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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 [03] Mar 07 March 7, 2016 Page 1 of 5 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors: Dale Wick, Matt Killam, Bob Loso. Administrator Judy Weyrens. Absent: Renee Symanietz City Representatives: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Police Chief Joel Klein. Others Present: Margy Hughes, Ellen Wahistrom, Tom Klein, Logan Gruber, Bethany Knopp, Audrey Birkholz, Sophie Birkholz, Chris Carlisle,Wayne Birkholz Public Comments Margy Hughes, 128 Able Court: Hughes approached the Council regarding the public hearing held on February 1 St regarding the intent of the City to utilize CIP Bonds to finance the$5+ million Government Center. Hughes stated that the process for issuing CIP bonds aliows residents a 30 day window to submit a petition requesting the matter be placed on the next generai election. On February 19, she along with Ellen Wahlstrom submitted a petition to the City and shortly after it was submitted a Joint Council/EDA meeting was scheduled for February 25'h It was her opinion that those at that meeting seemed to be placing blame on the petitioners for the potential impact of bidding the project during the 30 day period. Hughes indicated the City should have waited the 30 days before advertising for bids. In addition, Hughes stated that everyone she had spoken with regarding signing the petition had no idea that a public hearing was being held. While she acknowledges that the City does what they can to inform the public, she encouraged residents to take the time to become more aware. Ellen Wahlstrom, 409— 8�h Ave NE: Wahlstrom approached the Council regarding item 7a, Bonding Update. Wahfstrom stated the petition has been rufed invalid because there were no middle names on many of the signatures. Wahlstrom added she had spoken with the Secretary of State's Office whom stated the signatures would still be valid. The middle names are a moot point according to Wahlstrom. Shortly after the petition was submitted, a special meeting was called for the Council/EDA. In that meeting, the EDA agreed to move forward with a public hearing to issue revenue bonds. Wahlstrom questioned why the Council made plans to use other mechanisms when the petition is potentially valid. Regarding the community center, it was the top priority for residents. Wahlstrom had heard that the Mayor is under negotiations with ISD742 regarding an extension of their lease until 2019. Wahlstrom questioned what is happening with the building and what revenues are received from the current leases. Wahlstrom requested the City puts forth information on how the City is planning to fund the projects that are coming in the future. Audrey Birkholz, 447 Elena Lane;Bethany Knopp, 12388 Juniper Road: Birkholz and Knopp approached the Council regarding Earth Hour on March 19'h from 8:30—9:30 PM. The purpose is to raise awareness to climate change. Birkholz and Knopp request the City Council approve turning the ground lights off for the water tower during that time. Aqenda Approval: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of item 41, Off-site gambling license; seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present. Consent A enda: Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. a. Minutes-approved the minutes of February 1, 2016 and February 25, 2016 b. Bills Payable -approved payment of check numbers 050185-050312, Payroll EFT #001158-001172 and Accounts Payables EFT#001721-001722. c. Financial Report—Accepted the January 2016 Financial Reports as presented. March 7, 2016 Page 2 of 5 d. interim Use Permit—Accepted the findings of fact as forwarded by the Planning Commission recommending approval of an Interims Use Permit allowing an owner occupied rental to Darcy Ruesink, 304 Iris Lane �. e. Variance Request—Accepted the findings of fact as forwarded by the Planning Commission denying the Variance request submitted by Mike Deutz for relief of building exterior requirements to construct a storage building located at 819— 19th Ave NE. f. Ordinance Amendment—Amended section 5 of Ordinance 404 Water and Sewer System Availability Charges for residential units. g. Donations—Accepted the following donations as presented: St. Joseph Fire Relief, $2,412.97 Farm Extrication Equipment; Anonymous, $20.OQ Archery Range, $1.00 Disc Golf; City of St. Cloud $1,000 Two Speed Trap Trailers. h. Gambling Report—Accepted the 2015 4th Quarter Gambling Report. i. Compost Agreement—Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute the compost agreement for the calendar year 2016. j. (nvestment Policy Amendment—Adopted the revised Investment Policy as presented. k. Grant Agreement—Authorized the Mayor and Police Chief to execute resolution 2016- 005 Authorizing Execution of Agreement. I. Off-Site Gambling —Accepted the application of the St. Joseph Lions to conduct off-site gambling at Sal's Bar and Griil on March 25, 2016. Committee Reports Planning Commission: Schultz reported the Planning Commission denied a request for variance for bui(ding exterior requirements. The second hearing approved an interim use permit for an owner occupied rental. Both items were approved through tonight's consent agenda. Joint Planning Board: Loso reported the Joint Planning Board approved the Conditional Use Permit for Ross Huls to operate a motor repair shop in a Commercial Zoning District. The board also approved the rezoning of areas in the orderly annexation area with the exception of lots that were zoned commercial. EDA—lodQinq tax: Wick reported the EDA has been discussing implementing a lodging tax in St. Joseph, similar to the surrounding communities. In the packet is information the EDA has received and gone through and is looking for Counci! feedback in moving forward. Weyrens stated the city will eventually have another hotel and it would be beneficial to have a lodging tax ordinance prior to any other hotels being constructed. If the Council votes to continue forward, discussion would be had with the current hotei and potential future hotel owners, EDA, and the St. Cloud Visitor's Bureau. Loso made a motion to move forward with the lodging tax process gaining feedback from current and potential hotel owner. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Park Board: Killam reported the Park Board is working on completing the Foot Golf course by April. The signs will include the logos of sponsors of the course. Killam added the Park Board voted to keep the two softball fields in Millstream. At the last meeting Tasha Tamm spoke to finding an alternate location for volleyball as the EI Paso had 26 teams participati�g in 2015. With the closure of the EI Paso, the teams have to find other locations to piay. The Park Board wouid like to keep the teams in St. Joseph and are hoping to create to courts north and west of the existing ba!! fields. Schultz questioned what type of work is needed to get the court in working condition. Thene stated a boundary will need to be created with material that can hold the sand. Sand, poles, and lights will come after. Schultz suggested getting a date that the teams expect to play by. The Park Board discussed putting the dog park in Millstream Park on the northern side of the Park. The plan is in the very early stages. March 7, 2016 Page 3 of 5 Thene stated some of the grills from the campsites will be moved to a different area in the park, creating a picnic area. Additionally some of the gills will be moved to different parks such as Klinefelter. Fire Board: Loso reported the Fire Board and thanked the following donors: St. .loe Lions$1,000; Y2K Lions, $5,000; Walmart$1,000; St. Joseph Mutual $1,412.97. Loso added the fire contract is still being negotiated and the formulas are still being worked through as Waite Park is going to be annexing the remaining property in their Orderly Annexation area with St. Joseph Township. The annexation will have a financial impact to the City and Townships. Weyrens clarified that the current contract is set to expire in May 2016. Loso made a motion accepting the foliowing donations for the funding of the Rescue Tube and Auger: St. Joe Lions $1,000; Y2K Lions $5,000; Walmart$1,000; St. Joseph Mutual Insurance $1,412.97.The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Engineer Reports 2016 Street Improvements: Sabart stated during the 2016 budget process the street maintenance plan was reviewed identifying the next section of roadway needing improvement. The proposed project consists of an overlay and/or reclaim to be determined by study. The first step in the process is authorizing the City Engineer to complete the feasibility study. Wick questioned what the pavement looks like in the proposed areas. Sabart stated in Pondview, there are numerous cracks, but he has yet to get look at the other proposed areas. That w+ll be part of the feasibility report. Thene stated that along 4th avenue, there is some alligator cracking that needs attention and agreed with Sabart that Pondview needs attention as well. Sabart stated that the Council can wait a year for overlay if they choose to. Loso suggested having Sabart go out and look at the streets to see what condition they are in and report back to the Council. Sabart added that overlays are done to preserve the life of the road rather than make the roads crack free. Wick made a motion to table the approval of the resolution authorizing a feasibility study for the 2016 Street Improvements.The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. Traffic Concerns: Traffic concerns have been received regarding the intersection of 1 st Ave and Minnesota Street. Sabart stated staff has been working with the school to make entering and exiting the Lab School safer. City staff has previously met with the Principal, Karl Terhaar, and added signage for a drop off zone and provided same safety cones for traffic awareness. Since that measure did not resolve the safety concerns, the next step would be an intersection/traffic analysis to determine what if any additional controfs would be warranted. Sabart stated that the City has received traffic concerns at the intersection of 12th Ave and MN Street and recommended that if the City will be completing an analysis at MN Street and 1 St, it would make sense to review both intersections. Chief Klein stated the intersections being discussed have issues throughout the day due to visibility problems Loso stated one of the benefits of belonging to the APO is that they do traffic studies at no cost. Sabart stated he is not sure they will complete studies on local roads, but he can verify. Schultr stated that he has an upcoming APO Executive Meeting for the APO and he will check and report back. . Administrator Reports BondinQ U►�date: Weyrens stated the only update at this time is that the City will be receiving the bids on March 10 and the Council will discuss the bids at their next regular meeting. The discussion on type of bond will be discussed at a meeting after the bids are considered. March 7, 2016 Page4of5 Human Rights: Weyrens stated that at the previous Council meeting, Councilmember Loso requested to reconsider the Joint Powers Agreement regarding the St. Cloud Regional Human Rights Office. The Council previously considered the request and the motion failed to execute the JPA. Since Loso was absent at that meeting he requested to reconsider the matter. Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute reso(ution 2016-007 approving a joint pawers agreement between the City of St. Cloud and the Cities of St. Joseph, Sauk Rapids, and Sartell for the purpose of creating a regionai human rights office. The motion was seconded by Wick. Discussion: Wick stated the cost would be $280.00 to participate. Loso stated there are talks in the Legislature about funding the entire office. Loso made a motion to table discussion on the Human Rights until all Council members are present. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Legislative Priorities: Loso made a motion authorizing the mayor to execute the Resolution outlining the legislative priorities for the area Cities. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Discussion: Wick noted St. Joseph has a bonding request on the agreement for the CR75 overpass. Weyrens added that the area cities have already approved the resolution. Additionally, executing the resolution does not mean that all items selected as priorities have to be agreed upon by all parties, but generally all cities agree to the priorities. Lot Split Reauest: The City has received a lot split request from Magdalene Schindler. The Schindler family owns three independent lots of record and two are attached to A(phonse Schindler and one is attached to Carl Schindler. Magdalene Schindfer is requesting to separate the lot containing approximately .3 acres from Alphonse to Car. At one point the .3 acres was with the western lot and the family would now like to return it to its original state. Weyrens stated since it is a legal lot of record, it needs approval by the Council to execute the Certificate of Compliarlce. Loso made a motion authorizing the Administrator to execute the Certificate of Compliance authorizing the lot split as requested by Magdalene Schindler. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Other Matters Earth Hour: Wick stated that it is the policy of the Council to not take actions on matters presented during open to the public; however, the request to honor earth hour is before the next Council meeting. Earth hour is March 19, 2016 between the hours of 8:30 and 9:30 PM. Last year the City turned off the ground lighting for the tower to respect earth hour. Schultz made a motion to turn off the graund lights for the water tower on March 19 in honor of Earth Hour and relight starting March 20. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Administrator Reports Annual Reports: Weyrens stated that in 2015 all departments starting preparing annual reports to highlight the activities during the year. Included in the packet is the annual report for the following departments: Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works, and Administration Reports. Schultz stated that previously the City had received a report from the EDA ahd questioned the status. Weyrens stated that she has started working on the report and it should be ready for the EDA shortly. Performance Measure: In 2010 the Legislature enacted legislation encouraging cities to participate in a standard of ineasurement program which surveyed residents using specific questions ranking performance measurements. They survey would again be conducted by the League of MN Cities at no cost to the City. Participating cities receive$ 0.14 per capita reimbursement, which for St. Joseph is approximately$ 900.00. Wick made a motion to approve conducting a survey of the City's March 7, 2016 Page 5 of 5 performance benchmarks with the assistance of the League of MN Cities. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. Mayor Reports APO Fulf Board: Schuftz reported Angie Stenson, APO Executive Director submitted her resignation as Director. The APO personnel committee has met to discuss next steps and will be presenting information to the advisory board to appoint an interim Director and fill the vacancy. Stearns Countv Abatement Request: Schultz reported that he and Weyrens attended the Stearns County Commissioners meeting requesting authorization to meet with the tax abatement committee to participate in the upcoming housing project. The Board did approve the request to meet with the committee. Weyrens addressed tax abatement stating the City is being proactive in starting the tax abatement project and the City and School district wiN also be requested to conduct a hearing to participate in the financing. SJU Senate: Schultz met with the SJU Student Senate and they discussed the possibility of adding additional lighting on MN Street and possibly some other dark areas. Schultz acknowledged that this is an expense and perhaps staff could identify the areas for future inclusion in the budget. Schultz stated that there remains to be issues with pick up and drop off at Kennedy School. The next step is for the school to create a traffic study. Schultz added he met with Superintendent Jett to go over what needs to be done and what timelines need to be met. ISD 742 Committee Meetinq: Schultz attended a meeting with ISD 742 representatives participating in the discussion as to discuss why the school referendum did not pass. Discussion also included the need to start discussion on the possibifity of extending the lease with District 742 for the ECFE Program currently at Colts Academy. The current lease with ISD 742 ends July 2017. Schultz clarified that no decisions have been made extending the lease to 2019. New Business Winter Parkinq: Chief Klein stated that the winter parking rules in effect through March 31. Due to the mild winter he recommended the Counci! remove the parking ban effective March 17, 2016 with the unde�standing that if a snow event occurs residents wiil have to move their vehicles off the street. Loso requested the ban be lifted effective immediately. K{ein stated that he is hesitant to lift the parking ban as the weather is unpredictable and he is even hesitant requesting removing two weeks early. Schuttz made a motion lifting the winter parking ban, effective March 17, 2016, acknowledging that in the event of a snow emergency the residents must move their vehicles of the street. The motion was seconded by Wick. Ayes: Wick, Schultz, Killam Nays: Loso Motion Carried: 3:1 Ad'iourn: Wick made a motion to adjourn at 7:17 PM; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. � y d Weyrens d inistrator