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City Council Minutes 08-27-1990MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, August 27, 1990 - 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Warren Smith, Shirley Anderson, Dan Blonigen Members Absent: None 2. Approval of Minutes. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held August 13, 1990. 3. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints. None forthcoming. 4. Consideration of Council proclamation proclaiming September 9-15 as Local Cable Programming Week. Mayor Maus read a proclamation outlining the benefits to the community brought about by cable programming. After the proclamation was read, a motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried proclaiming September 9-15 as Local Cable Programming Week. 5. Consideration of resolution approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for the extension of utilities to the Sandberg East development. Staff informed Council that in order to keep the Sandberg East project on schedule for the fall, the plans should be officially approved. The plans were reviewed by City staff during the week of August 20 and authorization was given to have the first advertisement for bids placed in the Construction Bulletin August 24, 1990. This project must be advertised for three weeks, and the bids will be returnable by Friday, September 14, 1990. The public hearing scheduled for September 17, 1990, will allow the Council and affected property owners a chance to review the actual construction bid prices to determine whether we are still on schedule with our estimates. If the project is still feasible at this point, a contract could be awarded that evening allowing for construction to occur this fall. 1 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 Allen Rundle of Monticello Township was present to voice his concerns on what he perceived to be the installation of City utilities primarily in the township. Mr. Rundle was informed by Mayor Maus that except for the Halliger property, the utilities are not being extended into the township areas and that all adjoining property owners are aware of the project and have participated in the development of the project finance plan. Bob Krautbauer informed the Council that he is willing to provide the easement along Highway 39 if the project utilities follow this course; however, he is not willing to provide utilities for both the Highway 39 route and the potential alternate route which calls for utilities extending along the eastern boundary of his property. Mayor Maus noted that it may be imperative that the City obtain all the requested easements, as the granting of the easements by Krautbauer to the City is needed to justify the retroactive deferral of assessments against the Krautbauer project associated with the 1988 County Road 39 project. Dan Blonigen noted that Mr. Krautbauer, during previous discussions, had agreed to provide the City with the easements the City requested in exchange for a reduction in the assessments against the Krautbauer property. If the easements are not going to be provided by Mr. Krautbauer, then the City may have no alternative but to maintain the assessments against the Krautbauer property at the original level. As the discussion came to a close, Mr. Krautbauer noted to the Council that he will give the City the easements. A motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to approve plans and specifications and authorize advertisements for bids for the extension of utilities to the Sandberg East development. SEE RESOLUTION 90-31. 6. Review of bids for garbage/refuse collection and hauling. Administrator Wolfsteller reviewed the bids for garbage/refuse collection and hauling. Wolfsteller recommended that the City Council review these bids carefully and make a decision regarding this item at a future Council meeting. The following summarizes the low bids received for each method of collection: Method A: Utilizing a private contractor to pick up garbage once per week using existing non -automated collection technique. Low Bidder: Vasko, $93,564 annual cost. 2 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 Method B: Utilizing a private contractor to pick up garbage once per week using automated collection technique. Low Bidder: Corrow Sanitation, $105,498 annual cost. Method C: Utilizing City -operated service to pick up garbage once per week using automated collection technique. City Bid: $76,139 annual cost. It was noted by Wolfsteller that the figures show that the City can operate a garbage collection system cheaper than a private operator. Wolfsteller went on to review the budget outlining City expenses with automated garbage collection and noted that he is comfortable that the numbers are conservative and actually reflect what it would cost the City to operate the automated garbage collection. Ken Maus asked if other cities are doing their own hauling. Wolfsteller noted that cities in northern Minnesota commonly provide garbage collection service. Shirley Anderson asked why every city isn't hauling garbage if it's cheaper for cities to do so. Wolfsteller noted that before automation of garbage collection was possible, the price for public employees to haul garbage was more expensive because the strength of the unions tended to control the method of garbage collection. It was difficult to keep the cost of the public garbage hauling down because at least two public employees manned each sanitation truck. With automated garbage collection, however, the City is able to limit the number of employees necessary to haul the garbage to one per truck. In addition, the City bid is lower due to the fact that there is no profit motive for the City. It was the consensus of the Council to schedule this item for an upcoming meeting for further review and discussion. 7. Consideration of ratifying union contract renewal. Administrator Wolfsteller reviewed the amendments to the previous contract and noted that the contract calls for a salary increase in the neighborhood of 5% for the first year and 4% in the second year of the two-year contract. Council reviewed the following proposed changes to the existing labor agreement: 1. Condition of groundskeeper/maintenance worker position to the bargaining unit. 2. Requirement of three days advance notice rather than seven days if the City changes any assignment of regularly scheduled work hours. 3 0 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 3. Clarification indicating that sick leave benefits would only be paid to equalize the pay scale if he was receiving health insurance disability benefits. 4. Reduction in the time period from 12 months to 6 months when an employee could be placed on inactive status and be discharged for medical reasons unless a certified statement from a doctor is submitted indicating that the employee would be able to resume duties within a reasonable time period. 5. Increase City contribution toward health insurance coverage by an additional $15 per month plus 50% of any increase over the $15. After discussion, a motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to ratify the contract as proposed. Consideration of resolution adopting a proposed preliminary 1991 budget and setting a proposed tax levy. Administrator Wolfsteller outlined the two options for development of a preliminary 1991 budget. Wolfsteller noted that the City could propose a levy of 10%; however, he went on to note that a 10% increase is not justified given the expected need for property tax revenue in 1991. Ken Maus noted that the City does have the right to go for a 10% increase and fall back to a lesser levy once the budget process is complete; however, since it appears that the 10% increase is not going to be necessary despite cutbacks in federal and local aid, Maus proposed that the City establish a preliminary levy of 7%. Dan Blonigen concurred that there appears to be no significant reason to increase the preliminary levy to 10%; therefore, he agreed that option two, which proposes a 7% increase, is the better option. Wolfsteller also noted that he anticipated that there should be an increase in the other sources of revenue available to the City outside the property tax revenue which would eventually result in a reduction in the tax levy when the final budget is adopted. As a result, Wolfsteller felt comfortable that the City could develop a budget to meet the tax levy proposed under a 7% increase; and, in fact, the final budget would likely call for an increase of less than 7%. After discussion, a motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution setting a proposed tax levy of $2,752,778. SEE RESOLUTION 90-32. 4 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 9. Consideration of resolution approving 1991 MN/DOT transit assistance application. Assistant Administrator O'Neill informed Council that the Monticello Transportation Advisory Committee requests that Council review the 1991 transit assistance application and consider approval of the resolution outlining the City's commitment to pay 40% of operations cost and 20% of total capital equipment cost. O'Neill noted that the transit assistance application consists of management plan associated budget and includes an assortment of compliance forms. He went on to state that the application is very similar to the application approved in 1990. In reviewing the budget for 1991, O'Neill informed Council that the ridership is at the expected levels; however, fare revenue is not keeping pace because more people than expected are obtaining reduced fares through purchase of the $25 ticket books. This situation has created the need to increase the City's portion of the budget from $16,000/year to $19,000/year, which represents a 15% increase to the City's share of the operations budget. It was the consensus of Council that the Monticello Transportation Advisory Committee should investigate strategy for increasing the fare revenues. A motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Fran Fair, and unanimously carried to adopt the resolution approving Monticello's 1991 MN/DOT transportation assistance application. SEE RESOLUTION 90-33. 10. Consideration of authorizing Monticello Heartland Express (MHE) to begin service 1.5 hours earlier on a pilot program basis. O'Neill reminded Council that the transportation contract with Hoglund Transportation requires that the City contract for a minimum of 2,500 hours annually. In order to fully use the minimum number of hours, the system must operate 10 hours per day. The current program has been operating at a rate of 9.5 hours per day, which has allowed the Heartland Express to bank enough service hours to allow the system to add 1.5 hours of service to every day through the rest of the year. O'Neill asked that the Council consider allowing those hours to be placed at the front-end of the service day, thereby allowing the City to evaluate to what extent the citizens will use the bus to get to work. 5 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 After discussion, it was the consensus of Council to direct the Monticello Transportation Advisory Committee to adjust the service hours in a manner that will make highest and best use of available hours. After discussion, a motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Fran Fair, to authorize City staff and the Monticello Transportation Advisory Committee to utilize available surplus hours with the goal of scheduling surplus hours during times that allow for the most cost efficient use of available surplus hours. Motion carried unanimously. 11. Consideration of review and approval of Right of First Refusal Agreement between the City of Monticello and the H -Window Company. 011ie Koropchak informed the Council that Steve Lemme, General Manager for the H -Window Company, informed her that NAWCO may be considering an expansion of the development at some point in the next two to three years. In order to accommodate this expansion, NAWCO will need additional property, specifically, Block 1, Lots 1, 2, or 3 of the Oakwood Industrial Park Second Addition. This property is now owned by the City. Koropchak asked Council if it would consider entering into a Right of First Refusal Agreement between the City of Monticello and the H -Window Company, thereby protecting the H -Window Company's ability to purchase this land. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Warren Smith, and unanimously carried to enter into a Right of First Refusal Agreement between the City of Monticello and the H -Window Company. 12. Consideration of counter-offer on purchase agreement for property adjacent to city hall. Rick Wolfsteller noted that at the last Council meeting authorization was granted to the staff to prepare a purchase agreement offering $50,000 for the purchase of a 122' x 165' residential parcel adjacent to the city hall property. Wolfsteller noted that the bank made a counter-offer of $53,000. Council reviewed this matter and elected to take no action; therefore, the latest proposal of $50,000 per previous Council action stands. 101 Council Minutes - 8/27/90 13. Consideration of garbage/refuse ordinance amendment. Administrator Wolfsteller informed Council that our current ordinance relating to garbage/refuse service rates was established in 1989. As a result of our recycling program, the ordinance established a service charge similar to the penalty system in effect for sewer and water billings, which indicated a penalty of $1.00 plus 1% per month would be added to the billing for those property owners who receive just a special processing fee billing if they did not recycle. Wolfsteller went on to note that with our recent conversion to the Business Records Corporation (BRC) utility system, the present system of adding a $1.00 base charge plus 1% per month for unpaid delinquent bill is very cumbersome to maintain on our new system. Therefore, Wolfsteller recommended that the City utilize a basic flat fee or percentage of the unpaid bill as a penalty which would accomplish the same goal and be less cumbersome. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, and unanimously carried to adopt the ordinance amendment as proposed eliminating the specific of a $1.00 charge plus 1% per month and replacing it with a charge of 4%, which will be added to the amount due on any bill if not paid within 30 days after the billing date. SEE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 195. 14. Consideration of bills for the month of August. A motion was made by Warren Smith, and seconded by Shirley Anderson, to approve the bills as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. Jeff 'O'Neill Assistant Administrator 7