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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.19.04 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR July 19, 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; 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; Lee Smick, City Planner; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Susan Miller, David McKnight, Randy Oswald, Joanne Payne, John Anderson, Missie Kohlbeck 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty pulled item 7a) Council Minutes (7/6/04 Regular) to abstain. Councilmember Soderberg requested moving items 10 c), f), g), h) to the Consent Agenda. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce New Employee - Public Works Mr. Justin Siebenaler was introduced as the new Engineering Technician. b) Minnesota Recreation and Park Association 's Award of Excellence - Swim Bus Program Ms. Susan Miller presented the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association's Award of Excellence for the Swim Bus Program. Missie Kohlbeck, Senior Center Coordinator accepted the award on behalf of the City. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Joanne Payne, 20192 Akin Road, spoke regarding Akin Road and 20Sth Street traffic control. She did not want to come forward earlier when the issue regarding the intersection of Akin Road and 20Sth Street arose because she was accused of only running in the last election for the sole purpose of Akin Road, which was untrue. She did with the Council Minutes (Regular) July 19, 2004 Page 2 help of friends and family go door to door with a petition to try and make Akin Road a safer road. She presented the petition at a Council Meeting and it was filed away, never to see the light of day. She and others continue to push to have the speed limit reduced to make it safer. She kept quiet when Akin Road and 208th Street was discussed because she did not want the same accusations made about her candidacy. However, her daughter was one ofthose accident statistics and the following week she witnessed another accident. She was sorry Councilmember Fogarty was inconvenienced after the stop signs were put in place, but she would have rather been inconvenienced than to get that phone call at 7:00 a.m. saying her daughter was involved in an accident on the very road that she and others worked so hard to make safe. Enough. Spend the money now. Install the traffic lights. It is not going to get any cheaper and the school year is fast approaching. She asked if Council wanted a fatality to happen and then say we should have or we could have? She sat in on the last Planning Commission meeting and heard the plans and traffic volumes for Akin Road. Start the controls where you can now. A community center study can wait. The safety ofthe residents cannot. 7. CONSENT AGENDA a) MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes to approve Council Minutes (7/6/04 Regular). Voting for: Ristow, Cordes, Fitch, Soderberg. Abstain: Fogarty. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fogarty to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Adopted RESOLUTION R48-04 - Accept Donation Park Improvement Fund - Parks and Recreation c) Adopted RESOLUTION R49-04 - Gambling Event Permit - Administration d) Received Information Capital Outlay - Parks e) Received Information Quarterly Building Permit Report - Community Development f) Approved Bills 10. c) Adopted RESOLUTION R54-04 and ORDINANCE 004-510 Amend 2020 Comprehensive Plan from Residential to Commercial and Rezone Property from R-2 to B-1 at 213 8th Street - Community Development f) Adopted RESOLUTION R56-04 - Amend 2020 Comprehensive Plan to Include Future Park and Open Space Map - Parks and Recreation g) Received Information Quarterly Customer Service Response Report - Administration h) Received Information June 2004 Financial Report - Finance APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve Grading Permit - Knutsen Property - Community Development The area is located at the intersection of Denmark Avenue and Hwy 50 and covers 60 acres. This is part of the 450 acres for the Spruce Street Area. New Century has submitted a conditional use permit to begin grading. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval. The most important condition is that the applicant assumes all ofthe risks involved in commencing grading. If an area is graded before all final approvals such as preliminary and final plat, and Council Minutes (Regular) July 19,2004 Page 3 utility plans and they later need to be modified, it may be necessary to re-grade part ofthe site. New Century understands this and they are willing to take that risk. City Attorney Jamnik stated there is no risk to the City to approve this. The only issue would be if the developer is told to re-establish different grades and is forced to re-excavate or bring in fill and then blame the City. Paragraph 4 ofthe conditions indicates the property owner proceeds at their own risk in doing this grading. MOTION by Cordes, second by Fitch to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fitch to adopt RESOLUTION RSO-04 approving the Conditional Use Permit for excavating and grading on the Knutsen property. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - Vacate Drainage and Utility Easement East Farmington sth Addition (continued) - Community Development At the June 21, 2004 Council Meeting, Council continued the public hearing until the wetland mitigation plan permit was approved. The developer has submitted this plan and it was approved. The development will impact 0.92 acres of wetland. The developer is required to mitigate the impact at a 2:1 ratio, which means they have to replace 1.84 acres of land. They have chosen a site within the Vermillion River area by the Bachman site. The developer tried to get the site closer to Farmington, but was unable to do so. Mr. John Anderson, Giles Properties, stated they have everything worked out with Mr. Bachman and the documents will be finalized on July 22,2004 and returned to the City. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Fitch adopting RESOLUTION RS1-04 vacating a drainage and utility easement in Outlot B. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Resolution - East Farmington 9th Addition Preliminary and Final Plat - Community Development The plat includes six lots. The developer is proposing 6,000 sq. ft. lots with minimum lot widths of60 ft. Approval of the Final Plat is contingent on compliance with the memo by John Smyth dated July 6,2004 and on the preparation and execution ofthe Development Contract and approval of the construction plans for grading, storm water and utilities by the Engineering Division. MOTION by Cordes, second by Fitch adopting RESOLUTION RS2- 04 approving the East Farmington 9th Addition Preliminary and Final Plat and Council Minutes (Regular) July 19,2004 Page 4 Wetland Conservation Act Permit with the above contingencies. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - Middle Creek East 2nd Addition Final Plat - Community Development D.R. Horton proposes to plat 53 townhomes in the second phase of Middle Creek East. The accesses will be 203rd Street and 206th Street. Boulevard trees are required to be located on the east side of the existing trail. There is not enough room between the curb and trail for trees. Contingencies are the boulevard trees be located on the east side of the trail along Eastview Avenue, not between the curb and trail area, and execution of a Development Contract between the developer and the City and submission of security, payment of all fees and costs and submission of all other documents required under the Development Contract. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Fitch adopting RESOLUTION R53-04 approving the Middle Creek East 2nd Addition Final Plat with the above contingencies. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Don Patton, D.R. Horton, stated regarding their obligation to tear down the McCarthy house, it has not taken place because they had to go through the asbestos removal process first. This has delayed continuing 203rd Street, but this should happen in the next 2-3 weeks. d) Adopt Ordinance - Amend Section 10-5-23 and 10-2-1 of the Zoning Code Related to Floodplain Management - Community Development The DNR is responsible for reviewing the City's floodplain policies and procedures. The City was found to be in compliance with just a few minor changes. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes adopting ORDINANCE 004-511 approving the ordinance amendments regarding floodplain management. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Approve MUSA Review Committee Recommendation - Manley Development - Community Development The MUSA area is an area within the City that the Met Council feels can be developed because the City has the authority to extend sewer service to that area. There are several parcels involved in the MUSA review process. Property "H" on the MUSA property map is the Manley property. This property met more of the criteria for granting MUSA than any other property. Councilmember Soderberg agreed MUSA should be granted to bring in more residential development. He was aware there was some concern with transportation issues. These issues will be addressed at another level. Councilmember Cordes stated the only access is from 195th Street. She understood the Planning Commission was reviewing the Thoroughfare Plan and mentioned a temporary access. Staff replied that is at a very preliminary level. If there is going to be a development, there has to be more than one way in and out. Staff would not let development begin unless this was resolved. At the Planning Commission meeting, residents along Akin Road expressed concerns with proposed accesses to Akin Road on the Thoroughfare Council Minutes (Regular) July 19, 2004 Page 5 Plan. Staff is taking those concerns into consideration. If MUSA is approved, it does not mean the concept plan will automatically go forward without any changes. Councilmember Fitch was also concerned with having a second access which would probably be I 98th Street. This is quite a drop from Akin Road down to the development. He asked who would pay for that road. Staff replied the developer proposed having two accesses to 1 95th Street. In the future this will be addressed by the Planning Commission and Council. Mayor Ristow had no problem with granting MUSA, but there are other things that go with it, such as the road system. Mayor Ristow asked if 198th and 203rd Street need to be in for this area to develop. Community Development Director Carroll replied the property to the south is close to the 203rd Street connection. There might be a way of connecting with an internal road to 203rd Street. If that is not feasible, staff would focus on getting 198th Street through or having an alternate north entrance. Mayor Ristow asked ifby granting MUSA and these conditions have to happen if they were jeopardizing anything. City Attorney Jamnik replied the MUSA can be approved, but it is difficult to take it away. As far as the road design, we still have the normal standards of the platting process to go through. This involves a technical review and a policy review. Simply by granting MUSA you do not cause a problem with the platting review process. The subsequent steps involve some difficult choices to be made. If issues cannot be worked out, it would have to be discussed because of the inability to provide adequate access it has not be able to be platted and developed as planned, should we keep the MUSA designation on that parcel or remove it and re-designate MUSA to someone else. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg adopting RESOLUTION R55-04 approving the addition of property owned by Manley Land Development, Inc. to Farmington's Metropolitan Urban Service Area. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Akin and 20Sth Street Traffic Control- Engineering At the last meeting Council requested permanent stop signs be installed at the intersection of Akin Road and 208th Street. The estimated cost is $2,653.50. Councilmember Fogarty stated she wanted to clarify a couple comments made by Councilmember Cordes that were a little unfair and untrue. It was painted as Councilmember Fogarty was inconvenienced one night, therefore now she wants the City to spend $100,000 to put lights in. This is completely untrue. Her concern was a safety concern. It had nothing to do with her being inconvenienced. The City Engineer and Police Chief have said a traffic light should be installed for control. The stacking and the businesses is an issue twice a day, five days a week, nine months out of the year at a minimum. That is when school is in session before any other activities happen. It will continue to be a problem. She will not support putting in permanent stop signs. It is not the ideal way to control it. It is cheap and it does make things safer than they were, but it certainly is not ideal and it certainly is not a vast improvement. Council Minutes (Regular) July 19, 2004 Page 6 Councilmember Soderberg agreed the stop signs are an improvement, but it is not the right way to control that intersection. Traffic lights are expensive and we knew that two meetings ago which received unanimous approval. Then things changed at the last meeting. He feels traffic lights are the way to go and will not support permanent stop signs. Councilmember Cordes stated she stands by her earlier statements. Stop signs are a vast improvement over what was there before, which was nothing. Given the present situation of the current budget, and needing to look at all aspects of the City she feels the stop signs are an improvement and something we can all handle until we can evaluate what our situation is. Councilmember Fitch stated when you look at the left turn lane, there is room for 5-7 cars. When the left turn lane is stopped and north-south traffic is going, then you stop the traffic again and you have traffic coming out from the east. When the left turn lane is full, there is a bridge so traffic has no where to go, but to back up even further. With the stop signs, cars will continue to move through the intersection. There will be a stacking problem at those times of day no matter what we do. He did not mind spending $100,000 for stop lights, but he did not want to spend another $100,000 down the road to make them permanent. When they are made permanent the developer would pay for the light, not the city. He felt it still makes sense to stick with the stop signs. Mayor Ristow asked if traffic warrants need to be met for a stop light. City Engineer Mann replied a study would need to be done to determine ifthe warrants are met. Council has the authority to put in a traffic light depending on the situation. The City would not be able to use state aid dollars unless there was justification for a signal light that did meet warrants. Mayor Ristow asked ifthe City was in jeopardy by installing lights without a warrant. City Attorney Jamnik stated most law suits are for the absence of traffic controls. Any law suits with traffic control have to do with installation, warning signs far enough away, clear view, etc. There is not much exposure for installing lights that does not meet warrants. The state does not pay money because there is not a public need from their perspective where warrants are not met. You do not gain additional liability putting controls in where they are not needed. Mayor Ristow asked if any fees from the eastern portion of 208th Street were collected from Riverside and the school for traffic control. City Engineer Mann was not aware of any. In the past there was a case where money was collected for another area, but refunded as traffic control was not installed. Staff could not be 100% sure that development to the west would pay for all of a signal, but it would pay for a portion of it. MOTION by Cordes, second by Fitch authorizing staff to install permanent all- way stop signs at the intersection of 208th Street and Akin Road. Voting for: Ristow, Cordes, Fitch. Voting against: Fogarty, Soderberg. MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes (Regular) July 19, 2004 Page 7 b) Adopt Resolution- Southeast Area Trunk Utility and Pond Project- Engineering Staffhas coordinated this project with Castle Rock Township and their engineer and they have indicated that the township's issues are addressed. The bid date is proposed for August 13,2004. The Joint Powers Agreement indicates the township's engineer has the opportunity to concur in the award of the low bid. The township's engineer will need time to review the bids. Due to the short time frame between August 13 and the August 16 Council Meeting, it may be necessary to schedule a special meeting in order to schedule the project as soon as possible. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Soderberg to adopt RESOLUTION R57-04 approving the plans and specifications and authorizing the advertisement for bids for the Southeast Area Trunk Utility and Pond Project (Ash Street Area Improvements - Phase I). APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fitch: He contacted the County and some surrounding cities regarding accounting for interest on their investments. Each one does it a little differently. The County does not account for interest until they actually earn the money, until they mature and come in. That is on their long term investments. As we are going through the budget process, he would like to look at where we would not be so vulnerable to market conditions in these particular situations on that particular item. He would like to see, and this has been touched on at MUSA Review Committee meetings, permits and City budget and how development affects the budget. In this next budget process we need to start taking the volatility out of our permit process. He does not want the MUSA Review Committee worried we are not going to approve something because budgets totally hinge on development. And if it does not occur, what happens. The MUSA Review Committee is moving forward and has made good progress. This next meeting will further identify more properties to receive MUSA. City Administrator Urbia: Regarding the interest, the Management Team has discussed this and the numbers will be adjusted downward. He proposed an Executive Session following the August 16 Council Meeting for his performance review. City Attorney Jamnik talked with Mr. Harry Brull about whether to use the previous surveyor use a shorter or longer version from Mr. Brull. Attorney Jamnik will send both to Council, but use the previous scoring as Council is familiar with that. Community Development Director Carroll: There is a vacancy on the HRA and we are nearing the end ofthe application period. He asked Council if they would like to conduct interviews immediately before the August 2 Council Meeting. The HRA would like to have someone on board for their August 9 meeting. So far one application has been received and another application has been requested. Mayor Ristow felt it would work ifthere Council Minutes (Regular) July 19,2004 Page 8 was only one applicant, but ifthere are three or four it could be a little tight. It would depend on the number of applicants. If three or less are received it could be done prior to the meeting. If there are more, another date should be set. Mayor Ristow: July 25, 2004 will be the dedication service for the new Farmington Lutheran Church. August 20, 2004 is the Ramble and Amble. Some of the committee members would like to see more Councilmembers there. Councilmember Fogarty stated she has joined the walking team. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Cordes, second by Soderberg to adjourn at 8:13 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, /1 ;' dd ~~/d,,-cL- ,?v/?t-dj(~ (,::7 Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant