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Home My WebLink About1996 [03] Mar 25 I I I , ! I PagE' 2929 March ,.,C". ~~, 199E. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for o£ St~ Joseph met in special session on Monday" March 25, 1996 P.M. in t he City Hall. I tHe- '. a, City 8:ØØ MEMBERS PRESEJlT: Mayor Donald Bud Reber; Councilors Ross Rieke,! Bob Loso, Ken Hiemenz, Cory Ehlert; Clerk/Administrator Rach~l Stapleton. OTHERS PRESEJlT: Joe Bettendorf, Daniel Nierengarten, Jane Reber,! Fred Reber, Hub Klein, Claudette Klein, Charles Cushing, Car-al Cushing, Harold P.:fannenstein, Leon Ho.fiman, June Ho:!:fman, Rpger Buening, IDean Martini, Lee Zipp, Joanne Zipp, Pete GirOtDt, Donna Blanchette, Kevin J. Blanchette, Margie Kalla, Al KalIs, Bill Wasner, Dave Theisen, Ma£y and , Gary Sunderman, Al Brandenburger, Paul Kolman, Lee Davis, ~ancy Lindell-Johnson, Mary Mertes, Robbin and Brian Murphy, Lillian , Studinski, Marvin and Monica Stanger, Janice Mensinger, Jean and Scott Schuneman, Irvin P. Klocker, Melvin and Aurelia Ruegerner, Rose Gohman, Ellen Wahlstrom, Andy Gillitzer, Gerald Honer, Ted J. Duncan, Bob Wahlstrom, Jim Studinski, Jim Graeve, Scott Mattson, Ron KastTe~a, Bernard Evans, Kendra Johnson, Rita Douvier, Yvonne Lieser, Nancy McDarby. ! Mayor Reber called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M4 with Caunc~lors Rieke, LOBO, Ehlert and Hiemenz present and allowed each person ¡present to present their views of the proposed East Minnesota Street project. Brian Murphy asked if it would be year. Mayor Reber ind£cated that delayed a year already. possible to delay the project ¡one construction of this project ~a8 been ¡ I Gary Sunderman asked i= a £easibility and impact studies were ddne. indicated he does not want £reeway type tra££ic on his residential street. Mayor Reber stated that a ~aTge increase in tra£íic is ¡not anticipated. Joe Bet tender:! s;'tated that a Íeasibili ty stud}" was done according to usual procedures. Traí:fic counts wer-e received :from APO. The width o:f the street was not set to determine the amount o;f t:r-a:fíic on the street. I ! I Bettendorf indicated that we are using a standard ~idth £er the Istreet. The APO tra££ic study is a computer analysis based on previous studies. He Janice Mensinger questioned when the traífic study: was done. Eose Gohman stated that she has clean þecause the snow Írom the stated that the sidewalk can be more apace for the s~aw. sidewalk, but it is impossible to keep st,reet is plowed on to it. Bet tendor:f moved back to the property line ro give ¡ the conponen~s as Bill Wasner the Council expressed support for the project with! planned, for construction this summer~ Rita Douvier was told the sidewalks were planned all the wa}' to Ithe dentistso£:fice (91st Avenue), and now plans are for the sidewalks to end at 12th. She expressed support to have sidewalks to 91st AVenue. Lee Zipp questioned why the sidewalks will be on only one side. He was - Page 2930 March 25, 1995 supportive of sidewalks the business owners get en both sides~ ìhere ~ere a~sc concerns why snow r2woval and not the hC~2 owner£~ Steve Frank questioned if members by their silence. opinion. the Mayer was speaking Mayor Reber stated he £or the other Council was expre2sing his Hub Klein stated he is an East Minnesota Stre2t rezide~t a~d Chair oí the Planning Commission. The Planning CC~8iESio~ sUppGr~2 the p~oject as laid out including sidewalks £or" saíety~ Klein as an inéivié~al also supports the project as laid cut. l{evin Blanchette questioned the impact oÍ the 12th Aven~Ë connection and possible centrols on truck tr8£íic that could be imposed. Bettendor£ indicated that it could be posted as a nen-truck route. Councilor Ehlert indicted a desire to discourage heavy trsÍ£ic including truck tra££ic but acknowledged Bill Wasner·s business needs to have truck trafiìc allowed. ~aJo~ Re~e~ stated that we will Dot try to discourage truck tra££ic to businesses. Monica Stanger e~pressed concerns about the ber.e=~ts of sidewalks that can not be used in the winter and would still have pedestrians OD the street. She questioned why the street is not plowed curb to curD. Response was snow removal is di££icult. ~L equipü2D~ hits th~ curb it can damage equipment and/cr the operator. Adeline Gillitzer questioned the need ÍOT siéewalks that can not b2 used in the winter, widening the street, and the neec for storD sewers. Harold P£annenstein stated sidewalks are not ne2ded, but iÍ they are installed, they should be installed on both sides of the street. He also Íelt students do not use sidewalks. Nancy McDarby discussed the number D~ intersections en the project area; expressed desire to conserve the residential £lavor c! thg street; discourage traÍÍic speed by not widening t~e street; redesign the street to discourage truck traf£ic, indicating tha~ Bill Wasner is the only one that should be accommodated. Steve Frank stated that delay happens all the time. It is per~ectly reasonable to delay this project another year. He suggested doing a real tra£íìc analysis, taking into consideration ~hat the p~oject will do to the neìghborhood. Yvonne Lieser agreed with Steve Frank, and expressed opposition tc sidewalks. Andy Gillitzer expressed concern Ícr snow removal i£ sicewa11:s are installed. He is not in favor oí sidewalks. Adeline Gillitzer stateå there were proble~s with i~stallaticn c= ~ail boxes on a Waite Park street project. The Post C££ice needs to be I I I I I I Page 2931 March 25,. 1~95 I involved in the plans, in order to prevent mail box installation ¡ problerns~ I Fred Reber concurred with Bill \~asner and Hub Klein by expressilg , support £or the project as planned by the Council; Jim Graeve discussed his results oÍ a survey he various aspects o£ the project. He also stated street could be done for $250,0Ø0. Mayor Reber need ÍOT installation oÍ utilities also. Graove discussed the need for a walkway around and through the litY in lieu of sidewalk. He £urther discussed the water'treatment preheat,. and fire hall plans. He Íelt delay is good planning. ! had instigated,! on that he Íeels the reminded Graeve! oÍ the the Jim Studinski expressed concern Íor reduction in the £ront yards. He felt children need front yard space for play to keep them off the street. Mayor Reber indicated that streets are icr traific andl not Íor children to play. ! Bernie Evans expressed concern on the safety issue, especially I concerning children playing. He felt the design o£ the road would increase tra£fic and speed. He would like to see a plan to keep trucks of£ this street~ Mayor Reber reminded him streets are not playgrounds,. and safety was a consideration in widening the street. Councilor Ehlert stated the City is responsible to provide safe walking areas. Minnesota Street has established itself as a walking area. He supports sidewalks on this street as providing a safe natural phthway~ , , , Nancy McDarby stated the students are gone for three months. The plan of the street encourages speeding. She recommended discouraging speed by design. Mary Ann Graeve asked ií Mr. Bettendorf has any other thoughts. Joe Bettendorf responded either curb and gutter or ditches as a rural road, have to bE' installed. Normally ditches are reserved for rural roads. The road width is adjustable; sidewalks are optìonal~ A lane , should be provided £or roller blades and bikers out a£ the tra££ic lane. The only way to slow traÍíìc is to install stop signs,. ahdthere are problems with that also,. as they increase noise and raadwayiwear. Margie Kalla qUE'stioned how much the roadway would be lowed area. Bettendor£ will check the plans and contact her. in þer Councilor LOBO indicated he would consider Íorgoing sidewalks reducing the width of the street. b~ke I ~ an~ I path Kevin Blanchette suggested allowing parking on one side and a an the other. Councilor Hiemenz stated this is a City/County project and the City ~s "P;:;Do-7.g:::!2 ~a:fch 2~1, 1995 doing good planning by including city utility iùstallatioD along with a I County project. This saves dollars on the projects. It vould not be appropriate íor the County to imp~ove the road without the City including needed improvements at the same time. lIe indicated support of a delay in the project if the County would delay it. Hiemenz stated he liked Jim Graeve's idea to put a bikeway around the City. This would be needed if sidewalk is taken out of the project. He could support omitting sidewalk, but could not support a narrow street with parking en only one side. He is in favor oí truc~ routes. Councilor Rieke stated the City has done lots of projects, although none that brought about such controversy and adversarial positions. He felt the project is designed r~ght and should be put in r~ght~ Ri~ke would be willing to delay it one year, but that it would not be beneficial to do SQ~ Minnesota Street is an arterial roadway and it would be a mistake to construct it as something other. Fortv £eet width would be the minimum width he could support. Councilor Ehlert indicated he would be willing to éelar the project one year ií the County would still £und their portio~ o~ the proj~ct~ H2 would be willing to reduce the roadway 33 feet to 4C £eet wide, but felt the sa£ety issue is important to consider in relation to the sidewalks. He expressed concern to provide pathways £or the young families in the developing area on the east end oí the city. He also discussed the provision the Council allowed to provide ~cr ~inancial hardship cases for senior citizens íor assessments. Mayor Reber stated the project is absolutely necessary. He would be willing to allow a 4Ø £oot width, with a bike lane and pe¿estr~aD path, and parking on only one side. Sidewalks could reluc~ant~y be eliminated. Delay in the project would only drive up project costs. I Jim Graeve stated project costs would not go up if the project is redesigned. Fred Reber along with several others present indicated they were opposed to parking on only one side. Also Ted Duncan ~as s~ppGrtive o£ keeping sidewalk in the project. Bill Wasner questioned how those that i£ there is a delay in the prqject. need sewer now would be 'h'=>.....-f1:;::..-l ...._.~.........-'-" Hub Klein indicated that bike lanes work only in theory. Steve Frank stated we do not have a lot 0= data here~ Councilor Rieke re~inded those in attendance the Design Tea~ 2uggested creating a £amily environment in planning. He reco~~ended i~ the sidewalk is eliminated the cast of the side~81k could be ~llocated £or a future walkway. Ron Kostreba discussed B3Íety and questioned this area. the nu;r:~er 8£ a::ci-ée.nts I ..,...., ........ I I I Page March 25, , ! 2933 1995 , Councilor Hiemenz recommended planning for a walkway to be installed. Councilor Hiemenz made a motion to set the width of East Minnesota Street at forty £eet, with parking on either aide, curb and gutt~r with drainage; eliminate sidewalk from the plan8 and sef up separate ~lans íor the future sidewalks; the motion was seconded by Loso. Discüssion - The s~dewalks that currently are in place would stay, but coul~ be moved clo8E.~ to the property line, i:f desired by the property cwnèr. Rieke also indicated 1} the reinstallation oÍ the mailboxes need to be coordinated with the Post O££ioe. 2) traÍÍic issuest i.e. stop signs and worked out. truck routes, need t6 be I road would be turned over to thè City. , stay a County road unless the County Íor County transportation. I Loso expressed concern that this Bettendorf indicted that it will determines that it is not needed ! The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. with a motion by Loso; se60nded by Rieke. Ayes: Reber, Rieke, Loso, Hiemenz, Ehlert. Hayes: Hone. Motion carried. ~ Rachel Stap_eton Clerk/Admínistrator " Page- :1aTch 25,. ............l· ":::::-¡"':;'";i; .. ........,.. ..ì. =¡=--ç:, Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council fer the City 0.., St To~=ph ",ot 'n =poc' al ~'::---,-{o" O~ ~1'==.-f~' U"~~-Ch'-">:: '" I::tQ.... -..... r. I"d'~ I .... . ~ c= " ",'- .... .:.. _.... ..;¡.~;:,¡;;;;,....." ~¡ .....;.=·....w,;;".·, .;.~- .. ';;"'-'", .......'..Q ,;.:.'- Q.."-'..... P.M~ in the City Hall, as a worki~g meeting to review job positiGDS with Personnel Consultant Kathleen ~urphy. t1EM:BERS PRESENT: Leso, Ken Hiemenz, Mayor Donald Bud Reber; Councilo=s Ross Rieke, Bo~ Cory Ehlert; Clerk/AdDinistrator Rachel Stapleton. OTHERS PRESEUT: Kathleen Murphy, Richard Tau:fen. Mayor Reber called the meeting to order at Rieke, Loso, Ehlert and Hiemenz present. ....."""" po ¥ O.\i...,¡,) .. .í.... with Councilors Kathleen Murphy discussed the Pay Equity Law, s~all c~ty and large city job matches, methods o£ evaluating jobs, and poin~s aS2igneé. The Mayor and Council reviewed and evaluated each job position with ~s. Murphy and assigned the following points to the jobs: ?olic,e Chief Director of Public Works City Clerk/Administrator Police Sergeant Deputy Clerk Police O:f£icer Waste Water Supervisor Maintenance Worker Secretary Laborer 352 "") ¡'I ~ ....-::;;;..... 3~1 ~~. ,¡;;.-::;-;¡. 253 ~~'" ..:-.J _ 152 I ~....~ ..:...&:.....; 14.3 1",,)~ .....:-'i,.} The Council discussed the upcoming appointment of 3 Police C~~icer to the Sergeant position. 2uesticned was if the hiring cabmittee has any input in this position, and if the Council wishes to put the whole burden of this appointment on the Chief's shoulders. ~ayor Reb~r will discuss this matter with the Chief of Police. The Council generally acknowedgeed the points assigned to the Sergea~t position place it in Class X of the 1935 City of St. Joseph Pay Scale. Loso made a motion the advancement or prc~otion to the next class on the pay step chart shall be in the step nest clos51y representing their present hourly pay rate so long as the new step rate is greater than the pay rate of the old step. The individual will be eligible for a pay step increase the first of the next year. The Dotion was secon¿ed by Hiemenz. Ayes: Reber, Rieket LOBo, Hie~eD=, Ehlert. Nayes: None. Motion carrieé. Rieke proposed an increase to the whole psy scale an a88unt that would remove the perceptio~ oí any inequities in the points esta~lis~2d ~C~ any job position and the wages paid. 7he ex=ep~ion to this the wa;es I pa~d to the current employee in the Laborer position will stay outside the requirements o£ the wage step system. I I I Page March 2S,. 293~¡ 1!995 , Rieke also in£ormed the Council the emplo}~ees would like to agr1ee :for , the future that they would receive a cast of living increase ! established at the C~ P.. I.. The Council generally agreed to cons!ider wage increases each year taking into c:onsideration situations dhaoge from year to year.. I i Rieke made a motion to have sta££ dra£t an increase to the whol~ 1996 wage clagg and step system "to make Class '11'"111,. Step S;ven at $15.. 42 per hour. Also the cost to the City o£ this increase will be calcu~ated. The motion was seconded by Hiemenz.. Discussion - Hiemenz queBt~oned how this increase would relate to area cities. I I , I Council questioned i£ pending mediation would have an effect on! considering changes to the wage scale OT' prohibit discussion with police oí:f'ice:!'s concerning wage and bene:!i t increases,. pT-ioy- tol the mediation meeting. The City Attorney will be consulted en t.his! matter. Ayes: Reber, Nayes:: Loso. Rieke, Hiemenz,. Ehlert.. Motion carried.. ! , sb-conded The by meeting was adjourned at 9:3Ø p..m. with a motion by Loso; Rieke. Ayes: Reber, Rieke, Loso,. Hiemenz, Ehlert.. Mayes: None. Motion carried. Rachel Stapleton Clerk/Administrator