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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-20-06 July 20, 2006 Page 1 of 7 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of 51. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 7:00 PM in the 51. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Richard Carlbom, Councilors AI Rassier, Dale Wick, Ross Rieke, Renee Symanietz, City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present: City Engineer Tracy Ekola Others Present: Mark Jaede, Jason Anderson, Marcia Summer, Ruth Weichman, Jeanie Wilkens, Merle Nolde OSB, Janice Wedl OSB, Betsy Hunger, Phil Welter, David Trip, Terry Moulefert, Tom Cruikshank, Ruth Nierengarten 058, Keith Eickhoff OSB, Renee Dmeiers OS8, Sheila Rausch, Thomasette Scheeler, Jim Graeve, Bernie Evans Approve Aqenda: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Consent Aqenda: Rassier made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. Bills Payable - Approve check numbers 037356-037590 b. Market Study - Accept the recommendation of the Downtown Committee authorizing the expenditure not to exceed $25,000 for a Market Study for development. c. Application for Payment - Authorize the Mayor to execute Pay Application #6 for the 2005 Northland Heights Project and authorize payment to Erin Contracting in the amount of $292,458.45. d. Alternative Enforcement Grant - Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to accept the Alternative Enforcement Grant in the amount of $1,200 from the Department of Public Safety. e. Donation - Accept the donation from the St. Joseph Chamber in the amount of $250 for street beautification. f. Gambling Application - Accept the Lawful Gambling Application for the Central MN Chapter, MN Deer Hunters Association, for an event to be held on September 27,2006 at Trobec's Event Center. Symanietz thanked the chamber for their donation for the street beautification. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Public Comments to the Aqenda: - No one present wished to speak. S1. Joseph Action Group: Phil Welter, 29413 Kiwi Ct, approached the Council to present the 4th petition in opposition to the proposed Field Street Corridor. That petition, signed by 51. Joseph Business Owners, had a total of 37 signatures bringing the total number of signatures to 690. Human Riqhts Task Force: Ruth Weichman and Mark Jaede with the Great River Interfaith Partnership presented the Council with some additional information regarding their efforts for a regional human rights office. They stated that they have spent 14 months working on creating a regional human rights office in S1. Cloud. They discovered one challenge and that is how to avoid taxing the same people twice. The ideal situation would be one in which there was a tri-state office between Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne. At this time, they are asking the area cities to adopt a resolution entering into negotiations with the 51. Cloud for services. Weyrens stated that this item will be discussed at the Intergovernmental Meeting and adoption would be recommended at that time. Jaede stated that the resolution is simply intent to negotiate and there would be no money required at that time. When asked where other cities are at with this item, Weichman advised the Council that Waite Park did not pass the resolution at their last council meeting; however, they did agree to put this in their budget for 2007. Jaede added that no other cities July 20, 2006 Page 2 of 7 have passed the resolution yet. After discussions with Sartell and Sauk Rapids, Weyrens stated that she was under the impression that they are waiting for the counties to act on the adoption of the resolution. Jaede did mention that Stearns County had recently approved the resolution, Benton County has deferred a decision and Sherburne County has not made any formal decisions to date. He stated that if each entity waits for another to make the decision first, they would wait indefinitely to do nothing. Jaede then mentioned that passing the resolution simply gets negotiations started and the City can back out at a later time if they cannot come to any agreements. Rieke questioned the cost of operating such a program. Weichman stated that it costs the City of St. Cloud $1.57/person to operate their office. Rassier made a motion to adopt the Resolution 2006- _ for St. Joseph to enter into negotiations with St. Cloud and other local jurisdictions for a regional human rights office. The motion was seconded by Wick. Rieke suggested that the College of St. Benedict be pulled into these discussions as well since they are part of the St. Joseph population. Jaede stated that most jurisdictions would be electing a staff person to handle the negotiations. Weyrens added that the Administrators would be handling this. The motion passed unanimously. Metro Bus: David Tripp, Executive Director, appeared before the Council to present information on mass transit. Tripp stated that he has been meeting with representative of the City and College and through the discussion he has been invited to make a presentation to the City Council. Tripp stated that the Metro Bus Commission does not solicit members and respond to invitations only. He stated that Sartell joined the commission 4 years ago and started with a limited bus service. At this point Tripp introduced Tom Cruikshank, Director of Planning and Marketing. Cruikshank approached the Council to give a brief overview of what Metro Bus is and what they have to offer to the City of St. Joseph. He stated that Metro Bus has two different systems in place: . Fixed Route System: This system consists of 38 buses with 14 year-round fixed routes running Monday - Saturday and 6 seasonal fixed routes to accommodate the students at St. Cloud State University. SCSU is the single largest customer for Metro Bus. Since 2000, they have seen an increase in the number of riders on the fixed route system and that is due to the student riders. The students pay an activity fee, which is used by the college to provide this service to the students, thus allowing them to ride for free. . Dial-a-Ride System: This system consists of 20 buses and they offer services such as curbside service, Sunday service, later weeknight services as well as service to the extended areas. He stated that, in 2005, the fixed route system handled 56.6% of the riders, Dial-a-Ride handled 7.1 % of the riders and 36.3% of the riders were from St. Cloud State University. System-wide, there seems to be an increased trend for riders. Cruikshank added that, from their Metro Bus Transit Center downtown, they serve approximately % million riders per year. Cruikshank reported that over half of the financing comes from the State, as well as some from Federal funds and local funds. He stated that local funds consist of transit tax levies, fare box fees and other revenues such as advertising. He did mention that the fare increased by $.05 in July 2006. Recently, the City began talking with Metro Bus; however he stated that the last discussions that they have had with St. Joseph were 4 years ago. At that time, there were 2 subprojects: Sartell and St. Joseph. Since that time, Sartell has joined the commission. Cruikshank stated that if St. Joseph were to receive services from Metro Bus, they would most likely be similar to that of Sartell. If the City were to July 20, 2006 Page 3 of? request services, they could choose to either join the transit commission or offer services on a contractual basis. He stated that if St. Joseph were to request services, they would most likely start with a basic start- up operation offering rides 4 hours/day as well as dial-a-ride. Wick raised a few questions relating to the transit tax levy. He questioned the difference between the tax capacity rates and the actual costs. Cruikshank stated that the tax levies are put into the operating budget and cities may be required to make up the difference. At a current levy rate of 1.28 %, Wick questioned whether that amount would change if more services were to be added in St. Joseph, to which Cruikshank stated it would not. Carlbom stated that it would be a good idea to get the Colleges involved in the discussions as well, as they may benefit from the service. Rassier stated that the first step would be to get a bus stop centrally located in St. Joseph to provide service to crossroads where people can then transfer to a different route. After the presentation the Council agreed to research further the need for Metro Bus and funding alternatives. Leqislative Update: Larry Hosch, Minnesota State Legislator, approached the Council to discuss some changes there were made during the previous legislative session. 1. Land Dedication Standards: All cities must require that land be donated for parkland or money be received in lieu of land. Change: All cities must have a parks budget in place. Money from Park Dedication cannot be used for maintenance or upkeep, rather park expansion or park development. 2. Liability Guideline Limits: Hosch reported that cities must have liability limits of $300,00/person or $1 million/incident. There was an incident where a City and a School District had an agreement to operate a swimming pool. After an accident, both the City and the School District were sued. Change: If there is a joint powers agreement on file, there is only one liability limit. 3. Deadlines for Local Review: Currently, cities must make decisions regarding variances, development, etc within 60 days. Change: The local review provision has been expanded to include Watershed Districts and Soil & Water Conservation Districts. 4. Release of Letters of Credit: Cities may request a letter of credit from a developer to assure that they have the funds to complete the project. Change: Once the project is complete, the letter of credit must be returned within 30 days. 5. Eminent Domain Reform: Based on a case Kelow vs. New London, tax increases can only be used for public use. Examples of Public Use include: roads, utilities, power lines, etc. Change: Tax money cannot be used for private economic development unless: · Property is blighted. Blighted is defined as any property needing improvements of 50% or more to bring it to acceptable standards. · More than 50% of a property's square footage is environmentally contaminated/polluted. Change: If a court determines the value to be >20% than the last written offer, the court can award attorney fees; however if the value is determined to be >40% of the last written offer, they must award the attorney fees. 6. Annexation Policy: Hosch stated that the annexation policy has not been changed for 14 years. Previously, property owners could petition for annexation of a maximum of 60 acres with unlimited frequency. Change: If the City updates their Land Use Plan or Orderly Annexation Agreement or if they intend to annex property, they must inform the townships and the affected property owners. They must also hold a joint informational meeting. Change: Annexation petitioned by the property owner can be up to 120 acres with a limit of once per year. July 20, 2006 Page 4 of 7 Hosch stated that the trend for property tax has increased to an average annual increase of 10%. Central Minnesota cities are averaging annual increases between 13-14%, whereas, suburban/metro cities have lower tax rates. That is due to the following: . Cuts to LGA and market rate funding . School funding which is contingent upon school districts raising property tax levies. Agricultural areas are seeing increases of more than 14%. These trends are based on House research data. The legislature did discuss the issue of property tax relief; however it failed due to the inability to reach a decision. He did mention that the marriage penalty was removed. According to Hosch, the hot topics for the next legislative session are school funding and property tax relief. CITY ENGINEER REPORTS Centennial Park Shelter: Ekola stated that the bids for the Centennial Park Shelter Update were opened on July 11, 2006 with six bids being received. The table below represents the bid summary. Contractor Base Bid Alternate 1 Alternate 2 Alternate 3 Total Bid Ebert Construction $ 84,200 $ 5,000 $ 3,200 $ 1,800 $ 94,200 W Gohman Construction $ 89,970 $ 4,092 $ 2,939 $ 1,154 $ 98,155 Preusser Construction $ 93,517 $ 7,613 $ 5,884 $ 1,729 $ 108,743 Gopher State One Contr $ 94,984 $ 4,710 $ 3,700 $ 1,010 $ 104,404 Hiltner Builders $ 103,600 $ 5,360 $ 4,600 $ 1,100 $ 114,660 Eagle Construction $ 166,757 $ 5,700 $ 4,500 $ 1,700 $ 178,657 Ekola stated that the low bidder, Ebert Construction withdrew their bid shortly after the bid opening; therefore, she is recommending that the project be awarded to the 2nd lowest bidder, W Gohman Construction. They submitted a base bid of $89,970 with alternate 1 at $4,092. Alternate 1 includes removing the existing shingles and accessories, remove them from the property and then add a new roof. Wick made a motion to award the bid to W. Gohman Construction to include the base bid of $89,970 and alternate 1 at $4,092. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. Ekola advised the Council that construction would begin on September 12,2006. Southwest Beltwav Corridor: Previously, Ekola presented the Council with information regarding the cost sharing for the corridor study. She stated that there are three alternatives to where the corridor will be constructed. It may be placed closer to St. Joseph, closer to Waite Park, or between the two cities. As a result, the recommended cost sharing is as follows: . Stearns County 50% $41,250 . St. Joseph 25% $20,625 . Waite Park 25% $20,625 There were some questions as to how the city could finance this amount. Weyrens stated that the City could designate funds from the debt services relief fund or possibly try and program part of the costs in the 2007 budget. Ekola clarified that this cost is only for the scoping portion of the Study. Since this study will determine where the corridor is placed, Wick questioned if St. Joseph could withdraw from any future studies if it is determined that the corridor will not be constructed in the City of St. Joseph to which Ekola stated they could. Symanietz made a motion to approve the Resolution 2006- _ approving the cost sharing for the Scoping Study for the Southwest Beltway Corridor as presented. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. July 20, 2006 Page 5 of 7 St. Cloud WWTF Expansion: According to Ekola, the St. Cloud Area Wastewater Advisory Committee has been working on the expansion of the St. Cloud WWTF. The SCAWAC committee has reviewed the needed treatment and is basing the capacity on projected populations. Ekola requested the Council review the projected population estimates for St. Joseph and determine which the growth rate that should be used in calculating the additional treatment. The current estimate is based on a 5% growth rate and Ekola is recommending the Council considering using a six or seven percent growth rate. Based on a five percent growth rate, the 2030 population is estimated to be 15,753. Rieke stated that he feels that 20-25,000 is a more realistic population projection. According to Ekola, the average growth rate for the City for the past three years has been approximately 18%, while that growth rate was spurred by the economy; St. Joseph is in a high growth area. The adopted Comprehensive Plan, which is a few years old, shows historical projections lower than the current growth rate. Rassier questioned whether or not the City could purchase additional capacity later if the population is greater than projected. If that is a possibility, there would be a premium to purchase additional capacity. Weyrens added that the fees for purchasing capacity would come from SAC fees. Ekola stated that they plan to expand the facility in two phases. The second phase would not start until it is needed, which is anticipated to be 2017. . 151 Phase - Begin construction in 2010/2011 . 2nd Phase - After 2017 The resolution supporting the expansion is still in draft form. The SCAWAC is asking the area cities to review the population projections that they have come up with to determine whether or not those are an accurate account of the population trend for their City. The amount of space that each City will receive is based on their population. Once those numbers are received, it will be brought back to the cities for adoption. On behalf of the Council, Carlbom asked Ekola to bring back numbers based on both 6% and 7% growth rates for them to review. Water Tower Location: At a previous meeting, the question was asked as to where would be a good location for a second water tower. The City had purchased property in the current Industrial Park with the anticipation of constructing the second water tower on that site. Ekola stated she has reviewed the site and elevations needed for the tower and it appears as the site would meet the needs for the second tower. Water Tower Evaluation: Carlbom questioned Ekola as to when the evaluation will take place or if that had already been done. Ekola stated that it hasn't been done yet; however they plan to do the evaluation in August. MAYOR REPORTS Downtown Committee: Carlbom expressed his thanks to the council for authorization of the market study. He also stated that he spoke with some members of the 5t. Joseph Action Group and urged them to get involved in the various downtown committees. Habitat for Humanitv: Carlbom announced that the family has been chosen and they are from St. Joseph. He also mentioned that they received gifts from the following sources: · Monastery $25,000 · CSB/SJU $10,000 . St. John's Abby $12,000 Plaque Dedication: Carlbom reported that he attended a plaque dedication at the Millstream Softball Field along with the 5t. Joseph Park Association to honor Colonel Jim Bruemmer. July 20, 2006 Page 6 of 7 COUNCIL REPORTS SYMANIETZ Reqional Human Riahts Task Force: Symanietz stated that she attended the Regional Human Rights Task Force meeting at which they discussed the resolution that was passed earlier. North Corridor: Symanietz reported that there will be an Open House for the North Corridor Study on July 27, 2006 from 6-7:30 PM at the St. Joseph Community Fire Hall. Water Treatment Plant: Symanietz stated that she went on a tour of the new Water Treatment Facility, which she found very interesting. Budaet Meetina: According to Symanietz, the Council met last week to begin discussing the 2007 budget. WICK Park Board Meetinq: Wick advised the Council that the Park Board meeting scheduled for July 1ih was moved to July 24th. Downtown Committee Uodate: Wick reported that the Urban Environment Group recently met and Ernie Diedrich was voted as the chairperson for the group. RASSIER - No Report RIEKE Meetinqs: Rieke reported that he attended the following meetings: . Organizational Group Meeting - held at St. Ben's . Promotions Group Meeting . S1. Cloud Area Economic Partnership Meeting . EDA Meeting . Transportation Meetings ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS Waterina Ban: Weyrens stated that the volume of water pumped per day has decreased roughly 300,000 per day because of the cooperation of the residents. Residents are allowed to water between the hours of 7PM and 10PM based on the odd/even watering system. She also stated that permits are being issued for new lawns for new construction. Residents can apply either online or at City Hall. Weyrens also noted that residents who have wells must now register their wells with the City either online or at City Hall. NIMS Uodate: Weyrens advised the Council that recent Homeland Security Legislation requires staff and Council members to be trained through a program called NIMS. NIMS is a program designed to educate persons who manage disaster situations a standardized operating procedure. As a result, all City Council members must participate and be certified. She stated that they must complete the certification prior to September 30, 2006, so she is encouraging them to complete the course online. Budaet Schedule: Weyrens stated that the Council must adopt the preliminary budget no later than September 15, 2006. As a result, Weyrens proposed that they meet on August 16 and August 30,2006 at 5:30. This schedule would allow for extra time, if needed. Feld Farm: Weyrens reported that she met with the property owners of the Feld Farm and they stated that they plan to begin their project this year. They have requested utilization of public financing. As is City Policy the developer will be required to post the necessary securities to cover the assessments. The first July 20, 2006 Page 7 of 7 phase of the development will include 35 acres. The City has submitted a grant application to DEED for funding assistance. If successful, the grant would fund 50% of the improvement costs. School Referendum: Carlbom announced that the School Referendum will take place on September 12, 2006. Adiourn: Wick made a motion to adjourn at 9:00 PM; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. ~67t... U(I/y ,~J&jt/;tt:/iJ / (/ I dy eyrelns mistrator