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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.01.11 Council Minutes 7a- COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR August 1, 2011 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Larson led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Larson, Bartholomay, Donnelly, Fogarty, May None Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Kevin Schorzman, Interim City Administrator; Tony Wippler, Assistant City Planner; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Mary Yakibchuk Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Donnelly to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (7/18/11 Regular) b) Approved School and Conference - Finance c) Approved Exclusive Property Management Agreement - Administration d) Approved Fair Board Fire Contract Extension - Administration Fire Chief Pietsch stated the Fair Board was very interested in lowering the cost due to the fact the Fire Department is using a house three times per month for training purposes. The Fire Chief negotiated with the Fair Board for a lower price due to the use of the house. e) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Ordinance - Amending Section 6-4-2 Related to Keeping of Animals and Adding Section 6-4-6 Chickens on Urban Residential Lots - Planning A permit would be required for any residential property less than 2.5 acres on which hen chickens would be kept. A public hearing would be required at the Planning Commission. After the one year permit, a yearly renewal permit would 5 Council Minutes (Regular) August 1, 2011 Page 2 be issued administratively. At this time complaints would be reviewed and an inspection would be done. Staff recommended an initial permit fee of $1 00, and renewal permits would be $25/year. The maximum number of hen chickens allowed would be six. Roosters would not be allowed. There are also shelter and enclosure requirements. The Planning Commission reviewed the ordinance on June 14,2011, and approved it. The ordinance states if there are any violations, the City can terminate the permit. Ms. Mary Yakibchuk, 5530 I 93rd Street, stated allowing chickens would be a great move for Farmington to allow more sustainability options. She wants to share this activity with her children and it has a lot of educational components. Children would be able to understand where food comes from, how to be more responsible, and it is an opportunity for them to see the work that goes behind a chicken egg. They can see how to feed and care for the animal and keep it safe. It is an investment and a pet. It is a great way for them to learn responsibility in caring for animals. They have a compost pile and she would make use of the waste the chickens created. The waste is high in nitrogen and can be used to facilitate the compost process. That material can enrich the soil. She is growing an organic garden so you feed the soil, not the plants. The good soil produces healthy plants. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Bartholomay to approve the ordinance. Mayor Larson felt we don't need to have chickens in town, but ifhis neighbor had chickens, he wouldn't care. At a previous meeting he said he would be willing to try it for a year and has been undecided. He has obtained more information where the chickens become like pets. He agreed to try this for a year and see if it does become a nuisance. Mayor Larson seconded the motion. Councilmember Fogarty stated there is nothing in the ordinance about revisiting it in a year. They will be administratively approved; it will not come back to us. Councilmember Donnelly stated we would have to rescind the ordinance. Mayor Larson wanted it included in the ordinance to revisit this in one year. Councilmember Fogarty suggested a sunset provision. Councilmember Fogarty amended the motion to include a sunset of August 1,2012. Mayor Larson and Councilmember Bartholomay agreed with the amendment. Voting for: Larson, Bartholomay. Voting against: Donnelly, Fogarty, May. MOTION FAILED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) June 2011 Financial Report - Finance At the end of June, revenues are at 46.7% of the budget and expenditures are at 48.1 % of the budget. Councilmember Fogarty stated despite the fact we are behind in interest revenue, we are still very close to budget which means budgets must be running very tight. Staff confIrmed this as interest revenue is 22%. Councilmember Fogarty thanked staff for keeping their budgets tight and 6 Council Minutes (Regular) August 1,2011 Page 3 suspected we would have to make a budget adjustment. Staff noted licenses and permits are over 50% so we will see how that turns out. b) Adopt Resolution - Award Sale of Bonds - Finance At the July 18,2011, Council meeting, Council authorized the refunding of the 2003A bonds and the sale of General Obligation Improvement bonds 2011. Eight bids were received. Mr. Bruce Kimmel of Ehler's & Associates, Inc. explained the bond sale. The low bidder was Baird & Company with an interest rate of 1.80% for 7.5 years through February 2019. This is a savings of$122,615 over 7.5 years which averages $17,000/year. Standard & Poors has affIrmed the City's credit rating of AA-. This is due to Farmington's location in the metropolitan area, our strong per capita values and income levels, as well as very strong fmancial reserves. The City does have high debt levels, although it is mostly the school district that drives up the debt level. They noted the City does not have a long term capital improvement plan that shows funding sources and encouraged the City to improve it's long term planning. Mayor Larson noted Council and staff are currently working on this. They did not anticipate a downgrade in the rating over the next two years. The actual amount refmanced was $2,385,000. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to adopt RESOLUTION R37-11 awarding the sale of$2,385,000 General Obligation Improvement Refunding Bonds, Series 2011A to the low bidder, Baird & Company. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve On-Sale Liquor License Amendment LongBranch and Gossips - Engineering Mr. Ken LaBeau has requested an amendment to their On-Sale Liquor License to allow outdoor seating in front ofthe LongBranch. There would be three tables, 2 ft. wide, along the front of the building. The sidewalk is 15 ft. wide. Tables will be brought in at night. Hours of operation for this area will be 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Downtown business owners are in favor of this. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to approve the amendment to the On-Sale Liquor License to include the roped off area in front of309 3rd Street. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: Thanked those who participated in Relay For Life. Councilmember Bartholomay: Thanked staff for their work on the urban chicken ordinance because a lot of time went into it. He also thanked the Planning Commission. He felt Council needs to be clear upfront on their thoughts to save staff time. 7 Council Minutes (Regular) August 1, 2011 Page 4 Councilmember May: At the last meeting there was a discussion on bills for Pellicci Hardware. She has personally spoken with Pellicci's and talked about ways to create more efficiencies. They are on board to create efficiencies for the City in whatever way they can to help employees be more productive, such as free delivery. They have a wonderful store. The Rotary's Ramble Jam will be held October 1. Tickets are sold online. Marshall Lines will be providing bus routes that night. Mayor Larson: National Night Out is tomorrow night and a lot of people will be in the streets, so he urged drivers to be careful. He will be participating in the Race for Hunger. Mayors race stock cars and proceeds go to the food shelf. The Farmers' Market is held in front of City Hall every Thursday. Sweet com and tomatoes are in. He urged residents to shop locally and support our businesses. Profits from the liquor stores stay within the community and help to lower tax dollars. There are plaques in the stores showing how the profits are used in the City. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adjourn at 7:41 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 8