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City Council Minutes 08-13-1990MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, August 13, 1990 - 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Warren Smith, Shirley Anderson, Dan Blonigen Members Absent: None 2. Approval of minutes. Motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held July 23, 1990. 3. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints. Public Works Director, John Simola, submitted a petition from the homeowners along the north side of West Broadway between Minnesota and Maple Streets requesting to be added to the current City of Monticello sidewalk grid system. The block in question is adjacent to the City's sidewalk grid system; and upon petition by 100% of the property owners, the Council can add this section to the grid system. The Council discussed establishing a cut-off date for future petitions, and it was suggested that August 18 be established as the cut-off date to coincide with the City's planned sidewalk improvements. Future petitions to be included in the sidewalk grid system after this date would be considered for 1991 only. Motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to include the sidewalk system between Minnesota Street and Maple Streets along the north side of West Broadway as part of the current grid system. 4. Public _ hearing and consideration to adopt a resolution relating to modification of the tax increment finance plan relating to Tax Increment Finance District No. 1-9 (Tappers, Inc.). The Housing and Redevelopment Authority had recently approved modifying the tax increment finance plan for District No. 1-9 which increased the direct tax increment financing assistance to Tappers. Inc., by the amount of $12,000. This additional direct assistance was required because of the necessity to 1 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 meet the Small Business Administration loan guidelines. The $12,000 proposed through TIF assistance resulted in the GMEF loan being reduced by $12,000 to $88,000 from the original $100,000 loan request. The public hearing was opened, and no written or oral comments were received. Motion was then made by Warren Smith, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to adopt the resolution approving the modification of the tax increment finance plan relating to TIF District No. 1-9 (Tapper's, Inc.). SEE RESOLUTION 90-28. 5. Consideration of a variance request to allow no hard surfacing in a Vloading berth accessway. Applicant, Martie's Farm Service. Martie's Farm Service requested a variance from the hard surfacing requirements for a portion of his loading/unloading dock area. Mr. Martie proposed to surface the area in class 5 or crushed rock, as he indicated the area would be used only occasionally by larger semi's and trucks. The Council discussed whether this occasional use would qualify as a hardship for granting a variance, and concerns were expressed about a precedent being set since this appeared to only be an economic hardship and not related to the physical characteristics of the property. After further discussion, motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley Anderson, to deny the variance request, as the applicant did not demonstrate a hardship other than economic. Voting in favor: Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Shirley Anderson, Warren Smith. Opposed: Dan Blonigen. 5A. Consideration of a conditional use permit to allow a reduction in parking lot design requirements. Recently, an ordinance amendment was adopted that allowed for reduction in driveway and parking lot design requirements to be considered for industrial zoned property. Mr. Russ Martie, owner of Martie's Farm Service, requested a conditional use permit to allow for a portion of his drive areas at the rear of his property to be exempted from the general curbing and blacktopping requirements, as they were secondary in nature and not used by the general public. As part of the conditional use permit request, the Planning Commission had 2 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 recently approved the reduction in design requirements contingent upon Mr. Martie completing 12 requirements relating to his development. Council reviewed the items with Mr. Martie, and a motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried to approve the conditional use request allowing for a reduction in the parking lot design requirements with the following conditions: 1. The drainage plan shall be completed, submitted to the Consulting Engineer, and written approval shall be received from the Consulting City Engineer. 2. A concrete drainage swale/surmountable curb shall be installed from the existing curb in the southwest corner of the loading/unloading area easterly to the center of the drainage swale ditch. 3. The curbing along the easterly portion of the parking lot shall be extended southerly and terminated at the top of the drainage swale. 4. In the drainage swale ditch area where a semi -truck tractor will be maneuvering, the drainage swale ditch from 10 feet each way of the center is to be a concrete surface. 5. The remainder of the drainage swale ditch from the end of the northeasterly hard surfacing northeasterly to the northeast property line shall have installed a sodded surface from the center of the ditch to top of the slopes. 6. Gates shall be installed near the southerly portion of the loading/unloading dock area and near the southwest corner of the open, roof -covered, outdoor storage area. Gates are to remain closed at all times except when they are being used to maneuver vehicles through them. 7. In the two areas where the gates are to be installed, the first area near the southwest corner of the open, roof -covered, outdoor storage area, shall have a fence installed similar to the existing fence from the southwest corner of the building to the gate and from the gate westerly to the end of the southwest curb. In the area of the gate on the south portion of the loading/unloading 3 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 area, a fence shall be installed from the gate easterly near the southeast corner of the semi - truck tractor maneuvering area, thence northerly along the east property line to a point where the northeast corner of the turning area would be completed, thence angling northwesterly to the top of the drainage swale. 8. In the area from the southwest corner of the open, roof -covered storage area to the southwest corner of the building, this area shall be regraded so the water run-off will flow to the westerly ditch. The green area in this area will be extended to allow a 12 -foot gravel surface driveway to run through this. 9. The entire parking lot area shall be striped to show where existing parking is to take place. 10. The landscaping shall be completed, the minimum number of over -story trees shall be planted, and the green areas shall be installed as per plan, with the area in front of the overhead doors not exceeding 50 feet easterly from the front of the overhead doors. The balance of the area east of there is to be a green area. 11. Screening in front of the open, roof -covered storage area located near the westerly curb area shall be a combination of the minimum sized coniferous and hardwood deciduous trees to achieve partial opacity. 12. The conditions shall be completed by October 1, 1990. If not completed, the letter of credit that is held in escrow at the present time will be used to complete any of the items that are not completed. 6. Consideration of resolution awarding bids for Project 90SW-1, repair and replacement of hazardous sidewalk. Public Works Director, John Simola, informed the Council that the City received four bids for the replacement of approximately 10,000 sq ft of 4 -inch and 6 -inch concrete sidewalk and appurtenant work. The bids received were as follows: 4 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 Witco, Inc. $21,725.00 Bruce Dalbec Const., Inc. $22,437.50 DNCON, Inc. $26,009.30 HCH Construction $26,067.50 References were checked on the low bidder, Witco, Inc., and it was recommended that the contract be awarded to the low bidder. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Warren Smith, and unanimously carried to adopt the resolution awarding the bid to Witco, Inc., in the amount of $21,725.00 for Project 90SW-1. SEE RESOLUTION 90-29. 7. Consideration of transient merchant ordinance amendments. Administrator Wolf steller reviewed with the Council the City's present transient merchant ordinance and recommendations for improvements to the ordinance. It was noted that Monticello's ordinance currently covers only transient merchants; but the ordinance could be amended to also include peddlers and solicitors who go door to door taking orders or selling merchandise. It was noted that peddlers and solicitors do not appear to be a problem for Monticello, and the Council centered its discussion only on transient merchant activities. The amendments suggested by the Administrator included clarifying that a transient merchant has to conduct activities on private property and receive written permission of the property owner prior to obtaining a permit. In addition, a transient merchant license would only be issued for a location where parking was available for customers and where it would not interfere with normal traffic flow. Currently, all transient merchants are required to obtain a license and pay a $50 per day fee, and the Council discussed whether a special exemption should be established for merchants selling farm and/or garden produce, vegetables, and fruits. It was noted that it is difficult for the City to establish an ordinance that allows local residents to be exempt from the fee but charge a fee for out-of-town people. Council then discussed establishing a lower daily fee for the selling of farm and garden produce during a specific time period each year. As a result, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to adopt the ordinance amendment clarifying that transient merchants must 5 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 obtain written permission from the property owner, be limited to one ( 1) transient merchant permit per property owner ( site) at any given time, and be located in an area that does not cause traffic problems and to exempt the sale of garden and farm fruits and vegetables for the period from July 15 to October 15 from the requirements of the ordinance except for certain provisions and a $10 per day permit fee. SEE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 194. 8. Request for clarification of conditional use permit reQuirements--Riverroad Carwash. As part of the conditional use permit granted to Ken Schwartz and Dean Hoglund to build a carwash near the Riverroad Plaza convenience store, the building structure had to architecturally be similar to the existing buildings in the surrounding area as to not cause impairment in property values. The developers had indicated they would be painting their carwash to match the Riverroad Plaza complex and now requested permission to only seal the block structure rather than paint. The Planning Commission did not object to the request, as they felt the architectural appearance of the building did coincide with the surrounding property. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried approving the request by the developers to seal the block carwash building and that the property does architecturally appear similar to the surrounding properties. 9. Consideration of approving preliminary plat --Sandberg East Second Addition. The original Sandberg East plat, which was approved when the property was within the OAA area, consisted of 18 half -acre lots that were 80 feet in width and approximately 270 feet deep. With the City conducting a feasibility study on extending sewer and water to this development, Mr. Sandberg has presented a preliminary plat redesigning the original 18 lots into 17 parcels to be known as the Sandberg East Second Addition. The replat would remove approximately 70 feet of depth from each lot, eliminate one road access to the outlot, and widen out the remaining parcels fronting on Gillard Avenue. R1 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 Motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve the preliminary plat as presented. 10. Consideration of approving revised feasibility report and finance plan for the extension of utilities to the Sandberg East development. At the June 25 Council meeting, approval was given for developing plans and specifications for the extension of utilities through Mr. Robert Krautbauer's property and Mr. Rod Norell's property (outlot A of Sandberg East) to service the platted Sandberg East lots along Gillard Avenue. Since that time, Mr. Krautbauer has withdrawn his support of the utilities being extended through his property, and a revised feasibility study indicates that the project could be extended along East County Road 39 to the intersection of Gillard Avenue and County Road 39 and then southerly to service the Sandberg East plat. The cost of the project had dropped from approximately $295,000 to $229,000 using this County Road 39 route. A finance plan was presented by the staff outlining the cost that could be assessable to the benefiting property owners along the route. In order to obtain a firm cost, it was recommended that the project be advertised for bids returnable September 14, and a public hearing on the improvement project with the possibility of awarding bids could be held on September 17 to allow for construction yet this fall. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried to authorize the City Engineer, OSM, to continue with the preparation of plans and specifications for the new route along East County Road 39 and authorize the staff to review the plans prior to the advertisement for bids scheduled for Friday, August 24. The completed plans would be reviewed by the Council on August 27 for final approval. SEE RESOLUTION 90-30. 1.1. Consideration of appointing judges for the 1990 primary and general elections. Motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried to appoint the following individuals as election judges for the upcoming primary and general elections: 7 12. 13. 14. Walter Lusti Robert Nelson Cynthia Hamond Shirley Maus Mary Bray Robert Rohland Gloria Gasser Lucille Clausen Rita Soltau Council Minutes - 8/13/90 Kevin Tvedt Rosemary Dahl Kay Gauthier Jeanette Host Betty Lund Joanne Link Florence Mayer Leona Kline Consideration of purchase of playground equipment for Lauring Lane Park and Balboul Park. Motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to authorize the purchase of playground equipment for Lauring Lane and Balboul Parks from E.F. Anderson in the amount of $7,684. Consideration of the purchase of a used Vac -All. Recently, the public works department became aware through an equipment dealer that a 13 -yard used Vac -All would be available from the City of Worthington. The City staff had recently investigated the cost of a new combination sewer jet and vacuum machine and found the prices for a new unit would be in the neighborhood of $140,000 to $150,000. The used machine was inspected by the Water Superintendent and Public Works Director and was found to be in reasonable condition. The equipment dealer had discounted the unit to a price of $14,900, and it was recommended by the Public Works Director that the City purchase this equipment which would have an additional life of 3-5 years. Motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to authorize the purchase of the Vac - All from the City of Worthington through Boyum Equipment in the amount of $14,900. Consideration of purchasing property adjacent to city hall. In June, the Council was made aware that a parcel of land within the city hall block adjacent to and abutting our present city hall property was available for sale. The 122 X 165 -foot parcel abutted Third Street on the south and the city hall property to the north. 0 Council Minutes - 8/13/90 The Wright County State Bank, owner of the property, obtained an appraisal estimating the value of the property at $55,000. The Council discussed the merits of acquiring additional land adjacent to the city hall property to allow for future expansion at this time. Concerns were expressed by Council members over whether there was any advantage by the City in acquiring this property now that it was available if the need may not be there for up to ten years. After considerable discussion on the purchase, a motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley Anderson, an unanimously carried to authorize the staff to prepare a purchase agreement offering $50,000 for the property. 15. Consideration of renting out a portion of the old fire hall building. The City was again recently approached by an individual interested in renting out a portion of the former fire hall property for use as a small assembly/manufacturing business. The City Council in the past has indicated a desire to sell the property but not get into the leasing/renting of the property. Council was informed that the public works department has been utilizing the building for storage of various equipment and supplies and noted that if the building was rented, the department may have difficulty in finding adequate storage space. As a result, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to continue offering the property for sale but to not consider future requests for leasing or renting of the facility unless it was in conjunction with an offer to purchase in the future. Rick Wolfsller City Admin strator V