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02-03-2020 Regular CCMMeeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, February 3, 2020 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Nate Ovall, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Planning Manager Zack Carlton, Recreation Manager Steve Benoit, Fire Chief Mark Dickenson, Assistant City Engineer Jenna Fabish, Stormwater Coordinator Brandon Wisner, Environmental Coordinator Amanda Erickson, and Recording Secretary Jennifer Green I . Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:33 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to approve: 4.1 January 21, 2020, Minutes. 4.2 Check register, check numbers 113350-113494 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Amendment to the Preliminary Development Agreement 2020-01 with Modern Construction extending the Term of Agreement from February 3, 2020, to June 1, 2020, as outlined in the staff report. 4.4 Resolution 20-08 acknowledging donations to the Police Department as outlined in the staff report. 4.5 Hire Park Maintenance Worker Jared DeBoer to the position of park maintenance worker effective Tuesday, February 4, 2020, part of the IUOE Local 49 and all pay and benefits are consistent with union City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 2 contract and city policy. 4.6 Hire Wastewater Operator Andrew Kitzman to the position of wastewater operator effective February 10, 2020, with a starting pay at Step B. Motion carried 5-0. S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 County Prosecutor and City Attorney Report City Attorney Scott Baumgartner presented his report. He noted defendants who enter a guilty plea at arraignment aren't reflected in these statistics, such as the misdemeanor DWIs and thefts, which showed a decrease in cases from the prior year. He discussed the adult diversion program cases and while the numbers don't appear to be promising, he felt it was a good program for first time offenders. He commended the Elk River Police Department and felt the officer's report writing was excellent and thorough, which may indicate another reason for the decline in cases continuing past arraignment. Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney was unable to attend the meeting. 6.2 Retirement Recognition: Tim Marchiafava for 17 Year of Service Chief Dickenson highlighted the service of Tim Marchiafava at the Fire Department. Mayor Dietz presented him with a plaque. 6.3 Oath of Office for Firefighters Mayor Dietz administered the oath of office to Jena Murray, Jake DeMarre, and Gordon Myette. 7.1. Copart Phase II — 75-712-0010, 75-712-0030, & 75-712-0040 ■ Easement Vacation: Right of Way, Case No. ■ Simple Plat: Cascade Industrial Park Third Addition, Case No. ■ Conditional Use Permit to Operate a Salvage Yard, Case No. CU 19-09 Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Mayor Dietz asked for clarification on the traffic study and where vehicles would experience a decrease in traffic flow. Mr. Carlton indicated most of the traffic would be traveling from the Twin Cities. 0 1 E I E I I r NATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 3 He stated most of the traffic would experience increased wait times when leaving the facility to cross and turn left at Jarvis onto eastbound Highway 10. Councilmember Westgaard stated the environmental, stormwater pond and transportation connections to the property to the east have all been addressed. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to adopt Resolution 20-09 vacating portions of the right-of-way dedicated with the plat of Cascade Industrial Park under the condition that the plat of Cascade Industrial Park Third Addition is approved by the City Council. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt Resolution 20-10 approving the plat of Cascade Industrial Park Third Addition with the following conditions: 1. The resolution vacating the right-of-way dedicated in the plat of Cascade Industrial Park must be recorded before the plat. 2. Park Dedication shall be paid prior to releasing the plat for recording — currently 6% of county assessed value or $65,681. 3. The applicant must extend 163rd Ave. NW approximately 600 feet to provide access for the vacant developable parcel west of the project area. 4. A Development Agreement must be signed by the city and developer prior to releasing the final plat for recording. 5. A Letter of Credit shall be provided to the city in the amount of 100% of the costs of the public improvements. 6. Upon completion of all improvements and acceptance by the city, a security or warranty in a form acceptable to the Public Works Director must be secured. 7. Any item or condition found that indicates the site is likely to yield information important to pre -history or history shall be reported to the city immediately. Further, the city reserves the right to stop work authorized in its approval until the site is appropriately investigated and work is authorized. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to approve the Conditional Use Permit authorizing operation of a salvage yard on PIDs 75-712-0010, 75-712-0030, & 75-712-0040, with the following conditions: 1. Staff approval of a site plan showing the presence of an approved surface (bituminous, class 5, or concrete) on all driving and parking areas. 2. All fencing shall be green in color in order to reduce visual impacts around the property. -'O-J 3. Follow the 2015 Minnesota State Fire Code Appendix D for Fire rI 0 1 E N E 1 e r ATUR City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 4 Apparatus Access Roads. 4. Follow all city stormwater management practices and procedures established as part of phase 1 of the Copart project. 5. Amend the current NPDES permit to include both phases. 6. Staff approval of a vehicle staging plan. Parking, stalling and staging will not be permitted on Jarvis Street,163rd Ave., or 165th Ave. or any other rights -of -way. 7. City ordinance requires one tree per 40 linear feet of perimeter, plus three more. This results in a requirement for 134 trees (50% deciduous, 25% evergreen, and 25% ornamental). Credits will be given for any trees that will remain on the property after construction. Submit a landscape plan demonstrating compliance with the ordinance. Motion carried 5-0. 8.1 Lake Orono Drawdown Requirement Mr. Wisner presented the staff report and provided the latest preliminary 50% design layouts from WSB. He discussed specific areas of the plan in detail and noted most of the work would be done in the upper area of the lake, where sand and other sediment initially fall out. He stated the plans show creating deeper basins in this area that will collect the sediment and thereby allowing those pools to be dredged intermittently every few years, allowing for long-term maintenance of the lake. He discussed a channel placed in front of Guardian Angels on the Lake, providing access along the shoreline which was suggested by the DNR. He said allowing the creation of channels will allow people to get out to the main lake while still protecting wildlife habitats. The northeast corner of the lake near Concord Street and Islandview Drive will be subject to a blanket dredge area, as it's extremely shallow and not easily navigable. The area south of Highway 10 near Simonet Point has experienced erosion over the past few years. He stated staff has not had direct contact with that property owner, but the owner has shown interest in doing some erosion control so there's a partnership potential to assist in stabilization of the point. Near the Highway 10/Simonet channel, he said the bay is also shallow and has springs flowing into this area. The area could receive some habitat improvements as well as potential dredging. He said one potential discussed with these plans is the idea to do significant habitat improvements such as rock cobble beds for spawning. The location of these improvements would be somewhere adjacent to public land and not in front of private lakeshore property. He noted these suggestions are a result of comments received over the past few years along with information from the 1998 dredging project. Mayor Dietz asked if the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reviews these plans. Mr. Wisner stated the DNR does review the plans and indicated that while the Pernik application process isn't 100% clear, staff would like to submit this plan later this month and include any additional adjustments as needed, noting the review rp 0 1 E 0 E 1 I Y NATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 5 process can take up to six months. He stated staff has worked enough with the DNR to know what they don't want to see in a plan and what they are in favor of seeing. Mayor Dietz asked what groups staff has been working with to gather information. Mr. Wisner stated city staff has worked with the Orono Lake Improvement District (OLID) and the Water Quality Committee, and there are two lake property owners who also sit on the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) that gather comments from various lakeshore residents and provide those to staff. Most of those comments were incorporated with the plan. He stated there will be a public open house. He stressed from day one they wanted this project to remain transparent and the goal was to find an overall good project for everyone. Ms. Erickson discussed next steps in the permitting process with an updated timeline to include a public open house scheduled for March. WSB would then provide the city with 90% plans that will have incorporated the TAP and open house feedback. She stated because of no response from DNR Commissioner Strommen, after a formal letter requesting the drawdown was sent in August 2019, the city's local DNR Area Hydrologist felt the 75% support from lakeshore property owners would probably be required. She reviewed the lakeshore groups' letter requesting the city again request direct approval from the commissioner and additionally to consider an opt -out direct mail option for the drawdown as seen in other DNR projects. Ms. Erickson explained the opt -out process with the city sending a direct mailing to each lakeshore property owner with language stating if they're not in support of the drawdown to mail it back saying they're not in support. She stated this route would be taken rather than going door-to-door collecting signatures in support of a drawdown. She said they would work with the city attorney to draft proper language and provide a proper deadline. Mayor Dietz asked if based upon the conversations she's had with the lake groups did she feel they were confident there was 75% of lakeshore property owners in favor of the drawdown. Ms. Erickson stated based upon their feedback she stated they are hopeful and confident there's enough in support of the drawdown. She indicated there have been numerous meetings both with the city and on their own and the topic of the drawdown itself has not been discussed as a negative. She indicated the drawdown would likely occur in September. Councilmember Christianson asked for clarification that without the 75% the drawdown would not occur and therefore the entire project would not happen. Ms. Erickson indicated in theory yes. She stated the DNR commissioner signing off would be most preferred. Mayor Dietz stated the council knows the DNR commissioner personally and is wondering why she's not responding. P O N E 8 1 0 1 i iNATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 6 Ms. Erickson stated she's received no real direct reason why the city hasn't received a response which is the reason for tonight's resolution and letter of support from the City council, which would perhaps provide more weight. She indicated because of the tight deadlines, if it is required to gain signatures by doing door-to-door to obtain support, that's what would be done. Councilmember Wagner expressed her concerns with the opt -out method, stating she wondered if the message would be clear enough and if relying upon a mailing will be informative and reliable enough, as it could potentially kill the entire project. She felt gaining support by going door-to-door would provide a better outcome. Councilmember Westgaard stated the opt -out method shifts the responsibility to the property owners who don't want the project to happen. He stated all the planning and educating to discuss the benefits of this project improving the quality of Lake Orono could all be for nothing and much hinges on it. He was in support of asking the DNR commissioner to sign off on the permit with option two to approve the opt -out method and hopefully get a timely response. Mayor Dietz asked if the opt -out method didn't provide the necessary 75% response in support, can they still get signatures in support? Ms. Erickson stated no. Councilmember Christianson asked Patrick Plant from the OLID board if they feel confident that the groups have 75% in support. Mr. Plant stated yes, but as stated in the letter the signature collection process as done in previous drawn downs was slow and took over a year, which is why the opt - out option is appealing. Mayor Dietz asked if there's a segment of people against this that would mount a campaign to send out an opt -out form. Mr. Plant stated he didn't feel that would be the case. He stated with the numerous information sessions, public hearing for the OLID board, the LORE was a dominant topic there, including people against the assessment, but they weren't ever against the drawdown. He stated the most cost-effective way to address the dredging project and to kill the curly leaf pond weed is best done by drawdown and freeze, but he noted a hydraulic removal could be pursued and that doesn't require a permit. Councilmember Ovall felt this is risky if this one-time vote doesn't pass and it could withhold future improvements. He wondered if there was a waiting period before taking future action. Mr. Plant didn't know how long a set of signatures were valid but thought perhaps a year. I 0■EIEI I INATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 7 Mr. Wisner stated he also assumes a year makes the most sense, but they couldn't find anything in state statute. Councilmember Christianson asked how long a timeline would the lakeshore property owners have to respond to the opt -out letter. Mr. Wisner stated he wasn't sure but felt at least 30 days for a response. Ms. Erickson stated the DNR and the city attorney would assist staff in drafting those letters and time requirements. Mayor Dietz stated he could see the doubt in this route, but he had faith in the OLID Board as they know the lake people better than we do. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve Resolution 20-11 to support the Request to the Department of Natural Resources Commissioner regarding the drawdown of Lake Orono. Motion carried 5-0. 8.2 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz received a request from Stacey Sheetz, Elks Girls Softball Coach to request a softball field plaque discussion for Gwen Morehead, Faye Jacobson, and Loretta Moos who were heavily involved in the softball program and possibly naming the fields after them. Councilmember Westgaard asked to discuss modifications to the multipurpose facility advisory commission. 8.3 Hillside Park Access Change Update Ms. Fabish presented the staff report and distributed a handout outlining and evaluating access comparing options for proposed Hillside Park access driveway relocation. Mayor Dietz stated Parks and Recreation Commissioner Dave Anderson would like to present and discuss another possibility. Mr. Anderson stated he and Commissioner Mike Niziolek spent time over the past weekend evaluating the possibility of using the powerline corridor which is owned by the city. He noted they visited the site and stated it's a very open, flat area. He expressed concerns with the suddenness of determining the best long-term solution for relocation of the Hillside Park access, noting there is no city funding available for P 0 1 E'R E 1 8 1 NATUREI City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 8 constructing a new access point and not much time to thoughtfully consider what is the best and most cost-efficient solution. He indicated he still prefers the Tyler Street option over the others, but he would really support the council asking Sherburne County officials for more time to make such a big decision. Ms. Fabish explained this powerline location and indicated the city owns the parcel located east of Tyler Street which would provide access to the powerline property. She stated it would also create a traffic pattern through the neighborhood. The council discussed the increase in traffic in the neighborhood for the powethne corridor option, and more traffic than the Tyler Drive option. Mayor Dietz was opposed to the Trott Brook option as it would have great impacts on the Area 4 mountain bike trails and tear down hundreds of trees in the upper end of the park, as well as impact three private property owners. Councilmember Ovall commented that perhaps the city doesn't have much of a say in this and all this time, energy, and expense is for nothing as this may be just be the way it may need to be. Councilmember Wagner asked if the city could request Sherburne County for more time to consider options. Ms. Fabish stated the council could provide staff with the direction to request additional time for consideration of options. Mayor Dietz was in support of requesting more time to research the power line option to determine if it's feasible and legal. He stated if additional time isn't allowed or the city can't determine another feasible option, he would rather have the right -in right -out option be installed, at the county's expense, and that this allows the city more time to study other options. Ms. Fabish stated the county indicated they will be contacting property owners adjacent to the proposed road improvements to discuss anticipated permanent or temporary easement impacts that will be required as a part of the project and staff anticipates these easements being presented at a future Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council meetings for consideration. Councilmember Wagner stated she agrees with Mayor Dietz's comments. She asked about the option of a left -turn lane where the median is installed from County Road 12 into the Hillside Park entrance. Ms. Fabish indicated the county's access spacing guidelines wouldn't allow this due to safety and mobility concerns. Councilmember Wagner stated it also doesn't make sense to have traffic make a U- turn at County Road 12 to enter the park as it would be such a short distance to p 0 1 1 R I I I NATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 9 make a right turn out of Hillside and move over three lanes of traffic to make a U- turn to return to Highway 169. She does like the idea of the powerline option, but the cost may be more than anticipated. Councilmember Christianson asked if the Tyler Street access would have to be paved or could be graveled to keep costs lower. Ms. Fabish stated past practice has been to pave unpaved lots and add curb and gutter when lots are improved. Mr. Portner stated if the Tyler Street option was chosen, the location of the lot would be closer to a neighborhood and traffic would create dust especially during heavy summertime park use. He explained gravel parking lots can also be misused. Mayor Dietz asked if a parking lot could be paved using funds from the pavement management fund. Mr. Portner stated he and City Engineer Justin Femrite have been discussing a plan regarding a long-term solution to trail maintenance and to make parking lot improvements transparent. He noted council gave staff direction to utilize excess funds for repairs as collected through the pavement management program, but these funds didn't allow for building new parking lots. He stated there is a street improvement fund from past assessment collections with a fund balance which has already been utilized for parking -type improvements but asked for council consideration to utilize the fund to establish the base parking lot for this park and the Youth Athletic Complex. He stated an annual analysis would then be done to determine a management plan for sidewalks and trails and move those excess funds over for that use. He felt this would provide the transparency needed for use of these funds and be consistent with current city ordinances. Mayor Dietz asked staff to continue exploring the feasibility of the powerline option and bring the information to the council. He also suggested more time from County. Mr. Portner noted Sherburne County's final plan requires council approval. It was the consensus of the Council to request additional time from Sherburne County to develop plans to relocate the entrance to Hillside Park and for staff to continue researching the powerline easement option and bring back information to a future meeting. 9. Council Liaison Updates Council provided updates of various advisory board activities as noted in the respective boards' minutes. 0 10. Adjournment P0WIAE0 01 NATURE City Council Minutes February 3, 2020 Page 10 There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:02 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jennifer Green. Q4nj ietz, '1 nor Tina Allard, City Clerk P 0 V F R E I Ir NATURE