Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001 [02] Feb 01 Page 3843 February 1, 2001 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in special session on Thursday, February 1, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Larry Hosch. Councilors Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, AI Rassier, Kyle Schneider. Clerk/Administrator Judy Weyrens. I Others Present: Police Chief Gary Will, Rodney Zimmer, Howie Zimmer, Mary Ann Graeve,Jim Graeve, Bob Wahlstrom, Ellen Wahlstrom, Ken Twit, Carol Tamm, Tosha Tamm, Ashley Tamm, Ken Loso, Dwight Pfannenstein. Mayor Hosch opened the meeting at 2:00 p.m. and stated the purpose of the meeting is to have open communication with the Police Chief to discuss items of concern to both the Chief and the City Council. Councilor Loso stated that he has received many concernS regarding the Police Department. The concerns include alleged selective enforcement, threatening and sitting in parking lots for I extended periods of time. Further, Loso stated that he has had residents request the Chief be 1 removed. Loso stated that the St. Joseph Police Department is being perceived negatively and , people are afraid to drive through SI. Joseph. . I Hosch referred to a recent article in the St. Cloud Times regarding a stabbing on College Avenu~ and questioned accuracy of the account as well as the necessity of naming the establishment ' located at the scene of the crime. Will responded the story was accurate and the Police I Department is seeking information regarding the stabbing. In order to find'witnesses to the event, a landmark such as the name of the establishment is given. WiIi further s!ated that since the 'I' case is stili under investigation, he could not comment further on the incident. i Carol Tamm questioned if it is necessary to publish names of people who have been stopped or I arrested in the .Iocal paper. Will responded that the Newsleader has requested the information , and he has an obligation to provide such. Further, the Newsleader does not publish everything I that is submitted, as the amount printed is based on available space. I Hosch stated that he would like the City to have a positive image and it seems that we have been receiving publicity giving St. Joseph a negative reputation. Hosch further questioned I enforcement of iaws such as excessive window tinting. He had received ¡¡ complaint from an 1 individual who received a ticket for tinted windows. The person ticketed had just purchased the I truck and did nothing to the windows. Will stated that different states allow for greater tinting and the truck that was purchased may have been meant for another state but was shipped to I Minnesota instead. The window tinting iaw is for the protection of the Officer and most of the tickets written reflect windows tinted in excess of allowed levels by 20%. Will further stated that !f the Council does not wish certain laws enforced they should inform him. The Council stated theY are not asking for less enforcement, but are asking for clarification of enforcement issues in an 1 effort to gain a better understanding. 1 Loso stated that it was his understanding that when a new police chief was hired one of the mai"; priorities was to improve the image of the department. In his opinion the image has been going 1 backwards and it is his hope that this meeting would provide suggestions for improvements. I Loso also stated that he had received a complaint regarding one of the Officers and upon telling; the Police Chief he was told that nothing could be done unless a signed complaint was received, Loso stated as a Councilor he receives compiaints and forwards them to the appropriate I Department Head. WiIi stated that he can research a concern without a complaint. However, unless a signed complaint is filed disciplinary action cannot be taken against an officer. ! Minnesota Law requires that before an Officer is disciplined a signed complaint must be received. Will further stated that if a party is afraid to sign a complaint he can take the information and sign the complaint. ! I I I I I I Page 3844 February 1, 2001 Jim Graeve questioned the intent of the meeting and stated it is his opinion that the meeting is negative in nature with Councilors expressing unsubstantiated claims. He feels that for the first time the City has a Police Chief that will warn residents rather than ticket them. Further, the Police Chief takes time to have a monthly call in show so people can express concerns. Ken Twit questioned whether the meeting was advertised, why there is not an agenda or Council packet available and whether or not this meeting should have been a closed meeting. Weyrens stated that the meeting was posted and an agenda had been mailed to all persons requesting such. As far as a Council packet, their was no information for this meeting. : Weyrens stated the purpose of the meeting was to have some positive communication between the police department and City Council. The meeting was not established for disciplinary action or a performance review. There are stringent regulations governing when closed meeting are permitted, this was not one. Hosch stated that the meeting started bad but was meant as a time for the Council to gather information from the Police Chief to express mutual concerns. Their has been some misunderstandings and miscommunication. For example, recently the fines for parking tickets was increased and the Council was not informed of such. Hosch stated that when he discussed the matter with the Chief he responded that this matter was discussed with the former Mayor. Hosch affirmed that the Council needs to be aware of such matters. Ehlert stated he concurs with Hosch and the Council needs to make sure communication lines are open not only with the Police Department but with all Departments. Ehlert asked Will to rank the morale of the department between 1 to 10; with 10 being the highest broken out as follows: Moral within the Department - was at 7 now at 4 Communication within department - 9 Y, Communication with other departments - 7 Y, to 8 Communication with the City Council - 2 Ehlert expressed concern with morale levels and questioned Wiil if he has any plans to improve moral. Will responded that he is working on the matter. Rassier questioned if the Council could get together will all the officers and discuss matters of concern. Rassier stated that he too would like to make sure the communication lines are open. Will stated it is difficult to gather all the Officers at one time. Hosch stated that he contacted the area cities and a number of them have regular meetings with the entire Police Department. Loso stated his main concern is the image of the Police Department and the negative comments, he is receiving. He stated that many people will not come forward with complaints due to the fear of retaliation. People feel more comfortable approaching a Council member, remaining I anonymous. Will stated that he cannot follow through with complaints if he does not have enough information. Will again stated that he would sign complaints if people would come to him. I Dwight Pfannenstein stated that it is important for the Department and the Council to have open! communication and everyone needs to get along with each other. If there is a problem it should: be addressed immediately. Pfannenstein stated as an officer he understands the importance of: following procedure and making sure everything is done right. If proper steps are not taken issues cannot be resolved. Ehlert stated he prefers a constructive and optimistic approach to problem solving. He further stated he is hoping to develop a partnership with the Police Department. I Wahlstrom stated it is her opinion that the question should be more general: such as how is the I department doing. She questioned if the Council and the Police Department ever get together to talk about complaints in general. Disciplinary action should be taken only after a matter is I Page 3845 February 1, 2001 Wahlstrom stated it is her opinion that the question should be more géneral; such as how is the department doing. She questioned if the Council and the Police Depqrtment ever get together to' talk about complaints in general. Disciplinary action should be taken only-after a matter is discussed and no corrective action is taken. Will responded that the Department has a briefing book as a method of sharing generic information with the officers. I Hosch discussed the fear people have of approaching the officers. To many people the uniform is intimidating. Hosch concurred with Ehlert and stated the Council needi.to find a way to better communication with the department and work together. Hosch statedlhatthe Council will be meeting with each department quarterly to improve communication. . Jim Graeve questioned the number of complaints the Council has received recently. Loso responded that he has received approximately 100 complaints in different forms. Will stated that if the Councii is receiving complaints, they should deal with them immediately in lieu of waiting to address them at a quarterly meeting. Howie Zimmer stated the Council will always receive complaints. In his opinion, the issue before the Council is the image of the Department. Zimmer stated that while he was in a café in a neighboring City patrons would laugh about the Department. Zimmer also wants to see the image of the department improved. Carol T amm stated that she is part of one of the oldest businesses in St. Joseph and she too hears people speak negatively about St. Joseph. Further, people state that they are afraid to come to St. Joseph. Tamm stated that her business has decreased significantly because of this fear. She further stated that she cares about the community of St. Joseph-and the Council needs to take action to stop the negative image. AI Rassier questioned if the police department could use more discretion and warning for such items as speeding five miles over the limit. Ken Twit stated that he doubt~ the Department ever issues a ticket for as little as five miles over the speed limit. Jim Graeve stated that he feels the department does not always issue a ticket, as he received a warning when his license was not valid. I Hosch questioned Will as to how the Council could make his job easier. Will responded with two items: 1 . He must receive detailed information to do proper follow-up 2. He needs to know what the City Council expects The Council discussed with Will alternative ways for residents to file a complaint such as a Council member going to the Police Department with the person wishing to file a complaint. This method may reduce the intimidation factor. With the rising cost of fuel, Jim Graeve questioned at what level the cars need to be heated to function. Will responded that in order for the equipment to function property the car needs to be warm. Further, the car does not spend many hours idling. Dwight Pfannenstein stated it is important for the Officers to be visible in the community so they are recognizable and deemed approachable. Many of the residents in St. Joseph do not know the part time officers. Suggestions for improving the visibility included fealuring an officer in the . St. JoseDh Newsleader or on the monthly cable access show. Will stated that it is illegal to photograph an Officer. However, he has been introducing officers on the cable access show. Ehlert stated that when the City hires an employee they state that they wil! become involved in the community and actively participate in civic groups. Although this does not happen all the time, it is encouraging to see employees involved in community events oul!side of their employment role. Will stated that he has every intention of being part of the community. I I I I Page 3846 February 1, 2001 Further, Will stated it is an injustice to the civic group if you cannot be an active member. As time permits he will be part of the civic groups. Rassier stated he is glad the Council had this opportunity to talk to the Police Chief and stated the Council needs to continue to communicate not only with the Police Department but all the City departments. Ehlert expressed concern that morale is at a low level and nothing is being done to improve conditions. He feels the Council needs to find a way to remedy the situation.' Will stated that some of the morale issues relate to personnel issues with the previous Council and he will tfe happy to share those on an individual basis as the information is not public information. There being no further business Hosch made a motion to adjourn at 4:15 p.m.; seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. ~;:;)~ Clerk/Administrator - I Page 3847 February 1b, 200t Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Councii for the City of SI. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, February 1, 2001 at 7:00 p.m. at the SI. Joseph City HaiL Members Present: Mayor Larry Hosch. Counciiors Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, AI Rassier, Kyle Schneider. Clerk/Administrator Judy Weyrens. I Others Present: Public Works Director Dick Taufen. City Engineer Joe Bettendorf. Approve Aaenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the deletion of consent agenda item 3 (c) Developers Agreement. The motion was seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. . Consent Agenda: Rassier made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows; seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. a. Approve the minutes of January 17 and 18, 2001 b. Approve the bills payable (check numbers 29332 - 29371) and overtime c. Authorize Mayor to send letter of support to the Department of Natural Resources for the Lake Wobegon Trail for possible funding. d. Authorize the Amendment to Ordinance No. 69, Alarm Permitting e. Authorize the Amendment to Ordinance No. 84, Permit Parking f. Approve the capital purchase of desk and files for the police and administration. Totai cost of $ 2,270. g. Deny the umbrella policy for General Liability and Worker's Comp Insurance and accept the Statutory Tort Limits. Public Comments to the Aaenda: No one present wished to speak. Engineer Reports I MaDpina City Council Chambers: City Engineer Joe Bettendorf reported that his firm again wii provide three wall maps for the Council Chambers. The Council needs to determine which maps would be most useful for meetings. Loso questioned if the water and sewer maps could be I framed. Bettendorf responded that the utility maps are very detailed and it would be hard to read with both water and sewer on one map. The Council agreed to hang the following maps in the new Council Chambers: Zoning Map; Lot and Block Map: and a SI. Joseph Township map illustrating the Orderly Annexation areas. Bettendorf stated that his firm would be donating a plat rack to the City Office so that project maps can be kept in an orderly fashion. MSA Fundina: Bettendorf reported that the City of SI. Joseph wiil receive $ 140,791.00 in MSA funding in the year 2001. These funds must be used on designated roads. The City does not need to use the funds each year as they can be banked for a large project. Additionally the City can borrow against the funding if a major project is constructed. The MSA funds would then be ø revenue source for the bonds that would be sold. However, this borrowing of funding has I restrictions and it is not a good policy to borrow against the funds. ! ! When MSA funding is used, 90 percent is paid at construction and 10 percent is paid at the end.! MSA funding requires considerable paperwork, which Bettendorf stated he would monitor. In ! addition to receiving construction funds, the City will receive $ 4,455 in 2001 for street maintenance. Schneider questioned if the City can expect the same funds each year. Bettendorf stated the funds can vary each year. The distribution is based on population and how much construction is completed. Each municipality must submit construction plans annually and the MSA funds are pooled and appropriated accordingly. I I I I I Page 3848 February 1b, 2001 Capital Improvement Program: Bettendorf reported that he along with Dick Taufen and Jim Marthaler have been reviewing the televising tapes of the sewer system. To date they have reviewed the SE portion of town and the sewer lines look good. This part of town is the new , dev.elopments and as they move to the older portion of town it is anticipated to find areas needing repair. At this time two joints where the pipe is settling will need to be replaced. I Pond View Ridoe Phase 6: Bettendorf stated it is his understanding the developers for Pond I View Ridge will be requesting relief from the newly adopted grading policy. During the construction of homes in Pond View Ridge Phase 5 the elevation of homes became an issue and the City become involved in neighbor disputes regarding drainage. Therefore, the Council in I 2000 adopted a policy requiring all new housing developments to complete final grading including elevations for each lot before building permits could be issued. Each lot would be surveyed and I detailed indicating all easements and elevations. After the home is built the builder would need to submit a new survey illustrating the home is built according to the original plan. This concept is being used in other Cities and is extremely effective. Loso stated that he recalls working on the policy and at the time of adoption the developers of Pond View Ridge had input and agreed to work with the new policy. Bettendorf stated that the expense of the survey should be the expense of the builder not the developer. Ehlert requested clarification if new policy would require the developer of a large parcel to survey the entire development at the beginning. Bettendorf responded that only the area being platted would need to be surveyed. I Rassier stated that he reviewed the Developer's Agreement and forwarded minor changes , regarding the driveway locations for the lots adjacent to Minnesota Street and 12'h Avenue. I Taufen requested the Developers Agreement include language requiring the developer to providé , street lighting and signage. The Council concurred and indicated this was previously discussed and should have been included. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR REPORTS Well Cleanina: Public Works Director Dick Taufen reported that it is time to clean the screens oT] one of the City Wells. The well was last cleaned in 1996. Taufen received a quote from Traut I Well to clean the screen for $ 1,720.00. Loso made a motion authorizing the expenditure of $ 1,720.00 to clean the screen for one of the City wells. The motion was seconded by Ehlert and passed unanimously. Vacation of City Offices 21 1" Avenue NW: Taufen questioned the Council as to their intent for the remaining fixtures in the City Office and Police Department. Taufen stated in his discussions with the Police Chief the office equipment in the Police Department would not be moved as it is all junk. The City needs to determine how the surplus property will be disposed, through a City auction or participation with Stearns County. The Council agreed to dispose of any surplus property through the Stearns County Auction. This list of surplus property should be submitted to the Council after it is established. Taufen questioned if the Council would like attached furnishing removed from the City Office for auction and who will determine what is worth selling. Councilors discussed the possibility of walking through the facilities to assist with the determination of surplus property. After considerable discussion the Council agreed to defer this matter to the three major department heads. New Citv Facility: Taufen and Hosch reported that water has been leaking in the new office facility. Due to the large amount of snow on the roof it is difficult to determine what type of repair is needed on the roof. Hosch stated that he discussed the mater with Greg Reinhart who stated that he had the roof repaired and did not have any problems with leaks. Taufen stated it is important to take care of the roof to prevent further roof damage and interior damage. Ehlert made a motion authorizing City staff to move forward to receive quotes/bids to repair the Page 3849 February 1b, 2001 roof including repair or replacement and report back to the Council on the status. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. MAYOR REPORTS Newly Elected Officials Conference: Hosch reported that he and Councilor Schneider attended the newly elected official's conference held in Grand Rapids. The conference was extremely informative. Upcomino Meetinos: Hosch reminded the Council that on February 8, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. the City Council is meeting with representatives from the College I Monastery of St. Benedict. The purpose of the meeting is to provide introductions to the staff and City Council. COUNCILOR REPORTS SCHNEIDER Park Board Meetin<r Schneider reported the Park Board recently met and discussed the lighting for the sledding hill and the televising of meetings. EHLERT No report RASSIER Uocomina Meetings: Rassier reported the CORE Committee will be meeting on February 21, 2001 with the main agenda topic discussion on the Noise Ordinance. Rassier also reported the Planning Commission will be meeting on February 5, 2001. LOSO ASFME Mediation: Loso reported the next State Mediation with the ASFME Union is scheduled for February 7, 2001. Any Councilor with concerns should contact him prior to the mediation. CLERK/ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS City Hall Move Date: Weyrens reported the City Office and Police Department cannot move into the new facility as there are some outstanding fire code issues. The Council discussed the continued delays and the financial impact of maintaining two facilities. In an effort to put closure to the project, the Council requested the City Hall Contract be referred to John Scherer for review and a letter be sent to the contractor requesting the project be completed as soon as possible. January Interim Intern: Weyrens reported that Nick Phal has completed his January Interim Internship and has been a considerable asset to the City Office. Phal has been working on the record retention program for the City and has expressed interest in continuing working for the City on a part time basis. Weyrens stated that at this time the past records of the City have not be purged nor has a record retention plan been established. This project will take considerable work and Weyrens requested authorization to employ Nick Phal on a part time basis to complete the record retention and storage and to assist the office as needed. Phal is interested in working 10 to 15 hours per week. Ehlert questioned the funding for the part time employment to which Weyrens stated that funds under Administration would be available. Therefore, Ehlert made a motion to hire Nick Phal as a part time employee as requested comp,ensating him $ 7.00 per hour working 10 to 15 hours per week. Further, Weyrens will present a financial summary of funds for the expenditure to the Council. The motion was seconded by Hosch and passed unanimously. '1 I I I i Page 3850 February Ib, 2001 I Adiourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 8:25 p.m.; seconded by Schneider and passed I unanimously. 5J;::- :J.y~ Clerk/Administrator I I