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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/22/2020LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 1 of 5 September 22, 2020 Call to Order Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:31 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. Administrator Butkowski stated that she would like to add a petition and waiver agreement to the Additional Items section of the agenda. There being nothing else, Councilor Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of the September 8, 2020 city council meeting. There being none, Councilor Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Grove to approve the minutes of the September 8, 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 $92,617.35. 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 August financial report. Informational Presentations/Reports A. Informational Update Regarding Local Street Racing Activity by St. Anthony Police Department Sergeants Huddle and Dokken Sergeants Huddle and Dokken discussed the street racing regularly heard by residents. St. Anthony police officers working the overnight shift spend considerable time addressing this activity. This activity is tough to deter but officers ticket as many of the reckless drivers as possible. This year, disrupting the activity has been exceptionally difficult as the drivers' behaviors have become increasingly hostile and aggressive. SAPD has abandoned many chases as the pursuits were unsafe. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 2 of 5 September 22, 2020 Councilors discussed with the sergeants options for collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions and enforcement options within Lauderdale. Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance interested in addressing the Council on this topic. Don Vandenberg, 1737 Fulham Street, asked the Council what neighboring cities are doing about racing issues. He suggested working with a private venue to establish sanctioned racing might help alleviate this problem. Josh Dirksen, 1815 Lake Street, was interested in knowing what state resources could be used to combat the racing issues. There being no additional people interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. Disrupting the street racers is an ongoing commitment of SAPD and the City Council. B. 2020 Election Update Administrator Butkowski mentioned that City Hall has been busy with in-person absentee voting. She encouraged residents that requested mailed absentee ballots to wait for them instead of voting at City Hall. Additionally, she suggested residents call City Hall with any voting questions and to find out if there was a queue of voters before corning to City Hall to vote. C. City Council Updates Mayor Gaasch shared that free Covid-19 testing would be available September 24 — 25 at Mount Olivet Baptist Church in St. Paul. Gaasch also attended a webinar on September 21 for elected officials on the topic of bridging the divide during this divisive period in our country. Councilor Moffatt stated that she is planning on hosting a City Council pop-up meeting with another council member at the Lauderdale Community Park on September 27 at noon. Discussion/Action Item A. Destructive Order to Abate Nuisances at 1937 Pleasant Street City staff informed the owner of 1937 Pleasant Street that the City Council would decide whether to abate the rank growth nuisances on his property at this meeting. Since the owner resolved roughly 90% of the issue over the weekend, staff proposed working with him to finish the rest. B. Ordinance No. 20-03 Amending Title 9, Chapter 7 of City Code Regulating Fences and Retaining Walls Butkowski reviewed the final draft of the Fence and Retaining Wall ordinance with the Council. The City's civil attorney reviewed it and his changes have been incorporated. The document is ready for final discussion and adoption if the Council so chooses. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 3 of 5 September 22, 2020 Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 20-03, Amending Title 9, Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances Regarding Fences and Retaining Walls. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. C. Resolution No. 092220A – Authorizing Publication of Ordinance No. 20-03 by Title and Summary The newly adopted ordinance may be published by title and summary by a four -fifth vote. Staff would publish the summary in an upcoming edition of the Pioneer Press in -lieu of publishing the ordinance in its entirety due to its length and images. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 092220A — A Resolution Authorizing Publication of Ordinance No. 20-03 by Title and Summary. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. D. 1795 Eustis Street Redevelopment Schedule Staff, Jennifer Haskamp, and Patrick Ostrom from Real Estate Equities created a schedule to complete the land use approvals before the end of the year. The City's bond council will be at the October 13 meeting to discuss the bonds sold by the City to purchase 1795 Eustis Street. E. Resolution No. 092220B – Preliminary Property Tax Levy and Establishing Budget Meeting Date Staff revised the budget since the last meeting, but the proposed levy remains the same. To balance the budget requires an increase of $46,291 resulting in an overall general fund increase of 1.6%. The budget balances at $1,508,349. In addition to establishing the levy, the Council set the date and time of the public hearing prior to adopting the final budget and levy. This year the public hearing only can be held at the regularly scheduled December 8 meeting. The resolution dedicated $67,955.78 from the 414 Development Fund to cover what otherwise would be the 2020 debt levy. The Council committed to using the funds generated from conduit debt projects to fund the portion of the 2019 Infrastructure Improvement Project not covered by special assessments. This transfer will be noted in the 2021 budget. Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 092220B Adopting the 2021 Preliminary Property Tax Levy and Establishing the Budget Meeting Date. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. F. 2020-2021 Warming House Plans Staff anticipate that residents would like to use the outdoor rinks this winter. However, it would be difficult to meet social distancing guidelines in the Warming House. Staff plan to hire staff to flood the rinks and will look for option to set up exterior spaces so people can put on their skates. Staff will bring forward a memo hiring the flooding staff in a few weeks. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 4 of 5 September 22, 2020 G. Process for Handling Residents Requests Since the previous meeting, staff checked with the cities of Falcon Heights, Roseville and St. Anthony about how they handle non -zoning requests for deviations from city code. They said they apply the variance process established in state law for zoning regulations to other types of requests. The Council and staff discussed the pros and cons of this process. The conclusion was to try to make the process work in Lauderdale as well. H. Establish Date to Canvas Election Results The additional time granted to count ballots this year pushed back the date for canvassing the election results. The City Council must canvass the results of the election on Thursday, November 12 or Friday, November 13. The City Council will need to hold a special meeting on one of those days. Staff will post and disseminate notice of the meeting. The Council chose to hold the special meeting on Thursday, November 12 at 5:30 p.m. Additional Items A. Petition and Waiver Agreements Property owners affected by Emerald Ash Borer want to make use of the option to have the City finance some or all of their tree removal costs now and pay back the costs over time. The tool to do this is a petition and waiver agreement. The repayment method is a special assessment. Property owners have the option to reimburse the City for some of the cost by November 1, 2020 or have the entire cost spread out over a negotiable term of years subject to a 4.15% interest rate. The city attorney was updating the agreement. He wanted to make sure it would work when the property owner paid to have the tree removed and sought reimbursement and when the City paid the tree trimmer directly. Staff asked the Council to approve the use of petition and waiver agreements to finance tree removals and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign them as they arise. Councilor Dains made a motion to approve the Petition and Waiver Agreement as prepared by the city attorney and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign all agreements without additional council approvals. This was seconded by Councilor Dolphin and carried unanimously. Set Agenda for Next Meeting The September 29 council meeting may include the 2021 CTV service agreement, CARES funding proposal, City website proposals, MWMO presentation on organizational priorities, and the tobacco ordinance study and revisions. Work Session A. Coronavirus Impacts Update All related items were covered during the course of the meeting. B. Community Development Update All related items were covered during the course of the meeting. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HELD REMOTELY VIA TELECONFERENCE Page 5 of 5 September 22, 2020 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. Josh Dirksen, 1815 Lake Street, believed the City should reconsider its deal with Real Estate Equities. He mentioned the group of residents working on a Halloween event. They will release more information about their plans within a next week. Duane Pulford, 1757 Eustis Street, asked whether the current proposal made by Real Estate Equities and agreed upon by the City was still the same. There being no additional people interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. Adjournment Councilor Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Dolphin to adjourn the meeting at 9:23 p.m. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote. Respectfully submitted, Miles Cline Deputy City Clerk