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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.19.09 Council Minutes 7a- COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR October 19, 2009 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m~ 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Larson led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Larson, Donnelly, Fogarty May, Wilson Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Lee Smick, City Planner; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Annette Kuyper, Ellsworth & Kay Hoeppner, David Pritzlaff 4. APPROVE A GENDA City Attorney Poehler pulled item 70) Amend 2030 Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map at 913 10th Street and 1001 Ash Street as it requires four votes from the Council. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Acknowledge Retirement - Tom Hemish Council acknowledged the retirement of Tom Hemish from the Fire Department with 23 years of service. b) Adopt Resolution - Accept Donations and Acknowledge Rambling River Center Construction Volunteers - Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Director Distad recognized the volunteers who worked on the construction of the new Rambling River Center. The fundraising committee had a goal of$90,000 over five years and they have reached over 50% of that goal. There were time and talent volunteers who donated 2,243 hours. Residents who contributed towards naming rights were recognized and businesses who donated labor. Staff members Don Hayes, Missie Kohlbeck, and Cindy McMillen were recognized for their supervision of the project and coordinating volunteers. Also recognized was the building maintenance staff for assistance with moving and cleaning out the building. Ken Lewis and John Powers were recognized for doing inspections and making sure the work was up to code. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to adopt RESOLUTION R46-09 accepting Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 2 donations of funds to the Rambling River Center Construction Project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, stated for six weeks there has been a farm trailer in the ditch just north of the Donnelly home. He asked about the concern for public safety as this is a hazard for people driving on Flagstaff A venue. Mayor Larson cautioned Mr. Pritzlaff about singling out a Councilmember and advised him to only speak to the issue. Mr. Pritzlaff stated for 4.5 weeks a tire has been along the shoulder of the road before it was moved into the ditch. With the weather conditions, he was concerned a vehicle could hit the tire and cause an accident. He asked for this to be removed within 24 hours. Mr. Pritzlaff stated Council has already approved the sale of the parks garage on Elm Street. His concern is that when the building was put up for sale, the conditions of the sale were not established. He stated the City should have researched the conditions to be followed and bring the information to the EDA. Offers should have been entertained on a first come basis and do everything possible for local business owners. He has read the criteria for redevelopment and some ofthe local offers fit the criteria. He has spoken with the owners ofPellicci Hardware and stated offers have been for $47,000, $60,000 and $95,000 from local businesses. One proposal stood out for $95,000 and no strings attached. Pellicci's would buy the old parks garage, expand their business, increase jobs by one full time and one part time for now, do improvements to the building, put the property back on the tax roles as a commercial property, and also build a new building for the hardware store. This offer was not accepted and an offer from a Lakeville business for $20,000 was pursued. Two City representatives offered suggestions for Vermillion River Crossings or a commercial spot in Empire Township or Lakeville. He asked if this is the way Council was going to handle economic development. Mr. Pritzlaff stated an offer had to be written a certain way to promote redevelopment. It has also been stated the property cannot be sold for less than the County's tax value of $187,000. We are now looking at approving the lowest offer. He asked what would happen if the taxes paid on the property would go towards the difference of the sale amount versus the tax value. He asked if that would be the same as a small amount of money from the County to pay off waiving the assessments in Vermillion River Crossings for the CDA project and the taxpayers paying for the sewer line. Council is considering a $100,000 levy from the 2010 budget to go to the EDA. With the decision of the sale and losing $75,000 and handing out a $25,000 loan to cover a CEEF debt, there is reason for concern. He urged all concerned residents to attend next Monday's EDA meeting and the next Council meeting to ask questions. With two Councilmembers absent from this meeting, Mr. Pritzlaff asked Council to delay the vote on the CEEF loan until the full Council is present. This was brought up at a previous meeting when other members were absent. Mr. Ellsworth Hoeppner, 27 Walnut Street, received a letter from City Administrator Herlofsky regarding their concerns with the business across the street and he was not Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 3 happy with the letter. He also was not happy with the Police Department. There is a nuisance ordinance. The Police Department determined that the activities at the business were lawful. Mr. Hoeppner asked how it can be lawful when they have a big machine blaring for eight hours on a Saturday and before 7 a.m. on Sunday. A Police Officer who came said it was okay for this to occur. Mr. Hoeppner stated there is a code regarding a public nuisance and quoted from the code. He asked what good it does to call the Police Department when they do not do the job they are supposed to be doing. The Police Officer heard the machine running, spoke with the workers, and was told they would be done in a couple hours. That was Sunday morning. Mr. Hoeppner felt the officer should have told the workers to stop the machine as they did not have a permit for the work they were doing on the roof. The workers were spraying foam on the roof and Mr. Hoeppner felt it was toxic. You could still smell it the next morning and it irritated their eyes. The workers wore masks and suits. The wind was blowing the smell into their house and they had to close the windows. You could not stand to be outside the smell was so strong. He asked if there was a code for commercial buildings and what can be put on the roofs. They have had a problem for the last three years with noise. They start trucks at 5:30 a.m., slam the doors, and the hours of operation say 7 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., but they are starting before 6 a.m. They return at 10 p.m. and make a lot of noise. He felt there should be a set time to run a business instead of going seven days a week. The trucks come out from the front and are left running. They put a foamer out a 7:30 a.m. and left it run for an hour. They cannot stand to be in their house and he has lived there for 50 years. This is the worst it has ever been. If the City does not enforce the laws, he will move. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the day after the situation was brought to Council, staff followed up on the situation. Staff has not been made aware of any further issues in the last two weeks. It is difficult to address nuisances as they are subjective. Staff felt working on the roof was a one time event. It is good there are businesses in operation and providing work for people. Mr. Hoeppner stated they provide jobs, but staff does not care about the residents. Staff only cares about commercial businesses, not the residents. Mayor Larson stated it is a commercial district that abuts a residential district. We cannot force the business to cooperate. Mr. Hoeppner stated the business has to have rules to follow, such as residents. He is abusing every rule in the book. A truck came in at 7 p.m. on a Sunday night and it was running until 9 a.m. on Monday. He felt this should not be going on in a residential area. Mayor Larson stated that is the problem; the business is not in a residential area. The business is in a commercial district and there is only a street separating the two. The commercial district does allow what he is doing. Mr. Hoeppner stated the Planning Commission approved this and asked what heavy commercial is. When it was approved, there were no rules on time of operation. When the City used the building, there were no problems, and they had more trucks than this owner. With the new owner there is nothing but problems. He did have four trucks, now he has 13. There will have to be some rules and Council needs to make the final decision, not staff. Council needs to start doing something, because they are getting tired of this. Mayor Larson asked if the business owner is aware of the problems they are causing. City Administrator Herlofsky stated staff addressed the issue with the roofing work. There was additional information regarding noise and how difficult it was to take care of it. , Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 4 These are new issues and staff will look into the situation. If the noise is intermittent or occasional, that will not be easily resolved through a nuisance or noise regulation because it is required to be a sustained noise above a certain level. Mayor Larson suggested if the truck is running all night, perhaps it could be behind the building. City Administrator Herlofsky noted the information provided states if there are noise issues, the best thing is to go to the source and ask them what they can do about it. Mr. Hoeppner stated this was brought up a long time ago and he talked to the City Planner. Staff will review the situation. Mr. Hoeppner has spoken to the business owner three times, but will not go over there again. The business owner just wants to make it meaner for everyone. Mr. Hoeppner stated regarding the pollution issue, he called all three numbers he was given and they are unlisted. It says if there is a problem, the Police Department should handle it. City Administrator Herlofsky explained it was general information to address the issue. Not all of it works in all circumstances. Staff will review the situation. Mr. Hoeppner stated regarding the Police Chief, the second time he came he told Mr. Hoeppner if there were any more problems to call 911 and the patrol officers would know what to do. When a patrol officer came the last time, Mr. Hoeppner asked if the Police Chief had informed them of the problems. The officer said no. This was prior to the previous Council meeting. He spoke with the Police Chief 4-5 months ago. He tried to call him three times and he could not get through to him. He did not want to leave a message. The problem came up again and Mr. Hoeppner was told it was lawful. He did not understand what kind of police force we have if you cannot use common sense and tell when something is too loud. Mayor Larson stated they will keep trying to make the business a better neighbor. The codes are subjective. Mr. Hoeppner stated it is up to Council to determine what should be right. Mayor Larson stated by the time Council knew about the roofing work, they were done. Mr. Hoeppner stated Council does not understand the problem. He is home everyday. Mayor Larson stated we can try to make him a better neighbor, but we cannot kick him out. Mr. Hoeppner wanted him to come to common sense. If it is not resolved, he will move. Ms. Annette Kuyper, Warrior to Citizen Campaign, thanked the City for their support. At the Wall of Heroes at the Haunted House there were over 62 local service members honored. Upcoming events include October 20, St. Michael's Church will be hosting two speakers regarding the future of Minnesota troop deployments and what the community can do to help military families. On December 19 there will be a breakfast with Santa for military families at the Rosemount Community Center. The next project for the campaign will be to ask businesses for their partnership with Warrior to Citizen. They have decals for business windows that will recognize them as a Yellow Ribbon business. To become a Yellow Ribbon business they need to partner with the Warrior to Citizen campaign by offering discounts to military families, being on the committee, helping with events, or volunteer to help military families. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: Council Minutes (Regular) October 19, 2009 Page 5 a) Approve Council Minutes (10/5/09 Regular) (10/5/09 Workshop) (10/12/09Town Hall Meeting) (1 0/12/09 Workshop) b) Received Information Third Quarter Building Permit Report - Building Inspections c) Approved Temporary On-Sale Liquor License - Administration d) Received Information September 2009 Financial Report - Finance e) Received Information Quarterly Investment Report - Finance f) Adopted RESOLUTIONS R47-09 and R48-09 Calling for Sale of Bonds Refinancing the 2001A Public Project Revenue Bonds and G.O. Utility Revenue Bonds 2001 B - Finance g) Adopted RESOLUTION R49-09 Reimbursement of Expenses Walnut Street, Project - Finance h) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-609 Amending Section 10-5-1 Concerning the Official Zoning Map - Planning i) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-610 Amending Sections 10-5-6(B)I, 10-5-7(B)I, 10-5-8(A) and (B)I, 10-5-10(A) and (B)I, 10-5-11(B)I, 10-5-12(B)1 Concerning Density Requirements - Planning j) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-611 Establishing Downtown Commercial District Overlay Design Standards - Planning k) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-612 Amending Section 10-6-20 of the City Code Concerning Industrial Park Design Standards - Planning I) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-613 Repealing Section 10-5-9 Concerning the R-4 (Medium-High Density Residential) Zoning District - Planning m) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-614 Establishing Section 10-5-20 Concerning the Mixed Use Commercial/Residential Zoning District (MUCR) - Planning n) Adopted ORDINANCE 009-615 Amending Section 10-5-5(C)2 Concerning the Commercial Recreational Uses - Planning p) Adopted RESOLUTION R50-09 Approving Final Plat Vermillion River Crossing Senior Housing - Planning q) Received Information School and Conference - Police r) Acknowledged Resignation Finance - Human Resources s) Acknowledged Retirement Fire Department - Human Resources t) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources u) Approved bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Liquor Store Quarterly Report - Liquor Operations For the third quarter, the downtown location is down 1.8% in sales. Beer is down 2.3% and liquor sales are down 1 %. The Pilot Knob location is down 10% due to more competition and people buying less. Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 6 b) Approve Dushane Parkway Change Order #1 - Engineering There are three items added back into the project including: - Sidewalk near McDonald's and along Spruce Street at the connection with Dushane - Changing the median caps to plain concrete - Relocate two street light poles on Spruce Street The amount of the change order is $61,671.54 and is within the project budget. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve change order #1 for the Dushane Parkway Extension Project in the amount of$61,671.54. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) CEEF Agreement - Administration The amount of the loan is $23,271 from the EDA to CEEF. The term of the agreement is until July 31,2015 with a 3% interest rate. The CEEF Board agreed with the terms. Mr. David Pritzlaff requested Council wait for a full Council before taking a vote. Councilmember Fogarty stated her motion will be to approve the loan and move it to the EDA so all members of the Council will have a vote on the final issue. Mr. Pritzlaff asked if that meeting will be televised, and it will not be. Councilmember Fogarty noted all the minutes have been published and people have spoken on this issue several times. Mr. Pritzlaff felt it should be in public. Councilmember Fogarty stated it will be voted on now so the public will see at least three members vote on it. Mr. Pritzlaff stated it is different from when she was absent. Councilmember Fogarty stated the other members new this was on the agenda to be voted on and they had the opportunity to ask for it to be removed and neither one did. Mr. Pritzlaff asked what the total amount would be with interest at the end of the term. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the plan is to pay it off as quickly as possible. The date is only a reference point. Weare borrowing from us, for us, for the community. It depends on the success of the events. Finance Director Roland stated the maximum amount would be no more than $3,750 which is simple interest computed over five years and does not account for a declining balance or any greater reduction early in the loan period. Councilmember Donnelly stated the City is not in the business of making money; that is not our intent. Mr. Pritzlaffwanted to know the total amount the City would be sitting on. If the City is not in the business of making money on a loan, the City is not in the business of giving out loans. We are not a bank. At the workshop he had asked about having Maribeth Vanderbeck, the President of CEEF here to answer questions. One of the bills is to pay her contracted services for $500. Mr. Thelen stated she was the Executive Officer ofCEEF, not the President. Julie McKnight is the President. The contract was with Maribeth to become the spokesperson for CEEF and Dew Days. She has $500 coming for the second quarterof2009. The CEEF Board is comfortable with this and they have Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 7 not asked her to forgive this. If she chooses to, that is up to her. She did what she was asked to do and earned her money. It is a paymentthat was contracted with CEEF in April or May. Mr. Pritzlaff asked Mayor Larson ifhe felt this is a conflict of interest since he was on the CEEF Board and also on the EDA that will vote to get them out of debt. He asked ifhe should abstain from voting due to a conflict of interest. City Attorney Poehler stated there is no conflict of interest as he is operating on behalf of the City. Mr. Pritzlaff asked Mayor Larson ifhe himself felt it was a conflict of interest. Mayor Larson replied no. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the loan and move it to the EDA for funds to come out of the EDA. Mayor Larson stated he wanted to get the vendors paid as soon as possible and asked ifthere will be a delay. Finance Director Roland stated it can go to the EDA next week and finance can cut the check to CEEF by the end of next week. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember Donnelly stated Councilmember Wilson looked at the agreement, he new he would be out of town, and said he was fine with the agreement. b) Authorize Bonestroo to Prepare Ice Arena Feasibility Report - Administration City Administrator Herlofsky stated this is a follow-up from the last meeting and in order to proceed with the improvements, Council would need to approve a feasibility report. Mayor Larson wanted to send the feasibility report out for bid. Councilmember Fogarty agreed and would also like to have something in the language to allow for in-kind services. The Farmington Youth Hockey Association is very much in favor of this and realized it could take longer and affect the hockey season. They have members that could help with the work. City Administrator Herlofsky suggested hiring a construction manager which will incur some additional cost, but there will be savings in the work. Staff will prepare an RFP for a feasibility report and a construction manager. City Administrator Herlofsky will contact the school to officially request some cooperation. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Old Rambling River Center Building - Administration Council had decided to try to sell the building. City Attorney Poehler stated the City can sell the building any way they deem appropriate. Staff may run into a business subsidy if they veer too far off the market price, but the City does not have to go through a bid process. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the market value is $200,000 with $40,000 for the land. Council agreed to use a real estate agent to sell the building. Council directed staff to negotiate with realtors and select the best option. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE a) Budget Workshop Reminder -Administration The next Budget Workshop will be November 9,2009, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Council Minutes (Regular) October 19,2009 Page 8 Councilmember Fogarty: Thanked everyone for attending the Warrior to Citizen Haunted House. She reminded residents of the Rambling River Center's waffle breakfast on October 25, at the Rambling River Center. On November 14,2009, at the American Legion, there will be a gubernatorial debate. Councilmember Donnelly: In response to Mr. Pritzlaffs comments regarding the farm wagon being in the ditch, it was an unfortunate accident where his son rolled the wagon and no one was hurt. The wagon was destroyed. Due to the inclement weather, they had to wait to combine the beans so they would not wreck the field to remove the wagon. They did move it off the road and it is not in the right-of-way. At this point, it is now the property of the insurance company so it is up to them to move it. He has not heard any complaints. In the future, if there are issues he suggested Mr. Pritzlaff contact the police or talk to him. During a Council meeting is not the proper place to bring it up. Mr. Pritzlaff could have asked him and he would have explained it. City Administrator Herlo/sky: The financial condition of the City has improved substantially through this year because of very close management by the department heads. We have spent 67% of the funds at 75% of the year. The furlough helped and also the management of our departments and the very fine work of our current Finance Director. Mayor Larson: Asked about an update on Nixie. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated Nixie is offering a $10,000 grant for the community that can get the most Nixie subscribers. The City site should be running tomorrow. Mayor Larson urged residents to sign up for Nixie and Code Red. He reminded residents there is a Warrior to Citizen training tomorrow at St. Michael's Church to learn more about the challenges facing returning veterans. He asked everyone to support Farmington businesses and the City's liquor stores. There will be a Warrior to Citizen breakfast with Santa on December 19, at the Rosemount Community Center. Council recessed into Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. 14. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Labor Relations 15. ADJOURN Respectfully submitted, r?,~7~ ?----~ ~~~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant