Loading...
04-11-1994 CC MIN e SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, APRIL 11, 1994 Members Present: Mayor Duitsman. Councilmembers Dietz, Farber and Holmgren Members Absent: Councilmember Scheel Staff Present: Pat Klaers. City Administrator; Lori Johnson. Finance Director; Phil Hals. Street/Park Superintendent; Terry Maurer, City Engineer; Peter Beck. City Attorney Also Present: Jim Simpson. Utilities Commission President; Jim Tralle and George Zabee. Utilities Trustees; Bill Birrenkott. Utilities General Manager 1 . Call Meetina To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof. the special meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Duitsman. 2. Consider Aoenda e COUNCILMEMBER FARBER MOVED TO APPROVE THE 4/11/94 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 3.1. Consider 3/21/94 City Council Minutes COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ MOVED TO APPROVE THE MARCH 21, 1994 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 3.2. Consider 4/4194 City Council Minutes COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO APPROVE THE APRIL 4, 1994 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES. COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 4.1. Call Soecial Meetina for Joint City Council/Fire Deoartment Work Session COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING FOR A JOINT CITY COUNCIL/FIRE DEPARTMENT WORK SESSION ON MAY 5, 1994, AT 7:00 P.M. COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 4.2. Presentation of Finance Certificate of Achievement - Lori Johnson e Mayor Duitsman presented Finance Director Lori Johnson with a plaque from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada in recognition of Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 1992 Fiscal Year. Mayor Duitsman noted that this is the fourth consecutive year the City has received the award. He stated that only 64 other cities in the State received this award. Mayor Elk River City Council Special Meeting April 11, 1994 Page 2 e Duitsman commended Lori Johnson and her staff for the excellent job they have done. 5. Joint Meetinq with Utilities Commission Utilities President Jim Simpson reviewed a written update of various Elk River Municipal Utilities projects and activities. President Simpson noted that the Utilities recently purchased 3 acres north of the power plant known as the Burgoyne property for $100,000. Utilities General Manager Bill Birrenkott stated that the garbage billing transition went fairly smooth. Council member Dietz questioned whether or not the garbage payments were coming in on a more timely basis. Lori Johnson stated that an in depth analysis has not been done. She noted that there is a $11.000 deficit balance in the garbage fund. partially due to the timing of how the service is now billed. She further stated that delinquent balances will. be billed through special assessments levied through the County as before. Mr. Birrenkott . stated that there probably has been improvement in paying for garbage service due to the fact that it is included on the water and electric billing. e Councilmember Holmgren asked if the Utilities planned to paint the filtration plant at the old City Hall site. President Simpson stated that he was not aware of plans to paint it and noted that once it was painted, it would have to be continually maintained by painting. Power lines alono School Street Discussion President Simpson stated that the Utilities Commission had met with Ron Bratlie. School District representative, Councilmember Holmgren, and Dr. Flannery, District #728 Superintendent. regarding the possibility of burying the power lines. President Simpson explained that aside from the cost of burying the lines ($80,000 - $100,000 minimum), it would still be necessary to install poles for street lights, at an additional cost. He estimated that there would be about the same number of poles needed for street lights as there are now for power lines. Mr. Simpson explained that the number of lines that are now on the poles will be reduced somewhere between 30 and 45 percent, thereby improving the overall appearance. President Simpson noted that the power lines in question are part of the main feeder line servicing a large number of customers. He explained that main feeder lines are rarely buried so they can be quickly accessed in case of an outage. He noted that there also is the issue of the life of underground cable -- 12 to 24 years versus 50 year life for overhead lines. In summary, President Simpson stated it is the view of the Utilities Commission and staff that it would be unfair to expect their customers to pay for such an expensive project to improve such a limited area, and still end up with poles. e The City Engineer stated that most cities will not consider moving a main feeder line and the policy is to keep the lines high and visible. Elk River City Council Special Meeting April 11, 1994 Page 3 e Discussion followed regarding whether or not it would be feasible to bury a main feeder line. methods of burying cable. number of poles that would be needed for street lights, and the cable company's arid phone company's use of poles. Trustee Tralle suggested that they may consider alternatives to using the standard wood poles. Bill Birrenkott stated that he felt white concrete poles are more noticeable, and that fiberglass poles break very easily if hit by a vehicle. Mr. Birrenkott suggested that the Council take a look at the new green poles on Main Street near the Handke School. Discussion followed regarding the number of utility poles and street lights on School Street and the number of poles that will be needed in the future. Discussion was also given to the need for more lighting on School Street. Trustee Zabee explained that more street lights would probably be added when School Street is widened since the poles will have to be moved at that time. Council member Farber stated that he felt that street lights are needed at Meadowvale and County Road 1. The City Administrator stated that one light is on the Committee's list and that Chief Zerwas would be working with Glen Sundeen and Trustee Zabee as a committee to review the lighting situation at that location to determine if another light is needed. e The City Administrator questioned whether or not the City could request that Jones Intercable take their lines off the poles on School Street. The Utilities Superintendent stated that they have a contract with Jones Intercable to use the lines. but that if the power poles were taken down, the cable would have to be run underground. The City Administrator asked if there were also pole alternatives for residential and commercial subdivisions. The Utilities Superintendent stated that a developer is required to pay for the light poles in a new subdivision. He noted that a new green-treated pole costs approximately $500 - $600, by the time the underground wiring is put in. and a fiberglass pole costs approximately $500 more. The Utilities Superintendent explained that a fiberglass pole will break off if bumped by a vehicle, whereas a wood pole normally would not. He further explained that the cost for replacing the fiberglass pole would be about $1,000 and could not be recovered from the developer. He stated that only about one-third of the costs associated with pole damage is recovered from insurance companies. Trustee Tralle asked if there were alternatives to using wood poles in subdivisions. Mr. Birrenkott stated that he was not in favor of fiberglass poles because of the high replacement cost. He further stated that there is a pole made from spun aluminum and steel which costs about $1,500 per pole. Mr. Birrenkott explained that the green wood poles placed on Main Street are an attractive alternative to the plain wood poles and the color is long lasting. President Simpson stated that underground lines are being placed in nearly all the new subdivisions and there will be some maintenance required 15 to 20 years from now, due to the limited life of underground service. e The City Engineer explained that there is a private sewer line which extends across from the schools to the administration building. He stated that the new Elk River City Council Special Meeting April 11, 1994 Page 4 e sewer and water trunk line going down Freeport will be set up so that if someday the school property is redeveloped, the property can be hooked up and the private line can be abandoned. He stated that he did not feel it was necessary to force the schools to hook up to the new line, but if there were ever a commercial use located on the property, the hookup would be required. The City Engineer noted that they will also need to work around an underground private communication line between the schools. The City Engineer explained that the Elk Park Center developers would be lighting the parking lots and entrances, but the area from School Street up to the south plat boundary will be fairly dark and the City and Utilities may wish to consider lighting for that area. Discussion followed regarding a lighting theme for this area and the type of lighting poles to be used. It was the consensus of the City Council and Utilities Commission that the area in question be well-lit and that some type of theme be used in lighting fixtures. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ATTORNEY TO INCLUDE THE NECESSARY LANGUAGE IN THE DEVELOPER'S AGREEMENT TO INSURE THE LIGHTING OF THE EXTENSION OF FREEPORT AVENUE NORTH FROM SCHOOL STREET TO THE PROPOSED ELK PARK CENTER MALL, BE FINANCED BY THE DEVELOPERS WITH STANDARDS TO BE ESTABLISHED BY THE UTILITIES COMMISSION. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. e Cable Television Lines The City Council and Utilities Commission discussed concerns regarding the appearance of the cable television lines. It was the consensus that the contract with the cable company be reviewed, and specifically, the language regarding ordering conversion of overhead lines to underground in specific areas. Surface Water Manaoement Fee Prooosal Mayor Duitsman explained a proposal to have all City property owners pay for costs associated with storm water drainage (surface water) improvements. He stated that it would cover all areas of the city with the exception of the northern area and that there would be a different fee for residential and commercial. The City needs the Utilities to do the billing for this fee. e Lori Johnson, Finance Director, stated that staff has inventoried about 1,000 of the 5,000 parcels of property in the City, breaking them down into 14 classifications for billing calculation. Lori Johnson stated that the fee will be calculated on acreage for commercial property. schools and exempt-type property, and per unit for apartments and per lot for residential property. The Finance Director explained that if the Council approves the fee and the proposed $1 million storm water bond issue, the fee will probably start in July. She further explained that if the inventory is not completed by the July target date, the City could bill retroactive to July 1, 1994. Lori Johnson stated that she has discussed the proposal with Pat and Vivian of the Municipal Utilities and they are ready to meet Elk River City Council Special Meeting April 11, 1994 Page 5 e with the staff to discuss computer program changes that need to be made in order to accommodate adding to the current utility bill. Mayor Duitsman explained that the City is proposing to take over the county ditch improvement costs and include them in the City's overall surface water management program. Councilmember Holmgren suggested that the storm water management fee be assessed on property taxes. Discussion followed regarding utilities billing vs. property tax billing of the fee. The Finance Director stated that the City would need to approve a watershed plan, and then the County would determine the billing by 5 classifications, based on valuation. She further stated that apartments would be based on 1 - 3 units, and 4 units and over and. commercial would also be based on valuation. The Finance Director explained that tax districts would need to be set up if the Council wished to eliminate some areas. She added that the billing could definitely be set up through the County property taxes, but that the method would be more complex and the Council would lose the flexibility they would have billing it through the utilities plan. Members of the Utilities Commission were in agreement that they would anticipate few problems in adding the proposed fee to the utilities payments. --------------------- --------------------- e President Simpson stated that the Utilities Commission would review the School Street area on the map and discuss plans for utility poles and street lights. --------------------- --------------------- The Street/Park Superintendent questioned whether or not the line down Gary Street was a main feeder line. The Utilities Superintendent stated eventually it will be a main feeder, when the courthouse is added and the industrial park develops. Discussion followed regarding water and sewer hookup for the courthouse and residential development along Highway 10. --------------------- --------------------- The City Administrator stated that the Fire Department equipment van will be delivered Tuesday, April 12, and a check will be issued in the amount of $125,584.00. He explained that $30.000 will come from the liquor store fund and $30,000 from the Utilities, with the balance being financed over time. --------------------- --------------------- e The Utilities Commission agreed that a representative of the Commission would attend meetings regarding updating the Comprehensive Plan. The City Administrator stated that minutes and agendas would be sent to members of the Utilities Commission. Elk River City Council Special Meeting April 11, 1994 Page 6 e 7. Staff Uodates The City Administrator updated the Council on the Sunday night fire at the NSP Plant and on the quick and professional response of the Fire Department. There being no further business, COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. The meeting of the Elk River City Council adjourned at 7: 1 0 p.m. Respectfully submitted, [)~Y{i~ Debbie Kleckner Recording Secretary e e