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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.01.04 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR March 1, 2004 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Acting Mayor Cordes at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Acting Mayor Cordes led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Cordes, Fitch, Fogarty, Soderberg Ristow Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; David Urbia, City Administrator; Robin Roland, 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; Jim Atkinson, Assistant City Plarni.er; Tim Gross, Assistant City Engineer; Jen Collova, Natural Resources Specialist; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Allen Wachter, Maryalee Wachter, Dave & Mary Rassmussen, Danielle Thompson, John Anderson, Jim Schmitz, Fred Koehn, Tara & Brian Guimont, Tim Pietsch, Ken Kuchera 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Soderberg pulled 7a) Council Minutes (2/17/04 Regular) to abstain. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce New Employee - Public Works Mr. Jeff Olson was introduced as the new Maintenance Worker. He started on February 17, 2004 and prior to that he worked part time for the City. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. David Rasmussen, 704 Spruce Street, commented on the editorial in the Independent stating the editor felt it was appropriate to open Spruce Street at Hwy 3. The Council addressed the issue several years ago and found it would not add value to the City and certainly not to the residents of Spruce Street and the surrounding area. Councilmember Cordes stated at the last Council Meeting, Spruce Street was discussed, but it stemmed from a discussion on closing Main Street. Spruce Street was brought up because MnDOT has indicated on their Access Management Plan the possibility of opening Spruce Street, but no decision has been made. Mr. Rasmussen stated the last time, the Council did take a hard look at opening Spruce Street. He has lived there for 19 years Council Minutes (Regular) March 1, 2004 Page 2 and stated Spruce Street has a lot more traffic than Main Street does. The way the traffic moves around the city and through the city, the editorial stated Main Street does not bring traffic into downtown. Mr. Rasmussen stated it brings them into downtown and then they have to drive through downtown. There are a couple throughways through the city, but to make more would destroy the neighborhoods and the small town feel. There are beautiful homes there and a lot of young children. It is a quiet, beautiful street. It is part of why people move to Farmington. If you are going to maintain the small town feel, more through streets will not make it feel that way. The new developments do not have through streets. Bringing traffic into downtown will not happen. If there is a throughway and people do not have to go downtown, they will drive right through. He would rather see the Council not use the tax dollars for something we do not need. He would like the Council to take a hard look at this. The Developer pushed hard last time to open the street, and the Council did not do it. There are no new arguments today. Councilmember Cordes stated when street openings and closures were discussed, Main Street was the first priority. Spruce Street was not on the agenda for discussion. If it does come up, the residents will be notified. Councilmember Fogarty assured Mr. Rasmussen that this Council would look at the situation just as hard. The concern is not an immediate problem, but there may be a future problem with having two ways to get through town. That is something Council is discussing before we decide to close another street. Mr. Rasmussen asked Council to walk Main and Spruce Streets. There is no traffic on Main Street. Councilmember Soderberg stated he was not at the last Council Meeting, but has received some phone calls and has talked with staff. Before anything would be opened, there would be a study done and it would be looked at extensively. There would be consideration for the residents along Spruce Street and for the rest of the City. Ms. Tara Guimont, 701 Spruce Street, asked if the Main Street closure needed an immediate answer. People that opposed the Main Street closure said ok if we have the option of Spruce Street. Councilmember Cordes stated with the Main Street closure, there was no option to open Spruce Street. Councilmember Fogarty stated it came up because there was a map from MnDOT showing what they envisioned the Hwy 3 corridor would look like. They envisioned Main Street being closed and Spruce Street being open. Closing Main Street does not mean we will open Spruce Street. Ms. Guimont asked if MnDOT has changed their view on the safety concerns of opening Spruce Street. Councilmember Cordes stated that was not discussed because Spruce Street was not the topic of discussion. Closing Main Street is a separate issue. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Fitch approving 7a) Council Minutes (2/17/04 Regular). Voting for: Cordes, Fitch, Fogarty. Abstain: Soderberg. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fitch, second by Fogarty to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Approved Change Order - Main Street Sewer Meter Project - Engineering c) Approved Change Order - Main Street Project - Engineering d) Approved Names for City Parks - Parks and Recreation Council Minutes (Regular) March I, 2004 Page 3 e) Adopted RESOLUTION R17-04 Accepting Donation Castle Rock and Empire Townships - Parks and Recreation f) Approved Spruce Street Design Standards Ordinance Summary - Community Development g) Received Information School and Conference Public Works - Engineering h) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Resolution - 2004 Seal Coat Project - Engineering This is the 11th project in the City's seal coat program established in 1994. The program is implemented in a 7-year cycle. The streets included are Autumn Glen 1 st and 2nd Additions, Charleswood 3rd Addition, East Farmington ih Addition and Tamarack Ridge I st and 2nd Additions are to be seal coated for the first time this year. The streets in Prairie Creek 1 st and 2nd Additions, Silver Springs 1 st and 2nd Additions, Nelsen Hills 1 st and 2nd Additions, Fair Hills, Pine Knoll, 213th Street and the Rambling River parking lots will also be seal coated. The City of Burnsville implements a joint powers agreement with several cities and it is recommended the city participate in this agreement. The estimated project cost is $140,500. According to the assessment policy, there will be a 50/50 cost sharing split between the City and the benefiting properties. The estimated assessment amount is $65.44 per residential unit. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fitch to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg to adopt RESOLUTION R18-04 ordering the 2004 Seal Coat project, approving the plans, and authorize the City to complete these improvements as part ofthe Joint Powers project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - Vacation of Drainage and Utility Easement East Farmington 8th Addition - Community Development There are two existing drainage and utility easements on the property that need to be vacated prior to the plat being recorded. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fitch to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg adopting RESOLUTION R19-04 vacating the existing drainage and utility easements located within Outlot N, East Farmington 1 st Addition. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT a) Fire Department Tanker Recommendation - Fire Department The Tanker Committee did a lot of hard work to make sure they were able to identify a low bidder with all of the specifications that they could meet for the $165,000. They have answered the questions that the City Attorney and staffhad for them. The bids were for a 3,000 gallon tanker truck. The final cost for the truck the committee is recommending is $164,302. They are asking to add the three options which total $6,196. This will require additional funding from the Fire Department Capital Projects fund. Staff requested the bid be awarded to Council Minutes (Regular) March 1, 2004 Page 4 Semo TanklBaker Equipment Company. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty adopting RESOLUTION R20-04 awarding the bid for the Fire Department tanker to Semo TanklBaker Equipment Company. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Preliminary December 2003 Financial Report - Finance When the 2003 budget was revised, it was assumed there would be enough revenues to offset the lost LGA. Staff anticipated $5.9 million in revenues and expenditures. The General Fund revenues are slightly below budget at 98.66%. Permit revenues exceeded budget due to the amount of building being done. However, at the end of the year the investment portfolio is reviewed. The city is required to do mark to market, which means the city has to pretend we can buy and sell the investments at will. This is not the case with state and local government held funds. We do not buy and sell at will. We buy investments to cover the cash flow and hold them until maturity. In the last four years we have added to the market value from $50,000 to $232,000. Unfortunately, this year the market went high and the investments were lower consequently there will be a market value adjustment of $180,000. This amounts to a reduction in revenue which puts the city at 100% of revenue. The city also exceeded expenditures in a variety of areas. In 2002 we exceeded expenditures budget by 3%. We exceeded revenues by 4%, so it was not noticed. The overage in expenditures is due to a couple of items: Parks and Recreation was the most significant variation due to recreation expenditures which should have been matched by recreation revenues, however they were not. There is an overage in the Police area. This is due to being short staffed, therefore it was necessary to pay overtime. The Police also did a conversion of software, therefore the administrative staff required overtime. There were other personnel issues, such as a couple ofleaves, etc. There will be a loss of approximately $300,000. That will put the city at approximately 31 %. This is still within the acceptable range for the state auditor. Councilmember Soderberg stated this is exactly what staff told us it would be. No one likes to go backwards, but we knew this was coming. When the budget was set, we did not anticipate losing 100% of our LGA. Councilmember Fitch stated we are not the only city short of personnel. Public safety is the number one function of government. For the annual retreat, he would like to discuss if the city is growing too fast where we are outpacing the additional tax dollars and services we can provide. He wants to consider if the city's thinking needs to be adjusted. In the Police department there were only four months with huge fluctuations. There were specific events which drove the expenses. For upcoming budgets, we are looking at an ambitious plan and we need to decide if we can afford it. b) Adopt Ordinance - Amending Fee Ordinance - Parks and Recreation Council Minutes (Regular) March 1, 2004 Page 5 Staff proposed to amend the fee ordinance regarding the Rambling River Center fitness room and outdoor field usage. For the fitness room, a fee of$30 for residents and $45 for non-residents was proposed. Regarding outdoor field use a number of fees were identified as follows: Non-Tournament Use Outdoor field use Youth groups Adult groups Tournament Use Baseball and Softball Fields Soccer Fields Other Services and Fees Additional dragging baseball or softball fields Soccer field lining Additional labor or materials Tournament Trash Removal Diamond Dry Portable Toilets $4/participant $25/field/day $25/field/day $25/field/day $25/field/day $6/field/dragging $32.50/hour for labor $10/hour for painting equipment At prevailing rates $50/site $10/bag Arranged and billed to the user by the provider Councilmember Fogarty asked how much time the Farmington Youth Athletic Association had to look over these fees and look at what they have budgeted. Staff replied the organizations were contacted early in the process and some items were amended from the input received from them. The outdoor field use fees were addressed in the fees charged by FY AA. Councilmember Fogarty stated this is a great example of the school district and the city working together. Councilmember Soderberg asked about the fees for the soccer fields. Staff stated the city currently does not have soccer fields, but we may in the future. During the school year the permitting process is through Community Education. Once school ends, the permitting process goes through the city for school and city fields. Councilmember Fitch asked if the benefit of charging for the fitness room was worth it. Staff felt it was. There is an option of joining the fitness room separate from the membership. Councilmember Cordes noted a donation was received from Castle Rock and Empire to enable those residents to receive the resident rate for membership and asked if the fitness room rate would be for resident or non- resident. Staff replied they would be considered a resident. The fee is a calendar fee. It would be pro-rated if someone joined in the middle of the year. Council Minutes (Regular) March 1, 2004 Page 6 MOTION by Fogarty, second by Fitch adopting ORDINANCE 004-507 amending the fee ordinance to include the Outdoor Field Use Fee Schedule and the Rambling River Center's fitness room membership fee. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Adopt Resolution - Sale of Refunding Bonds - Finance b) Adopt Resolution - Sale of Certificates of Indebtedness - Finance On February 2,2004 Council ordered the sale of $2,535,000 worth of refunding bonds and the issuance of$I.48 million worth ofG.O. Certificates. The amount on the refunding bonds has declined because of the favorable bids received. Mr. Sid Inman, Senior Vice President of Ehlers and Associates, stated Moody's has confirmed the city's A3 rating. They also indicated they may be willing to look at an increase in the bond rating in a subsequent issue. The first bid was for $1,480,000 of general obligation equipment certificates. Nine bids were received. The lowest bidder was Wells Fargo at $2.0180. The second issue is a refunding bond of approximately $800,000 of improvement issues and $2 million of sewer issues. The broker dropped the fee by $20,000. The size of the issue was reduced from $2,535,000 to $2,505,000. The interest savings is $236,000 with a net savings of $204,000. Wells Fargo was also the lowest responsible bidder. This is $40,000 better than anticipated. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg adopting RESOLUTION R21-04 awarding the sale of the $2,505,000 G.O. Refunding Bonds of2004D to Wells Fargo. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty adopting RESOLUTION R22-04 awarding the sale of the $1,480,000 G.O. Equipment Certificates of2004C to Wells Fargo. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Adopt Ordinance - Amending Sign Ordinance - Community Development On February 17, 2004 the Council adopted a design standard for three zoning districts including the Spruce Street Commercial, mixed-use, and business/flex zoning districts. In order to make the design standards consistent with the sign code, three amendments need to be made to the sign code. 1. Add mixed-use and business/flex zoning district 2. Add business directional signs 3. Add proj ecting signs Councilmember Fitch noted the business directional signs cannot be more than 2 sq. ft. in sign area. He asked if they can have multiples of different businesses or is it one stand alone sign. Staff stated each sign could be 2 sq. ft. They could not have a 15 sq. ft. sign with several businesses on it. Staff envisions the signs on Council Minutes (Regular) March 1,2004 Page 7 the corners. There should be very few signs per business. Staff can clarify the language in the ordinance. It would have to be brought back to Council as an amendment to the ordinance. Councilmember Soderberg noted this ordinance applies to the Spruce Street Commercial, mixed-use and business/flex area. In the future this will be looked at for the downtown area. Councilmember Cordes asked if this should be approved with having to amend the ordinance. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg to table this item to clarify the language. Community Development Director Carroll stated several of the changes are being proposed at the request of one ofthe developers. They brought up the directional sign issue because this is a new development that is not laid out in a grid pattern, it would not be evident where people should turn to reach a particular business. These directional signs would be used to direct drivers to entrances to certain businesses. There would be one or two business names on each sign. One option would be to adopt the ordinance, and once discussions begin with a developer regarding signage, it could be brought back to Council if needed. The drawback to tabling this is the other issues are also tabled, including the projection signs. Staff suggested adopting the ordinance and if it does not work, staff can bring it back to Council. Councilmember Soderberg stated he does not want to have an issue later with a business proposing something that was outside of what was intended. To clarify this would be a two-week delay. He favored the ordinance as is. Councilmember Fitch noted the ordinance stated signs are allowed within a development at no more than two square feet in sign area to direct traffic to business locations. City Engineer Mann suggested adding "no more than two square feet in sign area per sign. . .". Councilmember Fogarty withdrew her motion. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg to adopt ORDINANCE 004-508 approving the amendment to Section 10-6-3(B) Subd. 5 by amending the Spruce Street Commercial District to include Mixed-Use and Business/Commercial Flex and amending Section 1O-6-3(B) Subd. 5 (c) concerning Off Premises/Traffic Directional Signs by adding Business Directional Signs with the additional of "per sign" and adding Section 1O-6-3(B) Subd. 5(e) concerning Projecting Signs. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) NPDES Phase II Annual Report - Engineering Staff presented a summary of the City's NPDES Phase II Annual Report and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program from 2003. The purpose of the program is to specifically and purposefully manage non-point storm water discharges. The state is the governing agency and issues the permits. Farmington is a municipal separate storm sewer system. Approximately 150 cities are required to obtain a permit. The City is in compliance with the permit conditions. Staff has inspected and maintains all storm water structures. There are 292 pollution control devices and all were checked. There are 100 ponds and all of these were also checked. The inspections resulted in 295 devices being in acceptable condition and 68 which were not acceptable. Staff sent out 5,500 surveys and 400 have been returned. The City also as an adopt-a-pond program. Five ponds have been adopted, with 125 pending applications. Pond clean up day Council Minutes (Regular) March I, 2004 Page 8 will be May I, 2004. Eleven sites have been spoken for. There are 60 volunteers. A storm water hotline is available for residents to call with questions. Staff is in the process of trimming boulevard trees. Arbor Day will be held April 23, 2004 at Meadowview Park. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: Attended the Chamber's Coffee with Council last month and asked them about discussing Main Street at the next meeting on March 18, 2004. The Chamber will ask the downtown business owners to attend or at least give their opinion on whether closing Main Street would affect their business. Councilmembers Fitch and Soderberg will attend. On March 3, 2004 the LMC will be holding a Day at the Capital. She asked Councilmembers to let her know of any concerns they would like her to bring up. Councilmember Soderberg: Regarding the closing of Main Street, he would like staff to obtain traffic numbers on Main Street and also numbers for Spruce Street and Walnut Street. At the February 17, 2004 Council Meeting, there was discussion about the new development in East Farmington and decks. He was curious that decks were counted in the lot coverage and patios were not. He felt it was inconsistent and would like the Planning Commission to look at whether or not to continue that practice. Community Development Director Carroll stated the City does handle that differently than other communities. Staff is planning to take this to the April Planning Commission meeting and bring it to Council in late April/early May. He went to the LMC Leadership Conference for Elected Officials. He learned about emerging trends and complications. Councilmember Fitch: He stated Councilmember Fogarty will be joining the MUSA Review Committee as staff would like some consistency with people being there. The most difficult part will be to decide when developments can have MUSA. As Mayor Ristow's schedule has not allowed him to attend the meetings, Councilmember Fogarty will be appointed at a future Council meeting. City Administrator Urbia: A Council Workshop to discuss Council's expectations of the City Administrator will be held April 6, 2004, at 5:30 p.m. Representative Strachan will hold a Town Hall Meeting on March 15,2004 at 6:30 p.m. at the City Hall Conference Room. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to adjourn at 8:37 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~~/7?~~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant