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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 [09] Sept 06 September 6, 2012 Page 1 of 3 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the St. Joseph City Council met in regular session on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 7:OOPM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz. Councilors Renee Symanietz, Dale Wick, Steve Frank, Bob Loso and City Administrator Judy Weyrens Citv Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Police Chief Pete Jansky, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Finance Director Lori Bartlett. Others Present: Margy Hughes, Teleiza Calloway Public Comments Margy Hughes approached Council to provide a brief update on the 2012 flower-basket project. Hughes announced the project was highly successful with 100%funding by donations from St. Joseph Action Group with matching funds from Business Facade Assistance(BFA)Grant. All 17-brackets are owned by the City and will be used next year. There is an ad to be placed in the St. Joseph Newsleader thanking the donors.The ad fees are paid for by donations. Positive comments were heard about the flower baskets downtown. Hughes requested the City Council consider including$2,500 in the 2013 budget to continue the flower project and pay for wages for seasonal workers. The requested funds would also include purchasing an additional ten brackets for 20 more pots. This year 30 baskets were placed and in 2013, the group would like to sell 50. The baskets would be mounted before Memorial Day 2013. Frank confirmed he was the one who suggest the funds be included in the 2012 budget. Frank expressed that he thinks it is a wonderful kind of citizen/government involvement and hopes the funding will be approved. Franks also has heard positive comments from the public. Aqproval of AQenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the agenda with the following changes: removal of item 4(c). The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Consent Aaenda:Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda with the removal of item 4(c). The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. a) Bills Payable—Requested Action: Approve check numbers 045659-045721, payroll EFT# _ 000708 000712 b) Treasurer Report–Requested Action :Accept the July 2012 Treasurer's Report ' c) Removed d) 2013 Preliminary Budget: Requested action:Authorize the Mayor and City Administrator to execute Resolution 2012–015.Adopting the proposed 2013 budget/levy and establish a hearing the final budget on December 6, 2012 at 7:00 PM e) JPA Gang Task Force Officer–Requested Action:Authorize the Mayor and City Administrator to execute the JPA Agreement extending the authority three years. Donations: Frank requested to remove the donation from the consent agenda to thank Karen and Den Schenk for the donation to fund police shirts. Jansky stated that Schenk is a reserve officer for the City and made the donation in honor of his father who recently passed away. Frank made a motion to approve the acceptance of the donation from Karen and Dean Schenk for the purchase of polo shirts for the reserve ofFicers. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. En ineerin /Public Works Re ort–Arche R n e: Public Works Director Thene resented a ro osal a a � ry a a p p p to develop a City owned/operated archery range at the Water Treatment Plant site. Previously there was an archery located at Millstream Park, but has been removed because of conflicts with other activities. Arche Count a reed to donate ten tar ets with a retail value of 300.00 each. The would rovide rY rY 9 9 , $ Y P staff for clinics at no charge and would also be responsible for advertising the events and referring clientele to the range. Thene explained this would be a Regional archery range which would draw people - September 6, 2012 Page 2 of 3 h i . O m I ted it would tak about two hours er week to t e C t nce co e e for mowin which is$500 er ear Y p P J P Y for maintenance. Thene is requesting Councils approval to move forward with the archery range. Franks questioned the City's Liability and would like to make the range work.Thene responded that he has verified with the Insurance Company that the proposed range will not have a negative impact. Frank asked if there would be an age limit or the need for adult supervision. Thene confirmed that it is used at your own risk. Wick appreciated that this issue was brought to Council as it is good to have additional active recreation opportunities within the City. The Park Board has reviewed the proposal and has recommended the City Council support the initiative. Since the Water Treatment Plant is not park property, the Park Board does not have authority to approve the use of property or activity. Archery Country will provide maps for the range at their shop and they will distribute to the public. Loso expressed he would like to have written policy or documentation.Weyrens confirmed a policy would be written. Frank commented that we do have a donation for disc golf and Thene confirmed a donation box would be placed at the range.Thene stated that there was a range-rules board planned and the cost will be$85. Thene stated that if the City is interesting in pursuing a common garden, there is ample room on the same site as the archery range. The parking lot could be used for both the range and the garden. Schultz questioned what improvements would need to be made for parking. Thene established the lot is a Class-5-gravel-parking lot, and is not expected to be anything more. Schulz inquired as to what the timeframe would be. Thene explained the timeline is based on when the targets arrive. Thene confirmed the City has the brackets from the old Centennial Park playground equipment to frame the targets. Schultz queried when the archery range would be completed and confirmed the gardens would follow in the future. Loso suggested hours of operations should be posted and clarified that the range will be closed for winter. Loso made a motion to approve the use of City property for establishing an archery range which will include partnering with Archery Country with the condition that a policy for use is drafted and posted.The motion was seconded by Wicks and passed unanimously. CR 2 Bvpass Upqrade: Loso posed a question for the City Engineer about a timeframe on the upgrade. Sabart informed Council that construction will continue as far into fall as possible with weather permitting. ' At which time the road may not be completed. Shut down is planned for October. After Sabart spoke with Stearns County, he did not get the impression that they were trying to pave this season. Thene thought that they would be paving in October but he could not confirm this. Committee Reports Plannin4 Commission: Mayor Schultz reported that the Planning Commission held a public hearing regarding the parking lot and building exterior requirements owned by Mike Deutz. After considerable discussion they recommended the Council extend his Special Use Permit until 2015.The Planning Commission then requested the City complete a parking plan for the downtown business block. Weyrens stated that the Council will consider this request at the next regular Council meeting. Park Board: Loso briefed the Council on the board discussion of the archery range. Because this was not park property we referred the topic to City Council for their support.A discussion took place regarding the upgrade for Cloverdale Park. The costs are projected to be about$24,000 to$25,000 for the project. The plan includes a Boy Scout project for spring to add a gazebo. Plans will be provided to Council later.The group came up with an excellent plan and they will try to incorporate volunteer work. EDA:Wick provided a summary of the EDA work over the past month including the proposed 2013 budget. The committee is to continuing work on the downtown master plan. A mailing went out to local businesses to obtain business owner's feedback. The BFA grant request from Scenic Specialties was approved for half of their requested amount. The grant was for upgrades to the outside of the building. Joanne Foust from the EDA will be speaking at the Chamber meeting on September 12, 2012. The next meeting for the EDA will be September 26, 2012. Schultz reported on a potential new business opening in the industrial park. A meeting was held with the client, the State and other funding sources.A financial - September 6, 2012 Page 3 of 3 package will be completed on September 7, 2012. Weyrens confirmed it comes down to TIF and applications have been forwarded. Weyrens explained that waiving WAC&SAC is not part of the package. Facilitv Committee: Weyrens informed Council a special meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 5:30 p.m., to discuss the facility. This special meeting is to update the Council and show concept plans for the new facility. Administrative Reports Street Liqht Utilitv: Weyrens provided an update regarding the street light utility. She explained that it is not as simple as a meter reading. Sabart has been researching this and checking with his colleagues on how to determine usage. Comparing St. Joseph to the city of St. Cloud, they have it based on single family rates, multiple family rates and commercial rates. In order to project rates and impacts, the City would have to engage engineering to determine parcels and applicable rates/acreage. The same process used for establishing the storm water utility would be used for the street light utility. Wick questioned if the proposed utility would replace the budget amount for 2013. Weyrens confirmed it would only be shifting the amount in the budget. It would not reduce anything. It applies across any property regardless of status. Council discussed if it would be a fee or a tax. Weyrens explained it is the same type of concept as the storm water fee. Sabart would like to submit a proposal to Council estimating the time it would take for engineering. Frank confirrned he is supportive of moving forward but would like to see the impact to businesses. Facilitv Committee:Weyrens reported that the facility committee visited the Sauk Rapids new facility for planning and functions. During the tour, the Administrator for Sauk Rapids discussed the conversion of paper packets to electronic. Council members are issued Ipads and paper packets are only printed for one member of the Council who prefers paper. Sauk Rapids has indicated the conversion has been successful. Weyrens stated in reviewing the conversion, while the City would incur an initial cost for the devices, it would save considerably on office supplies. The City would have funds to use to convert to paperless and it is estimated the cost is approximately$ 3,000. Schultz acknowledged that the paper copy of the agendas would go away and is in favor of saving money. Wick also added there are apps to take notes. Weyrens announced the new Website pages from Civic Plus will be ready soon for review and she will email the link to the Council Members. Mayor Report Schultz met with the College of St. Benedict Cabinet(CSB)and gave them an update on what is going on in the City. They offered a tour of the new housing facility and offered the same tour for the Planning Commission—they will be setting up dates.Welcome Back Day is September 12, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.,for off-campus housing meeting and welcome back for students. Update on County Road 2 bypass, a discussiort is needed on how this will look when finished.There is a triangle area and Council will need to look at new signage. The Lions Club and CSB have expressed interest. Council Reports Svmanietz: Thank you to the City of Sauk Rapids for the tour. The facility consists of Police, City Offices and Community facility. This will be discussed at the Sept 12�h Meeting. Adiourn: The Council came out of closed session at 9:05PM and Wick made a motion to adjourn.The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. � �'E"y Judy e ens Ad nistrator i i This page intentionally left blank