City Council Minutes 11-27-1978MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
November 27, 1978 - 7:30 P.M.
Members Present: C. 0. Johnson, Arve Grimsmo, Dan Blonigen, Gene Walters,
Philip White.
Members Absent: None - Except Arve Grimsmo absent for Items 2, 3, 4 & 5•
1. Public Hearing - Consideration of Off -Street Parking Variances and Condi-
tional Use Permit Request for Addition to Trinity Lutheran Church.
The Trinity Lutheran Church, of 449 West Broadway, requested a conditional
use permit to allow a 9,800 square foot addition to their existing church.
The new addition would serve as the Worship center accommodating approxi-
mately 313 people. Since the Church is now located in an R-2 zone,
a conditional use permit was required.
In addition to the conditional use permit requested, the proposed site
plan as presented required the following variances also:
A. City ordinances require that parking lots abutting residential property
be effectively screened. According to the proposed site plan, there
were provisions for some landscaping to screen the parking lots from
the view of the abutting residential areas, but the screen does not
meet the current City ordinances requiring an effective screen since
landscaping that is proposed is not continuous.
B. A variance was requested from the hardsurface requirements and curb
and gutter on perimeters of parking lots. Current ordinances require
all parking lots to be hardsurfaced with a curb barrier, but the
Church requested that they be allowed to sod or seed these parking
lots on West River Street instead of having them hardsurfaced with
concrete or pavement. The Church felt that if the parking lots along
West River Street were left in a natural state with grass, there would
be less detrimental effect to the surrounding residential property
owners.
C. A variance was requested by the Church from the number of off-street
parking spaces required. According to City ordinances, 98 parking
spaces would be required based on the seating capacity along with
the number of classrooms proposed. The present site plan provided
for 75 parking spaces. The Church currently only has about 30
parking spaces provided for its membership, and requested that a
variance be allowed to provide 75 instead of the 98 as this would
still be an improvement over the present situation.
D. A variance was requested from the frontyard setbacks for the parking
lot along West Broadway, as current ordinances require a 30' setback
in the front yard in an R-2 zone district.
Minutes — City Council 11/27/7$
Consulting Planner, Howard Dahlgren & Associates, felt that since the
Church is not a new development and since it is an existing situation,
the development as proposed would certainly be an improvement and an
asset to the neighborhood. Both the Planner and the Planning Commission
felt that by allowing the parking lots along West River Street to remain
in a grass status, the parking lots would blend into the residential
character of the neighborhood. It was also recommended by the Planning
Commission that all variances requested be approved in the event the
conditional use permit is granted.
Motion was made by Arve Grimsmo, seconded by Phil White and unanimously
carried to approve the conditional use permit request for the Trinity
Lutheran Church addition, along with the following variances:
A. A variance from further effectively screening the parking lots along
West River Street from abutting residential properties.
B. A variance from the hardsurface requirements for the two parking lots
along and abutting West River Street.
C. A variance requiring only 75 parking spaces on site, compared to the
98 required in the ordinances.
D. A variance from the 30' setback requirement along Broadway for the
parking lot allowing the parking lot to be closer to the property line.
2. Public Hearing — Variance Request for an Addition to a Home in a B-4 Zone.
Mr. Roger Mack, who lives on West River Street on the North a of Lots 11 & 12,
Block 50, requested a variance to allow for a room additkn onto his pre-
sent home. Since this home is in a B-4, Commercial, Zone, a variance was
necessary for any additions.
Mr. Mack indicated that all work would conform to building codes and
ordinances if this variance was granted.
Motion was made by P. White, seconded by D. Blonigen and unanimously carried
to approve the variance request. (Arve Grimsmo was not present for this item).
3. Public Hearing — Consideration of a Variance Request to Exceed 1,000 Square
Foot Maximum on an Accessory Building.
Mr. James Murray, of 524 West Fifth Street, requested a variance from the
ordinance restricting a garage to 1,000 square feet on his property —
Lots 8, 9 & 10, Block 10, which is currently zoned R-3.
Mr. Murray's plans are to build a garage of 1,728 sq. ft. for the purpose
of housing his moving van and miscellaneous other equipment. Mr. Murray
has stated that there would be no repair work done in this building, and
it would be used strictly for covered off—street parking.
It was noted to the Council that the proper public hearing notices to the
surrounding property owners may not have been mailed as required, and thus,
this item was deferred until the next meeting so that proper notices may
be mailed.
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Minutes — City Council 11/27/7$
4. Public Hearing ; Variance Request for Off—Premise Sign for St. Peter's
Lutheran Church.
St. Peter's Lutheran Church requested a variance to allow a sign to be
put at the intersection of Highway 25 and Third Street in Monticello.
Initially, therrequest was to allow the sign within the right—of—way,
but the Planning Commission felt that no sign should be within the public
right—of—way, and therefore, recommended approval of this variance if the
St. Peter's Lutheran Church could get permission from one of the property
owners abutting this intersection allowing them to erect the sign.
Paul Klein, a representative of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, indicated to
the Council that he had not been able to get approval from one of the four
property owners as of yet, and requested that this item be recessed until
a future meeting.
5. Consideration of Subdivision of Mel Worth's Stor—A—Way Property.
Mr. Mel Worth applied for a subdivision to divide the lot where the
present Stor—A-Way building is along Highway 25 into two parcels.
The division would create two parcels, one of .924 acres which would con—
tain the present Stor—A—Way Building, and the newly created lot would be
1.186 acres. The certificate of survey presented indicates that all
front and sideyard setbacks are sufficient, and Mr. Worth has indicated
that a park dedication requirement would be paid in cash.
Motion was made by P. White, seconded by D. Blonigen and unanimously
carried to approve the subdivision of Mel Worth's Stor—A—Way property
into two parcels provided that the park dedication is paid in cash
based on 10% of the value of the land.
(Note: from this point on, Arve Grimsmo was present
for the remainder of the items.
6. Consideration of Contract for Police Service for 1979 with Wright County
Sheriff's Department.
A new contract for police protection with the Wright County Sheriff's
Department for 1979 was presented to the Council. The sample contract
along with an accompanying letter from Sheriff Darrell Wolff indicated
that the police service rate will increase to $10.50 per hour compared
to the 1978 rate of $9.00 per hour. As a result, the total contract
using the current hours of police protection will increase from approxi—
mately $60,000 in 1978 to $70,000 for 1979, or an increase of approxi—
mately 16-21-0/o.
The Council discussed the amount of the increase over the previous year,
and noted that they probably didn't have any choice but to accept the
new rate schedule. It was also noted that in future years, the possi—
bility of the City being involved in the negotiations for any increases
should be attempted prior to accepting a contract.
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Minutes - City Council 11/27/7$
Motion was made by D. Blonigen, seconded by P. White and unanimously
carried to approve the 1979 contract for police protection with the
Wright County Sheriff's Department. (See Supplement 11/277$ Al).
7. Consideration of Ordinance Amendment - On Street Parking.
Current Monticello City Ordinances prohibit parking on any street bet-
ween the hours of 2 A.M. and 6 A.M. year round. This provision is in
addition to another ordinance which prohibits parking on City Streets
which impedes snow removal operations at any time.
The Council discussed whether or not this ordinance prohibiting parking
from 2 A.M. to 6 A.M. year round should be enforced now that the curb
and gutter kproject is completed. The Wright County Sheriff's Department
representatives have had some concerns in enforcing this parking during
the winter as they would like to be consistent with this ordinance
during the summertime also, then. After discussing the possibility of
only enforcing the 2 A.M. to 6 A.M. parking ordinances during the winter
months, it was the consensus of the Council that no action would be taken
to amend the ordinance, therefore the ordinance will be enforced year round.
It was also noted that property owners will be responsible for providing
off-street parking spaces for their residents.
8. Consideration of Final Payment to Arcon Construction on 1977-1 Improve-
ment Project.
Consulting Engineers, Orr-Schelen-Mayeron & Associates, recommended that
final payment to Arcon Construction for the 1977-1 Improvement Project
be made. The engineer recommended approval contingent upon receipt of
an affidavit and various state forms for withholding along with waiver
of all lien rights from Arcon Construction.
Motion was made by P. White, seconded by D. Blonigen and unanimously
carried to approve the final payment in the amount of $16,116.58 on the
1977-1 Project bringing the total payments on the contract to $431,047-30.
9. Consideration of Assigning Name to Park in Country Club Manor and
Renaming Street.
Mr. Howard Gillham requested the City of Monticello name the park within
the Country Club Manor as Gillham Park. The present developer of the
land, Marvin George Builders, Inc., has not indicated any disapproval
of this park name.
Motion was made by C. Johnson, seconded by P. White to name the park
within Country Club Manor as Gillham Park. Voting in favor: C. Johnson,
G. Walters, A. Grimsmo, P. White. Opposed: D. Blonigen.
10. Vacancy on H.R.A. Committee.
Chairman of the H.R.A. Committee, Jean Powers, recently submitted a
letter of resignation as Chairman. The primary reason for her resigning
was her new duties as Board Member of the Hospital District.
No action was necessary by the Council as the new Council will have to
appoint two new members to the H.R.A. Committee on January lst, one to
fill Mrs. Powers vacancy and one to fill the vacancy of the term
which expires January 1st.
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Minutes — City Council 11/27/78
11. Approval of Bills.
Motion was made by P. White, seconded by A. Grimsmo and unanimously
carried to approve the bills for November 1978 as presented.
(See Supplement lV27/78 #2)•
12. Approval of Minutes.
Motion was made by A. Grimsmo, seconded by P. White and unanimously
carried to approve the Minutes of the special meeting held 11/8/78
and the regular meeting held 11/13/78.
13. Discussion on Old Senior Citizens Center Vacant Lot.
The Council discussed the possibility of selling the old senior citizen
center vacant lot. It was noted that inquiries have been made to some
of the Councilmen as to whether or not this property will be for sale.
It was the consensus of the Council to have the City Administrator get
an updated appraisal of the property value and report back to the
Council for possible consideration of sale.
Meeting adjourned.
Richard Wolfsller
Assistant Administrator
RW/ns
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