City Council Minutes 07-12-1993MINUTES
REGULAR, MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, July 12, 1993 - 7 p.m.
Members Present: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Clint Herbst, Brad Fyle, Patty
Olsen
Members Absent: None
2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the regular meeting held June 28,
1993.
Brad Fyle requested that paragraph 5 of Item 7 be changed to read as follows:
"Brad Fyle indicated that we need to keep the West Bridge Park
building open to the area residents and he agreed with the concept of
charging a higher base rent.
Council reviewed the new policy for reserving the West Bridge Park
building. Clint Herbst suggested that the policy be updated to require
that deposits confirming reservations should be made within 2 business
days of the date that the reservation is made. He was concerned that
under the present policy individuals could reserve the park building for
future use and then back out of actual use of the facility at the last
minute. After discussion, motion was made by Clint Herbst and
seconded by Brad Fyle to amend the policy for reserving use of the city
park buildings by requiring that reservations be confirmed through
payment of the fee and deposit within 2 business days of the date of the
reservation. Motion carried unanimously."
There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and
seconded by Clint Herbst to approve the meeting minutes as amended.
3. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints.
None forthcoming.
4. Consideration of a conditional use request to allow an auto body shop repair
building in a B-3 (highway business) zone. Location is Block 2, Part of Lot 4,
Sandberg South Addition in the city of Monticello. Applicant, John Johnson.
Jeff O'Neill indicated that this request is submitted by the same applicant and
is nearly identical to the conditional use permit request considered by City
Council on April 24, 1989, at which time Council approved the request. O'Neill
noted that due to the fact that the applicant did not complete construction
allowed under the conditional use permit within one year, it is necessary to
bring this item back before City Council. Unless the present City Council
disagrees with the finding made by the Council in 1989, it is recommended
that Council take the same action that was taken then.
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Council Minutes - 7/12/93
After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by
Patti Olsen to grant a conditional use permit to the Monticello Auto Body Shop
which would allow the operation of an auto body shop in a B-3 zone. Applicant
must comply with the all conditions included in the zoning ordinance
amendment. Motion based on the finding that awarding of the conditional use
permit is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Operation of an auto body
shop under conditions set forth by ordinance provides sufficient assurance that
auto body shop activity will be compatible with the character of the
surrounding area. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Consideration of a request for installation of an above -ground fuel tank --
Hoglund Transportation.
Rick Wolfsteller indicated current State Fire Marshal regulation limits tanks
to a capacity of 6,000 gallons, and a specific site cannot have more than 18,000
gallons total. Hoglund Transportation wants to install a dual-purpose 10,000
gallon tank that would be split into 7,500 for diesel and 2,500 gallons for
unleaded gasoline. Since this tank is larger than allowed, a variance must be
requested from the State Fire Marshal.
Wolfsteller noted that the above ground tanks will not intensify the use at the
site. They are used for the existing transportation operation and are simply
replacing below ground tanks and, therefore, do not represent substantial
change to the operation of the site.
The reason. the City Council is asked to review this request is that the State
Fire Marshal will allow local jurisdictions to rule on the variance request if
they so desire, or the local jurisdiction can recommend that a variance request
be denied by the State Fire Marshal, or the local jurisdiction can refer all
decisions to the State Fire Marshal. Since the State Fire Marshal deals with
these types of situations more often than local jurisdictions and also since they
should have more expertise in reviewing these types of requests, it is
recommended that we not take over that responsibility but refer all variance
requests to the State. Along this line, if the City did not like a particular
variance request for whatever reason, the City would have the option of still
referring the decision to the State but to send a letter disallowing the variance.
Shirley Anderson asked if the above ground tanks could be damaged by floods
or wind storms. Gary Anderson noted that the above ground tanks, with their
added weight and design, are very secure and overall pose less of a threat to
the environment than below ground tanks.
After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Clint
Herbst to refer this variance request to the State Fire Marshal for their
expertise in reviewing this application. Motion carried unanimously.
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6. Consideration of adopting 1994 Monticello Heartland Express Management
Plan and adopting a resolution entering into a contract with the State of
Minnesota Department of Transportation to provide public transportation.
Assistant Administrator O'Neill requested the Council review the summary of
the Heartland Express operation, review Management Plan and consider
adopting a resolution entering into a contract with the Minnesota State
Department of Transportation. O'Neill went on to describe the 1993 budget
projections for actual costs. He stated that after six months of operation, it
appears that the cost to operate the bus in 1993 will be under budget by
approximately $5,500. Fare revenues for 1993 are projected to be slightly
higher than expected. In terms of system use efficiency, the system improved
in 1993 over 1992. For instance, total ridership in 1993 is increased over 1992
despite a reduction in service hours. This factor has a positive impact in the
cost per ride.
Fare revenue has become a larger share of the revenue needed to operate the
system. In 1992, 14.17% of the necessary fare revenue came from the farebox
versus 17% for 1993.
O'Neill went on to describe the proposed budget which projects a total
operation cost of $70,546. Revenue sources include $42,928 from the State of
Minnesota, $11,416 from fare revenue, and $17,203 from the City. After
discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Patty
Olsen to adopt the 1994 Heartland Express Management Plan and adopt a
resolution entering into a contract with the State of Minnesota Department of
Transportation to provide public transportation. Motion carried unanimously.
SEE RESOLUTION 93-23.
7. Review the Oak Ridge subdivision grading and drainage plan.
Assistant Administrator O'Neill informed Council that Monticello Township
officials had requested the opportunity to discuss issues relating to the Oak
Ridge subdivision and Ditch 33. Ted Holker reviewed the situation along Ditch
33. He noted that there are certain homes that were allowed to be constructed
by the County that should never have been allowed in the first place. Holker
noted that due to the proximity of the ditch to some of these residences, they
have had to devalue homes two times in the last five years. Holker expressed
concern that the development of the Oak Ridge subdivision could negatively
impact some of these properties.
Ken Maus noted that the City has been careful to require that the grading and
drainage plan of the Oak Ridge subdivision be designed so that it does not
increase the rate of flow to the adjoining property. He asked Holker if an
engineer representing the Township has reviewed the grading and drainage
plan. Holker responded by saying "no".
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Council Minutes - 7/12/93
Brad Fyle noted that the development of the Oak Ridge subdivision as
proposed is not going to make the current situation any worse. Ken Maus
emphasized that the City has been careful to avoid impacting Ditch 33. In
fact, the storm sewer outlet from Meadow Oaks pond was actually blocked so
that it would not discharge water into Ditch 33.
Jon Bogart from John Oliver and Associates reviewed the grading and
drainage plan. He noted that both the Soil Conservation Service and the DNR
hydrologist have concurred with the drainage study, which indicated that the
rate of discharge onto the adjoining property from the Oak Ridge subdivision
will not be increased with this project. Bud Hinneker from the Monticello
Township recommended that the City require the developer to construct a
storm sewer system that would divert water from its natural path to the
Meadow Oaks storm sewer system.
Pat Sawatzke, Wright County Commissioner, was present to update the
Council on the status of the Oak Ridge subdivision in terms of the board's
review process. Sawatzke noted that, although the rate of discharge will not
increase and, therefore, not result in a greater degree of flooding, the grading
will result in peak discharge of a greater duration which will result in a larger
volume of water discharging onto the adjoining property. Sawatzke was
concerned that a larger volume of water over a longer period will lengthen the
period of problems faced by residents downstream.
Ken Maus noted that when the City installs the Meadow Oaks storm sewer
system, it is possible to drain a portion of the watershed now entering Ditch
33. Perhaps we can balance the additional volume created by Oak Ridge by
installing the Meadow Oak storm sewer designing it in a manner to take in a
portion of Ditch 33 watershed. Jon Bogart of John Oliver and Associates
indicated that the additional volume of water created by the development is
approximately 4.5 acre feet; the duration of time required to drain this
additional volume is estimated at approximately 4 hours.
The group went on to review the status of the review process. It was noted
that the County Board will be reviewing the item at their meeting on the
following day.
There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned.
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Jeff eill
Assistant Administrator
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