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Home My Public Portal About04/01/97 CCM71 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 1, 1997 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on April 1, 1997, at 7:30p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: John Ferris, John Hamilton, Jim Johnson, Ann Thies, and Phil Zietlow. Members absent: None. Also present: Public Works Director Jim Dil!man, City Engineer Shawn Gustafson, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Attorney Ron Batty, and City Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson. Mayor Ferris said that the flag was at half mast because Tom Anderson, who was a previous mayor of the City of Medina for 12 years, had passed away. Ferris related a number of the things that he had done for the city -- that he had been on the planning commission, and was very involved with the Hamel Park and in the Hamel area. 1. Adoption of the Agenda Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adopt the published agenda with the following additions: 1. Discussion on upcoming meeting dates. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Minutes Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Ferris, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 18, 1997, as submitted. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Ann C. Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the minutes of the special meeting of March 25, 1997, as submitted. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Hennepin County Green Acre's Policy Keith Rennerfeldt, principal appraiser for Hennepin County, started out his presentation with a historical introduction of MN Statute 273.111(green acres statute). The statute was created in 1968 and was enacted to protect farmers from being pushed off their land due to urban sprawl and rising property values. In 1992 a supreme court decision redefined the application of the green acres statute. Originally, the statute stood by itself and did not look at the general property classification statues, but in 1992 the court determined that the primary use of the property was to be used to determine the property class. If the property's main use was residential, then the green acres statute could not be used to protect the property as a farm. Rennerfeldt said that the county did not take properties off green acres after this determination was made because, at that time, properties taken off green acres would have been required to pay the difference in property taxes for two years prior to when it went off of the green acres Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 72 protection. The county determined that this would be a burden to a number of the property owners so the county grandfathered in properties that were on green acres protection prior to 1992. Rennerfeldt said that these properties were left on gre n acres as long as nothing changed. If something changed then they would re-evaluate the properties classification. Rennerfeldt discussed recent legislation that eased penalties on certain residential properties taken off green acres protection. This legislation removed most of th objections that the county assessor had to removing properties from green acre Rennerfeldt said that there were 65 properties countywide that were being rem from green acres this year and that 13 of those were located in Medina. Rennerfeldt said that properties removed from green acres this year were ones that obviously were not gaining their primary income from farming. Some properties were deriving incomes of less than $2,000 per year from their farming operations. Phil Zietlow asked if income was the primary determiner in taking properties off green acres. Rennerfeldt answered that it was, but that the county looked at properties fairly and at the original intent of the statute which was to protect farmers. He explained that there were some cases where farmers may be left on green acres with a lower amount of income if they had been farming the property for many years. Rennerfeldt suggested that the city council read through the Barrons case which he distributed in the information to the city council. This case lays out the green ac es statute and the current interpretation very well. He said that last year city councils at their local boards of review had given some property owners false hope that the may be able to reverse the decision made by the county assessor regarding their green acres status. Some of these people spent a lot of money in court and eventually withdrew their cases because they realized they would not be able to win. Rennerfeldt thanked the council for the opportunity to speak to them. 4. PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS Tom Gregor, Chair of the Park Commission, said that Tom Anderson had passed away. He stated that Dorothy Anderson had requested all memorials for Tom be design=ted to the Hamel Memorial Park Fund. Tom Gregor said that a local Girl Scout Troop would be working on a prairie restoration project in the park. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 73 John Ferris said that Patty Gregor had given him a $1,500 check from the Hamel Athletic Club for the Hamel Memorial Park Fund. This money was raised during their snow golf tournament fund raiser. Ferris thanked from the Hamel Athletic Club for their fundraising efforts. 5. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS There was some discussion about septic site regulations, especially regarding the standards for noncompliance. Loren Kohnen said that he and Ron Batty were working on a new ordinance regarding septic sites. NEW BUSINESS 6. Planning & Zoning - EAW Spring Hill Golf Club There was some discussion with Andy Hunter, President of the Spring Hill Golf Club, about the golf club's plans. Hunter made a short presentation about where they were in the process and outlined the three variance requests that they were asking for from the City of Orono. One was for variance for construction of their maintenance facility at the intersection of Tamarack and County Road 6. The second was a variance to the wetland ordinance, which was the main reason for the environmental assessment worksheet(EAW). The third issue was a variance to Orono's bluff ordinance. Hunter then outlined three additional issues. One was an access road access road off of Spring Hill Road. Some Orono residents believe that this will create traffic problems on Spring Hill Road. They are in discussion with the City of Orono on that issue. Second was a trail system. The issue here was whether or not the golf course would accommodate a trail system around the perimeter of the golf course, which, Hunter said they would be willing to do. The third issue was regarding a 43 acre basswood -maple forest designated by the DNR as a Big Woods area. This area is primarily in Medina. Hunter said the course designers redesigned the golf course to save as much of the Big Woods area as possible, but he added that no design will save all of it. Hunter said that they had three tree experts on staff and that they were pro -environment people and would try to do everything possible to maintain the integrity of this area. Ann Thies said that she was dismayed at the amount of Big Woods that was being taken out of this area, but compared with a subdivision of homes the golf course appears to be a preferred option. There was some discussion about the Big Woods and that if strips of it were removed, it would not function as a Big Woods once it loses its canopy. There was also some Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 74 discussion about wetlands in the area and some of the actions the Club was taking to improve the water quality of the area. 7. APT Contract Ron Batty said that before the council this evening was a proposal for a tempor ry antenna site agreement with American Portable Telecom(APT). The proposed ntenna would be located on the Hamel water tower until Nextel builds its antenna on ich APT will eventually be located . He said that this agreement was similar to thole that the city council has seen previously. Ann Thies asked why the co -location clause was included on page 3. Richard Buckley, APT representative, said that the clause was a part of their standard contract and should have been stricken from this contract. He apologized and aid the portion that dealt with co -location should be removed from 13D. Mayor Ferris asked what action the city council was to take regarding this contract. Ron Batty said that the city council could approve the agreement subject to the changes dealing with co -location in 13D. Ann Thies asked if the location of the ground equipment was approved. Jim Dillman said that he had not had an opportunity to review that portion of the plan. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson to approve the APT contract, subject to removal of the co -location portion of paragraph 13D and review and approval of the ground location and structural plans. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Meeting Dates Loren Kohnen said that there was a going to be a Riverside Community Forum n Tuesday, April 29, from 7:OOp.m. - 9:OOp.m. at the Corcoran City Hall. He said t at it would be a presentation on planning and zoning issues with one hour of questi ns and answers and he recommended that the city council attend. There was some discussion about the meeting. The city council agreed that it would be good to attend. Ron Batty said that if a quorum of the city council attends, a special meeting not ce would need to be posted. The City Clerk was directed to post special meeting n tice. Loren said on April 17 a meeting was scheduled at Medina City Hall regarding t e extension of Clydesdale Trail at the intersection of 116 and Highway 55. This m eting Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 75 will be between the property owners who want a frontage road to be constructed, and the state and county highway departments. Ann Thies and John Ferris said that they would be attending this meeting. 9. Public Works - Independence Beach Lift Station #1 Jim Dillman said that according to the "1994 Tri-City Agreement" between Medina, Independence, and Greenfield, the Independence Beach Lift Station needs to be upgraded on or before 1998. Dillman said that he needed approval from the city council to prepare plans and specs and to authorize a bid opening for 10 a.m. April 29, 1997. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris, to authorize the preparation of the plans and specifications and to set a bid opening for 10 a.m. April 29, 1997. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Morningside Water System Update Jim Dillman said that he had no new information at this time. 11. Road Material Bids Jim Dillman handed out road material and equipment bids that were received at the bid opening on Monday, March 31, 1997. He asked the city council for approval of the road material bids as presented. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the road material bids as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission - Joint Powers Amendment Jim Daniels, administrator of LMCC, said that included in the City Council's information was a resolution to amend the LMCC Joint Powers Agreement. He said that the commission has been very good about keeping cities up to date and watching for changes in the telecommunications act and with other communication issues. The commission's attorney recommended that they amend the Joint Powers Agreement adding the language "advising member cities about communications issues" and to drop the word "cable" and keep "communications". Daniels said that the commission would only act in an advisory capacity when the cities needed help on a specific communication issues. Council Member Thies thanked Jim Daniels and commented that he was an important lobbyist on behalf of cities on communications issues. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Ann Thies, to pass resolution 97-08 amending the joint powers agreement with the LMCC. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 76 13. Highway 12 Policy Committee Update Ann Thies updated the city council on a number of issues that the policy committee had been working on. One issue that received some conversation was a proposal y the county to continue County Road 19 south, across Highway 12 onto Townline R�pad. This would turn Townline Road into County Road 19. Council Member Thies said she would continue to keep the city council updated on these issues. 14. Discussion on Designating Antenna Revenue John Ferris stated that Paul Robinson outlined a history of this issue that was included in the city council packets. To date the city council had made a decision to set aside money from antenna revenue for some future purpose(s). Ferris said two ideas for those funds had been raised, a water treatment plant and park improvements or preserving/acquiring park land. There was some discussion about the uses for these funds and the potential name for this fund. The city council decided that an environmental fund would encompass all suggested uses of this revenue. 15. Approval to Pay the Bills Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve order checks numbers 16956-17005 for $115,153.24 and payroll checks 15171-15187 for $ 11, 023.56. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Executive Session - Roach v. Medina Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Ann Thies, to close the meeting and mo executive session at 9:35 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. e into Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris, to come out of executive session and to resume the regular meeting at 9:55 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Adjourn Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adjourn the meeting at 9:56 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. John B. Ferris, Ma Paul Robinson, Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 ORDER CHECKS - APRIL 1, 1997 16956 Air Touch Cellular $ 98.14 16957 Earl F. Anderson 142.28 16958 B & B Products 25.56 -' 16959 Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik 13,472.57 16960 Bryan Rock Products 177.47 16961 Buffalo Biituminous 10,022.41 16962 C. P. Rai I System 81.00 16963 Davies Water Equipment. 76.04 I\ 16964 Delta Dental 599.25 16965 James Dillman 75.00 16966 Robert Dressel 75.00 16967 E-Z-Recycling 2,132.58 16968 Egan Oil Co. 219.71 16969 Rolf Erickson Ent., Inc 2,617.52 16970 Feed Rite Controls 698.84 16971 Firstar Bank 175.00 16972 Gary's Diesel Service 193.59 16973 Great West Life Assurance 1,015.00 16974 Hardrives, Inc 5,160.48 16975 Hennepin Co. Treas.,Voter Reg 32.15 16976 Hennepin County Treasurer 243.40 16977 J-Craft, Inc. µ � L 39,504.77 16978 Kennedy & Graven 5,801.03 16979 Kern, DeWenter & Viere 4,500.00 16980 Kustom Signals, Inc. 1,039.64 16981 Lake Business Supply 86.01 16982 Medica 2,771.36 16983 Metro West Inspection 7,258.66 16984 Metro.Council Wastewater Svcs. 8,806.00 16985 Minnesota Chapter SPIAA 10.00 16986 Minnesota Dept. of Health 653.00 16987 Minnesota Mutual 193.00 16988 Minnesoota Sex Crimes Invest. 18.00 16989 Minnesota State Retirement Sys 117.00 16990 MN Dept. of Revenue 662.00 16991 Mound Medical Clinic 32.00 16992 Municicpals 40.00 16993 Northern States Power 2,011.70 16994 OM2 100.00 16995 P. E. R.A. 2,122.81 16996 P.O.S.T.,Board 45.00 16997 Postmaster 500.00 16998 Randy's Sanitation 80.83 c Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997 78 ORDER CHECKS - APRIL 1, 1997 (PAGE 2) 16999 E. H. Renner & Sons 379.14 17000 Steven Scherer 75.00 17001 St.Paul Pioneer Press 483.70 17002 St.Paul Stamp Works 13.95 17003 Uniforms Unlimited 271.75 17004 Unum 58.90 17005 Ziegler, Inc. 185.00 $115,153.24 PAYROLL CHECKS - APRIL 1, 1997 15171 John Hamilton 138.52 15172 Ann C. Thies 138.52 15173 John B. Ferris 207.79 15174 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52 15175 James R. Johnson 138.52 15176 Paul A. Robinson 800.71 15177 Steven T. Scherer 904.65 15178 Richard R. Rabenort 1,235.05 15179 Michael J. Rouillard 1,016.96 15180 James D. Dillman 1,013.54 15181 Robert P. Dressel 925.54 15182 Edgar J. Belland 1,100.29 15183 Cecilia M. Vieau 666.18 15184 Ivan Dingman 34.63 15185 Laura L. Sulander 890.73 15186 Sandra L. Larson 733.04 15187 Jon D. Priem 940.37 $11,023.56 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes April 1, 1997