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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.18.19 Council Minutes CITY OF FARMINGTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 18, 2019 1. Call to Order Mayor Larson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Larson led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Roll Call Present-Larson, Bernhjelm, Craig and Hoyt Absent-Donnelly Staff Present-Administrator McKnight, Community Development Director Kienberger, Finance Director Malecha, Public Works Director Gehler, Parks and Recreation Director Distad, Police Chief Rutherford and Human Resources Director Gabbard. 4. Agenda Motion by Bernhjelm, second by Craig, to approve the agenda as presented. APIF, motion carried. 5. Announcements/Commendations None 6. Citizen Comments a) Unnamed Resident-Expressed concerns about the closing of Family Fresh. Inquired about the status of Hy-Vee and Aldi. Stated that the city needs public transportation. b) Kathleen Reinhart-Stated the city needs some sort of bus service. We cannot rely on the current systems in place. With the closing of Family Fresh,the nearest grocery store will be seven miles away. c) Resident,402 Oak Street-Asked about the proposed increase in the permit cost for chickens. He thought the proposed $40 fee was too high. 7. Consent Agenda November 18,2019 Minutes -1- Motion by Hoyt, second by Craig, to approve the consent agenda as amended pulling item 7e: a) Approve Minutes of the November 4, 2019 City Council Meeting-Administration b) Approve Minutes of the November 12, 2019 City Council Work Session-Administration c) Approve 2020-2024 Capital Improvement Plan-Administration d) Approve Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for the Faribault Commendery#8, Knights Templar-Community Development e) Approve Contract for Design of the Local Partnership Project TH3 Trail Project-Public Works f) Approve Contract for TH3 Small Area Study-Public Works g) Approve Agreement with Sunde Land Surveying to Complete Additional Arena Site Survey and Wetland Delineation Work-Parks h) Approve Recommendation for Hire Finance-Human Resources i) Approve Recommendation for Hire Public Works-Human Resources j) Approve Seasonal Hiring-Human Resources k) Approve Bills-Finance APIF, motion carried. 8. Public Hearings a) 2020 Fee Schedule Mayor Larson opened the public hearing. Finance Director Malecha presented the 2020 Fee Schedule for city council consideration. The city council reviewed this information in detail at the November 2019 city council work session. A summary of the areas recommended for change in the 2020 fee schedule includes: • Charge for staff time- It is recommended to reduce the charge for staff time from a 2.7 multiplier to 1.5 to more accurately account for the cost of salary and benefits. • Police Services (Fingerprinting for Non-Resident)-The city's police department is one of the few departments that allow walk-in fingerprinting 5 days a week. Many departments limit it to appointment only within a certain time frame.The process takes a patrol officer off the street for roughly 30 minutes. We currently charge non-profit organizations$100 per hour for event coverage. Staff recommends increasing the rate to$50, which is the equivalent of what the city would charge for 30 minutes of event coverage for one officer. • Parks and Recreation (Rambling River Center Rental Rates) -There have been some issues with damage at the RRC and the facility not cleaned after a rental. Staff recommends increasing the Damage Deposit Banquet Room rate to$500 to encourage renters to leave the facility in the same condition as when they arrived. November 18,2019 Minutes -2- • Parks and Recreation (Schmitz-Maki Arena Rates) -Staff is recommending combining the June and July Summer Ice with August Ice to create one rental rate for summer. An increase of$5 in ice rental rates is recommended to help cover operational and maintenance costs. An increase to the cost of skate rental to $4 per pair is proposed by staff.The arena offers turf rental, but it was not previously included in the fee schedule. Staff is proposing to continue the rate of$80 per hour and add the item to the 2020 fee schedule. • Permits- Building (General) -An increase to$140 is proposed for the Retaining Wall permit fee to cover staff costs for inspections.The current rate of$70 does not cover the amount of time that it takes staff. • Utility Service Connection Permits-The city SAC and WAC fees are proposed to increase based on an estimated 3 percent construction cost index increase.The Water Treatment Plan fee is a residential unit charge that was typically applied at the time of platting.This fee is proposed to be rolled into the WAC fee that is charged at the time of issuance of a building permit. • Permits-Subdivision (Application Fees)-The wetland alteration permit fees have been updated to more clearly reflect Wetland Conservation Act permits and the associated work. A surety is proposed being added to ensure mitigation work associated with any permit wetland alteration is completed. • Platting Fees, Escrows, &Sureties (Area charges to support development) -The Sanitary Sewer Trunk, Sealcoating, Water Trunk, and Park Development fees are proposed to increase based on an estimated 3 percent construction cost index increase. • Permits-Special -An increase to the Urban Chicken Permit Renewal and addition of the Dock Permit are proposed at$40 each to cover staff time. • Water Tower Communication Devices (Base Lease Rate and Additional Antenna and Space Rental Lease) -These fees are proposed to increase 5 percent annually to align with the 5 percent annual increase included in our existing leases.The Lease Administration Fee was updated to include language that allows the city to collect a surety to cover time spent to review antenna modification permits as well as the associated inspection. • Miscellaneous-An increase to the Code Enforcement Cost Recovery rate is to $40 to cover the cost of staff time is recommended. • Counter Sales- It is recommended to remove the 2' Contour Map (Special Order) and Zoning/Comprehensive Plan Maps.The items are not applicable any longer as most items are provided digitally. • Utility Charges and Fees-The CIP and financial model of the utility enterprise funds were reviewed at the August 12th work session.These funds support the ongoing operations as well as capital replacement projects of the three major utilities. o Water-An increases of 4 percent is proposed to the water base charge and volume charge. o Sanitary Sewer-The fund is in a position to be supported by the 2019 rates. No increase is being proposed for the sanitary sewer rates. o Storm Water-An increase of 4 percent is proposed to the storm water fee. November 18,2019 Minutes -3- • Penalties- Removing the charge for the first offense of violating the Water Use Restrictions and changing it to a warning is proposed. It is recommended to keep the same rate for the second, third, and subsequent offenses. • Solid Waste Charges and Fees (also Schedule C) -The Solid Waste fees were discussed in detail at the October 14th work session.The rate increase for 2020 that was projected in the last financial analysis has been incorporated into the 2020 fee schedule. • Schedule C (Solid Waste User Fees) - It is recommended to remove schedule C and incorporate it within the main fee schedule by after the utility rates. • Schedule E (GIS Fees) - It is recommended to remove Schedule E from the fee schedule. It is no longer applicable as many items are available digitally. Schedule G (Rambling River Center Room Rental Rates) -A$20 increase to the Banquet Room rental rate with the addition of one hour for clean-up time and $5 for each additional hour increase is proposed to cover increased operational and maintenance costs. Councilmember Craig asked about the proposed increase in the permit for chickens. Community Development Director Kienberger stated the proposed fee is based off staff to time to issue the permit and inspect the property. Jeff Thelen, 616 Lower Heritage Way and owner of the industrial property at 21075 Eaton Avenue. He had questions about the process used by the city to determine storm water charges. He is concerned about the generic approach the city uses when looking at different types of property, assuming they are all the same. He has met with city staff over the past few months to help understand the process. He would like the city council to look at the formula or establish an appeal process. He shared that there are two properties that do have an exception to the process used by the city. Councilmember Bernhjelm would like to have a better understanding of the formula and appeal process. Councilmembers Craig and Hoyt agreed. Administrator McKnight recommended that the city council approve the 2020 fee schedule, discuss the stormwater fee process at an upcoming work session since it would not go into effect until April 1, 2020 and look at Mr.Thelen's property separately if that was the desire of the city council since he has been working with city staff. Motion by Bernhjelm, second by Hoyt, to close the public hearing. APFI, motion carried. Motion by Bernhjelm, second by Hoyt, approve Ordinance No. 2019-749, an ordinance establishing charges and fees for licenses, permits or other city approvals and services for calendar year 2020 with the exception of the stormwater fee that will be brought back in early 2020. APIF, motion carried. November 18, 2019 Minutes -4- 9. Award of Contract None 10. Petitions, Requests and Communications None 11. Unfinished Business None 12. New Business a) Winter Maintenance Policy Public Works Director Gehler presented the winter maintenance policy for city council review and approval. The purpose of the written policy is to provide the residents, city council and city staff with expectations concerning the policies and procedures for operations. This new policy combines two former policies that existed for streets and sidewalks/trails/rinks. The draft policy incorporates the following new procedures: 1. The priorities of winter operations from the Parks and Streets Departments have been combined into one list. In addition, the priority categories of the trails, sidewalks and outdoor rinks has been reduced from four to three: high, medium and low. Several years ago,the city reviewed overall priorities between the two departments to address concerns that lower priority snow plowing (i.e. recreational trails) was occurring before some of the streets were completed. The combined list captures this shift along with addressing the downtown priorities we have talked about this summer. In practice,to expedite snow removal in the downtown, we will see a shift in service timing in a couple of areas. Outdoor pleasure rinks without warming houses will be cleared on or after the workday following a plowing event depending on snowfall. We may see a shift in the timing of the clearing of recreational trail loops. 2. A chart to note the anticipated level of service (LOS) has been added. The timing of plow events in this chart are based on averages that we have historically experienced. We are likely to see shifts in the level of service as more roads are added to our network. This chart can be used in future discussions on LOS goals of the city in context with the current resources. 3. The plow maps have been updated to incorporate new street mileage. This includes all of the frontage roads along TH3 that were turned back to the City and Sapphire Lake November 18,2019 Minutes -5- development. The Fairhill development will be plowed by the developer until the roads in Phase I are complete. The remaining document formalizes existing practices and policies in one location. Councilmember Craig asked that information on the location of mailboxes be shared on social media. Councilmember Bernhjelm appreciated the efficiency of combining the two policies. Motion by Craig, second by Bernhjelm, to approve the Winter Maintenance Policy. APIF, motion carried. 13. City Council Roundtable Craig-Reminded residents of the upcoming Trains and Treats event. Hoyt-Shared information on Small Business Saturday,Treating Packing and Pack the Mac events. McKnight-Reminded residents that this was the last week of yard waste collection. Malecha-Reminded residents that Truth in Taxation statements are out and the budges will be considered on December 2, 2019. Kienberger-Shared that the city has tried reaching out to the owners of Family Fresh about their announced closing. The city 2040 comp plan was also approved by the Met Council Community Development Committee today. Gehler-Street sweeping is running behind and will be the emphasis the next few weeks. The city has received notice that we will receive a water efficiency grant. Distad-Discussed the Trains and Treats events coming up. Rutherford-Toys for Town is in full swing and donations are being accepted. Larson-Asked residents to watch for the changes in the garbage collection schedule and encouraged residents to shop local. 14. Adjourn Motion by Bernhjelm, second by Craig,to adjourn the meeting at 7:41 p.m. APIF, motion carried. November 18, 2019 Minutes -6- Respectfully Submitted Va4401 P. m0e David McKnight, City Administrator November 18,2019 Minutes -7-