City Council Minutes 12-10-1990MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING - CITY COUNCIL
Monday, December 10, 1990 - 7:00 p.m.
Members Present: Ken Maus, Fran Fair, Warren Smith, Shirley
Anderson, Dan Blonigen
Members Absent: None
2. Approval of minutes.
After discussion, a motion was made by Warren Smith and
seconded by Shirley Anderson to approve the minutes of the
meeting held November 26, 1990. Motion carried unanimously.
3. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints.
None forthcoming.
4. Public hearing on adoption of 1991 budget and consideration of
resolution setting 1991 tax levy.
Mayor Maus opened the public hearing for citizens' comments.
There being no comments forthcoming, Mayor Maus closed the
public hearing. Mayor Maus noted that the City Council had
conducted a special meeting for the purpose of reviewing the
proposed budget and that no changes to the budget had resulted
from that meeting.
There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Fran
Fair, and seconded by Shirley Anderson, to adopt a resolution
adopting the 1991 budget and setting the total tax levy at
$2,752,778. Motion carried unanimously.
SEE RESOLUTION 90-55.
5. Consideration of final plat request to replat portions of the
Sandberg East residential subdivision. Applicant, John
Sandberg.
Assistant Administrator, Jeff O'Neill, reported to the Council
that John Sandberg had completed two of the three conditions
required by Council prior to City approval of the final plat
of the Sandberg East Second Addition. He went on to state
that is likely that the third condition will be met in the
near future and that staff feels comfortable in withholding
the actual signing of the plat until the third requirement is
completed. Bret Weiss of OSM reported that the third
condition included the requirement that the grading and
drainage plan be reviewed and approved by the City Engineer.
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It appears at this time that there are no major issues to
contend with regarding the drainage plan; therefore, it
appears appropriate at this time to approve the plat with
final signing of the plat to be withheld until the drainage is
entirely complete. Ken Maus asked John Sandberg if he was
aware that the drainage plan is not quite complete. John
Sandberg stated that there did not appear to be any problems
in making the requested changes to the drainage plan as
requested by the City Engineer.
Fran Fair asked if a park dedication fee would be required
with this plat. Assistant Administrator, Jeff O'Neill,
responded by saying that the plat park dedication requirement
did not apply because the original land was platted prior to
being annexed by the City, and a park dedication had been paid
with the platting of the land while it was in the township.
After discussion, a motion was made by Fran Fair, and seconded
by Dan Blonigen, to approve the final plat of the Sandberg
East Second Addition but withhold signing of the plat until
such time that the City Engineer grants final approval of
grading and drainage plans and subject to acquisition of
necessary storm water drainage easements. Monumentation
associated with new plat must be in place, and monumentation
associated with the previous plat must be replaced prior to
issuance of a building permit on any of the new lots created
with the Sandberg East Second Addition.
At this point in the meeting, John Sandberg asked if Council
would consider assessing the lots created with the plat now
being approved at the same rate as was previously planned with
an earlier version of the Sandberg East plat. Sandberg noted
at the time the earlier plat was considered, Council was
willing to fix the assessment at $92,000 to be assessed
against the entire length of the lots along Gillard Avenue.
Sandberg requested that Council consider applying the same
cost per lot to the new plat.
Rick Wolfsteller noted that the City at this time has not
compiled all the costs associated with construction of the
sewer and water line. In addition, a fair and consistent
strategy for assessing all benefiting property owners has not
been developed. It would appear at this time, given the
situation, it is premature to guarantee an assessment amount.
Wolfsteller went on to report that staff will have the
accurate project totals and a proposed assessment roll ready
for Council within one week. It was the consensus of Council
to discuss this matter at a special meeting of the City
Council scheduled for 3:00 p.m., Monday, December 17, 1990.
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6. Consideration of renewing joint fire agreement with Monticello
Township.
Administrator Wolfsteller reviewed the method by which the
contribution made by Monticello Township for operation of the
fire department is established. Wolfsteller noted that the
existing contract calls for utilization of the assessed value
as part of the calculation used in determining the Township
contribution. Wolfsteller went on by saying that due to
changes in the method by which the property taxes are
collected, it now appears that utilization of market value in
lieu of assessed value in the fair share formula will make
more sense and result in more fair allocation of costs.
Dan Blonigen reviewed the potential increase in charges to the
Township resulting from change in the method of calculating
the Township contribution and noted that the added charge of
4% is not excessive, is more understandable, and is a fair
method by which the Township's share can be calculated.
Shirley Anderson agreed with the potential change because it
appears that the City taxpayer is subsidizing a portion of the
cost to provide service to the township.
After discussion, a motion was made by Dan Blonigen, and
seconded by Warren Smith, to agree to renew the contract and
adjust the formula for cost sharing by establishing market
value in lieu of formerly used assessed value in the fair
share formula. Motion carried unanimously.
7. Consideration of a resolution establishing an additional
deferred compensation plan for municipal employees.
Rick Wolfsteller requested that the City Council consider
allowing IDS Financial Services to establish a deferred
compensation program for City employees. There is no cost to
the City for this service, and this service would be in place
along side the existing International City Management
Association Deferred Compensation Plan now in place.
Wolfsteller also noted there is another plan in place offered
by the Safeco Insurance plan. Up to this date, no City
employees have utilized the Safeco plan.
After discussion, a motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by
Warren Smith, to adopt the IDS deferred compensation plan and
eliminate the Safeco deferred compensation plan. Voting in
favor: Fran Fair, Warren Smith, Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson.
Opposed: Dan Blonigen.
SEE RESOLUTION 90-56.
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8. _Consideration of replacement of tractor mower/snowblower for
the parks department.
John Simola reported that approximately three years ago the
City purchased a tractor mower/blower combination unit for a
front mounted Toro mower unit. It was decided at that time
that we could install a snowblower on the cab of our 650 John
Deere and use that as our primary snowblowing piece of
equipment for sidewalks and miscellaneous cleanup. This
combination has not been successful, as the John Deere does
not have sufficient horsepower and, coupled with a non -
hydrostatic drive, has made it impractical for blowing snow
from areas with any significant accumulation of snow. The
underpower problems continue, and we, therefore, felt it was
time to replace the 650 John Deere with something more suited
to blowing snow. In addition, the parks department has been
considering acquisition of an additional mower, as at times it
has been difficult to keep up with the mowing on city
properties. In preparation for this, it was felt that we
could purchase a heavy duty snowblower/mower unit with various
attachments for sidewalk maintenance and keep the John
Deere 650 but limit it to mowing only with occasional backup
as a snowblower. An amount of $55,000 was requested and
placed in the 1991 budget.
We have further investigated our needs, and with Councilmember
Blonigen's assistance, we have determined that the cost of
such a heavy duty piece of equipment for snowblowing with its
limited suitability for mowing operations limits its
practicality for the City of Monticello. We, therefore, have
reassessed the needs for 1991 and feel they would be better
met replacing the 650 John Deere with a larger, more powerful
tractor which could handle our snowblowing and mowing needs.
Simola reported that the City could purchase a 955 John Deere
4 -wheel drive tractor with 27 horsepower in the area of
$20,000. With this purchase, the trade-in value of the John
Deere would be about $5,000; therefore, we could expect the
cost of the replacement unit to be under $15,000. The City
prefers the John Deere 955 due to experience with past units,
and parts and service are available in Monticello and nearby
Rogers. Another option would be to rent the unit at $1,032
per month or $6,192 for a six-month period should we choose to
rent it that long. During the time we are using the new
tractor and checking it out, the City staff could further
evaluate the need for additional mowing equipment.
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Ken Maus asked if the unit proposed for purchase is limited in
terms of maneuverability. Simola responded by saying that the
unit, though larger, is not so large as to have problems in
maneuvering in areas where the unit is needed most.
Dan Blonigen stated that he is not ready to vote for this. He
would like to study it further. He suggested that this unit
may not be used enough and may not be designed to fit our
needs, as utilization of a plow may be better.
After discussion, Council concluded that the unit could be
rented for a short term on a trial basis. After the unit has
been used in operation, the City could determine whether or
not to purchase it.
After discussion, motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by
Shirley Anderson, to authorize City staff to rent the John
Deere 955 for a period of one month starting after the first
snowfall and consider purchase of the unit only after its
effectiveness is well understood. Motion carried unanimously.
Consideration of adopt -a -street program terms and conditions.
Public Works Director, John Simola, reported that he has
spoken with the City Attorney and obtained information from
MN/DOT regarding a cleanup program similar to the adopt -a -
highway program operated by the State of Minnesota. Simola
noted that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has done
most of the legwork and has a number of terms and conditions
already identified that could be applied to the Monticello
program. Simola suggested that the City obtain certificates
of insurance when possible from organized groups.
Ken Maus asked if the adopt -a -street program could apply to a
park. John Simola noted that the program could be modified to
apply to a park.
Warren Smith remarked that the terms and conditions require
that an organization pick up materials at least three times a
year. It may be in certain areas that cleanup should occur at
a greater frequency.
Shirley Anderson concurred that in certain areas it may make
sense to require the cleanup to occur at the discretion of the
Public Works Director.
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After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson,
seconded by Fran Fair, to adopt the terms and conditions as
presented with the addition that the program could be applied
to cleanup of cemetery and park property, placement of signs
indicating the organization responsible for cleanup is
optional, and in order to receive recognition through
placement of an adopt -a -street sign, organizations interested
in the program must be willing to be involved for two years at
a minimum. City staff will be responsible for administering
the program with update on citizen participation provided to
Council.
10. Consideration of a curb -side recycling program for plastics.
11.
John Simola reported that as authorized by the City Council,
a pilot recycling program for plastics was conducted from July
to October. As a result of the pilot program, it appeared
that the best method for collecting plastics would be to
utilize curb -side collection.
Ken Maus asked if the City is being premature regarding
collection of plastic and should be getting better
participation on the other items first.
Fran Fair suggested that the City move forward and that the
citizens of the community are ready to recycle plastics.
Shirley Anderson concurred. People want to recycle plastics.
Maus noted that he is not against the idea of recycling
plastics; however, it may make sense to take a slow approach.
After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson,
seconded by Fran Fair, to authorize an amendment to the
existing contract with Polka Dot Recycling to include curb-
side recycling of plastics at a cost of $.30 per household per
month for single family and $.20 per unit per month for
apartment units at an estimated yearly cost of $6,000. In
addition, this alternative would pay for one-half of the cost
of the 90 -gallon containers for plastic at the apartment sites
with the program to begin January 3, 1991. Motion carried
unanimously.
Consideration of bills for the first half of December.
Ken Maus asked if some of the checks being approved by Council
have already been processed prior to Council approval. Rick
Wolfsteller noted that some checks are mailed previous to
final Council approval. These checks are for financial
commitments that the City has made previously or checks that
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will result in the City not paying finance charges. Many of
the checks, however, are withheld until such time that Council
approves the check register.
Ken Maus asked if the report could somehow be structured to
place the items that are pre -approved in one category and
those not already approved in another category.
Rick Wolfsteller noted that he would look into this
possibility.
Motion was then made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley
Anderson, to approve the payment of bills for the first half
of December. Motion carried unanimously.
12. Other matters.
A special meeting of the City Council was scheduled for
3:00 p.m., December 17, 1990, for the purpose of consideration
of awarding the 1991/1992 transportation service contract and
for the purpose of reviewing the public improvement cost and
proposed assessment roll associated with the City project
extending utilities to the Sandberg East Second Addition.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
e O'Neill
Assistant Administrator
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