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Home My WebLink About2020 [04] Apr 20April 20, 2020 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, April 6, 2020 at 6:00 PM by Zoom , opening with the pledge of allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Administ rator Kris Ambuehl. Members Present via Zoom : Councilors Anne Buckvold, Bob Loso, Troy Goracke, Brian Theisen City Representatives Present: Community Development Director Therese Haffner, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Deputy Clerk Kayla Klein City Representatives Present by Phone: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein Approve Agenda: Goracke made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Theisen and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: Loso made a motion to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. a. Minutes – Approved the minutes of April 6, 2020. b. Bills Payable – Approved check numbers 055915 -055983 and Payroll EFT #111844-111856 and Accounts Payables EFT #001921-001925. c. Financial Report – Accepted the 1st quarter and March 2020 financial reports as presented. d. Donations – Accepted the donations and contributions as presented. e. Mortgage Satisfaction – approved the mortgage satisfaction for 151 5th Ave SE, St. Joseph, MN 56374. f. Performance Measurement Results – Authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2020-012 Accept St. Joseph’s Performance Measures Survey Results. g. Officer Body Work Camera Grant Application – Authorized the Police Chief and Administrator to apply for the 2020 Body Worn Camera Grant. h. Transfers – Authorized the 2020 transfers as presented. Liberty Point 3rd Addition: St. Joseph Vista LLC/Sand Companies is requesting final plat approval. The preliminary plat was approved in 2003 and the final plat is consistent with that. The property is zoned as R3. The property is four acres and would need to abide by the R-3 Multiple Family Residential Zoning Ordinance. Access to the plat would be derived from 20th Ave SE. Tonight’s discussion is to hear the proposal from St. Joseph Vista and to review the draft Development Agreement. Megan Carr, Sand Companies: Carr requested the City subsidize costs for the project. The request includes: Credit of $70,000 for future 20th Avenue SE road improvement assessments, or a current waiver of $70,000 in City fees. Credit of $60,000 for future 20th Ave SE road improvement assessments or a current waiver of $60,000 in City fees to build the sewer and private lift station. City will provide an interest rate of 0.5% over the actual City bonding rate for the future road assessments. City will install the water line in 2020 for Vista Apartments and will provide a tax assessment at 0.5% over the actual City bonding rate for a period of not less than 15 years. Discussion was had on whether the City should subsidize for this project and if so, how much. The dollar amounts for future road assessments were provided by St. Joseph Vista’s engineer. Of all the options listed, Loso would approve crediting or waiving $70,000 for future construction of 20th Avenue SE. Loso is hesitant on tying a percentage to the project or to anything in the future. The $70,000 credit would be just for construction of the road or to be used as a credit for future assessments when 20th Avenue SE is built out. St. Joseph Vista is currently not ready to have the development agreement approved at tonight’s meeting. No decisions will be made at this time as the City and St. Joseph Vista, LLC will continue to work through the development agreement and bring back to the next meeting. April 20, 2020 Page 2 of 3 Waiving Utility Penalties for COVID-19: The Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Public Utilities Commission has recommending that Cities adopt policies regarding utility accounts and the impacts on residents and business owners due to COVID-19. Staff drafted a policy that would postpone disconnection due to delinquent accounts for residential and small business customer that suffer hardship due to COVID-19. The policy also states that the city will waive late fees that any residential or small business customer incurs because of COVID-19. The resident or business owner would need to provide some form of documentation to show the hardship that has occurred. Loso move to approve the Utility Policy for COVID-19. The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. Vacant Lot Replanting: The City owns a vacant lot behind the residents of William & Marla Trautz. They would like to plant a pollinator plot in lieu of the tall grass. They would like to hire Steve Heymans to replant the space with native plants. They have offered to maintain the area at no cost to the City. The city would need to make sure that adverse possession does not occur. If approved, staff would draft an agreement that the residents would need to sign. General consensus if for staff to draft an agreement and bring back to the Council for final approval. Engineer Reports, Municipal State-Aid Street System: With the recent annexation, the City is able to revise the designated state-aid system. The city is able to add about 2.42 miles of street mileage to the Municipal State Aid Street system. The optional additions would be the extension of Field Street to 16th Avenue SE, 16th Ave Se from CSAH 75 to Field Street, 12th Avenue from Baker St E to Field Street, and Elm Street from Northland Drive to CSAH 133. Ash Street E from College Ave N to 1st Ave NE and 1st Ave NE from MN Street to Ash Street E would be revoked from the system. Theisen made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute Resolution 2020-013 Establishing Municipal State Aid Highways. The motion was seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. The 2019 Street Improvements will resume on the 2nd week of May and should be done before the 4th of July. Department Head Reports: Administration – Ambuehl reported the department has been working on keeping up with COVID-19 and trying to keep business as usual even though the facility is closed to the public. Community Development- Haffner has been working with businesses in the City, providing them resources available to them for emergency loans, unemployment benefits, etc. Those resources are also available on the city website. The planning intern is anticipated to start on May 18th and interviews will occur in the next week or so. Finance – Bartlett reported the department is wrapping up the audit and the audit presentation will happen on May 4th. Staff met with potential Capital Improvement Projects. Utility bills were mailed on the 15th and park reservations have been cancelled through the end of May. Public Works – The Public Works department has been disinfecting buildings and equipment on a daily basis. Park amenities have been closed by staff to assist in keeping social distancing. Police – Case day occurred this past weekend and there were students that were not social distancing and the department wasn’t able to enforce it as much as they would like to. Several kegs were confiscated and tickets were issued regarding garbage left the following day. The body camera grant was discussed and how body cameras are becoming more common and are seen as a benefit to Police Departments. Mayor Reports: A community leader meeting was held today. Bruno Press created a poster and proceeds will go to the food shelf. April 20, 2020 Page 3 of 3 The compost site will be open this Saturday 8-Noon and then it will be opening for the season May 1, 2020. Adjourn: Theisen made a motion to adjourn at 7:42 PM; seconded by Goracke and passed unanimously. Kris Ambuehl Administrator