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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.07.13 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR October 7, 2013 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OFALLEGL4NCE Mayor Larson and Girl Scouts,Anna, Julia and Elise led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Larson, Bonar, Donnelly, Fogarty Members Absent: Bartholomay Also Present: Andrea Poehler, City Attorney;David McKnight, City Administrator;Robin Hanson,Finance Director;Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer;Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director;Lee Smick, City Planner;Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: Annette Kuyper, Ron Ersfeld, Bill Frame, Sunny Bowman, Diana Maurer, Troy Forte, Ken LaBeau 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Liquor Store Update A promotion was held with liquor store distributors as a fundraiser for local VFW's. Liquor Operations Manager Blair Peterson presented a check to Ron Ersfeld, representing the VFW, for$400. Mr. Ron Ersfeld and Mr. Bill Frame gave an update on their gambling proceeds. The VFW has received a five-star rating,which is the top rating from the MN State Lottery. Their charitable donations from gambling were$9,663 this past year. The steak fry fundraisers amounted to $9,900. Mr.Ersfeld also thanked the City for the$10,000 donation to the Veterans Memorial. Liquor Operations Manager Peterson gave an update on liquor sales. They recently held a wine tasting at Celt's Pub and they will continue to be held there for the next year. Approximately 40 people attended, with sales over$300. The next wine tasting is November 14, 2013, and will include wine and craft beers for tasting and food options from Celt's for attendees to purchase. October is food drive month at the liquor stores in conjunction with the MMBA and will be accepting non-perishable food donations and monetary donations. The monetary donations will be spent at Family Fresh to purchase food. All donations will be 6 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 2 given to the local food shelf. It is possible donations will also come from the MMBA for this program. Earlier this year liquor operations also donated a flat screen TV to the Rambling River Center. Tonight Council will be approving a $10,000 donation to the Veteran's Memorial. Liquor Operations is proud to support the community. Due to the long winter there was a rough start to the year. There has been a strong comeback over the summer and both locations are doing very well. Dew Days and Ramble Jam helped with the success. The net sales for both stores as of September 30, 2013,are up$88,437 over last year at this time. The average sale per ticket is up$.45/ticket. The customer count is up 850 customers. Pilot Knob is down from last year, but downtown has made up for that. He thanked everyone for buying local so liquor operations can continue to support the community. Mayor Larson encouraged staff to spend the monetary donations at Family Fresh as there is a good relationship between the two businesses and Family Fresh has helped with the success of the downtown liquor store. Councilmember Bonar thanked staff for their efforts over the past year. City Administrator McKnight thanked the liquor operations staff and Finance Director Hanson for her assistance with tracking the sales. At the end of August we have a net profit of$168,000. For all of 2012 we had a net profit of$190,000. A year ago the liquor committee met and gave suggestions and our success is due to those meetings. b) Proclaim October as Community Planning Month Mayor Larson proclaimed October as Community Planning Month. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Steve Dague, 905 2nd Street, stated he received a notice for a lawn that was mowed between his property and his neighbor's and he was billed for it. City staff specifically said the property marker was used as the line. Mr.Dague stated the marker is in the center, so half is his and half belongs to his neighbor. He did not understand why he is being billed for the entire amount. He has recordings of the phone calls with staff. Ms. Annette Kuyper, Yellow Ribbon Network, stated the monthly veteran dinners have started. The purpose is to allow veterans to be together. They started with eight and now have 52 veterans attending. They are always looking for veterans to invite to the dinners and military families that need support. They are also looking for military families to join their efforts. Ms. Kuyper asked Councilmembers to wear a MN logo lapel pin when talking to military members. She also distributed a schedule of veteran dinners as all have been scheduled with Farmington churches. May 5, 2014,will be a dinner with veterans for high school graduates who are entering the military. The 5th year anniversary of Farmington's Yellow Ribbon Network will be December 6, 2013. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bonar to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes(9/16/13 Regular) 7 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 3 b) Received the Third Quarter 2013 New Construction Report and Population Estimate—Building Inspections c) Approved Farmington CDBG Status Report Concerning Fund Balances- Planning d) Authorized Advertisement for Sale of City Property—Municipal Services e) Acknowledged Resignation Fire Department—Human Resources fl Approved Group Insurance Plan Options and City Contributions for Non- Bargaining Benefit Eligible Employees—Human Resources g) Approved Bills APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Resolution—Certification of Delinquent Municipal Services to 2014 Tax Rolls-Finance The City certifies delinquent municipal services accounts to the property taxes. All property owners with delinquent accounts as of July 31, 2013,were mailed notices and were advised they could avoid certification by paying the delinquent amounts in full by 2:00 p.m. October 7, 2013. On September 13,2013,we had delinquent accounts just over$516,000 representing 1,156 accounts. As of today, that balance is$312,000 with 526 accounts or 8%of the total that are delinquent. There could be an adjustment for any non-sufficient funds. Finance Director Hanson thanked staff in Streets,the Reception desk, Finance and Administration and especially Deb in Utility Billing for their patience and excellent customer service these past five weeks. Council's change in the policy from carrying rental accounts in the tenants name to the owner's name along with a planned implementation of online account balance information and expanded forms of electronic payment later this year should serve to reduce the time involved in this process next year. Mr. Steve Dague, 905 2nd Street,clarified if his utility bills are not paid,they go on next year's property taxes. He is 100%disabled through the VA which means he does not pay property taxes. What is done in that case? Staff will have to research this situation. Mr. Dague stated he does pay his utility bills. Mr. Troy Forte, 19996 English Court, is a renter and has a delinquent account. He lost his home last year to foreclosure and vacated the property in August. He spoke to utility billing and asked to have the water turned off. Mr. Forte was told he would have to pay close to $100 to have it turned off or leave it on until the next billing statement and it will be turned off then due to the property changing hands. Mr.Forte agreed to leave the water on. When he received the next bill his water was 15,000 gallons higher than his average bill over the last year. He was gone for a month and also had an additional charge for garbage. He was told nothing could be done about it so he paid it as he was able. He moved to a rental unit in Farmington and forgot to change the account he was paying on. Having a family of nine in a rental unit and paying the extra expenses put a burden on his funds. Because he forgot to change the account, his current rental property went 8 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 4 for months before he got a letter saying you need to change the account because it is being applied to your old account. That was in June 2013. He changed the account and asked if the funds have been applied to his new account. He was told everything was applied to his old account. Now he is$450 delinquent and also had a surprise in his current bill due at the end of this month, as it was accelerated to be due today which is an additional$250. He did not understand how the City can send a bill stating it is due October 31, and then accelerate it two weeks later. That doesn't seem legal. He is disputing that and wanted to take care of any outstanding balances on his rental to avoid having it certified to the owner's taxes. Staff will follow up with him tomorrow. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bonar to adopt RESOLUTION R44-13 certifying the delinquent accounts as a special assessment to the 2014 taxes of the appropriate properties. Staff will research the above issue with the certification. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS,REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Approve Long Branch Saloon and Eatery Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Application-Planning A shift of$36,920.64 from the Business Development Grant to the Commercial Rehabilitation Grant has been approved to fund the following applications. Three applications were received at the same time. The Commercial Rehabilitation Grant assists with making sure properties are not detrimental to public health and safety. The Long Branch Saloon and Eatery, 309 Third Street, has requested a grant to remove the existing green canopy as it is rotting from the inside, replace the brick façade which is falling apart, and to replace the windows and front door with tempered glass. All of these items are safety issues. Mr.Ken LaBeau is proposing a total project cost of$30,941.06. He has requested a grant amount of $14,720.64. He will be paying the remaining amount of$16,220. This application does meet the CDA requirements. b) Approve Dakota County Lumber Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Application -Planning Dakota County Lumber is adding 24,000 sq. ft.to their building. Because of this addition, the entire property needs to have a fire suppression system installed. This is a public health and safety issue. The total project cost is$39,700. They are requesting a grant of$19,000. Mr. Steve Finden and Ms. Sunny Bowman will pay the remaining$20,700. 9 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 5 c) Approve K&K Auto Ranch Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Application- Planning K&K Auto Ranch, 1024 8th Street, needs to demolish the existing roof on the car port canopy and replace it. Physical decay is occurring and it is a public health and safety issue. Mr. Ivan Janssen is proposing a project cost of$6,400. They are requesting a grant of$3,200. Staff is recommending approval of commercial rehabilitation grants for the Long Branch Saloon and Eatery in the amount of$14,720.64,Dakota County Lumber for$19,000, and K&K Auto Ranch for$3,200. The EDA has approved these projects. Councilmember Fogarty thanked City Planner Smick for working with our local businesses and the CDA with CDBG funds. Staff is continually educating the community on these funds and how they need to be used. This is exactly what these funds were intended for. Keep working with the businesses. Mayor Larson asked staff to thank the CDA for making the funds available for people that need them. City Planner Smick stated we have had these funds sitting in the CDBG program for years. In December we were up to $111,000. With these final approvals, Council will have approved $59,000 this year. Council and the businesses should be commended for working with us and the support of the community is working well. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to award a Commercial Rehabilitation Grant for$14,720.64 to the Long Branch Saloon and Eatery subject to contingencies. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bonar to award a Commercial Rehabilitation Grant for$19,000 to Dakota County Lumber subject to contingencies. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to award a Commercial Rehabilitation Grant for$3,200 to Janssen, Inc. (K&K Auto Ranch) subject to contingencies. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. d) Akin Park Estates Project Update-Engineering Staff has completed a preliminary survey of the area and taken core samples to determine the base of the road. City Engineer Schorzman asked for Council input on recommendations on how to proceed. The result of the core sampling indicated there is stripping occurring through the full depth of the core. Staff's recommendation is to remove the entire thickness of the pavement. Because of the variable thickness and the potential to add material to the base of the road, after further review staff feels using the millings for fill material may not be the best option as it may force the contractor to mill the road to a certain gradation. Therefore, it may be best to add material. The 10 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 6 volume will be determined in the design process. We want to have a uniform 4" thickness. The final recommendation is regarding the curb replacement. The curbing on the east side of Akin Road does not include rebar over the services. This is causing settling and displacement of the curbing. Staff recommends removing all the curbing and replacing it. On the west side of Akin Road, rebar was installed over the services and the curb is in good shape, except for 600 ft. Segments could be replaced. Mayor Larson suggested adding replacement of the entire curbing on the west side as an alternate in the bids. Staff would still bid it as full replacement on one side and segments on the other. Councilmember Fogarty confirmed there will be no assessments for this project, so she agreed with Mayor Larson. Councilmember Donnelly asked what that will do to the estimate. We are doing more work so it will cost more money than the original estimate. City Engineer Schorzman stated complete removal of the pavement was included in the estimate. It also includes replacement of all the curbing on both sides. Replacing curb segments on the west side could lead to an$80,000 savings. Staff does like the Mayor's suggestion of adding this as an alternate. Councilmember Bonar stated the suggestion of an alternate allows some flexibility. It is good to know we are making recommendations on real data. He asked what is put into a project to determine if the plans and specifications are met. City Engineer Schorzman replied there will be inspectors on the project and City staff will survey the curb for them. After that is done, staff verifies that the base has been compacted and is placed so there is a 4"gap between the base and where the top of the road should be. We do that every 25—50 ft. Once the material is placed, we will cut cores and test the density. The issue of roads in this area is the stripping. The mix designs at that time were different than what we use now. Roads in that area are 20 years old. Council reached a consensus to do the full depth replacement, alternates for full curbing replacement versus spot repairs on the west side, and staff will bring back a recommendation on the rock. e) Adopt Resolution—2014-2018 Dakota County CIP-Engineering Dakota County has included the 195th Street project in their CIP. This project would be on 195th Street from Flagstaff Avenue to Diamond Path. It will include intersection improvements at Pilot Knob Road and 195th Street. Staff is still exploring intersections at Flagstaff Avenue and Akin Road. City and county staff are discussing the type of intersection control for all three areas. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bonar to adopt RESOLUTION R45-13 indicating the City's continuing support for this project being included in the 2014-2018 Dakota County CIP. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 1) Farmington Intergovernmental Committee-Administration The idea of this committee was suggested at a joint meeting between the Council and the School Board. This committee can serve many purposes for both entities and the community. Staff discussed this issue at a monthly meeting and both agreed the committee structure should be left to the appointed members. There 11 Council Minutes(Regular) October 7,2013 Page 7 will be two members from the School Board and two from the Council on the committee. The School Board appointed members Jake Cordes and Brian Treakle. City and school district staff will assist the committee as needed, but any assistance will be determined by the four members. Council needed to appoint two members for 2013 and this will be added to the annual organizational matters for 2014. MOTION by Donnelly, second by Larson to appoint Councilmembers Fogarty and Bonar to the Farmington Intergovernmental Committee. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Engineer Schorzrnan: He noted Dakota County was also a heavy participant in the construction of 195th Street. Hydrant flushing started today. He has agreed to mentor six future City teams at the two middle schools. Future City is a competition that encourages participation in engineering and science. They have a statewide competition and a national competition. This is the first time in quite awhile Farmington has had teams. They will have 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams at both middle schools. The first meeting was today and it was enjoyable and educational. This is the kids' work and we are there to help them. It is creative and futuristic thinking. Mayor Larson: October 1st,the park shelters closed. October 7— 11 and 14— 18 hydrants will be flushed. October 10th,the Fire Department will have an Open House at Station Two. October 25th, is the Halloween Walk at Dodge Middle School, October 26th,the Rambling River Center is having a waffle breakfast and silent auction. He encouraged residents to shop local. The money spent in Farmington stays in Farmington. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bonar to adjourn at 8:03 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 12