07-13-2009 CCMT'IMG OF °PHE ELOZ RIVER CI'T'Y COl1i~iCIL
HELD AT THE Cll'Y OF ELK RIVER (UPPER'P'OiR1N CONFEREiVCE ROOFI)
NII~IDAY, Jl1LY 13, 2009
Members Present; Acting Mayor Zef~was, Councilinembers westgaard, Moon, anal Gumpla.~ey
Members .Absent; Mayor Klinzing
Sta~~ Present: Finance Director Tim Simon, City Clerk Tina Alla~~d, and Planning Manager
Jeremy Barnhart
Alsa Present; ERMLJ Commissioners Thompson and Dietz, ERMU Director o~
Operations Troy Adams
1. Call Meeting To Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereo:E, the meeting o~ the Elk River City Council was called
to order at 6:00 p.rn, by Acting Mayor Zerwas.
2. Consider CoL~ncil. Agenda
MGYED BY C~UNCILMEMBER wESTGAARD AND SECONDED BY
CUUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY T®APPRGVE THE AGENDA., M®TIGN
CARRIED 4-0,
3. Consider, Consent Agenda
MGYED BY CC~UNCILMEMBER wESTGAARD AND SECONDED BY
CGUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY TG APPRQYE THE I'GLLGwING
C®NSENT AGENDA;
3.~.. JUNE Z9, ~Q09 SPECIAL JGINT ELR RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES,
3.Z. ADGPT ZOD9-ZQI2 ECC~NGMIC DEYELDPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN,
MGTIaN CARRIED 4-4,
4. Q en Mike
No one appeared for open mike,
5. TOINT MEETING WITH ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk Ri~rer Municipal Utilities was
called to order at G;05 p,m. by Commissioner Dietz,
5,1, Electric Utili Lon Ran e Plannin
Mr, Adams provided a summary o~ the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission meeting of
July $, 2009, He noted the Co~n~nission's recommendation was to not participate in the Big
Stone Il project as an owner.
Cit~r Gou~ac:~ Minutes Page 2
~u1y 13, 2009
Commissioner Thompson stated he had concerns with the long-term i~lvestment and the
risks involved wit11 tlae project, He stated he is concerned about the rate payers and t11e
availability of electricity ~n the future,
Commissioner/Councilmember Gumphrey stated he was skeptical of the Big Stone Z~
p~•oject and felt the risks were too great to the residents. He stated tlae city has over nine
years to come up with alte~~native solutions for supplying power,
Commissioner Dietz stated his decisiota not to participate had nothing to do witla Big Stone
being a coal plant. He was concerned about there being too many uncertainties with the
project and noted there was no guarantee on what rates would be in the future, He
expressed disappointment in the R,w, Beck e~raluation and was concerned tlaat it seemed to
have not been an independent evaluation prepared specifically far tl~e Utilities beneht,
Com~~n.~.ssioner Dietz read an email provided to him by the city administrator from Ehlers
and Associates regarding the effect on the city's bond rating and future financing for Ells
River Mun~c~pal Utili.ttes,
The Council noted they shared the same concerns as tlae Utility Commission
Mr. Adams noted there is still plenty of time for the city to consider alternatives fo~.• future
power needs,
MQVED BY C~MMI~~IG~IER THGMPSGN AND ~ECGIV~I7ED BY
CGMMISSTaNIER GUMPHREY TG ADJGURN THE ELR RIVER MUNICIPAL
UTILITIES MEETING, M4TIGN CARRIED 3-4.
The Elk River Utilities Commission meeting adjourned at 6.20 p,m
193r~! Avenue Corridor Project
A resident interrupted tlae meeting at dais point to bring up this construction project•
J
Joe Glowacki, ~ ~02~ ~ 92n~ Circle noted the following concerns:
House is constantly shaking
~ Company worl~ing on the project isn't using water to keep the sand and curt down
People are four-wheeling in the construction area during the night and the police are not
responding in a timely manne~•
Quality of retaining wall used in the project
Removal of trees
Cheap house ~~~2QO,ODO~ being put up In $400,000 neighborhood, He stated restrictions
were put ~n that are not being followed,
Councilmember Moon informed the resident that the city would look into his concerns,
Councilmember Moon asl~ed staff to loop into this matter,
6.~. Authorization to Pre are Text Amendment Relative to Restaurants
Mj.•, Barnhart presented the staff report,
Cite Council Mtt~.utes
,]uly 13, 20x9
Page 3
Councilmember Westgaard asked that more explanation be brought to Council regarding the
intentions of separating coffee shops and ice cream parlors from the defrnitian of
restaurants.
Councilmember Moon requested tlae def nitions for ice cream parlor be considered more
carefully because places like Dairy Queen could be considered a restaurant and an ice cream
parlor,
It was Council consensus to authorize staff to prepare an ordinance amendment,
C~.Z, Authorization to Pre are Text Amendment Relative to General Plannin Permits
Mr. Barnlaart presented the staff report,
It was Council consensus to authorize staff to prepare an ordinance amendment,
Councilmember Moon stated lae lil~ed the idea of streamlining the application process to
move requests along more raptdl~r,
G.3. Labe Orono Improvement Association
Various representatives from the Labe Orono Association were present.
Paul sheets, Lake Orono Association representative, handed out a presentation he reviewed
with Council,
~a~ce ~ehf~i~~er, Lake Orono Association, stated the association needs to work with the
city far controlling the invasive plant, the curly leaf pond weed, He stated the association
decided not to use cit~T budgeted funds to stocl~ f sh in the lake this year in case tlae lake is
allowed to be lowered this fall/winter in order to take care of some of the curly leaf pond
weed. He asl~ed that the funds be carried aver to the 2010 budget,
Councilmember Zerwas stated he received many calls from citizens who were upset about
tlae last draw down of tl~e lake and noted that residents who weren't part of the Association
didn't get notice. He stated a better communication plan and personal notice to lakeshore
owners will be needed ~f there were another draw down,
Councilmember Morin noted that tlae economy is struggling and the city will laave many
budget issues to consider,
Discussion was held regarding the silt buildup in the lake and a history was provided of the
attempt to draw dawn the lake in order to dredge it,
Tiffany Detertna~, Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District -Distributed a
handout and explained Total Maximum Daily Load ~I`MDL}, She stated water samples are
tal~en from lakes and used to determine if the lakes should be classified as impaired waters,
She noted Lake Orono has been classified as an impaired water since 2008. Ms. Determan
discussed funding sources and noted it helps when groups like the Lake Orono Association
are proactive on lake issues,
Cit~T Caunci.I Minutes Page 4
~uiy ~ 3, 209
Mr, Zehringer stated from his observations mucl~ of the contamination is coming
downstream from the Elk River,
There was discussion on the following topics;
Septic systems
~' Stocking of fish -~ native/non-native
~ 5horeland management of property owners
~ Public outreach and education
Rumors of outbreaks of swimmer's itch whiclx ha~re been unfounded
~. Zehringe.r stated fireworks need to come back to Elk River
Councilt.-nember Morin stated he was surprised the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce
decided to discontinue the fireworks displays and felt tlaey would be the best coordinator,
Councilinember Zer~vas noted that the city's financial commitment through rile Economic
Development Authority ~EDA~~ remained in place,l-fie stated other organizations were
approached but it was difftcult to put a prog~.~am together due to the sl~ort timeframe. IZe
stated with a year of awareness there sl~auld be no issue with the funding coming together
for 2010 but the other Issue ~s commuting people to coordinate, staff, and run tl~e event
along witla numerous volunteers to worl~ the event.
Mr, Sheets noted that the Star.Zl~e~~ has offered to organize a group to move this project
forward,
Councilm.ember Zerwas stated lae would be in favor of includin fundin in rile EDA
g g
budget next year,
Mr, Zehringer questioned the rest of the Council as to their willingness to commit funds for
frreworl~s for 2010,
The Council stated yes.
Councilmember westgaard stated the city can't do the whole project alone, He stated the
city is trying to keep tax rates down for residents,
Councilmember ~ex~vas noted tlae city would continue to be supportive of f.~eworks in the
future but noted the city had layoffs in 2009 and it would've been difficult to say ure can't
afford to pay employees to come to work but tlaen turn around and spend X20,000 fora 15
minute fireworks display,
6,4, Council ~ en Forum.
No comments for open Fot-um,
~~ ether Business
There was no Qther Business,
City Council Minutes Page 5
Jul~r i3, 2Q09
S. Council U dates
There were no Council Updates.
9. Staff U dates
Mr. Simon provided an update regarding the fire chief intet~views. He questioned if the
Council would be Interested to having the f~.alist, when selected, complete a management
and leadership evaluation at a cost of about X750.
Council consensus was to not pursue this evaluation,
la,
.._. ~ournment
There being no further business, Acting Ma~~or Zezwas adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River CitjT Council at 7.30 p,m,
.,
Tina Allard, City Clerk
._ _.
Steph~ nie Klinzing, M~