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Home My WebLink About1999 [12] Dec 16 Page 3672 December 16, 1999 I City of St Joseph City Council Meeting 12/16199, 7:00 PM 1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of SI. Joseph met on Thursday, December 16, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Bob L050, Cory Ehlert, Ken Twit and Mary Niedenfuer, and Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Mark Zimmer, Dave Theisen, Steve Streng, Carol Tamm, Mark L050, Kyle Schneider and Mark Lambert. 2. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve th~ agenda, seconded by Ehlert Hiemenz stated that the Franklin Sign Relocation would be removed and discussed at a future~meeting: The motiorr passedud;'nously. I 3. 7:00 - Public Hearing - Liquor License Fees - Weyrens reported that some concem has been expressed regarding the liquor license fees as we are not raising any other fees. Weyrens stated that the City does look at ether fees periodically and does raise them as needed: Th¡;nquorlicense~h<Mrnotbeerrraisettirratleast 14 years: W"y'''''', provided a chart to the Council detailing the on sale intoxicating liquor license fees in other Cities in the region. She pointed out tl1at St. Joseph appears to be low as compared to the other cities. Staff is proposing an increase of $600, from $1700 to $2300. The Council may also want to i"",,,,,,,e~the fee in phase~such-as $3O(t per year for the next two years or $200 per year for the next three years. Ehlert thanked Weyrens for inctuding the infonnation from other commufmies. He stated that he understands that other communities charge a general business license that St. Joseph doesn1 charge. He understands that the City can justify the fee because the need for increased police presence that liquor establishments. He stated that despite that, the other businesses in town benefrt from street plowing and sweeping. Many of them are renters and probably don1 pay into the property tax system at all. Twit stated that these types of fees are often included in the rent that they pay to the owners of the property, so that they are indirectly paying for property taxes. Mark Zimmer, owner of the La Playette, addressed the Council. He stated that it is his opinion that the proposed fee is out of balance with what other communities are charging. In addition, some ofthes¡; other communities don't charge the amusement license fee that we charge. This amount may be small, but it does amount to something. Zimmer stated that there is no other business out there that is as regulated as liquor establishments. There are a great deal of other fees that are also a part of this business. Zimmer asked the Council if they were looking at other fees or if the on sale intoxicating were the only ones that they were changing. Zimmer also stated that he looked at the City budget increases and the largest increase anyone City budget will see is 15%. I Twit asked what other Cities have amusement licenses and Zimmer stated Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell and St. Cloud. Zimmer stated that SI. Cloud can charge higher prices for their products and get away with it. He also stated that the percentage sales of liquor have been going down as compared with years past. He is also competing with franchises like TGI Fridays and others. Zimmer stated that he also doesn't agree that the police need to spend any more time in his establishment than other businesses. He also thinks there should be a genera' business fee charged. ! Weyrens stated that after speaking witIJ the City Attomey, he has advised us that we can1 charge a general license fee. Although there is one City in the area that does (Clearwater), J>age 3673 December 16, 1999 there is no legal basis for such a license. The clerk in Clearwater is new and doesn1 know the history or rationale behind the license. I Niedenfuer stated that it is pretty clear and obvious that bars will produce more of a need for Police enforcement. There is just more of a need to spend time with an establishment of that type simply because of the problems that alcohol can create. Zimmer stated that it is the officer's decision to be there. He never asked them to spend more time there. Niedenfuer stated that is just part of owning a bar. Loso asked Zimmer if he was asking for no increase? Zimmer said no, but that the increase that is being proposed is unfair, especially if you look at the increased percentages in the City budgets. Twit stated that Zimmer is comparing apples to oranges by talking about the percentage increases in the City budgets. Other businesses also incur costs for professional licenses or taxes. Twit also added that if you look at the structure and the current fee, only four other cities have fees lower than St. Joseph does. Hiemenz stated that we haven1 raised our licensing fees in a long time, and this is a way for the City to generate some revenue and recoup some costs incurred by the time spent by our Police Departments. Weyrens stated that $600 was merely a suggestion. Ehlert suggested $500 over two years, which puts St. Joseph in the mid range for the license fees as com paired to other cities, which would be a 15% increase in each year. Zimmer stated that a 30% increase over two years is very expensive. Twit asked if Zimmer would father have a standard 2% increase every year? Niedenfuer stated that she is uncomfortable negotiating this way. Zimmer stated that he employs many St. Joseph residents and has a business that contribu~es to the property taxes of St. Joseph. It should be important that this discussion take place. Twit stated that $2200-$2300 is in the mid range and should be our goal for the next three years. Twit made a motion to increase the license fee by $200 for the next three years. Niedenfuer seconded the motíon. Loso stated that $200 seems high and maybe $100 should be considered. Hiemenz stated that three years is also a long time and may restrict the actions of future Councils. Hiemenz asked for a vote on Twit's motion. The motion passed 3:2. Yes: Nò: I Niedenfuer, Hiemenz, Twit Loso; Ehlert. 4. Continuation of Truth irr Taxation - Approval of 2000 levy and budget - Weyrens reported that staff found $6,000 worth of budget cuts, that would leave us only $3000 short of a balanced budget. She distributed a sheet listing the items by account. She reported that the proposed cuts are based on the past expenditure history. The cu~s included a $1 ,000 cut from the Council meeting fond (101-1110-101), $500 from Legislative Bodies (101-41120- 103), $1,000 from the insurance premiums for administration (101-41430-131), $2,000 from the insurance premiums for the Police Department (101-42120-131), $500 from software support (101-42120-215) and $1,000 from street lighting (101-43160-386). Weyrens reported that the insurance premiums for Administration are allocated differently beginning in 1999. Also with the change in staff the insurance premiums are consliderably different and this budget represents a mOTe accurate number. Loso asked what 1999 looked like and if we would have leftover funds. Weyrens said that we should be fine with the $3,000 difference. Every year we get an insurance reimbursement that we typically budget low for. Twit stated that we'll probably be spending money hiring this Police Chief too. However, we are saving money now in not having a chief on staff. Loso asked Weyrens if she would put together a cost analysis of what we paid out to the former chief, and what we are saving in not having anyone in the position. I J>age 3674 December 16, 1999 I Hiemenz said that a statement was recently made about the City spending over 50% of their budget OR crime control. This 50% goe£ to public safety in general, which also includes the fire department. Weyren£ presented the resolution adopting the proposed tax levy. The total debt levy is $155,420, and the general fund tax levy is 368,465. These levies will support a general fund budget of $1 ,207,664. Loso made éí motiorrto adopt the resolution adopting the proposed tax levy, approving the 1999 tax levy, collectible in 2000. Twit seconded the motion with the addition that jfthe 1999 budget shows that there is revenue in excess of the expenditures that these funds will be allocated to balancing the 2000 budget. Loso accepted the amended motion and it passed unanimously. 5. Consent Agenda - Approval of 3.2 Malt Uquor, amusement and cigarette license renewals - Schmidt stated that there are two changes to the consent agenda. As of 2000, the College of St. Benedict will no longer be selling cigarettes, and Casey's will no longer be selling 3.2 beer. Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. 6. Approve Minutes -City Council 12102199 and Truth in Taxation 12101/99. Loso made a motion to approve both sets of minutes, seconded by Twit.' The motion passed unanimously. I 7. Bills Payable and OvertimelCa/louts - Weyrens explained a few of the expenditures: lions donation to Memorial Park, 'Street signs for 90th -and 91 st, and the ftrellaJI de8flffig for six months. Twit made éí motion to approve the bills payable, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. Callouts - A question was raised as to why Dick Taufen had overtime for a standoff event. Staff explained that he spent time putting up barricades. Ehlert asked what the meeting was for with Jeff Young and the Commissioner of Public Safety. Schmidt stated she would find out. Twit made a motion to approve the callouts, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. 8. Public Comments on the Agenda - There were no public comments on the agenda. I 9. Fire DeparúRent Report - Fire Chief Dave Theisen gave the fire department report from 6- 1-99 to- 11-30-99. The total in the past six months is $17,330 (emergency calls, drill hours, Chief salary, Asst. Chief salary, Secretary salary, Treasurer's salary). There were 66 City Calls, 47 St. Joseph Township calls, 17 St. Wendel calls and 2 mutual aid calls for a total of 132 calls. Of those 132 calls, 93 were medical, 34 were fire, 2 mutual aid and 3 weather warnings. There were 245 total calls from 12-1-98 to 11-30-99. Theisen also passed out a report listing the incidents individually and what was spent. He explained that the number in the second to the last column is the number of fiFe fighters reporting and the money and time spent on the incident. Ehlert asked for clarification on what is charged for by the fire department. Theisen explained that the only charge is for a vehicle fire for someone that does not live within the fire district. Medical calls are never charged out. Theisen also reported that they are considering charging for false alarms. other communitie£ charge for the time spent responding to these false alarms. Most ofthem let the home or business have two warnings before a charge is assessed. Theisen also reported that Randy Torborg is the New Assistant Chief. Loso made a motion to pay the fire department charges and to accept the fire department report for the period of 6-1-99 to 11-30-99. Ehlert seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 10. Treasurer's Report - Trunk Sewer Charge - Weyrens stated that as discussed at a previous Council meeting, it is time to reallocate the sewer hookup and trunk sewer fees. In the past fees were used to finance the DBL Labs Sewer Improvement Project. The DBL Sewer improvement fund is doing very well and the City will be calling the bonds in 2006. At I J>age 3675 December 16, 1999 this time it does not makes sense to' continue adding revenue to' the fund. Weyrens stated that it is her recommoodation that the Council establish a new fund called Trunk Sewer. This fund would help finance prajects such as the sewer improvements along Caunty Raad 121. The Caunty has scheduled this project far the year 2001. In anticipation of this project, the City could provide a goad financial base with this fund. I Weyrens provided the Council with a table that illustrates the funds that have been collected this year. She also provided a projected fund balance at the time of paying the bonds. After the bond is called, the Citywill still receive assessment income. This income should be placed in the trunk Sewer Funds as that is the basis for the original assessment. Weyrens reported that the City is seeing 25 new homesfyear. This year alone we had 53 sewer hoak ups. Weyrens stated that the Council should review the infarmatian provided and staff would place this item on the agenda again forihe next meeting. 11. Mark Lambert- Final Plat and Development Issues -In a memo to' the City Council, EDA Director Chad CaÅSOn explained that Mr. Lambert presented the final plat of the North Park TrnRl Addition to the Planning Commission on December 8th. The Planning COmmissian recommended that the City Council approve the final plat as presented with two conditians: that the property's zoning dassification remain Agricultural and that the property's use be limited to a parking lot far the Campus Villas. The Planning Commission also made a motion to' recommend that the Council waive Sectron 54.6 Platting procedures, Subdivisian 4b af the Subdivision ORlinance which states a final plat must be presented for approval within one year after the preliminary plat is approved. Mr. Lambert presented the preliminary plat for approval in January af 1998, almast twO' years ago. The Cauncil must waive this section afthe Ordinance in order to approve the final plat of1he North Park Third Addition. Mr. Lambert addressed the Council stating that the North Park Third Additian has been in the works for same time. Althaugh he originally had arr R-3 request, this has since beerr dropped and submitted as agricultural. It has become a parking lot of 50 spacp..5 that is heavily used throughout the year. Lambert stated that he was also in discussions with the Mayor about the water tower easement and participated in discussions about jaint use afthe property. He stated that he is anxious to discuss aU possibilities with the Council. At this time, he is requesting that the plat be approved in order to' allow it to go an record. I LO'so made a motion to approve the final plat, waiving the one year requirement as stated by Section 54.6, Subd. 4 afthe Subdivision Ordinance. Ehlert made a second to the motion. Twit expressed concem that there is still no written agreement about the water tower maintenance. Loso stated that in the letter from City Attomey John Scherer he explains that the water tower mainterrance agreement is a separate issue and should not be a condition for approval of the plat. Twit disagreed, stating that it would be in the City's best interest to negotiate this ahead of time. Lambert addressed Twit's concem. He stated that there is no maintenance agreement. The easement of 120ft. that would have been required by the City was, in his mind, a taking of the property and would require just compensation for the fair market value of th~ property. Twit asked why Lambert needed to file a plat for a parking lot? Lambert siated that he has declared the use as a parking lot. The agricultural zoning restricts the land to very few uses. He has dropped the R-3 request, but is nat willing to grant the overly burdensome easement and give up his land rights. It is unfair, as stated by the City attamey, to' make the easement a condition af plat approval. Niedenfuer stated that the agricultural zoning daes severely limit the uses af the property. I Twit stated that the City needs to be negotiating with Mr. Lambert as a group and nat as individuals. It seems ctear that negatiatians have been struck already. Hiemenz stated that he is not aware af any negotiations that have taken place which the Caundl is not aware of ar J>age 3676 December 16, 1999 I has not been privy to. Loso stated that discussions have taken place and that the Council is just upset about the behind the scenes dealings. Hiemenz stated that there have been no behind the scenes dealings and that the Council is taking things out of context. He has been talking to Lambert about possibilities but no negotiations or deals have been struck. There is no need to bring it to the Council table if there are only option that won't work. Twit stated that in all fairness, it seems that Mr. Lambert was also misled. Lambert stated that he thinks the Mayor might also be placed in a negative light unfairly here. There were no dealings, instead there were merely discussion about the outlots. The Mayor merely said "have you looked at these?" lambert stated that he is frustrated because if he can't talk to the Mayor or the Administrator about these things, who can he talk to. As far as the Terry Schmid outlots, everyone assumed that the lots have been given to the City already. There was no grand scheme to take them from the City. Lambert found out from Schmid that he had never given them to the City. Ehlert asked how this could have fallen through the cracks. Hiemenz stated that the Council originally wanted Schmid to pay the legal fees and then changed their mind. His offer was revoked when we made a counteroffer of taking the land if he paid the legal fees_ There was no offer on the table any longer. Hiemenz moved to call the question. The motion to approve North Park Third Addition passed 4:1. Yes: Hiemenz, Loso, Ehlert, Niedenfuer No: Twit I Lambert stated that he likes being in the City of SI. Joseph and is proud of everything he has accomplished here. He understands that student housing is a sensitive issue right now. However, he knows how to do student housing. It is still his intent to find a location that is acceptable to the Council. He would like the opportunity to talk about a variety of options with the Council including the long range plan. of the City, the maintenance-shop etc. As the Council knows, Lambert purchased the property behind the maintehanœ shop. He wouJd be interested in putting a maiAtenanœgarage for the City on that piece and building a student building where the maintenance shop currently sits. He is also trying to find another access on to that property that would benefit both his- property and the City's. Ehlert stated that to really have a discussion we need to have the Public Works Director, Dick Taufen present for the meeting. Twit stated that another issue is- not letting ourselves get into an area where there is only one entrance. : . I -ScIJmjdt~steG4hatthe-Cooncil set <l ~ moeting tetalk. OOoot-this. "f4re-Gouncil agreed to<lmeeting-at4.00PM -GI1 TOOrsday,4aooary 13th~-Mr. <'<lR1beIt.and the~ublic Works Department. 12. Mayors Report- Hiemenz reparted-thathereceived-a cOlllplaillL about the tree trimming that the City is doing. One resident will be looking for compensation for the way his tree was cuI. He had been working on shapillg it and-now-it's ruined. Hiemenr slatecHhat he is also \lpset with the way his trees were trimmed. I HiemellL also reportedihat he-had- received CUI I ,plai, ,ts about the portable-sigr; OI'C!imInce : from Schroeder Sports. They stated that they would just pay the fine and leave the sign oUI. The City received some-calis~well. Hiemenralso-reportectthat he attended the Government Affairs Committee meeting with Steve Svigguffi, as well as the HCPIEDA meeting. 13. CounGilReports - Twit asked what the Gbje~_ the signs ordinance is--not enough advertising space? Hiemenz- saic:tye&. Twit stated he just wondered if it was the fee or the ! i i J>age 3677 December 16, 1999 ordinance that people would object to. Niedenfuer stated that just because Schroeder Sparts pays the fine, doesn't mean they can leave the sign out. Ehlert reported that as a result af the last Core meeting, he believes that there is strong suppart for the implementation of same sart af warning system. He would HkEr permissian from the Cauncil to wark with Niedenfuer and Schmidt ta come up with a policy to present to the Cauncil. Loso stated that he daesn't want to mOVEr backwards an these issues. I Ehlert said he would also like the City ta write a thank you to the Lions and the Fire Department for puttiI1g up and parohasiAg the lovely new Chfistmas d<eœratÎOII&. EflIert-also said that 11e1ooked into the renaming of 16th avenue and ~ with the engineer's assessment and recommendation ta get it on the grid system. LaSE} asked aI!ool the new lEl& sontFaGt. SGl1FRiE:Itstated that she i&waiIing. 1& hear from the unian. NiedeAfuer stated that the Healthy Communities PaFlAefShiphad their nEOO to the last training sessian in December. She would also like to request that an area in the new City Hall be set aside as a resaurce area f9F the public. They are ¡¡eneratiRg a lot of materials and it would be nice to have them all cataloged and in one place. Niedenfuer also expressed concem about the old Foquette property. There are still jI1I* caP.Hffi tile side of tile b!IikIing and nothing has been dane. Schmidt stated that she would speak with the Building Inspector aOOut the ¡>robIem again. Twit asked-Schmidt if she ..a"led a-lesponsErtcrher merno-on-Y2kcoverage-. Schmidt said that it was just an FYI but they could discuss it if they wanted to talk about it. For coverage on December 31, 1999, the Ad, "i, ,i,,1I lito" as welt as Public Works Superintendent Dick Taufen and Waste Water superintendent Jim Marthaler will wark from 11 :00 P.M. on December 31, 1999 to 2:00 AM an January 1,2000. Mike Sworski and Raymond-Bechtold will be art call duIing that periad. I The general rute for one caUtirrre-isthat ifthErtimEris spent predollli"a"Uy for the employer's benefit, that is if the employee cannot effectively use the time far his lOr her own purposes, the employermustcount the time as "hourS worked-. . New Years EvEr is generally a-hoIidaywhere individuals would tend ta do a great deal of celebrating. By requiring Mike and Ray to be on call duIing that period (and requirirlgthemto-remairr irr a- statEr of I'TIind-where the)' coukt respond ta an emergency) we aren't allawing the employee to use the time for their own purposes. - As such; therewitl be three- hourS of overtime for each- norr-exe",pt employee- working or on caJl on New Years Eve. Twit stated that if the employees are going to be paid anyway, we should require them to wark. Schmidt stated that asiong- as they are within reach, they should be allowed to be home with their families. This is a big holiday and they wauld most likely prefer not to even be Ort the call. The law requires the-Cityto pay them because we are restricting their actians. Ehlert asked Schmidt what she is comfortable with. Schmidt stated that she is comfortable with exactly what was irr the- rneTTID. Loso-made a motiorrto approve the Y2K on call coverage, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed 4:1. Yes: Hiemenz; Loso-, Niedenfuer, Ehlert No: Twit 14. ClerktAdmini"bdlo. Rtol'u.t- Schmidt ,,,pu,l.,,j that ED-A DirectorChadCarIsorrhadbeen elected to serve a three year term on the St. Cloud Area Economic Develapment Partnership. 15. MisceHaneous and Announcement ItemS -Hiemenz asked the Councitwho would be interested in attending the LMC Newly Elected Offtciatsworkshop and made a motion that tha:re-who are interestectitT going re allowed to attend: Loso seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. I J>age 3678 December 16, 1999 I 16. Adjourn - 9:45 P.M, Loso made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Twit. The motion passed UI ld/);' J ,ausly. Respectfully Submitted, Carl !)chmidt ClerklAdministrator City of St Joseph I , I ,i>~i"; ,;'J'" ."¡ -,dtr" '-",iifli I I I