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10-03-2005 CC MIN MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2005 Members Present: Mayor Klinzing, Councilmembers Dietz, Farber, Gumphrey, and Motin Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Pat Klaers, Finance and Administrative Services Director Lori Johnson, City Engineer Terry Maurer, Community Development Director Scott Clark, Fire Chief Bruce West, Police Chief Jeffrey Beahen, Wastewater Treatment Plant Chief Operator Gary Leirmoe, Street Superintendent Phil Hals, Liquor Store Manager David Potvin, Westbound Liquor Store Manager Steve Tillman, Utilities General Manager Bryan Adams, and Recording Secretary 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 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Klinzing. 2. Consider 10/03/2005 Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consider Consent Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DIETZ TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA: 3.1. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES ? SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 ? SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 3.2. CHECK REGISTER 3.3. AWARD BID FOR ICE ARENA MANAGER’S OFFICE TO NELSON BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF BUFFALO, MINNESOTA FOR $47,900 MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4. Open Mike Tom Hartman, 18684 Lander Dr NW – stated that he is representing a group of residents on Naples that would like to get city sewer and water. Mr. Hartman questioned what residents have to do to initiate this. City Council Minutes Page 2 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- City Engineer Terry Maurer stated that installing city sewer and water would be possible from an engineering perspective. Mr. Maurer indicated that Mr. Hartman could be given a petition to have residents in favor sign and bring before the Council. Mr. Maurer noted that this option would require only a simple majority vote of the Council. Councilmember Dietz stated that he would like to see 186 Avenue completed along with th Naples. Councilmember Farber concurred. Councilmember Dietz questioned what percentage of residents would have to be in favor of the project for it to proceed. Mr. Maurer indicated that State Statute states that 35% of the affected property owners must be in favor. Councilmember Dietz noted that the Council required 50% of the affected residents to be in favor of the project on Boston and Concord and that worked well. Mayor Klinzing concurred. Mr. Maurer noted that the difference between this project and the Boston and Concord project is that in this case, the city does not have the required right-of-way to complete the project and if a resident is not in favor, the city may have to use condemnation to get the necessary right-of-way. Mayor Klinzing directed staff to provide Mr. Hartman with a petition for him to carry and once that is returned to the Council an informational meeting would be held to discuss the project. 5.1. Resolution 05-114 Adopting Final Assessment Roll for Northstar Business Park, Public Hearing Mayor Klinzing opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Klinzing closed the public hearing. City Engineer Terry Maurer stated that the project cost for the Northstar Business Park is being assessed against the lots in business park which are owned by the Economic Development Authority. Mr. Maurer stated that the total cost proposed to be assessed is $947,200, which is made up of the construction bid, typical city overhead costs, and other miscellaneous costs associated with developing the Northstar Business Park. Mr. Maurer noted that construction is currently underway and will not be completed until next year. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 05-114 ADOPTING THE FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLL IN THE MATTER OF THE NORTHSTAR BUSINESS PARK IMPROVEMENT OF 2005. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6.1. Update on September 21, 2005 Storm A. EOC Activated and Emergency Response Fire Chief Bruce West indicated that the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated the evening of September 21, 2005 due to the severe storm that came through the area. Chief West explained that he spoke to Police Chief Beahen that evening and Chief Beahen concurred that the EOC should be activated. City Council Minutes Page 3 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- Chief West stated that some good lessons have been learned from this activation. He stated that there were some paging issues, both with the digital pagers and with the Nextel cellular phones. Chief West explained that this was a small scale EOC activation and there were enough personnel to handle it but if it had been larger, additional personnel would have been needed. Chief West noted that the Fire Department received about a dozen calls that evening relating to lightning strikes, fire alarms due to power outages, and for one structure fire in Lafayette Woods. B. Utility Issues Elk River Municipal Utilities General Manager Bryan Adams indicated that his office began getting calls about 6:30 p.m. the evening of September 21, 2005 regarding power outages and with all of the line crews working, the power was restored by 2 a.m. He explained that a majority of the power outages were caused by trees on power lines and that the reason that Elk River didn’t experience more power outages is because about 60% of the electrical lines are underground. Mr. Adams stated that the day after the storm was spent cleaning up and on Friday, a line crew was sent to assist the City of Anoka restore power. Mr. Adams noted that many of the agencies in the area have mutual aid agreements amongst them for instances such as this. Councilmember Dietz questioned if a representative from Elk River Municipal Utilities was present in the EOC. Mr. Adams stated that he has discussed the issue with Chief West and there will be a representative from Utilities in the EOC in the future. He noted that the Utilities phone lines will need to be transferred to the EOC so residents can contact them in power outage situations. C. Street Clearing and Storm Debris Pickup Plan Street Superintendent Phil Hals stated that he had three crews on the streets the evening of the storm looking for trees down on city property, the boulevard, and on the roadways. He stated that the weekend following the storm was very busy at the compost site and he estimates that they saw about one vehicle per minute dropping off brush there and that the pile of brush. Mr. Hals indicated that curbside brush pickup will begin Tuesday, October 4 and go through Monday, October 17. He stated that this curbside cleanup may not take as long as originally planned and that the final cleanup will be completed by the 17. th Councilmember Dietz questioned if there was a way in the future to communicate to residents that the city will be picking up the brush curbside so pickup could begin earlier. Mr. Hals indicated that most residents assumed the city would be picking up the brush and that there were a couple reasons for choosing the dates that they did. One was to allow the residents a couple weekends to get the brush cleaned up and the second was to allow time for the Public Works Department to get some other important issues such as drainage issues taken care of prior to picking up the brush. D. Drainage Issues City Engineer Terry Maurer explained that due to the recent rainfall events in the month of September, a number of drainage issues have been brought to the city’s attention. Mr. Maurer stated that Street Superintendent Phil Hals, Assistant Street Superintendent Mark Thompson, and he have been responding to most of these calls from citizens regarding City Council Minutes Page 4 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- drainage concerns. He noted that most of the areas of concern are located in an area of the city where storm sewer systems have no outlets, which is generally east of TH169 and north of Elk Hills Drive. Mr. Maurer reviewed the five areas which residents have expressed concern over which are: Ulysses/202, North of 197, Hillside 196/Zane, Deerfield, TH169 wetland south of ndthth TimeOut. Mr. Maurer indicated that some of the residents he has spoken with are present and would like a chance to speak to the Council. Mayor Klinzing indicated that even though this is not a public hearing, she will allow the residents to speak to the Council regarding their drainage issues. Dan Collins, 11185 192 Lane NW – indicated that his land is adjacent to a wetland that nd has had rising water and he believes that the drainage issues are because of the Woods at Hillside draining into the wetland on his property. Ms. Collins stated that he did not believe that pumping the water out is a solution because the damage has already been done and that instead he would like to see the drainage from the Woods at Hillside permanently rerouted so that it does not drain into the wetland in his yard. He noted that he appreciates that Mr. Maurer and Mr. Hals have come out to visit with him regarding the wetland whenever he has asked. Mr. Collins invited the Councilmembers to come and look at the wetland and indicated that he would be happy to work out a solution to this problem with city staff. Terry Koch, 11173 192 Lane NW – stated that she has a small wetland in her backyard nd that is flooded. She stated that she has brought in black dirt to try to alleviate the flooding but that water continues to come in her basement every year. Michael Tietz, 20171 Ulysses – stated that he has water overflowing from the wetland into his pole shed and that he has been working with Mr. Maurer and Mr. Hals to rectify this situation. Mr. Tietz indicated that he has lived at the current location for 15 years and the water has never been this high. He questioned if the pond could be dugout to hold more water. Mr. Maurer indicated that staff’s plan is to clear some of the trees out of the wetland and to excavate and grade the wetland area to differentiate the elevations between the wetland and the pole shed. Mr. Tietz stated that he would like to see the water removed from under the pole shed as soon as possible before it frosts and questioned if any consideration has been given to pumping the excess water out of the wetland. He noted that he would like to keep the clearing of the trees in the wetland to a minimum. Mr. Maurer indicated that staff has not considered pumping the water out and noted that the area is designated as a utility and drainage easement and that trees may need to be removed. Ron Lamotte, 11475 190 ½ Lane – stated that he has lived in his house for five years and each year the pond in his yard gets bigger and his backyard is currently about one-third under water. He stated that he is concerned that the trees in his backyard will die because they are sitting in water that has overflowed from the pond and so he hopes that a solution is figured out soon. Mayor Klinzing stated that the Council should provide direction to staff on how to proceed with each of these areas. Mayor Klinzing indicated that the city will be working to establish a better connection between the area where Mr. Lamotte lives and the storm sewer west of TH169. Mr. Maurer stated that he has been holding off on speaking to the developer in that City Council Minutes Page 5 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- area pending Council direction but that he will speak to him and they will work out a temporary solution and look at permanently tying into the catch basin on the west side of TH169 to ensure that the water level is controlled to about two-feet less than the current level. Mayor Klinzing questioned if there is a solution to the Deerfield drainage issues. Mr. Maurer stated that with Council consensus, staff can gather information to find a permanent solution and a cost of a permanent solution and come back to the City Council. Mayor Klinzing questioned how soon the drainage issue on Ulysses would be taken care of. Mr. Maurer indicated that staff can delineate where the utility and drainage easements are but the Public Works staff will be very busy with the curbside brush clean up for the next couple weeks. Mr. Maurer noted that Mr. Hals is working with a contractor to excavate another area and it is possible that this area could be included with that project. Councilmember Dietz questioned if storm sewer work were to be completed in the Hillside area if it would need to wait until spring. Mr. Maurer stated that it would as it is too late in the season to tear up the road and try to get it repaired and put back together by winter. Councilmember Motin questioned if the reason pumping isn’t being used as a stop gap is because of the distance the water would have to be pumped. Mr. Maurer indicated that the water could be pumped but that the equipment would have to be rented as the city does not have the proper equipment and permission would have to be granted to access the wetland. Mr. Maurer suggested that staff monitor the water levels for at least part of October and see what happens. Mr. Maurer indicated that he was out at Mr. Collins property earlier in the day and the water level seems to be receding about an inch a day and appears to be within the easement boundary. Mayor Klinzing questioned why pumping the water on Ulysses/202 isn’t feasible. Mr. nd Maurer explained that the distance that the water would have to be pumped and finding an outlet for the water would make it very difficult. Mr. Maurer indicated that staff will report back to the Council on each of the issues at a future meeting. 6.2. Westbound Liquor Store Update Finance and Administrative Services Director Lori Johnson indicated that Westbound Liquor will be opening soon and that Liquor Store Manager Dave Potvin and Westbound Liquor Store Manager Steve Tillman are in attendance to provide the Council with an update. Mr. Potvin reviewed pictures of Westbound Liquor with the Council. He indicated that there are a tremendous amount of last minute details that need to be completed prior to the store’s opening but they expect that the store will open as planned on October 10, 2005. Mr. Potvin noted that the Westbound store is very similar to Northbound Liquor inside and that was intentional so customers would see a connection between the two stores. Mr. Potvin also noted that lighted monument signs have been added to both stores that include the City of Elk River logo. Mr. Potvin thanked the City Council for allowing the second store to be built and also thanked Ms. Johnson and Information Technology Coordinator Bob Pearson for all their help throughout the project. City Council Minutes Page 6 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- Councilmember Dietz questioned if the weeds along Highway 10 could be trimmed to clean up the landscaping of the Westbound store. Mr. Tillman indicated that the Street Department has been contacted and they are very busy but will be taking care of as soon as possible. Councilmember Dietz also questioned if a formal grand opening would be held. Mr. Potvin stated that staff is not comfortable with having a formal grand opening at this time and plan on having a formal grand opening in February much like Northbound Liquor did. Ms. Johnson indicated that the construction of Westbound Liquor is under budget and that she will provide the Council with a budget update upon the store’s completion. 6.3. Purchase Wastewater Treatment Plant Tractor Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Chief Operator Gary Leirmoe indicated that the bio- solids land application equipment was recently sold at city auction and the WWTP has contracted with a private firm to apply the bio-solids and they will use their own equipment. Mr. Leirmoe stated that the 1996 Holland tractor that was sold was used for other jobs around the WWTP but was too large to get into tight places and so he would like to purchase a 2005 Kubota L5030 HSTC with a front loader and forks. He stated that this is a much smaller tractor but is able to lift any piece of heavy equipment necessary and would be more practical to have around the WWTP. He noted that the tractor would be purchased with proceeds from the tractor that was sold at auction. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER FARBER AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY TO AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF A 2005 KUBOTA L5030 HSTC FROM THE STATE CONTRACT FOR $31,358.61 (INCLUDES SALES TAX) USING FUNDS FROM THE PROCEED OF THE SALE OF THE HOLLAND TRACTOR AT THE CITY AUCTION. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6.4. Community Development Department Organizational Update Community Development Director Scott Clark explained that he has been with the city one month and one of his major tasks is to consider organizational and structural changes within the department. Mr. Clark indicated that he has met with each employee individually, held a Planning Division retreat, discussed goals and missions with the Chairs of the EDA and HRA, and have had extensive discussions with the City Engineer and selected members of the Community Development Department regarding processing of administrative and planning application permits. Mr. Clark reviewed his organizational recommendation schedule. He stated that the overall organizational structural goal is to create four divisions under the Community Development Department including a Planning Division, Building Division, Environmental Division, and Economic Development Division. He explained that each division will have a lead position that will form the Community Development Management Team. Mr. Clark indicated that the first organizational issue to resolve will be the structure of the “Environmental Division” which currently operates under the Building and Environmental Department. He stated that staff is exploring the creation of a separate Environmental City Council Minutes Page 7 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- Division and whether the workload demands two positions. Councilmember Dietz indicated that he believes the Environmental Division should have an additional staff person. Councilmember Farber and Mayor Klinzing concurred. It was noted that any pay grade changes and job description changes should be reviewed by the Personnel Committee. Mr. Clark stated that the second issue will be the selection of a permanent building official, who will lead the Building Division. He stated that staff is anticipating posting this internally within the next week and for a hiring recommendation to be forwarded to the Council by the end of October. He noted that he anticipates that there will be three internal applicants for the position. Mr. Clark noted that the State requires that a temporary building official be named within 15 days of the previous one leaving and so Terry Zajac has been assigned as the temporary building official. Mr. Clark stated that staffing and organizational format in the Planning Division is more difficult and may take another six to eight weeks to resolve and for a recommendation to be prepared for the Council. He stated that he is spending a great deal of time looking at future workloads and how they may change if engineering technicians are hired in the near future. Mr. Clark indicated that the some issues that have arose from this organizational review are: how to make the overall development process less cumbersome and to develop a more efficient system, to review the individual functions of the various departments and determine if workloads should be shifted, and who should assume responsibility for code enforcement to be more consistent in enforcement. Mr. Clark noted no changes for the Economic Development Department as he believes they function well already. Mayor Klinzing noted that she believes that Director of Economic Development Catherine Mehelich does a great job and she would like to see Ms. Mehelich retain her title and remain at her current pay grade. Mr. Clark concurred and stated that he is only interested in complimenting Ms. Mehelich’s experience and knowledge. 6.5. HRA Update Councilmember Motin provided an update of the HRA meeting held October 3, 2005. He stated that the HRA will be holding a special meeting on Monday, October 17, 2005 to discuss changes to the MetroPlains development agreement. He stated that some of the numbers in the document need to be adjusted because MetroPlains was overly optimistic when they estimated the property values. 6.6. Discuss City Council Worksession Agendas City Administrator Pat Klaers reviewed the tentative Council Worksession agendas for October and November. Councilmember Farber questioned if there have been any talks about having a joint meeting with the County Board of Commissioners. Mr. Klaers indicated that he spoke to County Administrator Brian Benson regarding a joint meeting between the County Board and the City Council and mentioned that either the fourth Monday of October or November would be good for the Council. Mr. Klaers stated that the next meeting of the County Board is October 4 and Mr. Benson will check the Board’s availability at that time. 7. Other Business City Council Minutes Page 8 October 3, 2005 ----------------------------- There was no other business. 8. Staff Updates City Administrator Pat Klaers reminded the Council and the residents at home that the city clean up week is being help October 17 -22, 2005 where residents can dispose of items at the Elk River Landfill for a discounted rate by first obtaining a voucher at City Hall. He stated that information was published in the Star News and the event will mirror last year’s event. - - - - - - - - City Administrator Pat Klaers indicated that there will be a groundbreaking for Medical Extrusion Technologies (MET) on Tuesday, October 4 at 3 p.m. at the Northstar Business Park. - - - - - - - - City Administrator reminded the public that the city Public Works Department will be picking up brush curbside October 4 – 17 and that residents should call City Hall if they have any questions. - - - - - - - - Councilmember Gumphrey questioned if there were transportation meetings with the County scheduled for anytime soon. Mr. Maurer indicated that he has been holding off thinking that it would be best to wait to schedule the next transportation meeting until after the City Council and the County Board of Commissioners have met jointly. 9. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Klinzing adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:26 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jessica Miller. ___________________ Joan Schmidt City Clerk