Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 [12] Dec 01 December 1, 2011 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, December 1, 2011 in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso and City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present: City Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Police Chief Pete Jansky and City Engineer Randy Sabart Others Present: Tom Klein, Michael McDonald, Will Wittrock, Sr Kara Hennes, Eric Poissant, and Kara Poissant. PUBLIC COMMENTS - No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Wick made a motion with the addition of the following to the agenda: 7 c) Sidewalk on County Road 2 and Meetings with property owners 8 a) Settlement agreement for Liberty Pointe 8 b) EDA Request for Proposal The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. Removed b. Bills Payable — Approve the check numbers 044752 - 044780 and EFT # 000610 - 000614 (payroll). The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Liquor License Transfer - Loso's Mainstreet Pub: Weyrens stated that the City Office has received a request to transfer the liquor license for Loso's Mainstreet Pub as they are in the process of selling the business to William Wittrock. Weyrens stated that the background check has been completed and the required paperwork is on file in the City Offices. Based on the background check, the Police Chief has recommended the Council approve the transfer request. The new license will be effective January 1, 2012 under the new name "The Middy ". The new owner is aware the two violations that will remain with the property. Both were minor consumptions; one expiring in 2012 and the other 2013. Frank asked Wittrock what changes he intended to implement as the new owner. Wittrock stated he is changing the name to "The Middy ". He is considering applying for the 2 AM closing but is unsure how to go about the process or what the ordinance states exactly. He questioned the Council on what is needed to obtain a 2 AM closing license. Weyrens stated the requirements for licensure is specified in the Ordinance but include the use of a card reader for detecting minors and a provision to remove any debris outside the establishment immediately following closing. Wittrock questioned, based on learning card readers are not doing what they were expected to, would it still be imperative. Symanietz stated the card reader is still part of the provisions. Loso stated being the card readers have been used in the area, feedback would be available and it can be up for discussion at a later date. Loso made a motion to approve the liquor license transfer from Loso's Inc, dba Loso's Mainstreet Pub to the Middy, LLC; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Public Hearing — 2012 Proposed Budget: Weyrens stated that previously the Council adopted a preliminary budget with the anticipation of an approximate rate increase of 4 %; however, due to legislative changes regarding homestead exclusion, the impact is much higher. In addition to residents seeing an increase in taxes, they also noticed a decrease in market value. What the statement did not clarify is that the value on the tax statement is the value for tax purposes and the value of the homes did December 1, 2011 Page 2 of 4 not decrease at that level. The purpose of this hearing is for staff to get additional input for the Council to consider at a special meeting scheduled for December 14, 2011. Mayor Schultz opened the public meeting at 7:10 PM. Mike McDonald, 213 13 Avenue SE, stated he had some suggestions for the City Council. The following are recommendations he put forward: • Council needs to look at what was spent instead of what was budged for the last year since, in McDonald's opinion; the amount usually spent is less than what was budgeted. • City council members should only get raises after an election as that is the provision included in State Statutes. • It is his opinion there is excessive bonding for items that he does not believe are necessary, such as the fire truck and remodeling of cold storage for the police department. There being no one further wishing to testify, Mayor Schultz closed the public hearing at 7:25 PM. Frank asked Mike McDonald to summarize the points he discussed and any further ones he has and email them to the Council members. Frank reestablished the plan of the Council is the budget has to be submitted by December 28, 2011 and cannot be increased but can be decreased before that date. The budget work shop is set for December 14, 2011 and all input of public and council will be well thought -out. Frank questioned the comparisons of the budget in regards to McDonald's recommendations and if the comparison was budget to budget or actual to budget, etc. Wick stated the information they are using in their packets are 2009, 2010, and year to date 2011 actual along with the 2011 budget and 2012 budget. Symanietz stated that the comparison of budget to actual spending per year is not compared to see what is over budgeted, if anything. Weyrens stated the capital improvement plan makes the budget difficult to compare actual to budget of each year; however, a comparison can be made if the capital improvement information is taken out of both. Frank questioned the Council's wage increases. Weyrens stated that at the time the Council implemented the policy, it was reviewed by the Attorney and the League was consulted and at that time the City could create a policy for wages. Public Works Director Thene stated the work that was done on the main lift station created a substantial savings for gas and electric according to the Total Energy Dashboard Report created by the State of MN. The City received a $26,000 grant from the State of Minnesota and we are required to track the savings. At this time Thene presented a graphic illustration of the savings. Thene stated another project that generated considerable savings was the remodeling to the police garage which included insulation of the north wall, closing the hose drying tower and replacing five heaters from the 1960's with one. Schultz stated it is projects like these that we want to incorporate into the budget where it becomes a cost savings in time. Schultz questioned if ladder truck that was purchased in 2001 for $365,000 is a necessity. When the truck needs replacement in 2021, it will cost an estimated one million dollars. At the current rate of budgeting, at the time of purchase less than $ 100,000 will have been set aside for a down payment which will be less than 10% of the cost. The money could be reallocated for a piece of equipment that is really needed or a project and the truck could be sold or used until the end of its life. The Mutual Aid agreement will allow for equipment like this to still be available to our city. At the end of 2021 it would be another debt service that the city would not need and would not have to bond. Loso stated he feels the same way and talked about the necessity of a ladder truck at the board meeting, but they have not had much conversation about it yet. Symanietz questioned if there are any requirements for the city to have a ladder truck given that there are taller apartment buildings. Weyrens insurance rates would have to be December 1, 2011 Page 3 of 4 checked as it would affect the City's rate and the premiums paid by consumers. The rating received by the City is based on the ability to fight fire and equipment and personnel that are available. Schultz questioned Police Chief Jansky if, when the vehicle which is being leased for $1000.00 per month comes due, it would be possible to only lease 3 versus 4 vehicles. Jansky stated they could take a look at what the cost difference would be and the $1000 /per month vehicle which comes due in 2013 may be able to be extended. He clarified that the $1000 lease includes repairs and gas, regardless of gas prices or volume. Therefore this vehicle is the most economical lease in the fleet. Currently the contract for the newer vehicles is 4 year /90,000 miles and does not include fuel. Schultz stated he asked City staff to address Park Terrace in what it may look like to pay for in two or three years. Ideas of how do we cost it out so it is something planned for and not forgotten. He asked Council to let city staff know of any other engineering projects that may be coming up so they are aware of them. Frank stated some cities and the county is starting to charge for some services previously free such as sentence to serve who is not charging $100 for 6.5 hours of service. St Cloud has a street lighting fee. He states an advantage of charging the fees is that the fee can be levied on people not paying taxes such as non - profits, educational institutions, etc. These kinds of fees are getting a lot of support by government in this area and by the League of MN cities. Instead of cutting always, looking at new ways to generate income would be another option for the budget. CITY ENGINEER/PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR REPORTS Update — Transportation Study, cost revisions: City Engineer Sabart presented the Council with an alternative work plan for the updating of the Transportation Plan. The work plan has been identified as option la and builds upon the minimalist approach of updating maps along with re- evaluating minor and major collective streets. An additional amount of time compared to the original Option 1 minimalist approach should address the concerns regarding that component of the transportation plan. The project costs for option la is $ 15,709. Schultz stated the revised information has been forwarded to the Transportation Committee for comments and will be brought back to the Council for reconsideration December 15, 2011. APO Funding Designs: APO staff is preparing the submittal for the federal funds packet 2016 -2017 transportation improvement program project solicitations. It is through this program that the City can compete for funding for projects such as the north corridor, which is currently eligible for funding in 2014. The project that could be eligible for 2016 — 2017 would be construction in the North Corridor East. The application is due in January. The APO technical advisory meeting is December 15, 2011. Sabart stated the Council should evaluate if they want to apply for the construction on North Corridor East or any other projects that may be a priority. Sabart recommended that a discussion regarding if /what should be applied for should be the next City Council Meeting given that the application is due in January. Wick asked Sabart to provide the options and costs on paper for the next meeting. Sidewalk on County Road 2 and Meetings with property owners: Sabart stated in regards to the right of way temporary easement acquisition for the County Road 2 pedestrian trail, 3 of the 4 home owners have meeting set up for next week and the 4 has been contacted. Sabart stated he has given Weyrens a packet that includes an application for wetland credits, which will be needed as the County Road 2 trail progresses. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Settlement agreement for Liberty Pointe: Weyrens stated there is finally a resolution to Lakeland Financial assessments for the Liberty Pointe Addition. About a year and a half ago the City filed a claim for unpaid assessment for the Liberty Pointe development. The claim was in the amount of $ 92,000. The development was financed through Lakeland Financial and they went in financial distress leaving many Cities holding large debts. Compared to other communities the debt owed to the City was minor and at a settlement conference claimants encouraged to use other means to collect the debt, due to the December 1, 2011 Page 4 of 4 large debt of Lakeland. St. Joseph certified the remaining assessments and will receive those when the lots are sold. At this time St. Joseph was offered a settlement of approximately $ 3,000 provided we signed the agreement by December 1. The City Attorney signed the agreement to put closure to the matter and the funds received will offset administrative costs. . EDA Request for Proposals for Services: Weyrens stated that the EDA reviewed and approved the RFP for EDA consulting services and unless the Council has any changes it will be posted on the League and EDAM websites requiring submittals no later than December 30, 2011. Schultz asked that a timeline be established for the continuation of the process. MAYOR REPORTS Mayors Meeting: Mayor Schultz stated he participated in the area Cities Mayors meeting at which time they were presented with a program for revenue generating bonds and will forward the information to the Council. COUNCIL REPORTS SYMAN I ETZ Park Board Meeting: Symanietz stated she stood in for Loso at the Park Board Meeting. The Park Board will be coming to the next meeting with a presentation and a request for new trails which could be funded with the half cent sales tax. The Park Board requested to use the meeting room in the City Hall so they could use the overhead for their maps to save on copy expenses. WICK — No Report LOSO All City Meeting: Loso stated he was surprised at how out of touch the legislators seem to be with the budget. He stated during the Intergovernmental meeting the legislators indicated that the upcoming economic information would identify a large deficit and when the news was released it was actually a surplus. Loso also stated that at this same meeting area legislators indicated that the new legislation should have included inclusion on the tax statement to inform property owners that their property is not devalued, and the value stated is for taxing purposes. FRANK EDA Meeting: EDA has been working as a catalyst for the Farm to Market movement and the EDA conducted a portion of their meeting at the Minnesota Street Market. The goal of the Farm to Market movement is to connect producers and schools and businesses such as the Market. Frank also reported that the EDA reviewed their budget and has revised their budget by $ 16,500 and will be presented for the December 14 meeting. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to go into closed session pursuant to state statue 13(d) 03 at 8:07 PM; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. ud Y eY G Erns Ad ► istrator