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City Council Minutes 01-26-1981MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL January 26, 1981 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve Grimsmo, Dan Blonigen, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Phil White. Members Absent: None. 1. Public Hearing - Consideration of a Variance Request - Decorative Services. Decorative Services of Monticello requested a variance to eliminate the entire curb barrier around their parking lot and driveway to their new facility proposed to be built on the rear half of the lot east of Independent Lumber Company in the Oakwood Industrial Park. Their reason for requesting the variance was that the back half of the lot is lower than the surrounding area, and by constructing a holding pond on the lot, they propose to contain the runoff water in a holding pond that would be constructed as part of their landscaping. The proposed plans were reviewed by John Badalich, City Engineer, and Mr. Badalich reviewed with the Council the drainage plan and indicated that this concept would be suitable for drainage on this lot and indicated that the curb barrier could be eliminated without affecting proper drainage. Normally, as Mr. Badalich explained, curb barriers are needed to control drainage to the proper areas, but because the lot in this case is actually lower in the middle, curb barriers would not be needed. Council members discussed whether curb barrier requirements on all parking lots in new developments were required strictly for drainage purposes, or whether curb barrier requirements were also for aesthetic purposes. It was pointed out that in the majority of the cases, curb barriers were required not only for drainage, but also to define a specific parking area and for aesthetic purposes. Therefore, a motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Phil White, and unanimously carried to approve the variance request to eliminate the curb barrier along the driveway leading to the building site and parking lot and also to eliminate the curb barrier along the north side of the pro- posed parking lot, but to require a curb barrier to be installed on the west and south side of the parking lot. It was noted that the drainage, as proposed, would still be allowed to drain into a holding pond, if constructed as proposed. - 1 - Council Minutes - 1/26/81 2. Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for a Planned Unit Development - Robert and Marion Jameson. Robert and Marion Jameson, who own a parcel of land on the south side of the Monticello Junior/Senior High School, requested a conditional use permit for a planned unit development to allow the additional placement of three more log cabins on their property to be restored and used as displays of the past for public observation on a limited basis. Mrs. Jameson indicated that these three new buildings, combined with a couple that are already existing on their property, would be laid out into an historic community and neighborhood type project that would indicate and show how past historic settlements existed. The display area would be open to the public and donations would be asked of approximately $1.00 per adult and $.50 per child to help defray some of the cost, although a strict admission charge would not be charged. The Council and Public Works Director discussed the condition of the pre- sent gravel road leading to their property off of Washington Street, and Mrs. Jameson indicated that the present condition of the road would be adequate with minor improvements to handle any traffic problems. It was noted that the City would be responsible for maintaining the road up to the Jameson's property line, and the balance of the road would be the owner's responsibility. Marion Jameson also indicated that they may like to install a directional type sign indicating the location of this historical landmark, and was informed by the Council that this would require a separate variance for any off -premise directional sign. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve the conditional use for the Planned Unit Development concept stage and development stage, as proposed. 3. Consideration of Resolution Ordering Feasibility Report on Improvements to NSP Property on River Street. A petition was filed by NSP representative, Ward King, requesting that the City extend sewer, water and blacktopping to a portion of NSP's pro- perty on the south side of County Road 75 along River Street. The improve- ments were requested for the purpose of serving a 23,000 square foot complex NSP was proposing that would be developed for training purposes and would also include a simulated control room similar to the actual control room in the NSP nuclear power plant itself. City Engineer, John Badalich, explained that there were a number of possi- ble ways of serving this property, one would be to obtain sewer and water across County Road 75 near the location of the Rod & Gun Club; the other choice would be to receive these improvements through an extension of sewer and water through The Meadows Plat to River Street, then southwesterly along River Street to their building. - 2 - Council Minutes - 1/26/81 In a preliminary review of the area, Mr. Badalich indicated that he would prefer that the sewer be extended from within The Meadows Plat, while the water be extended from the intersection of County Road 75 near the Rod & Gun Club. He indicated that the sewer could not be extended from the intersection near the Rod & Gun Club without facilitating the improve- ment of a lift station because of depth problems. Motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Phil White and unanimously carried to approve adopting a resolution ordering John Badalich, City Engineer, to prepare a feasibility report on this proposed improvement project. (See Resolution 1981 #5) 4. Consideration of Final Payment to Barbarossa Construction Company on the 1979-1 Improvement Project. Barbarossa Construction. Company recently finished construction on the 1979-1 Improvement Project, which served the southern portion of Oakwood Industrial Park along with the former J.R. Culp Property, Lauring Lane and other minor areas. City Engineer, John Badalich, recommended that final payment in the amount of $18,208.17 be paid. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to approve the final payment to Barbarossa and Sons, Inc. on the 1979-1 Improvement Project in the amount of $18,208.17. 5. Consideration of Ordinance Amendment for Signs. The City of Monticello was recently notified that it has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $35,000 from the Federal Highway Administration for the improvement of Ellison Park along the Mississippi River, because it lies adjacent to the Great River Road System. However, in order to be eligible for these funds, it was necessary that the City of Monticello adopt an ordinance that indicates the City would be willing to enter an agreement with the Federal Government which would enable the City, in the future, to purchase non -conforming signs along the Great River Road. The money for the purchase of these non -conforming signs along the Great River Road would come from the Federal Government, but would not be effective unless the Federal Government provided at least 750 of the funds for purchasing these non -conforming signs. The Council was concerned whether the approximately 8 non -conforming signs now existing along the Great River Road through Monticello may eventually cost the City more money to remove them than actually the City would receive from this grant. Some of the Council members viewed this attempt to regulate signs before any grant monies were dispersed as an effort to force the City of Monticello to remove signs at the Federal Government's request. As a result, motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Phil White to deny any sign ordinance amendment which would require the City - 3 - Council Minutes - 1/26/81 of Monticello to enter into any agreement with the Federal Highway Adminis- tration for purchase of these non -conforming signs, and to also reject any grant monies allocated. Voting in favor: Dan Blonigen. Opposed: Arve Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Phil White. After further Council discussion on the proposed sign ordinance amendment, it was noted that the sign ordinance amendment, if adopted, would not require the City to remove any non -conforming signs that the City's ordinance does not already require to be removed. In addition, it was noted that funds would have to be allocated by the Federal Government for the removal of these signs, and in all likelihood, this possibility was very remote. Similar agreements have been required by the Federal Government for a number of years, and funds for the removal of non -conforming signs have never been appropriated by the Federal Government. As a result, the City would probably never be required to purchase any non -conforming signs and thus, a motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Ken Maus to adopt the sign ordinance amendment as proposed which would allow the City of Monticello to enter an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration to purchase non -conforming signs along the Great River Road whenever funds would become available from the Federal Government in the amount of at least 750. Voting in favor: Arve Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Phil White. Opposed: Dan Blonigen. (Ordinance Amendment 1/26/81 #90) 6. Consideration of Amendment of Ordinance to Have the Planning Commission Act as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals. In an attempt to simplify the variance procedures, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance amendment which would allow the Planning Commission to serve as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals to hear all variance requests, with their decision being final unless such decision was appealed in writing by any individual within five days after the decision was made. The Planning Commission felt that many non -controversial variance requests have been reviewed over the past years with the Planning Commission's recommendations being sustained by the City Council in normal cases. By eliminating the requirement for the applicant to go before both the Planning Commission and the City Council, the applicants would not have any undue delay in their requests. It was noted that if an appeal was filed, the findings of the Planning Commission plus any background available would be brought forward to the City Council for the Council to hear. It was noted by the Council that although many of the variance requests are non -controversial, a 4/5's vote of the Planning Commission members would be necessary, and sometimes there is a problem in having all five planning commission members present during their meetings. As a result, it was noted that many of the applicant's may be required to attend more than one Planning Commission meeting in an effort to receive a 4/5's vote, which may result in more delays than the present procedure of going to the Planning Commission and then to the City Council for approval. In addition, they felt it was the City Council's duty to be the final judgment on variance cases, and therefore, motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Dan Blonigen and unanimously carried to deny any ordinance amendment that would have the Planning Commission serve as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals for variance requests. - 4 - Council Minutes - 1/26/81 7. Consideration of Approval of Fire Contract with Silver Creek Township. The previous three-year fire contract with Silver Creek Township expired on December 31, 1980, and the Joint Fire Board, consisting of Township representative Gerhart Decker, City representative Rick Wolfsteller, and Fire Department representative Lee Trunnell, worked with City Administrator Gary Wieber to establish a new contract proposal for both Silver Creek Township and Otsego Township. The Joint Fire Board recommended that the standby charge and hourly fee charged be revised as follows: Standby Charge - Silver Creek Township - $4,000 (was $300) Otsego Township - $600 (was $300) Hourly Fee - Both Silver Creek and Otsego Townships - $200 the first hour (was $300), $100 additional hours (was $100 for second hour and $75 for additional hours). Other alternatives for new contracts were made available to Silver Creek which would include a standby charge of $2,400 plus hourly charges of $400 for the first hour and $100 per hour for additional hours. The third alternative made available was a standby charge of $1,500 plus an hourly charge of $500 for the first hour and $100 per hour for addi- tional hours. These charges were recommended for a three-year contract based on the percentage of total firemen hours from 1975 through July of 1980, along with a computation to determine the cost of each fire run. The increase in the standby charges for Silver Creek was based on the City of Monticello's fixed cost to provide fire service, which attempted to pro -rate some of these costs to communities served by the Monticello Fire Department, based on the total percentage of time the equipment was used in each community. On November 18, 1980 and January 20, 1981, the Joint Fire Board reviewed the contract proposals with the Silver Creek Township Board. As a result of these meetings and negotiations, the Silver Creek Township Board made a proposal for a three-year contract which would call for an annual standby charge of $1,000 and a per fire call charge of $250 for the first hour and $150 for each additional hour. The Silver Creek Township Board indicated that their 1981 fire budget had been previously set in March of 1980, and that funds were not available for the larger standby cost or hourly fire cost for 1981, and that their proposal of $1,000 standby and $250 for the first hour was all they could afford for 1981. In addition, they indicated they would have to get the approval at their March Township Annual Meeting to establish any budget for fire protection for the years 1982 and 1983. In light of the budget requirements already set for 1981 by the Silver Creek Township Board, it was the recommendation of the Joint Fire Board that a contract be proposed for 1981 based on the offer made by Silver Creek Township of $1,000 standby charge, plus fire call charge of $250 for the first hour or any fraction thereof, and $150 for each additional hour or fraction thereof, but that the Silver Creek Township Board - 5 - Council Minutes - 1/26/81 bring the matter to their March 1981 township meeting for the years 1982 and 1983 to consider the alternatives previously presented by the Joint Fire Board. If approved by the Silver Creek Township, the contract would be entered into for 1981 based on their offer, but the years 1982 and 1983 would be based on the recommendations of the Joint Fire Board. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve a one-year contract as proposed by the Silver Creek Township Board at $1,000 standby charge with $250 hourly charge for the first hour or fraction thereof, and $150 per hour for every hour or fraction thereof thereafter, with the consideration of extending this one year contract for an additional two years based on the Joint Fire Board's recommended alterna- tives after approved by the Silver Creek Township Board at their March 1981 Annual Meeting. 8. Consideration of Approval of Appraisal - Lindberg Property. Mr. & Mrs. Kermit Lindberg have indicated that they would be receptive to selling their property, located directly east of the present Wastewater Treatment Plant facility. While the current site of the Wastewater Treatment Plant is sufficient to handle the updating of the present facility, but according to the consulting engineers, it may be necessary for the City of Monticello to find another site for a Wastewater Treatment Plant in 20 to 25 years from now. Since Mr. & Mrs. Lindberg have indicated a willingness to sell their property at the present time, a motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to authorize the City Administrator to obtain an appraisal on the 5.13 acres owned by Mr. & Mrs. Lindberg to determine a possible basis for an offer by the City of Monticello. 9. Approval of Bills for January 1981, and the Minutes of January 12, 1981. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve the bills as presented for January 1981, and the Minutes of the regular Council Meeting held January 12, 1981. (See Exhibit 1/26/81 #1). 10. Consideration of Resolution on Step II Grant Engineering Fees. Consulting Engineer, John Badalich, requested that the City Council adopt a resolution approving of his engineering firm asking the MPCA and the EPA to reconsider their firm's request for additional engineering fees relating to the Step II Wastewater Treatment Plant Grant application. Mr. Badalich indicated that this resolution is intended to support the engineering firm's request that their engineering fees be reconsidered for approval as part of the grant project. Council Minutes - 1/26/81 Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to adopt the resolution asking the PCA and EPA to review and reconsider Orr-Schelen-Mayeron's request for additional engineering fees relating to Step II. (See Resolution 1981 #6). Meeting adjourned. Ric Wolfste er, Administrati e Assistant RW/ns - 7 -