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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/20/2004 Council MinutesAPPROVED 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 MINUTES IIP 3 4 5 DATE : December 20, 2004 6 TIME STARTED : 6:05 P.M. 7 TIME ENDED : 7:50 P.M. 8 MEMBERS PRESENT : Councilmembers Carlson, Dahl, Reinert, Stoltz and 9 Mayor Bergeson 10 MEMBERS ABSENT : None 11 12 Staff members present: City Administrator, Gordon Heitke; Assistant City Administrator, Dan Tesch 13 (part); Community Development Director, Michael Grochala; City Engineer, Jim Studenski; Director 14 of Finance, Al Rolek; Economic Development Assistant, Mary Alice Divine; and City Attorney, 15 Barry Sullivan. 16 17 OPEN MIKE 18 19 There was none. 20 21 SETTING THE AGENDA 22 23 Mayor Bergeson asked that they move the consent agenda under New Business and go directly to the 24 finance report. .25 26 The agenda was approved as amended. 27 28 FINANCE DEPARTMENT REPORT, AL ROLEK 29 30 A. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-189 Adopting the 2004 Tax Levy Collectible in 2005 31 32 Finance Director Rolek reviewed the Staff report, indicating Staff is recommending approval. 33 34 Councilmember Stoltz moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-189 adopting the 2004 Tax Levy 35 Collectible in 2005. Councilmember Reinert seconded the motion. 36 37 Councilmember Stoltz noted the Council has agonized over the proposed levy in work sessions and 38 public hearings. He commented that the tax rate is remaining constant, and asked if that is 39 comparable to other cities in the area. 40 41 Finance Director Rolek indicated that most cities in the area did levy to keep a comparable tax rate. 42 43 Councilmember Stoltz read comments from a Star Tribune article of December 15, 2004. He noted 44 that unfortunately most of the cities are keeping their tax rates the same. He stated that Lino Lakes is 45 going from having the 7th highest tax rate in 2003 to the 9th in 2004, and indicated the actual monies 46 coming from residents are less. He thanked Staff for the recent upgraded rating from Moody's, and 47commented that he believes by approving a static rate they are really keeping taxes down in the long •48 term. COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 49 50 Councilmember Carlson stated she will not be voting for this. She noted she has voted in past years • 51 for the levy and the budget, but she feels that this year it is too high. She agreed that the tax rate is 52 the same, but the City's tax base has increased. She stated she will not vote for it because she thinks 53 they need to follow the Comprehensive Plan, of which one policy is to reduce the tax rate, and she 54 believes the Comprehensive Plan guides them toward lowering the tax rate. 55 56 Finance Director Rolek noted that the City has done well maintaining a high level of service to its 57 residents, and the tax rate has gone down slightly each year. He stated that unless things change at 58 the State level, the City probably will not reach the 20% goal, however they have been lowering the 59 tax rate. 60 61 Motion carried. Vote: 3:2 Councilmembers Carlson and Dahl opposed. 62 63 Resolution No. 04-189 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 64 65 B. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-190 Adopting the 2005 General Operating Budget 66 67 Finance Director Rolek reviewed the Staff report, indicating Staff is recommending approval. 68 69 Councilmember Stoltz moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-190 adopting the 2005 General Operating 70 Budget. Councilmember Reinert seconded the motion. 71 72 Councilmember Carlson noted she would vote no because of the increase of 19.86%. She stated she •73 looked at past years starting at 1998, and the budget has gone up each year, but this is more than she 74 is prepared to spend. 75 76 Councilmember Stoltz commented that $225,000 of the budget increase is from the COPS grant, 77 which is included in the budget, but represents monies coming into the City. He stated that while 78 some people may have higher tax bills, the increase may represent an increased value to their home. 79 He indicated the popular vote would be to decrease the tax rates by 10%, but by being fiscally 80 responsible officers of the city, the Council has to pass a responsible budget, and make sure residents 81 do not have triple digit increases a few years from now. 82 83 Councilmember Reinert agreed that 10% of the 19.86% increase is being funded by the COPS grant 84 and not the taxpayers. He stated he does not really understand the opposition since the Council has 85 had so many meetings on this, yet there have been no suggestions on specific places they could cut 86 the budget. He indicated the tax rate is decreasing, and that is the number to watch. He noted that if 87 the valuation of a home goes up, that homeowner will see an increase in taxes, but that is out of the 88 Council's control, and the Council cannot stop that from happening for a certain group of people. He 89 stated there are a lot of factors out of the Council's control, such as unfunded mandates and loss of 90 State aid, and in spite of that, Lino Lakes has kept the tax rate the same or slightly lower. He thinks it 91 is responsible to support the budget, and he does. 92 93 Councilmember Dahl noted she had reviewed the notes from last year's budget approval, where it 94 talked about having a $400,000 surplus, and taking $100,000 from that. She asked what happened to 95 the other $300,000. She also questioned why they were adding 5 '/2 staff members, even though last 096 year they added none. 2 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 97 98 Finance Director Rolek advised those reserves go to finance operations during the six months of the • 99 year the City does not have revenue. He stated the City's revenue comes in twice a year. He 100 indicated it also goes toward the stability of the City, and when Moody's and other rating services 101 look at the City that is one thing they look at critically. He stated Lino Lakes has traditionally been 102 solid in that statistic. He advised that concerning the added staff, 3 1/2 are funded by grants, and the 103 other 2 are a secretary in the Community Development Department, and a maintenance worker for the 104 Parks Department; both areas that are very stressed and growing. 105 106 Councilmember Carlson expressed that the discussion during their meetings was not to see what 107 could be pulled from the budget. She stated that concerning the COPS grant, the City is hiring three 108 permanent officers, but the COPS grant is only paying for three years. She noted that the budget is 109 going up 63% faster than the population. She asked where the funds are shown to repair the HVAC 110 system. 111 112 City Administrator Heitke indicated they are not in the budget, which is one reason the City always 113 tries to maintain reserves. 114 115 Mayor Bergeson noted that one of the most significant increases in the budget has to do with road 116 maintenance, which added $140,000. He stated this is a significant portion of the increase, but is the 117 responsible thing to do. 118 119 Motion carried. Vote: 3:2 Councilmembers Carlson and Dahl opposed. 120 *121 Councilmember Stoltz left the meeting at 6:43 p.m. 22 123 Resolution No. 04-190 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 124 125 C. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-191 Adopting the 2005 Water and Sewer Operating 126 Budget 127 128 Finance Director Rolek reviewed the Staff report, indicating Staff is recommending approval. 129 130 Councilmember Reinert moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-191 adopting the 2005 Water and Sewer 131 Operating Budget. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion. 132 133 Motion carried unanimously. 134 135 Resolution No. 04-191 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 136 137 D. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-192 Adopting the 2005 Recreation Fund Budget 138 139 Finance Director Rolek reviewed the Staff report, indicating Staff is recommending approval. 140 141 Councilmember Carlson noted that all of the revenues in this fund are going down from their 2002 142 levels and asked if there was a reason this was happening. 143 • 3 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 144 Finance Director Rolek indicated he does not have the statistics, but knows they try to keep the fees 145 reasonable for families to afford. •46 147 Mayor Bergeson noted it has been some time since the Council has had a detailed report on these 148 activities, and asked if they could be brought to a work session. 149 150 Councilmember Dahl moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-192 adopting the 2005 Recreation Fund 151 Budget. Councilmember Reinert seconded the motion. 152 153 Motion carried unanimously. 154 155 Resolution No. 04-192 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 156 157 Councilmember Reinert left the meeting at 6:50 p.m. 158 159 ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT REPORT, DAN TESCH 160 161 A. Consideration of request for leave of absence from Lino Lakes Police Department for 162 Dale Hager 163 164 Tesch summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff is recommending approval of the leave of 165 absence. 166 167 Councilmember Carlson moved to recommend approval of an unpaid leave of absence from Lino AIN68 Lakes Police Department for thirteen months for Dale Hager, as outlined in the Staff report. W69 Councilmember Dahl seconded the motion. 170 171 Motion carried unanimously. 172 173 PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT REPORT, DAVE PECCHIA 174 175 There was none. 176 177 PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT, RICK DEGARDNER 178 179 There was none. 180 181 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT REPORT, MICHAEL GROCHALA 182 183 A. Consider FIRST READING of Ordinance No. 03-04, Vacating Drainage and Utility 184 Easements and Accepting New Easements, Lot 2, Block 1, Oak Brook Peninsula, Jim 185 Studenski 186 187 Mayor Bergeson noted that Staff is asking that this item be continued to January 24, 2005. 188 189 Councilmember Dahl moved to continue the FIRST READING of Ordinance No. 03-04 Vacating 190Drainage and Utility Easements and Accepting New Easements, Oak Brook Peninsula until January 4091 24, 2005. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion. COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 192 193 Motion carried unanimously. 1,194 195 B. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-200, Decertifying Tax Increment Financing District 196 1-8, Mary Divine 197 198 Economic Development Assistant Divine summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff is 199 recommending approval. 200 201 Councilmember Carlson moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-200 Decertifying Tax Increment 202 Financing District 1-8. Councilmember Dahl seconded the motion. 203 204 Motion carried unanimously. 205 206 Resolution No. 04-200 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 207 208 C. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-201, Modifying Tax Increment Financing District 1- 209 11, Mary Divine 210 211 Economic Development Assistant Divine summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff is 212 recommending approval. 213 214 Councilmember Carlson suggested that they table this item. She indicated she voted yes when it 215 came through the EDA, but will note no now because of the $26,450.000 in public cost. She stated . 16 she believes it would pass if the other two council members were here, and in the spirit of cooperation 17 she would suggest tabling it so they have an opportunity to vote. 218 219 Councilmember Carlson moved to table consideration of Resolution No. 04-201 until January 10, 220 2005. Councilmember Dahl seconded the motion. 221 222 Economic Development Assistant Divine clarified the Council is not approving any amount of money 223 tonight; only voting to remove one parcel from a previously approved TIF District. 224 225 Motion failed. Vote: 2:1 Mayor Bergeson opposed. 226 Staff requested that this item be withdrawn from the agenda. 227 228 Councilmember Carlson moved to amend the agenda as noted. Councilmember Dahl seconded the 229 motion. 230 231 Motion carried unanimously. 232 233 D. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-197, Approving Change Order No. 2 and Payment 234 Request No. 4, Holly Drive Improvements Project, Jim Studenski 235 236 City Engineer Studenski summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff recommends approval. 237 238 Councilmember Dahl asked if this is the final payment, and if not, when the final payment would be 411/39 made. 5 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 240 241 City Engineer Studenski indicated this is not final payment; just a change to the performance W242 agreement. He stated there may be some partial payments over the next few months, but no final 243 payment until all the paving has occurred. 244 245 Mayor Bergeson moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-197 approving Change Order No. 2 and Payment 246 Request No. 4, Holly Drive Improvements Project. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion. 247 248 Motion carried unanimously. 249 250 Councilmember Dahl asked if the change orders have been completed or if that work would wait until 251 spring. City Engineer Studenski stated the change orders the Council approved tonight have already 252 taken place. 253 254 Resolution No. 04-178 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 255 256 E. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-198, Approving Final Payment, Black Duck 257 Pumping Station, Jim Studenski 258 259 City Engineer Studenski summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff recommends approval. 260 261 Councilmember Dahl moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-198 approving Final Payment, Black Duck 262 Pumping Station. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion. 263 64 Motion carried unanimously. INK 65 266 Resolution No. 04-198 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 267 268 F. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-199, Authorizing Soil Borings, Well No. 5, Jim 269 Studenski 270 271 City Engineer Studenski summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff recommends approval. 272 273 Councilmember Carlson asked what the size of the lot is that the City obtained in order to place the 274 well. City Engineer Studenski indicated he believes it is about 80 feet, and they would have needed 275 another 20 foot on one side or another. 276 277 Councilmember Carlson questioned if this was the correct site for a well according to the 278 Comprehensive Plan. She indicated she has some concerns about putting a well in that location. She 279 noted she did hear from a couple of people in the area with questions and she has concerns. 280 281 City Engineer Studenski stated in the Comprehensive Plan it lays out general areas for wells, and 282 Birch Park was that area. He indicated they are just adjusting that location, and would be using 283 Captain's Place for the new well. He stated if the Council wants to return this to Staff for further 284 review they can do that. He indicated the well is something the City needs, but more discussion can 285 take place if the Council has concerns. He noted that at this time Staff does not have another site 286 within the Birch Park area. 087 6 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 288 Councilmember Carlson asked where the future development is occurring that will be serviced by this 289 well. City Engineer Studenski indicated they were just furthering the entire system; not trying to W290 extend service to a particular development. 291 292 Mayor Bergeson asked if they were ahead or behind in their well plan, noting he thinks it is important 293 to keep up as best as they can, since people rely on water pressure being available. City Engineer 294 Studenski indicated they are somewhat behind. He stated Staff wanted the next well up by the 295 summer of 2005, and that schedule will already be pushed back some, and will depend on what kind 296 of weather we have next summer. He noted that the watering ban the Council already acted on could 297 help if there are water pressure issues. 298 299 Councilmember Dahl asked if there were problems with water pressure mainly in the summer or if 300 there are other times the system is stressed. City Engineer Studenski stated summer is a big draw, but 301 it depends on how dry the weather. 302 303 City Engineer Studenski advised that the Council has directed Staff to put in a 10 x 10 structure that 304 will just encompass the well. He stated the structure was talked about being enlarged to provide 305 storage for Public Works, but the necessary structure size is 10 x 10. He indicated the soil borings 306 need to be done to determine if the area is suitable before the well is drilled. 307 308 Councilmember Dahl asked if there was another site in mind. City Engineer Studenski indicated this 309 is the only site the City owns so if Staff has to look at other sites, they will have to look at buying 310 land, which will extend the time. 311 Ailig 12 Mayor Bergeson asked if this is approved, Staff would be looking to drill the soil borings in the next 13 two weeks. City Engineer Studenski indicated the desire is to drill as soon as possible to avoid frost, 314 which adds to the cost. 315 316 Councilmember Dahl asked what concerns Councilmember Carlson was told, since she did not 317 receive any calls on this matter. 318 319 Councilmember Carlson stated she did a small neighborhood survey of the area asking questions on if 320 the residents thought this was a suitable site, and if it was, if the building size should be limited. 321 322 Mayor Bergeson indicated he has a big problem with an individual council member conducting a 323 survey without the knowledge of the other council members and staff. 324 325 Mayor Bergeson moved to table this item until the January 10, 2005 Council Meeting. 326 Councilmember Dahl seconded the motion. 327 328 Motion carried unanimously. 329 330 G. Consideration of Resolution No. 04-202 Approving Legacy at Wood's Edge Subdivision / 331 PUD Contract 332 333 Community Development Director Grochala summarized the Staff report, indicating Staff 334 recommends approval. He stated the City would be getting a letter of credit for $275,000, which 035 covers the site grading, private improvements and also some park dedication escrow. He indicated 7 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 336 area charges will be paid as the subdivisions come in, and unit charges will come in as the building 337 plans are approved. �38 339 Community Development Director Grochala advised there may be rate changes in January, especially 340 with park dedication, and this is set up so that the rate that applies is the rate in effect when the 341 application comes in. He stated the estimate on the park dedication is about $767,000, with part of 342 that being a credit back to the developer for land. He indicated the City is not providing that credit 343 until the park fees have been paid. 344 345 Councilmember Dahl asked Staff to email some background to her on the Hartford Group. City 346 Administrator Heitke stated there is a link to the Hartford Group at the City's website under the 347 Legacy Project. 348 349 Councilmember Carlson moved to adopt Resolution No. 04-202 approving Legacy at Wood's Edge 350 Subdivision / PUD Contract. Councilmember Dahl seconded the motion. 351 352 Motion carried unanimously. 353 354 Resolution No. 04-202 can be found in the City Clerk's office. 355 356 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 357 358 There was none. 359 dig 60 NEW BUSINESS W61 362 A. CONSENT AGENDA 363 364 Councilmember Carlson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Councilmember Dahl 365 seconded the motion. 366 367 Motion carried unanimously. 368 369 ITEM ACTION 370 371 A. CONSIDERATION OF EXPENDITURES: 372 373 i) December 20, 2004 (Check No. 72572 - 374 72750, $381,408.68). Approved 375 376 B. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-184 377 AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM 378 THE AREA AND UNIT FUND TO THE 1996A G.O. 379 IMPROVEMENT BOND DEBT SERVICE FUND Approved 380 381 C. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-185 382 AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM 083 THE AREA AND UNIT FUND TO THE WATER 8 COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2004 APPROVED 384 OPERATING FUND FOR THE PAYMENT OF 1996B 385 G.O. WATER REVENUE BOND Approved 1386 387 D. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-186 388 AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM 389 THE AREA AND UNIT FUND TO THE 1998A G.O. 390 IMPROVEMENT BOND DEBT SERVICE FUND Approved 391 392 E. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-187 393 AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM 394 THE AREA AND UNIT FUND TO THE 1999A G.O. 395 IMPROVEMENT BOND DEBT SERVICE FUND Approved 396 397 F. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-188 398 AUTHORIZING THE CLOSING OF 1996A DEBT 399 SERVICE FUND Approved 400 401 G. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-193 402 AUTHORIZING FUND TRANSFERS TO AND THE 403 CLOSING OF THE 1997 AND 1998 CONSTRUCTION 404 FUNDS Approved 405 406 H. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION # 04-194 407 AMENDING THE 2004 GENERAL OPERATING 108 BUDGET Approved 111,409 410 I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 8, 2004 411 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Approved 412 413 414 COMMUNITY CALENDAR December 21, 2004 THROUGH January 10, 2005: 415 416 A) Friday, December 24, 2004, City Hall Closed, Holidays 417 418 B) Monday, December 27, 2004, City Hall Closed, Holidays 419 420 C) Friday, December 31, 2004, City Hall Closed, Holidays 421 422 D) Monday, January 3, 2005, City Hall Closed, Holidays 423 424 E) Tuesday, January 4, 2004, 6:30 p.m., Park Board Meeting 425 426 F) Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 5:30 p.m., Council Work Session 427 428 G) Monday, January 10, 2005, 6:30 p.m., City Council Meeting 429 430 ADJOURN 1.31 9 COUNCIL MINUTES APPROVED DECEMBER 20, 2004 432 Councilmember Dahl noted that the City's new website is up and running, and invited listeners to view it. She stated she is very proud ofit and happy with the improvements. The website is •433 434 www.lino-lakes.mn.us. 435 436 There being no further business, Councilmember Dahl moved to adjourn at 7:50 p.m. Councilmember 437 Carlson seconded the motion. 438 439 Motion carried unanimously. 440 441 442 443 444 � _ 445 Ann Blai 4 ity Clerk John ergesCn, Nlayor 446 These minutes were considered and approved at the regular Council Meeting, January 10, 2005. 447 Transcrib'd by: 448 Karen Bucklen 449 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. • 10