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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_05Oct26CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 26, 2005 Mayor Gehrz convened the regular City Council meeting at 7:00 PM. Mayor Gehrz introduced Falcon Heights Planning Intern Jane Fandry to the council members. Fandry is an urban studies major at the University of Minnesota. PRESENT: Mayor Sue Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot. Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, Parks and Public Works Director Greg Hoag, Parks Supervisor Lisa Anderson, and Deputy Clerk Stacey Kreuser. COMMUNITY FORUM: None. PRESENTATIONS: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes dated 9/28/05 were approved as corrected by Mayor Gehrz. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None scheduled. CONSENT AGENDA: Councilmember Kuettel questioned $89.62 as perhaps a duplicate charge on the disbursements roster. (Later investigation by staff confirmed the disbursements roster was correct, and the charges listed were not duplicates). Kuettel moved to approve the following two items on the consent agenda, and the motion was unanimously approved: General Disbursements through 10/19/05: $90, 851.13 Payroll 10/01/05 – 10/15/05: $12, 754.40 Approval of Mechanical Contractor’s License for Total Comfort POLICY AGENDA: 1. Consideration for City Field Fee and Use Policy Administrator Worthington began the item by introducing Parks and Public Works Director Hoag and Parks Supervisor Anderson to the council. Worthington noted that due to the interest in city facilities and parks, staff feels there is a need for an up-to-date policy on the use of fields and fee structure. Parks Supervisor Anderson then outlined the information before the council, summarizing the draft copies of the schedule and process of renting the facilities and fields. She noted that the rules make it evident that City events come first on the priority list when renting out the facilities and fields. Anderson listed the facilities and noted which of them are new to the rental schedule – the upper and lower picnic areas at Community Park. She also noted the addition of a play kit that is available for rental. Councilmember Kuettel asked that the addition of closing and locking the windows be made to the checklist given out to the renters. She also asked for the addition of a reminder to shut off the ceiling fans in the park building. Councilmember Talbot asked about the availability of restrooms for the renters of the lower and upper picnic areas. Supervisor Anderson replied that the satellites are available throughout most of the year. Parks and Public Works Director Hoag also stated during the skating season, when the satellites are not in operation, the Park Building is almost always open and restrooms are available in there. Councilmember Talbot asked about the $25 set-up/tear-down fee, and whether this covered the costs of the City. Hoag replied the $25 covers one hour of work time for staff, and while this is not often requested, having coverage for at least one hour helps on recovering the costs. Councilmember Lindstrom asked about the possibility of adding the Lions to the priority list as they sell trees during the holiday season. Anderson replied that the Lions are on the list for Community Park. Administrator Worthington added that the Lions use of the park was memorialized by the Council 6-7 years ago, and a paragraph will be added to the policy to state this. Mayor Gehrz noted that the money the Lions raise by the sales comes back to Falcon Heights and Lauderdale through donations the Lions make to the cities. She asked what the process would be when someone with a permit goes to the park, and someone else is using the park without a reservation. Anderson replied that there has been talk of putting up signs at the parks and having City Hall contact information on the permit. Councilmember Kuettel also requested that on the permit there be a non-emergency police phone number for use outside of office hours. Councilmember Talbot then asked about the limitations for reserving the facilities or fields. He asked about flexibility with the current 4-event-per-month policy, and wanted to know whether the City would stray from that requirement. Anderson replied that whether or not the City would be flexible depends on the purpose of the group and whether they would be requesting use during peak hours or not. Mayor Gehrz noted that Falcon Heights staff did research on neighboring city fees in order to craft this fee structure. Councilmember Kuettel made a motion to adopt the city field fee structure, with amendments on adding ceiling fan and windows to the renter checklist, the Lions amendment, and a non-emergency police number to the permits. The motion was unanimously approved. 2. Adoption of the Countywide Emergency Operations Plan Administrator Worthington began the second item by giving background on the necessity of a universal emergency operations plan. She added the operations plan fulfills the FEMA requirement of cities, and through the document all emergency responders will know the plan since all cities work from it. She noted that the Falcon Heights portion will be amended to add the CERTs. Councilmember Kuettel asked whether other groups will be added to the plan. Worthington answered that the neighborhood liaisons and the listing of medical personnel that reside in the City will be added. Mayor Gehrz then added that the emergency operations plan will be included in the CERT training and would be led by Greg Hoag. She noted changes to the cover letter of the plan, including title changes for city administrator/emergency management director, fire chief, deputy clerk, and finance director. She also thanked Worthington for her leadership and hard work on the county-wide plan. Councilmember Lindstrom asked how the other jurisdictions within Falcon Heights are covered under the plan. Worthington replied there are 4 different plans in Ramsey County: U of M, State Fair, St. Paul and the whole of the other cities in Ramsey County. She added there are few cities within the State that will operate under 4 different plans, with Falcon Heights being one of them, and the differences in the plan will be noted in the appendices in the Falcon Heights portion of the plan when all is tied together in the next 6 moths. Councilmember Kuettel asked whether the Fair had a non-populated v. populated plan. Worthington answered that the Fair is always the example at emergency management trainings, and they do have a 2-fold plan. She added that the Fair has become more aware of risks within the last 5 years, and have been working hard. Councilmember Lindstrom expressed how glad he was that Falcon Heights is staying on top of their plans, but just to make sure they do not conflict with others. Councilmember Kuettel moved to approve the Ramsey County Emergency Operations Plan with the amendments to the cover letter. The motion was unanimously approved. 3. Sale of Radio Mayor Gehrz began the item by explaining the radio donated by Ed Zimmer was a HAM radio, and while the radio is useful in emergencies, training people to use the radio is a lengthy process that requires technical expertise. She mentioned that since CERTs would be the likely users of the radio, and not all of them have expertise in radios, it would be more efficient to sell the HAM radio and buy a different one. Mayor Gehrz stated Mike Bagsted offered to purchase the radio for $500, which is at the high-end of the range for a radio like this one. She added the City Attorney has okayed this sale, however council approval is required. Councilmember Talbot asked whether the sale of the radio to Bagsted was ok with Zimmer. Mayor Gehrz replied that it was. Councilmember Talbot moved to approve the sale of the HAM radio to Mike Bagsted. The motion was unanimously approved. INFORMATION/ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmember Talbot read excerpts of a letter from Cor Wilson, Executive Director of the North Suburban Access Corporation (NSAC), the company that handles the web-streaming of the council meetings. Wilson expressed that she was sorry about the technical difficulties with the web streaming. Wilson stated that NSAC will be changing over from QuickTime to Real Video interface in early November with testing and implementation taking place by the end of the year. Mayor Gehrz added that the City will not pay for web streaming services while the system is down. She added that council meetings are still broadcast on CTV 15. Councilmember Kuettel stated the flyer went out 10-26-05. She explained that residents should add the Town Square Grand Opening to their calendars. The grand opening will be held 11-15-05 from 4-7 p.m. Mayor Gehrz added that postcards to residents will also have this information. She also explained a news story reported by the Star Tribune that stated Falcon Heights had a large population by day, while at night it’s small due to people coming in to work here and leaving to go home. She gave an update on the new equine center scheduled to go up after 1-1-06 east of Fairview and expressed her pleasure at the wonderful addition to Falcon Heights. Next she explained the ongoing process for a new football stadium at the U of M Mpls campus outlined in a report from the school. Even though the stadium wouldn’t be in Falcon Heights, she explained, the impacts would still be felt here through traffic and noise. She noted specifically the Snelling and Larpenteur intersection. The report will be temporarily available at City Hall for public review. Administrator Worthington corrected her statement from the 10-12-05 meeting, stating the City, in fact, does not have ‘no-fault’ sewer back-up coverage. Mayor Gehrz adjourned the regular city council meeting at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Stacey Kreuser Deputy Clerk