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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 [11] Nov 29 I I I November 29,2005 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 Thursday, November 29, 2005 at 7:30 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, Shannon Smith Others Present: Jacque French, Mike McDonald, Kathy Doyle Approve Aqenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the agenda with the following changes: Remove 3f Add 8c Add 8d 2005 Audit Service Fire Grant Meeting Schedule The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Consent Aqenda: Wick made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as follows; seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. a. Minutes - Requested Action: Approve the minutes of October 20, November 2 and 3, 2005. b. Bills Payable - Requested Action: Approve check numbers 036521-036556 c. Financial Agreement - Requested Action: Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Financial Advisory Agreement between the City of St. Joseph and Northland Securities. d. Bond Sale - Requested Action: Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Resolution issuing$3,575,000 GO Revenue Bonds. e. Fire Pension Increase - Requested Action: Accept the recommendation of the Fire Board and increase the annual Fire Pension to $1,800 per year of service. f. Deleted g. Assessment Legal Action - Requested Action: Accept the recommendation of the City Attorney dismissing without prejudice Gangl/Gustafson vs. City of St. Joseph. h. Annual Licenses - Requested Action: Approval of the Non-Intoxicating Liquor Licenses, Cigarette Licenses and Amusement/Entertainment Licenses for 2006. i. Gambling Application - Requested Action: Accept the Gambling Premise Permit for the Church of St. Joseph for a fundraiser to be held at the St. Joseph Lab School on April 29, 2006. Public Comments to the Aoenda: No one present wished to speak. CITY ENGINEER REPORTS 2006 Trunk Watermain Proiect: The proposed 2006 Trunk Watermain Project will consist of extending 16- inch watermain along the north side of CSAH 2, crossing Interstate 94, and ultimately connecting to the new water treatment plant located on the west side of Interstate 94 along the Frontage Road. Ekola stated that the proposed 16-inch watermain will be installed within the right-of-way along CSAH 2 using open-cut trenching. A crossing beneath CSAH 2 will be required on the east side of the Interstate 94 Bridge. This crossing will require jacking and boring of casing beneath the roadbed. According to Ekola, jacking and boring of casings will be required to cross under the east and west-bound lanes, including the on and off-ramps of Interstate 94. The 16-inch watermain will be parallel to the Frontage Road on the west side of Interstate 94 where it will ultimately connect to the new water treatment plant. Ekola stated that in order to complete this project, two easements will be needed. 1. James & Joanne Leuthardt's, located on the north side of CSAH 2, immediately west of the existing City limits. 2. Walz parcel located near the 1-94 right-of-way formerly owned by the Glatzels. November 29, 2005 Page 2 of 5 According to Ekola, she has discussed the costs with the City's fiscal consultant and they will use $588,000 as the number for the second bond for the water treatment plant. The breakdown of probable costs is as follows: Construction Continqencv. Enaineerina. Financina TOTAL $426,017 $161.887 $587,904 I Along with the costs comes the discussion as to where the money will come from to fund the project. There are two sources of funding for the project. A portion of the project will be funded through a trunk watermain fee that was calculated on a per acres basis to the properties benefiting from the proposed improvements. There are 350 acres that will benefit, however the trunk fees were determined assuming that only 75% of the acreage will develop over time. As a result, only 260 acres were used to determine the fee, which resulted in a trunk fee of $900/acre. She also reported that the proposed 16-inch watermain costs were broken down into two areas: 0-8 inch and 8-16 inch with the 0-8 inch costs being recaptured through the trunk watermain fees and the remaining oversizing to be paid by the City through WAC charges. The funding is as follows: WTP Share Oversizing (WAC) Proposed Trunk Watermain Fee TOTAL $354,000 $234.000 $588,000 Ekola also mentioned that there are two homes that could directly connect to the watermain. As a result, she mentioned an in lieu of charge for those properties of $4,500. They would also be required to pay the WAC fees at the time of hookup. They will have an 8" watermain running past their property and they would have a stub to that piece of property as well. The in lieu of charge would be similar to an assessment. Rieke questioned whether or not these two pieces of property could be hooked up to City water before they are annexed to the City. Ekola and Bettendorf replied that they could not as they will not have sanitary sewer at that time and thus they cannot provide all City services. Ekola added that this I is not being done to prompt annexation. Wick questioned if there would be interest added to the in lieu of charge. Bettendorf stated that there would be an interest rate similar to either the interest rate of the bond or % increase in value of the property; whichever would be the lower percentage. Ekola concluded by stating that the next steps are: 1. Accept the Feasibility Report and order the plans and specifications 2. Adopt an in lieu of charge for the two benefiting properties. 3. Forward the costs to the Fiscal Consultant in preparation of Bond B for the water treatment plant. Rassier made a motion to approve the Feasibility Report as presented and order the plans and specifications. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Storm Water Utilitv Report: Shannon Smith, SEH, approached the Council to discuss the Storm Water Utility Credit Policy. She stated that on April 15, 2004, the St. Joseph City Council approved a Storm Water Utility (Ordinance #44) to finance the City's Storm Water Management Program. This Ordinance established the storm water utility fee at $2.25/month for a single-family residence. Fees for all other parcels shall be defined as the product of the single-family residential per-acre fee, the appropriate utility factor and the total acreage of the parcel per the Storm Water Utility Ordinance. The main goals of the program include: · Storm water infrastructure improvements . Improve storm water quality Best Management Practices (BMPs) · Maintain the existing storm water system · Update/create ordinances . NPDES Phase II and other State and Federal requirements . Utilize a dedicated fund for storm water management. Smith stated that the purpose of the Stormwater Utility Ordinance and Credit Policy is to establish the legal basis behind the utility. There is a three-step approach: I I I I November 29, 2005 Page 3 of 5 1. Enabling Ordinance (Already approved) 2. Rate Structure, which establishes actual unit rates. This provides the ability to change the rates without re-adopting the enabling ordinance. (Already approved) 3. Credit Policy, which provides the ability to adjust fees based on approved criteria and BMPs. According to Smith, the evaluation of a Stormwater Utility relies on five basic criteria. 1. Is it fair? Yes, it is fair as it is based on land use and typical values have been used. 2. Is it dependable? Yes, it allows for money to be available to the City. 3. Is it acceptable? Yes, people only pay a small monthly fee. 4. Is it simple? Yes, it is easy to calculate the fee for each parcel and it fits with the existing utility billing system. 5. Is if flexible? Yes, it can be adjusted for each parcel. The Stormwater Utility Credit Policy is available to properties in Commercial, Industrial, Institutional and Multi-family zoning areas. Smith added that credits can total up to 75% of the Stormwater Utility Fee. There are two types of credit that are available. 1. Installed BMPs - demonstrating a reduction of the rate or volume of stormwater leaving the parcel via the use of an approved Stormwater BMP. Documentation of these practices must be provided to the City for evaluation. 2. Land Use credits - Vacant Land Credit or Green Space Credit contingent upon meeting the following criteria: Vacant Land: · The property must not be developed in any way, or have been developed in the past ten (10) years. The property must reflect vegetated land in an "undisturbed, natural state" with non- impacted soils. · The vacant land must represent at least 25% of the total parcel. · Vacant land does not include "green space" (outlined below) Green Space: · Green spaces must be pervious, vegetated areas incorporated into the developed parcel. · The space shall not have more than 25% impacted, compacted soils. (example: trails) · Green space must be at least 25% of the total parcel. After Smith's presentation, there were some issues raised by the Council. Wick stated that he was concerned with the vacant land credit vs. the weed ordinance currently in effect in the City. The vacant land credit requires that the property be in an "undisturbed, natural state" and the weed ordinance controls any obnoxious weeds. He stated that there is a conflict between the two. He questioned whether or not we could have a green space credit and remove the vacant land credit. Bettendorf suggested combining the two. With a charge of $2.25/month, Rieke stated that there will not be any credits for single-family residential parcels; however some residents may want a rain garden. Smith stated that they have some information and they will forward that to the City in the event that there are questions. Carlbom questioned how property owners would be notified of the credits that are available to them. Weyrens stated that Smith met with Dick Taufen, Public Works and they identified those property owners that would quality for credits of more than $50.00. She stated that there may be 10 or 11 property owners that may be surprised about the amount that they will be charged. Smith stated that this type of credit policy is used in many other cities. With the adoption of the credit policy and completion of the billing software changes, the City intends to initiate the stormwater utility fee for the January 2006 utility billing. Rassier made a motion to accept the Storm Water Utility Credit Policy with the combination of the vacant and green space credits and the removal of the phrase "undisturbed, natural state" relating to the vacant land credit portion. The motion was seconded by Carlbom and passed. November 29, 2005 Page 4 of 5 Ayes: Rassier, Carlbom, Wick, Symanietz Absent: Rieke MAYOR REPORTS Area Cities Meetino: Carlbom reported that he attended the area cities meeting at which there was a presentation by Tim Flahrety, Flahrety & Hood. His company does the lobbying for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. Due to their lobbying, the CGMC received an additional $115,000 LGA, which St. Joseph benefited from. The cities dues are $6-8,000 annually. Although he was not able to attend the entire meeting, he stated that they also planned to discuss changes to the annexation laws. Truth & Taxation: Carlbom stated that they held the Truth & Taxation hearing prior to the meeting. There were two public comments and both were concerned with the City portion of their property taxes. Both suggested that the City needs more commercial development to offset some of the tax base. COUNCIL REPORTS SYMANIETZ - No Report WICK School Meetinq: Wick reported that he attended the School District meeting at Kennedy Elementary, which was being held at the same time as the City Council meeting. He stated that it was mentioned that the Administration will be asking for authority to pursue a Purchase Agreement with ARCON for a new piece of property at the first meeting in December. Wick also stated that they mentioned that they have sent out RFP's for architects for the new school. They plan to interview three of the firms this week. Although he was unable to stay for the entire meeting, he stated that the last item on the agenda was opportunities for Public Involvement, to which he will follow up. RASSIER - No Report RIEKE - No Report ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS WSB Contract: Weyrens stated that WSB is requesting additional compensation for work above and beyond what was in the contract. There are some additional T AC meetings and one-on-one meetings, which will exceed the contract amount. Rassier stated that the fault lies with the T AC committee, not WSB as the TAC committee could not make any decisions and too many issues were re-occurring. Rassier made a motion to approve the amendment of the contract with WSB to allow for compensation for additional meetings not to exceed $11,410.94. The motion was seconded by Rieke. Wick stated that, in his opinion, the fault lies with WSB, as he did not feel that they kept to their agendas. Weyrens mentioned that WSB never intended to have this many meetings. With the contingency that the Council is made aware of what will be on the agendas for the remaining meetings, the motion passes unanimously. EAW: Weyrens stated that this is not a final draft for approval; rather they are looking for any changes that need to be made. Wick mentioned that he would like them to re-Iook at the intersection of Lancer and Minnesota Street, as there are currently no turn lanes onto Minnesota Street. Fire Grant: Weyrens reported that the Fire Department received a grant from the DNR for $250, which they will be spending on equipment. Rieke made a motion accepting the grant from the DNR for the Fire Department. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously. I I I I I I Meeting Schedule: · Monday, December 5, 2005 7:45 PM 8:00 PM · Tuesday, December 6, 2005 5:00 PM · Monday, December 12,2005 4:00 PM · Thursday, December 15, 2005 7:00 PM November 29, 2005 Page 5 of 5 Preliminary/Final Plat Approval Township/Planning Commission/City Council Set boundaries for expansion area Closed meeting - LELS Contract Follow up from the retreat o Water Sewer Rates o Transportation Issues Regular City Council Meeting Update: Weyrens stated that the tile in the foyer is heaving about 2". To have the tile replaced would cost the City $645. Rieke stated that it appears that something happened structurally and that should be understood before having the tile replaced. Adiourn: Symanietz made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator