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HomeMy Public PortalAbout07/07/98 CCM141 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 7, 1998 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on July 7, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, Johnson, and Thies. Members absent: None. Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Engineer Glenn Cook, and City Clerk - Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Additions to the Agenda A. Schubert Billboard - Trunk Highway(TH) 55. B. Discussion on the intersection of County Road(CR) 29 and State Highway 12. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Approval of the June 16, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes A. Item 14, first paragraph, fourth sentence, after "the" should read "since the presumed nearest cable run" later in the same sentence after "commission" add "and the cable company". B. Item 15, second sentence, after "and" take out "pretty soon" and add "when the park is complete there will be an additional 30 to 40 acres". C. Item 16, paragraph 9, after "about' take out "the clutter created by" and add "how the ordinance addressed". Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to approve the minutes as corrected. 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 Jim Johnson asked what was going on with the Polaris proposal. Loren Kohnen said that there will be a public hearing at the next planning commission meeting to address the comprehensive plan amendment for extending sewer to their property. OLD BUSINESS 6. Public Hearing on the Lutz Elm Creek Easement Vacation Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to open the public hearing. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 142 Glenn Cook said the easement being discussed included the rear 30 feet of the properties on both sides of the easement. This makes a total easement width of 60 feet. Initially this easement provided room for a drainage ditch/swale. However, before the development was completed the developer decided to install a pipe in the easement instead of a ditch/swale. Because of that, the city does not need as large of an easement. Cook said a resident approached the city to vacate a portion of the easement so that he could place a pool in his yard. At that point the city decided to vacate 15 feet of the easement on all affected properties. This would decrease the easement from 30 feet on all properties to 15 feet. Phil Zietlow asked how many lots were affected. Glenn Cook said eight lots. Jim Johnson asked if vacating 15 feet would accommodate the residents' projects in the area. Glenn Cook said yes, typically 10 to 15 feet is what's required by the city to access such an easement. Loren Kohnen said that 15 feet is what the resident had requested. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to close the public hearing. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve Resolution 98-33 vacating all affected properties along this easement from 30 feet to 15 feet, to vacate 15 feet of the easement. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Presentation by the Maple Plain Fire Department Representatives from the Maple Plain Fire Department were present, Chris Wojtowicz and Dave Eisinger, the Chief. Chris Wojtowicz said they have raised $17,000 towards the infrared mask purchase and they are requesting $1,800 from each of the service areas to raise the additional amount needed, $25,000, for the IRIS. Chris Wojtowicz said this was an unbelievable piece of equipment that is not only used in fire situations but also in wooded areas to find lost children, etc. He said the IRIS mask picks up on infrared heat and is able to help firefighters find people in burning homes faster, and get them and the fire fighters out safer. John Hamilton asked what percentage of their service area included Medina. Dave Eisinger said very little area. He said Baker Park and some people along Welcome Drive. Dave Eisinger said there is only one other department in the area that has this tool, the Mound Fire Department. He said in 1976 the Maple Plain Fire Department was the first fire department in the area and the fifth agency in the state to have the Hirsch Tool(The Jaws of Life). Now almost every agency has that tool. The Jaws of Life has saved a number of lives and since the Maple Plain Fire Department has mutual aid agreements with all the surrounding Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 143 cities, not only does their department benefit from the use of the tool, but so do other departments. There was more discussion about amount of the donation requested from Medina and the percentage of Medina covered by the Maple Plain Fire Department. Dave Eisinger said that the city could donate whatever it would like towards this initiative. There was some discussion about mutual aid and how the IRIS mask would be available to all mutual aid cities and to an area outside of the Maple Plain coverage. John Hamilton asked if any other cities had made a donation. Dave Eisinger said that Orono donated $1,800. Phil Zietlow said the City of Maple Plain has done an excellent job with keeping their budget down and in line with others. John Ferris said if all fire departments in the area can use this tool then it is providing service to a greater area than just the area in Medina currently serviced by the Maple Plain Fire Department. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve $1, 800 for the Maple Plain Fire Department to purchase an IRIS mask. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Schubert Sign Issue Loren Kohnen handed out some pictures of the Schubert sign. Ron Batty said he would like to put this issue into the context of the city's ordinance. He said the city's sign ordinance prohibits all billboards in the city. The Schubert sign was grandfathered in because at the time the ordinance was passed, it was a legal and existing sign. This ordinance has been in effect for at least 20 years. During one of the storms in May the sign was damaged. The owners would like to replace the sign. Loren Kohnen placed a stop work order on repairs. Ron Batty said the city contracted with a structural engineer to determine the extent of the damage. Batty said they received a copy of his letter yesterday. Batty said in recent discussions, in Loren Kohnen's letter, and in the engineer's letter, a standard was mentioned that if billboards were damaged by more than 50% they could not be reconstructed. Batty said the 50% standard is not the standard included in the city's ordinance. Batty said the city's ordinance states that a billboard can no longer be repaired if it is found to be unsound, in disrepair, dangerous, or damaged. In Mr. Larson's letter(the structural engineer), he pointed out a number of structural issues with the sign and he indicated that he believed it was more than 50% damaged. Batty said the issue for the council tonight was whether to allow the sign to be repaired or to direct the owners to remove the sign within 10 days as stated in the ordinance. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 144 Batty said a representative from Schubert Sign was in attendance. Diane Hoey, President of Schubert Signs, said most of what her research has dealt with is the concept of damage greater than 50%. She said yes, the sign has been damaged, but not to the extent the city may believe. She said that the poles are very sound and in good condition. She said that Larry Schubert, her father, recently passed away. Whenever he built a sign he would use very substantial poles. She looked over the repair records for the past 10 years. They have been out two to three times a year doing maintenance on this sign. They were going out to repair the sign in May when they saw the stop work order placed on their sign by Loren Kohnen. She said that the face of the sign consists of panels that can be put on or taken off. She said that during the storm the sign did take a big hit, which took the panels off, but the panels can be replaced. Since mid May they have not done any work on the sign. One string of lights was broken that needs to be replaced, but there was little damage with respect to the amount of force the sign received in the storm. She said the structural engineer made a structural evaluation, not a determination of the actual value of the sign. She said for that the city needs to use an assessor that knows the sign industry. She said the sign is structurally sound and she is losing $300 a month in rent while she is unable to fix the sign. She asked if there were any questions. Jim Johnson asked if all of the current damage happened in the storm. Diane Hoey said yes. Phil Zietlow said that currently our ordinance does not allow billboards. He was wondering if there was some middle ground, some way to fix the sign now, however, in three to five years the sign would be removed. Hoey said that she did not like having a time limit but would rather go on a year to year basis. She said she was told by the property owner that when the property was sold she would have to remove her sign. Ron Batty said in the next section of the city's sign ordinance, it states that all billboards be removed within three years of the effective date of the ordinance. He said he was not sure why the city did not act on this. John Ferris said the previous ordinance called for all billboards to be taken down. Diane Hoey said that all the billboards were legally erected. She said evidentially one of the previous council's did not like billboards. Ron Batty said that Minnesota does allow amortization of signs. He said there was a case in the City of Minnetonka which went to the supreme court where they determined that three years was long enough for a sign to be in a place after an ordinance went into effect banning them for the owners to recoup their original investment in the sign. John Ferris said the three other signs in the city should also not be allowed. He said we're talking about more than just the Schubert sign. That creates a larger issue. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 145 Loren Kohnen said, however, this sign has been damaged, and is therefore a place for the city to start limiting repairs and reconstruction of billboards. Jim Johnson said that the city could adopt the city's sign ordinance again and give all billboards three years to be removed. Diane Hoey said she was willing to work with the city. She does not want to have to leave tonight and have to remove her sign. She said she would like the opportunity to provide the city council with additional information at another city council meting. John Ferris said the city council needs to get all the information on all the billboards and all the information as far as the laws and the city's ordinance and address all the billboards as one issue. There was some discussion about the other signs in the City, three were owned by Schubert, one by Naegele. The issue was tabled to the next city council meeting. 9. Mohawk Drive Jim Dillman said he has not resolved anything with Bill Cavanaugh about the assessments. He asked Ron Batty if he had done anything. Ron Batty said that he had not heard from Bill Cavanaugh and had not understood that he was to do anything further. Jim Dillman said that they would move ahead with the project and would probably need to assess Bill Cavanaugh's property. 10. County Road 29 and Highway 12 David Kearin's Property Jim Dillman said that information was included in the city council packets on the proposal from David Kearin to develop his property into residential lots. He said Kearin's property was currently zoned urban commercial but was expected to be changed to suburban residential during the current comprehensive plan update. Dillman said that sewer and water could be pushed under Highway 12 to Kearin's property. Glenn Cook described some of the access issues to the property. Jim Dillman said Maple Plain requested that Town Line Road be closed and a stop light installed at that intersection. This would make the urban commercial zoning south of Highway 12 less valuable. Therefore, the property owners requested the zoning be changed to suburban residential. However, in order to develop the property the city would need water from the City of Maple Plain. The consensus of the city council was that suburban residential zoning would be a good use for the property. They said it would help Maple Plain if Town Line Road were closed and to have a stop light at that intersection. However, in order to accommodate the development of the property south of Highway 12 they would like to trade access to additional water for the closing Town Line Road. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 146 Dillman said he would like to send a letter to the city of Maple Plain stating the council's position. Ann Thies asked about a gate allowing emergency vehicles to pass through. Glenn Cook said he was not sure about the plans. He would have to discuss that with MnDOT. There was some discussion about the problems with maintaining an emergency access. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to authorize city staff to send a letter to the City of Maple Plain asking to trade access to additional water for the closing of Town Line Road. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Exterior Improvements Update Ed Belland said the flag poles have been installed, the sidewalks are completed and the sign has been ordered and will be installed soon. The sign will look like the detailing on the police cars. He said the blacktop in the parking lot should be done within the next month. 12. Approval of Bid for 1985 Ford Pickup Truck Ed Belland said the high bid on the truck was $450. Belland said the bid was low because there were electrical problems and the recently installed battery was dead. Belland recommended the city council accept the high bid of $450 from Jim Zajicek. Jim Johnson said the city might want to consider rebidding since the letter included from the high bidder mentioned a number of conditions to his bid. Paul Robinson said that he spoke with the bidder and he said that the letter was meant to justify his bid of $450.00. Moved Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the low bid of $450.00 from Jim Zajicek. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Final Plat for Regina Estates Loren Kohnen said staff recommended approval of the resolution for final plat for Regina Estates. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the final plat Resolution 98-34 for Regina Estates. Motion passed unanimously. Phil Zietlow asked if Regina Estates would still be a part of the Tuckborough Homeowners Association. Loren Kohnen said that he believed it would. 16. Kelly's Wrecker Service Reaffirming Preliminary Plat and Final Plat Approval Loren Kohnen said Mr. Neal was requesting final plat approval. Kohnen said when the final plat resolution is approved there will also be a request for a conditional use permit resolution. Kohnen said when they were working on the preliminary plat a five foot easement on the east side of Lot 1 was discovered. He said staff requests that the council set a date to hold a public hearing to vacate this easement. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 147 He said that staff recommends the council direct the city attorney to prepare the final plat resolution and the conditional use permit. John Ferris said there are two issues. We need to set the public hearing to vacate the easement first and then take the final plat resolution next. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to set a public hearing to vacate the five foot easement for the first meeting on August 4, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to authorize the city attorney to draft a final plat resolution for Kelly's Wrecker Service with the planning commission's recommendations. Motion passed unanimously. 15. Prolux Sauna, Preliminary Plat and Conditional Use Permit Loren Kohnen read his memo to the council. He said Prolux Sauna was requesting to replat their property which included variances and a conditional use permit for the two parcels just east of their existing building at 62 Hamel Road. He said they would like to combine the parcels and build a commercial building on the new parcel. He said the planning commission recommended approval of the lot combination and the replat. He said the planning commission also discussed the variances and the conditional use permit and the planning commission recommended that the building be brought closer to the front lot line and have a majority of the parking in the rear of the building. The planning commission thought this would be more in the keeping with the existing buildings and character of the uptown Hamel area. He said the planning commission recommended approval of the variances with three conditions and approval of the conditional use permit with 19 conditions. Loren Kohnen read the conditions by the planning commission and showed an overhead of the proposed lot combination and building site. Don Kariniemi of Prolux said that changing the look of the building facade would cost them more money, however, it does make the building look nicer and accommodates their overall plan for the building. Jim Johnson asked why the buildings were being moved forward when previously they were being moved back. He questioned the planning commission's change. Loren Kohnen said the planning commission wanted to maintain the small town downtown character of the Hamel area. Jim Johnson said that the city needs to be consistent one way or the other. John Ferris said that it does look nicer to have the buildings up near the street. Jim Johnson said, however, that the fire department and the house next to it are both set back from the street. He said that it's being staggered back and forth. There was some additional discussion about setbacks in the area. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 148 Phil Zietlow said he assumes the hardship used for the variance was to match the set -backs of other buildings in the uptown Hamel area and asked that the planning commission please include hardships with all variance requests. John Ferris said it seems like the property owners are happy about the project. He said that he thinks it is a good use of space and that it will look nice on the street. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies, to direct the city attorney to draft a preliminary plat resolution. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow to approve the conditional use permit with 19 conditions including the variances and hardships for the variances. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Resignation of Anne Heideman Loren Kohnen said Anne Heideman recently sent in a letter of resignation due to her health. There was some discussion about Anne's health, and about thanking her for her years' of service to the city. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the resignation of Anne Heideman from the planning commission. Motion passed unanimously. There was some discussion about how to, or whether or not to replace Anne Heideman's position on the planning commission. Loren Kohnen said they had spoken with Penny Elsenpeter and that she may be a good person to serve out Anne Heideman's term since she was very familiar with the city and the planning commission. Ann Thies said that she thought this would be a good time to reduce the size of the planning commission by not appointing another planning commissioner. John Ferris said the city council would not be required to fill this position. He said that at the last planning commission/city council joint meeting, a lot was accomplished and there was a good rapport between the planning commission and city council. The consensus of the city council was to wait before appointing another planning commissioner. 18. Roads There was some discussion about the city's policy for repaving roads in the city. Phil Zietlow said currently the city's policy is to assess all property owners for any roadwork. Zietlow said, however, up to this point the city has never redone a road. The city may need a new policy for addressing roads that are being resurfaced. Jim Dillman said that Lakeview and Highcrest were paved and assessed at 100%. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 149 Phil Zietlow said, however, that it had never been repaved. There was a lot of discussion about different roads in the city and about the amount property owners should be assessed for, whether or not they should pay 100% of the second overlay on a road or have the city share a portion of the cost. Glenn Cook said the city should set up a program and overlay roads when they need it. John Ferris said property owners will see an increase in their property values from repaved roads. There was some discussion about what causes damage on the roads. A majority of damage is caused by large trucks, garbage trucks, and overweight trucks, not by typical road traffic. Jim Dillman said they were trying to keep taxes down. He said roads that primarily benefit property owners who live along the road should be assessed 100% of the cost. If that is done the city would not have to increase property taxes. Phil Zietlow said he was interested in discussing how the roads were paid for. He said if roads were being used by people other than the property owners the city should share a portion of the cost, like 50%-50%. John Hamilton said if the city paid 50%, then the city would need to raise taxes in order to meet that expectation. Jim Dillman said that it would cost the city around $30,000 to overlay Meadowoods Trail. Jim Johnson asked how much the city would have to raise taxes in order to pay for an overlay program for the city's roads. There was some discussion. Jim Dillman and Glenn Cook said that it could cost between $60,000 and $100,000 per year for a road overlay program. Jim Johnson asked for a map of the roads and a plan for when roads would be paved. There was some additional discussion about the fairness of assessing the roads at 100%. Overall consensus of the city council was when the city repaves a road that the city share 50% of the cost. John Ferris said it sounds like the city council would like to do adopt a 50%-50% assessment policy for roads being repaved. He said the 1999 budget should reflect that policy. Glenn Cook said with a 50% - 50% policy, it will be easier to be more proactive about repaving roads. He said when residents pay a 100% it is more difficult to pave roads sooner rather than later. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 150 18. Resignation of Lori Karlik Ann Thies said the city should advertise for another representative for the park commission. Phil Zietlow said that it would be nice to have somebody from the Medina Morningside area. There was some discussion about advertising. The consensus of the council was to advertise for the position in the Lakeshore Weekly News. John Hamilton and Ann Thies mentioned that another representative from the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission was needed. Paul Robinson said that he would make sure that an advertisement for that position would be included with the advertisement for the park commission representative. 19. Hearing Officer for Tobacco Violations by Minors Ed Belland said when the city council passed the tobacco ordinance they designated themselves as the hearing officer. Belland said that rather than parading 20 to 25 kids in front of the city council it would be a better use of the council and staffs time to designate the police chief as the hearing officer. He said that a number of programs have been set up to deal with youth tobacco violators and as an outlet for community service. He said he spoke with some people at the Orono public schools about a juvenile diversion program. Orono has set up a program which the city can use. Ann Thies said it would be very appropriate to have the police chief as the hearing officer. Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow to approve Resolution 98-35 appointing the police chief as the hearing officer for juvenile violators. Motion passed unanimously. 20. Pay the Bills Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to approve the bills, order check numbers 18570 to 18629 for $65, 692.18 and payroll check numbers 15681-15695 for $12, 565.56. Motion passed unanimously. 25. Adjournment Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Ferris, to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. John B. Ferris, Mayor Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 I ORDER CHECKS - JULY 7, 1998 18570 Great West Life $950.00 18571 Minnesota Mutual 375.00 18572 Minnesota State Retirement 205.00 18573 A T & T Wireless Long Distance 36.51 18574,75 Air Touch Cellular 171.71 18576 American Linen 46.66 18577 Barton Sand & Gravel 292.52 18578 Batteries Plus 211.89 18579 Bin, Inc. 361.30 18580 Bryan Rock 1,575.81 18581 Classic Cleaning 191.70 18582 Construction Market Data 188.50 18583 Delta Dental 689.50 18584 James Dillman 75.00 18585 Robert Dressel 75.00 18586 E-Z-Recycling 2,364.12 18587 Rolf Erickson Ent., Inc 2,732.95 18588 ESS Bros. 155.49 18589 Gary's Diesel 414.33 18590 Goodin Co 19.94 18591 Goodyear Auto 425.44 18592 Grainger 163.07 18593 Great West Life Assurance 901.00 18594 Hennepin Co. Treas., Acct. Svcs. 409.50 18595 Hennepin County Sheriff 110.58 18596 Hicks Concrete 3,999.00 18597 Hwy. 55 Rental 57.75 18598 International City/Co. Management Assn. 187.20 18599 Kennedy & Graven 4,207.47 18600 Lake Business 9.76 18601 Long Lake Tractor 25.14 18602 Mayer Mobil 1.03 18603 Medica Choice 3,529.00 18604 Metro Council (Treatment Charges) 8,618.25 18605 Metropolitan Council 3,960.00 18606 Minnegasco 51.41 18607 Minnesota Conway 203.23 18608 Minnesota Mutual 375.00 18609 Minnesota State Treasurer 3,422.26 18610 Minnesota State Retirement System 205.00 18611 Northern States Power 2,943.78 18612 Northern Waterworks Supply 1,304.90 18613 Olsen Chain & Cable 227.82 18614 P. E. R.A. 2,865.80 151 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes Jury 7, 1998 ORDER CHECKS —JULY 7, 1998 (CONT'D) 18615 Postmaster 500.00 18616 Steven Scherer 75.00 18617 Sewerman, Inc. 330.00 18618 Streicher's 377.36 18619 Tallen & Baertschi 2,892.90 18620 U.S. Filter/Waterpro 9,386.00 18621 U.S. West Communications 426.60 18622 Unum 75.60 18623 Valley Hydraulic Service 128.90 18624 Vaugh Display & Flag 100.67 18625 Warning Lites 122.04 18626 Westside Wholesale Tire 18.00 18627 Wright -Hennepin Electric 1,303.65 18628 Wright -Hennepin Security Services 76.14 18629 Minn. Dept. of Revenue 543.00 $65,692.18 PAYROLL CHECKS — JUNE 22, 1998 15681 Paul A. Robinson $ 925.76 15682 Steven T. Scherer 961.06 15683 Christopher R. McGill 943.04 15684 Michael J. Rouillard 543.20 15685 Scott W. Kroeger 985.18 15686 James D. Dillman 1,151.26 15687 Robert P. Dressel 906.13 15688 Edgar J. Belland 1,454.79 15689 Martha C. Lundell 212.78 15690 Cecilia M. Vieau 717.32 15691 Laura L. Sulander 930.97 15692 Sandra L. Larson 709.21 15693 Jon D. Priem 1,107.17 15694 Jeremy L. Christenson 748.69 15695 Scott W. Raines 269.00 $12,565.56 152 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 PAYROLL CHECKS — JULY 6, 1998 15696 John A. Hamilton 138.52 15697 Ann C. Thies 138.52 15698 John B. Ferris 207.79 15699 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52 15700 James R. Johnson 138.52 15701 Paul A. Robinson 925.76 15702 Steven T. Scherer 961.06 16703 Christopher R. McGill 927.30 15704 Michael J. Rouillard 1,202.54 15705 Scott W. Kroeger 1,210.66 15706 James D. Dillman 1,182.62 15707 Robert P. Dressel 894.71 15708 Edgar J. Belland 1,454.79 15709 Martha C. Lundell 185.50 15710 Cecilia M. Vieau 717.32 15711 Laura L. Sulander 930.97 15712 Sandra L. Larson 709.21 15713 Jon D. Priem 1,124.73 15714 Jeremy L. Christenson 898.11 15715 Scott W. Raines 406.00 $14,493.15 153 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 154 (THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY) Medina City Council Meeting Minutes July 7, 1998 a