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City Council Minutes 02-08-1982MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL February 8, 1982 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve Grimsmo, Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Dan Blonigen, Phil White. Members Absent: None. 1. Consideration of a Variance for a Certificate of Occupancy - Decorative Services. Mr. Bill Schackor, owner of Decorative Services, requested a certificate of occupancy for his new building being built in Oakwood Industrial Park. As part of the certificate of oc- cupancy request, Mr. Schackor requested that he be allowed until July 1, 1982 to complete all of his landscaping and hard - surfacing of his parking lot. Mr. Schackor agreed to arrange for his lender to provide a letter to the City of Monticello indicating that an escrow account will be set up for one and a quarter (la) times the amount of the estimated landscaping and parking lot improve- ment costs. The reason for the request was due to the present weather conditions not allowing the parking lot improvement to be completed until this summer. A motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Blonigen and unani- mously carried to approve the certificate of occupancy request for Decorative Services contingent upon proper arrangements being made for providing either a surety bond or an escrow account for one and a quarter (la) times the amount of the estimated landscaping and parking lot improvements. 2. Consideration of Awarding Contract on Bids for 1500 Gallon Tanker Truck and Truck Chassis for the Fire Department. Bids were received by the Fire Department on February 1, 1982 for a new 1500 gallon tanker truck and truck chassis. The bids that were received on the tanker truck were as follows: Company Basic Bid Laverne Fire Equipment, Inc. $32,473.00 General Safety Equip. Inc. 36,960.00 Pierce Manufacturing 45,680.00 - 1 - Aiter.#1 (ide Water Dump) $750.00 590.00 Delivery Time 140-150 days after chassis delivery 240-280 days from contract date 240-300 days from contract. Council Minutes - 2/8/82 General Safety Equipment Inc., also indicated a few alternate optional items which could be added to the bid if the Fire Department so desired,totalling an additional $1,105.00 to the base bid. Bids received for the truck chassis were as follows: Company Bid Delivery Time Monticello Ford $16,166.71 60-90 days Gould Brothers Chev. 17,730.00 90 days Laverne Fire Equipment, Inc. 18,655.00 60-90 days Pierce Manufacturing 20,575.00 120 days Members of the Monticello Fire Department reviewed the bids to see how they complied with all the specifications and in- dicated to the Council that they had a few areas of concern in regard to the apparent low bidder on the pumper apparatus from Laverne Fire Equipment Company which they felt did not meet the specifications in the following areas: 1. Bid specifications called for the pump to be rated at 475 gallons per minute and to be a two stage pump where- as Laverne's bid brochure indicated that the pump would be a single stage, 375 gallon per minute pump. 2. Specifications called for a 1500 gallon tank to be con- structed of 10 gauge steel with the bottom to be 3/16 of an inch thick with Laverne's tank not indicating a 3/16 inch thick bottom as required. 3. Specifications called for the shape of the tank to be in a T shape design providing for deep sided compart- ments while the Laverne tank is proposed as an oval shape making for smaller compartments at the top. 4. Specifications also called for the inside of the tank to be lined with an epoxy compound which is flexible while the Laverne tank would be lined with fiber glass which the Fire Department personnel thought would not be as flexible. 5. Specifications required all valves to be a wateress ball type, which the Fire Department indicated that Laverne's would not be. The total low bid for the new truck and pumper using the lowest bids received would total $49,389.71. It was the recommendation of the Fire Department that the City consider the low bid on the truck chassis from Monticello Ford in the amount of $16,166.71, and the second low bid from General Safety Equipment in the amount of $36,960.00â–ºplus alternate for side water dump of $590, plus the optional items totalling $1,105 for a total price of $54,821.71, as they felt this bid did meet specifications. - 2 - Council Minutes - 2/8/82 Since the Council had numerous questions in regard to the speci- fications, and none of the representatives from the two low bidders, Laverne Fire Equipment and General Safety Equipment, were present at the meeting, it was the concensus of the Council that no action be taken on the awarding of a contract until the next regular council meeting to enable the Fire Department per- sonnel and city staff to contact representatives of the companies to be present at the next meeting to answer questions. 3. Consideration of Increase in Fire Department Wages. Monticello Fire Department members requested that the City Council consider increasing their salawy on fire calls and drills for 1982 from the present $7.00 per hour for the first hour of the fire call and $5.00 thereafter to a straight $8.00 per hour. This request was previously brought before the Joint Fire Board consisting of a Fire Department member, a representative of the Monticello Township and a representative of. the City. It was the recommendation of the Joint Fire Board that any increase in Fire Department salaries should not take effect during the year 1982 since this item was not budgeted for the coming year. It was noted that if wages in 1.0,91 would have been paid at the new re- quested rate of $8.00 per hour, the fire call salaries would have in- creased along with the drill costs by approximately 34 percent over the present pay scale. A survey of the surrounding com- munities indicated that the Monticello Fire Department personnel are currently paid one of the higher rates in the area and that the last increase from $5.00 per hour for the first hour and $3.00 thereafter was increased to the present $7.00 for the first hour and $5.00 thereafter effective January 1, 1979. A motion was made by Blonigen, seconded by White and unanimously carried to leave the present rate of pay for Fire Department per- sonnel at $7.00 per hour for the first hour and $5.00 per hour thereafter with all drills being paid at a flat rate of $7.00 per drill. - 3 - Council Minutes - 2/8/82 4. Review of the 1981 Year End Liquor Store Financial Statements. Liquor Store Manager, Mark Irmiter, reviewed with the Council the year end financial statements for 1981. The financial statement as presented indicated that sales were up approximately $112,000 over 1980 figures or approximately 14% in- crease. Mr. Irmiter noted that although inflation accounts for some of the increase, it was his opinion that approximately a 5% real increase did occur. Gross profit increased approximately 150 over last year with the operating income increasing to almost $85,000 from $69,000 in 1980. The total operating income increas- ed. as a percent of total sales to 9.32 from 8.65 in 1980. With other earnings from investments, etc., total net income of the liquor store operation exceeded. $108,000 in 1981 over the previous high of $87,000 in 1980. No action was taken by the Council other than review of the state- ments with the manager, Mark Irmiter. (See Exhibit 2/8/82 #1). 5. Consideration of Expenditures for Historical Information Center Building. Mrs.Marion Jameson, Monticello Historical Committee Chairman, re- quested that the Council consider the possible funding of a few improvements for the local Historical Building. Mrs. Jameson had requested that the Council consider the installa- tion of a separate phone at the Historical Building and the in- stallation of a ceiling fan to help circulate some of the heat from the ceiling to the floor areas. Concerns were expressed by the Council over how often the present Historical Building is used and it was the concensus of the Council that a telephone may seem inappropriate for the little use that the building has currently received. Currently, the Historical Building has not been open on any type of regular basis except during the summer time when the City also operates an Information Center from this building. Mr. Greg Erickson, a member of the Historical Com- mittee, noted that currently there are not enough people to setup and man the Historical Building on a regular basis and thus the facility has not been used much recently. In regard to the ceiling fan, the Council members felt that cir- culation of the heat is not a necessity at the present time since the building is not usually occupied in the winter. It was the concensus of the Council to table any action regarding expenditures for the Mistorical Committee at the present time until the Historical Committee can indicate that a more regular scheduled use of the building will take place. - 4 - Council Minutes - 2/8/82 6. Considerationof Establishing a Tax Increment Financing District for the City of Monticello. The purpose of this item was a review and discussion on the possible application of establishing a tax increment financing district for the downtown area in Monticello. The basic concept behind tax increment financing is to utilize the new tax revenues generated by a completed new development or rede- velopment of an existing building, to pay for such things as the land acquisition and site improvement costs, thereby allowing a City to stimulate private development which might not otherwise occur. Eligible projects for tax increment financing are as follows: - Redevelopment Project - Any project involved in the removal of blight, any new land use such as housing or commercial and industrial may replace the blighted property. - Housing Project - Any housing project involved in the con- struction of low and moderate income housing. - Economic Development Project - Any project that does not involve the removal of blight or the construction of housing for lower or moderate income persons. After reviewing some of the aspects of tax increment financing, the Council discussed whether the City should proceed to start the establishment of a tax increment financing district now or wait until a developer or developers propose the use of such financing prior to proceeding. It was the concensus of the Council to authorize the City Adminis- trator to invite Mr. Walt Hartman, a technical analyst with the attorney firm of Holms and Gravin, to make a presentation to the City Council on the procedures necessary to set up a tax increment district for Monticello. Mr. Hartman, a former employee of the League of Minnesota Cities, had previously indicated he would be available to describe the basic concepts and procedures necessary for the City to set up a tax increment financing plan in the future. - 5 - Council Minutes - 2/8/82 7. Approval of Minutes for Regular Meeting Held on January 25, 1982 A motion was made by White, seconded by Fair and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held on January 25, 1982 as presented and amended. 8. Consideration of Purchase of a Snow Blower for the Street Depart- ment. Public Works Director, John Simola, reviewed with the Council the possible acquisition of a new snow blower for the Public Works Department. Mr. Simola noted that a new snow blower with approxi- mately 20 hours use has been demonstrated by the manufacturer in the City of Monticello, and this snow blower could be purchased for $9,975.00. The cost of this snow blower new would be in the range of $16,000 to $18,000 with comparable snow blowers priced anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000. Mr. Simola indicated that the City could possibly save $2,000 annually in labor and other costs associated with snow removal if the City did acquire a snow blower for removing snow in the downtown areas and other areas of the City. This would be accomplished faster with more snow!being loaded on each truck with the use of a blower rather than a loader. It was noted that although the labor costs would not actually be saved, the man power could then be used in other areas to accomplish tasks that are now delayed due to the time required for removing snow. Funding of a snow blower, although not budgeted for 1982, could be accomplished by possible cuts in other Capital Outlay items in the Street and Tree Fund departments to provide for the necessary $9,975.00. A motion was made by Blonigen, seconded by Fair and unanimously carried to authorize the Public Works Department to purchase the snow blower at a cost of $9,975.00. Meeting Adjourned. Rick Wolfstellir Acting Administrator - 6 -