record it. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: This is just me , I thought that the suggestions were good, like Caleb mentioned, and I guess maybe at some point in the future as the Transportation Commission rethinks -- or thinks through how -- the role they want to play, maybe for them to use this as an example of -- if they want to more formally recommend things to us or if they want to kind of keep it less formal with conversations or sort of how they want to proceed , that might be something for us to all think about, too. Hood: Mr. Mayor, can I -- I'm sorry, I know I had my chance. I do want to clarify, because I don't want to put words in their mouth . The pedestrian crossing at Webb is not from the commission. That is from our recent -- you know, again, we had that walk audit. That has not been vetted through the commission . So, I -- honestly, I don't know if they would agree with my recommendation or not. I have not vetted that through them. I just wanted to make that clear. Simison: Yeah. And if I could add, I think I have had enough conversations with them recently to know that -- that they have a voice and if they want to make that voice heard that that's their role. We have three transportation engineers who are on that group Meridian City Council Work Session June 9, 2020 Page 19 of 20 specifically. I can't say that all three of them heard the presentation or were present, but I think that they have enough, you know, expertise and common sense that their probably viewpoint was this looked healthy from that standpoint. But I think it really does come down to, you know, if Council feels like this impacts or harms the business community in any way -- or the connectivity through pedestrians, you know, this is the opportunity to weigh in. If that's your viewpoint or position. Hood: Mr. Mayor, if I can just piggyback on that comment as well. Simison: Yes. Hood: So, as individuals, as well, as Council Woman Perreault mentioned, there is -- they are opening up -- check out their website. You can go there as an individual and make those comments as well . So, it doesn't have to be on city letterhead necessarily. You are a stakeholder in this and can share your thoughts and concerns and support or whatever you have. So, I would just encourage you to go there and check it out as well. Simison: Well, Caleb, if it's all right, why don't we have you come back in two to three weeks following the open house and give people an opportunity to review it if they would like or attend, think about this, and, then, we can see if there is any official direction Council would like to, as a group, provide to ACHD on this topic. Hood: Sounds good. Thank you. Simison: All right. With that, Council, we have reached the end of our agenda. Do I have a motion? Bernt: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Bernt. Bernt: I move that we adjourn the meeting. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor, second the motion. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it. We are adjourned. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:50 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) _______________________________ ______/______/______ Meridian City Council Work Session June 9,2020 Page 20 of 20 6-16-2020 MAYOR ROBERT E. SIMISON DATE APPROVED ATTEST: CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda June 16,2020— Page 24 of 223