HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-2004 CCMLAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 1
MINUTES APPROVED: MARCH 16, 2004
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MARCH 1, 2004 1. AGENDA
2. MINUTES: February 17, 2004
3. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL:
A. Public Inquiries - None B. Lake Elmo Jaycees Charitable Gambling License Renewal: Resolution No. 2004-018
C. Request from Lake Elmo Curves Owner
4. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Resolution No. 2004-019 Approving Claims 5. FINANCE: A. Software/Server Upgrade
B. Storm Water Utility First Billing
C. Code Enforcement on Fence located on Marquess
D. Role of the Council E. Council Direction to Planning Commission Regarding Solid Fences 6. NEW BUSINESS:
7. MAINTENANCE/PARK/FIRE/BUILDING:
A. Update on Fire Dept. Chief Malmquist – Not In Attendance
8. CITY ENGINEER’S REPORT: A. Public Hearing: 2004 Overlay Project: Resolution 2004-020 Authorize Preparation of Plans and Specifications
A. Proposed Annexation of Manning Trail
9. PLANNING, LAND USE & ZONING:
A. Prairie Ridge Office Park Building Permit: Resolution No. 2004-021 10. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT: A. Hazardous Structure on 37th Street
11. CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
12. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS:
Mayor Hunt called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council chambers. PRESENT:
Siedow, Dunn, Hunt, Johnston, DeLapp, City Engineer Prew, City Attorney Filla,
Building Official McNamara, and Acting Finance Director Tom Bouthilet.
1. AGENDA M/S/P Johnston/DeLapp - to approve the March 1, 2004 City Council agenda, as
amended. (Motion passed 5-0).
C. Code enforcement on fence located on Marquess, D. Role of the Council: oversight in
preventing these problems in the future, E. Direction to the Planning Commission
regarding solid fences. Move 9A to 3E, Add:Marilyn Condon workshop, 3C. Request from Lake Elmo Curves for temporary sign.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 2
2. MINUTES: February 17, 2004
M/S/P Siedow/Johnston - to approve the February 17, 2004 City Council minutes, as
corrected. (Motion passed 5-0).
3. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL: A. Public Inquiries - None
B. Lake Elmo Jaycees Charitable Gambling License Renewal:
Resolution No. 2004-018 The Lake Elmo Jaycees requested renewal of its Lawful Gambling License. The Jaycees
operate its lawful gambling at the Twin Point Tavern located at 11199 Stillwater Blvd..
M/S/P DeLapp/Dunn - to adopt Resolution No. 2004-018, A Resolution Granting
Permission to the Lake Elmo Jaycees to Conduct Charitable Gambling at the Twin Point Tavern. (Motion passed 5-0).
C. Request from Lake Elmo Curves Owner
Mayor Hunt reported the owner of Lake Elmo Curves, 11240 Stillwater Blvd., is
requesting permission to place a reader board sign in front of the building from March 3 – March 15, 2004. Per the owner, the City has allowed her to do this in the past,
approximately 3-4 times in 2003. The reader board is to announce a promotion called
“Food for Friends” which waives the service fees for new members if they bring in a bag
of groceries or a $25 donation for the local foods shelves. The Building Official
approved the permit; however, in the absence of the City Planner, the Council must also approve the permit.
M/S/P Dunn/DeLapp - to grant a temporary advertising sign from March 3-15, 2004 to be
placed in front of the building at 11240 Stillwater Blvd., provided there is no safety siting
problems. (Motion passed 5-0.)
4. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Resolution No. 2004-019 Approving Claims
Claim of $90 for Johnson Construction Storage Rental-Fire Dept.
Council member Johnston asked if this is an approved storage facility or are we supporting something that is illegal. Council member DeLapp asked that this $90 claim
for Johnson Construction Storage Rental-Fire Dept. be pulled from the claim list until the
Council gets the information and the Acting Administrator can be in attendance.
M/S/P Dunn/Siedow - to adopt Resolution No. 2004-019 for claim numbers 189, 190, DD113 through DD117, 25209 through 25223 that were used for Staff payroll dated
February 19, 2004 and claim numbers 25224 through 25263 dated March 1, 2004 in the
total amount of $83,991.48. (Motion passed 5-0)
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 3
5. FINANCE:
A. Software/Server Upgrades
Bill Keran, Vice President of Next Genesis Productions, reported following a series of
outside hacking incidences and virus issues with the City’s circa 2000 computer server and fire wall software during 2003, staff has requested a proposal from our computer service firm to upgrade our server, operating software and fire wall software. Staff
recommended that the server software upgrades proposed be acquired. While the total
purchase price, $17,459 is less than the threshold for City Council purchase approval, the
use of a single source vendor for this purchase should be approved by the City Council. M/S/P DeLapp/Dunn - to approve purchase and installation of updated computer
software and computer server from Next Genesis Productions per their proposal of
January 2, 2004 for a total purchase price of $17,459. (Motion passed 5-0).
B. Storm Water Utility First Billing
The Surface Water Utility billing system is ready to activate and the first invoices to
property owners (for the 2003 Surface Water fees) will be mailed the first week of
March. A draft letter to all property owners that would be included with the first invoice
was provided for council consideration. Mayor Hunt said he will sign the letter if the following wording is added “On behalf of the entire City Council and the City of Lake
Elmo”.
M/S/P Johnston/Siedow - to approve the letter insert to the initial Surface Water Utility
billing, as amended, Add: “On Behalf of the entire City Council and the City of Lake Elmo”. (Motion passed 5-0).
C. Code Enforcement On Fence Located on Marquess :
Council Member Johnston brought up the enforcement issue on 6’ tall opaque fences. He
said it was clear to him that we don’t want 6’ opaque fences in the City so he sees no reason why we don’t enforce our fence ordinance and should give that direction to staff.
The Planning Commission is looking where they want the city to go and sees nothing that
would not make this action unnecessary.
Mayor Hunt stated if the Council is going to take action then the parties involved that appeared before us should be notified. Council member Johnston said there may be more
than one fence that is not conforming, and we should take a step to the enforcement issue
and direct staff to take enforcement action. Council member DeLapp noted the city
should at least notify the people that they have an illegal fence.
Attorney Filla explained the typical code enforcement procedure is that a letter goes out
indicating the violation and what they need to do, and if not complied with within a
reasonable amount of time, then a citation will be sent. Mayor Hunt said the message
passed along to the Planning Commission is that it is the Councils intent to deal with this
on the March 16 council agenda and if they have any comments pass them to the administrator or ask the Chairman to appear at the meeting and listen to what the Council
is discussing.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 4
Attorney Filla asked, to be clear, the direction is for staff not to suspend fence height
violations until the 16th, and we are going to wait until both parties involved in Carriage
Station are notified. Staff will proceed and issue letters to property owners with
nonconforming fences.
M/S/P Johnston/Siedow – to place the question of code enforcement on fence height city
wide, including Carriage Station, on the March 16 Council agenda. (Motion passed 5-0.)
Council member Johnston said it seemed reasonable to him that the Building Official would go out and look at the fences in Carriage Station and determine which ones are
nonconforming and advise those property owners this will be a discussion topic at the
March 16 meeting.
Mayor Hunt suggested holding an enforcement workshop with the Building Official, Acting City Administrator, Washington County Deputy and Attorney Filla to talk about
how the Council want items investigated and the code enforced. This could possibly be
discussed at the Marilyn Condon workshop.
D. Role of the Council: Oversight and Preventing Problems in the Future: Council member Johnston explained in his opinion the problem facing the council is
balancing micromanaging versus its responsibility for oversight. He said one of the
reasons this fence issue has become a problem is the homeowner, whose fence is in
question, maintains he had consulted with the city and told by city staff that the fence was
okay to build. This is not the first time that those kinds of claims were made to the City. Johnston raised the questions if these claims get documented, followed up on,
investigated, and if they are accumulated for performance reviews? He asked what
happens when we get this kind of problem and how do we keep it from happening again.
Mayor Hunt stated we could bring these questions up to the City Administrator. Johnston added based on what the homeowner has provided the Council in writing, a City official
was on the site at least three different times and is a good example for troubleshooting the
process. Mayor Hunt responded that now we have a fence permit process, and we will not
have problems any more.
Council member DeLapp stated we should go back and get code compliance
enforcement. He pointed out the city has a strict code on driveways, and there are
driveways put in without permits and totally outside of city specs. This item would be
placed on the agenda for the code enforcement workshop.
E. Council Direction to Planning Commission Regarding Solid Fences:
Council member Johnston said the current code talks about no solid fences that are over
4’ high. He read the Planning Commission minutes where they are now considering 6’
opaque fences. He asked if the Council wanted opaque fences 6 feet high and if so pass this along to the Commission. Council member Siedow said we should not have a one size fence fits all…a 2.5 acre lot could have a larger fence and a three-quarter of an acre
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 5
should have a smaller fence. Council member DeLapp said there should be consideration
when some time these fences screen garbage cans, play areas, businesses when trees
cannot do the screening right away. Could we allow exceptions to the rule? Dunn said
fences should fit the size lots. Mayor Hunt said we should set general guidelines, but he would not say no to 6’ fences
because the City should consider lot size and configuration. He would like to see the
Planning Commission comments.
M/S/P DeLapp/Johnston – to give direction to the Planning Commission as they are considering fence heights and opaqueness, they should consider the size of a fence and
how it fits into the various lot sizes, as a form of performance zoning, ….when is a fence
a barrier or a screen. (Motion passed 5-0.)
6. NEW BUSINESS: 7. MAINTENANCE/PARK/FIRE/BUILDING:
A. Update on Fire Dept. Chief Malmquist - Not In Attendance
8. CITY ENGINEER’S REPORT:
A. Public Hearing: 2004 Overlay Project: Resolution 2004-020 Authorize
Preparation of Plans and Specifications
At the February 17th meeting, the Council accepted the Feasibility Report and ordered a
public hearing for the 2004 Overlay Project. The public hearing was published in the Stillwater Gazette and hearing notices were mailed to the affected property owners.
The City Engineer gave a brief summary of the 2004 Overlay Project.
Mayor Hunt opened up the Public Hearing at 8:05 pm There were no comments on this issue.
Mayor Hunt closed the Public Hearing at 8:06 pm
Council member DeLapp provided three illustrations showing narrower streets with 8’
cut off on one side of the street, streets with asphalt curbs, pinch points and a landscape cul-de-sac island. He said in the book entitled Residential Streets it states 32’ wide road is
a collector road and this is a dead end road requiring 24’ wide. Mayor Hunt asked if the
Council wanted the City Engineer to get cost estimates to make changes and come back
in two weeks.
Council member Siedow stated he did would not want to retrofit the old streets. Council
member Johnston stated the Council paid attention to how 50th Street was reconstructed
and already the cars are driving through the mud and ignoring the pinch points at the
intersection of 50th and CSAH13. Mayor Hunt would not consider changes unless he
heard from the residents.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 6
M/S/P DeLapp/Siedow - to adopt Resolution No. 2004-020, A Resolution Ordering
Improvement and Preparation of Plans for the 2004 Overlay Project with the City
Engineer reporting back at the March 16 council meeting with the costs for the added
alternate for cul-de-sacs configuration with center islands and plans and specs to be reviewed with the City Council. (Motion passed 5-0).
B. Proposed Annexation of Manning Trail
The City Engineer explained the proposed annexation is to officially transfer the right-of-
way for the northern part of Manning Trail from West Lakeland Township to the City. Since Manning Avenue was rerouted in 1986, the City has plowed, seal coated, and striped the entire section between Manning Avenue and 20th Street, even though the north
third of this section is within the Township.
MnDOT has requested that the City place this section of Manning Trail on our Municipal State Aid street system. The City cannot do this until the entire route is within the City.
The City will receive funding from Mn/DOT for maintenance and future repair work
once the entire route is on our system.
M/S/P Siedow/Johnston - to adopt the petition for Annexation of Unincorporated property (northern portion of Manning Trail) to the City by Director Order contingent on
a positive response from West Lakeland Township. (Motion passed 5-0.)
9. PLANNING, LAND USE & ZONING:
A. Prairie Ridge Office Park Building Permit: Resolution No. 2004-021
The Building Official reported that Prairie Ridge Office Park is requesting a building
permit for one building. Resolution 2004-010 that was approved by the Council required
that no release of building permits until the amended Water Service Agreement with
Oakdale has been executed by both cities.
Attorney Filla noted he would have a problem if the development contract was not signed
because the applicant is taking a risk in proceeding on the premise that the joint powers
will be amended and if not amended, that means the applicants would have to install a
commercial well. Filla asked that approval would be conditioned on the development agreement being signed. Mr. Tacheney said he will put a commercial well system and
everything else that is required. When the applicant comes in for the second permit, they
will have to make plans as to what will be done with the onsite system. Council member
DeLapp noted that the only issue for the applicant is the cost of putting in the sprinkling
system for fire protection.
M/S/P DeLapp/Siedow – to adopt Resolution No. 2004-0021, amending Resolution
2004-010 by removing Condition No. 5, on the condition that the development contract is
executed. (Motion passed 5-0.)
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 7
10. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT:
A. Hazardous Structure on 37th Street
Jim McNamara, Building Official gave his findings stated in the affidavit prepared after reviewing the property on 37th street. Attorney Filla recommended based on the Building
Official’s report; the Council adopts a motion determining there is a hazardous and
unsafe structure at 8691 37th Street.
M/S/P Johnston/Dunn - that the City finds that there is a hazardous and unsafe structure at 8691 37th Street in Lake Elmo. (Motion passed 5-0.
Attorney Filla said there are three options: 1. That the City try to reach an agreement with
the property owner, but the property owner is without funds to do anything about this. 2.
That the City could condemn the property, but he is not sure what is on the property. Once the process is started the City would have to clean the site and if there is hazardous
substances that we would be responsible to get rid of them in a safe manner. 3. That the
City would issue an abatement order.
Attorney Filla recommended issuance of an abatement order, and he would come back with an abatement order for Council review and approval at the next meeting. If that is
approved, then it would be served on the property owner and they would have a certain
number of days to respond. If there is no response, the City could get a default judgment.
If they did respond, it would be tried as a civil case. Before the process is started, Filla
could get an estimate of costs for cleaning up the property, which will be substantial, and likely the City will never sell the property for sufficient money to cover our costs.
M/S/P Johnston/DeLapp – to direct the staff to proceed with an abatement order and
come back for Council review and approval of the abatement order at the March 16
Council meeting. (Motion passed 5-0.)
In regard to the Hidden Bay Trail property, Attorney Filla reported they did sign the
settlement order and they had met the first goal which was to provide a structural
engineering report. Their attorney sounds positive that his client will achieve the second
goal which is to have a good part of the exterior done by April 2nd.
11. CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
12. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS: Mayor Hunt reported that he received available dates from Marilyn Condon for a
workshop and will get an agenda and dates out to the Council. The fee for the workshop
is $1,000; $3250 was spent out of the authorized $6,000 budget for her consulting
services.
LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 1, 2004 8
Mayor Hunt announced that our local bill (H.F. 1737) if signed into law, means that the
Metropolitan Council will not be able to force the city to construct a sewer system was
passed out of the subcommittee of Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs
Committee, and the City’s petition for further review of the decision of the Court of Appeals by the Supreme Court was accepted.
Council member DeLapp asked for information on local lodging tax and what the
proceeds from this tax must be used for.
M/S/P DeLapp/Hunt – to direct staff to find out information and regulations on local lodging tax. (Motion passed 5-0.)
Council member Dunn reported the Baytown Township well report will be on March 15,
from 5 to 7 pm at Oakland Jr. H.S., 7 p.m. presentation with discussion until 9 p.m..
The Council adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. -------------------------
Respectfully submitted by Sharon Lumby, Deputy Clerk
Resolution No. 2004-018 Lake Elmo Jaycees Charitable Gambling License Renewal Resolution No. 2004-019 Approve Claims
Resolution No. 2004-020 Authorize Preparation of Plans and Specs for 2004 Overlay
Resolution No. 2004-021 Amending Resolution 2004-10 Prairie Ridge Office Park