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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes May 1, 2014 Page 1 of 7 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in special session on Thursday May 1, 2014 at 5:30 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Dale Wick, Bob Loso, City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives: City Attorney Tom Jovanovich, City Attorney John Baker. Wick made a motion to go into closed Mayor Schultz opened the meeting at 5:30 PM at which time session pursuant MN Statute 13D.05 Subd.3 for attorney client privileged information regarding litigation in the matter of Deutz Housing LLC vs the City of St. Joseph. The motion was seconded by Frank and passed unanimously. 5:55 Adjourn: The Council came out of closed session at PM adjourning the special meeting. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 6:10 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Dale Wick, Bob Loso, City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Chief Joel Klein, Public Works Director Terry Thene, City Attorney Tom Jovanovich Others Present: Robert Fries, Carol Fries, Molly Heurung, Colin Marcusen, Marge Lesnick, Ollie Lesnick, Ron Eiynck, Rosanne Eiynck, Tim Borresch, Noreen Loso, Ed Kacures, Bill Lorentz, Sally Lorentz, Denny Pfannenstein, Jan Pfannenstein, Tom Klein, Marlys Dobis, Nathan Schatz, Joann Keller, Dave Keller, Jack Schuh, Jodi Teich, Mark Bromenschenkel, Ryan Lemieux, Rob Rolling, Steve Niedenfuer, Kathy Studer, Nancy Walz Public Comments rd Tim Borresch, 11 – 3 Ave NW: Borresch approached the Council asking if there is a way to revisit the backyard parking ordinance. He added that a lot of the yards are being ripped up and it does not look good. Borresch stated that he would like the City to appear cleaner not only to residents, but to those passing through town. There is garbage everywhere and he would like to see efforts on cleaning that up. Kathy Studer, Co Rd. 51: Studer approached the account stating that she agreed with Borresch that it was a shame driving through the City as it was a complete mess. Studer added she is at the meeting to address the intersection of Minnesota Street and Co. Rd. 2. Studer has emailed the County Engineer, Mayor Schultz and County Commissioner Mark Bromenschenkel many times since October. Studer stated that she feels the speeds need to be reduced and has made several suggestions on how to make that intersection better. Nancy Walz, Leaf Road: Walz addressed the Council regarding the intersection as well. She lives close to the intersection and feels it is very dangerous. Most nights her family hears semi horns and tires squealing. Walz feels that the traffic coming from the South is traveling at higher speeds than posted. She would like the round about to be reconsidered to slow down the traffic adding that she hopes the City is less worried about the amount of money that it would cost in comparison to potentially more lives being lost. th Ron Eiynck, 13 – 4 Ave NW: Eyinck approached the Council regarding Case Day. Eyinck stated that case day is a day where college students each buy a case and walk around town drinking it. He added that for the first few days after, it is very messy and questions how the students can get by with it. Eiynck added that the students have control of the City. He has previously written letters to the Dean of the May 1, 2014 Page 2 of 7 college and action was taken at that time. He gives credit to the Police Department, but there is only so much they can do. He would like to see something done to hold the college students more accountable. Loso made a motion to approve the agenda changing the minutes from Approval of the Agenda: April 17, 2017 to April 17, 2014. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was Consent Agenda: seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of March 27, 2014 and April 17, 2014. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 047667 – 047730; payroll EFT # 000909 – 000913 and accounts payable EFT # 001647-001648. Stearns CO. Engineer Jodi Teich: Teich approached the Council regarding the County Road 2 and Minnesota Street Intersection. Teich stated that the she is well aware of the opinions and concerns of the residents and City regarding the new intersection. Regarding the crashes at the intersection, both involved a northbound vehicle and a west bound on Minnesota Street. They have heard that the concrete island may be misconceived as a median and people might be pulling out further than they should. Discussions have been made about removing the concrete median. Teich agrees that traffic does go faster than the posted speed limit. A federal grant was given to the county to put in a warning system at the intersection. The system judges the speed of oncoming traffic and flashes when traffic is approaching. For the through traffic on CR 2, there will be warning lights if there are cars at the intersection. Teich mentioned that if a roundabout were to be reconsidered, it would take at least a year. Teich wants to see something more immediate. Teich added that the grant money cannot be used for unwarranted traffic signals. There is not enough traffic at that intersection to warrant a traffic light. Teich added that the warning system is worth installing as it is an effective traffic management device. Wick questioned what the next steps in the process would be and how long it will take to get the system in place. Teich stated that the County Board will be asked to approve the installation and once approved it should be completed this summer. Bromenschenkel approached the Council stating that the Board of Commissioners have had multiple discussions with Teich regarding the installation of the warning system. He believes it makes a lot of sense to try this out. If it does not work at this intersection, it could potentially be used at another intersection. Teich stated that it is as soon as the plan is designed it can be brought to the board. She is hoping by to have it installed by summer’s end. Symanietz asked if there is a website people can go to look at the device and learn more about it. Teich stated that they can type RICWSD in Google and it will have concepts of the operations. There are currently none in Stearns County, but there are a few in Douglas County that she has driven through. Bromenschenkel added that there will need to be additional work to the right turn lane and will be taken into account. Frank mentioned that the City had offered to pay 1/3 of the costs to get a fix at the intersection. Weyrens clarified that the City offered to pay 1/3 only if a signal light were to be installed. Frank added that he is scared to drive through the intersection. Frank suggested putting more light at the intersection in addition to the warning system that would attract more attention. Schultz stated that the City might ask both Teich and Bromenschenkel to come pack as progress continues. Teich stated that she will send updates to Weyrens as the project goes on that can be passed to the Council. 2014 Park Terrace Final Assessment Hearing: Weyrens stated that the purpose of the hearing is to adopt the final assessment roll for the 2014 Park Terrace Improvements. The City Council previously voted to order the improvement and the project was designed and bid on. The final assessment roll has been prepared based on actual contract pricing. Hearing notices were sent to all impacted property owners. May 1, 2014 Page 3 of 7 The Council has the option of adopting the final assessments or waiting until the contention period ends. There was one formal contention from Steve Niedenfuer and has been recorded. Schlutz opened the public hearing. City Engineer Randy Sabart stated that this hearing is to focus on the final assessments of the project, rather than the merits of the project. As part of the design, there were three alternates involving portions of Old Hwy 52, a block of Birch Street W, and Memorial Park slope improvements. The City advertised for th bids on March 28. The projected final costs are $1,521,703. In addition to the construction costs are the soft costs. With those factored in, the total came in at $2,031,343 which is less than the preliminary cost estimate. The alternates are included in the costs even though they have yet to be officially approved by the Council. Sabart stated that there are two types of assessments. Street special assessments are calculated on the basis of frontage on a per lineal foot basis, meaning that each property owner will have a different assessment amount in this category. Subsurface utilities are calculated on a per unit basis. Sabart stated that the assessment still has to be equitable for each property. Additional information presented by Sabart included:  The special assessment rates are based on 35% of the full assessable cost per category.  Total assessment amount is capped at $10,000 per property.  The payment term is 15 years with an interest rate of 5.5% and may be paid in annually installments over time.  No interest is charged if assessments are paid within 30 days of City Council’s adoption of the assessment roll.  Any amount of the assessment may be pre-paid to the City, with any remaining balance being certified to the County Auditor for collection under state statute requirements.  The City does have an Ordinance (38) for special assessment deferral. The property owner must be 65+, disabled, or active military and the payment must constitute unreasonable financial hardship. The deferral will be either approved or denied by the Council. Interest will continue to accrue during this time. Sabart presented a project schedule with construction possibly starting at the end of May with a final completion date of May 20, 2016. The extension of time will allow for property owners to complete the plumbing work, moving the lines from the back to the front of their properties. City Attorney, Tom Jovanovich stated that the appraisal report prepared by Bill Waytas presented a benefit to the each property between $6-10,000. Jovanovich added that he sent a copy of the final assessment roll to Mr. Waytas, whom after reviewing it, believes that it will benefit all the properties involved. Jovanovich noted that each property owner being assessed pays the same for the sewer and water improvements. The street assessment is the one that varies based on the linear footage. The cap was put on to keep in the range given in Mr. Waytas’s report. Jovanovich stated that if any residents were to consider appealing, they would need to have submitted a written response to the City Clerk prior to tonight’s hearing, or they need to provide written notice to the Mayor prior to the closing of the hearing. Then, based on the number of objections, the Council can choose to extend the decision for continuation of the project out 30 days. The league recommends waiting on the project if the City receives numerous objections to the project. Loso asked Sabart to clarify the $2,000 subsidy being provided by the City. Sabart stated that the City will reimburse property owners up to $2,000 in the plumbing costs of moving their lines from the back of their homes to the front. Sabart noted that the Council has yet to officially approve the reimbursement, but it has been in several discussions. May 1, 2014 Page 4 of 7 Frank added that if multiple owners would like to have the same contractors redo the lines, the contractor might give them a better price. Sabart stated that correspondence will be sent with a listing of contractors to property owners. Wick asked when the objections should be submitted to the Mayor. Jovanovich added that it needs to be submitted by the end of the public hearing. Schultz opened the public hearing portion for the 2014 Park Terrace Improvements. rd Tim Borresch, 11 – 3 Ave NW: Borresch questioned what improvements to the Memorial Park include. Sabart stated that the slopes are quite steep in the park and are hard for maintenance to maintain. Borresch suggested converting the area into a parking lot as there is little to no parking. He added that being construction is already being done; it would make sense to do it now. Regarding the streets, Borresch stated the City has to get the project done; however, Park Terrace is the only portion of the City that has not been done and is being assessed for less than other portions of the City were in previous projects. He has paid 60% assessment rates on the projects where he is a property owner whereas the Park Terrace portion is about 35%. Borresch also noted that Loso is a resident in the Park Terrace addition and he doesn’t know if that would be a conflict of interest that he is also voting on the issue as Council member. Jovanovich stated he checked into it and it is not a conflict of interest. th Ollie Lesnick, 32 – 5 Ave NW: Lesnick stated that he has lived at the residence for 42 years and has never had a sewer/water problem. He said that from the start he was in support of the project due to the degrading sewer lines. He believes that the City is doing the right thing. Even though he believes the assessment is high, he appreciates the efforts by the City to reduce the assessment amounts from what they were prior. th Ron Eiynck, 13 – 4 Ave NW: Eiynck approached the Council stating that a number of the Park Terrace residents have paid for improvements to the area once already. He added that the new way is for people to protest and fight it a bit. He wanted to clarify that the majority of Park Terrace residents have paid their dues and that is why they fought to have their assessments at a lower rate. th Dave Keller, 19 – 4 Ave NW: Keller approached the Council regarding the Park Terrace project. Keller stated that the process has been a long one, but he now feels like the City has found the right balance. He read that in Minneapolis, people contested a project, but the City had ultimately won. Keller added that he does not know how much the connection fee is going to be to redo plumbing. Keller stated he does not see the logic in disconnecting people from the water and sewer line and then making the property owner pay to have it reconnected in a different place. th Steve Niedenfuer, 202 – 5 Ave NW: Niedenfuer approached the Council regarding the Park Terrace Improvements. At the beginning, he stated his property was proposed to be assessed around $25,000. At prior meetings, the Council has acknowledged the cost/benefit relationship for the project. However, the big elephant in the room is that the property values will not rise by 8-10K. Niedenfuer added that Loso mentioned to him in a neighborhood meeting that his own property values would not increase after the project is completed. Niedenfuer stated that the Constitution makes our Country what it is. He added that if the City approves the project when they know it fails the benefit test, then they will be violating the Constitution and the rights of the citizens of St. Joseph. Jovanovich asked if there were any residents present wishing to submit notice of objection to the Mayor. th Rob Rolling, 34 – 4 Ave NW: Rolling wanted clarification on whether he can continue using the sewer line that runs along the backside of his home. Would he have to move his sewer to the front of his property, or could he continue using lines in the alley at the back of his property? May 1, 2014 Page 5 of 7 Sabart presented a map which showed that there will continue to be certain sewer lines maintained by the City due to other neighborhoods plumbing running through those lines. He added that from the City perspective they would like to have all residents plumbing out the front of the property lines rather than the back due to that being a requirement at some point down the road. Wick clarified that for the present time there is a possibility of the residents in those specified areas to continue using the back hook-up. However, with time, it will need to be disconnected and reconnected to the front of the property. Sabart added that it is not a question of if, but a question of when. Borresch added that the subsidy from the City for $2,000 should only be applicable during the project construction timeline. If residents in those areas want to wait a few years to redo their plumbing, then they will not be qualified for the subsidy. Frank suggested that if any residents have concerns, then they should put in their objection and can always withdraw at a later date. With no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Schultz closed the public hearing. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2014-016 adopting the Assessment Roll for the 2014 Park Terrace Street Improvement, setting the terms for rd the assessment with a date correction from May 3 to May 1st. The motion was seconded by Frank. Discussion: Frank commented that he teaches Local Government and he tells his students that residents can fight City Hall. He added that when the project first started, he agreed that the assessments were too high. Over the past two years, the rules have changed. The first appraiser came in and said that there would basically be no benefit to the project. Frank believes that in the future, others will probably end up being assessed for less due to changing times. Ayes: Schultz, Frank, Symanietz, Wick, Nays: None Abstain: Loso Motion Carried: 4:0:1 Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2014-017 awarding the bid for the 2014 Park Terrace Improvement to the lowest responsible bidder, Kuechle rdst Underground with a date correction from May 3 to May 1. The motion was seconded by Schultz. Discussion: Wick asked whether the City should wait 30 days to award the bid. Jovanovich added that even if Niedenfuer’s contention would win in court, the City would still be over the 20% assessment rate. Therefore, the bids can be awarded. Ayes: Schultz, Frank, Symanietz, Wick, Nays: None Abstain: Loso Motion Carried: 4:0:1 Weyrens stated that the Council had previously discussed a $2,000 subsidy to be reimbursed to residents for the reconnection fee to be extended until November 2015. Wick made a motion to approve the $2,000 reimbursement to residents for sewer line hook-up relating to the 2014 Park Terrace Improvements. The residents will be reimbursed up to $ 2,000 and will be paid upon submittal of paid receipts from the residents. Connections made after November 1, 2015 will not be eligible for any reimbursement. The motion was seconded by Symanietz. Ayes: Schultz, Frank, Symanietz, Wick, Nays: None Abstain: Loso Motion Carried: 4:0:1 Discussion: Wick suggested a mailing to residents with contractor listings. Sabart responded that one would be sent to all applicable property owners. Noise Violation, 300 Old Hwy 52: Weyrens stated that a noise violation occurred at 300 Old Hwy 52. After receiving the notice of violation, the property owner, Ryan Lemieux, had met with staff and the Police May 1, 2014 Page 6 of 7 Chief. Additionally, he is not requesting an evidentiary hearing. Weyrens added that the property owner does have a current tenant listing on file. The Council is to determine whether a violation occurred. If it is determined that a violation did occur, then the Council must consider the disposition. Loso made a motion acknowledging the noise violation did occur at 300 Old Hwy 52, Unit #5. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and carried unanimously. Loso made a motion to impose the fine of $250.00 to property owner Ryan Lemieux for the noise violation at 300 Old Hwy 52 Unit #5. The motion was seconded by Wick and carried unanimously. Ryan Lemieux, property owner of 300 Old Hwy 52: Lemieux approached the Council thanking them for acknowledging the violation. The individual who violated the ordinance could not be at the meeting as he has prior commitments. He added there are multiple units at this address and the violation occurred at Unit #5. He recently began renting units to non-college students and advised these tenants that they would be living next to college students for the time being. He has tried to resolve the issue himself by contacting the PD on a previous incident. Lemieux then read a letter written by the tenant who took full responsibility for the violation. Lemieux asked that the Council revisit the Ordinance. He understands that consequences need to be enforced, but would hope that three would be more a tiered based enforcement system. He is concerned about how these violations reflect on him as a landlord and would like the Council to revisit the ordinance. Committee Updates EDA: Wick reported that it was a very short meeting and there are no updates. Frank asked what the purpose of the Joint Council/EDA hearing was. Weyrens stated that the purpose would have been to approve the establishment of the Economic Development District #3. City Engineer Reports 2014 Main Lift Station: Sabart stated that the City received two bids for the main pump station and collection system improvements at the bid opening on April 16, 2014. The lowest bid will exceed the budgeted and bonded project total by $83,753 and was submitted by Geislinger & Sons. The project was reviewed and several scopes of work items were identified to potentially be delayed or removed from the project in order to bring the project close to the budget. Discussions were held with the contractor and they would agree to the removal of the items. Sabart stated that it would not make sense to rebid the project and the City would run risk of receiving higher bids. He added that the low bid contractor is reliable and they have worked with them in the past. Loso questioned when the project will start. Sabart responded that the anticipated start date would be late May, early June. Wick asked if there are monies in the funds to cover the additional costs. Even with the reductions presented, the project is still priced over by $20,000. Sabart stated that the funds would need to come from other area which is why they found ways to reduce it down to around $20k. Project Engineer Colin Marcusen stated that he followed up with contractors that did not bid the project to find out why they had not bid as they were also confused why only two bids were received. The majority bid other projects and chose to pursue other projects. Wick asked where the additional funding would come from. Weyrens stated that it could potentially be put into the existing bond issue and the project would be covered. Wick asked when the scope reduction items would take place if they were removed from the project at this time. Sabart stated that they would need to be put into the next capital improvement plan. Frank stated that if the City is to do the project, they might as well do it all at once. May 1, 2014 Page 7 of 7 Loso made a motion awarding the 2014 Main Pump Station and Collection System Improvements project to the lowest bidder, Geislinger & Sons. The motion was seconded by Frank and passed unanimously. Administrator Reports Scheduled Non owned Vehicles: Weyrens reported that the City was contacted by the LMCIT insurance agent Peter Oman, about new coverage that is available to Cities. The coverage is for City Officials using their vehicle for City business, whereby the League Insurance would be primary coverage for liability. The insurance is $10 per person and must be by department. The only two departments that use personal vehicles are the City Council and Administration. The Council by consensus declined the additional coverage. Government Center Bids Results Update: Weyrens reported the City accepted bids for the proposed Government Center. The bid results are included in the packet as an update. No action is required at this time as there will be a special meeting scheduled to discuss the project. Mayor Reports APO: Schultz reported that interviews for the Senior Transportation Coordinator have been completed. There were three really good candidates and the official offer will be extended soon. Area Mayor Meeting: Discussions were held regarding the regional sales tax and how the monies were to be distributed. The aquatic center will be added onto in the future. Right now there is just a pool being constructed. Frank stated that he would like to see the money go towards transportation and roads, however that is not an option. He is becoming an even bigger supporter of the airport. He feels that people need to be more educated on the aquatic center and that it is not going to be a water park, rather just a pool. Wick asked if new calculations have come out as far as the benefits for the city of St. Joseph. Additionally any projects the City would like to pursue will need to be decided to putt on the ballot. Symanietz added that trail extensions allow residents to increase their use of the trail through a variety of activities. Frank added that he would like to see more winter use of the trails and increasing the maintenance of the trails. New Business Frank stated that he had to leave the Government Center meeting early but saw that there were quite a few questions. He would like to have a compilation of questions and have them answered and made available to the residents. Schultz responded that they are working on that answering those questions and that there will be additional meetings held on the topic. Schultz made a motion to enter into a closed meeting to discuss the potential Closed Meeting: purchase of the former Kennedy School pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05 Subd.3. The motion was seconded by Wick and carried unanimously. The Council came out of closed session. Motion made by Schultz to adjourn at 8:23 PM; seconded by Symanietz and passed Adjourn: unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK