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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes November 20, 2017 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 Monday, November 20, 2017 at 6:00 PM at the St. Joseph Government Center, opening with the pledge of allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Dale Wick, Troy Goracke, Matt Killam, Bob Loso Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: John Cummings, Jack Cummings, Zachary Eichten, David Peterson, Frankie Hanson, Dom Schleif, Elizabeth Gruggar, Hal Augustin City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Police Chief Joel Klein, Community Development Director Therese Haffner Public Comments – SJU Student Senate: Member of the St. John’s University and College of St. Benedict attended the meeting to address the relationship between the colleges and the City. Zachary Eichten stated the group would like to discuss some of the issues that have come up lately between students and residents. Elizabeth Gruggar stated the senate would like to pinpoint an outreach person from the City that the Senate can work with about identifying ongoing problems and steps to resolve those issues. Eichten added the group would like to be proactive rather than reactive and also build the relationship between the students and the St. Joseph community. th David Peterson stated the Senate organized a cleanup effort on October 29. Members walked through downtown picking up trash. An additional event included the Halloween event, which included members of the Senate handing out candy and cider to members of the community. Eichten stated there has been an increase in the number of complaints against students. Because of this th a number of students gathered at the Senate’s open forum on October 9. Over 70 students provided written feedback. Recurring comments included confusion on the increased enforcement, being afraid of/treated disrespectfully by the police, thinking increased enforcement will increase binge drinking, and considerations of transferring. Senate President Cummings stated the complaints were received by the Senate at the open forum and they wanted to present those to the Council to provide awareness from the students’ perspective. Cummings stated going forward the Senate would like to have a member present at the Council meetings. Additionally, more outreach events will be planned in hopes of connecting students with residents. Cummings stated a main piece to the puzzle would be holding the students accountable for their behaviors while living off campus. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Killam and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows; seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of November 6, 2017. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 052746-052816, Payroll EFT #001426-001431 and Accounts Payables EFT #001806-001808. c. Donations – Accepted the donations and their purposes as presented. d. Treasurer’s Report – Accepted the October 2017 treasurer’s report as presented. e. Transfers – Authorized the operating and due to/from transfers as presented. rd f. Gambling Report – Accepted the 3 Quarter 2017 Gambling Report as presented. g. Conditional Use Permit (CUP) – Accepted the recommendation of the Planning Commission th issuing a CUP to Lauren Manelli, 1016 13 Ave NE allowing a non-owner occupied rental. November 20, 2017 Page 2 of 3 h. Millstream Park Shelter, Draw No. 6 – Approved payment for the contractors listed in Draw #6 for the Millstream Park Shelter Project in the amount of $80,033.70. i. Bar Violation – Authorized execution of Resolution 2017-064 Adopting the Stipulations and Findings for the bar violation at Sal’s Bar. City Engineer Reports, Bid Results Water Filtration Rehab: Sabart reported that at the last Council meeting he presented the Council with the bid results as tabulated from the bid opening. Upon reviewing the bids it was determined that the low bidder, MN Mechanical Solutions did not meet the bid requirements and will not be considered the lowest possible bidder. After the bid opening the City did receive correspondence from the attorney representing Rice Lake Construction objecting to the bid submitted by MN Mechanical Solution as they believed they did not meet the qualifications. The bid advertisement stated the following: Bidder shall have experience as a general contractor in the successful completion of at least three municipal water treatment plants in the last eight years with a minimum design average flow of 1 million gallons per day. The three projects must include the following construction experience: process piping and valves, gravity filter rehabilitation, electrical, instrumentation, and controls. MN Mechanical Solutions did not meet the minimum contractor qualifications. Because of this staff recommends awarding bid to Rice Lake Construction. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2017-060 Awarding the bid to Rice Lake Construction for the improvements to Water Treatment Plant #1. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Park Board 2018 Budget Proposal: Park Board Chair, John Anderson, approached the Council to review the Park Board’s proposed 2018 budget. Anderson stated the Park Board has reviewed their current projects and have the following proposed for 2018: $35,250 at Monument Park for flowers and repairs to the historical monument; $40,000 at Millstream Park for playground equipment; $5,200 at Memorial Park to add pickle ball and gaga ball to hockey rink; $1,000 at Hollow Park for a signage at the entrance; $24,620 at Eat Park to complete park planning and design phase on canoe access/picnic and parking area; $20,000 for phase 2 of the dog park; $10,000 to close gaps in trails/sidewalks; and $1,500 to add trees in various parks. Anderson stated the Park Board had looked at applying for legacy funding for repairs to the monument; however, contractors stated that would increase the cost of the repairs. Loso stated he would like to see what repairs need to be done and what the Park Board wants the finished product to be. Wick questioned if the Park Board is looking at whether the funds collected as park dedication fees from developers are used in those same areas for park development. To Wick it seems that the park development is not tied to any specific park dedication amount. Wick understood that if park dedication fees are collected for a development, then those same fees would be used to develop nearby park land. He further questioned procedurally how the Council manages the Park Board Budget. Weyrens stated that once the Council approves the Park Board budget they do not need to come back to the Council for approval, (some exceptions do apply), so if the Council is not ready to accept the they can provide feedback to the budget and request the Council liaison to bring information back. Weyrens stated there is a park dedication fund that is used to develop parks throughout the City and the goal is to allocate those funds equally to different park areas. 2018 Proposed Final Budget: Stearns County had provided the City with the preliminary tax rate and market value in October. The Net Tax Capacity was slightly better than shown when the preliminary levy was adopted. The Net Tax Capacity increased 5.34% and the tax capacity rate is estimated to be 61.38% which is an increase of 2.29%. Bartlett stated no big changes are planned before the final budgets are th approved. The truth in taxation public hearing for the final budget will be on December 4. Draft Fee Schedule/Compost Permits: Weyrens stated staff had met with C&L excavating regarding the compost site. There are a couple options. One is having the City take back control of the compost site. November 20, 2017 Page 3 of 3 Another option would be to increase the cost of all townships to $60.00. St. Cloud residents would be kept at $45.00 and St. Joseph residents’ permits would be increased to $35.00. Killam questioned the fee schedule where it was noted that a pet license clinic may be developed. He questioned where the clinic would be held, to which Weyrens stated it would be at the local vet clinic. Weyrens stated the City would work with the vet clinic to arrange the license event, possibly having reduced rates for that date only. Schultz questioned what the license fees are used for. Weyrens stated it is used for issuing the licenses, verifying that the animals have the necessary vaccinations, handling calls to get stray dogs, bringing them to the pound and police enforcement of dog ordinances. Schultz stated that Waite Park is considering eliminating animal licenses and suggested the City may consider the same. The Council spent considerable time vetting the need for animal licenses, making not changes. Committee Updates, Fire Board: Loso reported the Fire Board discussed the paving of the parking lot as well as the recommendation for new officers. The recommendations will be coming out at the end of the year to be included in the 2018 Mayor Appointments. Weyrens added the Fire Board approved the replacement of Justin Honer, who recently retired, which Blake Schwegel. Schwegel is a full time firefighter in St. Cloud so the City would not incur and training costs and he could start immediately. Loso made a motion approving Blake Schwegel as the newest member of the Volunteer Fire Department effective January 1, 2018. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Committee Updates, Planning Commission: Goracke reported the Planning Commission will be reviewing rental housing in the City. Staff provided high level information as a starting point for their study. Administrator Reports, Ordinance Amendment 104: Weyrens stated that is was noticed that the Ordinance regulating processing for Administrative Fines is in need of updating to reflect current practices. Legislation in 2017 required that any Ordinance amendment must include notice to residents at least 10 days prior to adoption. Since the website will suffice for this notification, the amendment will be posted and the Council will consider the amendment at the meeting on December 4, 2017. Administrator Reports, Abandoned House: Weyrens stated that the Public Works Director had discovered a property that has been abandoned and is unsafe. The property is located at 16 Elm St E and pictures of the site indicated that the windows and doors are open/broke and the inside has been vandalized. In discussing the matter with the City Attorney, the City Council has the ability to declare the home abandoned and provide notice to the property owner of record of the need to remedy the situation within 6 days. If the property owner does not remedy the situation the City has the ability to board up the home and assess the costs to the property. Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2017-062 Ordering the securing of the building located at 16 Elm St NE. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Mayor Update: Schultz stated he attended the CGMC meeting and will have a more detailed report at the next council meeting. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:10 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK