Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/28/1985 Council Minutes4 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 The regular meeting of the Lino Lakes City Council was called to order by Mayor Benson at 7:00 P.M., October 28, 1985. Council members present: Bohjanen, Reinert, Marier and Kulaszewicz. Council members absent: None. City Engineer, Bob Toddie; Attor- ney, Bill Hawkins; Building Inspector, Pete Kluegel; Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk- Treasurer, Marilyn Anderson were also present. CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES Council Meeting, October 15, 1985 - Mayor Benson noted on page 27, 6th paragraph, "Mr. Toddie" should be changed to "Mayor Benson ". Mr. Marier moved to approve these minutes as corrected. Mr. Rein- ert seconded the motion. Motion carried with Mr. Kulaszewicz ab- staining. Special Council Meeting, October 15, 1985 - Mr. Reinert moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Bohjanen seconded the mo- tion. Motion carried with Mr. Kulaszewicz abstaining. CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENTS Mr. Marier asked if office supplies such as letterheads are cen- trally purchased. Mr. Schumacher said yes with the exception of the Police Department because of the special nature of their forms. Mr. Kulaszewicz moved to approve the Disbursements as presented. Mr. Marier seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. OPEN MIKE A. Bill Hutton - Forest Lake Youth Service Bureau - Mr. Hutton submitted a letter to the Council which outlines the services provided to Lino Lakes residents in 1983 and 1984. He explained that the Bureau will be providing additional services which in- cludes: (STEP -TEEN) and a Shoplifting Awareness Class. He noted that the number of residents using the service has increased by about 20% and this is probably because the school cannot deal with a lot of the situations and have been referring people to the Youth Service Bureau (YSB). Also the local Police Departments have been referring residents to the YSB. Mayor Benson asked if the YSB is trying to do more in the way of preventative rather than correction. Mr. Hutton said, no, they are in the intervention, prevention, diversion category. They are short term, brief counseling providers and if there appears to be problems that the YSB cannot help with they are referred to other services. 1 1 1 1 1 1 165 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Two Mr. Marier said he was impressed with the work of the YSB and moved to grant a $500.00 expenditure to this group. Mayor Benson noted that the YSB has had a 20% increase in its use and the City has given $500.00 for the past two years. He sug- gested the City provide more money since the YSB expenses are up because of the added use. Mr. Marier withdrew his motion. Mr. Marier moved to grant $600.00 to the YSB. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Benson asked Mr. Hutton to continue to provide the Council with periodic reports. Mr. Hutton noted that Anoka County has now provided some funding for the YSB thereby recognizing the services provided to Anoka County residents. Mr. Reinert noted that some of the people serviced by the YSB were walk -ins rather than referrals. This means that residents are be- coming aware of the services. The Council thanked Mr. Hutton for the report. PLANNING AND ZONING REPORT - PETE KLUEGEL A. Van Elsberg Final Plat - Mr. Kluegel noted the preliminary plat was approved September 23, 1985, the final plat has been received and reviewed by the County Surveyor, City Engineer and has been sent to the City Attorney for his review. Park Dedication fees are to be paid in full prior to signatures. Mr. Hawkins said the plat could be approved tonight contingent on his review. Mayor Benson asked that something be done about plats in areas where there is a ten acre lot minimum. Residents in this area were con- cerned that there would be houses on one acre lots. Mr. Schumacher said letters had been written to those who were not at the public hearing explaining that even though this was a plat there would be just one house per ten acre lot. He also explained the Ordinance has been changed and should relieve this problem in the future. Mr. Reinert moved for approval of the Van Elsberg Estates final plat subject to the conditions as laid out by the Planning and Zoning Board, 1) Attorney to review abstract and final plat; 2) park dedi- cation fees. Mr. Bohjanen seconded the motion. Mr. Marier moved to amend the motion to include that the Van Elsberg Estates is a three ten acre plat. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 166 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Three Voting on the original motion, motion carried unanimously. B. Jeff Joyer - Variance to Set Back, Corner Lot - Mr. Kluegel explained this is a variance request by El Rehbein & Son for set back from a thoroughfare for a corner lot in Shenandoah. Mr. Kluegel said the plat was processed and recorded in 1971 under Ordinance #21 which called for a 30 foot setback from a thorough- fare. This Ordinance has been amended by Ordinance #56 and the present City Code to require a 40' setback. In addition, Mr. Kluegel has taken the average of all the lots along Birch Street within 400' of the lot in question. The average set back is 27'. The Planning and Zoning Board did recommend denial of this vari- ance request due to the fact that the plight of the landowner is caused by economic reasons rather than a hardship of the land, the City Planner recommended denial, approval would not be in keeping of the spirit and intent of the Ordinance. Mayor Benson asked why Mr. Kluegel considered the Hooper house when calculating the 27' average set back. Mr. Kluegel explained the Ordinance specifically calls for an average of all homes within 400' of the lot in question and this home is within 400'. Mr. Joyer presented a site plan showing the lot in question at Birch Street and Totem Trail. He also referred to a copy of Subdivision 10, Section 4, of the Zoning Ordinance and felt according to his in- terpretation of this portion of the Ordinance a variance would not be required. There was discussion on what size house was proposed. Mr. Joyer ex- plained the proposed home is 968 square feet with a 22' x 22' at- tached garage. There was discussion about building a detached garage and locating it behind the house. However, there is marginal soils in this area. Mr. Reinert felt the Planning and Zoning Board did address the prob- lems associated with this lot in that another type of home could be built on this lot which would not create a need for a variance. Mr. Joyer stated that the Planning and Zoning Board did not recognize that there is a hardship. He felt the hardship is that since this lot was platted the City has increased the set back requirements by 10 feet. The lot dimension was determined in 1971 and cannot be changed and now that the City Code has been changed to re- quire a 40 foot set back there is 10 feet less usable space on the lot. Mr. Marier said there was a problem with the soils on this lot and felt the prospective owner should know this. Mr. Joyer explained that the lot has been reconstructed and the poor soils were removed and the proper soils brought in. The prospective owners know that there is a limited area in which to build a house on this lot. There also would be a ten year warranty placed on the home. 1 1 1 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Four Mayor Benson asked what reasons would Mr. Joyer give for going against the City Code and granting a variance. Mr. Joyer said that a precedence has been set by the existing homes on Birch Street who were required to have a 30 foot set back. Mr. Reinert suggested that Mr. Joyer take his clients to another location further east on Birch Street if they are determined to build this particular style of house and then build a house on this lot that would fit the conditions of the lot. Mr. Joyer said if the decision was made to build on Lantern Lane there would be some time delay. Mr. Joyer asked Mr. Hawkins to comment on Subdivision 10, Section 4 of the Zoning Code. Mr. Hawkins said this section pertains to front yard set backs. In this case it is a side yard set back problem and the City should start to require conformance to the City Code. The prospective buyers were in the audience and said they would like more information about the lot and the soil conditions. Mr. Marier said since the prospective buyer wishes to look at this lot a little further and to grant El Rehbein and Son, Inc. a little more time to work with the prospective buyer he moved to table this item until November 12, 1985. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. PARK BOARD REPORT - RANDY SCHUMACHER Mr. Schumacher explained that the staff and Park Board has been negotiating with the owners of the Sunset Oaks Plat for some time to obtain the proper park dedication. On October 1, 1985 he, Mr. Hawkins, members of the Park Board and Mr. Volk met with the owners of the Sunset Oaks Plat and came to -an agreement. This agreement consists of deeding titles to lots 13, 14 and 15, block 2, Sunset Oaks to the City as well as giving the City $3,000.00 in cash. The Park Board has met and has recommended that the Council approve this agreement. The lots are developable for park uses and are not low or swampy. Mr. Schumacher told the Council he felt this was a good agreement. Mr. Bohjanen moved to approve the Park Boards' recommendation to accept lots 13, 14 and 15, block 2, Sunset Oaks and $3,000.00 cash for park dedication. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Bohjanen told the Council that a letter has been received from a resident who wishes to become a member of the Park Board. This will be considered at the next Council Meeting. 167 168 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Five CONSIDERATION OF WEST OAKS LETTER OF CREDIT EXTENSION - RANDY SCHUMACHER The Planning and Zoning Board has recommended that the West Oaks letter of credit for the installation of bituminous streets be revoked. Mr. Schumacher explained that there has been a problem getting natural gas to this area and has taken most of the summer to resolve this issue. It is his understanding that North Central Public Utilities will be the supplier, however they do not have a main trunk line in the area. Therefore, they are proposing to in- stall the interior lines which will be supplied by a bulk tank in the immediate area until the main trunk line can be installed. For this reason Mr. Schumacher said he felt it was justified to extend the letter of credit for West Oaks through June 1986. He felt it was not sensible to install a street and then later put in gas lines across the street. Mr. Tom Dougherty said that the gas issue was resolved in June 1985 and felt that Mr. Bruggeman should be made to live up to one of his committments which was to install the road. Mr. Mel Smith said according to the June letter the gas installation will not occur for another two to three years. Mr. Schumacher ex- plained the intent is to install the internal lines now and service the area from a bulk tank and then run the main trunk line in after two to three years. There was discussion about how the installation of gas lines inter- fereswiththe installation of the street. Mr. Toddie explained that although the gas line is installed approximately eight feet off the property line the services still have to cross the street. Mr. Fred Chase stated that Mr. Bruggeman has not completed the bou- levards and the drainage is causing some trees to die. He also stated he attended a West Oaks meeting earlier this summer and Mr. Bruggeman was quite adamant that the street would not be completed this year due to there being a number of lots still undeveloped. Mr. Smith felt installation of gas lines was not a major project. He explained some problems with the home owners association and other promises made by Mr. Bruggeman. He felt Mr. Bruggeman should be forced to complete the street. Mr. Kluegel told the Council the letter of credit is due to expire in December 1985. He was told by Mr. Bruggeman that the streets would be completed this past summer. Mr. Dougherty felt Mr. Bruggeman was close to default. He felt someone should be looking at this to protect the home owners. Mr. Schumacher explained the letter of credit is for one and one half times the cost of the street and it has already been renewed until 1 1 1 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Six June 1986. This guarantees installation of the street at no cost to the homeowners. Mr. Chase told the Council even if the letter of credit is revoked there is not enough time left this year to complete the street. Mr. Schumacher explained that Mr. Volk is preparing a policy that will avoid situations like this in the future. Mr. Smith asked the Council to determine which gas company will be supplying gas service and at what cost. He said there have been some proposals made to the residents but it has all been verbal. He is concerned that the gas companies may stall the permanent in- stallation for several years. Mr. Marier suggested that the City contact North Central and deter- mine what their schedule is for this area. He also suggested talk- ing to Mr. Bruggeman regarding his committment in this area and the position of his letter of credit and give him the opportunity to explain how he will get the streets in before it freezes. If this is unreasonable he asked., that Mr. Bruggeman appear at the November 12, 1985 Council meeting to give his time table. Mr. Toddie ex- plained that it may not be possible to construct the road this season. This item will be on the November 12, 1985 agenda. ENGINEER'S REPORT A. Workscope and Cost Estimate for Wilson Lawsuit. Mr. Toddie had presented a cost estimate and workscope at the last Council Meeting for, the Wilson lawsuit. Mayor Benson asked if some of this information is not already avail- able at City Hall. Mr. Toddie said if it is available it still has to be compiled and drainage areas and flowage area has to be deter- mined. The workscope and cost estimates represents the full treat- ment of the situation, however Mr. Hawkins may need something less to continue with the lawsuit. Mr. Hawkins was not sure how much of the material would be needed. He will get together with Mr. Toddie and come to a conclusion as to what he will need and present this to the Council on November 12, 1985. B. Shoreview Sanitary Sewers and Water Main Extension - Baldwin Lake Area. Mr. Toddie had prepared the Shoreview agreement and presented it to the Council at the last Council Meeting for them to study. Mr. Toddie said he felt it was a fair agreement and the Lino Lakes citizens would be paying the same rate as the Shoreview 169 170 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Seven citizens. Mr. Hawkins said there were several areas he is concerned about. He felt it would not be fair for Lino Lakes to collect all the user charges and give them all to Shoreview. These fees are for maintaining the system and he felt Lino Lakes should retain a percentage of the user fees for maintenance of the Lino Lakes portion of the system. Mr. Hawkins also recommended that item "F" on page six be eliminated. He noted that item "H" on page six was to restrictive. This City should maintain control of its own zoning. Mr. Reinert moved to have the areas outlined by Mr. Hawkins re- drafted and presented to Shoreview. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. C. Draft Letter to 4th Avenue Residents Regarding State Aid Road and Storm Sewer Project - Mr. Toddie presented a draft letter that is to be sent to the landowners in the 4th Avenue reconstruction area to let them know of the proposed construct- ion and the proposed public hearing set for February 10, 1986. There was discussion about who should get these letters and it was determined it should go to every landowner who could be affected by the project. D. Consideration of a Petition for Storm Sewer Installation - West Shadow Lake Drive - Mr. Toddie explained this would be the installation of a culvert and catch basin in an existing ease- ment located between 7002 and 7006 West Shadow Lake Drive. Pre- sently there is a drainage swale and the petitioners are asking that a culvert be installed so that they would have more usable area on their lots. Mr. Toddie explained since the petitioners are the beneficiaries they should share in the cost. Also it should be determined if other( landowners in the area would benefit from the installation or are contributing to the problem They should also share in the cost. There was discussion regarding a pre - public hearing for the re- sidents in the area, however, there would be no cost figures to discuss. Also since this would be such a small project it would not be feasible to prepare for a public hearing by involving the City Engineer. There was also discussion regarding septic systems in this area and it was determined that there was no relationship between the septic systems and the proposed storm sewer. Mayor Benson asked that Mr. Volk look at the situation and determine 1 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Eight a cost for the installation of the storm sewer and bring this information to the next Council meeting. ATTORNEY'S REPORT A. Rice Creek Watershed Petition - Mr. Hawkins gave the Council a copy of a letter he wrote dated October 21, 1985 to the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) Attorney stating it is the desire of this City to petition for a repair project for Ditch #22 as defined in Section 80 of Chapter 172, Session Laws, 1985. Mr. Murray, the attorney for RCWD, had telephoned Mr. Hawkins and asked how this repair was to be financed. Mr. Hawkins indicated that this was to be a joint project, however Mr. Murray said RCWD did not have any money for this type of repair. He also said the RCWD Board had ordered their own engineer to do a feasibility report to determine the cost of this repair. Mr. Murray was concerned that once the City had filed the petition the City would be under the repair provisions without having come to some agreement regarding the financing and that some people may have to be notified about possible assessments. Mr. Murray said that the feasibility report will be ready within the next couple of weeks. Once the costs are known this City can get together with the County and RCWD and come to some joint agreement on how this is to be financed. There was discussion regarding time frames and whether or not there was duplication of feasibility studies. Mr. Toddie will followup with the RCWD engineer and report his findings at the next Council meeting. Mayor Benson asked that the City not send out the letter not- ifying the area residents of the improvement project until after the next Council meeting. B. Ordinance #85-08, Abatement Procedures for Nuisances,' Second Reading - Mr. Schumacher said it appears that the hearing exam- iner required by this Ordinance should be a technical person. Mr. Hawkins recommended the City contact the State Hearing Ex- aminers Office and get an estimate on what they charge. Mr. Schumacher will give this information to the Council at the next Council meeting. Mr. Reinert moved to adopt Ordinance #85 -08 and dispense with the reading thereof. Mr. Kulaszewicz seconded the motion. Mo- tion carried unanimously. Ordinance *85 708 is printed on page 104 of the September 23, 1985 minute book. OLD BUSINESS A. Set Meeting for Canvas of Election - Mr. Bohjanen moved to 171 172 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Nine set this meeting for Thursday, November 7, 1985 at 7 :00 P.M. Mr. Marier seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. B. Anoka County Resource Recovery Program - Mr. Schumacher gave the Council some background information on the plans by Anoka County to establish criteria necessary for the selection of a site for its Resource Recovery Facility. There is a fifteen - acre site in Lino Lakes that the County is looking at. Due to its location within the County this site is not very high on the County's ranking list at this time. However the County is moving very quickly on this matter and they will be holding public hearings in the next few weeks. Mr. Marier reminded the Council there is a letter on file and reconfirmed each year by the County stating that this City is opposed to any further takeover of any lands in Lino Lakes for any purpose for County use. He asked that the County be reminded of this letter by sending them another copy of it. Mayor Benson said that if there is a problem of time the County should petition the state for extra time so that something is not done in haste that will not benefit the citizens of the County. Mr. Reinert said he was a member of the Citizens Advisory Comm- ittee which became a meaningless committee since they were al- ways told of events after the fact. He said this areas County Commissioner has been voting favorable on this installation and asked that the City find out what her position is on this issue as it relates to Lino Lakes. Mr. Reinert moved to send a letter to Mrs. Langfeld, Lino Lakes County Commissioner telling her the Council's position on this matter. Mr. Marier seconded the motion. Motion carried unan- imously. A copy of this letter will also be sent to the entire County Board and state legislators. Mr. Schumacher was concerned that if there is a problem the dec- ision will be made at the County level without input from this City or researched for potential problems. C. Mayor Benson has received a letter from the State of Minnesota informing the City of a conference November 8, 1985 dealing with the Local Government Aid Stress and the possibility of shortfalls in state revenues. Mr. Schumacher and Mr. Bohjanen said they will try to attend this meeting. D. Mayor Benson noted a letter from TKDA dealing with the appoint- ment of a study committee by the legislature to review guidelines for the turn back of state highways to municipalities and counties. This would mean that municipalities or counties would be respon- sible for the maintenance of the turned back streets and roads. 1 1 1 COUNCIL MEETING October 28, 1985 Page Ten Mayor Benson suggested sending a letter to the governor and our state legislators and MnDoT telling them that this City is against any turn back until the City has more information about how the costs of maintaining the roads are to be funded. Mr. Reinert said probably the procedure is for the state to bring the roads up to some standard and then turn them over to the county or municipality and from there on it is their responsibility. He felt this City did not need any extra burdens. OLD BUSINESS The Senior Council has sent copies of minutes from their latest meeting stating they do not want smoke eaters at the .Senior Center but do want "NO Smoking" signs installed. Mr. Marier moved to have "No Smoking" signs installed as requested by the Senior Council. Mr. Bohjanen seconded the motion. Motion carried un- animously. Mr. Schumacher said the shelving problem at the Senior Center is resolved, the metal server has been taken care of and quotes are being taken for a water heater and for moving the hand sink. Mr. Schumacher explained the Lino Lakes Senior Citizens Club Request Form to the Council. He felt this form would improve the communications between the Seniors and the City Staff. The Council has received a copy of a letter from the Rice Creek Watershed District Board to El Rehbein & Son, Inc. dealing with the Lakes Addition VII subdivision. It states that the RCWD does not have any problem with the development of this subdivision as it relates to their jurisdiction which includes holding ponds and surface water drainage. Mr. Hawkins said he will check with the court to determine the status of the Rehbein lawsuit. Mr. Reinert noted a meeting was held at the Forest Lake School District some time ago dealing with holding the line on taxes. Mr. Bohjanen said he did not attend this meeting and no other meetings have been scheduled. Mr. Reinert felt_. it is critical this Council open some lines of communciation to help keep the taxes in this City in line and perhaps reduce them some more. Mr. Schumacher presented a status report on the Economic Develop- ment Committee. The Committee has met with Mr. Roger Jensen. Mr. Jensen and Mr. Schumacher will put together some possible altern- atives for the Economic Development Committee to look at dealing with 501 programs as well as several other programs. Mr. Kulaszewicz moved to adjourn at 9:20 P.M. Mr. Reinert seconded the motion. Aye. These minutes were considered and approved at a regular meeting of the City Council on November 12, 1985- Marilyn 'Anderson, City Clerk jamin G, ens ~n, 'Mayor 0173