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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes, April 3 April 3, 2017 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, April 3, 2017 at 6:00 PM at the St. Joseph City Hall, opening with the pledge of allegiance. Members Present: Acting Mayor, Dale Wick, Bob Loso, Troy Goracke. Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Jeffrey Williams, Kurt Haakonson, Mary Schaffer, Rick Schwegel City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Police Chief Joel Klein, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Community Development Director Therese Haffner. Public Comments: st Kurt Haakonson, 35 1 Ave NE: Haakonson approached the Council regarding instances that have happened on his property since moving to the City 5 months ago. Haakonson stated he often is woken up at early hours of the morning by people being loud and walking on his property. On October 28, 2016, Haakonson stated there was an individual on his patio yelling and trying to get into his house. Haakonson preceeded to call the police who showed up, took the individual into the car and was released to some of his friends. Haakonson added that his son was visiting him for the weekend and he was so scared that he asked if he should hide under the bed. Haakonson asked what kind of message the situation had sent to the individual’s friends. Haakson asked if the average citizen would get away with that kind of behavior. Haakonson spoke with neighbors regarding the same issues such as vandalism, debris, and sexual interactions on their property. Haakonson moved to the City because he loved the area. Haakonson is asking the Council what can be done to curb the noise. Glen Warner, 103 Ash St E: Warner is Haakonson’s neighbor and has lived in St. Joseph for almost two years. Warner stated that from August through May the neighborhood experiences loud parties and disruptions Thursday – Sunday night. Warner added that she has lost an antique bench and has to hose vomit from her yard on a weekly basis. Warner stated she is not the first person to bring this forward citing minutes from 1996, 2006, and 2016. Warner added the ordinances clearly have rules regulating this behavior. Warner acknowledged that it is not a simple problem and it is not a simple fix. Jeff Williams, 909 Baker St E: Williams stated he will be submitting a formal complaint to the City Administrator regarding the utility billing issue. Williams cited an excerpt from state statute 325E.021 stating a public utilities as defined by 216B.02 or municipality or cooperative electric company or telephone company shall: if that utility adopts a policy posing a charge or fee upon delinquent residential provide that each billing notice shall clearly state the terms and conditions of any penalty in the form of the monthly percentage rate. William stated the notice references the late fee but does not mention any disconnection charges. th Williams added he would like a refund of his reconnection fee. Water was disconnected on March 20. thth Their bill was received March 10, but postmarked March 15, giving them two business days to deal with the disconnection. Williams stated he is not fighting for others who were disconnected to get a refund. Aaron Reiland, Bad Habit Brewing: Rieland approached the Council to donate mats to the Police Deparment for training. Money was raised with sales from a homebrew. Rieland thanked the police department for their service. Chief Klein stated Bad Habit Brewing are great partners in the community and thanked Bad Habit for the donation of the mats. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of 4h, Donations. The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously by those present. Consent Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows; seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously by those present. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of March 20, 2017. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 051695-051824, Payroll EFT #051880-051967 and Accounts Payables EFT #001332-001336. April 3, 2017 Page 2 of 4 c. Government Center – Approved draw request #12, approved payments for contractors listed in draw #12 for the Government Center project. d. Alcohol Compliance – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2017-012, Resolution 2017-013, and Resolution 2017-014 Adopting the Stipulations for recent liquor license violations. e. Premise Permit – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2017-015 Approving the Premises Permit application of the St. Joseph Jaycees to allow lawful gambling at the American Burger Bar. f. Joint Powers Agreement – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute the amended JPA regarding the Central MN Violent Offenders Task Force. g. Annual Reports – Accepted the 2016 Fire Department report and the 2016 Public Works report as presented. h. Donations – Accepted the donations of mats to the Police Department by Bad Habit Brewing. Public Hearing, Outdoor Special Event: Wick opened the public hearing for consideration of an outdoor liquor event for the St. Joseph Parish to be held on July 3, 4 2017. The event on July 3 includes an outdoor concert that will end at 12:00 midnight. Weyrens stated a public hearing is required for an event that extends past 9:30 PM. The application submitted is similar to that of other years with the addition of an addendum addressing the need for additional officers to staff the event. Rich Schwegel, St .Joseph Parish: Schwegel stated that he has been working with the Parish over the past years and the event has expanded over a twelve year period. Music will begin at 6PM and conclude at midnight. Any affected resident that would like to stay at a hotel that night, the parish will put them in a st hotel. The road closings this year will include the closure of MN Street from College Avenue to 1 Street rdth SW from 3PM on July 3, until 3AM on July 4. Mary Schaffer, 100 MN St E: Schaffer approached the Council acknowledging both the positive and negative impacts the festival has on the community. For many the event is a community builder. As the event grows the effect on neighboring properties becomes increasingly obnoxious. For the 2016 festival, Schaffer stated her walls vibrated from the music for 10 straight hours as sound checks for the event rd typically begin at 2pm on July 3. Additionally, there is not adequate parking for those attending the festival. Visitors park wherever they can and her lawn is continuously trampled and littered on. Schaffer stated that if she wouldn’t bring her concerns forward, it would give the impression that she supports the event location. Schaffer believes the event has outgrown the downtown area and suggests moving the event to an alternate location. Schaffer asked if it is possible to have an open Council meeting that allows all sides of the conversation to be heard. As no one else present wished to speak, Wick closed the public hearing. Loso stated it is the first time he has heard a negative response to the event. Loso added he has lived in the City all his life and has experienced the traffic and noise. Loso believes it is a small sacrifice in comparison to the benefit for the entire community. rd Schwegel stated the parish has offered people to ability to stay in a hotel the night of July 3. Wick stated Schaffer’s concerns include damage to her property and that she does not feel comfortable leaving her home for the night. Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Outdoor Permit for St. Joseph Parish for an event to be held on July 3 and July 4, 2017 including the closing of the required roadways as submitted in the plans. Approval also accepts the addendum identifying the required law enforcement and reimbursement of City expenses. The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously by those present. April 3, 2017 Page 3 of 4 City Engineer Reports: Sabart reported the City had received five bids for the CBD alley project. The project had a base bid with alternates. The project was separated between blocks nine and twelve. The base bid included the surfacing work with storm sewer and the alternates included sewer lining options. Block nine has about 10 feet of spot sewer lining that needs to be completed. Bids for both blocks came in well under the feasibility report estimate and engineer’s estimate. Block twelve required a larger section of sewer lining to be completed. Prior to receiving bids, Sabart had received calls from contractors stating that the cost to line the entire sewer may be similar in price to that of spot lining the sewer in target problem areas. Alternate C costs include lining of the entire sewer. Wick questioned the useful life of sewer lining, to which Sabart responded that it is thought to be the same as replacing pipe, but the product has not been in the market for a long time. From a public works perspective, sewer lining is more challenging to maintain. Sabart suggested lining from manhole to manhole as part of a larger sewer lining project in order to get reduced rates. Sabart added the sewer lining would not have an impact on the other improvements to the alley if done at a later time. Thene stated another area that needs lining is 1st Ave NE where the sewer collapse took place. Sabart added that lining is on the CIP. Weyrens stated the Council has determined that sewer lining is an assessed improvement to abutting lots so if other areas are to be lined, the hearing process would need to be initiated. Loso questioned where the sewer stubs are for the properties in both blocks. Loso believed the properties in the northern block are tied to the streets from previous projects. Sabart stated he does not know offhand, and would need to look at the televising report to confirm. Thene stated there are some homes along Ash Street have their stubs in the alley. April 3, 2017 Page 4 of 4 Wick questioned if the City poses any risk if the sewer lining were pushed off for a few more years. Sabart stated there is risk as there is cracking in the sewer lines. General consensus of the Council was to move forward with the assessment benefit information on the base bid plus alternate C. Committee Updates:  Thene reported the Park Board held discussions regarding the dog park. Fence quotes were solicited and they were favorable. An eagle scout is also building a 16x20 paver area with table and trees to be planted as a project. Study Updates: Comprehensive Plan – CDG was at the Community Showcase and are compiling data. th Mayor Reports: Wick stated the Council and Community Center committee are meeting on April 6 at 6:00 PM. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:05 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Judy Weyrens Administrator