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4.1 MINUTES (2 SETS) 11-06-2017 Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, October 16, 2017 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall, Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, City Engineer Justin Femrite, and City Clerk Tina Allard 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:15 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider 10/16/2017 Agenda Staff requested to add Item 4.6 regarding a reimbursement agreement. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve the October 16, 2017, agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consider Consent Agenda Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the following consent agenda: 4.1 October 2, 2017 Minutes 4.2 Check register, check numbers 9912 and 103427-103606 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Pay estimates as outlined in the staff report. 4.4 Ordinance 17-21 assigning a new street address for the property identified as PID # 75-776-0405. 4.5 Development agreement for Trace Heights Second Addition. 4.6 Reimbursement Agreement 17-29 with Wayne and Teresa Scott Motion carried 5-0. City Council Minutes Page 2 October 16, 2017 ----------------------------- 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 City of Elk River Volunteer of the Month Mayor Dietz introduced and presented a plaque to Patrick and Cindi-Edwards Plant as Volunteers of the Month for October. He noted many accomplishments including the following:  Various board seats for Lake Orono Association  Originated “Where City and Country Flow Together” tag line  Lead the creation of the Lake Orono Management Plan  Volunteers for city clean up days  Raised $185k for needy families/students through Symphonic rock  Curly leaf pondweed cleanup efforts 7.1 Ordinance: Commercial Kennels in Highway Commercial District Mr. Leeseberg presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt Ordinance 17-22 amending Section 30-1024, C-3 Highway Commercial District of the City of Elk River, Minnesota, City Code. Motion carried 5-0. 8.1 Ice Arena Project Team Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to add the following representatives to the design team for the arena facility:  Parks and recreation commissioner  Chamber member representative  At large community representative Motion carried 5-0. There was discussion about the role of a construction manager and how it differs from an architect. City Council Minutes Page 3 October 16, 2017 ----------------------------- Mayor Dietz noted although he voted against moving forward with this project, ultimately the Council voted to move forward so he will continue to vote on all the processes for the project. Councilmember Ovall expressed the same comments. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the request for proposal for construction manager services. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to obtain quotes for commissioning services. Motion carried 5-0. 8.2 Gaming Premises Permit Restriction Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Council directed staff to move forward with an ordinance amendment. 8.3 Local Option Sales Tax Consideration Mayor Dietz discussed the process for implementing the local sales tax option. He expressed the following:  Main concern with the sales tax was whether vehicles were taxed but found they would be exempt.  The local sales taxes currently being collected by surrounding communities.  The amount of revenue generation.  Sales tax would be fairer than a property tax. He provided specific examples of how property taxes would be affected if utilized.  With a local sales tax everyone helps pay for the project.  Seniors buy fewer goods so they would pay less. Mayor Dietz stated he didn’t expect any decisions tonight but wanted to evaluate the option. He further suggested looking beyond the arena, such as park maintenance. Councilmember Westgaard questioned if the tax could be collected for non-specific uses. Councilmember Ovall felt a sales tax would be regressive. He stated it is an undue burden and would put businesses at a competitive disadvantage but at the same time neighboring communities are utilizing it. He stated property owners still have to pay the tax but noted this option does get passed onto tenants. City Council Minutes Page 4 October 16, 2017 ----------------------------- Councilmember Olsen concurred with Mayor Dietz. He noted the property tax was a common concern heard among seniors during the referendum. He stated this may be a better solution and seniors may be more open to accepting it. Councilmember Westgaard stated he didn't realize the sales tax could bring in this amount of money and felt it was substantial enough that Council should evaluate it. Councilmember Ovall questioned if the city is at the point where it has approved spending $25 million to complete the arena project. He stated he hasn’t received any positive feedback for remodeling the arena from any constituents. He noted he gets a lot of comments from people thanking him for not voting for it. He expressed concerns with continuing to move forward when the city does not have a funding source established yet. Councilmember Olsen discussed the urgency needed for planning purposes of the arena noting all the past band-aid expenditures to keep it running. Mayor Dietz stated Council decided to move forward with the arena remodel at its last meeting. Mr. Portner discussed the history of how the Council got to today’s decisions regarding the arena remodel. He stated Council reviewed the arena issues many years ago and consensus then was to replace the facility. He noted the task force was charged, by Council, to look into different levels of replacement for the arena. He discussed the process and decisions of the original task force. He stated the task force’s recommendation, after much community input recommended a multipurpose facility that would encompass all of the city’s park building needs at the same time in order to save money. He discussed the second recommended task force option to look at a hybrid project which included arena replacement and adding as much of the community needs that could fit into the project. He stated Council was asked, this past January, if they wanted to move forward with the second recommendation and they stated yes. Councilmember Ovall noted he was lacking the historical background on this project. Councilmember Westgaard noted the arena has been nearing the end of its lifecycle and been discussed by Council as far back as 2006. He noted Council did nothing regarding the long-term planning of the arena at the time and the issues were brought back again in 2012 as well as discussions about other facility needs. He stated the city is at the point where it has to act now. He noted the Council needed a backup plan if there was a referendum failure. He stated if Council wants to keep operating an arena, it needs to move forward with long-term planning for the facility, similar to how most other city projects require a master plan. Councilmember Wagner stated the arena project should have a larger scope and include other items if the city pursues the sales tax option. She discussed community City Council Minutes Page 5 October 16, 2017 ----------------------------- quality of life and felt other options should be considered. She stated she believes it is in the best interest of the city to improve this faciltiy. She discussed responsibilities to various user groups. Councilmember Ovall understood this was not an all or nothing deal and had questioned at what point Council determined the project be $25 million versus $10 million. He stated he had recalled a previous discussion when Council talked about not having to do as large a project, but now understands more with the background provided tonight. Councilmember Wagner stated the project team will continue to vet the project scope. Mayor Dietz stated he brought forward the local sales tax option because he didn't like the idea of funding it through property taxes. Council directed staff to review the matter further and whether other items can be funded through the sales tax. ------------------------------------------------ Council recessed at 7:15 p.m. in order to go into worksession. Council reconvened at 7:21 p.m. 9.1 Stop Sign Warrants and Crosswalk Locations Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. Council asked how questions related to requests for street signs should be directed. Mr. Femrite stated some questions could be answered with resources such as the city’s website. He further encouraged Council to direct inquiries to staff so each situation could be evaluated. Councilmember Wagner asked if the city could explore other safety features, such as adding flashing beacons to encourage drivers to stop at stop signs. Mr. Femrite noted some safety devices don’t necessarily change a driver’s behaviors and there is no guarantee of added safety versus the money spent for some devices. Mr. Portner discussed other options, such as providing education to the public. Councilmember Wagner noted the school district is doing their part to educate kids about accessing existing crosswalks. She further discussed issues with No passing on shoulder and would like to explore more signage; noting specific issues with Twin Lakes Road and Tyler Street. City Council Minutes Page 6 October 16, 2017 ----------------------------- Mr. Femrite noted how important it is to continue to inform legislators of city transportation issues in order to get improvments. 9.2 Sherburne County Construction Cost Participation Policy Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. Council noted they would like to send positive comments to Sherburne County about how the city appreciates seeing the bituminous bide trail cost participation funding go from zero to 100%. 10. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 7:50 p.m. ___________________ John J. Dietz, Mayor ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk Special Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Thursday, October 26, 2017 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Ovall, Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: Olsen Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, and City Clerk Tina Allard 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Arena Design Team Interviews Council interviewed potential candidates for the ice arena design team as outlined in the staff report. Council thanked everyone for their interest in participating. Councilmember Wagner inquired if the Council would be interested in appointing more than one public representative to the design team. Mayor Dietz noted the Council already approved motions appointing one public representative and one business representative. Councilmember Westgaard stated it can get more difficult and challenging to keep a project moving forward when more people are involved. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to appoint Gunther Sagan as the Parks and Recreation Commission representative for the ice arena design team. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to appoint Dave Williams as the resident-at-large representative for the ice arena design team. Motion carried 3-0. Mayor Dietz abstained citing conflict of interest. City Council Minutes Page 2 October 26, 2017 ----------------------------- Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to appoint Kevin Bergstrom as the business representative for the ice arena design team. Motion carried 4-0. Council thanked everyone again for their interest in this appointment and asked that they continue to keep involved with the process in some capacity. 4. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 6:03 p.m. ___________________ John J. Dietz, Mayor ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk