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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes - October 1, 2018 October 1, 2018 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, October 1, 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: Ryan Gaebel, Mike Connolly, Patrick Strom, Cody Wald, Garrett Goetz, Brent Hentges, John Oliver III. City Representatives Present: Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Community Development Director Therese Haffner, Public Works Director Terry Thene, City Engineer Randy Sabart. Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda correcting the date in the Minutes from September 17 to October 1, 2018 and add 9(b) Summary Publication for Ordinances regarding annexation. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Goracke. Discussion: Loso requested that item b, bills payable be removed for discussion. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of September 17, 2018. b. removed The motion passed unanimously. Bills Payable: Loso stated he removed the bills payable to discuss the bill for Flaherty & Hood in the amount of $ 280.00. He further stated that it is his opinion that use of an attorney other than JKA should have been approved by the Council. Schultz stated that the Personnel Committee had asked Brandon Fitzsimmons assistance regarding staffing. At this point he cannot say more but the Council will be receiving additional information. Buckvold made a motion to approve the bills payable as follows: Check number 053876-053924 – Less check number 53903 Flaherty & Hood $ 280; and Payroll EFT #111565-111570. The motion was seconded by Loso. Ayes: Wick, Loso, Buckvold, Goracke Nays: Schultz Motion carried 4:1:0 Public Hearing – Delinquent Accounts: Weyrens stated that every six months City staff prepares a listing of outstanding invoices that have been determined to be uncollected. Property owners are provided a 14 day notice of the intent to certify delinquent accounts for attachment to real estate taxes. The amount certified is payable in installment and interest is not charged; however a $ 45 certification fee is assessed. Mayor Schultz opened the public hearing and as no one present wished to speak the public hearing was closed. Loso questioned procedurally if the City can do anything about the continued delinquencies. Weyrens stated the majority of the invoices are for weed cutting on foreclosed lots. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2018-041 certifying delinquent accounts as requested. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. nd Noise Violation – 31 2 Ave NW: Weyrens stated the property at 31 2nd Avenue NW has two current noise warnings within the last 6 months. The first occurred on March 24, 2018 and the second on August 24, 2018. It is acknowledged that the two violations were different tenants; however, the landlord is responsible for the management of property. October 1, 2018 Page 2 of 4 On September 8, 2018 the police department responded to a complaint of loud music at 31 2nd Ave NW. One of the police officers was located on 4th Ave NW (across the ballpark from the rental unit) and could clearly hear the music. The Police Officers did receive cooperation from the tenants and the noise was resolved and the tenants present received citations. The landlord (Ryan Gaebel) was provided notice of the violation and has met with Weyrens and Chief Pfannenstein as did the tenants of the property. Gaebel is not requesting and evidentiary hearing as she does not dispute the officers. Loso made a motion acknowledging that a noise violation occurred at nd 31 2 Ave NW on September 8, 2018. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Ryan Gaebel approached the Council stating that she acquired the property two years ago and she and her husband take this violation seriously. They will be removing the fire pit as that area seems to be a gathering spot. In addition they met with the tenants to discuss expectations going forward. Loso stated that he lives near the property and it has been a problematic property and feels that the tenants have been disrespectful to the residents and the City. He does not understand why this behavior continues. As a landlord he is surprised that she is not aware of the activity and noise. Gaebel responded that she will work on resolving issues and she was not aware of the historical issues. Loso questioned how she will address to which she responded that she will increase the terms of the lease, remove the fire pit, and will be more present on high event nights. Buckvold questioned how many properties she owns to which she stated she owns two in the City of St. Joseph as well as properties in other communities. Pfannenstein stated that he did meet with two tenants along with Weyrens and they have assured him that the property will not continue to be a proble. Wick made a motion to apply the standard $ 200 fine for a noise violation; seconded by Goracke. Discussion: Buckvold questioned if $200 will cover the City costs. Weyrens stated typically the fine is $ 250 and the major impact is the police could be handling other matters than the noise complaint and the City does have the paper work cost to manage. Wick made a motion to amend the motion assessing the fine to $ 250; seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. The amendment motion was passed unanimously. Speed Zone – MN Street W: Sabart stated previously the Council had requested the potential reduction of speed on MN St W. Typically if a speed is changed a speed study is required; however, since MN ST W is under control of the City, the City has local control. MN Statute defines areas as urban or rural and identifies speed based on distance between driveways or density. Based on the existing conditions, the City could start the 30 mph at the park and ride, not that it is required, that is only the outer limit. If the Council is looking at changing speeds beyond the identified perimeters would require a speed study from MNdot. A formal speed study often results in a higher speed limit as it is based on what the traffic is traveling at. If the Council stays within the Statutory guide lines, then a letter would be submitted to MNdot informing them of the change and they would have 30 days to respond. The City will have to post the start and the stop of the 30 PNH speed limit but do not have to post the 55 MPH. 2019 Proposed Improvement Project: Sabart stated that he and Public Works Director have been reviewing the proposed 2019 improvement and he wanted to raise awareness to a couple of items. Two of the areas in the proposed project include surface improvements only and the utility infrastructure will need to be updated at some point. One of the areas is Elm Street near the water tower. This area is scheduled for a 12” water main that would connect to the water tower and allow for abandoning of water main in CR 75 and College Avenue. Sabart stated that he not proposing a large water main project; rather raising awareness. October 1, 2018 Page 3 of 4 Wick expressed concern that the maps provided to the Council for the 2019 Project and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) do not include the water main and he is concerned with project scope creep. Sabart stated that the narrative included the need and is part of the feasibility report. Wick stated that he is concerned that documents are not consistent between maps, budget and project narrative. Sabart stated that the CIP documents are different that the Street Maintenance Plan. Buckvold clarified that the paving has been included with the proposed project; however the reconstruction or extension of utilities has not. Loso clarified that Elm Street is being reconstructed and typically when a reconstruction project is completed, the utilities are installed as well. Sabart stated that what is different in this case is that the st owner of the Manufactured Home Community Park overlayed Elm Street and part of 1 Ave NW. The owner was notified that the street was not constructed to city standards and he is not relieved from future improvements. Buckvold questioned the safety in the area and there are not sidewalks in the area and if at some they will be added to which Sabart responded they would. Wick stated that the CIP identifies the utilities in 2023. He again stated that the CIP and Street Maintenance plan should be complementary to each other and timeframes for projects should not be different between the two documents. Sabart stated that if the water main improvement is not completed at this time then the option would be to try an nurse the project along until the utility extension. The Council discussed the extension of utilities as it serves the Manufactured Home Community Park (MHCP). Currently the City provides water and sewer to the MHCP; however private individual lines are extended from the mains. The City does not bill individually each home. The proposed project would only replace the new water main to the area. The purpose of the new water main project is to abandon the two 6” inch crossing under CR 75 and replace with a 12” line. Thene stated the project is only extending the pipe to the end of the new pavement, not the entire length. The question before the Council is does the Council want to consider adding pipe to the project under Elm Street, wait with the surface improvements or complete the The second area is Birch Street East, the frontage road adjacent to CR 75. This area has old cast iron pipes. The pavement maintenance plan includes paving the area; the CIP has infrastructure included. What also adds to the confusion is the condition of the alley. Sabart stated that the functionality of Birch Street is not ideal and the alley is needed as an access as well. The question is if Birch Street is improved should the alley be improved. Schultz questioned if there was a timeline for making decisions on the two areas discussed. Sabart stated that they can move forward as planned and estimate the projects discussed at this time. Unless the Council wants to change the previously approved plans, no action is needed at this time. Sabart stated they can estimate the cost of the additional items with an additional cost to the City. Buckvold discussed the need to complete the ADA plan and how that impacts the projects that are being discussed. Sabart stated that the ADA study is a reliv Committee Reports - EDA – The EDA received the hotel study and it was not favorable from an investment stand point. The Council will receive the final study report. The EDA continues to work on the industrial park development and will be discussed later in this meeting. Committee Reports – Park Board: The Park Board continues to work on East Park and prioritizing the needs for the budget. Administrator Reports – Industrial Park ROW Acquisition: Weyrens reported that the EDA has been working with a developer to create shovel ready industrial lots. The City has secured a 1.245 M BDPI Grant from DEED and the platting is stalled at this time due to lack of access. It was anticipated that the first section of the north east/west corridor is the main access for the project; however the developer has not been able to secure the ROW from the property owner. The EDA recently discussed the project and October 1, 2018 Page 4 of 4 since the property owner and the developer are significantly far apart in price, the EDA is recommending the City consider eminent domain. Weyrens stated that the City can do both projects at the same time, meeting with the property owner and starting the eminent domain process. Loso made a motion to authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2018-047 initiating the eminent domain process for securing the need ROW for the first section of the North east/west corridor. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Summary Publication – Annexation Ordinance Amendments: Wick made a motion to table action on the summary publication for the proposed Ordinance Amendments as they relate to the pending annexation until staff has revised. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Mayor Reports: Schultz stated that he recently met with the College of St. Benedict and the Monastery to discuss projects and initiatives of each party. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:10 PM; seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator