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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/23/2020LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 1 of 5 June 23, 2020 Call to Order Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Roll Call Councilors present: Andi Moffatt, Jeff Dains, Roxanne Grove, Kelly Dolphin, and Mayor Mary Gaasch. Councilors absent: None. 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 Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Moffatt to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of the June 9, 2020 city council meeting. There being none, Councilor Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Moffatt to approve the minutes of the June 9, 2020 city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any questions on the claims. There being none, Councilor Dains moved and seconded by .Councilor Grove to approve the claims totaling $60,071.40. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Consent Councilor Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Dains to approve the Consent Agenda thereby acknowledging the May Financial Report and approving Resolution No. 062320A — Approving a 2 -Foot Variance to the Side -Yard Setback at 1767 Malvern Street. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Informational Presentations/Reports A. City Council Updates Mayor Gaasch stated that she attended her last Metro Cities Board of Directors meeting. She will miss being part of the organization and their expanded work around race and equity. Discussion/Action Item A. Draft Fire Services Contract with St. Paul Fire Department and Draft Termination Letter with City of Falcon Heights The City Council has been considering contracting with the city of St. Paul for fire services. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 2 of 5 June 23, 2020 The change was prompted by conversations between Lauderdale staff, Falcon Heights staff, and the council regarding risks inherent to having a volunteer fire department after the absence of response to two fire calls in late 2019. The City must notify Falcon Heights by July 15 if it intends to withdraw from the current contract. A draft letter addressed to the Falcon Heights mayor was included in the packet for review by the Council. After the Council discussed the matter, Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone interested in addressing the Council on the topic. Daryle Goodmanson, 1803 Malvern Street, stated that he fully supports the change to the St. Paul Fire Department (SPFD). He believes that the firing of Chief Hinrichs from the Falcon Heights Fire Department (FHFD) was unjust and diminished the quality of serve. He mentioned slow response times from FHFD as reasons for supporting the change. Crystal Wisen, 1765 Carl Street, added that she supported the change to SPFD, and shared that she believed the City Council was doing a great job. There being no other people interested in speaking on this topic, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to send a draft letter to Falcon Heights notifying them of the City's intent to withdrawal from the current contract. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. B. Consideration of Resolution No. 062320B — Approving a Lot Split of Real Property Located at 1767 Malvern Street 1767 Malvern Street consists of two forty -foot (40') lots that have been consolidated into one eighty -foot (80') parcel of land for tax purposes. The proposed division would recreate the two originally platted forty -foot (40') lots. After dividing the lots, Parcel "A" (the northerly lot) would have a house and garage, and Parcel "B" (the southerly lot) would have a garage. Since a garage exists on the lot being separated, a separate agreement was needed to address the matter and was the next item on the agenda. Councilor Dolphin made a motion to adopt Resolution 062320B — A Resolution Approving Lot Split of Real Property Located at 1767 Malvern Street. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. C. Petition and Waiver Agreement for 1763 Malvern Street In the preceding item, the Council approved the division of 1767 Malvern Street into two parcels. Per code, a lot cannot have a stand-alone garage. As the garage is relatively new, it does not make sense to tear it down. The owners were selling to a builder that plans to build a house to go with the garage. An agreement was required to ensure that if this does not happen, the City LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 3 of 5 June 23, 2020 has the authority to remove the garage. The agreement gives a one-year timeline for the owner to obtain a building permit to construct a house to go with the garage. The owner then has one additional year to construct the house after obtaining the building permit. If a building permit is not obtained within one year, and the garage has not been removed, then the City has the ability per the agreement to remove the garage and assess the cost to the property. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to approve the agreement with Grace B. Dyrud and Keith P. Dyrud, owners of Lot 10, Block 9, Lauderdale's East Side Addition to Minneapolis, Ramsey County, Minnesota, as presented. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously. D. Request for a Fence in the Right -of -Way at 2445 Summer Street Zack and Claire Zehrer, 2445 Summer Street, requested the City Council grant an exception to the city code to allow them to construct a fence in the right-of-way of Summer Street, on the east side of the alley between Malvern Street and Walnut Street. The Summer Street boulevard is —11' wide, plus there is a 1' setback requirement for corner houses. Thus, the minimum setback from Summer Street for the fence is 12'. They proposed to locate the fence 4' from Summer Street, which would be an encroachment of 8'. Their materials are included in the packet. Consideration should be given to sight lines and safety. Staff included information about the properties referenced at the last meeting where it looked like fences were built in the right-of- way. Due to platting anomalies on Ione Street and Summer Street, the fences in those locations were set back at least one foot from the right-of-way even though they don't appear to be. Zack and Claire Zehrer, 2445 Summer Street, agreed to incur any costs associated with removing the fence for utility purposes. The Council discussed reasons to allow and not allow the fence. One perspective was that the request was reasonable considering the layout of the Zehrer's lot. The other perspective was that the Council should preserve the public rights-of-way for public utilities, snow storage, and maintaining sightlines for the safety of the traveling public. Councilor Dains made a motion directing staff to draft a resolution outlying conditions such as height, opacity, setbacks, and materials for consideration at the next meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried on a 3-2 roll call vote with Councilors Dains, Grove, and Dolphin voting yea and Councilor Moffatt and Mayor Gaasch voting nay. E. Quote from Midwest Playscapes for the Purchase of Playground Equipment for Skyview Park Butkowski said the design reflected the feedback received from residents. The design went through many iterations to make it work on the site with the smallest possible footprint. If the Council approves the purchase of the equipment, staff will have the quotes for installation and surfacing on the next agenda LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 4 of 5 June 23, 2020 Councilor Grove made a motion to approve the play structure as presented. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. F. Covid-19 Preparedness Plan Under Executive Order 20-74, released by Governor Walz on June 5, critical sector businesses including government entities like cities were required to adopt COVID-19 Preparedness Plans. Staff drafted the plan; it remains a work in progress as things continue to change. Councilor Dains made a motion to approve the COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for the City of Lauderdale as presented. This was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried unanimously. Set Agenda for Next Meeting Administrator Butkowski stated that the July 14 council meeting may include the fire services agreement with the City of St. Paul, quotes for installation of surfacing and playground equipment at Skyview Park, and a resolution for a fence at 2445 Summer Street. Work Session A. Coronavirus Impacts Update Butkowski stated that Ramsey County Elections will provide personal protection equipment (PPE) for judges, but there may be items that we may be able to upgrade. B. Community Development Update Butkowski mentioned that early voting for the primary election began on June 26. Mayor Gaasch stated that 8,500 protestors were tested for the coronavirus, and less than one percent of those tested were positive. Gaasch continued to say it appears that when we are in outdoor spaces the risk of transmission is low, and thus proposed reopening the dog park for groups of five or less. Councilor Dains made a motion to open the dog park to groups of five people or less on the condition that the fence was completed. There being no second, the motion did not pass. Butkowski shared that she received a quote to complete the mowing guard for the dog park fencing and will contact a fence company about needed repairs. Butkowski mentioned that Myrna and Charlie Smith agreed to sign an easement agreement for the storm water improvements near the Nature Area. We already have a signed easement agreement from Rose Hill Townhomes. C. Opportunity for the Public to Address the City Council Mayor Gaasch opened up the floor to anyone in attendance interested in addressing the council. Daryle Goodmanson, 1803 Malvern Street, commend the Council and administrator for the way LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 5 of 5 June 23, 2020 Lauderdale conducts its meetings and for how each council member respectfully stands up for what they believe in. There being no other people interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. Adjournment Councilor Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Moffatt to adjourn the meeting at 9:26 p.m. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Respectfully submitted, 04,114 Miles Cline Deputy City Clerk