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City Council Minutes 10-06-1980MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL October 6, 1980 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve Grimsmo, Dan Blonigen, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Phil White. Members Absent: None 1. Continuation of Public Hearing on Consideration of a Variance for the St. Michael and All the Angels Episcopal Church, and the Possible Adoption of Guidelines for Directional Signs. A variance was previously requested by the St. Michaels & All the Angels Episcopal Church at the last Council meeting to allow an off -premise directional sign somewhere in the area of Palm St. & East Broadway, and also in the area of 4th St. & Highway 25. The Council, at the last meeting, deferred any action on this particular item until more informa- tion could be gathered on a standard type of sign that could possibly be used. A recommendation was made to the Council Members by Loren Klein, Building Inspector, John Simola, Public Works Director, and Gary Wieber, City Administrator, indicating that such directional signs should be uniform in size, height and color, and should be limited to advertising such facilities as medical facilities, governmental facilities, churches and other civic interest groups. In addition, it was recommended that each sign be purchased by the City and installed with the organization paying the cost of the sign plus $25.00 as a permit. It was recommended by this Committee that directional signs of this nature be handled on a variance basis, rather than changing the existing City Ordinances to allow all types of businesses to use directional signs. Motion was made by Ken Maus, seconded by Phil White and unanimously carried to adopt a set of guidelines for directional type sign variances as follows: A. SIZE - To be 18" x 24". B. HEIGHT - To be no greater than a stop sign. C. COLOR & MATERIAL - Signs for Hospitals and Churches should be Blue & White; Parks & Recreation should be Brown & White; General Information should be Green & White. D. NUMBER OF SIGNS - One per establishment. E. CONTENT - Directions Only. F. TYPES OF SIGNS - For Medical Facilities, Governmental Facilities, Churches & Other Civic Interest Groups Only. G. PERMIT FEE - Establishment to pay cost of sign plus $25.00 permit. - 1 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 Motion also included a variance to the St. Michael & All The Angels Episcopal Church to erect one directional sign per the guidelines, which would be reviewed after five years. 2. Public Hearing on the Consideration of a Variance Request to Eliminate Continuous Curb Barrier Around the Perimeter of a Parking Lot - United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church requested a variance to have a parking lot completed to the south of their Church without the necessary curb barrier requirement around the perimeter of their parking lot. This parking lot was proposed in conjunction with Wrightco Products, who would utilize the parking lot during weekdays, while the United Methodist Church would use the parking lot on Sundays and for other services. The obligation of Wrightco Products would be to pay for the completion of the parking lot and continued maintenance even though it would be situated on the Church property. The Church's request for elimination of the curb barrier was based on the fact that drainage would appear to pond behind the School and Church building if a curb was installed and would not be able to flow out into the street. A motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Dan Blonigen and unanimously carried to approve the variance request for the United Methodist Church to eliminate the curb barrier around the perimeter of their new parking lot. 3. Report by Engineer on Storm Water Ponding Problems - West River Street. Mr. Ron Nygaard, who lives at 1521 West River Street in Ritze Manor Addi- tion, approached the City Council at the August 25, 1980 Council Meeting indicating a concern for a problem with drainage in this area along West River Street. At the last Council Meeting, September 8, 1980, John Badalich, City Engineer, recommended that culverts for Lots 2 & 3, Block 1, Ritze Manor be increased to 18" diameter, and Lots 4 & 5, Block 1, Ritze Manor, be increased to 24", and also a 24" culvert be placed on Hilltop Drive to allow the drainage to run off into a creek without causing any backup problems. The engineer's estimate for changing these culverts and restoring the driveways was estimated at approximately $6,250. After reviewing the estimated cost, the Council discussed whether any portion of the project would be assessed to the benefitted property owners or whether the City would pick up the entire cost on ad valorem taxes. Although there was concern that picking up the entire cost may set a precedent in the future, a majority of the Council members felt - 2 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 that the City had a certain responsibility in this instance in that they did allow the smaller culverts to be installed just recently, since this area has been developed with homes in the past five or six years. In regards to Council discussion on whether other areas within the City may also have similar problems, Public Works Director, John Simola, noted to the Council that another property owner at the intersection of River Street and Otter Creek Road has a similar problem in that the culvert is undersized and the drainage has, on a number of occasions, flowed over his driveway. It was noted that other than this particular property and the area discussed by the engineer in Ritze Manor, no other areas or problems have been brought to the attention of the City. Motion was therefore made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair to order the improvement project to install the necessary culverts as needed to eliminate the drainage problems along West River Street with the entire cost of the improvement to be picked up by the City. Voting in favor: Phil White, Fran Fair, Arve Grimsmo, Ken Maus. Opposed: Dan Blonigen. It was noted that quotes will be obtained for this improvement project by the City Engineer and brought to the Council for their approval. 4. Consideration of Approval of Preliminary Subdivision Plat - Riverwood Estates. Mr. Floyd Kruse and Kermit Lindberg requested approval of a preliminary subdivision plat consisting of 13 residential lots ranging in size from 12,100 square feet to 23,000 square feet, and 5 commercial lots ranging in size from 12,600 square feet to 72,500 square feet. The proposed plat, as presented, calls for the extension of Mississippi Drive westerly to the property line of the Wastewater Treatment Plant property. This street would be deadended at the property line, and the Council discussed whether this street actually should be a cul-de-sac for maintenance purposes vs. a deadend residential street. Although the street would not be used for through traffic, it was noted by Public Works Director, John Simola, that this deadend street could be used as an alternate route to the Treatment Plant if necessary, and would be utilized very little by the City. It was noted that before the final plat could be presented to the Council, rezoning of lots 5, 6, 7 & 8 of Block 1 had been requested to be rezoned from B-3 to R-1 residential, and also rezoning of Lot 1, Block 2 from R-1 to B-3 (commercial). These rezoning issues will be reviewed by the Planning Commission on October 14th, prior to the final submission of the final plat to the Council. In addition, it was noted by the City Engineer that a grading plan had not yet been submitted for review and recommended that any approval be contingent upon submission of this final grading plan. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to approve the preliminary plat, contingent upon submission of a grading plan and approval by City Engineer, and also reviewing the details on how the Mississippi Drive extension be constructed, whether a deadend street or cul-de-sac be shown on the plat. - 3 - 5. Council Minutes - 10/6/80 Consideration of Allocation of Chemical Feed Equipment and Chemical Costs. As part of the requirements of the City of Monticello's NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Emission System Permit) Issued by the PCA, chemical feed equipment system was authorized by the City to reduce its pollutant discharge into the Mississippi River to meet the standards set by the State. At the time this system was authorized, it was determined that Wrightco Products should be allocated their proportionate share since they were the primary factor in the necessity of the City of Monticello having to install this equipment. In regards to the allocation of chemical feed equipment installation costs, operating costs including chemicals, and the additional engineering fees related to the chemical feed equipment, a report was prepared by the City Engineer, John Badalich, in regards to his recommendations on a possible allocation of costs. The report noted that Wrightco Products and the City of Monticello had done sampling tests of the effluent emitted by Wrightco Products. Prior to the Council Meeting, a meeting had been held with Wrightco Products President, Jim Ridgeway, City Engineer, John Badalich, City Administrator and Public Works Director, and an agreement had been made whereby the startup costs for the installation of the Chemical Feed Equipment would result in a 45% share being paid by Wrightco Products based on an average of all samples taken. The equipment costs along with installation, chemicals for start up, and development, and laboratory tests during the start-up, totalled $23,071.42, plus indirect engineering costs of $9,514. Total is $32,585.42. Of this amount, 45% would be allocated to Wrightco Products, or $14,663. In addition to the actual chemical feed equipment costs, etc., it was determined in the meeting with Wrightco Products that approximately $16,939 for chemicals and operating costs have been incurred by the City since the actual installation, and based on the sampling tests average, 41% of this cost would be shared by Wrightco Products, or $6,945, less a credit of $2,458 estimated salvage value on the equipment. This salvage value credit of $2,458 was determined by taking the total salvage value times Wrightco's share of 45%. The total amount to be recommended by the Committee and agreed to by Wrightco Products for the Chemical Feed Equipment totals $19,150, and Wrightco Products requested that this amount be payable in five (5) install- ments starting January 3, 1981, and ending on January 3, 1985. In addition, Wrightco Products requested that the first two installments due on January 3, 1981 and January 3, 1982 bear no interest with the remaining three payments payable with 8% interest. In addition to the $19,150 cost, it is estimated that approximately $20,000 per year will be spent on chemicals and operating costs for the next year and a half, until such time as the upgrading of the Wastewater Treatment Plant is completed. Of this $20,000 annual cost, 41%, or $8,200 per year, would also be charged to Wrightco Products as their proportionate share of the chemicals used. This estimated $8,200 yearly cost would be adjusted according to sampling done based on Wrightco's effluent, or BOD levels. - 4 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 Discussion by the Council concerned whether the City should charge 8% annual interest on the entire $19,150 payable in five installments, or whether the first two years could be interest free. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Phil White to approve the allocation of the initial start-up costs and annual operating costs as negotiated and agreed upon by Wrightco Products and the City, totalling $19,150 payable in five annual installments with no interest the first two installments, plus 41% of the estimated annual operating costs, subject to this agreement being approved by the City Attorney. Voting in favor: Arve Grimsmo, Phil White, Fran Fair. Opposed: Ken Maus, Dan Blonigen. 6. Consideration of the Adoption of a Resolution Calling for a Referendum on the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds to Finance the Construction of a Public Library. Merrill Birch, Architect on the Library project, informed the Council that the estimated cost for the proposed library would be approximately $500,000 including land costs and architectural fees. The Committee for the Library Project recommended that approximately $250,000 be borrowed with the issuance of General Obligation Bonds, with the remaining $250,000 coming from the sale of the Oakwood Building Block. The Library Project Committee also recommended that the City Council expend approximately $500 authorizing the Architect to prepare a model of the proposed library for informational meetings prior to the November 4th General Election. This model would be useful for presentations to inform the public of the proposed library. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution placing the issuance of general obligation bonds on the November 4, 1980 ballot in the amount of $250,000 for the purpose of building a new public library, and also to authorize up to $600 expenditure for a scale model of the proposed library. (See Resolution 1980 #26) 7. Consideration of Approval of Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and Approval of Plans and Specifications for a Commuter Parking Lot Southwest ^of the I-94 Interchange. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has submitted a proposed agreement whereby the City of Monticello will be offered $6,000 to develop a 152 -space commuter parking lot. This allocation is based primarily on a gravel -based commuter parking lot proposed at the Inter- change of I-94, southwest of Highway 25. - 5 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 The total cost of constructing a commuter parking lot with blacktop, etc. for approximately 220 spaces was previously estimated at $54,000 by the consulting engineer, John Badalich. It was recommended by the engineer that the entire commuter parking lot area be graded for expansion up to 220 spaces, but only Class 5 be installed on approximately half of it, or 110 spaces. The estimated cost for this portion of the project would be between $6,000 - 8,000, which would be primarily covered by the $6,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It was pointed out that the City does not actually have title to the property as of this date, and it was the consensus of the Council that any improvements being done to the commuter parking lot this fall should not exceed the $6,000 grant until we get title to the property. Once the City is the actual owner of the property, blacktopping, etc., could be installed next spring, if desired. In regards to the drainage that would be created by the parking lot, consulting engineer, John Badalich, indicated that the State had agreed to the drainage plan whereby any water would drain through the I-94 ditch. Motion was made by Ken Maus, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve the agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the commuter parking lot and accepting the $6,000 grant, and approval of plans and specifications for the development of a commuter parking lot consisting of 110 spaces with Class 5, and the entire area being brought up to grade, with a note that blacktopping would be considered next year when title is received from the State and County. 8. Department Head Quarterly Meeting. The following Department Heads were in attendance at the Council Meeting: Fire Chief - Paul Klein Wright County Sheriff's Rep. - Buddy Gay Senior Citizens Director - Karen Hanson YMCA Detached Worker - Mike Melstad Public Works Director - John Simola Building Inspector/Civil Defense Dir. - Loren Klein City Administrator - Gary Wieber Karen Hanson, Senior Citizens Center Director, noted that she was in agreement with the Council's recent decision to deny appropriating $1,000 to the Sherburne County Social Services Department to help in the transportation cost of Senior Citizens attending the Big Lake Nutrition Center twice weekly. Her own survey indicates that only two individuals currently use the bus services to Big Lake regularly, and felt that the $1,000 would be hard to justify for these two individuals. - 6 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 Public Works Director, John Simola, requested that Dick Schillewaert be paid approximately $3,000 for the sod he recently installed as partof the 1979-1 Improvement Project in Oakwood Industrial Park. His request was based on the fact that the price from Schillewaert was very favor- able, and recommended that his bill be paid as soon as possible since Mr. Schillewaert had to pay for the sod from his supplier as it was delivered. Motion was made by Ken Maus, seconded by Dan Blonigen and unanimously carried to approve the payment to Dick Schillewaert in the amount of $2,954.50 for 3,110 square yards of sod installed as part of the 1979-1 Improvement Project to be assessed to Oakwood Industrial Park property. Mr. Simola also recommended that the City Council require property owners on the north side of Broadway between Cedar and New Streets to shovel their sidewalks during the winter months, as many of the pedestrian's are walking in the street, creating a safety problem. It was noted by the Council that although City Ordinances require downtown businesses to keep their sidewalks clear of snow, this provision of the Ordinance has not really been enforced in residential areas in the past. 9. Consideration of Additional Billings from Consulting Engineer on Chemical Feed Equipment Installation and Wastewater Treatment Plant Analysis and Reports. Consulting Engineer, John Badalich, reviewed with the Council all of the costs his firm has incurred since June 1977 in regards to the City of Monticello's Wastewater Treatment Plant effluent quality analysis and recommendations for interim chemical treatment. Mr. Badalich indicated that over the past three years, many hours went into report writing, meetings, and correspondence with the PCA in regards to the reissuance of the City's NPDES Permit. The ultimate solution to the reissuance of the City's NPDES Permit to dump effluent into the Mississippi River was culminated by the fact that the City had to install the chemical feed equipment to reduce effluent levels discharged. Mr. Badalich indicated that because many additional tests were done by his firm because of Wrightco Products disagreement with the amount they were contributing and also the decision by the City not to install the chemical feed equipment in the fall of 1977, additional costs were incurred by his firm, which he felt should be billable to the City of Monticello. He indicated that numerous correspondence took place with the PCA in an effort to avoid requiring the City to install this equipment, but samplings done at the plant eventually lead to the requirement that the chemical feed equipment be installed. In addition to the additional engineering expenses in regards to the City's effluent problem and the Permit reissuance, Mr. Badalich indicated that the initial cost for the design and preparation of plans and specifications t for the chemical feed equipment amounted to over $8,000. Mr. Badalich also felt an additional $8,000 approximately was incurred in other engineering related matters to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and submitted a total bill in excess of $16,000. - 7 - Council Minutes - 10/6/80 Although the Council did not question whether the bills were legitimate or not, concerns were expressed over the time delay in presenting the bills to actually when they were incurred. However, in an effort to resolve the issue, motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair to compromise on the engineering fees, and authorize an $8,000 payment in full for services rendered. Voting in favor: Phil White, Fran Fair, Arve Grimsmo, Ken Maus, with Dan Blonigen abstaining. Meeting adjourned. Rick Wolfsteller, Assistant Administrator RW/ns