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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_06Apr26 City Council Meeting Minutes April 26, 2006 Mayor Gehrz called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Kuettel, Talbot, Lindstrom and Harris, Administrator Worthington, Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser, City Engineer Bloom, and Parks and Public Works Director Hoag. The minutes from the April 12, 2006 city council meeting were approved as corrected by Council member Kuettel. Public Hearing: Hamline/Hoyt Reconstruction Project City Engineer Bloom gave an overview of the project with a presentation to the council. She reported the total cost of the project will be $459,146.44, with MSA funds producing $442,326.62, and assessments bringing in $16,819.82. Construction will begin after the State Fair. Council member Talbot pointed out that if Falcon Heights streets were not 100% MSA, then the funding would have to come from infrastructure funds. He then asked what the assessment fees would be if Falcon Heights didn’t get MSA funding. After some quick math, Engineer Bloom replied it would be at least $100 per frontage foot, in comparison to the $26.50 currently charged. Council member Lindstrom asked how long the project would take. Engineer Bloom replied about 6-8 weeks. Mayor Gehrz opened the public hearing. No residents were present. Mayor Gehrz then closed the public hearing. Consent Agenda: Council member Harris asked about the location of the Chianti Grill encroachment. Administrator Worthington replied the right-of-way is the full width of the St. Mary’s Street, up to Larpenteur. Council member Harris added that she’s in favor of the reclassification for Deb Jones, “she’s excellent!” Council member Talbot moved to approve the following six items. The motion was unanimously approved. 1. General Disbursements through 4/20/06: $73,905.37 Payroll through 4/15/06: $13,492.37 2. 2006 License Approval 3. Reclassification and salary increase for Zoning and Planning Coordinator 4. Donation of $50 from Diane Ross 5. Memorandum of Understanding with Little Canada for Falcon Heights City Administrator recruitment Encroachment Agreement with Chianti Grill Policy Agenda: Mayor Gehrz asked the council’s permission to add policy item G3, joint powers agreement with the City of Saint Paul, for maintenance of street and sewer facilities on Hamline and Hoyt Avenues. The council agreed to add the item. 1. Resolution ordering the reconstruction of Hamline-Hoyt and approving the Cooperative Construction Agreement with the City of St. Paul Administrator Worthington gave the highlights of the resolution, with the assessable portion of the project at $203,804.92. She noted the actual project cost was under the budgeted amount for the project. Council member Lindstrom added that after this project the street system will be completely reconstructed, but Administrator Worthington stated the assessment policy will need to be amended in the future. Engineer Bloom reported that Falcon Heights has a great maintenance strategy, and there is no reason streets shouldn’t last 20-25 years with maintenance. She added that a new policy should be revisited before there is a need, so with the new administrator she’d suggest next year. Council member Kuettel moved to approve resolution 06-11 ordering the reconstruction of Hamline-Hoyt and approving the Cooperative Construction Agreement with the City of St. Paul. The motion was unanimously approved. Resolution adopting Vehicle Pre-emption System installation agreement for the Roselawn Avenue and Snelling Avenue intersection, between the City of Falcon Heights, City of Roseville, and State of Minnesota Engineer Bloom began the item by explaining that Roselawn and Snelling is the only intersection left without emergency sensors in Falcon Heights, which allow fire, police, and ambulance to change signals using a special strobe light mounted on their vehicles. She added that Roseville had passed the agreement at their April 24 City Council meeting. Council member Kuettel asked how much of the cost would Falcon Heights would be responsible for. Engineer Bloom replied the total cost is $5300, so each city would pay $2750 to install, and the State will maintain the system. She explained that the initial estimate for the system was $10,000, but since Roselawn is being reconstructed and the system is being installed during the construction, the cost is less. A left turn lane at eastbound Roselawn to Snelling will be added as well. A discussion on timing of the stoplights on Snelling commenced. Council member Lindstrom moved to approve resolution 06-12, adopting vehicle pre-emption system installation for the Roselawn Avenue and Snelling Avenue intersection, between the City of Falcon Heights, City of Roseville, and State of Minnesota. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Joint powers agreement with the City of Saint Paul, for maintenance of street and sewer facilities on Hamline and Hoyt Avenues Parks and Public Works Director Hoag gave an overview of the agreement, stating that Falcon Heights will handle the winter maintenance of the streets, including snow and ice removal, and St. Paul will do summer work, including seal coating and sweeping. Council member Kuettel asked about the response Falcon Heights can expect to get from St. Paul. Parks and Public Works Director Hoag replied that proper communication plans are in place, and St. Paul has agreed to respectable response times. Falcon Heights public works will monitor their response times, and provisions are laid out in the agreement. Administrator Worthington added that currently there is only a hand shake agreement between the two cities, and because of this document they will be more responsive. Council member Harris asked who drafted the agreement. Hoag replied that St. Paul amended an agreement they had with West St. Paul, and the document was reviewed by both cities and their attorneys. Mayor Gehrz suggested something of this nature be pursued with Roseville for Roselawn Avenue in the next year or so. Hoag replied the cities are close to putting something in writing, and after the reconstruction it will be easier to lay out responsibilities. Council member Harris moved to approve resolution 06-13, joint powers agreement with the City of Saint Paul, for maintenance of street and sewer facilities on Hamline and Hoyt Avenues. The motion passed unanimously. Information/Announcements: Council member Lindstrom announced the Bio Blitz will be May 19th at 5 p.m. at the future Bell Museum site on Cleveland and Larpenteur. The Blitz is a race to document as many species as possible in 24 hours. Parks and Public Works Director Hoag added that Community Park will be monitored that day as well. Council member Talbot announced the selection process begins for the CTV scholarships has started. Mayor Gehrz invited the public to the April 27 CERT training on evacuation training. She also reminded residents of the May 13th Treasures tour, and asked residents to watch for the flyers. Lastly she gave an update on the city administrator hiring process. There were 40 applicants, narrowed down to 12 by Joel Hanson, and those 12 were interviewed by Mayor Gehrz and Heather Worthington. The 12 were narrowed to five, and council member Lindstrom, Mayor Gehrz, commissioners and staff interviewed these and selected three to bring before the entire council. The council will interview these 3 finalists at their May 10 meeting. Councilors will receive packets with the finalists resumes, assessment information from PDI, and the interview questions before the 17th. Any question suggestions can be passed along to Mayor Gehrz before Friday, May 5 at noon. A special open council meeting on May 17th has been scheduled to deliberate and come to a conclusion. Mayor Gehrz asked the council’s permission to reimburse mileage for those finalists traveling long distances, along with a per diem for a hotel room, if needed. Council member Talbot moved to approve this, and the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Gehrz adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Stacey Kreuser Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk