Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.19.81 Council Minutes c' -, , / i -', ..1 ... ,,-' MINUTES COUNCil MEETING REGULAR JANUARY 19 , 1981 1. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 7:00 P.M. Present: Mayor Stegmaier, Councilmembers Cook, Cummings, Kuchera and Orr. Absent: None Also Present: City Administrator Ford and City Attorney Gorgos. 2. The first item on the agenda involved the on-going dispute between the City of Farmington and the Minnesota Cable Television Board, involving the interpre- tation of the law and whether or not the board had the authority to set aside an existing contract between the City and Metro Cable, the franshisee. An invitation had been issued to Mr. W. D. Donaldson, representing the Cable Board, to explain the State's position in this matter. Also present was Mr. Lanny Sparks representing Metro Cable, Incorporated. A lengthy discussion and exchange of views between members of the Council, the staff and Mr. Donaldson followed. Motion by Kuchera, second by Cook that the City hereby agree to voluntarily amend its Cable Television Ordinance to conform with current guidelines published by Minnesota Cable Television Board contingent upon the execution of a written waiver by the current franchisee, Metropolitan Cable. Voting in favor: Kuchera, Cook, Cummings, Stegmaier. Voting against: Orr. Motion carried. 3. Motion by Kuchera, second by Orr to approve the minutes of January 13, 1981 as presented. APIF, motion carried. 4. Motion by Kuchera, second by Orr to approve the attendance of Bill Hince and David Dahl at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Seminar on Waste Water Collections Systems to be held January 21 through January 23, 1981 in Bloomington. APIF, motion carried. 5. Motion by Kuchera, second by Cook to approve the promotion of David Dahl in the General Services Department from Maintenance Worker II to Maintenance Worker II I, in accordance with the memorandum from the Deputy Treasurer, dated January 13, 1981, and that any probationary period be waived. APIF, motion carried. 6. The Council took note of the Deputy Treasurer's memorandum dated January 19, 1981 informing the Council of the upcoming retirement of Mr. Floyd Weea, Maintenance Worker I I I, General Services Department. Motion by Orr, second by Cummings that staff hereby be authorized to institute the process of securing the services of a Maintenance Worker I at a starting salary of $6.76/hour, which upon success- ful completion of a six month probationary period, will be increased to $7.44/ hour. APIF, motion carried. 7. Motion by Kuchera, second by Cummings to approve the purchase of the emergency wiring for lift stations at a cost of $1,600 by Kelly Electric as budgeted in the 1981 Capital Outlay Budget and further, to authorize the following budget adjustment decrease street, curb and sidewalk repair $lOO, decrease wiring the lift stations $400, new line item - purchase of quartz lights, City Garage $500. APIF, motion carried. ?":L1 ." J 8. The Council discussed the memorandum by the City Administrator dated January 16, 1981, calling attention to the difficulty presented in the zoning ordinance by not requiring a special exception in the R-A, R-2 and R-3 residential zoning districts to convert a single family dwelling to a two family dwelling. This matter was deferred to the next meeting at which time it was anticipated the Planning Commission would have had a chance to discuss it. 9. Motion by Orr, second by Cook to adopt RESOLUTION NO. R10-81, accepting the proposal of Erickson, Ellison and Associates to perform the require maxi energy audit for the City of Farmington at a cost of $1,290. APIF, motion carried. 10. An agenda item dealt with the response of the City of Farmington to a summons received concerning the case of Siebenaler Vs the City of Farmington. At the recommendation of the City Attorney it was decided that this matter would be taken up at the close of this meeting in Executive Session under the client/ lawyer privilege afforded under the Open Meeting law. 11. The Council reviewed a memorandum from the City Administrator dated January 13, 1981, in which ~aspointed out. the effect that subsequent union negotiations had had on the normal separation of pay between the sergeant and the top patrol officer. The memorandum showed that due to the subsequent negotiations as of January 1, 1981 the separation in pay was $11.33. Motion by Orr, second by Kuchera that the pay for sergeant be established at $11.27 per hour, retroactive to January 1, 1981 and further, that the 1981 Budget be adjusted to provide an additional $4,035 into Police Department Wages, said money to be provided by a transfer from the contingency account. APIF, motion carried. 12. A lengthy informal discussion on the Open Meeting law was conducted among members of the Council and the City Attorne~ based on an informative memorandum prepared by him, dated January 7, 1981. The one point cited by the City Attorney, which attracted the most attention by the Council was the Attorney's position that even written correspondence among members of elected officials would be in vio- lation of the Open Meeting Law and the rightfully, to avoid such violation, proposals by one member of the Council, to others, should be channeled through the City Administrator's office. 13. Motion by Cummings, second by Kuchera to adopt RESOLUTION #R11-81, stating that the Farmington City Council favors the position of the Minnesota Fire Chief's Association concerning an amendment to the State Building Code, requiring sprinkler systems under certain conditions. APIF, motion carried. 14. The Council then made the following appointments to Boards and Commissions: Motion by Orr, second by Kuchera to appoint Robert Steele to another three year term on the Cable Television Advisory Commission from 2/1/81 to 1/31/84. APIF, motion carried. 15. Motion by Kuchera, second by Cook to appoint Harold Wieben to another two year term as the Park and Recreation representation to the Human Rights Commission from 2/1/81 to 1/31/83. APIF, motion carried. 16. Motion by Kuchera, second by Cook to appoint Norman Hansen to another two year term to the at large seat, on the Human Rights Commission from 2/1/81 to 1/31/83. APIF, motion carried. 21 ~, 17. An appointment to fill the vacant 2 year seat formally held by Donald Feely, Jr., was deferred to the next meeting. 18. The Council took note of official correspondence received from the Metro- politan Council informing the City of it's prerogative to enact ordinances to control the construction, operation, monitoring and maintenance of the Waste Facility of the MWCC and on the sale, storage, use and disposal of sewage sludge on private property, if it so chose. It was the consensus of the Council that no such control was needed. The City Administrator was also authorized and directed to write a letter to the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission and Metro Council urging them to encourage and facilitate the distribution and use of sewage sludge coming from the Empire Plant in a more localized manner. 19. Motion by Orr, second by Cook that the bills be approved as presented. APIF, motion carried. 20. The Mayor then announced that following adjournment of this meeting the Council would go into Executive Session as recommended by the City Attorney. 21. Motion made and seconded to adjourn at 8:55 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ~'/. .4-# ~<<~hcll~ William J. Ford ~ . City Administrator APPROVED: