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08-30-1993 CC MIN . . . MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 1993 Members Present: Mayor Duitsman, Councilmembers Holmgren, Farber, Scheel and Dietz (6:06 p.m.) Members Absent: None Staff Present: Pat Klaers, City Administrator; Sandra Thackeray, City Clerk; Lori Johnson, Finance Director 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 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Duitsman. 2. Consider 8/30/93 City Council Agenda COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO APPROVE THE 8/30/93 CITY AGENDA. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION 4-0. COUNCIL CARRIED 3. Consider 8/23/93 City Council Minutes The word dedication on Page 2 was changed to "indication". COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO APPROVE THE 8/23/93 MINUTES AS AMENDED. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION CARRIED 4-0. CITY COUNCIL MOTION. THE 4.1. Gates Avenue and 5-1/2 street Concerns/Wally Fox Phil Hals indicated that Wally Fox, a neighborhood resident, has requested the City to correct an erosion problem on the east side of Gates Avenue at 5-1/2 Street. Phil Hals indicated that an embankment located between two property owners continues to erode from rain and kids riding their bikes down the embankment. Phil indicated that when the area was developed, the City received only 33 feet of right-of-way which was not adequate space to slope the boulevard area. He indicated that the City is also using a 20 foot utility easement. The City has attempted seeding the area with grass seed, but the neighborhood kids continue to play in the area, which is part of the problem. Phil Hals indicated that there are some options which the Council may want to consider. He indicated that Mr. Fox feels a retaining wall would solve the problem. Phil Hals indicated that he would recommend planting crown vetch, a ground cover. He indicated that a retaining wall could create a problem in the future, especially during snow removal as there would be no area to stack the snow. Councilmember Dietz arrived at this time (6:06 p.m.). . . . Elk River city Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 2 Wally Fox indicated that his biggest concern is that he has received no response from the City staff or City Council regarding this problem within the last two years. He indicated that since the City tried to correct the problem by grading the area and planting grass seed it has gotten worse. He further indicated he did not feel that crown vetch is the solution. He further stated that the neighborhood would be willing to maintain whatever the City did to correct the problem. Councilmember Holmgren indicated that he that it is an odd situation. He solution would be some type of retaining has seen the area and feels indicated that the only type of wall. councilmember Farber suggested terracing the area. Phil Hals indicated that because the terraced area would encroach on private property, it would be necessary to receive the property owners consent prior to terracing the area. Councilmember Holmgren suggested that Phil Hals discuss the situation with the two property owners to see if they would be agreeable to the City building a retaining wall. The City Administrator indicated that the utility easement is located on private property and cautioned the Council that they may be setting a precedent if the City constructs an improvement on private property by terracing or building a retaining wall. Councilmember Holmgren reiterated that this is an odd situation and probably would not happen in any other area of the City. The City Administrator also questioned whether the kids would continue to ride their bikes through the area if the area were terraced. He indicated that if this were the case, the City may have to look at ways of stopping the kids from riding in the terraced area. Mayor Duitsman indicated that he is concerned with spending City money on private property and wants to make sure that the solution does not create a possible detriment to the area. Wally Fox indicated that he is only asking the City to put the retaining wall on the City property. Councilmember Scheel stated that it is not a City responsibility to maintain private property or to keep kids out of residential back yards. Wally Fox questioned whether he could promise neighbors a solution tonight. Mayor Duitsman stated that the solution, at a minimum, would be crown vetch planted in the area. It was the consensus of the Council to authorize Phil Hals to further research this matter by discussing the matter with the two property owners and to bring it back to the Council on september 13th. . . . Elk River city Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 3 4.2. Consider Resolution Certificates Awarding the Sale of the 1993 Equipment Lori Johnson, Finance Director, explained that as part of the budget process, the City Council has approved capital outlay expenditures to be financed by Equipment Certificates. She stated that the 1993 budget included $108,700 of authorized capital outlay expenditures. Lori Johnson indicated that the Bank of Elk River has offered to purchase the certificate at an interest rate of 5% over five years. Mayor Duitsman questioned how much money was left in the Contingency Fund and indicated that he would prefer to reduce or discontinue the use of the Equipment Certificates. Pat Klaers stated that $78,000 was budgeted in the Contingency Fund and, as of to date, approximately $62,000 has been used. It was the consensus of the Council that the Contingency Fund would not be used for Equipment Certificates in 1993, but that the City would try to begin phasing out Equipment Certificates starting in 1994. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 93-42, A RESOLUTION AWARDING THE SALE OF THE CITY'S $109,500 GENERAL OBLIGATION EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATE OF 1993, FIXING ITS FORM AND SPECIFICATIONS, DIRECTING ITS EXECUTION AND DELIVERY, AND PROVIDING FOR ITS PAYMENT. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4.3. Bingo License for the Church of St. Andrew The City Clerk stated that the Church of St. Andrew has made application for a license to operate bingo. She stated that the request is for an exemption from lawful gambling license as the bingo activity will be held on one day only. COUNCILMEMBER SCHEEL MOVED TO APPROVE FROM LAWFUL GAMBLING LICENSE BY THE COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4.4. Jarvis Street Change Order The city Administrator indicated that the City Council recently approved a bid for an overlay project on 165th Avenue between the RDF Plant and the eastern City limits. He stated that the street/Park Superintendent has advised him that this bid is very competitive. Phil Hals, Street/Park Superintendent, indicated that due to the low price of the bid, he is requesting the Council to consider a change order which would include an overlay of Jarvis Street. The City Administrator indicated that because a section of Jarvis Street borders the City of Ramsey, he has requested that the City of Ramsey consider contributing to the project. Councilmember Scheel indicated that she would be hesitant to start the project until she received a commitment from Ramsey regarding their participation in the cost. She indicated she is not in favor of Elk . . . Elk River City Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 4 River paying for the portion of bituminous road which is owned by the City of Ramsey. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO OVERLAY THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF JARVIS STREET AND TO DELAY THE OVERLAY ON THE REST OF JARVIS STREET UNTIL THE CITY RECEIVES AN ANSWER FROM THE CITY OF RAMSEY REGARDING THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE COST. COUNCILMEMBER FARBER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. It was the consensus that the funds for the project would come from the Street Reserve Fund. 6. Council Updates Councilmember Scheel indicated that she would like a report on the fall clean up day that Gary Schmitz is working on. She also indicated that she would like to see the City of Elk River work toward having a compost program. She suggested that one of the farmers participating in the Farmer's Market be contacted to see if they would agree to having a compost pile at their farm. She further indicated that a one day leaf pick up is not acceptable and would like to work toward other options. Councilmember Farber indicated he had heard that Elk River Landfill had expressed an interest as a hazardous material drop off site. Pat Klaers indicated that there will be a hazardous material drop off day held in St. Cloud. Councilmembers Farber and Scheel indicated that it is not fair to Elk River residents to have to drive that far and it would be best if we could have a site or event closer to Elk River. 7. Other Business/Staff Updates Pat Klaers, City Administrator, indicated that Maier Stewart has put together plans for realignment of 221st Avenue. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO AUTHORIZE PLANS AND AVENUE. COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ SECONDED THE MOTION. 5-0. SPECS FOR 221ST THE MOTION CARRIED Councilmember Dietz Team USA, with a Councilmember Dietz correct the matter. indicat~d he was contacted by Reg Powell, owner of compla~nt of sand washing into his parking lot. requested Phil Hals to contact Reg Powell and to Councilmember Dietz indicated that a resident of Troy Street, located by Wapiti Park, will be contacting Phil Hals regarding a petition for the City to acquire Troy St~eet as a City street. . . . Elk River City Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 5 Councilmember Farber questioned when available to the Deerfield water problems. problem solved as soon as possible. there would be He indicated he a solution wanted the 7. 1994 Budget Worksession 7.1. Introduction The City Administrator financial issues that Elk years. Most of these local government funding commitments from the state. reviewed with River has had to previous issues formulas and the City Council some of the deal with over the past few related to the state changing mid-year cuts on funding A discussion took place regarding levy limits in previous years and its affect on the overall City tax rate. It was noted that levy limits were removed for the 1993 budget and are still removed for the 1994 budget. The main issue facing the City Council in considering the 1994 budget is providing adequate funding for new programs and personnel and not having this adequate funding issue result in a major tax increase. 7.2. 1993 Status The City Administrator briefly reviewed the status of the 1993 general fund budget. It was indicated that revenues are expected to exceed projections due to an increase in development activity. It was also indicated that it is very early in the year to be making year end expenditure projections, but that nothing unusual has taken place at this point. The City Administrator reminded the City Council of action taken by the County and by the City regarding the urban and rural taxing districts. It was noted that the rural tax rate went down significantly in 1993 due to classification changes at the County. This major decrease has been corrected by the City Council through an adjustment in the urban and rural taxing ratio. This change will result in a 37% rural tax rate increase even if no other changes take place. On an $86,000 home, this results in a $49.00 tax increase in the rural rate. The rural taxing rate decreased by approximately 25% in 1993. 7.3. 1994 Special Revenue Funds The City Administrator reviewed with the City Council the proposed 1994 special revenue funds. These funds include the library, equipment certificate, landfill, HRA, EDA, and special assessment budgets. The library, equipment certificate, and special assessment budgets are part of the City tax levy. The landfill budget is financed from the landfill surcharge and the EDA and HRA budgets are financed by special levies. No major changes were reflected in the library budget although the reserve for the future building project decreased slightly. . . . Elk River City Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 6 Regarding the equipment certificate budget, the Council discussed overall goal of reducing the City's use of this financing tool. number of sirens and police vehicles were discussed. the The Regarding the landfill budget, questions were raised regarding the estimates for environmental and legal services related to landfill activity. Discussion also took place regarding the transfers out to the general fund. The Council indicated its support for the HRA levy and its plans for redevelopment activities in 1994. It was noted that the reserve for future projects would be less due to a request to spend some money in 1993 on the Chuba project. The Council reviewed the EDA budget and offered no comments. Regarding the special assessment budget, it was noted that the total payment is down in 1994, but that payments in 1994 include assessments for the first time for the Meadowvale Heights Park land. 7.4. 1994 Expenditures The City Administrator discussed the overall need to control expenditures when putting together the municipal budget. It was indicated that a number of the new programs were being proposed in 1994 as well as a number of new staffing positions. It was noted that consistent with past years, the personal services category is about two-thirds of the total expenditures. Also noted was the fact that.. the capital outlay expenditures are proposed to increase by almost 100% and now are projected to be about 7% of the total general fund expenditures. This increase is in addition to the 50% increase that took place last year in this category. The general fund $3,518,100. This is budget. This is budget gap between $145,800. expenditures are proposed in the amount of a $511,700 or 17% increase over the adopted 1993 approximately 5% more than projected revenues. The proposed expenditures and available revenues is The $511,700 increase can mostly be found in the personal services increase of $320,000 and the capital outlay increase of $116,000. By category, the major increases are in police ($171,500), fire ($93,700) planning and building and zoning ($112,850), administration ($69,650), parks ($17,250) and recreation ($25,200). Each individual department budget was reviewed by the Council. Highlights discussed by the Council include the following: - the shifting of some of the expenses from the economic development budget to the EDA budget the increases in the administration/finance department personal services area . . . Elk River City Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 7 the changes in the building and zoning department and the addition of a housing inspector - the creation of the planning department and the addition of a intern the addition of the D.A.R.E. officer and another police officer in the police department budget along with the increase in the police capital outlay budget due to the radio purchase last yea~ the adjustment of the fire chief's time in the fire and emergency preparedness budgets the increase in the capital outlay requests in the fire department budget including the request for a reserve for the 1998 pumper and the improvements to the 1981 equipment van - the request for including a tractor in the parks budget and the use of equipment reserves to finance this purchase, as recommended by the Park and Recreation Commission the increase in the recreation programming budget - the decrease in the City Council contingency fund. Throughout the presentation of the general fund expenditures, a number of items were noted by the City Council as possible cuts in order to balance the budget. 7.5. 1994 Revenues The City Administrator distributed the proposed 1994 revenues and the affect of the projected increased tax revenues on the local tax rates. It was the consensus of the City Council to begin the next budget worksession with a discussion on the revenues. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN MOVED TO AMEND THE MOTION CALLING THE SPECIAL MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER 7, 1993, AT 6:00 P.M., BY CHANGING THE TIME TO 4:30 P.M. COUNCILMEMBER SCHEEL SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. COUNCILMEMBER SCHEEL MOVED TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1993, AT 6:00 P.M., TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED 1994 BUDGET. COUNCILMEMBER HOLMGREN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. . . . Elk River City Council Meeting August 30, 1993 Page 8 8. Adjournment There being THE MEETING. CARRIED 5-0. no further business, COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ MOVED TO ADJOURN COUNCILMEMBER SCHEEL SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION The meeting of the Elk River City Council was adjourned at 11:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, J M1-clA C\. m C<-C/UA CU-{, Sandra Thackeray (J~ City Clerk