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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.21.16 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR March 21, 2016 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OFALLEGIANCE Mayor Larson led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Larson,Bartholomay, Bonar,Donnelly,Pitcher Members Absent: None Also Present: James Monge III, City Attorney; David McKnight, City Administrator; Robin Hanson,Finance Director;Jim Larsen,Fire Chief;Randy Distad,Parks and Recreation Director;Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer;Brenda Wendlandt,Human Resources Director;Fire Department Members Jeff Allbee and Doug Rowe; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: Lacelle Cordes, Tim Thompson,Jake Cordes,Bob Heman, Bill Toninado,Jennifer Bartholomay 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Proclaim April 3,2016 as Maricia Pacheco Day in Farmington Mayor Larson proclaimed April 3,2016 as Maricia Pacheco Day. She is the first Farmington resident to serve as the Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes for 2016. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr.Tim Thompson, 816 7th Street, stated at a previous meeting Councilmember Bartholomay stated his actions could serve as a civics lesson to students and this was a kangaroo court. Yet for a gentleman to sit on the Council and say he is trying to do what is best for the city and plead guilty to what he said he had nothing to do with,Mr. Thompson disagreed. He asked Councilmember Bartholomay to step down and show he has the city's best interest and move on from the situation. Second of all,Mr.Thompson felt Council should install an ethics clause in the city because Apple Valley, Lakeville, Rosemount, everyone around us has one except for Farmington which may stop habits like this in the future. Council should look at installing an ethics clause within their own by-laws to make items like this go away and not continually give Farmington a black eye. Every time we turn around we get a black eye in the paper. It has been a long time since he has seen something positive and that would be nice. A positive action today would be for Councilmember Bartholomay to step down and we can move forward. Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 2 Ms. Lacelle Cordes, 1405 Lower Heritage Way, demanded the resignation of Jason Bartholomay. His actions on October 26,2015, of having illegal lights in his car and impersonating a police officer and his subsequent denial of those actions make him unfit to serve the citizens of Farmington. He has sat up there and told us that he was innocent and he would be exonerated of all charges. Innocent people do not plead guilty. His most recent claim is that he did not know the lights were illegal. Being ignorant of the laws does not make you innocent. Ms. Cordes stated she pretended to be a police officer once, she was 10 years old and was playing Charlie's Angels. A man in his 40's who pretends to be a cop has nothing but bad intentions. Ms. Cordes stated she was going to bring a shovel tonight to help him dig a hole that he is putting himself into but he is doing a fine job by himself. He has changed his story so many times she does not believe he knows what to believe. During Council roundtable he will yet have another story to tell claiming his innocence. Please don't insult the citizens of Farmington with continued excuses as to why you had illegal lights in your car. A petition has been started demanding the resignation of Councilmember Bartholomay. With little effort they have obtained close to 200 signatures both online and in person and they are prepared to obtain more. These are just a few comments that she can repeat on television that citizens of Farmington have said about Councilmember Bartholomay: I'm signing this petition due to the fact I do not believe Jason should be able to uphold our laws while breaking others; what a disgrace;he cannot be trusted;poor actions;he should not be leading our city; there is no leading by example going on there;his actions are a disgrace no responsible or respectable adult person would even consider impersonating a police officer;he had nothing but bad intentions;get rid of the bum;time for him to go; actions don't warrant civic duty; I think what he did was deceitful and downright creepy; I certainly don't want someone with such lack of scruples representing the citizens of Farmington;no matter what exactly happened,he was in the wrong on many counts and in no way should he still consider himself a council person;he should resign;what he did is wrong and he is not an upstanding community leader; Councilmember Bartholomay lied several times to police about the lights;we cannot trust him to ever be truthful to the citizens of Farmington again;he needs to step down;Farmington deserves better;Farmington needs better; I don't believe this man or his opinions have any business deciding things for our town;what he has done is wrong and that makes the city look bad. Ms. Cordes stated she understands that his actions do not warrant official actions from the rest of the council and at one time Mayor Larson was quoted as saying such, but she has to disagree. She thinks it is time that council takes a stance on this, unless you all condone this behavior. If that is the case, it is time that we start looking for new leadership in the fall. Mr. Bartholomay, your civics lesson is over and so should your time on the council. Ms. Cordes demanded his resignation immediately to prevent further embarrassment to the city of Farmington and to allow the citizens to start the process of being able to trust our elected officials again. Mr.Bill Toninado, 18586 Elgin Avenue, stated he checked the records and on March 15, 2016, it says under charges, impersonating an officer not applicable, dismissed. That says it all. The only thing he is guilty of is having those lights on. Ms.Cordes stated being ignorant of the law does not make you innocent. He recalled someone that was a Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 3 former councilmember that wanted to have alcohol on school grounds and was told that was against the law as well. She thought it was perfectly okay then decided to take her event elsewhere. People sometimes just don't know what the law is. Mr.Bartholomay paid the price. He admitted that he had the lights and he was told at the time that they were illegal and he took them off right there. As far as impersonating an officer,that charge was dismissed, so Mr. Toninado does not know what Mr.Bartholomay lied about. As far as the signatures,the newspaper said there were 75 signatures. To say now there is 200,when there were 75 about half of those were from Farmington. Of the comments read, he wondered how many were Farmington residents and not from all over. Ms. Jennifer Bartholomay, 19630 Estes Path, happy to say she is Mr. Bartholomay's wife, stated this whole thing has been an absolute disaster. The light charges are a petty misdemeanor and so is a parking ticket, a speeding ticket. She was pretty sure you should not get crucified over a cross for having a petty misdemeanor on your record. She was sure a lot of people in this room have disobeyed the law by having a petty misdemeanor. It is wrong to say that just because you are a public official he did no obey the law. There are a lot of people in this room that have not obeyed the law, so are they above the law as well? It is embarrassing the city of Farmington. This has been thrown into every single paper ridiculously. There are actual crimes being committed in this city, state, country, other countries, actual real crimes like murder, kidnapping like what just happened in Lakeville,not a petty misdemeanor which is why it did not go through the courts even longer because it would not have seen the light of day for another year and a half in the court system. To save the city,the taxpayers and the county money this was stopped where it was because it was all such a big joke. She urged resident to stop this kangaroo court and stop letting these people continue to do this. If they want to drag the city of Farmington through the newspapers and the media,they can come to her door and bang on it all they want. Mr. Tim Thompson wanted to respond. Anyone in here would know that if that gentleman with the lights on would have pulled over your 15-year old daughter,we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you would have pulled over my daughter you and your husband would not be having any conversations anymore. We need to look at this from all angles. Vehicles were moving over. Councilmember Bartholomay asked Mr. Thompson if he was there that night. There is only one other person in this room that has seen the video and you are not one of them. City Attorney Monge noted this is a public comment period. Mr.Thompson stated no he has not seen the video,but from what he has read, you as a parent would have been just as disgusted as I am. If you have children you will understand where I am coming from. Mr.Bill Toninado stated no where in any of the papers did it say Mr.Bartholomay pulled anyone over. No one has ever made that statement. To stand up here and make that insinuation is totally false. Just like the rest of this. If someone wants to get on the council this is not the way to do it. We have elections for that. Personal assassinations of people's character is not the way to get on the council. Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 4 Ms.Lacelle Cordes stated the ThisWeek newspaper will be coming out with a retraction with the correct plea deal and charges that were not dismissed, but were continued. Looking at the county's website you will see the other charges. There are 124 signatures online with nine people who do not live in Farmington, but are former residents. If you would like to discuss the Dew Days softball tournament she used to run and what transpired there, I will be more than happy to do that on or off camera. You need to get your facts straight about that. Mr.Rick Reichert, 709 4th Street, stated Jason Bartholomay from one veteran to another it is time for your resignation. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Donnelly to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (3/7/2016 Regular)(3/14/2016 Workshop)- Administration b) Approved Joint Powers Agreement to Complete a Systems Plan for Broadband Services-Administration c) Approved Temporary On-Sale Liquor License Masonic Lodge-Administration d) Approved Farmington Fire Relief Association 2017 Pension Contribution- Administration e) Approved Out-of-State Travel to Attend Fire Department Instructors Conference- Fire f) Adopted RESOLUTION R24-16 Declaring Surplus Property-Fire g) Approved City Participation in City of Apple Valley Auction—Human Resources h) Approved Bills APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Resolution—Certification of Delinquent Municipal Services to 2017 Tax Rolls-Finance Property owners with combined city service bills greater than$2,000 were advised they could avoid certification by paying the delinquent amount by March 18,2016. Two customers have paid their balances before the deadline. One owner has six properties and they will be certified in the amount of$2,401.73 for collection with their 2017 property taxes along with an administrative fee and interest. MOTION by Bonar, second by Pitcher to close the public hearing. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Donnelly, second by Bonar to adopt RESOLUTION R25-16 certifying the delinquent accounts as an addition to the 2017 taxes of the appropriate properties. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS,REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Parks and Recreation Department's 2015 Annual Report Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 5 Parks and Recreation Director Distad presented the activities and accomplishments in the Parks and Recreation Department for 2015. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Approve Revised Cable Franchise Policy—Human Resources The city has received a request from Frontier Communications for a cable franchise. Staff has revised the cable franchise policy to comply with state requirements in terms of procedure and regulatory review. The cities of Apple Valley,Farmington and Rosemount have each received a request from Frontier Communications to provide video services. They would directly compete with the existing cable provider. All three cities view this competition favorably. The application fee is$5,000 to cover processing costs. Any amount left over will be returned to the applicant. The cable commission will work to negotiate the franchise for the three cities. MOTION by Donnelly, second by Bonar to approve the cable franchise policy. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. b) Financial Review—Draft 2015 Financials-Finance The 2015 general fund revenues totaled$10,491,556 and were 101%of the 2015 budget. The largest revenue variances were in property taxes, intergovernmental revenues and permits. General Fund expenditures were$10,200,153 and were 95.72%of budget. The major areas were human resource costs were$185,000 under budget, a one-time savings streets materials of$103,000 and a fuel savings of$89,000. The general fund fund balance increased$590,000 to $4.7 million. For the second year in a row,the city was able to pay all general fund operations from cash on hand and did not have to borrow from other funds. In 2011 we had 14 negative accounts, in 2015 it was reduced to five accounts and in 2016 we will be down to three accounts. Rambling River Center revenues were$6,000 more than budgeted and expenditures were$20,000 less than budgeted due to the vacant part-time administrative position and lower utility bills and repairs. The city's contribution was$95,000 in 2015 which was $26,000 less than budgeted. Pool revenues were similar to 2014. Expenditures totaled$131,000 and were $10,000 less than budget. The city's contribution was $71,000 which was$9,000 less than budgeted. The EDA provided CDBG funding for Dakota County Lumber, Farmington Cakery and the Often building. Park improvement fund revenues were$25,000 more than budgeted and expenditures were related to a new shelter at Fair Hills and a new boardwalk in Meadowview Park. Both projects came in under budget. Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 6 The ice arena had a positive bottom line of$2,565 which included summer ice. Regarding liquor operations,the downtown sales were$57,000 higher than 2014 and Pilot Knob sales were$81,000 lower due to neighboring competition and the 195th Street construction. The profit as a percent of sales benchmark is 6.5%and was at 5.9%in 2015. Overall net assets increased$180,000. The city used $10,000 to assist with purchase of fire radios and set aside$10,000 for advertising on the new Zamboni and earmarked the remainder for the TH3 trail connection. Regarding utilities—sewer fund revenues were higher than budgeted due to increased winter consumption amounts, an increased number of customers and a rate increase. Sewer expenses were less than budgeted. Solid Waste revenues were similar to 2014 and expenses were less than budgeted. The solid waste fund balance increased$250,000 which enables cash payment of a truck in 2016. Storm water revenues were more than budgeted due to a rate increase. Expenses were higher than budgeted due to pond dredging in 2015 and planning and design costs for the 195t'Street project. The storm water fund balance has a net decrease of$163,000. Water revenue for interest and rental income exceeded budget. Revenue from water availability charges and other line items were less than budgeted due to few building permits. Enterprise sales were less than budgeted due to decreased water usage. Water fund expenses were less than budgeted. Street light revenues exceeded budget and expenses were under budget. Staff will bring to Council in April a review of the overall debt profile and some potential refinancing opportunities. Council noted staff did a great job with this report and with keeping expenses down. This is a shining example of fiscal restraint. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Bartholomay: Regarding the earlier comments and the charge of impersonating an officer and pleading guilty that is completely false. It is on a continuance for dismissal/continuance without prosecution. He has never been prosecuted for it nor will he. He gave the lights to the police once he found out he was not supposed to have them. He took ownership and that is what we teach our kids. You take ownership,pay your dues and be done. If we want to call out everyone's records,he could call out Ms. Cordes' two speeding citations,he could call out Mr. Thompson's citations, but we are not here for that. We are here to do good things for the city and quite frankly he was disgusted with the behavior he saw tonight and in the past by a past councilmember. He is a public official,but his wife is not. He takes issue with Ms. Cordes calling his wife crazy and residents should as well. The council should adopt a policy on ethics, but we should also have a policy on anti-bullying and slandering and make it enforceable. People should ask themselves a couple questions. They were not there that night. He has received a lot of calls saying it was 11:00 at night and there was not much traffic on the road. He has shown one person the video and they were able to Council Minutes(Regular) March 21,2016 Page 7 see that what was alledged was completely different than what they showed on the squad video. He apologized if this alarmed anyone,but there was no ill intent. He is a psychotherapist with the University of MN Medical Center not the U of M police department. He does get called out for patients that are suicidal. It is an atrocity for people to stand up and throw someone that helps people for a living under a bus. It is a disgrace. For the same person to be sitting outside his house,he has two kids,and to have a past councilmember sit outside his house on two different occasions,that is a disgrace. Ms.Cordes stated she has no idea where he lives. Councilmember Bonar: He feels a council should consider now or in the near future a value statement and code of conduct. Moving forward that is one of the best things we can do. There are models we can use from the League of Minnesota Cities. Mayor Larson was in favor of that. City Administrator McKnight: the final community open house for the downtown redevelopment plan will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.at city hall. All community members are welcome to attend. The plan will be brought to the council in May for adoption. City Engineer Schorzman: Upcoming road construction projects will be a mill and overlay on Pilot Knob from south of the roundabout to highway 50, a mill and overlay on highway 50 from Cedar Avenue to the Rambling River Park bridge. That will be finished before the highway 3 project from Ash Street to 170 'Street. Human Resources Director Wendlandt: The cable commission staff has a new public safety program on channels 180 and 188 involving the police and fire departments of all three cities,called In the Line of Duty. Mayor Larson: Curbside cleanup begins on Saturday April 23, 2016. Electronics will not be taken this year. Pond and park cleanup day will be held on April 30,2016. He encouraged residents to shop local. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Bonar, second by Pitcher to adjourn at 8:14 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant