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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.07.05 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING November 7, 2005 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 Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Robin Roland, Acting City Administrator/Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; Dan Siebenaler, 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; 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 what the CDBG balance would be for 2006 if the two items on the agenda are approved. Community Development Director Carroll replied their fiscal year runs from mid-year. The money approved in January 2005 is for the period starting July 1, 2005. That amount was $65,500. The HRA proposed this be split between the Riste building and the McVicker lot. The HRA has been told to plan on receiving 95% of what was received last year for the next fiscal year. The HRA will discuss this and bring a recommendation to Council in November or December as to how that money should be used for next year. If the CDA approves the application, the money becomes available July 1, 2006. Councilmember Pritzlaffhad a correction to the minutes for the October 26,2005 Council Workshop. Mayor Soderberg noted at the workshop there was a question raised regarding fuel tanks at the Maintenance Facility. If there is money left over from the new Fire Station that can be used to purchase the fuel tanks. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) November 7,2005 Page 2 Mayor Soderberg spoke with Fire Chief Kuchera and there are now a lot of requirements for a Fire Department. For a part-time Fire Chief it is overwhelming. It was proposed earlier in the budget to have a joint Fire ChieflFire Marshal position. He asked Council if they would be interested in authorizing this position in the budget and leave it to the discretion ofthe new City Administrator. Finance Director Roland stated we are talking about a combination of jobs and the one job is currently fully funded and the change to a combination would be less than $5,000 annual difference. Police Chief Siebenaler noted right now and over the next two years is a very important time for public safety. There are a number of committee actively working on the 800 MHz joint dispatch. There are committees that will decide the fate and procedure for police and fire across the county. It would be important to be represented by a fulltime Fire ChieflFire Marshal at these meetings. Mayor Soderberg noted the Fire Chief has recommended this for this year and in past years. Councilmember McKnight stated he would be in favor of including it in the budget for more discussion when the City Administrator starts. 5. STAFF COMMENTS 6. ADJOURN MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to adjourn at 6:43 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~}r7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR November 7, 2005 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 Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Robin Roland, Acting City Administrator/Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; Dan Siebenaler, 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; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Kara Hildreth, Joe Heinen 4. APPROVE AGENDA City Attorney Poehler added item l1a) Approve Settlement Farmington Department Directors' Association. Acting City Administrator Roland pulled item 7j) Fire Station No.2 Change Order to correct the numbers and bring back to the next meeting. There is also a supplemental item for 8a) providing additional information. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS One of our part-time control room operators, Mr. Jim Shiffman and Mr. Chris Vogt produced a program called Lakeville Kids and Government and the program won an Emmy. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS a) Response to Mr. Tarryl Olson A response was sent to Mr. Olson. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (10/17/05 Regular)(10/19/05 & 10/26/05 Special) Council Minutes (Regular) November 7,2005 Page 2 b) Adopted RESOLUTION R125-05 Approving Submittal of Application for Landfill Abatement Funding - Parks and Recreation c) Set November 21,2005 Public Hearing for Various Licenses and Permits- Administration d) Set January 18, 2006 CouncillHPC Workshop Date - Administration e) Set November 30,2005 Council/Planning Commission Workshop Date- Administration f) Approved Enhancing Mutual Aid Agreements - Fire Department g) Adopted Budgetary Policies - Finance h) Adopted Council Policy - Human Resources i) Approved Changed Order Ash Street Project - Engineering k) Approved Surface Water Management Plan Update - Engineering 1) Approved School and Conference - Fire Department m) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS b) Adopt Resolution - Approve Acquisition and Redevelopment of Vacant Lot _ 201 4th Street - Community Development . (This item was moved forward to accommodate the audience). This is concerning a vacant lot on the corner of 4th and Main Street. This is a tax forfeited parcel. The lot has been vacant because it is on the state's list of contaminated sites. A gas station had been located on the lot. Mr. Joe Heinen owns the Wide Open Throttle building, the two homes on Elm Street, and the auto repair shop. When testing was done on the vacant lot, groundwater contamination was found due to dry cleaning chemicals from a former dry cleaners a few blocks away. Mr. Heinen approached staff regarding redeveloping the north side of Elm Street from 3rd Street to 4th Street. There are two brick homes in this area. One of them would be moved to the vacant lot at 4th and Main Street. Staffmet with the county who asked that some attention be devoted to the contamination issue. Mr. Heinen has had further testing done and the contamination found earlier has diminished, there was no soil contamination, and no groundwater contamination. There were some chemical vapors found in the soil. The HRA would acquire the property and pass it on to Mr. Heinen. Mr. Heinen would like to begin work late this fall or early winter and move the house in the winter. This creates an opportunity for commercial development along Elm Street. Mayor Soderberg asked about the HRA having title and transferring it to Mr. Heinen and what risk the City would have. City Attorney Poehler replied as part ofthe transaction the City is obtaining letters from the MPCA that will remove any liability from the City for any hazardous materials found to this point. Mr. Joe Heinen stated the two houses are currently vacant. He does not have a plan yet for the overall block. Right now he is focusing attention on improvements to the current commercial building. The houses are very Council Minutes (Regular) November 7,2005 Page 3 interesting and structurally sound. They do need some work on the inside, but he is prepared to do that. If the houses can be moved it presents numerous opportunities for a broader development. He has discussed alternatives for the site with staff. He has done a substantial amount of work on the commercial building. Councilmember McKnight asked Mr. Heinen why he did not purchase the property directly from Dakota county. Community Development Director Carroll replied the county has told staff if they are not going to sell the property to a governmental entity there will have to be a bidding process or an auction. Councilmember McKnight asked what is the estimated timeline for the City owning this. Staff replied the state is ready to send the deed as soon as the City is ready to accept it. Ifthe county transfers the property to the HRA for $1, the county expects that when the HRA sells it, we get fair market value for it and then transfer that money back to the county. Staff has indicated that whatever the fair market value is determined to be, we should be able to deduct from that the expenses that Mr. Heinen has incurred and the future expenses he will have to deal with the MPCA issues. The county staff has generally accepted this, but may require some specifics. Staff will work with Mr. Heinen to determine future expenses and add them to the costs so far and give the county a proposal. Councilmember McKnight would like to see this area redeveloped, but he would feel more comfortable if there were plans in place. Councilmember Fogarty asked if Mr. Heinen has found a lot for the second home. Mr. Heinen replied he has not. One of the houses is in significantly better condition than the other one. The plan is to rezone the area for commercial. He does not plan to put homes on the lots. Staff noted the south half of the block is currently zoned B-2. Mr. Heinen has not determined what to do with the auto repair shop. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson adopting RESOLUTION R127-05 authorizing the Farmington HRA and City staff to proceed with the proposed acquisition of the vacant lot located at the northeast corner of 4th Street and Main Street. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. a) Adopt Resolution - Approve Acquisition and Redevelopment of Riste Building - Community Development The Riste building has been vacant for some time and is in very poor condition. It is currently owned by Mr. Hosmer Brown who also owns the Larson building and the Exchange Bank building. The Riste building sits on two lots. There is an open area in the back to provide access to the back of the Larson and Exchange Bank buildings. The HRA is interested in acquiring this property. Because of its very poor condition, Mr. Brown is not interested in renovating the building. The HRA has discussed using CDBG money ifthe Council and HRA were interested in acquiring the property. One of the criteria for using CDBG money is making a Council Minutes (Regular) November 7, 2005 Page 4 determination that the property falls under the slum and blight definition. The Building Official has determined the building is not habitable. This is an opportunity for the City to play an active role in downtown redevelopment. By combining half of the 2005 CDBG allocation with some left over from prior years, there would be more than enough money to acquire the property. The CDA says if a City or an HRA makes an offer to buy property, and if the offer is consistent with the county's fair market value, then the property does not need to be appraised. The HRA has offered Mr. Brown $93,200. Mr. Brown is willing to accept that amount. Staff provided Council with a Purchase Agreement for review. There is also an Easement Agreement for access across the Riste property to have access to the Larson and Exchange Bank buildings. The brick on the west wall of the Larson building has begun to bow out. Staffwas concerned that ifin the process of demolishing the Riste building, some of the bricks were dislodged, someone would claim the HRA was responsible. Mr. Brown has agreed to a Hold Harmless Agreement, holding the HRA harmless in the event that there is some nonstructural damage caused to the building. If structural damage is caused to the Larson building, the HRA has agreed to repair it on a 50/50 basis. Peer Environmental has done a Phase I site assessment. Of 63 samples taken, 80% contained no asbestos. There were 13 areas with asbestos. The cost for abating this, which is removing it from the property, hauling it to an approved site, and dumping it is estimated to be $12,500 - $20,000. The cost could be higher or lower depending on what else is found. If the Council approves the HRA acquiring this, staff would have Peer do a more intensive testing process. In January Council authorized staffto apply to the CDA to have some of the unused CDBG money combined for purposes of this project. That generated $70,792.06. Also in January when Council approved the CDBG allocation for 2005, Council agreed $32,750 could be used for this project. That brings the total to over $103,000. Subtracting the amount that Mr. Brown is willing to sell the property for, that leaves $10,000. This is less than the low estimate for dealing with the hazardous materials. Within the next month staffwill be discussing with Council CDBG for the next fiscal year. That information will have to go to the county in December or January. Staff expects to be able to use $30,875 from 2006 for this project so that would total $41,217 available to deal with hazardous materials and demolition. So we will have twice as much money available as needed to deal with hazardous materials. Staff has received a preliminary estimate for demolition of $89,000. If a bid process is used, that number could come down. The City is not obligated to demolish the building in order to make the site ready for development. This can be negotiated with the developer. If Council approves this project, the staff recommendation is: 1. Council authorizes execution of the Purchase Agreement. 2. HRA executes Purchase Agreement and set closing date, possibly by December 15,2005. 3. HRA and seller participate in closing and the HRA acquires the property. Council Minutes (Regular) November 7, 2005 Page 5 4. Once the HRA owns it, the HRA could talk with the CDA about using some of next year's CDBG money for hazardous materials and/or demolition. 5. The HRA would solicit bids for the removal of hazardous materials. 6. Award contract to lowest bidder. 7. Contractor removes hazardous materials from interior of building only, not to exceed $10,342 which is the maximum money available during fiscal year 2005. 8. In the spring the EDA would develop a procedure to identify a developer. 9. Council approves a redevelopment plan. 10. The EDA enters into a contract with the developer. 11. After July 1, 2006 the contractor could remove any remaining hazardous materials. 12. The developer demolishes the building and initiates new construction. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if any other building were in this condition, would we require them to repair it or demolish it themselves. Staff replied the building was in this condition when Mr. Brown purchased it. The building has been posted as non-habitable. This eliminated the safety hazard. If Mr. Brown wanted to keep the property and it was considered a safety hazard, the City would have the right to condemn the property and demolish it. Someone would still have these costs. City Attorney Poehler stated if it meets the requirements of the hazardous abatement procedure and they do not comply, the City would order the abatement, do the abatement and recoup the costs from the property owner. It would be a lien against the property. Councilmember Pritzlaffnoted the $93,000 is for the land. Councilmember Fogarty stated the HRA looks at it that the property is worth $93,000, the building is not worth a dime. Councilmember Pritzlaffwas not comfortable with spending money for demolishing it. He was concerned with the potential of someone entering the building. Councilmember Fogarty felt people would be more curious as to what was inside if it were boarded up. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked who was liable if someone got hurt now. Staff felt Mr. Brown would be liable as the City does not currently have an ownership interest in the building. The Building Official has concluded there is no practical way to save the building. It is structurally unsound. Councilmember Wilson felt the HRA and staffhave spotted an opportunity for redevelopment in an area where we want to see growing business. He asked if a cost savings could be explored if a developer was identified earlier before demolition and hazardous abatement and then the developer would pay a portion of the cost. Staff replied they could advertise the project and solicit bids, but many would ask what guarantee they have that the HRA would acquire the property and then convey it to them. Staff needs some level of indication that the City is in a position to convey the property to the HRA. Council Minutes (Regular) November 7,2005 Page 6 Councilmember Fogarty asked what the sale price was to Mr. Brown. Staff thought it was approximately $80,000. She felt the building needed to come down. Councilmember McKnight was concerned there was not a redevelopment plan, but could see we will get there. He was a little leery ofthe City owning another piece of property in downtown. He was disappointed we have to spend this kind of money to help out a property owner who does not hold the downtown in the same regard as the Council. He would not support this, but for the condition the building is in and the Building Official's comment that this is the worst structure in Farmington, so he would support moving forward with this because ofthat. Staff felt one of the advantages gained by acquiring this property and getting it out of someone else's hands, it puts us in a better bargaining position for improvements to the other two buildings. Mayor Soderberg stated by the time we pay for the building, do the abatement and demolition it will cost $195,000 - $202,000. Ifwe acquire the building it has to come down even to improve the aesthetics of downtown. Councilmember Fogarty stated she does not want it to stay for very long as is under City control. She does not want the liability. Mayor Soderberg noted Council had also discussed using some of the CDBG funds for demolition of the Blaha building. Staff stated the building will be used to store equipment until plans for a City Hall are finalized. Currently this is identified for 2007. Mayor Soderberg asked about a statement in the Hold Harmless Agreement excluding attorney's fees. City Attorney Poehler replied Mr. Brown was very adamant about not paying attorney's fees. This is also carried over into the Purchase Agreement. Finance Director Roland stated if any ofthese items end up costing more there might be a gap that would require us to find funding elsewhere to cover the cost should we not be able to find a developer to cover the cost. That is the only risk with this situation. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if Mr. Brown has any responsibility for the costs. Finance Director Roland replied since the HRA would already have entered into a Purchase Agreement with Mr. Brown and the actual costs come in higher, there would be no responsibility on his part. There is a caveat in the Purchase Agreement concerning the environmental situation of the building. City Attorney Poehler stated there is a condition in the Purchase Agreement that would require Mr. Brown to indemnify the HRA in the event that conditions were not as he stated them to be. Community Development Director Carroll noted there is also a provision in the Purchase Agreement regarding doing further testing before the closing. If more things are found, the HRA could back out of the agreement with no cost. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated his initial concern is the amount of money. He asked if there was a way to delay the liability for the City until demolition. He asked what codes are in place to make someone bring the building up to standards. Staff did not feel that was possible. As long as we use CDBG funds, it does not cost the taxpayers anything. Council Minutes (Regular) November 7, 2005 Page 7 MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight adopting RESOLUTION R126-05 authorizing the HRA and staffto proceed with the proposed acquisition of the Riste building and the two parcels of property upon which it is situated. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve Settlement - Farmington Department Directors' Association City Attorney Poehler stated the contract for the Farmington Department Directors' Association has been ratified by the union in the format discussed by the Council. The contract reflects a 2.75% increase in wages for 2006. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the settlement with the Farmington Department Directors' Association. APIF MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEWBUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: Reminded residents ofthe winter parking restrictions in effect. She would like Council to talk about this next summer and whether it should be pushed back a little. Councilmember McKnight: Congratulated the football team on its very successful season. There was a great turnout for the last game. Councilmember Wilson: Congratulated the coaches, parents, and students on the football team. Councilmember Pritzlaff: Also congratulated the football team. Police Chief Siebenaler: On Thursday, November 10, 2005 the Police Department and Anna's Bananas will be sponsoring an educational forum at the High School cafeteria, on how parents can educate their own children on safety practices. The Department of Corrections and the Jacob Wetterling Foundation will be present. He thanked Ms. Anna Achtenberg for her diligence in pursuing this. Council Minutes (Regular) November 7,2005 Page 8 City Engineer Mann: The contractor will be finishing the concrete work on Ash Street tomorrow, also sod was being placed today. The asphalt driveways will be installed next week. The project should be finished by the end of next week. Mayor Soderberg: He congratulated the football team and the City is proud of the great season the Farmington Tigers had. He had the privilege of participating in the Veteran's Day program at the Middle School on Friday. They honored our Vietnam Veterans. It was an amazing event. The people who serve are heroes. They defend our ability to meet, to protect our form of government and our citizens. He thanked all those who serve. He noted the Perkins property is on the Planning Commission agenda. The developer asked staffto bring it to the Planning Commission again. Staff contacted Mayor Soderberg and he felt 210th Street is an important connection for the City. Ifwe can facilitate this connection, he would be in favor of moving this forward. The type of development being proposed is a nice transition between the townhomes and the single family homes. Councilmember Fogarty supported this. Councilmember McKnight stated he would only support this if 21 Oth Street is connected with hwy 3 in conjunction with the development and the density will have to be worked out with the Planning Commission. Councilmember Wilson stated it has to make sense with the traffic plan. 210th Street is a key road. Councilmember Pritz1aff agreed with having 21 Oth Street connected, but the density issue has to be worked out with the Planning Commission. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 8:44 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, 7~>>7~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant