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City Council Minutes 10-13-2008Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday October 13, 2008 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf and Susie Wojchouski. Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Herbst called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. and declared a quorum present. A Boy Scout troop attending the meeting led those present in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. 2A. Approve minutes of September 22, 2008 Special Meeting -Transportation Plan. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 SPECIAL MEETING ON THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2B. Approve minutes of September 22, 2008 Regular Meeting. WAYNE MAYER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 REGULAR MEETING. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2C. Approve minutes of September 30, 2008 Special Meeting. Brian Stumpf noted that the vote under item #2 was not unanimous as he had voted in opposition. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 SPECIAL MEETING WITH THE CORRECTION NOTED. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. The following items were added to the agenda: 1) Update on upcoming visit by Michele Bachmann; 2) Building permit fees and standards and 3) Americanism. 4. Citizen comments, petitions, requests and concerns. None. 5. Consent A eg nda: A. Consideration of ratifying hires and departures MCC and DMV. Recommendation: Ratify the hires and departures as identified. Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 B. REMOVED FROM AGENDA. C. Consideration of adopting a resolution for a special assessment agreement with Master 5th Avenue Inc. for 617 Locust Street. Recommendation: Approve resolution of special assessment for 617 Locust Street (155-010-007020). Resolution # 2008-80 D. REMOVED FROM AGENDA. E. Consideration of approval administrative lot split for Chadwick property. Recommendation: Approve the request for a simple subdivision and administrative lot combination for Outlots C & D of Otter Creek Crossing as illustrated in Exhibits C and D of the planning report of October 13, 2008 based on a finding that the proposed arrangement is consistent with the intent of the B-4 Regional Business District and the Comprehensive Plan subject to the following conditions. 1) The applicant shall provide asix-foot drainage and utility easement along the interior property lines of both outlots upon future platting of developable lots; 2) At the time of development of either Outlot C or D a cross access agreement may be required to address shared access between the proposed Outlot C and Outlot D. This is subject to the review and recommendation of the City Engineer at the time of development. F. Consideration of approving resolution of bond redemption for the 2003A General Obligation Improvement Bonds, 2000B General Obligation Improvement Bonds and 1999 General Obligation Improvement Bonds. Recommendation: Approve the resolution calling for the redemption of the 1999, 2000B and 2003A general obligation improvement bonds. G. Consideration of authorizing preparation of preliminary assessment rolls for Kevin Longley Drive and Jerry Liefert Drive Street Improvements, City Project No. 2008- 1 OC. Recommendation: Adopt resolution declaring costs to be assessed and authorizing preparation of assessment roll for Project No. 2008-1OC with staff to come back to the Council on October 27, 2008 to set a public hearing date for the assessment hearing. H. Consideration of adopting updated cable commission agreement and consideration of withdrawing from Cable Commission. Recommendation: 1) Decision #1-Move to adopt the updated Sherburne-Wright Cable Commission joint powers agreement. 2) Decision #2 -Move to withdraw from the Sherburne-Wright Cable Commission effective January 1, 2009 with written notice to be given by October 15, 2008. I. Consideration of ratification of Charlotte Gabler as a member of the Industrial Development Committee. Recommendation: Approve the appointment of Charlotte Gabler for a three year term starting January 1, 2009 and terminating December 31, 2012. Consideration of establishing Park Maintenance Laborer position and authorize filling this position with a qualified internal candidate. Recommendation: Move to approve 2 Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 establishment of Park Maintenance Laborer position and authorize filling position with a qualified candidate. Tom Perrault asked that item #SG be pulled from the consent agenda. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH ITEM #SG REMOVED. WAYNE MAYER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. Consideration of items removed from the consent agenda for discussion. #SG Authorizing preparation of assessment rolls for Kevin Longley Drive and Jerry Liefert Drive, City Project No. 2008-IOC. Tom Perrault commented that at an earlier meeting comments were made about assessing everyone equally. In the preparation of the assessment roll he would like to see some options presented where the townhomes are assessed at a different rate than the single family homes. He noted the townhomes have smaller lots with less frontage and their unit density is greater than the single family homes. Having the townhomes included in the project reduced the assessment for the single family homes. Brian Stumpf asked if Tom Perrault had any specific options that he would like to see presented. Wayne Mayer questioned if the townhome owners enjoyed the benefit less than the single family owners. Clint Herbst stated that if the City had not picked up a good portion of the cost for this project the assessment would have been doubled. Brian Stumpf said he has a problem with treating properties differently. Who is going to pick up the difference? It is either going to be picked up by the City or by other residents. Clint Herbst felt the proposed assessment was a good value for the residents and he felt the properties should all be assessed in the same way. Clint Herbst said previous assessments were not based on footage and he didn't know why the City would want to start now. Susie Wojchouski felt that the townhomes most likely had two cars and would use the road as much as the single family homes. She agreed that the cost should be split equally.. Wayne Mayer felt if the property had a driveway access on the lot they should get assessed. Susie Wojchouski felt the present method of assessing the property owners was fair. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE PREPARATION OF PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT ROLLS FOR CITY PROJECT N0.2008-10, JERRY LIEFERT DRIVE AND KEVIN LONGLEY DRIVE WITH THE STAFF TO COME TO THE COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 27, 2008 WITH THE COSTS TO BE ASSESSED AND SETTING THE DATE FOR THE ASSESSMENT PUBLIC HEARING. WAYNE MAYER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH TOM PERRAULT VOTING IN OPPOSITION. 7. Consideration of approval of community garden concept. MCC Director, Kitty Baltos explained the research staff had done on a request to have a community garden. Staff talked to other cities that had community gardens and these cities were helpful in providing information, forms, policies for the city to consider. With Parks Superintendent Tom Pawelk a number of potential sites within the City were reviewed for a community garden. They considered factors such as availability of water, soil conditions and accessibility. The site that was selected is an open lot at 407 6th Street West. The site once it is prepared will contain about thirty 15' x 20' garden plots. 3 Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 Wayne Mayer asked about charging different rates for residents and non-residents. He didn't have a problem opening it up to non-residents if there were no city residents interested in taking the lots. Wayne Mayer said he would like the May 1St date kept open for City residents to select plots. Kitty Baltos indicated selection of the lots would be on a first come first serve basis. They don't want to lock any residents out. Kitty Baltos asked if the Council wanted a flat rate or a differential rate for non-residents. Wayne Mayer felt determining the fee could be left up to the MCC. Kitty Baltos indicated that some land in the township had been offered for use as a community garden. Although the site was reviewed it was not considered because it lacked water, parking and the soil would require the addition of black dirt. Susie Wojchouski asked how this was going to be advertised. Kitty Baltos stated they are looking at a number of things. The MCC has an e-mail base that they could utilize. The information could also be placed in the City's newsletter, the Chamber of Commerce newsletter as well as other sources. Tom Perrault asked if it would be possible for an individual to get the same plot each year. Kitty Baltos stated they would like to avoid that. Reserving the plots on a first come first serve basis she felt eliminate some of these issues. Tom Perrault asked if mulch would be provided to the gardeners for their use. Kitty Baltos indicated the City would mulch the pathway but it would not available for use on the garden plots. Tom Perrault also asked about the use of pesticides. Kitty Baltos said they don't want any chemicals used in the community garden. Any spray proposed to be used would have to reviewed and approved by the Park Superintendent. Susie Wojchouski asked about fencing and vandalism. Kitty Baltos indicated that the Park Department may have some fencing materials on hand that could be used for the community garden. She personally felt that damage to the garden would come from animals rather than humans. WAYNE MAYER MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE LAND LOCATED AT 407 WEST SIXTH STREET FOR A COMMUNITY GARDEN FOLLOWING THE DRAFT OF THE PROPOSED GUIDELINES, RENTAL AGREEMENT AND CONDUCT CODE INCLUDING PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR CITY RESIDENTS AS IDENTIFIED. IF THERE ARE PLOTS AVAILABLE AS OF MAY 15TH THEY WILL BE OFFERED TO NON-CITY RESIDENTS. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Added Items; Michelle Bachmann Visit: Jeff O'Neill reported that the candidate will be at the MCC on Tuesday, October 14th at 10:00 a.m. for a question and answer session but no formal program. Clint Herbst questioned whether a notice of a possible quorum of the Council being present had to be given. Legal counsel Tom Scott indicated the City could not meet the three day posting requirement. Since most of the Council will not be able to attend there is no reason for the notice. Building Permit Fees and Standards: Tom Perrault indicated that some residents mentioned that they are being given conflicting information from the building inspectors. He wondered if the building 4 Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 standards were subjective and therefore inspectors would have different interpretations of what was to be done or if the temporary inspectors were not fully aware of the City's interpretation of the code. Residents have also questioned him why the same work such as reroofing doesn't have the same fee. Gary Anderson, Building Official responded saying that the fee for an item such a reroofing or residing is based on the number of squares of shingles times the dollar value attributed to a square so the greater number of shingle squares needed the higher the permit fee. As far a building standards, the City applies them uniformly. Gary Anderson cited as an example a reroofing job. The procedure they used is to inspect the roof to see if there any damage to the sheeting; ask that ice/water line be installed and pictures taken of it. They require that the shingles be installed according to the manufacturer's requirements so the inspector asks the contractor where they are going to place the fasteners. The fasteners have to be within the 3/" line as specified by the manufacturer. The inspector explains the proper way to install them. When the inspector comes back they want to see how they have been installed. Gary Anderson noted this is the point where the contractors have been failing. What has not been properly installed is required to be fixed. Clint Herbst asked about the contractor who had left the building inspector on the roof without a means to get down. Gary Anderson deferred that question to legal counsel. Gary Anderson indicated that the Building Department was originally scheduled to give a report at this meeting but it was taken off the agenda. Jeff O'Neill commented on the incident stating a report had been filed with the Department of Commerce and the individual contractor involved did apologize for the incident. Tom Perrault pointed out that the resident is to provide a ladder for the building inspector to use in making his inspection. Americanism: Wayne Mayer stated every two years the City elects a Mayor and two Councilmembers. The individuals running for office put out signs to make their candidacy known and every election these signs are destroyed. This is vandalism and it is a crime. If an individual has an issue or a concern with a candidate they should talk to the candidate about the issue and not destroy the signs. Political signs are a part of grassroots politics. 8. Consideration of approving payment of bills for October. 2008. Tom Perrault questioned the bill for vehicle maintenance for one of the building inspectors. Tom Kelly said the vehicle broke down while the individual was doing inspections for the City. Wayne Mayer asked if the individual was being reimbursed for mileage and Tom Kelly indicated that was the case. Wayne Mayer felt mileage reimbursement included maintenance. Brian Stumpf asked how long the individual had been using his vehicle before it broke down. Gary Anderson indicated it took place after about three weeks on the job. Brian Stumpf didn't feel that three weeks of in town inspections would cause that problem and he felt it was a maintenance issue that should be covered under the mileage reimbursement. Brian Stumpf said the DMV staff before they got their vehicle took care of the maintenance on their personal cars when used for work purposes. Tom Perrault questioned if was necessary for all five park employees to attend the Park Turf Management Workshop. Tom Pawelk felt it was necessary since the City was purchasing four new pieces of equipment this year and this allowed them to see demonstrations of the equipment in the field. There was also good information on irrigation systems. Tom Pawelk stated this was ahalf--day session. Council Minutes: October 13, 2008 TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF THE BILLS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE BILL FOR VEHICLE MAINTENANCE FOR THE BUILDING INSPECTOR. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. Adiourn BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 7:55 P.M. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. f._.,' Recording Secretary ' 6