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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 [11] Nov 18 J>age 3655 N{}vember 18, 1999 City of St Joseph City Council Meeting 11118199,7:00 PM 1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council forthe City of St. Joseph met on Thursday, November 18,1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. I Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, Ken Twit and Mary Niedenfuer, and Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmidt. Others Present: Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens, City Attorney John Scherer, Officer Paul Schley, Officer Jeff Young, Mike Deutz, John Provinzino, Linda Sniezek, Diane Schneider, Alan Rassier. Roger Steichen, Dan Schmitz, Peter Corkrean, Arlan Stark, Alex Wesley, Josn Hart, Art Reber, Steve Streng, Ryan Wagner. Kent Knudson, Greg Reinhart, Steve Loos, : Jason Thompson, Brad Lynch; and Mike Felien. . 2. Approve Agenda: Schmidt stated that there is one addition to the agenda. It was recently : I discovered that BeeJine Marine was recorded with the improper legal description leaving it a!\ part of the Township. The Council has an orderly annexation agreement to discuss that would fix the problem. This should be a minor housekeeping item. Hiemenz made a motion to : approve the agenda with the addition of the resolution for orderty annexation to be added. I Ehlert seconded the motion. The vote passed unanimously (l.oso: absent). I 3. 7:00 Noise Violation - 320 Old Highway 52 - Evidentiary Hearing- Mayor Hiemenz stated that the owner of 320 Old Highway 52 was notified of a potential noise violation and have requested an evidentiary hearing. John Scherer, City Attorney stated that as such the hearing will be recorded and all persons wishing to speak will be required to use the microphone. The hearing will consist of two phases: 1) presentation of information so the Council can make a determination if a noise violation occurred; 2) If it is determined that a noise violation occurred, the Council will Consider possible sanctions. Scherer informed those present of the procedure of the hearing and then opened the floor up for testimony, I Scherer called Officer Jeff Young forward and he was sworn in. Young stated that on 10123/99 he and Officer Schley received a call from dispatch regarding a loud party/music in the area of 320 Old Highway 52. They arrived at the party, parked the squad and listened for the noise, There were two parties side by~ide, with sporadic noise coming from each, One officer went to 314 and the other to 320. Officer Schley knocked on the door at 314, but 1'10- one answered. The renters of 320 came out and spoke with Officer Schley while Young went to try and make contact with the residents of 314. Mr. Provinzino, attomey for landlord Mike Deutz questioned Officer Young. Young stated that the phone call that was received was anonymous. The students at 320 were more cooperative than those at 314, In his opinion, the noise wasn't that bad when they got there, However, because a noise complaint was received, and they were in violation when they got there, they had to issue a noise violation. They did not consider giving them a waming because a violation is a violation. The objective measure of whether or not there is a noise violation is if yau can hear the naise aff the property. Officer Schley was called forward and was sworn in. He reiterated the information that Officer Young gave, He stated that it was obvious that there was a party going on at 314 and 320. 314 was a great deal louder than 320. He could hear yelling and screaming-typical party noises, The students at 320 were very cooperative, They let the officers search the house when dispatch reported that a 911 hang up had been received from inside the house. Provinzino questioned Schley as to whether he told them it was probably another student that they turned away that complained about the noise. Schley stated that he said it was a possibility that it was another student. I I : I Page 3656 November 18, 1999 I Student residents of 320, Ryan Wagner and Kent Knudson approached the Council to speak! They stated that they were approached by the officers tbat night and told they were receiving' a noise violation. They helped the officers get everyone to leave. They had been turning I people away all night, so there was a lot of foot traffic outside. They also didn1 know who . dialed the 911 hangup call. They think someone mis-dialed. Tbey had approximately 25-30 II friends over and were planning on leaving soon to go to the bars in town. They were told by Officer Schley that it was probably one of the disgruntled students that were turned away that called the police. They are concerned about the issues as well. They stated that they have been attending the CORE meetings and even met with Jim Hardwick before the party. They even held a house meeting to decide whether or not to have a party in the first place. They have a lot on the line, as their landlord collects all of the rent up front. Ehlert asked the students what they would do if they were in the Council's position. The students said that they understand the climate right now and that the Council is under pressure too. They stated that they are afraid that any major action might just make the situation worse. The students stated that if they had known that the party was too loud, they would have quieted down immediately. Híemenz asked if they had given any thought to the fact that 25-30 people is a large gathering and may be hard to manage. Twit asked the students if they are aware that they can call the Police if they are having a problem. The students stated that they thought they were handling it. There were no students trying to push their way past. They thought they had it under control. I Michael Deutz, owner and landlord of the property, was sworn in and addressed the Council. He stated that he has worked with the Police Department for a long time. Historically, they have been able to work together where they would call the landlord first if there was a problem. Deutz actually saw the officers that night and told them to call him if there was a problem. Deutz is concerned that the newer employees might not understand the value of this relationship. Hiemenz responded that this could have been handled this way if someone hadn1 called in and complained. The minute the officers receive that call, they have to go and investigate for themselves. Deutz stated that he heard Officer Young say that the noise wasn't a violation. Young stated that he did not say that, only that it was his opinion that it wasn1 too bad. Provinzino asked where in the City ordinance does it say that the officers don1 have the discretion to determine if there is a noise violation or not. Scherer stated that it is the current City policy. Deutz stated that the officers should have some discretion, and at the least should have some way to substantiate their findings (e.g. with a decibel meter). Provinzino stated that the Council should have a more objective standard. Twit stated that the call came in with a complaint and the officers have to check it out. Niedenfuer stated that if once they arrived at the scene, the place was quiet, there would be no noise violation given. I Ehlert stated that he agrees that communication and relationships with the renters are very important. CORE is working hard to establish standards and to build relationships with the City, students and landlords. He stated that cooperation goes a long way in his book. He understands that these students are also falling victim to the area in which they live. He will take that into consideration in the determination of a fine. Niedenfuer made a motion to ñnd that a noise violation did occur, with a second by Twit. The vote was unanimous. (Loso absent) J>age 3657 Novernber 18, 1999 Scherer stated the Council also needs to determine disposition. Provinzino requested that the Council look at a minor administrative penaKy at the most. They were cooperative and tried to follow the rules. The Council also agreed that they are somewhat a victim oftheir location. Ehlert stated that he is in favor of not suspending or revoking the license. Twit agreed that they were cooperative and that they showed that they afe trying to help the situation. Twit made a motion to levy the administrative and legal costs against the landlord (approximately $250), without a fine. Niedenfuer seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous. (Lo$.o absent) Niedenfuer clarified that this is not a fine, it is simply payment fOf legal and administrative costs incurred because ofthe Evidentiary hearing. I 4. 8:00 Noise Violation - 314 Old Highway 52- Mayof Hiemenz stated that the owners of 314 Old Highway 52 Apt. 1 were notified of a noise violation but did not reqllest an evidentiary hearing. As the landlord waived his right to such hearing, the Council must determine that a violation did occur and will proceed immediately to consider a disposition. which may include revocation or suspension ofthe fentallicense. Schefer stated that the tenants in 314 have written a letter to the Council and would like an opportunity to speak. The residents of 314 stated that they are also victims that live on a party road. The bus drops off the students near the EI Paso and the students walk down to their street. They turned away 50-100 people that night. They tried to keep it small and eventually stopped answering the door because of all ofthe people stopping by. That is why they didn't answer when the police knocked. One ofthe tenants admitted that he may have expressed too much frustration with the Officer that night. Officer Schley stated that they admitted to him that evening that they knew the Police were at the dOOf and didn't answer it. The student denied that, saying there was some confusion as to who was at the front door. They had someone at the back door and were no longef answering the front door. Randy Matthew, landlord for 314 addressed the Council. He said he was here last year fOf a similar incident with different students. He is doing what he can to motivate the students to comply with the ordinances. He collects the fent up front and warns the student about what will happen if they get a noise violation. The students that were in violation last yeaf got the message loud and clear and didn't cause any other problems the rest ofthe yeaf. The Council should keep that in mind when sanctioning these tenants as well. The tenants don't understand where they are clearly crossing the line until someone tells them. I Scherer stated that it is his understanding of the past policy that with a first violation there i~ no suspension or revocation from August to August. This should be looked at as a first violation as it is a new set of tenants. Since the evidentiary hearing W'BS waived, the fact that a noise violation occurred is assumed. The Council only needs to determine the finelfee. Twit stated that since a violation did occur a fine should be imposed. Twit made a motion to impose a $300 fine, plus administrative costs and legal fees Hiemenzseconded the motion. The motion failed 2:2 (Twit and Hiemenz: yes, Niedenfuer and Ehlert: no, Low absent) Randy Matthews stated that this doesn't seem fair as the previous students did not receive a fine. Twit stated that this was clearly more of a severe violation than 320. Ehlert stated that the other group took proactive steps to prevent the problem, but that this seems severe. Niedenfuef stated that based on past actions, this seems like a steep fine. Ehlert made a motion to impose a fine of $150 stayed, $150 imposed plus the administrative costs and legal fees. Niedenfuer seconded the motion. The motion failed 2:2. (Hiemenz and Twit: no, Ehlert and Niedenfuer: yes, Low absent). Schmidt stated that maybe the Council should split the difference and meet in the middle. Hiemenz made a motion to impose a $200 fine, plus $150 administrative costsllegal fees. Twit seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. (Loso absent) I I J>age 3658 November 18, 1999 I 5. Farmer's Market- John Schefer reported that Schmidt contacted him regarding the Farmer's I Market and the respective roles ofthe City Council, Planning Commission and the Park Board. He explained that Minn. Stat 412.511 grants a park board's control over the property set aside for park purposes. The same statute authorizes a park board or City Council to aCQuire land for park purposes. St. Joseph Ordinance #23 adopts this statutory language in granting the Park Board authority over the park pfoperty. Schefer stated that it is his opinion that the Park Board's authority over the use of park land has an implied limitation to park or recreational purposes. He does not believe that the Park Board has the authority to dedicate park land for non park purposes. For instance, the Park Board could not contfact with a developer to put an apartment complex on park property. Scheref stated that because of the Park Board's authority over park property, he does not believe that the City Council or Planning Commission would be permitted to allow a commercial venture on park property without the Park Board's permission. The City Council would not have the authority to restnct the Park Board's ability to utilize the property for park and recreational purposes by permitting a non-park or recreational use without Park Board's permission. Scherer stated that the Park Board's authority is also limited by the zoning of the property, which is zoned public. As such, only uses authorized by the governing body of the City afe permissible, which are for park and recreational purposes. A commercial use would require the Cily Council approval in light of the zoned status of the property. ' ; Scherer stated that it is his opinion that before a commercial operation may be permitted within the park, permission should be received from both the Planning Commission, Park Board and the City Council. He understands that the Park Board and Planning Commission have approved the use. Scherer stated that the Council should give great deference to the recommendations of the Park Board and the Planning Commission. I Ehlert stated that the Park Board did approve the use but with a number of conditions: 1. The vendors must sign a waiver releasing the City and Park Board of any and all claims 'resulting in injury or illness as a fesult of the farmers market; and 2. The Farmers Market hours operate within the normal hours of park operation; and 3. The $75 fee/day must be paicUn advance for the entire period of use; and 4. The Farmer's Market must provide a refundable $250 damage deposit to the City at all times; (i.e. If $50 in damage is done one week, depleting the deposit to $200, the Farmer's Market must give the City an additional $50 to maintain the $250 deposit minimum.); and 5. All park rules and regulations must be followed, (e.g. no driving Of parking on the grass, etc.); and , 6. The Farmers Market sponsors are entirely responsible for clean' up; and 7. This use permit is on a one year trial basis. Failure to follow the rules and regulations set up by the Park Board will result in immediate termination of the permit by the Park Board. I Niedenfuer stated that the HCP is looking at other potential locations, as the Park Board's restrictions seem a little excessive. That is a lot of money to pay up front. The farmers market will also not be using the building at the park. If it rains, people are going to leave, resulting in lost funds that had to be paid up front to the City. Twit expressed concern that this is a commercial use in the parks and wants to ensure that iI doesn't look like a flea market. Niedenfuer stated that the Park Board already addressed the issue and decided that this is more of a community event than a commefcial event, where only fruits and vegetables can be sold. There is a growers meeting on Monday night at the Fife Hall. Ehlert made a motion to approve the Farmers Market at Millstream Park with the Park Board's conditions in place. Niedenfuer seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. (Loso absent) 6. Consent Agenda - J>age 3659 November 18,1999 a. Appendix A - Fire Department - Effective January 2, 2000 the st. Joseph Fire Relief Association shall pay to each member of the Sf. Joseph Volunteer Fire Department the sum of $1, 600 for each year that the member has seNed as an active member of the st. Joseph Volunteer Fire Department. Niedenfuer made a motion to approve the COnsent Agenda, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. (Loso absent) I 7. Approve Minutes - 1114199 - Niedenfuer stated that she would like the minutes to reflect that she suggested that the Council revisit the design team recommendations, as this was not stated in the record. Hiemenz also stated that the administrative assistant reclassification minutes make it sound as though a step increase is guaranteed. They should say something about them being discretionary. Schmidt stated that she was uncomfortable changing the minutes to reflect that, as that is not what was stated at the meeting. Hiemenz agreed. Niedenfuer made a motion to approve, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. (Loso arrived but abstained) 8. Bills Payable and OvertimelCallouts -. Twit asked about items 255>91 and 27592. Weyrens stated that 25591 is the three day Leaders Training for the Police Department. 27592 is for the Healthy: Communities Partnership intem. The funds come out of the HCP grant. Twit made a motion to approve the bills payable, and Loso seconded them. The motion passed unanimously. Twit stated that he didn't see a callout list in his packet. Schmidt stated that it's her fault if it didn't make it into the packet. Weyrens stated that there were 10 part time hours for the Police Department and the Public Works hours. Twit made a motion to approve, with a second by Niedenfuer. The moüon passed unanimously. I 9. Public ~omments on the Agenda - There were no public comments on the agenda. 10. Beeline Annexation - Weyrens reported that when the property was originally recorded, the incorrect legal description was used which left this property as part of the Township. This is just a housekeeping item as they already think they are annexed. Loso made a motion to approve the resolution for annexation, with a second by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. 11. Treasurer's Report- Weyrens presented the Treasurer's report for the period ending October 31, 1999. Weyrens reported that she has attached the current status of the rollover accounts. While she has subtracted the amount spent from the schedule, it is not in the detail report. One of the suggestions that the Auditor made is to create a separate fund for capital expenditures. This way separate schedules would not be needed. This will need to be done by the end ofthe year. Weyrens stated that she and Schmidt met with a financial advisor this moming who had some great ideas for laying out and reporting different funds. Another matter to be addressed is the reallocation ofthe sewer hook up fee. The fee is currently credited to Fund 31 D-DBL Labs Sewer Extension. Due to the healthy fund balance in fund 310, Weyrens reported that it is a good time to change the allocation. The sewer hookup fee was established to help pay for future sewer expansion, both growth and plant costs. At this time, it would be a good idea to establish a trunk sewer fund that would be used for extension oversizing. To do so, another fund would be created. In addition to sewer hook up fees, the Trunk Sewer charge would eventually be credited to this fund. Ehlert asked for clarification that we are currently building the oversizing into each project. Weyrens confirmed that this is correct. Twit stated that he would like to see this laid out a little bit more before they make a decision on this. I Twit expressed concern that 100% ofthe City's reserves are allocated. I I I J>age 3660 November 18, 1999 Weyrens noted that the bond proceeds are not recorded in this report. They will show up in I the next Treasurer's report. Loso made a motion to accept the Treasurer's report, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. I 12. Variance Request- First State Bank Sign - The First State Bank of St. Joseph is I requesting a Variance to the City's Sign Ordinance. The new bank facility will have office I space available for rent by other businesses. According to the Ordinance, the Bank and each business can have one sign attached to the building not to exceed 50 square feet per sign. In addition, the facility can have one detached sign not to exceed 50 square feet identifying one or all of the businesses located in the building. First State Bank of St. Joseph is requesting an 83.8 square foot variance for the detached sign. The planning commission approved the variance at the 1ast meeting. Loso made a motion to approve the variance, based on the Planning Commission's findings. Twit made a second to the motion and it passed unanimously. I Ehlert stated that the Star City Commission is looking at re-addressing the issue of the minimum square footage for signs. There have been a number of variance requests for larger signs, that have to make the Council ask if the requirements should be changed. Twit suggested that the City look at examples from other communities. Niedenfuer stated that if we keep allowing larger signs, it is as if we are acknowledging and accepting that people are not going the speed limit. Greg Reinhart approached the Council and asked to speak. He stated that even with the variance, the public only has 1.6 seconds to read the sign. There is a 175 foot row of trees that block the sign. Wrthout the trees, they would not need as large of a sign. Loso stated that the City has an interest in limiting the signs so that not all of the open' space is taken up with unsightly signs. Ehlert stated that it's important to note that there are I other tenants in the building that are not receiving any advertising space. : 13. Towing Bids - Schmidt stated that staff had expressed some concems regarding the current I towing situation in the City. Stueve's garage has been providing the City with towing service for a number of years. Although he has done a good job for the City, there are a number of concerns. First, the storage space for the vehicles is limited. Stueve can only park 4-6 cars outside and they end up partially on City property. This raises some issues of liability for the City that the Council should be concemed about. Second, the Jot is not enclosed, and therefore there is nothing to prevent people from picking up their cars and driving away with them without paying for them. Based on these concerns, we solicited proposals and received three: Stueve's, Andy's and AIICare. Stueve's came in the lowest, with All Care second and Andy's third. Andy's and AIICare are significantly more expensive, but AIICare has a fenced in lot. Ehlert stated that he is concerned about the high cost of the "minimum towing charge" for the other companies. He would like to see those numbers smaller. Niedenfuer stated that Stueve's is very convenient for the residents, as they can walk over and pick up their cars. Loso stated that these have been issues with Stueve's for years. He is even limited in the size of vehicles that he can haul. Ehlert suggested that the City approach Stueve's about finding a location to enclose his vehicles, perhaps at a local storage facility. This should be strongly suggested, implying that if this doesn1 happen sometime in the future that the Council may have to look elsewhere for towing service. Ehlert made a motion to leave the towing service with Stueve's garage, but encourage him to find a place to store the vehicles securely. Niedenfuer seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. I I 14. Mayors Report- The Mayor reported that St. Cloud~s talking to the legislature about bringing up the sales tax issues again. So far, it is receiving lukewarm support. Hiemenz also reported that he has been attending the St. Cloud APO meetings and the Northstar Corrridor West Extension Study planning committee meeting. Hiemenz also reported that the lights are finally on in Pondview 5. J>age 3661 November 18, 1999 15. Council Reports - Twit reported that the Finance committee met yesterday. They discussed the financial status of the City until October of 2003. There will be a condensed report coming to the Council in the near future that details that information in an easy to understand format. Ehlert reported that a resident approached him regarding a possible street light on 4th Avenue NW, near Ollie Lesnick's home. Schmidt stated that she would check with NSP to see what the feasibility of a light would be. Niedenfuer expressed some concem about lighting up every comer of the City. Schmidt suggested that before anything was installed, that the surrounding neighbors be contacted to get their input. Niedenfuer agr,eed. I A question was also raised ifthere is a plan for lighting on Northland Drive. Twit asked if the Council had even seen a Developer's Agreement for Northland. Schmidt stated she would look into the matter. Loso asked about the progress on the dredging at Millstream pond. Hiemenz stated that he noticed a backhoe there but wasn't sure what they were working on. Schmidt stated that she would look into it and report back to the Council. Loso also stated that the Council should look into a lost time policy for Council members. He is an hourly employee and loses wages every time he has to leave early for a City related meeting. Schmidt stated that other cities have such a policy in place, and that she would gather information for the Council to review. Niedenfuer reported that there would be a growers meeting for the farmers market at 6:30 PM at the Fire Hall. There will also be ajointmeeting for the EDA/HCP on December 14 at 6:30 at the Haehn Campus Center room 25. 16. ClerklAdministrator Report- Schmidt reported that the employee Christmas party is scheduled for December 9 at the Blue Heron in Cold Spring. The party has been budgeted for each year but it has been some time since there has actually been a party. The Council members are all invited. Schmidt stated that she hoped they could all make it as it will be a fun event and should be a great morale booster for all. I Schmidt also reported that she and the Mayor attended the Northstar Corridor West Extension Study meeting to discuss the feasibility of a light rail spur from Sl Cloud to St. Joseph. Schmidt leamed that there are two options that are being discussed-a west extension to St. Joseph, or a norttTextension to Rice. It's an either/or situation. There is a public forum on December 17th, from 1 :00-3:30. The public is invitee! to come and give their input on the feasibility of the extension and also the possible locations for stations. This is not a meeting to decide whether or not the rail will come to Sl Joseph, it is merely a discussion about whether or not it's feasible. 17. Miscellaneous and Announcement Items - Hiemenz stated that he would fike to set up a special meeting for developer Mark Lambert to speak to the Council about a number of ideas he has in regards to some potential development projects in town. Twit stated that he is uncomfortable setting a special meeting just for Lambert. We don't have special meetings for other developers. He suggested that if Lambert wants a special mei~ting, let him pay for it himself, or come before the Council at a regular meeting like everyone else. Ehlert and Niedenfuer agreed. Hiemenz stated that there are some issues of a timely nature that we should talk about sooner than later. Loso stated that we shouldn't be making special meetings to meet a developer's timeline. Let him come to a meeting and the Council can decide if a special meeting is warranted. Schmidt stated that she would call Lambert and get him on the agenda for one of the upcoming Council meetings. 18. Adjourn _ 10:45 P.M. Niedenfuer made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. I J>age 3662 November 18, 1999 I Respectfully Submitted, ?-~ Cari Schmidt Clerk/Administrator City of St. Joseph I I