HomeMy Public PortalAbout05/18/99 CCM83
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MAY 18, 1999
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on May 18, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in
the City Hall Chambers. Acting Mayor Phil Zietlow presided.
Members present: Zietlow, Hamilton, Johnson, and Smith.
Members absent: Ferris.
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. Gambling license for Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale Rotary Club.
B. Executive session on Holiday Station lighting issue.
C. Discussion on Hennepin County/Elwell property.
D. Approval of the bids for the Chippewa/Mohawk sewer & water project.
Moved by Smith, seconded by Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed
unanimously.
2. Approval of the Minutes from the May 4, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting
There was one correction on page 3, item number 14, fourth paragraph, sentence should be
clarified to state that the allocation method would include homes on the lake that would benefit
from the project.
Moved by Smith, seconded by Zietlow, to approve the minutes of May 4, 1999. Motion passed
unanimously.
3. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda
There were none.
4. Park Commission Comments
There were none.
5. Planning Commission Comments
There were none.
6. Public Hearing for Chippewa Road
Glenn Cook, the city engineer, presented the feasibility study. He said the project would consist
of reconstructing and paving Chippewa Road from Mohawk Drive to Willow Drive. He said the
roadway would be realigned at the west end where it meets Willow. This realignment would
consist of a curve extending the road north. He said this would allow for the future installation of
a stop light at the intersection of Willow and 55. He said this would be partially assessed.
Cook said this road will be built to a nine -ton commercial standard to accommodate commercial
traffic as well as residential traffic. He said that residents along the road would be assessed at
a residential road rate and the commercial properties would pay a higher commercial
assessment.
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May 18, 1999
84
He showed an overhead with the lots proposed to be assessed. He said that the cost would be
around $4,155 per residential unit and $12,991 for commercial unit.
Phil Zietlow opened up the public hearing for public comments.
Jim Croal, 2234 Chippewa Road, said that he was not opposed to the realignment of the road,
however, he did not see the need for the road to be paved. He said that it did not add any value
to his property.
Bruce Workman, 2212 Chippewa Road, said that he was opposed to the whole project. He said
that this is a residential road that is being built to a commercial road standard. He did not see
the need for the road to be completed at this time. He said that he believed that other residents
did not want to have the road either. He said that he would oppose the project any way he
could making it as difficult as possible for this project to go forward. He said he was not
opposed to commercial development, however, he did not think that the seven families along
this three-quarter mile of road needed to participate or have this road paved. He said it would
make more sense to pave Chippewa east of Mohawk out to Arrowhead, where there is currently
a stoplight. He said this would be a better option for diverting traffic from Polaris.
Bill Cavanaugh, 2015 Aquila Avenue North, Golden Valley, owner of the property east of
Mohawk and south of Chippewa, talked about Chippewa east of Mohawk. He said that 30 years
ago Chippewa east was passable and today it is not. He said he has paid taxes for the past 30
years and there have been no improvements to this road.
There was some additional discussion about Chippewa east that was not relevant to the
assessment hearing for Chippewa west of Mohawk.
There was some additional discussion about whether or not it was feasible or worthwhile to
pave Chippewa east.
John Hamilton said that he understood that it would be cost prohibitive to go east at this time.
Joe Cavanaugh, 3220 Niagara Lane, Plymouth, property owner of the property just west of
Mohawk and north of Chippewa said he did not see the reason for paving Chippewa at this time
especially paying for an assessment that will basically benefit Polaris, but will not necessarily
benefit any of the other property owners.
Marlene Scherber, 2120 Chippewa Road, said she did not believe the road needed paving at
this time. She thought that Polaris could use Mohawk and did not need to use Chippewa. She
said that they moved to Medina to enjoy the country and rural atmosphere and not to look at a
big commercial building.
Carolyn Smith asked if any owners of the commercial properties on the south side of Chippewa
Road wanted to comment on the road project.
Terry Lingen, 2382 State Highway 55, said the motel was not in favor of this project. He said
that if the project were to go forward, they would lose their access off of 55 and have to put an
access onto Chippewa. He said that they were not interested in dong that at this time.
Phil Zietlow asked if the residents in attendance, who were opposed to the project, did not have
to pay an assessment for the project, if they would still be opposed.
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May 18, 1999
85
All nodded that they would still be opposed to the project even if they did not have to pay.
There was a lot of discussion about the concern that the stop light would not be installed
immediately and that there would be a lot of traffic cueing up both on Mohawk and on Willow
during the times when Polaris and others are exiting their property.
One proposal mentioned was to pave Chippewa east to Arrowhead where there is an existing
stoplight.
Glenn Cook, city engineer, said that they applied for funding for the stop light at Willow for this
year and did not receive it. He said that they will apply again next year and hope that by 2001
they will qualify for the stoplight and install it.
There was some discussion about Chippewa east of Mohawk.
Glenn Cook said the entire project cost would increase significantly if Chippewa East were done
now as a part of this project. He said that the eastern portion of the road would cost between
$600,000 and $800,000 to pave. He said if this was done in conjunction with Chippewa west of
Mohawk, the assessments per unit would increase significantly on both residential and
commercial properties.
Phil Zietlow read a letter into the record from Wallace Cates of 300 State Highway 55. Mr.
Cates has property on Chippewa Road, north and south of the proposed road. He was opposed
to the project, as well as extending the road across his property.
Bruce Workman said that if the road were paved east and west of Mohawk, he would be in favor
of the project.
Ravenschmidt, 4692 10th Street Northeast, Buffalo, owner of the commercial property south of
Chippewa Road said he was not in favor of the project and did not want to lose access onto
Trunk Highway 55.
Donald Atkinson, 2000 Pawnee Road, said that he was concerned if the signal gets placed on
Willow that traffic on Mohawk will be restricted to right in and right out at Mohawk, he did not
want that to be the case. He wanted to be able go east and west on TH 55 from Mohawk.
Glenn Cook said that once the traffic light was installed, at Willow, a median would be installed
preventing left turns onto TH 55.
After some additional discussion the city council decided that it would be worthwhile looking into
the cost involved of paving Chippewa east, as well as west of Mohawk.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to continue the public hearing to June 1,
1999 at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
7. Public Hearing for the Sewer and Watermain on Mohawk and Chippewa
Glenn Cook, the city engineer, introduced this project. He said this project would provide a
trunk sewer and water main from Trunk Highway 55 up to Chippewa Road. He said the water
main would also continue along a portion of Chippewa Road.
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May 18, 1999
86
He said Polaris would extend a private line to their property as a part of the project. He said that
the sewer portion of the project is projected to cost $144,393 and the water $153,500. He said
there would be a lateral assessment of $188,500 and the remainder of the cost would come
from the sewer and water trunk funds. He said that Polaris already paid $80,000 into that fund.
He said that the remainder of the assessment would be on the Cavanaugh property to the east
of Mohawk.
Phil Zietlow opened the public hearing and asked for comments.
Mr. Cavanaugh, 2015 Aquila Avenue North, Golden Valley, property owner of the property east
of Mohawk, wanted the council to recognize that he had 10 lots versus three lots as shown on
the county map.
This issue had been discussed at a previous meeting.
Mr. Cavanaugh said that the last time this was discussed the city council was to set up a
meeting between him and the city attorney and the zoning administrator to discuss the division
of his property according to his deeds. He said that this meeting took place without him.
Ron Batty said that he wrote a letter to Mr. Cavanaugh concerning any comments that he may
have or if they would like to meet with them. To this date, they have not been called or
contacted by Mr. Cavanaugh.
Phil Zietlow clarified that no meeting took place and that the meeting was to be set up by Mr.
Cavanaugh and to this point Mr. Cavanaugh had not taken any steps to set up this meeting.
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to close the public hearing. Motion
passed unanimously.
8. Resolution 99-31 Ordering the Improvement for the Mohawk and Chippewa Sewer and
Water Projects
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton to order the Mohawk and Chippewa Sewer
and Water Improvement. Motion passed unanimously.
9. Resolution 99-32 Approving Bids for the Mohawk and Chippewa Sewer and Water
Project
Glenn Cook said that bids were received on this project. He said that Metro Utilities had the
lowest bid for $251,587.00
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the resolution. Motion passed
unanimously.
10. Presentation by Sally Koenecke of the Lake Minnetonka Communications Committee
(LMCC)
Koenecke said the LMCC was about to open a new studio in Spring Park. She said they were
having an open house on June 1st and 3rd from 1 to 8 p.m. and invited council members and
resident to attend. She also said that the LMCC provides classes to residents on how to use
and operate their equipment to do their own programming. Koenecke said currently 602
households were connected to the cable system in Medina and 828 homes had the possibility of
being connected. She thanked the city council for giving her a moment to speak and
encouraged residents to use the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission facilities.
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May 18, 1999
87
11. Extension of the Time for Approval of the Final Plat for the Elm Creek Knoll
Loren Kohnen said that Gary Boster requested an extension for the approval of Elm Creek
Knoll. He said he needed to work on some final paperwork in order to prepare for final plat
approval.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to grant a 60-day extension to the final plat
approval deadline. Motion passed unanimously.
12. Re -Plat for Thomas and Claudia Kelly & Doug and Alicia Malikowski
Loren Kohnen said the Malikowskis and Kellys were requesting to replat their properties. He
said that Kelly's property is 10.1 acres with 3.1 of conventional soils, and that the new lot would
consists of 9.93 acres with 2.9 acres of conventional soils. He said the Malikowski's property is
10.21 acres with 3 acres of conventional soils and the new lot would have 10.38 acres with 3.2
acres of conventional soils. He said that the subdivision regulations states that two acres of
conventional soils are the minimum amount of soils required. However it must be demonstrated
that trench type system can be installed within the two acres otherwise more soil area is
needed. Kohnen said after July 1, 1999 the soil requirements will be 5 acres. Loren Kohnen
said that the planning commission recommended approval, with six conditions.
Tom Kelly said that they were requesting this replat because it will be a better boundary
between their two properties. He said currently a portion of their property is basically
Malikowski's front yard. He said this lot line rearrangement would better suit both property
owners.
Loren Kohnen said that one of the conditions required the applicants provide documentation
showing that a trench type septic system could be installed on both sites. He said this
information was provided to the city just before the planning commission meeting and he did not
have time to review it until after the planning commission meeting. At that time he noticed that
this request may require a variance since this request alters the amount of soils required for a
trench system.
There was a significant amount of discussion about whether or not a variance would be needed.
The applicants asked why this determination had not been made sooner. It was their
understanding that this information had been given to the city six weeks prior to the city council
meeting.
Since the planning commission's public hearing was for a re -plat and not to a variance it was
determined that the Malikowskis and Kellys would need to go back to the planning commission
for a public hearing on the variance to the subdivision ordinance in order for this replat to occur.
There was some discussion by the city council.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to waive any additional fees that would be
charged in order for the applicants to acquire a variance. Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to have the city attorney and zoning
administrator review the matter, and if there is no way to avoid a variance, to have this matter
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May 18, 1999
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go back to the planning commission for a public hearing for a variance. Motion passed
unanimously.
13. Replat for Maureen Connelly and Finn Hauq properties
Loren Kohnen said that Maureen Connelly wishes to split .67 acres from her property and add it
to Finn Haug's property. He said the amount of good soils on both lots would not be changed
based upon this lot rearrangement. He said that there are drainage and utility easements on
the existing property which would need to be vacated at a city council public hearing. He said
staff recommends approval and the planning commission also recommended approval with
three conditions.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve preparation of the replat
resolution. Motion passed unanimously.
14. Setting a Public Hearing to Vacate the Easements on the Connelly and Hauq
Properties
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to set the public hearing for vacating the
easements for June 15, 1999. Motion passed unanimously.
15. Setback Variance for Deck at 3121 Lakeshore Avenue
Loren Kohnen said that Harvey Anderson was requesting a setback variance for a deck
including the minor addition of a stairway on the lakeside of the deck. He said that staff and the
planning commission recommended approval of the variance with the following hardships:
1. lot size
2. topography of the lot
3. existing deck needing renovating for safety reasons
4. consistency with other set -back in the neighborhood
There was some discussion about the conditions. Jim Johnson said he did not consider the
third hardship listed an acceptable hardship.
Ron Batty said that the other three hardships were acceptable hardships.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the preparation of a resolution
approving a variance for the deck with the three hardships. Motion passed unanimously.
16. Three Lot Subdivision, 1595 Hamel Road
Loren Kohnen said that Mr. Kirt would like to subdivision his 29.6 acres into three lots. He said
that the property is currently zoned rural residential. He said on the proposed lot two, there is
an existing house and a number of outbuildings and on lot three there is a small shed that would
need to be removed before a final plat is approved. He said that all the parcels meet the soil
requirements of the subdivision ordinance and that septic sites have been identified. He said
that staff recommends approval and the planning commission also recommended approval with
seven conditions.
Todd Rapp, attorney for Mr. Kirt, asked what would the 10 foot trail easement be used for. He
said that his client was concerned that the trail be used for motorized vehicles. He said that
possibly it would be better to wait before doing anything with this trail until such time that there is
actually a trail that would be used as a part of a coordinated city trail plan.
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
89
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the preparation of a resolution
approving three -lot subdivision with the seven conditions as recommended by the planning
commission.
Mr. Rapp raised some additional concerns about the right-of-way. There was a significant
amount of discussion about the right of way.
Ron Batty, the city attorney, said that normally the city would require a 30-foot road easement
and an additional 10 foot trail easement to the first property that develops next to a potential
road. He asked why that was not done in this instance.
Glenn Cook said on this road that it would be possible to accommodate both the road and the
trail within the 60-foot road easement.
There was a significant amount of discussion about whether or not this was consistent with the
city's previous actions and why the city would not require a 10-foot easement in addition to the
30-foot road easement.
After some additional discussion it was decided that it seemed fair to require a 35 feet
easement on each property. In order for this to work, 25 feet would be a roadway right of way,
and 10 feet would be a trail easement and then when the neighboring property was to develop,
35 feet of the neighboring property would all be roadway easement. That would accommodate
a 60-foot road easement and 10 foot trail easement.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to amend the original motion to require a
10-foot trail easement in addition to a 30 foot road easement. After some discussion, this
motion failed.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to amend the motion to expand the right of
way easement required from 30 feet to 35 feet, 10 feet for the trail and 25 feet for the road.
Motion failed.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to add five feet to condition number 7
requiring 35 feet of road right of way. Motion passed.
Vote on the original motion, which was to approve preparation of a resolution approving the
three lot subdivision with the seven conditions by the planning commission, with the amendment
with condition number 7 increasing the required road right of way from 30 feet to 35 feet.
Motion passed unanimously.
17. Variance from Soil Requirements for Subdividing Property
Loren Kohnen said that Mr. and Mrs. Turnham were requesting a variance from the subdivision
regulation requiring two -acre soils to subdivide property, and proof that a trench system can be
installed for both the primary and alternate sites on all lots.
He said that in Mr. Turnham's case, trench systems will not work. He said that after July 1,
1999 there will be no two -acre soils used for subdivision, only five acres of good soils will be
required for the minimum. He said in this case he sees no hardship. He said if this variance is
approved, it could open up a great many subdivisions thoughout the city. He said that staff
recommended denial of the variance. He said, however, the planning commission also
reviewed this and recommending approval of the variance. He said that the hardships were that
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
90
the homeowner was charged for two builldable lots for the Tamarack Road improvement and
that it was consistent with other land use discussions for properties subdividing before the July
1, 1999 ordinance change. Also noted was that tract B has a working septic system.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve preparation of a resolution
approving the variance. Motion passed unanimously.
18. Discussion on the Hennepin County Elwell Property
Loren Kohnen said that he met with representatives of Hennepin County. He said that they
would like to be guaranteed at least to 120 sewer units on their property. Loren said that he did
not indicate one way or the other whether or not the city would be in favor of that.
Paul Robinson said that any property that had paid for sewer units, would be guaranteed the
number of units for which they had paid. In Hennepin County's case, that would be 65 sewer
units.
There was some additional discussion. The consensus of the council was that sewer units
would be allocated on a first come first serve basis until the Elm Creek interceptor was installed.
19. Approval of the Gambling License for the Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale Rotary
Club
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the gambling license and to
waive the 30-day waiting period. Motion passed unanimously.
20. Generator Purchase
Jim Dillman referenced his memo.
John Hamilton said if the city waits until April or until after the year 2000 problem subsides, the
city should be able to find a generator for a substantial discount.
Jim Dillman said he would like to wait to purchase the generator but would like to proceed with
wiring the system enabling a generator connection.
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the wiring needed to enable the
Hamel system to be hooked up to a generator at a cost between $8,000 and $10, 000. Motion
passed unanimously.
Jim Dillman said that he would also like to proceed with some sewer and water repairs that
could be fairly costly, as laid out in his memo.
$3,000 to replace two manholes, $2,800 to wash the mold off the Willow Drive water tower, and
between $10,000 and $15,000 to fix a leaky water valve underneath Trunk Highway 55.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the sewer and water repairs.
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
91
21. Investment Authorization
Paul Robinson asked that this be tabled until the next meeting.
Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to table the investment authorization
resolution. Motion passed unanimously.
22. Pay the Bills
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the bills, order check numbers
19662-19719 for $119,162.19 and payroll check numbers 16104-16119 for $15,468.53.
Motion passed unanimously.
23. Executive Session to Discussion Litigation Matters Concerning Holiday Station
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by John Hamilton, to close the meeting and go into
executive session based on attorney/client privilege. Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to reconvene the regular session at 11:15
p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
25. Adjournment
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adjourn the meeting at 11:15 p.m. Motion
passed unanimously.
f---//74
Joh Ferris, Mayor
Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
92
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Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
93
ORDER CHECKS - MAY 18, 1999
19662 Great West Life Assurance $ 882.00
19663 Minnesota Mutual 275.00
19664 Minnesota State Treasurer 155.00
19665 P. E. R.A. 3,387.26
19666 Boyer Trucks, Inc. 64,915.00
19667 Air Touch Cellular 174.68
19668 Allstar Electric 896.93
19669 American Express 221.93
19670 Ameripride Linen & Apparel 46.66
19671 Earl Anderson 83.05
19672 Barton Sand & Gravel 295.31
19673 Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik 2,128.33
19674 Boy Scout Troup #570 300.00
19675 Bryan Rock Products 4,422.53
19676 Chief Supply 107.96
19677 Collins Communications 820.00
19678 Construction Market Data 200.10
19679 Crow River News 20.00
19680 Cy's Uniforms 435.05
19681 James Dillman 30.00
19682 ESS Brothers & Sons 72.42
19683 Fortin Hardware 358.58
19684 Gary's Diesel 120.00
19685 Genuine Parts 571.41
19686 Glenwood Inglewood 47.60
19687 Hamel Building Center 73.97
19688 Hawkins Water Treatment Group 60.00
19689 Hennepin County Sheriff 197.27
19690 J.R.'s Appliance 720.00
19691-92 Kennedy & Graven 4,907.40
19693 L & R Grading 153.09
19694 Lakeshore Weekly News 203.25
19695 Law Enforcement Labor Services 165.00
19696 League of Minnesota Cities 61.64
19697 Mayer Mobil 16.50
19698 Medica 196.70
19699 Metro West Inspection 7,997.75
19700 Metro Council Environmental Services 9,868.63
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999
94
ORDER CHECKS — MAY 18, 1999 (CONT'D)
19701 Midwest Automotive 1,076.61
19702 Minn Comm 30.69
19703 Minnesota Child Support Payment Center 595.00
19704 Minnesota Conway 123.87
19705 Minnesota, State of 12.00
19706 Mothers Motors/Loretto Towing 108.00
19707 MTI Distributing 65.84
19708 Northern States Power 1,569.84
19709 Perry's Truck Repair 1,194.55
19710 Reynolds Welding 24.55
19711 Steven Scherer 100.00
19712 Schoell & Madson 139.80
19713 Tallen & Baertschi 2,698.34
19714 Twin City Water Clinic 20.00
19715 U.S. Filter/Waterpro 77.83
19716 U.S. West Communications 34.60 ,, F
19717 Wayzata, City of 4,243.48 `.
1�
19718 Wright -Hennepin Electric 1,286.78 i`'4)
19719 Zep Manutacturing 172.41
$ 119,162.19
PAYROLL CHECKS — MAY 10, 1999
16104 Paul A. Robinson $ 940.39
16105 Steven T. Scherer 996.46
16106 Christopher R. McGill 1,053.55
16107 Michael J. Rouillard 1,335.20
16108 Scott W. Kroeger 1,051.73
16109 James D. Dillman 1,279.52
16110 Robert P. Dressel 937.60
16111 Edgar J. Belland 1,679.79
16112 Martha C. Lundell 156.94
16113 Cecilia M. Vieau 847.39
16114 Laura L. Sulander 981.66
16115 Sandra L. Larson 787.71
16116 Jon D. Priem 1,231.15
16117 Judd J. Harper 291.51
16118 Jeremy L. Christenson 878.41
16119 James Nystrom 1,019.52
$15,468.53
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 1999