HomeMy Public PortalAbout07/05/00 CCM125
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 5, 2000
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on July 5, 2000. The meeting
was delayed because of the lack of a quorum until 8:30 p.m. Mayor John Ferris presided_
Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Johnson, and Smith.
Members absent: Hamilton.
Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dil!man,
City Engineer Tom Kellogg, Planning & Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, and Administrator -
Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson.
At 7:30, before the official meeting opened, John Ferris and Carolyn Smith listened to Brian
Block of Kern, DeWenter & Viere, the City's auditing firm, give a brief presentation on the 1999
audit report which was presented as a part of the council packet.
He explained some of the issues with the City's finances, in general, and that the City's levy and
tax capacity are both gradually going upward. He said they are coming closer to each other
because of the class rate reductions that have taken place over the last couple of years
reducing the overall City's tax capacity.
There is a significant reduction in the fund balance of the general fund mainly due to debt
transfers to other funds. One was a large transfer to the equipment fund and another was to the
1992 debt service fund.
Robinson said that this was the last transfer for that debt service fund and would take care of
the remaining outstanding debt.
Carolyn Smith asked what type of fund balance was appropriate.
Brian Block said they recommended a fund balance equal to six months of expenditures. Some
cities have that as a policy, others as a goal. Currently, a goal of the City is to maintain six
months of operating expenditures. He went through page 6 of the report, which compared
revenues from 1999 and 1998, and expenditures from 1999 to 1998. The largest increase in
expenditures was for permits to Metro West, which went from $155,000 to $357,000 in 1999.
Block described the finances in the water and sewer fund. Both funds' expenditures exceed
their income. Block said he understood that the City increased the water rates for this year. He
said it would be their recommendation to look at raising the rates in the sewer fund for next year
since the income is starting to fall behind the expenditures.
There was some discussion about some of the comments made. One was that there was no
formal collateralization from the Farmers State Bank of Hamel.
Paul Robinson said that there was some misunderstanding between him and the bank. He said
this is in the process of being set in place for the coming year.
Carolyn Smith asked about the lack of segregation comment.
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John Ferris said that in his experience as an auditor, it is very difficult to segregate duties in a
business or a government of this size.
Block said that it is typical when you have one or two primary people doing all of the finances.
Paul Robinson asked what percentage of the cities received this comment.
Brian Block said that he believed around 90-95% of all of the cities have the same comment.
Paul Robinson said at the next finance committee meeting he was going to talk to the finance
committee about having Kern, DeWenter and Viere do a more formal analysis of some of the
City's financial processes to see if there are ways the City could have more segregation and
financial accountability to make sure that things are not falling between the cracks.
Brian Block said that he wanted to focus on GASB Rule No. 34. GASB stands for the
government accounting standards board. He said that there is a whole new set of rules that are
going to be required for cities of this size. Cities do not actually have to fulfill these new
requirements until 2004, however, they are recommending that the City start to analyze these
changes and implement them over the next four years. Several of the requirements are
onerous and would be better phased in over time rather than implemented in one year. One of
the new rules requires capitalizing infrastructure. This means that debt used for financing
infrastructure improvements may be subtracted from the value of the improvement if not the
debt used to finance the infrastructure improvement may cause a negative fund balance.
Overall Brian Block said that it was a good audit. He said the City's finances are in good shape
and asked if the City Council had any additional questions.
There were no additional questions. The approval of the 1999 audit was deferred until
addressed at the regular meeting.
Until a quorum was present, Loren Kohnen went through a couple of issues to update the two
City Council members present. One was an update about a watershed district meeting dealing
with the Pioneer/Sarah Creek watershed at the City of Independence.
Loren Kohnen said there may be the possibility of having the City's engineer do the watershed
review instead of the watershed.
Tom Kellogg said that he would look into that. He was not sure if that was possible without a
comprehensive water management plan.
Kohnen said that another meeting was scheduled for tomorrow on the Elm Creek task force at
the Maple Grove Community Center. He would be attending that meeting with Jim Dillman.
John Ferris said that before the meeting starts, he asked if there were any comments from
residents in attendance on items not on the agenda. There were none.
Ferris asked if there were any park commission comments. There were none.
At 8:30 p.m., Phil Zietlow and Jim Johnson arrived and the meeting was called to order.
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1. Additions to the Agenda
A. Executive session on the Holiday Station.
B. Issue on the Covey Run subdivision.
C. Approval of the sale of the 1977 Olds Tornado.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended.
Motion passed unanimously.
2. Approval of the Minutes from June 20, 2000
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the minutes of June 20, 2000 as
presented. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Consent Agenda
A. Resolution 00-27 Granting Preliminary Plat Approval For James Frizzell & Kevin Enge.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the consent agenda. Motion
passed unanimously.
4. Willow Drive Improvement Hearing
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to open the improvement hearing.
Paul Robinson said when he publicized the hearings, he publicized the improvement hearing
but did not publicize the assessment hearing. He apologized for not doing this. This means the
improvement hearing could go forward this evening and the City Council could order the
improvement to be done, but the assessment hearing would have to be postponed until August
1, 2000.
Jim Dillman said a feasibility report on the Willow Drive north project was included in the council
packet. He said this project includes Willow Drive from County Road 24 north to Hamel Road.
He said the City rebuilt the gravel base last year and has continued work on the base this year.
He said in order to keep the gravel base intact, paving the entire length of the road would be
recommended at this time. He said paving would involve eight -foot shoulders, where possible,
since there are some tight spots on the west side. Dillman said he would also need to thin out
some of the trees here and there. He said based on discussions at previous meetings, they
ordered signs with a picture of a horse rider that say something like "slow down, a horse is in
the area" and some 30 m.p.h. advisory speed limit signs for the curve.
After discussing this at the last meeting with the Willow Drive residents, it was also decided to
place double yellow line down the center and mark the white fog line on the edge a little further
in from the sides to make the road appear somewhat narrower and give drivers the idea that
they are on a more residential road.
The hearing was open for comments.
Betty Gardner, 2495 Willow, asked about the exact wording for the signs.
Jim Dillman was not sure at this time.
There was some discussion.
Betty Gardner asked if the entire road could be posted at 30 m.p.h. instead of 40 m.p.h., not just
the curve. She wanted to know if they could eliminate truck traffic and post the road as no
trucks and have a route for trucks along the county roads. She said that the City has an
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ordinance, Chapter 430, that prohibits overweight vehicles, that actually prohibits all truck traffic
through the City for any truck over 9000 pounds, unless it is posted as a truck route.
Jim Dillman said he thought this ordinance pertained only to Townline Road between 55 and 11,
and was not aware that ordinance pertained to the entire City.
Council members and staff were not aware of the ordinance nor its implications for the entire
City.
Ron Batty said that he would look at that ordinance and its applicability to the entire City and
bring that back to the City Council for some type of resolution. However, this evening's hearing
concerning the road improvement could go forward.
Mr. Etem said without question he believed the residents of Willow and Medina want reasonable
laws zealously enforced. He said keeping traffic to a minimum on this road would be important.
He said that speeding traffic is not just a problem with trucks, it is also with cars, and he
believed, after watching traffic over the last several weeks, that speeding traffic is not just others
but is also ourselves. He said if he gets a ticket, so be it, the police department should
zealously enforce the laws. He was not necessarily in favor of posting the speed limit at 30
m.p.h. He thought a 40 m.p.h. speed limit was adequate.
There was some discussion about whether or not the speed limit could be posted at the 30
m.p.h. Many of the residents in attendance were in favor of that.
There was discussion similar to the discussion in previous meetings concerning the process for
petitioning the State for a waiver of the speed limit.
Ed Belland said that he believed that 40 m.p.h. was adequate, however, if a 30 m.p.h. speed
limit was chosen they would enforce it. However, if it were contested, he believed that it may
not stand up in court. Ed Belland said that 90 percent of the tickets are not contested.
There was some discussion about posting the road at 30 m.p.h., but actually enforcing it at 40
m.p.h.
Ed Belland said if a traffic study were done, 85% of the average speed of the traffic is what the
road is posted at, and in many cases, speeds are increased.
Mr. Etem said 30 m.p.h. was not a warranted speed on this particular road, especially if you
compare it to Hunter which is 40 m.p.h. which is properly landscaped, nicely contoured. He
believes that people are not speeding on that road.
John Ferris said that road is tightly enforced as are many roads in the City.
Jim Dillman said, in any case, they will post an advisory speed limit of 30 m.p.h. on the curves
to get people to think about slowing down on those curves.
Ed Belland said these signs are advisory and are not technically enforced. The 40 m.p.h. speed
limit still prevails.
Chuck Maxwell said with the 30 m.p.h. curves, a vigorously enforced 40 m.p.h. speed limit, and
a 9000 load limit, a majority of the residents would be satisfied.
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Greg Schmidt basically wanted to reiterate what Mr. Maxwell had said. He believed that a 40
m.p.h. speed limit strictly enforced, 30 m.p.h. advisory signs, and weight limits would resolve
some of the issues that he had and eliminate, what most people find offensive, the heavy
commercial truck traffic.
Jim Johnson was concerned overall about limiting all roads to 9000 pounds realizing that there
are exceptions for certain types of traffic. It seemed that this may be overly restrictive for the
majority of the City and he was not sure if it would be fair to move truck traffic from all the roads
onto one particular road. Whose road would it be?
There was some discussion about the break up of the proposed assessment.
Chuck Maxwell said that it was around 70% financed by the residents, 30% by the City.
Jim Dillman said that it was closer to 50/50 since the City built and paid for the base of the road
out of the general fund versus assessing for that cost.
Burt Gardner said because of the location of Willow between Trunk Highway 55 and 12, the
road is an invitation for people to cut through the City. He said to eliminate it as a thoroughfare
for trucks seemed reasonable. Trucks could use County Road 19 or 101 for north -south traffic.
The consensus of the Council was that there was enough support for the project if the road was
posted at 40 m.p.h. with 30 m.p.h. advisory signs, and if signs alerting drivers to horses were
installed. The City will do some further research on the heavy truck traffic and the implications of
Ordinance 430.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to close the public hearing. Motion passed
unanimously.
Paul Robinson said that included in the packet was a feasibility report for the Willow Drive
project that needed to be accepted by the City Council.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow to approve Resolution 00-28 adopting the
Willow Drive feasibility report. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Ordering the Willow Drive Improvement
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve Resolution 00-29 ordering the
Willow Drive improvement project involving the paving of Willow from County Road 24 to Hamel
Road. Motion passed unanimously.
6. Willow Drive Assessment Hearing
Paul Robinson said for the assessment hearing coming up in August he would need to know
what the term and rate of interest should be. He said he looked at first time mortgage rates,
which were around 9.25%, and what the City could receive as a return on investments, 7 to
8.5%. He said 8% seemed to be a reasonable rate of interest.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to set the term of the assessments for five
years and rate of interest at 8%. Motion passed unanimously.
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7. Ordinance # 319 Changing the Zoning Map from Urban Commercial to Suburban
Residential in Section 30, Township 118 Range 23
Loren Kohnen said that the ordinance and resolution were both prepared for the City Council as
per discussion at the last City Council meeting. He said both are contingent on approval of the
comprehensive plan and therefore will not be enacted immediately. However, this will allow the
plat to move forward so that MnDOT can start the work they need to do on the road.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve Ordinance #319 changing the
zoning map from urban commercial to suburban residential upon approval of the City's
Comprehensive Plan by the Metropolitan Council. Motion passed unanimously.
8. Resolution Granting Preliminary Plat
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve Resolution 00-30 granting
preliminary plat Parkridge Acres to David and Majorie Kearin and Richard and Jane Rudd.
Motion passed unanimously.
9. Request for MediaCom to Build a Utility Building in the Hunter Farms Park
Loren Kohnen said MediaCom wants to place small 8 x 10 building in Hunter Farms Park. In
leu of rent they would provide cable and internet connection/service to City Hall.
Phil Zietlow asked if there were any liability issues with this being placed in a park.
Ron Batty had some concerns about whether or not the park was paid for with park dedication
fees and if it was possible to locate a third party building within the park that did not have a
dedicated park purpose.
Paul Robinson said that MediaCom was to provide the City with cable access as a part of their
franchise agreement, regardless of whether or not they were to build the building.
Loren Kohnen said that this would actually speed up the timeline and insure access much
quicker.
The consensus of the Council was, if after legal review it is found that the City can allow them to
build in a park, to have Staff work this out administratively with the cable company.
10. Covey Run Subdivision
Ron Batty said when the City executed the private road agreement for the Covey Run
subdivision, it was included with the covenants. Covey Run is now looking to sell the entire
subdivision to another person who would like to modify the covenants. However, they cannot
do that without the City's approval (since the City is a party to the agreement). He said he did
not see any problems approving this. However, he had not reviewed the entire document and
recommended approval contingent upon review by the City Attorney.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve modifying the covenants after
review from the City Attorney. Motion passed unanimously.
11. PUD Concept Review for the Restoration Development on Elwell Farm
Dave Newman, President of Bancor, said Restoration Development was a limited liability
corporation with three members, Lundgren Brothers, VKO Enterprises, and Bancor Group. He
said many of the people here tonight have seen their presentation either at one of the two
Planning Commission meetings or at the Implementation Committee meeting. Therefore, they
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have summarized their presentation so that it is not as long, but would allow everybody to get
on the same page.
He complimented Staff and the City. He said even though he, the Planning Commission, and
Staff have not always seen eye to eye at least everybody knows where they stand. He said he
was very impressed to learn that Jim Dillman recently visited Prairie Crossing, a conservation
development which they are using as a model for this particular project.
Dave Newman wanted to let the Council know that they are conducting some pre -testing and
pre -marketing for this particular development. He said they were not trying to preempt the City
Council or the City, but that they need to know if they are on the right path, to make sure there is
market for this type of development.
He said tonight's presentation will include background on the conservation subdivision approach
by Steve Apfelbaum, a description of the concept plan by John Uban, and some information
concerning the covenants and preservation of the open space by Marc Anderson.
He said there were still three to four larger issues where there is some disagreement. Some
have to do with the site grading, some have to do with the stormwater treatment system. He
said they plan to get these issues worked out as a part of the preliminary plat process. Initially
when they got started with this particular development and the Implementation Committee and
the Planning Commission were talking about creating a conservation subdivision, he had no
idea what they were and had no interest in developing one. However, they have come full circle
and are now proposing a conservation subdivision that embraces the ideas that were at first
espoused by the Implementation Committee and have hired Steve Apfelbaum, one of the
foremost conservation subdivision consultants.
Steve Apfelbaum went through a slide presentation and described the condition of Elwell Farm
is today to where they would like to see the Elwell Farm in the future. He said that, today, the
Elwell site includes fairly degraded wetlands dominated by canary grass, cattails, and stinging
nettle, a highly modified water system that includes large drain tiles and highly eroded streams
and a forest that looks lush and green on the surface, but when you go into the forest you find
that there is no ground story (no growth underneath) because the forest has been invaded by a
dense European buckthorn and other invasive species.
He said that they would be attempting to restore the Elwell site back to a state that would have
been found in this area around 1820. This would include a greater number of plants species,
wildlife, and flora and fauna.
He showed slides of the different waterways on the Elwell property where the hydrology had
been modified, there were steep banks that had been dredged, there were spoil piles 6-7 feet
high, and stream banks that had eroded up to 10 feet. He said one of the things they would do
would be to stabilize the streambeds. He showed examples of how they have stabilized stream
beds.
He said we do not use riprap but plants. He said a number of the techniques that they have
used at Prairie Crossing would be used here.
He described the stormwater treatment train (SST). He said this is a system of swales that
guides water flow over longer areas of growing vegetation instead of collecting all of the water
off the road and from the property and shipping it downstream into a NURP pond or into a
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collector system which does not actually enhance the system. He said the goal of the STT is to
treat as much of the water coming off the property on the property as possible. He said at
Prairie Crossing that some residents have installed rain gardens as a part of the landscaping on
their yards and their downspouts and sump pumps go directly into these rain gardens. This
takes care of the water right on the property. 60% to 80% of a two-year event can be taken
care of in these ponds.
He said, as in Prairie Crossing, there is a mixture of public and private trails. There would be a
fairly large trail system throughout this subdivision with soft trails letting people go out and enjoy
the natural environment without actually degrading the natural environment. And as you can
see with this project, there is a large commitment to a significant open space. They would like
to use a stormwater treatment train that would be far superior to typical water treatment
systems. He said development includes a large continuous open space. They have conducted
a significant natural resource inventory and a significant commitment to the restoration of the
prairies and woodlands in this area.
John Uban described the concept plat. He went through a number of slides describing the plat,
and how they determined the placement of the lots and the location of the open space. He
described specifically the areas outside of the areas shown in the general development guide.
He said this development exceeds the City's ordinance in a number of areas. The ordinance
requires only 75% of the lots abut open space, 95% of the lots in this concept plan abut open
space.
He described the two areas where the woodlands are impacted. He said they are impacting
three acres of existing woodlands in two areas, but they will be adding 8-10 acres of new
woodlands in this area.
Steven Apfelbaum said that they would try to salvage material from those impacted woodlands
and use those in areas they are restoring.
John Uban described the trail system. He said the trail system would include a hard trail, for
public use, along the south on Evergreen, on the east along CR 101, and on the north along
Hackamore, and a number interior trails. One trail generally goes along the east, in the middle,
and on the west, which are soft trails for use of the residents in the subdivision. He said there is
also a plan for a trail along the creek and under 101 that could possibly hook up to Plymouth
and extend over to Wayzata High School.
They made a few adjustments, based on input to date, to show to the Council. He said they
pulled the lots up against the golf course back and moved the entrance on Evergreen to be
offset from the entrance of Cherry Hill.
Dave Newman said one of the biggest concerns has been the storm water treatment train. He
said the concept plan is not required to have the same design standards as the preliminary plat.
However, they have been working with Staff on trying to come up with a system that will both
incorporate the treatment train, yet not create maintenance problems in the future. He said he
had his engineer prepare some information on this.
Marty Campion of Otto Associates provided an overhead describing some of the benefits of the
stormwater treatment train versus a typical NURP system. He showed a comparison of NURP
to SST for peak the discharge rate and some water quality enhancement measurements such
as phosphorus reduction, nitrogen reduction, and suspended solids for a 2 year, 10 year, and
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100 year event. Overall, based on the stormwater treatment train, there will be a decrease in all
factors after development. He said NURP standards try to keep pre -development conditions, in
this case the stormwater treatment train would provide a 66% decrease in the amount of peak
discharge in a 2 year event, 41 % in a 10 year event, and 30% in a 100 year event in
comparision to its pre -development state.
Champion went through a number of other calculations that showed similar improvements using
a stormwater treatment train versus the typical NURP standards.
Phil Zietlow asked if this stormwater treatment train works, why would anyone build a NURP
pond.
Steven Apfelbaum said that it is a different philosophy and more people know what a NURP
pond will do and, therefore, it is a tested and tried alternative that people rely on, however, it
may not be as effective.
Phil Zietlow said that the City Council has been looking for an alternative to NURP ponds. He
was in favor of exploring the stormwater treatment train.
Marty Campion said that they did meet with Ali Durgunoglu from the Hennepin Conservation
District, representing the Elm Creek Watershed District. He was quite interested in this concept.
Dave Newman said that there were concerns about the amount of grading that would be taking
place on the site. He said that in order to accomplish this restoration, they need to take out
drain tile and restore farmland that has been significantly altered. They will be recreating the
landscape and restoring natural drainage areas. They also need to grade to make it work for
home sites.
There was some discussion about the difference between swales and ditches.
Steven Apfelbaum talked about some information provided to the Council that showed a 40 to 1
slope for a swale versus a 3 or 4 to 1 slope for a ditch. He said it is a broader and less deep
way of transporting water than a ditch.
Steven Apfelbaum said that it has a more natural look and less of an engineered look.
There was some discussion about whether or not these would be mowed or how would they
control that.
Steven Apfelbaum said there will be a significant educational component to this subdivision.
However, there will be some type of easement over these swales and restrictions in the
covenants for how they are maintained.
There was some discussion about compacting of the soils and how the whole site would be
taken care of during construction.
Steven Apfelbaum said that they take a different approach to grading, one that usually involves
quite a bit of monitoring. He described their method for stripping and storing of topsoil and other
techniques they use such as deep chiseling.
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He said there will be some very significant grading within the stream beds, but the good trees
there would remain. He said they would be grading the stream beds to restore them, so that
they do not erode in the future and that they provide the water treatment benefits.
He said there will be significant adding of plants in the area which will increase the porosity of
the soil and allow the soil to be a better water treatment method.
There was some discussion about the amount of area that was being developed outside of the
boundaries as shown in the general development guide.
John Uban said, as shown, they have developed 11 % of their subdivision outside of the
boundaries, however, within that area, there is an additional 30% of open space leaving a net of
19% of open space within the developed area. He said that based on their natural features
inventory and analysis this is their best judgment for how to best use the open space and bring
the open space into the interior of the development.
Dave Newman said the last part of their presentation has to do with the how open space will be
saved and preserved as described in the ordinance.
Marc Anderson said, as most of you know, many subdivisions have covenants and agreements.
There are deeded restrictions to development and use of the property. Most of these are run by
a separate corporation, a homeowners association, that have representatives initially from the
developer, and then eventually become completely controlled by the homeowners. In this case,
the open space protection and maintenance of the open space would be provided by the
homeowners association, however, another party, such as the Minnesota Land Trust, Nature
Conservancy, would be granted a conservation easement over all of the open space areas that
are being restored. He said maintenance of these natural areas is going to be an expensive
endeavor. They are proposing to assess $1,000 per house in annual dues, $150,000 per year,
to hire a part-time ecologist to work with people and to provide money for maintaining the
prairies and the woodlands.
David Newman said that the Prairie Crossing ecologist was the key to maintaining and keeping
the environmental restoration intact.
Dave Newman wanted to close on some of the issues with bonus. He said they hoped that this
plan would knock the socks off of the City Council and Staff, and that based on the amount of
restoration alone that they would receive additional lots for a total of 150.
He said that they understand the recommendations from Staff and are willing to work on a
majority of those changes. He said if there were any other concerns, they would really like to
hear about them this evening so that they could plan contingencies for their preliminary plat.
Dave Newman went into greater detail about why they believed they should receive the bonus
units. He said they are proposing a very innovative development, they plan to restore 200 acres
of connected open space, use an innovative stormwater treatment system, far superior to
traditional NURP standards, have 95% of the homesites abutting open space, and in a number
of cases they are going to be abutting open space on two sides, include streets with a rural
feeling, include a trail system, both regional trail and private, restore 52 acres of woodlands and
add an additional 14 acres of wooded area, lastly, not only are they planning to restore the site
but hire a part-time ecologist to work, on an ongoing basis, with the residents of this community
to keep this a beautiful and restored area.
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He believed that all of these different items would entitle them to the bonus.
Dave Newman said that the Planning Commission had a special meeting to address this issue
and listed 25 items they thought were issues that needed further development or were
inconsistent with the guide. They passed this list on to the City Council.
Carolyn Smith was concerned about the street trees. She said there is a recommendation from
Staff to put in street trees, not that street trees are bad, it is just that she was hoping the trees
would not be planted in regular rows every 30 feet, but that they would be arranged in a way
that would look more natural.
John Uban said that they would try to cluster trees, maybe with shrubs and other plants to make
it look a little more natural, following along the roadway.
Dave Newman went through the list of recommendations from the Planning Commission to the
City Council.
Modify the southwest corner: Dave Newman said that they planned to do that.
Central Zink: They plan to provide a trail system with a central north -south link. They are also
okay with providing access to a north -south trail link within the northern development.
Trail plan: They will add the trail plan to the concept plan.
Creek. They will modify it to show the protection of the trees along the south creek which they
plan to do.
East side of County Road 101: They will add that piece of property to the preliminary plat.
Consider including a park: Dave Newman said that after discussing this, they are talking
about including an interpretive area. He said there were a number of great ideas for how to do
this. He believed that Staff recommendation was not a formal park, but an area where people
could sit and enjoy the natural environment.
Access to Evergreen: They are fine with moving the access to Evergreen over and have done
that on their alternative concept plan as shown this evening.
Hackamore access: They are fine with curving the access off of Hackamore.
Oaks at the farmhouse: They have ordered a tree study in that area and will be saving those
mature oaks in that area.
Slope: They will provide more details on the areas where they are encroaching and have
already provided some additional rationale.
Road width 24 feet: They will provide a 24 foot paved road.
Manholes: They are okay with the manhole locations and process as proposed by Staff.
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Drainage plan as a part of the preliminary plat: They will provide significant information on
the drainage plan. They have already included a couple of examples for the sump pump and
drainage controls. He said the drainage issue is still something that will be worked out with Staff
during the preliminary plat. Newman thought they would be able to come up with a mutually
agreeable solution.
Hackamore Trail: They are fine with extending Hackamore Trail.
Setbacks to wetlands: They will verify and make sure that they are not encroaching on any
setbacks.
Grading: They will review the amount of grading and provide a more detailed grading plan. He
did say that some of the filling is to create walkouts, but it is also to facilitate the drainage of the
properties. He said that this will also be worked on as part of the preliminary plat.
Utility easements: They will include 10-foot utility easements.
Include location of mailboxes, lighting, and signs: They are okay with that.
Phases: They will provide information on the phasing of the restoration and the type of
restoration that will follow.
More detail on replacement of the preserved woods: They will provide significant detail on
the types of preservation and restoration activities that they will be planning as is, already in
part, provided in the addendum materials that have been submitted to date.
Major trails: They are fine with providing an open space buffer for the public trail. However,
there are some areas where there are wetlands or other barriers or where they may get closer,
such as where it goes under 101. He said they may need to find an alternate barrier to the eight
foot space. They are fine with that and will work with the City on an alternate solution.
Who controls the conservation easement: As Marc Anderson described, they are still
working on the entity for the conservation easement over the open space, but that will be
worked out and be a part of the preliminary plat process.
Re -alignment of CR 101: Paul Robinson said the Planning Commission recommended that
the City Council ask the County for a curved alignment instead of the current straight alignment.
John Ferris said that a curved alignment would probably provide a nicer road.
The consensus of the Council was to have the City Staff meet with the County to work on a
curved alignment for County Road 101.
Encroachment: Newman said they provided additional detail on where they encroached into
the persevered areas as designated in the general development guide and their rationale. He
said they will continue to expand on their rationale as a part of the preliminary plat review.
Bonus: Ron Batty said this review is basically a concept review and the action and findings are
not binding to the City Council, but are basically guidance to the developer. He saw that the
City Council had three options for providing this guidance, and the developers have options as
well. One, have the developers come back at another meeting with changes to the concept
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2000
137
plan and at that time approve an alternate concept and allocate bonus units, two, approve the
concept plan as presented with a certain number of bonus units, three, approve the concept
plan without allocating any bonus units. He said it is hard for the City Council to pre -commit to a
determinate number as a part of the concept plan. He said what the Planning Commission did
was approve the concept with the 25 or so recommendations for changes that would then allow
a review of the plan and a potential allocation of bonus units.
There was some discussion amongst the City Council about whether or not this warranted
bonus units. The feeling of the City Council was that there were a number of elements within
the current plan, as listed in the memo, that would allow this development to receive the bonus
units. However, in its entirety the concept plan, as presented, did not allow for that, and the
memo as presented provided sufficient guidance to the developers on the concept plan.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the memo as presented as
findings and guidance for the concept plan review. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Approval of the 1999 Auditors Report
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by John Ferris, to accept the 1999 audit report. Motion
passed unanimously.
12. Modifying the Term for Mayor from Two to Four Years
John Ferris said he recently learned that it is possible for statutory cities to modify the mayor's
term from two years to four years. He would like the City Council to consider doing that. This
would not affect his current term, but only would affect whoever wins the next election.
Ron Batty said there are rationale for either choice. With a two-year mayor term three Council
Members are reelected every two years enabling a total change in the City Council every two
years. Others consider a two-year term to be a fairly short period of time. House members are
constantly running for election and this can alter the way policies are developed. He said this is
policy decision for the City Council.
Carolyn Smith said she believed that every two years seemed appropriate for the Mayor. She
said that determines the leadership of the City Council and she advocates keeping a two year
term.
Jim Johnson thought that a four-year term was appropriate, that it is difficult to run every two
years and did not see the sense in keeping it at two years.
Phil Zietlow asked what other cities were doing.
Paul Robinson said that it was a mixed bag. A number of cities have four year terms and a
number of cities have two-year terms, it just depends on the City and the history.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to direct the City attorney to draft an
ordinance for approval at the next City Council meeting changing the mayor's term from two to
four years. Those in favor: Jim Johnson, Phil Zietlow and John Ferris. Those opposed:
Carolyn Smith. Motion passed.
12. Add Holy Name Sewer Project to Agenda
Paul Robinson asked if he could add an item to the agenda regarding the Holy Name sewer and
water project.
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2000
138
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to add the Holy Name Lake assessment to
the agenda. Motion passed unanimously.
13. Holy Name Sewer & Water Project
Paul Robinson said City Council had never discussed the term and interest rate for the Holy
Name Sewer project. He recommended a 15-year term and an 8% rate of interest.
Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve that rate of interest and term.
Motion passed unanimously.
14. Approval of the Sale of the 1977 Oldsmobile Tornado
Ed Belland said before he paid $60 to advertise for bids again, he wanted to ask the Council if
they would accept an offer of $350 to purchase the 1977 Tornado.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the sale of the Tornado.
Motion passed unanimously.
15. Pay the Bills
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the bills, order check numbers
21189-21241 for $102, 396.72 and payroll check numbers 16639-16658 for $17,568.51.
Motion passed unanimously.
16. Executive Session
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Ferris, to close the regular meeting to go into
executive session at 11:24 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to reconvene the regular session at 12:39
a.m. Motion passed unanimously.
25. Adjournment
Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to adjourn the meeting at 12:40 a.m.
Motion passed unanimously.
B. Ferris, Mayor
Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2000
139
ORDER CHECKS — JULY 05, 2000
21189 AMERIPRIDE LINEN & APPAREL SVC $47.73
21190 ANDERSON, EARL F. $704.18
21191 ASPEN ENVIRONMENTAL $295.77
21192 BONESTROO, ROSENE, ANDERLIK $7,278.38
21193 BUDGET PRINTING $148.47
21194 BUFFALO BITUMINOUS $4,748.70
21195 CLASSIC CLEANING $399.38
21196 DELTA DENTAL $778.85
21197 DILLMAN, JAMES $75.00
21198 DRESSEL, ROBERT $75.00
21199 E-Z-RECYCLING $2,552.22
21200 ERICKSON, ROLF ENT., INC. $3,193.56
21201 EXCELSIOR, CITY OF $25.00
21202 FORTIS BENEFITS $246.76
21203 GARY'S DIESEL SERVICE $78.41
21204 GROTH SEWER & WATER $1,196.00
21205 HAMMEL, GREEN AND ABRAHAMSON $1,078.50
21206 HARMON GLASS $233.96
21207 HENNEPIN CO.TREAS.,ACCTG.SVCS. $980.50
21208 HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF $607.38
21209 HIGHWAY 55 RENTAL $31.95
21210 IMPREST FUND $828.24
21211 KENNEDY & GRAVEN $5,274.73
21212 KERN, DEWENTER & VIERE $8,300.00
21213 KUSTOM SIGNALS, INC. $26.30
21214 LAKE BUSINESS SUPPLY $207.09
21215 LARSON, SANDRA $12.76
21216 LONG LAKE, CITY OF $3,625.25
21217 MAYER DISTRIBUTING $5,848.20
21218 MEDICA CHOICE $6,296.55 e,o
21219 MELROSE NORTH PYROTECHNICS $3,700.00— ""'`
21220 METRO WEST INSPECTION $14,070.30
21221 METROCALL $82.05
21222 MIDWEST ASPHALT CORPORATION $381.16
21223 MINNEGASCO $33.89
21224 MINNESOTA CHILD SUPP. PYT.CTR. $630.00
21225 MINNESOTA DEPT. OF HEALTH $653.00
21226 NORTHERN STATES POWER $3,482.50
21227 ORCHARD TRUST CO $1,105.00
21228 P.E.R.A. $3,223.03
21229 RANDY'S SANITATION $101.98 �,AA-
21230 RENNER, E. H. & SONS $8,093.60-v-'M`�
21231 ROUILLARD, MICHAEL $13.48
21232 SCHERER, STEVEN $75.00
21233 SCHOENING EXC. $1,034.00
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2000
140
ORDER CHECKS — JULY 05, 2000
21234 STREICHER'S $213.05
21235 THIBAULT ASSOCIATES $1,117.40
21236 TRUGREEN CHEMLAWN $181.47
21237 TWIN CITY WATER CLINIC $35.00
21238 U.S. WEST COMMUNICATIONS $458.22
21239 VISU-SEWER CLEAN & SEAL $6,077.50
21240 WRIGHT-HENNEPIN ELECTRIC $1,566.65
21241 XEROX CORPORATION $873.62
Total Checks $102,396.72
PAYROLL CHECKS — JULY 1, 2000
16639 HAMILTON, JOHN A. $138.52
16640 SMITH, CAROLYN A. $138.52
16641 FERRIS, JOHN B $207.79
16642 ZIETLOW, PHILIP K. $138.52
16643 JOHNSON, JAMES R. $138.52
16644 ROBINSON, PAUL A. $1,103.30
16645 SCHERER, STEVEN T $1,030.26
16646 MCGILL, CHRISTOPHER R. $1,200.30
16647 ROUILLARD, MICHAEL J $1,275.24
16648 KROEGER, SCOTT W. $1,167.77
16649 DILLMAN, JAMES D. $1,544.26
16650 DRESSEL, ROBERT P. $949.26
16651 BELLAND, EDGAR J. $1,880.62
16652 VIEAU, CECILIA M. $933.03
16653 SULANDER, LAURA L. $1,024.02
16654 LARSON, SANDRA L. $957.03
16655 BOECKER, KEVIN D. $348.74
16656 PRIEM, JON D. $1,170.99
16657 CHRISTENSON, JEREMY L. $978.62
16658 NYSTROM, JAMES $1,243.20
Total Checks $17,568.51
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2000