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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.16.07 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING JULY 16, 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Brian Lindquist, Police Chief; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Tony Wippler, Assistant City Planner; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember McKnight noted the Spruce Street Lighting Contract is on the agenda. August 1 is approaching and nothing has been done out there. He asked if the road connection would happen. City Engineer Mann replied the land owner or developer has not come back with their final package. The City has made a decision regarding the abatement and staffhas not heard from them. City Administrator Herlofsky received a call from Mr. Knutson on Friday and was told the bank was bought out by someone else. He has received a couple calls from people looking at the site and also from a couple local businesses looking to move out there. Once the financing is in place, there are 3-4 projects ready to start. Councilmember McKnight appreciated hearing that, but August 1 is still approaching. Councilmember McKnight spoke with staff regarding the $90,000 payment to Adelmann and realized we would have had to purchase the property if we had not rushed and missed it in the beginning. He was willing to pay it, but he wants to work with whoever possible to get back the difference between what the City would have paid then and what we are paying now. Councilmember Wilson asked regarding the Spruce Street Lighting Contract, if it would be better to approve the contract once we are closer to actual progress. City Engineer Mann explained the contract is for the lighting that is already there. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) July 16, 2007 Page 2 Councilmember Wilson noted on the Elm Street lighting bids there was a $100,000 difference between the two bids. City Engineer Mann replied the company that submitted the low bid has personnel who used to work for Xcel so they are familiar with this type of arrangement. Some ofthe other companies do not do this type of work very often. This is the same contractor who has the Spruce Street contract. Councilmember Wilson stated regarding the payment to Mr. Adelmann, he agreed the issue needs to be settled, but it was disappointing it came to Council's attention after the fact. He would like to look at available options. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the Let's Keep it Clean Program and noted surrounding cities do not participate and asked why Farmington does. City Engineer Mann replied other cities may have other ways of fulfilling their educational requirements for their storm water programs. Farmington receives resources and materials from the program to make it worth it to participate. Councilmember Pritzlaff mentioned the payment to Mr. Adelmann and agreed with making the payment, however, he did not like a higher offer being made without Council's knowledge. He wanted to know the difference in cost from the beginning of the project to what it cost now and who would be responsible. City Administrator Herlofsky noted staff will determine the cost and Bonestroo has said if there is a difference, they will pay it. The plan the City had for Spruce Street is exactly where the road went. The problem was in the effort to keep the development going, something was overlooked. Councilmember Wilson asked about the status of the Planning Commission applications. Six applications were received and will be sent to Council at the end ofthe week. Mayor Soderberg moved item lOa) Amendment to the Farmington Business Park PUD to the Consent Agenda. 5. STAFF COMMENTS City Administrator Herlofsky added a supplemental item regarding the Ice Arena Feasibility Study. Item 71) Recommend Termination Firefighter was pulled from the agenda. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to adjourn at 6:44 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~~ /Y7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR JULY 16, 2007 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Soderberg led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Brian Lindquist, Police Chief; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Jerry Ristow, Mike Morton, Tim Pietsch, Beve Preece, Mary & Richard Swanson, George & Sharon Flynn, Jim Bell, Dave Steinke, Pam Schoolmeester, Carolyn Papke, Lois Meyer, Peggy Backes, Suzie Galligan, James Lugowski, Sharon Olsen, Jim Swedin, Dick Godfrey, Harry & Louise Ross 4. APPROVE AGENDA City Administrator Herlofsky added item lla) Ice Arena Feasibility Study and removed item 71) Recommend Termination Firefighter. Mayor Soderberg moved item lOa) Amendment to the Farmington Business Park PUD to the Consent Agenda. MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce Promoted Employee - Public Works Nick Berra was introduced as the new Public Works Maintenance Worker. b ) Awards of Excellence - Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Director Distad submitted nominations for the work done on the Depot Way Arts Park in 2006 and for the Green Team, which focuses on environmental practices for purchases and energy conservation for City facilities. Both nominations received awards of excellence from the Minnesota Recreation Park Association Awards Committee. c) Blood Drive - Human Resources The City of Farmington blood drive will be held on August 8, 2007, from 10:00- 3 :00 at the Fire Station on Denmark Avenue. A blood drive will also be held on August 1,2007 from 1:00 - 7:00 at St. Michael's Church. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 2 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Fire Chief Tim Pietsch, 612 Centennial Drive, noted a handheld thermal imaging camera was donated to the Fire Department and gave a demonstration of the camera. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (7/2/07 Regular (7/9/07 Special) b) Received Information School and Conference - Police Department c) Received Information School and Conference - Finance d) Adopted RESOLUTION R57-07 Accept Donation - Fire Department e) Approved Service Agreement with Cintas - Parks and Recreation f) Adopted RESOLUTION R58-07 Accepting Donations for the Dew Run - Parks and Recreation g) Received Information Second Quarter Building Permit Report - Building Inspections h) Acknowledge State Building Codes - Building Inspections i) Approved Funding "Let's Keep It Clean" Campaign - Natural Resources j) Approved Spruce Street Lighting Maintenance Contract - Engineering k) Adopted RESOLUTION R59-07 Approve Development Contract Riverbend 2nd Addition - Engineering m) Approved Bills n) Adopted RESOLUTION R60-07 Approve Amendment to the Farmington Business Park PUD - Planning APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Mill and Overlay Assessment Hearing - Engineering The project was performed in the Sunnyside and Chateau Manor areas. The total amount to be assessed is $162,750 which equates to $985 per residential unit. The maximum benefit received by the properties for the improvements was $2,000 per residential unit. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he has reviewed the project several times and is not happy with it. There are several issues with the project including pavement being cold when laid, ridges through the middle of the road, the tar was hand- packed around storm drains and he did not feel the project was done to industry standards. Mr. Jerry Ristow, 516 Lower Heritage Way, thanked Councilmembers Pritzlaff, Wilson and McKnight for reviewing the project. The project started one year ago and there were problems along the way. He felt the end result was not worth $985. He knew the Council could do better. He presented Council with a petition with 92 signatures objecting to the assessment. He asked Council to not assess the residents without a better conclusion to the project. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 3 Mr. Colin Garvey, 1206 Sunnyside Drive, stated the project has been a drawn-out process. He asked if Council waives the assessment for these residents, who picks up the rest ofthe money. Mayor Soderberg replied the entire City would pick it up. Mr. Garvey stated at one time he recalled Engineering recommended putting down 1" - 2" oftar and then it was changed to digging up all the fill down to 6". That drove up the cost of the project. Now to think of waiving the assessments, is not fair to everyone else. We have had other projects that have not gone the best, but we have all paid our assessments. Councilmember Pritzlaff clarified he was not looking at waiving the assessment, he was looking at delaying it and have staff research what can be done to the road to make it worth $985. They will be assessed for the project, just not the way it is tonight. He suggested Engineering and the contractor mill off 1" and put it back down without any additional cost. The project should look like Hill Dee, the water runs off and no ridges. When the project gets to that point, he will assess the residents. Ms. Mary Swanson, 1404 Lower Heritage Way, stated she knew the City was not happy with the job, because they redid the part they did not like, such as the manholes. The rest of the job will fall apart way before its time. The contractor did not do the job and you do not pay someone until it is done right. Why should residents pay full price when the contractor did a half job? Maybe the contractor should take a cut in pay. Mayor Soderberg stated there are places where it is not very attractive. Is it more aesthetics or is there something that is not correct by industry standards. City Engineer Mann replied some of the things staff observed are not covered in a specification that would allow the City to force the contractor to change it. If compaction is not met, the City can force the contractor to redo it. In this case, the lip between the lanes of asphalt as well as some of the less than perfectly smooth surface areas are not something that the specifications address to be redone. Mayor Soderberg asked if the manhole covers were adjusted by the contractor or the City. City Engineer Mann replied they were adjusted by the contractor. They were too low and there was a concern the plows would catch them and damage the road and the plows. Some were raised and a couple still need to be adjusted. Mayor Soderberg asked about the cut marks around them. City Engineer Mann replied in the cases where it was done after the wearcourse was put on, that is typical. The issues are predominately aesthetic and not structural. Ms. Mary Swanson asked about the standing water in the middle ofthe road after it rains. There are cracks in the middle of the road with water in them. What about in the winter when it freezes in the cracks? Will the road wear out faster? Around the circle by Lower Heritage and Heritage Way there is a good puddle there. It should not be there because it is a brand new road. City Engineer Mann Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 4 stated staff would have to look at the area after a rain storm, but with the cross section, there might be a small amount of standing water, but it will not add significantly to the deterioration ofthe road. Mayor Soderberg asked ifthere was a crack in the road where water could accumulate. City Engineer Mann replied they did not notice it on the walk-through. Ms. Swanson stated you would not notice it unless it rained. Mr. Jerry Ristow clarified the cracks are from the base in the old road and now the new road is cracking from the old spots. When the frost heaves and they spread open, the water will go down there. Lower Heritage Way where there is a new gravel base, does not have any cracks. The seam in the middle ofthe road is lower than the outside and the water runs down the middle ofthe road and has to reach a certain height before it will run offto the curb. The water lying in the middle ofthe road is starting to open the road up and there are some chips occurring already. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated when they toured the area on Monday, some of the roads were not good. The roads he walked on Friday were far worse. He spoke with the Engineer from Bonestroo and they discussed if water sits in an area it will draw the oils out ofthe asphalt. In the areas where the road is rough, there would not be enough water to cause any damage. The lips on the road are significantly higher and there will be water sitting there and it will deteriorate the road. Mr. Mike Morton, 608 Heritage Way, stated this is a project he did not want, and now that it is done, it is a bad job. If you drive to Sunnyside and Ash and look at that road, he would not be complaining. That road is great. He has a crack from the end of his driveway all the way across the street. Mr. Richard Swanson, 1404 Lower Heritage Way, asked what experience the contractor had on large projects and ifhe had no experience, why doesn't the City hire someone with large road experience. When he saw the contractor packing, he only saw a small roller, not a large road-type roller. He counted 25 cracks along Heritage Way. Ms. Lacelle Cordes, 1405 Lower Heritage Way, stated ifthe road was done to standards it is one thing or if someone signed off and it wasn't that is another thing. For $985 if someone put that job in her driveway, she would refuse to pay them. It is not a quality job and someone needs to review it again and make sure the job is worth $985. Mr. Dave Steinke, 1412 Lower Heritage Way, agreed it was not a quality job. If it was like the work done on Ash Street, they would not be here. He found it interesting they redid one ofthe manhole covers in front of his house. Previously it is lower than the surface ofthe payment, now it is at or above the level of the pavement around it. If frost occurs, that will push it up higher making it a greater risk to the plows. He did not understand why the covers on Ash Street are being Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 5 redone so they are low, the covers on their street are pushed up. There are two different stories. Mr. Colin Garvey asked ifthis was a two-part project and ifthe rest ofthe streets were to be done this year. Mayor Soderberg replied the rest ofthe Sunnyside addition has been put on hold. City Administrator Herlofsky stated no mill and overlay will be done this year. Mr. Garvey asked ifthere was an option to do all of the curbing rather than by pieces. He does this work and understood what the contractor had to go through. It might not be the best project, but look at what the contractor had to go through. Optioning to piece the curb, rather than all of it, and the time delays have to be factored in. When the phase for his area is done, he would like to have all the curbing done, rather than pieces of the curb. Mayor Soderberg stated that project will not occur in 2007. Ms. Mary Swanson asked why it was delayed and will the same contractor be used? City Engineer Mann replied for every new project, the City has to go out for bids so the same contractor may not be hired. It depends on who is the low bidder. Mayor Soderberg stated one of the things that has happened as a result of this project, is someone on this Council asks about the experience of contractors for every bid received since then. Ms. Suzie Galligan, 601 Lower Heritage Way, stated no one has mentioned the sod, which she assumed was part of the bid to do the roads. When the opposite side of her street was done, they watered it a few times and it looks beautiful. When her side was finished, they watered it once, and it is dead. Mayor Soderberg stated the sod will be addressed. MOTION by Wilson, second by McKnight to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Soderberg noted we have received written objections and each will be researched and addressed individually. The vote taken tonight will be for the balance of the properties in the area. He stated they have heard a lot about the quality of the job and the aesthetics. It is not the best job. Typically a seal coat is part of projects and he understood a seal coat will correct most of the issues. City Engineer Mann confirmed the cracks would be crack sealed and the less than smooth texture of the pavement would be covered by the seal coat. Mayor Soderberg stated the increased cost of the project would have resulted in a much higher assessment. Council has deviated from protocol in keeping the assessment the same as the initial notices that went out. The cost would have been approximately $2,000 for the work. His personal feeling is Council should have stayed with policy. The policy was addressed when he was absent and he would have spoken to that issue at that time. The Council made the decision to stay with the original assessment because of the problems that occurred with the project. The assurance he has from Engineering is that the issues are aesthetic and it is functional. He does not like the looks of it, but they need to stay with the policy. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 6 Councilmember McKnight stated when he toured the area with neighbors and staff, he would not pay $985 for the work. He is not an expert on asphalt or how to fix it, but he needed staff to research options, everything from a seal coat and who would pay for it, to milling off a certain amount and doing the project over correctly both engineering-wise and aesthetically. He could not take action tonight, because he would not pay $985 ifhe lived there. He saw the same things Councilmember Pritzlaff saw. He was not ready to charge the residents, and needed other options from staff including who will pay for this and how much. Councilmember Wilson stated he also walked the area and it is not a terrible project, but it is not a nice project. He drove to Hill Dee to compare the work. That is a nice clean job. There is one functional problem that has not been identified. There is a drainage basin along one road that is higher than the road itself. There would have to be a significant amount of rain for it to run down the storm drain. He has every intent to assess the residents, but he will not vote on it tonight. He liked the idea of doing the re-mill and overlay. He asked why the wearcourse was laid so late in the year and why did the contractor not have a roller wide enough to do two passes instead ofthree? He felt they would not be there if the lift had been done in September/October or if a temporary solution was reached until April/May and had a roller that would do two passes. Staff does need to look at this and he will be looking for solutions that do not involve taxing the general public because of errors that were made and oversight. After all the frustration on this project, he would have thought there would have been an eye glued to that neighborhood checking everything that was happening. He could not vote to assess the residents tonight. We need to look at options. Councilmember Fogarty agreed Ash Street and Hill Dee turned out beautifully. It is difficult to look at those projects and say it is the same as the mill and overlay. Those residents paid $8,000 - $12,000. That does not mean aesthetics should not matter. The appropriate thing is to table this and give staff a chance to work with the contractor. It comes down to having pride in your work, and maybe the contractor did not have that. Aesthetics matter to everyone. If there are improvements to a road, they want it to look nice as well as function well. Anyone who does road construction should be aware that is an expectation. She wanted to know what the options are and she does not want the price tag on the general public to go up. Tabling this to look at options is the right thing to do. City Attorney Jamnik stated the City has six months to adopt the assessment role after the hearing. City Administrator Herlofsky stated they will try to bring back information at the August 6, 2007 meeting. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated they need to look at the sod issue and every possible alternative. He felt the contractor may not have brought in a resume showing he is in the line of work of doing streets. He was told the paver used was a driveway paver and the roller was inadequate for a street project. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 7 Councilmember Pritzlaffwas asked if the work was done in two lifts or one lift. The Bonestroo Engineer stated in the areas that were dug out, it was done in one lift. City Engineer Mann stated the areas that were dug out were done in two lifts, the area that was milled off was done in one lift. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated that late in the year and if the first lift was done the same way as the final lift, we should have waited until spring to get someone in to finish the job. He noted City Engineer Mann mentioned the final cost of the job opposed to what he recalled approving last fall. He suggested as staff is working on alternatives, there should be a workshop to advise staff individually what they are looking at for options. He felt the best thing was to do a mill and overlay at no extra cost to the residents, which leaves the engineering firm and/or the contractor. Mayor Soderberg felt Council needed to let staff do the research and come up with some options. They will be forwarded to Council prior to taking action at the next meeting. Councilmember Wilson suggested if staff s goal is to provide options in the Friday mailing, Council could hold a meeting at 5 :30 or 6:00 prior to the regular Council meeting. Mayor Soderberg felt staff needed to address the concerns and come up with options. City Attorney Jamnik suggested working on the objections concurrently with the contract work. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to table this item to the August 6, 2007 Council Meeting. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Residents will be notified whether or not this is brought back to the August 6, 2007 Council Meeting. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT a) Elm Street Lighting - Engineering Two bids were received. The low bidder was Quality Underground Services and Wright-Hennepin Electric with a base bid of $199,406.31. The estimate was $350,000. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to adopt RESOLUTION R61-07 accepting the base bid of Quality Underground Services and Wright- Hennepin Electric of $199,406.31 and awarding the project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS b) Public Works Transitional Plan - Human Resources Human Resources Director Wendlandt presented a transitional plan for Public Works in preparation for the departure of City Engineer Lee Mann effective January 1, 2008. Currently the City contracts with Bonestroo Engineering for the City Engineer position. Staff has determined the best course of action is to split the department into Engineering and Municipal Services. Engineering would consist of Engineering, Natural Resources and Building Inspections. The City would add the position of City Engineer and conduct a search to fill that position. The Municipal Services department would consist of Streets and Utilities, Solid Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 8 Waste and Fleet Maintenance. The current position of Assistant Director of Public Works would be eliminated and the current employee would be promoted into the position of Director of Public Works. Mr. Todd Reiten would become interim Director of Municipal Services until he is able to fulfill the educational requirements of the position. These changes are being included in the 2008 budget. It is anticipated the budget impact will be nominal. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about Mr. Reiten being Interim Director until he can fullfill the educational requirements. He understood this would be a new position being created. He felt it is City practice to post the position as a new position and anyone inside or outside the City would have to have certain requirements for the position. If a certain degree is warranted for this position, he felt it was demeaning to someone already with a 4-year degree to give the position to someone who does not, and he assumed there would also be reimbursement for the education. He felt it should at least be an internal posting to see what experience other City employees have. Mayor Soderberg appreciated the comments, but this is a personnel issue. If we want to talk about creating a position that is one thing, but the process used to determine the person put in that position, Council should stay out of that. City Attorney J amnik stated Council has set up the ordinance to delegate those decisions to the City Administrator. The hiring/firing does come back to Council for ratification. If Council wants to retract some of that authority, Council can do that. City Administrator Herlofsky stated we are trying to re-organize a department without adding additional staff. The other issue is most of the time he hears the opposite argument where if we require a four-year degree and then do not consider inside people, there are issues that way also. We have an individual who has worked very well, has the appropriate experience, and as this is municipal services, there is no need for an engineering degree. Staff wanted to make sure Council is comfortable with this and since we are eliminating a position and creating another one, if you have a good employee you do not want to tell them to quit and they have a chance at the other job. Human Resources Director Wendlandt explained regarding posting the position, when Mr. Reiten was upgraded from Fleet Supervisor to Assistant Director, it was not posted because it was an upgrade of the position. To post it and accept applications would mean terminating the employee in that position and have them apply. If they do not get the position, then they are out of a job. That is not rewarding people for the good job they are doing. As far as Mr. Reiten, he is performing a number ofthe duties at the Director level. Weare not adding a position, we are creating a new position because we are upgrading a position. As far as the education requirements, staff is still researching this. When it is a combined position they have an engineering degree. Staff is finding a wide range of qualifications for Director of Public Works or Municipal Services and some do Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 9 not include a four-year degree and some do. When we look at a qualified applicant, we do not look at a degree, we look at the experience, supervisory skills and their abilities as well as the educational requirements. Mr. Reiten does meet the qualifications of the positions, however they are not sure what the educational component should be at this time. Councilmember Pritzlaff felt as long as it was in the Council packet he felt he had the right to comment on it. If this came up at a future Council meeting to approve the appointment he would have wondered about the process. He stated Council can give input to the City Administrator as to their comfort level. If someone else in the City has the experience that will fit this job better from the start, maybe positions should be shifted that way. If a position requires a four-year degree and we accept someone who has less and help pay for his education, that is demeaning to people who go to college for four years. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated they are looking beyond the people who are mentioned. They are looking at the qualifications of staff and who are the people they need to mentor and coach and promote into jobs as they become available. She stated she believes in promoting from within and in identifying quality leaders and take the place of others. They look at not only the education, but the experience, the background, the skills that other employees have. Weare not trying to demean anyone with a college degree. Weare trying to find the person who has the whole picture and not just one piece of it. Councilmember Wilson noted staff said Mr. Reiten would have to quit and then re-apply. Staff clarified they are upgrading the Assistant Director of Public Works position to the Director of Municipal Services. There would have to be some place for Mr. Reiten to go. Ifwe eliminate his job and say he is eligible to apply for the upgraded position, but if he does not get it there is no job for him to go to. Councilmember Wilson observed it appears that we are fitting a candidate around a position and modifying requirements with reference to the educational requirements. He did not want something to come up later where someone does not have a degree, but maybe they will modify the requirements. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated that is not the intent. Every job description has education and experience or a combination of the two that will satisfy those requirements. Right now, he may fully meet all the requirements of the position. Staff wanted to show they are trying to prepare for the change in position. Councilmember McKnight stated he was fine with the proposal and asked if there were any other staff members involved in reviewing the proposal. Staff noted there were not. He did not have any desire to reduce the authority of the City Administrator. An internal posting would not have bothered him as there are nine other public works employees who he did not want them to feel slighted. Councilmember Fogarty agreed with Councilmember McKnight. We have someone who is very qualified for the position and could do it without any formal education, however, staff is looking forward to the point where he will not be in Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16,2007) Page 10 that position and what would ideally be the best candidate, which would be someone who holds his qualities but should have a degree. She asked what timeframe they propose for him to complete that degree. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated they are not necessarily talking about a degree. Mr. Reiten has identified a program through the Director of Public Works Association which is called a mini-MBA put on by Hamline University which is specifically geared for people who want to be Directors of Public Works and they are evaluating that program. He does have some education and experience that will translate into college credits. Mayor Soderberg liked promoting from within the organization if we can. We are talking about a transitional plan with redesigning Public Works and splitting it into Engineering and Municipal Services. He liked the plan. It will divide some ofthe workload between quality people and spreading some authority. c) Flagstaff Bids - Engineering Favorable bids were received for the Flagstaffproject and will be brought to the August 6, 2007 Council Meeting for award. The estimate with the addition of the sewer to Lakeville was $10.6 million. The low bid came in at $8.4 million. The school district, Lakeville and the Met Council are reviewing the bids prior to award. The second lowest was $8.587 million. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked what the base will be under the asphalt. City Engineer Mann replied it will be crushed rock directly under the asphalt and then a granular sand section below that. Councilmember Pritzlaff then asked what the specification was for the base under Ash Street. Staff noted the County did the specification for that and will have to research that. The contractor will be held liable for the base specified in the contract. Councilmember McKnight stated Council is very happy with the bid. He and Councilmember Pritzlaff received the same call from a contractor and suggested staff mention the base material when the bid is awarded. Councilmember Fogarty asked about the status of the land acquisitions for the easements. Staff replied a couple more property owners have signed and they are close with a couple others. Negotiations are continuing with larger land owners. City Administrator Herlofsky noted when the bids are reviewed the costs will be divided with Lakeville, Met Council and Farmington so costs to the school district will be dramatically reduced. Mayor Soderberg would like to receive an estimate of how much lower the cost is. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16,2007) Page 11 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Schmitz-MaId Arena Feasibility Study - Administration The two major issues in the report are the parking requirements and the site is in the flood plain which makes it impossible to locate a second sheet of ice in that location. This information will be placed on the web site. Councilmember Pritzlaffwas surprised that it is not feasible to do this. He understood there might be hurdles, but what is the cost or is it 100% impossible. City Administrator Herlofsky stated if it was a business it would be a non- conforming use now based on current requirements for parking and they would not be allowed to expand without correcting any deficiencies. In order to build another ice rink it would have to be raised above the flood plain. Unless Council is willing to waive the parking requirements the second issue does not matter. It would be tremendously expensive to build an ice rink and elevate it above the flood plain. City Engineer Mann explained the flood plain elevation is 906-904 and the standard is that buildings have to be 2 ft. above the flood plain, so there would have to be 3-4 ft. of fill across the site. The two buildings would have to be at different elevations so there would be issues with equipment going between the two buildings. The flood plain issue is extremely difficult to deal with. The current building does not have enough parking. Currently, the overflow parking is used in the winter. To rectify the existing building would mean to put a parking lot on that site and not a building so there would be enough parking spaces for the current building. If you could deal with the flood plain issue the only way to deal with the parking issue would be to have a ramp which is economically prohibitive. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the main issue addressed by the hockey association was additional ice time. Staffwill meet with them to determine their needs and meet with the school district. Staffwill also meet with Lakeville. Right now with the 1300 hours of ice time rented during the year, through last year the rate was not enough to cover expenses. Staff is working to determine what is needed to cover operating expenses and increase the actual hours we are renting. We have ice 24 hours a day for the six months it is open and it is used for a lesser amount oftime. Staffwill be meeting with citizens to address their needs with our existing resources and we need to plan more carefully into the future to increase ice time. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if we would be addressing the parking issue. Staff noted if a parking lot is built we will have the issue of managing the water runoff. Councilmember Pritzlaff felt this should be addressed rather than having people park in the high school parking lot. Mr. Jim Bell, 201 Maple Street, stated when he was on staffhe purchased the property. At that time there were no concerns regarding expansion. One thing to Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 12 look at is the property to the west of the arena. That was not included in the feasibility study. That property was purchased at the same time as the arena property for possible parking lot expansion or outdoor ice or a second sheet. The elevation is higher. During hockey games people park in the street and in the overflow parking. They do not park in the high school lot. There are 14 high school games per year. That is the only time the current parking lot is not big enough. There are not as many people at a youth hockey game - maybe 100 people. Regarding the pond issues, Bonestroo did not look at the possibility of the pond on the school site. Why not run the water to the south with a pipe, across the street and into the pond. Work with the school to expand the pond. He felt the City was giving up on that site too early. The City should review it further rather than quitting now. The City bought the property for that purpose and he felt strongly it should be considered as there was money spent for that purpose. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated we have the property and that is what we bought it for. He realized codes change. Is it totally impossible or are there some hurdles where it was easier to not do it. City Administrator Herlofsky replied if we have requirements for parking we either have to waive them or adhere to them. Staff will meet with the hockey association and address the issues. Finance Director Roland noted when the City purchased the land, they took advantage, on Mr. Bell's recommendation, of an opportunity which existed for potential future options. That option at the time was a second sheet of ice. We knew at the time there were flood plain issues, but we did not know how things would change. It was an opportunity afforded us and we took it at the time. It took a lot of foresight on Mr. Bell's part to even have the option available to us. For that he should be commended. Things change over time and staff will look at it with the hockey association. Mayor Soderberg noted the land to the west is owned by the City. He asked staff to determine what the elevations are and ifthere is room. Mr. Bell stated the parking lot and Spruce Street were under water in the flood in 1992, but the arena did not flood. Mayor Soderberg stated he wanted to know more about the land to the west and how that could fit in. The corner at Spruce and Denmark is an attractive corner for a City facility. 12. NEWBUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Wilson: On the Consent Agenda donations were received for the Dew Run from EconoFoods, Bruegger's Bagel's, and Runner's Gate. He thanked Kellee Omlid and the Park and Rec staff for their work with the Dew Run. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16, 2007) Page 13 He was approached by a neighbor regarding seal coating his portion of the trail along English Avenue. He asked staff to research the ability of residents to do that and set some parameters. He suggested giving them a credit on their utility bill. He felt this would help the City with maintaining the life of the trail. Councilmember Pritz/aft: He noted the Mayor sent an e-mail regarding a recreational needs meeting he attended. Ifthe meeting was pre-planned he would have liked to have the opportunity to be involved in that meeting. There is another meeting on August 2 and noted Councilmember Wilson would also like to attend. If that does happen, there could be a quorum at the meeting. Mayor Soderberg noted he was invited to the meeting and did not organize it. He suggested Councilmember Pritzlaff contact the organizers and invite himself to the meeting. He asked what Council thought about having outdoor movies. City Administrator Herlofsky noted the cost is $1300 - $1500. It would have to be placed in a park. The downtown businesses are arranging evening activities once a month in the downtown area. The City would not be able to charge admission in a park. Councilmember McKnight noted there will be another movie for homecoming and we can gage the interest from that. City Attorney Jamnik: Knutson. Introduced Mr. Sam Edwards, a new associate at Campbell City Administrator Herlofsky: He attended a meeting to arrange a way to get traffic to Burger King through an area that made some neighbors pleased with the results. An alley was paved to accomplish this. He gave Engineering credit for keeping things going on Elm Street and having people thank them for doing it. There will be another Elm Street meeting on Wednesday. Mayor Soderberg: Council has been receiving e-mails on the weekly Elm Street meetings from Councilmember Pritzlaff and thanked him for the fine job he is doing representing the Council and keeping them informed. He received some suggestions to review the winter parking restrictions and consider an alternative. Winter parking restrictions do not allow parking on the streets from 2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. This allows people to believe that if we have a snowfall event at 6:00 a.m. it is okay to park on the street and that is not the case. We have to clear the street. He suggested implementing a snow emergency or snow fall event or parking on the street overnight is fine ifthere is no snow, or if there is a snowfall at any time residents are responsible for removing their cars from the street and we will ticket and tow. He asked staff to review this. Councilmember Fogarty suggested adding this to the August 13 transportation workshop. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 8:51 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes (Regular) (July 16,2007) Page 14 Respectfully submitted, ~ /VJ~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant