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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.06.98 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR July 6, 1998 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: Ristow, Cordes, Fitch, Gamer, Strachan. Members Absent: None. Also Present: City Administrator Erar, Attorney Joel Jamnik, City Management Team. 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Gamer, second by Cordes to approve the agenda with the addition of the supplemental item 9a - 2nd Street Parking Lot and add Developer Issues as the first item under Unfmished Business. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS -None. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS- . a)Dolly Newberg, 5680 W. 193rd St. and Mary Stark, 19380 Eureka Ave, experienced a sewer back ups on May 15, 1998 as a result of a power outage and consequent non-functioning lift station. City insurance, LMC Trust, has denied liability, classifying it an "act of God." The City responded to Ms. Newberg's/Ms. Stark's allegations since the last Council meeting. Ms. Newberg further questioned the following: 1 )affording back-up generators at all lift stations; 2)getting records and information on tank capacity and service capacity of the Fairhills lift station; 3)100king into other City insurance providers who have a better record of satisfying legitimate claims; 4)developing a written emergency plan for public works employees during power outages; 5)having certified sewer and water operators on staff; 6)finding the apparent stormwater inflow problems. Staff responded with assurances that providing back-up generators for lift stations are being researched; a written emergency plan will be developed; the public works department presently has a certified sewer and water operator, and has contracted services of neighboring cities' licensed operators when Farmington has been without; is looking at areas of possible inflow; and is working on providing for an extension to the upcoming construction of Middle Creek Trunk Sanitary Sewer, which would eliminate the need for the Fairhills lift station, thus creating a gravity fed system serving this area. . Ms. Stark, 19380 Eureka Ave., still contends that the sewer back-up was not solely due to the power outage and questioned the conflict of interest that may be present for the City Engineer (employed by Bonestroo) and the City's consulting engineer being the same. Staff assured Ms. Stark that the City Engineer's loyalties are to the City, and that his status is not a conflict of interest, but rather a matter of integrity, trust and honesty. . b) Sharon Sibley, 5681 193rd St., was satisfied with the City's response to their concerns of the last meeting. . c)Jason Elias, 19267 Euclid Path, clarified that his participation in the 6/15/98 meeting was to alert the City to the possible contamination of the wetland in Fairhills as a result of pumping the lift station on 5/15/98. He also felt it was gross negligence to continue to use defective hoses and poorly trained employees. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fitch, second by Gamer to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes 6/15/98 (Regular), 6/16/98 (Special) b) Approved Appointment of Cynthia Muller as Executive Assistant c) Approved Billiard Permit for Rodney Cassedy, new owner of Farmington Billiards, 933 8th St. d) Waived the License Fee for the Chamber of Commerce Farmer's Market e) Adopted RESOLUTIONS R62-98 and R63-98 Approving a Gambling Premise Permit for the Longbranch Saloon and Eatery and Farmington Lanes. 7/6/98 Minutes Continued Page 2 t) Acknowledged the Sale of the Obsolete Rear Load Packer Truck g) Approved the Capital Outlay Purchase -Parks and Recreation- Purchase ofa Vehicle h) Adopted RESOLUTION R61-98 Establishing a Re-inspection Fee for Temporary Certificates of Occupancy i) Approved a Capital Outlay for the Fire Department for the Purchase of Five Voice Pagers j) Approved Bills. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS - none. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT a) Adopt Resolution - 2nd Street Parking Lot This item will be deferred to the 7/20/98 meeting since the bids came in slightly higher than estimated. Staff is looking for ways to reduce the cost of the project and obtain the written easement agreement from the railroad before the contract is awarded. 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & COMMUNICATIONS (taken in order listed) a) Adopt Resolution - Charleswood Final Plat Planning Coordinator Smick presented the plat consisting of 83 lots on 32.29 acres located south of 195th St. (CR 64) and west of the new Pilot Knob alignment. The property is zoned R-3 planned-unit development, single-family residential with setbacks slightly different from the City guidelines. The developer proposed a 5 foot setback for the garage side yard, 10 feet for the house side yard, 20 feet for front, rear and street side yards. MOTION by Fitch, second by Cordes to adopt RESOLUTION R59-98 Approving and Authorizing the signing of the Charleswood Final Plat with the contingencies outlined. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. t) Middle Creek Trunk Sanitary Sewer - Fairhills Extension (moved up to accommodate audience participation) City Engineer/Public Works Director Mann explained that the bids for this trunk sewer came in well under the estimated costs and that it would be good timing to get a quote from the contractor for extending the trunk through Fairhills, thus eliminating the lift station that serves this area. MOTION by Fitch, second by Cordes, authorizing the staff to request a change order price quote; and if this quote is less than 25% of the bid, to proceed with negotiating temporary easements with the affected property owners. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - Charleswood Development Contract The Development Contract for Charleswood (Astra Genstar, Developer) has been drafted in accordance with the conditions presented at the July 6, 1998 Council meeting. Mr. Juetten was present to suggest some language revisions to the contract and to take issue with the level of responsibility his development would accept for the improvement needed for 195th Street. Administrator Erar explained that the Development Contracts have been designed to protect the City and the residents who will occupy this housing. These are standards for the benefit of the long-term taxpayer. MOTION by Gamer, second by Strachan to adopt RESOLUTION R60-98 Approving the Charleswood Development Contract contingent upon conditions agreed to by Council, staff, City Attorney, and the Developer. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Recess at 9:40 P.M. and reconvened at 9:50 P.M. II. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Developer Issues - (an addition to the agenda by the Mayor at the time of agenda approval and discussion moved up to accommodate the developers/builders present.) Eight developers and builders currently working in the City presented their case involving trust and communication issues. Warren Israelson of Progress Land Company, developer of Prairie Creek, was most upset by the action taken by the City when his Letter of Credit was partially drawn upon. He failed to finish a punch list of items compiled by the Engineering Department, after ample warning was given, according to staff. Mr. Israelson's biggest complaint was the fact that the standards used by the Engineering Department to evaluate projects had changed recently since the new City Engineer had taken over. Developers who thought th.ey were nearing completion, were given additional items to fix/complete. John Dobbs of Heritage Development reiterated that consistent rules were important, saying it was unfair to uphold them to new standards midstream; unwelcome attitude was perceived. Staff defended their position by explaining that the standards were not new, but rather items that were knowingly not done and were never effectively inspected. Tim Giles, T.C. Construction, complained about the high engineering bills submitted by the City and the 7/6/98 Minutes Continued Page 3 difficulty of getting inspections when needed. Builder Ken Anzec expressed his dismay at the inconsistencies; what is required and constant changing of the rules. Keith and Gary Horky of Keyland Homes feel that all the extra requirements have made it a fmancial hardship and staff could do more to work with builders as well. Staff said it was their intention to bring Farmington to the same level of standards as surrounding cities. Staff is very willing to work with developers if they show evidence of working toward completion, but if the City gets no communication, then there are consequences. Administrator Erar stressed that there was no miscommunication on the City's part in this matter; just complying with City policy. After three hours of discussion, it was decided to continue dialogue within the Task Force, a forum of developers and builders for working with staff on issues and problems. Councilmember Strachan left the meeting at 12:40 A.AI. Recess at 12:40 A.AI. and reconvened at 12:50 A.AI. 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & COMMUNICATIONS (resumed) c) Dakota County C.I.P. - City Recommendations Engineer Mann recommended the following projects be scheduled in the County's 1999-2003 CIP: 1999: CR 64 (195th St.) 1/4 mile west of CSAH 31 to CSAH 31 1999: CR 72, TH 3 to east City limits 2000: CSAH 50, Division to TH 3 2000: CR 64 from CSAH 31 to TH 3. Staff was authorized to forward the recommended requests to the County for preparation of the Dakota County draft 1999-2003 CIP, adding the installation of traffic signals at 190th, 193rd and 195th Streets and Pilot Knob Road to the list as a reminder to the County. d) Draft Dakota County Transportation Policy Plan Update Any questions or concerns regarding the draft transportation plan as submitted in the agenda should be directed to Erar. e) Castle Rock Township Comprehensive Plan Amendment - City Comments Administrator Erar reviewed the Castle Rock Comprehensive Plan Amendment that was submitted to the Metropolitan Council and outlined some issues that make it inappropriate at this time. The issues involve the proposed commercial/industrial park in Section 5 south ofTH 50 adjacent to Fountain Valley Golf Course. A map identifies this area in question as having a high sensitivity to aquifer pollution; also a portion of this area is proposed for stormwater ponding in the Farmington's Stormwater Management Plan, additionally where run off has not been adequately planned for the proposed commercial/industrial development. This property is critical to the stormwater management of the area. MOTION by Fitch, second by Gamer, authorizing the submittal of these comments to the Metropolitan Council before Castle Rock's request to amend their Comprehensive Plan is reviewed. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (resumed) a) Randall House Demolition - Acknowledged by Council. b) Downtown Streetscape project - Neighborhood Meeting Feedback - Deferred until 7/20/98. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Water shut-off policy - Revision - Deferred until 7/20/98. 13. ROUNDTABLE a) Weed Complaints - Acknowledged by Council. b) Kuchera Entrance Trail Damage - Acknowledged by Council. c) St. Paul Train Whistles - Deferred until 7/20/98. MOTION by Fitch, second by Gamer to adjourn at 1: 13 A.M. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Res ectfully submitted, ~