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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.05.04 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR January 5, 2004 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ristow at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Ristow led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Ristow, Cordes, Fitch, Fogarty, Soderberg None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Dan Siebenaler, Interim City AdministratorlPolice Chief; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; 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 Randy Oswald, Kelly Helleson, Susan Edmonson, Jack Wierke, Greg Eppich, Jeff Krueger, Robert Nelson, Tim Burke, Mike Heinzerling, Bruce Conner, Michelle Meschke, Scott Kamarainen, Michelle Schmidt, Kelsey Johnson, Crystal Bjerke 4. APPROVE AGENDA Item 7i) Appointments to Boards and Commissions was tabled to the January 20,2004 Council Meeting. Councilmember Cordes pulled Item 7a) Council Minutes (113/04 Special) to abstain from voting. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA a) MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg to approve Council Minutes (1/3/04 Special). Voting for: Ristow, Fitch, Fogarty, Soderberg. Abstain: Cordes. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fitch to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (12/15/03 Regular) (12/15/03 Special) Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 2 b) c) d) e) Approved LMCIT Excess Liability Coverage - Finance Approved Appointment Recommendation - Human Resources Approved Temporary On-Sale Liquor License - Administration Adopted RESOLUTION RI-04 Approved Gambling Event Permit- Administration f) Approved Placement of Signs in Right-of-Way - Engineering g) Approved Amendment 2004 Fee Schedule Ordinance - Administration h) Received Information Capital Outlay - Parks and Recreation i) Tabled to 1/20/04 Appointments to Boards and Commissions - Administration j) Approved Bills k) Approved Appointment Recommendation - Fire Department APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve Therapeutic Massage License - Administration Ms. Kelly Helleson has submitted an application for a Therapeutic Massage license to join Rite Touch Salon and Tan at 923 S sth Street. MOTION by Cordes, second by Fitch to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg approving the Therapeutic Massage license for Kelly Helleson at 923 S 8th Street. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Vacate Roadway Easement Glenview Commercial Addition - Community Development There is an existing roadway easement that needs to be vacated before the county can record the plat. The 50-foot wide roadway easement is located in the southeastern portion ofthe plat. During the design the roadway was shifted 25 feet to the west to allow more of a buffer for a residential property. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Fitch adopting RESOLUTION R2-04 approving the vacation of the existing 50-foot wide roadway easement on the Glenview Commercial Addition Plat to allow the recording ofthe plat by Dakota County. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Annual Organizational Matters - Administration 1 Oa(l) Designate Councilmember Cordes as Acting Mayor from January 5, 2004 through December 31, 2004 10a(2) Designate the Farmington Independent as the official publication from January 5,2004 through December 31,2004. 10a(3) Appoint the firm of Campbell Knutson, Joel Jamnik as City Attorney from January 5,2004 through December 31,2004. Council Minutes (Regular) January 5,2004 Page 3 10a(4) Appoint the firm of Bonestroo, Rosene and Anderlik as the city's Consulting Engineer for the year of 2004. Councilmember Fitch asked if approving the rate schedule for 2004 would bind the city from using anyone else in 2004 for engineering services. Attorney Jamnik replied no, the contract provides for a level of services, but if Council found there was a conflict or another reason to get a separate engineering firm, there is authorization for the Council to do that. It works the same way with the City Attorney's contract. Councilmember Fitch stated in reviewing some of the rates, he wondered ifit would be in the city's interest to start looking at employing some of these people on a direct basis rather than consulting the services. He would like to look at that in the future. City Attorney Jamnik replied all ofthe contracts have the authority for the Council to make a change. Councilmember Fitch stated it is not that he is unhappy with Bonestroo, he would like to have the situation reviewed. 10a(5) Designate Anchor Bank of Farmington, League of Minnesota Cities 4M Fund, RBC Dain Rauscher, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Wells Fargo Investments and Salomon Smith Barney as the Official Depositories from January 5, 2004 through December 31, 2004. 10a(6) Approve the Council By-Laws as presented. 10a(7) Designate all sworn personnel in the Farmington Police Department as process servers for the calendar year 2004. 10a(S) Approve a $1,000,000 Faithful Performance Bond for the City Clerk. The State is now recommending higher limits on bonding for cities the size of Farmington. 10a(9) Ordinance 003-504 Establishing Fees and Charges for licenses and permits for 2004 was adopted December 15, 2003. 1 Oa(1 0) Appointments to Boards and Commissions - Candidates were interviewed January 3, 2004. 10a(11) Appoint Councilmember Soderberg as the primary and Councilmember Fogarty as the alternate representative to the ALF Ambulance Board. lOa(12) Appoint Councilmember Cordes as the City's representative to the CEEF Committee. lOa(13) Acknowledge the designation of Fogarty Councilmember, Kevin Carroll, staff member and Todd Larson, Planning Commission member on the Farmington/Empire Planning Advisory Committee. 10a(14) Appoint Daniel M. Siebenaler as the Responsible Authority for data practices. This is required to be done on an annual basis. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler's appointment would be effective until the new City Administrator starts. City Administrator David Urbia will need to be appointed Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 4 when he begins employment. The law requires a specific person be named as the Responsible Authority, and not the position. MOTION by Fitch, second by Soderberg approving the appointments as noted above. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) November 2003 Financial Report - Finance The budget numbers for the revenues and expenditures reflect the adoption of the revised budget Council passed at their December 15,2003 meeting. c) Order Feasibility Report - Spruce Street Extension Project - Engineering The city has received a $955,000 grant from the Met Council to construct the extension of Spruce Street west of Denmark, up to and including the bridge across the Vennillion River. In order for the project to move forward, a feasibility report needs to be done. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg adopting RESOLUTION RJ-04 ordering a feasibility report for the Spruce Street Extension Project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve Meadowview Park Master Plan - Parks and Recreation At the December 15,2003 Council Meeting, staffwas directed to explore an option of aligning a trail connecting with a trail to the north of the wetland and south to Langford Lane. The consultant compiled a concept plan and provided estimates for this option. There is an extension from the boardwalk with a paved trail that follows the contours ofthe private street. This was done to meet ADA requirements. The boardwalk could not be run immediately to the cul-de-sac due to not being able to meet the required slope from the cul-de-sac. Along Langford Lane there would be either a striped bike lane or signs noting a bike route. Langford Lane is currently a private street and there are no sidewalks. The estimate shows the boardwalk length will be shorter in this location. The cost for the boardwalk is $10,000 less. However, because ofthe need for extending a paved trail from the boardwalk to the cul-de-sac, there is additional cost for the paved trail. When the two costs are compared it is $3,000 less than the cost of the boardwalk going through the middle of the wetland. According to the county surveyor's office when trail easements are done, they are not allowed to be shown on plats. In addition, the surveyor's office indicated a trail location can be shown as a separate outlot on a plat, but it cannot be shown as a trail. In order to identify future trails on plats, staff can identify narrow pieces of land as an outlot that could be used for trails. City Attorney Jamnik stated on the plat the easement would be identified as a drainage and utility easement. There would then be a separate trail easement over that same area and recorded at the same time as a final plat. It would be difficult for a property owner to find that. There have been suggestions that the legislature should change the platting statute to allow those types of plat notations which would better apprise property owners of trails. One of the benefits of having a Trail Master Plan is that it can be provided to show the placement of trails. The development agreements are being revised to have the trails constructed along with the first lift of streets and sidewalks, so property owners can see the actual trail. Staff can work with the developer to show the trails on their advertising board. The wetland and pond area was platted as an Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 5 outlot which extended to where the lots met the wetland buffer. As it was platted as an outlot, the city owns it and it was up to the city to decide where the trail should go. Mayor Ristow stated wetland would be different than an easement between houses. Wetland is dedicated as an outlot for water. City Attorney Jamnik stated it is deeded in fee so the city can use it for whatever purpose it would like. Regarding the trail alignment showing a connection to Langford Lane, staff contacted a representative for the townhome association and the association has not met to discuss this situation. Councilmember Fogarty asked about the area from the island to the future boardwalk and the trail going south, if that is intended to be built now. Staff replied the trails have been identified in the Trail Master Plan. The future paved trail to the east would be the responsibility of the developer to construct and pay for it at the time development occurs. Councilmember Fogarty stated when the additional fees were added for pavement, it was just for the area around the cul-de-sac. It does not take into account that in order to utilize it, we would have to wait for the development to come in. Staff replied the city can require the developer to pay for it, but staff would have to talk with the developer to see ifhe would put it in before the development occurred. That area is not part of the Meadowview Park Master Plan. The estimates do not include this trail. Mayor Ristow asked if Genstar owned the property all the way to 200th Street. Staff replied that is correct. Genstar owns the land all the way to Middle Creek and north to 195th Street. Mayor Ristow then asked why the developer would not be required to pay for this boardwalk. Staff replied the wetland is already city land. As it has already been platted, the city cannot require the developer to pay for it. That requirement would be done at the time of preliminary plat according to the ordinance. Mayor Ristow stated at the time it was platted is when all the requirements should have been identified. Staff replied including the cost of trail construction was not part of the old ordinance. The ordinance has been recently revised to include that plus the trail construction as part of the development process. Mayor Ristow asked if there were dedication fees or just the land. Staff believed there was a combination of cash and land. Councilmember Fitch stated the trail connection to the south will be going into the area known as the "big blue blob." Because of some things that will have to be done in that area will there have to be an elevated boardwalk through there. Staff spoke with Mr. John Smyth of Bonestroo, and he stated there are places along that area that are elevated and have been identified as floodplain and not wetland. For example along the tree lines. The tricky part will be closer to Middle Creek because it is a protected area by the DNR. A boardwalk will have to be run across the creek connecting to the trail system on the south side of Middle Creek. Councilmember Fitch stated there may be some excavation needed and asked if that would significantly change the elevated line. Staff replied as far as the excavation needed to create the flooding area, there would be ways to locate the trail and not have it be a problem with the excavation areas. It is not necessary to create wetlands when excavating out, storage area is needed where the water could pond. Councilmember Fitch asked if we are going to ensure the trail will be above that. Staff replied the desire is to keep the trail up as Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 6 high as possible. It is sometimes difficult to keep it above the 100 year level. Councilmember Fitch stated he does not see a lot of development that will be able to occur in that area and asked if the trail would be at a cost to the city. Staff replied yes because there would be no homes in that area due to the floodplain. During the process of identifying a Master Plan for Meadowview Park the initial plan showed a trailing coming off the existing trail and going along the western side of the wetland through a wetland buffer area in combination with a boardwalk extending south to 200th Street. Some of the neighbors objected to the location ofthe trail, so the Parks and Rec Commission explored an option which removed the trail along the buffer on the west side and moved it out into the wetland and created a boardwalk through the wetland connecting to the island, through the island and to the existing trail in the park. The third option was connecting the boardwalk across the wetland in combination with a paved trail connecting to Langford Lane, which is a private street. The fourth option would be to take the board walk out through the wetland make the trail loop through the island and have the trail connect on the north side of the wetland to the future trail on Pilot Knob. Mr. Robert Nelson, Vice President of the Charleswood Townhome Association, stated the board members have discussed the different options except for option 4, as they were not aware of this option. The townhome owners do not want to see a boardwalk connected to Langford Lane or an easement given on Langford Lane. It is a private street. There are liability and other concerns. The buffer zone between the townhomes is very limited and a lot of that would be taken away. The trail along the back of the townhomes is not conducive to the original plan when it was submitted to the city. The signs were posted well in advance that it was DNR protected wetland and changing it now would be incorrect to the townhome owners. They do not object to option 1 or the looping of option 4, but there is great concern regarding connecting to Langford Lane. It is a private street and they want to keep it that way. Councilmember Fogarty asked if they do not want boardwalks crossing the wetland at all or just into Langford Lane. Mr. Nelson replied personally he does not want it crossing the wetland because ofthe DNR statute. The townhome owners do not want it against the back of their property. It would literally cross the back oftheir windows. Mr. Bruce Conner, 19901 Langford Lane, stated he owns the townhome at the north part of Langford Lane. He is not opposed to a bike path. He commended the volunteers, staff and everyone who has worked on the bike trail system throughout Farmington. When they moved in 13 years ago into Akin Park Estates, they were told by a Councilmember that the trail system was on the drawing board. It has materialized and it is fantastic. It is a multi-million dollar, many miled-trail and he thank the city for doing it and having the foresight to put it in. He does not object to having a trail near his house. The third proposal is using the street itself and asked Interim City Administrator Siebenaler what his opinion would be with 28 homes, short driveways, minimum of 2 cars each, if a bike trail were put down that street. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated a specific zone would have to be striped and marked as a bike trail and designate no parking on that side of the street. Mr. Conner stated the length of the Council Minutes (Regular) January 5,2004 Page 7 driveways is approximately 30 feet and with 2 cars it is very dangerous. There is no way a bike trail could be put in there. It is dangerous walking to get the mail when people are backing out and arriving home. It is not a situation the townhome association or the city would want to get into. The association was not aware of option 4, but Mr. Conner felt it was a very good option. However, the trail system was set up for going to 200th Street on the boardwalk. They are not opposed to that. He thanked the city for all they have done on the trail system. They use it frequently and enjoy it very much. Going on Langford Lane is not a question of not wanting the path, it is a question of safety. Mayor Ristow stated this is not a rebuttal to Mr. Conner, but there are other areas such as 193rd Street that were identified as a sidewalk and it turned into a trail. The area is similar with a lot of driveways. Councilmember Soderberg stated the cost difference is $3,000. He would guess the amount of staff time spent on this as eaten up that amount if not more. There is no consideration for an easement across a private property which would bring the cost higher, and there is opposition from the townhome association. That leaves an eminent domain action which he is not interested in. The 200th Street connection is important to him and to the system. The boardwalk seems to be a reasonable compromise. He appreciated and understood the objections of running a trail along the backyards. He felt it would be nice to go out his back door and access it, but he does not live there. The boardwalk would be a nice amenity. He would support the original proposal that the Park and Rec Commission put forward. Mayor Ristow stated first of all it was wetland. He spoke with the DNR and Mr. Brian Watson, Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation, recommended the other option instead of going through the middle of the wetland. Councilmember Fogarty stated the recommendation was to go westerly ofthe wetland. Mayor Ristow stated the recommendation was to use the shortest route across the wetland. Councilmember Fogarty stated the shortest route would take it along the western part ofthe wetland with a short boardwalk to reach 200th Street. Mayor Ristow stated no one wants it in their backyard so where do you put it? Councilmember Soderberg stated that is why through the middle is a reasonable compromise. It would be cheaper to run the trail along the western edge which would satisfy Mr. Watson, keeping it out of the wetland, and a number of Charleswood residents who do not want it in the wetland. However, it does impact the residents along the western side. Through the middle is a reasonable compromise since what is being proposed is an elevated boardwalk which will have the least amount of impact on the wetland. Councilmember Cordes felt a southerly access to this area would be in the best interest ofthe community. In exploring all options as much as we can, and we have been criticized for taking so long to make a decision, but it is part of the process, the Langford Lane area is less of an impact on the wetland, howeveribecause it is a private street, she is not in favor of eminent domain, and objections from the association, she does not think it is a feasible option. She felt we do Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 8 need a southerly access. Option 4, connecting to Pilot Knob, defeats the purpose of a southerly access. Councilmember Fitch stated originally he was opposed to the idea for several reasons and still does not have a great comfort level. The connection to the south will require us to go through wetland to make a southerly connection all at the cost of city taxpayers, not at the cost of a development. Even though all of our future trails will be paid by the developers and the land is developed, he did not see a feasible way to make a connection to the south. If we are doing it just to bring it to.200th Street, he did not see the real purpose. We could bring it to Pilot Knob and eventually south, rather than go through another wetland with another boardwalk system. He realized there is higher ground, but accessing it and excavating it, he did not know how financially feasible that would be. When Council voted for Pilot Knob in 1997, there were safety issues with trails. A lot of that has gone away over time. He did not have a problem with option 4. He would not have a problem with the boardwalk ifhe knew what the plan was to make that connection further south. Mayor Ristow stated to the north the county as started the trail along CSAH 31. The trail ends at 195th. The trail would have gone to Hwy 50 if they had continued. Councilmember Fitch stated he wants all citizens to have as much access to the green spaces as possible. We do not have enough green space in Farmington for the number of residents we have. The access to what we currently have is precious. Mayor Ristow stated he agreed with Councilmember Fitch. It is not a matter of compromising for either side. And he has advocated not to be in the wetlands. He would like to see option 4. The options are: Option 1 is a paved trail constructed along the western perimeter of the wetland combined with a boardwalk connecting to 200th Street. This was the original option and it was opposed by the residents. Option 2 would be to place a boardwalk across the wetland from the island connecting to an existing trail on 200th Street. This boardwalk would be 250 ft. away from the back of the property lines. Option 3 would be a boardwalk across the wetland in combination with a paved trail connection to Langford Lane. Option 4 would take the future trail on the north side of the wetland and connecting it to the future trail along Pilot Knot without any kind of boardwalk. Mayor Ristow asked if the second option is preferred, would there be more buffering or landscaping along the homes. Staff replied there will be plants in the wetland that will grow up along the boardwalk and should provide some screening of the boardwalk. If residents are fearful of people looking into their homes, perhaps staff could work with the residents to construct some sort of Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 9 visual barrier with trees or large shrubs in the back of their yards that would screen the view from the boardwalk. Staff also wants people to be able to look into the park for any inappropriate activity. Councilmember Soderberg stated option 4 requires us to wait longer than we already have for a park. There is no park and residents want it sooner rather than later. Option 2 provides for the city to move ahead with that along with putting in a park and allowing access to it. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve option 2 which is the option the Park and Rec Commission forwarded to Council with unanimous approval. Councilmember Fitch stated the park is to the north of where the paved trail currently is. The construction of the park itself would not be halted by not providing a southerly access. Councilmember Soderberg stated it does not stop construction ofthe park but it does prevent access from anywhere other than the northerly access point along Evensong Avenue. Staff stated there is also a trail coming from 195th to the park. There would be no access from the south unless people drove through the streets or along Pilot Knob and park along the street. In the future, staff will be looking at acquiring additional parkland for parking. Mayor Ristow asked if once the park goes in will there be more access off Pilot Knob to go directly into the park? Staff replied wh<;n the development is platted there would probably be a connection along 19th Street. Councilmember Cordes stated regarding the trail along Pilot Knob, she understood it would not be constructed until the road is widened by the County. Staff replied they understood when Pilot Knob goes to 4- lanes, that is when the trail would be put in along Pilot Knob. It is not currently on the county's 5-year CIP, nor does it have the Pilot Knob expansion. Voting for: Cordes, Fogarty, Soderberg. Against: Ristow, Fitch. MOTION CARRIED. b) Approve Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Trail Master Plan - Parks and Recreation Staffwas requesting Council update the Comprehensive Plan by amending the Trail Master Plan. As far as the planning process, the Park and Rec Commission provided input and review ofthe planning document. There was a public hearing held on November 12, 2003 by the Planning Commission at which time public comment was received. There were no citizen comments provided. The final step is to have the plan reviewed by the Council. There are 12 guiding vision statements. 1. Construct trails that are flexible in meeting a variety of user group needs and abilities. 2. Provide for alternative modes of transportation. 3. Create a safe trail system that provides safe connections and crossings to parks, schools, neighborhoods, commercial/industrial areas, and provide education programs about bike safety to trail users. 4. Promote the construction of trails along natural greenways in the community. 5. Provide connections to neighboring communities' trails. 6. Provide trail access in older areas of the community where it does not exist. Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 10 7. Create trail construction and an ongoing maintenance funding mechanism to ensure the trail system is a long term investment. 8. Provide trails of alternative surface types when traditional surfacing is not feasible. 9. Create trail connections and not trail dead ends. 10. Develop specifications for trail design standards. 11. The city should plan for and create a limited number of alternative use trails. 12. Provide signage that informs and directs users to destinations and provides proper warning to potential hazardous conditions. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Cordes adopting RESOLUTION R4-04 approving the Farmington 2020 Comprehensive Plan Update Amendment regarding walkinglbiking trails. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) City Hall Site Selection - Administration Staff requested Council make a decision on a site for City Hall. Based on that selection, there will be other decisions to be made such as the life expectancy or a service length of a City Hall building. As with the other municipal buildings identify a target year or target population. It would not be out of the question to say we want a new City Hall to serve a population of 40,000 people or the year 2030. Based on that information, iIi cooperation with an architect, we can design a City Hall based on projected needs. It would also be beneficial to identify a target date - when does Council want a new City Hall to be occupied. This will allow staff to establish timelines and project priority goals. It is important to understand that by naming a site and giving direction as to the life expectancy of a building, Council is not authorizing the project. Council is authorizing the acquisition of more information. Council would be expending some financial resources such as contracting with a consulting firm specializing in acquisition and relocation of existing businesses if necessary. Staff asked Council to authorizing staff to begin work with an architect, to submit requests for proposals and begin a design process. Once the building is designed, a cost can be established. Only then can financial decisions be made whether or not to build it. Councilmember Cordes asked if it would be premature to do all this if it was decided to have a City Hall issue on a referendum. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler replied personally, you do not ask a question you cannot afford to hear no as an answer. If a problem exists and requires and answer from Council, you are bound by your job descriptions to act in the best interest of the city. The voters have put you in your positions to make those very difficult decisions in their interest. From the position of an Interim City Administrator, a referendum on any municipal construction would put this process back at least another year. We would look at a referendum with the General Election in November 2004, which would begin the process we are in now one year from now. In fact, it would be further, because we would not have a dollar amount estimate. In order for us to get to the dollar amount it would put us out 2 years. It is not premature. A site needs to be identified so staff can provide Council with the financial information they need to make a final decision or to refer it to a referendum. Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 11 Finance Director Roland stated since the financing was initially discussed in February 2003, the state legislature has allowed cities to construct needed public facilities utilizing G.O. bonds that were normally under referendum prior to 2003. At the time staff suggested lease revenue bonds because the cost would be spread evenly across commercial, industrial and residential properties. We now have the option without the referendum requirement at this time. Financing could be done with lease revenue bonds, the bonds with a referendum or the bonds without a referendum. Mayor Ristow stated even if you did a referendum you would have to identify the bonding source. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated you would have to identify a dollar amount. Authorize the construction of a City Hall within a specific dollar amount. Finance Director Roland stated whether the bonds are adopted with or without a referendum. They would be market value bonds, meaning the heaviest burden would be shifted to the residential properties and not to the commerciaVindustrial properties. Lease revenue bonds are done on a tax capacity value which spreads the burden equally across commerciaVindustrial and residential properties. Market value referenda would shift the tax burden more to residential properties than the lease revenue bonds. Mayor Ristow stated he has heard comments that when the budget was done, staff stated the coming years could be difficult. He asked what adding this would do to the budget? Finance Director Roland stated at this point, because debt service levies are outside oflevy limits, it would have no impact on our budget. We would be required to levy for the debt service consistent with the way we levy for all other debt service and those debt service levies are outside of levy limits. Consequently, they would not be affected by the same items for the 2005 budget. What we are most concerned with the 2005 budget is the general levy which would have a limit on it as to the amount of money we would be able to levy for general services such as police, fire, park and rec, streets and snow plowing as well as general administrative functions. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated what Council does tonight will not trigger a $7 million expense. Long before we get to that point, which could be a year away, the legislature will make its intentions clear for 2005. Councilmember Soderberg stated we are basically identifying a location. We have a rough idea of what it will cost. Based on how things change with the state legislature or other things, we can set a path but if things do not work out we can always discontinue it. Staff is looking for direction on this path. Are we going to move toward a new City Hall facility, and if we get to a point where we need a voter referendum, we need to go to the voters with enough information which is going to take some time. We cannot get to that point until we make a decision tonight. Mayor Ristow stated once you start the path you need to be fully prepared. How much money will this cost to have staff research this? If we acquire additional land, how far are we going to do? Ifwe pick a site that is fine, and then go into more discussion from there, but staff is asking for more than that. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated picking a site is a starting point, after that staff would ask for additional direction and authorization to move forward. If Council chooses not to do that, if Council wants to wait and see, then staff will sit and wait until Council tells us to move. Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 12 Councilmember Fitch asked if we select a certain site would it affect certain negotiations that are going on with the price of a particular property that we have an option on at this time, or is that price firm as long as we exercise the option. Community Development Director Kevin Carroll replied the benefit of the Option Agreement is that we have locked in a price. We have the option of buying it at that price, but we are not obligated to. Mayor Ristow asked if we are loosing any money if we do not fulfill the agreement. Staffreplied we had to put some money down in order to exercise the Option Agreement, so if we choose not to exercise the option the money we paid to get the option will be lost. This is HRA money. The HRA has several ideas in mind for the site, and they are determined to pursue whatever alternative is determined to be in the city's best interest. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated there are two sites. The first is the current City Hall site at the comer of 4th and Oak. The other site is the site recommended by the Task Force at the intersection of 3rd and Spruce. Mayor Ristow stated he has made his comments before. With the heritage and the 130 years of City Hall at the present location. There are adequate site, noise, and dust differences. He stated this at the Task Force meetings all along. He would like to see City Hall stay at the current site. He heard more comments was informed by the Library there were a lot of furnace and duct systems that due to the dust and noise when the train goes through, that have to be halted. If during a Council Meeting and there was a loud train whistle the meeting could be stopped. There are numerous meetings with staff and developers, etc. As far as the timeline frame, the financial people recommended a 50 year site and 3rd and Spruce was a 20 year site. Finance Director Roland stated the bonds would be 25 or 30 year bonds and that is how far the building would go out. Mayor Ristow stated he was referring to the life expectancy of the building. We need the space so that we are not dead at 20 years. Councilmember Fogarty stated the current site is too expensive. It is a great deal more money to stay here. This might be the original site, but it is not the original building. As far as taking the building out 50 years, she would rather build at 3rd and Spruce and expand vertically. To keep it here, some options were $1 million. If we are going to spend $1 million she would rather see that go toward a parking ramp at 3rd and Spruce with a 3-story City Hall, than to use it to buyout businesses and move them. Mayor Ristow stated the $1 million was the higher option. Councilmember Soderberg stated there was a wide range in cost between the two sites. They went from $200,000 to $1 million to put the facility here. While 3rd and Spruce may have some obstacles, he did not believe that any of them cannot be overcome. He felt 3rd and Spruce is an excellent site. There would be minimal disruption to city services during construction. It was the site the Task Force recommended, and felt they came to some excellent conclusions. Councilmember Cordes stated she would like to see City Hall stay on the current site. She did not know if the city would have to acquire all businesses at this point. The current building could be demolished and expand vertically. We the Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 13 maintenance facility and police facility were built we were told that area was big enough for a City Hall, Maintenance Facility, Police Facility, satellite Fire Station, a water treatment building. Now were are down to two of them. She assumed that would be our city campus. That was a hard pill to swallow. Ifshe does not have to move City Hall from the current location, she does not want to. Mayor Ristow stated when we upgraded from the Community Library that was in this building, and when the Fire Station and then the Police moved out, our next step was to expand and we would have as much room there as we currently have. If you look at it conservatively for the constituents that we represent sometimes you have to add onto your home instead of building a new home. Councilmember Fitch stated his initial reaction was that he did not like 3rd and Spruce. The reason is that is the beginning ofthe Spruce Street Corridor, and felt it would be better to have commercial start the Spruce Street Corridor than a City Hall. However, we have a lot of limitations on expanding on the current site. Even though this site would be preferable, from a logistics standpoint, not just the city has the problem, but all of downtown in that we are landlocked. Unless we pick something outside of downtown, we are going to be landlocked. At this point, if we are going to build a building for a life expectancy of 50 years, we are only fooling ourselves. He did not think we could look at a building for more than 30-35 years. It would be nice to be able to plan a building to go vertical, but no one wants to go vertical anymore. He stated 3rd and Spruce would be better served with commercial, but also understood the landlocked problem we have no matter where we build the building. If the library comes up for sale, perhaps the HRA would buy that and hold onto it for redevelopment for a future City Hall after 30 years. If we don't think now about that site and where we will go and how we will get there, in 30 years we will have done a disservice to the taxpayers. This is not a cheap undertaking. He stated he could live with the 3rd and Spruce site and go along with the recommendation of the Task Force. He stated they did a good job. We looked at a lot of options and unfortunately it comes down to dollars and cents and he could not see spending $1 million. At this time, even though it was not his favorite site, he could live with 3rd and Spruce. Mayor Ristow stated if we expanded across to the library, what would we do with the Spruce Street Corridor. Councilmember Fitch stated in the future, other things may happen and other properties could come into the city that could change that. Maybe split off Administration from Engineering, and Engineering goes into another building, just like we did with the Maintenance and Police facilities. No matter where we put City Hall, we have a landlock problem. Unless the city decides they will acquire more property for expansion no matter what we do, we will be able to envision what that will be beyond 30 years. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler stated in subsequent discussions Council may want to consider a strategic plan for the acquisition of additional property, either surrounding this site or 3rd and Spruce and formulate a strategic plan for the long-term acquisition of property for 20-30 years out. Mayor Ristow stated he understood what he was saying, but disagreed with the way he said it. You are taking out commercial and retail business where here you are just taking out housing to the east. Commercial land is more expensive right now than housing. Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 14 MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve the 3rd and Spruce Street site as the preferred site for the City Hall. Mayor Ristow stated he will not support it, but he will support whatever site is chosen down the road to continue on with it. Councilmember Soderberg stated this is the end of a long road that a lot of people were involved in and the Task Force did a lot of work on it and appreciate their efforts. Voting for: Fitch, Fogarty, Soderberg. Against: Ristow, Cordes. MOTION CARRIED. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler asked for further direction. Councilmember Soderberg stated to look out 50 years or a population of 40- 50,000 is very reasonable. Mayor Ristow stated we have to be open-minded and do what we think is right. We can do what the architects and other professionals recommend. Interim City Administrator Siebenaler requested Council authorization for request for proposals for architectural services so we can begin a design phase of City Hall. Once that is in place, staff can provide design cost estimates and the amount of land necessary for that design. The current building is 35 years old. When it was initially constructed it was serving a population of 3,600. It has served well for a lot of departments for 35 years. Based on the current information we can make a reasonable population estimate for 30 years from now. 50 years from now is pushing the limits of anyone's ability of projection. He recommended obtaining an estimate for 30 years and designing a building to serve that population. Councilmember Fogarty stated staff would recommend to continue with the Task Force's recommendations. Staff replied that is correct. Council agreed. d) Approve City Administrator Contract - Human Resources The city has reached an agreement with Mr. David Urbia on an employment agreement. It has been reviewed by the City Attorney and Mr. Urbia. Staff is recommending the employment agreement for Mr. Urbia be apgroved. City Attorney Jamnik stated the agreement will be dated the 6th or 7t of January 2004, the employment start date will be January 26,2004, and the salary start date in the agreement will be changed to January 26,2004. An option has been discussed regarding the insurance provision. The city recommends the employee shall be responsible for continuation of insurance coverage. That was not Mr. Urbia's request, but it is consistent with city policy. The waiting period for insurance is the 1st of the month after 30 days of employment. If Mr. Urbia starts the end of January, his benefits would start March 1,2004. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve the employment agreement with Mr. David Urbia. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Adopt Ordinance - Amending Winter Parking Restrictions - Police Due to some changes in state law, some businesses are allowed to remain open later at night, which has come into conflict with our 2 a.m. - 5 a.m. parking restrictions. Staffis requesting to amend the parking restrictions to 2:30 a.m.- 5:30 a.m. Mayor Ristow stated there are some bars that chose to stay open until 2:00 a.m. and asked if any employees were issued tickets. Staff stated there were tickets issued and they have been dismissed, pending this action. Councilmember Council Minutes (Regular) January 5, 2004 Page 15 Fogarty asked if ~ hour was an adequate amount of time to leave. Staff replied the recommendation is to be out by 2:15 a.m. The management of the bars have indicated that would be enough time. MOTION by Cordes, second by Fogarty to adopt ORDINANCE 004-505 amending the seasonal parking ordinance. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: It was brought to her attention that the Middle School, in November, had a dance that raised $2,000 and that money was given to the local food shelf. During December the Elementary and Middle Schools collected 3,000 items of canned food for the food shelf. She spoke to the food shelf and there is a huge increase in use. There are 350 families that utilized the food shelf this year. CouncUmember Soderberg: He received a letter from the Fire Department regarding the Annual Meeting, and asked if other Councilmembers were attending. Mayor Ristow stated in the past all of Council has attended and placed staff in between. He received notice from the LMC regarding a Leadership Conference for Experienced Officials. Councilmember Fogarty stated she would also like to attend. Staffwill register Councilmembers Fogarty and Soderberg for the conference. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Cordes, second by Soderberg to adjourn at 9:21 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ....1 ~ ~_%"7 {f~~ J~7 c.C.Et::i/:;"7 c/ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant