HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_07May09Regular Meeting of the Falcon Heights City Council
May 9, 2007
Members present: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Kuettel, Lindstrom and Talbot, Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser. Absent: Council member Harris and Administrator Miller.
Mayor Gehrz called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Presentation:
Mayor Gehrz first presented Gretel Keene, Falcon Heights resident and CERT trainer, with her Falcon Heights CERT trainer polo. Keene thanked the council. She next presented information
regarding FEMA, CERT, and the Red Cross. Keene has been deployed with FEMA several times in past years, and has been an asset to CERT classes by speaking about her experiences. She
encouraged residents to obtain their own copies of the “Are You Ready?” materials by going to www.ready.gov.
Mayor Gehrz thanked Keene for all her devotion and hard work to the cause of emergency management. She added that in a disaster, people should not always count on local government to
take care of them before federal help arrives, and urged citizens to start their own emergency-ready kits of food, water, and medications.
Minutes: The minutes of the April 25, 2007 regular council meeting were approved as submitted.
Consent Agenda:
Council member Kuettel moved to approve the following two items. The motion passed unanimously.
1. General Disbursements through 5/4/07: $71,796.56
Payroll through 4/30/07: $14,876.81
2007 Licenses
Policy Agenda:
1. Code Amendment Concerning Compost Piles
Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk began by stating the residents coordinating the Community Garden approached the City with concerns regarding the current compost ordinance.
The current ordinance, she explained, does not allow for fruit or vegetable peels, while the proposed ordinance would allow those additions to residential compost heaps.
Council member Lindstrom added he had some conversations with the community gardeners, and thought the proposed ordinance brought the code more in-line with current practice and with
other city’s ordinances.
Council member Kuettel brought up setback from other properties and wanted to know how the City would control compost heaps getting too close to neighboring properties.
Council member Talbot stated the unattractiveness of compost piles, and Council member Lindstrom reminded the council there is no setback in the current ordinance. Kreuser stated the
current ordinance’s requirements, and Council member Kuettel said those who were uneducated about composting practice might need stricter guidelines than those who know what they are
doing. She said that a compost pile is not just a place where you throw your kitchen scraps, but has an environment that must be nursed. She stated that the Solid Waste Commission
had rodent and stench concerns back when they proposed the current ordinance.
Council member Lindstrom stated that there would be other recourses the City could take in those instances. Kuettel said it would fall on the neighborhoods to report and would take
more manpower to enforce those nuisances.
Council member Lindstrom added that the problems are when the dairy and meat products are added in, and pointed out the current ordinance does not state the compost pile must be turned.
Council member Talbot stated that an “accessory structure,” is not chicken wire, and wanted to see something that defined what the structure is.
Council member Kuettel stated she whole-heartedly approves of composting, but cautioned the council against approving the vague ordinance.
Council member Lindstrom said companies had done a fair amount of advertising for composting, and Ramsey County sells the compost bins at the State Fair. Talbot said he would still
like to have the structure more defined.
Mayor Gehrz asked if Roseville had language. Council member Talbot replied there are guidelines, but discretion is given to the code enforcement officer. Mayor Gehrz said the only
change from the current ordinance is the change to kitchen vegetables and fruit. Kuettel said having a tight ordinance would be better. But Lindstrom said that most people who compost
using the black bin that is turned over and is in the sun, put vegetables and fruits in anyway. He said the approval would simply bring the ordinance in line with the practice.
Council members Kuettel and Talbot said there had to be a setback requirement and to add in the acceptable accessory structure definition.
Mayor Gehrz said the Council could add in the setback requirement, but Council member Lindstrom said he would rather have the structure open for discretion by the code enforcement officer.
He did not want that provision to be too restrictive.
Mayor Gehrz asked about the eggshell addition. Councilmember Lindstrom replied the proposed ordinance outlawed animal products, which included eggshells. The Planning Commission did
not want eggshells to be outlawed from compost heaps, and did not want to start carving out exceptions.
Council member Talbot suggested the Environment Commission make a list of best practices for composting. The City will publish those on the City website. Lindstrom added that there
would be an option for the garbage haulers to add in literature along with the bill, as, he believed, was provisioned in the Memorandum of Understanding with the haulers.
Council member Lindstrom moved to approve ordinance 07-05 with the suggested change of a five-foot setback from all neighboring properties. The motion passed unanimously.
Information/Announcements:
Council member Lindstrom stated there was a workday at the Community Garden on May 5. He thanked everyone for their work in preparing the plots.
Council member Kuettel congratulated the four FH Elementary students who won a trip to the “Future Problem Solvers International” competition in Colorado. A pasta supper fundraiser
is planned for May 22 from 5-7 p.m..
Council member Talbot stated Cor Wilson would soon be presenting the changes in legislation regarding cities rights-of-way at an upcoming meeting.
Mayor Gehrz adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacey Kreuser
Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk