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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] MinutesJuly 2, 2018 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, July 2, 2018 at 6:00 PM at the St. Joseph Government Center, opening with the pledge of allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Dale Wick, Bob Loso, Troy Goracke, Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Jackie Meyer City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Community Development Director Therese Haffner, Public Works Director Terry Thene, City Attorney Sue Kadlec Oath of Office – Police Chief: Mayor Schultz administered the Oath of Office to Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein. Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present. Consent Agenda: Loso 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 June 18, 2018. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 053561-053590, Payroll EFT #001521-001527. c. Outdoor Liquor Permit – Authorized execution of an Outdoor Liquor Permit for an event to be held at the La Playette on September 29, 2018. d. Application for Payment #3 – Approved application for payment #3 for the 2017 CBD Alley Improvements and authorized payment to C&L Excavating, In. in the amount of $16,829.55. e. Northland Drive – Accepted the quote of Astech and authorized the expenditure of up to $7,650 to repair Northland Drive. f. Purchase Agreement Amendment – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute the amendment to the purchase agreement for the City Hall property, setting the closing date for August 15, 2018. Chris DeLaForest – Update of Lobby Efforts: Chris DeLaForest approached the Council to discuss the lobbying efforts that he provided on behalf of the City of St. Joseph during the 2018 Legislative Session. DeLaForest stated the bonding process begins a year in advance. The first lobbying effort is critical in speaking with the committee administrators in hopes that the committees will make a visit to the City. Gaining support from businesses, organizations, and residents is important. DeLaForest stated he did not hear any of St. Joseph’s projects did not have merit or were deficient. Goracke questioned what DeLaForest does on a daily basis. DeLaForest stated he is at the Capital everyday lobbying for various projects as well as building relationships with staff and legislators. Loso questioned if the City made it to the short list. DeLaForest stated both times the project came up for bond issue, it was on the short list. He stated that many projects take more than one year before they are funded. It is important to keep the projects in front of the Legislators to be successful in receiving funding. City Attorney Reports, Cable Franchise: City Attorney Sue Kadlec stated she has been working with Charter Communications for the past couple of years in an effort to renew the Cable Franchise Agreement. It was important for the City to develop a Franchise Agreement that is similar to the one executed with Midco Communications, including extending the expiration to terminate at the same time. She stated that the Agreement before the Council at this time is a compromise and she recommends the City Council execute the agreement as presented. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2018-031 Adopting Ordinance 309 and Resolution 2018-032 Authorizing Summary Publication of Ordinance 309. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present. July 2, 2018 Page 2 of 3 City Attorney Reports, Annexation: Kadlec reporting that she has been working with the Township attorney on the documents for the annexation over the past few months. The terms of what was being discussed was what was agreed upon with the annexation subcommittee. Weyrens presented a map showing the areas to be annexed. Kadlec stated the process has been prolonged due to some unresponsiveness. The Township attorney has suggested meeting with the sub-committee again to continue discussion on the annexation areas and the rural residential zoning district ordinance as well as extending any decision on the annexation until July 16, 2018. Kadlec stated that she has also addressed the concerns of the City with disregarding processes in the MOU for Building Permits and enforcing provisions of the Joint Planning Board. Open areas yet to be agreed upon include the schedule of tax reimbursement to the Township and the triggers for annexation for those areas not immediately being annexed. Wick questioned whether the Township has held any public input sessions. Kadlec stated those meetings have not been held or scheduled. Additionally, the Township will be meeting on July 16and it is her understanding they will consider the agreement at that time. Wick questioned how the City can make sure the Township no longer side-steps the Joint Planning Board and the City in approving permits without the City reviewing them. The City is the Zoning Administrator and should be reviewing the permits prior to a permit being issued. Kadlec stated the City can enforce the contract by asking the courts for injunctive relief ordering the Township to follow the agreement. Weyrens stated that prior to the meeting tonight she received the building permit application for permits issued in 2018, of which included permits that should have been reviewed by the City. A warehouse was built without the City’s knowledge and the Township building official has been signing off as the Zoning administrator. Loso stated he and Councilmember Wick were part of the sub-committee. In those meetings, it was agreed that the Township would comply with providing building permit information as well as working out the smaller details of the annexation. Loso added the Township has had over two months to work out the details and there has th been little response. Therefore, Loso would like July 16 to be the final decision date. If no agreement is st reached by the City and Township, then the City will revert back to the April 1 proposal; annexing the entire OAA. Kadlec suggested telling the Township that they will file injunctive relief if the Township continues to operate outside the MOU. th Consensus of the Council is to have the sub-committee meet prior to July 16, then making a decision at the th July 16 meeting. If no decision is reached, then the City will annex the entire OAA as originally presented on st April 1. Schultz questioned how the Township would be able to have two public input sessions between now and July thth 16. Schultz is concerned that on July 16 the Township will want another extension and that another two weeks will not be enough time for the Township to decide. Loso state the City has had numerous open meetings that many Township residents attended. However, the Township has not given their residents the opportunity to provide input at a Township meeting as those meetings have been closed. City Engineer Reports, Change Order WTP #1: Sabart requested the Council consider approving execution of the final payment for the Water Plant 1 Improvments as well as Change Order No. 2. Change order 2 includes the additional costs related to labor and materials of the additional sandblasting and coatings work completed for the project based on information that was discovered during construction. The final payment amount is less than the original bid price due to an adjustments in the unit price work that was completed. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor to execute Change Order #2 and payment application #3 for the Water Treatment Plant No. 1 Improvements. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. July 2, 2018 Page 3 of 3 Administrator Reports, Recycling Program: Republic Services has provided information regarding the impact of China’s decision to not accept recycling material in an effort to clean up their own country. China went from accepting contamination levels from 3% down to .5% as well as banning all mix paper products. Weyrens stated that impact has been huge on refuse hauler companies. Republic acknowledges the current contract, but is requesting the Council consider allowing an amendment to the contract to allow for covering a small portion of the cost. Weyrens stated in reviewing St. Joseph’s contract, they would like to request .75 per month. The general consensus of the Council was that they would take into consideration rate changes in the contract with Republic during the budget process for implementation in 2019. Schultz questioned where the recycling is stored if China is no longer taking it. Weyrens stated Republic is currently storing some on their properties and it is deteriorating. Schultz stated that he has concerns about opening a contract that is already in place, especially since the serve was bid by other haulers. He stated that the City may want to consider bidding the service again Loso questioned if any further discussions were had regarding the fall/spring cleanup. Weyrens stated th staff will meet with Republic after the 4 of July. Administrator Reports, Refunding Resolution: Weyrens stated that staff is still working with DEED to secure the BDPI grant to assist with the creation of a shovel ready industrial park. It was originally anticipated that the grant would be in the amount of $ 1,170,000 and the City passed a resolution with that number. Since that time the grant area has been re-defined and the new award amount is $ 1,245,000 The Council approved a refunding resolution in May with an award amount of $1,170,700. Since that time, the grant has changed slightly increasing the award amount to $1,245,000; therefore the refunding resolution that was approved needs to be updated with the revised amount. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute resolution 2018-019A Designating Funds for BDPI Grant and Providing for Refunding through Bond Proceeds. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. th Administrator Reports, Colts – Boiler Operator: Weyrens stated as of June 28, the school district has vacated the building. The building utilizes a boiler for heating which requires it to be checked daily. The checks must be completed by a certified boiler operator and currently none of the staff hold the required license. Public Works Director Terry Thene has contacted two residents that have the necessary licenses that would be willing to check the boiler for $ 30.00 per day. It is anticipated that the boiler will be started sometime in September. When questioned what type of agreement would be required for the service, Weyrens stated she would check into but had anticipated as considering them as contract vendors. Wick made a motion hiring Terry Loso and Dave Ertl at $30/day for daily boiler checks at Colt’s Academy beginning in September 2018 as needed. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. Mayor Reports: Schultz attended the League of MN Cities conference in St. Cloud. Schultz attended the session pertaining to trees in downtown areas. Schultz would like the City to consider looking further into the repairs of the block and trees along MN Street. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:04 PM; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator