Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout02/02/99 CCM23 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 2, 1999 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on February 2, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, Johnson, and Smith. Members absent: None Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, City Engineer Glenn Cook, Planning & Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, and City Clerk - Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Additions to the Agenda A. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Appointment Recommendation. B. Rural residential lot size update. C. Representative to Lake Minnetonka Cable Communications Commission. Moved by John Hamilton seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Minutes of January 19, 1999 A. Page 4, Item 11, change to read "the number of lights(not the candle power) were reduced from 42 to 25." B. Page 4, Item 11, change to read "Phil Zietlow said to reduce(not minimize) the lights under the canopy." C. Page 4, Item 11, add to Phil Zietlow's comments "...there was still a lot of wattage per pump under the canopy." Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the minutes of January 19, 1999. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Consent Agenda A. Approval of gambling license for Turn in Poachers (TIP) Organization. B. Approval of gambling license for the Church of St. Anne. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda There were none. 5. Park Commission Comments Phil Zietlow said last Saturday the park commission had a meeting with Jim Dillman to set the summer project priorities. 6. Planning Commission Comments Loren Kohnen said there will be two items on the next planning commission agenda, the Polaris conditional use permit and a continued discussion on the subdivision ordinance. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 24 7. Update on the Subdivision Ordinance Discussions Phil Zietlow said the proposal they had originally discussed would have required 2.5 acres of good soils and a minimum lot size of 8 acres. He said he believed that Medina was looking to maintain an overall density of 10 acre lots in the rural residential area. He suggested that the city pursue a 10 acre lot minimum versus an 8 acre minimum and allow 10 acre lots to exist with 2.5 acres of good soils versus 5 acres of good soils. He said that would give more than enough soils for environmental protection of septic sites. He said that change would allow an additional 90 lots. John Ferris said that there are probably a number of lots that would not develop into 10 acres lots. Loren Kohnen said this change would amount to an additional 60 lots in the rural residential area. Phil Zietlow said there has been some misleading information about the increase in population. He said based on this information, with 60 lots, the change would amount to a 5% increase in the overall population of Medina, not 25%. He said it would amount to less than 300 additional residents. Carolyn Smith said the planning commission asked why change it at all. They felt if it is not broken, why fix it? The planning commission felt like the current ordinance was working and would not need to be changed. Phil Zietlow said that at least half of the planning commissioners recognized that this was an issue of fairness. There was some additional discussion about the change that was to occur on July 1 of 1999. The current proposal being discussed would allow a 10 acre parcel with 2.5 acres of suitable soils, however, if there were parcels with 5 acres of suitable soils, they would be still able to create a 5 acre lot. Loren Kohnen said, however, there are very few available 5-acre areas of good soils in the city. Carolyn Smith said this would be discussed at the upcoming planning commission meeting. OLD BUSINESS 8. Lighting at the Holiday Station John Ferris said in his opinion, the next step for the city council would be to hold a public hearing to consider withdrawing the Holiday Station's conditional use permit based on non- compliance with the type of lighting used on the property. He said in his opinion, if this went to litigation, a judge would probably require the Holiday Station to bring the lights into compliance. There was some discussion about the glare ordinance. The consensus of the city council was to keep the original provision in the glare ordinance that would limit the candle power casting on residential property next to commercial property to 0.4. However, they wanted to continue with the increase to 1.2 candle power for properties not adjacent to residential property. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 25 The city council discussed setting a hearing date to revoke the conditional use permit. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to set the revocation hearing for March 16, 1999. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Blackfoot Trail Jim Dillman said the reason this was on the agenda again was because of an agreement the homeowners had with the city regarding the paving of Blackfoot Trail. The agreement stated that residents would pay for 100% of the cost of paving Blackfoot Trail when a seventh driveway was added. Ron Batty said he reviewed the agreement, and it was recorded on the properties in 1977 and included a description of the original properties. He described the agreement and asked the city council what they would like to do. John Ferris asked if the city council would like to treat this as they had recent road projects or hold the residents to the agreement recorded on their properties. Phil Zietlow said that we should see whether or not the property owners would like to have it paved. He said that the city should not force the residents to pave the road if none of the residents want to have the road paved. Ron Batty suggested the city council or staff set up a meeting with the residents on Blackfoot Trail to discuss what they would like to do with the road. Jim Dillman said if the road were paved to current standards and assessed as recent road projects have been assessed, the city would pay for 100% of the base and 25% of the blacktop and the remainder of the cost would be assessed to the property owners. He said the total amount to be assessed would be around $48,000. This would be split amongst the properties on Blackfoot Trail. The city's share would be $85,000. Carolyn Smith said she was not interested in constructing a substandard road on Blackfoot Trail. There was some discussion about using fabric and how that would extend the life of the road well beyond the cost of the fabric. Jim Dillman said over time the city saves more money paving gravel roads than it does maintaining gravel roads. He said this road is built right, it will last 15 to 20 years. At that point it would need an overlay and should last an additional 15 to 20 years. Bob Sonntag said he was happy to hear the city council consider treating Blackfoot Trail as Tamarack and assessing it in the same way as recent road projects. He expressed some of his concerns with the project and asked if it would be possible for developers to pay for the road versus having the residents pay for the road. Ron Batty said that based on the language in the agreement the residents would have to negotiate amongst themselves. This was not how agreements are put together today, but the Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 26 way this agreement was written, the residents themselves would have to agree on how to divide the assessment. John Ferris said that $4,000 to $5,000 for a paved road would be a good price. He said the property owners would gain at least that amount in increased property value. Sheldon Coplin, of 1595 Hamel Road, said that there are two issues here, there is the long- range plan and the short-range. He discussed some of the issues with paving Blackfoot Trail. He said as a part of his agreement for selling his property, he needed to insure access for at least one lot to Blackfoot Trail. This was, in essence, imposing the paving of the road. He asked if the agreement could be amended to include 9 driveways instead of 7 so when the 10th driveway went in then it would be required to be paved. He said that would be one option that could be pursued. There was some discussion about setting a hearing to discuss this assessment. Bob Sonntag asked if the Jubert property and the Wessin property would also be assessed for a portion of the road, since those properties will probably access Blackfoot Trail when they are sub -divided. Loren Kohnen said they may or may not be assessed at some point for this project. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to authorize staff to develop the costs involved for paving Blackfoot Trail, develop a list of properties to be assessed, and set a date for a public hearing on the assessment. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Sign Ordinance Ron Batty said once again a draft of the sign ordnance was included in the packet. He said he also included a draft of the glare ordinance. This has not been formally presented to the planning commission but was included since it related to the sign ordinance. Ron Batty said he added some additional provisions to the ordinance based on the previous discussion on the size of the sign and the sign area. He also discussed the significance of the definition of sign and whether or not panaflex type lighting should be included in the definition of sign area. Ron Batty said the issue of illumination of the sign has been dealt with to some degree with the conditional use permit where it is required to be downcast and diffused. He said that illumination of signs may not be from downcast lighting. He said he has recently become more aware how different cities accommodate lighting of signs. Batty asked how a sign would be dealt with if it were painted on the outside wall of a building and the wall were lit from below or above, would the whole side of a building be considered a sign. Additional types of signs and lighting configurations were discussed. Ron Batty said he was not confident that requiring downcast lighting would accomplish the goal the city council was seeking. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 27 Carolyn Smith said the intent of the sign ordinance and the intent of the residents who attended recent meetings was to create an ordinance that would maintain the rural character of Medina and one that would require more subdued lighting in the commercial corridor. She said that a number of people mentioned that Plymouth seemed to be doing an adequate job of regulating lighting in their city, however, most residents have said that they do not want Medina to look like Plymouth, so Medina may require a more restrictive ordinance than Plymouth. Phil Zietlow suggested that the problem be rectified by regulating the amount of wattage and square footage that a sign can have and that the sign area include any area that is illuminated. John Ferris said that any illumination behind the sign should be counted as part of the sign area and that be held to the candlepower of the glare ordinance at the property line no matter where the illumination comes from. There was some discussion about how they measure light coming from a sign. Loren Kohnen asked what would the city do with existing signs that are not in compliance with the new ordinance. He said that there are a lot of signs that would not be. Loren Kohnen suggested that the city council move slowly before making any significant changes to the sign ordinance. Ron Batty suggested that city council members drive through developed areas to see the different types of signs and lighting to help them determine what types of standards they would like to create. 11. Purchase of a Generator Jim Dillman said that $40,000 had been budgeted in the sewer and in the water department for purchase of a generator. He said that may or may not be enough to cover the purchase of the generator. He said that he is going to put some specifications together for the purchase of the generator and was also looking into purchasing a used generator. 12. C C & M Lot Subdivision Loren Kohnen said that C C & M Partnership wanted to subdivide one acre of their 14.3-acre lot. The property is zoned urban commercial which allows a minimum lot size of one acre. He said that proper drainage and utility easements would need to be provided, Clydesdale Trail will need to be extended with a temporary cul de sac constructed. He said see the information attached from the city engineer. He said that staff recommended approval, with several conditions. He said the planning commission also recommended approval with the five conditions as recommended by the staff. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to direct the city attorney to draft a preliminary plat resolution with the five conditions. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Appointment Resolution 99-10 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 28 Phil Zietlow said he recommended the city pass a resolution recommending appointments to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. He said that the gentlemen being recommended had been reviewed by the committee in previous years and they felt that these representatives could best represent the cities in this part of the watershed district. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve Resolution 99-10 endorsing candidates for appointment to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Appointment of Resident to the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission Paul Robinson said that Ann Thies asked to be appointed as the resident representative commissioner to the communications commission. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve Ann Thies as the resident representative to the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission. Motion passed unanimously. 15. 1999 Legal Bills Ron Batty said he was asking for a $10 per hour increase to reimbursable legal expenditures. He said that this was a net 3.5% increase over last year. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the increase as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Approval of the Lease Agreement for Hennepin County's Data Base Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the agreement as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Bills Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the bills, order check # 19298- 19354 for $76,402.47, and payroll check # 15968-15988 for $15,229.96. Motion passed unanimously. 18. Adjournment Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by John Ferris, to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. n B. Ferris, Mayor Paul Robinson, CI y Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 29 ORDER CHECKS - FEBRUARY 2, 1999 19298 Voided Check 19299 911 Emergency Products $ 79.12 19300 A T & T Wireless Long Distance 1.90 19301 Air Touch Cellular 8.68 19302 Earl F. Anderson 1,489.56 19303 B & B Products 126.22 19304-5 Bonestroo & Associates 7,693.35 19306 Classic Cleaning 191.70 19307 Delta Dental 707.20 19308 Dept. of Natural Resources 239.00 19309 Division of Emergency Mgmt. 125.00 19310 E-Z-Recycling 2,473.02 19311 Rolf Erickson Enterprises 3,015.63 19312 Grafix Shoppe 83.81 19313 Great West Life 882.00 19314 H & L Mesabi 428.14 19315 Harmon Glass 422.50 19316 Hennepin Co. Treas., Acctg. Svcs. 360.00 19317 Kennedy & Graven 5,736.32 19318 Kustom Signals 46.28 19319 Lake Business Supply 252.33 19320 M. I. L. E 195.00 19321 Maple Grove Law Enf. Training Fac. 125.00 19322 Medica Choice 7,486.64 19323 Medica 350.90 19324 Metro West Inspection 6,907.00 19325 Metropolitan Council Env. Services 10,899.37 19326 Metrocall 64.29 19327 Metropolitan Council 3,960.00 19328 Minnesota Dept. of Health 120.00 19329 Minnesota Mutual 275.00 19330 Minnesota State Treasurer 2,721.98 19331 Minnesota State Retirement 155.00 19332 Minnesota's Bookstore 228.98 19333 Minn. Board of Soil & Water 25.00 19334 Mothers Motors/Loretto Towing 10.00 19335 Municipals 10.00 19336 National Fire Prot. Assn. 115.00 19337 Northern States Power 1,676.92 19338 P.E.R.A. 3,081.23 19339 Perry's Truck Repair 4.63 19340 Jon Priem 39.97 19341 Public Safety Equipment 140.00 19342 Randy's Sanitation 81.27 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999 30 ORDER CHECKS — FEBRUARY 2, 1999 (CONT'D) 19343 Ritz Camera Centers 7.74 19344 Steven Schmit Plumbing 554.00 19345 T.L. Stevens Well 131.50 19346 Streicher's 498.79 19347 Total Office Products 100.00 19348 U.S. Filter - 44 mot— S 10,123.90 19349 U.S. West Communications 442.43 19350 United Systems Technology 87.00 19351 Unum 75.60 19352 U. S. P. S. 500.00 19353 Donald Wendling 615.57 19354 Westonka Medical Group 231.00 $76,402.47 PAYROLL CHECKS — FEBRUARY 1 , 1999 15968 Voided Check 15969 John Hamilton $ 138.52 15970 Carolyn A. Smith 138.52 15971 John B. Ferris 207.79 15972 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52 15973 James R. Johnson 138.52 15974 Paul A. Robinson 955.39 15975 Steven T. Scherer 1,041.64 15976 Christopher R. McGill 948.41 15977 Michael J. Rouillard 1,171.21 15978 Scott W. Kroeger 1,118.12 15979 James D. Dillman 1,278.47 15980 Robert P. Dressel 1,043.54 15981 Edgar J. Belland 1,680.26 15982 Martha C. Lundell 266.10 15983 Cecilia M. Vieau 847.39 15984 Laura L. Sulander 981.66 15985 Sandra L. Larson 787.71 15986 Jon D. Priem 1,192.38 15987 Judd Harper 246.55 15988 Jeremy L. Christenson 909.26 $15,229.96 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes February 2, 1999