Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.03.08 Council Minutes /Q., COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING November 3, 2008 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff Wilson Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer 2. APPROVE A GENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty asked about the speed limit signs on 225th Street and if the signs were expensive. She clarified the meeting is more to coordinate placement. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the RFP for the old City Hall. He wanted to make sure Council will be taking official action on what to do with the old City Hall. Councilmember McKnight stated he would like to see the old City Hall become the Rambling River Center. Councilmember Fogarty agreed. Mayor Soderberg noted the action on the item would be changed to convert the old City Hall to the Rambling River Center. Mayor Soderberg pulled item 7a) Council Minutes to abstain. 5. STAFF COMMENTS City Administrator Herlofsky provided Council with a letter regarding action to be taken by ALF. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 6:35 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, /l ,-;/ - . h'y:? Lj/". "Z?t<:-a- ?VJ u .e:tZ".-c./ (Eynthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR November 3, 2008 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Soderberg led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff Wilson Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA Mayor Soderberg pulled item 7a) Council Minutes 10/20/08 Regular to abstain. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) National Partnership Award - Parks and Recreation The Parks and Recreation Department received a regional partnership award from the National Recreation Park Association for work on the Depot Way Arts Park with the DV AC. Bev Preece gave a brief history of the DV AC and the Depot Way Arts Park. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Edgar Samuelson, 18414 Eldorado Way, wanted to bring to Council's attention a recent letter to the Editor in the Farmington Independent that did not allow time for rebuttal. The letter was from Councilmember Pritzlaff endorsing Mr. Adam Kneeland, a Council candidate. Mr. Samuelson stated if he was Mr. Kneeland he would be insulted to receive a recommendation from Councilmember Pritzlaff, because the letter states Mr. Kneeland will be brought up to speed and will need to understand what duties he will have as Council. Mr. Samuelson did not feel that was a fitting statement for a sitting Councilmember to make to a candidate for Council. Also stated in the letter is that other candidates are not following the rules regarding sign placement. In a conversation he overhead two weeks ago, Councilmember Pritzlaffwas talking to Mr. Bartholomay about Council Minutes (Regular) November 3, 2008 Page 2 his signs. He threatened to use his position as a Councilmember to see that those signs were removed. Mr. Samuelson did not think that was very ethical and was sure that was not a protocol of Council to do that to those aspiring for City Council. The letter also states to keep the City as neat as possible during this time of campaigning. Mr. Samuelson purchased 26 signs, a couple were in the right-of-way which he removed and he has two left. He does not have the signage Councilmember Pritzlaff has around town nor do the other candidates. He asked Councilmember Pritzlaff about a sign placed in the Farmington Industrial Park. Mr. Samuelson did not know how he came to have the privilege to put that sign there and hoped Councilmember Pritzlaff did not use his position as a Councilmember to influence the business owner to receive their permission. In the letter to the editor, it also talks about economic development as being an issue that is facing the City Council. This was discussed during the forum. In reading the mission statement and goals for the EDA, Mr. Samuelson believed it concerns creating partnerships with groups in the City. When we as Council write letters, we need to be aware of who we are talking about, such as candidates like Julie May. She is a Vice President of a bank, and President of the Rotary. She is equally as qualified as Mr. Kneeland for a position on Council. Mr. Samuelson stated his work as a realtor qualifies him for understanding housing issues and brought us to front page news in the newspaper regarding the foreclosure rate. There are a lot of different expertise that come into play as a Councilmember, not specifically marketing, not specifically finance, not specifically plumbing. No one can be a master of all. That is why we have consultants, attorneys, and engineers to help us through these processes. He recalled a specific question during the forum about how Council needs to put on a united front. He did not see pre-election that goal being accomplished by letters to the editor like this. Comments about Mr. Kneeland being one of the few out knocking on doors and getting resident feedback, Mr. Samuelson stated he has been getting resident feedback for 14 years in this town from his days as a Tiger Club leader. How he runs his campaign is his business. How Mr. Kneeland, Mr. Bartholomay, or Julie May run theirs is not something that should be commented on. He has been taken aback a few times by Councilmember Pritzlaff s comments for one towards Mayor Soderberg on his absences. Mr. Samuelson was upset Councilmember Pritzlaffwrote the letter to Wal-Mart without going through the channels of the EDA. Mr. Samuelson stated he would not put those points in a letter to the editor, but felt better to bring them to Council's attention. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated that letter was written and read to Mr. Kneeland over the phone and he was given permission to put that letter in the paper. With his permission there was no degrading in that letter. The Independent would not publish a letter during this last week of the campaign if it was degrading to a certain candidate, so the Independent also felt it was not a degrading letter, but in support of one candidate which many people have done over the season. As far as talking to a candidate outside this Council Chambers, he stated Mr. Samuelson is 100% wrong that he said he would use his Council authority to remove a sign. He talked to a particular candidate that had particular signs in particular areas that he knew did not have permission. He asked him to take those down, because those people contacted him directly or through other people. We all have to follow the rules. The letter was not intended to belittle anyone that had not been out campaigning. Council Minutes (Regular) November 3, 2008 Page 3 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Set November 17,2008 Public Hearing Various Licenses and Permits- Administration c) Approved School and Conference - Municipal Services d) Received Information 225th Street Speed Limit - Engineering e) Approved Safe Route to Schools Grant Application - Parks and Recreation f) Approved Appointment Recommendation Liquor Operations - Human Resources g) Approved Appointment Recommendation Liquor Operations - Human Resources h) Approved Appointment Recommendation Police - Human Resources i) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. a) Council Minutes (10/20/08 Regular) MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto approve Council Minutes (10/20/08 Regular). Voting for: Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff. Abstain: Soderberg. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Old City Hall Site RFP - Administration This is a follow-up from the October workshop. This is an RFP for Construction Manager services to convert the old City Hall building into the Rambling River Center. The estimated renovation budget is $500,000. No source of funding has been identified and will be determined at the end ofthe year. Staff has sent out the RFP to determine what costs will be associated with this project for a construction manager. Councilmember Fogarty recalled at the workshop they discussed actual dollars and in kind donations for materials and labor. Councilmember McKnight stated this is what Council asked staff to do in bringing back the pieces to prioritize them and to look at funding sources. We also need to start the community thinking about organized fund raising. Councilmember Pritzlaff wanted to make sure the $500,000 was just for necessities to make it into a senior center. City Administrator Herlofsky stated limited resources will require us to be very careful with what we do about items that are necessary. The safety of the participants Council Minutes (Regular) November 3, 2008 Page 4 will be the major concern. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated the amount could be lower if some of the work not requiring a license were done by volunteers. Mayor Soderberg stated as Councilmember Pritzlaffrequested in the pre-meeting we can take a vote on converting the old City Hall into a senior center. Ifwe can get volunteers to help and thereby saving money, that is fine, but for us to go into budgeting volunteer time and materials is foolishness. We would not think of building a street or any other building or project based on volunteers in our budget. We will get volunteers to bring the cost down, but if the volunteers or donations do not materialize then we find ourselves in a precarious spot where the project is stopped or extremely over budget. If we are going to move forward, we need to make sure we have an accurate budget in place and we need to make sure it covers the contingencies. MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to convert the old City Hall into a senior center. Voting for: Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff. Voting against: Soderberg. MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Fogarty: Noted under the Consent Agenda they approved a grant application that is done by the school district and the City for trails that will help with access to the schools. She wanted to highlight that this is the type of work done by the City and the school district in working together. Reminded everyone November 1 winter parking restrictions went into effect. There is no parking on City streets from now until April 15 from 2:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. She wished the candidates good luck with the election. She wrote a letter to the editor about how all politics are local and how it is very important to get to know the people who are monitoring your own backyard. The local school board and City Council have big races and they are very important. Sometimes what matters most in daily life is where that next stop sign will go. Take some time and get to know the candidates. Every candidate has a website, e-mail, phone numbers and get their opinions. She thanked everyone running for Mayor, Council, and School Board. It is tough to put yourself out there in the community and quite often this is a thankless job. We do not do it for the pay, the glory or the fame. It is a service to our community. We are honored to do it and anyone who is willing to step into those shoes and run for public office deserves our thanks. Councilmember McKnight: Reminded everyone it is their obligation to vote tomorrow. He thanked the candidates as it takes courage to put your name on the ballot and be Council Minutes (Regular) November 3, 2008 Page 5 judged by the community. He thanked them for stepping up and being willing to serve the community. Councilmember Pritzlaf/: Urged everyone to get out and vote. Mayor Soderberg: The Farmington American Legion will have a grand re- opening, Saturday, November 22,2008. There will be ribbon cutting at 3:00 p.m. and a community appreciation ceremony at 3:30 p.m. There was a ribbon cutting on Flagstaff Avenue this past week. It is representative of a great project and collaboration between the City of Farmington, the school district, the City of Lakeville, the Met Council, Ryan Contracting, and Bonestroo. We appreciate their work and partnership. November 7,2008, he will be at the Middle School for a Veteran's Day celebration. This year they are honoring purple heart recipients and POW's. Our servicemen are our heroes and they deserve every praise and accolade we can give them because they do provide us with the ability to vote. Tomorrow we get an opportunity to express our opinion by voting. He came across a quote by the 20th President of the United States, James Garfield said, "Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature." Mayor Soderberg believed this applies not only to national politics, but to local politics and politics at every level. Exercise your right and get out to vote. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 7:32 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ?~-.:~~ )r?J~ ,/ /' L<'. Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant