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1987-08-03 CC Minutes .. . . 1ft .. COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 3, 1987 The regular meet~ng of the Albertv111e C1ty Counc11 was called to order by Mayor Loretta Roden. Members present 1ncluded Gary Schwenzfe1er, Donatus Vetsch, Don Cornel1us, and Bob Braun. Others present 1ncluded Maureen Andrews, Chuck Eberhard, Bob M111er, and Ken L~ndsay. The~e was a mot~on to approve the agenda. The mot10n was made by Donatus Vetsch and seconded by Don Cornel1us. All were In favor and the mot~on carned. The m~nutes of the July 20th Counc11 meet~ng were d~scussed. There were a couple of correctlons that needed to be made. The flrst ltem needlng clear~f~cat~on was on page 3, f~nal paragraph, regard~ 1ng the Jo~rtPower's resolutlon. Incorrect: The flrst 1tem dlscussed was the resolut10n... taklng water from unauthorlzed hydrants. The mlnutes should read: The flrst ltem d~scussed was a resolut~on regardlng general standards and construct~on spec~flcatlons to be used by the Englneers when des~gn~ng necessary water connect~ons. No actlon was taken on thlS matter The second ~tem d~scussed was the poss~b~llty of provldlng for a way that the Jo~nt Powers could flne for lllegal use of water by contractors. Th~s proposal stems from what appears to be a prqblem In most of the C~t~es, wh~ch lS that general contractors are taklng water from unauthor~zed hydrants. The second ~tem needlng clearlflcat~on was on page 4, paragraphs 6 and 7 regardlng the Barthel Manor ne1ghborhood who were requeshng "30 mph" and "No Through Street" slgns. Incorrect: The sher1ff's offlce w~ll be asked to check speed down ~n the area 1n quest~on. There was no response to the s~gn request - Ken w~ll order. The mlnutes should read: The Sher~ff's offlce w111 be asked to check speed down In the area In quest~on. There was no response to the slgn request. No actlon was taken. The Councll dlscussed these slgns 1n more deta~l and ~t was agreed that ~f "No Throuhg Street" was put up on one local street, that then there would be add~tlonal requests from other res~dent~al ne~ghborhoods connectlng onto Barthel Industrlal Orlve, and would become too restr~ctlve on trafflc flow. Addlt~onally ~t was agreed that the Clty would stay wlth ~ts POllCY that speed l~m~t s~gns are only posted at the pOlnts~of speed changes, and therefore a slgn would not be lnstalled on Lannon Avenue. There was no other d~Scusslon regard~ng the mlnutes, so a mot~on to approve the m~nutes w~th the necessary correctlons was made by Gary Schwenzfe~er and seconded by Don Cornellus. All were ~n favor and the m~nutes were approved. . . . COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 2 There was no other d~scuss~on regardlng the m~nutes, so a mot~on to approve the mlnutes wlth the necessary correctlons was made by Gary Schwenzfeler and seconded by Don Cornellus. All were In favor and the mlnutes were approved. The approval of the July 31st speclal counc~l meetlng wlth Meyer-Rohlln was tabled untll the August 17th Councll meetlng so that the Counc~l would have t~me to rev~ew them. There was a mot~on to approve the ~ncome rece~ved and bllls to be pa~d. The motlon was made by Don Cornellus and seconded by Bob Braun. All were In favor and checks 8079 through 8120 were approved. There was a motlon to change the September 7th Counc~l meet~ng to September 8th because of the Labor Day Hol~day. The motlon was madeby Don Cornellus and seconded by Donatus Vetsch. All were In favor and the motlon carrled. Chuck revlewed wlth the Councll hlS flndlngs on cleanlng out the dralnage d~tch that runs through the Barthel Addltlon. He told the Councll that the surveyors wlll be out to determlne where the low areas are, but that lt appears that the dltch may be flll~ng wlth slIt. The Councll was ~nformed that cleanlng the dltch out had not been lncluded In the Plans and Speclflcatlons for the lmprovement proJect. If the proJect lS to be completed as part of the lmprovement proJect a meet~ng would have to be set up wlth Ken Barthel to see lf he would be wllllng to plck up the costs of cleanlng out the dltch, Slnce ~t appears that the problem may be the result of run off from hlS propertles or another hearlng would need to be held so that lt could be made part of the proJect. Chuck sald that he would look at the dltch agaln once the survey work lS completed and wlll report back to the Councll the~r flndlngs. There was some dlScusslon regard~ng who would be responslble for cleanlng the dltch out because the roads were dedlcated at the tlme the plat was approved. No actlon was taken at thlS tlme. Chuck next revlewed wlth the Councll hlS f~nd~ngs on the Coffey dr~veway, located at 5170 Lannon. He sald that he had checked wlth Barry and that the curb lnstallatlon dld not effect the drlveway because the contractor only went back 3 or 4 feet. Chuck stated and a couple of the Councll members agreed that the problem wlth the dr~veway lS the dlrect result of ltS steepness and would contlnue to be a problem as long as lt lS not black topped. Chuck next updated the Counc1l on PPM. He told the Councll that he had been out by the property after the frlday, July 31st meetlng wlth the Councll and that there was water In the culvert cross1ng County Road 19, but that lt 1S not flowlng. Chuck explalned to the Councll that three sldes of the dlke were constructed at the t1me the pond was put In, wh~le the fourth slde ~s actually part of County,Road 19, resultlng In'the pond belng fllled wlth surface water run off as well as water from the bU1ldlng. Chuck was asked lf the culvert was clean. He stated that he couldn't tell because lt was half full wlth water. Donatus Vetsch then pOlnted out that there was never a problem 1n th1s area untll the culverts to the south of PPM were closed off. Judy Roden questloned ~f 1t was poss1ble that closlng off these culverts 1S the reason that thelr (the Roden's) water lS not flowlng. COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 3 , It was agreed that Chuck would contact the County Englneer's offlce to see ~ what lnformatlon they had avallable regardlng the drlveway lssue. Chuck next told the Councll that he had looked at 54th Street ln Psyk's addltlon and had contacted Ted LaTour who would be out to look at the problem. Chuck dld state that It appeared that someone had done some dragglng on the road and as the result lt appears that there could be two crowns developlng. Some of the Councll stated thelr concern regardlng someone worklng the road beds that have not been authorlzed. Hordls Brother's Glass Company representatlves Larry Kunkel, Presldent and Jerry O'Leary, Plant Manager were present to dlSCUSS the companles concern regardlng three lssues. 1. Safety factor of Resldentlal Lots Abuttlng Barthel Industrlal Drlve. 2. Increases ln Property Tax. 3. Increases ln Sewer and Water Rates. Each of these lssues were dlscussed lndlvldually by Hordls Brothers and were then submltted to the Clty ln form of a letter, (attached). (The letter from Hordls Brothers lays out each of the lssues ralsed and wlll be lncluded as part of the offlclal mlnutes.). The lssues ralsed lncluded: ~ * Hordls Brothers, Inc was present at the PublIC HearIng to VOlce thelr dlsapproval of rezonlng the parcel that lS now Barthel Manor. * After presentatlon by a Barthel Constructlonl Albertvl1le Industrlal Development Corporatlon representatlve, and addltlonal dlScusslon, the rezonlng request was passed on to the Clty Councl1 wlth the recommendatlon to approve wlth the followlng stlpulatlon: that ln order to reduce trafflc hazzards and nOlse problems It was recommended that a land berm, a 4 ft. fence, and trees be lnstalled. * Why dld the Almertvllle CIty Councll over rule the Plannlng Commlsslons recommendatlon that land berm , trees and fenclng be put ln along the property lInes that abutt Barthel Industrlal Drlve. * That when the Councll decided to over rule the Plannlng Commlsslons Recom- mendatlons, Hordls Brothers was not notlfled of the changes. The followlng questIons were asked by Hordls Brothers: * "Why was Hordls Brothers, Inc. not glven common or professlonal courtesy as to the overruhng of the CIty Councl1?" ~ * Because of thlS lack of concern for the safety of ltS cltlzens, are the lndlvlduals on the Councll legally responslble If an accldent happens? * How can an lndlvldual/Corporatlon trust ln the deciSIons of the CIty Councl1 when they overrule the group whose duty or obllgatlon 1t 1S to protect all concerned; the 1ndlv1dual, the corporatIon, the Clty, especIally when a compromlse had been reached and agreed upon by all partles who understood lt to be an agreement. * It took us to defend the cltlzens by our lnslstence on safety measures and sound control be lnstalled. When you overruled the agreement, you COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 4 . demonstrated, by youract~ons, that you were not concerned for the safety and welfare of ~ts c~t~zens. Why? Your elected pos~tlons, by thelr deflnltlons, say you must be. Larry Kunkel suggested that Hord~s Brother, Inc. consIdered takIng out an add In the local newspaper statIng the plants concerns. Maureen was asked to pull coples of the mlnutes from the publIC hear~ngs and subsequent meetlngs dur~ng WhlCh the Councll gave flnal approval on the proJect, so that the Councll could adequately reVlew the Informatlon In order to respond to the questlons raIsed by Hordls Brothers. The next lssues brought up were the lncreases ln property taxes, and sewer and water rates. Before gettIng ln the flrms concerns Mr. Kunkel gave an overVlew of how Hordls Brothers IS organlzed: There are 12 plants ln the U.S., 5 dlvlslons wIth Albertvllle wlthln the Central Dlvlslon. * Each plant & dlvlslon are totally automatlc. * The Dlvlslon Presldent has all the responslbll~ty and authorlty for runnlng thelr d1vlslon. * Orlglnally rented the bUlldlng from Scherber Brothers and 1n December 1986 purchased the bUlldlng. * Have the Slze of operatlon wIth $1.5 mllllon addltlon. . * Used local suppllers and contractors when constructlng bUlldlng. * Employs 125-130 people. * Has $1.5 mllllon payroll. * Use all local support - gas, hardware, food, and bank1ng etc. In addltlon to these lssues, Hordls Brothers feel that they have been more than cooperatlve; glvlng the followlng ltems as examples: * Moved f1re hydrant from along slde thelr drlveway even though they dId not lnstall the drlveway ln the flrst place. * Removed offIce because they dld not meet C1ty speclflcatlons. * Stopped uSIng and removed the companles lnclnerator. They stated that they dld these Items wlthout any complalnts, yet In turn they were rewarded wlth 1ncreased property taxes, and Increases ln the rates charged for sewer and water. Mr. Kunkel stated that If the operatIng costs of the Albertvllle plant contlnues to Increase that they wlll be forced to move the operat1on to another Clty. , The Company wlll have to Increase thelr sales by $2.5 mllllon to keep the company operat1ng wlth acceptable profIt level. . Mr. Kunkel flnally pOIsed the followlng quest1ons: COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 5 * Where does Hord~s Brother's, Inc. stand ~n the commun~ty? Are you ~nd~rect- ~ ly, by your act~on, ask~ng us to leave? * What does our ex~stence hexemean? In payment of taxes, water, sewer and School bonds? * What are you go~ng to do about the backcharges lev~ed to th~s Company? * What ~s go~ng to happen ~n the future? * Is there a future for Albertv~lle and Hord1s Brothers? Anot~er 1ssuedlscussed by the Counc11 and the representatIves of Hordls Brother's, Inc. was thel poss~b~llty of recyclIng some of theIr water to reduce some of the cost ~ncurred by the company. The C1ty EngIneer expla1ned that the new sewer charge system was des~gned so tmat each user pays for the water that goes through the1r system and because Hord1s 1S a wet Industry the~r bIll w111 be hIgh. The user charge system for the sewer system was expla~ned, showIng what Items go Into determ1n1ng the base rate on WhICh the sewer bIll1ngs are based. Other 1ssues dIscussed Included the fact that the water gOlng Into the sewer system has to be treated regardless to Its contents be ~t chem- 1cals, effluent, or water. ~ There was some dIScussIon about what other CItIes are d01ng WIth the1r waste- water treatment. It was suggested that the C~ty should contact some of the c1tles to see how they handle the 1ssues ra~sed. The d1Scusslon was set aS1de so that Mayor Roden could call the publ1C hear- 1ng on the park land dedIcatIon ord~nance. The hearIng was called to order and then there was a motIon made to contInue the hearIng untIl the Hordls Brother's, Inc. dec1sIon 1S completed. The motIon was made by Bob Braun and seconded by Donatus Vetsch. All were ~n favor and the mot~on carr1ed. The d1Scusslon regard1ng the sewer rates was brought back to the table. It was suggested thatithe C1ty contact the League of MInnesota Clt1es to see If they have any 1nformat10n regard~ng sewer rates. Ken told the CouncIl that at the last MWOA meetIng the tOp1C for d1Scuss10n was chargIng exactly what 1t costs to run the system. Mr. Kunkel and Mr. O'Leary were told that or1g1nally the rate had been alot h1gher, but was re- duced down to the current $2.10. It was further explaIned that the C1ty needs to reV1ew the charges set and adjust them accordIngly to assure that the operat10n, ma1ntenance and replacement 1S adequately covered. It 1S a general agreement of the Counc11 that at some p01nt the CIty w1ll be able to reduce the base rate as long as the O,M,&R 1s'suff1clemtly'coveredll: for. It was suggested that Hord1s Brother's, Inc. should attempt to appear before the Board of Rev1ew 1n May ~f they have any questIons regard1ng the~r taxes because 1t 1S the tIme set aSIde to challenge the taxes. ~ It was flnally agreed that 1n order to be able to address each of the Issues ~ . . . . COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 6 ra~sed properly, a staff report wlll be prepared. A committee of the Clty Adm~nlstrator, C~ty Attorney, City Englneer, C~ty Ma~ntenance and two Councl1 members w~ll meet to prepare the lnformatlon for the report. The Commlttee w~ll have an update at the next counc~l meet~ng. Hord~s Brothers sald that they would look lntol the posslbl1~ty of recycllng some of the water used ~n thelr process. The publlC hear~ng was reconvened and notlce of the hearlng was read. The floor was opened for questlons. It was asked ~f changes had been made regard~ng the pond~ng language, Bob Mlller stated that any of the changes requlred to brlng the ord~nance lnto conformance wlth statutes wl11 be done durlng the f~nal draft of the ord. lnances completlon. Issues that Bob Ml11er feels that the Counc~l has to be concerned w1th 1S any language that appears that the Clty ~s tak1ng property because, of recent court rul~ngs that say clt1es now have to pay for land. The ord~nance should also establ~sh a flxed standard for the amount of land to be ded1cated or a f~xed amount for a cash settlement. Other suggest~ons ~ncluded sett~ng a per lot dollar amount for res1dentlal subd1v~slons and a percentage amount for lndustrlal and commerc~al development when request1ng money ~n lleu of land, and a set percentage when requestlng land. There appeared to be no other quest~ons regardlng the ord~nance so the hear1ng was closed. The motlon to close the hearlng was made by Gary Schenz- fe~er and seconded by Don Cornellus. All were 1n favor and the motlon carrled. The ordlnance was then referred to Maureen Andrews and Bob Ml11er to make the necessary changes and brlng back to the Council for flnal approval. Ken Llndsay updated the Councl1 on varlOUS proJects. Street patchlng had been completed and the work looks good. A bld from Chuck Manson had been accepted to dOl the handlcapped sldewal~ on the corner of 57th and Lander. The next malntenance ltem dlscussed was the posslbll~ty of leaslng a tractor/ mower comblnatlon. It was agreed that when looklng at the optlon ~t appeared that ~t was too expenslve. Instead of leaslng there was dlScusslon that the Clty should look lnto purchaslng a tractor/mower system. Ken Llndsay and Gary Schwenzfeler had contacted two dlfferent John Deere dealers to get quotes on the equlpment. In addltlon to the tractor and mower they looked lnto the costs of a heated cab and snow plower. It was suggested that the Clty could use the proceeds of the llquldated damages to purchase the equlpment. There was some caGtlon pOl sed that we may stlll be recelvlng some bl11s for the settlement of the Notlce of Vl01atlon. A member of the Councll stated that he dld not feel ~t was proper that there be any addltlonal charges because lt lS the englneers respons~bll~ty to get the plant operatlng. No act~on was taken on thls statement. Bob M~ller questloned whether or not MPCA would want repayment for thelr ~ COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 7 " . share of the l~qu~date damages. After a lengthy d~scuss~on ~t appeared that because the sum of the damages was set at the hme, bf, the contcactt, I so as not to have to determ~ne actual damages, the money was the C~ty's to use ~n any appropr~ate fash~on. There was a quest~on regard~ng the l~m~t set before b~ds have to be taken. It appeared to be $15,000.00. There was also some concern about any other out of pooket expenses that the Counc~l hadn't fIgured on when cons~derlng us~ng the l~qu~dated damages money. It was f~nally agreed that the C~ty would purchase a tractor/mower prov~ded that they could be purchased for less than $12,000.00. A motIon to allow the Mayor and Clerk to s~gn a purchase agreement, for a tractor and mower, w~th' the lowest bIdder was made by Don Cornel~us and seconded by Donatus Vetsch. The mot~on also st~pulated that the C~ty would requ~re two wr1tten proposals and the pr~ce could not exceed $12,000.00 plus tax. All were ~n favor and the mot~on carr~ed. It was suggested that Maureen have a not~ce put ~n the paper askIng that people not blow the~r grass cl~pp~ng ~nto the street because ~t plugs the storm sewer system up. There was no act~on taken on the f~nd~ngs of the v~deo tape s~nce Chuck and Ken have not had an opportun~ty to rev~ew the tape. . There was some d~scuss~on about order~ng add~honal "No Truck" s~gns. It was dec~ded that unt~l there ~s enord~nance clearly def~n~ng what the C~ty wants to enforce Ken should hold on order~ng the s~gns. Ken told the Counc~l that NSP had put a recorder on the power l~ne out at the wastewater treatment fac~l~ty. As of the t~me of the Counc~l meet~ng there had not been any problems s~nce the recorder went on the l~ne. Ken told the Counc~l that he had purchased the snowplow for the p~ckup for $700.00. Ken L~ndsays, and M~ke Mergeses oVert~me calendars were rev~ewed. One of the members commented on the amount of overt~me earned. It was expla~ned that most of the overt~me came from workIng on the problems out at the waste- water treatment fac~l~ty. The Counc~l rev~ewed the appl~cat~ons for the Park Board pos~t~on. A mot~on was made by Gary Schwenzfe~er and seconded by Bob Braun to approve Steve Kl~tzka as the new Park Board representat~ve. All were ~n favor and the mot~on carned. Other bus~ness d~scussed ~ncluded f~x~ng the pole so the C~ty could fly a flag. The l~ght on top of the water tower ~s out, Gary Schwenzfe~er w~ll ~nform the Jo~nt Powers Board. . F~nally the Jaycees have budgeted $6,500.00 for 20 Ch>>~stmas lIghts. It was suggested that the CIty sell the old l~ghts and use that money towards the new hghts. There was no other bUSIness so the meetIng was adJourned. The motIon to adJourn was made by Don CornelIUS and seconded by Donatus Vetsch. All were .n favor and the rnot.on carr.ed. ~ ~ '/CLvtJG