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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. - 1 - 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. - 2 - 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). - 3 - Council Minutes - 5/10/82 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. 4 - Council Minutes - 5/10/82 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 - 5 -