Loading...
2014-01-21 CC MinutesNbertville . T-- L,,..«. C uww ALBERTVILLE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, January 21, 2014 ADOPTED MINUTES ALBERTVILLE CITY HALL 1. CALL TO ORDER — PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hendrickson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Hendrickson and Council members Sorensen and Vetsch Absent: Olson and Wagner 7:00 PM Others Present: City Administrator -PWD Adam Nafstad, City Attorney Mike Couri, Building Official Paul Heins, City Clerk Kimberly Olson, Water /Wastewater Operator Gerald Gerads, Zack Peterson, Lisa Peterson, and Nolan Anderson 3. RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INTRODUCTIONS A. Eagle Scout Recognition — Zack Peterson and Nolan Anderson Albertville Boy Scout Troop 547 Scout Master, Gerald Gerads, reported that both Zack and Nolan earned their 21 merit badges, completed their service projects as well the Board of Review. Zack reported that he built a 176 foot boardwalk west of the Fire Hall. He had to lead, organize and fund the project himself. The boardwalk was installed on October 20, 2013. Nolan reported that he has worked with Fire Chief Mills over the course of the last year on a memorial for the 2008 bus crash that occurred on I -94. He stated that he coordinated the materials, helpers and details to lay the flagstone for the memorial on May 18, 2013. Council thanked them for their community projects and congratulated them on their achievement. 4. PUBLIC FORUM There was no one present to speak. Page 1 5. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Clerk Olson added Item D2 set Public Hearing for Drainage and Utility Easement Vacation for Hunters Pass. Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve the agenda as amended. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent. Olson and Wagner. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. 6. CONSENT AGENDA All items under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by City Staff and will be enacted by one motion. In the event an item is pulled, it will be discussed in the order it is listed on the Consent Agenda following the approval of the remaining Consent items. These items will be approved by a separate motion. A. Approve the January 6, 2014 regular City Council meeting minutes as presented B. Authorize the Monday, January 21, 2014 payment of claims as presented, except bills specifically pulled which are passed by separate motion. The claims listing has been provided to City Council as a separate document and is available for public view at City Hall upon request Motioned by Vetsch, seconded by Sorensen, to approve the Consent Agenda. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent. Olson and Wagner. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARING — None 8. DEPARTMENT BUSINESS A. City Council 1). Committee Updates (STMA Arena, Planning, Parks, Fire Board, JPWB, etc) Due to his absence from the meeting, Council member Olson submitted a letter to the Council with the following comments: "The first item I have a concern with is the Letter to the Editor from the STMA School Board. While I do understand and support what they are trying to accomplish and have changed, I do have a concern that if we sign onto this letter, what are we saying to the residents in Albertville that do not live in the STMA boundary? While some open enroll in STMA, they all still pay taxes to Elk River, and I don't want us to ignore that. While we can't control what Elk River charges them in school taxes, I don't want us signing on in support of a change in STMA that would increase Elk River taxes. So, at this time I would strongly recommend tabling this item until we can get the school to put together a supplemental piece of literature that would explain to us, what the schools these changes have the most impact on what specifically does this City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014 mean for the Elk River School District and would they have any unintended impacts due to the changes? I would also recommend that we as a City reach out to the Elk River School board and ask that they provide a letter to us with their concerns or support for STMA in their pursuit of changes to the per pupil funding in education. S, at this time, based on what was provided in our Council packets, I would not be in favor of signing on to this letter without further information. The second item I have a comment on is the informational brochures that been requested from the City Planner. I do support the brochures and think they would be a huge benefit to staff and residents. I do feel that on top of the brochures, we focus on getting these up online and also focus on getting all applications, brochures, and checklists available online as well. For example, the application for Home Businesses is not on our website, Planning and Zoning applications and checklists for development are not online either. I recommend we focus heavily on providing these items online as soon as possible. If we provide a full service website with information that residents, businesses, and developers need, we will see a decrease in the amount of time staff spends in answering calls, responding to e- mails, and meeting with people at City Hall in order to obtain simple documents because they are not available on line. The final item I have is a slight concern on is the Barthel Industrial Drive NE and 54th Street NE drainage. Have we determined that the improvements will have a significant improvement to the issues that are currently occurring? Thinking back to previous meetings, I thought we see what the new study results /recommendations prior to moving forward with the design? Also, it appears that the City was found at fault based on a "compromised settlements" comment for the Flood Claims in the Administrator's Report. Are we sure that these changes will relieve the City of future claims, or do we need to reconsider the scope/budget of this project to avoid future claims ?" There were no other updates. B. Building 1). Building Report Nafstad reported 2013 was a good year for the Building Department. Total permits, single family home construction, and commercial additions /remodels were all increased from the previous year. The rental licensing program is ongoing. Hendrickson stated that she has only heard positive feedback from the community. Sorensen concurred. Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to accept the 2013 Year End Building Report. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent. Olson and Wagner. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014 C. Planning/Zoning 1). Planning Summary Nafstad briefly reviewed the Planning items that will be coming before the Council at the February 3, 2014 meeting. Vetsch inquired about the plans for the Sunoco site. Nafstad replied that conditions of approvals and revised site plans have not been submitted. Further, Nafstad replied that staff is under the impression the applicant is still pursuing the development and due diligence in ongoing. D. City Clerk 1). Voting Precincts Clerk Olson stated that staff had identified the possibility of splitting Albertville's one voting precinct into two during the 2014 budget discussions. She stated the MN Secretary of State's department recommends no more than 2,000 to 2,500 registered voters per precinct and Albertville is currently just under 4,000. She stated that even though Albertville is not the largest precinct in Wright County, it is larger than all precincts in Hennepin, Meeker, Stearns, and Sherburne Counties. She stated that the precincts larger than Albertville in Wright County are in much larger facilities to accommodate voters. Sorensen inquired if they would be looking at two separate precincts versus simply moving the location. Clerk Olson stated that would be the goal to not only relieve the parking and congestion issues, but will also help the election judges on Election Day. She recommended retaining City Hall as one of the precincts. Nafstad stated that possible buildings for another precinct will be limited and Olson added that they were looking for Council direction prior to contacting possible options. Clerk Olson stated that she will be meeting with Wright County and other election staff to discuss options for additional equipment if they add a precinct; she stated they could lease or purchase the equipment. Sorensen would like to see dollar figures for the possible costs if they pursue this and Clerk Olson replied she could provide those at the next meeting. Sorensen inquired about the main factors that would require the City to establish another precinct. Clerk Olson stated that parking is very limited at the current location and there is quite a bit of congestion in the precinct room and halls during the peak voting hours, stating that it was difficult for voters to distinguish the appropriate lines to be in. Nafstad stated also that the Secretary of State's guidelines are based on eliminating errors on Election Day. Sorensen inquired if it could be an option to move the precinct to the STMA Middle School East. Clerk Olson stated that it is an option and she can put together a list of all options and costs for the full Council at the next meeting. Hendrickson indicated that if they do proceed in adding another precinct, she can see the benefit of having them as far away from each other as possible. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014 Nafstad asked the City Attorney if there were any legal considerations. Couri replied that it is mainly notice to the residents and Clerk Olson is aware of those. He stated there are no issues with county commissioner boundary lines and suggested they adhere to the timeline provided if they move forward. 2). Set Public Hearing for Vacation of Drainage and Utility Easements for Hunters Pass 2nd Addition — Phase II Clerk Olson stated that the City will need to hold a public hearing for this easement vacation at the next meeting. Couri stated they would hold the hearing first and then pass a resolution for the vacation with the adoption of the other items for Hunters Pass. He stated the vacation of the easement is conditioned on the recording of the Hunters Pass 2nd Addition plat, so at no time will the City's easements be out of place. Motioned by Vetsch, seconded by Sorensen, to set alublic hearingfor vacation of drainage and utility easements for Hunters Pass 2" Addition. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent. Olson and Wagner. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. E. Legal 1). Sewer and Water Trunk Charges Couri reported the ordinance modifies the interest rate on the Sanitary Sewer and Water Trunk district know as the County Rd 37 Trunk Districts. The Niemeyer property received an interest rate decrease on its special assessment from the Council in 2013 to be effective January 1, 2014. The rate was lowered from 6.2% to 5.8 %. The other two properties in this district did not have their trunk charges assessed and will be required to pay interest dating back to the time of the improvements once they connect to the sewer and water trunk. This ordinance reduces the rate to 5.8% beginning January 1, 2014 and they will be required to pay the 6.2% interest rate through December 31, 2013. This was a request from the Council to make it a fair arrangement for all three properties. Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve Ordinance No. 2014 -01 entitled Ordinance Modifying Sanitary Sewer and Municipal Water Trunk District Charges. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent: Olson and Wagner. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. F. Finance — None G. Public Works and Engineering — None City Council Meeting Minutes Page 5 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014 H. Administration 1). School Funding Letter Nafstad reported that STMA School Board member Douglas Birk has drafted an editorial on inequity of school funding for the Star Tribune newspaper. The School District has asked St. Michael and Albertville to endorse the letter prior to publication. The intent is to convey support from the cities regarding school equity issues. Nafstad referred to Olson's written comments provided to the Council above. Nafstad stated they may want to table the item until they have a full Council to discuss the letter. He can speak to the superintendent regarding Olson's questions prior to the next meeting. Motioned by Hendrickson, seconded by Vetsch, to table this issue to the next meeting on February 3, 2014. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Yetsch. Nays: None. Absent: Olson and Wagner. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. 2). City Administrator's Update Nafstad referred to Olson's written comments above in regard to the 54th Street NE and Barthel Industrial Drive NE flood claims. Nafstad replied he will have a preliminary report in February and it will come before Council in early March. He stated they will see a great deal of improvements once the 2014 improvement is made. In regards to whether the City is at fault, Nafstad stated that he did not believe the City has admitted any fault when the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust stated they are offering a compromise settlement. Couri stated the League will review each claim on a case -by -case basis. Nafstad reported on the number of water main breaks the City has experienced recently. 3). Informational Brochures Nafstad that staff discussed putting together some brochures that are easy to read and understand brochures for residents. They include topics such as parking, outdoor storage and other common topics. Staff received a proposal from the City Planner for about $1,200 and staff would like Council direction on whether to move forward. There were no concerns from the Council and staff will move forward with the brochures. 10. ANNOUNCEMENTS and/or UPCOMING MEETINGS January 27 Joint Powers Water Board, 6:30 p.m. Parks Committee, 8:00 p.m. January 28 I -94 Coalition State of the Cities, Rogers, 11:30 a.m. February 3 City Council, 7:00 p.m. February 11 STMA Ice Arena Board, 6:00 p.m. February 12 Planning Commission, 7:00 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 6 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014 February 17 Presidents' Day, City Offices Closed February 18 City Council, 7:00 p.m. February 24 Joint Powers Water Board, 6:30 p.m. 11. ADJOURN MEETING Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to adjourn the meeting at 8:13 p.m. Ayes: Hendrickson, Sorensen, and Vetsch. Nays: None. Absent: Olson and Wagner. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, A A e�,� Kimberly A. lson, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes Page 7 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2014