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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10/16/01 CCM225 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 16, 2001 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on October 16, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Lane, Smith (arrived at 7:40 p.m.), and Zietlow. Members absent: Workman. Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, City Engineer Tom Kellogg, Planning & Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, Robyn Sauer Recording Secretary, and Administrator Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Additions to the Agenda A. Approval of Additional Special Meetings. B. Planning & Zoning Update. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Jim Lane, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Approval of the September 4, 2001 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes There was one correction on page two, under number nine, third sentence from the bottom, should read: "Jim Lane asked Ron Batty if the City was under legal obligation to advertise Planning Commission vacancies." Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Jim Lane, to approve the minutes of September 4, 2001 as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval of the October 2, 2001 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Jim Lane said he had extensive suggestions and referred the original draft back to staff to rework. Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to table approval of the October 2, 2001 regular City Council meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Consent Agenda A. Approval to Release the Final Letter of Credit — Foxberry Farms 6th Addition. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Jim Lane, to table the approval to release the final letter of credit for Foxberry Farms 6th Addition. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda There were none. 6. Park Commission Comments There were none. 7. Planning Commission Comments Loren Kohnen said at the next City Council meeting there will be two conditional use permits, a variance, a replat, and a request for a variance that was denied at the last Planning Commission meeting. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 226 Carolyn Smith arrived 7:40 p.m. 8. Approval of the 2002 LMCC Budget Sally Koenecke explained the budget and noted that the LMCC is a joint powers agreement between 16 cities. Koenecke said this year's budget was similar to last year's budget, with the exception of the one time expenditure for an audit of Mediacom Financials. Koenecke noted with the upgrade of the system, a few items have come up and the LMCC is trying to get them resolved. Recently, the LMCC met with Mediacom to make sure they understood their obligations. Koenecke said Mediacom has talked about exchanging three miles of cable installation in Independence for installation of cable to the Medina City Hall. Koenecke said Mediacom has indicated they have been unable to get T-1 lines from the phone company in order to gain Internet access. Phil Zietlow asked how many users are in the system. Koenecke replied there are 11,000 users. Phil Zietlow asked how many complaints had been received. Koenecke responded the LMCC is averaging approximately twenty complaints per month. Phil Zietlow asked if Mediacom was on par with other cable companies. Koenecke said that Mediacom has only been able to provide their Internet services to around 1/3 of their customers. She said that Mediacom has been unable to get the needed materials. Paul Robinson asked if the same amount of grievances had been filed in previous years as this year. Koenecke replied no. She explained that Mediacom has not been responding in a timely manner and, therefore, LMCC has filed a franchise violation against them. Phil Zietlow asked what the repercussions would be for the violation. Koenecke responded that they will be fined and that there would be additional costs if they didn't fix the problem. Koenecke said it would be possible to choose another cable company, but there was a fairly involved process that would need to be followed in order for this to occur. Jim Lane asked what the length of the contract was with Mediacom. Koenecke replied they were in the second year of a fifteen -year contract. Paul Robinson said that the burying of cable has been an issue with a number of Medina customers. Koenecke noted the LMCC has started documenting things and would send a violation notice for every complaint. Koenecke said if Mediacom doesn't follow up, the Commission would bury the cable and charge Mediacom. Carolyn Smith asked if Koenecke goes out to see if the cable company has buried the cable. Koenecke replied no, she doesn't send people around to see if cable has or has not been buried. Carolyn Smith suggested the LMCC call and ask if cable has been buried. Koenecke replied the Commission isn't informed as to whom is getting cable. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 227 Carolyn Smith said it should not be the policy to just have residents call and complain; the LMCC should be more proactive than that. Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the 2002 LMCC budget. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Petition for Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) John Ferris said the nature of this project has changed and the petitioner is now requesting development in a different location where their existing structures and facilities are located. John Ferris commented he has respect for people expressing opinions and asked the public to please do so. Jim Lane asked Ron Batty to discuss the status of the petition to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) and give a sense of the timing. Ron Batty said that when the petition is submitted to the EQB, it then reviews the petition and determines who should be the Responsible Goveming Unit (RGU). Ron Batty said the City Council went through this two years ago with an industrial project near the Foxberry Farms development. At that time the City Council determined the petition did not raise significant environmental issues. Ron Batty said the City Council would have 30 working days to make the determination whether they should order the preparation of the EAW or whether the environmental process should be stopped. Jim Lane asked if the City Council could wait 30 days and then, at that point, ask for the assistance of a consultant. Ron Batty replied the City Council should engage a consultant to evaluate the facts and allegations in the petition, talk to the stakeholders, and then come back with a recommendation. Ron Batty said there was no penalty for not doing it within the 30-day period, but noted there was some difficulty with the calendar, as the 30-day period would cover both November meetings, but would not make it to the December 4 Council meeting. Jim Lane suggested appointing a task force to look at the issue of a moratorium on development in the Agricultural Preserve District. Phil Zietlow said he would like to hire a professional planner who is knowledgeable in Agricultural Preserve zoning. Carolyn Smith said she doesn't have a problem putting a moratorium on the Agricultural Preserve land as a safe guard so nothing can come forward until the process is done. Ron Batty said the Leatherdales have proposed an amended CUP to build a new barn on their homestead property. That process requires a review by the Planning Commission as well as the City Council. The CUP application would go to the Planning Commission on November 13, 2001, and would then come back to the City Council on November 20, 2001. Ron Batty said he was reluctant to have the City spend money hiring a consultant to review the EAW especially if the proposal is withdrawn. He said the CUP will likely be considered at the last regular meeting before the expiration of the 30 days. Ron Batty said the City Council could, at that point, hold a special meeting, wait until the December 4, 2001 meeting, or enlist a consultant last minute. He noted November 26 is the expiration of the 30 days. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 228 Kirsten Chapman said she was the resident who sent the mailer. She said that since the EAW petition would act as a moratorium it would be all right to table this issue to the November meeting because nothing could be initiated until after a decision has been made on the EAW petition. Chapman said issues have been raised about "holes" in Medina's zoning ordinances. She noted in terms of land use, a turkey farm or peacock farm could slip in the hole. Chapman commented a task force was an extremely important step and said the City needed to review its ordinances. She reiterated that she was not uncomfortable having a decision on the moratorium tabled to the second meeting in November. Carolyn Smith clarified that the EAW petition was a moratorium on the current proposal, not on the rest of the land in Agricultural Preserve in the City. Carolyn Smith said a good place to start looking at regulating agricultural practices was in the Agricultural Preserve areas. She said she would like to put a moratorium on all Agricultural Preserve land as a comfort measure, since there are currently inadequate safeguards and controls in this district Agricultural Preserve. Ron Batty said with regard to the EAW, the petition needed to be dealt with. He suggested the City hire a consultant, but have him go slow. Jim Lane asked if the cost would be borne by the City. Ron Batty replied yes, and noted last time the cost was passed through to the applicant because it was a commercial application. Ron Batty said staffs intent would be to have the consultant go slow because there was a possibility their review may not be needed. Ron Batty said Hugh Maynard's letter stated if the CUP was approved and permits were issued, then the application on the Agricultural Preserve piece would be withdrawn. Hugh Maynard, the attorney for the Leatherdales, said they reached a confidential agreement with Ms. Chapman, which includes a stand still agreement. He said the Leatherdales will not go forward with their permit on their Agricultural Preserve land until it is concluded to be fruitless to go forward with the CUP alternative on their homesteaded property. He said if this happens, the Leatherdales will give Ms. Chapman notice and no permit would be drawn until one City Council meeting after notice has been given. The attorney commented he thinks the moratorium is unnecessary. Phil Zietlow said the City Council could play the moratorium "card" at any time. Carolyn Smith noted Bruce Workman originally didn't want to do a moratorium because there was a project before the City Council. She said there were controls on Rural Residential, but not on the Agricultural Preserve, and reiterated that the moratorium would be a safeguard. Bob Djupstrom, supervisor of the DNR's Scientific and Natural Areas, said his concern lies with the scientific and natural area south of the proposed development called Wolsfeld Woods. He explained some of the unique characteristics of Wolfsfeld Woods and Wolsfeld Lake. He said that Wolsfeld Woods is one of a few remaining "Big Woods" areas in the State of Minnesota and this area has been studied over many years. He said Wolsfeld Lake has also been studied Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 229 extensively. He said the proposed facility on the Agricultural Preserve land could affect the water quality of the lake. Djupstrom said he was concerned about the integrity of the Wolfsfeld Woods with regard to the increased horse use and noted it could result in an increase in exotic plant species, erosion, and a degradation of the forest community. Djupstrom urged the City Council to carefully consider any request for development around Wolfsfeld Woods. Paul Robinson asked if the City Council needed to take action to extend the review period an additional fifteen days. Ron Batty replied yes. Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by John Ferris, to authorize hiring an environmental consultant with regard to the EAW petition, with a request to report back to the City Council by November 20, 2001. There was some discussion about whether or not the environmental review should be done by November 20, 2001. Robinson said that if the Council required a review by that date, it would not matter if the review proceeded slowly or not. The money for the review would need to be spent before that in order for the review to be done by November 20, 2001. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to request an additional fifteen day review period. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Consideration of Moratorium within the Agricultural Preserve District Carolyn Smith said she would like the Council to vote on a moratorium. Phil Zietlow said he didn't want to play that "card" until they had to. Jim Lane said he was ready to take the risk that the other property owners won't jump up and propose something, and noted a lot of progress had been made between the Leatherdales and Ms. Chapman. Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to table consideration of a moratorium within the Agricultural Preserve District to the November 20, 2001 meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Paul Robinson asked the City Council to empower staff to come back with options for a task force or a planner. Carolyn Smith said she would like to meet with staff. Ron Batty said the process illuminated dangers in Rural Residential and the Agricultural Preserve. Rural Residential is a large percentage of the community, and proposals would take time and resources. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to direct staff to come back at the November 6, 2001 meeting with a proposal to set up a committee to study those issues. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 230 Carolyn Smith suggested the public sign a sheet with their names and addresses so they could be kept informed of the committee meeting times and dates. Susie McKay said she had spent nine years on the Planning Commission and commented it was wonderful to see residents come to the meeting. McKay noted the spirit of community was strong, and the Leatherdales and their neighbors were good examples. McKay said she was proud to see the City work this way and encouraged the residents to run for office, continue to come to meetings, and speak up. Jim Lane asked if the consultant hired to provide advise of the environmental impact would also complete the worksheet if the Council so directed. Ron Batty said that would probably make sense. Ron Batty noted the statutory question was whether the project might have the potential for significant environmental threats. 11. Planning and Zoning Update Loren Kohnen said he recently met with the owners of Tol-O-Matic concerning an expansion of their facility. He said he was working with them on access and fire lane issues. Kohnen said he also recently met with representative of Walter G, Anderson. They are also working on replating their property to prepare for an expansion of their facility. 12. Holy Name Assessment Paul Robinson said he passed out a revised assessment roll. He said this revision was based on the final cost of the project and was also revised to reflect a $5,000 credit for two property owners who were provided with a less costly grinder pump system. Paul Robinson said the City has also charged the developer $13,000 in liquidated damages. However, since he was not sure the City would receive that money, the total assessment was not reduced by that amount. He said if and when the City receives it, the Council can, at that point, decided if they want to reduce the assessment or keep it for other projects. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adopt Resolution 01-55 approving a revised assessment roll for the Holy Name Lake Sewer Project. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Approve Gambling License for Loretto Fire Relief Association Paul Robinson said this permit had been before the City Council once before. He said since that time, Ron Batty determined that the license was allowed by our gambling ordinance because it was a premises permit. Robinson also noted that the application has the wrong dates on it, however, the resolution has the correct ones. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adopt Resolution 01-56 approving a Premises Permit Renewal for pull -tabs at the Big Woods Saloon for the Loretto Fire Department Relief Association. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Letters of Support and Proclamations Paul Robinson said he recently received two letters of support, one from the Northwest Senior Association looking for a grant for chores services, and one from the Hennepin Conservation District. He said the deadlines have come and gone for both. He commented he was looking for direction on how to handle these requests in the future. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 231 Jim Lane said Medina can and should support the Hennepin Conservation District and guessed this was an example of urban dominated County Commissioners thinking this was an expendable agency. Phil Zietlow said the Hennepin Conservation District has expanded and noted maybe the County wanted to cut back on the number of people. Carolyn Smith said she had no idea what the Northwest Senior Association did, would like to know what they offer, and how they benefit seniors. Carolyn Smith commented before they give a letter of support, they need to know what the Association does and how the seniors benefit. Paul Robinson said the City has contributed to the Northwest Senior Association for eight to ten years; therefore, he believed the City Council must support the Northwest Senior Association because they have been giving them $2,000 per year. Paul Robinson wanted to know if letters of support need to come to the City Council first in order to find out if the Council is comfortable with them. The consensus of the Council was that staff bring all of these requests to the Council for direction before acting on them. Robinson said the City also receives several proclamation requests and wondered if there was a way to filter these or if the Council wanted to review each request. The Council said they wanted to have staff bring forward all proclamation requests. Paul Robinson said Bob Fischer had submitted a request for a proclamation for affordable housing week. Phil Zietlow thought the City Council had already adopted that proclamation. Paul Robinson said he would check on it. 15. 2002 Budget — Request for Additional Employee Paul Robinson said this item concerns the 2002 budget request for an additional employee to be split between Administration and the Planning & Zoning Departments. He provided background on the position and noted the proposal would replace the contract planning and zoning services and the City intern position with a full-time employee. Other duties not mentioned in the memo would include helping to fill in during vacations by answering phones, filling out building permits, etc. Phil Zietlow said he was not ready to make a decision tonight and commented he was concerned with the timing. He noted there were currently 4,000 people in the City and needs will increase; however, Medina had just come through a huge period of big projects and comprehensive plans without an additional employee. Phil Zietlow said that since the nation is faced with a recession, the City won't see a lot of development for the next year at least; therefore, the need for a full-time person this year is diminished. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 232 Carolyn Smith said if the position were to come about, an important part of that job would be filling in for vacationing employees. She commented she wanted to be sure employees don't feel they need to come to work sick or can't take vacations. Paul Robinson agreed with Phil Zietlow about the current economy; however, he said it seems like we always think that nothing will come along, but things do keep coming up. He said the City is trying to improve the variance process and need to work on Conditions Use Permits, on our application processes, and on checklists for reviewing land use applications. Robinson said that getting groundwork in place when the City is not so busy would be helpful. Phil Zietlow said he was concerned with the position being so broad. Jim Lane said you couldn't recruit someone worth their salt who was also willing to answer telephones. Paul Robinson replied a lot of basic resolutions could be written at a staff level. Robinson said they needed to hire someone who was confident and willing to pitch in. Robinson said when Laura and Sandie are gone he is the one who answers the phones. He said if this position is approved, then a committee should be set up to conduct the interviews and look for a person who fits this position. Carolyn Smith said a portion of the memo that was really important noted it would be necessary to have a training period. Paul Robinson said that money was budgeted to have Loren Kohnen continue with the City on a consulting basis. He could help train this person and provide assistance to the City on more significant projects. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to table the request for an additional employee for two weeks. Motion passed unanimously. Jim Lane noted he would like to see prioritization of the job requirements. Paul Robinson replied he would tighten up the job description. 16. Approval of Additional Special Meetings Paul Robinson said next Tuesday was scheduled to be the Department Head reviews, but the Council could pick another day. Carolyn Smith asked if the meeting could be moved to October 30, 2001. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Jim Lane, to change the Department Head reviews to October 30, 2001 at 6:00 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Paul Robinson asked if the City Council wanted a special meeting to talk to contract services. Carolyn Smith replied the Council should talk to all contract services and she would like to see a contract or document for each one. Jim Lane said he would like to see a list of contractors and whether or not they have contracts. Paul Robinson responded he would provide a list and whether there is a contract or document on file. 17. Pay the Bills Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by John Ferris, to approve the bills, order check numbers 22979-23039 for $75,300.03, and payroll check numbers 17284-17298 for $17,868.50. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 233 18. Public Works Update Jim Dillman said Brockton Lane was paved. 19. Police Update Police Chief Ed Belland gave a security update for the City. 20. Adjournment Moved by Jim Lane, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Joh , = Ferris, Mayor Att Paul Robinson, dministrator-Clerk-Treasurer i F,,,74-1? Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 234 (THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY) Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 235 ORDER CHECKS - OCTOBER 16, 2001 22979 ORCHARD TRUST $880.00 22980 A.T.& T $44.22 22981 AMERICAN EXPRESS $300.00 22982 AMERIPRIDE LINEN & APPAREL SVC $50.97 22983 ARCHIES' LOCK & SAFE INC $153.81 22984 BEST WESTERN KELLY INN $64.67 22985 BUDGET PRINTING $280.10 22986 BUFFALO BITUMINOUS $7,432.58 22987 CASE CREDIT CORPORATION $1,115.64 22988 CHORLEY, MICHAEL $173.60 22989 CONNELLY IND. ELECT. $1,753.50 22990 CULLIGAN $49.20 22991 DILLMAN, JAMES $75.00 22992 DOBOSZENSKI & SONS, INC. $245.00 22993 DRESSEL, ROBERT $75.00 22994 FORTIN HARDWARE $58.72 22995 FORTIS BENEFITS $263.96 22996 GENUINE PARTS $8.26 22997 GLENWOOD INGLEWOOD $56.94 22998 GOPHER STATE ONE CALL $325.50 22999 HATCH, JIM SALES $571.87 23000 HENNEPIN CO.TREAS.,ACCTG.SVCS. $444.50 23001 KEN'S SNOWPLOWING & BOBCAT $1,900.00 23002 KOCH & SONS $7,249.70 23003 KUSTOM SIGNALS, INC. $619.25 23004 LAKE BUSINESS SUPPLY $245.64 23005 LAKESHORE WEEKLY NEWS $157.50 23006 LAWN DETAILERS $1,520.00 23007 LEAGUE OF MN CITIES INS.TRUST $500.00 23008 LONG LAKE, CITY OF $3,964.00 23009 METRO.COUNCIL ENVIRO. SERVICES $15,100.07 23010 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL WASTEWTR $6,792.50 23011 MIDWEST ASPHALT CORPORATION $2,674.84 23012 MINN COMM $28.61 23013 MINNESOTA STATE TREASURER $1,266.98 23014 NELSON, JASON . $80.73 23015 NEXTEL WEST CORP $551.25 23016 NORTHWEST SURBURBAN CHAMBER $105.00 23017 OWL ENGINEERING & EMC TEST LAB $3,300.00 23018 PLYMOUTH, CITY OF $16.00 23019 PROGRAM SHARING 2001 INVOICE $110.00 23020 PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE CO. OF AM $142.90 23021 QWEST $552.49 23022 RCM SPECIALTIES, INC. $1,300.00 23023 REYNOLDS WELDING $23.96 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001 236 ORDER CHECKS - OCTOBER 16, 2000 (CONT'D) 23024 SCHERER MEATS $950.00 23025 SCHERER, STEVEN $75.00 23026 SCHMIDT CURB CO. $750.00 23027 SPECIALTY PENCILS $181.12 23028 STREICHER'S $11.66 23029 TALLEN & BAERTSCHI $2,032.58 23030 TWIN CITY WATER CLINIC $20.00 23031 U.S. FILTER/WATERPRO $771.36 23032 USPS $500.00 23033 VALVOLINE FLEET SERVICES $53.14 23034-35 VERIZON WIRELESS $377.38 23036 VIEAU, CEC $29.98 23037 WESTSIDE WHOLESALE TIRE $113.31 23038 WRIGHT-HENNEPIN ELECTRIC $1,668.25 23039 XCEL ENERGY $5,141.79 $75,300.03 PAYROLL CHECKS - OCTOBER 9, 2001 17284 ROBINSON, PAUL A. $1,305.97 17285 SCHERER, STEVEN T. $1,063.31 17286 MCGILL, CHRISTOPHER R. $1,445.68 17287 DILLMAN, JAMES D. $1,545.11 17288 DRESSEL, ROBERT P. $961.71 17289 BELLAND, EDGAR J. $1,905.35 17290 VIEAU, CECILIA M. $992.56 17291 SULANDER, LAURA L. $1,123.10 17292 LARSON, SANDRA L. $896.11 17293 BOECKER, KEVIN D. $919.62 17294 PRIEM, JON D $1,147.05 17295 CHRISTENSON, JEREMY $1,344.94 17296 NYSTROM, JAMES $1,358.83 17297 DERMODY, WILLIAM H. $659.57 17298 NELSON, JASON $1,199_.59 $17,868.50 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 16, 2001