HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_07Apr11Regular Meeting of the City Council
April 11, 2007
Members present: Mayor Gehrz, Councilmembers Harris, Kuettel, Lindstrom, and Talbot, Administrator Miller, Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser, Pat Conrad, and various
City Commissioners.
Mayor Gehrz called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
The minutes of the March 28, 2007 City Council meeting were approved as submitted.
Consent Agenda:
The following three items were moved for approval by Councilmember Kuettel. The motion passed unanimously.
1. General Disbursements through 4/4/07: $81,617.21
Payroll through 3/31/07: $14,615.03
2. 2007 Licenses
3. Award 2007 street sweeping contract
Policy Agenda:
1. Amendment #1 to Cooperative Construction Agreement with Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD)
Administrator Miller began the item by explaining the City entered into an agreement with CRWD in June 2006 for projects relating to stormwater drainage. Falcon Heights, Roseville,
St. Paul, along with Ramsey County and CRWD, would pay for two phases of projects. Phase I included infiltration ditches along Arlington and Nebraska Streets, seven rain gardens, and
a pond near Hamline and Midway Parkway. Phase II included an expansion of a pond on Como golf course and an underground storage facility near Arlington and Hamline. Miller explained
that due to higher than expected bids, roughly half of the project (the underground storage facility and related piping to the golf course pond) has been completed, while the remainder
of the project will be completed this year. New bids for the unfinished portion of the project were recently opened by CRWD and the new cost allocation requires the city to increase
our contribution. The new amount being requested by CRWD is $128,936, which is $29,371 over the original contract.
Councilmember Harris asked why the 10% of engineering is now based on the $128,000 rather than the original contract amount of $98,000.
Administrator Miller replied that the engineering firm’s costs have risen as well, and that engineering is typically 18-20% of the project cost, and Falcon Heights isn’t paying what
he’d consider a commensurate amount.
Councilmember Harris stated it still didn’t seem right and thought it could be a way for the firm to recoup what wasn’t in the original contract.
Council member Kuettel stated that generally the administrative costs are based on total project amount.
Council member Talbot asked where the excess funding would be found. Administrator Miller replied from the stormwater management fund, which was relatively healthy. No transfers would
be made to make up the additional costs for the project.
Council member Lindstrom stated that from an outsider’s perspective the project looked top-notch, including the rainguards at Hamline and the improvements at Como Lake. He added that
anything the City could do to increase the water quality would be worth it.
Mayor Gehrz asked why the estimates were lower than the actual bids. Project Representative Pat Conrad stated the main reason was because of the boring necessary through the ski hill
on the golf course. Contractors took on a larger liability and higher risk so the bids were higher due to that. He added there were several smaller changes throughout that varied the
cost.
Mayor Gehrz said that the projects costs showed St. Paul’s, Roseville’s, Falcon Heights’, and Ramsey County’s portion of the increase, but asked what CRWD’s proportion was. Conrad replied
that 50% of improvements for water quality was CRWD and 100% of some of the additional engineering costs including design, construction observation ran over. He added that many changes
were needed in engineering. Also, splitting the project into two phases increased cost.
Council member Talbot wanted to know if there were any more surprises coming down the road in regards to cost. Administrator Miller replied the CRWD would have to come back to council
to get approval. Conrad added there’d be no way to see what could happen in the future, however if there was funding leftover it would be refunded to the entities.
Council member Kuettel moved to approve Amendment #1 to Cooperative Construction Agreement with Capitol Region Watershed District. The motion passed unanimously.
2. City Commission Updates
Human Rights:
The commission updates began with the Human Rights Commission and Chair Dan Detzner updating the council on the current members. He stated there were no bias/hate crimes in 2006, which
the commission saw as a great success. To keep attuned however, they participated in a tabletop exercise, dealing with specific scenarios. Detzner added that the RACE exhibit at the
Science Museum is a proactive effort of the commission, and tickets are being sold at City Hall. All are welcome to a roundtable discussion on Tuesday 17th at 6:30 for those who attend
is planned.
Planning:
Chair Rich Rodich read the names of the current commissioners. He stated it was a busy year with the drive-thru ordinance, mobile storage ordinance, and recodification. There were
two variances also granted; one for a porch, the other for a fence. Council member Kuettel thanked the outgoing commissioners and welcomed the new.
Neighborhood:
Commissioner Linda Fite listed the current commission members. 2006 was a busy year as they outlined the goals and mission. The commission also held two liaison events, a pandemic
flu training, evacuation/shelter-in-place demo, the Treasures of Falcon Heights Tour, damage assessment class, Hurricane Katrina relief efforts slideshow, recruitment for CERTs/liaisons
at the SE corner, and aided in the CERT tabletop exercise coming up on Apr. 19.
Parks and Recreation:
Commissioner Paula Mielke stated the biggest project for the commission in 2006 was the parks/rec survey and comprehensive plan process to determine programming needs
for the future and the future of the Falcon Heights parks. Mayor Gehrz mentioned the commission has openings for new members.
Environment:
Chair Jim Kielsmeier presented the council with the new purpose statement of the commission, listed the recent activities including the Community Garden initiative and the MN Energy
Challenge.
Information/Announcements:
Council member Talbot thanked all the commissioners for their hard work over the past year, and said they contributed so much to the quality of life in Falcon Heights. He encouraged
applications for the CTV15 scholarships and said the deadline was Apr. 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Administrator Miller thanked those who donated to the Falcon Heights food drive.
Mayor Gehrz adjourned the regular meeting at 8:00 p.m.
The Council and Commissioners had a short break and reconvened to a workshop on the comprehensive planning process, where Administrator Miller shared the Comp Plan Steering Committee’s
survey results on resident sentiment for the future of Falcon Heights. Commissioners asked a few simple follow-up questions of staff.
The workshop ended at 8:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacey Kreuser
Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk