HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 [02] Feb 02 February 2, 2015
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session
on Monday, February 2 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Renee Symanietz, Dale Wick, Bob Loso, Matt Killam.
City Administrator Judy Weyrens
City Representatives: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Police Chief Joel
Klein, Finance Director Lori Bartlett
Others Present: Tom Klein, John Anderson, Jeff Taufen, Logan Gruber
Public Comments
Approval of the Agenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the agenda adding item 3.5 Swearing
in of Reserve Officers. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously.
Swearing in of Reserve Officers: Schultz administered the Oath of Office to the following reserve officers:
Nathan Honkomp, Brent Fandel, Gary Lauer and Shane Johnson.
Consent Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda.The motion was seconded
by Schultz and passed unanimously.
a. Minutes—Approved the minutes of November 13th, 2014 and January 5, 2015.
b. Bills Payable—Approved check numbers 048799-048919, Payroll EFT#001018-001027
and Accounts Payables EFT#001677-001681.
c. Treasurer Report—Accepted the 4th Quarter Treasurer Report and Transfer request as
presented.
d. Application for Payment—Authorized execution of the final application (#3)for the 2013
Street Improvements and payment to Knife River, in the amount of$17,581.78.
e. Application for Payment—Authorized the execution of application#6 and change order
#2 for the 2014 Main Pump Station Improvements and payment to Geislinger& Sons,
Inc. in the amount of$37,434.63.
f. Grant Acceptance: Accepted the grant from the Office of Traffic and Safety to replace the
squad computers with an approximate award of$7,500.
g. TIF Hearing: Accepted the Preliminary TIF Application for the Central MN Credit Union
and set the public hearing for March 16, 2015.
h. Engineering Agreement: Authorized an agreement for services with SEH to update the
MS4 General Permit and SWPPP to meet new guidelines at an estimated cost not to
exceed $13,500.
Squad Car: Authorized execution of the Lease Agreement with the State of MN for a
2015 Chevy Tahoe and purchase of equipment not to exceed $11,000.
Park Board—John Anderson
Wobegon Trail Extension: Anderson approached the Council on behalf of the Park Board. Recently
discussions have been had regarding extension to the Wobegon Trail. Anderson stated the Park Board
voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council the allocation of$200,000 of the sales tax funds
towards the trail extension. As of this morning, the County has secured the right of way by Coborn's and
is working on negotiating with the railroad to obtain 20 feet of the easement into the Sauk River. The
estimated cost of the trail extension is$3.3 million. Twenty percent of the extension would be in the City
of St. Joseph.
Wick made a motion to approve the allocation of up to $200,000 for the Wobegon Trail Extension,
contingent upon the construction of the trail and funding based on the actual shortfall after all
funding sources have been deducted. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed
unanimously.
February 2, 2015
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Rugby Team: Anderson stated the Park board was approached by a Rugby league requesting use of
Millstream Park as their field for a trial period of one year. The Park Board has recommended the Council
accept the request. Rugby is a spring sport and the team would utilize the field on Monday and
Wednesday nights for practice and Friday nights for games.
The club would line the fields and maintain the fields throughout the season. If the field would sustain
damage caused by the use, the club would work with the City to reseed the field. Anderson noted there
were parking concerns raised, but noted that for practices, it would be just the coaches and about 20
players.
Councilor Killam stated that it is a club team and has no affiliation with the high school. Killam added the
club is not happy with their arrangements in St. Cloud, so why not let them utilize the field in St. Joseph.
The use contract would be for one year and after that can be reevaluated.
Schultz made a motion approving the land use agreement with the St. Cloud Rugby Team for one
year for the use of the field at Millstream Park. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and
passed unanimously.
City Engineer Report
2015 Proposed Street Improvement: Sabart presented the Council with the feasibility report for the 2015
Bituminous Street Improvement Project. The project consists of improvements to Clinton Village and
Northland.
• Clinton Village: Was constructed in 1983. The age of the streets and utilities is approximately 32
years old. The pavement surface is in poor condition and is no longer a candidate for preventative
maintenance activities. The proposed improvements are to reclaim to the depth of 7 inches and
re-pave. There would be paving of a section of the pedestrian trail between Birch Street and
Hollow Park, and spot replacement of deteriorated curb and gutter.
• Northland: Was constructed between 1991-1994. The age of the streets are approximately 21-24
years old. The streets are in fair condition with block cracking, weathering and fatigue cracking.
The proposed improvements would be to spot repair the larger areas of alligator cracking, paving
section of trail between Hickory Ct and Northland Park parking lot, extend the paved trail south of
Iris Lane down to the new playground equipment, edge mill 6feet wide in front of curb and gutter
and fill with 1.5-2" overlay.
Sabart stated that this type of improvement does not eliminate cracking as typically the cracks that lie
underneath make their way to the surface. The total estimated costs of improvements is$873,600. The
project would be funded by 40% City Subsidy and 60%Assessment level. The trail improvements are
included in the City costs.
Sabart provided a preliminary schedule showing the Public Improvement Hearing on February 18tH
Killam questioned what the lifetime expectancy is for blacktop. Sabart stated that they look at traffic
volumes and hope to get streets to last about 30 years. In the first 20 year life cycle, there is generally
one overlay improvement that needs to take place in order to get the life cycle to 30 years. That overlay
improvement is what is being proposed in Northland.
Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2015-001
Receiving Report and Calling Hearing for the 2015 Street Improvement Project to be scheduled on
February 18th, 2015, 6:00 PM at the St.Joseph Community Fire Hall.The motion was seconded by
Schultz and passed unanimously.
Committee Update
February 2, 2015
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EDA:Wick reported that the Annual Report will be presented to the Council at the first Council meeting in
March.
Aquatic Committee: Killam reported that there are two major items the committee is looking at: location,
and wants vs. needs. Weyrens stated that the committee is looking at bring additional information to the
Council in March.
Facility Committee: Symanietz reported the committee has come up with a list of priorities. Finances and
the sales tax options were discussed. There will be one more meeting where the committee will develop
recommendations to bring to the Council. The main priority is the gym, the police at number 2 and
administrative at number 3.
Cable Commission Update: Brad Veenstra, approached the Council on behalf of the Cable Commission,
requesting the Council's input on potential upgrades to the cable system, one of which includes live
streaming. The upgrade would enhance the characters on the screen that pop up when someone is
speaking. It typically lists their name and their and position. The current generator is from the 1960s.
Veenstra suggests replacing it, however the cost would be $10,000. In doing research, Veenstra found a
Tricaster which will upgrade the current equipment tremendously. The funds come out of the PEG access
fee fund. The equipment is portable and can be easily moved if the meeting location were to change.
Schultz asked how this upgrade ties into the Fire Hall upgrades previously discussed. Schultz added he
has not received any numbers or estimates for the Fire Hall upgrades. Veenstra stated the equipment is
portable and can be moved to the Fire Hall for meetings. Schultz added he does not want to move
forward until he receives estimates on upgrades to the Fire Hall first. Loso added it would make more
sense to make the Fire Hall a priority. Wick made a motion to move forward with the upgrades to the
cable system not to exceed $18,000. The motion was seconded by Killam.
Aye: Wick, Killam
Nay: Schultz, Loso, Symanietz Motion Failed: 2:3:0
Discussion:Wick asked what would happen if the cost exceeds $15,000. Weyrens stated that if chosen to
move forward, they will need to agree to advance funding.
Department Head Annual Report
Police Chief: Chief Klein presented the 2014 Annual Police Report to the Council. Klein stated the
numbers were generated by the Stearns County Sheriff's Office Communications division. The number of
Computer Aided Dispatch calls may not be the same as the number of reports filed. Klein added that the
numbers in the itemized list are a bit off from those on the graph due to a computer glitch at the County.
The numbers in the graphs are correct and there was an increase of 165 calls. In 2013, there were 2,276
reports generated and in 2014 there were 2,474 reports generated an increase of 198 incidents. Klein
stated the increase in reports and calls can be attributed to the full time officer that was hired.
Most of the incidents are alcohol related, juvenile issues, animal complaints, traffic stops and a mix of
other reports of which the majority can be attributed to the use of alcohol and/or drugs. Klein added that
he expects his officers to be approachable in the community and to go out and spend time with the
citizens and businesses.
Loso asked why citizen contact report dropped. Klein stated that they are trying to mainstream the way
incidents are reported. In the past, visits to the school were reported as citizen contact, but now is
reported under school patrol.
Schultz asked if there is a list of hours associated with incident reports. Klein stated that sometimes in
dispatch it is not reported correctly. There is more work that goes on after the report is filed. Schultz
asked if the amount of time allocated to responding to incidents is reported anywhere. Klein stated it is
not, but is something that he has looked into.
February 2, 2015
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Klein stated that every call ran through CAD is taken by the PD secretary who then inputs them into the
Records Management System. That is where the numbers of calls is most accurate. Klein added that she
is far behind in this due to transcribing reports, being interrupted in the office, and taking on other tasks
that the officers ask her to do.
Lastly Klein stated the department was awarded the grant for the computer replacement; however the
exact amount is undetermined as it will be based on the actual cost of the computer equipment.
Fire Chief: Chief Taufen approached the Council and presented a brief overview of the annual report
comparing 2013 and 2014. In 2014, there were 69 additional calls. The type of call most frequented is
medical emergency which accounted for 68% of the emergency calls in 2014. The remaining categories,
for the most part remain stable. The final page provides a breakdown of the times the calls were received.
Taufen reported the busiest day of the week was Friday and the busiest time throughout the week was
4pm to 8pm.
Taufen reported that the department is currently down two fire fighters and the application deadline was
January 31. Six applications were received and the hiring process will begin shortly.
Schultz asked if there were any concerns regarding the spike in emergency calls. Taufen stated he is not
concerned with the increase as he expects to see increases in that area every year.
Administrator Report
Land Use Agreement: Weyrens stated that the City has been working with property owners of 1260 MN
ST W. The property has been vacant for more than one year and it is currently zoned B3, Highway
Business. As such residential is not a permitted use. The current property owner is living in a care facility
and one of their children wish to reside at the home. The City concern if it remains residential is the
requirement to connect to the municipal system. The property owner has agreed to execute a document
that would allow for the continued residential use with the provision that when water and sewer is
available to the property they must connect.
Loso made a motion to approve the execution of the land use agreement between the City of St.
Joseph and Mark and Tammy Schroden, 1260 MN Street W, extending the Single Family Use
contingent upon the property owner hooking up to city sewer/water once it is extended to that
area.The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously.
Mayor Reports: Schultz reported on the following activities: 1) he visited the Legislature to speak about
funding for the Community Center. The main issues this year in Legislation is transportation; 2) made a
presentation to the Chamber about what the City had done throughout the year; 3)announced that all
Boards and Commission will the meeting jointly to discuss 2015 activities and goals.
Adjourn: Wick made a motion to adjourn at 7:25 PM.The motion was seconded by Symanietz and
passed unanimously.
111111 ;2epA '15
Jud W yrens
Ad, inistrator