4.1 DRAFT MINUTES (2 SETS) 09-06-2022
Meeting of the Elk River City Council
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Monday, August 15, 2022
Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Mike
Beyer, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner via Zoom
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Fire Chief Mark Dickinson,
Assistant Fire Chief of Operations Mark Wandersee, Community
Operations and Development Director & Planning Manager Zack
Carlton, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, Parks and
Recreation Special Events Coordinator Karen Wingard, and Deputy
City Clerk Jolene Richter
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 6:01 p.m. by Mayor Dietz.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
3. Consider Agenda
Moved by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember
Westgaard to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
4. Consent Agenda
Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember
Christianson to approve:
4.1 Minutes
August 1, 2022, Regular Minutes
August 8, 2022, Special Budget Minutes
4.2 Check register as outlined in the staff report.
4.3 Pay estimates as outlined in the staff report.
4.4 Ordinance Amendment 22-18 and Ordinance Amendment 22-19:
Impoundment of Vehicles and Parking in Municipal Parking Lots.
4.5 Temporary On-Sale Liquor License: Church of St. Andrew.
4.6 Highway 169 Force Main Valve Installation.
4.7 Development Agreement: Villas at Fillmore.
Motion carried 5-0.
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August 15, 2022
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5. Open Forum
No one appeared for Open Forum.
6.1 City of Elk River Volunteer of the Month
Mayor Dietz presented the August Volunteer of the Month award to Marlys Bolin.
She was recognized for the following:
Works with second graders at Twin Lakes Elementary School through the Foster
Grandparent program, assisting with spelling, sight reading and math. She does
this most days of the school year.
Past activities include Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Christian Women’s Club, Health
and Wellness in Sherburne County, TOPs, and Church activities.
7.1 Conditional Use Permit: Private Kennel, 19054 Waco Street, Kevin
Armstrong
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 approve the Conditional Use Permit with the following conditions to
satisfy the standards set forth in section 30-654:
1. The applicant shall receive a private kennel license from the city.
2. No more than six (6) animal units shall be outdoors at once.
3. The number of animal units shall not exceed eight (8).
4. The removal of animal waste shall comply with Section 10-5.
5. Feces be cleaned from the property twice weekly.
6. No more than two (2) animals per supervisor shall be allowed when dogs
are off-site.
7. All dog waste shall be cleaned up immediately when dogs are off-site.
8. No dogs designated as dangerous or potentially dangerous are allowed
to be kept on site, and the keeping of such dog shall be grounds for
revocation of the permit.
Motion carried 5-0.
7.2 Administrative Subdivision by Simple Plat: Beaudry Elk River Addition
Mr. Carlton presented the staff report.
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August 15, 2022
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Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue,
Mayor Dietz continued the public hearing to the September 6, 2022, City Council
meeting.
Moved by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember
Christianson to continue Item 7.2 regarding the Administrative Subdivision
by Simple Plat: Beaudry Elk River Addition to the September 6, 2022, City
Council meeting. Motion carried 5-0.
8.1 Final Plat: Pullar Prairie
Mr. Carlton presented the staff report.
Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember
Christianson to approve Resolution 22-45 approving the Final Plat of Pullar
Prairie with the following conditions:
1. A Development Agreement must be signed by the city and developer prior
to releasing the final plat for recording.
2. Park dedication be paid for the final number of dwelling units, at the
applicable rate when the subdivision is released for recording.
3. A Letter of Credit shall be provided to the city in the amount of 100% of
the costs of the public improvements.
4. Upon completion of all improvements and acceptance by the city, a
security or warranty in a form acceptable to the city engineer must be
secured.
5. Development Plan shall be approved by the city engineer prior to issuance
of building permits.
6. Staff approval of all updated site and engineering plans.
7. Any item or condition found that indicates the site is likely to yield
information important to prehistory 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 Beyer and seconded by Councilmember
Westgaard to approve the Development Agreement for Pullar Prairie. Motion
carried 5-0.
8.2 Fire Department Ladder Truck Purchase
Assistant Fire Chief Wandersee presented the staff report.
Mayor Dietz asked if the council agrees to pay the deposit by November 1, then are
we locked into the price with no increase.
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Assistant Fire Chief Wandersee clarified if the specs are complete, and the agreement
is signed by November 1 there would be no increase in price.
Council agreed on the need for the new truck and discussed if they do not decide
now there will be an increase in cost.
Moved by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember
Christianson for staff to start the design process with Macqueen Equipment
for a new replacement aerial firetruck to be purchased for the Fire
Department. Motion carried 5-0.
Council recess at 6:24 p.m. and reconvened in work session at 6:26 p.m.
9.1 Hemp THC Product Sale Moratorium
Police Chief Nierenhausen presented the staff report.
Mayor Dietz asked if the hope of the moratorium was to buy time that the legislature
will pass something next year and/or the League of Minnesota Cities will come up
with a plan for how cities should address this issue.
Police Chief Nierenhausen answered yes and to give us more time to get clarification
how to address the issue. He also stated his concern how the city will be conducting
the checks and balances on selling these products to underage.
Attorney Beck added that the Police Chief’s recommendation is what most cities are
doing and stated we can do a year moratorium to wait and see what legislative does
or we do a shorter moratorium and develop our own licensing ordinance. He
continued to say the recommendation from Campbell Knutson would be to work it
into our tobacco licensing framework, so that we can identify licensees and monitor
compliance.
Council discussed putting the moratorium in place and what would come next.
Marie Hagen and Justin Perviti with Sacred Leaf CBD located downtown Elk River
were in attendance. Their biggest issues with the moratorium are that it would put a
stop on the selling of other products they currently sell, and business would go
elsewhere hurting their business.
There was discussion the difference is between CBD and THC products and what
businesses would still be able to sell or not if there was a moratorium in place.
Council suggested to bring this topic back to the September 6, 2022, Regular Council
meeting and directed Police Chief Nierenhausen to check with other Police Chiefs
around the area how they are handling the topic, Mr. Portner to check with
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August 15, 2022
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neighboring cities regarding their discussions of this topic, and Attorney Beck to
have a draft moratorium available for Council consideration.
9.2 Elk RiverFest Debrief
Ms. Wingard presented the staff report.
Mayor Dietz stated Ms. Wingard and staff did a great job. He added that it would be
a great idea to move it to Orono Park and utilize the amenities of that park. Mayor
Dietz explained he received a lot of complaints that Main Street was completely
closed off for Sips on Main and that there was not an area for other attendees to
watch the band without being part of Sips on Main. He asked if we could rework the
layout so others could attend without participating in the Sips on Main.
Council discussed the layout of the event in the downtown location.
Councilmember Westgaard questioned if there would there be sufficient parking if
the daytime event was at Orono Park. Ms. Wingard explained that they would most
likely need to utilize the fairgrounds, there is the option of the YMCA, or they could
look at a shuttle service from the Government Center, there is City Hall parking and
street parking. She continued explaining they would block off the Dave Anderson
Athletic Complex, so no other events could take place in the area.
Council consensus was to hold next year’s Elk River Fest on July 29, 2023, and to
utilize Orono Park for the daytime activities.
10. Adjournment
There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River City Council at 7:15 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Jolene Richter
___________________
John J. Dietz, Mayor
___________________
Tina Allard, City Clerk
Special Meeting of the Elk River City Council
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Monday, August 29, 2022
Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Mike
Beyer, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner (online), Human Resources
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 4:31 p.m. by Mayor Dietz.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
3. 2023 Budget
Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Council must approve the preliminary tax levy
at the September 6, 2022, council meeting.
Mayor Dietz proposed a 4% cost of living increase for employees and the 50th%tile
compensation plan adjustment for employees. The mayor was in favor of hiring a
planning intern but no other personnel requests. He was in favor of moving an
additional $250,000 from the Liquor Fund into the General Fund. He proposed
using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for financing police and dump truck
vehicle purchases as well as a down payment on the fire department ladder truck.
Mayor Dietz added he was in favor of adding only two of the three debt service
payments onto the levy and leaving the Public Works Facility debt off the levy.
Mayor Dietz stated he feels it is an “extraordinary” year for property increases and
rising interest rates should help slow things down.
Councilmember Westgaard added that new properties will change the tax capacity.
There has been a rise in permits for commercial and residential building.
Council discussed how to pay for the vehicles the fire department will need over the
next few years which amounts to around $3 million. Council directed Ms. Ziemer to
ask the bank about the interest rate on equipment certificates as well as research how
other cities finance large vehicle purchases.
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Mayor Dietz felt that liquor store funds should be evaluated each year.
Mr. Portner stated the Council could consider holding the General Fund reserve at
the lower end (40%) of the policy since the city is not planning on selling any bonds
in the near future.
Council asked if it was “mission critical” to hire any of the requested staff. Mr.
Portner outlined the proposed staffing level needs.
Council discussed how to use ARPA funds before the December 2024 deadline.
They discussed using the funds to offset the General Fund budget or for vehicle
purchases.
Mr. Portner proposed financing fire trucks through an internal loan from other
funds – such as Wastewater. Council seemed in favor of this option to finance fire
truck purchases.
Ms. Ziemer added there was some money remaining in the Great River Energy
(GRE) reserve fund.
Council discussed how to use the $6,500 donation from the Elk River Ministerial
Association and proposed to use it for the pickleball court shade shelters.
Council agreed to an 8.7% increase to the General Fund budget with the
understanding that this amount could be lowered.
Ms. Ziemer suggested lowering the proposed amount for fuel costs since the price of
fuel has decreased recently.
Council agreed to maintain the proposed fuel cost amount until the budget was
finalized in December.
4. Adjournment
There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River City Council at 5:39 p.m.
___________________
John J. Dietz, Mayor
___________________
Tina Allard, City Clerk