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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.19.79 Council Minutes ") '.,~ ';.1 .] MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING REGULAR MARCH 19, 1979 1. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 7:00 P.M. Present: Mayor Akin, Councilmen Johnson, Kuchera, Orr and Whittier Also Present: Administrator Ford, Attorney Gorgos, Engineer Glen Cook 2. Motion by Kuchera, second by Orr to approve the minutes of March 5, 1979, as presented. APIF, motion carried. 3. The City Administrator had presented a memo dated February 15, 1979 which e. pointed out that as a result of the recent arbitration award and subsequent t7fV \1C\ contract with the Farmington Pol ice Officers, that some Pol ice Officers were ~\~ making as much or more now than the Sergeant and suggested that the council may want to adjust. Considerable discussion followed. Motion by Orr, second by Whittier that the rate for Sergeant be set for at least as much as the rate for Police Officer. Voting Yes: Orr, Johnson. Voting No: Akin, Kuchera, Whittier. Motion not carried. 4. The council then discussed a memo from the Administrator dated February 23, 1979, which discussed the salary for Finance Director, the position of which was now vacant following the resignation of Mr. John Hawes. It was the consensus of the council that a considerable increase in the present salary of $17,950 would have to be effected in order to make Farmington reasonably competitive in securing an individual to fill this position. The Administrator was authorized and directed to proceed accordingly. 5. The council was informed that the testing and interviewing of applicants for the position of Police Officer working from the current eligibility list had now been completed, and that the City Administrator and the Police Chief was recommending to the council that the position be filled by Mr. Jerome Wacher, effective April 3, 1979, at a starting rate of $7.46 per hour. Motion by Johnson, second by Kuchera that the above recommendation be approved by the council. APIF, motion carried. 6. Staff presented to the council, for their review, the proposed performance evaluation report to be used in rating Police Officers and determining "above average performance'l which meets the requirements of the merit pay provisions of the recent arbitration awards. Motion by Johnson, second by Orr that the form of the report be approved for immediate use. APIF, motion carried. 6. Motion by Johnson, second by Whittier that Dennis Pepera and Michael Hince be approved for the position of volunteer Fire Fighter as recommended by the Fire Department in a memo dated March 19, 1979. Their employment to be effective March 19, 1979 with a six month probationary period. APIF, motion carried. 7. Motion by Johnson, second by Kuchera that the council approve the bills for payment as presented. APIF, motion carried. 8. The council then addressed themselves to the consideration of a sustitute feasibility identified as supplemental report No.2, dealing with the proposed 1979 Improvements including those which would serve Fair Hills Addition. City Engineer Glen Cook, made his presentation which showed how all of the improvements could be provided to the 80 acres within the Fair Hills Plat only, without benefiting abutting property owners and, therefore, negating the need for any assessments out- side of the plat. His presentation, however, did point out that in the interest of (' . z4 overall, long-range planning, this would not be an advisable method in which to deal with this problem and could present almost insoluable obstacles to certain abutting property owners in the future, if and when, they chose to develope. There were many many statements and questions from the audience, many of whom were affected property owners. Mr. Bill Jackson stated that the property which he owned was under immirrent sale for development. Mr. CI iff Nelsen stated that his land also, was ripe for development. Mr. Devney stated that he had no immediate plans for development on the land which he was presently farming but had serious misgivings about locking himself out for the availability of services in the future. When Mr. Jackson was asked the question if he would join in a petition for the improvements, his answer was yes. The matter was then brought back to the table for discussion among council members. Following that the Mayor stated he would entertain a motion to accept the supplemental report No.2. Motion by Akin, second by Orr to adopt RESOLUTION NO. R12-79 accepting supplemental Report No.2, dated March 12, 1979. APIF, motion carried. 9. A further discussion followed concerning alternate courses of action at this point. Motion by Orr, second by Kuchera to adopt RESOLUTION NO. R13-79 setting a public hearing for 7:00 P.M., at a special meeting, April 4, 1979, for the purpose of reconsidering the 1979 improvements as an assessable project under MS 429 based on an earlier feasibility and supplemental report dated December 18, 1978, and further, to consider a decision to proceed with the project and to order plans and specifications. Staff and Attorney to effect the necessary publication and mailing. APIF, motion carried. 10. In connection with this matter, the Mayor informed the council that a list of questions in writing had been submitted by representatives of the business and professional community in Farmington, dated March 19, 1979. Mr. Harbee Tharaldson acted as spokesman and explained that the list of questions were being submitted with the intent of securing information as to the overall attitude toward development which each councilman might have. Each councilman spoke briefly to the questions afterwhich the matter was declared closed. 11. Councilman Leon Orr was excused at 10:30 P.M. 12. Motion by Whittier, second by Johnson authorizing the attendance of two individuals from General Services Department to the annual waterworks operators workshop to be held April 24-26, 1979, Bloomington, Minnesota. APIF, motion carried. 13. The Mayor submitted the following names for appointments to Boards and Commissions: Human Rights, Park and Rec Rep, Expires 1-31-81 - Hardld Weiben CATV Commission, Expires 1-31-82 - Robert Boeckman. Motion by Akin, second by Whittier that the above appointments be approved. APIF, motion carried. 14. Various items of correspondence were brought to the attention of the council including the appointment of Ms. Kathy Ritter as newly appointed Metropolitan Council Representative from this area, a letter of gratitude regarding Arena Ice Rental from the Lakeville School and a letter from Bob Steele, Fireman, regarding the effectiveness of certain equipment provided to the fire department by the council. 15. The City Administrator was excused at 10:50 P.M. ~5 Council minutes of 3/19/79 cont. 16. The council again looked into the matter of on-going litigation regarding the fire alert pagers used by the Fire Department. Several officers of the Fire Department and the City Attorney joined in the discussion. The discussion resulted in the following points of consensus: 1) That the unre1iability of the pagers had now reached the point where they constituted a serious threat to life and property. 2) That extraordinary emergency action was required, notwithstanding the pending law suit. 3) That emergency, stopgap solutions would not, in the opinion of the Attorney, jeopardize the ongoing law suit. 4) That the Administrator should verify with the Dakota County Tribune that the offer to allow the installation of an antenna on their radio tower was still in effect. bv0~ 5) That if the offer by Dakota County1~~s still valid, that the City Administrator immediately proceed to have installed the pager antenna on the Dakota County Tribune and other miscellaneous equipment modifi- cations be made, not to exceed an amount of $750.00. Motion by Akin, second by Kuchera that the council proceed as indicated above. APIF, motion carried. 17. Motion made and seconded to adjourn at 11:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ~~,;.I$df Wi 11 iam J. Ford7 City Administrator APPROVED 1-/ /'J, /79 WJF/kf