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MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 1, 1998
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on December 1, 1998 at 7:30
p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided.
Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, Thies, and Johnson at 7:40 p.m.
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. Update on Subdivision Ordinance.
B. Update on Woodlake Sanitary Landfill.
C. Recap of Department Head Performance Evaluations.
D. Loretto Police Contract.
E. Letter from the Metropolitan Council Re: Comprehensive Plan Amendment.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion
passed unanimously.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the November 17, 1998 City Council Meeting
This item was postponed until the next meeting.
3. Consent Agenda
A. Resolution Approving Preliminary Plat for Elm Creek Knoll - Gary Boster.
This item was pulled from the consent agenda.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to table this item to the next council
meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda
There were none.
5. Park Commission Comments
Tom Gregor, chair of the park commission, said that they completed the projects that they were
planning to do this year. He said they also planted five large trees recently with money from the
Corcoran Jaycees. Gregor said the planning commission recently dedicated the new Holy
Name Park sign. He recommended that the city council and others stop by and take a look at
the sign.
6. Planning Commission Comments
There were none.
OLD BUSINESS
7. Presentation from the Long Lake Fire Department Hose Purchase
Mike Brown, chief, and Jim Cox, assistant chief, were in attendance. Mike Brown explained
some of the advantages of a five -inch hose. He said it helps to provide more water pressure on
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December 1, 1998
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longer runs. This is especially useful for some of the newer homes that have long driveways
that may not be directly accessible by the fire department.
There was some additional discussion about the hose. The consensus of the council was that it
was a good idea to purchase the new hose.
Ed Belland asked if the fire chief could talk about the fire department moving when Highway 12
is upgraded.
Mr. Brown said that when Highway 12 is realigned it will actually go through the current city hall
and fire station. They have been looking a several options for relocation of the city hall and fire
station. These have not yet been resolved. However, they are also considering expanding the
fire department. For this there may be some additional funds needed from the contracting
cities.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to approve the purchase of the fire hose.
Motion passed unanimously.
8. 1999 Prosecution Contract
Steve Tallen thanked the council for the opportunity to make a presentation. He said for 1999
he was asking for a slightly larger increase than he had asked for in previous years. He said he
would like to take a few minutes to talk about that.
Tallen said that the main reason for the increase was to offset some increased costs. The main
one was for personnel. He said that the rate of inflation has been lower, however, because of
the current employment market, wages have increased above the rate of inflation and he would
like to keep pace with this increase.
There was some discussion about the new drunk driving laws and about the current amount of
prosecution activity.
Steve Tallen said that the prosecution activity was lower for 1997 but that it is moving back up in
1998 because of the increased activity. He said from what he could tell the officers are very
busy and have created a lot more activity for him to prosecute. He said that along with the
increase in prosecution fees, fine revenue is running incrementally above the prosecution fees.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the 1999 increase request. Motion
passed unanimously.
9. Lighting
John Ferris said that he and Loren Kohnen were recently on "light patrol'. He said that they
went to a number of gas stations in Hennepin County and checked the amount of light that was
projecting from them.
John Ferris passed out a memo that included a number of tests that they had conducted. A
number of the stations they tested had candle power readings between 1.0 to 1.3 at the
property lines. However, the Holiday station in Medina at TH 55 and CR 101 was around 3.0 at
the property line as was the Holiday station in Rogers.
Carolyn Smith said that Plymouth requires 0.5 candlepower.
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December 1, 1998
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John Ferris said that all of the properties they tested in Plymouth did not meet that criteria.
He said that from their research, 0.4 candlepower is very restrictive and probably nobody could
meet that requirement. However, 3.0 candlepower is far too much.
John Ferris said that from his and Mr. Kohnen's research they concluded that downlit lighting
helps to significantly reduce the amount of candlepower that projects off of a property. He said
they would recommend adding a requirement for downlit lighting, not only to conditional use
permits, but also to the city's ordinance. He also said that based on their research, a
candlepower between 1.0 and 1.2 seemed reasonable and attainable. He said that he would
recommend a candlepower of 1.2 be considered for the city's ordinance instead of the current
requirement of 0.4. He said the next step was to place this on the planning commission agenda
for discussion.
Phil Zietlow asked why they would go above 1.0.
John Ferris said that they gave a little bit of room to keep the ordinance easily enforceable.
Ann Thies said that she does not want to see any lighting brighter than necessary. She said
she does not think that there should be a difference between the requirements for residential
areas and commercial areas. They should all be required to have subdued lighting.
John Ferris said when light is diffused, the candlepower is much less significant. He said a light
that is downcast at a candlepower of 1.0, does not seem nearly as bright as a light that is not
diffused at 1.0.
There was some discussion about where metering should be done if it should be from the
middle of the road or from the property line.
Carolyn Smith said recently they restricted a decorative light for the new Rolling Green
clubhouse because it was not downcast lighting, but decorative lighting. She asked if the
planning commission could look at allowing some kind of decorative lighting.
John Ferris said that may be possible to allow some kind of decorative lighting.
The direction of the city council was to have the planning commission discuss these proposed
changes to the ordinance.
10. Subdivision Ordinance
Loren Kohnen said that they are working on it and should have something ready by the next city
council meeting. He said they have been struggling with some issues, such as whether or not
to use two acre or two and half acre contiguous soil for their calculations.
The consensus of the council was that two and a half acre of contiguous good soils should be
used in conjunction with a requirement for a minimum lot size of eight acres.
11. Woodlake Sanitary Landfill
There was some discussion about the report and letter from the engineering firm regarding the
landfill.
Loren Kohnen asked if he should invite the engineer to come and discuss this letter with the city
council.
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The city council asked Kohnen to invite the engineer to come and speak at the next meeting.
12. Loretto Police Contract
Ed Belland said basically this is the same contract that the city has had with Loretto for the past
several years. He said it includes a fee for police services of $24,000 for 1999 and will increase
by 3% in each following year. Belland said unlike the previous contracts the term of this
contract is for three years. He said there was some discussion about the legal liability portion of
the contract. Instead of rewriting this section Loretto recommend deleting this section from the
contract.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the Loretto Police contract with
the deletion of the liability section. Motion passed unanimously.
13. Polaris Letter
Loren Kohnen said the city recently received a letter from the staff at the Metropolitan Council.
He said this was a waiver letter that approved the comprehensive plan amendment for Polaris.
14. Dedication of Trail at Hamel Legion Park
Jim Dillman said that Loram was dedicating their trail at 11:30 a.m. this Wednesday.
There was some discussion about which council members would be in attendance. It sounded
like most council members would be in attendance.
Ron Batty said since this was not posted as an official meeting, council members will need to be
certain not to congregate in groups of more than two.
Tom Gregor said to wear your walking shoes because part of the event will include walking the
trail. Gregor said that Loram will also be providing refreshments.
15. Moratorium on the City Property
Loren Kohnen said that recently they have had a request for a school that wanted to locate on
the Hennepin County property. He said this request, along with other requests for churches and
other proposals have caused him to recommend a moratorium on development of this property.
He said this is a very unique property in Medina because of its mix of woodlands, wetlands, and
topography. He said they would like to create a new zone for this area that would enhance and
protect the value of this property. Therefore, he recommended that the city council place a
moratorium on this property until the comprehensive plan is completed.
John Ferris said that this would allow this property to be developed properly and carefully.
Loren Kohnen said he asked the planning commission. The planning commission agreed with
this request.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to direct the city attomey to draft a moratorium
ordinance for the property owned by Hennepin County previously known as the Elwell property.
Motion passed unanimously.
16. Request for Agricultural Preserve
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Ron Batty said that the city council had received a request to place two properties into
agricultural preserve. One of the properties is owned by the Crosbys, and the other by the
Leatherdales. He said the first'step in this process has been done. The planning commission
held a public hearing on rezoning of the property from rural residential to agricultural preserve.
He said now this issues has reached the council level. The council needs to agree to the zoning
and move this process to the next stage. This would include a public hearing to approve an
official map designating the agricultural preserve property and a resolution approving the
zoning.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to set a public hearing for the first meeting in
January and direct city staff to create an official map and the city attorney to draft a resolution
approving the zoning request and map. Motion passed unanimously.
17. Department Head Reviews
John Ferris said that on November 19 the city council met with the department heads for their
reviews. He said the city council felt good about the performance of the department heads, and
that all met or exceeded the expectations of the council. He said it was a very upbeat and
helpful session.
18. Salary Increases
John Ferris said included in the packet was a list of proposed salary increases for the 1999
budget.
Ed Belland said he would like to request one change to the proposed list. He said he would like
to recommend that the police department assistant receive a 5% increase instead of 4%. He
said that the police assistant has taken on several new responsibilities and has seen an
increase in the amount of paper work, especially with the additional work created by the new
officers.
Ann Thies said that sounds reasonable.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to approve the salary requests with the change
from 4% to 5% for Cec Vieau. Motion passed unanimously.
19. Hamel Fire Contract
Brandon Guest, the chief of the Hamel Fire Department, made a presentation that included the
history of the fire department and summarized the department's activity and costs for the past
several years. His presentation included an inventory of their current apparatus and the
department's plans for the future. He said that based on the activity so far in 1998, there will be
a significant increase in calls from the previous years. He said this call increase was one of the
reasons for the 5% increase in the service cost. Guest listed some additional reasons for the
increase including new requirements for testing of their equipment, an increase in payroll taxes,
and additional training costs.
Mr. Guest outlined some of the fundraising activities of the fire department. He said that in most
cases the department uses its fundraising activities to pay for large capital purchases. Guest
said the fees they receive from Corcoran and Medina are primarily used for operating
expenditures.
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December 1, 1998
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There was some discussion about the need for a false alarm ordinance and for a way to track
false alarms. Staff was directed to work with the Hamel Fire Department to come up with some
examples of these types of ordinances and a way to bill and keep track of false alarms.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the 1999 increase for fire
service from the Hamel Fire Department. Motion passed unanimously.
20. Pay the Bills
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the bills, order check numbers
19087-19123 for $112, 735.24 and payroll check numbers 15881-15900 for $14, 311.17.
Motion passed unanimously.
21. Adjournment
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by Jim Johnson, to adjoum the meeting at 10:05 p.m. Motion
passed unanimously.
,' ,-_ -,,,,,i7-
n B. Ferris, Mayor
Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer
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December 1, 1998
255
ORDER CHECKS — DECEMBER 1, 1998
19087 Great West Life $ 575.00
19088 Minnesota Mutual 375.00
19089 Minnesota State Retirement 205.00
19090 P.E. R.A. 3,041.31
19091 Air Touch Cellular 39.02
19092 Banyon Data Systems 1,808.21
19093 Buffalo Bituminous 20,992.00
19094 Busch Systems International 3,360.00
19095 Delta Dental 648.35 l "
19096 James Dillman 262.77
19097 Rolf Erickson Enterprises, Inc 2,958.38
19098 Grainger 176.41
19099 Hamel Fire Dept 33,800.00
19100 Healthpartners 2,575.48
19101 City of Independence 931.64
19102 Kennedy & Graven 2,505.19
19103 Lake Productivity Training 64.45
19104 Lakeshore Weekly News 281.11
19105 Loretto Fire Dept. 9,140.00
19106 MAUMA 30.00
19107 Maple Plain Fire Dept. 815.00
19108 Medica Choice 390.50
19109 Metro West Inspection 11,348.30
19110 Metro Council Environmental Services 10,953.75
19111 Midwest Asphalt 139.02
19112 Minnesota Dept. of Health 653.00
19113 National Fire Protection Assn. 500.00
19114 Northern States Power 2,770.83
19115 Office Max, Inc. 318.09
19116 Ritz Camera Centers 13.23
19117 Rochester Midland 319.76
19118 SOMA, Inc 105.00
19119 Streicher's 31.31
19120 U.S. West Communications 468.55
19121 Unum 75.60
19122 Village Store 48.98
19123 Westonka Medical Group P.A 15.00
$112, 735.24
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December 1, 1998
256
PAYROLL CHECKS — NOVEMBER 23, 1998
15881 John Hamilton $ 138.52
15882 Ann C. Thies 138.52
15883 John B. Ferris 207.79
15884 Philip K. Zietlow 138.52
15885 James R. Johnson 138.52
15886 Paul A. Robinson 925.76
15887 Steven T. Scherer 961.06
15888 Christopher R. McGill 932.84
15889 Michael J. Rouillard 644.55
15890 Scott W. Kroeger 1,127.20
15891 James D. Dillman 1,432.88
15892 Robert P. Dressel 903.29
15893 Edgar J. Belland 1,454.79
15894 Martha C. Lundell 119.42
15895 Cecilia M. Vieau 818.22
15896 Laura L. Sulander 930.97
15897 Sandra L. Larson 756.77
15898 Jon D. Priem 1,247.76
15899 Judd J. Harper 262.22
15900 Jeremy L. Christenson 1,031.57
$14,311.17
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
December 1, 1998