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City Council Minutes 07-23-1984MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL July 23, 1984 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve A. Grimsmo, Jack Maxwell, Fran Fair, Dan Blonigen, Ken Maus. Members Absent: None. 1. Call to Order. 2. Approval of Minutes. Motion was made by Fair, seconded by Maxwell, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held July 9, 1984. Voting in favor was Fair, Maxwell, Grimsmo. Abstaining: Blonigen and Maus due to absence at the last meeting. 4. Public Hearing - Request to Redesignate Zoning in Par West Prior to Plat Recording, AND 12. Consideration of Granting a Redesignation from R-1 to R-2 for Portions of Par West. As part of the development of Par West, owner John Sandberg had proposed some mixed zones that would allow multiple family development in portions of the plat. During the subdivision and zoning hearings, a compromise was arrived at whereby approximately half of the property was zoned R-2 for single and two-family duplexes along with some possible 4-plexes and 8 -unit townhouses, with the balance of the plat being single family residential. The single family zoning would be that property adjacent to County Road 75. Mr. Sandberg now requested that the entire plat be rezoned to R-2 to allow for duplexes and up to 4 -unit buildings on Conditional Uses. The Planning Commission recommended that approval be granted allowing the entire plat to be zoned R-2 before final recording and passed the item on to City Council for the public hearing on the matter. Mr. Larry Nolan expressed concerns on the number of possible housing units or density that could result from this plat if the entire plat is zoned R-2. Mr. Nolan also questioned whether the City would place a limit on the number of individual 4-plexes or duplexes that could be developed within the subdivision, as that was his main concern in the City rezoning the entire L Council Minutes - 7/23/84 plat to R-2. It was noted by the City staff that although no limit on the number of units was recommended, the majority of the properties would not be large enough in square footage to allow for 4-plexes but could allow duplexes. Mr. Jerry Dirks, property owner in Hillcrest Addition, expressed opposition to the rezoning request, as he felt that this issue had been resolved by previous public hearings. Mr. Dirks noted that when the original public hearings were held on the rezoning for this development, many citizens objected to the entire plat being R-2 zoning, and a compromise had been reached by the City allowing part of the property to be R-2, with the property adjacent to the railroad tracks and closest to other single family zoning remaining single family in nature. Mr. Dirks felt that the Council would now be going against what compromise had resulted from the previous public hearings. A letter was also acknowledged and received from Mr. and Mrs. Mike Beck, property owners in Anders Wilhelm Estates, who also objected to R-2 zoning. The Council majority felt that the R-2 zoning for this area would be appropriate in that this is the least likely area to cause problems with abutting property owners, as it.seems to be well buffered from other residential zones. As a result, motion was made by Fair, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to approve the rezoning request to allow that the entire Par West plat be developed as R-2 zoning. 5. Public Hearing - Adoption of Tax Increment Finance Plan #5 for Key Tool & Plastics, AND 13. Consideration of Resolutions Adopting Tax Increment District #5 and Requesting Certification by County Auditor. Last December, the Council passed a resolution of preliminary approval for Key Tool & Plastics to issue $650,000.00 in Industrial Revenue Bonds. As part of the overall financing package, a tax increment financing district has also been proposed to write down the cost of the land. Briefly, the City will issue $100,000.00 in Tax Increment General Obligation Bonds and acquire land for $90,500.00 and, in turn, sell the land for $20,700.00, making a net reduction for the developer of $69,800.00. The $69,800.00 write down plus capitalized interest and other legal cost will be recovered through the additional taxes generated by the Key Tool development equaling $18,000.00 per year. - 2 - Council Minutes - 7/23/84 The Tax Increment District #5 has been approved by the School District and the County, and adopted by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, with recent approval by the Planning Commission. Hearing no comments from the public, the public hearing was closed. Motion was made by Maus, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution establishing the Tax Increment Financing District #5 and adopting a resolution requesting the County Auditor to certify the original assessed value of the District #5. See Resolutions 1984 #30 and 1984 #31 . 6. Consideration of an Amendment to City Code of Ordinances, Title 7, Chapter 2. It was recommended by the City staff that an Ordinance Amendment be adopted by the City Council that would require each individual building or each individual unit of a duplex or multiple family dwelling that can be sold off individually have separate sewer and water services. It was noted by the Public Works Director that the City currently requires separate water shut -offs for each separately owned building or part thereof. But the City's current Ordinance does not specifically require separate sewer connections. The Public Works Director noted that the City has had problems with shared services in the past and that this change in the Ordinance would eliminate possible problems in the future. A second change recommended that the minimum size of water lines serving individual properties be 1 -inch rather than the current requirement of 3/4 -inch copper. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fair, and unanimously carried to adopt the Ordinance Amendment to Title 7, Chapter 2, that would require each individual property or building that can be sold to have a separate sewer and water service connection and to also require 1 -inch water lines. See Ordinance Amendment No. 139. 7. Consideration of an Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to Allow Boarding Houses as a Conditional Use in a B-4 Zone, AND 15. Consideration of a Conditional Use for a Boarding House in a B-4 Zone, Applicant - Tom Hammer. Mr. Tom Hammer previously purchased what is known as the Friends Cafe building a few years ago for the purpose of rehabilitating the building into an apartment complex. The building at the - 3 - Council Minutes - 7/23/84 time Mr. Hammer purchased it was in substantial need of repairs, with the upper floor of the building previously having been used as apartments. The property is located in the B-4 zoning district, which does not allow residential uses; and as a result, the previous apartments were non -conforming uses. A building permit was granted to Mr. Hammer to rehabilitate the upper floor of the building into 10 apartment units. Mr. Hammer also at that time thought he was getting permission to add an additional five apartment units in the lower level, which he felt was the best use of the building. However, the City Ordinances do not allow a non -conforming use to expand or be enlarged, which required Mr. Hammer to stop work on the lower unit apartments. It was recommended by City staff, Consulting Planner, and the Planning Commission that the City consider adopting an Ordinance Amendment that would allow boarding houses as a Conditional Use in a B-4 commercial zone and to establish specific conditions that must be met in order for a Conditional Use Permit to be granted under this new proposed zoning change. If adopted, it appeared that Mr. Hammer's proposed development may be the only property in the B-4 zoning district that would meet all of the conditions of a boarding house, which would require remodeling of an existing building and also requiring that the building have a complete restaurant facility in the same structure. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fair, and unanimously carried to adopt Ordinance Amendment No. 138 adding a boarding house as a Conditional Use within a B-4 commercial zone. Motion was then made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit to Mr. Tom Hammer to allow a boarding house to exist in a B-4 commercial zone pursuant to the newly adopted Ordinance Amendment. 8. Consideration and Review of Bids for the Improvement of County Road 75, Hart Boulevard, and Cedar Street. Bids were received from three construction firms on this improvement project as follows: NAME Buffalo Bituminous, Inc. H. & S. Asphalt Co. Hardrives, Inc. $611,083.50 $678,045.80 $614,628.40 4 - A_R_r._n9 $604,523.50 $671,118.05 $606,041.90 Council Minutes - 7/23/84 The City's Consulting Engineer had estimated the total project cost to amount to $561,324.00, which was 8.9% lower than the bids actually came in at. Approximately $125,000.00 of the contract price is for Hart and Cedar Street improvements, with the balance for Broadway improvements. No action was taken on this item other than review of the bids, as the item will be scheduled for the August 13 Council meeting. 9. Consideration of a Resolution Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering the Preparation of Proposed Assessment. Because previously the property owners affected by the proposed improvements on Hart and Cedar Streets have come before the Council to express their concern about being assessed 1000 of the project cost, and because there is some question concerning the amount of benefit derived vs. the value of the assessment, it was recommended by the City staff that an assessment hearing be held prior to the granting of the contract for the improvements. Any challenges to the proposed assessments would have to be made at this time, thus allowing the City to know whether or not they will have sufficient revenues to cover its cost. Previously, the property owners affected by the Hart and Cedar Street improvements requested that they be assessed similar to what the majority of the former City was assessed under the 177 Street Improvement Project, which was 20% of the cost. Their reasoning was that they had initially requested improvements as part of the 177 Street Project but were denied the improvements due to future construction requirements along these streets. The property owners indicated they felt it was unfair to be assessed 100% now for the same improvements they could have had in 1977 for only 20%. Motion was made by Fair, seconded by Maus, and unanimously carried to adopt Resolution 1984 #32 declaring cost to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment roll using a 20% assessment factor. Voting in favor was Grimsmo, Fair, Maxwell, Maus. Voting in the opposition was Blonigen. 10. Consideration of a Resolution Setting a Hearing on the Proposed Assessment. Motion was made by Maus, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution setting August 13, 1984, as the date of the assessment hearing for Hart and Cedar Street improvements. See Resolution 1984 #33. - 5 - Council Minutes - 7/23/84 11. Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing Sale of Bonds - Hart and Cedar. AND 14. Consideration of Resolutions Authorizing the Sale of Tax Increment G.n. Bonds. Mr. Jerry Shannon of the City's Bonding Consulting Firm of Springsted, Inc., was present at the Council meeting to review recommendations for the negotiation and placement of two bond issues relating to the improvement of Hart and Cedar Streets and Tax Increment Financing District #5. Mr. Shannon proposed a bond issue in the amount of $170,000.00 to cover the cost of improvements to Hart Boulevard and Cedar Street and recommended a $100,000.00 Tax Increment Bond to cover the Tax Increment Financing District #5 project for Key Tool & Plastics. It was noted by Mr. Shannon that the private placement could occur as a single issue, although there would be two separate bonds, and recommended that August 13 be the sale date to award the bond sale. Motion was made by Fair, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution authorizing Springsted, Inc., to solicit bids on $100,000.00 G.O. Tax Increment Bonds and $170,000.00 G.O. Improvement Bonds. See Resolution 1984 #34. 16. Consideration of a Request for a Conditional Use to Allow More than 12 Units in a Multiple Dwelling, Applicant - Construction 5, Inc. Construction 5, Inc., requested a Conditional Use Permit to build another 24 -unit apartment building adjacent to their other properties along Lauring Lane. Currently, a 24 -unit apartment building is under construction and near completion. The new proposed building would have 18 two-bedroom and 6 one -bedroom units and meets all the City's requirements as far as land area, etc. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve the Conditional Use Request to allow a 24 -unit apartment building to be built in an R-3 Zone for Construction 5, Inc. 17. Consideration of a Request for a Simple Subdivision, Applicant - Monticello -Big Lake Community Hospital. Monticello -Big Lake Community Hospital has recently purchased the former E.M. Wulf property with plans to demolish the existing house and make the site available for a proposed new ambulance garage. As part of the purchase agreement, the Monticello -Big Mm Council Minutes - 7/23/84 Lake Hospital requested approval to subdivide a 10 -foot strip along the westerly side of Lot 2 and deed this 10 feet to Mr. Wulf for access to the rear portion of their lot. The subdivision of the 10 feet requires Council approval, as the lot would still have the required 12,000 square feet minimum for an R-1 residential zone but would be less than the 80 -foot front width required in that the lot would then be 79.16 feet in length. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fair, and unanimously carried to approve the simple subdivision request of the Monticello -Big Lake Community Hospital allowing a subdivision of a 10 -foot strip along the westerly side of Lot 2, Block 24, Lower Monticello. 18. Consideration of a Request for a Conditional Use to Allow an Ambulance Garage in an R-1 Zone, Applicant - Monticello -Big Lake Community Hospital. The Monticello -Big Lake Community Hospital requested a Conditional Use to build an ambulance garage on the newly purchased residential lot next to the Monticello Dental Clinic, just west of the existing Dental Clinic building. Public uses such as a hospital ambulance garage are allowed in residential zones provided a Conditional Use Permit is granted. A letter from an area property owner, Julia Finley, was entered into the record opposing the Conditional Use Request, as Ms. Finley felt the hospital has enough property closer to the actual hospital facility that could be used for an ambulance garage and felt that such a structure in a residential area may be a detriment to property values, etc. Mayor Grimsmo also felt that the hospital should have considered attaching an ambulance garage to the hospital facility rather than having a separate structure away from the hospital. After reviewing the item, motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, to approve the Conditional Use Request for an ambulance garage on Lot 2, Block 24. Voting in favor was Maxwell, Blonigen, Maus, Fair. Voting in the opposition was Grimsmo. 19. Consideration of Authorizing the Purchase of an Air Dryer for Wastewater Treatment Plant. Public Works Director, John Simola, requested approval to purchase a new air dryer for the WWTP to replace the existing one that recently failed. Two quotes were received, one from Minnesota Industrial Tools in the amount of $2,430.00, and a second quote from Sullair North Central in the amount of $2,200.00. - 7 - Council Minutes - 7/23/84 Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fair, and unanimously carried to authorize the purchase of an air dryer from Sullair North Central in the amount of $2,200.00 to replace the existing malfunctioning air dryer at the WWTP. 20. Consideration of Authorizing the Purchase of a Snowplow from STP. Recently, the City of Monticello has been in contact with a company in Norway which manufactures snowplows, truck bodies, and tire chains. The company has expressed interest in locating a manufacturing plant in the State of Minnesota and has considered Monticello as a possible site. This Norwegian firm has previously provided the State of Minnesota with six snowplows that the State has tested in different areas. This particular type of plow has a trippable cutting edge, and only the cutting edge folds back when the plow strikes an object and immediately snaps forward to its original position. The plows currently used by the City require the entire plow to trip forward and lift up to clear the object. The Public Works Department is not entirely satisfied with its current plows being used and felt that the trippable cutting edge type plow would be a good experiment for the City of Monticello. In comparing the cost of a plow from the STP Corporation with another quote received from MacQueen Equipment Company, the STP Corporation plow was approximately $1,900.00 cheaper. As a result, motion was made by Maus, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to authorize the Public Works Department to purchase a plow from the STP Corporation at a cost of $2,675.00. 21. Consideration of Issuing a Request for Proposals for Architectural Services for New Fire Hall. Over the past several months, the City staff, along with the Fire Department personnel, have been reviewing possible sites that could be used for a new Fire Hall and have narrowed it down to two sites that would be suitable. The primary site being proposed: Lots 1-5, Block 13, located directly west of the present Municipal Liquor Store. It was noted that if construction is to proceed in the near future, a bond referendum will have to be held to approve the sale of bonds to finance the eventual construction. It is recommended that a bond referendum be held in conjunction with the General Election on November 6, thus requiring immediate steps to select a design, etc., along with cost estimates that can be made available to the public prior to the election. Council Agenda - 7/23/84 It was recommended by the Administrator that the City consider requesting proposals from architectural firms for services of designing a new Fire Hall, etc. The Request for Proposals (RFP) generally is asking architectural firms interested in providing services for the new Fire Hall to provide three preliminary designs and floor plans of a new Fire Hall, and provide cost estimates, etc. The City Council and staff could then review any proposals received to narrow down and interview possible applicants for the architectural job. Some concerns were expressed by Council members Maus and Blonigen concerning whether the City should get involved with another architect to design a Fire Hall. Questions were raised as to whether the expense of an architect is warranted for a structure such as a Fire Hall when many designs are currently available from construction firms who have built many fire halls. After considerable discussion regarding architects, motion was made by Fair, seconded by Grimsmo, to authorize the issuance of a Request for Proposals for Fire Hall services from architectural firms. Voting in favor was Fair, Grimsmo, Maxwell. Voting in the opposition were Maus and Blonigen. 22. Quarterly Department Head Reports. A Quarterly Department Head meeting was held by the Council with Fire Chief Willard Farnick; Senior Citizen Director, Karen Hansen; Wright County Sheriff's Deputy, Buddy Gay; and YMCA Detached Worker, Mike Melstad. Fire Chief Willard Farnick again requested Council permission to authorize the Fire Department to sell the 1946 Pumper Truck that is not used by the Fire Department and to use the money for other needed equipment. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to authorize the Fire Department to advertise the 146 Chevrolet Truck for sale. 23. Consideration of Bills for the Month of July. Motion was made by Maus, seconded by Fair, and unanimously carried to approve the bills for the month of July as presented. See Exhibit U. Rick Wolfsteller Assistant Admin strator =%_