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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 [07] Jul 20 Page 3763 July 20, 2000 City of St. Joseph City Council Meeting 7120100, 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 20, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Cory Ehlert, Ken Twit, Mary Niedenfuer, Bob Loso, Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. Members absent: Mayor Kenneth Hiemenz. 1 Others Present :Police Chief Gary Will, Diane Schneider, Randy Matthews. Approve Agenda -Acting Mayor Twit stated that due to a family emergency, Mayor Hiemenz is absent from the meeting. In light ofthat, the agenda has been shortened. Items 4b,S, 9, 10, 11 and 13 have all been removed and will be rescheduled for a later meeting. There are also two additions to the agenda: the re-approval of Ollie Lesnick as the City Assessor for the year 2001, and the re-approval of a zero deductible for the City's workers compensation coverage. Ehlert made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Approve Consent Agenda - Approval of Ollie Lesnick as the City Assessor for the year 2001 Approval of zero deductible for the City's worker's compensation coverage Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Department Head Reports - Chief Will reported that the Council directed the Police Department to propose violationslpenalty sanctions for liquor license violations. Will generated a graph with violations and recommendations for actions. Will stated that it is his recommendation that they send it to the alcohol compliance committee fortheir review and recommendations. Will stated that this committee will be made up of Dave Windels, the compliance officer, Mark Zimmer, Mark Loso, Mary Niedenfuer, Cory Ehlert and representatives from the colleges. Loso made a motion to send the administrative penalty matrix to the alcohol compliance committee for review, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. Approve Minutes - Ehlert made a motion to table the minutes of July fJh untjf the next meeting, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously with Loso-abstaining as he was not present at the July 6h meeting. I Bills Payable and OvertimelCallouts - Loso made a motion to approve the bills payable. Ehlert seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Twit asked what the expenditure for Gene Lange was for. Schmidt stated that it was to move the pole barn on Mr. Hemminger's property. Ehlert asked whatever happened with that. He gets calls about it all the time. Schmidt stated that the City issued a building permit to Mr. Hemminger in error and are now paying for it to be moved to his rear yard. The City will be paying for half and the Building Inspector will be paying for the other half. Ehlert asked when this was approved. Schmidt stated that the Council approved it a few months ago. Loso made a motion to approve the callouts, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. Public Comments on the Agenda - There were no public comments to the-aþenda. Vañance Request - EDA Director, Chad Carlson, submitted a re~. rtthat e.d that Paul Sullivan, owner of Paul Mar, Inc., presented a pro. posal to estabtis.. .heste. r ~Chicken restaurant franchise to replace the existing Stardust Video busine' to TaooJOlms. '1'iiGo Johns is also owned by Mr. Sullivan. The current businesses of Sta . Video a/f¡fT~ Johns I Page 3764 July 20, 2000 I have enough parking spaces as required by Ordinance. However, Mr. Sullivan states in his cover letter that the site plan is short three parking spaces necessary for the Taco Johns and the new Chester Fried Chicken business. Mr. Sullivan presented his variance for three parking spaces to the Planning Commission on July 10th. After a considerable amount of discussion centering around the traffic congestion that currently exists at the site, the Planning Commission felt that the restaurant would increase the traffic on the site and adversely impact the parking offered by adjacent buSinesses. In addition, the Planning Commission fen that the owner was creating the hardship by considering a business that would increase traffic levels and the need for additional parking spaces. TheTefore, the Planning Commission is recommending denial of the variance request. After the public hearing had concluded, the Planning Commission suggested that Mr. Sullivan acquire the necessary space for the three parking spots needed for the business. The Planning Commission felt that the business would be a good addition to the community of St. Joseph. Loso stated that he thinks that the parking situation would have worked and would like to see this business in St. Joseph. Ehlert stated that the Planning Commission was in favor of the business, but felt that the parking situation was a problem. They felt that the businesses would complement one another very well. Loso stated that since Mr. Sullivan was not present to argue his case, he would move to accept the Planning Commissions recommendation to deny the variance of the three parking stalls at this time. Niedenfuef seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ehlert stated that Mr. Sullivan is working with Chad Carlson to try and figure out some other options to make it work. I Mayor and Council Reports - Hiemenz was absent from the meeting. Ehlert asked about the progress on the slow children signs on Dale. Schmidt stated that Public Works Director Dick Taufen will be looking at them. He is, however, on vacation this week. Twit had no report. Lose asked that NSP do a street lighting study of Norhtland to determine the lighting needs in the area. Ehlert stated that he thought this was addressed in the developers agreement. Loso stated that it wasn't covered in this agreement. Schmidt stated that she would look into it and if the development agreement did not address street lighting, that she would have NSP conduct a study. Niedenfuer reported that the Healthy Community Partners will be having two meetings in August, one for a fun activity and one for work. They are also coordinating a city-wide survey in conjunction with a town meeting sometime in the fall. Loso reported that he and Schmidt met with the Union and the City stewards today. The two sides agreed to meet every Friday morning from 10:00 am - 12:00 am starting August 4th until they either settle the contract or reach an impasse. Ehlert asked about the outside negotiator. Schmidt stated that she was requested by a Council member to contact an outside negotiator that might be willing to help the City with the negotiations. Schmidt stated that she contacted Cy Smythe, from Labor Relations Associates. He would charge the City his basic subscription rate of $80 per hour. Loso suggested that the City try to do it on their own first, before hiring someone from the outside to do it. Twit asked Chief Will if he had heard anything about the Administrative Assistant grant for the Police Department. Will stated that they have 30 days to respond and it looks like they will be using their full 30 days to decide. He will update the Council as soon as he hears something. Niedenfuer asked that the Council bring the items that weren't discussed to the next meeting so that they don1 have to be recopied for the next packet. The Council agreed.! Clerkl Administrator Report - Schmidt reported on a few upcoming meetings. Adjourn - Loso made a motion fa adjourn at 7:45, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, I ?-S~~ Cali Schmidt Clerk! Administrator