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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.03.11 Council Minutes 7 a.... COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR October 3,2011 1, CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m. 2, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Boy Scout Jacob Dentinger led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Larson, Bartholomay, Donnelly, Fogarty, May None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; David McKnight, City Administrator; Teresa Walters, Finance Director; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Susan Brinkman, Tom Jensen, Amador Pacheco, Peter Roufs, Paul Dentinger, Jacob Dentinger, Tom Novitzky, Roger Cook, Russ Zellmer, David Rotty, Steven Hovey, Ruth Novitzky, Joe Vanderbeck 4, APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember May had a comment on item 7f) Approve DARTS Agreement. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED, 5, ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Proclaim Community Planning Month - Planning Council proclaimed October as Community Planning Month. The theme this year is New Ideasfor America's Future. 6, CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Joe Vanderbeck, 20577 Dyers Pass, stated the Rotary event this weekend was a great event for Farmington. He spoke regarding the Support Our Troops Haunted House to be held this weekend. This organization supports deployed soldiers. They have supplied school backpacks to Iraqi children, sent care packages to soldiers, provided an EZ Up shelter, sponsor Warrior to Citizen events, sponsor National Guard events, etc. They have 90 volunteers, the Farmington Royalty helps, and the Farmington High School did the artwork for the haunted house. The Haunted House is held at the 4H building at the Fairgrounds. This year, proceeds will go to the Farmington Veteran's Memorial. 6 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 2 7, CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (9/19/11 Regular)(9/26/11 Workshops) b) Approved Taxicab License Helping Hearts In Home Care - Administration c) Approved Temporary On-Sale Liquor License Knights of Columbus - Administration Adopted RESOLUTION R44-11 Granting a Time Extension for Recording of Final Plat Riverbend 4th Addition - Planning Received Information Hydrant Flushing - Municipal Services Approved DARTS Agreement - Parks and Recreation Councilmember May asked about the amount of savings. Staff explained the savings is $560/year. The bus will be used for Rambling River Center programs and two Rambling River Center employees will drive the bus. g) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. d) e) t) 8, PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Resolution - Assessment Hearing - Walnut Street Project - Engineering The Walnut Street reconstruction project was awarded at the February 16, 2010 Council meeting. The project is complete. The majority of assessments amount to $6,000. StafIhas received one written appeal ofthe assessment. The project cost is $2,225,000. The assessments represent 19% ofthe project cost. Another $220,000 will come from trunk utility work and the remainder ofthe bond payments will be paid through the levy. The total amount ofthe bonds is $2.4 million. The difference between the bond amount and the project cost will be used to pay down the bonds. The assessments also go towards the bond along with the levy amount. Mr. Tom Jensen, 701 5th Street, has lived in town for 72 years and has done this type of construction work for 35 years. The curb was set up with string lines ready to pour, then someone took it all down, dug up the boulevard to lay the fiber optic cable over 2 ft. and then redid the string line set-up for the curb. He asked if residents are paying for that extra work. City Engineer Schorzman stated residents did not have to pay for that as it was a scheduling conflict with the contractor. Mr. Jensen asked about the cost to the residents to cut down the trees and remove them. StafIwill provide this information. Mr. Jensen stated when the curb was installed, they neglected to put in the radius from Locust to 5th Street. It was not put in for three weeks, after they put in the blacktop. They left a space around that comer and it had rained three times in the meantime. Then before they put on the final lift, they patched it. He asked if that will hold up. City Engineer Schorzman stated it is not unusual to lay asphalt and then remove curb. Mr. Jensen stated the curb was not put in. You do not do that. That weakens the street. The sewer and water is excellent and the street is good. The rest bothers him. When the black dirt was removed from the boulevards, they 7 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 3 took 18 - 20 inches of black dirt. You cannot grow grass on the material that was brought in unless you water it 24/7. It is terrible. That is the worst workmanship and material he has ever seen. You cannot grow anything. We had to get a watering permit so we could water everyday for 30 days. It still isn't turning green. The material is so full of rock, the grass cannot grow. He felt residents should not pay for that. Mr. Jensen asked if anyone has looked at the area. Mayor Larson asked if the material in the boulevards was inspected before seeding. City Engineer Schorzman replied yes, and it met the specifications in the contract. Mr. Jensen stated the inspectors are very nice, but when expansion joints were cut in 5th Street, all but four had ends far from the curb that were not filled down to the dirt. The snow, rain and salt will get under the blacktop and raise it. He spoke with the workers, they checked on it, and finished the job. The problem with the inspectors is they need more experience. Residents are paying $6,000 for this and it should be right. These are bad times. Mr. Jensen agreed we needed sewer and water because it was bad. But these other items are pathetic. Now the City wants to raise taxes and we have to pay this. It is poverty time. He is 72 years old and still has to work. The City cannot raise taxes. You have to start cutting. You are raising taxes to the businesses 20% or more; that is why we don't have businesses in town. You are killing them. You have to start thinking about cutting. Mayor Larson urged him to come to one of the open houses for the budget. Mr. Jensen stated things have to change when doing work for people. It has to be right. The only thing nice about the project is the street and the curbs. The trees are nice other than they all did not need to be cut down. He will show the court that this did not have to happen. Mr. Steve Hovey, owner of 521 Walnut and 601 Walnut, asked about the finances and the boulevards. His biggest issue is the boulevards; the weeds are coming in bunches. He asked how payment works for people that do not have $6,000. Finance Director Walters explained the interest will accrue at 3.5%. lithe assessment is paid early, you do not pay the interest. The assessment is over 15 years. The payment is added onto the property taxes. There is a fee of $25 to have it put onto the taxes, and a county fee of$75. The total amount ifpaid now is $6,000 per property. Mr. Hovey asked that staff look at the boulevards. Councilmember Fogarty stated the boulevards are a chronic problem; this is the fourth project when the infrastructure and road look great and the yard is awful. She asked staff look at how that is done and to look at the boulevards in this project. Mayor Larson agreed with looking at the material that was put in and do a soil probe. Non-irrigated turf takes three years to grow in properly. A lot ofthe problems can be solved if the material put in is inspected and either accepted or rejected. Mr. Tom Novitzky, 707 5th Street, thanked Council and staff for their work. The project was doomed from the beginning when a letter was sent to residents that said we may impact your trees. At that point you should know whether you will or will not impact trees. Someone marked the trees at 7:30 a.m. and within an 8 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 4 hour the trees were gone. That is not "may" that is 'will." You have no chance of rebuttal. He agreed with Councilmember Fogarty. The black dirt was taken away and what did they do with it? It is not the same soil. He was told the contract was 300 pages and someone cannot write about the trees and the soil content? There are ditches that look better than the boulevard. The grass is bad grass, it is the wrong turf, and the soil is terrible. Before the final bill is paid, Mr. Novitzky suggested holding back $250,000 until the contractor takes the bad dirt out and start over. He suggested the City think a long time before bringing back that contractor or the engineers. St. Paul is doing big time road construction and they are not tearing down all the major trees. He asked the Council to investigate, figure out what happened here, and make sure it never happens again. We spend money to be a Tree City, have wonderful parks and we let this fiasco go on. People need to be held accountable. The specification for the soil was totally wrong. Start over, hold back $250,000, and make them fix it. Mr. David Rotty, 709 Walnut Street, recalled when the project began he asked Council to be careful with their money. He has the same problems as the other residents with rock in the soil in the boulevard. Mr. Rotty has a concern with his driveway apron. It was not placed where it was supposed to be and is off center. It lines up with one side ofthe driveway and overhangs the other side. Staffhas looked at it and at that time suggested waiting to see how it looks after the grass has grown. It is hard to tell because the grass will not grow. Because it is not centered, people clip the grass. Mr. Rotty stated it is up to him how it looks and you can see it is off. They placed strips of tar in the street before the final overlay and the snowplow pulled up the strips and they landed at the end ofhis driveway and they broke his snowblower. We needed the sewer and water, but we needed the best for our money and we have not gotten that yet. Mayor Larson stated the sewer and water are great, but they are underground and you cannot see it. What you do see is the grass and trees so if those items are not right, it makes the whole project look bad. He asked stafIto look into these items, especially Mr. Rotty's driveway. Ifhe brought it to our attention, we should address it. Mr. Tom Jensen asked about the cost to remove the sidewalks and why were they removed. Staff will provide the information on the cost. The sidewalks were removed because the project was a full reconstruct and the changes in the boulevard necessitated it. Mr. Jensen stated the sidewalks were put back in the same spot. We paid for something that did not need to be done. City Engineer Schorzman stated the main reason is because the grade ofthe road was changed for drainage. If you change the road grade and not the sidewalk grade you mess with the boulevard grade. Mr. Jensen stated the drainage is another item The street was lowered nine inches for drainage. There have never been storm sewers on 5th Street and we have never had any flooding. We did not have problems with drainage so the street did not have to be lowered. Next time, have someone check on these items. Mayor Larson asked about the reasoning behind the added catch 9 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 5 basins. City Engineer Schorzman stated one reason is to get the drainage off the street and into the storm sewer into a structure that is designed to handle it more quickly. Your streets are used for emergency capacity rather than normal capacity. As cities develop we are seeing a change in how fast run-off comes off Mr. Jensen stated we have never had a problem and there is no more development in that area. Councilmember Bartholomay asked that staff look at the process for marking trees and removing them. The timeframe needs to be extended so residents can bring concerns to a public meeting. Staff stated we have discussed it and the plan is to have much more resident communication next time. Councilmember May recalled we discussed having a Tree Board that would review the plan prior to the Council approving it. Staff stated it is still discussed at a staff level, but we have not moved forward with it. The next reconstruct is in 2015, so it has been a matter of prioritizing work. City Administrator McKnight stated staff will make a decision this winter. Mr. Tom Jensen stated during the strong wind, one ofthe new trees in his neighbor's boulevard started to tip. He called City Hall to report this and asked that the City straighten it as it was brand new. He was told it is not in the budget and the City cannot do it. The neighbor had to take care of it. Mr. Jensen asked if the homeowners now have to take care ofthese new boulevard trees. Mayor Larson stated if they are in the boulevard it is up to the City to take care of them. Councilmember Fogarty recalled the boulevard policy changed and we made an exception with this project because of the number of trees that were removed Staffwas quoting our policy that we made an exception to with this project. With the new policy, ifboulevard trees are removed and they are not on specific throughways we do not replace them. Because ofthe number of trees that were removed and the problems we had, Council did include that as part ofthe project. Mr. Jensen asked if these trees die, are we getting them replaced? Councilmember Fogarty stated that would be on a case by case basis. The policy would be to not replace them. Staff stated the warranty runs out this fall. Councilmember May stated the policy is that ifwe remove a tree for a project, we will replace it, but going forward it is the homeowner's responsibility. We do not replace a tree that has died, but we do replace a tree that has been removed because of a project. Staff agreed that is the policy. Mr. Jensen stated you cut down 100 year old trees and put in 2.5 inch diameter trees which is the proper size. Ifthey die or fall over, we have to take care ofthem? The boulevard is the City property. Ifwe don't take care ofthe boulevard, the City takes care of it and bills us. If you are not going to do the same for the trees, something has to change. Is it that way to save money and put it back on the taxpayers? Mayor Larson stated when we put the trees in, did we not accept the maintenance for the trees? Staff recalled when we changed the policy to replace trees on a project, it is done as part of the project, but after that it goes back to the boulevard tree policy. It was done for budgetary reasons. Councilmember Fogarty noted it was costing tens ofthousands of dollars to replace trees every year. Mr. Jensen 10 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 6 agreed, but why take away the beauty? Why should the homeowners have to maintain them when it is City property? Councilmember Bartholomay asked if it was after two years they will not be replaced. Staff stated it is according to the warranty on the trees. Councilmember Fogarty stated we are left with not the most expensive part ofthe project, but what matters most to people. Putting in water, sewer and storm sewer is the most expensive part and the most important. The project needed to be done for the infrastructure. We need to do our best job to make sure the final aesthetic looks nice because that is what matters to the homeowner. As far as the boulevards, maybe we need to go back to sod. Our goal is not to make the homes look worse. It is to improve the quality ofthe infrastructure and leave you as scar free as possible. Mayor Larson stated before looking at sod, a non-irrigated area will require more maintenance. He asked that we look at the boulevards and Mr. Rotty's driveway especially as he brought it up during the process. In the future, perhaps we should spend more time inspecting and accepting or denying materials for the boulevards. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember May asked if the contractor has been paid in full and where are we in the process of being able to hold final payment. City Engineer Schorzman stated to hold a final payment from the contractor, we would have to prove that the contractor did not follow the specifications that were in the contract. If the contractor followed the specifications, and our specifications allowed too much rocky material, they have fulf11led their obligation. Mayor Larson recalled the specifications were for anything over % inches to be removed. Staff will look at the material that is in place, but if it meets our specification, there is no justification to hold money from the contractor. Councilmember May asked if there are any remedies for the boulevard would it come from the contingency? Staff stated there is money left in the project to cover those costs. Councilmember May stated in the future is there a way to put back the same dirt that is removed. Staff stated the existing material can be stockpiled, but there will be some contamination of the material with whatever is below it. Mayor Larson suggested looking at the maintenance program after seed is installed. Councilmember May stated as far as the trees, we all felt we messed up with the communication. As far as a Tree Board or how we communicate, that definitely needs to be corrected. The answer cannot always be "it is not in the budget." We need to look at things case by case. There are budget constraints, but we need to make sure we tell the residents let us look at it. We are all willing to listen to an exception. We have to be careful how we are responding when you lose a 100- year old tree and you are trying to save a sapling. 11 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 7 Councilmember Bartholomay recalled last year he was hitting rocks in the boulevard when putting up signs. He agreed with Councilmember May and looking at them on a case by case basis. We need to have more compassion and be more sensitive to residents in this area. In the future he asked if staff could anticipate more questions that could be asked so we have answers right away. Councilmember May asked if the bond total is $2.4 million, what dropped the project by $200,000? City Engineer Schorzman stated the inspectors on the project managed it very efficiently which kept us from using the contingency amount. We were also under budget on some ofthe line items. The $2.4 million was based on an estimated project cost plus 10% for contingencies and we did not need to use them. Councilmember May asked about the amount oftime between having a final estimate for a project and when the bonds are sold so we would know if the amount is different. City Attorney Jamnik stated it is a matter of months between those items. City Engineer Schorzman stated we did know the contract amount prior to selling the bonds and that is what we used and added multipliers for contingencies and inspection costs. Ifwe had money in other places to cover those costs we would not have to bond for them City Attorney Jamnik: added you have 15 more years of uncertainty on the assessments. There may be tax forfeitures, delinquencies in payment of taxes, there may be pre- payments and accelerated payments, there may be lot subdivisions and splits where the City says you will pay us an assessment in lieu of the $6,000 everyone else paid for the street project. Even though you set the numbers as you go throughout the process, there is continued uncertainty until the end of the assessments and the final retirement of the bond. You have a fluid financial situation before the project is implemented and through the life ofthe assessments. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adopt RESOLUTION R4S-11 adopting the assessment roll for the Walnut Street reconstruction project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11, UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12, NEW BUSINESS 13, COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmemher Donnelly: He thanked the residents for voicing their concerns. He heard the Ramble Jam was a nice event. Councilmemher Fogarty: Attended Ramble Jam and it was tremendously successful. There were 22 people who ran this event and it was fantastic. Hydrant flushing will be taking place the next two weeks. Homecoming is this week, so be watchful of teenagers. 12 Council Minutes (Regular) October 3, 2011 Page 8 She thanked the cheerleaders for decorating windows downtown. Next Monday night is the first budget open house at City Hall. Councilmember Bartholomay: Thanked residents for voicing their concerns tonight. The first budget open house is next Monday and he looked forward to having residents attend. All the input will be taken seriously. The Warrior to Citizen monthly veteran dinners have started. Council member May: Ramble Jam had great support from the community and organizations that volunteered their time to help. That is what made it so special. It was a community event. Another benefit was how great things went for the food vendors. Now we can discuss the good we can do with the proceeds. She thanked everyone who supported the event and the neighbors as it brings some traffic and noise. There were also 65 camp sites and people had a good time. Support our Troops was there for their Haunted House. She hoped to see residents at the budget open houses and let Council know what they think. Finance Director Walters: Prior to the meeting, a resident asked about deferring their assessment. If someone is over 65 years old and they are having a hardship, they can get an application at City Hall. It will be reviewed and considered for deferring the assessment. Mayor Larson: Support our Troops Haunted House is this weekend. Budget open houses will be held October 10,4-6 pm, October 25,5-7 pm and November 14,6-8 pm Ifresidents have questions on the budget, they should come. Council wants everyone to understand what is being done and to hear their opinions. He encouraged everyone to shop locally at all Farmington businesses. City Attorney Jamnik noted Council is now going into Executive Session for labor negotiations discussion. We will not take final action this evening. All collective bargaining agreements are adopted in open session and that will be held at a later date. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to recess into Executive Session at 8: 19 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 14, ADJOURN Mayor Larson adjourned the closed session and moved the City Council back into open session at 9:50 p.m. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adjourn at 9:50 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 13