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Home My WebLink About2001 [10] Oct 04 I I I I October 4,2001 Page I or:! . .. .. , Pur$uant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, oct 4, 2001 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. I Members Present: Mayor Larry Hosch. Councilors Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, All Rassier,Kyle Schneider. Administrator /Clerk: JudyWeyrens. . Others Present: City Engineer, Joe Bettendorf, Jerry Frieler, Norbert Dardis, Cynthia Strack- Smith, and Bill Wasner" ., '.-.,'" ........ ...,.....'.,., Approve Aqenda:' Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the following revisions: Additi~n of 12(a) Aetna Deferred Compensation Agreement; 12(b) Transportation Planning Meeting and'deletion .of item3(h) Final Pay application for the Business Park. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously by those present. . Consent Aqenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. b. c. d. e. f. Larson I g. h. i. Bills Payable Check numbers 30272-30310 Minutes-September 20, 2001 Authorize the Mayor and Clerk to execute the employment agreement between the City of St. Joseph and Police Chief Peter Jansky. Enter into an agreement with Ken DeWenter Viere to perform the 2001 Audit at a contract price of $8,900. Set special assessment public hearing for the improvéniénts for Northland Phase V and County Road 133 on November 1,2001 at 7:00PM. Authorize Mayor to execute payment application and authorize payment #1 to Excavating in the amount of $251,921.63. Authorize Mayor to execute payment application and authorize payment to Gene Lange Excavation in the amount of $10,868.50. . Deleted ! Authorize the expenditure of $2,353.00 for the purchase of barricades and confined space equipment for Viking Safety. The funds will be expended from the safety budget. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. St. Joseph American Leqion. Storaqe Rent: Jerry Frieler of the St Joseph American Legion appeared before the Council to request an increase in rent for the use of the former Stueve Garage. Frieler stated the Legion cannot cash flow the building under the current rate structure, he is of the opinion that the City created the hardship. ' Frieler stated that the Legion purchased the Stueve Building for a possible addition to the existing facility. Before the property was purchased, Frieler stated that Legion representatives met with City Officials to review the proposed plan. Based on the information from the meeting, (recognizing that adequate parking would not be provided), the Legion purchased the Stueve Building. After the building was purchased the Legion approached the City for a parking variance and was told the variance request was not realistic. Therefore, the Legion has acquired a property that cannot be used for expansion. ! i , Loso stated that he does not recall the City Council advising the Legion on purchasing the Stueve Building. Frieler clarified that he, Norb Dardis, former Mayor Hiemenz, Councilor Ehlert and former EDA Director Chad Carlson met and discussed the proposed expansion. On numerous occasions Mr. Carlson encouraged the Legion to move forward and assured Legion members that a variance on the parking requirement should not be a problem. Mr. Dardis stated that he too was present at the meeting and the former Mayor along with Carlson indicated that the variance would be a formality. Loso clarified that individual members of the City Councilor employees cannot make unilateral decisions. I October 4,2001 . ,Page20f5 Frieler stated that the Legion is requesting a $200.00 per month increase in rent. The rent· currently being charged the City is below market rate and needs to be increased. Frieler stated the Legion is looking at recouping the month finance cost of the acquisition. I Ehlert stated that the City does have some responsibility if the Legion was provided bad information. Hosch stated the he acknowledges the proposed remodeling/addition of the St, Joseph Legion would be a tremendous asset for the downtown: However, the plans submitted to the City included seating for 300 and only 14 parking spaces. The variance may have been granted if the Legion was closer to the parking requirement. Frieler stated the Stueve building contains approximately 6,000 square feet, of which the City is renting 3,000. The proposed rent would equate to .20 per square foot. The building is currently not heated and the City pays the electrical costs. Frieler also stated that he is aware the City is looking at alternatives for stora\)e including building a maintenance facility. Rassier made a motion authorizing the increase in rent from $400 to $600 monthly and to review the rental agreement in six months. The motion was seconded by Hosch and passed unanimously. Ehlert questioned Frieler as to the intent of the Legion with the existing site. Frieler stated that the Legion will place both buildings on the market and look for land outsidl9 the City limits for construction of a new facility to seat 300 persons. American Manufacturinq-Preliminarv TIF Application: Cynthia Smith-Strack of Municipal Development Group appeared before the Council to request preliminary approval of a TIF application for American Manufacturing. American Manufacturing is proposing to construct a 9,000 square foot manufacturing facility on a 5-acre site. The company has added 6 jobs and anticipates additional employment with wages ranging from $14 to $17 pe'r hour. American Manufacturing is requesting TIF assistance in order to help the project move forward. Without TIF the company has indicated they will either remodel the existing facility or seek sites in other communities. The EDA Board has reviewed the preliminary application and determined the project is consistent with the TIF policy and recommended American Manufacturing proceed with the submittal of the final TIF application. I Ehlert questioned who monitors the agreements associated with the TIF documents and if a City has latitude determining the time period allowed. Further, Ehlert questioned if there is a pre- determined cap on the amount of TIF a municipality should issue. Smith-Strack responded that the EDA will monitor and enforce TIF agreements to assure the conditions are met. The length of TIF assistance is capped at 9 years. However, the City can determine each application on its own merit and vary the length of the term. Smith-Strack stated that it is her experience that if the TIF district does not extend for the full term, the business may not come to fruition As for the amount of TIF assistance provided by a municipality, there is not a cap on the maximum amount of assistance a City may provide. St. Joseph has adopted a pay-as-you-go TIF policy, which provides for the least amount of risk to a City. Loso made a motion approving the preliminary application of American Manufacturing, requesting TIF Assistance and authorizing collection of the application and fee. Further, Juran and Moody is retained to prepare the required TIF Plan/Documents. Bill Wasner. Historical Society: Bill Wasner appeared before the Council to request formation of theSt. I I , , I October 4,2001 Page 3 of5 I Joseph Historical Society. Wasner stated that area resident have been meeting to look at establishing a local historical society. In discussing the matter with the Stearns County Historical Society, it was discovered that proceeds from the sale of the St. Joseph History Book could be used by a local historical group. Before the funds are accessed, the City must recognize and establish the local group. Loso made a motion establishing the St. Joseph Historical Society; seconded by Schneider. Discussion: Weyrens will research how the Society is to be formed and the area residents serving on Committee will present the Council with proposed by-laws. The motion passed unanimously. The council closed the meeting at 8:00 PM for discussion of labor strategy regarding the proposed LELS Labor Agreement. The meeting was opened at 8:40PM. City Engineer Reports I Date Street Sewer: City Engineer Joe Bettendorf presented the Council with information regarding the needed repairs to a sanitary sewer line on Date Street East. The sewer line was televised and it indicated a number of leaking joints and considerable root intrusion into the sanitary sewer. Further, there is a serious break in the pipe approximately 85 feet west of 1" Avenue NE. The City has two options: 1. Construct a liner along the entire length of the pipe. This can be done without disturbing the street and is the preferred solution. Estimated cost-$16,OOO. 2. Repair the broken segment with a short liner, treat all of the joints with a root retarder, and grout the joints to reduce the infiltration caused by the leaks. Estimated Cost-$6,200. , i Loso made a motion accepting the recommendations of the Engineer to repair the sanitary sewer line on Date Street East as outlined in option #1 above. The motion was seconded I by Ehlert and passed unanimously. I Proiect Updates: Watab Storm Sewer Outlet: The 18" pipe leading to the Watab storm sewer outlet is in poor condition. It is necessary to repair the damage before the line collapses. Bettendorf stated that he will prepare a repair estimate and present it to the Council at a later meeting. ! County Road 121: The County is in the process of finishing the design of CR 121. The Council conducted the public improvement hearing and at this time needs to order the improvement. Loso made a motion authorizing the improvements of water, sewer, storm sewer, curb and gutter and street to County Road 121. Schneider seconded the motion. Ayes: Hosch, Loso, Rassier, Schneider Nays: None Abstain: Ehlert Motion Carried 4:0:1 , St Wendell Sewer Study: Bettendorf reported that he and Weyrens are working on providing St. Wendell Township with requested information regarding the extension of utility services. The Council should be receiving this information in early November. I Feasibility Report. Colleqe Avenue: Bettendorf reported the County has included College Avenue North between Minnesota Street and Ash Street with the CR 121 project. Therefore, the Council will need to conduct a public improvement hearing for that area. Ehlert made a motion authorizing a public improvement hearing for affected property owners on College Avenue October 4,2001 Page 4 of5 North between Minnesota Street and Ash Street. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. I Public Works Director Report. Parkinq Lot Reconfiquration: Taufen reported that he has received two quotes to reconfigure the parking lot at the City Offices. The plan includes the removal of a portion of the green space between the existing parking lot and drive through area and diagonal parking along both perimeters (south and west). The bids are as follows: Rennie Construction $3,400 Hardrives $4,300 Loso questioned if the City needs to remove any of the green area and if providing angle parking on the western edge of the parking lot would be sufficient. The cost for additional parking would only be the paint for marking. He further questioned if it is in the City's best interest to provide a public parking lot at the City facilities, as there may be a time when the City will need the entire parking lot. Loso made a motion to stripe the western edge of the City property, that area parallel to the north Isouth alley, for angle parking. The area will be marked as public parking between the hours of 8:00AM and 2:00AM. Approval is contingent ujpon the final sale of the property located a 21_15' Ave. N.W. The motion was seconded b~r Ehlert and passed unanimously. Mayor Reports Mavor Conference: Horsh reported that he attended the recent Mayors Conference where the main topic was conflict resolution. Interqovernmental Meetinq: The next Intergovernmental Meeting will be held at the St. Joseph Fire Hall on October 29, 2001 beginning at 5:00PM. I Council SCHNEIDER-No Report EHLERT Recreation Association: Mike Bader Sr. announced his resignation from the Recreation Association. He has served on the Board for 20 years and was responsible for the coordination of the softball leagues. RASSIER Planning Commission: Rassier reported on the following Planning Commission matters: Owner Occupied Rental Request: Nancy Schmidt withdrew her request to obtain a rental license for property located in Pond View Ridge. Rezoning Requests: The Planning Commission is considering the rezoning requests of Lance Honer and Mike Deutz. Both issues have been tabled to seek additional information and will be reconsidered on November 5, 2001. Clerk/Administrator Reports Deferred Compensation Policy: Weyrens presented the Council with an agreement with Aetna to provide deferred compensation for all employees. The Council has previously authorized the establishment of a deferred compensation program. Ehlert made a motion authorizing the Administrator to execute the required documents to establish Aetna, as the deferred compensation carrier. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. I I I I I I October 4,2001' Page 5 of5 I Transportation Planning: Weyrens reported the Planning Commission has requested a joint meeting with the Council to begin discussing transportation planning. The meeting has been scheduled for 7:00PM on October 15th, 2001. ¡ , Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 9:15PM: seconded by Schneider and passed unanimously. r:ì c:Lr t/UJ?.v.A.edÁ J éJy eyrerí's' / dm' istrator/Clerk I THIS PAGE INTENTIONAlLL Y LEFT BLANK I I