HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-04 packet attachmentsMINUTES APPROVED: September 7, 2004
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
AUGUST 17, 2004
1. AGENDA
2, MINUTES: August 4, 2004
3. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL:
4. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Resolution No, 2004-068: Approve Claims
B. Reschedule November 2, Council Meeting
C. Resolution No, 2004-072 Approve Additional Claim
5. FINANCE:
A. INFORMATIONAL: Date Change for Public Hearing on Bond
Resolution August 31, 2004
B. INFORMATIONAL: Monthly Operating Report
6. NEW BUSINESS:
7. MAINTENANCE/PARK/FIRE/BUILDING:
A. Update on Building Dept. Activities: Jim McNamara
B. Fire Sprinklers — Prairie Ridge Office Park
8. CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT:
A. PUBLIC HEARING: Assessment for Hill Trail N.,/50th Street:Resolution
No. 2004-069
B. PUBLIC HEARING: Assessment for 2004 Overlay Project; Resolution
No. 2004-070
C. Proposed 4-Way Stop Highlands Trail/59th Street
D. VFW Ball Field Lights
9. PLANNING, LAND USE & ZONING:
A. Open Space Concept Plan:Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove:Resolution No.
2004-071
10. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT:
11, CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT:
A. Highway 5
B. Fire Service Agreement with City of Hudson, WI
C. Disposal of Fire Equipment
D. Animal Ordinance Amendment
E. Purchase offer for 3585 Laverne Avenue
F. Vacation of 55th Street
G. Council Committees
12, CITY COUNCIL REPORTS:
A. Mayor Hunt: Board of Directors Vacancies; LMC 2004 Annual
Conference
B. Council Member Jolm:Discussion of Smoking Ban
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004
Mayor Hunt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
PRESENT: John, Dunn, Hunt, Johnston, DeLapp, City Engineer Prew, City Attorney
Filla, Building Official McNamara, Finance Director Tom Bouthilet, and Administrator
Rafferty.
1. AGENDA
Add: Refer Vacation of 55th Street to Planning Commission, New City Center, Council
Committees
M/S/P Dunn/Johnston - to approve the August 17, 2004 City Council agenda, as
amended. (Motion passed 5-0).
2. MINUTES: August 4, 2004
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston - to approve the August 4, 2004 City Council Minutes, as
amended. (Motion passed 4-0-1:Abstain Hunt).
3. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL:
Frank Orsello, Oakdale Lake Elmo Historical Society President, thanked the Council for
the $1,000 donation. He presented a budget proposal to the city for maintenance supplies
that would cost approximately $75 to $100 a month.
M/S.P Dunn/John - to remit the request to city staff for discussion based on money
available in the budget. (Motion passed 5-0.)
4. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Resolution No. 2004-068: Annrove Claims,
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston - to adopt Resolution No. 2004-068, approving claim numbers
211 212, DD211 through DD229 25898 through 26021, that were used for staff payroll
dated August 5, 2004, Claim Numbers 26022 through 26059 dated August 17, 2004 in
the total amount of $77,595.27. (Motion passed 5-0).
B. Reschedule November 2, Council Meeting
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnson - to reschedule the November 2, 2004 City Council meeting to
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 because of the General Election held on this date.
(Motion passed 5-0).
C. Resolution No. 2004-072 Anorove Additional Claim
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — to adopt Resolution No. 2004-072, approving claim number
26060 payable to the City of Oakdale dated August 17, 2004 in the total amount of
$12,871.48. (Motion passed 5-0.)
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 2
5. FINANCE:
A. INFORMATIONAL: Date Change for Public Hearing on Bond
Resolution
The Public Hearing on the Bond Resolution will be held on Tuesday, August 31, 2004, 7
p.m. at City Hall. This meeting will be cabled. The Budget Workshop will be held after
the hearing.
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — to send the notice to the people, determined by staff,
that would be affected by the city center proposal in the Lions Park area and include a
sketch. (Motion passed 5-0.)
B. INFORMATIONAL: Monthly Operating Report
Finance Director Bouthilet provided a monthly operating report and reported the budget
was on -track.
6. NEW BUSINESS:
7. MAINTENANCE/PARK/FIRE/BUILDING:
A. Update on Building Dept. Activities: Jim McNamara
The Building Official reported that in the month of July there were two new residential
permits issued and two new commercial permits issued. He reminded residents that
contractors should be state licensed to complete a roof project and permits for fences are
now required.
B. Fire Sprinklers — Prairie Ridge Office Park
The City Planner reported in his memo that as a part of the Council's approval action on
the site plan for the Prairie Ridge office condos (Highway 5 at Stillwater Blvd.) it as
agreed that the developer would be required to only install "dry" fire sprinkler systems.
That concession by the City was based on the inability of the City to extend municipal
water service to the site in a financially feasible manner due to Oakdale water supply
contract issues.
The City has been contacted by the developer advising that the State Fire Marshall will
not permit installation of "dry" sprinkler systems due to the false sense of security such
installations will project. The Building Official explained since we are not able to service
water, the state was very reluctant to approve other than a full live system. A letter was
signed by the Building Official and Fire Chief indicating they wave the requirement of
the fire sprinkler systems for the Prairie Ridge development due to the fact that the city
does not have the ability to furnish the development wit the necessary water supply for a
fire sprinkler system. This option is given under Section 1306.0060 of the fire sprinkler
code providing other requirements are met.
The Council asked that the Planning Commission be made aware of these items when it
looks at the impact on the Limited Business area where there is no water.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004
M/S/P Johnston/John to approve an amendment to the site plan approval of Prairie
Ridge Office Park deleting the condition requiring the installation of a "dry" fire
sprinkler system in its entirety based on the recommendation received from the City
Planner and the waiver letter dated August 11, 2004 from the Building Official and Fire
Chief. (Motion passed 4-1:DeLapp stated the applicant has gone too far since he
previously agreed to put in a water system to accommodate a sprinkler system.)
8. CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT:
A. PUBLIC HEARING: Assessment for Hill Trail N./50th
Street:Resolution No. 2004-069
The City Engineer reported the project is nearly complete and only turf establishment
work remains. He recommended adoption of the assessment rate of $2,500.00 per unit
(67.5 assessable units) for this project.
Roger Johnson, 8048 Hill Trail N., submitted a notice of objections indicating two of his
parcels were combined as a condition of his purchase of a parcel last spring. He has
provided Washington County the proper paperwork to combine the parcels, but the
County has not completed the consolidation.
Bud Talcott, 8051 Hill Trail N., provided a memo, dated August 17, 2004, of concerns
raised with the project.
The City Engineer said that he would meet with the City Attorney to discuss the validity
of these concerns and objections.
Mayor Hunt opened up the Public Hearing in the Council Chambers at 7:40 p.m.
Council member Johnston objected to the discussed changes in the assessment policy
because the City has a well defined assessment policy which has been consistently
administered and any objections are satisfied.
Mayor Hunt closed the Public Hearing at 7:42 p.m.
Attorney Filla advised that the Council could postpone adoption or adopt the assessment
roll with the exception of the two parcels in question.
M/S/P Hunt/DeLapp — to postpone consideration of adopting assessments for the
reconstruction of Hill Trail N. and 50th Street N. until the September 7th meeting for
resolution of the requests by Roger Johnson and Bud Talcott by the City Engineer.
(Motion passed 5-0).
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 4
B. PUBLIC HEARING: Assessment for 2004 Overlay Project; Resolution
No. 2004-070
The City Engineer reported the project is complete and recommends adoption of the
assessment rate of $1,222.00 per unit (21 assessable units) for this project.
Mayor Hunt opened up the Public Hearing at 7:50 p.m. in the Council Chambers
There was no one to speak for or against the assessments.
Mayor Hunt closed the Public Hearing at 7:51 p.m.
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — to adopt Resolution No. 2004-070, A Resolution Adopting
Assessments for the 2004 Overlay Projected as presented by the City Engineer. (Motion
passed 5-0).
C. Proposed 4-Way Stop Highlands Trail/59th Street
The Public Works Council Committee recommended a 4-way stop condition be,placed at
the intersection of Highlands Trail and 59th Street. In his letter dated August 12', Tom
Prew recommended not to install a 4-way stop as it was not warranted. The
recommendation for a 4-way stop condition stems from the neighborhood request for
traffic calming. In his opinion, a nuisance stop sign at this location would have very little
effect on the overall speed of traffic on Highlands Trail. Making physical changes to the
street is the best method to reduce vehicle speed. Prew recommended performing a speed
study to determine the scope of the speeding problem.
M/S/P DeLapp/John — to direct the City Engineer to come back with a speed study to
determine the scope of the speeding problem on Highlands Trail. (Motion passed 5-0).
D. VFW Ball Field Lights
The City Planner reported the installations of the new lights have been recently
completed. A verbal agreement several months ago with an adjacent property owner to
provide the city with an easement to run the new power supply unraveled once Xcel
presented the actual plan as to where the new power lines/poles would be located on that
adjacent property owners land. Several alternative concepts were also presented to the
property owners, but none of which could be accommodated. It was finally decided to
route the power from a different location and within the Layton Avenue right-of-way,
with increased costs the result.
The previous Xcel contract price to bring the power to the ball field was $9,994.57. The
new revised route down Layton Avenue results in an Xcel cost of $12,205.37 and an
increase in the project cost of $2,210.80.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — to approve an increase in the cost of the VFW ball field lights
project by $2,210.57 to accommodate a revised routing for the required Xcel power
supply. (Motion passed 5-0).
9. PLANNING, LAND USE & ZONING:
A. Open Space Concept Plan:Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove:Resolution No.
2004-071
Senn & Youngdahl are proposing 67 single family homes on 172 acres located east of
Lake Jane along 45th Street and west of Hamlet on Sunfish Lake. The City Planner
reported that the OP Concept Plan for Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove (staff dated August
5) both mitigated most of the former OP standards compliance issues, and also addressed
many of the issues raised at the Planning Commission's public hearing. The primary
remaining OP standards non-compliance issue (proposed to be a 4/5 Council OP
variance) is the proposed encroachment of a public street into the 200 foot OP buffer
along a short portion of the project's west border. The Commission discussed this
encroachment at length and offered the Council a recommendation to approve the
variance responsive to the purposes and intent of the OP ordinance. There will be a right
turn lane to address the safety concern with exiting 45th Street. Connection to the city's
trail system is also being planned.
Council member Dunn voiced her concern about flooding from Sunfish Lake and made
the developer aware of VBWD letter and the affect on wetlands.
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston - to adopt Resolution No. 2004-071 approving the OP Concept
Plan for Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove based on the plans staff dated August 5, 2004 and
the Findings/Recommendation of the Planning Commission. (Motion passed 5-0)
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — further, that the Council endorses the concept of a minor
public street encroachment into the OP buffer as depicted by the August 5th Plan as a 4/5
OP variance in the future OP Development Stage Plan, (Motion passed 5-0).
10 CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT: None
11. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT:
A. Highway 5
The City Administrator reported him, the City Planner and City Engineer met with
engineering representatives of Washington County Engineering and the Minnesota
Department of Transportation. The following items were discussed.
1. Long term planning, construction implementation and ownership
of Hwy 5.
2. Safety issues to be addressed with short term planned
maintenance activities, subject to funding.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINU I LS AUGUST 17, 2004 6
3, And the development of alternate traffic routing and shared
funding plans in the future.
MnDot discussed the Mill/Overlay project scheduled for September 2004, and no
possibility (funding) for changes at this time. They also identified other maintenance and
safety related upgrades scheduled for the future; pending funding, Tom Prew is working
on a proposal to do a bypass study. The City Administrator noted that residents raised
traffic issues on the west end, and there will be continued vigilance on speeding by the
sheriffs dept. Council member Dunn asked to put on website and cable when the mill
overlay project will be started.
B. Mutual Aid for St. Croix Valley and Hudson Fire Station
The Council was provided an agreement for the Lake Elmo Fire Department to provide
Mutual Aid to the St. Croix Valley and Hudson Fire Departments. This agreement is key
to the area wide response to emergency situations and has been reviewed and
recommended for approval by the City Attorney, the Fire Chief and the City
Administrator.
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston — to approve the Mayor, City Administrator, and Fire Chief sign
the Mutual Aid Agreement with St. Croix Valley and Hudson Fire Service. (Motion
passed 5-0).
C. Disposal of Fire Eauipment
MIS/P Dunn/DeLapp — to approve the Mayor, City Administrator and Fire Chief sign an
agreement to transfer outdated surplus Air Pack equipment to receiving city. (Motion
passed 5-0).
D. Animal Ordinance Amendment
The Community Improvement Committee has studied the current ordinance regulating
restraining of dogs, The CIC has recommended that a minor change to the dog ordinance
be adopted. The change proposed requires that a dog owner employ an active restraint
system if the dog is left outside and the owners are not home.
Rod Sessing and Council member DeLapp questioned the relevancy of the property
owner being home or not and why penalize them for when the owner is not home.
Council member Johnston stated that his interpretation of the opinion of animal control is
that invisible fencing was not efficiently effective and additional protection was a good
policy. Ann Smith, Vice Chair of the CIC, stated if the dogs stay in the invisible fence,
the property owner will not get fined. This would protect people in the future when the
owner is not home all day long. Joan Ziertman, CIC member, stated she would rather see
extra enforcement when a person is gone a long time. Council member Dunn said she
wasn't coiwinced that invisible fences were causing a problem in the city and was not
prepared to make a change to the dog ordinance.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 7
Animal Control Officer Kathi Pelnar provided a year end report listing the number of
dogs picked up wearing invisible fence collars. For both 2003 and 2004 that number was
four dogs. The Council wanted to talk with the ACO to try to understand the actual
magnitude of the problem.
M/S/P Johnston! Dunn — to invite Kathie Pelnar, ACO, to come to the September 7`h
Council meeting to discuss animal control under the Public Information section of the
meeting agenda. (Motion passed 5-0).
E. Purchase offer for 3585 Laverne Avenue
Council member Johnston stated he was in favor of a city center and buying this property
in question because it s contiguous to the Lions Ball Field. He suggested inviting
residents that would be affected by a proposed new city center to a public hearing. The
City Administrator added the City is looking at alternative locations for the Lake Elmo
Library and this property could serve that purpose until a city center has been decided.
M/S/P Johnston/John - to authorize the Mayor to sign the purchase agreement for the
property located at 3585 Laverne Avenue, Lake Elmo, Minnesota; and acknowledgments
of receipt of disclosure of sewage treatment system, supplemental disclosure regarding
individual On -Site System and Seller Property Disclosure Statement. (Motion passed 5-
0.)
F. Vacation of 5511' Street
M/S/P Johnston/Dunn — to send this item to the Planning Commission for study and
review based on the recommendation of the Public Works Council Committee. (Motion
passed 5-0.)
G. Council Committees
Attorney Filla provided a draft resolution defining the duties of the three established City
Council Committees.
MIS/P John/Dunn — to adopt resolution No. 2004-074, A Resolution Relating to Council
Committees (Motion passed 5-0.)
12. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS:
A. Mayor Hunt: Board of Directors Vacancies; LMC 2004 Annual
Conference
Mayor Hunt explained it would be a fantastic opportunity to have a booth at the
conference to contact other cities at the LMC 2004 Conference held in Duluth. Council
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 8
member DeLapp added that we need information, such as, MN Design Team
information, pictures of developments and the proposed city center, to attract their
interest.
Mayor Hunt and Council members Dun, DeLapp and Johnston indicated they would be
attending the LMC Conference.
M/S/P Johnston/John — to authorize $700 to reserve a booth at the LMC conference.
(Motion passed 5-0.)
Board of Directors Vacancies:
At the Annual Meeting in Duluth on October 11th, the membership will elect four new
members to the Board of Directors. Council member Johnston indicated he would be
interested in the nomination, but pulled his name out of consideration when Mayor Hunt
indicated he would also be interested.
M/S/P DeLapp/Dunn — to submit Lee Hunt's name for nomination to serve on the LMC
Board of Directors. (Motion passed 5-0).
Council member Dunn attended the VBWD meeting to listen to the discussion regarding
a proposal for a market place and super target on 70 acres along highway 5 bordering
Oakdale and Lake Elmo. Dunn said resident, Debbie Dean, asked excellent questions on
water quality and runoff and how it relates to more traffic on Highway 5. The proposal
was passed by the VBWD.
Council member Johnston said he was the last customer at the pancake breakfast held by
the Fire Department. Dean asked about the status of the City's diseased tree program.
The Administrator responded this item will be placed on the Public Works Council
Committee agenda. Council member John suggested looking into a tree specialist on
staff and the cost associated with such an appointment.
B. Council Member John:Discussion of Smoking Ban
Council member Wyn John said the Public Health Council Committee reflected positive
on a smoking ban and wanted to get the Council's response on this proposal. He aid if the
City doesn't take a stand one way or another to identify their position, then there would
not be any weight at all for the Washington County to legislate for us. Wyn introduced
the following motion because he felt quite strongly about a smoking ban.
M/No Second John/No Second — to direct the staff to prepare an ordinance prohibiting
smoking in a public place where two or more people could gather.
Council member Dunn stated this is not something we should be wasting another minute
on. Council member Johnston said he was in favor of an approach that would do the
most good while doing the least amount of harm. He supported the concept of a smoking
ban and the idea of a regional smoking ban.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 9
Mayor Hunt suggested that they send a letter of support to the group being spearheaded
by St Paul Mayor Randy Kelly, Minneapolis, who is coordinating a regional approach
and offer to participate in the discussions.
M/S/P Johnston/John - to send a letter of support to Mayor Kelly offering to participate in
the discussion for support of the program and send a letter to the Washington County
Board to encourage them to adopt a countywide smoking ban .(Motion passed 4-1Dunn
the County is not interested in a county wide ban)
Council adjourn the meeting at 9:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Sharon Lumby, City Clerk
Resolution No, 2004-068 Approve Claims
Resolution No. 2004-069 Assessments for Hill Trail N./50th Street TABLED
Resolution No. 2004-070 Assessment for 2004 Overlay
Resolution No. 2004-071 Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove Concept Plan
Resolution No. 2004-072 Additional Claims
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2004 10