Loading...
2023-12-11 Special City Council MinutesALBERTVILLE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES December 11, 2023 – 7 pm Council Chambers Albertville City Hall 1. Call to Order Mayor Hendrickson called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance – Roll Call Present: Mayor Hendrickson, Councilmembers Cocking, Hayden, Olson and Zagorski. Staff Present: City Administrator Nafstad, Fire Chief Bullen, City Attorney Couri, Finance Director Lannes and City Clerk Luedke. 3. Recognitions – Presentations – Introductions – None 4. Public Forum – None 5. Amendments to the Agenda MOTION made by Councilmember Zagorski, seconded by Councilmember Cocking to approve the December 11, 2023, agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. 6. Consent Agenda All items under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the City staff and will be enacted by one motion. In the event an item is pulled, it will be discussed in the order listed on the Consent Agenda following the approval of the remaining Consent items. Items pulled will be approved by a separate motion. A. Approve the November 21, 2023, regular City Council Meeting minutes as presented. B. Authorize the Monday, December 11, 2023, 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. C. Authorize the payment of all claims received by December 31, 2023, which would be the year-end closeout of payment and claims. D. Approve the renewal of the THC license for the licensee listed in the staff report for the period of January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. E. Reduce Letter of Credit No. 750127757, held as security for Kingston Crossings to no less than $148,000, conditioned on any outstanding balances owed to the City being paid in full. F. Approve Payment Estimate No. 2 to Omann Contract in the amount of $416,668.18 for the 2023 Street Improvement Project. G. Approve Payment Estimate No. 1 to Fehn Companies in the amount of $81,037.38 for the 50th Street Retaining Wall Improvements. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 Special Meeting of December 11, 2023 MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve the December 11, 2023, Consent Agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. 7. Public Hearing A. Public Hearing – Special Assessment of Cleanup costs to Maeyaert Property City Attorney Couri provided background information on the zoning violations which occurred at 10479 61st Street in Albertville. He recapped the proposed assessment amount and said the assessment would not be added to the 2024 taxes because the cutoff to submit the assessment to Wright County was in November. Attorney Couri reported assessment would begin to accrue interest at a rate of 10% now and then be added to 2025 tax roll. He answered questions from Council and said he would speak to the County to see if the assessment could be certificated to the property in 2024. Finance Director Lannes answered questions from Council regarding Wright County’s assessment process. Mayor Hendrickson opened the public hearing. No one requested to speak. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to close the public hearing. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. MOTION made by Councilmember Olson, seconded by Councilmember Zagorski to adopt Resolution No. 2023-49 adopting Special Assessment Roll related to the removal of Nuisances and Zoning Violations. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. B. Public Hearing – Municipal Consent for I-94 Gap Project Mayor Hendrickson opened the public hearing. City Administrator Nafstad introduced the item, and the representatives present from MnDOT: District 3 Engineer Mike Ginnaty, Assistant District Engineer Jim Hallgren and Project Engineer Darren Nelson. He said MnDOT was seeking Municipal Consent for the layout of the I-94 Gap Project. He said the representatives were aware of the outstanding issues the City has with the past project and believes several of the items should be included in this Gap project. He said the outstanding issues include the westbound (WB) C-D Road not being built, the Creamery stormwater pond, the short turn lane onto the freeway, and a proposed trail segment to 60th Street. Mr. Darren Nelson, Project Engineer, reported MnDOT had a long history with the I-94 project and was at the meeting to request Municipal Consent for the I-94 Gap project layout. He said he was not as familiar with the past project as other representatives who have attended past meetings but added he has done quite a bit of homework on it. He provided the construction timeline of the Gap project, funding sources, cost participation amounts, the trail system expansion and presented the proposed layout for the Gap Project. He addressed questions from Council regarding the past I-94 project, the WB C-D road, the Creamery stormwater pond, and the short turn lane. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 Special Meeting of December 11, 2023 There was much Council discussion regarding the past I-94 construction project, the concerns with the WB C-D road not being built at the same time as the bridge replacement, the MnDOT/Creamery pond land that was to preserved, and the short tum lane from County 19 to the freeway and the safety hazards it presented. They voiced their concerns regarding MnDOT not following through on past items that were agreed upon in conjunction with the last I-94 project. City Administrator Nafstad reported on the history of interchange planning and approvals and the financial concerns the City has with not incorporating the C-D and an appropriately designed tum lane into the Gap Project. Mr. Nafstad expressed concern that if the turn lane and C-D road were not included in the Gap project, they would need to constructed as City projects, which would not be feasible. City Attorney Couri provided information on the project's history and said to the representatives present that even though they may be newer to the I-94 project, MnDOT as an organization has existed during the whole time and added just because there has been MnDOT turnover the City's issues needed to be addressed. Public Works Supervisor Guimont said the fence on the north side of the C-D road has been down for about 3 years and asked if it could be repaired. He also discussed the snowmobile trail that was no longer available on the south side of the freeway where the park and ride used to be and asked if it could be replaced. No one from the public requested to speak. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to close the public hearing. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. The Council had further discussion regarding the project issues and the consensus was to delay the Municipal Consent decision until a date prior to March 11 which was within the 90-day Minnesota Statute requirement for the City's approval or disapproval of the layout which may give the City additional time to work with the Minnesota legislature. 8. Wright County Sheriff's Office - Updates, reports, etc. There were no updates from the Wright County Sheriffs Department. 9.Department Business A.City Council 1. Committee Updates (STMA Ice Arena, Planning, JPWB, Parks, Fire Board, FYCC, etc.) Councilmember Cocking provided an update from the STMA Ice Arena meeting which included the approval of a new ceiling in the gold rink and a scoreboard in the in the blue rink. He said the STMA Youth Hockey Association donated the funds for the new scoreboard. B.Building -None C.City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 Special Meeting of December 11, 2023 1. Adopt 2024 Fee Schedule Ordinance City Clerk Luedke presented the staff report and said the majority of the City’s fees would remain the same for 2024. She provided information on the proposed fee increases and said if approved, the fee schedule would be effective on January 1, 2024. She answered questions from Council regarding the proposed fees, There was Council discussion regarding proposed fee schedule and Councilmember Olson asked for clarification on the new “Water and Sewer Service repair” fee. Finance Director Lannes reported the new fee was added for billing repairs to damages done to fire hydrants, etc. City Administrator Nafstad provided information on the new repair fee and reported for clarification he would tie it to a City Code section like other fees listed in the schedule. He said he would also review the description change to the fee listed under 5-3-3C. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Olson to adopt Ordinance No. 2023-13, amending Title 3, Chapter 1, Section 3-1-3 (City Fees, Fines and Rate Schedule in the Albertville City Code) as amended and approve summary Ordinance for Publication. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. D. Finance 1. Albertville Personnel Policy – Revisions to add Earned Sick and Safe Time Finance Director Lannes presented the staff report and reported effective January 1, 2024, all employers are required to provide Earned Sick and Safe Time. She said City staff revised the City’s Personnel Policy to add the Earned Sick and Safe Time and in doing so also reviewed the policy for language clarification and formatting matters. She answered questions from Council. City Administrator Nafstad and City Attorney Couri answered questions from Council regarding the proposed Personnel Policy revision. There was Council discussion regarding the new Earned Sick and Safe Time and the proposed changes to the Personnel Policy. MOTION made by Councilmember Hayden, seconded by Councilmember Cocking to approve updated Albertville Personnel Policy. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. E. Fire 1. Amended Albertville Fire Relief Association Bylaws Fire Chief Bullen presented the staff report which included background information on the proposed Albertville Fire Relief Association Bylaws amendments. He answered questions from the Council. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve the amended Albertville Fire Relief Association Bylaws. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 5 Special Meeting of December 11, 2023 F.Planning and Zoning – None G.Public Works/Engineering – None H.Legal – None I.Administration 1. City Administrator’s Update City Administrator Nafstad reviewed the City Administrator’s Update. He also discussed the earlier public hearing. Council requested City staff submit in writing the issues the City has that directly impact the Municipal Consent, for example the addition of the WB C-D road. Announcements and/or Upcoming Meetings December 12 Planning Commission, 7 pm December 18 City Council – Meeting Cancelled December 25 City Offices Closed in observance of the Christmas Holiday December 26 Joint Powers Water Board – Meeting Cancelled Parks Committee – Meeting Cancelled January 1 City Offices Closed in observance of New Years January 2 City Council, 7 pm (Tuesday) 10.Adjournment MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, second by Councilmember Zagorski to adjourn the meeting at 9:28 pm. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Kristine A. Luedke, City Clerk