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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 [06] Jun 17June 17, 2013 Page 1 of 6 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the St. Joseph City Council met in regular session on Monday, June 17, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Richard Schultz, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso and City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present: Police Chief Pete Jansky, Police Chief Joel Klein, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene and City Engineer Randy Sabart Others Present: Murray Mack, Tom Peck, Shane Vernier, Lindsay Vernier PUBLIC COMMENTS Michael McDonald, 213 13tt Ave SE approached the Council to express his opinion on the proposed government center or Community Center vs. Community Room. He stated that he does not understand the rationale of the City Council to consider constructing a new government facility. He stated the City has many more pressing needs and does not see the benefit to the tax payers. He further stated that the proposed government center has not been identified as a need nor is it part of the City Capital Improvement Plan. The City bonded $ 200,000 for repairs to the current City facility which further evidences that the City did not plan on constructing a new facility. He urged the Council to reconsider the need to construct a new government center. Approval of the Agenda: Frank made a motion to approve the agenda adding 3a) Officer Swearing in. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Discussion: Frank thanked the St. Joseph Lions for the generous donation of $ 8,450 for the purchase of a gazebo for Cloverdale Park as well as those donating to the campsite and archery range. Loso corrected the minutes of May 16 stated that access to the DAMA Boxes is for the Police Department and the minutes state Fire Department. New police officer, Swearing In: Weyrens administered the oath of office to Patrol Officer Shane Vernier. Upon being sworn in, Vernier introduced himself thanking the Council for the opportunity to serve the City of St. Joseph. Consent Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows; seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. a. Minutes — Approve the minutes of May 16, 2013, with correction. b. Bills Payable — Approved check numbers # 046673- 046729, payroll EFT # 000814 - 000818 and accounts payables EFT #001618- 001619. c. Donations — Accept donations of the St. Joseph Lions for the Gazebo for Cloverdale Park ($8,250) and anonymous donations from the disc golf ($15), archery range ($17.50) and camping ($87). d. Treasurers Report — Accept the May 2013 Treasurers Report as presented. e. Application for Payment — Authorize the Mayor to execute payment #1 for the 2013 Sidewalk Improvement to Concrete Idea in the amount of $92,801.87. Facilities: Wick stated that upon receiving direction from the City Council to continue the process to add a community room component and new Council chamber, the facility committee has been met with the architect. First, Wick stated that a distinction must be made between a community room and center. The facility committee has been charged with planning a community room and a separate committee will look at an active recreation center. For over a year, the facility committee has been discussing whether to remodel the existing facility or start with a clean site. Based on a recommendation of the St. Joseph EDA it was determined that the City Facility needed to remain downtown. Therefore current planning efforts are focusing on the existing land and building owned by the City. Wick stated that it is estimated to cost 3.5M to remodel and expand the existing facility. Some concern has been expressed if the City spends 3.5 M on remodeling is their June 17, 2013 Page 2 of 6 sufficient room for expansion or will the City be in the same situation in ten or fifteen years. It was suggested at the facility committee meeting that if the City moves forward with constructing a stand -alone community center, the community room space at the government center could eventually be converted for staff use. Murray Mack, Hagemesiter Mack Architect, stated that the facility committee has been on break for about eight months, not rushing the process, allowing the City Council to determine the needs of the community. Mack reviewed the different options previously reviewed by the Council to include: a) using the existing facility adding a portion to the north; b) using the existing facility adding a two story portion to the north; c) adding a second floor to the current facility; d) utilizing the former Kennedy School; e) a new facility on a site not located within the downtown area. The process stalled when community functions were discussed in tandem with the City facility. The most recent discussion have been focused on option 1 which is a schematic that used the existing building, basement, upstairs, and included building around it, and option 1A also used the existing basement but tried to expand building square footage to meet functional needs. The first option was lacking, especially in the police department area. Two stair towers and one elevator would likely be reused, but are not accessible to the public off the main public corridor in the design. A lot of decisions affect the overall budget and building functionality for years. Schultz commented that a facility needs to meet the City's needs for the next 50 years. There are cost savings for using the existing building, yet some functional drawbacks of future opportunity. In all the committee meetings held, the decision has leaned toward removing the upper floor, reusing the basement as much as possible, and maximizing site use. There is some debate of the value to reusing the basement functionally. If it was removed, the cost increased $ 200,000 - $ 300,000. They looked at rebuilding the basement from the police department garage and support area over to the middle of the main circulation corridor for new basement, making the elevator and stair shafts more available to the public. Mack discussed potential scheduling. If the Council decides to move forward with a budget and rough schematic at this meeting, there is still three to four months of additional design work and preparation of construction documents before getting into the bid phase. Construction start would then be November or December 2013. At that point, they could just wait and start construction Spring 2014. During construction, police department and city staff would have to relocate as there would be too much renovation and demolition to stay and work around employees. There is $50,000 in the budget for staff relocation at this time. Option 1A was difficult because of the small additions on the building exterior to make it functional; it got more expensive to build footage in little strips. There were functional deficiencies, compromises, and additional costs in working with the existing building, so the committee suggested demolishing the current structure. There was an additional 1,150 SF in Option 1A vs. Option 1. Subtracting the project cost, there was a $50,000 premium between the two options to clear off the upper floor. Option 1A was recommended with possible basement changes. Frank asked if the City can put off the Community Room until they find out if there will be a Community Center. Mack responded that the cost to eliminate the Community Room would be minor. If you subtract it from the plan, you would have to put exterior wall in its place including an exterior finish that works with the rest of the building, replacing the exterior the North and West walls and moving them to interior. The facility committee discussed the possibility of having police department locker rooms in the basement along with storage, and if the Community Room was eliminated, staff offices would likely be there, moving the main corridor to the South and keeping the police department garage and everything to South of the main corridor. Loso asked if the new building would be engineered to accommodate a second floor. Mack responded that the building didn't seem to justify a two -story option and it would take careful consideration. The roof of the initial first floor building gets to be more expensive with an idea that there may be second floor expansion. Is it a flat or pitched roof? The committee didn't discuss it - probably flat. There needs to be enough room for parking. It's hard to make any judgment calls so far into the future but they did the best to balance the dollars, function, and possible reuse of current structure. The Highway 75 plan certainly provided more flexibility for expansion. June 17, 2013 Page 3 of 6 Mayor Schultz doesn't believe anybody's in a rush to spend money. The committees and staff have been diligent in finding the right mix after the recommendation of staying downtown, having a downtown footprint, and a portion of the balance was the Community Room (200 people vs. 100 people). In looking ahead, when they initially acquired the building, they spent a fair amount to buy and remodel. Now we are out of space and functionality and not working to the most productive means, and the City doesn't want to come back in 15 years doing it again, so we need to take a long broad look at this. If we vacate the building, would it make sense to build a basement under the entire span or isn't that necessary? From the line of the sally port to the left -hand side of the main corridor, there's a nice space to accommodate storage and possibly a meeting room. However, if the public had to get to the basement, the elevator would be only available through the police department office. Schultz mentioned that the city will be basically land- locked so he wants to allow room for growth. What is the cost difference to expand under the council chambers and Community Room, but not under the garage? Frank encouraged space for the mayor's office and a storm shelter. Would the shelter need to be basement low grade with precast deck above or FEMA compliant like an Emergency Operation Center? The vault is used in the current building. Wick advocated for a schematic that starts clean slate, top to bottom, bigger basement, and configure elevator and stairs to allow this area for emergency situations. Taking the first floor off would essentially ruin the basement area and it would need to be gutted anyway. Loso is concerned about moving staff for a 2014 construction date. Schultz asked the occupancy of the council chambers to which Mack responded it is about one third larger than the current facility; however, the new chambers would be located in an area that could allow for overflow when large meetings occur. Loso wondered how long would construction take? RA Morton answered roughly ten months to one year. Wick suggested that the committee is ideally looking for a budget and an answer to keep the existing basement or start from a plain site. Budget could be from $ 3.9 -4.3M ($ 300,000 difference to start from scratch or keep the basement). If replacing the basement, what is the cost to the project? Could the precast plant be reused? Starting from a clean slate, the building could be moved to the West where parking now exists, eliminating the walk- through feature that's there to accommodate the walk up parking and walk -ins off College Avenue. Committee recommended having more building frontage off College Avenue with parking in the back. With regard to financing the facility, Weyrens stated that City Hall debt will expire in two years and that levy for the existing facility could be placed towards the new facility lowering the financial impact. In addition Weyrens stated that at one point Stearns Electric indicated that the city could have access to rural development funds, which carries 0% interest. Loso questioned if the facility would sales tax exempt, to which Weyrens stated the recent law change only applies to goods the City purchases. However, if the project moves forward the City could request the legislature to authorize an exemption, which is commonly approved. Weyrens stated that the staff will provide a financial summary /impact for the next presentation. Loso stated that in talking to the public he has heard residents say that the City should demolish the existing facility and start from scratch as it does not make sense to put additional money into the facility. Loso asked about gutting the basement or constructing a slab on grade facility. Mack stated that since the site is limited, a basement under a portion of the facility makes sense and can be used for police accessory use so that upper level space is not consumed. Loso thought about the parking lot: getting rid of the green curb, making the alley wider, and improving traffic flow to where the entire downtown could use it. There are other things to work through such as where the electrical transformers and garbage refuse area will go. Mack stated that the Council needs to make a decision as to whether or not it makes sense to demolish the existing facility and then approve a preliminary budget for the facility committee to work within. Loso made a motion directing the Architects to design a Government Campus Facility on the existing site, demolishing the current facility, including basement and provide a budget of $ 4- 4.6M. The motion was seconded by Frank and carried unanimously. June 17, 2013 Page 4 of 6 Engineer Reports 2013 Street Improvements: Sabart reported that bids were opened on June 12, 2013 for the 2013 Street Improvement Project with the following results: Knife River $ 312,501 Hardrives $ 318,646 Engineer's estimate $ 318,902. At this time the Council has to determine if they wish to move the project forward to the assessment hearing. The project would not be awarded until after the assessment hearing to gauge the financial risk. With the actual bid numbers the proposed assessment have been revised with the majority of assessments being lowered. Frank questioned Sabart on why the contingency was reduced $ 18,000 from the preliminary numbers. Sabart responded that since the City has actual costs, and more knowledge of the project the contingency was lowered. Frank questioned if the City considers sidewalk when designing improvements. Sabart responded that the City could look at sidewalk, but the project before the Council at this time is an overlay and one would typically see sidewalk when a street is reconstructed. The only sidewalk included in the project is revising pedestrian ramps so that they meet ADA requirements. Schultz made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2013 -023, hearing on proposed assessments for the 2013 Street Improvement project for July 9, 2013. The motion was seconded by Frank and carried unanimously. Schultz made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2013 -024 declaring costs to be assessed and ordering and preparing proposed assessments for the 2013 Bituminous Street Improvement. The motion was seconded by Loso and carried unanimously. Park Terrace: Weyrens reported that the Park Terrace project was discussed to start in 2014. The council needs to decide if they would want to do another benefit analysis for the assessment before the proposed assessments are updated. The Council discussed whether or not the market has changed enough to warrant another analysis and what the pros and cons are of the analysis. Sabart stated that the City will have to restart the improvement process called 429. As part of the process the Council will have to determine what portion of the project will be assessed. When questioned what other Cities are assessing, Sabart responded that each community is unique. Each community levies a different amount or whatever their practice is — so it's hard to find a compromise of assessment levels as part of the exercise. The Council may still be comfortable with the project as approved in 2010, but projects costs would need to be updated. A new special benefit analysis would be necessary to see how the market has changed. Properties are for sale and there's been change in the community, hopefully supplying updated data. Loso commented when the Council interviewed attorneys, they were asked if in their opinion the market has changed over the past year and one said and yes and one said no; therefore he is uncertain if a new study is needed. Frank stated he remembers at the time of the last benefit analysis discussion centered on a court case that was pending. He questioned Sabart on the status of that matter. Sabart reported that assessment contentions are typically settled outside of District Court. Sabart stated that he is uncertain as to which case Frank is referring to, but it is in the Cities best interest to have a policy that is fair, enforceable and can be replicated for future assessments. As the next step in the improvement process is updating the feasibility report, Sabart stated the Council will have to determine the scope of the project. The Council agreed to discuss the matter at a future meeting when information is available on the costs and benefits of completing a new assessment analysis. They will also review the design options at the same time. Central Minnesota Housing Partnership Update: Weyrens updated the Council on the proposed housing transition grant application. In a conversation with Cory Ehlert he stated that he has not established a June 17, 2013 Page 5 of 6 meeting with representatives of CSB or SJU but he has meet with the Chamber executive committee. The Chamber is anticipating sending an email to the entire membership seeking support. Frank reiterated that the EDA did want to see a buy -in from the real estate companies, bankers, etc. and not just from the Chamber and CSB. Weyrens stated that the grand deadline is July 12 and it is anticipated that he will attend the July 9 Council meeting with an update. Administrator Reports Potential Safety Hazard: Weyrens reported that during the last winter storm of the season, a shed located at 111 Ash St E was damaged significantly creating a safety hazard. The Building Official and Police Department have made numerous attempts to remedy the situation without success. Therefore, the City Attorney was consulted to determine the best manner in which to resolve the safety hazard. The first step to force the correction is for the Council to declare a public nuisance under MN Statute 463.17, once the Council declares the nuisance, a court order will be prepared and served to the property owner. If after the time provided in the court order the hazard is not removed, the City will have the ability to abate the nuisance and assess the costs to the property owner. Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2013 -025, resolving to proceed under MN Statute 463.17 for Abatement of a Hazardous Building at 111 Ash St E. The motion was seconded by Wick and carried unanimously. Orderly Annexation: Weyrens reminded the Council that the City and Township have scheduled a joint meeting for June 24, 2013 at 6:30 PM to continue the discussion on amending the Orderly Annexation Agreement. The City Engineer has prepared updated maps that will be forwarded to the City and Township Officials. Frank asked if there was way to speak in one voice to establish our goals and bottom line to the Township. Schultz suggested that this should be a healthy discussion of where we're headed, what the township's annexation policy is, current maps, what the township is thinking, and what the township does or does not want the City to get involved with. It would cover what's working in the OA agreement, where St. Joseph sees its future from an expansion and annexation perspective and vice versa. Approved Annexations: Weyrens reported that the two recent annexations (Army Facility adjacent to CR 75 and CR 2 ROW) approved by the City and Township have been approved by MN Planning and have been recorded at the County. Mayor Reports APO, Washington DC Trip: Schultz stated that he recently returned from participating with the St. Cloud APO fly -in to Washington DC. The purpose of the trip was to meet with the area representatives to lobby for federal transportation funds. Highlights included support for the Wobegon Trail with Senator Klobacher. She spoke with the CEO of BNSF to help facilitate the extension. Senators Bachman and Franken will also follow -up with BSNF. While in Washington he also discovered that the firm hired as lobbyist for the area (David Turch) has an intern that is a junior at SJU and would be interested in assisting the City. Schultz thanked Wick for filling in during his absence. APO Retreat: Schultz reported that the APO Executive Committee participated in a retreat on June 13, 2013, to help overcome some difference. The retreat was led by an outside moderator facilitating a two hour discussion. A division between and among some of the communities has developed and they area to be centered on the proposed Heatherwood Road project, role of the APO staff, polices and communication. Schultz stated that from his perspective, St. Cloud would like to change so there's a smoother way to offer things from any jurisdiction. All want to react more freely to some of the environmental changes needed. Received well by both sides, they would like to eliminate the APO full board, which would require a by -law change. It's more from a communications perspective vs. a voting perspective. Council Reports AA June 17, 2013 Page 6 of 6 Gold Cart Ordinance: Frank says that he sees more and more people wanting to use the "neighborhood friendly vehicles" such as golf carts and ATV's. A concerned resident was told that it would be discussed at the second July meeting. Weyrens affirmed that the matter will be placed on the July 18 meeting, after staff has an opportunity to review the final proposed draft. CR 2 Detour: Frank questioned Sabart on the status of the detour for CR 2 as he still gets people pulling in his cul -de -sac and asking how to get to Highway 94. Sabart stated that he contact the Stearns County Highway Department, but he did have a discussion with them assuring that it will be open for the 4th of July. Police Chief Jansky stated the sooner the better. LOSO — No Report SYMANIETZ — No Report WICK — No Report Adwiourn: Schultz made a motion to adjourn at 6:48 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens inistrator