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City Council Minutes 06-23-2003 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, June 23, 2003 - 5:30 p.m. Members Present: Roger Carlson, Glen Posusta, Robbie Smith, Brian Stumpf and Bruce Thielen. Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order. Mayor Thielen called the special meeting to order. The purpose of the special meeting was to address the concerns of the developer relating to the Towne Centre Project/Walnut Street Improvements. 2. Review of Towne Centre/Walnut Street Projects. Vaughn Veit, the developer of the Towne Centre project had a list of items which were discussed. Lighting: Mr. Veit pointed out that the height of the concrete mounting pads for the street lights were of varying heights with some extending above the sidewalk and pavers one in particular was at least 5" above the pavers. The representative from Xcel Energy Bob Rapacz indicated that they placed the lights at the elevation they were given by the city. John Simola, Public Works Director, stated that the plans drawn up by the City Engineer just gave the location for the placement of lights not the elevations and the City Council and staff selected the light design. Xcel Energy and Mueller were given a range to set the lights, which was just slightly above the curb and sidewalk. Xcel Energy owns the lights and they have lowered the poles as much as they could. The developer asked why Xcel couldn't cut away the excess concrete. Bob Rapacz said Xcel was concerned that sawcutting would damage the base causing it to crumble and deteriorate more rapidly. Brian Stumpf asked how many fixtures were at the wrong elevation. Vaughn Veit indicated there were six. Bruce Thielen asked if Xcel would be willing to pull the pavers out. Bob Rapacz indicated they were following the standards the City had supplied them. He noted there were problems with the contractor driving over the pavers after they had been poured. Bob Rapacz said if Xcel did anything it would be with fixture that was 5" above the pavers. To correct that fixture, the pavers would be removed, the base would be trimmed and set just above the pavers. Bruce Thielen asked if Xcel would correct that fixture Bob Rapacz stated he would bring the request to management and they would make the decision. He would let city staff know the decision. Landscaping: The developer stated the existing landscaping was poor and should be removed. Bruce Thielen agreed and suggested that Adam Hawkinson, Park Superintendent come up with a landscaping plan for the area. John Simola indicated that once the landscaping plan had been prepared it would be submitted to the Council and developer. 1 Special Council Meeting Minutes- 6/23/03 �L Pat Cruikshank reported that the sod at Walnut and 6t" Street is brown and asked who is responsible for maintaining it. John Simola replied that the ordinance states that the abutting property owner maintains the boulevard. Vaughn Veit stated they would add 1 or 2 additional sprinkler heads to the irrigation zone as long as they were not billed for it. Liquor Store Sign: Vaughn Veit stated that there was suppose to be a reader sign installed. Bruce Thielen indicated that the City had looked at that but that the cost for the reader sign, $55,000, did not make it feasible to do that. Vaughn Veit referenced a sign design that depicted signage for Towne Centre and the liquor store and beneath that was the electronic reader board. City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller stated that the City had never indicated that they would remove the existing liquor store sign nor did he recall that the City had ever approved a sign design for the site. Handicapped Ramp: Vaughn Veit had requested an on grade crossing so there would be no handicapped ramp but the City did not allow that so Vaughn Veit had requested pavers be placed at the crosswalk. Bruce Thielen stated that the City had concerns about snowplowing and also drainage issues with getting the water to the storm sewer. John Simola asked if the pavers on the crosswalk were part of the original design and Vaughn Veit indicated they were. City Engineer, Bret Weiss was asked if some corrective work could be done on the pavers. Bret Weiss stated the pavers are supposed to be below the concrete so you don't peel it off when snowplowing. Vaughn Veit stated the City didn't put pavers in the crosswalk just aggregate. Bruce Thielen asked if the contractor for the Core Street Reconstruction project could do the corrective work. Bret Weiss stated that the contractor on the Walnut Street project has not been released from the contract so that contractor would be liable for correcting it. Bret Weiss asked about the exposed aggregate. Vaughn Veit indicated there were three areas. Bret Weiss will check these out. Assessment: The development agreement called for an assessment of $60,000. The developer stated their assessment was in excess of that amount and was closer to $71,000. City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller will check on the assessment. Environmental Cleanup: Ken Barthel stated there was removal of contaminated material consisting of batteries and treated lumber. The developer is requesting a letter from the City stating that the cleanup was done. It was noted that there was a Phase I environmental assessment done. Vaughn Veit stated he was not concerned about the cost he incurred in clean up but that he be released of liability. Sign: There was some additional discussion on the liquor store sign. Bruce Thielen and Robbie Smith felt the sign on the liquor store building was large enough and questioned whether there was a need for any additional signage. John Simola pointed out what the ordinance allowed for signage for properties on a major highway, like TH 25. Vaughn Veit said that between $12M -$13M were spent on the Towne Centre site and liquor store remodeling and that it was a shame that signage and landscaping was detracting from it. Bruce Thielen felt it might be worthwhile to have a sign company look at the existing signage at the liquor store. Pat Cruikshank stated that the tenants 2 Special Council Meeting Minutes- 6/23/03 along the back of the Towne Centre development were looking for additional signage and suggested that perhaps some kind of compromise could be reached on the signage. Bruce Thielen suggested that Vaughn Veit come up with a proposal and the City would look at it. Rick Wolfsteller cautioned that any sign in excess of the provisions of the ordinance would have to be approved by the Planning Commission. 3. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m. -- s Recording Secretary MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, June 23, 2003 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Roger Carlson, Glen Posusta, Robbie Smith, Brian Stumpf and Bruce Thielen. Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance: Mayor Thielen called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and declared a quorum present. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. 2A. Approve minutes of June 9, 2003 regular Council meeting. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 9, 2003 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. ROGER CARLSON SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2B. Approve minutes of June 16, 2003 special Council meeting. ROGER CARLSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 16, 2003 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING. ROBBIE SMITH SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Consideration of adding items to theagenda. Robbie Smith added a discussion on the information submitted by the Chamber of Commerce on their poll relating to the lights on Broadway. 4. Citizen comments/petitions, requests and complaints. Mayor Thielen explained the purpose of the citizen comments portion of the meeting. No one spoke under citizen comment. 5. Consent Agenda: A. Consideration of approving final plat and development agreement - Prairie Ponds. Recommendation: Approve final plat and development agreement for Prairie Ponds. Council Minutes - 6/23/03 B. Consideration of ratifying new hires. Recommendation: Approve part-time and seasonal employees for the Community Center, Streets, Water and Parks Department. Robbie Smith asked that agenda item #9 be moved to the consent agenda. ROBBIE SMITH MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH THE ADDITION OF AGENDA ITEM 49, CONSIDERATION OF FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR RIVER STREET SANITARY SEWER AND AUTHORIZATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. Consideration of items removed from the consent agenda for discussion. None. 7. Public Hearing - Consideration of vacation of utility easement Section 15, Township 121 Range 25, Wright Counly (Groveland Fourth/Remmle Property) Jeff O'Neill explained that the vacation of the easement was a housekeeping matter. The City through a land exchange has obtained the easements needed so this particular easement is no longer required. The easement, however, needs to be vacated in order for the developer to record the plat. City Administrator Rick Wolfsteller asked if the sanitary sewer line was relocated. Bret Weiss, City Engineer, indicated it was. Mayor Thielen opened the public hearing. There was no one present who spoke for or against the proposed vacation. Mayor Thielen then closed the public hearing. ROBBIE SMITH MOVED TO APPROVE THE VACATION OF THE EASEMENT AS DESCRIBED. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 8. Consideration of ordinance amendments relating to 2 a.m. liquor closing time. City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller explained that state law allows, effective July 1, 2003, liquor sales until 2 a.m. License holders must apply to the state for the extended closing time license and pay an additional fee. The City needs to determine whether they want to amend their liquor ordinance to allow the 2 a.m. closing time. Presently the City ordinance specifies a 1 a.m. closing time. It was pointed out that while the state collects additional fees for the extended hours of operation, the cities pay the cost for police enforcement for the extended hours. Rick Wolfsteller pointed out that at this time none of the present license holders have requested the extended hours license. Brian Stumpf felt that since the state law allows the 2 a.m. hours that is what the City should go with. Bruce Thielen felt that since none of the license holders had requested it, there was no 2 9. 10 Council Minutes - 6/23/03 reason the City had to act on an ordinance amendment at this time. Robbie Smith noted that some communities allowed the 2 a.m. hours on the weekend and had 1 a.m. during the week. Glen Posusta felt the City shouldn't deviate from what the state allows. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE TO COMPLY WITH STATE STATUTES ALLOWING ANY ESTABLISHMENT TO REQUEST A 2 A.M. CLOSING TIME WITH PROPER FEES BEING PAID TO THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. UPON VOTE BEING TAKEN, POSUSTA, STUMPF AND SMITH VOTED IN FAVOR THEREOF AND THIELEN AND CARLSON VOTING AGAINST. Consideration of feasibility report for River Street Sanitary Sewer and authorization for plans and specifications. Included with consent agenda with the recommendation that the feasibility report be accepted by the Council and that the engineer proceed with preparation of plans and specifications. Review of plans for pumphouse and pump for Well 95 at 4t" Street Park and consideration of authorizing advertisement for bids, City Project No. 2003-04C (Part B). Public Works Director, John Simola, explained that the well construction has been completed and the Council is now being asked to approve the plans for the construction of the pumphouse. Jim Bullert from Liesch & Associates reviewed the pumphouse plans. The design will be similar to that of pumphouse #3 which is a burnished block building with a flat roof. The building has four rooms; the well room, pump room, chemical room and generator room. The estimated cost for the pumphouse is $384,000 which is close to the budgeted amount. In order to get the pumphouse constructed this season, the schedule would be to authorize advertising for bids at this meeting and award the bids on July 28, 2003 with construction to begin in August. Construction is estimated to be completed by November. Glen Posusta questioned the aesthetics of the design stating he didn't feel the pumphouse design was appropriate for the 4" Street area. Bruce Thielen concurred stating that the pumphouse design should complement the existing buildings at the park. He suggested that the pumphouse have an extension that could be used as a park shelter. John Simola stated the roof could be changed to a gable roof which would be similar to the existing park building and Jim Bullert indicated that a change to the roof line should not affect their schedule. ROGER CARLSON MOVED TO ACCEPT THE PLANS AS PRESENTED WITH THE CHANGES DISCUSSED INCLUDING THE GABLE ROOF DESIGN. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Council Minutes - 6/23/03 11. Consideration of petition for annexation - Property Owners: Witschen, Markling and Frie. Withdrawn at property owners request. 12. Consideration of authorization to initiate preliminary plan design for CSAH 18 Interchange. Jeff O'Neill and Bret Weiss provided the background for this item. Jeff O'Neill discussed the various factors that are driving the need for the City to complete a number of studies relating to the interchange. There is proposed development in the area which is the impetus for making the improvement. Prior to the project the City needs to complete the following studies: 1) Updating the City's Transportation Plan; 2) Storm water analysis of the changes proposed to the I-94/Railroad overpass and the County Road 18 interchange; 3) Preliminary interchange design; 4) Interchange modification request and 5) Environmental assessment. The Council discussed the proposed interchange layout as well the proposal to redesign the I-94/Railroad from an overpass to an underpass. Brian Stumpf asked if the pedestrian bridge over the freeway would be affected. Bret Weiss indicated it would not. MnDOT would be building a temporary bypass and it is this bypass going through the redi-mix plant site that may necessitate acquisition of the property and relocation of the business. The financial model needs to be refined to identify the funding sources and there should be a meeting with the property owners regarding the financial impact. The financial model needs to be done in coordination with the design project. Glen Posusta asked if the intent of the interchange design was to save the land on the west side of County Road 18 for development and if the intersection would be signalized. Bret Weiss indicated was the plan and that the intersection would have a signal. He also indicated that the 350,000 sq. ft. commercial development would have an impact on the whether County Road 18 would be widen to four lanes. Brian Stumpf asked what role the County would play in this. Bret Weiss replied that the City had sent the County a letter asking to get this project in the County's 5 year CIP but the City did not make it. The County indicated that they do not have the funding for this but Bret Weiss felt County participation is something that would have to be negotiated. The financial model indicated that half of the improvements to County Road 18 would be the County's. Bret Weiss also discussed right-of-way acquisition and relocation of the existing business. He indicated that the City will need to hire a right-of-way agent to ensure that proper procedures are being followed and Bret Weiss would like authorization from the Council to procure this service. Bruce Thielen asked about the cost of the project and was told that it would be approximately $9.6 million with the City's share approximately $6 million. Brian Stumpf felt that if this project alleviated the traffic congestion at TH 25/I-94, the project would be worthwhile. Glen Posusta felt this was a window of opportunity the City should not pass up. It was felt that if the City was taking the initiative on this MnDOT would be more supportive of the project. 11 Council Minutes - 6/23/03 The City's Transportation Plan was done in 1994 and it would be to appropriate to update the plan city wide. Bret Weiss also discussed how the proposed changes would affect CSAH 75 and access to Briar Oaks and Meadow Oaks developments. It was felt that east CSAH 75 would end up as a cul-de-sac. Other areas that would be looked at in the transportation plan would be access to the Wild Meadow area, incorporation of the Orchard Road interchange and an analysis of 7"' Street. Besides completing the various studies that are needed, the City will need to be negotiating with the County, State and property owners for cost sharing on the project. It was suggested that there be a workshop with the property owners/developers and the City to discuss some of the issues relating to the project. It was decided that the meeting be held on July 14, 2003 at 5 p.m. In addition it was felt there should be other public informational meetings. Bret Weiss would like the Council to authorize hien to sit down with staff and review the work schedule to determine what tasks City staff would handle and what WSB would handle. Jeff O'Neill addressed the issue of cost sharing and whether the Council would require up front funding from the developers for these studies. He felt MnDOT should participate in the cost of the storm water analysis since their changes to the I-94/Railroad overpass is generating the storm water issues. The cost of the studies is estimated at $242,000. Rick Wolfsteller stated that while funds have not been budgeted for these studies, the money could be taken from other funds and hope that a major share of this expense can be recaptured through special assessments. Brian Stumpf asked if the City should take the risk without knowing that MnDOT will participate in the cost. Bret Weiss stated that typically MnDOT does not pay for preliminary design cost just construction costs. Doug Weiszhaar, Vice President of WSB indicated that because of the number of access requests, MnDot cannot afford to up front the cost of design but rather works out participation on the construction side. MnDOT feels the freeway is to move traffic while access to the freeway is a benefit for development generating the traffic that needs to get on the freeway. He added that MnDOT has liberalized their position on what they will participate in for construction costs. There was some discussion on not proceeding until there was some idea what the cost participation would be from MnDOT, the County and the developers. Some members of the Council felt that City needed to proceed or the opportunity would be lost. GLEN POSUSTA MOVED TO APPROVE DIRECTING THE CITY STAFF/CITY ENGINEER TO COMPLETE THE NECESSARY STUDIES INCLUDING 1) UPDATES TO CITY TRANSPORTATION PLAN 2) STORM WATER PLANNING, 3) INTERCHANGE PRELIMINARY DESIGN 4) INTERCHANGE MODIFICATION REQUEST AND 5) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, CONTINGENT ON THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR ASKING THE DEVELOPERS AND MNDOT TO PROVIDE A SHARE OF THE REVENUE NEEDED TO FUND THE COST TO COMPLETE THE NECESSARY STUDIES. THE EXACT COST SHARING RELATING TO PLANNING EXPENSE TO BE NEGOTIATED BY THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR AND CITY ENGINEER. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5 Council Minutes - 6/23/03 Bruce Thielen noted the workshop meeting is for July 14, 2003 at 5 p.m. and directed Jeff O'Neill to contact the developers. 13. Consideration of payment of bills for June. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF BILLS FOR JUNE. ROGER CARLSON SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Other item,. - The Council reviewed the information submitted by the Chamber of Commerce regarding their poll of business on the overhead lighting conversion project for Broadway. Since the City is proposing additional financing options, the Chamber questioned whether the Council wanted them to poll their members again. The Council determined that it would not be necessary until after the informational meeting scheduled for Monday, June 30, 2003 at 5 p.m. Then the Council could determine if there was any need to do additional polling. 14. Consideration of adjourning to a closed session of the City Council to discuss pending litiLvation relating to the Mielke assessment. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ADJOURN TO A CLOSED SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING PENDING LITIGATION. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ROBBIE SMITH MOVED TO RE -OPEN THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AT 8:35. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Thielen stated that the purpose of the closed session was to discuss litigation the City is involved in regarding a special assessment to the Mielke property. 15. Adjourn. ROGER CARLSON MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 8:45 P.M. GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Recording Secretary G