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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/2001 Council MinutesCITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES : March 7, 2001 : 5:30 p.m. : 8:55 p.m. Council Member Carlson, Dahl, O'Donnell, Reinert and Mayor Bergeson : None Staff members present: City Administrator, Linda Waite Smith; Cit Engineer, John Powell; Economic Development Director, Brian Wessel (part); irector, Al Rolek (part); City Planner, Jeff Smyser; Economic Develop ssist< t, Mary Alice Divine (part); Building Inspector, Pete Kluegel (part); Pub ' ery°'rector, Rick DeGardner; Chief of Police, Dave Pecchia (part); and t ' ausch (part) JOHN CHRISTIANSEN — SCHOOL SITING INDA WAITE SMITH Mr. John Christiansen, Superintendent for C distributed a map that indicated the boundar boundary, Centennial boundary, Rice noted the sub -zones are looked at w School District, came forward and school district; Centerville and Golden Lake boundary. He ndaries are created. Mr. Christiansen continued, s '� # at m y issues are looked at when looking at a potential site, including lo a..ition costs, soil conditions, wetland issues, and traffic flow. The School Bo as • etermined the land adjacent to the existing middle school is the preferre i He ' ' tributed and reviewed a handout that outlined the major decision factors r;° sing that site. Mr. Christiansen advise." the School Board will be asking the City for a rezone of their Birch Street site and the 15 acres adjacent to the middle school. He referred to a drawing of the preliminary layout for the new school. Council Member Carlson asked which property the School District owns and which property they will be buying. Mr. Christiansen referred to the map and pointed out both areas they own and which will be purchased. Council Member Carlson asked if the School District will still want the Birch Street site to be zoned R1 -X. 1 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 Mr. Christiansen stated the School District will want the site zoned R1 -X, which has the highest market value. Approximately 50 lots will be possible on the property. The homes will be priced between $300,000 - $450,000. Council Member Carlson inquired about the area to the east that will be developing eventually. Mr. Christiansen stated the School Board did look at that site. The homeowner is not willing to sell and the sewer and water is too far away. The development to the east will be in the White Bear School District. Mayor Bergeson advised the Council did get a notice from the Economic Development Committee reminding the Council of a 1999 motion stating that the City goal is to have no net loss of commercial property. He also inquired about the wetlands on the site. Mr. Christiansen stated the wetlands have not yet been delinea` pany will be commissioned to do a wetland mitigation study. Mayor Bergeson asked if the wetlands can be mitigate o he on the site. Mr. Christiansen replied the Rice Creek Watersh �' t has been initially agreeable to mitigating the wetlands on the Birch Street s fl ,'� ;.use t " wetlands on that site are higher quality that the ones on the middle s Mayor Bergeson asked if the School within the Comprehensive Plan r City as opposed to the north. has alked to City staff about the future plans g more new homes in the south part of the Mr. Christiansen stated t ' - ha een discussed with staff. The area south of the Rice Lake district is s aturing d producing fewer preschool and elementary school students. The School apes to absorb that growth in other areas. TOWN CENTER UPDa E, BRIAN WESSEL Economic Development Director Wessel advised staff met with McDonald's last week. McDonald's has indicated they are committed to building a restaurant within the City. They are dealing with Mr. Baylor to move forward on the project. Economic Development Director Wessel stated staff received a revised sketch last week for the Target project. Target is working through a revised plan to submit next week. They have retained eight (8) pads for retail outlets that will include a bank, restaurants, retail stores, and a convenience store. The revised plan will give the development team the opportunity to move forward. The development team has received the go ahead from Target to move the store and has also renegotiated the purchase agreement with Rehbein. The plan is to have the store open in the summer of 2002. 2 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 Mayor Bergeson asked if the created pond will accommodate the stormwater issues on the Baylor site. City Engineer Powell advised it is likely that a small pond will have to be developed on the Baylor site also. The wetland Conservation Act and Rice Creek Watershed District requires every developer to evaluate mitigation of wetland impact on site first. This applies to the site as well as any others which impact wetlands. Council Member O'Donnell inquired about the second access situation. City Engineer Powell advised Target does want a second access. The downsizing of the project will impact the traffic study process and schedule. Council Member Carlson inquired about the status of 77th Street. City Engineer Powell advised 77th would become a roadway serving the residential area and not be connected. There will be an access from 77th Street to Lake Drive. Council Member Carlson noted there was a request to change t based on the Calthorpe plan. She asked about the recomme housing in the revised plan. City Planner Smyser advise change the land use designation if the City gives up th Economic Development Director Wessel stated t project. The developer is working very hard Council can assume this revised plan will b timetable. Council Member Reinert asked if the plan moves forward. Econ has commitments for the ei to Mixed Use se there is no not need to plan is mainly to expedite the oject happen. Staff and plan in order to meet their is looking to fill the eight (8) pads before ment Director Wessel advised the developer Mayor Bergeson aske.. what i '1'cation the revised plan has for the Baylor site. Economic Developme £ c. Wessel advised the revised plan will open up an opportunity for the Bayi ~` . Mr. Baylor may have a larger area to develop. Economic Development Assistant Divine advised staff hopes to meet with the development team regarding the Village in the next few weeks. She noted staff has a meeting with the YMCA tomorrow. She asked if Council wants to continue with the slide presentation regarding the Design Standards. It was the consensus of the Council for staff to continue with the slide presentation of the Design Standards at future work sessions. Economic Development Assistant Divine noted there is an EDA meeting prior to the Council meeting on Monday, March 12, 2001, 6:00 p.m. 3 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 TERMINATION OF DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, H&L MESABI, MARY ALICE DIVINE Economic Development Assistant Divine advised H&L Mesabi has run into some setbacks that changed the outlook for the construction of this metro area facility. Because H&L Mesabi has not begun construction of the building in the Apollo Business Center, the company is in default of its development agreement. The president of the company was sent notification that he had 30 days to cure the default by providing evidence of his intent to complete the facility. He selected not to cure the default. Staff is recommending the Council pass a resolution declaring default and terminating the development agreement. This item will appear on the regular Council agenda Monday, March 12, 2001, 6:30 p.m. MOLIN CUP UPDATE, JEFF SMYSER City Planner Smyser advised a memo was sent out in the id up indicating what information staff currently has regarding this issue. Au y h not yet been completed. Staff will be having a meeting with Mo in. Council Member O'Donnell asked if the City regulations. City Planner Smyser stated the up beepers have been in place for quite regarding this issue. The option rela Council Member Carlson aske Zoning Board and City Cou Smith advised she will lo ceiv larification on OSHA cated regulations regarding back- taff needs more clarification ights is still being looked at. s the meeting tapes from the Planning and this issue was discussed. City Administrator Waite ing the meeting tapes. City Planner Smyser a Council. will continue to research this matter and update the 2001— 2003 UTILITY RATES, JOHN POWELL/AL ROLEK City Engineer Powell distributed and reviewed a handout that outlined an analysis of sanitary sewer rates for "Flat Fee" versus "Usage Based". The handout included a comparison of other cities. It was noted that if the rates are based on actual usage, a meter would have to be installed in approximately 250 homes at a cost of $50,000. It would take approximately 1-2 years to meter the homes. City Engineer Powell advised staff is recommending the Council adopt the new rates as previously proposed. Council Member O'Donnell stated he thought the City was going to try to base the sewer fee on water usage. City Engineer Powell stated the sewer and water charges are directly related. He explained how the usage figures were obtained. 4 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 Council Member O'Donnell stated he wanted to see a tiered fee for sewer also based on water usage. City Engineer Powell replied a tiered rate is not necessary for sewer. The City has to charge sewer fees for water going into the sewer, not for water used for irrigation. Finance Director Rolek explained why the winter usage is used as an average in the calculation. Council Member Carlson indicated she had suggested that the City not collect the entire $300,000 for depreciation and use some of the assessment fees when the system is replaced to help defray costs to low users. City Engineer Powell advised depreciation is based on the value when the City gets the system. Assessments will not cover replacement costs. Depreciation takes the value of the system now over the next 50 years and does not include the increased costs of installing the replacement system. Council Member O'Donnell asked if the City's billing system can City Administrator Waite Smith advised a tier system could no meters are installed. le a tier system. ntil all the Council Member Carlson asked if the depreciation co h to b actored in all at once. City Administrator Waite Smith advised both fund ha ney even with out including depreciation. Council Member Dahl inquired about the C ng ban. City Engineer Powell advised the City must have enforcemen h an fective watering ban. Chief of Police Pecchia advised t artment typically enforces the ban. It is a problem not knowing who has d`�3� o is on City water. Council Member O'Doned hly supports covering the depreciation costs at one time. He stated woul• to tier the sewer fee. Mayor Bergeson advise he °City needs to cover the real costs and he would prefer to do it all at once also. City Engineer Powell stated the City could come up with an average use for homes that do not have meters. A flat fee of $40.00 and $1.00 per 1,000 gallons could be used. That calculation will keep the low users at their current costs. The City could also develop a commercial/industrial or institutional rate. Council directed staff to obtain information on an institutional fee and a flat fee with usage fee to be presented at the next work session. Finance Director Rolek noted the new fee will not be retroactive. It will be added to the next billing cycle after it is approved. 5 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 VFW MUSA DISCUSSION, JEFF SMYSER City Planner Smyser advised the VFW received approval to build an expansion in 1999. The problem is they are outside of the MUSA. One condition of approval was that the MUSA issue had to be settled. One option was for the VFW to swap MUSA acreage with the other land they own. They have submitted an application to subdivide the parcel to sell a portion of it. The VFW can't build the new building until the sale of their land is complete. The value of the property is much lower if MUSA is swapped to the new site. The VFW had decided to wait until the Comprehensive Plan is approved to request additional MUSA. The MUSA current bank cannot be used for commercial property. City Planner Smyser advised the Council can approve the minor subdivision as presented. A letter will be sent to the VFW indicating they cannot build until the Comprehensive Plan is approved and MUSA is extended to that site. He noted the Council will still have to allocate MUSA to the site. Council Member Carlson asked if another extension can be vee • project. City Planner Smyser advised another extension can be grante It was the consensus of Council to include the sub 'vim t from the VFW on the regular agenda Monday, March 12, 2001, 6:30 p. MUNICIPAL STATE AID SYSTEM SE : ► DESIGNATIONS, JOHN POWELL City Engineer Powell advised so r="n the City qualify for the State Aid System that provides money fenance, construction or reconstruction. There are mileage increases every a w road is constructed. Staff is recommending four (4) changes this year to t cip = tate Aid System: 1. Remov m'adow Lake Drive, north of Birch Street. 2. Add a loo ro d in the southwest quadrant of I-35W/Lake Drive. 3. Add Woo dge Lane/Baldwin Lake Road 4. Add 21sr Avenue, north of Main Street City Engineer Powell advised the recommended changes are based on the draft land use map and draft transportation plan. This item will appear on the regular agenda Monday, March 26, 2001, 6:30 p.m. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE, LINDA WAITE SMITH City Administrator Waite Smith advised she received a phone call from Theresa Greenfield regarding the North Oaks area. She indicated the area in question is already in the MUSA and it is unknown when it will be developed. 6 • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 7, 2001 City Administrator Waite Smith stated the Council will finish up the requests for the land use changes after the regular Council meeting Monday, March 12, 2001. REGULAR AGENDA, MARCH 12, 2001 Item 3A, Consider Resolution Nos. 01— 05 and 01-19, Proposed Utility Rates for 2001 — 2003 was removed from the agenda. City Administrator Waite Smith distributed a copy of the application from the candidate that will be interviewed for the Economic Development Committee Monday, March 12, 2001, 5:45 p.m. City Administrator Waite Smith advised the internal investigation into alleged policy violations can't be concluded until next week so the administrativ ve for the alleged violator is being extended. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. These minutes were considered, corrected and appr: ve�" .t th gular Council meeting held on March 26, 2001. Transcribed by: Kim Points TimeSaver Off Site Sec "1'ari'1, Inc. 7 Afford"' John Bergeson, Mayor