MEETING MINUTES

SKYWAY GOVERNANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Meeting Date: 3/25/16

Approval: DRAFT

1.ATTENDANCE

Name / (G)uest
(L)iaison
(C)ommittee / Employee/Resident/Business Owner/Organization
Andy Flamm / C / Business Owner, Committee Chair
Deb Verlo / C / Resident, Scribe
Ginny Harris / C / Resident
Bill Hanley / C / Resident
Kevin Ronning (not present) / C / Resident
Kati Berg (not present) / C / Resident
Susan Thomas / C / Resident
Josie Hill (not present) / C / Business Owner, Resident
Paul Bengtson / L / CRC Executive Director
Eric Hudak / L / DSI
Barry Brown / L / DSI
Cpn Michael LaVine / L / Metro Transit Police
Cindy Fischer / L / Employee, BOMA Member
Jay Severance / G / Resident
Greg Peterson / G / Resident
Julie Bauch / G / Employee, BOMA Member
John Mannillo / L / DBOA, Former Committee Member
Tom Ferrara / L / DSI
Mike Bleakmore / G / SkywayMyWay.com

2.Meeting Location

Building: US Bank Center

Conference Room: 16th Floor, Ramsey Room

3.Meeting Start

Meeting Schedule Start: 9:00 AM

Meeting Actual Start: 9:00 AM

Meeting Scribe: Deb Verlo (additional notes provided by Paul Bengtson and Andy Flamm)

4.Minutes

Approve Meeting Agenda

Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Past Meeting Minutes

Motion passed unanimously.

  1. Prior Business/Chair Report
  2. Chair Flamm informed the committee that the CRC is beginning to search for new board member candidates and the committee could help identify candidates and spread the word.
  3. Chair Flamm informed the committee that he met with Scott Goltz of Madison Equities to discuss skyway security and Joe Spartz of BOMA to discuss both safety and navigation.
  4. DSI Report
  5. Barry Brown and Tom Ferrera reported to the board, as follows:

Below is a quick recap of the Skyway items DSI has been involved in since the last Skyway Governance Advisory Committee Meeting.

Locations have been approved for the installation of two Digital displays. Two additional locations are currently in Administrative review at this time.

Construction has begun in the Skyway for the YMCA (in Galtier Plaza) remodel. The remodel will create a new Skyway level entrance. Skyway access will not be diminished during construction.

180 5thSt is currently in the process of requesting alternate skyway hours for Skyway bridges #26, #31 and #36.

DSI has no issues with the Conduct Signs the Police designed and plan to place throughout the Skyway system. Building owners will be involved in the process of choosing the locations for the signs in their own buildings.

DSI has received inquiries on SK bridge #15 and River Park Lofts easements.

DSI attended the BOMA Public Realm Task Force Meeting. One of the main topics discussed in the meeting was building and skyway security.

The City of Minneapolis has requested information on Saint Paul’s Skyway systems best practices policies and uniform hours.

The Minnesota Building’s new management has requested easement information & enforcement summary on their respective skyway bridges.

Multiple complaints of refuse and debris have been received and corrected at this time for 345 Cedar & bridges #29 & #39. A complaint has been received of a non-operational call box in this building which Fire C of O has sent out orders on.

  1. Harris reiterated her concern over distraction caused by digital signage.
  2. Ferrara will send the latest draft of the Skyway Rules of Conduct to the committee. He assured the committee it will have emergency contact information on it. The number of signs is still to be determined.
  3. The Committee suggested that the heading on the Conduct signage is important to set expectations for users.
  4. The Skyway 15-RiverPark Lofts issues is a civil dispute over access. Now businesses at the end of that skyway would like consistent skyway access.
  5. The Committee pushed collaboration between this committee and other stakeholders like BOMA and the Chamber.
  6. The City of Minneapolis has requested information on the St. Paul skyway governance documents to study. This may be a sign they will be establishing consistent, expanded hours of operation.
  7. Julie Bauch expressed a concern over the condition of the skyway leading to the Minnesota Building. Additionally, the management of the Minnesota Building would like to upgrade the finishes of the vestibule shared by the Minnesota Building and the Capitol City Parking Ramp, but have not been able to obtain approval from the Port Authority (ramp owners) to do so.
  8. Tom Ferrera assured the committee that the city has reports of the damage to this skyway area and are in the process of causing repairs to be done by the owner.
  9. Committee requested contact information of the Ambassadors to collaborate with them and understand their work better.
  10. Pioneer Press construction permits are under review and may be issued soon. The callbox there is not working and the developer has been made aware it must work even during construction. Chair Flamm suggested that the non-working call boxes be signed to indicate such.
  11. The Committee discussed call boxes, that they should be tested and the ordinance enforced. Tom Ferrara is working with City Attorneys to develop a procedure for enforcement, and is already doing testing sweeps when staffing allows.
  12. Current ordinance requirements for security and security cameras is vague and not very enforceable. Tom Ferrara is working to address that as well.
  1. 180 East 5th Street - Permanent Hour Change Application
  2. Julie Bauch, property manager, presented their application requesting the hours of access to the building be limited to 10pm on weeknights and 12am on weekend nights.
  3. In the past she had advocated keeping the skyways open, now the costs to secure her building during the approved skyway hours have become unbearable. She stated that between the hours of 10pm and 2am are when she has the vast majority of security issues including property damage, graffiti and violence.
  4. Expressed a willingness to consider 11pm on weeknights
  5. Bill Hanley stated that the pressure will be to close the entire system at those earlier hours and that as a resident of this part of the system he was not aware of issues in the Lowertown portions of the system versus other parts of the system. He requested more than anecdotal reports of issues.
  6. It was stated that property managers do not like reporting all incidents to 911 as it ends up on crime reports and that makes the building appear unsafe to prospective tenants.
  7. John Mannillo stated that closing the skyway is like closing a sidewalk, it’s a public easement that allows access through the system. People move to and start businesses here because of the skyway system and to close it would be short-sighted.
  8. Chair Flamm suggested a dedicated skyway police force.
  9. Julie Bauch stated that her responsibility is to manage the skyway in her building and she no longer feels it is viable to do so late in the evening.
  10. Tom Ferrara suggested the committee take a position on the request as it will move forward to the City Council for final action.
  11. The Committee inquired about the public notice of the City Council action and if affected property and business owners would have an opportunity to give input.
  12. Tom Ferrara stated that any committee member could speak at the City Council, and the Committee could elect a spokesperson as well.
  13. Ginny Harris requested a map of the easements for the system.
  14. Paul Bengtson stated that this portion of the skyway was the only link to Union Depot, a multi-modal transportation hub. Further, that the issue at hand doesn’t appear to be the hours of operation, it is crime. That is what should be addressed.
  15. Motion: Skyway Governance Advisory Committee opposes a change in hours at this time due to lack of supporting crime data.
  16. Motion: Hanley, Thomas
  17. Suggestion was made to use the term ‘opposes’ instead of ‘does not support’ which was accepted by Hanley and Thomas (reflected above).
  18. It was suggested that the St. Paul Public School System using Met Transit for busing was increasing crime. Captain Lavine refuted that claim stating that crime has actually decreased because of the increased number of users in the system.
  19. Ginny Harris called the question for a vote.
  20. Vote: Passed
  21. Skyway My Way
  22. Mike Bleakmore updated the committee on the St. Paul version of the site.
  23. Email corrections and suggestions to Paul Bengtson, he will compile and send on to Mike Bleakmore.
  24. Proposal to modify Skyway Overhead Sign Endcap Destinations
  25. Proposal presented by Chair Flamm:

Proposal To Modify Skyway Overhead Sign Endcap Destinations

Skyway Governance Advisory Committee

3/25/16

The overhead signs in the Saint Paul skyway system include white-on-black destination information on their left and right edges (the “endcaps”). The destinations included do not now reflect those which skyway users who are unfamiliar with the system are trying to reach.

A number of overhead signs need to be updated in the near future, for example signs with Macy’s or Bremer Tower, and building owners are not going to want to update these signs again should a new sign design be approved after they have updated the signs in question.

Furthermore, a comprehensive design change would take months, if not longer, to gain approval, by which time quite a few signs would have already been updated using the current design. On the other hand, simply changing the destination text while keeping the sign design the same should not require a lengthy approval process.

Therefore, the Skyway Governance Advisory Committee recommends that, effective immediately, all overhead sign updates include, but are not limited to, the following destinations rather than those currently in use:

●Xcel Energy Center

●Union Depot

●Lowertown

●MN Children’s Museum

●Downtown North

These designations will help guide skyway users, especially infrequent visitors, get to the destinations for which they most often need assistance. The “Downtown North” designation would be used on routes heading north of Sixth St (along with “MN Children’s Museum” where appropriate). Similarly, “Lowertown” would be used for routes heading east of Cedar St (along with Union Depot where appropriate).

It should be noted that overhead signs include “local” destination information in white lettering on a blue background, generally leading to nearby buildings. The “endcap” destinations above are intended to indicate major points of interest at the termini of skyway routes. A user looking for the Latimer Library, for example, could follow the signs toward Xcel Energy Center until they see a local listing for the library.

The Skyway Governance Advisory Committee would advise the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) on which destinations to include on each sign, and the City shall make the final determinations.

To summarize, the Skyway Governance Advisory Committee recommends that all future sign updates include the above changes to the endcap destination information, and that DSI oversee implementation of these changes.

  1. Chair Flamm clarified that this was just about the endcaps with the black background. That would mean replacing the whole insert. Initially these changes would only affect signs already planned for updating.
  2. Chair Flamm informed the committee that he had briefly discussed this proposal with BOMA, but not a detailed discussion as of yet.
  3. Tom Ferrara stated that approaching it this way would be the path of least resistance and the lowest cost associated. It will need to go to the City Council but not other City Departments.
  4. Chair Flamm stated that the reason he joined the committee originally was to improve wayfinding and this would be a positive step forward.
  5. Motion: The SkywayGovernanceAdvisory Committee recommends adoption of the proposal for wayfinding.
  6. Motion: Harris, Thomas
  7. The Committee suggested some minor changes to the text to allow more flexibility to the City Council and DSI in naming destinations as they determine fit (reflected above).
  8. Vote: Passed
  1. Adjournment
  2. Motion: Harris, Hanley
  3. Vote: Passed
  4. Meeting Schedule End: 10:30 AM
  5. Meeting Actual Start: 10:35 AM
  6. Next meeting will be on April 22, same time and location