HomeMy Public PortalAbout12/17/96 CCM203
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 17, 1996
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on December 17, 1996, at
7:34 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Anne Theis presided.
Members present: Ann Thies, Jim Johnson, Phil Zietlow, John Ferris, and Mayor
Theis.
Also present: Public Works Director Jim Dillman, Police Chief Rick Rabenort, City
Engineer Shawn Gustafson, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, City Attorney Ron
Batty and Planning and Zoning Assistant Sandie Larson.
1. Adoption of the Agenda
Moved by Theis, seconded by Thies to adopt the published agenda with the following
additions:
1. Report on Spring Hill Golf Club
2. City Insurance
3. Appointments
4. LaPlant Sanitation
Motion passed unanimously.
2. Minutes
A. Moved by Thies, seconded by Zietlow to approve the minutes of the regular
meeting of December 3, 1996 with the following corrections: Page 1, item #3 change
Trough to Through. Page 5, item #12, change minors to under -age in the 1st
paragraph and in the 3rd paragraph change six to five. Page 6, item #12 change the
to it in the 6th paragraph and at the end of the motion of the same item add motion
passed unanimously. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Moved by Theis, seconded by Ferris to approve the minutes of the special meeting of
December 4, 1996. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Consent Agenda
Moved by Ferris, seconded by Thies to approve the consent agenda, as follows:
A. Resolution Authorizing Final Plat Approval for the Hennepin County Public Works
Facility. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Park Commission Comments
Mayor Theis stated that they had the Park Commission minutes from their November
meeting and also a memo from Tom Gregor on snovvmobilers using the sliding hill in the
park.
Ann Thies asked if Tom Gregor has checked the hill today.
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Jerry Dykhoff, Park Commissioner, said that there were no tracks today and looks like it
will be o.k.
Jim Johnson said he did not know if signs would be the solution.
Rick Rabenort said that Officer Priem and the snowmobile club have been watching and
there have been no problems.
Mayor Theis asked if there were more problems would we do more with the fencing?
Jim Dillman said yes they would and he also stated that Doboszenski's will start soon on
the dirt in the park. They will need some survey work from Bonestroos and Tom
Anderson said that there was money from the donations for the survey work. This work
will be done this winter.
Jerry Dykhoff said that Doboszenski's had started today.
5. Planning Commission Comments
Phil Zietlow and Ann Thies reported on the meeting regarding the Spring Hill Golf Club.
Phil Zietlow said that 90% of the golf club would be in Orono, that it would be a private
non-profit golf only club that would be open 6 months out of the year. There are 40-50
acres in Medina north of County Road 6 and east of Tamarack that the course would go
into. They are talking about a maintenance facility at the corner of County Road 6 and
Tamarack that would be very unobtrusive. They are in the process of identifying the
wetlands and they will be doing an EAW. They also know they have to deal with the
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. There are 21 acres of wetlands on the property.
They will be tunneling under County Road 6 to get back and forth.
Ann Thies said they are in the process of doing an inventory of the trees and they want
to transplant what they can.
Jim Dillman asked if they said anything about the intersection of County Road 6 and
Tamarack.
Phil Zietlow said that there would be about 15 cars parked at the maintenance facility.
They are looking for 185 members and have 140 now, '/2 of which are from this area and
'/2 metro wide.
Ann Thies said that this will be a caddie required course even if you have a cart.
Phil Zietlow said he asked about taxes and they said they would pay, but that there is a
loop hole in green acres that allows golf courses to be under green acres.
John Ferris said that most golf courses are under green acres.
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Ann Thies concurred that it is allowed. She said again that they do not want motorized
vehicles on the course.
Phil Zietlow said they want to move on this pretty quickly.
Sandie Larson said that this issue would probably be on the March planning commission
agenda.
OLD BUSINESS
6. City Hall Renovation
Jed Larson of Larson Associates, architect, passed out plans and a program statement
for the renovation. He went over the statement and said that the plans were 95%
complete with a few changes yet to be made. He said we could advertise for bids in
January and take bids in February.
Mayor Theis asked where the $225,000 figure lands in our talks on the cost.
John Ferris said it was under the $250,000 cap.
Jed Larson said that when they were doing the plans they went through the downstairs
door by door for security, which ones would be assessable with keys, buzzers, etc. while
still maintaining the existing building security.
Mayor Theis said that they all feel that these improvements should last a long time and
security was one of the prime issues and that seems to have been addressed.
Jed Larson said that this plan has also secured two garage stalls plus evidence storage.
Ron Batty asked if the downstairs will then comply with ADA and will doing these
improvements downstairs trigger having to comply with ADA in the rest of the building.
Jed Larson said the downstairs will comply with ADA with the improvements and it will
not trigger having to do the rest of the building because each floor serves a different
function.
Jim Johnson had questions on what will be added to the plans they are seeing tonight.
He said he had a problem with approving plans that are not yet complete and if these
are approved what is the 5% that will be added.
Jed Larson said some built-in case work in the chiefs office and squad room. He said
there will be no increase in the cost, just a few minor things on the plans. He said the
plans will be complete when they go out for the bids.
John Ferris said that even when the bids come in there probably will be minor changes.
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Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Ferris to approve the plans and
specifications for the Police department addition and remodeling. Motion passed
unanimously.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Ann Thies to authorize the bid advertisement for
the Police department addition and remodeling with February 14, 1997 for the bid
opening.
Phil Zietlow had a question on the timing and wondered if we had talked at all about the
construction start time and if any money would be saved by starting later in the year.
Jed Larson said that in the specifications there could be some flexibility with regard to
the start date to get the best price, maybe one bid price for starting while still cold and
one bid price for starting later.
Phil Zietlow said that he wanted to be flexible, but still get the best price.
Jed Larson said we could put in 120 days for completion from the start date, with the
start date being flexible for the best price.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Ferris to amend the motion so that the bid
notices state that there is flexibility in the start date if the season makes a difference in
the price. Johnson and Thies concurred. Motion passed unanimously.
7. Police Contract
John Ferris stated that the contract presented tonight for approval is basically the same
as what has been looked at previously. John said that he recommends approval.
Phil Zietlow wanted to know if the wage scale was set up with 2080 hours per year and if
there was any mention of the number of paychecks or was the number of paychecks
dealt with administratively.
John Ferris said it was a per hour contract and that there is no mention of the number of
paychecks in the contract and yes that was handled administratively. He also stated
that this contract was a step schedule with a per hour rate.
There was some discussion on the number of paychecks, how personnel is paid, etc.
John Ferris said that every 6 years the procedure is messed up because of the calendar
year.
Phil Zietlow said lets not wait another 6 years before a solution is found.
It was agreed that steps are being taken to correct any problems.
Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow to approve the Police Contract for the
years 1997 through 1999. Motion passed unanimously.
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8. Suburban Alliance
Ron Batty mentioned his memo and resolution. He said that all the resolution was
intended to do was to terminate the organization as of January 31, 1997. Most of the
records have disappeared and although Medina has been making payments there is no
proof that we have been a member of this organization and there is still a question
whether we owe anything. Batty referred to the proposed payment schedule on the
projected deficit is in his memo. He said the limited resolution before the council tonight
is to generally dissolve the organization, even though we are not sure we are members.
There was discussion on what this is and how it could work or how it could have
happened.
Ron Batty said that some cities have apparently decided not to pay. If that is so, the
respective shares of the other cities might increase.
Moved by Ann Thies, seconded by John Ferris to adopt Resolution 96-67 approving the
dissolution of West Hennepin Human Services Planning Board, A.K.A. Suburban
Alliance. Motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
Planning and Zoning
9. Variance for John Polker American Legion Post #394
Loren Kohnen stated that the American Legion is requesting a 40'4" front yard set -back
variance to construct a covered entry for the front steps. The reason for the entry cover
is to protect the steps from snow and ice and to make them safer for the public to use.
The hardships include the existing building set -back, consistent with other building set-
backs in the area and the set -back will not impact the health and safety of the public.
Loren stated that the planning commission recommends approval of this request based
on safety reasons and the fact that the set -back is consistent with others in the area.
Jerry Dykhoff, representing the Legion post, said that the enclosure will match the
existing building exterior.
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Zietlow to authorize preparation of a resolution
granting a 40'4" front set -back variance to the John Polker American Legion Post #394
at 75 Hamel Road based on the existing set -backs. Motion passed unanimously.
Public Works
10. Hamel Well #2
Jim Dillman said that there appears to be a hole in the drop pipe of Hamel Well #2 and
that there is money in the water fund to cover the repairs.
Phil Zietlow asked how old the well was.
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Jim Dillman said the well was done in 1978 and the pipe was 6 years old.
John Ferris asked if PVC pipe would be used.
Jim Dillman said they have had PVC pipe develop holes in other wells. In house wells it
works o.k. but with our bigger wells there is a lot of weight on the pipes. They will check
it out, but will consider using PVC.
Moved by Zietlow, seconded by Ferris to use money from the water fund for repairs to
Hamel Well #2. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Hamel 1/1 Study
Jim Dillman stated that the city had committed $10,000 towards a matching grant from
the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services to study the infiltration and inflow of
the Hamel sewer system. He explained that this dollar amount would not cover the
entire system and for an additional $6,000 we could complete the entire system.
Moved by Zietlow, seconded by Thies to increase the city's share of the 1/1 study to
$16,000 to complete the study. Motion passed unanimously.
1997 Budget
12. Approval of 1997 Engineering Rates
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Thies to approve the 1997 engineering rates for
Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik and Associates. Motion passed unanimously.
13. Approval of 1997 Budget and Tax Levy
Moved by Mayor Theis, seconded by Zietlow to approve the 1997 budget as presented.
Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Ferris to approve Resolution 96-68 Levying Taxes for
1996 Payable in 1997. Motion passed unanimously.
14. Metropolitan Council Updates
The draft of public hearing comments on the Regional Blueprint, Transportation, Water
Quality, Parks and Aviation Policy Plans was available for council review.
Phil Zietlow and Ann Thies went to the meeting on Residential Development in Smaller
Communities that was held recently. The work study that was presented at this meeting
has been sent to the city clerk.
Zietlow said he did not feel that many residential developments paid for themselves. He
said the one big thing to be aware of is the schools and in our case, the Orono School
District and that if any larger developments are being considered, the school district
should be notified. He said more communication is what is needed when considering
large developments.
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Agenda Additions
15. Appointments
John Ferris said that due to the death of his mother he did not complete the appointment
recommendations. After the holidays he will be getting in touch with people on the 1997
appointments.
16. Insurance
Phil Zietlow wanted it clarified if the city has open meeting law insurance and John
Ferris said yes we did.
17. LaPlant Sanitation
Jim Dillman explained to the council that Jerry LaPlant had contacted him with the news
that he had sold his business to Superior Services. Jim said he is not contemplating
any changes with regard to the City license nor any problems.
18, Approval to Pay the Bills
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Zietlow to approve the payment of bills. Motion
passed unanimously.
Recess taken at 8:50 p.m. for acknowledgment of Mayor Theis's retirement from
city government. Council re -convened the regular session at 9:16 p.m.
19. Executive Session
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Thies to move into executive session at 9:16 p.m. on
the basis of attorney -client privilege to discuss possible litigation against Bruce
Turner/Anderson Liquor. Motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Thies to close the executive session at 9:31 p.m. and
to return to regular session. Motion passed unanimously.
20. City Attorney Review - Ron Batty
Jim Johnson started out by stating that Ron Batty does a great job.
John Ferris said the purpose of this review and others that had been done is to find
ways to reduce costs.
Ron Batty explained that his fees were 25% lower in 1996 than in 1995 and 50% lower
in 1996 than in 1992. He said that he receives a retainer of $500 per month that covers
his attendance at city council meetings and that everything else that he does for the city
is hourly and that since early in 1992 the bills are separated into reimbursable and non -
reimbursable items. General work is billed at a rate of $95 per hour which has remained
the same since 1991. Reimbursable items are billed at a rate of $110 per hour and has
been the same since 1994. The $500 retainer has remained the same since 1990. He
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said he would like to see an increase of the reimbursable to $115 and non -reimbursable
fee to $100 with the retainer remaining at $500. He stated there was a difference in the
rates to keep pressure off core city work to keep that as low as possible and allow
higher rates on the reimbursable.
Mayor Theis said the purpose of the review is to understand what we are getting for our
money.
Ron Batty said that it is difficult to compare rates as there is a bigger differential in most
cities ($20-$30 per hour) and more of Medina's developers are private citizens and not
big developers.
Ann Thies said that $120 per hour for private work is not unrealistic.
Phil Zietlow said to leave the city work part alone and raise the private to $125 per hour.
Ann Thies and Jim Johnson said that $100 per hour is not unreasonable for city work,
that it has been the same for so long.
Ron Batty said that Medina is in a different position than most cities and that it works
very well here without an administrator or manager.
There was discussion of staff preparing resolutions and it was determined that it did not
save money on the attorney bills as the attorney reviews what staff has done.
John Hamilton asked if there is a cost if a council member calls the attorney or was it
part of the retainer.
Ron Batty said that he is bad about billing for short calls individually, but he does group
them, so all are charged for.
Moved by Thies, seconded by Mayor Theis to raise the 1997 city attorney fees to $100
per hour for city work and $120 per hour for reimbursable work. Motion passed
unanimously.
21. Adjourn
Moved by Johnson, seconded by Thies to adjourn meeting at 9:59 p.m. Motion passed
unanimously.
Anne E. Theis, Mayor
Attest:
6/74‘6&
Sandie Larson, Planning and Zoning Assistant
ORDER CHECKS - DECEMBER 17, 1996
16569 Boyer Ford $60,591.00
16570 Air Touch Cellular 449.65
16571 Allstar Electric 716.62
16572 American Express 21.26
16573 American Linen Supply 42.72
16574 American Public Works 110.00
16575 Bryan Rock Products 521.63
16576 Casara Computer Systems 857.77
16577 Classic Cleaning 308.85
16578 Commissioner of Revenue 829.03
16579 Culligan 60.60
16580 Farmers State Bank 3,518.31
16581 Feed Rite Controls 2,339.82
16582 John Ferris 74.45
16583 Genuine Parts 205.52„
16584 Glenwood Inglewood 97.3
16585 Goodin Co. 4.89
16586 Great West Life 1,720.00
16587 Hamel Bldg. Center 21.61
16588 Harco 420.00
16589 Hennepin Co. Treas.,Acctg., Svcs 1,032.08
16590 Hennepin County Support 565.00
16591 Henry & Assoc. 920.78
16592 L.I.C.A. 1,000.00
16593 Lake Business Supply 34.50
16594 Lakeshore Weekly News 78.75
16595 Law Enforcement Labor Services 132.00
16596 League of Minnesota Cities 300.00
16597 Long Lake Tractor 35.71
16598 Lucent Technologies 13.30
16599 MacQueen Equipment 162.52
16600 Metropolitan Council 1,782.00
16601 Minn Comm 61.45
16602 Minnesota Dept. of Health 653.00
16603 Minnesota Mutual 236.00
16604 Minnesota Rural Water 185.00
.. 16605 Minnesota State Retirement Syst. 164.00
16606 Northern States Power 854.61
16607 One on One 567.00
16608 P.E.R.A. 2,284.45
16609 Postmaster 500.00
16610 Randy's Sanitation 80.83
U 16612
16611 Reynolds Welding 19.17
Paul Robinson 18.06
16613 Samaritan Tire 445.51
16614 Tri State Pump 232.70
16615 Twin City Garage Door 197.27
16616 Twin Cikty Water Clinic 20.00
15f17- U.S. West Communications 340.85
16618 i City of Wayzata 3,967.42
t66T9 � Donald Wendling 495.23
16620 Westside Wholesale 50.67
16621 Void Check 0.00
16622 Wright -Hennepin Electric 1,149.33
16623 Wright -Hennepin Security Svcs. 52.18
$91,542.40
PAYROLL CHECKS - DECEMBER 17, 1996
15059 Paul A. Robinson 773.34
15060 Steven T. Scherer 967.20
15061 Richard R. Rabenort 1,191.60
15062 Michael J. Rouillard . . . . . . . . . . . . 447.79
15063 James D. Dillman 1,141.28
15064 Robert P. Dressel 1,037.11
15065 Edgar J. Belland 1,136.45
15066 Cecilia M. Vieau 708.75
15067 Ivan W. Dingman 77.57
15068 Laura L. Sulander 885.78
15069 Sandra L. Larson 742.34
15070 Joseph R. Heyman 860.83
15071 Jon D. Priem 799.66
$10,769.70