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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 [08] Aug 12 I I I August 12, 2002 Page 1 of 3 ! ¡ Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Wednesday, August 12, 2002 at 5:30 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, 1 Members Present Mayor Larry Hosch, Councilors Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, AI Rassier, Kyle Schneider.! Administrator I Clerk Judy Weyrens. Citv Representatives Present: City Attorney John Scherer, City Engineer Joe Bettendorf, Police Chief Pete Jansky. Others Present: Justin Honer, Kathy Salzer, Duane Giada, Tom Mathews. Mayor Hosch stated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the revised Memorandum of 1 Understanding (MOU) presented by the College of St. Benedict regarding the acquisition of property for Field Street and Callaway Street. City Attorney John Scherer stated the revised MOU presented by the College contains the following: 1, The College will agree to pay the $ 13,029.66 per acre for the needed ROW for Field Street. 2. The College is requesting a two year period for planning before granting ROW for Callaway Street. Scherer presented the following pro's and con's regarding the MOU: PRO's CON's The City would immediately acquire the ROW for Field Street ! ROW for Callaway Street (north access road) is not granted, nor is a price fixed for the acquisition of such, ' 1 Without the ROW for Callaway Street the only I access for construction traffic is on Field Street; and that may not be practicable, therefore not used: . ! If the MOU is not accepted the City takes the risk that through the condemnation process the value for Field Street may be higher than the value as determined by Appraiser Lee Lenzmeier. The ROW being acquired is sufficient for future utilities. Temporary access to County Road 121 can be provided in future years until Field Street is constructed, The ROW will be purchased at a value that is comparable to recent land sales. Rassier requested Scherer to explain the process of eminent domain, Scherer stated the eminent domain process is a comparison of appraisals, at which time a value is established for the land in question based on comparable land sales. The College may also challenge that the road is not needed, However, Scherer stated that the City can provide ! evidence that the road is needed for future transportation planning. I , ¡ Rassier further stated that it is his understanding that the City has the authority to control the number ;of ingress and egress to County Road 121, As the road has the potential for high traffic, access will be limited, Therefore, Callaway will become important to the College if their property is to develop. Tom Mathews, Attorney for the College of St. Benedict, stated that if the City proceeds with the condemnation action for acquisition of Callaway Street the College will seek severance damages for the portion of property that is being separated by roadway, Mathews stated the College objects to placing a road so as to divide the property, and he encouraged the City to explore alternatives using the two year August 12,2002 Page 2 of3 planning window proposed by the College of St. Benedict to research alternative road placements. Mattews further stated that the College disagrees with the value of the property and only agrees to pay I the price of $ 13,029,00 with the understanding that Field Street is needed for future development. The College has received two appraisals and they are both significantly higher than that presented by the appraiser hired by the City, Ehlert stated that if the City does not move forward with the needed acquisitilJn for both Field Street and Callaway Street at this time, the comparable land values will not apply. The City may then pay an escalated price for the property, Ehlert stated that in his opinion now is the most cost effective time to purchase the property, The City needs to proceed minimally, capping the price of a future acquisition. Ehlert questioned Mathews as to the appraisal opinions received by the CoIlege. Mathews stated that he is uncertain as to the exact value, but shared the appraisal opinion was prepared by Ron Zitzo. Hosch stated that when the process for securing the needed ROW begin in February of 2002, he was confident that a compromise could be reached. However, as seven months have passed and limited progress has been made, Hosch indicated that the City may have no choice but to move forward. With that in mind, Hosch stated he would still encourage the College to work with the City to find an acceptable location for Callaway Street. Hosch stated that he could not support installing a construction road on Field Street as it will not be used by contractors, Ehlert concurred with Hosch and stated that he was recently at the Fire Hall and watched construction traffic use 4th Avenue NE to access Graceview Estates, Ehlert stated that the Planning Commission and City Council made a commitment to the residents that access would be proviljed to County Road 121 and construction traffic would not be allowed to drive through the residential neighborhoods. Further, Ehlert stated that it would not be responsible of the City Council to construct a construction road that will not be used, As far as the plans of the College, Ehlert stated that if the College purchased the additional property for a I land bank for expansion for the next 40 to 50 years, then he has a difficult time believing that a resolution can be reached in two years, City Engineer Joe Bettendorf stated that he and Weyrens met with a representative of School District 742 to present the future plans of Graceview and Callaway Street. Bettendorf stated that the School District was unaware of the building activity in St. Joseph and has been experiencing a decline in enrollment. After sharing the future plats with the representative, he was of the opinion that Kennedy School will need to expand, and they are currently land locked, Bettendorf stated that he agreed to forward to the School District some possible alignments for Callaway Street and will report back to the Council when information is available. Hosch stated that the City has spent considerable resources on this matter and without staff time, the expenditures total $ 7,200.00, The fees include legal and engineering time and the appraisal opinion. If the ROW acquisition goes through the condemnation process, the additional fee for the appraisal is estimated at $ 4,000, Loso stated that he would agree to the MOU as presented by the College of St. Benedict with the addition of a temporary road being granted on the north end (Callaway Street) and a date be inserted into the document as to when the planning period for the north road ends, Schneider stated that he agrees with Loso and would like an additional provision included in the MOU which fixes a price for the future ROW for Callaway Street. The price should be based on the current appraisal opinion submitted by Lee Lenzmeier, Ehlert made a motion to proceed with the condemnation proceedings as previously authorized by I the City Council seeking the ROW for Field Street and Callaway Street. I I I August 12, 2002 Page 3 of 3 I Discussion: Hosch stated that on behalf of the City C~uncif he is extremely disheartened that I condemnation must be pursued, However, this action is in the best interest of the City as i negotiations have been taking place since February of 2002 and resolution is not likely. Further, the City Council assured the residents that before the second phase of Graceview Estates is I approved access to County Road 121 would be secured. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. I Loso made a motion to request the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization to prepare a traffic study for Minnesota Street and College Avenue, Callaway Street and Field Street. The study should I include the housing developments of Graceview Estates and Arkon Development. The motion 1 was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. . I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Proposed Budaet 2003: Weyrens presented the Council with the first draft of the proposed 2003 bUdg1et. At this time the City has not received the maximum levy amount from the Department of Revenue, That information is not required to be released to municipalities until September 1, 2002. Howèver, it is not' anticipated to receive more than a two percent increase. The City will receive an additional $ 9,000 in ! , local government aid, The submitted draft is the compilation the actual submitted budget by department heads. Without forecasting revenue, the expenditures proposed are increased by approximately $ I 176,000. I Loso stated that he objects to the submitted budget and requested that the department heads be instructed to revise their budget. Hosch stated that he would like the department heads the opportunity to explain the submitted budget and then offer any suggestions for reduction. ! I Jansky stated that when he prepared the budget for the police department he used historic data as well as projected expenses. The addition of the records management system has created an increased ! financial impact on the police budget, including a monthly fee for each mobile computer. In addition, i Jansky stated he is requesting authorization to upgrade the current part time secretarial position to a full time position. However, if the position becomes full time, the job description should be re-written as a' secretaryldispatcher. The position is currently listed as administrative assistant and Jansky stated that while someday the police department may need such a position at this time it is not representative of the current need, ! I , Jansky stated that his budget also includes planning for replacing the existing hand guns, radios and light bars, Not included in the budget is the purchase of video cameras for all squad cars and the additional of a seventh patrol officer. Jansky stated that as the City grows, he will need to increase the staff. I The Council agreed to not take any action on the budget and request the department heads to reconsider their budget for a second budget meeting on August 21, 2002, AFSCME Contract: Weyrens stated that she has received a request to begin negotiations for the AFSCME Labor Contract. The Council agreed to begin negotiations on August 28, 2002 at 6:00 PM. Adiourn: Loso made a motion to ·adjourn at 7:45 PM; seconded by Rassier and passed ~;:~ . Bi~istrator I Clerk I THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BlANK I I