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City Council Minutes 08-28-1989MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, August 28, 1989 - 7.00 p.m. Members Present: Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Warren Smith, Shirley Anderson, Dan Blonigen Members Absent: None 2. Approval of minutes. Shirley Anderson requested that the conditional use permit awarded to the Garden Center should be amended to more accurately reflect the intent of her original motion. Condition #11 to be amended as follows: Applicant shall install cedar fence achieving 900 opacity. The fence shall be installed to screen the storage bins from the public right-of-way, shall be installed along the front and sides of the storage bins, and shall be two inches higher than the highest point of the existing rock bins. Motion made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Warren Smith to approve the meeting minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Citizens counnents/petitions, requests, and complaints. None forthcoming. 4. Review preliminary transportation management plan. Assistant Administrator O'Neill reviewed the work conducted by the Monticello Transportation Advisory Committee and outlined the proposed plan for providing public transportation for use by citizens of Monticello. Under the plan, the City will establish a contract for service with Hoglund Transportation. O'Neill also outlined bus acquisition options for delivery of service which included a lease versus purchase option. He also reviewed the service level issues and requested that Council provide input on the preferred service level given the budget considerations. Ken Maus noted that he was in favor of using a leased bus to start, as the lease arrangement will give the City greater flexibility and minimize the risk associated with initiating the transportation system. Dan Blonigen questioned the cost per mile to operate the service and asked what the City's share is of this cost. Assistant Administrator O'Neill noted that the estimated cost per mile will be $2.36 to operate the system, with expected annual service miles amounting to 27,000, which establishes a total annual budget of $64,000. Of this amount, the city taxpayer will be picking up approximately 25%, which equals $16,500. It was the consensus of Council that the final draft of the management plan should include acquisition of a leased bus that would operate a total of 2,500 hours in 1990, which equals 10 hours a day, five days a week. It was noted that the hours of operation will total 2,500 hours but inay be adjusted on a weekly basis to reflect the service demand experienced. Council Minutes - 8/28/89 5. Consideration of amending proposed 7th Street right-of-way. Lincoln Companies K -Mart. Assistant Administrator O'Neill noted that this item has been placed on the agenda at the request of Lincoln Companies in association with the proposed developed of an 87,000 sq. ft. K -Mart store to be erected directly adjacent to the existing Monticello Mall. In developing the site plan around the adopted right-of-way, Lincoln Companies has found some difficulty in creating a parking lot configuration that meets their needs. O'Neill went on to report that although it is possible to develop a site plan for the K -Mart, including parking utilizing the adopted right-of-way, Lincoln Companies has asked that the City consider establishing an alternate route for 7th Street which would improve the site plan and also provide for more flexibility in developing land for retail use imediately west of the K -Mart. The alignment proposed by Lincoln Companies would create a more usable, larger area west of the K -Mart addition for development of retail establishments of a size that could improve Monticello's position as a regional shopping area. O'Neill outlined the pros and cons associated with each alternative and reviewed the planner's report submitted by Dahlgren, Shardlow & Uban. In sulmnary, it appears that the alignment as proposed by Lincoln Companies is the better alignment in terms of long-term planning and in terms of potential for the highest and best use of the land between 7th Street and the freeway. However, due to the fact that land for the road must be acquired and two homes must be demolished to achieve this route, the potential added cost of this route may exceed $200,000. Chuck DuFresne, representing Lincoln Companies, was present and noted that Monticello is a significant comercial hub. To grow as a comercial hub, the comunity needs to attract larger retailers. Creating an alignment as proposed by Lincoln Companies will allow the coimnunity to attract larger retailers in this area. Fran Fair noted that the City should take a close look at this issue and make a decision based on the best interests of the community in the long term. After discussion, motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Fran Fair to table a decision on the alignment of the 7th Street right-of-way. Motion carried unanimously. Motion made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Warren Smith to direct staff to negotiate option agreements with land owners affected by the proposed realignment of the 7th Street right-of-way. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Consideration of purchasing lawn vacuum for the Parks Department. After discussion, motion made by Shirley Andersona and seconded by Warren Smith to table this item and request that the Public Works Director obtain quotes from contractors that could provide leaf vacuum service. Motion carried unanimously. 6 Council Minutes - 8/28/89 7. Consideration of maintaining sidewalk and I-94 right of way. Public Works Director Simola reported that the State Highway Department has indicated that they will not be maintaining the sidewalks they are installing as part of the rebuilding of the freeway overpass. Simola went on to describe the options for managing the snow removal in these areas. The best option at this time is to request that the State Highway Department wing back the snow off the sidewalk with the City crew cleaning up the snow that is left over after this process. John Simola also noted that he is uncomfortable with the design of the sidewalk and the transition area between the Highway 25 right-of-way and the Country Kitchen parking lot. He noted that there will be a very steep slope between the sidewalk and the Country Kitchen that could be a hazard to pedestrians or bicyclists that might stray from the sidewalk. After discussion, the general consensus was to direct John Simola to negotiate an amendment to the design plans which would reduce the hazard associated with the steep incline between the Highway 25 sidewalk and the Country Kitchen parking lot. 8. Consideration of bills for the month of August. After discussion, motion made by Warren Smith and seconded by Shirley Anderson to approve payment of bills for the month of August. 9. Other matters. John Simola, along with Kelsie McGuire, provided an update on action taken in response to odors emitted from the City's waste treatment plant. They informed the Council that there had been a few minor mechanical problems at the plant, but that those were now corrected. It appears that high amounts of sulfides were recently being detected in the collection system and that the plant is not capable of controlling odors from extensive hydrogen sulfide gases in the open tanks. Currently, chemicals used to tie up sulfides are being injected into the collection system downtown, and the City and PSG are planning to investigate the source or change in the waste stream causing or contributing to the odors. Kelsie urged residents to call 295-2225 when odors are detected to report same so they can investigate. Staff assured Council best efforts were being made to diagnose and control odors. Jeff O'Neill Assistant Administrator 3