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2021-08-11 TC Minutes Richfield Transportation Commission Attachment #1 August 11, 2021 - Meeting Minutes 7:00 p.m. | Bartholomew Room Commission members: Wes Dunser (Chair), Husniyah Bradley, Dan Edgerton, David Gepner, Kyle Schmidt, Ken Severson Commission members not in attendance: Jeffrey Walz, Louis Dzierzak, Mollie O’Howard Liaisons: Liaisons not in attendance: Councilmember Sean Hayford Oleary, Kevin Wendt, Jan Matheus City Staff Liaison/Staff: Scott Kulzer, Joe Powers Other: Will Wlizlo, RPS SRTS Coordinator I. Call meeting to order Chair Dunser called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. II. Approval of Agenda Motion by Commissioner Bradley to approve the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Severson. Motion carried. III. Review & Approve Minutes for March 3rd, 2021 Meeting Motion by Commissioner Edgerton to approve the March 3rd, 2021 meeting minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Severson. Motion carried. IV. By-Laws Update – Administrative Aide/Analyst Scott Kulzer Staff Liaison Kulzer detailed the routine by-law updates being proposed for approval. Kulzer noted the by-laws are to be updated annually at the April meeting which did not happen this year. By-law updates generally included:  Added verbiage related to holding meetings virtually if needed, for future flexibility;  Various technical changes/cleaned up some language;  Reworded the paragraphs related to commissioner eligibility and terms;  Reorganized liaison section and updated to reflect “Richfield Bike Advocates” and not “Bicycle Advisory Group”; and  Changed the election of officers section to reflect the practiced nomination/vote process for choosing chair and vice-chair. Kulzer Noted that none of these changes really impact how the TC has been functioning over the past years, it is just housekeeping work to ensure our by-laws accurately reflect how the commission operates. V. Engineering Study Update – Will Wlizlo, RPS SRTS Coordinator Richfield Public Schools Safe Routes to School Coordinator Will Wlizlo updated the Commission on his work over the last year. In 2020, the City of Richfield and Richfield Public Schools completed a Safe Routes to School Engineering Study of the area near Richfield STEM and Richfield Dual Language School with the aim of identifying ways to make the roads and parking lots safer and more welcoming during student arrival and dismissal. The study made a number of suggestions, with an emphasis on improvements for people who are walking or bicycling, which the district and Richfield Public Works will be seeking to implement over the coming years. Specific suggestions to improve safety the resulted from this engineering study were:  Reconfigure North Parking Lot infrastructure and circulation;  Reconfigure intersections at 70th St & 12th as well as 70th St & Elliot;  Reconstruct crossing at Elliot & 71st;  Build a sidewalk on 71st St (south side of school); and  Add a “bump-in” on 12th to accommodate special needs bus pick-up/drop-off. VI. Project Updates • 77th St Underpass. City Engineer Powers informed the commission that the Underpass officially broke ground in mid-July and the project was moving along as planned. Utility infrastructure was being installed along the future alignment of Richfield Parkway. The 77SB ramp to 494WB is now closed for the duration of the project as well as 77th St. east of Bloomington Ave. Powers shared some photos of the construction work and answered a variety of questions from the commission. • 2021 Mill and Overlay, Concrete and Reclamite. City Engineer Powers noted the 2021 Pavement Management project was complete, and concrete work for 2022 was hopefully going to be complete in fall 2021. Powers noted next year’s Mill and Overlay project would be small, likely only 1.5-2 miles in length. • Bus Rapid Transit. City Engineer Powers provided updates on Metro Transit’s Orange Line route, which will include two stations at 76th and Knox Avenue, and 66th and 35W. Powers concluded that the Knox Ave Transitway is almost complete as well as the stations at 66th and 35W, with work ongoing at the 76th Street stations. The Orange Line should be in operation by the end of the year. Powers noted the D-Line project will include 4 new stations with improved station amenities. The bases for most of these stations are complete and the actual structures are expected to be completed by Spring 2022. • Portland Bike Gap. City Engineer Powers noted the Portland Ave Bike Gap/Mill and Overlay project is well underway and should be complete by late September 2021. • Penn Ave. City Engineer Powers stated that the mill and overlay of Penn Avenue is still expected to occur in late summer/fall of 2021. Because the County’s contractor is working on numerous projects throughout the County, we have not been given a specific date for when work will start. • 5-Year Street Reconstruction Plan. City Engineer Powers briefly explained the 5-year Street Reconstruction Plan and statutorily prescribed process for selling street reconstruction bonds. Powers detailed the projects in the 5-year plan and the timeline for selling bonds for the 65th Street Reconstruction project in 2022. • I494: Airport to Highway 169. City Engineer Powers noted that the 494 PAC/TAC are still working their way towards this project beginning in 2023 and said there were no substantive updates to share. Commissioner Ken Severson reiterated many of his previously voiced concerns related to the future design of the I-494/35W interchange and its related changes to Penn Avenue access at I-494. Following the group's discussion of the subject, Severson made a motion requesting a joint meeting with the City Council to address continued concerns about MnDOT's plans for the I-494 and Penn Avenue Interchange. Discussion included the desire to have a MnDOT representative attend the meeting if the City Council accepts the request to have a joint meeting. The motion was seconded by Chair Dunser. Commissioners Severson, Bradley, Gepner, Schmidt, and Dunser voted in favor of the motion. Commissioner Edgerton abstained from voting on the motion, and the motion carried. City Liaison Kulzer noted that this request would likely be considered by City Council at the August 24 Special Council Meeting. VII. Work Plan Review/Next Steps • 65th St Final Design. City Engineer Powers noted that the 65th Street Reconstruction project final design is progressing as planned and we are still on target for a Spring 2022 groundbreaking. VIII. Upcoming events/meeting(s) The next Transportation Commission meeting is scheduled for September 1, 2021. IX. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Dunser to adjourn meeting. Adjourned at 9:02 pm.