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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 [04] Apr 15April 15, 2010 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Al Rassier, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso and City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene and Police Chief Pete Jansky Others Present: Mike McDonald PUBLIC COMMENTS Mike McDonald, 213 13t`' Avenue SE, approached the Council to discuss the Labor Agreement which was approved as a consent item at the April 1St meeting. He commented that the Negotiating Committee talked a lot, in private sessions, about the police contract and then it was acted on as a consent item. According to McDonald, there was no public discussion regarding the results of the closed sessions. The only piece of material that was made public was the memo to the Council; which he found to be misleading due to the fact that he felt it did not give an accurate economic impact of the new contract. In the future, he would like these items to be discussed rather than included as a consent item. Approval of the Agenda: Frank made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. Minutes — Approve the City Council minutes of April 1, 2010. b. Bills Payable — Approve check numbers 042707 - 042762 and EFT numbers 000396- 000400, 000500 - 000501 c. Interim Use Permit — Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Resolution of Findings granting an Interim Use Permit to Steven Derdoski, 712 7th Avenue NE as recommended by the Planning Commission. The motion was seconded by Frank and passed unanimously. Public Hearing — MS4 Storm Water Permit for the Year 2009: Mayor Rassier opened the public hearing and stated that the purpose of the hearing is to discuss the City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program for 2009 and discuss what has been done over the past year in regards to outreach and water protection. The hearing was opened and there was no one present wishing to speak. Wick made a motion to close the Public Hearing; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Thene reported that the MS4 requirements include tracking rainfall, pond maintenance and burning as well as street sweeping. To assist with the record keeping, the City purchased software that enables the Maintenance staff to enter data to track the maintenance and education outreach. With regard to outreach, the City is part of the Central Minnesota Education Alliance (CMEA) which provides promotional material and education opportunities. One of the main education components is the Millstream Water Festival at which approximately 500 -800 grader school age children learn about water and the need to protect the resource. Frank questioned Thene if there are additional efforts that the City could complete if funding were available to which Thene stated not at this time. The CMEA is an active group with a wide range of community members that has the ability to reach a large audience. April 15, 2010 Page 2 of 4 Frank made a motion to authorize submission of the 2009 MS4 Report; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. FINANCE REPORTS 1st Quarter and March 2010 Financial Reports: Bartlett presented the Council with the 1" Quarter Financial summary. The report includes the reversing audit entries which are necessary to avoid double - booking the receivables and expenditures. Some of the funds show a negative balance due to either money not yet received or invoices not yet paid. The revenues and expenditures must be moved into the correct year in which they will be reported on the financial statements. Bartlett reported on the City's cash position and stated that it is down $384,000 since the beginning of the year. That is a result of the fact that taxes and state aid are not received until summer. She added that the general fund has spent 25% of the expenditure budget and received 1 % of its revenue. Frank questioned the collection of the utility bills. Bartlett replied that it is typical to see more expenditures than revenues in the utility accounts. That is due to the fact that expenditures are incurred on a monthly basis and bills are collected every other month. For example, water consumption for January and February are not billed until March and due in April. Frank questioned the St. Ben's sewer payment. Bartlett stated that the City received the 2009 Sewer Payment from CSB and the City is still working on the new agreement. Frank also questioned delinquencies. According to Bartlett, delinquencies are up a little bit, but only about a dozen homes actually have their water disconnected. Wick questioned when the audit would be complete, to which Bartlett stated the Audit work is complete and it anticipated the report will be presented at the first meeting in May. Wick made a motion to accept the 1S' Quarter Financial report, including March 2010 as presented. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. CITY ENGINEER/PUBLIC WORKS REPORTS 2010 Seal Coat/Crack Fill: Thene stated that staff is requesting to continue with the City's Street Maintenance Plan. They are recommending that 38,349 square yards of bituminous be seal coated and approximately 70,000 feet be crack filled. According to Thene, they received quotes from five different companies and Astech appeared to have the lowest cost for both the seal coating and the crack sealing. The low quote from Astech is $72,514 which includes the crack sealing, seal coating as well as some maintenance to the trail at Kleinfelter Park. Since seal coating and cracking filling is based on the amount of material, it is difficult to know the exact cost of the repairs. Thene stated that he is looking for approval to move forward with the improvement with a budget of $ 80,000. With regards to the trail, Wick questioned if it would be shut down for a few days to which Thene responded that it would be shut down and signs would be posted. Thene advised the Council that they will need to discuss overlays in the near future. Wick questioned what is used for seal coating. According to Thene, the seal coat will consist of a layer of tar with FA2 [granite chip] over the top. He stated that it will be rough, but it is better than pea rock. Wick also questioned the timing of the work as he didn't want it to be done on July 2 due to the festival and parade on the 4th. Rassier questioned where these funds will come from. Weyrens advised the Council that funds have been set aside for these projects and that can be seen in the CIP PW -1001, Wick made a motion to accept the low quote of Astech to complete seal coating and crack filling based on the street maintenance plan, authorizing the Mayor to execute the necessary contract documents, approving the expenditure of up to $ 80,000. The motion was seconded by Symanietz. Discussion: Sabart commented on the other part of pavement maintenance. He stated that some streets in town have reached the age and deterioration and are in need of an overlay. Nothing has been done yet as some of these costs have been assessed in the past. He stated that, in the near future, they will bring back possible improvements for 2010. Wick questioned whether this April 15, 2010 Page 3 of 4 could be combined with the costs for 16th Avenue to which Sabart stated that it is a possibility as it is similar work. Frank questioned how many areas in town may need an overlay. Frank questioned the number of areas that they are proposing and stated that they may need to prioritize them due to funds available. The motion passed unanimously. Ethics — Value Statements: Weyrens stated that this item was originally discussed at a meeting in January and tabled until March. It was then discussed at the Council Workshop in March and again on March 18 at the regular City Council meeting. At that meeting, a motion was made to table; however, there was a tie vote and; as a result, this remains an open item. She added that the Council already adopted Ordinance 29: Code of Conduct. Wick made a motion to approve the Resolution Regarding the Statement of Values. The motion was seconded by Symanietz. Ayes: Wick, Symanietz, Loso Nays: Rassier, Frank Motion Carried 3:2:0 Transportation Update: Councilor Frank reported that he and Weyrens have met with an Adhoc Committee made up of representatives from TriCap, St. Bens, the Monastery, MN Dot and Central Minnesota Council for Aging to discuss transportation needs in St. Joseph. They are trying to establish if there is a transportation need, what is being done and what could be done. Ideally, it would be a good idea to look at metropolitan transit. Previously, when times were good, the City looked it into that and the City's cost would have been $100,000. There was some discussion as to whether or not we should ask them again to come out further into St. Joseph. As an alternative to Metro Bus, the residents of St. Joseph have the opportunity to receive busing services through TriCap. Residents contact the TriCap office and make arrangements in advance. The buses can accommodate up to 12 persons and have handicap availability. There was some discussion about residents possibly sharing a bus from the Monastery that already makes trips to St. Cloud. Frank stated that there is a separate group who is looking at getting transportation from St. Bens to the Northstar Link. Symanietz stated that she feels there is an interest and a need. Wick questioned a whether a survey will be done to which Frank stated that they discussed the possibility of sending that with the next utility bill to get some feedback. Weyrens questioned the Council as to whether or not they want to pursue alternative transportation. Wick questioned whether or not the City is being asked to give a financial contribution at this time to which he was advised they are not. Loso questioned Frank as to the objective of the Study. Frank explained that they are trying to establish whether or not there is a need and how that can be met based on the City's constraints. Rassier concluded by stating that is a good idea to keep exploring different options and see where this can go. Frank stated that he and Weyrens would go a few more times to see what can be done. Frank also asked the Council if there was anyone else that should be a part of these meetings. Loso suggested to Frank that they ask Dave Tripp to be a member of this committee. MAYOR REPORTS APO Meeting: Rassier reported that he attended the APO meeting at which they discussed some changes in the roadway plan that was previously approved. • West metro 134th to 54th Avenue — Rassier stated that money from project was moved to be used for Veterans Drive /8th Avenue project as this is a priority project for this area. The transfer was needed in order to get at least one of the projects completed. • Metro bus — Originally there were two projects that were going to be funded and those two have been combined. COUNCIL REPORTS FRANK — No Repot LOSO — No Report April 15, 2010 Page 4 of 4 WICK St. Cloud Partnership: Wick reported that he received an email from the St. Cloud Partnership regarding a SEDS update to be held at the Stearns County Building in Waite Park on April 29th. This is open to the public as well. SYMANIETZ — No Report Meeting Update: Weyrens reminded the Council of the meeting to be held on Monday night at Waite Park City Hall with members from St. Joseph, Waite Park and St. Joseph Township. The purpose is to discuss Orderly annexation. Weyrens stated that they are asking to re- define how to handle areas in the township area. This will result in re- writing a portion of the Orderly Annexation Agreement. She added that the Township would like to follow the same process in both Waite Park and St. Joseph. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Ju eyre s M4, A mi istrator