Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.15.10 Council Minutes 7CL COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MARCH 15, 2010 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 None Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Todd Reiten, Municipal Services Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Pete Gerten, Dennis Horak, Teresa Walters, Daniel Kuykendal~ Jerry Sauber, Jacob Fick 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty pulled item 7b) Metro Watershed Partners Funding; Councilmember May pulled item 71) Authorize Transfer of Funds from General Fund to Private Capital Projects Fund; City Administrator Herlofsky added item 7n) Acknowledge Resignation Fire Department MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce New Firefighters Fire Chief Tim Pietsch introduced Kaleb Bolton, Amanda Christensen, Brian Hanson, Doug Rowe, and Dan Strumberger. Dan Moulin was unable to attend. b) Acknowledge Retirement - Jerry Sauber Council recognized Jerry Sauber for 34 years of service to the Fire Department. c) Acknowledge Retirement - Bob Ellingsworth Council recognized Bob Ellingsworth for 16 years of service to the Fire Department. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Teresa Walters, the City's new Finance Director, was in attendance at the Council meeting. She will begin her new position on March 22,2010. 5 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15, 2010 Page 2 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (3/1/10 Regular) (3/8/10 Workshop) b) Denied Metro Watershed Partners Funding -Natural Resources c) Approved School and Conference - Fire Department d) Received Information January 2010 Financial Report - Finance e) Acknowledged Resignation Liquor Operations - Human Resources t) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources g) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources h) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources i) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources j) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources k) Set April 5, 2010, Public Hearing Walnut Street Reconstruction Plan Bonds - Engineering Adopted RESOLUTION R17-10 Authorizing Transfer of Funds from General Fund to Private Capital Projects Fund - Administration m) Approved Bills n) Acknowledged Resignation Fire Department - Human Resources APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 1) b) Metro Watershed Partners Funding-NaturalResources Councilmember Fogarty stated in light of events over the last couple years and the loss of$350,000 in market value homestead credit for the City she is less inclined to put any funds, effort, or staff time towards state mandates. The City does not get a dime from the state anymore since losing local government aid in 2003. Now we do not receive market value homestead credit. One of the biggest expenses a City has is City staff When staff time is dedicated to state and federal mandates, to say it is irritating is an understatement. This is her first stand in saying no more. The City comes fIrst. Ifwe could pass a resolution that City staff time will be dedicated to City issues and projects fIrst, and if they have time left over they can address state and federal mandates, she would pass that resolution. She does not care if they get their gender equity report on time. She will be voting against this, not because she has any disrespect for stat!, but because this is meeting a state mandate. In fact, this person's job is a lot of unfunded state mandates. MOTION by Wilson, second by Fogarty to deny the $2,000 expenditure to support the Metro Watershed Partners and the Minnesota Water Let's Keep it Clean campaign. Voting for: Larson, Donnelly, Fogarty, Wilson. Voting against: May. MOTION CARRIED. I) Adopt Resolution - Authorize Transfer of Funds from General Fund to Private Capital Projects Fund - Administration Councilmember May stated there was a variety of work, which she would like a defmition of, that was going to be paid out of the Private Capital Projects fund. Because there are no revenues to cover those costs, staff is asking to transfer funds from the General fund. She asked what variety of work, and if there was an indication that this particular fund did not have sufficient funds to cover those 6 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 3 costs, why was that used in the frrst place, and will we be able to get reimbursement for those costs back to the general fund. City Administrator Herlofsky noted this is also an audit issue and staff was directed last year to close this fund. This is due to some projects from last year were there were legal costs and contractor costs that were not reimbursed by the private developer. We are closing the account for auditing reasons, but will still be following up on some of these bills. Councilmember May asked what variety of work was done. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there were legal fees, fInishing work from contractors, engineering costs, etc. There were a number of small items that added up to $16,223.28. This occurred over the last few years. Councilmember May asked who will be responsible to make sure we are reimbursed. City Administrator Herlofsky stated it will be everyone's responsibility. Councilmember May asked if it would be the Engineering Department. City Engineer Schol'Zman stated it can be, because we control the letters of credit. There have been a lot of developers with outstanding bills. He has a stack on his desk that amount to more than this $16,000. We need to continue to work with the developers to collect it. The stance we have taken is that until all the engineering bills are paid, we will not release a letter of credit. It may come to the point where staff asks Council for approval to pull the letters of credit to cover the costs. Councilmember May asked if these costs are covered by letters of credit. Staff replied some are and some aren't. If there are any bills included in this from Parkview Ponds, that letter of credit is gone. Councilmember May asked what this does to the budget ifwe are pulling this out of the general fund. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the reason you have a fund balance is to take care of these smaller items. This will not affect the 2010 budget, but it will reduce the fund balance by that amount. Mayor Larson asked how much of the $16,000 will be reimbursed by the end of the year. City Administrator Herlofsky replied 75% - 80%. City Engineer Schorzman stated once developments are foreclosed upon the banks tend to catch up the bills before they sell the property. Councilmember May asked if the City puts liens against the property because of this debt. City Engineer Schorzman replied no, because of the letters of credit. To put a lien on the property, the City would be last in line to receive anything. Councilmember Wilson noted this came up in last year's audit, and given staffhas been aware of this for at least a year, he would like to see the big picture and what the implications could be for the budget. He would like this report presented to Council at the AprilS, 2010, meeting. Ifwe can report back to the auditors with a plan, he would like to know what that was. City Administrator Herlofsky noted there was also a 1991 Annexation Fund we were trying to clean up. Councilmember Fogarty recalled we have been working on that ever since she has been here. Councilmember Donnelly asked if these were things already paid by the City or things we owe. City Administrator Herlofsky stated it has already been paid. We 7 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 4 have pooled cash and this was borrowing from the other funds. Councilmember Donnelly asked if there were 15 occurrences, 10, or 2. City Administrator Herlofsky will provide Council with a list of items. Councilmember Fogarty was comfortable with approving this, but would like a detailed list adding up to $16,000, and to receive more explanation in the future. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adopt RESOLUTION R17-10 authorizing staff to transfer funds from the General Fund to the Private Capital Projects Fund. Voting for: Donnelly, Fogarty, May. Voting against: Larson, Wilson. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) 2010 Seal Coat Project - Engineering City Engineer Schorzman presented a map showing the areas included in the seal coat project. The proposed assessments amount to $136.65 which represents 50% of the cost ofthe project according to City policy. At the neighborhood meeting, a resident asked about the Sunnyside area and if money had ever been collected from any of the participants in the project to help defray the cost of seal coating in that area. After reviewing the minutes, staff found Bonestroo did offer $12,500 to go towards the seal coat of that area. They are still committed to that. Staff proposes the $12,500 be used to defray the assessments for the seal coat in the Sunnyside area. That would bring the assessment for those people down to $60. MOTION by Wilson, second by Fogarty to open the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Pete Gerten, 707 Centennial Circle, stated he has been assessed in 2003, 2005,2006, and 2010 for his street. At the March 28,2006, meeting for the mill and overlay project, he brought to Council's attention his street was seal coated in 2003 and was supposed to be good for seven years. In 2007 it was ground off after paying for it in 2003. At that time, three out of fIve Councilmembers agreed that should be looked into and the residents should be credited for that. City Engineer Mann had noted all the seal coating was delayed in the Sunnyside area, but that was not true. They seal coated Centennial Circle, and delayed it on Heritage Way and Lower Heritage Way. People in Centennial Circle paid for seal coating in 2003. Mr. Gerten noted it is stated in the Council minutes. When it came time for the assessment, he called Finance Director Roland to see if they would be receiving credit and she sent him a copy of the minutes which clearly stated Council agreed to it. The letter also stated because Council did not take action on it, the residents will not get a credit. Mr. Gerten stated no one wanted the mill and overlay. The contractor did a terrible job. There was discussion about making the contractor fIx it or ask him for reimbursement for seal coating. City Engineer Schorzman stated the original contractor walked away from the mill and overlay project and the City had to hire another contractor to fmish it. That is what the retainage was used for and there was nothing left. The original contractor did not give the City anything to go towards any work in the future. 8 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 5 Councilmember Fogarty understood the original contractor could not fmish the job as they were not a large enough company. Staff stated they walked away from the clean up work and punch list items. The original contractor completed the majority ofthe work on the project. Mr. Gerten stated the water shutoff at the end of his driveway is still under the blacktop. The workers could not fmd it. There is also one at the end of the circle. Mr. Gerten stated in other projects they do saw cuts, but this was not done and now they have cracks everywhere. He was not opposed to paying $130 for seal coating every seven years, but he has been assessed several times. It is not a seven year deal. Councilmember Wilson recalled there were three Councilmembers pushing to have the entire seal coat covered. The $12,500 was the most we could receive. Councilmember Fogarty did remember the conversation about the area being seal coated previously. She recalled Council discussing that should come off their assessment. She thought that happened. She wanted staff to research whether or not the credit actually happened as that will affect her decision. City Engineer Schorzman stated there was another meeting where the Mayor at that time did indicate that was done. Staff will verify if the 2003 seal coat assessment amount was taken off the 2006 assessment. Councilmember Fogarty stated if it was not reduced then, the residents should receive credit now. Mr. Gerten stated there are seven houses in Centennial Circle. Mr. Jacob Fick, 18966 Excalibur Trai~ stated he lives in Nelsen Hills 7th Addition. He recalled his development had a seal coat done with the pea rock method three or four years ago. This is a seven-year seal coat cycle and we are now using a different product. Is the seal coat necessary in three to four years? Mr. Gerten stated he has lived there since 2003 and his street was seal coated three years after he moved in. He understood the developer paid for it at that time. City Engineer Schorzman stated 2004 was when the City moved away from using pea rock and started using the chips we use now. If it was done with pea rock, it was done before 2004. Mr. Fick felt the streets are not yet in a condition that would require a seal coat. City Engineer Schorzman stated if you let it go until you see it needs to be done, it is too late. Mr. Fick stated the seal coat just protects the wear course. City Engineer Schorzman stated it would have been done in 2003 because of when we changed the product and that would line up with our seven year cycle. Mr. Fick noted it is 50% funding by residents and thought it was 35% resident funding. City Engineer Schorzman stated that was on the Walnut Street project. The City's policy on reconstruction projects is residents are assessed 35%. The seal coat policy is 50%. Mr. Fick asked if this goes along with the funding in this year's budget where fees from gas and electric franchises are under consideration 9 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 6 as a source of future funding for annual seal coating programs. These fees will provide a stable, continuous source of revenue to support rehabilitation. Mayor Larson stated Council is looking at that. Councilmember Fogarty explained the 50/50 fund will be depleted and we are looking for a more consistent stream of revenue. Mr. Fick stated the 429 law says the City can only assess for the benefIt to the property. He found it hard to say his house would be worth $136 more because of seal coating the street. Staffhas been told by appraisers that it meets the guidelines and it is not only an increase in value, but often it is not a decrease in value. Mr. Daniel Kuykendall, 1219 Sunnyside Drive, asked how staff determines which houses are assessed. City Engineer Schorzman stated each home is assessed as one unit. For large properties, such as churches, staff takes the area of the property and divides it by 10,000 which is a standard residential lot. Mr. Kuykendall asked if Sunnyside will be seal coated. He did not see it on the list and he received a letter that his property will be affected. Staff stated if his address is on Sunnyside, that is the road that applies to him. Staffwill get back to him to determine if this was an omission on the list. Councilmember Wilson asked when notices are sent, do we give residents an explanation about why it is a seven-year cycle, what the benefIts are, etc. We have had a number of questions which could easily be answered in an informational piece on why we do what we do, how we have development, the assessment policy, how it has changed, give residents an idea of how it might change in the future, or do we just say your street will be assessed if you want to talk about it we have a public meeting or you can come to the Council meeting. City Engineer Schorzman stated we do it through a public meeting, we do not send out a flyer with the notice. Councilmember Wilson felt implementing a flyer even for this year would help. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember Fogarty spoke regarding the Sunnyside issue. She has been here through all of it, and she agreed we fought for that money to buy down the assessments for this year. She would take it a step further because it was a very contentious situation, if they were not credited off the assessment for the people who paid the 2003 seal coat, she feels the people who paid the 2003 seal coat should be completely exempt. This would amount to seven homes. The Council at that time gave the people the impression they would receive a credit of some sort and she thought it would be off the original assessment towards seal coating. Anyone who was assessed in that area in 2003 and did not receive a credit on their assessment in 2006 should not have to pay an assessment this year. It is an unusual situation and an isolated incident. That was a tough situation to work through and she would like to see a positive end to it. 10 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 7 City Engineer Schorzman asked if the consensus of the Council is to go that direction, what he heard was to credit the entire amount they were assessed in 2003. The question is do you want to do that or pro-rate it for the life they did get out of it before it was tom up. Councilmember Fogarty would want the full assessment. Mayor Larson felt it was fair to pro-rate it. Councilmember Wilson agreed with Councilmember Fogarty. He recalled the Finance Director saying that money was credited and he was not sure if it shows up when a resident's property taxes are assessed and a portion taken off of the City portion of the assessment sent into Dakota County or how it works. You have to communicate to Dakota County how much each resident will be paying and if $70 was deducted. He would want to look into that, but does agree with Councilmember Fogarty. Councilmember Donnelly stated he was not here at the time, so he would like a summary of what and how much and then take action. What Council said at that time is what should be done. We have to fIgure out the right thing and what should be done. City Engineer Schorzman stated staffwill try to fmd the answers. He reminded Council they are not setting an assessment tonight; that will happen in the fall. Between now and then we will fIgure out what happened ifwe can. Councilmember May felt we should assess with the Bonestroo credit for those properties and then work on determining if additional credit for those properties should be honored. If it is something previous Council did agree on, she would be willing to honor it. She asked if this has happened to any other areas where they paid for a seal coat. Staff replied yes. Councilmember May noted that is the dilemma. Staff noted that was the point of the discussion at the workshop when we talked about having a ten year CIP versus a fIve year plan. Councilmember May noted there is a healthy credit from Bonestroo that greatly reduces that, but we have to look at all the residents. We are doing what we can going forward to make sure there is better planning and it does not happen again. Regarding the franchise fee it will be an even cost for all residents. Along with better planning we are trying to create a better sense of fairness for the cost for everyone. Mayor Larson noted ifwe do go with the franchise, there will be upset people who paid their assessment the year before and now they will be starting that seven year cycle payment. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adopt RESOLUTION R18-10 ordering the 2010 Seal Coat project, approving the plans and specifIcations, and authorizing the City to complete these improvements as part of the Joint Powers Agreement with Bumsville. Mr. Jacob Fick asked if staff can provide the plans as to when the seal coat was done. He still felt it was not time for their street to be seal coated. There should be plans from 2003 as to which streets were included. Staffwill review the records and the assessment roll. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 8 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) 2009 Annual Report - Municipal Services Municipal Services Director Reiten presented the 2009 Municipal Services Annual Report. The streets department is responsible for 82 miles of streets and 92 cul-de-sacs. The City is divided into 12 zones for snow plowing. In 2009 there were 31 snow events and 980 tons of salt was applied to City streets. The Sewer Division maintains 83 miles of sewer line and fIve lift stations. The City has two water towers and eight wells. In 2009 we pumped 772,355,000 gallons of water. The Fleet Division provides maintenance and repair for 87 vehicles, 44 pieces of equipment, and ten trailers. The Storm Water division cleaned 95 catch basins and resolved a 25 year problem on Hickory and 8th Street. The Solid Waste division provides garbage collection for 6900 accounts. The City has converted to single sort recycling. Staff reminded residents it is free to take electronics, etc. to the Recycle Zone in Eagan. The City also partnered with Dakota County to offer a free household hazardous waste drop-off day. Municipal Services Director Reiten thanked the employees for the great job they did last year. Councilmember Wilson complimented staff for their hard work throughout the year. Councilmember Fogarty stated these employees are the unsung heroes. She received a ton of compliments this year on snow removal. b) Approve Authorizing Staff to Complete Soil Borings for Second Ice Sheet- Parks and Recreation The purpose of this item would be to start moving forward with the first step in the process for a second ice sheet next to the current ice arena. In 2007 a preliminary site analysis was done to determine if a second sheet of ice was feasible on the site. At that time the flood plain map showed almost the entire site was within the 100 year flood plain. Since then the flood plain maps have been revised and now most ifnot all ofthe site, is out of the 100 year flood plain. Staff would like to work with American Engineering Testing, Inc. to do soil borings on the site. The results of what is underground will be brought back to Council. If the borings are favorable, then a request will be made to do a feasibility report. The feasibility report would include looking at a storm water management plan for the site, a site plan showing how the building could layout, conceptual building footprint showing the ice surface along with other amenities, the cost estimate to construct a second sheet of ice and how the parking lot would be confIgured. The cost for the soil borings would not exceed $7,500. This cost will come from the arena budget. Councilmember Wilson asked staff to explain what a soil boring is and why it would be valuable. Parks and Recreation Director Distad stated random borings will be taken to determine the kind of soil underneath. If the soil is not suitable 12 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15,2010 Page 9 then there would be a cost to remove the bad soil and bring in good soil. The benefrt is we will know there will be that cost upfront. City Engineer Schol'Zman stated residents will see a drill rig set up and they drill down 25-30 ft in the area of a future building to avoid surprises. Councilmember Fogarty asked about the number of borings that will be done. There will be 3-6 borings done. Staff is not sure what they will fmd. At one time the area was either fIlled or it was a river bank that was graded flat. City Engineer Schorzman stated if the initial borings look good, more borings would be done before a building is built to determine if it is worth moving forward. Councilmember May had no idea why we are considering this. We are still trying to fIgure out how we are going to pay for the repairs at the current building. This is so preliminary, it is way off the map for right now. Why we would want to spend even $750, she does not understand why when this was a discussion only piece which came up during a discussion with the task force that this could be a potential site. The cost of the boring will be paid from the arena budget, but was it written into the arena budget? Parks and Recreation Director Distad replied it was not identifIed as a budgeted item in 2010, but since it will be adjacent to the ice arena and involves a second sheet of ice, from an accounting standpoint it should be charged back to the arena budget. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there is no budgeted amount for it. This project is coming from the direction of the Council to look at how suitable the site is next to the existing arena. It is staff's attempt to resolve that once and for all so we can either proceed to plan for the future or decide this is not a reasonable alternative. Councilmember May stated given the economy even planning for something like this and have the residents pay for it is so far off the map, we haven't even discussed fInancing for the repairs at the current arena. Who knows if the rules with the river will change before we are able to move forward. Councilmember Donnelly stated it is a data point we have to have to move forward. At some point it has to be done. The only way to know if the site is suitable is to do the borings. Without the data it is hard to make a decision. In the future we will decide how to proceed with the ice. He would like to know if it is a viable site. Councilmember May stated she would too, but we do not have the money. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to authorize staff to work with American Engineering Testing, Inc. to complete soil borings on City property immediately to the east of the Schmitz-Maki Arena. Voting for: Larson, Donnelly, Fogarty. Voting against: May, Wilson. MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Community Survey Update - Parks and Recreation On March 22,2010, there will be a Council Workshop to discuss the community survey and whether it should include referendum questions. The Parks and Recreation Commission has developed survey questions for Council's review at the workshop. 13 Council Minutes (Regular) March 15, 2010 Page 10 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Donnelly: Wished everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday. Councilmember Wilson: Thanked everyone who attended and volunteered at the Warrior to Citizen spaghetti fundraiser dinner. Councilmember Fogarty: Wished everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. Parks and Recreation Director Distad: He asked if Council would like to have the Parks and Recreation Commission members at the March 22, workshop to participate in the discussion. Councilmember Fogarty wanted their input. Mayor Larson: We have 307 people signed up for NixIe. He encouraged more to sign up to receive community notices. He encouraged everyone to support Farmington businesses. There are good St. Patrick's Day sales at the liquor store. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adjourn at 8:26 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 14