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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03.21.2023 City Council MinutesMedina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 1 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 21, 2023 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on March 21, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Albers presided. I. ROLL CALL Members present: Albers, Cavanaugh, Martin (virtual), and Reid. Members absent: DesLauriers. Also present: City Administrator Scott Johnson, City Clerk Caitlyn Walker, Attorney Dave Anderson, Finance Director Erin Barnhart, City Engineer Jim Stremel, City Planning Director Dusty Finke, Public Works Director Steve Scherer, and Chief of Police Jason Nelson. II. MOTION TO DELEGATE DUTIES TO PRESIDE OVER THE MEETING TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALBERS Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to delegate duties to preside over the meeting to Council Member Albers. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (7:02 p.m.) IV. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA (7:02 p.m.) The agenda was approved as presented. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (7:03 p.m.) A. Approval of the March 7, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Albers noted that prior to the meeting Johnson distributed proposed changes suggested by Martin. Cavanaugh noted on page five, line 42, it should state, “…asked if that is a standard amount or…” Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to approve the March 7, 2023 regular City Council meeting minutes as amended. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 2 Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. VI. CONSENT AGENDA (7:04 p.m.) A. Approve Street Sweeping Services Agreement with Carefree Services B. Approve Tree Trimming Service Agreement with CJS Services C. Approve Tree Trimming Service Agreement with Ray’s Tree Service D. Approve Ball Field Rental Agreement with Orono Baseball Association for Maple Park E. Approve Ball Field Rental Agreement with Orono Baseball Association for Morningside Park F. Approve Tennis Court Rental Agreement with Carrie Agre G. Approve Resolution 2023-31 Designating Tamarack Drive from TH 55 to Meander Road as a Municipal State Aid Street H. Approve Resolution 2023-32 Approving Grant Agreement with the Metropolitan Council of Environmental Services for the Improvement of Publicly Owned Infrastructure I. Approve Resolution 2023-33 Accepting Bids and Awarding Contract for the Willow Drive Lift Station J. Approve Resolution 2023-34 Accepting Donation from Lorraine Wagner K. Approve Resolution 2023-35 Declaring Costs to be Assessed, Ordering Preparation of Proposed Assessments, and Calling for Hearing on the Proposed Assessments for the Clydesdale Trail Rehabilitation Project Moved by Albers, seconded by Reid, to approve the consent agenda. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. VII. COMMENTS (7:06 p.m.) A. Comments from Citizens on Items not on the Agenda There were none. B. Park Commission Scherer reported that the Park Commission met the previous week to consider the Cates Industrial proposal noting that the Commission discussed the proposed trails and agreed with the trail recommendations proposed by staff. C. Planning Commission Planning Commissioner Nielsen reported that the Planning Commission met the previous week and held a public hearing on the Cates Industrial proposal. She stated Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 3 that the Commission appreciated that the applicant listened to the feedback previously provided and incorporated related changes to the plan. She noted that a resident spoke in support of the proposal but asked that access to the parcel be limited to one on Cates Ranch Drive and expressed concern with vehicles passing the access and needing to turn around on private property. She noted discussions related to architecture and parking, noting that the Commission unanimously recommended approval of the requests. Albers asked for details on the parking as Nielsen mentioned that the calculations required 100 additional spaces. Nielsen noted that proof of parking was offered in case additional parking needed to be constructed. Finke confirmed that there is plenty of space for additional parking and noted that one of the conditions is for the applicant to show that design so that it could easily be constructed in the future if needed. VIII. PRESENTATIONS A. Resolution 2023-36 Recognizing League of Minnesota Cities Mayor for Day Essay Competition Winner Hadley Aasness (7:11 p.m.) Albers read Resolution 2023-36 recognizing Hadley Aasness as the winner of the Mayor for Day essay contest. Moved by Martin, seconded by Cavanaugh, to adopt Resolution 2023-36 recognizing the League of Minnesota Cities Mayor for Day essay competition winner Hadley Aasness. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. B. Resolution 2023-37 Recognizing Chris McGill for 25 Years of Service Albers read the Resolution 2023-36 recognizing Officer Chris McGill for 25 years of service. Nelson commented that McGill has been the longest serving member of the department and he has enjoyed working with him throughout their careers. He commented that McGill is an integral part of the department and is someone that the department relies on. Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to adopt Resolution 2023-37 recognizing Chris McGill for 25 years of service to the City of Medina. A roll call vote was performed: Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 4 Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. C. Annual Fire Department Reports Hamel Fire Chief Ruchti presented a summary of the 2022 year in review for his department. He noted an increase in service calls over the last nine years of 170 percent. He also provided details on EMS call response, mutual aid, and a breakdown of hours. He stated that there were three new firefighters that have all become pinned members with another two members undergoing training. Cavanaugh referenced the increase in EMS calls and asked if response has changed during the past five years. Ruchti replied that they have equipped the department with more EMT staff and have a dedicated rig for those calls. He reviewed the different things they are able to administer to better serve the community. Cavanaugh commented that he would anticipate that need would continue to grow as more senior facilities come into the community. Ruchti confirmed that there are multiple facilities in the community and that is a growing population. Loretto Fire Chief Leuer stated that he submitted his year-end report and would like to provide an update on their merger. He stated that they began in July of 2021 and provided an overview of that process including the relief association, operations, organization, legal documents and review, and legislative efforts and support. He stated that the process needs to wait for legislative action to be completed before the merger is completed. He stated that Loretto membership will vote on the merger tomorrow evening which will be followed by Hamel the following Monday evening. He noted that the paperwork will then be taken to the Secretary of State to be finalized. He thanked the members of both departments as this has been a long process that is moving well and has support from both departments. He stated that they will be able to do more together than they could separately. He thanked Medina for its support. Martin commented that she has witnessed this process and applauded Leuer and Ruchti and those that worked with them. She stated that this only happened because the departments realized they will be stronger together and thanked those involved for the energy they brought to this process. She expressed appreciation and respect for what the departments have been able to accomplish. Albers echoed the words of thanks and appreciation in the work these departments have done to come together. Leuer noted the upcoming pancake breakfast on April 16th. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 5 Long Lake Battalion Fire Chief Adams stated that their pancake breakfast will be April 23rd. He reviewed the current organization of the department and its membership. He provided details on calls for service and response times. He also recognized a recent retirement, new members, training, member milestones, and upcoming events for the year. Martin thanked Adams for stepping in with the departure of the previous Fire Chief. She admired all that his team has done and how the department has stood strong with the distractions from Orono. Chief Leuer noted a celebration is scheduled for September 9th that will be a kickoff for the West Suburban Fire District held in downtown Loretto. IX. OLD BUSINESS A. Elevate Hennepin Program (7:55 p.m.) Johnson noted that the Council requested additional information on the program in the packet. Finke stated that usage data of the Open to Business program was provided in the packet. He stated that this program would have additional services for businesses. He noted that Hennepin County would request that the City enter into a contract for enrollment in the program even if the City chooses not to contribute financially. He stated that the financial contribution is meant to supplement for the additional consultants that were hired for the program. He noted that $1,250 was budgeted for involvement in this type of programing. He stated that staff recommends using those budgeted funds to financially contribute to the program. He noted that other communities will be contributing in larger amounts. He stated that if the Council does not want to financially contribute, staff would suggest updating the contract with in-kind contribution rather than financial. Cavanaugh commented that it is a relatively small contribution for the benefit that could be received by residents. Finke clarified that the contract has a contribution of $1,250 the first year and $2,500 the second year. He noted that the Council has typically allocated $1,250 each year and the contract could reflect that amount for the second year. Cavanaugh stated that he would be comfortable with continuing with $1,250 each year. Martin, Albers and Reid also agreed with the amount of $1,250. Albers noted that he requested the additional information and found the data to be helpful. Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Albers, to approve the agreement for Elevate Hennepin programming, amending the 2024 City contribution to $1,250. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 6 Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. X. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT (8:01 p.m.) Johnson stated that if the Council is interested, staff can order them business cards. He also stated that staff requests to add a worksession for May 2nd to discuss affordable housing at 6:00 p.m. Moved by Martin, seconded by Cavanaugh, to schedule a worksession on May 2, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. XI. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL REPORTS (8:03 p.m.) Martin commented that staff has done a great job with analysis that will help guide the May 2nd work session on affordable housing. She noted that there have been continued discussions with public works and engineering with the City of Independence related to sewer units for a development project that was not anticipated by that community in its planning. She thanked staff for their interaction with Independence noting that through this process additional sewer flow was identified that was not originally accounted for in the system. She noted that if that were not discovered, Medina could have given up capacity that was not available. XII. APPROVAL TO PAY THE BILLS (8:06 p.m.) Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to approve the bills, EFT 006753E-006770E for $78,894.30, order check numbers 054083-054143 for $299,444.26, and payroll EFT 0512573-0512603 for $66,038.12. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 7 XIII. ADJOURN Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by Reid, to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 p.m. A roll call vote was performed: Cavanaugh aye Reid aye Martin aye Albers aye Motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Kathleen Martin, Mayor Attest: ____________________________________ Caitlyn Walker, City Clerk