City Council Minutes 07-24-1989MINUTES
REGULAR. MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, July 24, 1989 - 7:00 p.m.
Members Present: Warren Smith, Shirley Anderson, Fran Fair, Dan Blonigen
Members Absent: Ken Maus
Acting Mayor: Fran Fair
2. Approval of minutes.
After discussion, Shirley Anderson asked that references to Council
agreement with the Planning Comnission decisions regarding certain
variances associated with item 5 should be modified. Staff understanding
of tacit agreement between Planning Coimnission and City Council should
not be included in literal terms in the minutes.
Motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan Blonigen, to approve
the minutes of the regular meeting held July 10, 1989, as amended.
Motion carried unanimously.
3. Citizens convents/petitions, requests, and complaints.
None forthcoming.
4. Consideration of granting an increase in the individual pension for the
Volunteer Firefighter Relief Association members.
City Administrator Wolfsteller reported that he had reviewed the Relief
Association computations, and it appears that the state aid received by
the fire department will continue to provide sufficient income to support
the fire department requested increase from $975 to $1,075 per year.
Wolfsteller stated that he had no objection to the increase being granted
as long as the City Council realizes that there are no guarantees that
state aid or investment earnings will continue at the present level.
Wolfsteller reminded Council that if state aid is removed or if the
investments do not earn revenue as expected, the City would be required
to utilize tax levies to support the pension.
Shirley Anderson asked why the City determines the increase in pension if
the money comes from the state. Wolfsteller responded by saying that the
City is responsible for paying the pensions with or without state money.
If the state legislature decides to withdraw the pension funding, then
the City must pay the amount necessary to support the pension program.
It was Blonigen's view that the pension fund should be at a level to
where the fire department could raise sufficient pension funding on its
own. Shirley Anderson questioned the Monticello firefighters present.
She asked the firefighters if their state organization is capable of
lobbying the legislature for continued pension support. Dave Kranz noted
that the firefighters are capable of providing significant pressure on
the state legislature in order to maintain the existing pension
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Council Minutes - 7/24/89
funding level. Fran Fair mentioned that the word needs to get out that
the City does not contribute tax dollars to the Relief Association and
that the present pension fund is subsidized entirely by state funding.
Warren Smith mentioned that the risk of losing the state pension fund
subsidy is small and not a big enough reason to object to the proposed
increase.
Motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley Anderson, to grant
an increase to $1,075 per year. Voting in favor of the motion: Warren
Smith, Shirley Anderson, Fran Fair. Opposed: Dan Blonigen.
5. Consideration of final payment for Project 88-07 (Markling).
City Engineer and staff recomended that Council authorize final payment
to Birchfield Construction in the amount of $5,524.09. Simola noted that
the major portion of the project was completed in late fall of 1988.
Recently, Birchfield Construction completed the restoration on the
project, and the City Engineer has recoimnended final payment.
After discussion, motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Warren
Smith, to approve final payment for Project 88-07 in the amount of
$5,524.09 to Birchfield Construction. Motion carried unanimously.
6. Consideration of strategy for development of marketing/promotional
materials.
Assistant Administrator O'Neill reviewed four alternatives for
development of a marketing and promotional material design strategy for
the City of Monticello. O'Neill noted to Council that the City has made
significant investments toward development of Monticello as an inviting
place for coimnercial and industrial prospects, yet very little has been
done to market the coimnunity to business prospects. Dan Blonigen
mentioned that the City has expended funds towards economic development
without concrete evidence that a positive result has occurred. Warren
Smith noted that the need exists for an improved package for promoting
Monticello. Smith suggested that the City utilize the services of
Henning & Associates towards development of such a package. Smith also
noted that he saw no reason to shop around for other consultants, as
Henning & Associates has done fine work for the City in the past and was
selected for the logo project in part because of their strong advertising
background. Smith saw no reason to shop around for consultants, as the
City has already conducted a selection process which resulted in Henning
& Associates being selected for development of the City logo. Smith saw
no reason to repeat the selection effort. Fran Fair noted that the logo
project worked out well and that Henning & Associates should be retained
for this project. Shirley Anderson had no objections to City expenditure
of budgeted funds for this purpose. However, she did ask for a proposal
from Henning & Associates which outlines alternatives ranging from $8,000
to $16,000, including printing costs.
After discussion, motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Fran Fair,
to authorize Henning & Associates to prepare alternative proposals for
development of a marketing program and information and promotional
materials. Proposal should range from cost of $8,000 to $16,000
including printing costs. Voting in favor: Fran Fair, Warren Smith,
Shirley Anderson. Opposed: Dan Blonigen.
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7. Consideration of establishing policy on sale of Oakwood Industrial Park
Second Addition lots.
City Administrator Wolfsteller sought guidance froin Council regarding
terms of sale for the recently developed industrial properties owned by
the City. Wolfsteller suggested that the City could improve its ability
to market the property by utilizing contract for deed financing.
After discussion, motion was made by Shirley Anderson, seconded by Dan
Blonigen, to establish a policy for sale of City owned lots which would
allow sale to occur under contract for deed terms which would include a
minimum of 25 percent down, with the interest rate adjustable based on
the current market rate. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Consideration of authorization to pursue land negotiations with Bridge
Water Telephone Company.
Staff informed Council of Bridge Water Telephone Company's desire to
alter their present cold storage facility located on West County Road 9
across from the City maintenance building property. Bridge Water
Telephone had expressed an interest in possibly upgrading their present
cold storage metal building and also expanding the facility to house
indoors more of their telephone equipment. Bridge Water's property is
currently zoned PZM and is considered a legal non -conforming use. But
the facility would not be eligible for enlargement or modification
without an ordinance amendment being enacted to allow expansion of a cold
storage facility within the PZM zone. Wolfsteller reported that in light
of this possible expansion, the City has made initial contact with Bridge
Water concerning a possible relocation of their facility to a proper
zoning district such as the Oakwood Industrial Park property owned by the
City. Although staff has made only initial inquiries, there may be some
interest on Bridge Water Telephone's part in the idea of relocating their
facility to the industrial park property. Wolfsteller reported that
staff is in the process of preparing a proposal to Bridge Water that
would point out the benefits of Bridge Water relocating to the industrial
park and possible benefits to the City of acquiring their present
property. Under this scenerio, Bridge Water would have more land
available for expansion in the future, and it would be located in the
proper zoning district. City acquisition of the former Bridge Water
property would provide the opportunity to develop a more suitable use for
the property.
After discussion, motion was made by Warren Smith, seconded by Shirley
Anderson, to pursue discussions with Bridge Water regarding a potential
land exchange which would result in Bridge Water Telephone storage area
relocating to the Oakwood Industrial Park and result in City acquisition
of the existing Bridge Water property. Motion carried unanimously.
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9. Consideration of bills for the month of July.
Motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Warren Smith, to approve
payment of bills as submitted for the month of July. Motion carried
unanimously.
10. Other matters.
John Simola provided a status report on the development of the new
standpipe water reservoir. Simola outlined a map of the City which
outlined the expected water pressure levels throughout the City. Simola
noted that the Public Works Department plans on increasing the water
pressure slowly and that the initial boost in pressure will be set at 9
to 10 pounds.
There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Teff O'Neill
Assistant Administrator
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