Loading...
10-18-2021 Regular CCM Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, October 18, 2021 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Mike Beyer, and Matt Westgaard Members Absent: Councilmember Jennifer Wagner Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, City Attorney Peter Beck, Planning Manager Zack Carlton, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer Justin Femrite, Environmental Coordinator Amanda Erickson, Human Resource Manager Lauren Wipper, and Records Specialist Katie Porath 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 Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Mayor Dietz stated that Item 4.5 would be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately due to Councilmember Christianson’s conflict of interest. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Beyer to approve: 4.1 October 4, 2021, Minutes 4.2 Check register as outlined in the staff report 4.3 Pay Estimates as outlined in the staff report 4.4 Hire Firefighters Motion carried 4-0. 4.5 Elk River Landfill License Agreement City Council Minutes Page 2 October 18, 2021 ----------------------------- Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Beyer to approve the Solid Waste Facility License for the Waste Management Elk River Landfill. Motion carried 3-0. Councilmember Christianson abstained. 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 City of Elk River Volunteer of the Month Mayor Dietz presented the October Volunteer of the Month award to Mike Westgaard. He highlighted the following: ▪ Board Member, Multipurpose Facility Advisory Commission ▪ Elk River Youth Hockey Association member and commission representative ▪ Elk River Girls High School Hockey booster president ▪ Member of Central Lutheran Church Community Tithe council ▪ Central Lutheran Church ministry volunteer ▪ Habitat for Humanity volunteer 7.1 Conditional Use Permit: Home Occupation to operate Commercial Auto Repair Shop at 13182 Ranch Road, Job Wimpfheimer of Freedom Automotive, LLC (PPT) Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. City Attorney Beck arrived at 6:03 p.m. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. Job Wimpfheimer, 13182 Ranch Rd, was present as the applicant. Gina Larson, 21043 Fresno St NW, stated her concerns included proximity to drain tiles and wetland, storage of chemicals and oil, effect on local wells, insurance if there is a spill, and potential for fire. She also stated that the site looks like a junkyard. She requested information on how the site would be monitored, the process of reporting problems, and who would be responsible in the event of a chemical spill. Terry Hallgren, 21024 Fresno St NW, expressed concerns about chemicals on the property and who would be responsible if there was an accident. Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Mr. Carlton addressed concerns. Chemical storage and clean up would be established according to state and local standards and spills are addressed in state building codes. City Council Minutes Page 3 October 18, 2021 ----------------------------- Storage of chemicals could be moved inside. Only operational vehicles are allowed to be stored outside. Councilmember Christianson asked if there are periodic checks on environmental concerns. Mr. Carlton explained there are randomized inspections by the state that standards are followed. The CUP also includes inspections, and the operation cannot begin until standards are in compliance. City Attorney Beck added that complaint-based inspections may also occur. Councilmember Beyer asked about a nearby property who had received a similar CUP within the last year and if there have been any complaints regarding that business. Mr. Carlton stated the business was still in the process of establishing and there have been some complaints about storage near the road. Councilmember Westgaard asked if that business CUP had required the condition of curb and gutter. Mr. Carlton stated that requirement was waived in the past but the requirements for outside storage were maintained. Councilmember Beyer asked if the state notifies the city following any inspections. Mr. Carlton stated that the state would only notify the city if there was an issue which the city or county would address. Council agreed that they need to be consistent, especially as the proposed CUP was of a similar use to the one that had been passed a year ago. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has a permitting process for the disposal of hazardous waste and the volume that is disposed determines how often the business is inspected. The business would be responsible if a fire, explosion, or spill occurred and would carry insurance. Council agreed to remove Condition 13: All driving areas and parking areas shall be bounded by B612 concrete curb and gutter. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to approve the Conditional Use Permit with the following conditions to satisfy the standards set forth in Section 30-654, as amended: 1. The building shall be inspected by the city building official and fire marshal to verify compliance with commercial building, electrical, plumbing, and fire codes and identified violations must be addressed prior to issuance of new building permits for the property. City Council Minutes Page 4 October 18, 2021 ----------------------------- 2. An amendment to this Conditional Use Permit will be required for future expansions/additions not shown on the site plan dated August 31, 2021. 3. There shall be no repair or maintenance of vehicles outside of building. 4. All openings to the accessory structure be closed when the business is in operation. 5. Four (4) customer parking stalls shall be provided a minimum of 10 feet from any property line. These stalls are not to be used for the storage of vehicles being worked on. 6. All customer vehicles stored on the premises must be stored within an area which is screened from view in the public right-of-way by a 6 (six) foot high 100% opaque fence. 7. Car, truck, RV, and marine sales shall not be allowed. 8. All proposed hardcover shall meet the 45-foot wetland setback. 9. All septic systems must provide a certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance for the existing septic system and must be signed by a licensed inspection business or by a qualified employee certified as an inspector who is authorized by the local unit of government. The certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance must be submitted to the local unit of government no later than 15 days after any compliance inspection. 10. Follow Minnesota Pollution Control Agency guidelines for chemical waste and secondary runoff controls. 11. All driving areas and parking areas shall be paved with an approved surface (asphalt, concrete, or class 5). 12. Hours of operation shall be Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Motion carried 4-0. 7.2 Simple Plat: Bayerl Outlots, Randolph Bayerl (PPT) Mr. Carlton 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 Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Beyer to adopt Resolution 21-70 granting Plat approval for Bayerl Outlots, Case No. P 21-09. Motion carried 4-0. 8.1 Comprehensive Plan Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Council unanimously approved the 2021 Comprehensive Plan. City Council Minutes Page 5 October 18, 2021 ----------------------------- Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to adopt Resolution 21-71 adopting the 2021 Comprehensive Plan. Motion carried 4-0. 8.2 Call Closed Meetings Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to call a closed meeting to discuss pending litigation strategy related to the city’s wastewater treatment plant improvement project. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to call a closed meeting to discuss labor negotiations for the LELS 271 to immediately follow the closed meeting discussing attorney-client privilege at Elk River City Hall. Motion carried 4-0. 8.3 Business Center Drive Extension Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve Hakanson Anderson’s proposal to complete the engineering, surveying, and design services associated with the extension of Business Center Drive. Motion carried 4-0. 9.1 Rolling Hills Homeowner’s Association Sewage Treatment System Megan Hanson, Rolling Hills HOA President, Dawn Doll, Rolling Hills HOA Vice President, Darin Thom, Rolling Hills HOA Treasurer, and Tyler Erickson and Ali Thunell, Rolling Hills Septic Committee members were in attendance and gave a presentation. The committee outlined the problem and the potential solutions they have looked into such as a state bond, conservation legacy, grants, and selling extra property to developers or farmers. They asked the Council for suggestions on other ways to mitigate the financial burden. 28 homes are part of the HOA, however, five have stated they do not want a city hook up. The committee has contacted State Representative Novotny for suggestions. Council suggested also contacting U.S. Senator Klobuchar and offered to sign or write a letter on the HOA behalf. Mayor Dietz suggested extending the pay back time period to 30 years and only charging interest on $30,000 of the amount due. He also stated that the interest percentage amount could be considered. City Council Minutes Page 6 October 18, 2021 ----------------------------- Council expressed concern with setting a precedent of providing funding toward this HOA when there are other HOAs in Elk River who may need septic upgrades in the future. The city does not have the financial ability to correct all of the septic systems in the city. The committee stated that they had received a lower cost option, but it would come with ongoing significant maintenance fees and have a short lifespan. Only 2 of the 28 homes have an option to install a personal septic system due to property sizes. Council asked about the cost of the trunk line portion of the Urban Services Expansion project and the value of that pipe. Council asked how much time the HOA has before the septic system fails. The committee stated that have had alarms and had to perform manual pumping to keep up because the drainage is overworked. The committee asked about using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to finance the repairs. Council stated that the American Rescue Plan funds were for the benefit of the entire city and not intended for one project. -------------------------- Council recessed at 7:12 p.m. and reconvened at 7:14 p.m. to continue the work session in Upper Town. 9.2 Waste Management Elk River Landfill Mike Miller and Mike Kavanaugh of Elk River Landfill, 22460 US-169, Elk River, Nancy Burke of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, 33 S 6th St, Mpls, and Jim Eidem of Barr Engineering, 4300 MarketPointe Dr, Suite 200, Mpls were in attendance. Mr. Miller presented an update of the Elk River Landfill activities and groundwater monitoring. Mr. Miller stated that the Landfill regularly tests on-site and nearby wells and will be replacing 4-6 neighborhood wells. Mr. Miller also proposed plans for stormwater pond enhancements. The enhancements would require the city to re- zone the proposed site which is currently Mineral Extraction Overlay District (ME) zoning. The landfill is willing to consider park related trails or amenities surrounding the proposed stormwater ponds. Council agreed to continue discussions with Ms. Erickson, city consultant Matt Ledvina, and City Attorney Beck regarding re-zoning for the stormwater ponds and bring it back to a future Council meeting. City Council Minutes October 18, 2021 9.3 Waste Hauler Agreement Page 7 Ms. Erickson presented the staff report. The current residential hauling contract goes through December of 2022. Council felt the proposal was favorable for extension pricing and directed staff to extend the existing contract with Republic Services. Councilmember Christianson stated that he had no opinion due to potential conflict of interest. Council recessed at 8:16 p.m. and reconvened in a closed meeting to discuss pending litigation strategy related to the city's wastewater treatment plant improvement project at 8:17 p.m. Council recessed at 8:34 p.m. and reconvened in a closed meeting to discuss the city's labor negotiation strategy related to the city's negotiations with the LELS 271 at 8:34 p.m. Council reconvened at the regular City Council meeting at 8:47 p.m. 10. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:48 p.m. Minutes prepared by Katie Porath. Tina Allard, City Clerk u P011AE1 6r NATURE