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City Council Minutes 01-27-1997MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, January 27, 1997 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Bill Fair, Clint Herbst, Brian Stumpf, Roger Carlson, Bruce Thielen Members Absent: None 2. Consideration of minutes of the regular meeting held January 13 and the special meeting held January 15, 1997 AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY CLINT HERBST AND SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda Mayor Fair requested that discussion of the Bridge View plat be added to the agenda. 4. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints. Representatives from the Battle Rapids Townhome Association were present to request that the City follow through on commitments to trim trees at the Battle Rapids Park as outlined by the Parks Commission. Public Works Director John Simola indicated that the work was not completed last year due to man -power shortages. Mayor Fair requested that the Public Works Department make its best effort to complete the work as requested by the Parks Commission. 5. Consent Agenda. Bruce Thielen requested that item 5C be taken off the consent agenda for discussion. A. Consideration of adopting a resolution calling for a public hearing to modify Redevelopment District No 1 and TIF District No 1-17 (Fay - Mar) and establish TIF District No 1-22 (downtown redevelopment). Recommendation: Adopt a resolution setting a public hearing date of March 10, 1997, to modify Redevelopment Project No. 1 and TIF District No. 1-17 and establish TIF District No. 1-22. SEE RESOLUTION 97-2. Page 1 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 B. Consideration of approval of 1997 maintenance agreement with Wright County for maintenance of selected county state aid highway in the city of Monticello. Recommendation: Approve the 1997 maintenance agreement with Wright County Highway Department as proposed. C. Consideration of job description for Construction Inspector and consideration of advertisement for an additional position. Removed from the consent agenda for discussion. D. Consideration of authorizing the City Engineer to complete trunk utility studies for the Klein Farms III and Leerssen development areas. Recommendation: Authorize the City Engineer to complete trunk utility studies for the Klein Farms III and Leerssen development areas. E. Consideration of acce ting feasibility atudy for providing sanitary sewer service to the Resurrection Church site. Recommendation: Accept the feasibility study and adopt recommendations as set forth by the City Engineer. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY BRUCE THIELEN TO ADOPT ITEMS 5A, 5B, 5D, AND 5E OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AS RECOMMENDED. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Consideration of items removed from consent agenda for discussion. C. Consideration of job description for Construction Inspector and consideration of advertisement for an additional position. Councilmember Bruce Thielen noted that hiring a City employee to conduct inspections on the wastewater treatment plant places the City in a more vulnerable position in determining liability if something should go wrong. Using an inspector from HDR leaves direct responsibility for the project on the Engineer. Public Works Director John Simola responded by saying that the construction observer goes to the contract engineer (HDR) for direction. HDR provides technical support under the contract. By us hiring an inspector, we would hope that the level of inspection will be superior. Our own representative will be looking after our own best interest. Page 2 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 Thielen continued. What guarantee is there that there will be the commitment and rapport needed to interface with HDR. We will save in theory upfront, but I wonder if it is the wisest way to proceed. No two projects are the same. The project is complex; we can save ourselves headaches by focusing responsibility on the contract engineer. Bret Weiss stated that the success of this approach depends on the individual that the City hires. Many communities do this for municipal utility projects. My only concern is whether or not the City can attract the person with the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the work. Right now, it is a tight market, and there are not a lot of people out there to hire. Simola went on to note that one of the biggest problems with sewer plant construction was that there was an inspector there only when there was major work being done. For instance, there was not an inspector there during the painting process, which later came back to haunt us. Thielen also noted that we have nothing to document the claim that there is additional work for this individual to do after the plant is constructed. He would rather see HDR provide the construction inspector. Clint Herbst agreed with Thielen. He concurred that a local inspector will give us that much of an advantage. Plus, it shifts some of the burden to us. We should keep our hands clean. Mayor Fair stated that he prefers that a staff person be hired as proposed. The City will be better served to have a staff person; I do not think the liability will increase greatly. It is better to have a City person looking after our interest. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRUCE THIELEN AND SECONDED BY CLINT HERBST TO UTILIZE AN INSPECTOR FROM HDR. Voting in favor: Bruce Thielen and Clint Herbst. Opposed: Roger Carlson, Brian Stumpf, and Bill Fair. Motion failed. A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY ROGER CARLSON TO ACCEPT THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND SALARY RANGE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INSPECTOR AND AUTHORIZE ADVERTISING THE POSITION OPENING. Voting in favor: Roger Carlson, Brian Stumpf, and Bill Fair. Opposed: Clint Herbst and Bruce Thielen. Motion carried. Page 3 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 7. Public Hearing - Consideration of adopting a resolution adopting proposed assessment roll for delinquent accounts receivable and utility bills and certification of assessment roll to county auditor. e Bill Fair opened the public hearing. No one was present to discuss the matter. The public hearing was then closed. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY CLINT HERBST AND SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR DELINQUENT CHARGES AS PRESENTED. Motion carried unanimously. SEE RESOLUTION 97-3. Clint Herbst asked did the laundromat pay the assessment when it was sold? Wolfsteller noted that yes, it was cleared up when it was sold. Request for reconsideration of conveyance of 3ft Of Droperty to resolve an encroachment ,hDson Warehouse. Bill Fair introduced the item by noting that recently the City Council acted on this item. However, a request to reconsider has come forward. He noted that he viewed the conveyance as a housekeeping matter that does not result in a gain or loss of property for either party. Clint Herbst noted that the City council went through this item. I am not happy to see it come back. We gave our decision 4 to 1 a month ago. Bill Fair asked if the City is suffering any harm by giving a simple quit claim deed. The building has been there 50 years, longer than the City had the parking lot. The City really hasn't lost anything, and the City really hasn't gained anything. I see it as a good neighbor thing. If you have a situation where nobody benefits and no one is harmed, why not just settle it. The Johnson family has been a taxpayer for a long time. I see it as a tax assessment for a situation that they did not create. Bruce Thielen stated that he has dealt with issues like this before in his position at Wright County. It is not unusual to see situations like this. It happens all the time in the county by as much as 200 ft. The problem is that we will spend more time here defending it than what it is worth. Brian Stumpf stated that this is a precedent -setting issue. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY CLINT HERBST TO RECONFIRM THE PREVIOUS DECISION MADE BY THE CITY COUNCIL. Voting in favor: Clint Herbst and Brian Stumpf. Opposed: Roger Carlson, Bill Fair, and Bruce Thielen. Motion failed. Page 4 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 A MOTION WAS MADE BY ROGER CARLSON AND SECONDED BY BRUCE THIELEN TO GRANT A QUIT CLAIM DEED TO STEVE JOHNSON WITHOUT REQUIRING COMPENSATION. Voting in favor: Roger Carlson, Bill Fair, and Bruce Thielen. Opposed: Clint Herbst and Brian Stumpf. Motion carried. 9. Consideration of requests to amend Urban Service Area boundaries Applicants, Orrin Thompson Homes and Art Anderson Assistant Administrator O'Neill informed the Council that it is asked to consider support for modifications to the Urban Service Area boundaries, which would enable annexation of the Orrin Thompson and Art Anderson properties. O'Neill noted that according to the agreement with the Township, the two development areas cannot be annexed until such time that both the City and the Township agree that the properties should qualify to reside within the urbanization area boundaries. O'Neill noted that development has occurred since 1990, which now places the properties adjacent to city utilities. The properties, therefore, meet the criteria for placement in the urban service area because they have full and direct access to city utilities. Clint Herbst was concerned that the City is not following the comprehensive plan by allowing development to the southeast. O'Neill agreed that the comprehensive plan does state that development should be encouraged to the south and west, which in this respect is inconsistent with this request; however, the plan also states that existing capacity should set the boundaries for development to the east. The development proposals would use existing sewer capacity, and no new trunk lines would be needed to support it. The comprehensive plan also calls for encouraging step-up housing, which will be achieved with the proposed developments. O'Neill noted that the next step is to present the request to Monticello Township. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRUCE THIELEN AND SECONDED BY ROGER CARLSON TO APPROVE THE REQUEST TO AMEND THE URBAN SERVICE AREA BOUNDARIES CONTINGENT ON APPROVAL BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION. Motion is based on the finding that said properties now have immediate access to city utilities and thus meet the criteria for annexation. Motion is also based on the finding that proposed development is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Voting in favor: Brian Stumpf, Roger Carlson, Bruce Thielen, and Bill Fair. Opposed: Clint Herbst. Motion carried. Page 5 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 10. Consideration of authorizing the City Engineer to prepare designs and specifications for the State Highway 25/Chelsea Road/I-94 improvements. Bill Fair noted that Council is asked to determine which alternative for road alignments is preferred and direct staff to complete preliminary design documentations. There has been considerable discussion on the topic and good information provided from staff and constituents. We know there are pro's and con's to both options. The State wants to proceed with primary concern as being safety. Second criteria is significant consideration to the flow of regional traffic. It is our understandng that the bridge will not be done for 20 years; therefore, it is important to the State that this project get done. My hope is to select an option. Clint Herbst stated that it is a nasty decision no matter what option we take. He noted that he supported option #3. It was his view that #3 was the least disruptive of the options. Bill Fair noted that access design remains a concern for a number of businesses. He stated that staff will continue to raise issues on behalf of the business interests. Roger Carlson noted that he feels confident that the State of Minnesota is committed to this project. Bill Fair supported City involvement in the design process because it gives us more say and more opportunity to establish a plan that meets the needs of the City. Bruce Thielen was supportive of option #3 initially. However, after a closer look, option #2 is the better of the two primarily because land acquisition costs will be less. Bill Fair noted that under option #3, the 18 -acre commercial site south of Silver Fox Motel is bisected, which will diminish value by reducing flexibility. My opinion is that option #2 is the way to go. Also, there is more support from the general public for option #2. Brian Stumpf noted his favorite is option #2. He went on to state that he wished the State would have taken the lead role. Page 6 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRUCE THIELEN AND SECONDED BY ROGER CARLSON TO SELECT OPTION #2 AND AUTHORIZE STAFF TO PREPARE THE DESIGN CONTINGENT ON OBTAINING APPROVAL FROM WRIGHT COUNTY AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. Voting in favor: Bill Fair, Roger Carlson, Bruce Thielen, Brian Stumpf. Opposed: Clint Herbst. Motion carried. 11. Consideration of adopting an ordinance amendment governing location and design of telecommunication towers. Applicant Monticello Planning Commission. Chief Building Official Fred Patch noted that he has been working on this type of ordinance with his previous position at Brooklyn Park. He noted that he would like to have some time to review the ordinance prior to adoption. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRUCE THIELEN AND SECONDED BY CLINT HERBST TO TABLE ADOPTION OF THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT GOVERNING TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS. Motion carried unanimously. 12. Consideration of transfer of D & K recycling contract to Superior Services. A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY CLINT HERBST TO TRANSFER THE REMAINING 15 MONTHS OF OUR RECYCLING CONTRACT TO SUPERIOR SERVICES. Motion carried unanimously. 13. Consideration of participation in feasibility study for multi -city joint sludge processing facility. Public Works Director John Simola reported that it is difficult to determine the benefit to the City in participating in this effort. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY CLINT HERBST AND SECONDED BY BRUCE THIELEN TO NOT PARTICIPATE IN A JOINT SLUDGE FACILITY FEASIBILITY STUDY. Motion carried unanimously. 14. Consideration of adoptinga policy authorizing purchases by City Administrator and/or Department Heads. City Administrator Rick Wolfsteller reviewed the purchasing policy, which requires Council approval even if already in the budget. Discussed the options. We would continue to give the list of bills. Page 7 Council Minutes - 1/27/97 Bruce Thielen said he is uncomfortable with expenditures outside of the budget without separate Council review. I want to make sure that if Council set such purchases as priorities. Clint Herbst suggested that the Council go through this year's budget on an item by item basis because the present Council did not set the budget. Thielen noted that last year we budgeted for items that never got done. We are budgeting for it again. If projects were budgeted for but were not completed, what was the problem. It was the consensus of Council to establish new budgeting and purchasing procedures in conjunction with the next budget cycle and associated fiscal year. 15. Consideration of bills for the month of Januar A MOTION WAS MADE BY BRUCE THIELEN AND SECONDED BY CLINT HERBST TO APPROVE THE BILLS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY AS SUBMITTED. Motion carried unanimously. 16. Other matters. 0.. 0 . we Bill Fair noted that people have approached him regarding annexation of the Bridge View plat to the city of Monticello. Should we seek legal opinion as to whether or not we can develop at a density that allows for urbanization of the area. After discussion, it was determined that the topic should become a future agenda item. B. City Administrator Rick Wolfsteller provided an update on the NSP legislation. He noted that there are some legislators that are supportive of exempting personal property which would result in a shift of revenue from tax base to state aid. Ultimately, it could result in a net loss in revenue. Mayor Fair requested that the City Administrator keep Council apprised. C. Rick Wolfsteller reported that after additional analysis, it is evident that the City will benefit by choosing a financing plan for the wastewater treatment plant that is based on an 18 -month deferral of Council Minutes - 1/27/97 interest and a 4.08% annual interest rate. Under this program, the City will pay a slightly higher interest rate, which will be more than offset by the 18 -month deferral of interest payments. AFTER DISCUSSION, A MOTION WAS MADE BY CLINT HERBST AND SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF TO SET TERMS FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT FINANCING BASED ON AN 18 -MONTH DEFERRAL OF INTEREST AND A 4.08% ANNUAL INTEREST RATE. Motion carried unanimously. yf Jeff O'Neill Assistant Administrator Page 9