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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.17.06 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING JULY 17,2006 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, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; Dan Siebenaler, Police Chief; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the second quarter building report and where we are as far as a dollar amount. Finance Director Roland stated the financial report for the first six months of the year will be available at the next Council meeting. As of June 30, 2006 we are at 47% ofthe revenue for permits. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the Medical Direction Agreement if the new clinic would affect this. Police Chief Siebenaler replied no, the Medical Director position is an oversight position. It is where staff receives authority to use defibrillators. Mayor Soderberg included the response to Mr. Jerry Ristow's comments as part of the Council packet. 5. STAFF COMMENTS 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 6:34 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) July 17, 2006 Page 2 Respectfully submitted, ~/r7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR JULY 17, 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; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; Dan Siebenaler, Police Chief; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Bev Preece, Doug Bonar, Nick & Stacy Schultz, Sandi Amundson, Pat & Al Larson, Mary Lebens, Rick Bugbee, Randy Oswald, Brenda Reedy, Ed Samuelson, Sherry Buss, Joel Serrano, Brad Meeks, Bryce Olson, Dave Steinke, John Kapustka, Bev Ersfeld, Sarah Miller, Krista Flemming 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce New Employee - Police Department b) Oath of Office - Police Officer - Administration Police Chief Dan Siebenaler introduced Jason Amundson as a new Police Officer. City Administrator Herlofsky administered the Oath of Office. Police Chief Dan Siebenaler announced his retirement as of August 11,2006. He thanked the past and present leadership of the City of Farmington for the opportunity to serve the City. It's staff and especially it's citizens - this is a great City and he has been blessed to serve here for 27 years. Mayor Soderberg stated his leadership has been amazing, a source of inspiration, and a blessing to the City. Without a doubt he made Farmington a better place by being here. Thank you is not adequate but it will have to do for now. c) Rambling River Days Certificates of Appreciation Mayor Soderberg read the names ofthe Rambling River Days volunteers and they were given a Certificate of Appreciation. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 2 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS a) Response to Mr. Jerry Ristow - Council Mr. Ristow was given a response to his comments at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Ristow stated he asked four questions, two pertained to three ofthe Councilmembers and two pertained to Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty. He stated the public is waiting for a response to his questions. He stated his questions were: 1. Is it realistic to assess a property two years in a row with back to back assessments? 2. What is the total cost of staff time that was put into the school proj ect? 3. To Mayor Soderberg and Councilmember Fogarty - why was a school delay even necessary? What did he miss? 4. What are the reasons why they did not vote for a zoning change in August 2005? Mayor Soderberg stated in the response to Mr. Ristow he explained regarding the mill and overlay project, there was a public hearing and Council heard concerns from citizens regarding the project and the impact of having assessments back to back. Council also heard from the engineers regarding the uncertainty ofthe cost to do the project and the uncertainty of the street to last as far as the surface. In addition, there are curbs and gutters that are cracked and broken in various spots. After weighing those concerns Council did decide to move forward with the mill and overlay project. There was a public hearing, a vote, bids were received, and construction has started. If people are concerned about being assessed two years in a row, Council discussed deferring the assessment if people chose to do that. It might not be beneficial for them to do that, but they can ifthey want to. This can be done ifthere is a hardship, but Council also talked about deferring payments on the assessment itself. It will not be of much benefit because interest will still be accruing. This was a split vote. It is not pleasant, but it is necessary. Mayor Soderberg stated the project was identified in the Pavement Management Program and has already been delayed one year. Mayor Soderberg stated as far as the concern with stafftime regarding the school district, once the school district initiated a lawsuit there was no stafftime outside ofthe City Attorney and the City Engineer. Those items were identified. If there was staff time it is because Council asked someone to make copies or distribute some things, but it was minimal at best and in the course oftheir duties to support Council. It had nothing to do with the school project outside ofthat. There would have been no staff time identified. Regarding the decision, Justice Gilbert identified it best in saying the City and the school district had legitimate differences of opinion regarding the terms and conditions of moving forward on the Flagstaff site. Through the course of the lawsuit and the mediation process those differences of opinion were worked out and we are moving forward. To keep revisiting that does not serve the school district's or the City's interests. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 3 Both the City and School District have decided to bury the past, move forward, and look to the future. We have established a great working relationship and we are going to continue to move forward in that vein. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he spoke with Mr. Ristow a couple times regarding the mill and overlay project. When discussions began on the project he received a call from a resident on Centennial Court asking why they are doing a mill and overlay project there. Councilmember Pritzlaff drove the whole neighborhood and walked the streets. He asked Assistant City Engineer Gross as he did not see the roads were broken up or a lot of potholes. Stafftold him it is not broken up, and to do a mill and overlay now would be more of a maintenance issue for the road, rather than a reconstruct. He was told a sealcoat would not stick to the roads. The snow plows would peel that away over the winter. Councilmember Pritzlaff attended the neighborhood meeting on the project. There were a lot of questions as to what this would do. The sewer lines are in good shape and nothing needs to be done to the sewer for several years. He did not like the back to back assessments and made that clear. However, if some type of maintenance was not done on this road in the next 1-3 years, in a short time there would have to be a total reconstruct which would cost a lot more. The City would not be able to assess for more as the City can only assess 35% of the appraisal. Right now the appraised value for the mill and overlay is $2,000. If there was a total reconstruct costing another $1,000 the City may not get that money out of it. The City could assess the residents, but it will come back to the residents of the City as more money will have to be taken from the general fund to pay for the project. That convinced him they needed to do maintenance now rather than a total reconstruct in a few years. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated regarding the school issue and the money that was spent, the School Board made the decision to file for litigation. The City made the decision to defend themselves. Any money spent in defending ourselves is in the course of action. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he and Mr. Ristow drove around the City and there are roads in worse shape. Walnut Street is in the CIP for a total reconstruct in 2008, so the City will not be doing maintenance on a road that will be tom up in two years. The mill and overlay project was adopted in the CIP on December 20, 2004. It is not good to have back to back assessments, but Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he had to do what he thought was best for the taxpayers' money and not spend a larger amount for a total reconstruct. When the engineers say a road is ready, that is what Council has to go by. At some point they have to take the advice of the professionals. Councilmember Wilson stated he will make his comments during Roundtable. Councilmember McKnight asked Mr. Ristow ifhe received his response. Mr. Ristow stated he did and it was well written. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 4 Councilmember Fogarty stated she and Mr. Ristow talked several times over the last couple weeks. She agrees with Councilmember Pritzlaff on the mill and overlay and she and Mr. Ristow will have to agree to disagree on this issue. As far as the high school, Mr. Ristow thought it might be helpful for Councilmember Fogarty to elaborate to help people understand the complications ofthe litigation. Councilmember Fogarty corrected Mr. Ristow on a comment he said she made that people could not understand this. Councilmember Fogarty said she did not say people could not understand this. She said it was a terribly complicated issue to understand. One issue the City and the school district disagreed on was 208th Street. The school district did exactly what they should have done for themselves. They needed more ballfields and they were putting them in what was supposed to have been the right-of-way for 20Sth Street. They had to have the ballfields for instructional purposes and for practice fields. It was part ofthe complex and critical to their project. On the flip side as a Councilmember, one ofthe most important things she has to do is to ensure safe roads and good transportation routes. That road and that right-of-way is very critical to the City to be maintained. There was a legitimate difference of opinion. Neither party was wrong in what they were asserting for their respective bodies. It was a true disagreement and something that could not be ignored. It had to be resolved one way or another. Ifpeople look back to the original sketch plan and the one that is now proposed, they will see that 208th Street has been moved. That went through a lot of negotiation and hard work. They had to talk to Dakota County because it is a major east-west corridor and considered a collector street for the City. One day that will run from Cedar Avenue to TH3. By moving it to the northern part of the side, they had to cross another person's property. They had to determine who will achieve the right-of-way from that property owner, who is responsible for paying for it, how will it be acquired, and it changed the entire route for that road long term. That changed how it will be on the other side of Flagstaff. Now it is crossing a wetland, so wetland mitigation has to be resolved. With the wetland mitigation, both sides had to determine who would pay for the wetland mitigation, and how that would be accomplished. This is an example of how neither body was wrong in fighting for what they wanted. It was terribly complicated. They had to involve outside parties, talk to soil and water, talk to Dakota County to make sure if they changed the route, that it would be approved later. This is one example ofthree dozen issues. It was not an easy task to get done and everyone worked very hard on it. Justice Gilbert said in all his years of working he has never seen a more complicated lawsuit. Mr. Ristow stated the night of the meeting it was a land use issue to change the comp plan and the zoning and that has nothing to do with that. The land was zoned as urban reserve. Mr. Ristow stated he and three other neighbors in Chateau Manor visited with some ofthe residents there to show their dissatisfaction on what the Council is doing and believe Council should have been more responsive and taken more incentive in the road project than they have done. Jeff Thelen, Mike Morton, Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 5 Jerry Benoit and Mr. Ristow visited the neighbors. He received a 2006 map showing the mill and overlay from City Administrator Herlofsky. There are 117 properties on the map and six belong to the City in the park area by the pool, two belong to Mayor Soderberg, and one was a City employee and reserved the right not to sign the petition. He had 80% of the neighborhood sign a petition stating the residents of Chateau Manor oppose the mill and grinding project to their road at this time and the second assessment in as many years because ofthis unnecessary project. People who were at the Council meeting told Mr. Ristow they did not raise their hand because they felt they had Mr. Morton and Mr. Gerten speak on behalf of them. They felt a good majority ofthe comments fell on deaf ears. Responding to Councilmember Pritzlaff, Mr. Ristow stated it is based on the amount of the road being done. A mill and overlay could cost a great deal of money unless you have a class action lawsuit and everyone joins in to object to $2,000 in additional value to the property. If you do a complete reconstruct it will raise it. Mr. Ristow had a few more questions from residents affected by the mill and overlay project. 1. Centennial Circle is getting new curb and a new road. Why a new road and will they pay a higher assessment? Will the assessments vary depending on the amount of new curb per property? 2. When the City put new catch basins and storm sewers in Sunnyside Drive and Fairview Lane with the Ash Street project, which they all paid for, were they not needed? Why put in storm sewers if we did not need them? 3. We have no storm sewers other than on Heritage Way and Park Drive. There is a lot of area where the water has to flow where there are no catch basins in between. Mr. Ristow stated it is Council's responsibility to look out for the community as a whole for the health, the welfare, and the safety of all the residents. Council did not look at all the roads or the engineers. There are roads that are in way more critical shape than this. Two of them are by a school where people travel everyday. Their roads are traveled by the people that live there. 4. Would you allow a developer to come in with a plat and not have any storm sewer, just curb and gutter? He did not think so, but Council is doing it. The City is tearing out curb that is 6-14 inches thick. He did not believe they will put that much back and a lot of that curb is in good shape. 5. If a mill and overlay is only one inch, how far down do the cracks and potholes go? He stated Councilmember Pritzlaff said that the cracks and the potholes go into the base ofthe road. Mr. Ristow stated he had 25 years of experience in blacktopping and road construction. He knows a little about it and he did his research when he was on the Council. Anything that he was not sure of, he was not saying he did not trust staff, but he always researched it so he knew what he was talking about. The cracks and the potholes have to go more than an inch thick. By grinding it you will not save the base ofthe road. Mr. Ristow stated there was a mix-up with the Ash Street project. Until the assessment hearing was set and heard assessments are not due on that road until Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 6 30 days after the assessment hearing. Finance Director Roland stated Mr. Ristow is referring to the pending assessments. Once the project is ordered it is considered a pending assessment so that anyone who is in the process of selling or buying a property needs to be aware of any pending assessments on a property because they need to be resolved at the time of closing. The assessment is not levied until such time as the assessment hearing takes place and the Council votes on that assessment. The residents have the opportunity to protest or to be heard regarding their desire not to be assessed. It is not levied and due until the time of the assessment hearing. Mr. Ristow stated a couple people claim they already paid the assessment. They went to Hastings and paid $985. Mr. Ristow asked them how they could do that when it has not been set. There was also a lot of discussion about the Ash Street project and that they did not get a bill. Mr. Ristow left the petition with Council. Councilmember Fogarty asked if Mr. Ristow asked these questions at the open house on July 6 or ifthe residents attended the meeting and were they not satisfied with the answers. These are very technical questions and it seemed to her the experts should be answering these questions. She is not an engineer and asking how deep the potholes go in the pavement is a technical question. Mr. Ristow replied she voted for it and she should have known. Councilmember Fogarty stated she trusts the professionals to tell her the project is necessary. Mayor Soderberg stated City Engineer Mann will reply to his questions. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated if their professionals, City Engineer Mann and Assistant City Engineer Gross, said that if a mill and overlay is done it would preserve the road for 10-15 years, the first thing someone would say is can they have a written guarantee. There is not a written guarantee that road will stay another 10-15 years. He asked City Engineer Mann to address the appraised value from an assessment to a total reconstruct and that it would cost more money out of the general fund. City Engineer Mann replied that is correct based on how proj ects have been funded in the past. A full reconstruct would be much more expensive than a mill and overlay, therefore, there would be a higher price to everyone. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated we could not assess for that much more. City Engineer Mann stated not for the difference. There would be a percentage increase in what is assessed to the residents and there would be a similar percentage increase to the City's general fund because the appraisal would not allow the full amount to be assessed to the resident, because the appraisal puts a cap on it. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if a mill and overlay would preserve the road for 10 years. City Engineer Mann replied typically that is the case, 10-15 years. He will provide a written response to Mr. Ristow's questions for the next meeting. b) Response to Ms. Justine Jacobson - Engineering A response to Ms. Jacobson's comments was mailed to her. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 7 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (7/3/06 Regular) b) Received Information First Half Building Report - Community Development c) Received Information School and Conference - Finance d) Adopted RESOLUTION R74-06 Approving Gambling Event Permit - Administration Acknowledged Resignation Public Works - Human Resources Councilmember Wilson stated Council is accepting the resignation of Tim Gross, an extremely talented individual. He has provided exceptional leadership to the City in a number of different capacities and wished him well in his future endeavors. Acknowledged Resignation Public Works - Human Resources Terminated Medical Direction Agreement - Human Resources Approved Medical Direction Agreement - Police Department Adopted RESOLUTION R75-06 Approving Grant Agreement with Dakota County Traffic Safety Group - Police Department Adopted RESOLUTION R76-06 Accepting Donation Dew Run - Parks and Recreation Mayor Soderberg thanked EconoFoods, Bruegger's Bagels, Runner's Gate and Pearson's for their donations. k) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) f) g) h) i) j) 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve Conditional Use Permit Borrow Pit Operation ISD 192- Community Development ISD 192 has applied for a CUP for a borrow pit to mine sand from Meadowview Elementary School and haul it to the site for the new high school on Flagstaff Avenue. This would include 5.8 acres of an existing hilltop and they are looking to extract 60,000 cubic yards of granular material. The hilltop will be reduced from 50 ft. in height to 10ft. Upon completion of the operation the borrow pit will be seeded with native grass. The mining is proposed to start on August 21, 2006 which would include the stripping ofthe topsoil at the borrow pit location. The overall operation would last one week. The majority of the hauling would be done on the Meadowview property, across the river to Flagstaff Avenue, and south to the high school site. The school has received favorable responses from agencies regarding the haul route. Flagstaffwould be closed from 200th Street south to CR50. The road would be open to construction vehicles and local traffic including farming equipment. The closure of the road would be dependent upon the final approval of the EA W in early September. The tentative road closure is scheduled from September 5,2006 to October 17, 2006. Any revision to these dates will be forwarded to Council and the affected residents. Neighborhood meetings will be held to address residents' concerns. The contractor is required to install traffic signage, provide dust control and provide continual maintenance of Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 8 Flagstaffbetween 195th Street and CR50 during the construction period. Staff recommended approval of the CUP subject to the following conditions: 1. The applicant must obtain final City approval of the mining operation and the rough grading plan from the City Engineer. 2. The applicant must pay any applicable fees, provide adequate surety in an amount and form approved by the Director of Public Works, and comply with any other reasonable conditions imposed by the Director of Public Works. 3. All excavation activities must be consistent with plans submitted to and approved by the Director of Public Works. Mayor Soderberg asked why there will be a road closure. Mr. Doug Bonar, ISD 192, replied a road closure was discussed during the bi-weekly meetings. There should be some concern with construction trucks coming down Flagstaff and they want to preserve the interests ofthe residents along Flagstaff. Councilmember McKnight asked why they would start the mining before the EA W is approved. Mr. Bonar replied it would be preliminary work onsite and they would not be moving sand offsite. Councilmember McKnight asked what this will be used for on the high school project and where it will go on the high school site. Mr. Dave Peterson, of Mortenson, replied it will be left up to the bidding firms to decide what to use it for. There is a large need for the sand for use on the site. It could be used for utility pipelines, for underlaying of paving, it could be used in a number of ways. It will be left up to the contractors to determine that. This is a large amount of soil that saves the project a considerable amount of money by using it on the high school project versus importing it from a local pit. Councilmember McKnight asked if this was on the Christensen property. Mr. Peterson replied the borrow pit is on the Meadowview property and brought south down Flagstaff to the high school site. There is a stockpile location on the map as a suggestion to bidders, but they do not determine means and methods and leave that up to their best judgment. Councilmember Wilson stated the entire fill that is proposed for the new site will that be contained in a specific area to be used within the project site itself. Mr. Peterson replied the entire amount mined from the borrow pit will be used at the high school site. Councilmember Wilson stated it seems there are two critical decisions that are coming. One being the EA W and the other is Met Council approval of the zoning. He asked if they should wait for both approvals prior to fill being moved to the project area. Mr. Peterson felt there was a reasonable comfort level in those votes moving forward. It is more a matter of when that occurs. It is the district's property and it is an available source of material that will benefit the project. To the degree the project is moving ahead, they felt it was prudent to capture the use of the soils in the bid package that went out today to get that financial savings for the project. He did not feel it was a large risk. Mayor Soderberg assumed that by doing the excavation while waiting for the Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 9 permit approvals would move the process along. It is quicker to move it once it is already mined. Councilmember Pritzlaff clarified that an NPDES permit is required. He asked how this affects drainage at both sites. Mr. Peterson stated addressing the borrow pit site, the consultant has designed a grading plan to accommodate the amount of materials removed and its final configuration. They are taking a large hill and making it a small hill. There should be the same characteristics of drainage as there were before. Regarding the high school site, Mr. Peterson stated they are bringing in hundreds ofthousands of yards of dirt on the new site. This is a small fraction of the amount of earthwork that will be moving. It is being incorporated into the overall design of the site. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if there will be any need for ponding. Mr. Peterson replied no. They will have the proper erosion control measures in place. There is no need for ponding at the borrow pit site. Councilmember Pritzlaff understood the fill was going more on the Christensen property for construction trailers and parking lots than the 60,000 yards going to the school site. Mr. Peterson replied the site plan shows the office complex south of the property line. There is a need for a small amount of sand to level that area to allow them to mobilize the trailers. It is a timing between the approval of the borrow pit permits and the high school permits. Since the borrow pit permits occur earlier than the high school, they can utilize those materials to allow them to mobilize and get set up. They want to be onsite before the main high school work begins. They are sitting on the crest ofthe land now and would be filling from that point to Flagstaff Avenue. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if anything remaining on the Christensen property after the project is done would be removed. Mr. Peterson stated the intent of the area off the property line where the trailers will sit is to restore that to agricultural use. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the grade elevation and if it would be the same topography as it is today. Mr. Peterson replied he could not make that assumption. Mr. Bonar stated there will also be a road construction project with Flagstaff and to their knowledge the elevation in that area will be raised by 11 ft., so it will have an impact on that property and all other adjoining properties. It is the school's intent to continue negotiations with the Christensen's for the 4 acre parcel. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked how much the mining will cost. Mr. Bonar replied it is incorporated into a much larger bid package. The value of the sand is $600,000. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the amount remaining on the Christensen property, and is the school district getting any revenue from the Christensen's for the fill that is left there. Dr. Meeks replied ifthere is any significant material left over they have many other projects where they could reuse the material on another site. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated ifthe majority ofthe 60,000 yards is going to the school site, he was lead to believe this was the best site topography wise, why do we need that much fill for this site. Dr. Meeks stated as far as the material remaining on the Christensen site, they have made no deals that the material would stay there. There will be significant soil work on any of their sites. He did not believe they said they would not have to do any grading or site work. Councilmember Pritzlaffwas shocked this amount offill Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 10 was needed. At the Planning Commission meeting there was a question with the fill going from a public entity which the taxpayers paid for with an elementary school, to a private property owner, the Christensen's, and was the school district not being reimbursed for that. Dr. Meeks stated they have not had that discussion. Councilmember Fogarty stated what was presented at the Planning Commission is a little different from what they are hearing now. She got the impression that the borrow site was to completely fill in the staging area. She wanted to make sure the School Board and the administration understands she has a little concern with starting to expend taxpayer dollars before they have Met Council approval. She agreed it was the school's decision. Mayor Soderberg was confident approval would be granted. It is a good idea to get a jump on the construction. If getting the mining started helps, Council should support it. He asked if the 60,000 yards would be adequate. Mr. Peterson stated they anticipate additional sand will have to be trucked in to complete the high school project. This will be done over the course of the entire project. Mr. Nick Schultz, 18869 Euclid Path, agreed with Councilmember Fogarty to wait a couple days in case the Met Council does not approve this. Why spend the money and then not have it approved. Mayor Soderberg stated that would be a concern for the school district. For Council to delay approving the mining permit could put the project back a couple weeks and they do not want to slow things down for the school district. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to approve the Conditional Use Permit for mining of a borrow pit at the southeastern portion of the Meadowview Elementary School property subject to the above conditions. Voting for: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Wilson. Voting against: Pritzlaff. MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Resolution and Ordinance - Vermillion Trail 1 st Addition, Rezoning, Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Preliminary and Final Plat - Community Development Mr. Jerry Sauber has submitted a plat to create three residential lots on 1.62 acres. The property is located south ofCR66 and north of the Tamarack Ridge subdivision. Mr. Sauber is requesting to have the property rezoned from A-I to R-l and has requested a comp plan amendment from non-designated to low density residential. The property was annexed March 9, 2006. Lot sizes and widths meet the R-I requirements. There is an existing home on lot 3. It is proposed that a central access be constructed for all three lots. The access drive will be 22 ft. wide. Approval is contingent on the following: Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 11 1. The satisfaction of any engineering and planning comments. 2. The preparation and execution of the Development Contract and approval of the construction plans for grading, storm water and utilities by the Engineering Division. The maintenance of the private drive would be through a homeowner's association. MOTION by Wilson, second by McKnight adopting RESOLUTION R77-06 approving the preliminary and final plat Vermillion Trail First Addition, RESOLUTION R78-06 amending the 2020 Comprehensive Plan for the Vermillion Trail First Addition located off of County Road 66 and north of Tamarack Ridge subdivision, and ORDINANCE 006-558 rezoning the Vermillion Trail First Addition property from A-I to R-l. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - Graeve Serrano Addition Preliminary and Final Plat - Community Development This is a replat oflots 1 and 2 and a portion oflot 9 of block 1 of the townhomes of Nelson Hills Farm. This is part of a severance agreement between the Graeve's and Serrano's to get out of the homeowners association. The homeowners association has agreed to their severance from the organization provided that they replat a portion of their property. Access for these two townhomes is directly off of Euclid Path. There is a drainage and utility easement on lot 9 and they are proposing to acquire this lot also. MOTION by McKnight, second by Wilson to adopt RESOLUTION R79-06 approving the preliminary and final plat for the Graeve Serrano Addition. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Discuss Chippendale Court Properties - Community Development Chippendale Court is located on the east side ofTH3. There are six parcels of which five properties are in Empire township and one is in the City. Mr. Rick Bugbee has approached the City about annexing into the City in order to obtain City services to solve their septic system problem. Staff would like to look at the entire area to achieve a resolution that would address all the properties. An EmpireIFarmington Planning Advisory Committee meeting will be held August 16,2006 and with Council's consent this will be discussed at that meeting. Mr. Bugbee has talked with his neighbor, Mr. Adelmann, regarding running the sewer line along his north property line. Council agreed this should be discussed at the EFPAC meeting, and staffwill contact the township and the property owners to inform them of the situation. Mr. Rick Bugbee stated he spoke with the Planning Commission and Empire Township last month, and they referred him back to the City and Dakota County. He called Dakota County, and has talked with several City staff members. The Township told him it was up to the City and they would follow whatever the City decided to do. Mr. Bugbee stated when he spoke with Mr. Adelman, he was told Council Minutes (Regular) July 17,2006 Page 12 he would give him an easement to go under his property line. The sewer line would be drilled, not trenched. d) Approve Updated AUAR - Seed Property - Community Development The AUAR for the Seed property was originally adopted in 2004. It has been updated due to land use changes and further clarification of transportation issues in the area. Ms. Sherri Buss, Bonestroo, presented the AUAR to Council. The review period for comments is from July 31, 2006 to August 11, 2006. It would be brought back to Council on August 21, 2006 for final approval ofthe update. Council discussed the roundabouts recommended by MnDOT in the AUAR and asked various questions about the AUAR. MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto adopt RESOLUTION R80-06 approving the AUAR update for the Farmington Seed/Genstar Property. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Completion of Improvements Meadow Creek 4th Addition - Engineering There are several improvements in the Meadow Creek 4th Addition that have not been completed by the deadline. Staff is at a stalemate with the developer to get the improvements completed. Staff intends to notify the developer he has 30 days to complete the improvements after which time staff will take action to complete the improvements according to the Development Contract. The improvements not completed include: 1. A pond that has not been excavated on the edge of Meadow Creek 4th Addition and the Riverbend development. 2. There is some grading work in a resident's yard in relation to one of the bridges that crosses Lake Julia waterway. 3. Various trails throughout the development are not complete. The developer is Progress Land Company. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve enforcing the conditions of the development agreement for Meadow Creek 4th Addition. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 1) Review Revised Special Assessment Notices - Finance Staffhas revised the assessment notice to make it easier to understand for residents. Finance Director Roland reviewed the changes. g) Met Council Scheduled Meetings of School District Site - Administration The comprehensive plan amendment for the high school will be reviewed at Met Council meetings on August 7 and August 23, 2006. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 13 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember McKnight: He thanked everyone involved in the Fire Department Open House. It was well attended. He thanked Police Chief Siebenaler for his work over the many years. His service to the people and the City is very much appreciated by this Council and all the citizens. Councilmember Wilson: Assistant City Engineer Tim Gross did a very nice job of meeting with 10-12 residents regarding the mill and overlay project. These types of projects were added to the CIP in 2005 at an estimated cost of$375,000 per year. It is the goal to do a mill and overlay every year as a preventative measure to do a full reconstruct. One comment Mr. Ristow made was why back to back assessments. Last year Council could have opted to the mill and overlay proj ect, but that would have dovetailed on top of the Ash Street project so it would have been a simultaneous assessment of two different projects. The amount budgeted for this year is $750,000. This project is coming in $285,000 below budget. Back to back assessments are never comfortable for Council to do. He feels very comfortable with the decision he made with respect to the choice to do a mill and overlay which could provide significant benefit for 10-15 years. It is the Council's and City Engineer's decision to determine how long we want a road to go. His decision was do I feel more comfortable with the choice of trying a proven method with the mill and overlay, use less taxpayer resources, preserve a road for a longer period oftime or wait until it deteriorates, have to do a complete reconstruct, and then we are looking at thousands of dollars to residents to do that as we are doing in other parts of the City. Mr. Ristow identified a number of roads that are in worse condition. He is absolutely correct. In 2003 when the Pavement Management Study was done, there were 14 roads that met the criteria of being completely reconstructed. The City elected not to do that this year because the sanitary sewer and water through telescoping efforts are in very good quality. So why rip up a road that does not need to be ripped up. Walnut Street by the Kindergarten Center is in terrible shape, but it is also in the CIP to be reconstructed. Why is he voting to do back to back assessments? He interpreted that as why are you sticking it to residents in the same area. That is not his goal. One of the primary functions of the City is to provide high quality police and fire, have good high quality roads to travel and do these and a number of other services in the most efficient manner possible. That is why the mill and overlay is a good investment both for taxpayers and residents in that area. He appreciates that there is concern from residents with back to back assessments. His decision was to go ahead because it is a better way of managing the road as opposed to a much greater cost down the road. He attended the Fire Station open house and thanked Fire Chief Tim Pietsch and the Fire Department and residents who attended. He thanked the Rambling River Days volunteers. Councilmember Pritz/aff: Thanked everyone who participated in the Fire Station open house. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 14 He thanked the volunteers for Rambling River Days. Council accepted a resignation tonight from Assistant City Engineer Tim Gross and thanked him for his service to the City. He will be a hard employee to replace. He wished him well in his future. He attended the Police Academy and at the beginning of the next meeting he would like to make some comments. Mayor Soderberg understood the academy has been getting rave reVIews. City Attorney Jamnik: One oftheir prosecuting attorneys will be sworn in as a District Court Judge and will be leaving their firm. City Administrator Herlofsky: Red Wing. Tomorrow Council will leave at 5:00 p.m. to go to At the next meeting staff will bring a joint resolution with Empire Township regarding TH3. Community Development Director Carroll: McDonald's will be starting construction this week. Mayor Soderberg: He has been contacted by the Milan's and the State Representative regarding the speed study for TH3. The section of roadway identified is in Empire Township. He would like staff to contact Empire Township regarding ajoint resolution to MnDOT to do a speed study on that segment of roadway to reduce the speed limit. The Fire Department open house was well attended. The B&B Transformer fire is an excellent example of how good the Fire Department is. He took an early tour of the Fire Department and the safety and rescue squad was doing training for rappelling. We have a great Fire Department and rescue squad. The Fairgrounds had a couple of great events - the Scottish Fair and the Highland Games. Tonight there is a circus there. The Fairgrounds is doing a lot of programs that are very exciting. Council received Police Chief Siebenaler's resignation and asked City Administrator Herlofsky to forward to Council the process that will be used to find a replacement. Council received a notice ofthe open house for the Elm Street project for July 27 at City Hall from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. This is the first opportunity for residents to express their concerns or ask questions. Dakota County has issued a public health alert due to the heat. Council Minutes (Regular) July 17, 2006 Page 15 He met with the committee on the renaming ofthe Post Office. Nominations have been narrowed down to three: - Hamilton H. Judson - Grace Knoll Crowell - Clay Family Voting will be done by the public beginning July 20 - 28. Once the results are in a request will be forwarded to Congressman Kline to author legislation to rename the Post Office. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 9:26 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~rv7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant