Loading...
4.1. DRAFT MINUTES (2 SETS) 12-07-2020 Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, November 2, 2020 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Nate Ovall, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: Councilmember Garrett Christianson Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Finance Director Lori Ziemer, Fire Chief Mark Dickinson, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, Recreation Assistant Alisa Wallace, Part-Time Cablecaster Michaela Strand, IT Director Bob Pearson, Multipurpose Facility Superintendent Tim Dalton, and Sr. Admin. Assistant/Recording Secretary Jennifer Green 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 6:31 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Mr. Portner added Item 8.3, “Calling a Canvassing Meeting” and handed out a staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve the agenda with the addition of Item 8.3. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Consent Agenda Councilmember Wagner asked for clarification of Item 10.1 in the September 8, 2020, minutes, page 10, that the home invasion was two doors down from her home and not the applicant’s home. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve the Consent Agenda for November 2, 2020, with the modification to Item 4.1: 4.1 September 8, 2020, Minutes, with the change made noted above. 4.2 Check register as outlined in the staff report. City Council Minutes Page 2 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- 4.3 Hire Wastewater Maintenance Operator Justin Turner effective November 3, 2020, at step A of pay grade 5N as outlined in the staff report. 4.4 Hire the following Paid On-Call Firefighters effective November 3, 2020: -Daniel Hampton -Anthony Hooper -Connor O’Connell -Michael Yaeger -Chad Yess st 4.5 Spectrum Outdoor Ice Ink Agreement for the rink located at 10129 181 Ave. NW as outlined in the staff report. 4.6 Resolution 20-73 Amending and Restating the City’s Flexible Benefits Plan effective January 1, 2020, as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. 5. Open Forum There was no one for Open Forum. 6.1 Introduction of New Employees Mr. Hecker introduced Recreation Assistant Alisa Wallace, who began with the Parks Department on May 19. Ms. Wallace stated she was excited to be a part of the department especially with the completion of the event center. Mr. Portner introduced part-time cablecaster Michaela Strand and outlined her previous schooling and work history. 6.2 Oath of Office – Deputy Fire Chief and Assistant Chief Chief Dickinson presented the staff report. He presented Deputy Fire Chief Joe Libor, Jr., and Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wandersee and outlined their experience, welcoming them to the fire department. Mayor Dietz administered the Oath of Office to both and the badging ceremony was completed. 6.3 Retirement Recognition – Bob Pearson Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. She discussed Mr. Pearson’s history with the department and thanked him for his years of service. Mayor Dietz presented Mr. Pearson with a retirement plaque commemorating his years of service to the city. City Council Minutes Page 3 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- rd 7.1 Windsor Park 3 Addition Sewer Extension Assessment Hearing & Project Approvals Jason Cook, Principal Engineer with Bolton & Menk, Inc., presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz asked how the city will see a future benefit if they elect to fund the $84,404.32 towards future service to other developments with failing septic systems. Mr. Cook explained how the location of this lift station improvement at the low point of the overall system allows it to be capable of being a centralized lift station that other developments could utilize. Mayor Dietz asked if the city will eventually see a return on the $84,404.32 investment. Councilmember Westgaard stated essentially the answer is yes, as they are aware of several other neighborhoods in the area experiencing similar issues with private septic systems and have also come before council in years past, Windsor I being one of them. He stated that’s why staff was comfortable with lowering the assessment as future failures are highly likely. Mr. Portner agreed and felt there was a high possibility of future failing septic systems requesting connection. Mayor Dietz asked if the city engineer recommends the city pay the oversizing cost. Mr. Portner stated Mr. Femrite has determined the oversizing cost to be $84,404.32 and is not making a recommendation. If the council determined it to be fair for the city to cover the costs, to subtract that from the total assessment amount. Mayor Dietz stated he felt it was fair but was curious with the probability that other neighborhoods will connect, and the city will eventually recover this amount. Mr. Portner stated he wished he could tell them there was a high probability but indicated it becomes vitally important when neighborhoods are faced with this situation. Councilmember Ovall stated it was a matter of not if, but when. It was consensus of council to support this recommendation. Mr. Cook explained the amount of assessment would be reduced to $21,627.90, with a 15-year payment schedule at 2.5% interest. levied on their property taxes. Taxpayers would have the ability to pre-pay within the next 30 days to avoid any interest. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. Jason Bailey, president of Windsor Park Third Addition Homeowner Association City Council Minutes Page 4 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- representing the 88 homes, read a prepared statement thanking council and staff for this consideration and outlined the history of this sewer extension. He stated it would help not only them but the environment as well by eliminating the inground septic system. Mr. Bailey then requested a financial split of this infrastructure, that the HOA pays 90% of the financial cost and the city pay 10% of the financial burden for a short- term duration because they do believe there would be future neighborhoods experiencing similar need to connect to this system. There being no one else to speak or object to the assessment, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Mr. Cook explained that Mr. Bailey is asking council to consider paying 10% of the project costs which is more than the oversizing cost stated in the staff report. Mayor Dietz stated he was not in favor and asked council for their thoughts. Councilmember Westgaard asked Mr. Bailey how he arrived at his request for the city to cover $198,000 or approximately 10% of the project costs. Mr. Bailey stated he felt there was approximately $1M dollars of work that should be attributable to other future developments requesting connection to this sewer system, and he is requesting approximately ¼ of the cost of that infrastructure work be covered by the city. He felt in the next five years, another development will need to connect. He based this amount on conversations with Mr. Cook and Mr. Femrite and came with his own dollar amount for the cost sharing. Councilmember Westgaard stated there was a number associated with the initial estimate of the cost to oversize the system that could be considered to benefit other developments. He stated what is also included is additional abandonment work specific to Windsor Park Third Addition that is included in this bid amount, and he felt it clouds the true cost of what amount could be potentially shared by other developments. He was unsure of what number to apply to the costs associated with the shared use of this system. Mayor Dietz stated he is not comfortable changing the numbers without having more facts and asked Council if they wanted to delay voting. Members of the audience indicated they did not want to delay a decision. Councilmember Ovall asked about a funding source to cover this cost. Mr. Cook stated the trunk utility fund is planned to initially fund the project and it will be reimbursed through the assessment payments over the 15-year period. Councilmember Ovall asked how much excess capacity was in the fund. City Council Minutes Page 5 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- Mr. Portner stated the fund is set up to allow for future expansion, so it depends on what expansion costs occur next. He will ask Ms. Ziemer for the amount of the fund balance. Councilmember Ovall stated the request by Mr. Bailey for 10% of the project cost to be paid by the city is doubling the current amount presented in the staff report and he asked for more time to consider this new figure. He wondered if they could vote tonight and continue to explore options with the possibility of making changes retroactively. He stated he doesn’t disagree with their logic as the improvement is an investment the whole city is receiving. He agrees there are grounds to recoup $190,000 but he needs more information. Mr. Cook stated they can set the assessment now and after the project is complete, the council could take action to reduce the assessment amount at that time. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Ovall rd to adopt Resolution 20-74 Adopting Assessment for the Windsor Park 3 Addition Sewer Extension Project with an assessment amount per resident of $21,627.90. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve the Sanitary Sewer Connection Agreement between Windsor Park Third Addition Homeowners Association, Inc., and the City of Elk River as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve the Grant of Permanent Easement for Public Utilities Purposes between Christine M. Krajsa and the City of Elk River as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Resolution 20-75 Accepting Bid for the Windsor Park Third Addition Sewer Extension Project. Motion carried 4-0. Councilmember Westgaard stated this assessment amount was a “not to exceed” amount and council accepted the consultant’s recommendation for $84,000 attributable to other developments, and Mr. Bailey’s request was for 10% and the council agreed to review the benefits to other developments outside of Windsor Park Third and whether or not there could be adjustments, before the project starts. City Council Minutes Page 6 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- Mr. Bailey stated the project may commence soon. Mr. Cook stated the project could begin as soon as possible with tonight’s approvals. He suggested council can reduce the assessment after the work is complete which allows for them to see the actual project costs, and then include any reduction with any other assistance the council may wish to provide. 7.2 Conditional Use Permit: Elk River Municipal Utilities to Allow a Government Facility in Single Family Residential District Mr. Portner indicated this application has been withdrawn and will be resubmitted, to be heard in December. 7.3. Capital Improvement Plan and Issuance of Capital Improvement Bonds, and Authorize the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. She introduced Terry Heaton with BakerTilly to answer any questions. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Councilmember Westgaard stated he is in support of the new bonds with public safety building upgrades and the new fire station on the north side of town. He was also in support of the reissuance of bonds to take advantage of the interest difference savings. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Resolution 20-76 Approving a Capital Improvement Plan and Giving Preliminary Approval to the Issuance of Capital Improvement Bonds as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Resolution 20-77 Providing for the Competitive Negotiated Sale of $9,895,000 General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Bonds, Series 2020A as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt Resolution 20-78 Providing for the Competitive Negotiated Sale of $5,970,000 General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Refunding Bonds, Series 2020B as outlined in the staff report. City Council Minutes Page 7 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Resolution 20-79 Providing for the Competitive Negotiated Sale of $7,295,000 Taxable General Obligation Sewer Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2020C as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. 8.1 Senior Administrative Assistant Position Description and Promotion Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Councilmember Ovall asked for and received clarification of the future of the position. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve the senior administrative assistant position description as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to promote Dawn Larson to Senior Administrative Assistant retroactive to October 12, 2020, at step A of pay grade 4N. Motion carried 4-0. 8.2 Discuss Work Session Items Mayor Dietz asked the status of the cyber security committee with the Chamber of Commerce. Councilmember Wagner stated she will work with Ms. Rydberg and come back to council at a future date. 8.3 Call Canvassing Meeting Mr. Portner presented the staff report. It was the consensus of council to set the canvassing meeting on Friday, November 13, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to set the canvassing meeting for Friday, November 13, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Motion carried 4-0. City Council Minutes Page 8 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- 9. Council Liaison Updates Each Councilmember provided an update which is further outlined in the respective advisory board minutes. -------- Council recessed at 8:05 p.m. to go into work session. Council reconvened at 8:08 p.m. 10.1 Concept Review: Combustion Turbine at 17845 Highway 10, Great River Energy Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Present were GRE Permitting Manager Mark Strohfus, Environmental Administrator Cassie Johnston, and Principal Engineer Vince Herda, who presented the details of the proposed project. Council asked questions regarding the relocation of the storage yard and fencing. Ms. Johnston explained the relocation of the storage yard and because it has some visibility from Highway 169 it would include privacy screening. The council asked questions regarding the future of the site. Ms. Johnston stated there are still around 130 employees working in the campus building and GRE has no intention of moving or selling the site at this time. It was consensus of council to support this concept moving forward through the planning process. 10.2 Ordinance Discussion: Keeping of Chickens Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. He explained residents in the Ward 1 area seem to be the most interested in keeping chickens. The council discussed the ordinance adoption process in 2017 and felt it was well vetted. Councilmember Wagner discussed a poll she put on her Facebook page with results varying in the keeping of chickens. She stated she did not have a problem with amending the ordinance to allow chickens on one acre lots and above, but she felt people moving into a tight urban development don’t expect to have chickens kept in their neighborhoods. The council reiterated the reasons for not allowing the keeping of chickens on a city lot mainly due to small lot size and the effect of chicken noise and smells. Councilmember Westgaard questioned the difference between a neighbor have a chicken versus a yippy dog, or a cat or bunny. Councilmember Wagner discussed in general terms, chickens are farm animals and on a smaller lot there is a concern with neighbors not anticipating farm animals living in an urban neighborhood. She stated ordinances are created to protect neighbors City Council Minutes Page 9 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- from neighbors and felt there would be unintended consequences. She noted Councilmember Christianson had discussed this with her and she explained this thinking to him, and he felt she had some good points that he had not considered. Councilmember Ovall explained he had chickens when he lived in Ramsey and commented they are loud when laying eggs, waste disposal is quite the management process and the ammonia smell is tough to manage as the ground gets saturated. He agreed with amending the ordinance to one acre and above and reduce the count to four chickens. Councilmember Westgaard discussed the process in 2017 and being asked to loosen the requirements that were well discussed and felt now it is more of a trend that the city is having to accommodate. Councilmember Wagner discussed the ordinance requirements of having the chickens contained. She recalled that enforcement of the ordinance was also a responsibility of the Planning Department, following a conditional use pemit process. Councilmember Westgaard stated the enforcement piece is no different than a kennel. He suggested amending the ordinance and then evaluating in the future. Mr. Carlton reiterated the permit requirements was a discussion held in 2017 and suggested continuing to not require a permit for the keeping of chickens. It was consensus of council to support amending the ordinance to allow for the keeping of chickens on parcels at least 1-acre in size and a 4-6 chicken maximum without a permit. Staff will come back with an ordinance amendment language for review and approval. 10.3 2021 Budget Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Furniture and Things Community Event Center Mr. Dalton presented the proposed division performance measures and goals, and budget. He noted some of the additions in the budget are due to things that weren’t included in the initial project build that are required to run the facility, such as A/V equipment, irrigation, APEX building improvements, water softener, window treatments, furniture, etc. He discussed the progress and schedule of hiring some of the staffing requirements and writing and approving the policies and procedures to operate the building. Councilmember Westgaard discussed opening and operating a building such as the city has never had before, and a variety of things staff are currently dealing with because of COVID-19. He stated it is hard to put together a budget on a facility with City Council Minutes Page 10 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- no history other than an ice arena. He discussed the future of the facility and the confidence that this building can sustain its own budget, debt service and capital outlay. Councilmember Ovall asked if any stress testing had been done on the revenue and what are backup sources of funding if it ends up in the negative. Ms. Ziemer stated currently it would come out of reserves with a current cash balance at around $380,000. A backup fund would be either the General Fund or some other fund. Councilmember Westgaard noted if the revenue is not there, the expenditures will have to wait. The council discussed the naming rights contract, how the funds will be coming into the government building fund until expenses are met, and how contributions and payments would be managed. Mr. Portner will email the contract to the council. --------- Ms. Ziemer presented the proposed tax levy and General Fund budget for 2021. The council discussed the significant housing value changes, and Ms. Ziemer stated the increase in values that could be based on newer homes being built which are higher value homes as well as home sales. The council discussed at length removing the earlier proposed $200,000 public works facility debt levy. If it were removed, Ms. Ziemer stated the levy increase would be lowered to 1.9%. After discussion, the consensus of the council was to remove the $200,000 line item from the levy. --------- Council recessed at 9:46 p.m. and reconvened into closed meeting at 9:50 p.m. 11. Performance Evaluation The council met in closed session pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subdivision 3(a). The purpose of the closed meeting was to discuss the work performance of City Administrator Cal Portner. 12. Adjournment City Council Minutes Page 11 November 2, 2020 ----------------------------- There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 11:13 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jennifer Green. ___________________ John J. Dietz, Mayor ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk Meeting of the Elk River City Council Acting as the Canvassing Board for the City of Elk River Held at Elk River City Hall Friday, November 13, 2020 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Westgaard, Ovall, and Wagner Members Absent: Councilmember Christianson Staff Present: Deputy Clerk Jessica Miller 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 9:01 a.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Canvass Results of November 3, 2020, General Election Ms. Miller presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt resolution 20-80 canvassing election returns and declaring the results of the city general election held November 3, 2020. Motion carried 4-0. 3. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Canvassing Board at 9:13 a.m. John J. Dietz, Mayor Tina Allard, City Clerk