Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.03.06 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING JULY 3, 2006 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, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Fogarty Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Dan Siebenaler, 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 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Wilson asked about the sidewalk replacement project and how long the curb is good. City Engineer Mann replied they look at the condition of the curbing rather than the age. Councilmember Wilson asked about the trail and bridge crossing professional services and asked about the estimated cost of the project and when would the project commence. City Administrator Herlofsky explained this item and the capital outlay for Park and Recreation will be pulled from the agenda to review the budget further. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the specific areas where the curb and sidewalk will be replaced. City Engineer Mann will forward a list to Council. The areas are throughout the City. 5. STAFF COMMENTS Parks and Recreation Director Distad added Introduce New Employee - Facilities Maintenance Supervisor under announcements. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) July 3, 2006 Page 2 City Engineer Mann set up a display showing the entrance monuments and the bridge for the Spruce Street extension. Councilmember Wilson suggested recognizing the volunteers who helped with Rambling River Days with a Certificate of Appreciation and invite them to the next Council Meeting. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to adjourn at 6:40 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~/P?~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR JULY 3, 2006 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; Dan Siebenaler, 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 Arlyn Lamb, Russ Zellmer, Bryce Olson 4. APPROVE AGENDA City Administrator Herlofsky pulled items 7i) Capital Outlay - Parks and Recreation and 7j) Trail and Bridge Crossing Professional Services for further review. Parks and Recreation Director Distad added 5a) Introduce New Facilities Maintenance Supervisor. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce New Employee Mr. Jeremy Pire was introduced as the new Facilities Maintenance Supervisor. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Justine Jacobson, 3319 213th Street W, stated the traffic has increased dramatically on 213th Street and speed and careless driving has been getting worse. This is the main access road off ofhwy 3 for all of the townhomes in the area and the north side of Park Place. In the past year there have been many new townhomes constructed and there are plans to extend 213th Street. The residents are very concerned for their safety. She presented a petition with 55 signatures of concerned residents, and employees. The Trinity Terrace apartment complex is directly across from their house as well as the Trinity Care Center. In the ten single-family homes along their stretch of213th Street there are 15 children. They have contacted the police on numerous occasions regarding this problem and there seems to be little concern or action. On several occasions as residents turn left into their driveways, they have been passed on the left side. She has had to turn in passing UPS trucks and FedEx trucks for passing school buses with their stop arms out. Motorcycles and cars have drag races up and down the street. Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 2 Construction trucks go 45 mph plus. Pickup trucks with loud pipes hit their gas as they pass the Trinity Terrace to hear their pipes echo offthe large building. They have a plastic figure with a flag at the end of their driveway that reads Slow Down Children at Play and the drivers mocked it as they go by. She did a test to see what 30 mph looks like and she would guess the majority of vehicles travel 40-45 mph or more. There has been a speed trailer on the road twice which helped the day it was there, but as soon as it is gone, things are back to normal. The road gets very little patrol from police. This stretch of road is posted at 30 mph with a sign at the Allina Medical Clinic, but there are no other controls. It is a straight, flat, quarter mile. She was asking for some sort of traffic control on this street. Since there are no intersections until 21th Street, they did not know what can be done and there is no traffic control at 21th Street either. The residents brought up the idea of removable speed humps which they are willing to pay for themselves, or perhaps a stop sign at the entrance to the Trinity Terrace parking lot, or a reduced speed zone with a radar detecting feature such as on 160th Street in Hastings. Something needs to be done on this road before one of the many close calls becomes a tragedy. Mr. Jerry Ristow, 941 8th Street, stated he had some questions and concerns. He has been a lifelong resident of Farmington, served on the City Council for 12 years, 8 as Mayor. He was concerned with what has been happening since in left in 2004. He stated he was not hear to point fingers at anyone, but he contacted Councilmembers Wilson and Pritzlaff on his concerns and thanked them for getting back to him and meeting with him. He has asked Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty a few questions, but has not received a response, so he was coming in person and expected a response in two weeks. He has contacted Councilmember McKnight and received no response. He sent Council a letter in April for project 06-01. He stated we just finished an assessment for Ash Street for $450. He met with Councilmember Wilson, but he did not have the exact details of the project. He realized there would be a neighborhood meeting on July 6, at 5:30 but knew none of the Councilmembers would be there. He wanted to ask Council if it was realistic to assess people two years back to back. They are looking at a $1600 assessment. With the rising costs of everything else, he heard Mayor Soderberg at the State of the City Address that a person came to the Truth in Taxation hearing and said that Council was not doing enough. There are realty signs going up and in his neighborhood there have been signs there for a year. The houses are not selling. That has to tell you something. His City portion of his taxes went up 26%. His taxes went up $800 plus 26% in the City share alone. Councilmember Pritzlaffhad related to him that his was 7%. 26% is a big jump. He would like to continue to live in this City, but if Council does not have any answers as to what will be done in the future, he hates to sell and does not know ifhe can sell. He stated he was frustrated and came to Council for some answers. He was confident he would get some respectful answers back. He thanked Council for getting the school project done. He has been a big advocate of the project, but he had a few questions. There has been a lot of money spent. He contacted City Attorney Jamnik who put him in touch with City Administrator Herlofsky who did provide him with some figures, but they were through March 31, 2006 and there was no City stafftime included. In his opinion this comes to around $200,000, but subtracting what the League of Minnesota Cities paid it brings it down to $60,000, but there is no Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 3 stafftime included. He was told ifhe wanted stafftime, he would have to pay for it. He felt this was public information and he believed Council would know, so he asked Council what was the total cost of the stafftime that was put into this project. The school was free with their information which was close to $300,000. We are looking at $500,000 that City taxpayers and school taxpayers have to come up with. He did not think the City had any extra in their budget to account for this. He wanted some explanation from Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty as to why. In May it was stated in the Settlement Agreement, which he had a copy of, that people would not be able to understand it. Mr. Ristow stated he could understand it and felt there were a lot of other people out there that could understand it. He asked Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty to tell him in their words what he missed. They were on the Council in 2003 when they started this process. He thought everyone was on board up to 2004 when he left. Council granted the school MUSA in November 2004 and in 2005, four out of five Councilmembers voted to take it out of ag preserve. In August Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty voted against changing the comp plan and the zoning. He wanted to know the reasons why. Councilmember Wilson asked Mr. Ristow specifically what he wanted Council to respond to. Mr. Ristow replied all of his questions were directed to Council and he expected an answer from Council. Councilmember Fogarty stated they do not understand his question. Mr. Ristow replied the first question was back to back assessments. They paid for Ash Street last year and now they will have another assessment for the mill and overlay project. He stated he and Councilmember Wilson drove around Saturday and they have to be able to breathe here. His taxes went up $800 and the question is, is it practical to do a back to back assessment and hit people directly. He understood a certain portion of this project would be delayed because some residents were close to Ash Street. Ifthe project will be split in half, what is the rush? The only people that drive on their road are the ones that live there. The holes put in the road are from a sealcoat test project. He invited Council to come out and look at it. He felt the project was unnecessary at this time because we are 35 years into the road and in another ten years we will need a complete reconstruct. He wanted Council's answer as to whether it is affordable and reasonable. He could have brought several people's names to the meeting that also do not see anything wrong with the road, unless there is some other information that can be given to the residents. There is no storm sewer. If the project is going to be done, it should be done right. From the markings he can see, it will be a piecemeal project. It might serve for 10-15 years, but we need storm drains because that is what takes away the water and that will keep the roads in good shape. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Fogarty to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (6/19/06 Regular) 6/26/06 Special) b) Received Information School and Conference - Police Department c) Received Information School and Conference - Police Department d) Adopted RESOLUTION R73-06 Approving Gambling Premises Permit- Administration e) Approved Appointment Recommendation Police - Human Resources Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 4 f) Acknowledged Resignation Finance - Human Resources g) Received Information School and Conference - Human Resources/Information Technology h) Approved Request for RFP - Human Resources k) Approved Prairie Waterway Monitoring Agreement - Engineering I) Approved Utility Connection Fees Assessment Agreement - 616 Ash Street- Engineering m) Approved Sidewalk Replacement Project Contract - Engineering n) Ratified Spruce Street Bridge Grant Amendment - Community Development 0) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Elm Street Reconstruction Project Discussion - Engineering The Elm Street project is scheduled for 2007 in the County's CIP. There has been some discussion with the business owners in keeping access open to the downtown businesses. Staffwill be scheduling an open house on July 27,2006. This will be the first of several opportunities for public input. The purpose would be to determine the residents' concerns. The second item is whether to put together a stakeholders group for this project to meet with staff and discuss issues. The group would be used to funnel information. The group could consist of a Councilmember, two or three downtown business owners, and residents. Mayor Soderberg felt the stakeholders group was a good idea. Business owners do have a lot of concerns and questions. Councilmember McKnight agreed and felt there should be more business owners involved. Councilmember Pritzlaff suggested having two Councilmembers involved. Councilmember Fogarty suggested having someone from Trinity Campus. Staffwill hold the public meeting first and then form the stakeholders group. There will be two Councilmembers, three business owners, and two residents from the area. Council suggested more residents or business owners be included. The third item is regarding the downtown streetscape area. Now would be the time to consider whether to expand the streetscape to Elm Street with the construction. Staff wanted to know if Council was interested in expanding the streetscape to Elm Street in some fashion. If yes, then how far do we want to go with the streetscape. It could go one block either side of 3rd Street or up to TH3. This will impact the existing situation along Elm Street. Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 5 Councilmember Fogarty felt the streetscape should go along Elm Street at least to City Center. She felt we need to start heading towards TH3. City Administrator Herlofsky felt with the opportunity to enliven downtown, extending the streetscape to the bridge would create a nice appearance. Trees would have to be removed and he would suggest placing new trees behind the sidewalk to allow for possible changes in alignment in the future. Councilmember McKnight would like to see some cost estimates first. Councilmember Wilson also wanted to know costs and options. He asked if this could be included in some redevelopment opportunities along Elm Street. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked ifthe County would pay for part of this. City Engineer Mann replied the County has a policy that allows them to participate in aesthetic treatments. They would be participating up to 1.5% ofthe total construction cost of the street project. Mayor Soderberg stated we are looking at a difference in costs of a sidewalk and lighting like the downtown versus what is required in the project. He would favor looking at costs for extending the streetscape. The consensus from Council is to look at extending the streetscape, but cost would be an issue. Staff will prepare some estimates. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve Castle Rock Orderly Annexation Agreement - Community Development Last Thursday the Castle Rock Town Board met to discuss the Orderly Annexation Agreement. Township residents were concerned about the golf course and the potential to extend Biscayne Avenue to the south ofhwy 50 as well as the Met Council interceptor scheduled to go through the area. There were questions as to how this would affect properties. Staff explained that it is not the intent to take adjacent property owner's land that is next to land that is developing. Staffwill be talking with the Met Council to determine what they expect with the interceptor. Another issue was the township's planning consultant had not been involved in the process and the Town Board wanted him to review the agreement before making a final decision. Another issue was the tax revenue sharing and based on how much property might be coming into the City whether it was a fair exchange for the township. It was discussed whether the allocation should be limited to roadways identified in the agreement. A Joint Powers Agreement was suggested regarding sewer service and whether the City would be interested in providing sewer service to the township. There were also questions regarding the flood plain and wetland issues. The consensus of the Town Board was that there should be more public input. They have scheduled a meeting for July 24 to have more public input. Councilmember McKnight stated most of the township residents and the Town Board have not been in the discussion group for the past 18 months and this is new to them. It is frustrating that we are still discussing this. It has been discussed about the Biscayne issue and putting the road and the right-of-way on the golf course property. As far as the revenue sharing, he felt the 50/50 split is what Council is willing to give. The fact that this money is dedicated to the road Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 6 issue is what makes it acceptable to him. We have two annexation petitions that have been on hold and Council needs to act on them very soon. He would be willing to bring this back to the first meeting in August to allow the township to have their meeting with their residents. As a City we need to act on these petitions soon. Mayor Soderberg noted Council has tabled these petitions twice already in order to allow these discussions to take place. Mayor Soderberg stated the petitions should be on the Council agenda for the August 7, 2006 meeting to take action. Mayor Soderberg asked if staff knew the amount of the revenue sharing. City Engineer Mann replied under the City's scenario the minimum amount the township would receive would be approximately $250,000. The current tax revenue from that area is $13,000 - $14,000 per year. Under the statutory formula for annexation the total in the 90170/50/30/10 scenario is in the $35,000 - $40,000 range. Councilmember Wilson agreed with taking some type of action at the August 7, 2006 meeting. Councilmember Pritzlaff was concerned with the delays for the developer. Mr. Russ Zellmer, Castle Rock Town Board Chair, thanked Council for the time spent on this. He stated the township residents had concerns about the money being spent specifically for the roads. However, the committee was concerned with development pushing more traffic onto township roads. There was concern that once the property is given away, it is gone. He tried to explain to the residents that whether they enter into the agreement or not, the property will be gone; whether it is annexed by resolution or through an agreement. He would like the township to receive something for the maintenance ofthe roads. It also gives the township 10 years to contemplate their next move and keep conversations open with the City. Mayor Soderberg stated the idea is to have the City and township work together. Councilmember Fogarty asked if Mr. Zellmer would like Councilmembers to attend their meeting. Mr. Zellmer agreed and felt the residents would be able to ask Councilmembers for their thoughts. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked Mr. Zellmer ifthe township would object to Council acting on the two annexation petitions at the July 17, 2006 meeting rather than waiting until August. Mr. Zellmer felt Council should have an answer by the August meeting. Mr. Bryce Olson, owner of the golf course, stated there is a new policy that as of August 1, the most land that can be taken by resolution is 120 acres in one year. City Attorney Jamnik stated it is not relevant whether we do something on July 17 or August 7, the City will be bound by the new regulations. The limit is on annexations by ordinance. There are no limitations for Orderly Annexation Agreements. The annexation petitions and the orderly Annexation Agreement will be brought back to the August 7, 2006 meeting. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Schedule Fire Station Ribbon Cutting - Administration A ribbon cutting and open house for Fire Station No.2 was scheduled for Saturday, July 15, 2006 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Council Minutes (Regular) July 3, 2006 Page 7 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: Thanked everyone for attending Rambling River Days events. Councilmember McKnight: Thanked everyone for attending Rambling River Days events. Councilmember Wilson: Thanked everyone involved with Rambling River Days. Councilmember Pritz/aft: Thanked everyone for attending and participating in Rambling River Days. A special thanks to John Kapustka for the Tour de Farmington. Thanked everyone for attending the renaming of Feely Fields and the Feely's for the lunch at the American Legion. He spoke to a resident with a tree issue on 203rd Street. Without any notice from the City the resident had a tree trimmer trimming the evergreen trees that were hanging over the sidewalk. He thanked the resident for taking their own initiative to do that. Mayor Soderberg: Rambling River Days was a great time. Public works and the Police did a great job of dealing with events with the storm. At the last meeting, Councilmember Pritzlaff mentioned a new business in town. Mayor Soderberg, Councilmember Pritzlaff and City Administrator Herlofsky discussed this. They had an idea of having a Council ambassador to visit new businesses and let Council know about them. Councilmember Pritzlaff would be the ambassador to go with a staff person to visit new businesses. Council reached a consensus to do this. Council received a letter from the City of Red Wing regarding trash incineration and the Cities of Red Wing and Farmington to work together. Parks and Recreation Director Distad explained Red Wing has hired a consultant to look at ways to get additional solid waste to their incinerator to make it more efficient to burn garbage. Red Wing approached staff about this. Staff suggested having both Councils meet to discuss this. It was determined to meet July 18, 2006 in Red Wing. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~ ;?r7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant