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4.1. DRAFT MINUTES (2 SETS) 12-03-2018 Meeting of the Elk River City Council Acting as the Canvassing Board Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, November 14, 2018 Members Present: Acting Mayor Jerry Olsen, Councilmembers Matt Westgaard and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: Mayor John Dietz and Councilmember Nate Ovall Staff Present: 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 5:03 p.m. by Acting Mayor Olsen. 2. Canvass Results of November 6, 2018 General Election Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt Resolution 18-60 of the Abstract of votes cast in the precincts of the City of Elk River, State of Minnesota for the November 6, 2018 General Election. Motion carried 3-0. 3. Adjournment Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adjourn the meeting of the Canvassing Board. Motion carried 3-0. ___________________ John J. Dietz, Mayor ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, November 19, 2018 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Jerry Olsen, Nate Ovall, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Planning Manager Zack Carlton, Senior Planner Chris Leeseberg, Finance Director Lori Ziemer, Economic Development Specialist Colleen Eddy, City Attorney Peter Beck, 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 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider November 19, 2018, Agenda Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the November 19, 2018, agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consider Consent Agenda Mr. Portner noted a change to Item 4.9 as shown in the updated staff report. Mayor Dietz stated he received an email today regarding more junk at the Tipton Circle property starting to pile up again. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the following consent agenda: 4.1 November 5, 2018, regular, special, and closed minutes. 4.2 Check register, check numbers 9958 and 108355-108520 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Hire Mark Dickinson as fire chief effective November 26, 2018. 4.4 Contract 18-12 Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Agreement. 4.5 Bid from Pederson Companies, Inc., in the amount of $325,076.80 to dredge Phase 2 portion of the Lion John Weicht Park Pond. 4.6 Pay estimates as outlined in the staff report. City Council Minutes Page 2 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- 4.7 Cancel special assessments for connection to city water and sewer for th 10714 175 Avenue NW. 4.8 Resolution 18-61 adopting and levying assessments for costs incurred to connect to city sanitary sewer lines. 4.9 Resolution 18-62 adopting and levying assessments for abatement of city code violations as shown in updated staff report. 4.10 Resolution 18-63 adopting and levying assessment for unpaid electric services as of September 30, 2018. 4.11 Resolution 18-64 adopting and levying assessment for unpaid garbage collection services as of September 1, 2018. Resolution 18-65 adopting and levying assessment for unpaid sewer services as of September 30, 2018. 4.12 Resolution 18-66 adopting and levying assessment for unpaid stormwater fees as of September 30, 2018. 4.13 Resolution 18-67 adopting and levying assessment for unpaid water utility as of September 30, 2018. 4.14 Appoint Dan Tveite to Economic Development Authority to December 31, 2020, Larry Toth to Housing and Redevelopment Authority to December 31, 2023, and Rita Dreissig and Carole Boelter to Library Board to December 31, 2021. 4.15 Hire Nathan Moore as Community Service Officer I effective November 20, 2018. 4.16 Recommendations of the Energy City Commission as outlined in their September 10, 2018, memo to City Council as shown in the staff report. Motion carried 5-0. 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 Volunteer of the Month Mayor Dietz presented the November Volunteer of the Month award to Pat Rishavy. He highlighted the following:  Assist seniors at Activity Center with computer issues  Assists with Sherburne County United Way  Volunteers at the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office  Volunteered nearly 200 hours at the Sherburne History Center  Worked with Friends of the Library  Volunteers at CAER food shelf 6.2 2018 Beautification Awards Ms. Eddy presented the staff report. She thanked the Beautuficaiton Committee for their work throughout the year. Elk River Senior Living and the Freeport Business Center were recognized at tonight’s meeting. City Council Minutes Page 3 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- 7.1 Conditional Use Permit to Operate a Microbrewery, Aegir Brewing Co. LLC 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 Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to approve Conditional Use Permit 18-17 for a microbrewery at 19050 Industrial Blvd as the standards set forth in Section 30- 654 have been satisfied and with the following condition: 1. The Conditional Use Permit shall not be recorded until the building official and fire marshal have inspected, and signed off on, the building for compliance with all state and local building codes. 2. All state alcohol licenses and regulations are satisfied. Motion carried 5-0. 7.2 Zone Change: Townhouse/Multiple Family Residential (R3) to Multiple Families Residential (R4), Vinje Investments LLC Mr. Leeseberg presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. Rob Rydberg, 13470 180 Circle - Stated the applicant was going to try and get to this meeting as soon as he could in case there were any questions for him. Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Councilmember Westgaard questioned previous ownership of the property by the city. Staff explained the property was acquired by the city via tax forfeiture for parkland but was no longer needed so it reverted back to the tax rolls. Councilmember Wagner questioned if a Planned Unit Development (PUD) could be required noting resident concerns, zero lot line development, and impeding views of adjacent apartment building residents. Mayor Dietz noted this area was very controversial a few years back due to a different development project for mini-storage. Attorney Beck stated the city amended its ordinance to remove mini-storage from the R3 District but noted it is allowable under the R4 District. He stated the city City Council Minutes Page 4 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- can’t zone the area PUD, but could deny the applicant’s request and let the applicant know they would prefer to see a planned development. He noted a PUD is a zoning district, but in order to get it, the applicant would also be required to apply for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Mayor Dietz concurred with Councilmember Wagner and expressed concerns with leaving the options to the applicant wide open. He noted the applicant is proposing an apartment building but he was concerned about the other uses under the R4 District. Attorney Beck stated, per current zoning, the only use allowed are townhomes and multi-family dwellings and other uses would require a CUP. He noted if an application came forward for another use, the Council would need legally sufficient reasons to support denial. Mayor Dietz stated he would like to see a condition for screening requirements. Councilmember Wagner questioned how screening would work with the lot line expressing concerns about the number of individuals affected at the back part of the adjacent apartment complex. She questioned if Council can require a developer not to put a unit at a certain location due to the closeness of an adjacent complex. Attorney Beck noted Council can’t put conditions on rezoning but could provide staff direction for the future application. He stated if there is significant concern and Council wants a chance to look at the project, the course of action would be to deny the rezoning to R4 so the applicant could bring forward a PUD. Councilmember Ovall noted there are setback requirements and the zero lot line in this case refers to common walls within townhomes. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt Ordinance 18-15 to rezone certain property from Townhouse/ Multiple Family Residential (R3) to Multiple Family Residential (R4). Motion carried 5-0. 7.3 River Walk Apartments – 17354 Zane Street NW A. Right-of-way Vacation: Zane Street NW B. Simple Plat: River Walk C. Zone Change: FAST (The Point) to PUD D. Conditional Use Permit to Establish a Planned Unit Development Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to: A. Continue, by motion, the public hearing to vacate a portion of the Zane Street Right-of-Way to the December 17, 2018, Council meeting. City Council Minutes Page 5 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- B. Continue, by motion, the public hearing for Simple Plat to the December 17, 2018, Council meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to: C. Continue, by motion, the public hearing for a Zone Change to the January 22, 2019, Council meeting as the Commission has not made a recommendation regarding this item. D. Continue, by motion, the public hearing for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a PUD to the January 22, 2019, City Council meeting as the Planning Commission has not made a recommendation regarding this item. Motion carried 5-0. 8. General Business Call Closed Meeting Mr. Portner stated he has been meeting with the various union representatives and would like Council to add a closed meeting to the December 3 regular Council meeting night. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to call a closed meeting for December 3, 2018, after the Council regularly scheduled meeting is completed. Motion carried 5-0. Council recessed at 6:26 p.m. in order to go into worksession. Council reconvened at 6:29 p.m. 9.1 Concept Review: Enerkem Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz questioned if the city would sends its residential garbage to this facility. He also questioned where they would get the garbage tonnage. Mr. Carlton stated he doesn’t have an answer for this question. Matt Herman, GRE representative, stated they have been partnering with Enerkem and are not exactly sure what the future would hold. He stated they are excited about Enerkem technology as the next step in waste processing. He stated they will process about 310,000 tons of waste at their facility this year and burn about 300,000 tons at the waste-to-energy facility. He stated they are reviewing the possibility of bringing in more garbage to the processing facility and transferring some of it to the Enerkem City Council Minutes Page 6 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- process and some to waste-to-energy. He stated the waste to energy processing has capacity of 550,000 tons per year. He stated this would be a complementary project to Great River Energy (GRE). Mayor Dietz questioned if GRE would be selling to Enerkem. Mr. Herman stated there are many possible scenarios and partnership options. He noted there is a county board meeting tomorrow and hopes to learn if they have more time to bring all the partners together. He stated they have working toward identifying public/private owners for the facility. Mayor Dietz questioned if Mr. Herman would envision Elk River’s garbage going to this facility. Mr. Herman stated yes along with other communities’ garbage. David McConnell, Enerkem representative – Stated it would take about two years for their facility to be operational due to design, construction, and permitting. Councilmember Westgaard stated he has no issues with the concept in terms of finding a way to process waste into reusable products and it fits with Energy City. He expressed concerns with the heavy industrial component but also noted it can be hard to find uses who want to locate near a rail line. He expressed concerns with the height of the stacks and the location at the city gateway, noting he wouldn’t want it to appear as a distraction. He stated it makes sense to put it next to the RDF plant. Councilmember Ovall stated he is okay with the concept but expressed concerns with the facility’s end of life cycle and the need for an exit plan. Mayor Dietz stated he is interested in the concept but cautions about past history when GRE was built and a lot of controversy in the community. He stated they would need to be sensitive to the public regarding environmental effects. Attorney Beck noted it would take four Council votes to amend the Comprehensive Plan so if Council is not in agreement now, they should express it. There was discussion about creating a new zoning district for a bio refinery type use. Mr. McConnell stated they put together a community outreach program in order to understand the type of opposition they would receive. He stated they will not move if Council has no interest in the project. Councilmember Ovall questioned if there would be any gas burn off. He stated he likes the concept and the idea due to the energy city tie-in. He expressed concerns about appearance, the height of the structure, and light pollution. City Council Minutes Page 7 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- Mr. McConnell stated there is no gas burn off as there are internal gasifiers and the light pollution would be minimal. Council consensus was to move forward and explore the Enerkem project further. Mr. McConnell thanked staff for their time and support in guiding him through this project. 9.2 2019 Budget Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz questioned if the $55,000 could be designated to the Park Improvement Fund. Staff noted it could be designated for a variety of items. Councilmember Westgaard stated it would help solve the Council’s goal of establishing a sinking fund, whether used for parks, fleet, or government buildings. He stated he likes the idea to leave the preliminary tax rate and to start building the sinking fund. Councilmember Ovall concurred he would like to build a reserve and would like to see it stay in the Government Building Reserve fund. Council consensus was to leave the tax rate at 45.467. 9.3 Recognition of Volunteers Ms. Allard presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz asked about creating a database and questioned if parks and recreation staff could pull it together. Ms. Allard noted the city has a volunteer coordinator too who could possibly put a database together. Mayor Dietz stated the dinner was not well-attended but Council has intentions to appreciate and recognize its city volunteers. He stated he liked the idea of sending everyone a $5 gift option. Councilmember Wagner liked the idea of sending everyone a thank you letter signed personally by the Councilmembers. Mayor Dietz noted most volunteers don’t expect a gift. City Council Minutes Page 8 November 19, 2018 ----------------------------- Councilmember Westgaard suggested using Chamber Bucks because they could be used anywhere. Council liked the idea because it also promotes local businesses. Council consensus was to do a letter along with $5 in Chamber Bucks. 10. Performance Evaluation Mayor Dietz stated the City Council will be adjourning its regular meeting and going into a closed meeting pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subdivision 3(a). The purpose of the closed meeting is to discuss the work performance of City Administrator Cal Portner. Council recessed at 7:20 p.m. Council reconvened at 7:22 p.m. in order to conduct the performance evaluation. 11. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 9:30 p.m. ___________________ John J. Dietz, Mayor ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk