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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.22.94 Special Council Minutes MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING SPECIAL AUGUST 22, 1994 1. Mayor Kuchera called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.. Members Present: Kuchera, Ristow, Orr, Rotty, Galler. Members Absent: None. Also Present: Administrator Thompson, Attorney Grannis. 2. The purpose of the meeting was to conduct two public hearings. 3. High School Grading Permit Mayor Kuchera opened a public hearing at 7:00 P.M. to consider the high school grading permit. Engineer Kaldunski presented an overview of the grading plan noting: a. Existing wetlands will not be disturbed. b. A NURP pond southeast of the wetland will be constructed. c. Parking lots will be expanded. d. Building will be expanded. e. New parking lot and bus turnaround on the southeast corner of the site. Questions/Comments: Cm. Orr: The bus turnaround and parking is where loading and unloading occurs? Eng. Kaldunski: Yes. Cm. Ristow: How far is it from homes? Eng. Kaldunski: The blacktop will be 40 feet to the property line. Cm. Orr: How much closer is it to homes than presently? Eng. Kaldunski: No closer. The area is presently a driveway. The existing parking area in the southeast is being replaced by a building. Andy Simon: Forty feet would put it right up to my deck. Cm. Rotty: Where is the dirt being removed? Eng. Kaldunski: From the NURP pond. ATSR Project Representative: Excess soil will be used on the site. Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 2 Cm. Rotty: The City has locations for excess fill. Cm. Galler: How deep is the NURP pond? Will Spruce Street still flood? Eng. Kaldunski: year flood plain. retain it. Spruce Street will continue to flood because it is within the 100 The NURP is used to clean the water, not to Cm. Galler: Would it help the community to enlarge the pond? Eng. Kaldunski: The site constrains the size. Adm. Thompson: What about the hours of operation? What if the contractor needs additional flexibility? Cm. Orr: on a day to day basis? Could we add language to allow the Engineer to grant more flexibility Andy Simon: Is there any sound barrier required? Eng. Kaldunski: Nothing in this plan. Nothing is planned. Mike Schwanke: Andy Simon: Water from the buildings runs west to east and then back to the west which carries a lot of dirt and sediment. Eng. Kaldunski: lot. A storm sewer will be added to take runoff from the roof and parking Mayor Kuchera: Will riprap be added at the outlet? Eng. Kaldunski: Yes. Terry Stapf: Will bus parking extend past the teacher's lot? Eng. Kaldunski: feet) . Yes, it will extend just past the tennis courts (approximately 150 Terry Stapf: Where will the water go? Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 3 Eng. Kaldunski: Some will go to the east. It will add some water to the existing flows to the east. I don't think it will be a problem. Andy Simon: How many buses do you expect? Mike Schwanke: 25 to 28 buses per day. Maybe 5 to 6 for sports. MOTION by Rotty, second by Galler to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Rotty, second by Galler to approve the grading permit with the change that the Engineer can modify the hours of operation. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember Orr suggested the school consider planting a visual barrier to help the neighbors, perhaps evergreens or a lower planting material screen. 4. Oak Street Assessments Mayor Kuchera opened a public hearing at 7:30 P.M. to consider the assessment roll for the Oak Street project. Questions/Comments Cm. Ristow: Are 5th, 6th and 7th Streets being improved north of the alley? Eng. Kaldunski: Yes. They can be deleted by the Council which would change the assessment roll and eliminate some of the properties. (Administrator Thompson read letters from Kari L. Unke [power of attorney for Virgil Chesness] and Thomas E. Luhtala.) Cm. Rotty: What is the status of the abatement program? Adm. Thompson: Surveys have been conducted. It will be placed on the September 6, 1994 agenda. Engineer Kaldunski presented an overview of the project. Councilmember Orr noted that street lighting would not be assessed. Questions/Comments from the public: Audrey Rademacher: I recently paid $700.00 for driveway and sidewalk. Will I be given a credit? Eng. Kaldunski: I would recommend waiving the driveway assessment in that case. Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 4 Audrey Rademacher: Why are you tearing up good sidewalks? Eng. Kaldunski: We didn't know the project would be built when the sidewalk was replaced. Cm. Rotty: An example was Pine Knoll, which was help up for over 7 years. Cm. Galler: If it was deteriorated the City could be liable for injuries. LYnn Hoffman: What are you doing to my place? Who's getting sidewalk and so on? Eng. Kaldunski: Sidewalks will only be replaced. There are no new walks planned. You are being charged for sidewalk per Council policy. The existing Oak Street will be removed between 4th and 8th Street. 5th, 6th and 7th one half block south of Oak Street will be replaced. North of Oak to Elm is planned to be replaced but the Council may consider only going one half block north of Oak on 6th and 7th Streets. I would not recommend reducing 5th Street because of sanitary sewer replacement. (Mentioned sanitary sewer, water, street lights, storm sewer, seal coat and existing driveway improvements.) Cm. Orr: Would you elaborate on driveways? Eng. Kaldunski: A minimum of 12 feet. If there is sidewalk it will be replaced with concrete. If there is blacktop without sidewalk, it will be replaced with bituminous. Audrey Rademacher: How will my $500 credit be paid? Cm. Galler: General taxes. Cm. Rotty: Could you review the State's 20% rule? Adm. Thompson: The City has to assess at least 20% if it wishes to sell bonds for the project without a referendum. Dave Quehl: You are only going back 3 feet from the curb instead of 12 feet. $500 seems excessive for that little. How far back are you going? Eng. Kaldunski: 3 feet. Dave Quehl: I'm being assessed $500 for 3 feet? Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 5 Adm. Thompson: It will be adjusted once we know the exact amount of driveway installed. Dave Quehl: Will my water service be replaced under the driveway? Can it be moved? Eng. Kaldunski: It can be if there is an agreement. The property owner would pay 100% for that improvement. Dave Quehl: I will talk to you about it. Cm. Orr~ We can do private improvements (driveways) with separate agreements. Ann Muzzy: I have 2 buildable lots. I can't afford the assessment. Eng. Kaldunski: There are two lots. Ann Muzzy: The house sits in the middle. splitting. lot. The Council amended the policy to acknowledge the likelihood of lots In your case, it appears it would be assessed as one Adm. Thompson: Ann Nicholson (Church of the Advent) : We have two lots but only for a single usage. It cannot be subdivided. Cm. Orr: With schools and churches we have "mirrored" property across the street. Adm. Thompson:. In the case of Ms. Muz zy , it is possible the assessment may reflect one lot. If it is 2 lots, one may be deferred. Ann Nicholson: Could you widen the street? Cm. Rotty: At the hearing, the single biggest concern was keeping the road narrow. Ann Nicholson: When will the project begin? Eng. Kaldunski: After Labor Day until mid-November. Ann Nicholson: When can we ask for deferral? Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 6 Adm. Thompson: That is up to the Council. They will adopt the roll tonight or Staff will not certify the roll at the next regular meeting. until late October. Ann Nicholson: Can we get a deferral? Adm. Thompson: That's up to the Council. Sherri Pettis: Will you tell us where to put the garbage? Eng. Kaldunski: Yes. Fritz Valek: I own property on 6th and Oak Street. Can I get a deferment on the 6th Street lot? Adm. Thompson: There are two lots of record. It is Council policy to assess both lots. I would recommend that both be assessed. (Discussion on stubbing sewer and water.) Earl Cook: Why do I have to pay in full when the project won't be completed until next Spring? Adm. Thompson: I believe its dictated by State Law. I will verify. Ruth Cook: Why did you widen the road at all? Cm. Orr: We listened to the people at the hearing and the Fire Department. Earl Cook: I don't think it is a safety issue. Cm. Rotty: It was a compromise. Kari Unke: A contract will be awarded tonight. When can I appeal? Adm. Thompson: I anticipate the assessment roll will be adopted on September 6th. Doug Haas: Why is my assessment higher? (2 driveways). I would like to eliminate the 6th Street driveway. Fritz Valek: I would like 6th Street aligned with the driveway. Audrey Rademacher: Do I have to appeal? Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 7 Cm. Orr: If the driveway is only 2 years old, it would be taken off. ($508 +/-) Eng. Kaldunski: Why start so late? This is the planned time frame. Dave Quehl: Dave Quehl: Is it the same contractor over and over? Eng. Kaldunski: Arcon is one of the best contractors the City has dealt with. The award is based on the lowest bidder. Sue Martin: We were never notified. We just bought our house. We already got our water bill but no assessment notice. engineering. records. You raise a good point. We should coordinate between billing and For legal purposes, we have to use property tax Adm. Thompson: LYnn Hoffman: pine Knoll got credits. Cm. Orr: It was for septic systems. The total was $6,000 per home. LYnn Hoffman: Won't sidewalks be a hazard if they're out all winter? Cm. Rotty: If there is a safety concern raise it with engineering. We had the same concern last year with 4th Street. Brad Pettis: Will there be another hearing? Cm. Galler: The next time it will be considered is on September 6th. Dave Girardi: Why replace all of 5th Street sidewalks if only five services will be replaced? Eng. Kaldunski: You would end up with a patchwork. LYnn Hoffman: Are you going to hire an appraiser? Cm. Orr: That hasn't been decided. Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 8 Adm. Thompson: Mr. Girardi makes a good point regarding the 5th Street sidewalk. I would recommend not installing the sidewalk by Tom Thumb at this time, but wait for the Elm Street project. Dave Quehl: When is Elm Street going to be built? Eng. Kaldunski: County. Plans will be submitted in four years. It is mainly up to the Adm. Thompson: Tom Thumb is being assessed for driveway. Dave Quehl: I don't would like the Tom Thumb driveway to be moved to a safer location. Sue Martin: The cost of the assessment cannot exceed the increase in value? Will my taxes go up? (Lengthy discussion on benefits vs. assessments.) Adm. Thompson: Your assessment will not immediately increase taxes. MOTION by Orr, second by Ristow to close the hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Questions/Concerns: a. Rademacher driveway. b. Muzzy double lot - either one lot or deferred. c. Administrator Thompson presented a letter of objection from the Episcopal Church of the Advent. d. Episcopal Church - On Walnut Street Project and 4th Street the churches and schools were mirrored, they should be assessed for 2. Check to see if it qualifies for an abatement. e. Haas should be one driveway. f. Fritz Valek - Okay to defer but interest should be paid. Maybe include sewer/water service with Elm Street project? Mr. Valek to consider. g. Do north half of 6th and 7th Streets with Elm Street project. Go to north half of the alley. h. Tom Thumb sidewalk to be eliminated. i. People with sidewalk/driveway should pay more than people with just 3 foot apron. j. Appraisals - consensus is No. Council Minutes - Special - 8/22/94 - Page 9 MOTION by Galler, second by Orr to adopt RESOLUTION NO. R104-94 awarding a contract to Arcon Construction for the Oak Street Project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. MOTION by Ristow, second by Rotty to adjourn at 9:50 P.M.. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. ~peCL~ submitted, 1/J7T -r-- Larry Thompson City Administrator Approved