Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.08.20 Council Minutes CITY OF FARMINGTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 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, Craig, Donnelly and Hoyt Absent-Bernhjelm Staff Present-Administrator McKnight, Community Development Director Kienberger, Public Works Director Gehler, Finance Director Gehler and Attorney Jamnik. 4. Agenda Motion by Craig, second by Donnelly, to approve the agenda as presented. APIF, motion carried. 5. Announcements/Commendations None 6. Citizen Comments None 7. Consent Agenda Motion by Craig, second by Hoyt,to approve the consent agenda: a) Approve Minutes of the August 17, 2020 City Council Meeting-Administration b) Adopt Resolution R36-2020 Declaring Constitution Week-Administration c) Approve Summary of City Administrator Annual Performance Evaluation and Updated Employment Agreement-Attorney d) Approve Out of State Travel-Fire e) Approve Recommendation for Hire Fire-Human Resources September 8,2020 Minutes - 1- f) Approve Memorandum of Understanding with LELS Patrol-Human Resources g) Approve Recommendation for Hire Community Development-Human Resources h) Approve Bills-Finance APIF, motion carried. 8. Public Hearings a) Assessment Hearing for the Reassessment of the County Road 50 Water and Sewer Assessments Public Works Director Gehler shared with the city council an update on the assessments that remain on properties from a 1990's era water and sewer project. In the late 1980's the city completed two projects to extend water and sanitary sewer trunk infrastructure along CR 50 from Akin Road to Pilot Knob. These trunk utilities helped to facilitate the development of the industrial park and provide future service to the surrounding areas. The cost of the improvement was assessed to benefitting properties. Areas within the first phase of the Industrial Park and Northern Natural Gas were assessed as well as agricultural areas south of CR 50. Given the green acres status of the southern properties, the assessments were deferred until development occurred while continuing to accrue interest at a rate over 8%. One parcel from the original assessment rolls is continuing to accrue interest on a deferred basis. This parcel is 80-acres located west of the Vermillion River Crossings development and was assessed a total of$192,000 for both projects. Given the time that has passed and the continued accrual of interest, the current amount of the assessment, principal and interest, is $698,577.31 that will be due upon sale or development of the parcel. This amount has raised concerns when put in context with other fees that are charged with development. For this 80-acre parcel, area charges for sewer and water that are paid at the time of platting would be approximately $500,000. Combined with the current assessment,the fees are cost prohibitive. At a work session last summer staff discussed how the city has funded trunk utility projects in the past that included the use of an area-wide assessment whereas today the city incorporates the cost of these in availability charges (SAC and WAC fees) collected as part of the development contract. Options were discussed to address the large assessments on this parcel that included adjustment to the current assessment through the 429 assessment process, waiver of development fees or a combination thereof. Consensus was to reassess to waive the previous assessment and collect the standard development fees as development occurs. This option relieves the significant financial burden on the parcel at the time of September 8, 2020 Minutes -2- development, allows the city to collect amounts needed to support the development of these parcels while managing challenges that can be associated with assessments and providing consistency in how the city completes development. To complete the reassessment process,the city must follow Minnesota State Statute 429, which details the steps cities must follow when utilizing assessments. In this case,the city must call for an assessment hearing(public hearing on the assessment amount) by resolution, provide a 14-day notice, and hold the assessment hearing before acting on the proposed assessment. The City Council adopted Resolution 33-20 on August 3, 2020 calling for the assessment hearing on September 8, 2020. Notice was provided to the property owner on August 12, 2020 and it was published in the city's official paper on August 21, 2020 meeting the public notice requirements. Mayor Larson opened the public hearing. Councilmember Donnelly asked if we received any comments from the public. Gehler stated we did not. Donnelly stated this approach seems logical and the current assessment is prohibitive. Councilmember Hoyt asked how many other properties were assessed. Gehler stated it was several. Hoyt clarified that all of the other assessments have been paid. Gehler stated that they have all been paid along with the debt that was issued for the project. Donnelly asked if any other agriculture properties had been assessed. Gehler stated that there was one additional agriculture property that was assessed. With no one in attendance wishing to comment, a motion was made by Donnelly, and seconded by Craig, to close the public hearing. APIF, motion carried. Motion by Hoyt, second by Craig, to table this issue so it can be discussed at the September work session with all councilmembers present and another option reviewed. APIF, motion carried. 9. Award of Contract None 10. Petitions, Requests and Communications a) Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Request-306-312 Oak Street Community Development Director Kienberger presented a commercial rehabilitation grant request from Paul Otten who now owns a commercial building located at 306/312 Oak Street. September 8, 2020 Minutes -3- The grant request is for$27,141 for improvements to eliminate conditions detrimental to public health and safety. The Economic Development Authority (EDA) discussed this request at their last meeting and voted to recommend the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for this request. City staff has also worked with staff from the Dakota County CDA to ensure eligibility for this grant request. The community rehabilitation grant program is designed to assist local businesses and/or wners who are making qualified improvements to eligible commercial properties that eliminate conditions detrimental to public health and safety. Paul Otten thanked the city council, EDA and city staff for their assistance on this process. Councilmember Craig shared that she appreciated the investment by Mr. Otten in the downtown area. Motion by Hoyt, second by Craig, to approve the grant agreement for a commercial rehabilitation grant with W. Paul Otten for the 306/312 Oak Street building for$27,141. APIF, motion carried. 11. Unfinished Business None 12. New Business a) CARES Act Election Funding Finance Director Malecha shared that the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) received funding through the 2020 CARES Act to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus for the 2020 federal election cycle. A portion of these funds has been distributed to counties and municipalities throughout the state. Due to the pandemic,the amount of work and preparation for both the Primary and General Elections in 2020 have cost more in terms of time and dollars. Dakota County received funding from the SOS and decided to use the default distribution formula which means Farmington is eligible for$7,828 in CARES Act funding to use in response to elections. The use of these CARES Act dollars is limited to specific election related measures. If the city accepts these dollars we are eligible to use no more than 74%of the total costs of purchasing an electronic roster system and necessary equipment and not more than 8-$ of the total cost of any other authorized activities. The 2020 election budget will be used as the city's portion of qualified purchases. September 8, 2020 Minutes -4- The city must enter into an agreement with the county for the allocation of CARES Act funding and report the allocation to the OSS by September 15, 2020. Motion by Hoyt, second by Craig, to adopt Resolution R38-2020 approving the agreement with Dakota County for the receipt of CARES Act funding. APIF, motion carried. b) COVID-19 Response Update Administrator McKnight updated the city council on recent activities related to the city's response to the COVID pandemic. ✓ Continued effort to communicate with city staff and the city council on activities that are occurring in this area. ✓ Much time has been spent on the business assistance grants that Adam Kienberger provided an update on. ✓ The Rambling River Center continues to slowly open programs to members. In October, we will be trying a limited opening of the facility to members. ✓ CARES Act projects are being completed in city facilities already from our share of the funding received from the federal government. 13. City Council Roundtable Hoyt-Noted a few items from the consent agenda including the city administrator evaluation and two hiring's that were approved. McKnight-Shared that residents can contact city hall if they have questions on absentee or early voting. Gehler-Shared that a mattress pick up and paper shredding event will be held on September 12, 2020 Larson-Encouraged residents to shop local. 14. Adjourn Motion by Hoyt, second by Donnelly, to adjourn the meeting at 7:28 p.m. APIF, motion carried. Respectfully Submitted !VP. "C' S David McKnight, City Administrator September 8, 2020 Minutes -S-