HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/26/2022LAUD F RDAL E CITY COUNCIL
MFOETING MINUTFA,S
L auderdale City Hall
1891 Walnut Street
L auderdale, MN 55113
P age 1 of 5 July 26, 2022
Call to Order
Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Roll Call
Councilors present: Andi Moffatt, Jeff Dains, Roxanne Grove, Duane Pulford 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. Mayor Gaasch stated
that she would like to add a letter from the League of Minnesota Cities recognizing State
Representative Alice Hausman. There being nothing else, Councilor Moffatt moved and
seconded by Councilor Dains to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously.
Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of the July 12, 2022 city
council meeting. There being none Councilor Pulford moved and seconded by Councilor Grove
to approve the minutes of the July 12, 2022 city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Mayoi Gaasch asked if there were any questions on the claims. There being none, Councilor
Moffatt moved and seconded by Councilor Dains to approve the claims totaling $19,535.87.
Motion carried unanimously.
Informational Presentations/Reports
A. Day in the Park
Assistant to the City Administiator Bownik gave an overview of last week's event in Lauderdale
Community Park. The Council thanked the volunteers and community for attending.
B . Primary Hection and Candidate Filing
Administrator Butkowski stated that primary election voting is available at City Hall. Candidate
filing will run from August 2 to August 16.
C. City Council Updates
Councilor Dains stated that multiple residents spoke to him at Day in the Park about the
watershed district's Adopt -a -Drain program.
LAUDERDALF, CITY COUNCIL
MF F,TING MINUTF,S
Lauderdale City Hall
1891 Walnut Street
L auderdale, MN 55113
P age 2 of 5 July 26, 2022
Mayor Gaasch shared that she is a member of the League of Minnesota Cities board of directors.
One topic they have been discussing is cannabis edibles, and how to deal with the new
legislation given the lack of clarity provided by the legislature on how to regulate the products.
Councilor Grove stated that a Ramsey County League of Local Governments meeting would
take place on August 11.
P ublic Hearings
A. Ordinance No. 22 04 Regarding Administrative Citations
During the previous meeting, the Council discussed drafts of an administrative citation ordinance
and a public safety nuisance fee ordinance. The purpose of the ordinances is to address properties
with condition and/or conduct issues that are hard to tackle via the criminal court system.
Carri Levitski from Rum River Consultants (RRC) joined the meeting remotely to share how
RRC staff will use the administrative citations ordinance to tackle building and nuisance code
issues. Prior to joining RRC, Carni worked in community development for a couple of different
cities and utilized these tools.
Staff included the two draft ordinances along with a suggested fee schedule. If the fee schedule
needs revisions, the ordinances can be adopted at this meeting and the fee schedule at the next.
Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance interested in addressing the Council.
Anna French, 1765 Eustis Street, asked the Council for clarity on who would be issuing the
citations. The citations will be issued by city staff and the building official. At this point, the
police department does not plan on issuing them.
There being nobody else interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor.
Councilor Pulford made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 22 04 adding Chapter 11 to
Title 1 of the Code of Ordinances Regarding Administrative Citations. This was
seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously.
B . Resolution No. 072622A - Authorizing Publication of Ordinance No. 22 04 by Title and
Summary.
Councilor Pulford made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 072622A Authorizing
Publication of Ordinance No. 22 04 by Title and Summary. This was seconded by
Councilor Moffatt and carried unanimously.
LAUDFiRDALFi, CITY COTTNCIL
MF 'I ;TIl\G MINUTF�;S
L auderdale City Hall
1891 Walnut Street
L auderdale, MN 55113
Page 3 of 5 July 26, 2022
C. Ordinance No. 22-05 Regarding Public Safety Repeat Nuisance Call Service Fees
There being nobody interested in speaking, Mayoi Gaasch closed the floor.
Councilor Pulford made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 22-05 adding Chaptei 12 to
Title 5 of the Code of Ordinances Regarding Public Safety Repeat Nuisance Call Service
Fees. This was seconded by Councilor Grove and carried unanimously.
D. Resolution No. 072622B — Authorizing Publication of Ordinance No. 22-05 by Title and
Summary.
Councilor Pulford made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 072622B Authorizing
Publication of Ordinance No. 22-05 by Title and Summary. This was seconded by
Councilor Dains and carried unanimously.
E Ordinance No. 072622C — Interim Ordinance Authorizing Studies and Imposing a
Moratorium on the Sale of Cannabis Pioducts
Butkowski explained that the legalization of edible cannabinoids by the state legislature this year
created a number of questions foi cities on whether they should or should not take a role in
regulating the sale or location of the sale of these products such as they do alcohol and tobacco.
The League of Minnesota Cities and city attorneys throughout the state are taking a look at the
new law and trying to answer the questions being posed by their city clients. Because state law
has little by way of regulation of the pioduct, it is being left up to cities. There is a strong
possibility the legislature will create additional regulations, but that would not happen until the
legislative session next year which leaves cities deciding what, if anything, to do now. Because
of the uncertainty around the issue, the City Council can adopt an interim ordinance to prohibit
the sale of the edible cannabinoids within the City for up to one yeas to research the issue.
Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance interested in addressing the Council.
Anna French, 1765 Eustis Street, asked the Council for clarity in the language of the ordinance.
There being nobody else interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor.
Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 22-06 adopting an Interim
Ordinance Authorizing Studies and Imposing a Moratorium on the Sale of Cannabis
Products through June 30, 2023. This was seconded by Councilor Pulford and carried
unanimously.
F. Resolution No. 072622C - Authorizing Publication of Ordinance No. 22-06 by Title and
Summary.
LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
L auderdale City Hall
1891 Walnut Street
L auderdale, MN 55113
Page 4 of 5 July 26, 2022
Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 072622C Authorizing
Publication of Oidinance No. 22-06 by Title and Summary. This was seconded by
Councilor Grove and carried unanimously.
D iscussion/Action Item
A. Resolution No. 072622D — Amending the 2022 Fee Schedule
Butkowski said staff amended the fee schedule to include the types of violations staff envision
enforcing through administration citations from adoption through the end of 2022. Based on how
well it works, more items could be added in 2023. Staff looked foi feedback on the list but
especially on the fine level. Most of the fines were lower than the Roseville or Cambridge fees
we looked at, but also seem to have a level of reasonableness.
After Council discussion and amendments, Councilor Moffatt made a motion to adopt
Resolution No. 072622D Amending the 2022 Fee Schedule. This was seconded by
Councilor Grove and carried unanimously.
B . 2023 General Fund Budget Overview
Staff continue to work on a diaft of the 2023 general fund budget. The main issues to work
through are inflation and staffing pressures. A few of the cost drivers for 2023 are•
• $63,182 or 7.93% increase in policing costs
• $14,757 or 2.8% decrease in LGA
• $4,639 or 21.4% increase for IT services
Without factoring increasing staffing costs, fuel costs, or any increases from any of our other
partners, the City has to address a $82,578 budgetary shortfall or about double our annual
general fund budget increase.
Butkowski suggested making a permanent annual contribution from the sanitary sewei fund and
the storm sewer fund to cover administrative overhead. Currently, there is some cost sharing with
these funds but they have never contributed to building repairs and maintenance, vehicle repairs
and maintenance, legal services, and legislative time to name a few. If the transfer is permanent,
the future impact is less as the enterprise funds are healthy and the expected transfers are small.
Another option proposed was to use some of the American Rescue Plan dollars to cover the
shortfall since the funds were designed for that, and create a short-term solution to reach an
acceptable levy increase. As these are non-recurring funds paying for recurring expenses, the
levy will eventually need to be raised to cover the costs. Ideally, by next year, prices will have
flattened and decisions can then be made based on the new reality.
LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL
MH FIXING MINUTES
L auderdale City Hall
1891 Walnut Street
L auderdale, MN 55113
P age 5 of 5 July 26, 2022
Additional Items
A. League of Minnesota Cities Letter Recognizing State Representative Alice Hausman
Mayor Gaasch read aloud a letter from the League of Minnesota Cities recognizing Hausman's
accomplishments in the state legislature ahead of hei upcoming retirement.
Set Agenda for Next Meeting
B utkowski said the August 8 council meeting might include the June financial report and the
2023 general fund budget.
Work Session
A. Community Development Update
B utkowski shared that Real Estate Equities was hosting their community pre -construction
meeting on July 27.
B Opportunity for the Public to Address the City Council
Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to anyone in attendance interested in addressing the Council.
There being no one interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor.
Adjournment
Councilor Pulford moved and seconded by Councilor Dains to adjourn the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
01440_ Cilyy4
Miles Cline
D eputy City Clerk