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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_02Mar27City of Falcon Heights Council Minutes March 27, 2002 1st Annual Neal Kwong Youth Citizenship 2001 Award Presentation Mayor Gehrz thanked everyone for coming to the presentation and spoke about Neal in whose memory the 2001 award is to be given. Gehrz then introduced the Kwong family including Neal’s brother and sister, Alan and Laura, who also shared some memories of their brother. Gehrz introduced the five nominees who had been considered for the award, four of whom were present. They were Ben Fraser, Christina Kielsmeier, KatieJo Kuhens, and Michelle Peterson. Stephanie Weisberg was unable to attend. Each nominee spoke on their particular area of volunteer interest and extracurricular school participation. Laura Kwong read Stephanie Weisberg’s words. Mayor Gehrz announced the winner as KatieJo Kuhens. Each nominee was presented with a city pin and an award certificate. The Kwong family donated a picture plaque and each year’s recipient will have his/her name engraved on the plaque. The plaque will be placed in the city hall lobby. Mayor Gehrz then called the regular meeting to order at 7:28 p.m. PRESENT: Gehrz, Kuettel, Lamb, Lindstrom, Talbot. Also present was Heather Worthington, City Administrator, Pat Phillips, Deputy Clerk, Roger Knutson, City Attorney COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no one present wishing to speak before the council. MINUTES: The minutes of March 13, 2002 were approved as written. CONSENT Councilmember Kuettel moved to approve the following consent agenda: General disbursements and payroll Final payment on Larpenteur Avenue projects Appointment of Recreation Coordinator to permanent part-time status Approve purchase of a new computer for administrative office Designation of building official Authorization of Mayor and City Administrator to sign the Certificate of Completion for the Development Agreement for the Bullseye Golf Center’s redevelopment (aka Falcon Crossing) License POLICY Approval of purchase of SCBA masks for Fire Department Page 2 Council Minutes March 27, 2002 Administrator Worthington said the Fire Department has requested approval of the purchase of four SCBA facepieces for replacement of existing equipment. Councilmember Kuettel moved to approve the purchase. The motion passed unanimously. Resolution of support for Sherman and Associates application to Ramsey County Community Development Block Grant and Dakota County Consortium Home Investment Partnership Programs Administrator Worthington said council is being asked to adopt the resolution to support the request for funds to subsidize the construction of 25 out of the 120 units in the multi-family building on the SE corner of Snelling and Larpenteur. These units are targeted for persons living at or below 30% of the median income level ($22,400 for a household of four persons). Worthington said it is federally mandated that the 25 units remain at that status for a period of 30 years. Councilmember Lamb made a motion to approve Resolution 02-09 in support of Sherman’s application. The motion passed unanimously. Consideration of process for establishing pros and cons in change of election year Mayor Gehrz said council had discussed this matter at previous workshops and staff has researched information from other cities regarding the changing of election year for city offices from odd to even years. Gehrz said there are advantages and disadvantages of making such a change and would like to gather as much citizen input as possible. Since a referendum is not an option, determining a process for gathering citizen input is what council is being asked to consider. Councilmember Kuettel said her opinion of this issue is to not make a change in the city election year because she believes it will decrease the focus on local issues and candidates and the cost savings is not that significant. Councilmember Lamb asked to go on record to say he believes the council should decide this as it was given the responsibility of doing so by state law. Mayor Gehrz responded that gathering citizen input on important issues is of utmost importance and every effort should be made to get residents’ opinions and ideas. After further discussion, councilmember Lindstrom made a motion to proceed to do some form of citizen input gathering on this issue. The motion passed with four yea votes from Gehrz, Lamb, Lindstrom and Talbot and one nay vote from Kuettel. Gehrz asked council to discuss what type of process would be best to gather citizen input, such as a random telephone survey or written survey. Councilmember Lamb said random surveys are exclusionary and was not inclined to support that. After much further discussion and questions to attorney Knutson, councilmember Lamb made a motion to exclude any research method that is not directed to all eligible voters. The motion passed with three yea votes from Kuettel, Lamb and Talbot and two nay votes from Gehrz and Lindstrom. Page 3 Council Minutes March 27, 2002 Gehrz said with respect to obtaining citizen input, an additional method would be to hold a public hearing. Councilmember Talbot suggested a survey be inserted in an upcoming newsletter also alerting residents to a public hearing if one is planned. Councilmember Lamb said there was no urgency for the draft survey so it could be presented to council in May for approval. Councilmember Talbot made a motion to have staff develop a draft of a written resident survey. The motion passed with four yea votes from Gehrz, Lamb, Lindstrom, and Talbot and one nay vote from Kuettel. REPORTS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Talbot thanked the nominees and their families for attending tonights presentation of the Neal Kwong Youth Fellowship Award. Councilmember Lindstrom announced that Mary Jo McGuire will not run for re-election due to the redistricting outcome. Lindstrom also said Ramsey County Environmental met with the Lion’s Club to update them on public collection of refuse. Councilmember Kuettel said that the city’s Human Rights Commission will hold a meeting at city hall on April 16, time to be announced. Mayor Gehrz said a flyer was delivered to all residents advising them of the opportunity to serve on two city commissions, the Neighborhood Commission and Solid Waste Commission. Gehrz also said a letter was received from a resident with regard to the last city newsletter insert about the Homeguide for Emergency Preparedness. The resident said it was superbly written and wanted to thank everyone who had a part in its preparation. Gehrz announced that the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners has created an interdisciplinary team to look at developing a homeland security plan for Ramsey County. She and Administrator Worthington attended the first meeting. Administrator Worthington gave an update on the Kid’s Voting project she is involved with through the Roseville Rotary Club. The Falcon Heights/Roseville Lion’s Club has donated $500 and six volunteers. A total of $2500 has been pledged so far. Worthington said she was asked to be an adult advisor for National Youth Service Day which is being held on April 26. Some of the high school students will be working in Falcon Heights that Page 4 Council Minutes March 27, 2002 day doing a boulevard tree survey and measuring the girth and location of boulevard trees. This data will be entered into the city’s GIS system and will be a valuable source of information. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Pat Phillips Deputy Clerk