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MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 7, 1998
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on April 7, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. in
the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided.
Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, and Thies.
Members absent: Johnson.
Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim
Dillman, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Engineer Glenn Cook, and City Clerk -
Treasurer Paul Robinson.
1. Approval of the Agenda
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion
passed unanimously.
2. Approval of the Minutes from March 17, 1998
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton to approve the minutes of March 17, 1998,
as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Consent Agenda
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the consent agenda as presented.
A. Renew Hamel Fire Department Gambling License.
Motion passed unanimously.
4. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda
A. Comments from Tom Gubbins, 3212 Pioneer Trail.
Tom Gubbins discussed with the city council problems related to the rising lake level at Peter
Lake. He asked what the city was planning to do to resolve this situation.
There was some discussion about the problem at Peter Lake.
John Ferris said the city was committed to keeping the culvert open this year.
Jim Dillman said he was planning to meet with the DNR and the conservation district about
relocating the current culvert into a position that would more effectively drain the area.
There was some questions about the proposed culvert and who would pay for the culvert.
Jim Dillman said that first we need to see if it would be possible to move the culvert then figure
out how to best resolve this situation and the costs involved. He said they would look for the
best and cheapest alternative to solving the problem. He said any modifications to the
existing culvert would only be a temporary fix.
B. Comments from Dick Theis of Meander Road.
Dick Theis said he did not think it was worthwhile for the city to bill for recycling service. He
believed it should be included as a part of the overall tax levy.
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April 7, 1998
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There was some discussion on this issue.
John Hamilton said a large portion of Medina's residents who were billed for recycling were
already billed for sewer and water. Since the recycling fee appears on the same bill it is
administratively about the same amount of work as billing for sewer and water.
Theis asked the city council what was happening with the land surrounding his property,
whether or not it is being sold and if the city council was considering rezoning the property.
Loren Kohnen said there has been a lot of discussion about that property, but that currently
there were no proposals for developing the property directly surrounding properties on
Meander Road.
Theis asked for an idea where the city council was headed with this property.
Loren Kohnen said at this time that was not possible. He said when a rezoning request comes
up for discussion all property owners in this area would be notified.
Ann Thies said there would be a public hearing coming up on the comprehensive plan. She
said that Theis may want to come to that public hearing to express his concerns on the
development of this property.
Dick Theis asked if the properties along Meander Road would be able to connect to the city
sewer line west of their property.
There was some discussion about this. At this time the city had no plans for hooking up the
properties on Meander Road. If residents were interested there would be an assessment fee
as a part of this project.
5. Park Commission Comments - There were none.
6. Planning Commission Comments - There were none.
OLD BUSINESS
7. Garage Addition
Ed Belland said after the final inspection a list of 30 items that needed completion was
created. 13 of those items have been done, the remainder should be completed within the
next two weeks.
John Ferris asked if there were any large items remaining.
Ed Belland said that the largest items were the flashing on the roof and some tile work.
NEW BUSINESS
8. Public Works Summer Help
Jim Dillman said he would like approval to hire summer help.
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April 7, 1998
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Phil Zietlow asked what the city paid last year.
Jim Dillman said $8.00 an hour.
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve hiring of summer help. Motion
passed unanimously.
9. Accepting Bids for Ballfield Fencing
Jim Dillman said he would like to table approval of the bids until the next meeting.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to table the bid approval until the next city
council meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
10. Replacement of Existing Backstop at Hamel Legion Park
Jim Dillman said that Jim Johnson, representing the Hamel Athletic Association, wanted to
request $2,000 from the city for the replacement of an existing backstop at Hamel Legion Park.
Dillman said an additional $2,000 for this fence was coming from the Hamel Athletic Club, and
another $2,000 from the Junior Athletic Fund.
John Ferris said that it makes more sense to replace the backstop than repair it.
Jim Dillman agreed.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve $2, 000 from the Park Fund for
the replacement of the existing backstop. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Request to Hire a Community Service Officer (CSO)
Ed Belland said last August they hired Martha Lundell as a part time CSO. At that time he
believed one person covering more hours would limit the amount of turnover in this position.
But because of Martha Lundell's medical condition and scheduling conflicts, he was having a
problem filling the hours completely. Belland said he would like to hire an additional CSO and
have two people share the job.
John Ferris asked if the total hours would increase.
Ed Belland said that two people would fill the same number of budgeted hours.
John Hamilton said this position would end up being a revolving door position. He said most
CSO's are fairly short term, since it would be essentially a quarter time position.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve hiring a second CSO. Motion
passed unanimously.
12. Approval for Disposition of Surplus Property
Paul Robinson said each department head had surplus property to dispose of. A large portion
of the property came from the recent city hall renovation. Robinson said that he would like to
add two additional items to the list, one was a large wood bookshelf and the second was a
plywood cabinet.
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April 7, 1998
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Moved by John Hamilton, seconded Phil Zietlow, to approve the disposition of surplus property
as listed in the memo with the two additions. Motion passed unanimously.
13. Public Hearing on 101 Watermain
Glenn Cook said this project consists of a watermain extension from south of TH 55 up CR 101
to Cherry Hill Alcove. Cook said the total cost of the project would be $128,130. He said the
commercial and residential properties that abut the watermain on the west hand side of CR
101 would be assessed. The total cost of the assessments would be $50,000, and the
balance of the project, $78,130, would be paid by the city. Cook said that some of the
$78,130 would be reimbursed by the developers when they pay their connection fees for
hooking up to the water system.
The public hearing was opened at 8:02 p.m.
John Ferris said the watermain was being looped to give an alternative water source for the
residential development at Cherry Hill and also provide a safer water system in general in that
area of the city.
Glenn Cook said that was right, this extension/loop would provide an overall benefit to the
system.
John Ferris asked how long would it take to construct the watermain.
Glenn Cook said not very long, probably four days to construct, then it would take a couple
weeks for the pressure testing before the watermain would be ready for use.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Hamilton, to close the public hearing. Motion passed
unanimously.
14. Resolution Ordering 101 Watermain Project
Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Ann Thies, to order CR 101 Watermain Project. Motion
passed unanimously.
15. Discussion on Hennepin County Elwell Property
Loren Kohnen said he and Jim Dillman talked with representatives of Hennepin County and
would like permission from the city council to work with Hennepin County on developing ideas
for the development of the Elwell property. Kohnen said the county would like to sit down and
meet with the city to come up with a plan that would work for the city and the county.
Kohnen said the county recently had a church interested in developing a portion of that
property. He said it was a church with 5,000 members. Because of this and other requests,
they would like to sit down with the county to work out a plan that would use the property in a
way that would suit Medina. Kohnen said that he and Jim Dillman had talked about
encouraging the development of that property into 2.5 acre residential lots(urban estates). He
said developing it into 2.5 acre lots would allow the city to protect the ravines and trees and
incorporate walking trails and other natural amenities.
Kohnen said that could ask Jim Fenning to help them work on ideas for developing the
property.
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April 7, 1998
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Susie MacKay and Elizabeth Weir from the planning commission were in attendance. They
said they were interested in this issue and looking for a way of developing the property other
than just an even spread of homes across the property in a cookie cutter type manner.
Kohnen said that they're looking at breaking the property up with some common areas and
private streets.
Susie MacKay said they were looking to protect agricultural land where possible. She cited a
development happening in Marine on St. Croix (she read an article from the Metro Section of
the Star Tribune) where a developer took a large parcel of property, much like the Elwell
parcel, and preserved 70% of the open space by having homes built on smaller lots while
preserving open space around the development with conservation easements and an
innovative wetland septic system. She said the point of the whole project was to preserve the
rural quality of the area.
John Ferris said that for the Elwell property they were looking at providing sewer, maybe up to
100 units, this would eliminate the need for a septic system.
There was some discussion about the size of the parcels and about the proposal in Marine on
St. Croix.
Phil Zietlow said he would like to see the density of homes on the Elwell property not to exceed
100 homes.
Ann Thies said it would be a nice idea to use something more creative than what has been
previously developed in the city.
There was some discussion about whether Jim Fenning would be open to a more unique way
of developing the property.
John Ferris said that Jim Fenning created developments like Tuckborough. Ferris said that
any process regarding development of the Elwell property would be open to any developer.
Ferris said that there was some concern that the cost of the property would require a
developer to build 600 homes to pay for the sewer and water service and the cost of the
property. Ferris said in no way did the city want to see 600 homes in that area.
Ferris said all Kohnen was asking for was for approval from the city council to meet, in a
probative manner, with Hennepin County on ideas for development of the Elwell property.
The consensus of the council was to approve of city staff meeting with Hennepin County to
look at issues developing the Elwell property.
16. Approval of the Bills
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the bills, order check
numbers 18227-18296, for $109, 628.16 and payroll check numbers 15582-15595 for
$13,515.04. Motion passed unanimously.
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April 7, 1998
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17. Executive Session
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris, to close the meeting and go into executive
session to discuss matters of attorney/client privilege. Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris, to reconvene the regular session at 8:54 p.m.
Motion passed unanimously.
18. Adjournment
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris, to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Motion
passed unanimously.
Jeri B. Ferris, Mayor
Attest:
Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer
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April 7, 1998
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ORDER CHECKS —APRIL 7,1998
18227 P.E.R.A. $ 2,715.16
18228 A T & T Wireless Service 36.51
18229-30 Air Touch Cellular 117.20
18231 Allstar Electric 283.95
18232 American Linen Supply 46.66
18233 Earl F. Anderson 105.28
18234 Bryan Rock Products 224.23
18235 C.P.RaiI System 81.00
18236 Casara Computer Systems 999.38
18237 Classic Cleaning 191.70
18238 City of Corcoran 294.00
18239 City of Deephaven 37.20
18240 Delta Dental 664.95
18241 James Dillman 75.00
18242 Robert Dressel 75.00
18243 E-Z-Recycling 2,364.12
18244 Marty Earley 500.00,/
18245 Rolf Erickson Ent., Inc 2,744.46
18246 Firstar Bank 222.00
18247 G. L. Contracting 1,390.92
18248 Gary's Diesel Service 66.28
18249 Goodin Co 156.95
18250 Gopher State One Call 33.25
18251 Great West Life Assurance 875.00
18252 Hamel Athletic Club 9,500.00
18253 Jim Hatch Sales 260.42
18254 HealthPartners 2,260.87
18255 Hennepin Co. Treas., Voter Regis. 246.65
18256 Hennepin Co. Treas. Acct. Svcs.. 2,354.00
18257 K'N'R Communications Services, Inc 235.00
18258 Kennedy & Graven 3,174.20
18259 Lakeshore Weekly News 90.10
18260 League of Minnesota Cities 15.00
18261-62 LMCIT 29,550.00
18263 LMCIT 47.54
18264 Long Lake Fire Dept. 3,290.5
18265 Long Lake Tractor & Equipment 2,542.1
18266 Martin -McAllister 304.5
18267 Medica Choice 2,922.25
18268 Metro West Inspection 10,117.20
18269 Metropolitan Council Env. Svcs.(Treatment) 8,096.25
18270 Helen Miller 223.70
18271 Minnegasco 354.90
18272 Minnesota Dept. of Revenue 730.00
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ORDER CHECKS —APRIL 7, 1998 (CONT'D)
18273 Minnesota Mutual 205.00
18274 Minnesota State Retirement Sys 130.00
18275 National Fire Prot. Assn. 115.00
18276 Northern States Power 1,765.57
18277 Northern States Power 1,576.07
18278 Office Max, Inc. 644.24
18279 P. E. R.A. 2,968.43
18280 Postmaster 500.00
18281 Randy's Sanitation 81.27
18282 Rettinger Bros. Oil Co. 4,052.63
18283 Paul Robinson 39.50
18284 Steven Scherer 75.00
18285 Schoell & Madson 779.25
18286 St. Cloud State University 882.00
18287 Streicher's 161.53
18288 STS Consultants 1,743.00
18289 TIE Communications, Inc. 93.46
18290 Total Office Products 1,331.25
18291 Twin City Water Clinic 20.00
18292 U.S. West Communications 470.99
18293 Uniforms Unlimited 14.38
18294 UNUM 55.60
18295 Wright Hennepin Electric 1,232.41
18296 Wright Hennepin Security Services 76.14
$109,628.16
PAYROLL CHECKS —April 7, 1998
15582 Paul A. Robinson $ 935.17
15583 Steven T. Scherer 961.06
15584 Christopher R. McGill 899.27
15585 Michael J. Rouillard 1,287.79
15586 Scott W. Kroeger 1,060.51
15587 James D. Dillman 1,116.20
15588 Robert P. Dressel 1,008.61
15589 Edgar J. Belland 1,494.87
15590 Martha C. Lundell 309.04
15591 Cecilia M. Vieau 717.32
15592 Laura L. Sulander 930.97
15593 Sandra L. Larson 768.46
15594 Jon D. Priem 1,186.25
15595 Jeremy L. Christenson 839.52
$13,515.04
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 1998