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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004 [07] Jul 15 I I I July 15, 2004 Page 1 ¡of 6 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, July 15, 2004 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. I I , Members Present: Mayor Larry Hosch. Councilors Gary Utsch, AI Rassier, Dale Wick, Ross Rieke. City Administrator Judy Weyrens. ! Others Present: City Engineer(s) Joe Bettendorf and Jeff Ledin, Public Works Director Dick Taufen, Matthew Vol brecht, John McGee, Jaime Thelen Approve Aaenda: Utsch made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Consent Aaenda: Rassier made a motion to approve consent agenda with the following changes. A motion was seconded by Utsch and passed unanimously. ! a. Bills Payable - Requested Action: Approve Check Numbers b. Minute -Approve Minutes of July 1, 2004 with the following corrections: CORRECTION: On page 3 of 5, 3'· '11, "Wick stated that they would need a variance for the width of the lot, not the depth: ¡ CORRECTION: On page 4 of 5, add that the Council was unable to act due to lack of documentation. ,I c. Joint Powers Agreement - Authorize the Administrator to' execute the Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Sl Joseph and Resource Training and Solutions. I d. Gambling Permit- Accept the Application for Exempt Gambling Permit for the Central Minnesota Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association for a fundraiser to be held on September 22, 2004 at the Li9hthouse. Public Comments to the Aaenda: No one present wished to speak. Rezonina of Birch Street East: Weyrens reported that the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing for the rezoning of property abutting Birch Street East between College Avenue and the northlsouth alley between 1st Avenue NE and 2nd Avenue NE. This is the second hearing conducted for the rezoning. Members voting against the first request sited questionable process and clarification on development types allowed in a B2, Highway Business District as reasons for voting nay. I The second request for rezoning was initiated by the City Council, clarifying the process and an opinion letter from the City Attorney was received regarding the ability of the City to manage the types of i businesses allowed in the zoning district. Hosch stated that he was the member requesting additiomil information on managing the conversion of the neighborhood so as not to disrupt the adjoining property. Based on the information submitted by the City Attorney, he is confident that zoning controls are in place and he supports the request at this time. I , , i I Rassier made a motion to accept the findings of the Planning Commission and rezone all property currently zoned R1, abutting Birch Street East between College Avenue and the north/south alley between 1st Avenue NE and 2nd Avenue NE from the current R1 to B2, Highway Business. Utsch seconded the motion. , Discussion: Wick stated that he would not be supporting the motion as it his opinion that the' transition of zoning should occur property by property. That is, as each property can no longer be maintained as a single family unit or a property owner has a specific development plan then the property should be rezoned. Ayes: Hosch, Rieke, Rassier, Utsch Nays: Wick Motion Carried 4:1:0 1 July 15, 2004 Page 2 of 6 River's EdQe - Final AUAR: Matt Volbrecht from Westwood Professional Services spoke to the Council regarding the ARCON development. Volbrecht stated that they are asking the Council to approve the final draft of the AUAR allowing for the distribution for final comments. Rassier made a motion to accept the final AUAR, allowing the document to be distributed for final comments. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. The Council did have some questions for Volbrecht concerning the AUAR and the next step(s) in the process. Wick questioned whether or not they responded to every letter received. Volbrecht responded that every letter received has been acknowledged in the final document. Rassier questioned if anyone else had seen these comments thus far. Volbrecht stated that the responses to the concems have not been distributed to the effected agencies. However, that is the next step in the AUAR process. If the Council approves the final document at this meeting, it will then be distributed to all agencies who submitted a response. Those agencies will then have an opportunity to responded to the final document. The process requires that all responses be submitted within 10 days. Volbrect stated that based on the comments received he does not foresee any agency objecting to the responses. The final process includes a notice in the Newsleader as well as the EQB Monitor. It is anticipated that the AUAR will become final on August 19, 2004 with the City Council passing a resolution accepting the AUAR and Mitigation Plan for the Arcon Development. FlaQ Request: Jon McGee, Vice President of Planning, Research, and Communication for the College of St. Benedict approached the Council requesting authorization to use the City light poles to hang College banners. McGee stated that the College is attempting to increase their visibility within the community. Currently visitors to St. Joseph can drive through the community without knowing there is a College in the middle of the City. With St. Benedict being one of the top 100 Liberal Arts Schools, it is important for people to notice that the College is here. Displaying flags on the decorative lights for special events would help promote the College and community. McGee stated that he has contacted the American Legion about sharing the use of the flag holders on the decorative lights and was told he would receive a call back if there were any problems or concems. He said he has heard nothing back from the Legion. The College is sensitive to the dates that Legion would have preference for displaying an American Flag. The College will be responsible for removing and replacing the American Flags when the College uses the holders. McGee presented the City with a proposed schedule of dates for displaying the College flags. Rassier made a motion to authorizing the College of St. Benedict to display CSB banners on the decorative light poles and the dates provided. The approval requires the College to remove, store and replace the American Flags when the CSB flags are displayed. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Sand Companies - Letter of Support: Jamie Thelen, President of Sand Companies, addressed the Council regarding submitting a letter of support for the Tax Credit Application for the Work Force housing in Morningside Acres. Thelen stated that the Tax Credit program is very competitive and community support provides an applicant with additional scoring points. Thelen presented the Council with a proposed letter of support which has been modified by the City Administrator. The letter of support includes the following: · Waive 10% of the Plan Review Fee for the Building Permits · Park Dedication Credits · Reduced setback in the R-3 area · Variance on the 50' setback from the pond The Council discussed the Park Dedication requirements. St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.18 subd. 18 provides the Council with discretionary authority to waive all, some or none of the trail connection I I I 2 I I I i , I July 15, 2004 Page 30f 6 I requirement. Sand Companies is requesting relief of the connection requirement and well as a request that the City commit to spending the full Park Dedication fee within the Morningside Development. ' Wick stated that Park Dedication fees could not be used for lighting as they had proposed. Park. I Dedication fees must be used for Park Improvements that are available to the general public. Therefore, the fee could not be used to construct on site improvements such as a play area for the Townhomes or sidewalk within the development. Sand Companies had also proposed having a percentage of the Park Dedication Fees waived or perhaps just the fees associated with the affordable housing part of the I development. i I With the recent revision of the Park Dedication Fee Ordinance, there are some concerns on who wou'ld approve or deny their proposal. Wick stated that any waiver of fee should be approved by the Park Board and then forwarded to the Council for confirmation. Rassier stated that the City Council should be able to look at all the new developments and make a determination if part of the connection fee should be : waived. He further stated he is in favor of the Park Dedication fee being used for the trail and lighting. Thelen stated that they meet all of the guidelines of life-cycle housing, with a minimum of 15% being I affordable. In fact, Thelen stated that 50% of the development qualifies as Affordable. Weyrens stated that the City staff has been keeping track of the values of new homes in the City and that last year we would have met the 15% target for affordable housing in the City. ' Hosch stated that he does not favor waiving any park dedication fees, but would support waiving the plan review fee for the Affordable section. The Council was in general agreement with the letter of support with the exception of the Park Dedication requirement. Utsch stated that is important to watch how much support the City gives on this project because there will be other developments asking for this kind o~ help in the future and the City must be able to offer similar support. With regard to the Park Dedication trail connection fee, Thelen estimated that the connection fee would be $ 9,716 and respectfully requested waiver of this amount as an illustration of City support for the project. I , Wick made a motion authorizing execution of the Letters of Support, including the waiver of $ 9716.00 in Park Dedication Fees - trail connection. The letter of support will also indicate the waiver of the plan review fee for the Affordable section only. Utsch seconded the motion. Ayes: Hosch, Rassier, Utsch, Wick Nays: Rieke Motion Carried 4:1:0 CITY ENGINEER REPORTS Water Filtration Plant: City Engineer Jeff Ledin appeared before the Council to present the proposed plans for the new Water Filtration Plant. Ledin stated the proposed area for the new Water Filtration Plant is near the interstate adjacent to County Road 2. Determining when and how large to build a facility is based on a calculation using average daily use ageldemand and maximum daily use. As St. Joseph' is a growing community the water usage is continuing to escalade. , I The existing plant was upgraded in 1995 and that plant has come close to its maximum daily usage. I Ledin stated that growth has been very dramatic in the City. He also stated that there is a lot of growth in the surrounding areas that may affect the City's water usage. For example, I · St. Wendel Township consists of roughly 400 homes I · The new ARCON development consists of roughly 1052 homes : , · Once the ARCON development is completed and if St. Wendel is annexed into the City, this will create a need for 800,000 gallons per day maximum. i Ledin stated that there are four stages in the planning process for a Water Filtration Plant: 1) Test Well Study/Pilot Study; 2) Determination of need and usage; 3) Design; 4) Construction/Online. The first two tasks have been completed and the City is in the design stage. To assist the design stage a number of City representatives toured water filtration plants to determine the type of facility to be designed. Hel stated that because there is no definite site yet, the design might need to be altered. 3 July 15, 2004 Page 4 of 6 Ledin stated that while the Council has already reviewed the proposed filtration plan, it has been modified I to minimize expenditures. The Council expressed concern about spending capital up front and not using the full capacity of the filtration plant for 7-10 years. The Council talked about starting with a basic Water Filtration Plant and then as the City grows, expanding the facility. When questioned if the existing facility could be expanded, Ledin responded that the plant can be expanded but the City should allow for 6 to 12 months for construction. The Council discussed the financials of a new Water Filtration Plant and they questioned how much it will cost in today's dollars vs. '2016' dollars. The next step will be to have Monte Eastvold look at the financials of the new facility. The Council also addressed their thoughts on how big or small they feel the new facility should be. Rassier stated it is his opinion the City should build the 3million gallon per day facility as we know the City will continue to grow. Hosch disagreed and stated that he doesn't feel the City should over build the facility. He does not believe that is being fiscally responsible. Rieke concurred with Hosch, but stated the facility should be easy to expand. Rieke stated there is a difference between between overbuilding and envisioning. Utsch stated that he is not an expert in this field, and he would like to hear the thoughts of the Public Works Director as well as the Engineer. . Engineer - Ledin stated that in his opinion the City should build the 1.5 million- gallonlday facility. That size facility would double the capacity of the current facility while requiring a smaller capital contribution. Ledin clarified that whatever facility is constructed should be built with expansion capabilities. . Public Works Director - Taufen stated that he agrees with the Engineer and that he doesn't want to see the City run short of capacity. He feels that the City needs to plan for the future. Wick questioned how long it would take to expand the basic facility, to which Ledin responded I approximately one year. Bettendorf stated that constructing the basic facility, 1.5 MGD, would help with the wear and tear on the current plant. The City also could opt to construct a 2 MGD facility, which would be between the basic and the expanded. Rieke stated that the 2MGD option might be better for the City as he does not want the City to look back and say, "we should have built a larger facility". Weyrens reminded the Council that in addition to constructing a water filtration plant, the City will need to begin thinking about a second water storage facility. While it is intended to pay for the facilities with WACISAC fees, they may have to be adjusted to accommodate the expanded facilities. Hosch stated that the City could control the demand for water by controlling growth in the City and limit building permits. If ARCON and St. Wendel are fully developed, those two areas will use half of the available capacity. Weyrens stated that the next step in consideration of the filtration plant is to review financing altematives. Financing options will be prepared for both a 1.5 MGD and 2.0 MGD facility. Bettendorf suggested that land costs be added into the projections to determine feasibility. RFP for Field Street Corridor Studv: Bettendorf reported that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Field Street Corridor study has been distributed and 17 firms has requested copies. Based on the timeline established for the project, the firms to be interviewed should be identified by August 23, 2004. At this time Bettendorf requested the Council establish a selection committee, to which the Council identified as: Councilors Rassier and Utsch, Administrator Weyrens, Public Works Director Taufen, City Engineer Bettendorf and APO representative Marick. It is anticipated that the Council confer the decision of the selection committee on September 2, 2004. DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS I 4 I I I ,"···~·~·~","~········~·','""-"·"··T~'",,,'·'~""· , July 15, 2004 Page 5'of 6 Public Works: Utsch questioned Taufen as to the status of the sidewalk estimate for 4th Avenue NE. Taufen reported that he is waiting for a response from Concrete Plus. MAYOR REPORTS Leaaue of Minnesota Cities: Hosch stated that he received a letter in the mail urging City officials to submit a request to the Governor to get the problem with LGA funding fixed. He stated it was a technical glitch and that because it was overlooked this year, the intent of the law is not being followed. Rassiei stated that the City needs to start budgeting for LGA replacement funds, as it is his opinion that we w'lI not always be able to rely on LGA funding. COUNCIL REPORTS RIEKE EDA: Rieke questioned if the Council has received any applications to fill the vacancy on the EDA and Planning Commission. Hosch stated that there have been no public requests and that the only official vacancy is on the EDA. Rieke stated that the EDA meeting July 21, 200~ I i I RASSIER I I Open Positions: Rassier questioned whether or not the City would fill the vacant seats due to the fact that the year is half over and there will be a new Mayor in 2004. Hosch stated that the EDA has contacted individuals inquiring if they are interested in the open positions and intend to have the position filled within 30 days. WICK Park Board: Wick mentioned that the Park Board meets on Monday night. UTSCH - No Report ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS ¡ Reauest for Reimbursement: Weyrens presented the Council with a request for reimbursement from: a resident who was required to change their address. The Council has previously re-named ConstitutiOn Drive to 17'h Avenue SE. The name was changed as it was difficult for emergency services to Icate the addresses. Weyrens stated that at this time only one home has been sold, and they are requesting the City cover the costs of the mistake. Weyrens stated that in the past when this has happened, the CitY has denied the request, as it is more important to provide for emergency services then keep an address that cannot be located. ' Rieke stated it is his opinion that the City should not pay for the expenses. As the City grows the same situation could happen and the City will be setting precedence. Weyrens stated that previously a I business was affected and they needed to change the stationary and business cards, but the City denied that request as well. Wick agreed with Utsch and stated that the City is responsible for the mistake and maybe paying for the mistake will help people be more careful. Hosch disagreed and stated that he does not support reimbursing for checks or labels, but would support reimbursement for the Driver's licenSe. Weyrens stated that with all the new developments in the City, this is going to happen again. In the bast development consisted of square lots and blocks, easily identified on a grid. However, development trends today include curvilinear roads which are not conducive to a grid numbering system. Addressing assigning is a problem for all communities and Stearns County is in the process of developing regional standards. St. Joseph is already using these standards. Unfortunately address problems are not identified until the project is built. Mistakes are corrected as soon as they are.identified. 5 July 15, 2004 Page 6 of 6 Rieke stated that we should recognize the error, but the City should not reimburse the homeowner for any I expenses as a result of the name change. Hosch questioned that if we approve this request, then where does it stop. Rieke made a motion to deny the request of the homeowner for reimbursement of the costs associated with the street name change of Constitution Drive to 17th Avenue SE. The motion was seconded by Rassier. Ayes: Hosch, Rieke, Rassier Nays: Utsch, Wick Adiourn: Wick made a motion to adjourn at 9:15 PM; seconded by U!sch and passed unanimously. ~. ·du(/t~ ~';u y weÝrefsLLef' A inistrator I I 6