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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/11/2019LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 5 June 11, 2019 Call to Order Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Roll Call Councilors present: Roxanne Grove, Andi Moffatt, Kelly Dolphin, and Mayor Mary Gaasch. Councilor 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. Butkowski stated that she would like to add a farmer's market update to the Informational Presentations/Reports section of the agenda. There being nothing else, Councilor Dolphin moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the meeting minutes of the May 14, 2019 special city council meeting. There being none, Councilor Grove moved and seconded by Councilor Mofatt to approve the minutes of the May 14, 2019 special city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the meeting minutes of the May 28, 2019 city council meeting. There being none, Councilor Mofatt moved and seconded by Councilor Dolphin to approve the minutes of the May 28, 2019 city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the meeting minutes of the May 29, 2019 special city council meeting. There being none, Councilor Dolphin moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the minutes of the May 29, 2019 special 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 $92,629.32. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Councilor Grove moved and seconded by Councilor Moffatt to approve the Consent Agenda thereby approving the deputy clerk step increase and the 2019 Infrastructure Improvement Project pay request number 1. Motion carried unanimously. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 5 June 11, 2019 Informational Presentations/Reports A. 2019 Infrastructure Improvement Project Update Administrator Butkowski provided an overview of the progress on the project. B. City Council Updates Councilor Moffatt shared that the staff and city council had their first Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) training last week. Councilor Dolphin stated that she attended a Cable Commission meeting where they discussed CenturyLink's decision not to renew their franchise agreement. The Commission also discussed the FCC's small cell wireless decisions and how they are being appealed by local units of government across the country. Mayor Gaasch added that she and Councilor Grove attended a Ramsey County League of Local Governments meeting. C. Farmers Market Update Assistant to the City Administrator Bownik provided the Council with an update on the farmers markets for this year. Bownik stated that they will be held on the third Thursdays of each month this summer from 4-7 p.m. with an additional hour being added for the July event coinciding with Day in the Park (4-8 p.m.). Dawn Tanner and Adam Granger will be providing musical entertainment at the June 20 event. Public Hearings A. Variance Requests for 1821 and 1831 Eustis Street Bownik approached the Council to present variance applications for 1821 and 1831 Eustis Street. Both proposals exceed the allowable lot coverage on the sites. After Council discussion, Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance that wanted to address the council. Craig Zbacnik, 1837 Eustis Street, read a letter that he submitted to the Council prior to the meeting. He stated that he is upset about the variance being considered in advance of the alley vacation public hearing. Bev Powell, 1819 Eustis Street, is concerned about the size of the new houses and asked that the Council adhere to the current code. Susan and John Shepperd, 1721 Pleasant Street, stated that they are buying one of the new homes. They explained that the foundation of their house will only be 998 square feet and will not dwarf neighboring homes. They also said they assumed that the alleyway going through was part of the deal. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 5 June 11, 2019 Tim Helin, general contractor for the new home constructions, explained that they created plans for the new houses assuming that the alleyway would go through. He felt eliminating the coverings for the porches would degrade the value of the homes. He said they are using plans they have used on similar sized lots with no issues. Michelle Schumacher, Lake Elmo, spoke as the owner of the Eustis Street lots. She said she was requesting the variance to be able to cover the porches with roofs. She believes the proposed homes are inviting and not too big for the lots at 950 square feet. She said other cities she builds in allow 35-40% lot coverage or don't factor in porches in the calculation. She also mentioned that she was under the assumption that the alleyway was part of the deal when purchasing the lots and was not something she requested. Mayor Gaasch closed the floor at 8:11 p.m. The Council discussed the matter and got answers to questions. The final decision will be made at the June 25 council meeting. Discussion/Action Items A. Resolution No. 061119A – A Resolution Awarding the Sale of General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2019A, in the Original Aggregate Principal Amount of $1,000,000; Fixing their Form and Specifications; Directing their Execution and Delivery; Providing for their Payment; and Authorizing the Execution of Documents in Connection Therewith The bond sale to finance the Eustis Street and Roselawn Avenue construction project was held on June 11. The City received five competitive offers. The City Council was asked to adopt a final version of Resolution No. 061119A to accept the lowest offer. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 061119A—A Resolution Awarding the Sale of General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2019A, in the Original Aggregate Principal Amount of $1,000,000; Fixing their Form and Specifications; Directing their Execution and Delivery; Providing for their Payment; and Authorizing the Execution of Documents in Connection Therewith. This was seconded by Councilor Dolphin and carried unanimously. B. Review of Draft Conditions for Redevelopment of 1795 Eustis Street The City's consulting planner, Jennifer Haskamp, from Swanson Haskamp Consulting, presented a memo based on the discussion from the previous meeting regarding conditions for the redevelopment of 1795 Eustis Street. Patrick Ostrom of Real Estate Equities said the conditions were reasonable and could be incorporate into the project. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 5 June 11, 2019 C. 2019 Infrastructure Improvement Project Construction Hours Northdale Construction is asking the City Council for a change to their construction hours to allow them to complete the project in a more timely fashion. The current working are: • 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday • 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays • No work on Sundays or Holidays Instead of being completed by 7:00 p.m. each day, they would use major construction equipment until 7:00 p.m. and then start their clean-up which includes maintaining erosion control measures and installing/maintaining ramps at driveways as needed with all personnel out of the area by 8:00 p.m. After Council discussion, it was decided that since the project was on track, they would not amend the schedule at this time. Should the project fall behind, staff was given the discretion to change the construction hours upon giving notice to the neighbors. D. Office Staffing during Fourth of July Holiday Independence Day is on a Thursday this year and City Hall is scheduled to be open on Friday. Staff asked the City Council whether it would consider closing City Hall on Friday, July 5. Business traffic around holidays generally is very light. If the Council approved of this plan, staff wishing to take the day off would use a vacation day. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to close City Hall on Friday, July 5. This was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried unanimously. Set Agenda for Next Meeting Administrator Butkowski stated that the June 25 council meeting may include the May Financial Report, the alley vacation public hearing, the decision on variance requests for 1821 and 1831 Eustis Street, the police contract discussion with City of St. Anthony staff, and the post issuance compliance policy update. 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. There being no interested parties to speak, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. B. City of St. Paul Plans for Como Avenue Reconstruction Staff from St. Paul Public Works met with city staff to discuss their proposed reconstruction of Como Avenue and Hunting Valley Road in 2020. The total project cost is approximately LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 5 of 5 June 11, 2019 $8,000,000 of which they estimate Lauderdale's portion of the project to be $850,000. They asked whether the City could contribute to construction costs, whether the City would specially assess benefiting properties, and whether the Council had an opinion of the installation of sidewalks through Lauderdale's portion of Como Avenue. The Council noted the difficulty in paying for a portion of the construction with such little notice, their belief that benefitting properties should be specially assessed as they have been elsewhere in the City, and that the sidewalk was best left to the discretion of the City of St. Paul since they were paying for it. C. Community Development Update Butkowski mentioned the sinkhole on Roselawn Avenue was scheduled to be repaired by Northdale Construction. Staff are working towards resubmitting the Comprehensive Plan to the Met Council. Staff will be meeting with the neighbors of the Luther Seminary redevelopment project as well as the Minnesota Land Trust. Adjournment Councilor Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to adjourn the meeting at 9:51 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Miles Cline Deputy City Clerk