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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_97May14CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS 3 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MAY 14, 1997 Mayor Gehrz convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. PRESENT Gehrz, Jacobs, Hustad, and Kuettel. Also present were Hoyt, Asleson, Maurer, and Sampson. ABSENT Gibson Talbot. COMMUNITY FORUM There was no one wishing to take advantage of the community forum. MINUTES OF APRIL 23, 1997 Minutes were approved by unanimous consent, with the sentence "The tunnel would be completely paid for and managed by the golf course" changed to read "The tunnel would be paid for by the county and the university and managed by the university." CONSENT AGENDA APPROVED Motion was made by Councilmember Hustad to approve the following consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 1. Disbursements 2. Licenses 3. Cancellation of the June 14, 1997 council meeting and scheduling a June 4 council workshop 4. Approval of payment for permanent and temporary easements to Mrs. Frances Heinselman, 1783 Lindig Street PUBLIC HEARING HEARING ON THE PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR THE LINDIG STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Mayor Gehrz opened the public hearing at 7:10 p.m. As there was no one in the audience wishing to speak on the subject, Engineer Maurer reviewed the Lindig Street project to be assessed. Since there are two projects occurring on Lindig Street (mill/overlay to the south and street construction to the north) there are actually two assessments with different payback periods. Mayor Gehrz closed the public hearing at 7:14 p.m. City Council Minutes ~ ~~ May 14, 1997 3 "~ ~ Page 2 POLICY AGENDA CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NOS. 97-13 AND 97-14 ADOPTING THE ASSESSMENT ROLLS FOR THE LINDIG STREET PROJECT Motion was made by Councilmember Jacobs to approve Resolutions 97-13 and 97-14, adopting the assessment rolls for the Lindig Street project. Motion passed unanimously. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 97-15 AWARDING THE BID FOR THE LINDIG STREET PROJECT Engineer Maurer noted that the lowest responsible bidder for the Lindig Street project was Tower Asphalt at a cost of 585,965.00. Motion was made by Councilmember Hustad to approve Resolution 97-15, awarding the bid for the Lindig Street project to Tower Asphalt. Motion passed unanimously. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 97-16 APPROVING AN AGREEMENT TRANSFERRING THE FALCON HEIGHTS WATER SYSTEM TO THE OWNERSHIP OF THE ST. PAUL WATER UTILITY Administrator Hoyt reported that a final agreement transferring ownership of the city's water system to the St. Paul Water Utility was complete. The transfer allows Falcon Heights water users the same rate for water as St. Paul water users by the year 2003. It also guarantees suburban representation on the water utility board. The St. Paul Water Utility benefits from the arrangement because it will have a long term guarantee that Falcon Heights will be part of its water system. The council then discussed the 4% surcharge. The funds from this surcharge are put in a dedicated fund to be used for water hydrant repair and pipe work associated with a street project, items which the St. Paul Water Utility would not cover under the agreement. The council determined that it would be appropriate to continue collecting the surcharge, as there are still several streets that need reconstruction and may require water expenses. The surcharge can be reconsidered after all of the streets in the city have been upgraded. Motion was made by Councilmember Kuettel to approve Resolution 97-16, approving an agreement transferring the Falcon Heights water system to the ownership of the St. Paul Water Utility. Motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION ON THE ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT (ALS) LICENSE FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES Mayor Gehrz explained that the city needed to decide how to guarantee continued Advanced Life Support (ALS) to the community. The city presently has a memorandum from the City of St. Paul stating that St. Paul will provide the service. There is a 90 day termination clause. There are three options to consider: 11 requesting that St. Paul extend its primary service area to include Falcon Heights under its ALS license; 2) proceeding with City Council Minutes May 14, 1997 Page 3 32 an application for an independent ALS license for Falcon Heights and negotiating along-term contract with St. Paul for the service; or 3) continuing as the city has for the past seven months without an ALS license. Falcon Heights cannot operate its own ALS service because the low volume of runs makes it impossible to keep up training and it is too expensive. If the City of St. Paul becomes uninterested in providing ALS service to Falcon Heights, the only other service provider available to provide ALS coverage is a private sector ambulance company that serves primarily the northern suburbs. The council discussed that it would be prudent to request that St. Paul incorporate Falcon Heights into its primary service area. The rationale for this decision was that once in St. Paul's PSA, it would be more difficult for St. Paul to decide to stop serving Falcon Heights because they would have to petition the State EMS board before being allowed to drop service. If Falcon Heights were to hold its own license, St. Paul could decide to stop service with only 90 days notice. If St. Paul decided to stop service, the city would have no choice but to contract with the private sector ambulance company, which has no station within the immediate vicinity of Falcon Heights and charges more to the patient for ambulance service. Fire Chief Nick Baumann spoke about his concerns regarding the cost of this arrangement. Motion was made by Councilmember Hustad to direct the City Administrator to contact the City of St. Paul and request incorporation into St. Paul's primary service area for Advanced Life Support service, with the following conditions: 1) Falcon Heights be provided with the same level of service as St. Paul; 2) St. Paul will maintain the service through a user fee in Falcon Heights without asking the city to pay for the service through its annual budget; and 3) St. Paul will notify Falcon Heights of any significant changes in service delivery such as a change in ambulance staffing models, in the permanent location of the primary responding paramedic units, or in increased average response times to medical emergencies. Motion passed unanimously. PRESENTATION AND EXPLANATION OF THE BIDS FOR THE LARPENTEUR AVENUE STREETSCAPE PROJECT Michael Schroeder, of Hoisington Koegler Group, presented the bids for the three components of the Larpenteur Avenue streetscape project. The three bids were for landscaping (package A), streetlights/sidewalk work (package B), and signs (package C). The bids for package C came in significantly higher than expected. Schroeder plans to discuss the bids with the contractors to see if there are areas where the design could be changed to lower costs. This may require re-bidding package C if the changes are significant. Schroeder was willing to recommend approval of North Metro Landscaping for bid package A-1 (shrubs and hedgerows) and of Killmer Electric for bid package B, with some minor change orders. Motion was made by Councilmember Jacobs to proceed in negotiations for change orders with Killmer Electric prior to the award of the bid for package B. Motion passed unanimously. Motion was made by Councilmember Kuettel to accept the bid of North Metro Landscaping for bid package A. Motion passed unanimously. City Council Minutes May 14, 1997 Page 4 32 LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES FLOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR CITIES 1 ~, L_._JI The council discussed ways in which the city could lend assistance to cities in western Minnesota that have been devastated by flooding. Staff was directed to determine if there was surplus equipment that could be donated for the effort and to accept donations of cleaning supplies at city hall for flooded victims. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:01 p.m. Carla Asleson Recording Secretary ~, Susan L. Gehrz, Mayor