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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/22/1994 Council Minutes236 COUNCIL WORK SESSION CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 22, 1994 DATE... ..:: June 22;, 19194 TIME STARTED 3•.0:0 P.M. MEMBERS_. PRESENT Reinert;, Neal .Kuether,:Elliott ...................................................................................................................................................................................... M EMBERS': ABSENT ,...Bergeson Staff members present: City Engineer, Darrell Schneider; City Accountant; Paula Schloer; City Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk -Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. IMMUNITY WAIVER AND EXCESS LIABILITY COVERAGE Mr. Schumacher explained that at the last City Council meeting, questions were asked about the excess liability coverage and the costs. Mr. Bob Kelly from Kelly Insurance Agency explained the current liability coverage. He noted that there are areas not covered in the liability insurance and the umbrella coverage of $1,000,000.00 is designed to fill those areas. Mr. Kelly also noted that although the courts have upheld the current ceiling of 666,A0o , there may be a day when this statute is no longer valid. Council Member Kuether asked if the City could purchase the umbrella coverage of $1,000,000.00 and not the excess liability coverage of $600,000.00. Mr. Kelly said that this was not possible. The excess liability coverage of $600,000.00 is the primary coverage. It was noted that the City is currently paying approximately $60,000.00 per year for both liability policies. Mr. Kelly was asked to quote additional liability coverage. This material will be brought to the next Council Work Session. COVERAGE FOR VOLUNTEERS Mr. Schumacher noted that as the City grows, more and more volunteers are being utilized. They technically are not employees and currently there is no insurance coverage for them. Mr. Schumacher said the issue here is should the City continue PAGE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 22, 1994 the volunteer programs? If the answer is yes, coverage should be purchased for them. The cost is approximately 10 cents per $1,000.00. Mr. Kelly noted that some communities provide this type of insurance and some do not. Mayor Reinert asked that Mr. Kelly prepare an insurance package for City volunteers for the City Council to consider. Until something is put in place, he asked that all volunteers be made aware that there is no insurance coverage for them. This matter will be brought to the next Council work session. ANOKA COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EXPANSION County Commissioner Margaret Langfeld and Director of the Anoka Department of Corrections, Jerry Soma appeared before the City Council to outline plans for expansion of the County program next to the Minnesota Correctional Facility on Lilac Street. The County has 10 acres at the site which contains two (2) buildings used for juvenile boys. Mr. Soma described the use of the two (2) buildings. Mr. Soma showed the City Council a plan to build a 25,000 square foot building which would be entirely self-contained to house adult offenders who need to spend some time in jail but not in a prison. Currently the County is renting facilities for adults and the plan is to build a facility to keep such offenders in one place. Mr. Soma outlined details of the building. The estimated cost of the building is $2,500,000.00. The federal government will provide about $2,000,000.00 of the cost. The facility is planned to be operational early in 1995. Mr. Soma outlined some problems in the juvenile offenders area. He noted that juveniles are now committing some serious crimes and a more secure area should be provided for this type of offender. Anoka County is currently discussing a cooperative facility with Chisago and Isanti Counties. Mayor Reinert noted that the Lino Lakes Police Department is the first responder when a problem occurs at the juvenile center on Lilac Street. He asked if there is any funding available for joint training of officers or for other police department uses to compensate for the time the Lino Lakes Police Department spends responding to juvenile problems at the facility. Commissioner Langfeld explained that this issue has been discussed for some time however nothing financially has been proposed. She noted that the cooperation between all enforcement departments in Anoka PAGE 2 23'! 238 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 22, 1994 County has been amazing. Commissioner Langfeld said she would keep this in mind and if money would become available, she would be sure that Lino Lakes gets proper assistance. Commissioner Langfeld explained that there is no need for Council action at this time. The expansion plan will be brought before the Planning and Zoning Board shortly. UTILITY RATE ADJUSTMENT Mr. Schneider explained that a utility rate study was completed three (3) years ago, a public hearing was held and the City Council adopted new rates for the sewer and water utility that was implemented over a three (3) year period. The third increase was in 1993. Mr. Schneider has reviewed the financial condition of the Utility Fund and it appears that another 5% increase is needed to keep the Utility Fund self-supporting as required by the City Charter. He also noted that two-thirds of the cost of the operation of the Utility Fund is due to the Metropolitan Waste Control processing charge and this charge is increasing each year. Mr. Schneider said that the sewer utility rate charged by Lino Lakes is relative comparable to other metropolitan communities however, the water utility rate is higher due to the $26.00 water utility user fee that is collected quarterly from each water connection to support capital improvements such as the water tower and the water main along Birch Street. Mr. Schneider also noted that another well is needed. Mayor Reinert noted that staff receives many complaints with the current utility rates. He noted that the City Charter mandates that no General Fund dollars be used to support the Utility Fund. He asked that a public hearing be and that it be well publicized. Council Member Kuether noted that she still feels that a user's fee should be charged for street lights. METROPOLITAN WASTE CONTROL COMMISSION'S CONNECTION LIMITATIONS Mr. Schneider explained that he has proposed to the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (MWCC) that Lino Lakes be allowed to use a process called "banking" for the expansion of MUSA. The system would be similar to the system used by the City of Lakeville. Mr. Schneider felt that the proposal was well received. He will keep the City Council updated on this matter. Mr. Schneider noted that the Sewer District No. 1 lift station PAGE 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 22, 1994 has been upgraded once and needs another upgrading. A new lift station cannot be put into operation until 1996. This would mean that there would be a limit on the number of new homes that can be constructed. The limit appears to be reasonable and agreements could be made with all new developments that would disclose the possible limitation by MWCC for the next two and one half years. The numbers would allow reasonable development in Lino Lakes. Mr. Schneider will be meeting with MWCC again on June 30, 1994. MARY ANN MC DOUGAL LETTER Mr. Schumacher explained the location of Ms. McDougal's property, in particular her driveway and how the development of the plat Woodridge Estates affected her property. A culvert was placed under her driveway which froze during the winter. The City corrected the problem to allow for emergency situations. Ms. McDougal now has a good driveway. The concern is that the developer of Woodridge Estates has not fulfilled the obligations of his developer's agreement. Mr. Schneider has contacted the developer about the situation. Council Member Kuether asked for a report regarding what is left to be completed in the development. Mayor Reinert suggested that staff prepare a written policy for these types of situations. He felt that there is no reason why anyone should "trail" people to bring them into compliance. The staff was told to take action necessary to deal with problems in the Woodridge Estates subdivision including holding building permits if necessary. DISCUSSION OF BALD EAGLE LAKE ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEER A letter has been received from the Bald Eagle Lake Association (BELA) informing the City Council that a committee is being formed to take action to define and adopt new enforceable local rules geared to protect the lake. The BELA has requested that an elected official be assigned to the committee. Council Member Kuether said that she would volunteer for the position. This matter will be placed on the June 27, 1994 City Council agenda for official action. SENIOR HOUSING UPDATE A letter addressed to Mayor Reinert has been received from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency requesting comments from the PAGE 4 23 ' 2 40 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 22, 1994 City regarding the Cottage Homesteads of Willow Ponds development. Mr. Schumacher requested that the City Council authorize him to prepare a letter of support for the development. This matter will be placed on the June 27, 1994 City Council agenda. Mr. Schumacher explained that First Bank has already given Cottage Homesteads a letter of support and NSP is still committed to the development. 1995 BUDGET SCHEDULE Mr. Schumacher gave the City Council a copy of the schedule for the preparation of the 1995 Budget. He briefly outlined the schedule. Council Member Kuether asked if there would be a Ways and Means Committee meeting prior to the beginning of the Budget work sessions. Mayor Reinert also noted that he was working on a proposal regarding citizen involvement and would present a proposal at the July 20, 1994 Council work session. A Ways and Means Committee meeting will be set at the July 6, 1994 Council work session to address Council Member Kuether's proposal for a merit policy. UPDATE ON ANNEXATION MATTER Mr. Schumacher explained that the appeal time lapsed on May 26, 1994 and the City of Centerville did not appeal the original decision. This matter is considered closed. Staff was requested to determine the costs involved in this matter. JUNE 27, 1994 COUNCIL AGENDA Mr. Schumacher noted that the City Council will meet at 6:00 P.M. on Monday. The City Auditor will outline the 1993 City Audit. All Agenda items were reviewed. Mr. Schumacher noted that a letter was received from the developer of Trapper's Crossing. The Planning and Zoning Board has recommended denial of the plat because it is planned to be developed as a Planned Development Overlay (PDO). The Planning and Zoning Board felt it should be developed R -1X. The developer is requesting that the plat be referred back to the Planning and Zoning Board as a R -1X development. Mr. Schneider explained that the developer did not make a good presentation to the Planning and Zoning Board. He suggested that the developer show the Planning and Zoning Board what the development would look like as a R -1X subdivision and maybe they PAGE 5 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 22, 1994 will understand that there will be more surface in the subdivision as well as smaller lots adjacent to the exterior wetland areas. Mr. Schneider also noted that the Planning and Zoning Board focused on the lots that did not meet the R -1X size requirements in the Zoning Ordinance. Council Member Elliott asked that the subdivision be sent back to the Planning and Zoning Board and that they be shown what a R -1X subdivision would look like as opposed to the PDO. If the PDO still does not look good to the Planning and Zoning Board, they should give specific reasons for their decision. Mayor Reinert asked the Planning and Zoning Chairman to make clear what the issue is in each separate item that comes before the Board. For instance, the reasons for denial of the rezone request for Behm's Century Farms deals with the plat and not the rezone issue. He asked that staff guide the Chairman to be sure that the Planning and Zoning Board deals with the request before the Board. Other agenda items were discussed. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 P.M. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular City Council meeting held on July 11, 1994. M rilyn G. Anderson, Vernon F. Reinert, Clerk -Treasurer Mayor PAGE 6 24