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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/10/1970 Council Minutes96 BILLS: March 9, 1970 (Cont'd) 2921 Centerville Garage 2922 M. & I. Auto Supply Co. 2923 Uniforms Unlimited 2924 Viking Safety Company 2925 Springsted Incorporated (2926) North Star Oil Corp. (2926). " (2926) (2926) (2927) Northway Hdwe & Auto Access. (2927) (2927) " " 2928 June Emerton (Petty cash fund) 2929 Louis Molitor 2930 Ralph M. L'Allier 2931 William I., Bohjanen 2932 Henry H. Rosengren 2933 Andrew J. Cardinal 2934 Ronald J. Jaworski 11 11 11 11 Motor fuels, labor and parts Commodities for repair 3 prs. trousers, Inv. 57298 First aid supplies, Inv. 13720 Services connected with sale of bonds Police motor fuels & car lights Motor fuels - parks Motor fuels - roads & bridges Fire Marshall motor fuel General supplies for police $ 7.75 64.7 38.85 193.46 1600.00 45.90 15.49 40.60 3.50 3.20 Maintenance supplies - parks 3.77 Maintenance supplies, car (Fire Protection) 10.29 2 rolls stamps + 20 postcards and calc.tape 16.09 Ext, on option on Lake Amelia property Council expenses for March 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 1, 11 i It Minutes approved at the Meeting of March 23, 197 11 " 11 11 11 It Clerk - Treasurer An informal special meeting of the Lino Lakes Village Council had been called for 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 1970, for the purpose of discussion with the Planning & Zoning Board, the Planner and the Engineer, mobile home parks in particular and multiple - family developments in general. All members of the Council except Mr. Rosengren were present. All members of the Planning & Zoning Board except Mr. Kelling and W. Jester were present as were Mr. VanHousen, Planner, and Mr. Gotwald, Engineer. Superintendent Marshall Hankerson and School Board Chairman John Barnes of Centennial School District No. 12 were also present. It was noted that the meeting had been set at the February 23rd Council Meeting and notices had been sent to all P&Z members as well as the Planner and Engineer. W. L'Allier began the discussion at 8:08 p.m. stating that those present did not need to stay Within one specific area of discussion; rather, that they offer information and ask questions. W. L'Allier felt we should refrain from making any conclusions this evening but should set a pattern for proceeding with further investigation on the matter. 1 W. L'Allier mentioned that the Council had passed a resolution requiring the suspension of mobile home park hearings for a maximum time of one year until all opinions had been heard and conclusions had been drawn as to what type, if any, mobile home parks Lino Lakes wants and where they should be located. Mr. L'Allier also stated that Mr. Menkveld had requested hearings on 3 sites for mobile home parks before the resolution had been passed, mentioning that the P&Z had recommended turning down hearings on all three sites, but that the Council had turned down one site, W. Menkveld had withdrawn a second application, and the Council, an the advice of the Village Attorney, had granted hearings on one site, these to be held in April and May. 1 John McLean, Planning & Zoning Chairman, was asked for his views, to be followed by comments from the rest of the Planning & Zoning members. Mr. McLean stated that he felt that the position of the Planning & Zoning Board was: 1) that Lino Lakes not consider any more mobile home sites under any circumstances until we have municipal sewer and water; and 2) they feel a reluctance to have mobile home parks in any quantity until it can be demonstrated that such parks can carry their share of the tax burden; this based on the fact that mobile homes have a low starting cost and rapid depreciation compared to houses which start high and appreciate in value; and 3) there is no adequate way to control the population of school children in a mobile home park by administration of laws. Mr. Jaworski commented that he didn't feel we could ever control the number of children in a mobile home park since mobile homes are the only means of shelter for many newly married couples. Mr. Ed Karth stated that he doesn't consider mobile homes to be low cost when you consider the cost per month plus hookup fees for the court besides the owner paying for 7 years on a home that might last a maximum of 15 years. W. L'Allier noted that there are not many homes for sale in the $20,000 category; W. McLean disputed this. Mr. James Hill proffered a newspaper clipping commenting on the hardship of schools in low -tax base areas of heavy growth; emergency school aid was approved to many. Mr. Hill felt that we should first consider how mobile home courts will affect the schools. W. Glenn Rehbein ofjected to the lack of sewage systems for proposed courts, Menk- leld's in particular. Mr. Rehbein stated that the Youth Center is running sewage through the creek and adding on the trailer court can't be considered. It would be a different story if there were city sewer and water. He also mentioned the lack of a tax base. Mr. McLean mentioned the meeting held at Forst Lake Schools -- it had been suggested there that a trailer court of 500 units adding 1,000 voters could make quite an impact on the political life of a community of our size. These people could control the politics and services but don't Own any land to pay taxes on. There was some general discussion on communities having no industrial areas, only homes. Superintendent Hankerson of Centennial Schools stated that he appreciated having been invited to the meeting, that any mobile home courts in our area of course affect District #12 greatly. He stated that a few years ago there were no kids from trailer parks giving an example that in 1967 there were only 137 kids from 3300 trailers and in 1970, there were 284 kids from 3500 trailers. Mr. Hankerson gave statistics on the state aid and mill levy, as well as the depreci- ation on trailers as follows: MOBILE HOME TAX BREAKDOWN Tax Dispersement: Depreciation Schedule: Model Formula Criteria. 170 - 10% 1969 - 8.5% 1968 - 7.5% 1967 - 6.5% 1966 - 5% Formula: Mobile Home Tax Factory List Price x Model x Fixed Mill Rate 50% - School District 30% - Municipality 10% - County. 10% - General Revenue Fund 9 Supt. Henderson stated that they had received from the State $8,052.69 in taxes for the 137 children in 1967; that it had cost $576 to educate each child in 1967. Subtracting about $265 per child in State Aid received, they figured the difference in their cost to educate a child from a home compared to a child from a trailer to be $175 each. Centennial had just applied for $400,000 in State Aid but had received only $75,000. Mr. Van Housen stated that he felt the same as Mr. Hankerson, that more children were coming from trailer courts, that the courts contained fewer older people. He mentioned Cimmaron Village and other courts. Mr. Hankerson stated that they already had 107 school children and 82 pre - schoolers from Centennial Square. Mr. Van Housen stated that the Ham Lake site, if selected for the new airport, would have a profound effect on our population; he felt the development would go toward multi - family units similar to Bloomington; freeways or generators of such develop- ment. Also, with the Metro parks system coming, we have a problem with tax disparities; the Open Space Committee discourages high density building areas near their parks. Mr. Gotwald stated that it would definitely be a problem until we get utilities; he doubted that the State would allow any separate sewage system for a trailer court. Mr. Van Housen mentioned that Ordinance 21C gives some controls and that Menkveld must upgrade a court. Brooklyn Center has outlawed trailers. M. Van Housen mentioned Operation Breakthrough (U.S.) utilizing modular housing of t►e stacked variety. They seem to have the same problems as trailers and may be the slums of tommorrow. He doesn't feel that all trailer courts are bad, but new develop- ers seem to be a bunch of "quick buck" artists. Mr. Gotwald stated that in Minnesota the laws have only paid attention to the sub- divisions themselves, but they have paid little attention to Mobile Home Associations' construction requirements- -they have laid down no law on minimum specifications for construction. In Michigan the laws for construction are much stricter. Mr. Jaworski mentioned that trailers as now constructed are highly inflammable fire traps. Mr. Gotwald mentioned the comparison of 6 trailer units per acre to 1 house per acre. He stated that a house located on 5 acres is not paying its way in taxes either. Mr. Van Housen stated that at a density of 3.4 units per acre, it would take a $35,000 house to pay its way on that basis. Mr. Gotwald noted that the Five -Star Court in Vadnaid Heights had signed an agree- ment with the school district to make up the difference for taxes from the trailers. He also felt we should watch the new Federal housing closely; the units leave the running gear on. Mr. Bohjanen asked if the restrictions imposed in Michigan made the trailer construction closer to prefab construction. Mr. Gotwald stated "yes ", that they are far ahead on construction. Mr. Van Housen agreed. W. Gotwald also noted that regardless of design, a trailer still looked like a trailer, even from some distance. There was some discussion. Mr. L'Allier noted that according to a newspaper clipping, Forest Lake Township required trailer lots 15,000 square feet in size. Mr. Gotwald asked what would happen if the goverment says we are discriminatingnif we outlaw trailer courts. Also, we would be binding future councils. Stricter requirements could make development unfeasible. There was a considerable amount of discussion on tuition taxes, tests for scholastic abilities of children from trailer courts, prefabs, court charges, etc. Mr. Gotwald noted that the people in a Little Canada trailer court were in a high pay level, being mostly professional, and that most of their payroll is spent locally. Mr. Gotwald stated that there probably would be less objection to stiffer regulations than to the outlawing of trailer parks. Mr. Barnes felt that trailers are not good investments. He cited figures showing that the cost of homes has increased 58% in the last 10 years and 27% in the last 3 years. Home values increase while trailer values decrease. Also, as the size of the trailers has increased, the number of children has increased. There was discussion on Federal financing of multiple units. Mr. Gotwald mentioned that U.S. Lakes Development had, sold three $24,000 lake lots in the past week; the price included sewer and water. Mr. Rehbein commented that we should let Jandric develop the Village and outlaw trailers. Mr. L'Allier stated the trailer court developers always say that the courts pay their own way. Are figures available from any creditable source? Mr. Hankerson stated that Mr. Vincent Gould of the mobile homes section of the State Highway Dept. had metro statistics that we could get. Mr. Husnik asked for figures on the number of children from apartments. Mr. Hankerson stated that most apartments were 1 and 2 bedrooms, yet the number of children is increasing. • Mr. Van Housen noted that the prices of homes has increased greatly. For example, in North Oaks homes selling a few years ago for $35,000 are going for $50,000 now. Apartments (one bedroom) rent for $185 per month on an average. The vacancy rate for apartments here is now only 2% compared with a norm of 5 -6% across the country. Mr. Bohjanen left at 9:00 p.m. to attend another meeting. Mr. Van Housen stressed that he thought stricter requirements would be better than outlawing the mobile home courts altogether. Mr. Gotwald agreed, saying that he would like to see courts outlawed, but it causes too many problems. Mr. Van Housen noted that there had been a 119% increase in land values last year in Minnesota -- this was fourth highest in the nation. Mr. Rehbein felt we shouldn't jeopardize the Village for an outsider. He felt that the Pollution Control Agency might allow a sewer pond for an applicant like they did for the Youth Center, Mr. Van Housen noted the plans that Acton had produced in the face of our action. He commended our tough stand, stating that the land is worth more because of it. Mr. Van Housen answered a question by the Mayor saying that the movilla construction would depreciate like trailers. Mr. Van Housen stated that the rnovillas had running gear. There was discussion on the various types of low cost housing. It was felt that these developments would not be profitable if they had to meet code. Mr. Gotwald suggested that Lino Lakes not consider any parks until we first have sewer and water. We would thus save costly hearings. The Metro Council will likely turn down any requests anyway. If a park is granted, the land will sit idle for at least 5 years waiting for development. Any requests for parks can be turned over to the Engineer and the Planner for recommendation and can be denied on a feasibility basis. Mr. Gotwald noted also that a developer who wishes to pay for the sewer and water does so only for the immediate development -- the Village pays for any future expansion. Mr. Cardinal stated that the developer states that the Youth Center will get sewer. Mr. Gotwald said that the system for the Youth Center will last for 50 years; they are not asking for any sewer. There was discussion on ponding systems. Mr. Gotwald felt it was the lesser of two evils -- we can hook up sewer later. There was discussion on the sewer line to Forest Lake. There was discussion with Supt. Hankerson on the effects of adding 250 children to his district. This would fill half a school house. Mr. Hankerson noted that many of the children from the local courts are reaching high school age. Mr. McLean stated that this disproves the theory that only young married couples live in trailers. Mr. Hankerson offered to send a resolution citing statistics and statements regard- ing mobile home courts and the school district. He also thought that the Council should meet with the school board some evening and talk of future sites for new schools as well. These suggestions met with grateful approval. There was some discussion of private trailers on lots in Lino. Mr. L'Allier thought we should contact the Metro Council for any statistics they might have, as well as Mr. Gould at the Highway Department. Mr. L'Allier mentioned that district 831 had been invited also. ,Mr. McLean noted that Dist. 831 had been for trailer parks a year ago but had changed their minds since. The Clerk was instructed to write the Forest Lake School District for their position relating to mobile home parks and multi - dwelling units as it - pertains to the tax burden. Mr. Glenn Rehbein took the opportunity to mention that the Municipal Building bids should be set up in another week; they were moving right along. Mr. L'Allier asked that the finalized specifications be brought before the Council before they went on Lids. • Mr--, Van Housen felt that we had enough information tonight to set policy; we must wait for the MAC decision too. The Clerk was asked to draw the concensus of opinion from this meeting. There was some general discussion. It was decided that objections and advantages of mobile home courts would be listed. The session closed about 9 :45 with the tentative setting of another discussion meeting on April 21st at 8 :00 p.m. Advantages of mobile home courts: 1. They fill a need for the growing population. 2. They provide housing for families with lower income. 3. They, like other multi - family housing, provide a quick influx of population. 4. They add many payrolls to the income of local merchants. 1 1 Disadvantages of mobile home courts: 1. They do not provide enough tax base to support the children they place in the schools. 2. They require the construction of sewer and water systems. 3. The trailers depreciate quickly, providing less and less tax income. 4. The trailer construction is poor; its lifetime is short. 5. The larger trailers are adding more children to the schools. 6. They often fall into disrepair. 7. They may influence the political life of a municipality without paying for services they get. The eoncensus of opinion seemed to be that allowing any additional mobile home parks in Lino Lakes would jeopardize our school districts as well as the overall tax structure; there can be no trailer parks until there is municipal sewer and water. The Engineer and Planner both felt that mobile home courts could be limited effectively by strict regulations; that outlawing of mobile home parks could cause serious repercussions and might prove unconstitutional. Minutes approved at the meeting of March 23, 197 The regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Village Council held on March 23, 1970 was called to order at 8:02 p.m. by Mayor L'Allier with all members present. Mr. Jaworski moved to accept the minutes of the March 9th meeting as corrected. Seconded by W. Rosengren. Carried unanimously. Mr. Bohjanen moved to accept the minutes of the special informal meeting of March 10th as written. Seconded by Mr. Jaworski. Carried unanimously. No action was taken on the minutes of the informal meeting of March 10 at which the applicants for the new Assistant Constable were interviewed. All had the opportunity to read them beforehand. The Clerk presented Mr. Jake Lundheim, County Engineer, who explained the County's resolution to redesignate the route. of CSA 12, this due to the construction of I -35W. The addition of the route over the freeway bridge added a little mileage. Mr. Rosengren asked whether the road would be resurfaced this year and was told "no ", since it was done last year. However, the end in Blaine has to be done. Mr. Rosengren moved to adopt the resolution to redesignate the route of CSA 12 as pro- posed by Anoka County. Seconded by Mr. Cardinal. Motion carried unanimously. The Clerk passed the bond booklet received from Springsted, Inc. which contains, among other things, the timetable for payment of the municipal building bonds and interest. The Centerville fire contract had been received as were copies of ordi- nances from Blaine and Coon Rapids on contractor's licenses. She read the letter from Mr. Harold Breasted stating that effective April 1, the rent of the Hall would be $190 /month to compensate for higher taxes. A letter from the Metro Section of the League of Minn. Municipalities requested recommendations for three committees concern- ing transit. Mr. Don Huber of the Section had stated that they had never received any recommendations from any communities not members of the Section and they would like more participation.