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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-83 CCMLAI{E ELMO COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 15, 1983 Mayor Eder called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall. COUNCILLORS PRESENT: Dunn, Fraser, Mazzara, and Morgan. Also City Administrator Whittaker. 1. AGENDA - M/S/P Mazzara/Morgan to adopt the agenda with the following additions: 4. License - Temporary Beer License 5.C. Paul Ryberg (11326 30th Street) - Planning Commission 10.C. Councillor Fraser - Addition to Request for Scoping EIS ll.D. Solid Waste Legislation (5 ayes) 2. MINUTES - M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara to approve the 2/l/83 Council minutes as corrected: Page 5, Item 14 - "Fraser said... revenues?), overbedding...." Page 7, Item 18.F. - "M/S/P...FOR COPIES OF MINUTES...." (5 ayes) M/S/P Morgan/Fraser to approve the 2/5/83 Council. Special Meeting minutes as written. (5 ayes) 3. CLAIMS - Whittaker noted that Claim 83484 should be charged to the Parks Department since fire hose is for flooding rinks. o Morgan - recommended, and Councillors agreed, that satellites should be pulled out of Sunfish Park around March 1. M/S/P Morgan/Dunn to approve Claims 83466 thru 83505. (5 ayes) 4. LICENSES - M/S/P Morgan/Fraser to approve a temporary beer license for: Stacker, Ravich & Simon Law Firm, lst Bank Plaza, Mpl.s; .50 people; 10:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m., 2/25/83. (5 ayes) 5. COMMISSION INTERVIEWS A. LouAnne Mehsikomer, Planning - did not show up for interview. B. Merle Olson, Parks - Has lived in Lake Elmo (by Regional Park) since 1976 and has 4 children. Interested in cross-country skiing. Basically, would like to help out anyway he can and become involved in community affairs (has flexible work schedule so can devote some time); not familiar with all the responsibilities of the Parks Commission but has talked with Ed Nielson. Interested in playgrounds and swimming beach at Regional Park. 6. COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS A. Parks - M/S/P Fraser Mazzara to appoint the following to the Parks Commission: Mary Olson to full membership and Ed Stevens as 1st alternate. (3 ayes; Morgan, Dunn nay) M/S/P Eder/Morgan to appoint Merle Olson as 2nd alternate and Barb Holm as standby. (5 ayes) ® Fraser - Impressed with all candidates; Mary Olson indicated a very high interest and would bring maturity to Commission. Ed Stevens brings different geographic location for balance. • Dunn - Also impressed with all candidates; if all are good, why not appoint chronologically? C ® Morgan - All four equally qualified, would favor chronological order. * Dunn - We don't want to discourage people in the future since it's unusual we have more candidates than openings this time. e Eder - All. good candidates; I lean toward Merle Olson, Mary Olson and Ed Stevens, with Barb Holm as standby. CITY COUNCIL MEETING - 2/15/83 Page two B. Planning - M/S/P Fraser/Morgan to defer this item until about 9:00 p.m. so as to include Paul Ryberg's interview. (5 ayes) 7. INSURANCE BIDS, DAVE HOLMBERG - (Ref: "Package Insurance, Summari- zations of Proposed Costs" and Zignego Agency letter dated 2/4/83 re "Insurance Quotations and Comparisons.) Mr. Holmberg said that the additional $1 million umbrella increases Lake Elmo's insurance coverage at no extra cost, in fact cost is less this year even with umbrella included --however not saying you should limit it to $1 million. He mentioned that some municipalities are being sued for higher liabili- ties; other policies will only pay $1 million during term of policy and when used up another policy would have to be bought. • Whittaker added in response to Councillors concerns: (a) statute limit: of $500 ,000 doesn't have much validity if claim can be supported, (b) would support umbrella since municipalities are experiencing increased liabilities, such as anti-trust suits, (d) we sent specifications directly to league and they bid through agent of record; 3 companies received information and 2 responded with bids (have never received more bids than this). • Fraser - Would hope they could improve upon this with more people bidding; want to make sure we do some research on this for next year. M/S/P Fraser/Morgan to accept Aetna's bid through agent of record, Zignego Agency, for Lake Elmo's liability and comprehensive insurance and to include the option of. a $1 million umbrella. (5 ayes) 8. OLD BUSINESS A. Snowplowing Policy 1, Rotation - Consensus of Councillors was to follow the rotation plan submitted by Dave Wi_sdorf. and Larry Whittaker in his AGENDA MEMO of 2/11/83. Eder also noted advantage of Keats procedure. (2) Contracts - There should be a contract for Old village with Meyer and for Jamaca and garage with Olinger, Whittaker said. e Fraser - What are the limits? (Whittaker - let's make it over 4" and leave drifting to Dave's discretion.) ® Mazzara - Wanted it raised to 5" and over. (Whittaker - Not taking a lot of time; last year it cost about $180.) e Eder - If it does snow 4" or more, Olinger can clean it out in 5-6 minutes while crew takes 1/2 hour. ® Whittaker - General policy is to get City crew out earlier when County and State go out early; weather conditions dictate when they go out. We'll keep things moving when snowing and then clean up later, hire on temporary basis and contract plowers as recommended. Could send out letter for clarification. Specific policy is .for Councillors informa- tion only, and general policy only will be published in Newsletter. Regarding truck, truck appmyal: is 120 days behind; could cash in bond- but it would do no good. ® Dunn - Reason it's behind is because of people being laid off. Whittaker - Could let them know we won't take bid in future. M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara that Olinger, Mn/DOT, Oelke and Schifsky be contracted for back-up snowplowing when needed. (5 ayes) (3) Contingency Plan - Details of policy have been worked out and contingency plan covered above. CITY COUNCIL MEETING - 2/15/83 Page three B. Ordinance 7940, Codify Chapter 200 of Municipal Code - Whittaker stated changes: who can call a meeting- special meeting provisions made in line with State statute; written notice paragraph changed; Fire Department's chain of command; and fire fighters have to obey traffic laws. M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara to adopt Ordinance 7940 which amends and codifies Chapter 200 of the Muni;eipAl Code of Lake Elmo. (5 ayes) C. Ordinance 7941, Codify Chapter 100 of Municipal Code - Whittaker indicated that fees adopted by ordinance in lieu of resolution, Chapter 105 is added for this purpose, bd1ding permit fees are based on value using UBC and Building Code Standard, Plan Check Fee is up to 65% of building fee to be consistent with State code, and changes would roughly double permit fees if all added.up; dog licenses are annual and for dogs 6 months or older; parking lot permit f€:e is new. M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara to adopt Ordinance 7941 which amends, adds Section 105, and codifies Chapter 100 of the Municipal Code of Lake Elmo. (5 ayes) D. Ordinance 7942 - Dog Licenses - Deferred to 3/l/83 meeting. E. Ordinance 7943 - License Ordinance - Defered to 3/1/83 meeting. F. Ordinance 7944 - Target Ranges - Deferred to 3/15/83 meeting. M/S/P Fraser/Mazarra to defer above Items D, E and F to 3/1, 3/1 and 3/15 City Council meetings, respectively. (5 ayes) ( G. Lee Annett, Development Agreement for House Moving - Final version of. Development Agreement was presented. Morgan said he looked it over and had no questions. Whittaker,in answer to Eder's question, said deposit is only required for road damage; attorney said bond is not required under present ordinance. M/S/P Morgan/Fraser to enter .into a Development Agreement between Lee W. Annett and the City of Lake Elmo to move a house from Section 32 to 8875 North 27th Street in the City of Lake Elmo. (5 ayes) H. Hammes/Auth Agreement - Mr. Auth has proposed to pay Hammes $1,500 for damages and storage of the concrete pile, leaving crushing and disposition of the concrete to Hammes. This clears up Hammes' problem with Tom Auth and the County, but does not rid the City of the concrete piles. e Fraser - This would. release the leverage Lake Elmo now has with the County; shouldn't the City hold the $1,500 until the concrete is of such size to be saleable? o Dorothy Lyons - He's received his money already, but County has bond. We have to get job where concrete can be utilized (I-94 is possibility); concrete would then be crushed to smaller size, mixed with materials and used on site immediately; can't be crushed until that time. e Bohrer - Person who gets bid for I-94 will get bid for salvaged concrete. (Lyons - Our pit is open to any of the bidders for I-94.) ( e Eder - How big is pile? (Hammes - 12' high x 100' wide x several hundred feet long) (Bohrer - That's approximately 9,000 cu. yds.) o Eder - We should amend present performance bond ($5K) to include this. CITY COUNCIL MEETING - 2/15/83 Page four * Morgan - Why don't we give them a try at what they're doing now. I think we have plenty of leverage with mining permit. 0 Fraser - This has been before the Council many times before, has cost the City money and time, and believe we should keep leverage because of difficulty in the past. Y Dunn - The City initiated action in the first place by going down to look at area; if they're $1,500 ahead let them have it. ® Eder - Let the record show our understanding that if it's not out by 1984 you may not get a mining permit. M/S/P Morgan/Dunn that Hammes is now responsible for the $1,500 and and for getting the concrete removed as quickly as possible; and to approve the Auth agreement as written. (4 ayes; Fraser nay) 9. ENGINEER'S REPORT A. Cottage Grove Ravine - The following are now to be incorporated into water management systems: Cottage Grove, Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Woodbury, and Oakdale. Woodbury, Cottage Grove and. Oakdale plans provide that rate of runoff should not exceed predevelopment conditions. (Predevelopment conditions are conditions that exist at time organiza- tion is formed.) Lake Elmo's policy provides for control of rate of runoff and volume leaving development; if all did this, lakes, streams and ponds would flunctuate like they did for years. What we're talking about here is water presently flowing out of Lake Elmo where volume is or is not controlled. Even though Lake Elmo stores water, it may not be relieved from assessments. What form of water management would Lake Elmo prefer? Lake Elmo has to opt for either the Watershed District or ( Joint Powers; if not done by end of 1983, Lake Elmo will be assigned to one. Watershed management will provide outlets, paid by special assessments (Whittaker - general tax levy and/or special assessments), and Lake Elmo may be paying for all improvements downstream. * Whittaker - Concern is that Joint Powers would allow Cottage Grove and Woodbury to have most of the voice and power, such as to build big pipes as presently planned for, and Lake Elmo would have to .pay for it. We want to preserve our water resources by storing it, by ponding, etc. ® Fraser - Not much to be done except preaching our concerns to them. s Eder - We could sit down with Woodbury and work out some kind of compromise on this sub -Watershed and then could get Cottage Grove to treat their's differently. ® Morgan - Lean toward Watershed District in lieu of Joint Powers since we would have very little voice. s Whittaker - All would have to volunteer for Joint Powers; Woodbury and Cottage Grove are committed to Joint Powers; I think we're safer with Watershed District. They want to make decision Thursday night so joint powers agreement can be drafted. We could say unless you are willing to negotiate separate conditions for Lake Elmo and Oakdale, we aren't positive; or we could support Joint Powers only if Lake Elmo is not part of a big pipe system, can hold all our runoff., is not included in pipe to Cottage Grove Ravine, and pipe under 494 is not enlarged. Could be better choice if there's advance agreement. M/S/P Morgan/Eder that Lake Elmo is opposed to Watershed District or Joint Powers for anything other than Cottage Grove Ravine. (5 ayes) R. Local Road Restrictions - M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara to allow Maintenance Foreman and City Engineer to determine when and what streets should be posted for load restrictions due to softening of subgrade. (5 ayes) CITY COUNCIL MEETING-2/14/83 Page five 10. COUNCILLORS REPORTS A. Mazzara, Tri-Lakes Annual Meeting - People present expressed previous concerns regarding DeMontreville access proposal: spawning area disturbed (Fisheries man was not at meeting); access now has 15 parking spaces, originally had 10 (Whittaker - association moved to approve this plan December 1981, original 23 spaces reduced to 15); safety; trash; and supervision or policing of area. People did not approve or disapprove by way of motion; appear to be .resigned to situation since they know it'll be there . B. Dunn, Appreciation Dinner - Dinner for retiring Parks Commissioners is to be held Friday, March 11, at Tartan Park; cocktails at 6:30 and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Dinner would cost $8.50 and menu was shown to Councillors. ® Fraser - City would pay for plaques and people attending for gifts. o Morgan - Will be .paying for my own dinner. M/S/P Morgan/Mazzara to budget $150.00 for appreciation dinner, at $10.00 each person. (5 ayes) C. Fraser, Scoping EIS Addition - Will having waste -to -energy plant in Lake Elmo lower pressure for its abatement of trash? 0 Bohrer - Counties are required to have waste abatement plan; today is deadline for submitting written comments. (Whittaker - Will get letter off first thing in morning.) M/S/P Fraser/Morgan to get evaluation whether or not waste -to energy plant will have detrimental effect on abatement. (5 ayes) BREAK - 9:05 p.m. 5. COMMISSION INTERVIEWS, Cont'd... C. Paul Ryberg, Planning - 11326 30th Street - Mr. Ryberg said that Planning Commissions were a .family tradition, his father was a Planning Commissioner in Burnsville. Moved here about a year ago, pre- viously lived in Hasting (1 year) and Mendota Heights (8 years). I like Lake Elmo and would like to get involved in community affairs. Has enough civil engineering background to read a plat. Believes growth is inevitable and has to be managed, not in favor of rapid development such as happened in Bloomington (10K to 15K population in 10 years). Would have to think of sewage, roads, and utilities in any type development. Would look at low -to -moderate income housing closely; usually it's more costly than at first glance. I like Lake Elmo the way it is but know that development will come from the West by year 2020; has to be done in orderly fashion with no expensive surprises. 6. COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS, Cont'd... B. Planning - • Fraser - opposed to radical policies of Lee Rossow; views he expressed here are widely divergent from citizens I've talked to. • Mazzara - Possibly, Rossow could give us broader experience and more insight. • Eder - Most damaging comment was his concern for his own property. e Dunn - At least Rossow is honest, believe he'd add a lot to Planning Commission and stimulate some thinking. All three are exceptional, would again take them in chronological order. CITY COUNCIL MEETING - 2/1.5/83 Page six e Morgan - Rossow would add another dimension to Planning Commission, would go along with chronological order.. M/S/P Eder/Fraser to appoint the following to the Planning Commission: Charles Graves as 1st alternate and Paul Ryberq as 2nd alternate. (3 ayes; Mazzara and Dunn nays) 11. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT A. Personnel Committee Meeting - Will be held February 19, Saturday, 9:30 a.m. at the City Hall. B. PERA Withholding - (Ref: Whittaker's AGENDA MEMO expressing his views that public employees should not have to pay for State revenue shortfalls; public and private employees should share those costs; and Lake Elmo should set a precedent by opposing the 2% withholding.) m Fraser - Burden should be shared equally, not just by City staff, I would be in favor of finding a way of rearranging the budget so we pay retirement for employees. o Dunn - This is second time this subject has come up; you would think 50% and not 2% was being taken out. Public employees have to make sacrifices just like private sector; we're living in a State with high taxes and industries are being driven out. * Mazzara - Agrees with Dunn, but we want good quality people working for local governments. ® Fraser - Morale- of workers will be low and work will slow down. ® Whittaker - Employees have already shared in responsibility when fair wage settlement was negotiated back in August/September; public employees can no longer expect guarantees of a steady job and pension; and believe over the long haul there'll be negative effect. ® Eder - Could give them additional 1 or 2 floating holidays as recogni- tion of our sympathies, for 1983 only since court decision is they can't do this again. ® Morgan - Would go along with Eder since employees are coming back for more pay. (Whittaker - pay was cut so not coming back for more pay.) e Mazzara - Employees should be allowed to renegotiate next year. M/ Fraser that Lake Elmo pay the extra 2% that was removed by the State. Motion failed due to lack of a second. M/S/P Eder/Morgan to grant two (2) additional floating holidays in 1983 to City employees in recognition of penalties from 20 increase in PERA fees. (3 ayes; Fraser and Dunn nays) C. Pump Sale - Ad was placed in St. Paul papers and Lake Elmo legal newspaper; City of Mora is still highest bidder ($2,180) with Carlson Equipment at $1,870. We paid $3,500 for equipment new. Maintenance Department would like to use money to buy smaller pump this spring to flush out culverts, etc. o Dunn - It's poor time to sell this equipment. ® Morgan - Agrees that February is not a good time to sell a pump. M/S/P Morgan/Dunn to table this item until June 1. (4 ayes; Fraser nay.) CITY COUNCIL MEETING - 2/15/83 Page seven D. Solid Waste Legislation - Proposed legislation received today provides that districts in County may pay something in lieu of property taxes. Should say "shall" instead of "may." Also, so as to get equal representation from Ramsey and Washington Counties, we could ask that 7th person selected for waste management district be resident of a city or that extra person cannot be a County official (Board member). Waste management district will eventually control landfills, hazardous waste, and garbage processing sites; and we don't want one County in control. Doesn't look like this whole package will be approved in 1983. Councillors were in general agreement with the above. M/S/P Morgan/Dunn to adjourn the meeting at 10:05. (5 ayes) Submitted by: Ilene Johnson, Acting Secretary ORDINANCES: 7940 - Codify Chapter 200 7941 - Codify Chapter 100 83466 83467 83468 83469 83470 83471 83472 83473 83474 83475 83476 83477 83478 83479 83460 CLAIMS TO BE APPROVED AT FEBRUARY 15, 1983 LAKE ELMO COUNCIL MEETING Dave Wisdorf - boots, clothing allowance Void Void First Nat'l Bk. of St. Paul - Park Bonds Metro Waste Control Commission - sewer service chg Four Seasons Services - cups & coffee Mary Meyer - 2/8/83 newsletter Stillwater Book & Stationery Copy Duplicating Products - copy paper Ilene Johnson - planning commission minutes $ 75.65 secretarial services 56.25 Junker Sanitation Oakwood Animal Hospital - January animal control University of MN - City Clerks conference, Larry Holiday Inn - clerks conference Croixside Press - Building Inspector Office Supplies 83481 TKDA - General $ 2,896.31 Pass Thru 150.20 M.S.A. 265.08 22.99 40,848.40 67.25 38.00 200.00 119.69 150.12 131.90 42.00 140.00 70.00 34.00 supplies $ 74.20 235.80 310.00 Water Dept. 865.73 83482 Meyer Mercantile - Maintenance Dept. $ 33.66 Fire Dept. 26.81 Parks - signs 2.94 83483 Brockman Motor Sales - Fire Dept. truck repa r 83484 Oswald Fire Hose - fire dept supplies 83485 Lake Elmo Oil - Maintenance $ 105.86 Fire Dept. 90.93 83486 Cemstone Products - Maintenance Dept. -sand 83487 Vern's G T C Auto Parts - Maintenance dept 83488 Aquazyme Midwest - Parks satelites 83489 Ra=Mar Plumbing - replace urinal in Park Shelter 83490 Meyer Cesspool Service - water dept. - main repair 83491 Water Products Co. - Water dept. parts & repairs 83492 thru 83505 February 18th payroll 4,177.32 63.41 1.91 277.75 196.79 34.08 57.90 144.00 266.25 187.50 190.16 5,500.00 $ 53,271.42