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City Council Minutes 07-08-1985MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - PIONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL July 8, 1985 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve A. Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Bill Fair, Jack Maxwell, Dan Blonigen. Members Absent: None. 1. Call to Order. 2. Approval of Minutes. Motion by Blonigen, seconded by Maxwell, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of June 24, 1985. 4. Consideration of Authorizing the Repair of City Hall Roof. Gary Anderson, City Building Inspector, made a presentation to the City Council on the findings of the roof replacement subcommittee. He noted that the project had been postponed when the bids received in April came in over $15,000.00 higher than the budgeted amount. The roof replacement problem was sent back to the committee to develop an alternative. Councilmember Blonigen and Anderson broke the project down into six sections that related specifically to material and labor. Each of the six separate parts of the project were then quoted independently of one another. In such an instance, the City would retain the status of general contractor and work independently with each phase of the project to ensure completion. Anderson noted that utilizing this method, the collective bids totaled $26,953.00, down $9,207.00 from the low bid received on April 11, 1985. Anderson stressed that staff and committee feel that the time to do the roof replacement is now. He then reviewed the individual bids for each of the six sections of the project and presented the Roof Committee's recommendation for award. He noted that the Committee recommended buying all materials from Simonson Lumber of Monticello, even though that is the second high bid by $114.25. It is the Committee's recommendation that the purchase be made within the community. The Committee recommended the acquisition of specific skylites from Fullerton Lumber, the local distributor of the recommended and approved style of skylite, for a total expense of $1,030.00. The Committee recommended awarding the sheetmetal work for flashing to Griefnow Sheetmetal of Monticello for the amount of $1,730.00. The Committee recommended awarding the labor to Greg Vetsch Construction for a total project cost of $7,200.00 over that of the low bid of George Poach in the amount of $7,168.00. Anderson stated the Committee's rationale for selecting the second high bid was based on the projected hourly rate. Greg Vetsch Construction projected the hourly rate at $20.00 per hour versus the Poach hourly rate -1- Council Minutes - 7/8/85 of $14.00 per hour. Dividing the total contract amount by the hourly rate indicated that Vetsch Construction would complete the task in far less hours and was worthy of receiving the work on those grounds. The Committee recommended the site clean up be awarded to Marlin Caillier for the amount of $1,275.00. The Committee recommended that all adjunct electric work be awarded to Olson Electric of Monticello for the amount of $850.00. Anderson stated that the Committee's recommendation, utilizing the second low bidders in the material category and the labor category, totaled $26,985.00, $146.25 over the pure low bid. He stated that the Committee was of the opinion that there was sound rationale for awarding the job to the second low bidders in the two aforementioned categories and requested the Council's consideration. In closing out, Anderson again stressed that the current proposal was $9,175.00 under the low bid received earlier in the spring, but the proposal is $6,485.00 over the capital outlay expenditure authorized in the 1985 Budget. Councilmember Fair asked if he was familiar with the work of the labor contractor. Gary indicated that he had not done formal inspection within the community on their work, but he had reviewed the projects they had done in other communities and finds their work to be fully satisfactory. Mayor Grimsmo asked on the proposed time frame. Anderson responded that a 30 -day maximum is allowed, but the goal is to complete the entire project by August 1. Motion by Bill Fair, second by Dan Blonigen, and carried unanimously to award the roof replacement in six independent agreements to Simonson Lumber, Fullerton Lumber, Griefnow Sheetmetal, Greg Vetsch Construction, Marlin Caillier, and Olson Electric for a total amount of $26,985.00. 5. Consideration of Developing a Proposal for Council/Management Team Building Retreat. Councilmember Fran Fair opened the discussion by referring to the seminar she and Bill Fair attended while at the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference. She wanted to update the Council and felt the team building seminar was extremely worthwhile. She wished to propose to the City Council that the Council and management staff investigate developing a 1 -day retreat proposal which would involve a professional facilitator. The retreat would be aimed at team building and goal and policy setting. Fran cited several instances of cities who were in attendance at the League seminar who stated how very pleased they were with the fact that they had done it. She noted that the key expressed by several members of other city councils was to keep the retreat local, keep it open, and invite the press. She stressed that such a retreat was not intended to be a secret meeting of the City Council where policy was determined, but rather the ability to improve their interaction with one another. -2- Council Minutes - 7/8/85 Councilmember Bill Fair indicated that he, too, was very impressed with the testimony on the success of these types of retreats. He said he favored Monticello having such a retreat and that it could conceivably result in the development of a long term mission statement, which would help increase public awareness and public involvement. Fran Fair stated that she acknowledged prior to the workshop that churches and schools were doing leadership retreats, and she wondered whether or not it wouldn't be good for cities. She stated that the seminar helped her answer that question, and she was impressed with the number of people who were originally strongly opposed to such a concept and now, having been through such a retreat, were strongly in favor of such a proposal. She requested the Council's consideration in asking staff to research and develop the cost estimates for such a retreat. Mayor Grimsmo acknowledged that he appreciated Fran and Bill's attendance at the League Conference and said he had always found those conferences worthwhile and was further glad that they were reporting back to the Council on their attendance. He asked Council members Blonigen and Maxwell to respond to the issue before he made his comments. Councilmember Blonigen stated that he doesn't believe that workshops can be very productive, and that he sees outside intervention as being somewhat like brainwashing. He stated that he thinks staff are adequate and provide substantial expertise when dealing with the types of questions the Council has to deal with. He noted that he thought it was inappropriate to have an outsider come in and initiate new ways of the Council directing the City. He said he saw it as being a type of interference. Councilmember Maxwell stated that he was not particularly familiar with the concept of leadership retreats, but that he didn't feel it was really needed at this time. He stated he thought the City was operating very well and was unsure that such a retreat was essential. Mayor Grimsmo stated that when he first saw the item on the agenda, he had to ask himself the question, "Is it the thing for Monticello to do;" not,"Is it the thing for cities in general to do?" He stated that he surveyed the activities of the past couple of years and saw the hospital referendum pass by an overwhelming margin, and the Fire Hall bond issue passing by 80%. He noted that the new schools have been built; and he remembered times when the City couldn't accomplish any of this type of development. He stated that the evidence of public improvements and industrial locations makes it difficult to justify the need for team building. In his estimation, the City is operating extremely well. He stated that he thinks the staff interacts well with one another and with the Council; and that further, the Council interacts and relates well to one another. The Mayor went on to say that -3- Council Minutes - 7/8/85 he did not mean to sound overconfident or that the City has no need for improvement, but he did not think the City needs to become involved in the team building concept. Mayor Grimsmo also noted that he was somewhat leery of going into planning and development meetings without full public accessibility. Councilmember Bill Fair stated that he would not argue that this City is well run and works well together. He said that he sees such a retreat more as being educational rather than corrective. Mayor Grimsmo asked Administrator Eidem what needed to be done at this point. Eidem stated that a directive from the City Council to develop a full proposal for a retreat was why this was on the agenda. He noted that if the majority of the Council felt that such a retreat would be beneficial, then they would develop a full cost proposal for the conduct of such a retreat; but if the majority of the Council did not favor such a retreat at this time, staff time would simply not be invested. Eidem went on to note that he had talked with other administrators who had used this technique and that one administrator in a vital community much like Monticello viewed the retreat as preventative maintenance. Eidem stated that a city often invests considerable time and effort in preventative maintenance to keep a quality piece of equipment running at peak efficiency and to postpone the eventual deterioration of that equipment. He said that other administrators frequently refer to these retreats as the same type of maintenance program, that they are most productive when everything is running well rather than after relationships and operations have deteriorated to a point that a maintenance program can't resolve the problems. Councilmember Bill Fair interjected that he thought such a retreat would, indeed, be valuable, for it would provide an opportunity of staff and Council to share philosophies without having to vote, make decisions, or debate the issues with respect to right and wrong. Councilmember Blonigen says he thinks the City is doing very well and does not understand why we would need it. Mayor Grimsmo asked Councilmember Maxwell where he stood on this particular issue, and Maxwell responded that at the present time he is against having such a retreat. Councilmember Fran Fair indicated that she appreciated the Council hearing her concerns, but that she would not make a motion at this time. She asked that the Council members keep an open mind to the concept and hopefully, it will be discussed in the future. 3. Citizen Comment. In a non-scheduled issue, the Mayor recognized Odell Harstad in the audience. Mr. Harstad indicated that he was thinking of buying some land from Maurice Hoglund that lies east of the Bondhus Corporation and south of Highway 75. Mr. Harstad indicated he was present to request that a sewer and water feasibility study be done. He was asked by the City Council whether or not he had made contact with City staff on this type of proposal, and he indicated only that he had contacted Gary Anderson, who said the site would be buildable. There was a brief discussion -4- Council Minutes - 7/8/85 on the zoning in the area, and Mr. Harstad indicated that his desire was to build a possible office complex and gift shop. The zoning in the area is I-1, Light Industry, and there was some question as to whether or not it was a permitted use in the area. Gary Anderson indicated that office warehouse, like that proposed by Construction 5, would be permissible. The Mayor asked Mr. Harstad if he understood that he would be financially responsible for the cost of preparing a feasibility study even if the job did not occur. Mr. Harstad said he understood that and accepted it depending upon how expensive the cost could get. Administrator Eidem cited the Meadow Oak feasibility study as costing in excess of $5,000.00. Public Works Director, John Simola, interjected that he felt City staff could assemble a feasibility study that would give Mr. Harstad a general knowledge of the financial obligation. Eidem indicated that there would be additional questions with respect to zoning and the collector street alignment. Without a motion but on consensus, the Council authorized City staff to prepare a general feasibility study with Mr. Harstad paying for the labor and materials. 6. Informational Item - Request for Status Report on OAA Operations. Mayor Grimsmo opened the conversation by indicating that he would be glad to answer whatever questions he could with respect to OAA Board operations, he being the City designated representative to that Board. Councilmember Bill Fair asked if there had been a number of meetings to discuss potential annexation. Mayor Grimsmo indicated that only one meeting had been held with City staff, Town Board Chair, County Zoning Administrator, City Consulting Engineer, and Consulting Planner. Mayor Grimsmo indicated that the result of the discussion was that an annexation study would have to be done before any annexation would occur and that he personally did not see a lot of annexation occurring based on that discussion. Councilmember Blonigen stated that he was concerned about the City providing services and the eventual cost. He stated that the residential development that is occurring in the OAA is developing in such a manner that it could be financially impossible to provide services when that becomes necessary. He stated that he thinks the City should do what it has to do immediately to take control of that area, whether it be annexation or some other means. Public Works Director, John Simola, concurred with Blonigen's concern and stated that the problem identified by Blonigen was further compounded since there seemed to be no apparent planning or consistency in the placement of private utilities under current development. He stated that unless the City somehow intervened, when the area does become part of the City, we could be in big trouble. Administrator Eidem reported that he had asked Dahlgren, Shardlow, and Uban, the City's Planning Consultants, to prepare a cost -5- Council Minutes - 7/8/85 estimate for doing a thorough annexation study. He felt that until the data was readily at hand, any discussion of annexation with Town Board members would be fruitless since most comments would be pure speculation. He did note, however, that it would not be inappropriate to meet with the Town Board and OAA Board with respect to development standards inside of the OAA. He noted that residential and commercial development, in his estimation, should be regulated by municipal standards, while the agricultural provisions of the County Ordinance would be appropriate for that kind of rural development. Councilmember Fran Fair felt that it was essential that the City initiate meetings with the Town Board to start discussing this matter even without all of the hard data. Councilmember Blonigen felt that the meetings might not be productive and that the City should initiate actions to take control of the development in the area immediately. Mayor Grimsmo asked if it would be appropriate to invite the Town Board and OAA Board to attend a special City Council meeting held for the express purpose of discussing development and annexation. It was suggested that this issue be brought back at the next Council meeting after the staff has had an opportunity to look at a timing framework. Councilmember Bill Fair said he would be more comfortable seeing the action initiated immediately and get on with the meetings. He suggested that their attendance be requested at a special meeting to be held in the near future. By consensus, it was determined to hold a special meeting of the City Council on Monday, August 5, 7:00 P.M., and that the Town Board be invited to attend that meeting along with the County Commissioner who serves on the OAA Board and the County Zoning Administrator. The Mayor asked if there were other concerns. There being none, and all business being concluded, the meeting was adjourned. Thomas A. Eidem City Administrator !mo