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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/12/2018LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 5 June 12, 2018 Roll Call Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilors present: Andi Moffatt, Roxanne Grove, Kelly Dolphin, and Mayor Mary Gaasch. Councilors absent: Jeff Dains. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator; and Miles Cline, Deputy City Clerk. Approvals Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any additions to the meeting agenda. There being none, Councilor Grove moved and seconded by Councilor Dolphin to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any changes to the meeting minutes. There being none, Councilor Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the minutes of the May 22, 2018, city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any questions on the claims. There being none, Councilor Dolphin moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the claims totaling $97,665.44. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Councilor Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the Consent Agenda thereby acknowledging the April Financial Report and approving the employee step increases, the liquor license application for Day in the Park, and the performance agreement with Dawn Tanner for the June Fanners Market. Informational Presentations/Reports A. Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff and District 10 Representative Marie McCarthy Council Chair Tchourumoff, Representative McCarthy, and Planner Eric Wojchik addressed the City Council. They gave policy and planning updates and answered questions from the City Council. B. City Council Updates Councilor Dolphin shared that she attended a Cable Commission meeting. Mayor Gaasch noted attending a tour of the Bell Museum. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 5 June 12, 2018 C. Farmers Market Update Bownik updated the Council on the summer Farmers Markets. The first one of the year will be Thursday, June 21. The subsequent markets will take place on the third Thursday of each month, with August's coinciding with Day in the Park festivities. Dawn Tanner will be perfoiming live music at the June 21 gathering. Discussion/Action Items A. Lot Division of 1937 Eustis Street Tim Rysgaard is requesting two parcels at 1937 Eustis Street previously consolidated under one property identification number be divided into two separate parcels. The existing parcel of land consists of two forty -foot (40') lots that were administratively consolidated into one eighty -foot (80') parcel of land. The proposed division would reassign unique property identification numbers to the parcels. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Resolution 061218A allowing for the division of two previously consolidated residential parcels of land located at 1937 Eustis Street. This was seconded by Councilor Dolphin and carried unanimously. B. Fire Department Use of 1795 Eustis Street At the previous meeting, while giving the Annual Fire Department Report, Chief Hinrichs mentioned a desire to use 1795 Eustis Street for fire department trainings. Staff wanted to elaborate on this and see if the Council had any concerns or questions. The fire department has limited places to train and view the former church/school as an exciting resource to use while the City owns it. Almost all types of trainings discussed at the last meeting can be done in the building. They would like to use it about once a week. At this point, none of the trainings would be destructive. They would perform destructive exercises if allowed before the building is razed. The police department also expressed interest in using the building for trainings but not on a regular basis. The police department and fire department have overlapping trainings (i.e. active shooter) that they would host there together. Butkowski informally polled the Council to see if there were any objections on this matter. Being that there were none, the police and fire departments were given the go ahead for future training exercises. C. Purchase Agreement for 1825 Eustis Street At the April 24 meeting, the Council prepared an offer to purchase 1825 Eustis Street. Since then, staff has walked through the building and has been working on a purchase agreement with LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 5 June 12, 2018 the owner. Staff has also worked to find solutions to issues identified with the well and old fuel oil tank that is likely on the site. Staff has been working on gathering cost estimates for the demolition and an understanding of the process to demolish a property. The purchase of the property must be approved at an open meeting and the public must be made aware of the purchase price of $80,000 for both original platted lots of record ($40,000 per lot). Councilor Dolphin made a motion authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to execute the purchase agreement for 1825 Eustis Street. This was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried unanimously. D. Jurisdictional Transfer of Eustis Street and Roselawn Avenue Lauderdale staff and Ramsey County staff have been working together to finalize a deal in which Lauderdale takes back portions of Eustis Street and Roselawn Avenue. The County has improved upon the deal from previous meetings by offering Lauderdale additional funding, but the City would still need to come up with more money to make it work. In previous discussions, the Council emphasized trying to maintain a three percent debt levy for the City's contribution to the street improvements. The County's latest offer resulted in a five to six percent debt levy or about a difference of $15,000 per year over the ten years the bond is repaid. Based on these numbers the Council wished to move ahead with soil borings and city attorney review of the proposed jurisdictional transfer agreement. E. Geotechnical Proposals for Eustis Street and Roselawn Avenue As the City and County are close to reaching a deal over the roads, the city engineer recommends soil borings be done prior to finalizing an agreement. To this point, some assumptions have been made by the City and County with regard to the existing road. Soil borings will provide some insight and provide a final look for any issues that would deter the Council from agreeing to take ownership of the roads. The city engineer received proposals from four companies with the best proposal from Northern Technologies, LLC. The County is aware of our interest in doing the soil borings and understands an agreement will not be finalized until we know the results. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to contract with Northern Technologies, LLC for soil borings as presented. This was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried unanimously. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 5 June 12, 2018 Set Agenda for Next Meeting Administrator Butkowski stated that the June 26 council meeting may include the May Financial Report and rental housing license discussion for 1772 Pleasant Street. Work Session A. Opportunity for the Public to Address the City Council Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance that wanted to address the Council. The first person to address the Council was Jon Abeler of Roseville. He expressed his concerns over the barking dogs in the dog park, citing nuisance ordinances and conditional use permits. He also stated that there was an abundance of noise coming from the park in general. The second person to address the Council was Masumi Abeler. She stated similar concerns about the dog park, and hoped that the neighbors in the area and dog park community could come to a peaceful resolution. B. Settling of Insurance Claim for 2430 Larpenteur Avenue Staff continued to spend time working on the Service Station insurance claim issue through the spring. An adjustor from a restoration company analyzed the insurance offer recently and felt it was reasonable. Based on this assessment and information from adjustors at the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, staff recommended accepting the insurance company's settlement offer. The offer is derived from costs incurred in three areas: 1) Initial securing of the property: 2) Repair/replacement of street lighting: 3) Restoration of 2430 Larpenteur: $ 415.00 $ 13,761.30 $ 23,926.53 $ 38,102.83 David Hinrichs, Public Works Coordinator, was at the meeting to discuss the condition of the building and options for repair. Public works staff would like to make the corrections necessary to continue using the building. They have been working to remove the debris from inside the building and that work has largely been completed. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to accept the insurance settlement and continue to use the Service Station as a public works garage. This was seconded by Councilor Dolphin and carried unanimously. C. Invasive Species Management Plan Proposal Butkowski explained that the Ramsey County Conservation District received grant money to tackle the Japanese Knotweed issue. The Lauderdale Nature Area has a significant infestation of LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 5 of 5 June 12, 2018 it. It was originally thought that the weed was contained to the area south of the Rosehill Townhomes and along the ravine. Recent efforts to get grant funding for the storm water pond on Luther Seminary's property has shown that the weed has spread. The weed is difficult to control and the help of the Conversation District in leading efforts to eradicate it is needed. The knotweed is not the only invasive species in the area. The Council has expressed interest in fighting the invasive species through methods such as goat grazing. Staff spoke with the weed expert at Stantec, Paul Bockenstedt, and asked him to provide guidance on the issue. He submitted a proposal for creating an invasive species management plan for the Japanese Knotweed. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to accept the invasive species management plan for Japanese Knotweed at a cost of $1,535. This was seconded by Councilor Dolphin and carried unanimously. D. Community Development Update Butkowski informed the Council that all updates have been covered throughout the course of the meeting. Adj ournment Councilor Dolphin moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to adjourn the meeting at 9:16 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, 444,64_ Cth/a, Miles Cline Deputy City Clerk