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2020-03-04 TC Minutes Richfield Transportation Commission Attachment #1 March 4th, 2020 - Meeting Minutes 7:00 p.m. | Richfield Municipal Center – Bartholomew Room Commission members: Wes Dunser (chair), Paul Chillman, Ken Severson, Dan Edgerton, Jeffrey Walz, Husniyah Bradley, Kyle Schmidt, Louis Dzierzak Commission members not in attendance: Mollie O’Howard Liaisons: Simon Trautmann, Liaisons not in attendance: Sarah Musgrave, Sean Hayford Oleary City Staff Liaison: Jack Broz Other City Staff: Scott Kulzer I. Call meeting to Order Chair Dunser called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. II. Approval of Agenda Motion by Commissioner Chillman to approve the agenda, s/Bradley. Motion carried. III. Welcome New Commissioners Chair Dunser formally welcomed new Commissioners Kyle Schmidt and Louis Dzierzak who shared some background information about themselves. The existing Commissioners took a chance to introduce themselves as well. IV. Selection of Officers Chair Dunser briefly explained the process for nominating Commission officers and opened up the fllor for nominations. Chair Dunser nominated himself for chair s/Severson. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Chillman nominated himself for Vice-Chair, s/Schmidt. Motion carried unanimously. V. Review & Approve minutes for December 4th, 2019 meeting Commissioner Walz requested a technical amendment to the minutes. Motion made by Commissioner Edgerton to approve the amended January 8th, 2020 meeting minutes, s/Chillman. Motion carried. VI. Safe Routes To School Program – Will Wlizlo, RPS SRTS Coordinator Richfield Public Schools Safe Routes to School Coordinator Will Wlizlo introduced himself to the Commission and provided an update on his grant-funded position and some personal and professional background information. The main undertaking of his position will be to implement the Richfield SRTS Comprehensive Plan and update if for the next five years. Mr. Wlizlo detailed two additional grants that were received as part of the SRTS initiative, which include funding for a traffic study at the STEM school and a “Boost” grant for “walking school busses” and to engage the Latino community. Commissioner Edgerton noted that the SRTS Coordinator position was a competitive grant application and how lucky and fortunate Richfield was to be awarded on of the positions, as there are only 6 statewide. Will fielded various questions from the Commission on a variety of SRTS- related topics. Will can be reached at william.wlizlo@rpsmn.org or 612-798-6055. VII. Transportation Commission Orientation Staff Liaison Broz detailed the Commission’s role in the decision-making process as it relates to transportation projects and issues. Broz detailed the “Sweet Streets” ethos and how it ties into the way Richfield conducts its public engagement and eventual reconstruction projects. Broz walked the Commission through the City’s guiding principles, and showed off the Sweet Streets website including most of the content on “The Big Picture” page. Broz used the 70th St. to 74th St. stretch of Lyndale as a case study example for the Commission on how a project goes from an idea, through the Open House process, and eventually becomes a recommended design to Council from the Commission. VIII. Penn Avenue Study – Zan Associates Commissioner Edgerton, acting in his capacity as the City’s consultant (Zan Associates) for the Penn Avenue Corridor Study Walked through the state of the project and detailed the problem statement developed as a result of what was heard at Penn Fest in 2019 and Open House #1 held on November 14, 2019. The problem statement is to “Develop a long-term vision and identify interim improvements for Penn Avenue that:  Make it safe and convenient for people walking and biking along and across Penn Avenue;  Support the Penn-Central neighborhood through infrastructure investments that compliment adjacent land uses, both now and in the future; and  Acknowledge local right-of-way constraints while meeting regional transit and vehicle transportation needs. Consultant Edgerton fielded a handful of questions regarding the problem statement, the status of the actual design, and when and what to expect at Open House #2. Liaison Trautmann raised concerns that the problem statement was framed in too mild of tone and did not adequately communicate the needs of the corridor. The next open house for this project is expected in late Spring or early Summer 2020. IX. Updates  Broz gave a brief update on the Lyndale project, which will be wrapping up with a few weeks worth of work April and May.  Kulzer gave an update on the Highway 5 – Around the Airport project expected to begin in late March.  Broz noted to expect the 65th Street Open House #4 sometime in late April  Broz noted 35W SB to 494 WB ramp would be closing for most of the summer for the tunnel/transitwat construction.  Broz noted the 77th Underpass project was still on track for 2021 construction and staff and our legislators were working on getting bonding dollars to finalize the funding package. X. Upcoming events/meeting(s) The next scheduled commission meeting is April 1, 2020. XI. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Edgerton to adjourn meeting, s/Bradley. Motion carried. Adjourned at 9:07 pm.