2010-11-29 CC Minutes Special Joint St. MichaelSt. Michael City Council Minutes
Special Joint City Council Meeting with Albertville
November 29, 2010
CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL 6:00 P.M.
Pursuant to due call and notice a special joint meeting of the St. Michael and Albertville City
Councils was held on Monday, November 29, 2010, in the Council Chambers of St. Michael
City Hall, at 11800 Town Center Drive at 6:00 p.m.
Present: Albertville Mayor Ron Klecker; Council Members Tom Fay, Larry Sorensen, Dan
Wagner, John Vetsch, and Council -elect Jillian Schommer; Albertville City Administrator Larry
Kruse; St. Michael Council Members Joe Hagerty, Joe Marx (in at 6:45 p.m.), Cindy Weston,
and Council -elect Nadine Schoen; St. Michael City Administrator Robert Derus, Community
Development Director Marc Weigle, City Engineer Steve Bot, and City Clerk Diana Berning.
Call to Order
St. Michael Acting Mayor Joe Hagerty called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m., declaring a
quorum present. The pledge of allegiance was said.
Set Agenda
Motion by Wagner, seconded by Klecker, to set the agenda as presented. All voted aye.
Introduce New Members taking office in 2011
St. Michael Councilor -elect Nadine Schoen and Albertville Councilor -elect Jillian Schommer
were introduced to everyone present.
Tour of St. Michael City Center
St. Michael Administrator Derus gave the group a tour of the new St. Michael City Center. The
building is a joint effort with Albertville and Hanover, who are contributing some money to the
library. Albertville Mayor Klecker commented the building is a great facility for the community,
and will hopefully be well used by residents.
Use of Facilities
Derus explained there are various conference rooms as well as the large Council Chambers in the
City Center that can be rented by the public for use. The rental policy for the rooms is similar to
Albertville's policy and allows certain groups to use the building once a month at no charge.
STMA Ice Arena
Albertville Councilor Wagner said the STMA Ice Arena seems to be functioning well. Late in
2009, Albertville staff began providing more oversight and management to the ice arena, which
has improved the communication and financial record keeping for the arena. There are also new
members on the Youth Hockey Association board who are adding excitement and use to the
arena. Albertville Administrator Kruse said the operations are cash -flowing. There is a goal to
double the summer ice usage for 2011, with the hope of being able to set aside money for a
second sheet of ice. Kruse also explained the roof at the arena continues to leak and that the
board recently authorized a temporary repair to the roof, but that within the next three years, the
roof will likely need to be replaced at an estimated cost of $120,000. There is continuing
pressure to build a second sheet of ice, and the Hockey Board and members of the Youth Hockey
Association are working together on options and funding solutions for a second sheet. At this
Joint Council Meeting Cities of Albertville and St. Michael — November 29, 2010 — Page 2
time, there is not much money available from the three public entities involved for a second
sheet.
Community Garden
Community Development Director Weigle informed the members of an opportunity to lease
some land from the STMA School District to be used for a community garden. The location of
the land is along Frankfort Parkway across from the Joint Apprenticeship Training Center. He
said there is a Gardening Committee that has already put together bylaws for the garden, and will
advertise and sell the lots, and take care of other administrative responsibilities. St. Michael has
offered to till the land for the plots and provide a water supply for the area. Weigle said residents
living in St. Michael and Albertville will receive the resident discount for the price/plot.
CSAH 18 Pedestrian Trail
Kruse noted the city of Albertville has applied for a couple of grants hoping to secure some
money to complete the trail along County Road 18 to Jamison Avenue NE, which would provide
a safer route for students traveling to the STMA High School.
Update on FYCC
There was general discussion on FYCC. Derus noted it's been about a year since both cities
become more involved in the oversight of FYCC. There have been some meetings with Jim
Behle (the Assistant Superintendent) and Mary Ellen Barthel (Community Education) to
determine if there is some overlap in programs and whether Community Ed. and FYCC can
better coordinate their programs. Derus also informed the group that due to budget restraints,
Tammy Pellaton's work hours had been scaled back to 20 hours per week earlier in the summer
and that she has since left for a different full-time position in Cokato. Kruse indicated it is
important to make sure that the school district and cities are working together. There was also
discussion about the cost of a traditional parks and recreation department, with the observation
that St. Michael and Albertville have a much more cost-effective program than most other cities.
I-94 Interchange Project
Kruse said Albertville is continuing to move forward with the I-94 Interchange project. Most of
the right-of-way has been acquired for the project and the city has secured a large amount of
money from both the federal government and the county for the project. St. Michael Engineer
Bot congratulated Albertville on their success in receiving outside funding for the project and
spoke of the importance of spending the money allocated for the project rather than turning it
down.
Naber Avenue Interchange
A question was asked about the Naber Avenue Interchange project. Bot said all the necessary
approvals have been received for the project; now it's just a matter of figuring out the funding
for it. It will likely take a private developer to be interested in the interchange and willing to
help fund it before it will happen.
Electric Franchise Fee
Albertville is considering implementing an Electric Franchise Fee and asked about St. Michael's
experience with resident feedback on the fee. Bot said residents are always concerned about the
benefit they receive for paying the fee, but that once it is explained to them that they money
received helps pay for the street lights, traffic lights, and outdoor warning sirens residents are
generally okay with the fee.
Joint Council Meeting Cities of Albertville and St. Michael — November 29, 2010 — Page 3
Traffic Discussion
Mayor Klecker asked about the "No right turn on red" sign for traffic travelling west on
Highway 241 at the County Road 19 intersection. Bot explained Mn/DOT installed that sign in
response to the amount of people concerned with the sight distance at that intersection. Sorensen
also asked about the speed on Jamison Avenue NE and Bot clarified that it is 45 mph near the
schools and 55 mph south of the schools.
Outgoing Members
Several members of the group expressed their thanks and appreciation for the service of outgoing
Albertville Mayor Ron Klecker, Albertville Councilor Tom Fay, and St. Michael Councilor Joe
Hagerty.
Adjourn
Motion by Sorensen, seconded by Klecker to adjourn the meeting at 7:17 p.m. All voted aye.
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City Administrat
Mayor