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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06/03/97 CCM115 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 3, 1997 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on June 3, 1997, at 7:32 p.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 Dillman, City Engineer, Shawn Gustafson, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, Police Chief Rick Rabenort, City Attorney Ron Batty, and City Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Approval of the Agenda Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adopt the published agenda with the following additions: A. Dock License at Independence Beach Park. B. Special event liquor license for Inn Kahoots. C. Amendment to the APT lease Motion passed unanimously. 2. Minutes Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 20, 1997, city council meeting with the following corrections: A. Page 9, first paragraph, item number 18, fourth sentence, after "friend" add "and John Hamilton". Motion passed. John Hamilton abstained. 3. Consent Agenda A. Resolution 97-17 ordering preparation of feasibility report and calling for public hearing on CSAH 101 watermain improvement. B. Approval of a gambling license and 3.2 on sale liquor license for St. Anne Church. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Park Commission Comments Jim Dillman said Tom Gregor could not make it to the meeting. Dillman passed out a sheet summarizing the park commission's May 21, 1997 park tour. He said a majority of the items discussed were within the park maintenance budget. The only item that was outside of the current budget was $1,500 for a shelter to house a portable toilet at Maple Park. There was some discussion about whether or not a toilet would be used in that park and why the park commission recommended a toilet instead of a light at the entrance to the park. Jim Dillman said the park commission felt that a light on that corner would be more of a street light than a light for the park. John Hamilton said that residents had expressed a strong desire to him to have a light on that corner. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 116 Jim Dillman said they would look at that issue again next year. There was some discussion about surveying the residents in that area to see what they would like to see in the park. Jim Dillman was to work with John Hamilton and the park commission to put together a survey for residents in that area. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve $1,500 from the park fund for a shelter fora portable toilet enclosure in Maple Park. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Planning Commission Comments - There were none. OLD BUSINESS 6. Discussion on the Size of the Planning Commission The council members discussed a letter from Anne Heideman stating her recommendation to stay with 9 members on the planning commission. There was some discussion about how many members were currently on the planning commission and about the recent low attendance at commission meetings. There was some discussion about the number of absences a commissioner could have before being replaced. The bylaws stated three unexcused absences in a row were allowed. Ann Thies thought that the city council should wait before reducing the number of planning commission members until next March when they would appoint three positions. Carolyn Smith, planning commission representative in attendance, said that three meetings was a lot to miss in a row and that the last meeting they had only four members present and did not have a quorum. Loren Kohnen said this had never happened before. John Ferris said that three misses is a lot in a year considering the commission meets around 11 times per year. Ferris said that part of the bylaws should be looked at. Loren Kohnen said that he would look at the bylaws and also compile a list of who was absent for the year before the March appointments. 7. Planning Commission Appointments Three applicants applied to fill the remainder of Bob Bradley's term. Margaret Reinhardt, Elizabeth Weir, and Gerald Brost. Margaret Reinhardt was the first to speak. She said that she had been a resident of the Holy Name area for four years. She was interested in the planning commission and her main interest was affordable housing within the city. The next candidate, Elizabeth Weir, said she had lived in the community for 15 years and had no background in planning. She said this made her somewhat of a neophyte. She was interested in conservation and would like Medina to remain more rural with horse farms, etc. and not look like Plymouth. She would like to be able to look at the needs of different income Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 117 groups within the city. She has not read the comprehensive plan, but believes that the comp plan is a guiding document. She pledged to be very thorough in reviewing her materials and said she would visit the sites, read the ordinances, and apply them with an open mind. Gerald Brost was the next applicant. He said that he had been a resident since 1970. He said his letter of interest was enclosed in the council packet. He said he wanted to be more involved in the city. He was interested in responsible development and good management and planning within the city. He said it's important for decisions to be made locally, and that it was important for cities to control their own destiny. John Ferris said that the city was lucky to have three good candidates. Unfortunately there was only one spot to fill. Although, he said, other opportunities do come up. Three positions will be appointed in March, so if a candidate is not chosen tonight, he encouraged them to please apply again in the future. The city council voted. Elizabeth Weir received the most votes. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to appoint Elizabeth Weir to the planning commission. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Arrowhead Frontage Road Jim Dillman said that there was no update on this issue. 9. Cleanup of Hoover Property Rick Rabenort said he wanted clarification from the council on a couple issues. Jim Dillman said that he would like clarification as well. Dillman said they were ready to clean up the property but wanted to make sure that they were proceeding as the city council had directed. Jim Johnson said the bottom line was to clean up the property, charge Hoover for the expense, and videotape the items that the city was taking. There was some discussion on this issue. The city council was in agreement that the police should be available or in attendance during the cleanup, that city staff would assist the contractor in cleaning up the property, and that it should take place as soon as possible. 10. Community Service Officer Hiring and Hiring Practices John Hamilton apologized for missing the last meeting. He said he was seeking clarification on the action taken by the council to hire two CSO's. There was some discussion about the hiring decision. Rick Rabenort said they planned on advertising for the positions and hiring two people to fill those positions. John Hamilton said that he wanted to make sure the city has an open hiring process. Hamilton said he was O.K. with temporary positions being hired by department heads but that he would like the city to advertise for all permanent positions. He also said he would like the personnel policy to be updated to include hiring practice issues. There was some discussion about this and the consensus of the city council was that, yes, they agreed that an open hiring practice must be used for all permanent public positions. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 118 Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Ann Thies to direct the chief of police to advertise in the three local papers, Crow River News, Laker/Pioneer, and Lakeshore Weekly News to fill two part-time CSO positions. Motion passed unanimously. 11. City Hall Addition Phil Zietlow said that he, John Hamilton, and the chief had met with the architect and that the architect began drafting the new addition plans. Zietlow said unlike the first time, this architect will proceed slower and come back more often to city council and staff. He said that he was encouraged by the new architect and that the process is moving forward. NEW BUSINESS 12. W. G. Schroeder - 3705 County Road #19 - 2 Lot Subdivision Loren Kohnen said that Dr. Schroeder would like to split his property into two parcels. The first parcel has Dr. Schroeder's home and accessory buildings on it, and will be 18.17 acres area and has 5.1 acres of innovative soils. The second parcel would be 5.93 acres in area and has 5 acres of innovative soil. He said that letters from the city engineer and Hennepin County and the Sarah Creek Watershed district were included in the information from the applicant. Loren Kohnen said that in 1992 Dr. Schroeder started to split his property in two parcels but that the split was never completed. At that time, Hennepin County approved the driveway to parcel 2 in the southeast corner at County Road 19, and this same requirement is the current recommendation. He said that staff recommended approval of this simple lot split. It meets all ordinance requirements and staff also recommends that the preliminary and final plats be done simultaneously by the city council. Loren Kohnen said that the planning commission also recommended that the city council approve this lot split. Kohnen said that there was not a quorum of the planning commission present so that this was not a recommendation from the planning commission but an advisory recommendation from a portion of the members of the commission. They recommended four conditions: 1. Any animal structure must meet the current ordinance requirements at the time of construction. 2. That there be a park dedication fee in the amount of $3,100 for lot 2. 3. A revised letter from the watershed distrip; with the correct lot designations and also one that contains the correct wetlands. 4. Drainage and utility easements shown around all lot lines and across the wetlands on lot 1 as recommended by the city engineer. Loren Kohnen showed the proposed lot split on an overhead and described the two lots. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Jim Johnson, to direct the city attorney to draft a resolution approving the lot split with the four conditions. There was some discussion about condition #3. Loren Kohnen said that had already been taken care of. That was removed from the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 119 13. Randall Mayer/Mayer Mobil - 762 Hwv. 55 - Conditional Use Permit Amendment for Car Wash Loren Kohnen said that Mr. Mayer wished to amend his current conditional use permit for his station store for the construction of a touchless/recycling carwash. The addition would be 60' x 28' feet in size and will be located on the north side of the existing building. Mr. Mayers proposal meets the ordinance requirements for landscaping, hardcover/greenspace area percentages, parking and building exterior materials. Included in the council information are letters from the city engineer and the metropolitan council on this application. Staff recommended approval with the following conditions: A. Carwash must be recycled type. If discharge surpasses 750 gallons per acre per day or an annual discharge 125,000 (240 gallons per quarter), hours of operation must be adjusted, the number of carwashes must be reduced to meet that criteria. B. Parking spaces 14, 15, and 16 must be moved to the south side of the building and parking area. C. All lighting on the building be in "shoe box" style with all sides but the bottom being closed and the globe not visible. D. Three additional SAC units at $950 each be added. Kohnen said that the planning commissioners had approved these conditions with some modifications. They wanted maintenance records on the car wash to be available for review, the annual discharge not exceed 500,960 gallons, and to make sure that lighting not be cast on other property or on the right-of-way. There was a lot of discussion about the current lighting at the Mobil station and that the current lighting did not seem to meet the conditions set out in the original conditional use permit. Jim Johnson stated his concern that the entire Highway 55 corridor not be lit to that extent. He believed that it would deteriorate from the rural character of that area and from the city as a whole. Randy Mayer said he met the conditions of the past conditional use permit, that his lighting is downcast lighting and meets all of the criteria for the amount of light that is allowed to shine off of his property. He said that lighting is an important element of his business and he has received a lot of positive feedback from his customers because of it. He said it helps to maintain a safe environment at his gas station. Jim Johnson said the station is a beautiful station, well laid out, and an asset to the community. He said he was concerned about the CUP lighting condition that had been added to a number of gas station's CUPs that requires recessed lighting. He said he was just asking that Mr. Mayer recess the lighting at the gas station. Carolyn Smith suggested to Loren Kohnen that the canopy could be considered a light fixture, and that the border around the canopy could be considered a box and inside of that are the bulbs which would then be recessed. If that interpretation was used then Mr. Mayer would not be out of compliance. There was some more discussion about the amount of candle power at the station. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 120 Randy Mayer said that he had it tested and there was .5 candle power at the edge of his property and .1 at the center median on Highway 55 which was 1/10 of the allowed limit. He believed he was above and beyond compliance. There was some additional discussion on the lighting issue. Ron Batty said that it was perhaps confusing but that this particular provision in the conditional use permit has been used for quite a long time and that it always had talked about recessed lighting. John Ferris asked if that should be in the ordinance or as a condition. Ron Batty said that the question is whether or not Mayer Mobil is in compliance and how the city council chooses to interpret this statement. Currently there is a novel interpretation using the canopy as an entire light fixture. The council is being asked tonight whether or not they would like to interpret it this way and consider it in compliance. Ann Thies said she would rather not say. She does not want to agree with this lighting interpretation. She believes that it is not in compliance. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Ann Thies to direct the city attorney to draft a resolution approving the amended conditional use permit allowing the carwash with the stated conditions from the planning commissioners and zoning administrator, and that the city council resolve the lighting compliance issue at some time in the future. There was some more discussion about the lighting. Phil Zietlow said that the city council needs to study this problem. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Temporary Liquor License for Inn Kahoots Marilyn Larson of Inn Kahoots said that they would like to have a Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser. The fund raiser would be a bikini bike wash. This event would take place this coming Sunday. They would like to expand the area where people can consume alcohol into a fenced -in area including a part of the parking lot adjacent to their establishment. There was some discussion about security on the premises. Marilyn Larson said that they would have additional bouncers on duty for this event. Phil Zietlow asked how much money they raised for Multiple Sclerosis last year. Marilyn Larson said that last year they raised $8,500. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton to permit Inn Kahoots to allow alcohol in a fenced -in area in as per the diagram from 1 p.m.- 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 8. Ferris, Hamilton, Johnson, Zietlow voted in favor, Thies against. Motion passed. 15. John Day Request for a Lot Combination, Variance, and Conditional Use Permit for an Office and Warehouse Loren Kohnen said that Mr. Day was requesting three issues, one was a lot combination, the second was variances for the construction of an office/warehouse as well as a conditional use permit. Kohnen said that Mr. Day wished to combine lot 1, block 2 and lot 2 block 2 of Medina Industrial Addition. The new parcel would be lot 1 block 1, Medina Industrial fourth Addition. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 121 This lot would be 35,501 square feet in area. Kohnen referenced the letters attached from Shawn Gustafson, the Elm Creek Watershed District, and the applicant. Kohnen said the existing lot 1 block 2 has a building on it, and as shown, the parking lot extends across the property line into lot 2. With this combination the applicant wishes to build a second building. He said staff recommended approval of the combination if Mr. Day complies with all of the requirements of the city engineer and Elm Creek Watershed District. Kohnen said Mr. Day was requesting three variances for construction of the second building. A. front yard variance, required 50, requesting a 20 foot variance. B. side yard variance, required 20, requesting 5 foot variance. C. rear yard variance, required 30, requesting 15 foot variance. Kohnen said that Mr. Day is also requesting a conditional use permit for the construction of a 6,048 square foot office/warehouse building. There is an existing building of 3,950 square foot on this parcel. The new building would have a concrete block exterior and a flat roof. The construction of the new building is similar to the existing building. Kohnen said, this type of construction meets the city's ordinance regulations. 28 parking stalls are shown on the map. This amount exceeds the amount required by the ordinance. A 4 foot berm must be constructed between the parking spaces on the north side of the parcel and Tower Drive. Landscaping is shown on the plan. 30 units are required for landscaping, half trees and half may be shrubbery. This proposal meets the hardcover/green ratio of 60/40. The following conditions were recommended: A. Approved erosion control plan, measures required by Elm Creek. B. All lighting being shoebox style and totally enclosed on all sides, except bottom with the globe not exposed. C. Additional landscaping units provided. D. Berm provided between parking spaces and Tower Drive. E. No outside speakers. F. Rooftop mechanical equipment to be screened. G. All trash/garbage containers to be stored inside building. H. No exterior storage of any kind is permitted. Staff recommends approval of this proposal. The planning commissioners added that the exterior lighting on the existing building be brought up to code and that one SAC unit be due at the time the building permit is issued. The planning commissioners wanted to limit the front yard variance to 5 feet and the side yard variance to 5 feet, and the rear yard variance to 15 feet. In essence, this would take a portion of the building away. The rationale for this particular action was that it would line up better with the buildings in the area and they believed that approval for that type of variance had not been given in this area before. There was some discussion about variances that have been given in that area, similar to the one requested by John Day. Kohnen said Mr. Day would like the original proposal, not the one recommended by the planning commissioners. There was some discussion about the stormwater issues in the area and Mr. Day agreed to work with the city to install a storm sewer in this area. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 122 John Ferris asked if this variance would in any way detrimentally effect the area or neighboring businesses. Loren Kohnen said that he did not see that anything detrimental would take place by allowing this variance. Phil Zietlow asked if this would set a new standard. Day said that since other businesses in the area had received similar variances he did not see this setting a new standard. Kohnen said that a 50 foot front yard setback in this industrial area was a large setback in comparison to the lot sizes. Carolyn Smith, planning commission representative, said that the city council should consider changing the setback requirements if there is a problem. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to direct the city attorney to approve the lot combination. Motion passed unanimously. There was some more discussion about the variances being requested. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the variances and the conditional use permit as presented adding the conditions from the zoning administrator planning commissioners, and payment of a connection fee of $3, 004.00 and one SAC unit at the time a building permit is issued. Phil Zietlow asked if the city council should add a condition on the storm sewer. Loren Kohnen said that John Day was willing to work with the city on that issue. Jim Dillman said that the city could throw in the labor but that businesses would share in the cost, primarily John Day. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Annual Dock License Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Hamilton to approve the dock license at Independence Beach Park for Mr. Barden. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Wetland Ordinance Ron Batty said that the existing city ordinance is outdated and needed to be brought into compliance with current state law. This ordinance adopts 90 pages of state statute by reference. The older ordinance did not give the city much say in watershed matters as was noted in some of the issues that the city had with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. The proposed ordinance establishes the city as the responsible government unit. Batty said this ordinance did not adopt the most stringent language that state law allows. If the city council is interested in adopting more stringent language, that is possible. Jim Johnson asked Ron Batty if this ordinance would regulate the damming of streams and rivers in the city. He noticed that several creeks and rivers had been dammed in the area in Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 123 order to raise lake levels. He wanted to know if it would be possible to regulate this activity through this ordinance. Ron Batty said it may be covered in this particular ordinance. The wetland ordinance is the third piece of regulation of the city's waterways. The other two are the shoreland ordinance and the floodplain ordinance. These make up a triumvirate of ordinances for the city to regulate waterways and drainage. He said he was not sure in which ordinance this particular activity would be regulated. He said he would look into that. Shawn Gustafson said that the Department of Natural Resources regulates some of the Takes in Medina and Lake Medina is one of the lakes they regulate. There was some additional discussion about this ordinance and about technical advisory committee in subdivision 5. Ron Batty said that this committee is defined statutorily. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson to approve the ordinance amendment. Motion passed unanimously. 18. Resolution 97-18 Authorizing Publication of Wetland Ordinance by Title and Summary Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow to adopt Resolution No. 97-18 Authorizing Publication of Wetland Ordinance by Title and Summary. Motion passed unanimously. 19. Renewal of Recycling Contract Paul Robinson stated that every three years the city renews its contract for recycling services. Last time the contract was renewed Amelia Kroeger had neglected to raise the contract cost to the same degree that she did for other cities. Therefore, the contract cost is increasing by 7%, which is greater than past percentages, but is still less than other cities are paying. There were a couple of new issues with the contract: one was the recycling of paper, and the other was the recycling of plastics. In the case of paper, Robinson said that the city would share the cost of recycling paper when the cost of paper went above $5/ton, and would share revenues when the amount received for paper went over $50/ton. Carolyn Smith, planning commission representative, mentioned that she does the solid waste for the county of Anoka and that the garbage hauling fees in Medina have been fairly high in the recent years. She suggested that the city combine hauling and recycling services to see if it would reduce the cost of hauling and recycling in the city. The city council directed city clerk -treasurer and public works director to look into the feasibility of combination of recycling and garbage services. 20. Closing Funds 501 and 502 and Creating Water and Sewer Capital Improvement Funds 402 and 403 Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Jim Johnson to close funds 501 and 502 and create water and sewer capital improvement funds 402 and 403. Motion passed unanimously. 21. Creating an Environmental Fund 404 Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to create an environmental fund 404. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 124 22. Resolution 97-19 Reassessing Laurent Property Ron Batty said that large special assessments have been deferred on this property for a long time. Recently, Don Laurent subdivided his property and as a part of that subdivision these special assessments are to be spread across the new lots that have been created. Batty said that Paul Robinson and Don Laurent had been working on this arrangement. The issues for the council are the term of the assessment and the rate of interest. Paul Robinson stated that since Don Laurent hadn't agreed officially to pay the assessment on lots 2 and 3. Ron Batty said that these lots would need to be added to this resolution. The city council discussed the term of this assessment and decided to spread it over 5 years and at an interest rate of 6%. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson to approve the resolution 97-19 adding lot 2 at $ 2, 792.83 and lot 3 at $ 2, 677.58. Motion passed unanimously. 23. Approval to Pay the Bills Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow to approve order checks #17160-17196, for $51,557.56 and payroll checks #15237-15254 for$11,724.32. Motion passed unanimously. 24. APT Lease Amendment Ron Batty said at the last meeting the city council approved an APT lease agreement. There was some language that had been confused in the agreement concerning hazardous waste and mutual indemnity. The change protects APT from being responsible for waste on the property that was not created by their operation. He said that he was in agreement with this amendment and recommended that the city council approve it and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign the amendment. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson to approve the APT lease amendment and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign the amendment. Motion passed unanimously. 25. Executive Session Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Hamilton to close the regular meeting and go into executive session at 10: 05 p.m. Motion pass,q idly. jmously. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by John Ferris to close the executive session and go back into regular session at 10:39 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 26. Adjournment Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Ferris, Mayor ATT Paul Robinson, Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 125 ORDER CHECKS - JUNE 03, 1997 17160 Air Touch Cellular $ 42.72 17161 Bayside Floral 85.20 17162 Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik 6,988.68 17163 CSC Credit Services 45.00 17164 Delta Dental 599.25 17165 E-Z-Recycling 2,132.58 17166 Rolf Erickson Enterprises, Inc 2,583.27 17167 G. L. Contracting 40.00 17168 Great West Life 750.00 17169 Jim Hatch Sales 66.03 17170 Hennepin Co. Treasurer, Acctg.,Svcs 390.00 17171 City of Hopkins 34.00 17172 Jude Wholesale/Advantage Paper 127.07 17173— Kustom Signals, Inc. 13,014.35 17174 Lake Business Supply 250.89 17175 Sandra Larson 55.76 17176 Lawson Products 33.48 17177 MCFOA.. 60.00 17178 Medica 807.96 17179 Metro West Inspection.. 5,643.88 17180 Metro Council Wastewater Services 8,806.00 17181 Minnesota Mutual 193.00 17182 Minnesota State Retirement 117.00 17183 Teri Naab 7.00 17184 Northern States Power 1,899.18 17185 Northwest Suburban Chamber 320.00 17186 Office Max, Inc. 26.97 17187 P.E. R.A. 2,132.24 17188 Pitney Bowes Credit 283.38 17189 Randy's Sanitation 831.53 17190 Minn Dept. of Public Service 541.50 17191 Straight Line Auto 554.70 17192 Streicher's 30.78 17193 U. S. West 435.58 17194 Uniforms Unlimited 1,366.40 17195 UNUM 58.05 17196 Warning Lites 204.13 $5.1;a+�SG P51,o 1(.. olo Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997 VCI0 126 PAYROLL CHECKS - JUNE 03, 1997 15237 John A. Hamilton $ 138.52 15238 Ann C. Thies 138.52 15239 John B. Ferris 207.79 15240 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52 15241 James R. Johnson 138.52 15242 Paul A. Robinson 800.71 15243 Steven T. Scherer 904.65 15244 Richard R. Rabenort 1,237.51 15245 Michael J. Rouillard 1,025.46 15246 James D. Dillman 1,183.14 15247 Robert P. Dressel 942.28 15248 Edgar J. Belland 1,100.29 15249 Cecilia M. Vieau 666.18 15250 Laura L. Sulander 890.73 15251 Sandra L. Larson 747.99 15252 Joseph R. Heyman 58.89 15253 Jon D. Priem 956.36 15254 Jeffrey J. Weiler 448.26 o $11,724.32 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes June 3, 1997