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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[04a] Minutes - January 07, 2019 January 7, 2019 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, January 7, 2019 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. Council Members Absent: Anne Buckvold City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Community Development Director Therese Haffner Oath of Office: Weyrens administered the oath of office to Mayor Elect Rick Schultz and Councilor Elect Brian Theisen. Public Comments: No one present wished to speak. Approve Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously by those present. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of December 17, 2018 b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 054208-054273 and Payroll EFT # 111606 - 111620 and Accounts Payable EFT# 001859 c. Performance Measures – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2019- 002 Accepting the Performance Measure Results d. Assignment of Franchise – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2019- 003 consenting to the assignment of the charter franchise. e. Deferred Assessment – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Agreement between Richard Vos and the City of St. Joseph deferring the Field Street Assessment. Public Hearing – Reassessment: Weyrens stated that City was notified that four foreclosure lots have recently been sold and at the time of foreclosure the property had outstanding assessments and invoices. MN Statute allows municipalities to re-assess the outstanding assessments/invoices once the property is sold. The process to attach the fees is similar to adopting a final assessment hearing to include publication and mailing of the notice to the new property owner. The total outstanding encumbrances equal $ 4,164.44. Mayor Schultz opened the public hearing and as no one wished to speak, the public hearing was closed. Loso questioned the nature of the outstanding encumbrances to which Weyrens stated it is combination of weed cutting and an assessment for improvements. Schultz made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2019-001 adopting the assessment for outstanding fees and re-assessing to the appropriate property. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present. St. Cloud APO, Joint Powers Agreement: Brian Gibson, Executive Director for the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO), approached the Council to discuss the revised Joint Powers Agreement. Gibson provided the Council with the short history of the APO back to the inception in 1966. The St. Cloud APO is a regional body responsible for transportation planning in the entire urbanized area and is independent of the individual cities. It is important to note that without a regional planning agency the area municipalities would not be eligible to access federal funds for transportation and planning. Historically the City has utilized funding for projects to include Field Street, Corridor Studies and most recently the trail extension adjacent to MN St W. January 7, 2019 Page 2 of 3 The APO has been working through a re-organization process to re-define the services provided, membership roles and responsibilities and management of the region. In the past the APO had a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) who recommended to the Executive Committee who then forwarded information to a larger group known as the policy board. The system seem ineffective and it could be streamlined to include the TAC and policy board. The Policy Board will be the decision making body of the APO and each Governmental Unit, with the exception of St. Cloud will have one representative which must be an elected official. The City of St. Cloud will have three representatives all of which must be elected officials. The change in organization requires the adoption of a new joint power agreement identifying the organization guidelines. All participating members are being requested to adopt the new Joint Powers Agreement and as of this meeting only two jurisdictions are left, one of which is St. Joseph. Schultz made a motion authorizing execution of the Joint Powers Agreement between Governmental Units in the St. Cloud Urban and Urbanizing Area. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present. Engineer Reports – 2019 Proposed Street Improvement Project: Weyrens reported the Council had requested that staff review the proposed 2019 Street Improvement Projects, prioritizing them by need. City Engineer Randy Sabart presented the Council with the following project priority. Sabart clarified that when considering which projects to complete, it would not be cost effective to only select one utility project as it would be too small of a project for a utility company to bid. The total estimated cost if all projects are contemplated is approximately $ 2,843,180. Weyrens stated that financially the completion of all project is not viable for two reasons. Frist, the Jade Road Improvements will most likely result in deferred assessments as some of the properties are still utilized for agricultural purposes. The second reason is the levy that would be required to support the projects. While the proposed assessments have been calculated using the assessment policy assessing some for 60% and Jade road at 100%, the benefit must still be determined. For each $ 36,000 in levy the tax rate will increase 1%. Loso stated that he would prefer to have the benefit analysis completed before the projects are determined so that the residents will have more accurate numbers. Sabart stated that the City will not have final numbers until the project is bid; even using the benefit analysis at this time would only be an estimate. Loso stated that before he could make a decision, he would like additional financial information to include retiring levels and proposed levy for the new project. Sabart stated that while reviewing the project, some of the proposed improvements could be funded utilizing MSA funding. Administrator Reports: Weyrens requested the Council consider a special Council meeting on January 16 or 17 as the next regular meeting is scheduled for January 21 which is Martin Luther King Day and city business cannot be conducted. The Council agreed to reschedule the January 21 meeting to January 16 at 6:00 PM. Weyrens reminded the Council of the Council Workshop scheduled for January 28, 2019 at 6:00 PM and the Intergovernmental Meeting on January 29, 2019 at 5:30 PM at the Waite Park Public Works Facility. January 7, 2019 Page 3 of 3 Mayor Reports: Schultz reported that the Park Board is in need of three members as two have finished their terms and one has resigned. He stated that he will be meeting with the current and outgoing members to see if there are concerns that the City should be aware of. Adjourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 6:40 PM; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously by those present. Judy Weyrens Administrator