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City Council Minutes 04-22-1985MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL April 22, 1985 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Mayor Arve Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Bill Fair, Jack Maxwell, Dan Blonigen. 1. Call to Order. 2. Approval of Minutes. Motion was made by Blonigen, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held April 8, 1985. 3. Citizens Comments/Petitions, Requests and Complaints. Les Harstad of 106 East 3rd Street complained to the Council that he has frequently had problems with air being in the water line to his home. In addition, the burst of air that occurs when he turns on his faucets results in dirty water from iron deposits, etc., being stirred up in the water lines. Mr. Gary Schaben, representing the Monticello Baseball Association, requested that the Council consider adding a baseball field to the planned softball complex on the NSP property. The Council noted that both of these items in regards to the water study being presented by the City Consulting Engineer and a possible grant for softball field construction will be discussed later, and these items will be taken up at that time. 4. Public Hearing - Plaza Partners Subdivision. 5. Consideration of Granting Final Approval to Plaza Partners Subdivision. Mr. Jim Powers appeared before the Council seeking approval of a replatting of the I-94 Plaza that was formally granted approval as a Planned Unit Development in December, 1984. The PUD originally proposed the construction of a health club, motel, and restaurant in addition to the existing Wendy's franchise. Mr. Powers now planned to locate the health club further south within the PUD, and the plans for the restaurant and motel have been eliminated. As a result, Mr. Powers proposed to redesign Outlot D into additional standard lots as a normal subdivision. The park dedication fee for this subdivision has been requested to be deferred for a period of one year or until the next building permit is issued, at which time it would be payable in full. Council Minutes - 4/22/85 Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to approve the final Plaza Partners Subdivision as revised and to defer the park dedication fee payment for a period of one year or until the next building permit is issued, whichever comes first. 6. Consideration of Adopting a Resolution of Approving Plans and Specifications for Fire Hall Construction and Authorizing Advertisement for Bids. Motion was made by Bill Fair, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to adopt Resolution 1985 #8 approving plans and specifications for construction of Fire Hall and ordering advertisement for bids receivable May 16 at 3:00 P.M. 7. Consideration of Authorizing the Acquisition of Ancillary Equipment for the Fire Department Van. Mr. Doug Pitt, representing the Fire Department, presented a list of equipment items they would like to purchase for the new used step van recently purchased from the City of North Branch. In addition, estimates were presented for painting the truck to match the existing fire trucks along with relettering, etc. In addition to the paint job, such items as a 2 -way radio, lights, sirens, portable generators, and additional air tanks, etc., were estimated to cost approximately $8,000.00. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to approve the acquisition of the additional equipment requested not to exceed $8,000.00 as listed. 8. Consideration of Granting a Conditional Use Request to Allow a Self Service Gas Station and a Convenience Store in a B-3 (Highway -Business) Zone - Applicant, Curt Hoglund. Curt and Anna Mae Hoglund presented a proposal to build a convenience store and self service gas center on the corner of County Road 39 and County Road 75. The plan as presented met all conditions of the City Ordinance except for a request by the Hoglunds to eliminate a small portion of curbing on the west side of the property near the driveway entrance off of County Road 75. The reason for the request was to provide access to the abutting lot in the future from one common driveway. Public Works Director, John Simola, noted that the Wright County Highway Engineer reviewed the plan and had concerns with the proposed curbing being located 5 feet from the property line along County Road 39, as the County is considering upgrading County Road 39 within the next few years and may require additional right of way. If the County should need an additional 13 feet of right of way, the existing curbing, if placed at 5 feet from the property line, would be required to be moved, as it would be in the property acquired by the County. -2- Council Agenda - 4/22/85 Anna Mae Hoglund noted that the County recently approved their site plan and made no mention of the possibility of acquiring additional right of way from them. It was noted that the County doesn't have jurisdiction over the City's Ordinances at the present time, but the City would try to work with the County and the developer on this problem. A suggestion was made that possibly the City should require the curbing to be placed 12 feet from the property line along County Road 39 rather than the required 5 feet so that if the County did acquire the additional right of way, the curbing would then end up exactly on the property line and would not have to be moved. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Blonigen, to approve the conditional use request for convenience store and gas station with the condition that the curbing be located 12 feet from the existing property line on the east side of the property to allow for possible acquisition of additional right of way by the County. After additional discussion on the motion, all members voted in opposition. A new motion was then made by Bill Fair, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to grant the conditional use request and to defer the installation of the curbing along County Road 39 until occupancy of the building to allow Wright County Highway Department and the property owner time to iron out whether County Road 39 will actually need extra right of way. This would allow the developer time to establish whether the setback should be at the City's required 5 feet or whether the setback will have to be 12 feet should the County need additional right of way. 9. Consideration of Granting Final Approval of a Replat of Existing Lots in an R-3 (Residential/Multi-Family) Zone - Applicant, Daryl and Donald Heikes. Daryl and Donald Heikes recently purchased all of the remaining undeveloped lots and blocks in the Macarlund Plaza Townhouse Addition. They requested to replat all of Blocks 3, 4, 5, and 6, consisting of 30 individual lots for garages into three new blocks consisting of 35 detached garage unit lots. The main purpose of the replatting is to align the garage units with the proposed townhouse units. The Council also discussed whether some sort of landscaping should be required behind the garages to shield the structures from County Road 75. The developers indicated no problem with installing shrubbery to provide a screening of the garage units from the abutting roads. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve the replatting of Blocks 3-6 resulting in a total of 29 garage lots. -3- Council Minutes - 4/22/85 10. Consideration of an Appeal to Overturn a Planning Commission Decision Denying a Request for a Variance to Allow a Garage to be Built Within the Front Setback Requirements - Applicant, Doug Stokes. Mr. Doug Stokes originally applied for and was denied a variance to allow for the construction of a garage building within 10 feet of the front yard property line along East County Road 39. In addition to the 10 -foot setback requested, Mr. Stokes proposed to build a garage in excess of the 1000 sq. ft. limit set by City Ordinances. Also, City Ordinances do not allow for accessory buildings to be located in the front yard of any property. Mr. Doug Stokes noted that in August of 1982, he had received approval of a similar variance request allowing the garage to be built within 10 feet of the front yard property line, but this approval was no longer valid since it wasn't built within the one year requirement. In addition, he noted that the City has approved other accessory buildings over 1000 sq. ft. in other residential zoned property, and also other garages were allowed to be built closer than 10 feet to the property line, even on the lot line. He noted that in his opinion, since his property is on the Mississippi River, he considers the area abutting County Road 39 as his back yard and not the front yard as the City noted. After further discussion of the actual variances required, a motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Bill Fair, and unanimously carried to support the Planning Commission's denial of the variances. It was noted that if Mr. Stokes wished to revise his request and alter his proposals, he would have to reapply to the Planning Commission. 11. Presentation by OSM of Water Study and Upgrading Well #1. The Consulting City Engineers recently prepared a preliminary water system analysis for the Council's review. Mr. Chuck Lepak of OSM reviewed with the Council some of the existing fire flow conditions throughout the City and noted that fire flows in the downtown area and the west end of the City are presently adequate, but the industrial park area south of I-94 and residential areas on the east end of the City are lacking in water pressure and gallons of flow. Mr. Lepak noted that by installing some 12 -inch water main along Cedar Street from the existing 2 wells to connect to a 12 -inch water main that goes to the reservoir in the industrial park, and with the construction of a new elevated tank either in the industrial park area or on Monte Club Hill would provide adequate pressure and fire flow demands for the industrial park and the east end of the City. An elevated tank on the Monte Club Hill may even provide too much pressure for some areas of the City, but they didn't feel that would be a problem in that pressure relief valves could be installed in -4- Council Minutes - 4/22/85 certain individual homes or on certain main lines throughout the City to reduce pressure where needed. The Consulting Engineer recommended that an above -ground storage tank be considered on Monte Club Hill which would require acquiring land outside of the City limits and the necessary easements to get the water to this site. This alternative would be cheaper than constructing an elevated tank in the industrial park at a lower elevation. It was noted that along with an elevated tank, the City should consider constructing a new well near the present water reservoir in the industrial park and make some modifications to the existing wells to provide for more pumping capacity. The total estimated construction cost of a new well and pump house in the industrial park along with a half -million gallon above -ground storage tank on Monte Hill with trunk water main improvements was estimated at approximately $1 million. In addition to this cost, approximately $25,000.00-$30,000.00 would have to be spent on pump improvements at the existing wells to make them compatible within the new system. Public Works Director, John Simola, noted that he has had discussions with Bruce Gagnelius, owner of the Monte Club property, who seems receptive to the idea of the City placing its storage tank on his property. After further discussion on the water study recommendations, motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Blonigen, and unanimously carried to authorize the City staff to proceed with negotiations for acquiring land and necessary easements at the Monte Hill site and to investigate the possible annexation of this land into the City since it is now requiring City improvements. The City Engineer will be presenting a final water study report to the Council in the near future incorporating the ideas of the staff and Council. 12. Confirmation of Closing Details for the Acquisition of the North Half of Lots 1, 2, and 3, Block 50. On March 25, 1985, the City Council authorized the City Attorney to perform a title search and pending clear title opinion, authorize the staff to make an offer for the acquisition of the north half of Lots 1, 2, and 3, Block 50, for the sum of $45,000.00 consisting of $30,000.00 acquisition price and $15,000.00 relocation price. City Attorney, Gary Pringle, has recently reviewed the abstract on the property and has provided a clear title opinion on the land. A purchase agreement had been prepared in the amount of $45,000.00 and accepted by the property owners, Lorrel and Ruby Hass. -5- Council Minutes - 4/22/85 The property in question currently lies within a Tax Increment Financing District established by the City for rehabilitation purposes, and the Monticello HRA will be assisting the City in actively marketing for redevelopment. Motion was made by Bill Fair, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to reconfirm the offer of $45,000.00 to purchase the north half of Lots 1, 2, and 3, Block 50. 13. Consideration of Award of Bid on Project 85-1 Interceptor Sewer. On Wednesday, April 17, 1985, the City received two bids for Project 85-1 consisting of installation of interceptor sewer line under Highway 25. The bids received were from LaTour Construction of Maple Lake in the amount of $65,813.00, and from ACG, Inc., of St. Paul, Minnesota, in the amount of $92,960.00. It was noted by the Public Works Director that although the low bid was approximately $15,000.00 higher than estimated, it didn't appear that the City would receive a lower bid in the future by rebidding the project with other work that may be needed and as a result recommended the low bid be accepted. Motion was made by Blonigen, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to award Project 85-1 to the low bidder, LaTour Construction of Maple Lake, in the amount of $65,813.00. 14. Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing the Submittal of a Preliminary Application for Legislative Commission on Minnesota's Resources Grant Funds. Recently, the City received notice that the State of Minnesota has initiated a new grant program exclusively for the development of athletic fields, including softball fields. The grant formula is a 50/50 matching program whereby the City contributes 50% of the development cost and 50% from a state grant up to $40,000.00 in grant funds. Since the City Council had recently approved upgrading the existing two ballfields on the NSP property and building a third field, it was the staff's recommendation that the City Council authorize submitting an application for matching grant funds to help defray the cost of the proposed improvements. In the process of reviewing the entire proposed project, the staff came across a new site that would accommodate a full four field development, including parking and amenities. Likewise, the site would not require well work and would not require the removal of a large number of trees. The site in question is the old Dick Brooks farm just adjacent to the NSP Training Center owned by NSP. NSP has indicated a willingness to lease the required 15 acres of this property for the development of an entire new complex consisting of the four ballfields. Council Minutes - 4/22/85 It was recommended by the City staff that even without state grant funds, the Council should consider relocating to this new site and eventually abandon the present softball fields near Montissippi Park. In regards to the Baseball Association's request for a baseball field, the Council directed the staff to consider designing one of the four proposed new ballfields to accommodate baseball play. After further discussion, motion was made by Bill Fair, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to authorize the City Administrator to submit a grant application for Lawcon/LCMR Athletic Field Facility Grant in the amount of $40,000.00, this being half of the estimated construction cost of $80,000.00. See Resolution 1985 V. 15. Consideration of Granting a Seasonal 3.2 Beer License to the Monticello Softball Association. The Softball Association has again requested a 3.2 Beer License to sell at the softball fields. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to approve the issuance of a seasonal 3.2 Beer License contingent upon receipt of all necessary documents, fees, and insurance requirements. 16. Consideration of Ratifying Election Returns of Monticello Volunteer Fire Department Re-electing Willard Farnick as Fire Chief. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to ratify the election of the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department reappointing Mr. Willard Farnick as Fire Chief. 17. Consideration of Approving the Bills for the Month of April. Motion was made by Maxwell, seconded by Bill Fair, and unanimously carried to approve the bills for the month of April as presented. v Rick Wolfstel r Assistant Administrator -7-