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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 [05] May 04 I I I I Page 3730 May 4, 2000 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session Thursday, May 4, 2000 in the st. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz. Councilors Ken Twit, Cory Ehlert, Bob Loso, Mary Niedenfuer. Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. Absent: Clerk/Administrator Cari Schmidt. Others Present: Public Works Director Dick Taufeen, EDA Director Chad Carlson, Cress Gackle, Joan Vincent, Mark Alas, Paul Beniek, steve Martinez, Becky Martínez, Glen Deutz, Dorothy Deutz, Sarah COlbum, steve Johnson, Mary Nimmerfroth, Larry Hosch I ADDrove Aaenda: Twit made a motion to delete item number 16, AFSCME Union Contract as a special meeting has been scheduled for May 17, 2000. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the following additions: 4.5 Steve & Becky Martinez - Roth House Purchase 15.5 MN Street Beautification - Flowers, Bark Chips The motion was seconded by Twit and passed unanimously. Consent Aaenda: Losò made a motion to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Niedenfuer and passed unanimouslY. a. Approve the hiring of Angela Kruse for compost site supervisor b. Approve the purchase of a pedestrian crossing sign for compost/frisbee golf area. Seren Cable Franchise: Cress Gackle, representing Seren appeared before the Council to discuss a potential franchise agreement which would aUow Seren tò provide cable services to st. Joseph. Gackle stated that Seren is a subsidiary company of Norlhem states Power and offers the foUowing services: high speed internet, local and long distance phone service; video on demand. Gackle stated that Seren is currently operating in the st. Cloud area and st.' Joseph is the first outside community being offered the service. Seren focuses marketing efforls towards quality product and customer service. I The following is a summa!)' of information presented: I&> Cable service is constructed as a redundant loop service. This type of construction minimizes down time to customers. I&> Before construction of the system can begin engineers will walk through the entire City and design the system. The main fiber will run directly from Waite Park to St. Joseph. I&> Construction type will be tree and branch. To-service Sf. Joseph 4 or 5 nodes will be needed. These nodes are rather large and Seren wiU work with the community to place them strategically. The lines within the City will be underground wherever possible. I&> Construction timeline is approximately one year with service anticipated to begin the second quarter of 2001. I&> The franchise agreement will include three access channels: government access; public access; educational access. , I&> Service cost per month: Cable - 82 channels: $ 26.95; High SPeed Internet: $ 39.95; Local Phone Service: $ 14.00; Bundle service for all three services: $ 68.77 + tax. I The following is a summary of responses to questions posed by Councilor Twit: I&> Seren charges instaUation fees but in an effort to solicit customers, incentives such as free installation may be offered. I I I Page 3731 May 4, 2000 IJ9 Any contractor or sub contractor must abide to the safety policies of Seren Performance Bonds are also required of all excavators. IJ9 Seren still has outstanding issues conceming the tragedy in St. Cloud but the company is solvent enough that their assets would not be depleted as a result of litigation. IJ9 During the construction phase Seren will notify neighborhoods of the excavation plans. As Seren hopes to gain the residents as customers they will make every attempt to please the residents. IJ9 Lines will be placed through open trenching or boring. IJ9 A design team will draw the construction plans for the system which entails walking the entire town. Four to fIVe nodes will be required to provide service and power. Nodes will be constructed one.at a time providing services to one area at a time. IJ9 The cable service will consist of 81 channels. At this time a competitor in St. Cloud has exclusive rights to MSC and it is uncertain as to whether this channel could be provided in St. Joseph. IJ9 The response in St. Cloud has met the expectation of Seren with 28% subscription to cable services. The expectation of Seren in St. Joseph is 50% subscribership. IJ9 To better inform the community, Seren intends to conduct a public meeting to discuss the services and construction process. The following is a summary of responses to questions posed by Councilor Loso. IJ9 Representatives of Seren bave met with the Cable Commission to discuss the three access channels. Since the memo from the Cable Commission was just received, Gackle stated that he would review the requests and report back to the Cable Commission. IJ9 During the construction phase Seren will work with the City to find the best location for the nodes. If possible they will consider placing them in areas such as City Parks. IJ9 Once the system in the City of St. Joseph is complete, services can be extended into St. Joseph Township. However, in order to extend the service Seren would need to have a commitment of 40 customers in a one mile radius. ' IJ9 If a residence requests high speed intemet for more than one computer in a household, Seren installs a Home Lan Service which will change the intemet cost from $ 39.99 to approximately $ 70.00 per month. The following is a summary of responses to questions posed by Councilor Niedenfuer; IJ9 In the unlikely event that Seren is not solvent, the lines would be sold to another company. IJ9 Since the requests of the Cable Commission have just been received Seren is not in a position to make any further financial or service commitments to the City at present. However they will review the requests and respond to the Cable commission and City Council. I The following is a summary of responses to questions posed by Mayor Hiemenz: IJ9 Before Seren makes a decision to extend service to a community a feasibility report is completed. Once Seren makes the decision to go forward and have secured the necessary licenses and agreements construction will not stop. The following is a summary of responses to questions posed by Councilor Ehlert: IJ9 Whenever possible Seren will install the cable lines in joint trenches with other utility companies. Twit stated that he has a problem with Seren installing lines before a franchise agreement is executed. Twit further stated that he would like to see the design for the entire system before approving the franchise agreement. Page- 3732 May 4, 2000 Paul Bienek, Network Specialist for CSB/SJU, encouraged Seren to move ahead with their project in St. Joseph as it would be a tremendous asset to the College community. Currently the internet access is limited and the currently franchised cable company is not in a situation to offer high speed intemet services. I -Cress Grackle agreed to review the information presented at this meeting and will arrange a meeting with the Cable Commission to further discuss the franchise agreement. Roth ProperlY - Proposed Sale: Steve and Becky Martinez appeared before the Council to present an offer to purchase the Roth property located at 313 East Minnesota Street. Becky Martinez stated that they have had electricians, plumbers and a housing inspector review the house to determine the necessary repairs. Martinez stated the proposed offer is a starting point and they are willing to negotiate the price. Lo-so made a motion authorizing Cari Schmidt, Cory Ehlert and Ken Hiemenz to meet with the property owneB to reach a negotiated price to bring back to the Council. The motion was seconded by Twit and passed unanimously. Cedar Street Vacation: Mayor Hiemenz opened the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. and stated the purpose of the hearing was to consider vacating the North 15 feet of Cedar Street between College Avenue North and 1 st Avenue NE. The affected property owner has requested this matter be tabled as there is some disagreement in the easement documents. Loso made a moüon to conünue the Cedar Street Vacation on May 18, 2000; seconded by Twit and passed unanimously. Public Comments to the AQenda: No one present requested to speak. Approval of Minutes: Loso made a motion to approve the Council minutes of April 2d" with the following CO"ection: Page 7: Councilor Reports "Niedenfuer atso reported that she attended ª meeüna for contact DeBOnS for the HCP Droaram in Little Falls. I Bills Pavable/Overtime: Lo-so made a motion to approve the bills payable, check numbers 28237 - 28308, as presented; seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. Loso made a motion to approve the overtime and catlouts as presented; seconded by Ehlert. Discussion: Hiemenz questioned the overtime for the Police Department meeting. Police Chief Will stated that he requested the meeting to discuss policing policies and other matters that are related to the Police Department. The motion passed unanimously. Communitv Center - Glenn Deutz: Glenn Deutz appeared before the C.ouncil to discuss the construction and maintenance of a Community Center. Deutz stated \IIat it was his understanding the Council had two major concems: 1. Annual cost of a director; 2. Annual maintenance costs ofthe building. Deutz estimateS a director salary for St. Joseph would be approximately $ 28,000 annually. As far as the maintenance costs, the 1999 maintenance cost of the St. Joseph Community Fire Stalion was approximately $ 9,000. As the proposed Community Center would be of similar size, Deutz assumes maintenance costs would be similar. Deutz stated that Mary Ann Krebsbach has generously donated the land for the Community Center and encourages the City to accept such. Deutz is willing to continue to work on the project and solicit funds, but that cannot be done until a building design has been completed. Therefore, Deutz requested the Counetl consider releasing the designated funds for the Recreation Center to be used for survey and architectural costs. I I I I I I ! , Page 3733' May 4, 2000 Hiemenz stated that he would like to see a Community Center in St. Joseph, but the major concem is funding. The City has many projects underway and funding is limited so the Council must prîoritize spending. However, if a Community Center is constructed Hiemenz requested that a library be considered part ofthe project. Loso stated that he feels the Council needs to look at including youth in the project, but does feel that the youth would be satisfied with an open area gym. Niedenfuer disagreed with Loso regarding activities for youth. Niedenfuer stated that youth may have an interest in a cyber café and there may be other activities they are interested in. She stated that it would be a shame not I to research alternatives before tuming down the idea. Niedenfuer also stated that S. Miriam Ardolf, OSB has offered the assistance of the College of St. Benedict grant writers to help seek funding. The issue of a Community Center could also be placed on the ballot in November to see if the public is willing to pay increased taxes to support a Community Center. Ehlert stated that in order for the Community Center to be successful, it will need the support of the local civic organizations. Deutz stated that group of interested persons meet on April 26 to I discuss the Community Center and agreed it would be important for the Council to appoint a liaison to the committee. Councilors Ehlert and Loso volunteered to be part ofthe committee. Niedenfuer stated that the Healthy Community Partnership (HCP) has been discussing completing a survey and needs assessment the fall of 2000. It may be possible for the Community Center to part of the process. Niedenfuer made a motion to authorize release of the designated funds in the Recreation Center Fundto help survey and draft a building plan for a community center. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Niedenfuer made a motion to appoint Councitor Loso and Ehlert to the Community Center Committee; seconded by Twit and passed unanimously. Niedenfuer made a motion authorizing the City Office Staff to work with the College of St Benedict grant writing staff to help secure funding for the Community Center. The motion was seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. City Hall Lease Aareement and Bondino Authoritv: EDA Director Chad Carlson appeared before the Council to discuss the Lease Agreement between the City of st. Joseph and the St. Joseph I EDA. Before the'EDA can issue Public Project Revenue Bonds, the City and EDA need to execute a lease agreement. The EDA Board will be meeting on May 10 to execute the lease agreement. Carlson stated that the Council received the agreement prior to the meeting. The agreement has S6I11e rninQr,GOITections that need to be made, but more importantly the Council needs to determine the amount and term of bonds that will be issued. " .. '.:-;::·,7:;-'-'r7.1;'T' '7 ""/1 Loso made a motion to authorize the City Clerk/Administrator and Mayor to execute the I Lease Agreement between the City of St Joseph and the St Joseph EDA for the issuance of Public Improvement Bonds for the acquisition and remodeling of the First state Bank Building for use as the City/Police Offices. The Bonds will be in the amount of $ 960,000 for a term of 1S years. The motion was seconded by Ehtert and passed unanimously. Miscellaneous Matters: Œ> The Housing Task Force has met and are working on defining the issues. It is anticipated to present the information to the surrounding jurisdictions sometime in July. Page 3734 May 4, 2000 I&> The Planning Commission is recommending the Council authorize the setting of a public hearing to amend the Zoning Ordinances regarding accessory buildings. Recently an accessory building was constructed in a residential neighborhood that is pole bam in nature. The current Ordinances do not require accessory buildings to be similar in construction to the main structure. The Planning Commission ìs requested to change the Ordinance to prevent this from happening I Ehlert made a motion authorizing the Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing on June 5, 2000 to amend the Zoning Ordinance regarding accessory buildings. The motion was seconded by Niedenfuer and passed unanimously. The Council also discussed the setback ofthe accessory building in question and requested the Building Official stop the building if the setbaclŒ are not met. Loso questioned Carlson as to the development status of the Industrial Park. Carlson responded that two lots on Joseph Street have sold and another lot in the Business Park is pending. Loso will contact Carlson at secure furlher details. Senior Disorientation: Police Chief Gary Will stated that he has had several meetings regarding Senior Disorientation enforcement plans. Will stated that one ofthe goals is to provide a safe evening for the students and residents. Steams County has agreed to the closing of College Avenue North between Minnesota and Ash Street and will waive the permit fee. Blocking off the street is not intended to be confrontational, rather a safe area to say goodl-bye to classmates. Niedenfuer stated the Council and Police Department need to be aware of the two residences that are located in the area to be blocked off and the need to be sensitive to their needs. I Will stated that other suggestions included leaving the bars open an hour longer, not to serve alcohol, but as a gathering place to say good-bye. The bars were not receptive to this idea and were not interested in serving food. Niedenfuer questioned if food will be served outside after 1 :00 a.m. to provide a more festive atmosphere. Twit stated that both pizza establishments on College Avenue are closing at 10:00 p.m. that night. Ehlert has some reservations about changing the natural flow of activitY in St. Joseph because of the students, but understands the need to provide a safe area. He further questioned how 1he police will respond if the students decide to gather in a different location this year. Will stated that this year 12 Highway Patrol and 8 Steams County Officers will be patrolling the area along with the St. Joseph Police Department. With this additional police force another area could easily be secured. The Council agreed to close off College Avenue North between Minnesota Street and Ash Street when necessary but not before 10:30 p.m. Signs prohibiting parking will be placed on College Avenue during the day and covered until 1 0:30 p.m. and barricades will be placed on the side of the road until needed. Mayor Reports Pond View Ridae Five: Hiemenz reported that he has received complaints regarding the drainage betwéen somé homes located on 12th Ave and Able Street. The Engineer and builders will be meeting within the next week to resolve this matter. Elevations were not established before homes were constructed which has created some drainage issues. I Rai1 Authonlv: The final report regarding light rail has been filed. The report concludes that it is not économically feasible to extend light rail to St. Joseph. The cost of extending the line from St. Cloud to St. Joseph is approximately 9.4 million. i I Page 37351 May 4, 2000 I Councilor Reports TWIT Community Center: Twit stated that if the Community Center Committee is going to complete a survey make sure to question whether or not the respondent is willing to pay for the cost of the Center. Further, it may be beneficial to contact a professional survey company to assist the group. Police RepOrt: Twit questioned whether the Police Report in the packet was going to discussed or if it was for information purposes only. The Council agreed to discuss the report. Niedenfuer expressed concem with regard to the number of underage persons reported at the local establishments. She also stated that she does not feel the bars should be mar1<eting promotional drinking on weekends such as Pine Stock. The Council agreed with Niedenfuer regarding the number of underage citations and requested the Police Chief compile a report from August of 1999 to present of the number of underage patrons cited in each establishment. The Council also questioned if they have the authority to consider citations when applications for renewal of liquor licenses are renewed. John Scherer will be contacted regarding parameters that could be established in renewing the license. I Ehlert questioned if the City has been notifying the liquor establishments when citations have been issued. Loso stated that he did see the letters that were sent and it appears as though that form of notification has not been effective. Hiemenz offered to sign and deliver a letter to each liquor establishment stating the Councils concems and possible actions if not remedied. Twit recommended that Hiemenz confer with the Police Chief and City Attomey before drafting and delivering a letter. Niedenfuer stated she appreciates the enforcement of speed on County Road 75 and encourages the department to keep monitoring the traffic. Loso stated that he continues to receive complaints regarding pedestrian traffic and enforcement. He stated that in St. Paul signs are placed in the middle of the road and is a great mechanism to slow down traffic. Loso also stated that he has received complaints regarding rollerbladers and walkers walking down the road three or four abreast. Twit stated it is his understanding that rollerbladers and bicyclers have the same rights a vehicles because they are on wheels. Will concurred and further stated that since they have wheels they must also follow the same regulations as vehicles. Will stated that he will work on educating the public regarding this matter. EHLERT I Recreation Association: The Recreation Association will be establishing a dedication date for the Millstream concession stand. The Council will be invited to attend the dedication. Flowers - Minnesota Street: Judy Memkeen is requesting the City authorize funds to purchase flowers for the beautification of Minnesota Street. Loso stated that this item should be a part of the Park Boar<! budget each year as it is considered a park area and the planting of flowers -enhances Minnesota Street. The Council concurred and the flowers will be expended from the Park Development budget. I LOSO Subsidiary Committees: Loso stated that in his opinion many of the advisory groups to the City Council do not know their role. Loso stated this was further evidenced by the joint meeting between the City Council and Planning Commission. Loso is requesting that the function and Page 3736 May 4, 2000 mission statement of eactr advisory BoardlCommission be reviewed and revised. Further, whenever a committee is established the Council should provide a mission statements and goals. I Twit concurred and stated that sometimes the Council is unaware of the discussion that took place before a recommendation was made and therefore may not accept a recommendation. Therefore the Board or Commission sees the Council as not supporting their decisions. Twit stated that the Planning Commission is a good example. Many times the recommendations are in writing and they are unclear as to why the recommendation was made. Although the Commission does have a liaison, the Council agreed it would be helpful if a member of the Planning Commission wÐuld be present to answer questions regarding their recommendations. NtEDENFUER Healthv Community PartnershiD: Niedel)fuer reported that Sunday, May 7, 2000 is Frulingsfest Two which is in honor of the farmers. The entire council is encouraged to attend Farmers Market: The first Farmers Market will open on May 12, 2000 at 3:00 p.m. in the Del-Win parking lot. Many activities have been added for children making the opening more festive. Richard Bresnahan will be present to help children make pottery. Clerk/Administrator Reports Saeed Limits Sions - Comoost Area: The compost attendants have requested the City post the speed limit at 10 mph. The request is for the safety ofthe attendants and the residents as well. Loso made a motion to reduce the speed limit to 10 mph in the co-mpost/frisbee golf area for satetypurposes; the motion was seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. Lions - Tree Maintenance. Minnesota Street: Public Works Director Dick Taufen reported that the St. Joseph Lions Club has offered to purchase and install wood chips around the trees on Minnesota Street. This issue becomes whether or not the City wishes to maintain the area with the wood chips: While the wood chips would hold the moisture in the area, there is also the risk that they could be scattered around the sidewalk. Loso made a motion to accept the donation of the wood chips from the St Joseph Uons and maintain the tree area as needed; the motion was seconded by Niedenfuer and passed unanimously. I Miscellaneous and Announcement Items Meetino Grounds ComDlaint: The City has received a complaint regarding the odor produced by th roasting of coffee beans. The City Office is working on this matter. Yard Maintenance: Councilors questioned the enforcement of the Junk Car Ordinance and Refuse Ordinance regarding unsightJyyards. Will stated Councilors may contact him regarding specific properties and he will issue the necessary correspondence. Police Chief Meetino: The Council discussed the possibility of meeting with the Police Chief as a Council to discuss department goals and policies. The Council agreed to meet on May 11 at 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Meeting Grounds to discuss such matters. Adioum: Loso made a motion to adjoumat 10:15 pm; seconded by Niedenfuer and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens Deputy Clerk I