City Council Minutes 05-24-1993MINUTES
REGULAR, MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, May 24, 1993 - 7 p.m.
Members Present: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Clint Herbst, Brad Fyle, Patty
Olsen
Members Absent: None
2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the regular meeting held May 10,
1993, and special meeting held May 18, 1993.
Shirley Anderson suggested that the Council minutes be amended by changing
#2 of agenda item #4 as follows: "Elderly and handicapped are major users of
medical clinic facilities. Without the driveway and canopy, accessibility for
handicapped and elderly is difficult and, therefore, the variances are necessary
to provide a reasonable use of the property." After discussion, a motion was
made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Shirley Anderson to approve said meeting
minutes as corrected. Motion carried unanimously.
3. Comments, petitions, requests, and complaints.
Roger Pribyl, representing the Monticello Baseball Association, requested that
the City allow installation of advertising signs at the NSP softball fields,
revenue from which would be used for purchase and installation of electronic
scoreboard signs at each of the four fields.
Brad Fyle wondered if allowing advertising signs would result in proliferation
of signs at the ballpark. He stated that there should be some control of private
advertising at a public park. Wolfsteller noted that issues relating to
installation, maintenance, hooking up and wiring, etc., need to be resolved and
included in an agreement between the Baseball Association and the City.
Clint Herbst indicated that he supports allowing a 2 -ft high advertising sign
located directly below the scoreboard. Patty Olsen agreed with Clint Herbst
that a modest sign of a size consistent with the scoreboard would be
acceptable.
After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson to allow the
installation of a sign advertising a private business. Motion died for lack of a
second.
After further discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by
Patty Olsen to refer the matter to the Parks Commission.. Parks Commission
is asked to review issues relating to placement of off -premise advertising signs
at the NSP ballfields. Motion carried unanimously.
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Council Minutes - 5/24/93
Pribyl requested immediate action by Council to allow advertising at the
primary ballfield and associated scoreboard. Pribyl was concerned that
delaying a decision would delay installation of the scoreboard until much of the
season is completed. In response, Council went on to review in more detail the
possibility of allowing installation of one scoreboard funded by advertising
display at the field used primarily for baseball.
After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Shirley
Anderson to allow installation of a 14 ft by 5 ft scoreboard to be installed by
the Monticello Baseball Association at no cost to the City at the field used
primarily for baseball. Furthermore, staff is directed to prepare an agreement
between the City and the Association regarding the conditions under which
advertising signs can be installed, agreement to include detail expectations
with regard to the size of the signs, sign location, sign maintenance, etc.
Motion carried unanimously.
4. Update by City Assessor on local board of review adjustments.
Jerry Kramber was in attendance to update the Council on action taken in
regard to reducing market values of parcels in question..
After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Shirley
Anderson to accept the changes and recommendations made by the County
Assessor. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Consideration of authorizing City Planner to prepare a long- term plan. for
Hospital District area.
Assistant Administrator O'Neill stated that as a condition of approval of the
clinic expansion, the hospital district was requested to work with the City to
design a long-term land use plan that serves the needs of the hospital district
while being sensitive to nearby residential neighborhood concerns. On
April 12, 1993, it was the consensus of Council to authorize City staff and
consulting planner to work with the hospital district toward creating a
development plan for the area.
After reviewing the matter with the planner, it became evident that to do a
thorough study of the issues would require a significant investment of time by
City staff and City Planner ($3,100). City staff is concerned that the direction
of the meeting of April 12 did not take into consideration the cost associated
with the in-depth study that would be .required to answer the many questions
relating to long-term development at this site. Therefore, City staff requests
that Council again review the direction provided to staff at the meeting on the
12th and determine if Council was comfortable with spending $3,100 to
prepare a long-term plan for the site.
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Council Minutes - 5/24/93
Brad Fyle noted that he supports the concept of completing the study and that
it is in the best interest of the City to work cooperatively with the hospital
district in preparing the study and defining issues and solutions; however, the
City should be the party responsible for paying for the study. Paying for the
study in its entirety will give the City the proper level of independence it needs
to prepare plans that are in the best interest of the city.
Patty Olsen noted that the plan prepared will benefit the hospital district by
providing direction necessary to plan for future development and will give the
hospital district a better understanding of the best way to configure their site,
including building and parking layouts. It was Olsen's opinion that the
hospital district should contribute toward funding the project because it will
provide a direct benefit to them.
After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by
Patty Olsen to allocate one-half of the funds necessary to complete the study
contingent upon the hospital district agreeing to pay for the other half. Voting
in favor of the motion: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Patty Olsen, Clint
Herbst. Opposed: Brad Fyle.
6. Review of schematic design and preliminary construction cost estimates for
phase II of the Monticello Public Works Facility.
Mr. Doug Wild, architect for the City's engineering firm, OSM, reviewed with
the Council the schematic design for phase II expansion of the public works
facility. Mr. Wild noted that phase II could be broken down into three phases
consisting of a sand and salt enclosure at a cost of approximately $108,000; a
wash and paint bay at a cost of $110,000; and an addition to the present
building to include handicapped accessible entry, restrooms, break room, along
with a meeting and training room for approximately $126,000. The total of all
three portions of phase II, with a contingency and engineering fees included,
could total $413,000.
After reviewing the three phases, Public Works Director, John Simola,
reviewed with the Council the need for the improvements such as a covered
facility for storage of sand and salt to avoid any possible ground contamination
along with the need for a separate wash bay facility for cleaning vehicles to
avoid moisture problems in existing buildings.
Councilmember Herbst questioned the need for skylights to be included in the
existing building and in the salt and sand enclosure and the need for showers
as part of the maintenance building facility. In addition, Mr. Herbst noted the
City will have to address more pressing financial needs at the wastewater
treatment plant prior to considering expenditures for additional public works
facilities.
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Mayor Maus and Councilmember Fyle also questioned the size of the proposed
salt/sand shed facility and questioned whether the facility could be downsized
to control costs.
The Public Works Director noted that the Council was only reviewing a
schematic design, and construction was not proposed at this time until at least
1994 or later. To consider construction next year, additional design work
should be commenced this fall to ensure a sufficient lead time for next year's
construction.
After further review and discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst,
seconded by Brad Fyle, and unanimously carried to accept the preliminary
report on phase II as provided but to table any action on proceeding with
further design until such time as the entire financial cost of repairs at our
wastewater treatment plant is determined.
7. Consideration of authorizing a facility survey and. evaluation of all public
buildings for determining compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The City Council was informed that the recently -adopted Americans with
Disabilities Act extended civil rights protection to the disabled and requires
public entities to review all of their existing buildings and programs along with
services they provide to ensure that all facilities and programs are accessible
by the handicapped.
City Council reviewed a proposal by City Engineer, QSM, to conduct a facility
survey of all City buildings which would outline any accessibility problems and
corrective action that would be necessary. Mr. Doug Wild of 4SM estimated
that a complete survey and evaluation of eight buildings and park facilities
could cost between $8,000 and $9,000 for the entire study.
Councilmember Herbst questioned whether the City's Building Inspector. along
with City staff couldn't accomplish a survey on their own and suggested that
the Building Inspector review the new law to determine if present staff has the
time and expertise to accomplish the evaluation.
As a result, a motion was made by Clint Herbst, seconded by Shirley Anderson,
and unanimously carried to have the Building Inspector review the Americans
with Disabilities Act to determine if City staff has the capability of completing
its own evaluation study.
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8. Consideration of bids and awarding of sealcoating proiect.
The City of Monticello received four bids for completing a 66,000 sq yd
sealcoating project on city streets on Friday, May 21, 1993. The bids ranged
in price from $34,000.30 to $37,301.30.
A motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Patty Olsen, and
unanimously carried to award the 1993 sealcoating project to Astech
Corporation of St. Cloud, Minnesota, as the low bidder in the amount of $.515
per square yard, or $34,000.30 for the estimated 66,000 sq yd project.
9. Consideration of replacing two waste -activated sludge pumps at the
wastewater treatment plant.
A motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Clint Herbst, and
unanimously carried to approve the replacement of two waste -activated sludge
pumps at the wastewater treatment plant at an estimated cost of $18,000. The
proposed replacement pumps were recommended by the City staff and PSG,
Inc., the City's contract operator of the wastewater treatment plant.
10. Approval of bills.
A motion was made by Brad Fyle, seconded by Shirley Anderson, and
unanimously carried to approve the bills for the month. of May as presented.
Rick Wolfste er
City Admini ° rator
Yef 'Neill
Assistant Administrator
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