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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.06.06 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING February 6, 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; 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; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty pulled item 7a) Council Minutes to abstain. The dates for the goal setting workshop and the CouncillNewland workshop do not work for her. It was agreed to change the goal setting workshop to March 9, 2006 at 5:30 for Council only and March 10,2006 at 8:00 a.m. for Council and staff. Council should submit items to Acting City Administrator Roland and she will prepare an agenda. The CouncillNewland workshop was changed to February 28,2006 at 5:30 p.m. Councilmember McKnight had a concern with the boundary adjustment for the Perkins property and asked with the Perkins property being in zone A how does that impact the work on the systems plan which was set up as a step in zone B. City Engineer Mann replied as far as the systems plan, the Perkins property has always been a part of what was going to be served by Farmington. Councilmember McKnight was also concerned that the 210th Street issue has not been worked out with the Regan's, adding more traffic to highway 3, and the highway 3 connections as far as looking at 210th Street by itself, or the whole issue. He did not want to act on it tonight because of the 210th Street issue not being resolved. Mayor Soderberg explained in order to do the platting, 21 Oth Street was one of the contingencies that Council wanted. 210th Street was to be done as a part of that project. This item will be pulled for discussion. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) February 6, 2006 Page 2 Councilmember Wilson asked about the new street for Hill Dee and if the map shows the new intersection or the current intersection. He also asked ifparcels 45 and 55 are gaining more property because ofthe change in the intersection. City Engineer Mann stated staff was not planning on re-platting or vacating any ofthe right-of-way. The residents may have additional boulevard area, but they are not gaining any lot area. Currently Lower and Upper 182nd Street come together in a Y intersection. This will create a T intersection. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the ice resurfacer and an e-mail that was received. Acting City Administrator Roland explained there is a vendor that is not happy with the way the process was handled. However, it was handled according to state statutes as far as the bids. There were specific reasons for bidding the way we did. There is justification as to why the lowest bid was not acceptable. Councilmember Pritzlaffthen asked about the budget for the 2006 Master Plan. He felt it was a lot of money to be put on the consent agenda. Parks and Recreation Director Distad explained that Council has seen this previously during the budget process and it has been in a public document. 5. STAFF COMMENTS Acting City Administrator Roland explained the supplemental items. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 6:49 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, C:~~ ~ )....-, /7/7 ?"_ _ Cc~...-' tTy ~<-4~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR February 6, 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; 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; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Lee Smick, City Planner; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Pam Hadler, Jada Braaten, John Kapustka, Dale Hansen 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty pulled item 7a) Council Minutes to abstain and items 71) Goal Setting Workshop and 7m) CouncillNewland Communities Workshop to change the dates. Councilmember McKnight pulled item 7q) Boundary Adjustment (Perkins) for further discussion. City Attorney Jamnik stated item lid) City Administrator update will be a verbal report. Acting City Administrator Roland stated the supplemental items are 7r) Additional Information on the Solid Waste Truck Bid and item 1 Oc) Local Franchising Comments. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Acknowledge Years of Service - Fire Chief Mayor Soderberg presented a plaque to Fire Chief Kuchera for 20 years of service as Fire Chief. He has served on the Fire Department for 35 years. b) Introduce Promoted Employee - Fire Department Acting City Administrator Roland introduced Mr. Tim Pietsch as the new Fire Chief. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 2 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Received Information Capital Outlay - Fire Department c) Approved Appointment Recommendation - Fire Department d) Approved Donating Used Equipment - Fire Department e) Approved Hiring Consultant 2006 Master Plan - Parks and Recreation f) Adopted RESOLUTION R12-06 Approving Bid Ice Resurfacer - Parks and Recreation Adopted RESOLUTION R13-06 Approving Bid Waste Containers and Lids- Parks and Recreation Received Information Capital Outlay - Parks and Recreation Adopted RESOLUTION R14-06 Accepting Donation Rambling River Center- Parks and Recreation Approved Budget 2006 Master Plan - Parks and Recreation Received Information Capital Outlay - Public Works Approved School and Conference - Administration Adopted RESOLUTION R15-06 Approving Joint Powers Agreement with Burnsville/Contracted Street Services - Engineering Adopted JOINT RESOLUTION R16-06 Boundary Adjustment (Sauber) - Community Development Adopted RESOLUTION R18-06 Approving Bid for Solid Waste Truck - Parks and Recreation (Supplemental) s) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. g) h) i) j) k) n) 0) p) r) a) MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approved Council Minutes (1/17/06 Regular) and (1/18/06 Special). Voting for: Soderberg, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson. Abstain: Fogarty. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by McKnight, second by Wilson to approve Council Minutes (1123/06 Special). APIF, MOTION CARRIED. I) Set Date Goal Setting Workshop - Administration This was changed to March 9, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. for Council only and March 10, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. for Council and staff. m) Set CouncillNewland Communities Workshop - Administration This was changed to February 28,2006 at 5:30 p.m. q) Joint Resolution- Boundary Adjustment (Perkins) - Community Development Councilmember McKnight pulled this item due to the systems plans not being completed. City Engineer Mann had explained that it would not have an impact on the systems plan. Councilmember McKnight's biggest concern for not doing this was the 21 oth Street issue not being resolved. This leads into more issues with traffic on highway 3 and connections and therefore he was not comfortable with approving the annexation for the Perkins property. Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 3 Councilmember Wilson agreed, but had an additional concern that there were still issues to be worked out related to Cambodia Avenue, the Empire Town Board has approved the annexation in concept but has not voted to approve it. He felt the item was not ready for Council, but could be once these issues were resolved. He also did not support approving this item. Mayor Soderberg noted Councilmember Fogarty is on the EFP AC committee and the issues that concern the Town Board revolve around Cambodia Avenue. Councilmember Fogarty explained it is a matter of working out some boundary issues and road concerns which would have to be addressed even before a preliminary plat were brought to Council. This is to approve a joint resolution that was created at the EFP AC meeting between Empire Township and Farmington. This tells her that they are also ready for it. Without approving the resolution it will be very difficult for Empire to want to start to commit to platting the area and work out the Cambodia issues. They want to know that both the township and the City support the property coming into the City and that is the reason for the joint resolution. Community Development Director Carroll stated the portion of Cambodia Avenue next to the Perkins property, beyond the boundaries ofthe Perkins property, is owned by the township. It was turned back to the township after it was no longer a county road. There is not a dispute about this, there were just some uncertainties regarding ownership. The township is in favor of the idea of improving what is now a township road at someone else's expense. There are benefits to existing property owners in the township and to future township property owners who may want to develop. Staff would propose that if the road is constructed that they look at agreeing to the annexation of that piece of property at a later time. The City would take over the maintenance of the road since it connects to an existing City road. He did not see a lot of controversy, it just takes time to work out the details. An agreement has been worked out with how other roads are maintained. Mayor Soderberg asked what this does with regard to the 210th Street issue to extend it to highway 3. Community Development Director Carroll stated there is a connection that is needed from highway 3 to the east. It is located between CR66 and hwy 50 and makes it an ideal place to get traffic through and for a signalized intersection. This connection would be important to the development of the Devney/Winkler properties in the future. There is a window of opportunity to get that portion of roadway done because there are plans in place for the Perkins property and discussions regarding the former bus garage property. Staff would not like to miss this opportunity. Councilmember Pritzlaff clarified if this is not approved, then they cannot work on the issues. Councilmember Fogarty stated there would be a concern that annexation would become an issue. Community Development Director Carroll stated once the plat was received and staff started looking at ownership issues, then it became clear there were these uncertainties so staffbegan working on this Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 4 immediately. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he has followed this in the Planning Commission meetings and it gets to this point and it is a dead stop. He noted this property is not approved for MUSA. Staff explained that for zone A properties the process was to get a concept plan approved, get annexation approved, and then move on to MUSA. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated if this is approved and the issues with the roads will be worked out, but MUSA is not approved, how does that affect it? Community Development Director Carroll stated the City does not have the authority to grant MUSA to properties that are not in the City. Councilmember Wilson stated he does not oppose this, but there seems to be a lot ofloose ends he would like to see clarified through the township's attorney relative to the road and the boundaries. Mayor Soderberg noted this will be the trigger to get those things done. City Attorney Jamnik stated the proposed annexation is for lots 1 and 2, block 2, it is a platted area that is being brought in. The resolution does not expand on the boundaries from what the City received from the petition. In the normal course we would propose to just annex what was received in the petition and no more, but in this situation, the township owns some of the underlying land that Cambodia Avenue is over and is east of the proposed lots. The City would expect that the township upon receipt of this proposed joint resolution may say it makes sense for the City to annex more than the petition for property. We would be consistent with past practice of annexing what people requested and no more and allowing the township to suggest that we should have the boundaries farther east than what is proposed in the petition. The next EFP AC meeting is February 15, 2006. It will come before the Empire Town Board on February 14, 2006. Staff plans to present information on the research that has been done before then. Staff will provide a proposal as to whether or when the roadway would be annexed and discuss the maintenance issue. The township is looking for some indication that the City is serious about pursuing this. Councilmember McKnight asked if the Perkins have made any progress with discussions with the Regan's on 210th Street. Staffwas not aware if the Perkins developer was talking to Mr. Regan. They are looking to the City to get the right-of-way necessary to make the connection. Mr. Regan has applied for a Comp Plan amendment for the property and for zoning and various other things. Staff intends to recommend to the Planning Commission that the land use approvals be contingent on the right-of-way being provided. Councilmember McKnight stated last year he said he would not support this unless the 21 Oth Street issue was worked out. He does not want another Devney/Winkler property where we annex and it just sits there with nothing happening. He does not want to annex the Perkins property if that will be the case. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he had reservations, but this seems like the next step. He would have liked to have seen more progress. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto adopt JOINT RESOLUTION R17- 06 regarding a boundary adjustment involving 17.09 acres of property owned by Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 5 Neil and Linda Perkins. Voting for: Soderberg, Fogarty, Pritzlaff. Voting against: McKnight, Wilson. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Therapeutic Massage License - Administration Ms. Jada Braaten has applied for a therapeutic massage license for Hadler Family Chiropractic at 625 8th Street. MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the therapeutic massage license for J ada Braaten at 625 8th Street. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Liquor License Violation - B&B Pizza - Police Department At the January 3,2006 meeting there was a misperception of some statements made by one of the co-owners ofB&B Pizza and the penalty was mistakenly reduced. This hearing is to reconsider the penalty. Staff recommended the original penalty of a $500 fine and 7 days suspension be invoked as the result of the sale of an alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of 21. Mr. Dave Eldridge, B&B Pizza, stated apparently there was some misunderstanding last time and he wanted to clear it up. He was not sure what the misunderstanding was. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated from his perspective Mr. Eldridge made it sound like he was the sole owner. Mr. Eldridge stated some of the confusion might have come when he said he bought out the other partners. He bought out Betty and Mark Goldberg. He did not mean to say he bought the entire business. Right now he is two thirds owner. Ms. Kim Kamen is the other partner. Mayor Soderberg stated at the last hearing the penalty was to suspend the license for three days. Police Chief Siebenaler stated it was for three days and a $250 fine consistent with other first time violators. The original penalty recommended was a $500 fine and 7 days suspension. The 7 day suspension would take place the first week of March. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated at the last meeting they discussed consecutive violations. In this case the violations skipped a year. Police Chief Siebenaler stated this is the third consecutive violation over a four year period with a continuous owner. Mr. Eldridge asked now that he is a majority owner, does that change the facts. Council agreed this did not change the facts. Councilmember Fogarty stated she would be inclined to treat it as a third violation. She felt it was not deliberate, but she felt deliberately mislead. Mr. Eldridge gave the Council the impression that he was the sole proprietor and it does not set well with her. He heard the discussion and the reason the Police Chief changed his mind was because Mr. Eldridge was a new owner. She felt it was very clear they all understood Mr. Eldridge to be the new sole proprietor which did change the facts. The fact that Mr. Eldridge did not correct that is deceiving. Mr. Eldridge state ifhe did not correct something it was because this is his first time. As far as saying he bought out the partners, he did. It was Betty and Mark Goldberg. He felt that is where the confusion comes in. Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 6 Councilmember Pritzlaff stated when Mr. Eldridge bought out the other people he should have talked to the other partner about previous violations. He would agree with the penalty for a third violation. Councilmembers Wilson and McKnight supported staff s recommendation. MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by McKnight, second by Wilson to re-instate the original penalty of a $500 fine and 7 days suspension ofthe liquor license for B&B Pizza. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Amend Ordinance - Off-Street Retail Parking - Community Development Staff proposed to amend the parking standards for retail facilities. At the November 8, 2006 Planning Commission meeting they directed staff to review parking standards for surrounding communities to determine if an amendment would be warranted. This is due to Pedersen Ventures requesting a variance from the off-street parking requirements for phase 1 of Vermillion River Crossings. They were short 36 parking spaces under the current code which states one off- street parking space is required for each 200 sq. ft. of floor area, plus one additional for each employee. After reviewing ordinances from other cities, staff proposed an amendment to the ordinance which states at least one off-street parking space for each 200 sq. ft. of floor area up to a total floor area of 10,000 sq. ft.; at least one off-street parking space for each 250 sq. ft. of floor area in a building of 10,001 - 30,000 sq. ft.; at least one off-street parking space for each 300 sq. ft. of floor area in a building with more than 30,000 sq. ft. The Planning Commission reviewed this proposal and recommended sending it to Council. The proposed standard lessens the amount of parking as the overall size of the retail facility increases. If the ordinance amendment were approved, the variance for Vermillion River Crossing could be withdrawn as they would be providing an excess of three parking spaces. Councilmember Fogarty had some concerns. In looking at other cities, we are looking at ones that require the least amount of parking. She would like to make it simpler and would rather give Vermillion River Crossings a variance than amend the code. In other areas of development, there might be enough room to require more parking. Acting City Administrator Roland stated although this benefits the Vermillion River Crossings project, staff has been discussing this for quite awhile with regard to all developments in the City. There have been a few more parking spaces in the parking lots than were necessary such as City Center. Councilmember Fogarty agreed with that, however, the Marketplace could have used a few more parking spaces due to the types of businesses. MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to adopt ORDINANCE 006-548 amending the required parking standards for retail facilities. Voting for: Soderberg, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson. Voting against: Fogarty. MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 7 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Resolution - Hill Dee Reconstruction Project Feasibility Report - Engineering Council requested this report to determine the feasibility of improving the streets and utilities within the Hill Dee neighborhood. The improvements will serve property owners along Upper and Lower 182nd Street W, Euclid Avenue and Fac;ade Avenue. The improvements would include reconstruction of the street, sanitary sewer, water main and construction of a storm drainage system. The street will be replaced at the same width, 32 ft. There will be reconfiguration of the intersection of Lower and Upper 182nd Street which currently has a Y configuration. This will be changed to a T intersection. There is a proposed sidewalk around the Hill Dee Park that would tie into the trail along Pilot Knob. There is also a sidewalk proposed along a section of Upper 182nd Street as a trail is planned to lead to the Daisy Knoll area. Catch basins would be added for a storm drainage system. The sanitary sewer system would also be replaced. Staff did look at installing fiber optic cabling during this project. The cost to install conduit along the streets in front of all the homes was about $115,000 - $120,000. This did not include the fiber. Staff decided to do more research to determine the right approach. Mayor Soderberg agreed it might make sense to look at an overall plan for the entire City. He noted staff is also looking at wireless connectivity. However, putting down fiber to the premises it becomes a City-owned infrastructure, then the internet providers, cable TV providers, telephone providers all run over the same infrastructure and compete on a level playing field. He felt fiber to the premises is the direction we should go, but we need a better understanding ofthe system. Staffwill be attending a workshop with the county to obtain more information. As far as the storm sewer system, staff looked at extending a storm sewer pipe to the south of Upper 182nd Street to one of the backyards that are adjacent to Everton Court. There is a concrete swale that takes all the drainage off of Everton Court to direct the water further down the swale. Occasionally staff still needs to clean out this area from debris from the street. Staffhas told residents this would be reviewed during the reconstruction. The proposal is to directional drill a storm sewer pipe up to that area and install a catch basin to take the water out of the backyards. The cost would be $90,000. Based on the assessment policy those residents would need to be assessed. This will not be included in the project at this time, but staff wanted to make Council aware of this situation. The total estimated project cost is $2,891,000. According to the assessment policy the reconstructed street and lateral utilities would be assessed to the benefiting properties at a rate of35% of the improvement costs. Assessment to the benefiting properties for new lateral street and utility costs are calculated at 100% of improvement cost. The storm sewer would be in that category. Trunk Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 8 utilities are funded through the City's trunk funds. The City cannot assess more than the benefit the property receives for the improvements. Staffwill be reviewing the benefit appraisal. MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaff adopting RESOLUTION R19-06 accepting the feasibility report, calling for a public hearing for March 20, 2006 and authorizing preparation of plans and specifications. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - 2006 Seal Coat Project Feasibility Report - Engineering The seal coat project is implemented in a seven-year cycle. Staff outlined the streets that will be included in this project. The total cost is $180,430. The assessment policy indicates a 50/50 split between the City and the benefiting properties. The estimated assessment is $61.00 per residential equivalent unit. The first notice residents will receive will include the neighborhood meeting along with the notice for the public hearing for March 6, 2006. The next notice is the assessment hearing notice in the fall. Staff is looking at ways to make the notice as clear as possible. MOTION by Wilson, second by Pritzlaffto adopt RESOLUTION R20-06 accepting the feasibility report, scheduling the public hearing for March 6, 2006 and authorizing preparation of plans and specifications. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Local Franchising Comments - Administration The Apple Valley, Farmington and Rosemount Cable and Telecommunications Commission is requesting that each of their City Council's respond to a Call to Action by the National Association of Telecommunications Officer and Advisors to file comments to the FCC regarding local cable franchising. These comments are requested because of an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which asserts that franchising of cable services by local governments may be an unreasonable barrier to entry for new telecommunications providers. Therefore, the FCC is requesting local governments comment on what can be done to ensure that local franchising authorities do not unreasonably refuse to award cable franchises to competitive entrants. The deadline for filing comments is February 13, 2006. The comments request that the FCC not interfere with local franchising authority for existing franchises or new competitive franchises. MOTION by McKnight, second by Soderberg to approve the submission of comments on behalf of the City to the FCC on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding competitive franchising. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Adopt Ordinance Amendment - Schedule of Presumed Penalties - Police Department The Council requested staff to draft a matrix of presumed penalties so the liquor licensees know in advance what the penalty will be for liquor license violations. The matrix listed a variety of violations and what the penalty would be for the first, second, third and fourth violation. They are presented in a manner that will allow for a number of violations within a given number of years, regardless of the number of compliance checks conducted. The penalties are within state Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 9 guidelines. The City may impose a penalty up to $2,000 or 60 days suspension or a combination of those two. Staff recommended that violations remain consistent with the past but become more rigorous as the violations accumulate to the point where a fourth violation in a period of four years or less would result in the revocation of a liquor license. This ordinance allows Council to review the severity of the violation and make ajudgment as to what an appropriate penalty would be. This proposed ordinance has been sent to all liquor license holders. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson adopting ORDINANCE 006-549 adopting presumptive civil penalties for on-sale liquor licensees that violate state laws or City ordinances. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Consider Tree Preservation Standards - Community Development A tree preservation ordinance was approved in 2002 after the Vermillion Grove development was completed. Staff presented a map showing the number of trees lost in that development. We protect our wetlands, our steep slopes, our drainage ways, our rivers, etc. Why don't we protect our forested areas? Staffis bringing this forward as a maintenance review for this ordinance. Staff reviewed the current ordinance. Staff is suggesting looking at custom-graded lots and do a tree inventory or an overlay zone. If Council is interested in a tree preservation ordinance, staff would go back to the Planning Commission and start writing the ordinance. Staff asked if the ordinance should be limited to new development or new development and existing development including privately-owned residential properties. The next issue is should the ordinance be triggered by the submission of any new development application or a property owner's or developer's desire to remove any trees identified by a previously-conducted tree inventory or protected by a related overlay zone. Mr. Leon Orr also sent an e-mail giving his views regarding a tree preservation ordinance. Councilmember Fogarty felt the ordinance should be limited to new development. If a tree inventory can be done quickly she would be in favor of it. Police Chief Siebenaler felt large areas of trees could be identified in an afternoon. Councilmember Fogarty liked the idea of custom lots. Mayor Soderberg asked if there was a way of mandating the developers do custom lots. He was struggling with what is the compelling government interest in regulating trees. They are a renewable resource. In public areas he felt we should do all we can to maintain forests, but he was struggling with private land. Councilmember Wilson supported looking at new residential properties and would like to communicate the benefit of trees to existing property owners. He would also support doing a quick tree inventory. Councilmember Pritzlaffwas in favor of enforcing this for new development and doing a tree inventory. He would like to look at developable acres before they come up for development. Mr. John Kapustka, 19482 Evening Star Way, agreed we need to do everything we can to preserve our trees. The irony of the names of developments - Vermillion Grove - and they de-forest it. In Charleswood the trees were gutted. Along Akin Road another area of trees was leveled. We cannot let this keep Council Minutes (Regular) February 6,2006 Page 10 happening. We have people on staffwho have the knowledge and the passion and we would be remiss if we did not let them set the course and bring people along and educate them. It is better to err on the side of preservation than throwaway our heritage. Let's err on the side of saving the trees. It takes a long time to replace something that is blown down in a storm. You do not get that same canopy back in ten years. You can tell how old the neighborhoods are by how old the trees are. In every new neighborhood they de-forest it and it does not look like the rest of town. Police Chief Siebenaler stated this is something he has a deep and abiding interest in. The Mayor had asked where is the compelling government reason to interfere with the rights of a property owner. There are certain things that transcend the rights of any individual property owner. We would not allow a property owner to create a toxic waste dump on his own property, because he will not be the property owner forever. In areas of wildlife management we would not allow a person to completely fish out a stream that is on their land. We would not allow a property owner to clean out the trout in the Vermillion River that passes through their property. There are areas in this City that are subject to imminent development that are home to stands of oak trees for 160 years. Those trees transcend the right of any individual property owner and we have an obligation to preserve that kind of heritage as long as we possibly can. Development will occur, but doesn't a City have an obligation to look out for all of its residents, current and future, instead of a transient developer moving through. There are areas available to plant a stand of black walnut trees for future harvesting. Three or four generations later a decision may be made to harvest them. In order to do that someone has to protect it in the meantime, otherwise it is just sawdust. There are limited resources left in the City subject to this kind of preservation. Councilmember Pritzlaff noted with the Mattson Farms development there were trees there that were not very large, but now there is a pond with no trees around it. He wants more than boulevard trees to replace what was taken down. Councilmember McKnight agreed with Mayor Soderberg and also had a concern with property rights. When writing the ordinance, staff will keep property rights in mind. c) Snow Removal Policy - Sidewalks on Ash Street - Engineering Staffhas attempted to contact all the property owners along Ash Street regarding the proposed snow removal policy. Staff has not been able to contact two owners, but have received positive responses from 10 owners and ofthose have obtained four signed easements. Staff will continue to try to contact the last two owners and will continue to work on obtaining signed easements. The existing policy will be enforced until all 12 easements are signed. d) City Administrator Update - City Attorney City Attorney J amnik had hoped he would have a draft agreement for Council. After several weeks of negotiations we remain apart on several substantive terms Council Minutes (Regular) February 6, 2006 Page 11 with the preferred candidate. At this point he has offered the City's maximum position to the candidate in terms of salary and benefits. He asked Mr. Herlofsky on Saturday ifhe would take the City's last best final offer and provide a counter offer to that so the Council could determine tonight just how far apart they remain. This has not been received yet, but it may come in the next day or two. At this point, Attorney Jamnik was relatively certain it would not match the maximum authority he has been provided by the Council and consequently he needed direction from the Council to either increase the offer he has been authorized to make or to discontinue negotiations at this point and look at other options. He does not believe at this point we are likely to reach closure anytime soon. Mayor Soderberg noted it is disappointing we have not been able to reach a closure. He feels we have offered what we can offer and it might be better to withdraw the offer and start looking at the options. This is difficult given the amount of time and energy everyone has put into this. Councilmember McKnight noted Attorney Jamnik asked for a final counter offer. He hoped that could be reviewed to see if it is close. Mayor Soderberg agreed that is fair. Attorney Jamnik did not believe there is sufficient majority support of the Council to increase the offer beyond what he already has. In some respects he has exceeded Council's authority particularly in the moving expenses. The max Council had indicated was $5,000 and he has offered $7,500. In all other respects he is at the maximum or close to it from Council's direction. Without additional authority he cannot bridge the gap at this point. Unless he sees some movement back, he feels we are at our last best offer. Councilmember Fogarty agreed. She stated she is terribly disappointed. Attorney Jamnik stated he will inform Mr. Herlofskyof this and ask for his final offer and do the final comparison and report to Council. Councilmember Wilson asked if we could ask for a deadline for a response. Attorney Jamnik replied yes, his understanding is that we will see it tomorrow or no later than Wednesday and he will inform Mr. Herlofsky of this. 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: The Community Center Steering Committee had their last meeting and will bring a recommendation to Council at the joint meeting on February 15, 2006. She appreciated the committee's hard work. She serves on the Vermillion River Watershed Commission and starting April 16, 2006 there will be new restrictions on the Vermillion River according to the DNR. They have decided to allow the use of any type of bait, it is catch and release for all trout in the designated areas with the exception from Denmark to TH3 where you can catch and keep. Councilmember McKnight: Thanked everyone involved with the Community Expo. Council Minutes (Regular) February 6,2006 Page 12 Councilmember Wilson: He also enjoyed the Expo and appreciated the hard work. Police Chief Siebenaler: Community Education is holding a demonstration on the use of drug dogs. This is a demonstration of what the Police Department intends to do. This is a requirement before drug sniffing dogs can be used in public schools. The City will now begin using canines for drug enforcement in the schools. Parks and Recreation Director Distad: On February 15, 2006 there will be a Joint Workshop between the Council and the Park and Rec Commission. City Engineer Mann: The MN Office of Pipeline Safety has recently helped facilitate legislation that has increased the City's responsibility in locating public/private water and sewer services. The City will be required to locate the services within two feet. For the sewer services, staffis changing the detail plates and the types of construction builders will have to do to allow the City to locate these services. This will be required for new construction starting January 1,2006. Information will be sent to builders and Council. Mayor Soderberg: He received a letter from the MN Mayor's Association asking for his participation in membership and at a conference in April. Council had no objection. He also received a letter from Mr. Vern Wilcox, co-Chair of the Noise Oversight Committee. They make recommendations to the Metropolitan Airports Commission on issues of airline operation and noise abatement. With the new runway a number of communities have received complaints from residents. There is a meeting Wednesday to hear and consider requests for additional membership. Councilmember Pritzlaffwilljoin the committee, however he cannot make the meeting. Mayor Soderberg will attend the meeting. Councilmembers received an invitation from Dakota Electric to attend the Partners in Progress on March 8, 2006 at Royal Cliff. Those who wish to attend should advise staff. Council recessed into executive session at 9:50 to discuss ISD 192 litigation. 14. EXECUTIVE SESSION -Discuss ISD 192 Litigation 15. ADJOURN Respectfully submitted, ~ ?-Y/~~J Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant