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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10/06/98 CCM203 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 6, 1998 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on October 6, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, and Thies(8:30 p.m.) Members absent: Johnson. Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Engineer Glenn Cook, and City Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Additions to the Agenda A. Set public hearing for the 101 Watermain Assessments. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Approval of the Minutes from September 1, 1998 City Council Meeting Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the minutes of the September 1, 1998 City Council Meeting. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval of the Minutes from September 14, 1998 City Council Meeting Tabled. 4. Consent Agenda A. Resolution 98-59 Granting Frontyard Setback Variance to James Eidem. B. Ordinance #304 Amending Section 800 Regarding Swimming Pools. C. Resolution 98-60 Authorizing Publication of Ordinance by Title and Summary. D. Petition and Waiver Agreements — Mohawk Drive. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the consent agenda as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda There were none. 6. Park Commission Comments Tom Gregor, Chair of the Park Commission, said he recently spoken with Dick Picard, Michael Shield, and Robert Bane about the area near the dockside condominiums on County Road 19. There was some concern about how dangerous it is for kids biking and walking along County Road 19 to get to Baker Park. Gregor said if the city was interested the county would be willing to construct a trail along County Road 19. He asked if the park commission could work with the county on this issue. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to support the park commission working with the county on a trail along County Road 19. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Planning Commission Comments There were none. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 204 8. Commendation Presentation of Participants in Life Saving Event Ed Belland said on August 7, 1998 at approximately 5:54 p.m., a lightning strike hit two young girls at 3412 Elm Creek Drive. The two girls, Brittany, age 7 and Brandy, age 9 were knocked to the ground. Brandy was uninjured, Brittany had her heart stop and was clinically dead. At this point the emergency medical system went into effect. 911 was called starting rescue personnel to the scene. Robert and Christine Pastorek, the aunt and uncle of the girls, started CPR. They were joined by Terry Ritt, Marla Lukes, Karen Bendell, Terrence Bender, and Neil Wolfe. Community Service Officer Martha Lundell of the Medina Police Department arrived on the scene with oxygen and first aid equipment. Martha, along with Neil Wolfe and Karen Bendell continued with CPR until Brittany started breathing and her heartbeat returned. Officer Michael Rouillard of the Medina Police Department, along with the Hamel Fire Department, arranged for the North Memorial helicopter to respond to the scene. This was to transport Brittany to the hospital as quickly as possible. Due to the actions of these individuals, Brittany is alive today. Chief Brandon Guest of the Hamel Fire Department, the Medina City Council, and I would like to present each of you with a certificate of commendation for your life saving actions. Belland read off the following names of those to be commended and passed out certificates to those in attendance. Karen Bendell, Terry Ritt, Terrence Bender, Martha Lundell, Marla Lukes, Neil Wolfe, Michael Rouillard, Robert Pastorek, and Christine Pastorek. Belland thanked those involved for stepping forward in a time of crisis and making a difference, At the end of the presentation, Mrs. Pastorek thanked all those who came. She said that Brittney would not be here today if it were not for everybody who helped save her. She was very thankful. John Ferris thanked everyone for coming and sharing this moment. 9. Healthy Communities — Teri Cain and Melanie DeLuca Teri Cain and Melanie DeLuca updated the city council on some of the activities they have been working on. Ms. DeLuca said she recently worked with the city's police chief on a juvenile justice initiative. She asked the city council to appoint a contact person to their organization. Teri Cain presented information on their mentorship program. She said one of their recent activities was restoring the BMX track in Maple Plain. There was some discussion about other groups they worked with such as boy scouts and churches. Melanie DeLuca said they work with representatives from both of those groups. She said their goal was to support all activities that are currently being done for children in the area. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 205 There was some time remaining before the 8 p.m. public hearing so item 9A1 was moved up on the agenda. 10. Resident Request for Agriculture Preserve District — Tom Crosby Mr. Crosby said he and the Leatherdales recently acquired two 40 acre parcels from Morris Holmberg north of Wolsfeld Woods. He said these parcels were in green acres when purchased, however, they were not allowed to keep these parcels in the green acres program. He said they were recently made aware of the agriculture preserve program. He said this is where the city can rezone an area into an agricultural preserve district. The zoning sets aside the property for at least 8 years for agricultural purposes. He and the Leatherdales would like to request the city council take whatever appropriate action necessary to start this process. There was some discussion about the process. The next step would be to take this application to the planning commission. Ron Batty said the last time the city council worked on an agricultural preserve rezoning was in 1995 when they created an agricultural preserve district on the "Vo Tech" property. At that time an application was approved and the city rezoned the parcel to agricultural preserve. The comprehensive plan was amended to allow an agricultural preserve district and to keep the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan in compliance with one another. He said a public hearing was required for both of those actions. Batty said agricultural preserve districts not only restrict the property owner but also restrict the city. The city also cannot rezone the property within the time that it is in agricultural preserve. Tom Crosby asked if the city would be in favor of this proposal. He said he would rather know now than go through the whole process and have the council turn down the application. There was no dissent on the council at this time. 11. Pubic Hearing — Proposal to Control the Level of Lake Medina Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to open the public hearing. Motion passed unanimously. Glenn Cook updated those present and the council on the request. He said the request was to place a control in the storm sewer to adjust the lake level of Lake Medina or to actually to keep the lake level at its current level of 980 feet. He showed on an overhead exactly where the control would be placed. He went through a number of aerial photos to show what an elevation of 982 feet would look like and what property would be included in that elevation. Glenn Cook said that the elevation of the lake had been higher in the past. He said the current proposal was for 980 feet. There was some discussion about the history of the elevation. Glenn Cook said most of the land is higher than 980 feet, however, when the marsh fills up with water, such as after a large rainfall or in the spring, it can raise the lake level one to two feet up to the 982 foot level. That is why the 982 foot level was shown on the overheads. He said in Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 206 January of 1984 the level was 978.6 feet, in September of 1987 it was 980.5, in December of 1994 it was 979.7, in June of 1997 it was 980, so it's varied in its history from 977 feet to 980.5. John Ferris said the current proposal was to keep the elevation around 980. He asked what would happen to the line designating the 982 foot contour if it were moved to the 980 foot contour. Glenn Cook said there would not be a significant difference. Leonard Andrews, 4290 Arrowhead Drive, said that a large portion of his property had become wet because of the higher lake elevation. He had some pictures of his property previous to the current lake level and those of the current lake level. The current pictures showed a significant amount of water on his property. He would like to see the lake level lowered. He said the only reason the lake is at its current level of 980 feet is because of a beaver dam. Phil Zietlow asked where the beaver dam was. Glenn Cook showed on an overhead the location of the beaver dam. Phil Zietlow asked if the beaver dam was maintaining a 980 foot lake level, why does the city need to engineer a solution to keep it at that level? Glenn Cook said that it couldn't consistently keep the level at 980 feet. Marc Anderson, vice president of land development for Lundgren Brothers, said basically the lake level has been around 980 feet for the past 10 years. He said that when the second phase of the Lundgren development was built, they built a culvert at 978 feet. He said that during the past several years the beaver dam has kept the lake level at around 980 feet. He said Lundgren and the people who live around the lake enjoy having the open water. They canoe on it and use it for recreation. He said they requested the structure be built at 980 feet to keep the lake at its current level. Anderson said his engineer, Bob Peyette, was in attendance to answer any technical questions. Reg Pederson said he's with R & J Properties and owns some property on the east side of the marsh by Lake Medina. He said Wally Doerr created a large part of the lake. He said that ever since the lake was dredged and enlarged a portion of their property that was previously dry turned into wetlands. He was concerned about losing even more property in the event of 100- year rain or large rainfall. He said it would take a long time for their property to dry out if the lake is kept at 980 feet. He said he pays taxes on property that is now unbuildable. Phil Zietlow asked why the culvert was installed at 978 feet. There was some discussion about the 978 foot level and why that was not maintained. There was some additional discussion about the beaver dam. Glenn Cook said a large portion of the area was used for haying in the 80's. Somebody said that Dave Elliot owned the property used for haying. They also said this property could not be hayed today. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 207 Reg Pederson said there is a lot more water on his property now than before and it takes a lot longer for any additional water to drain away. He wanted to know if it was allowable to flood other people's property and make it unusable. Marc Anderson said that Lundgren's request was brought to the DNR, the corps of engineers, the watershed district, and Hennepin County for approval. All of those agencies approved the plan. John Ferris said the issue here is whether additional people are affected by the lake level being raised from 978 feet to 980 feet permanently. There was some discussion about whether or not the lake level would go down to 978 feet. Glenn Cook said eventually it would, especially if there was a drought. Leonard Andrews said the beaver dam has had a significant impact on the elevation. He said two feet of elevation is a lot of water. John Ferris said he was not ready to make a decision at this time. He would like to take a look at this property. He's uncomfortable when other people's property may be affected by the decision of the council, especially if additional land is made unusable. He would like this issue to be brought back to the next council agenda. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to table this issue to the next meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded Phil Zietlow to close the public hearing. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Schubert Sign Ron Batty gave a brief recap on the sign's history. He said a windstorm blew the face of the sign off early in the summer. The sign is currently non -conforming. Loren Kohnen tagged the sign to prevent repair. The issue is whether the sign is damaged or in disrepair. The city council determined that there was enough damage and prohibited repair and replacement of the sign and requested that it be removed within 10 days. Batty said recently the city received additional information from the Schubert sign company's engineer and attorney. He said Schubert would like an additional opportunity to present this information regarding the sign and the extent of the damage. Diane Hoey, president of Schubert Sign Company, said their engineer, Mr. McCallaugh had been an engineer for 30 years. She said he specifically works on outdoor signs. He checked the damage to the sign and determined that repair of the sign would cost around $1,000. She said the current value of the sign, if it were to be sold to another company, was around $15,000. She said this shows repair of the sign is small in relationship to the current value of the sign. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 208 Marc Mandersheid, attorney for Schubert Sign Company, said he looked through the Medina's ordinance and spoke with Medina's attorney about the Schubert sign and the city's ordinance. He went through several of the points regarding Medina's current ordinance, described the damage that had been done and believed that the city would be taking away the owner's property right by not allowing the sign to be repaired based on the minor amount of damage that had taken place. Phil Zietlow said he recently took another look at the billboard. He said that the city's ordinance did not a clearly define the amount and type of damage needed to declare a sign damaged. He said he believes the city should allow the owners to repair the sign and take steps to make the city's ordinance clearer. John Hamilton said that he has no change in his position. He still believes the sign should be repaired. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Ann Thies, to allow Schubert to repair the damage to the sign. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Hold Harmless Agreement for Experimental Septic Site Loren Kohnen said 4565 Wichita Trail would like to build an experimental septic site. Kohnen said this was one of the properties along Peter Lake. They need to build an experimental site because there is not enough room on the property for a conventional system. In order to allow this, the city council needs to approve a hold harmless agreement, which will protect the city in case the system fails. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the hold harmless for 4565 Wichita Trail. Motion passed unanimously. 15. 101 Watermain Assessment Glenn Cook said the 101 Watermain project has been completed. He said the city needs to hold the public hearing to approve the final assessments for this project. A hearing was set for November 4 city council meeting. Moved by Thies, seconded by Hamilton, to set the public hearing date of November 4, 1998 for setting the 101 water main assessments. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Holy Name Drive Jim Dillman said that at one time Holy Name Drive was posted for no trucks. He said this was done during the time when homes were being constructed in Plymouth and there was a significant amount of truck traffic on Holy Name Drive. At some point the signs were taken down. Conrad Miller has asked that "No Truck" signs be placed back on the street. Conrad Miller said he and his wife Helen were concerned about the amount of truck traffic on Holy Name Drive and were requesting the city pass a resolution declaring no truck traffic. Mr. Miller gave a petition to the city council with 66 signatures from people who lived on or along Holy Name Drive who would like to see the road posted no trucks. Ann Thies asked if there was any data for the speed or volume of traffic. Conrad Miller said yesterday morning there was a lot of traffic. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 209 Helen Miller said there was a significant amount of truck traffic on the road. They would like through truck traffic to be stopped, however, they would be in favor of allowing truck traffic that serves the residents along the road as stated on the petition. Phil Zietlow asked how the city would police that. Helen Miller said trucks could be pulled over and asked where they were going. The police could determine whether or not they were serving a resident along the road. Ed Belland said he was concerned if trucks were prohibited on Holy Name Drive residents along other city roads would probably ask to prohibit trucks as well. He said the city's current ordinance does restrict truck traffic for trucks greater than 9,000 pounds, however, that has not been enforced strictly. He said this ordinance prohibits trucks on city roads that originate outside the city and are going to destinations outside the city. Jim Dillman said if we start to regulate truck traffic more stringently, the city should establish a truck route through the city. Ron Batty said he was concerned about restricting trucks where some would be allowed but not others. He said he would be more comfortable if the council were to prohibit a particular type of vehicle at all times or based on weight or some other restriction that could be applied to all vehicles. There was some discussion about where the traffic could go. The Millers said traffic could go along County Road 101. There was some discussion about placing signs such as "kids at play" or other signs that would slow traffic or make traffic more aware, or posting the road "no trucks" however not providing stringent enforcement. Jim Dillman suggested putting up signs saying "this is not a truck route". Phil Zietlow said before he was comfortable taking any action on this item, he would like to see copies of the city's current ordinance regarding truck traffic. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow to table this issue. Motion passed unanimously. 18. Appointment of Election Judges Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to appoint additional election judges. Motion passed unanimously. 19. Laser Radar Ed Belland said recently they looked at purchasing a laser radar. He said a laser radar can significantly help the police department with speed enforcement. He said they are very accurate and can track a car at a distance of 3,000 feet. He said they can also be used inconspicuously. This will help on roads where they have difficulty concealing a police car. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 210 Belland said the Hamel Fire Department was willing to donate $2,000 towards this purchase, and the $1,500 budgeted for a new radar in the police department could be used for the remainder of the cost. Moved Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the purchase of the laser radar. Motion passed unanimously. 20. Approval of the Bills There was a question about the cost of the fencing at the Hamel Legion ballfield. The check was for $85,000. Jim Dillman said this was bid out earlier in the year. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the bills, order check #'s 18876- 18949 for $334,549.79 and payroll check #'s 15799-15817 for $13,358.73. Motion passed unanimously. 21. Adjournment Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. ohn B. Ferris, Mayor est: Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 211 ORDER CHECKS — OCTOBER 6, 1998 18876 P.E.R.A. $ 2,903.99 18877 A T & T Wireless 36.51 18878-79 Air Touch Cellular 210.04 18880 American Linen 46.66 18881 Earl F. Anderson 1,811.75 18882 Aspen Equipment 819.60 18883 Edgar Belland 42.00 18884 Biff's, Inc. 361.30 18885-86 Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik 6,160.25 18887 Bryan Rock Products 13,379.37 18888 Buffalo Bituminous 90,485.03 18889 Camas — Shiely Div 41,051.97 18890 Classic Cleaning 191.70 18891 Continuing Education 50.00 18892 Creative Vision 2,443.11 18893 Delta Dental 648.35 18894 James Dillman 75.00 18895 Robert Dressel 75.00 18896 E-Z-Recycling 2,364.12 18897 Rolf Erickson, Ent., Inc 2,967.83 18898 ESS Bros. 1,271.62 18899 Firstar Bank 181.00 18900 Genuine Parts 239.53 18901 Goodyear Auto 262.08 18902 Gopher State 168.00 18903 Great West Life Assurance 901.00 18904 Hawkins Water Treatment 2,169.89 18905 Healthpartners 2,575.48 18906 Henn.Co.Treas. —Acctg. Svcs. 148.75 18907 Hennepin County Sheriff 664.82 18908 J-Craft, Inc. 73.41 18909-10 Kennedy & Graven 5,216.54 18911 Knowledge Transfer 149.00 18912 Koch & Sons 3,940.00 18913 Kuechele Underground 16,038.07 18914 L & R Grading 977.67 18915 Sandra Larson 27.19 18916 Lawson Products 143.55 18917 Medica Choice 2,782.75 18918 Metro West Inspection 8,682.65 18919 Metro Council Environmental Svcs. 10,953.75 18920 Metro Council Wastewater Svcs. 10,890.00 18921 Mid Metro Construction 85,701.00 18922 Midwest Asphalt 221.37 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 212 ORDER CHECKS - OCTOBER 6, 1998 (CONT'D) 18923 Minn Comm 30.69 18924 Minnegasco 36.47 18925 Minnesota Mutual 375.00 18926 Minnesota State Treasurer 3,168.08 18927 Minnesota State Retirement Assn 205.00 18928 Minnesota Women's Press 100.50 18929 Mothers Motors/Loretto Towing 40.00 18930 MTI Distributing 67.99 18931 Municipals 82.50 18932 Northern States Power 3,018.26 18933 Orono Ind. SD 278 1,143.08 18934 Physio-Control Corp. 444.00 18935 Postmaster 500.00 18936 Jon Priem 65.00 18937 Prolawns Assn. On the Lake 1,576.20 18938 Protocol Communications 150.00 18939 Randy's Sanitation 9.67 18940 Michael Rouillard 65.00 18941 Safeguard ldent. Services 75.50 18942 Steven Scherer 75.00 18943 U.S. Filter/Waterpro 677.34 18944 U.S. West Communications 458.62 18945 Unum 75.60 18946 Vaughn Display 86.42 18947 Cec Vieau 28.72 18948 Warning Lites 267.42 18949 Wright Hennepin Electric 1,222.03 $ 334, 546.79 PAYROLL CHECKS - SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 15799 John Hamilton $ 138.52 15800 Ann C. Thies 138.52 15801 John B. Ferris 207.79 15802 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52 15803 James R. Johnson 138.52 15804 Paul A. Robinson 925.76 15805 Steven T. Scherer 961.06 15806 Christopher R. McGill 904.49 15807 Michael J. Rouillard 543.20 15808 Scott W. Kroeger 1,077.00 15809 James D. Dillman 1,182.62 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 213 PAYROLL CHECKS — SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 (CONT'D1 15810 Robert P. Dressel 980.42 15811 Edgar J. Belland 1,454.79 15812 Martha C. Lundell 191.23 15813 Cecilia M. Vieau 709.17 15814 Laura L. Sulander 930.97 15815 Sandra L. Larson 844.08 15816 Jon D. Priem 1,159.88 15817 Jeremy L. Christenson 732.19 $13,358.73 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998 214 (THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY) Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 6, 1998