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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 [07] Jul 16 July 16, 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 16 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, Anne Buckvold, Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Al Houdek 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 Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Buckvold made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of 9b, Final Compensation for former Police Chief.The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. a. Minutes—Approved the minutes of July 2, 2018. b. Bills Payable—Approved check numbers 053591-053667, Payroll EFT#001528-001533 and Accounts Payables EFT#001837-001841. c. Donations&Contributions—Accepted the donations and their purposes as presented. d. Treasurer's Report—Accepted the June 2018 Treasurer's Report as presented. e. Grant Acceptance and Transfer—Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute all documents required to accept and participate in the DEED CDAP Grant and authorize the transfer of$7,563.11 from fund 101 to fund 225. f. 2018 TIF Reports—Accepted and authorized the 2018 TIF Reports as presented. g. Street Closure, Millstream Arts Festival—Authorized the Administrator to execute the road closure application for both the City and Stearns County to allow the Millstream Arts Festival to utilize MN Street, College Ave N, and College Ave S for the event to be held on September 30, 2018. h. Election Judges—Appointed the election judges as requested for the Primary and General 2018 Election. i. Liquor License—Authorized the On Sale and Sunday liquor license transfer from St. Joseph Hospitality LLC to Route 75 Saloon Inc for 2010 CSAH 75 W. Jeff Johnson, Stearns County Assessor Update: Jeff Johnson, Stearns County Assessor presented a property assessment update for both the City of St. Joseph and Stearns County. Below are the main points from his presentation: • Johnson stated home valuations are at or above levels reported prior to the Great Recession. • The total EMV grew 5.88%. The numbers exclude St. Cloud due to it lying in three counties. • Overall, new construction increased by 6.31% in 2017. • In St. Joseph, residential new construction was up over 10%, however,the number of new homes built decreased by 5%from a year ago. • For agricultural &rural vacant land, buyers focused on high quality land as well as location while demand for lower grand land was slow to stable.The average cost per acre for tillable land was$4,521 while average deeded acre was$4,050. • For apartments, value changes of 1-4%were typical, with come apartments increasing 10%or more. • The Commercial sector showed some growth with continues improvement in occupancies and rent levels are driven by location, age, and quality of improvements. • Industrial sector experienced expansion as some farmland transitioned to industrial uses to support new solar farms. • Residential—2017 market was vibrant with higher sale prices paid along with an increase in sales volume. • Johnson stated the Stearns County website has a lot of useful information regarding property assessments July 16, 2018 Page 2 of 3 • Johnson stated that the City has assigned the Stearns County Assessor's as the local Board of Review. As such each year residents are notified with of the coming year valuation and giving them an opportunity to comment at an open book meeting. Residents do not need to attend the open book meeting to appeal their valuation and have the opportunity to go directly to the County Board of Appeal. The resident can appeal anytime up until April 30`h.After that date an appeal can still be made, but it would be more costly and time consuming. Wick questioned how a tax exempt property is assessed when services are provided that directly compete with other properties that pay taxes. Johnson stated that he has this discussion annually with the City Administrator. It becomes difficult to tax a property when they meet the requirements to be tax exempt as they are meeting the requirements to be tax exempt. The Assessor's Office has looked at the events at Gorecki and understand they hold events that compete with local establishments; however the College meets the criteria to be tax exempt. He further stated that the County is going to be reviewing tax exempt properties later this year and he knows that other communities also struggle with this same issue. City Attorney Reports, St. Joseph Township OAA:Weyrens stated the annexation sub-committee met on Friday to review the outstanding issues with the intent of coming to a consensus on the proposed annexation. Weyrens presented a map illustrating the Orderly Annexation Area(OAA)delineating which properties would be annexed immediately and which would remain in the OAA. Weyrens stated the Council has been provided with proposed draft ordinances creating a Rural Residential Zoning District and modifying the B2 Highway Business and Industrial Zoning Districts. During the negotiations the Township has agreed to relinquish the building permit services which will become the responsibility of the City Building Official. In addition the City will serve as the zoning administrator. The Joint Planning Board will still review any land use applications received for the area that remains in the Township through the OAA. Wick questioned the need for the City to take action on this matter before the Township considers. He stated the Township will be meeting tomorrow for the first time with their residents. It is his understanding that the Township has not provided any information to the residents until the recently mailing,which had incorrect information. City Attorney Sue Kadlec stated that the incorrect portions will be corrected at the Township meeting by the Township attorney. Wick stated he would not like to annex the entire area.Wick would like to wait to pass the resolution until the Township has had a chance to present it to their residents. Schultz questioned which if Wick is back peddling as negotiations on the annexation have taken place for over the past six months and he is part of the negotiating committee. Loso concurred and stated that the City/Township sub-committee has agreed to the resolution on Friday and were going to bring it back to both of their bodies for approval or denial. He expressed frustration that Wick did not express his concerns at the meeting during negotiations. Wick stated that he would prefer to wait until after the Township considers the matter as the residents in St. Joseph Township have not had the opportunity to see or hear what the proposal contains or what areas are involved. Loso made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2018-034 Joint Resolution for Designation of an Area for Orderly Annexation and for Designation of an Area for Immediate Annexation Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes§414.0325.The motion was seconded by Schultz. Discussion: Schultz asked what would happen if the Township does not pass the Resolution. Kadlec stated the City would then go back to the original proposal of annexing the entire OAA.The Township would most likely contest the annexation which would result in litigation. Aye: Schultz, Loso, Goracke, Buckvold Nay: Wick Motion Carried: 4:1 City Engineer Reports, West MN Street Trail: Sabart stated the City has received both Federal and MnDOT approval for the MN St W Trail. The proposed project bid date is August 24, 2018 with the project award at the first meeting in September following MnDOT authorization to award the project. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2018-033 Ordering Advertisement for Bids on the MN Street W Trail. The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously by those present. July 16, 2018 Page 3 of 3 City Engineer Reports, Proposed 2019 Street Improvements: Weyrens stated that the Council has requested staff to redefine how construction projects are constructed so that the projects can begin in spring rather that starting the process in spring which results in late fall construction. With that in mind, Sabart presented a map illustrating projects that have been identified for construction in 2018. The first step in the process is to authorize the City Engineer to prepare a feasibility report. The feasibility report will identify the scope of the project and preliminary costs. Weyrens added authorizing the feasibility report does not guarantee the project will be done; rather it is the first look for the Council at the need, project scope and projected costs. If the Council wishes to move forward the hearing process is initiated. By consensus the Council requested the City Engineer prepare the cost for preparing the feasibly report. Committee Reports, Community Center: Wick reported the Community Center Committee met to discuss funding options, and what to program into the building now that the District is out. Administrator Reports, Colt's Academy Update: Weyrens stated that she has received a request to use space in the Community Center and before that can occur the City needs to address items such as secure access, internet, and fire alarm system. City Staff has already implement the fire alarm system which should be active within a week. It is anticipated that at the next meeting costs will be provided for some of the outstanding items. Former Police Chief Final Compensation: Buckvold stated she doesn't like to make a public decision on matters that the public are unable to obtain information on; however, Buckvold stated she was sworn into uphold State Law and that law requires the information regarding the Police Chief Investigation to remain private. Buckvold added that due to Klein resigning from his position immediately as opposed to giving a two week notice, the accumulated benefits should not be paid out. Loso made a motion to deny the pay out of accumulated benefits to Former Police Chief Joel Klein as supported by the City of St. Joseph Personnel Policy. The motion was seconded by Buckvold and passed unanimously. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:20 PM; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. • 4111111116. clAy/4)_e /1a,t,e Ju•y Weyrens A► inistrator