City Council Minutes 05-10-1982MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
May 10, 1982 - 7:30 P.M.
Members Present: Arve A. Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Dan Blonigen, Ken Maus,
Phil White.
Members Absent: None.
I. Call To Order.
Approval of the Minutes. A motion was made by Blonigen, second-
ed by White and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of
the April 26, 1982 Council Meeting as presented.
II. New Business.
A. Citizen Comments.
Mr. John Dick of 619 East 4th Street requested that the
Council consider having yield signs placed on Ramsey Street
near the 4th Street park. Mr. Dick was informed by the
Public Works Director that the signs have been ordered and
will be erected shortly.
Mr. Chuck Bangasser of Monticello Ford, Inc., informed the
City Council about a change that Monticello Ford could make
in ordering the new fire truck chassis that was recently
awarded to them. Mr. Bangasser noted that by changing the
ordering procedures, the City of Monticello could be eligible
for a direct $1,000.00 rebate from Ford Motor Company under
the retail purchase plan rather than ordering the truck under
the government assistance plan. To be eligible for the $1000
rebate, Monticello Ford would incur an extra $100 cost in
their price of the vehicle and asked that the City consider a
change order in the bid amount increasing it by $100 to com-
pensate Monticello Ford for their extra cost. Even with the
$100 increase, the City of Monticello would, as a result, net
an additional $900.00 because of the $1,000.00 rebate program
available. It was the Council concensus to authorize the
City Administrator to prepare the necessary agreements with
Monticello Ford allowing the City to collect the rebate and
compensating Monticello Ford for its $100 additional cost.
B. Public Hearing - Consideration of a Request to Vacate a Por-
tion of Chestnut Street.
Mr. Paul Lutzke of 824 West Broadway petitioned the City of
i Monticello requesting that a portion of Chestnut Street
J lying adjacent to his property be vacated to allow him to
build a double garage on a portion of the vacated street.
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Council Minutes - 5/10,/82
This street in question would be located between Broadway
and 3rd Street and would consist of approximately 15 feet.
Mr. Lutzke noted that he has only 13 feet available to his
property line and he would like to build a 26 foot garage,
thus requiring at least 13 feet of Chestnut Street to ac-
complish his plans.
John Badalich, City Engineer, indicated that although the
City is currently using the street right-of-way for utility
purposes and may have plans for both a storm sewer and force
main sewer line, it was the opinion that the City could vacate
up to 15 feet of the east portion of Chestnut Street without
occurring any problems in the future. It was recommended by
the City Engineer and City Staff that if 15 feet was vacated,
the entire 15 foot east portion of Chestnut Street should be
vacated from Broadway all the way to 3rd Street.
It was suggested by the Council that Mr. Lutzke contact the
other abutting property owner, Mr. Ed Lane, to find out if
he would be interested in acquiring the 15 foot portion
abutting his property. Before proceeding with the vacation
hearing, it was recommended that the City first obtain an
appraisal on the value of the 15 foot portion proposed for
vacation to enable both the City and the property owners
to know what costs may be involved.
As a result, a motion was made by Maus, seconded by Fair and
unanimously carried to authorize the City Staff to obtain an
appraisal on the east 15 foot portion of Chestnut Street and
to report back to the Council at the next meeting. At that
time another public hearing wculd be held on the vacation
request and also this would allow Mr. Lutzke more time to
determine the exact location of his garage with set back
requirements being noted.
C. Department Head Reports.
Public Works Director, John Simola, informed the Council that
a man hole located in the intersection of Hwy 25 and Broadway
is crumbling and will need to be replaced soon. Because of
the difficult location and heavy amount of traffic, the esti-
mated cost could be in the neighborhood of $5,000 to $10,000.
By Council concensus, Mr. Simola was authorized to obtain cost
quotes and estimates from various contractors for the repair.
Mr. Simola also noted that a change order
the State of Minnesota on the Ellison Park
resulting in an additional amount of $2100
excavation work.
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has been approved by
Improvement Project
for additional
Council Minutes - 5/10./82
The City of Monticello would be liable for an additional 121-2%
of this amount, which is the City's share of the entire pro-
ject.
Mr. Simola also requested direction from the City Council on
how to proceed with the possible improvement of 7th Street
between Cedar and Hwy 25. It was noted that improvements have
been budgeted for 1982 and the cost has been estimated at a
low of $4,000 to over $36,000 depending on how the road is
improved.
Perkin's Restaurant and the new owners of the proposed motel
adjacent to Perkin's have both been contacted and expressed
interest in improving the street with curb and gutter if any
improvements are made.
A motion was made by Wilite, seconded by Maus and unanimously
carried to authorize the City Engineer to prepare a feasibility
study listing alternatives and cost estimates for improving
7th Street with a nine ton design and curb and gutter.
D. Consideration of Resolution - RE: Machine Signed Signatures
on City Checks.
The Wright County State Bank has requested that the City of
Monticello adopt a resolution covering the use of facsimile
signatures on its checking account. A resolution would allow
the use of stamped signature for one of the required signatures
and authorizes its use on all checks.
A motion was made by White, seconded by Fair and unanimously
carried to adopt the resolution allowing for machine signed
signatures on city checks. (See Resolution 1982 #40).
E. Consideration of Resolution - RE: City Administrator Electing
to be Excluded from PERA.
Minnesota Statutes currently allow a City Administrator to be
excluded from membership in the Public Employees Retirement
Association and allow the person to establish his own deferred
compensation plan. A new City Administrator has 30 days from
date of employment to elect to be excluded from PERA and as a
result, Mr. Tom Eidem has requested he be allowed to establish
a deferred compensation program of his own as an alternative
to the present Public Employees Retirement Plan.
A motion was made by White, seconded by Blonigen and unanimous-
ly carried to adopt a resolution approving the election of Mr.
Tom Eidem to be excluded from the Public Employees Retirement
Association and also to adopt a resolution authorizing the City
Administrator to set up his own deferred compensation plan.
(See Resolution 1982 #38 and 1982 #39).
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F. Consideration of Change Order #33 with the Paul A. Laurence
Company on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction Pro-
ject.
A change order #33 in the amount of $2,627 has been recommend-
ed by the City Staff on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Con-
struction Project for the purpose of adding additional mis-
cellaneous items and accessories to the sludge hauling and
land application equipment which will be acquired by the City
as part of the upgrading of the treatment plant. Some of the
optional equipment will be items such as hoses, gaskets, re-
volving lights and other spare parts and gauges for emergencies.
A motion was made by Fair, seconded by Maus and unanimously
carried to approve change order #33 with the Paul A. Laurence
Company on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction Project
for an additional amount of $2,627.00.
III. Old Business.
A. Consideration of Senior Citizen Center Expansion.
Karen Hanson, Senior Citizen Center Director, informed the
Council that the center has completed its application for
grant funding from the McKnight Foundation for the purpose
of expanding its existing facilities to alleviate cramped
quarters. The expansion would take place into the former
portion of the building that was rented to Monticello Print-
ing. Karen noted that the expansion as proposed, would pro-
vide additional space for present activities at the center
and would not necessarily be used for adding new activities.
As a result, it was her opinion that by expanding the center,
additional traffic and parking problems would not increase
over the present situation.
Concerns expressed by the Council were whether the proposed
expansion would cause more parking problems in the area.
Other concerns expressed were whether the City should pos-
sibly consider relocating the Senior Citizens Center in a
different location to allow for future growth and expansion
or whether to proceed with the remodeling at that present
location. Although parking is limited at the center and
surrounding areas, a motion was made by White, seconded by
Fair and unanimously carried to allow the Senior Citizen's
Center to use and expand into the extra portion of the
building recently vacated by Monticello Printing with the
understanding that the Senior Citizens themselves will work
toward a solution to avoid additional parking problems.
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B. Consideration of Maintenance Building Project.
At the previous Council meeting, bids were reviewed on the
construction of a new pole building at the maintenance prop-
erty site. The low bid was received from Menard's Incorpor-
ated for a base bid of $19,324, but no action was taken by
the Council in awarding a contract as Council Member Blonigen
felt the building was over speced and could be built for less.
In regard to the specifications prepared on the pole building,
it was noted that both in September 1981 and March 1982, Public
Works Director had prepared information that was presented to
the Council that indicated the maintenance building proposed
would have provided for the future insulation and possible
heating of half the building and that the building would in-
clude insulated garage doors.
Although Mr. Blonigen has not completed his report on how
the building is over speced, Mr. Blonigen was instructed to
prepare any information regarding the maintenance building
specifications, etc. and present them at the next Council
meeting.
Meeting Adjourned.
or
Rick Wolfs eller
Assistant Administrator
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