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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 [07] Jul 07 Page 3758 July 7, 2000 I City of St. Joseph City Council Meeting 7/6/00, 7:00 PM Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met on Thursday, July 6, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Cory Ehlert, Ken Twit, Mary Niedenfuer, Clerk- Administrator Cari Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. Members absent: Bob Loso. Others Present :Police Chjef Gary Will, Jerry Friehler, Cory Elmer, Mark Hemann, and Marie Zenner. Approve Agenda -Twit made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. I 7:00 Public Hearing - Hiemenz opened the public hearing and asked if anyone would like to address the Council. No-one was present for the issues. Weyrens stated that when the CitY Council reviewed the fees for iotoxicating liquor licenses it was questioned why the club and wine license fees were not reviewed and adjusted accordingly. At that time we stated that the City wouLd review them when they were due. The fees for wine and club are similar to the surrounding cities, unlike when we reviewed the intoxicating liquor license fee. The Council received the current statute on the limits for wine and club license fees. Based on the current membership of the Legion, the maximum fee for the license could be $500. The wine license cannot exceed one half of the intoxicating liquor license fee charged. The College ofSt. Benedict has a wine license which it uses for special events. The current wine license fee is $150 and the club 1icense fee is $200. The City received a letter from John Forsythe, the owner of Bo Diddley's regarding this issue as well. Weyrens reiterated that we are in line with other communities if the Council does not wish to change the fees at this time. Hiemenz closed the public hearing. Neidenfuer made a motion to leave the wine and club license fees as is for the 2000-2001 license period, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. Approve Consent Agenda - Application for Payment NO.3 - Cost Split for 1999 Joseph Street Business Park Improvements Televising Bids. I Schmidt stated that the City received two bids for sewer televising: Infrastructure Technologies for $13,110 and Viking Pipe Services for $14,478. Twit asked if the City was televising the business park. Bettendorf stated that they could add that on as part of the project. Bettendorf explained that Infrastructures bid for $13,110 looks like the better bid. They would be televising the older part of town. This will give us a better idea of what our mains look like ahead oftime and if we should be anticipating any problems. It would be wise to do this before other projects, so that we know what we're getting into. It will help determine where the problem areas are and what part of town we should start in first. Niedenfuer asked if any of these streets are scheduled for an upgrade. Bettendorf stated that all of them are. Twit asked where the funds will come from for this. Weyrens stated that it would come out of the sewer fund. Ehlert made a motion to accept the low bid of $13,110 from Infrastructure Technologies. Niedenfuer seconded the motion. Bettendorf stated that we would arrange the schedule with the low bidder. He mentioned that there is an additional cost for bypass pumping and any cleaning or televising that is done at night. Bettendorf stated that there is a possibWty that they may have to bypass four or five times. Bettendorf asked for some clarification on how many times they can bypass without coming back to the City Council? Twit asked if this would require City personnel to be there at night? Bettendorf stated that they would probably want to be there, but they would probably try and limit the amount of night televising they do. Ehlert stated that he was comfortable leaving it up to staff's discretion. The Council just doesn1 want to give carte blanche to do this six or seven times without Council approval. Hiemenz called the question and the motion passed unanimously. Page 3759 July 7, 2000 Department Head Reports - Chief Will reported that Pete Janssen has completed his probationary period and is recommending that he be taken off probation. Ehlert stated that he has heard that Pete has been doing a great job. Ehlert made a motion to end Pete Janssen's probationary status, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. I Will reported that the Council should have received the June police report, as well as a re-cap of the 4th of July activities, similar to what he did for disorientation. Will also stated that he gave the Council a needs assessment for the department, but doesn't expect them to talk about it or make any decisions about it tonight. This is an item that can again be discussed at budget time. Will stated that the Council has also received a lengthy report on the computer systemlrecords system. The CitY has been waiting for the County wide system to be completed. The cost estimates now are very high. They are trying to bring the costs down however. Will recommended that the CitY wait on becoming part of that system until the bugs are worked out in a few years. In the meantime, he recommended that the City use an interim system that would cost $1,295 plus $100 the first year and $130 for every year after that. Niedenfuer asked if they were only going to get one license. Will stated that if the ultimate goal is to get on the County system, that they would make due with one license for now. Then the department could budget forthe County wide system forthe future. The benefit ofthe County system is that it would allow the department to communicate in real time. Will stated that he would be approaching the Council at the next meeting for an answer. Will reported that Brad Meyer has volunteered to be the Crime Prevention Officer for the City. Wi would like to send him to a conference in St. Cloud in October. The cost is $75.00. Niedenfuer made a motion to approve the expenditure of $75 to send Officer Meyer to the Crime Prevention training. The motion was seconded by Ehlert and it passed unanimously. I Hiemenz stated that the June crime report had some pretty high numbers. Will stated that it was important to note that the underage consumptions were all outside of liquor establishments in the City. They were either outside or were passengers in cars that were stopped. Will stated that he drafted and sent to the bar owners an administrative penalty matrix for bar violations. The Council will also be getting them. Twit expressed concern that the Council didn~ have them already as the bar owners will most likely call the Council members about it. Ehlert stated that it's important to make a compliance program that will frt the communitY. Hiemenz added that prevention is a cheaper solution than trying to prosecute all the crimes. Will added that Officer Windels, the Compliance Program officer will be going to the establishments to let them know that the CitY will be checking. Ehlert stated that he is ok with the grant proposal that Will wrote the memo about in the packet. Will explained that he spoke with the Mayor about it and that they had to make a quick decision Oft that if they wanted to take advantage of the grant funds. Approve Minutes - Twit made a motion to approve the minutes of June 5" seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Bills Payable and OvertimelCallouts - Ehlert made a motion to approve the bills payable. Niedenfuer seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ehlert made a motion to approve the callouts, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. Public Comments on the Agenda - There were no public comments to the agenda. I Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities - Cory Elmer of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities addressed the Council. He explained that the Coalition is a nonprofit advocacy organization representing 61 cities located outside ofthe Twin Cities Metropolitan area. The Coalition educates legislators about issues important to Greater Minnesota cities, and gives these cities a Page 3760 .July 7, 2000 I strong voice at the Legislature through effective lobbying, through research and an active involvement in the legislative process. The Coalition is the only organization that brings Greater Minnesota city officials and legislators together to discuss the issues confronting Greater Minnesota. Elmer explained that the Coalition focuses on five major issues:' Local Government aid, annexation and land use, the environment, transportation and economic development. Elmer introduced Maria Zenner who is the media and communications person for the Coalition. Zenner explained some ofthe different communication tools used by the Coalition. Schmidt asked Elmer about the fees involved. Elmer stated that the fee is $1.00 per capita plus $1 ,ooa. The price is cut in half for the first year, however. Ehlert stated that if the City didn't join the coalition, they would still reap the benefits of the work they do. Elmer said that is true. He explained that there is rolling admission to the organization so the City could join at any time. Hiemenz thanked them for coming and explained that the Council would probably cover this during budget time. Joe Bettendorf - Grant Proposal County Road 121 - Bettendorf stated that as the Council is aware, there were not enough positive responses regarding the annexation for the County'Road 121 Improvement to proceed with the project as originally planned. However, he understands that the residents along 121 are considering a separate petition for annexation that would include only properties along the County Road. Bettendorf stated that a member of his staff who specializes În grant programs has suggested that we conduct a survey of the residents along 121 to se if the area in question meets the threshold requirements for possible grant assistance. He would like to expand the survey to include the residents along 295th Street and 103"' Avenue to see if that area would qualify either as a separate entity or in combination with the residents along CR 121. Bettendorf stated that he would like the Council's approval to conduct the survey immediately so that they can make the submittal deadlines. SEH will prepare and process that survey at no cost to the City. The survey will be confidential as it has some sensitive questions included in it. Netther the City staff nor Bettendorf will see the raw data. Return envelopes will go to the grant writer who will submit the results to us. We will need 100% response to validate the survey and the grant application. IN view of this, we will need the assistance from the Ctty staff to' chase down any responses that do not come in by mail. Bettendorf explained that even if we get 100% response from the survey, we are not guaranteed the funds. It's a win win situation though, and certainly will not hurt anything to try for tt. I I Twit asked who the funds are provided by. Bettendorf stated that it is a federal program, but that this could make us eligible for any number of grants. The focus of the grant would be for low to moderate income areas. The rental units should help fill that requirement. Hiemenz asked if we could do the survey in sections so that if everyone on 121 responded, but not 295th we could just use the 121 area. Bettendorf said that is a good idea. He explained that all we can do is send it out and see what our response will be. There are no guarantees. Twit made a motion to authorize SEH to' proceed with the survey, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously, with Ehlert abstaining. Mark Hemann - Golf Course Development - Mark Hemann, of the Platinum Group addressed the Council. He explained that Alliance Investment, a neWly formed Minnesota partnership between St. Cloud based Viking Development and Eden Prairie based Platinum Marketing Group, is proposing a planned 18 hole Championship Golf Course surrounded by single family, homes, town homes and apartments in the City. This new development will capitalize on the nªJ.~r~,t.~~in and OJiitµre plantings that very few residential golf course developments possess. It is the intent of A"j~n~ tp p.pmpleté the real estate development portion ofthe project in phases over a 7-10 year periO'd. They anticipate entering into agreements with at least four builders to' option the lots and market them from staffed and furnished houses. After further due diligence is completed, an accurate price range of homes will be determined that would attract the largest number of buyer's to the property location. It is also Alliance's intent to sell the necessary acreage to II third party for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a Championship Golf course. Alliance will assist in securing the golf course construction company, golf course financing and a golf course design team. In terms of the annexation, Alliance is prepared to pay for their pro rata share of expenses for providing City water and sewer services to the stte. It is their intent to work with the City during this process to find an economical solution acceptable to all parties involved. Page 3761 .July 7, 2000 Twit asked how soon construction would start if the annexation goes through. Hemann said they would move dirt as soon as they could. Twit explained that there is still 1/8 of a mile that would not be covered even if the annexation goes through on 121. What are they willing to pay for that? Bettendorf stated that they would be looking at a public improvement hearing in the mid to late fall if this goes through, and asked if Hemann could respond with numbers by then. Hemann indicated that he could. Hiemenz asked ifthey had considered a 9 hole course instead of 18. Hemann indicated that the industry standard is now 18 holes. Jerry Fñehler - Legion Purchase Offer - Jerry Friehler of the Legion Club addressed the Council. They are looking to expand their club to allow for more banquet activitY. They are attempting to purchase Stueve's garage for expansion. They would like to expand to the South and open up Stueve's property for parking. They are making an offer to the CitY of $1.00 for 65ft of lots 11 and 12. They are a communitY organization that puts their profits back into the community. They feel that this is a fair price. Friehler stated that the CitY of Paynesville recently sold a piece of property to their Legion Club for a similar price. Hiemenz asked if he meant $1.00 per foot. Friehler said no, $1.00 total. Friehler explained that they have some commitments they must meet, including having 213 of this project in process by March 1, 2001. Friehler explained that they also have to have this approved at the membership meeting in July. Friehler asked the City to come up With a counter-offer. 1 Twit stated that the CitY has recently dealt with a bidding situation on another piece of CitY property, the Roth house. In that situation, the bidder came up with a price and the CitY reacted to it. The City didn't make a counter offer. Twit stated that the same process should be used in this situation. Ehlert stated that he agreed. He would like to know what tile fair market value for the property is. Hiemenz explained that he had requested that the CitY assessor come up with this figure. Ollie Lesnick, the assessor stated that he could not provide this service, but suggested that the City look at what the Legion paid for Denny Stueve's property. Flliehler stated that if the City is going to be expecting the same price as they paid for Stueve's property, that they weren't interested. They had to pay more because they were actually putting Stueve out of business. Ehlert stated that he isn't saying that they should get the same price for the CitY hall property, but there should be some evaluation done of the fair market value. Friehler reiterated that the Legion is a non profit and that any money they make is funneled back into the communitY. Schmidt stated that staff could come up with a fair maTKet value figure and set up a meeting with the EDA Director, Mayor, Ehlert and Friehler next week. Everyone agreed. I Marlys Sebasky - Marlys Sebasky sent an email to the CitY offices requesting that the CitY pave and put curb and gutter in front of her property. She lives at 114 2nd Avenue NE. Bettendorf stated that this isn't the first time this issue has come up. He suggested that perhaps the CitY no longer needs the street in front of her house and we can vacate it. Otherwise, the CitY could look at other inexpensive costs. Bettendorf stated that he would work with staff and they would discuss some of the options with Ms. Sebasky and bring iI back to the COllncil at a later date. Mayor's report - Hiemenz reported that he met with Bettendorf and Schmidt about the Wobegon Trail. He also spoke with Mike Rennie about the City possibly purchasing a lot for the maintenance garage. He has 400ft deep lots that might work well. The Public Works Director is also talking to Mr. Rennie. Hiemenz attended the First State Bank open house as well as a meeting with St. Bens and the County regarding some changes in their bus stops. Hiemenralso reported that the bid for 133 was awarded to Bauerly Brothers. Hiemenz reported that he met with the Fire Department about a few issues. He also got a call from Don Adams. The St. Wendel City Council would like to set up a meeting with the CitY Council about bringing City services to them. 1 Twit stated that summers are short and that he does not want to have any more meetings. He stated that this issue did not arise overnight with St. Wendel and should be able to wait until the fall. Hiemenz said he would speak to the St. Wendel Mayor about doing it later into the fall. He asked for a possible date for the meeting and the Council suggested either August 23'" at 5:30 or September 6th at 5:30 Page 3762 July 7, 2000 1 Hiemenz reported that Steve Dehler has requested that the City be a proponent of keeping the post office open later. Chief Will stated that the police department would not have a problem in locking it up at night. There would just be no guarantee that they would be there at 10:00 exactly. Hìemenz stated that he would contact the postmaster to discuss the issue.. Council Reports - Niedenfuer reported that the Farmers Market grand opening was a huge success. The St. Joseph Healthy Community Partners will be meeting on Monday at the Fire hall at 5:30. They are working with the CommunitY Center group and a professor at St. Cloud State on a community survey to come out in the fall. Ehlert reported that he had received two calls from residents on Dale and 10th/11th requesting slow children signs be placed there. Chief Will reported that he hasn't noticed any significant speeding issues if} that area. Weyrens reported that the sign issues have been a real problem for the maintenance department lately. People don't want them in their yards and the department ends up having to move them over and over. Weyrens suggested that the Council have Dick Taufen look at the area and see what signs he feels are necessary and report back. Niedenfuer made a motion to have DiCk Taufen and Chief Gary Will look into placing 'slow children" signs on Dale and 1d"/11th and report back to the Council if they don't feel they are necessary. Ehlert seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. I Twit stated that he noticed on the calendar that bids were going out for the City hall project. He asked when and at what meeting the Council decided to go with a general contractor and not a construction manager. Schmidt stated that she and the Mayor met with GL T. Since the project was scaled back in size so much it wouJd have been more costly to use a construction manager. The bids had to go out so Schmidt asked for their professional recommendation and they advised that a general contractor be used. Clerk! Administrator Report - Schmidt reported on a few upcoming meetings. Miscellaneous and Announcement Items - There were none. Adjourn - Twit made a motion to adjourn at 9:45, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted. asJ-Xf Cari Schmidt ClerklAdmìnistrator I