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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 [12] Dec 15 December 15, 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 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz. Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso. Administrator Judy Weyrens. City Representatives Present: Police Chief Peter Jansky, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, City Engineer Randy Sabart. Others Present: Teliza Calloway, Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the removal of the Liquor License for the Recreation Association as they have not submitted the required material and change the license for Loso's Main Street to the Middy. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows a. Minutes — Requested Action: Approve the minutes of November 3 and November 17, and December 1, 2011. b. Bills Payable — Requested Action: Approve check numbers 044752- 044780 and EFT # 000610 - 000614 (Payroll). c. Treasurer Report — Accept the November Treasurer's report and donations. d. Tort Limits — Authorize the Administrator to execute the LMCIT Liability Coverage Form not waiving tort limits. e. Liquor Licenses — Requested Action: Issue Malt Liquor, Cigarette and Amusement Licenses for the license period January 1 2012 through December 31, 2012. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Public Hearing — Fee Schedule: Weyrens stated that annually, in conjunction with the preparation of the budget, the fee schedule is reviewed and presented to the Council. Adoption of a revised fee schedule does require a public hearing, which was published for this meeting. At this time Mayor Schultz opened the public hearing and turned the floor over to the Finance Director, Lori Bartlett. Bartlett stated that the fee schedule includes an increase in utility rates and new fees for various advertising. Weyrens stated that she did receive one letter regarding the proposed fees. The written testimony was submitted by Jane DeAustin of the Central MN Builders Association. The testimony reviewed provided data on the number of homes constructed in 2011 and requested the City Council not increase the water access charge as indicated in the draft fee schedule. Being no one present wished to speak, the hearing was closed at 7:10 PM. Loso made a motion to accept the 2012 Fee Schedule as presented; seconded by Symanietz as presented. Discussion: Frank stated that he had a number of question and they included: • What is a roundup program — Bartlert stated that the proposed round up fee allows a resident to round their utility bill to the nearest whole dollar. The difference between the dollar and the actual utility bill is placed in a special revenue fund that will be designated for park development. Weyrens clarified that the program is voluntary, to which Bartlett stated residents can opt in and out. • Questioned the Franchise fee and if they could be increased. Weyrens stated that franchise fees are established by Ordinance and are contractual with a sunset period. They were recently established and extended for a period of 15 years. December 15, 2011 Page 2 of 4 • Questioned the fees for police activities and if they would be increased. Jansky stated that the fees included on the fee schedule are within the range of the area Cities and set at a level the courts will tolerate. Frank questioned if the services of the police officers is recouped through the established fees. Jansky stated that the fees on the schedule are administrative in nature and do not involve transport or considerable staff resources. He recommended accepting the fees as presented. • Questioned the fees for animal and liquor licenses and he is aware that Waite Park contracts for animal services. Weyrens clarified that Waite Park pays for animal pickup services, whereby in St. Joseph that service is internal. The City does not have enough volume to look at outsourcing. With regard to liquor license, the Staff did recommend an • increase for 2011 that was denied by the City Council. Raising liquor licenses fees requires a separate public hearing. The Council agreed to review this provision in April 2012. The motion passed unanimously. All motion carried 2012 Final Budget and Levy: Loso made a motion to adopt the resolution 2011 -029 adopting the final levy and 2012 General Fund Budget. Discussion: Loso stated that even though the budget represents a significant decrease from the preliminary certified budget, it is his opinion that the budget being adopted is a short term fix to a long term problem. Loso requested clarification on the questions raised by Mike McDonald in an email received by all Council Members. With regard to the question on police salary and benefits, the budget represents the terms of the existing contract including a 3% wage and benefits increase and an increase in part time wages to cover the shift shortages as a result of not filling the open officer position. Frank concurred with Loso but supported the efforts that were made in resolving the budget for 2012. Schultz thanked the staff and Council on the work done in preparing the budget. The City has stretched the budget as tight as possible and if relief is not provided from the Legislature it will be a difficult budget year in 2012; The motion carried unanimously. DCP Agreement — City Engineer Randy Sabart presented the Council with an Agency Agreement from MnDot. The agreement is needed for utilization of any federal transportation funds and the City is currently working on the north corridor with and has previously agreed to program the purchase of the needed ROW in 2014. Sabart stated the agreement includes standard language identifying expectations for all parties involved. Frank questioned the financial impact if the City moves forward with a project and the State delays or stops a project. Sabart responded that during the recent State shutdown, some Cities were put in a situation where projects were awarded and funding was delayed. In some instances contractors have filed a claim for damages due to the delay. Wick made a motion to authorize execution of resolution 2011 -30 approving the agency agreement between Mn /dot and the City of St. Joseph. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. North Corridor — Sabart stated at the last Council meeting the Council discussed current or future transportation funding requests through the St. Cloud APO. At this time the APO is soliciting projects for the construction years 2016 -2017 and the deadline for submittal is January. The Council discussed the current project that is funded, the North Corridor, and whether the project is still viable. At the time funding was requesting, the City was working with a developer to plat property adjacent to the corridor. Since that time the plat has been abandoned. Schultz clarified that the City is not obligated to submit a project to which Sabart concurred. Fund Balance Policy: Finance Director Lori Bartlett presented the Council with a revised Fund Balance Policy. Bartlett stated that the new accounting standard referred to as GASB 54 must be implemented by the end of the year. The new standard requires that instead of classifying year end balances as December 15, 2011 Page 3 of 4 unreserved or undesignated, they must be placed in one of five categories: non - spendable, restricted fund balance, committed fund balance, assigned fund balance, or unassigned fund balance. The Council must determine which funds have committed or restricted activities and what the revenue source is to be utilized for. The new standard is an attempt to standardize statements so that all communities use the same definitions. In reviewing statements the biggest discrepancy was the classification of special revenue funds. Loso questioned if the Council reports will reflect the changes to which Bartlett stated that the quarterly reports could be amended, but they will resemble the current cash balance report that is received monthly by the Council. Wick questioned the Fund Balance Policy where it allows the Finance Director to assign or remove assignments of fund balance and why this would not be the role of the Council. Wick stated that if the Council only meets quarterly he could see the delegation, but since they meet bi- monthly the Council should be able complete timely changes. Schultz stated that while he concurred with Wick that if the staff finds the removal of this provision becomes a hindrance, the matter should be brought back to the Council. Wick made a motion to adopt the Fund Balance policy removing the provision allowing the finance director to assign or remove assignments of fund balance. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Transportation Study Weyrens stated that she forwarded the revised scope of work to the transportation committee and only received one comment. One of the members did not see the benefit of spending the additional money to review the road classifications. Loso stated it is his understanding that when the plan was first adopted all the streets were identified and classified based on land use and traffic volumes. In his opinion the City has not changed much, as it has only been five years, so he questions the value of spending the additional $ 5,000. Sabart responded that the definitions used for road classifications are industry standard definitions so that will not change; however, how the city chooses to move traffic will impact the classification. The APO has already started generating the trip generation data and based on the assumptions that are already a part of the model, the traffic movement will be reviewed and the plan updated. The proposed update does not include a review of future land uses. If the future land uses where reviewed and changed, that information would have an impact on the traffic patterns. Schultz questioned if changes such as the relocation of Kennedy School and the addition of 7 and 8th grade or the commercial growth the City has experienced would have an impact on the modeling. Sabart stated not necessarily. Traffic modeling includes assumptions, so when the plan was first adopted future land uses were considered. Loso made a motion authorizing the updating of the Transportation Study at a cost of $ 15,900, based on the scope of work presented by Sabart. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS R1, Single Family Ordinance Amendment: Weyrens presented the Council with the proposed amendment to the R1, Single Family Zoning Ordinance, which creates an exemption owner occupied rental for those deployed or serving military duty. The proposed amendment included revised language as to the definition of active duty. Based on the revised information, Symanietz made a motion to authorize execution of Resolution 2011 -031, amendment Ordinance 52.27. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Symanietz made a motion authorizing execution of Resolution 2011 -032, authorizing summary publication of amendment to Ordinance 52.27. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. December 15, 2011 Page 4 of 4 MAYOR REPORTS Upcoming Discussions: Schultz reported that he would like the following discussion to take place in early 2012: Planning /Zoning, annexation discussions; Transportation Plan review; facility planning; and rental regulations in R1 Zoning districts. Schultz stated that he along with Wick will be part of the rental review committee. Frank questioned if the committee members for the housing ordinance review will be residents, to which Schultz report no. He then qualified it by stating that some of the members will be residents. Frank stated that he is surprised that the City engages so many non - residents to make decisions regarding the City. He stated he currently sits on the EDA Board and only he and Councilor Wick are residents. Loso stated that he is opposed to changing the rental requirements as the current process has help balance the neighborhoods. Before the current policy, it was easy to identify rental property as neighborhoods appeared run down as a result of absentee landlords. While he is not opposed to discussion, it will be difficult for him to change the existing policy. Loso questioned if the review is the result of realtors and landlords requesting a change to allow for income properties. Schultz stated that he is not indicating that a change is imminent, rather, is St. Joseph's housing policy consistent with current economic times. Just like reviewing the Comprehensive Plan or Transportation Plan, it is a living document that should be reviewed periodically. COUNCIL REPORTS Frank Tri -Cap Busing: Frank reported that he recently attended a transportation meeting at which it was discussed that the current bus service provided by Tri Cap will be changed. The City along with, MnDot, the St. Joseph Lions and Monastery of St. Benedict have jointly funded two day a week bus service for the residents of St. Joseph. Due to funding limitations, MnDot has reduced the service to one day a week, Thursdays, and the service will not require a financial contribution. Frank stated they also discussed the number of other opportunities for transportation that available to the residents and include a number of volunteer drivers. Loso — No report Wick — No Report Symanietz APO Executive Committee: Symanietz reported that she attended the APO Executive meeting for the Mayor. The meeting included a report on the lobbying efforts and the extension of the Wobegon Trail. Schultz questioned the update on the Wobegon Trail as it was not part of the agenda, to which Symanietz stated that she requested the matter be added to the agenda. Schultz stated that he has routine correspondence with those involved in Stearns County trails regularly and questioned the need to add the matter to the agenda. Symanietz stated that the project has been discussed for over eight years and she would like to the project move towards funding and construction. Closed Meeting: Pursuant to MN Statute 13D.03 subd. 1 the Council went into closed session at 8:30 PM to discuss labor strategy. Adiourn: The meeting was opened at 9:15 PM at which time the meeting was adjourned. erns Judy Y �� • Jud Ad istrator