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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 [08] Aug 19 Page 3595 August 19, 1999 1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, August 19, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the st. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Councilors Ken Twit, Bob Loso, Mary Niedenfuer, Cory Ehlert, Clerk-Administrator Cart Schmidt, and Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. I Others Present Chad Carlson, Monte Eastvold, Joe Bettendorf, Steve Johnson, Steve Streng, and steve Frank 2. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda as presented; seconded by Nledenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Niedenfuer. Hlemenz questioned the detail required for item 3.b., the W.J. Properties Evacuation Plan. Loso expressed satisfaction with the { etail involved in the report and explained th81 it is only being presented to meet a County requirement. The quesfion was called and the motion passed unanimously to approve: Tax Increment Financing Seminar, October 5,1999 Alexandrta. W.J. Properties Emergency Evacuation Plan. Police Pursuit Policy , Lot Spfit - Lot 1 Block 2 Roske Addition. Lot Split is required for the sale of a portion of said property to the First st81e Bank of st. Joseph. 4. Approve Minutes - August 5, 1999. Niedenfuer made a motion to approve the minutes of Augusf 5, 1999 with the following COffections: Page 7, under Councilor Twit's report, the fourth paragraph second line should read "Twit asked that the Council receive information as to how much patrol time a secretary would save and the type of calls a secretary could handle." The motion passed unanimously. 5. Public Comments on the Agenda. steve Frank, 606 Birch Street Wesf, commented on the Housing Study that expressed a need for more student housing in St. Joseph. He stated that St. Johns is making every effort to keep their students on campus and the st. Joseph should do the same. Hequestioned how the need for more student housing was determined. Niedenfuer stated th81 she believes there is a need for more family and faculty housing, and not just student housing specifically. Lose indica1ed th81 the Housing Study did not only pertain to students, and rather it showed many housing needs in the community. I Mr. Frank also commented on the limitations of US Cable. He stated that many surrounding communities have choices in their cable providers and that US Cable has been unable to provide the desired channels or Internet capability. Hiemenz responded that the City had approached other cable providers but were told that at this time, expansion is not economically feasible. 6. Bills Payable and Overtime. Loso made a motion to approve the bills payable, seconded by Twit. Weyrens stated th81 the Council should decide whether or not to reinstate the zero { educt1ble in the City's worker's compensation policy. She indicated th81 with the current $500 deductible the City only saved about $20. Weyrens spoke with Peter Omann who suggested returning the deductible to zero. Weyrens stated that because of the minor incidents this year, the City rate is $5,000 higher. Ehlert asked if the $5000 is on top of what the City currently pays. Weyrens stated yes and explained that despite how minor, the incidents had to be reported to the state. Lose questioned if the $5000 is in the 2000 budget, and Weyrens indica1ed that it is. Weyrens also added that a printer and a new steel cased chair were ordered for Administrator Schmidt. Loso made a motion to add the two items to the bills payable, seconded by Twit. The Motion passed unanimously. Twit made a motion I I to change the worker's compensation deductible back to zero. Niedenruer and passed unanimously. Loso made a motion to approve the callouts. Ehlert seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. I Page 3596 , August 19,1999 i I The motion was seconded by' I 7. City Engineer Reports - a. Accept bids for the improvements to Joseph Street and extension utilities to the, St. Joseph Business Park. Bettendorf reported th81 SEH bids on Tuesday for the II improvement project. The low bid was submitted by S.J. Louis Inc. of St. Cloud for $1,371,915.00 The Engineer's Estim81e for the combined bid was $1,607,225.80. Bettendorf explained th81 the base bid includes the entire Joseph Street Project, along with sewer and ! water for New CR 133 and Elm Street in the Business Park. The w81er main goes north along the New CR 133 alignment from Minnesota Street to Elm Street, and on Elm Street from Old CR 133 east to Joseph Street. It also includes construction of the hOlding pond for the east portion of the Business Park and for Joseph Street. Alternative A includes street and storm sewer construction on Elm Street from New CR 133 to 15tn Avenue. This altem81e will become necessary if an industry commits to one of the adjacent lots. , Alternative B includes street and storm sewer construction on Elm Street from 15tn Avenue to Joseph Street. Alternative B is needed if an industry commits to the Borgert property on the south side of Elm Street between Joseph Street and the Business Park. Alternative C includes sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, and street construction on 15tn avenue from Elm to CR 133. This alternative will become necessary if an industry commits to the lots on either side of 15tn Ave. Alternative D includes sanitary sewer and water main along CR 133 from CSAH 75 to Elm Street. It provides sewer and water to the Veterinary Clinic, Gohman Construction, and Metro Plumbing. This will be necessary if the abutting property owners agree to the improvements in question. Bettendorf indicated that Alternatives A, B, and C don't have to be started until someone is ready to build. Bettendo!f recommended th81 the Council award the bid to the lowest bidder: S.J. Louis. He recommended the Council award the Joseph Street portion of the Improvement, and the water main portion of the Business park. He also recommended award of the remainder of the Business park Improvements subject to execution of a Developer's Agreement between Leo Buettner and the City of St. Joseph; and to award Altem81e D subject to receiving a satisfactory petition or waiver from the benefiting' property owners and subject to execution of the Devetoper's Agreement. ! Niedenfuer asked if the businesses should contribute funds to the process. Bettendorf explained th81 there is no reason to do A, B, C until; businesses are coming in. Loso questioned whether the Molus property is included. Bettendorf indicated it is. Bettendorf explained the breakdown of the Business Park Improvements: 'Construction: $341,765, Right of way: $63,000, Pond Seeding: $6,700, Contingency: $17,100, Engineering: $61,500, LegaVFiscafJAdmin.: $41,000, Totaling: $531,065. lmmedi81e assessments: $354,768, Future assessments: $120,313. The City costs foroversizing are $55,984. Grand Total: $531,065. I Bettendorf explained that the City cost involves oversizìng from a 10" main to a 16" main, and a 8" sanitary sewer to a 10" sanitary sewer. Loso questioned where the oversizing costs would come from. Bettendorf explained that these costs usually come from utility funds. These costs should be recouped when development goes in. Ehlert asked if this was normal procedure in this type of development project, and Cartson indicated th81 it was: Page 3597 August 19,1999 Ehlert questioned how long would the City have to carry the $120,313 future assessments. Carlson explained th81 the owner is really anxious to see the business park take off. He expects him to get an agreement within the next year. I Bettendorf indicated there are two areas of exposure and risk for the City: the future assessments ($120,313), and the $354,768 immediate assessment. 'This amount is assessed to one property owner. If the owner decides not to pay it immedi81efy, the City may have to carry it for awhile. Ehlert asked how the border property wouk! compete. Carlson indica1ed it would do well as it is in direct competition with the business park. He st81ed that we are on the high side but th81 we'll soon be the only park left. We" !be the next big market. Bettendorf expfained that the City has not developed a TlF program th81 has allowed other Cities to finance projects for years. Twit st81ed that the real risk is the $120,313 future assessment as the oversizing is standard. Loso asked if this would rn~ considered a deferred assessment. Bettendorf said no but that we could roll the interest into a future development agreement with an industry that comes in. He explained th81 this isn't a 429 process that would allow us to assess in that manner. Lose questioned wh81 the City cost would be in A, B, C, and D. Bettendorf explained that there shouldn't be any in A, B, or C. The only City cost in D would be the oversizing. Niedenfuer asked then if A, B, and C could wait. Bettendorf said yes but that we have the plans and figures ready to go so we can move very quickly. Bettendorf explained a handout outlining the Joseph street Improvement costs: Construction: $570,772, Right of way: $25,000, Pond seeding: $6,000, Contingency: $28,500, Engineering: $102,700, LegaVFiscallAdmin: $68,500, Total: $801,41'2. Assessments: $601,472, City Costs: oversizing: $42,300, storrnsewer: $157,700, Grand Total: $801, 472. Ehlert questioned whether we were talking about the same pond. Bettendorf indica1ed th81 it is the same pond (almost $13,000). I Bettendorf explained a handout outlining the cost of Alternate D: Construction: $54,825, Contingency: $2,800, Engineering: $9,900, LegallFiscallAdmin: $6,600, Total: $74,125, Assessments: $74,125. Bettendorf explained th81 contingency funds are not true costs. These costs are included to make sure the City has bonded enough to cover itself. Loso stated that the City is looking at approxim81ely $300,000 in Habililly. Ehlert stated that would be the case if the park set vacant for 15 years. Carlson said he is confident the park will be full within five years. Twit asked for clarifica1ion of whether Bettendorf is looking for approvall of the base bid and Alternate D, Bettendorf referred to his memo for his recommendations (He recommended the Council award the Joseph street portion of the Improvement, and the w81er main portion of the Business park. He also recommended award of the remainder of the Business park Improvements subject to execution of a Developer's Agreement between Leo Buettner and the City of st. Joseph; and to award Alternate D subject to receiving a satisfactory petition or waiver from the benefiting property owners and subject to execution of the Developer's Agreement.) The Council asked Carlson if he agreed with the recommendations and he indica1ed that he does. He met with Mr. Buettner yesterday and that he is ready to move forward and get things started. Bettendorf indicated thet they hope to have Joseph street black before the snow flies. I Twit made a motion to move forward with Bettendorf's recommendations. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. I 8. Right of way acquisition, proposed 12th Ave. NE-a. College ofSt.Benedict b. Ron Molus , a. College of St. Benedict - The Council was presented with a letter from Attomey Scherer and a Vacant Land Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of the street right of way from the College. Weyrens indicated that they are looking for a closing date of September 13, 1999. Ehlert questioned how the negotiations went, and Carlson indicated that they went ! well. Loso made a motion to approve the agreement and Niedenfuer seconded. The Motion passed unanimously authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute the vacant, land purchase agreement between the College of st. Benedict and the City of st. Joseph. i Page 3598 August 19,1999 ¡ I I i b. Ron MoIus- Hiemenz negoti81ed with MoIus for Right of Way acquisition for County Road 133/12'" Avenue Southeast. The asking price is $21,500 for the eastern 13,950 sq. ft. oftM property. The property is zoned R-1 and fronts Minnesota Street. Lœo questioned what property is leftover from the acquisition. Hiemenz indic81ed there are two buildable lots. ' The size of the property in question is approxim81ely 80 x171. 71. Loso made a motion to ! approve, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously authorizing the right of way I acquisition for County Road 133/12" Avenue Southeast. I 9. Monte Eastvold- Discussion of Funding proposed improvements and review of existing levy requirements. Monte Eastvold presented the Councif with a spreadsheet showing the General Obligation Improvement Bonds of 1999 for Joseph Street- Business Park and Northland Drive. The total cost of the 1999 Improvement projects is $1 ,635,419. This cost, minus the Steams electric loan, investment earnings and plus the issuance costs results in an issuance of $1,450,000. The issue is now whether the City wants to contribute some cash up front to lower the issuance amount. Eastvold also asked whether the City wants to include the Northland Drive issue? Hiemenz indicated that Northland should be included so that the City does not have to incur many of the expenses twice. Eastvold indicated that it has been a few years since the City had a bond rated. This would be a good time to do this as the issuance is over one milliondolfars.Eastvold also st81ed that he would like to come back on 912199 and set the sale for the bonds, which would make them eligible for sale on 9130199. He indicated that the sale on 9/30/99 could be at a 4:30 meeting. Council member Twit asked how much money would the City need to contribute up front to make a difference? Weyrens indica1ed that the City also has the debt relief fund available with $135,000. Twit suggested $150,000. Loso expressed concern that this might make the City cash poor for many of the other projects that are coming up. Twit suggested a more conservative amount around $75,000 to $100,000 to ensure that doesn' occur. Weyrens indicated that we may be depteting most ofthe fund now but th81 it will build up again rapidly. Hiemenz suggested putting $100,000 up front. Loso made a motion to place $100,000 into the bond fund, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. Eastvold reviewed the fees involved in the issuance ofthe bonds (Financial advisory fee, Rating fee, bond counsel fee etc.) I Roske Project - Eastvold presented the Council with a spreadsheet showing the $1,280,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds of 1999 for the East Minnesota Street and Roske Addition Projects. Anal bond payment is scheduled for December of 2011. The bonds are payable from special assessments, Township payments, Steams County Payments, annual tax levies and are additionally secured by unlimited ad valorem taxes. The bonds become callable December 1, 2002. Eastvold recommended that provided the Township payments and special assessments are received as anticipated. the City may consider reducing the annual tax 1evies as needed. Provided the City and township designate land sale proceeds, paying the balance of the utility cost (elimin81ing future CitylTownship payments) and special assessments are received as anticipated, the City may consider reducing the annual tax levies to $42,000 (instead of $72,000). The City has the option of reducing the levy, or keeping it at $72,000 and using the remaining $30,000 for other projects. Eastvold explained Page 3599 August 19, 1999 that when we passed the bond issue in 1996, the City passed a schedule with the County that would allow us to use any excess for another general fund project I 10. Steve Johnson - Annual Relief Association Report - Steve Johnson gave the financial condition report for the St. Joseph firefighters' relief associ81ion . The .accrued liability through1999 is $709,336, and for 2000 is $755,321. The projected assets at 12131/99 are $660,463, with a deficit of $48,873. Afterthe municipal conllibution and st81e aid there remains a $239.00 surplus. Loso made a motion to accept the report, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Councilor Ehlert asked Steve Johnson to give the Council an upd81e on st81us of the technological upgrades with US Cable for the City. Johnson reported that they are hoping for internet capability next year. They are putting together a digital package with 70-80 channels that should be available this year. The Council decided to move the budget discussion until the August 26, 1999 meeting. 11. Mayor's Report - The City received a public notice from the City of Cold Spring asking for requests for consideration to be included in a possible wastewater treatment plant expansion. The Mayor asked Schmidt to draft a response letter to Cold Spring ind!icating interest in the project. Hiemenz also reported that he a1tended the St. Cloud Area Joint Planning District Board meeting on July 15, 1999. The minutes were included in the Council packet for information only. 12. Council Reports - Council member Niedentuer had no report. Council member Lose had no report. Council member Ehlert st81ed that members of CAST.S. 'Would be attending the August 23'" Park Board meeting. He requested that they also be plac:ed on the Council meeting agenda for 912199. Ehlert also reported th81 the project 81 memoóal field is moving along well. I Council member Twit reported that the Personnel Committee met and decided they would like to incorporate a tuition reimbursement section into the Employee Personnel Policy. The specifics that that committee would like to see included are: Employee! must be in good standing; a Request for Tuition Assistance form would be developed Sind used; the City would cover tuition, books and mandatory supplies; and that the amount would be limited to $1,000 per year. In addition, the amount would be considered a loan to the employees for six months. If the receiving employee were to leave the City duóng the she months fonowing receipt of the reimbursement, the amount would be required to be rep:~íd. Loso stated that he disagreed with the City paying for books for the employees. Ehlert responded that the Personnel Committee had modeled this policy after the City of Roseville and that only required texts would be eligible for reimbursement Loso also asked for claófication th81 the course must be job related. Ehlert confirmed this. 13. Clerk Administrator Report - Schmidt st81ed th81 she was very excil:ed to be in St. Joseph and is looking forward to working with the City Council and the residents. 14. Miscellaneous Items - The Council also discussed the possibility of 81 buffer being cre81ed between Pondview Ridge Klinefelter Park. Bettendorf is looking for guidance on the issue. Ehlert st81ed that he would like to see some type of a natural buffer. Hiemenz pointed out th81 there is concern th81 without some type of separation, there will bø individuals picnicking in the backyards of those residents abutling the park. The Council agreed to go and inspect the area as a group before a decision is made. I 15. Adjourn - 9:52 P.M. Loso made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Twit The motion passed unanimously. I I I Page 3600 , August 19, 1999' Respectfully Submitted, Cari Schmidt Clerk/Administrator City of St. Joseph ~