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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.04.22 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR April 4, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Hoyt at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hoyt led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Hoyt, Bernhjelm, Lien, Porter, Wilson Members Absent: None Also Present: Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Lynn Gorski, City Administrator; Chris Regis, Finance Director;Justin Elvestad, Fire Chief; Samantha DiMaggio, Community Development Director; Kellee Omlid, Parks and Recreation Director; Matt Decur, Assistant City Engineer; Matt Balzer, Bolten & Menk; Cynthia Muller, Administrative Assistant Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Bernhjelm pulled item 7f)Joint Powers Agreement Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator. MOTION by Lien, second by Porter to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Wilson, second by Bernhjelm to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Adopted RESOLUTION R23-22 Approving Gambling Event Permit N.E.W. Ducks Unlimited Chapter#290-Administration b) Approved March 21, 2022, City Council Work Session and Meeting Minutes— Administration C) Acknowledged Resignation —Human Resources d) Acknowledged Resignation —Fire Department e) Approved City Administrator Employment Contract—Administration f) Pulled g) Approved Encroachment Agreement with Xcel Energy—Parks and Recreation h) Approved Street Maintenance Services through the South Metro Joint Powers Agreement—Engineering i) Approved Purchase of John Deere Gator XUV835M —Parks and Recreation j) Approved Purchase of Two Bobcat Toolcat UW56 Utility Work Machines—Parks and Recreation k) Approved Bills- Finance APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes(Regular) April 4,2022 Page 2 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. A WARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Update on USDA Buildout-Administration On April 5, 2021, the city council approved moving forward with amending the current lease agreement with the USDA to include additional leased office space at City Hall. The term of the lease is from 2018—2038. The additional space, which is currently open,will accommodate an additional 26 employees. Staff has been working with the USDA and Wold Architects to agree on an acceptable floor plan for the additional space. Upon approval, the ad for bids will be out for four weeks, upon receipt of the lowest bid, council will enter into a contract in early to mid-May. Because of ordering materials, construction would start in July. Construction will take about six weeks and should be completed at the end of August. The estimated cost of construction is$205,000. The city is doing the buildout, but the additional USDA lease will cover the cost. MOTION by Wilson, second by Bernhjelm to approve Wold Architects continue with the USDA office expansion by starting the bidding process and allow staff to begin negotiations on amending the current USDA leased office space agreement to incorporate the buildout cost and use of leased space. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Approve Plans and Specifications/Authorize Advertisement for Bids—2022 Spruce Street Reconstruction Project- Engineering At the February 4, 2022, council meeting, council approved a feasibility report for the 2022 Spruce Street reconstruction project and authorized preparation of plans and specifications for the project. City staff, with assistance from Bolton & Menk, have developed plans and specifications for the project. The work includes complete replacement of the sanitary sewer, storm sewer, watermain and streets on Spruce Street (Denmark Avenue to just west of the railroad tracks) and Division Street (Elm Street to its southern terminus). Also included is curb and gutter and sidewalks along both sides of Spruce Street. There will be reconstruction of the parking lots at Fire Station 1, Rambling River Parking lot near the Veteran's Memorial, and the existing parking lot at Schmitz Maki Arena. A new bituminous surfaced parking lot on the east side of the arena is proposed and a new street lighting system for both arena parking lots. The final plans also include an expansion of the police station parking lot. The parking lot at Feely Fields will also be doubled in size and add 32 additional parking stalls. It was decided to not pave the existing gravel alleys between Division Street and First Street. Due to long lead times for Canadian Pacific Railroad utility and surface improvement permits,the eastern project limit has been shorted by 250 ft.to the west side of the railroad tracks. The previous project limit was at Second Council Minutes(Regular) April 4,2022 Page 3 Street. Once permits are received, this area will be its own separate project. The estimated cost of construction is$4,715,540. Bids will be opened May 10 and brought to the May 16 council meeting. Construction will start late June/July. There will be a neighborhood meeting and residents should sign up for construction email updates. Council asked about the railroad permit timing and if we have other projects involving the railroad, perhaps we should determine how far ahead to apply. Council asked if the cardboard dumpsters in the arena parking lot will remain. Staff replied no they are looking for a new home, perhaps by the grain elevator with the other dumpsters. Council suggested putting them by the Farmington Mall for residents on the east side. Council noted it is a tight timeline to start in June, but Bolten & Menk is confident with the timeline. Council noted the extra parking will be very much appreciated. Council asked if there will be any trees removed along the north side of Spruce Street. Staff replied no, maybe just a couple small trees. Council noted most of the alleys are gravel and asked if there is a future need for drains or storm sewer connections. The project will include adding inlets and storm sewer where needed. Alleys will be prepped for future improvements. MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Lien to approve plans and specifications and authorize advertisement for bids for the 2022 Spruce Street reconstruction project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolutions and Approve an Agreement and Permit with MnDOT Related to Construction of a Roundabout and Pedestrian Trails on Trunk Highway 3 (TH3) at Vermillion River Trail (CSAH 66)-Engineering When the 2019 Bike and Ped Plan was developed,there was a gap in the trail along TH3 that needed to be completed. The city received grant funding to complete the trail connection and MnDOT was working on a project for a roundabout at TH3 and CSAH 66, so the projects were combined. There will be trails on both sides of TH3 and landscaping in the center island of the roundabout and storm sewer improvements. The trail on the west side will go from 205th Street in Empire Township to Willow Street, and the trail on the east side will go from 209th Street to Cascade Drive. The bid opening will be April 22, a public open house will be held in May, off- street construction will start in June and on July 5 the intersection at TH3 and CSAH 66 will be closed for three months. MnDOT is seeking a four-party cooperative construction agreement and resolution between Empire township, Dakota County, MnDOT, and Farmington. The agreement addresses roles and responsibilities of each party during the construction phase including funding components. The city will also be responsible to sign a Limited Use Agreement and resolution. This discusses maintenance and use of portions of the trails within MnDOT right-of-way. The city's future maintenance responsibilities in the Cooperative Construction Council Minutes(Regular) April 4,2022 Page 4 Agreement have been modified to include only improvements within the corporate city limits. The total estimated cost of the MnDOT project to construct a roundabout and trails is$2.1 million. The city will be responsible for$34,082.47. Costs for irrigation and trail construction have been removed from the city's cost responsibilities. The city is responsible for estimated total costs of trail design and environmental approvals amounting to$55,000. Costs will be funded by General Obligation bonds being issued to fund the 2022 Spruce Street reconstruction project. Staff explained how traffic will be re-routed during the closure. Council stressed the importance of communication during that time. Staff has contacted the major trucking companies and the school district. Council reminded staff Great Oaks Academy will be moving into city center and will need to be notified. MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Porter to approve the agreements and adopt RESOLUTION R24-22 entering into a Cooperative Construction Agreement with MnDOT and RESOLUTION R25-22 approving a Limited Use Permit with MnDOT. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. C) Approve Federal Regional Solicitation Grant Application for North Creek Regional Greenway Trail—Parks and Recreation In 2011,the city participated in the North Creek Regional Greenway Trail project. The last gap in Farmington is a section behind Dodge Middle School to Mystic Meadows. Dakota County will partner with the city to obtain a grant to complete this section. The city has a letter from Empire to support the trail portion in Empire. The entire trail will go from Farmington to Lebanon Hills Regional Park. The grant application is due mid-April. It will require an easement in Empire and the county has funding to purchase the land. The estimated total cost to construct the trail will be $1.632 million. The grant has an 80/20 match. The county is wiling to provide $326,400 in funding to meet the 20% match requirement. In addition, there is a 20% project delivery estimated cost of$326,400 that the county is asking the city to pay. The county is asking the city to provide the project delivery of design, engineering, and construction management of the trail. If the grant application is approved, the city will have some time to determine how and where this cost can be covered because the project will not occur until 2026 and 2027. Councilmembers were excited about this project and commended Parks and Recreation Director Omlid for her dedication. MOTION by Lien, second by Wilson to approve allowing the City of Farmington be listed as the applicant for the North Creek Regional Greenway Trail and that the City of Farmington supports the submittal of the grant application. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Council Minutes(Regular) April 4,2022 Page 5 d) Approve Addition of Two Full-Time Parks Maintenance Workers—Parks and Recreation This item was discussed at the February 7 and March 21, 2022, work sessions and the council asked for more information. The number of parks and trails and maintenance to go along with them has increased over the last several years, however, parks maintenance staff has not been added since 2006. Staff would like to add two full-time parks maintenance workers in 2022. The anticipated start date would be May 23, 2022,therefore, seven months of wages (salary and benefits)for two workers would total approximately$80,256. Funding would come from the general fund which could result in the general fund exceeding budget at year end. The approximate budget for these two positions in 2023 is $137,158($57,149 in salary and $11,430 in benefits per employee). Staff will be looking for high quality workers and will not settle for less just to fill the positions. Staff provided a list of several long-term items that need to be handled. Councilmember Porter appreciated the thorough explanation and we owe it to our residents to maintain what we have. Councilmember Wilson noted it is not standard practice to add non-budgeted items, but this has been discussed in previous years and parks are our top asset. He will support these positions. Councilmember Bernhjelm stated there is no doubt the need is there, but new positions should go through the budget process. Councilmember Lien stated there are a lot of summer projects needed. He would agree to add positions at budget time, but this is a priority now. Mayor Hoyt stated we are finally adding parks staff. Council set a goal to increase the standard of core services and put dollars towards services residents could see. We should not add more items to the long-term list. MOTION by Porter, second by Wilson to approve hiring two full-time parks maintenance workers. Voting for: Hoyt, Lien, Wilson, Porter. Voting against: Bernhjelm. MOTION CARRIED. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Porter. The Muddy Bunny race will take place in two weeks along with the Easter Egg Hunt. She encouraged residents to look out for each other. Wilson: Huge kudos to Lauren Siebenaler, Communications Specialist, for the 150th Anniversary celebration. We did a video on Friday, April 1 for Farmington's birthday. Bernhjelm: There are a lot of big road construction projects coming up and asked residents to have patience. Lien: No one likes road construction, but it shows the difference between a growing city and a dying city. First impressions are huge. Jamnik: Recognized the passing of Peter Orput, Washington County Attorney. Council Minutes(Regular) April 4,2022 Page 6 Gorski. Encouraged residents to go to the city jobs link on our website. We have lots of positions open. DiMaggio: On Tuesday there is a Farmington networking meeting. Attendees are encouraged to bring laundry detergent for the local food shelf. Omlid: Thanked the mayor for his help Saturday with the Easter bunny event. The liquor stores are having a fundraiser for the Rambling River Center. This month's wine tasting event proceeds go to the Rambling River Center. Regis: He is involved with the audit this week. Hoyt: Friday, April 1, was the official 150th birthday for Farmington. We made a fun video. The weather will be warming up next week. At the Dakota County Regional Chamber's Women's Conference, Councilmember Bernhjelm was honored as a Woman to Watch. Councilmember Bernhjelm stated it was a great honor from the chamber. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Porter, second by Lien to adjourn at 8:00 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia .'Muller Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant