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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11/02/93 CCM176 ORDER CHECKS - NOVEMBER 2, 1993 12515 Delta Dental $ 641.55 12516 Medica Choice 3,577.92 12517 Farmers State Bank (S.S.) 769.23 12518 Budget Printing 255.31 12519 U.S. West Cellular 982.97 12520 Copy Duplicating Products 124.25 12521 Greater N.W.Office 2,228.59 12522 U.S. West Communications 249.69 12523 Wright/Hennepin Electric 937.38 12524 Loretto Towing 35.00 12525 Henn. Co. Gen. Acctg. 546.00 12526 Metro Waste Control 9,308.00 12527 Minn Comm 38.60 12528 NSP 1,387.54 12529 City of Orono 216.90 12530 P.E.R.A 1,291.90 12531 Warning Lites 60.48 12532 Commercial Life 57.55 12533 John's Auto 41.95 12534 NSP 689.02 12535 E.H. Renner & Sons 432.00 12536 Sheriff's Dept. Co. of Henn. 190.94 12537 Alpha Power Systems 1,350.00 12538 Uniforms Unlimited 109.95 12539 Randy's Sanitation 113.11 12540 Lake Business Supply 22.69 12541 Chippewa Top Soil 76.68 12542 Swenson's Our Own 27.72 12543 Minnegasco 97.36 12544 Culligan 58.70 12545 Industrial Supply 120.24 12546 Davies Water Equip. 20�3.50 12547 Holmes & Graven 7,780.26 1,2548 J. Spangers Co., Inc. 115.00 `.12549 Schmidt Curb Co. 10,170.60' 12550 Charles W. Rogers 2,112.75 12551 John McKinley 265.00 12552 LCI, Inc. 34.65 12553 G & H Dist. 161.67 12554 Robert H. & Kathryn M Garwood 606.42 12555 Flash Gordon Ribbons 64.00 12556 Advantage Paper 79.88 12557 Omann Bros. 7,250.00 12558 Metropolitan Waste Cont. 742.50 12559 West Metro Lumber 1,148.41 12560 Henn. Co. Treas. 76.00 12561 E-Z-Recycling 2,070.00 13606 13607 13608 13609 13610 13611 13612 13613 13614 13615 $ 58,919.87 PAYROLL CHECKS - NOVEMBER 2, 1993 Anne E. Theis Ann C. Thies John B. Ferris Philip K. Zietlow James R. Johnson Wayne C. Wallace Richard R. Rabenort Michael J. Rouillard Scott A. Stillman James D. Dillman $ 207.79 138.52 138.52 138.52 138.52 959.94 1,081.51 888.61 773.17 1,048.58 177 PAYROLL CHECKS - NOVEMBER 2, 1993 (CONT'D) 13616 Robert P. Dressel 13617 Edgar J. Selland 13618 Jeffrey E. Karlson 13619 Cecilia M. Vieau 13620 Laura L. Monroe 13621 Sandra L. Larson 13622 Joseph R. Heyman 13623 Benedict E. Young 13624 Farmers State Bank 13625 Commissioner of Rev. 13626 P.E.R.A. 13627 Farmers State Bank (Fed.) 909.18 785.45 857.92 556.52 736.27 664.69 628.21 878.79 769.23 790.12 961.05 1,941.90 $15,993.01 178 MINUTES The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on November 2, 1993 at 8:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Present: Councilmembers John Ferris, James Johnson, Ann Thies, Philip Zietlow and Mayor Anne Theis. Absent: None. Also Present: Police Chief Richard Rabenort, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, City Engineers Glenn Cook and Shawn Gustafson, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Attorney Ron Batty and Clerk -Treasurer Jeff Karlson. 1. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA Moved by Thies, seconded by Mayor Theis, to approve the addition of the following agenda items: 1. Introduction of Hamel Fire Chief, Brandon Guest 2. Hamel Athletic Club Financial Report 3. Hamel Fire Department Budget Motion carried unanimously. 2. CONSENT AGENDA Moved by Zietlow, seconded by Thies, to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Resolution No. 93-77, "Resolution Granting a Permit to Minnegasco for Gas Main Installation" 2. Resolution No. 93-78, "Resolution Granting a Permit to Minnegasco for Gas Main Installation" Motion carried unanimously. 3. MINUTES Moved by Thies, seconded by Mayor Theis, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 19, 1993, as amended, as follows: Page 2, paragraph 4, line 6, to read, "Le said it could take as few as 9 and 1/2 years...and progressed annually through the ranges." Page 2, paragraph 1, line 4, to read, "The additional cost for piling would be $55,814." Page 3, paragraph 3, to read, "...recommended that the council not include the piling." Page 3, paragraph 4, to read, "Moved by Thies, seconded by Ferris, to accept the base bid alignment of $459,822.50 from Richard Knutson, Inc. Motion carried unanimously." Page 5, paragraph 3, line 2, to read, ..but she stipulated that the agreement would not be a formal, written contract between the two cities." 179 Motion carried unanimously. Moved by Zietlow, seconded by Thies, to approve the minutes of the special meeting of October 26, 1993, as presented. Motion carried unanimously. 4. TRI-CITY AGREEMENT City Attorney Ron Batty gave a status report of the "Medina/Independence/Greenfield Sanitary Sewer Construction, Maintenance and Service Agreement." Batty said there was a provision in the agreement which would allow Independence and Greenfield to discharge raw sewage or septate into the Independence Beach Trunk Line for a period of not less than 20 years. Independence and Greenfield would in turn pay 100% of the cost to upgrade Medina's Baker Park lift station at a cost not to exceed $70,000. City Engineer Glenn Cook said 20 years might be too long of a commitment because of the changes that can occur in a ten year period. Cook said ten years was more realistic. Cook said another option would be to allow Independence and Greenfield to discharge into Medina's system on a year to year basis. Cook said Independence would be allowed to pump up to 150 gallons of sewage per minutes, including Greenfield's flow. Medina would be limited to 250 gallons per minute. Councilmember Johnson said he favored a provision which would permit Independence and Greenfield to discharge into Medina's system on a year to year basis. Councilmember Ferris suggested that the agreement include a 20-year amortization schedule which could be carried forward year to year. In the event that Medina would decide it needed more sewer capacity, the city could reimburse Independence and Greenfield for the cost of upgrading the Independence Beach lift station on a prorated basis. Councilmember Zietlow asked why Medina would want to refund any money that was used to upgrade the Independence Beach lift station when Medina did not need the upgrades in the first place. Cook said the city would still need to upgrade the lift station sometime in the future. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Mayor Theis, to direct City Attorney Batty to include a 20-year amortization schedule in the Tri-City Agreement with the stipulation that Medina can review its sewer capacity needs on a year to year basis and would refund the costs of upgrading the lift station to Independence and Greenfield on a pro rata basis if more capacity is needed in Medina. Motion carried unanimously. 180 5. INTRODUCTION OF HAMEL FIRE CHIEF Hamel Fire Chief Brandon Guest introduced himself to the council. Guest said he had been a member of the Hamel Fire Department for 17 years and became the fire chief in April, 1993. Guest said his main focus was to improve the safety of firefighters and to improve the level of service for the Hamel area. Councilmember Zietlow said the city was trying to obtain contracts from each of the fire departments serving Medina for budgeting and planning purposes. Guest said he was still trying to get everything in order and agreed that the city and Hamel Fire Department needed to work out a contract as soon as possible. Guest added that he would make it a priority. 6. KELLY'S WRECKING SERVICE - C.U.P. AND SETBACK VARIANCES Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen said Kelly Neal was proposing to build a 4688 square foot office and storage building for his wrecker service located at 760 Tower Drive. The building would house three wreckers for overnight storage when not on the road. Kohnen said Neal was asking for a front yard setback variance of 24.7 feet, a rear yard setback variance of 19.6 feet and a side yard setback variance of 20 feet. The hardship for the variances was the size and the shape of the parcel. Councilmember Zietlow asked why the variances increased when the original request was for three 10 foot variances. Kohnen said the original building plan had not provided for adequate parking. Zietlow asked Hamel Fire Chief Brandon Guest if firefighters would have a problem fighting a fire if a building was erected on the vacant lot east of Neal's property and there was only 20 feet between the buildings. Guest said a 20 foot distance between the buildings would present a problem. Kohnen said 20 feet was adequate because Neal's building would be concrete as would the building next to it. Councilmember Ferris said the issue was the lot. He said the council had to decide whether to allow buildings on this size of a lot. Ferris asked how many vacant lots similar to Neal's were left in this area. Kohnen said there were still three or four vacant lots on Tower Drive zoned industrial. Councilmember Zietlow said the size of the variances were more excessive then what had been allowed in the past. 181 Moved by Ferris, seconded by Thies, to direct staff to prepare a resolution granting a conditional use permit and three setback variances to Kelly's Wrecking Service with 13 conditions and the hardship as noted and recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Ayes: Ferris, Johnson, Thies and Mayor Theis. Nays: Zietlow. Motion carried on a 4-aye and 1-nay vote. 7. ADAM'S PEST CONTROL - C.U.P. AND VARIANCE Zoning Administrator Kohnen said Adam's Pest Control wished to amend their conditional use permit by adding a small addition to their existing storage building located at 872 Highway 55. The total size of the building would be 1322.32 square feet. The applicant also requested a side yard setback variance of 6 feet. The hardship was the position of the existing building. Moved by Thies, seconded by Mayor Theis, to direct staff to prepare a resolution granting an amended conditional use permit with five conditions and a 6 foot side yard setback variance --with the hardship being the location of the present building and driveway -- to Adam's Pest Control as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Motion carried unanimously. 8. GINGER HALLBECK/MICHELE HUTTON - C.U.P. FOR HOME OCCUPATION Ginger Hallbeck and Michele Hutton, mother and daughter, applied for a conditional use permit which would allow them to operate a small custom women's clothing business out of the home they purchased at 242 Medina Road. Zoning Administrator Kohnen said their request met all the requirements of the ordinance. Councilmember Zietlow asked Hutton how many cars they would expect to be going in and out per day. Hutton said she expected an average of ten cars a day. Zietlow asked about one of the conditions which would allow two sales in January and July. Hutton said they would hold two one -week sales in January and July. Zietlow said this condition should specify that the two sales are for a period of one week. City Attorney Batty said Medina's ordinance does not allow over the counter retail sales but that this does not include limited sales. In a letter to Mayor Theis, Steve and Judith Wold, 265 Medina Road, expressed concern about the increase of traffic and the effect on property values that this type of activity would have. The Wold's said there was already too much commercial activity in their area, citing Gregor Farm as an example. 182 Moved by Thies, seconded by Zietlow, to direct staff to prepare a resolution granting a conditional use permit to Ginger Hallbeck and Michele Hutton for a home occupation at 242 Medina Road with the five conditions recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission; including the condition that the applicants may hold two "one -week" sales in January and July. Motion carried unanimously. 9. RICHARD BURKE - VARIANCE FOR HEIGHT OF HOUSE Richard Burke requested a variance to Medina's height ordinance for a home he was building at 3962 Tomahawk Trail. His building plans included a tower in the center of the home which exceeded the height ordinance requirement of 30 feet by a total of 42 feet. Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen said the entire home would be equipped with a sprinkler system. City Attorney Ron Battty said the city had an absolute limitation of 30 feet until the ordinance was amended in 1992 and allowed the height of single family residences of up to 40 feet or two and one- half stories without a variance provided that certain standards were met. Batty said there was absolutely no hardship in this case. Batty added that the council could consider establishing criteria or exemptions to the maximum height limitation such as size of parcel, topography, aesthetics, or the installation of a home sprinkler system. Councilmember Ferris said he was on the planning commission when an amendment to the height ordinance was being considered and recalled that the purpose of the ordinance amendment was strictly for safety reasons. Councilmember Thies said the council still needed a have a say as to what would be allowed. Thies added that she was not willing to abandon the provisions of the ordinance. Batty said the ordinance had dealt with aesthetics in the past. Batty pointed out that when the council was in the process of amending the height ordinance the year before, the aesthetic issues were set aside and safety issues came to the fore. He reiterated that the council did include a provision to allow residential homes of up to 40 feet in height on larger lots. Ferris said the council was looking at two different issues: the variance and an ordinance amendment. Ferris said the council was not in a position to address the ordinance issue and could not consider any changes until the planning and zoning commission had reviewed them. Mayor Theis said the applicant had eliminated the safety concern by including the installation of a sprinkler system throughout the home but added that it still not fit into Medina's present ordinance. 183 Ferris said the hardship was that the owner needed the tower for aesthetic purposes to make it feasible to build this type of home. Councilmember Johnson asked if the ordinance had to be amended before the variance was granted. Ferris said the issue of safety had been addressed. He suggested that the council direct the planning and zoning commission to review the ordinance and consider an exemption for sprinkled homes and deal with the aesthetics issue at the same time. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Zietlow, to direct staff to prepare a resolution granting a building height variance to Richard Burke for a tower with the inclusion of the three conditions recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and an additional condition that the lot size of the home cannot be less than 25 acres; furthermore, the variance shall be granted on the basis that the main purpose of the height ordinance is safety which has been adequately addressed by the applicant. Motion carried unanimously. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Zietlow, to direct the planning and zoning commission to review the height ordinance and to consider the inclusion of aesthetic issues and other provisions which may apply. Motion carried unanimously. 10. LORETTO TOWING - C.U.P VIOLATION Zoning Administrator Kohnen said he and City Attorney Ron Batty met with Ron Converse and his attorney, Dick Schieffer, to work out an agreement pertaining to Loretto Towing's conditional use permit violations. Kohnen said Converse was having a difficult time trying to operate within the eight -car overnight parking limitation. Kohnen said he agreed to suspend enforcement and revocation activities until Loretto Towing had an opportunity to come back with another proposal that might be acceptable to the city council. 11. CSAH 116 SEWER AND WATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT City Attorney Ron Batty said he received signed petition and waiver agreements from Wally Doerr and Lundgren Brothers. Batty said the total assessments for Doerr and Lundgren would be $352,000 for the sanitary sewer main and $254,000 for the water main. Moved by Thies, seconded by Mayor Theis, to adopt Resolution No. 93-79, "Resolution Accepting Bid for County Road 116 Trunk Sanitary Sewer and Trunk Water Main Improvement Project." Ayes: Ferris, Johnson, Thies, Zietlow and Mayor Theis. Nays: None. Resolution No. 93-79 adopted on 5-aye and 0-nay vote. 12. CLYDESDALE TRAIL SEWER AND WATER EXTENSION City Engineer Glenn Cook said the sanitary sewer and water main for Thorpe Distributing should be extended this fall so their driveway would not be disrupted next spring. Cook said the city received 184 bids for this work as part of the County Road 116 project but did not consider the bids because the cost was too high. Cook said the city received quotes from two contractors. Northdale Construction quoted a price of $35,837 and G & L Construction quoted a price of $50,358.30. Cook said because the city could not exceed $25,000 with a negotiated bid, the project would have to be scaled back. He said Northdale would extend the sewer and water main across the future Thorpe driveway and the wetland area at a cost of $24,343. Cook recommended that Northdale Construction complete the work for $24,343. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Johnson, to adopt Resolution No. 93- 80, "Resolution Awarding Contract for Clydesdale Trail Sanitary Sewer and Water Improvement Project." Ayes: Ferris, Johnson, Thies, Zietlow and Mayor Theis. Nays: None. Resolution No. 93-80 adopted on a 5-aye and 0-nay vote. 13. MEDINA MORNINGSIDE DRAINAGE PROBLEM City Engineer Cook said he met with Councilmember Ann Thies, Contractor John Schoening and Property Owner Dan Roach to discuss several options for solving the erosion problem on Lot 3, Block 1 of the Beasly Bluffs Addition. Cook said they were not able to reach a consensus as to what the best solution would be to the problem but did narrow the options to the following: 1. Do nothing. The erosion would continue and some trees would be lost. There was a potential for a hazardous condition to develop. Need to consider drainage liability. 2. Minimal riprap. The estimated cost would be $15,000. The contractor would grade ditch bottom, place 18 inches of fill, a 6 inch granular filter blanket and 18 inches of crushed concrete rubble. 3. Property owner plan. The estimated cost would be $40,000 which would include grading of the ditch bottom, 18 inches of fill, construction of ditch blocks, placement of erosion fabric and 18 inches of limestone riprap. Cook said the channel had a very steep gradient and the hydraulic characteristics resulted in a high erosion potential for portions of the channel. Cook said he would expect the erosion to continue at a rather high rate if nothing was done to improve the channel. Cook added that Option three was better than Option two but did not warrant additional expenditure of funds. He therefore recommended that Option two be followed. Cook said the council also needed to consider how the work would be paid for. Dan Roach, 1225 Maplewood Drive, said he could do the work himself from his east property line to where the riprap would end at a cost of $32,200. Roach said this would include the 300 foot easement on his property. He said this would not address the damage done to his property where trees have caved in. Roach said the erosion problem had also extended to other properties. Roach said his 185 proposal was not a cadillac option but a reasonable solution. Councilmember Ferris asked Cook what the best solution would be to fix the problem and be done with it. Cook said laying pipe was not necessary and that riprap would do the job adequately. Ferris suggested that City Engineer Cook come up a reasonable solution to fix the problem and then the city could hold a public hearing on the project. City Attorney Batty pointed out that the city would have to bid the project if the cost exceeded $25,000. Batty said the city could have several property owners appealing any assessments if they perceived that the project was of little benefit to them. He said the real issue was who was going to pay for the improvements to the drainage easement. Batty said that before the city goes through a public improvement process, the city needs to determine what the costs would be. Moved by Mayor Theis, seconded by Thies, to adopt Resolution No. 93-81, "Resolution Ordering Preparation of Feasibility Report for Medina Morningside Drainage Improvement." Ayes: Ferris, Johnson, Thies, Zietlow and Mayor Theis. Nays: None. Resolution No. 93-81 adopted on a 5-aye and 0-nay vote. 14. APPROVAL OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND SALARY RANGES The council discussed the salary ranges prepared by the League of Minnesota Cities as part of the job evaluation system developed for the city. It involved assigning each job classification a point value, converting the points to a grade, and establishing salary ranges and pay steps within each grade. Councilmember Ferris made it clear that the city did not have to place an employee on a pay step solely on the basis of continuous years of service. Ferris said that with this type of "Step -Rate with Performance System" the city could acknowledge and differentiate between different levels of performance. He suggested that the council make any salary adjustments that were necessary to put an employee in line with the market and also add a cost of living adjustment. Mayor Theis said that the council needed to adopt a salary range before placing each employee on a pay step. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Mayor Theis, to adopt the "five percent above median" salary range as proposed by the League of Minnesota Cities. Motion carried unanimously. Moved by Thies, seconded by Zietlow, to adopt the job descriptions and point values for each job classification as prepared and revised by the League of Minnesota Cities, dated September 30, 1993. 186 Motion carried unanimously. The council discussed what the pay increase should be for each employee so that the numbers could be plugged into the 1994 budget. Police Chief Rick Rabenort said the police officers union contract was still being negotiated. Rabenort said the union would not have a new contract by January 1, 1994 but he expected the union to settle for a cost of living raise in the 2% to 3% range. Rabenort said under the current union contract, officers received an automatic step increase based on seniority and not by merit or performance. He said an officer could reach the maximum salary range after five continuous years of service. The council agreed to have the 1994 budget reflect a 3% cost of living increase for each officer in addition to the automatic pay step increases for three officers. Using the five percent above median salary range adopted by the council, the council proceeded to place the employees in one of the eleven pay ranges based on their salary grade. Moved by Ferris, seconded by Zietlow, to adopt the following salaries at the "five percent above median" salary range, effective January 1, 1994: Name Richard R. Rabenort James D. Dillman Jeffrey E. Karlson Michael J. Rouillard Wayne C. Wallace Edgar J. Belland Scott A. Stillman Joseph R. Heyman Robert P. Dressel Benedict E. Young Laura L. Monroe Sandra L. Larson Cecilia M. Vieau Job Class Police Chief Public Works Dir. City Clerk-Treas. Police Officer Police Officer Police Officer Police Officer Police Officer Street Maint. Worker Water/W.W. Operator Deputy City Clerk Planning and Zoning Assistant Police Secretary Grade 1994 Salary 11 10 10 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 $52,336 45,000 38,261 ** ** ** ** ** 34,028 34,028 29,040 26,034 22,287 **Police officer salaries are subject to union negotiations. Motion carried unanimously. 15. HAMEL FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET Councilmember Johnson stated that the council may be too strict on their guidelines when assessing the Hamel Fire Department's budget every year that they come to the city requesting funds. Johnson said the Hamel Fire Department does an excellent job of providing fire protection to Medina residents at a reasonable cost. He said the annual dollar increases granted to the fire department for 187 their budget should be based on need and not solely on a small percentage increase as in prior years. Johnson said he would like to get away from going with an inflation rate increase every year and be a little more flexible to meet the demands placed on the fire department such as steadily increasing operating costs and state mandates that the fire department must comply with. Councilmember Zietlow said the city began to compare the Hamel Fire Department's budget with the three other fire departments that serve Medina and found that their operating budgets increased at a lower rate than Hamel's. Zietlow added that other fire departments must also comply with the same state mandates. Hamel Fire Chief Brandon Guest said he was disappointed that he was not given an opportunity to defend the department's 1994 budget proposal. Guest said as an independent fire department, they did not have the benefits that other municipal fire departments have at their disposal. Guest said his department only asked for operational funds. He said capital improvements and safety improvements were funded through fund raising efforts and gambling proceeds. Guest said the biggest problem he was facing in the department was a morale problem because all the volunteer firefighters were tired of fighting with the city over budget dollars and other related issues. Moved by Johnson, seconded by Ferris, to approve the budget amount of $63,873 as requested by the Hamel Fire Department and to include this amount in the 1994 budget. Ayes: Ferris, Johnson, Thies and Mayor Theis. Nays: Zietlow. Motion carried on a 4-aye and 1-nay vote. 16. HAMEL ATHLETIC CLUB FINANCIAL REPORT Councilmember Johnson, representing the Hamel Athletic Club, presented a 1993 financial report of the Athletic Club. Johnson said the Athletic Club saw a $1,000 reduction in their labor costs because their primary maintenance worker needed surgery. Johnson said there was a minimal amount of upkeep done on the ball fields. He said the Athletic Club would try to keep the labor costs down in 1994. Johnson requested that the city donate $8,500 in 1994 which was $1,000 less than what was given to the Athletic Club in 1993. 17. PAYMENT OF BILLS Moved by Johnson, seconded by Mayor Theis, to approve payment of Order Check Numbers 12515-12561 for $58,919.87 and Payroll Check Numbers 13606-13627 for $15,993.01. Motion carried unanimously. 18. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Theis announced that the council would be going into executive session on the basis of attorney -client privilege to discuss litigation matters. 183 Moved by Ferris, seconded by Thies, to close the executive session at 12:35 a.m. Motion carried unanimously. 19. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Ferris, seconded by Thies, to adjourn the meeting at 12:36 a.m. Motion carried unanimously. Anne E. Theis, Mayor ATTEST: arlson, Clerk -Treasurer November 2, 1993