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City Council Minutes 08-26-1974218 Regular meeting of the City Council - August 26, 1974 - 7:30 P.M. City Council The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. in the City Hall by Mayor Con Johnson. Council members present: Blonigen, Erickson, Martie, Walters. The Mayor announced that the meeting would be taped. A motion was made by D. Martie, seconded by D. Blonigen, to approve the minutes of August 12, and August 19, 1974, as presented. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. City attorney, Mr. Gary L. Pringle, presented and reviewed a joint fire agreement presently in use by Lake Elmo -East Oakdale city and town. Mr. Pringle pointed out several aspects of this agreement.. The Administrator was instructed to mail a copy of this agreement to each council member for their review. This matter will be on the Council agenda of September 9, 1974. A discussion was held regarding the tree removal contract with Mr. Gary L. Kroll. Mr. Pringle stated that he had made repeated attempts to contact the bonding company in regard to the Perfor- mance Bond provided by Mr. Kroll, but that the bonding company had not responded to his calls. Mr. Pringle felt there was a clear breach of contact by Mr. Kroll and stated he would keep the Council informed of developments in this matter. A discussion of the resolution for the vacation of streets, Plat Plan 4, was tabled until the new street in the area is designated. A proposal was presented regarding a request by Mr. Wilbur Eck to purchase Plat 35-B, adjacent to the cemetery. After some discussion, it was decided that it would be in the best interests of the City to sell this plat to Mr. Eck. It will be necessary to have the plat properly appraised, obtain an abstract, and establish a purchase price. The Administrator was instructed to communicate these findings to Mr. Eck. Mr. Jim Powers of the Wright County Sheriff's Department intro- duced the patrolman.presently working in the Monticello area, Mr. Don Hoz empa . Mr. H oz empa asked several questions in regard to City of Monticello parking policy. He was informed that a specific policy is being developed and that he would be kept informed of policies as they are implemented. A report was given by the Liquor Store Manager, Mr. Ralph Eichten. He noted that there had been a steady increase in sales and that he felt the Liquor Store is running smoothly. Mr. Eichten explained that the legal age of employment for off -sale liquor store employees Regular meeting of Council continued. August 26, 1974. is 16 -years of age. He stated he felt it was in the best interests of the City to use young men in the off -sale portion of the store. The City Council, no vote, concurred with Mr. Eichtents statement with the understanding that anyone under 18 will not be allowed in the on -sale portion of the store. A report was given by Mr. Thore Meyer, the city engineer. A discussion was held in regard to water service for the Christian Service building. Mr. Meyer noted that a minimum of 1-1/8 - 1-1/4 inch line will be needed for the building. He estimated that total cost for the project will be between $1,200.00 to $1,400.00. It was the consensus of Council members that the City could assume some cost in extending a water line to the building due to the non -denominational, charitable nature of the organization. Council member G. Walters noted that Council has to be careful and watch inconsistencies in policy, but stated he had no objection to this service. In this regard, a motion was made by D. Erickson, seconded by D. Martie, to have the City assume the responsibility of installing service up to the lot line, the Christian Service organization will be responsible for a hookup charge plus any additional digging costs. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. A discussion was held in regard to a letter received from Wright County Surveyor, Mr. Richard J. Halverson. The letter from Mr. Halverson noted that plats presented for recording and located in_incorporated areas, such as the City of Monticello, are not checked for accuracy by the Wright County office. Mr. Halverson requested that the City Council adopt a resolution allowing his office to perform this service for the City. The fee for such platting service would be paid by the individual request- ing the service and not by the City of Monticello. In this regard, council member D. Martie introduced the resolution, attached as Enclosure 1, and moved for its adoption. The motion for adoption of the resolution was seconded by D. Blonigen. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. A discussion was held in regard to parking limitations, truck routes, etc. Various proposals were considered, but it was decided to have a Commission meeting on September 3, 1974, at 8:00 P.M., at the City Hall. The Public Safety Commission, the Business & Industrial Commission, and other interested parties will be represented. Superintendent Shelly Johnson will be asked to have a representative at this meeting. A discussion centered on purchase of the Kjellberg building. A letter was presented from auditor Mr. Gary Wieber in which Mr. Wieber recommended the City transfer $30,000.00 from the Liquor Fund to the General Fund if it desires to purchase the Kjellberg building and warehouse. Mr. Wieber, in his letter 220 Regular meeting of Council - August 26, 1974 - continued. of August 19, 1974, stated there are no legal problems in handling the purchase in this fashion. A bill was presented from Mr. and Mrs. Darold Burma who are providing Dog Patrol Service for Monticello and Big Lake. In this regard, a motion to approve payment of this bill was made by D. Erickson, seconded by D. Martie. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. It was the consensus of the City Council to have the Administrator and City Attorney finalize a dog patrol fee schedule with the Burmas and to have this drawn in contact form. The Mayor instructed Mr. Thore Meyer to proceed in establishing an assessment procedure -for the downtown parking lots. Mr. Meyer stated this would be done. Mr. Meyer noted that work on the Vine Street Sewer Project is near- ing completion as is work on the Locust/Walnut Street Watermain Project; he stated that the contractor will be correcting many of the deficiencies in the parking lot work within a week or two and that after this is done one of the engineers would make a final review of the project. Mr. Meyer stated that the contractor for the Vine Street project did admit doing some damage to city streets by driving on them with heavy equipment. The contractor has agreed to restore all damaged streets to their original condition. A motion to approve the list of bills for the month of July, 1974, was made by D. Blonigen, seconded by D. Martie. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. Liquor: $39,171.03; Admin: $2,671.33; Fire: $772.56; Park: $356.20; Sewer: $2,130.77; Water: $2,712.47; Service: $5,,161.81; Street: $3,251.20; Improvement Project 1974-1: $695,500.00. Other: $9,387.78• A bid was presented from Whitesell Tree Service, 321-109 Ave. N.W., Coon Rapids, Minnesota, in regard to the removal of Dutch Elm diseased trees. A motion to accept the bid of Whitesell Tree Service at the bid price of $2.50 per inch per 1211 tree; $3.40 per 241' tree; $4.25 per 36" tree; $5.00 per 481► tree, was made by D. Blonigen, seconded by D. Martie. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. The Administrator was instructed to have a contract drawn by the city attorney and have ready for presentation at the City Council meeting of September 9, 1974• The Administrator was instructed to write a local business establishment in regard to a fire hazard complained about by a Monticello resident. 1 meeting Council continued. August 26 1 Z Regular of gu , 974 • JL A motion to adjourn was made by D. Martie, seconded by D. Erickson. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. The -meeting adjourned at approximately 10:00 P.M. Kevin L. LaFrance, Adm. KLLF/mj q Regular meeting of the City Council - September 9, 1974 - City Hall The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P. M. by Mayor Con Johnson. Council members present: Blonigen, Erickson, Martie, Walters. The Mayor announced that the meeting would be taped. A motion was made by D. Blonigen, seconded by G. Walters, to ap- prove the minutes of August 26, 1974, as presented. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie and Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. A motion was made by D. Martie, seconded by G. Walters, to ap- prove the transfer of $18,533.80 from the Federal Revenue Sharing Savings Account to the Federal Revenue Sharing Checking Account. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie, and Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. A presentation was made by Mr. Milo Moon. Mr. Moon stated that children have been crawling onto the roof of the Monticello Ford building. The Council requested that the Administrator send Mr. Larry Flake a letter suggesting that the stairway leading to the roof be blocked. A report was given by the city attorney, Mr. Gary Pringle. In this regard, a motion was made by G. Walters, seconded by D. Blonigen, to adopt the attorneyts recommendation that two council members be designated to meet with representatives of the Township, and with the Fire Chief, to negotiate possible changes needed in the Joint Fire Contract. This five man board is to submit a con- tract for approval to both governing bodies. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie and Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. Dick Martie and Dan Blonigen volunteered to serve on the fire contract negotiation board. 222 Regular meeting of Council - Sept. 95 1974 - cont'd. The Administrator was requested to write the Township of Monticello requesting that they designate two representatives to negotiate a fire agreement contract. The Fire Chief will also be notified. A presentation was made by Gary Pringle regarding the tree contract with Mr. Gary L. Kroll. It is the city's position that Mr. Kroll violated the terms of this contract. However, the Bonding Company has informed the city that it has the right to provide a tree con- tractor rather than make payment due to a breach of contract. A motion was made by D. Erickson, seconded by D. Blonigen, stipulating that Mr. Gary L. Kroll be allowed 30 days to remove all marked trees or to make arrangements for their removal. Tree removal is to be supervised by the Street and Park Department of Monticello. Negotiations with Mr. Kroll will be handled through the city at- torney. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie and Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. A discussion was held in regard to the proposed Dog Impoundment Contract with Mr. and Mrs. Darold Burma of Big Lake. A motion to approve the contract as presented with one change was made by D. Blonigen, seconded by D. Martie. Voting in favor: Blonigen, Erickson, Johnson, Martie and Walters. Opposed: None. Motion carried. The change requested will delete the word "police" badge, with the term "special" badge. The City will order the special badges for the Burmas. A copy of the contract is on file in the City Hall; the effective date of the contract is September 9, 1974• A presentation was made by Gary Pringle in regard to the pro- posed sale of land parcel 35B. He stated that the title is in order, but that a better description of the parcel is needed. In addition, an appraisal is needed in order to establigh a reason- able selling price. Mr. Pringle stated that a survey is not needed and that he will obtain a legal description of the parcel. Mr. Wilbur Eck inquired as to the possibility of leasing a portion of Parcel 37. Mr. Pringle informed the Council that this is a legal possibility. Mr. Eck was asked why he desires to lease this land; he will answer this in writing to the Council. Mr. Eck stated he was against the use of parcel 37 as a dumping ground. The Mayor stated that there will be a study made of the use of parcel 37 by a City Commission. A discussion was held regarding the purchase of the Kjellberg building and garage. A down payment of $8,700-00 would be needed, with the balance of the purchase price of $30,000.00 due on January 2, 1975. Gary Pringle stated that he would have to obtain a proper legal description as the one he has is in- correct.