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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes [03-06-14] March 6, 2014 Page 1 of 5 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Bob Loso, Steve Frank, City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Chief Joel Klein, Public Works Director Terry Thene Others Present: Tom KIein Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approval of the Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda minus line item d. The Consent Agenda: motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of February 6, 2014. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 047585 – 047630; payroll EFT # 000899 – 000903 and accounts payable EFT # 001645-001646. c. Transfers – Authorized the 2013 Transfer for Fire Admin costs, 2014 Transfers from the CIP to the General Fund Capital Reserves, and the residual transfer to close the 2008 Debt Service. d. Removed e. Treasurer Report – Accepted the January 2014 Treasurer Report as presented. f. Annexation – Authorize the execution of Resolution 2014-006 annexing property south and adjacent to West MN Street west to CR 2, g. Pay Application – Authorized the Mayor to execute the final pay application for the 2013 Sidewalk Improvement and authorized payment to Concrete Idea in the amount of $21,437.04. Frank made a motion to accept the donation made by Maggie Schindler in the amount Donations: of $2,000 to purchase fire equipment. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. EDA Annual Report: Cynthia Smith-Strack approached the Council to deliver the 2013 EDA Annual th Report. Strack reported that the EDA met a total of 12 times in 2013 with meetings being held the 4 Wednesday of every month. Strack stated that there are 4 core functions of the EDA: 1. Organizational development: Efforts focus on maintaining and enhancing the capacity of the EDA as a body politic. This function includes meeting attendance, meeting packet preparation, drafting meeting minutes, goal setting, and budget development. 2. Business Development: Strack commented that business development is the core of the EDA. This function is intended to retain and attract business, downtown revitalization, conducting research on inquiries received by the public and potential clients. 3. Market Development: Strack stated that the number of hours given to market development has increased due to the updating of the website. Strack added that the website is a great resource for residents who are interested in certain parcels throughout the city. 4. Infrastructure Development: Strack stated that this year there was little to no time spent on Infrastructure development as there are no shovel ready lots. The EDA is continuing to focus their efforts towards the creation of shovel ready commercial and industrial lots. March 6, 2014 Page 2 of 5 New Commercial Construction Value: Strack stated that the City is rebounding nicely from the recession that was seen in 2009 & 2010. Unemployment/Employment/Wages: Strack again stated that the City is rebounding from the recession in these areas as well. The number of jobs as well as the establishments has increased. The wage is low due in the most part to the number of retail businesses in town and college students who may be working at minimum wage. Housing: Housing growth has been slow. In 2013, there were 6 new homes. Strack added that the new housing incentive passed by the Council should hopefully increase the number of new homes built throughout the City. Frank stated that he has noticed at the EDA meetings, that there will be less young people buying homes. Apartments are continuously becoming more appealing. Frank asked if there is the potential for additional larger apartment complexes in the City. Strack stated that she thinks there will be due in part to the changing social trends as well as changes in credit restrictions due to the recession. Strack added that she believes the City will be seeing additional demands for apartment buildings. Goals for 2014: Strack stated that the following are goals for the EDA for 2014:  Extension of sanitary sewer to I-94/CSAH 2  Market Outreach  Downtown revitalization  Respond to inquiries and pursue viable leads  Implement and administer technical and financial assistance programs. Loso questioned the status of the medical research company. Strack stated that the company had an option to purchase an existing facility in the industrial park but has subsequently let it expire and the building has been purchased by another user. Schultz asked if the City would be able to track the housing incentive program in hopes of keeping it for years to come. Schultz also asked if there is anything the Council can do to help the EDA make the shovel ready lots available. He would like to see that become one of the goals for the EDA. Strack stated that it is included with the extension of sanitary sewer to I-94/CSAH 2 goal. Schultz asked if there is a need for downtown space. Strack stated that she thinks there is a demand for vacant developmental properties and lease properties which is a good demand to have for the City. S & H Plat: Weyrens presented the Council with the final revised plans for the S & H Townhome Development. Weyrens stated that the proposed development consists of a ten unit townhome development. The development will include two three unit townhomes and two two unit homes for a total of ten units. The City Engineer has reviewed the proposed development and the majority of the engineering items have been resolved. The proposed development agreement includes verbiage concerning the private driveway and utilities, the requirement to install a street light, modify the curb cut to the trail and screening requirements. Frank questioned if the proposed development has completed the public hearing process to which Weyrens stated it has. In fact, during the public hearing no negative comments were received. The recommendations of the Engineer were recommended by the Planning Commission. Sabart stated that the private drive for the ingress/egress has been designed with a hammerhead design to allow adequate space for maneuvering of emergency vehicles. The hammerhead and private drive will include no parking signs as well. Symanietz asked if there are going to be any pine trees to match the Graceview apartments. Klein stated that the pine trees will be along the north side to serve as a barrier between the patio homes and the apartments. March 6, 2014 Page 3 of 5 Loso made a motion to authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the final re-plat for S & H. The motion was seconded by Frank and passed unanimously. Discussion: Tom Klein, representative of the project, asked whether the fencing along the hammerhead needed to be along the entire length of the hammerhead, or just the length of the width of the street coming to it. Sabart stated that in his eyes, he would like to see it the full width of the hammerhead. Klein asked if the curb cut being required in the developer’s agreement is a reasonable request. It is about a block north of the residence. Sabart stated that when people cross the street to the trail, they will either meet a curb cut ramp, or a regular curb to access the trail. Frank asked if the developers are going to be responsible for providing trees in the future. Sabart stated that typically the developers are responsible for planting the trees on the initial agreement, but there are no limits or time frames for replacing the trees should they die. Schultz asked if there is a handicapped accessibility requirement for the curb cut to the trail. Sabart stated that there is not, but it is more so an expectation of the developers to provide access to the city’s trail system. Weyrens stated that the Council can put in the developer’s agreement that perpetuity can be put into the agreement with the understanding that the association will be responsible for tree maintenance. Loso made a motion to approve the developer’s agreement with the statement including perpetuity in the developer’s agreement to which the association will be responsible for landscape maintenance. The motion was seconded by Frank. Aye: Frank, Loso Nay: Schultz, Wick, Symanietz Motion Failed: 2:3:0 Wick made a motion to authorize the Mayor and Administrator execute the Development Agreement between JLT Partnership LLC and the City of St. Joseph as presented; to allow the development of a ten unit townhome development. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Water Tower Project: Sabart stated that the plans for the water tower maintenance project are nearly complete and he is requesting authorization to proceed with bidding the project. It is anticipated that bids Loso made a motion to will be opened on April 4, 2014 and presented to the City Council on April 17. authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute resolution 2014-010 authorizing the solicitation of bids for the water tower project. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Discussion: Frank asked how much the costs would be for the improvements. Sabart stated that the City is budgeted for $564,000. Frank asked how many potential bidders there will be. Sabart stated that it depends. The City could see anywhere from 2-4 painting companies. Frank asked if there were any other types of water tower improvement projects done recently that the City could compare. Sabart responded that it is hard to compare projects, because each water tower is so different from the next. Sabart added that the project will be between 8-10 weeks. A start date is dependent on Mother Nature and weather conditions. Committee Updates EDA: Frank reported that there is a serious developer that is working with AmericInn to put a rather large hotel in the City. Frank added that there will be additional usage of the hotel due to the new armory building too. The developer will be paying half for the feasibility study and he believes it will be a good project. St. Cloud Regional Human Rights: Symanietz reported that Cara Ruff has recently stepped down from the Human Rights Commission. Ruff was a representative for St. Joseph and did extensive volunteering. Symanietz thanked Ruff for her dedication and work. March 6, 2014 Page 4 of 5 Frank stated that the Board received an update on the case load and he stated that complaints handled by the office included service dogs and the inability for some disable to use the transit system. The Board also discussed the need to amend the Joint Power Agreement so that membership on the Human Rights Commission is staggered. Currently all members’ terms expire at the same time and staggering Frank made a motion to authorize the Mayor and terms would allow for continuity on the Commission. Administrator to execute Resolution 2014-009 amending the Joint Powers Agreement for the Human Rights Services through a Regional Human Rights Office. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Discussion: Wick asked if the amended agreement applies to just the current members, or future members. Symanietz responded by saying that it will affect the current members. The staggering will start with the new members. Planning Commission: Schultz reported that the Planning Commission had met earlier in the week at which time a public hearing was held to consider a variance and special use to allow a events center at Scenic Specialties. The special use would make the venue an event center and the variance request would allow the parking lot to remain unpaved. The matter will come before the Council in April. Another discussion point was the sign ordinance. Schultz added that staff had done a good job on collecting the information and providing a draft ordinance. Administrator Reports Workshop Meetings: Weyrens stated she put the item on the agenda by request. Loso stated that the meetings are fine the way they are. Wick stated that he had asked to have this item on the agenda. He had received feedback about why the meetings were not televised. Wick added that there was some confusion on whether the Council is able to vote on items in the workshop. Wick stated that his take on it is whenever the Council gets together there is the chance they items will be voted on. Frank stated that he thought the Council could not take action on items in a workshop. Frank added that being that the meeting was not televised and that there was not a public comments section. He felt it gave a negative impression to the meeting. Frank added that if meetings are not televised, then final decisions should not be made. Loso stated that meetings do not have to be televised and that whether the meetings are televised has no effect on the final decisions. Loso added that he talked with the people that attended the meeting and he has heard no complaints. Schultz stated that whether the meetings should be televised or not is a broader question. Schultz added that workshops have been very beneficial to the Council as it brings a more relaxed atmosphere in closed quarters in a less formal setting. Schultz added that he doesn’t want the public to misconceive the meetings. Symanietz stated that it might be better for the public to not have votes made in workshop meetings. Loso stated that he doesn’t feel there is a negative connotation towards the workshop meetings. He added that there might be a few people who believe the Council is making decisions behind their backs. Up Coming Meetings: Weyrens stated that the designs are almost completed for the new Government Center. There will be a separate night for the public to come and view the final plans and designs. In an effort to provide adequate space for the public, the meeting will be moved to the Fire Hall. The meeting will be taped, and replayed. The City does not have the ability to live broadcast from the Fire Hall. The Council agreed to set the presentation for March 27, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the St. Joseph Fire Hall. Frank requested that staff consider upgrading equipment at the Fire Hall to make the facility more presentation friendly. Sales Tax Update: Weyrens stated that the sales tax survey is about to be rolled out. St. Cloud is sending our 4,000 surveys to be distributed as random post cards. All communities will be reached whether they are interested or not. Once the final survey is completed, a copy of that will be distributed to the Council. March 6, 2014 Page 5 of 5 Water Freeze: Weyrens stated that she was requested to add the water freeze policy to the agenda. Frank stated that he had requested to add this item as he has read articles in newspapers regarding how cities credit property owners for the excess water used. Weyrens presented the Council with the policy of the area cities and stated that St. Joseph provides a credit on the sewer portion of the water bill as do other communities. Residents are billed sewer based on the November/December meter reading, providing the greatest amount of relief. The City of Sartell offers a credit only to residents with shallow services and Waite is the only area city offering a water credit. Weyrens stated that Mayor Schultz published a letter to the editor explaining that to the residents. Frank asked why other cities are contracting welders and others are not. Weyrens stated that LMC does not support the welder as it could potentially impact their neighbors’ property from the current that went through using welders. Frank asked what can be done to prevent freeze ups in the future. Sabart stated that it depends on how deep the water mains are. Sabart added that typically newer homes have deeper water lines and are less likely to freeze. Older homes have their lines shallower and tend to freeze up more often. Public Works Director, Terry Thene, stated that he has heard that the frost is over 8ft deep. Thene added that he and his staff are constantly checking water temperatures. Right now one of his main concerns is in Northland. Thene stated that he encourages people to put a thermometer in their water to check temperatures. In some areas water is at 36 degrees and up in Northland the temperature has gone as low as 30 degrees. Thene stated that the Northland is a priority and his staff will be working on that area. Residents may see discolored water due to ice going through the lines. Frank stated that there are some residents who may have troubles paying the additional water charges. Thene responded that it would be less than if they had to thaw the services out. Symanietz asked if the time of day for running water matters. Thene stated that there is no rhyme or reason to when the lines will freeze and recommends continuous running of the water. Loso asked if why the bills from November/December couldn’t be carried over for the water too. Weyrens stated that it would be possible, but then the rates next year would need to increase to compensate as the City is still paying to treat and distribute the water. Mayor Reports APO: Schultz reported that the APO met regarding potential funding services for the Senior Housing Project. Superintendent of Schools District 742: Schultz reported that he had met with the superintendent regarding the old and new Kennedy schools. He would like to come to the second meeting in April to meet the Council. Schultz reported that the County Commissioner, Mark Bromenschenkel will be having a town hall meeting th at the Blue Line in Sartell on March 8 10-11 AM. Schultz added that the League of Minnesota Cities Conference is in St. Cloud this year. He would like that all the Council members attend. Motion made by Loso to adjourn at 8:15 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Adjourn: Judy Weyrens Administrator