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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 [08] Aug 18 I I I August 18, 2005 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in special session on Thursday, August 18, 2005 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Richard Carlbom, Councilors AI Rassier, Dale Wick, Ross Rieke, Renee Symanietz, City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present: City Engineers Tracy Ekola, Joe Bettendorf Others Present: Jennifer Thienes Approve Aqenda: Rassier made a motion to approve the agenda with the following change: Add 12b Water Ban The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Consent Aaenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. Bills Payable - Approve check numbers 036071-036138 b. Minutes - Approve the minutes of July 7 and July 21, 2005 c. Capital Purchase - Authorize the expenditure of $2,620 from Heartland Door Sales to replace the overhead doors at the old maintenance facility. d. FSA Amendment - Authorize the Administrator to execute the FSA Amendment to not include the IRS Notice 2005-42. e. Development Agreement - Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute a Development Agreement between Secured Earnings and Warranty LLC and the City of St. Joseph to construct a 17,034 square foot production facility. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Public Hearinq - Libertv Pointe, Drainaqe Easement Release: Weyrens advised the Council that when Liberty Pointe was platted, the common area for the attached Townhomes functioned as a drainage way and was recorded on the plat. Since the plat has been amended and the homes will be detached, the common area changes. Therefore, the old easement must be vacated and replaced with the new easement. The Council has previously approved the final plat and PUDamendment. The Public Hearing was opened at 7:05 and no one present wished to speak. Rassier made a motion to close the Public Hearing at 7:05. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Wick made a motion to authorize the execution of Resolution 2005-20, vacating the drainage easement in the common area of the plat. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. KDV - Audit 2004: Jennifer Thienes, KDV approached the Councilors to discuss the 2004 Audit. She explained that this is a lot later than normal; however this is due to the fact that there have been some significant changes in how the City reports its information. Cities began implementing the change in 1999 and it has been phased in according to the size of each City. Thienes stated that in the Independent Auditor's Report, there were three items to explain: 1. The report states that the financial statements are the responsibility of the City's management. 2. KDV conducted and audit of the financial statements, and they gave a clean opinion of the City's financial statements. August 18, 2005 Page 2 of 4 3. The City implemented a new financial reporting model, GASB 34. I Thienes reported that on the balance sheet all of the governmental necessities are reported as government activities. Business-type activities include transactions for water and sewer fees. The biggest change on this statement is that under Capital Assets - Infrastructure, all city assets are included. The debts related to these capital assets (Net Assets - Unrestricted) are also included on this balance sheet. She also stated that the Statement of Activities is a summary of all of the City's Funds and their expenses. This statement also takes depreciation into consideration. There was also another Balance Sheet done for all of the Governmental Funds, which is just a different way of presenting the fund information. The Audit also includes a management letter, which provides a financial analysis of all of the revenues and expenditures for the General and Enterprise Funds over the past five years. This analysis showed that the revenues in the General Fund exceeded the expenditures. Thienes stated that the breakdown of General Fund Revenues remained similar to those of 2003. The Enterprise Funds, which include the Refuse, Water, Sewer and Storm Water Funds, have shown consistent performance over the past several years as well. Thienes stated that similar to the General Fund, the expenditures for the Enterprise Funds have increased; however they are proportioned similar to previous years. In conclusion, Thienes reported that the City has a small office staff, which does not create an ideal accounting checks and balance system, however, it is very common in most cities. She also stated that they are required to report any legal compliance findings. In reference to the Park Dedication Fees, they noted that these fees must be put into a special fund. Thienes mentioned that they did offer a few management recommendations as well. There were no questions from the Council members; however Thienes stated that the Council should followup with City staff to check on the status of the Management decisions. Wick made a motion to accept the 2004 audit as presented. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. I CITY ENGINEER REPORTS 2006 Trunk Watermain Improvements: Ekola reported that the 2006 Trunk Watermain Improvements will consist of a 16' pipe extending from Minnesota Street to the proposed Water Treatment Site. The actual route has not yet been determined. At this time, they are requesting approval to proceed with the Feasibility Report. The report will help form an opinion as to the probable costs as well as financing options for the project. Most of the area is not in the City, and as a result, the City cannot use special assessments to fund the project. According to Ekola, the City will most likely have to fund this through trunk fees as land is developed or through WAC fees. Rieke made a motion to adopt resolution 2005-21 ordering the Feasibility Report for the 2006 Trunk Watermain Improvements. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. Field Street Studv - Additional Work Items: Bettendorf stated that WSB & Associates is requesting additional compensation for the Field Street Study. They are requesting to complete Wetland Delineation and a Traffic Noise Study to help determine which alternative may be the best option. These studies were included as alternatives in the proposal and were not needed at the beginning of the Study. The costs associated with these studies are consistent or lower than the proposal submitted to the City. Weyrens clarified that in anticipation of completing the additional tasks, the funding for the study includes the alternatives. Rassier made a motion to authorize WSB to complete the wetland delineation and noise study as I identified in the original contract. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. I I I August 18, 2005 Page 3 of4 Proiect Updates: Wick questioned the status of the Hill Street Project. Ekola stated that they are working on shaping the gravel on Hill Street/3rd Avenue. After the shaping is complete, they will begin doing the driveways. According to Ekola, she projected that these items would be done next week. She also advised the Council that a letter was sent to the contractor making them aware of the substantial completion date of September 1. There is also some landscaping work that needs to be done. Carlbom questioned when the street signs/speed limit signs would be replaced. Ekola stated that they need to complete the ditch work first. MAYOR REPORTS School Committee: Car/bom advised the Council that on August 25, the District 742 Facilities Committee will present their findings to the St. Cloud School District Board of Education. Economic Development Partnership Meetinq: At the last Partnership meeting, Carlbom reported that they discussed the new Arctic Cat factory that will be relocating to St. Cloud. This will provide 100+ new jobs for the community. He also stated that the St. Cloud Technical College is going to be doing a large expansion to help fill more mechanic jobs in the area. Rieke questioned whether or not we receive any activity reports from the St. Cloud Partnership to which Carlbom replied that he receives them via email. Rieke would like to make that available to the EDA if possible. Car/bom stated that he would check on that to see if this information can be distributed. COUNCIL REPORTS SYMAN I ETZ APO Meetinq: Symanietz reported that at the APO Meeting, Mark Kennedy was present and he presented them with a check for $16.8 million for critical projects in the St. Cloud area. She stated that St. Joseph will get a small portion of that money. Budqet 2006: Symanietz reported that the City Council began their 2006 Budget Meetings this week. Human Riqhts Task Force: Symanietz stated that she attended the Human Rights Task Force meeting and that they made some decisions on how things will be run. They decided that Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties will all be involved in the program. WICK Park Board: Wick stated that the Park Board meeting was changed to the 22nd. Librarv: Wick reported that he applied to be a member at large in the Library Building Committee. He stated that he was not chosen; however he attended the meeting as a citizen. They have chosen the Miller lot as the site for the new library. Field Street: Wick reported that he attended a meeting of the Community Action Group. He stated that they are looking for some additional information on the Field Street Project. RASSI ER - No Report RIEKE - No Report ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS Waterinq Ban: Weyrens advised the Council that Tom Petroski is asking for the Council to make a determination as to whether or not there will be a change in the Watering Ban. At this time, City Staff is August18,2005 Page 4 of 4 not recommending any changes. Rassier stated that if staff is not recommending any changes, then it should remain the same. Carlbom questioned whether or not Weyrens has checked with other cities to I see about their policies on watering bans. Weyrens reported that 81. Joseph is the most restrictive with respect to the Watering Ban; however she stated that before Waite Park built their new Water Treatment Facility, they had a total ban for the entire summer including shutting down car washes. Weyrens reviewed the current watering ban stating that residents can water between the hours of 7- 10PM on the odd/even system. Those residents with an odd number address would water on the odd days and those with even addresses would water on the even days. Adiourn: Symanietz made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously_ ~~~ I I