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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/08/2025LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 3 April 8, 2025 Call to Order Mayor Gaasch called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Roll Call Councilors present: Evan Sayre, Sharon Kelly, Duane Pulford, Jeff Dains, and Mayor Mary Gaasch. Councilors absent: None. Staff present: Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator; and Miles Cline, Deputy City Clerk. Mayor Gaasch and Councilor Kelly extended their condolences to the family of Gregory Williams who suddenly passed away on April 1. Mr. Williams was the chair of our environmental commission, a valued member of our community, and will be sorely missed in the City. Approvals Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any additions to the meeting agenda. There being none, Councilor Kelly moved and seconded by Councilor Pulford to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were corrections to the minutes of the March 25, 2025, City Council meeting. There being none, Councilor Pulford moved and seconded by Councilor Dains to approve the March 25, 2025, City Council meeting minutes. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gaasch asked if there were any questions on the claims. There being none, Councilor Kelly moved and seconded by Councilor Pulford to approve the claims totaling $134,901.83. Motion carried unanimously. Consent A. February Finance Reports Councilor Kelly moved and seconded by Councilor Pulford to approve the Consent Agenda thereby acknowledging the February finance reports. Informational Presentations/Reports A. Annual Audit Presentation by Bonnie Schwieger from Abdo Each year, a representative of Abdo presents the findings of the annual audit to the City Council. This year, Bonnie Schwieger shared a presentation of the Annual Financial Statements to the Council. At the conclusion of the presentation, she fielded questions from the Council, who accepted the results of the audit reports. B. Falcon Heights — Lauderdale Sustainability Fair Assistant to the City Administrator Bownik highlighted the upcoming sustainability fair taking place on April 26 at Falcon Heights City Hall. The event will include textile and electronics recycling, along with guest speakers and kid -friendly activities. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 3 April 8, 2025 Discussion/Action Item A. Resolution No. 040825A Accepting Bids for the 2025 Sanitary Sewer Structure Repairs Project Prior to milling and overlaying of city streets in the future, the sanitary sewer manholes need rehabilitation. Some have been repaired because the concrete rings failed and resulted in issues that affected drivers. All of the manholes were televised to assess their condition last year. The next step was to bid the project to repair the manholes this summer. Previously, the Council approved bidding the project with an engineer's estimate of $340,000. Staff were pleased to report that the low bid came in 37% below the engineer's estimate at $213,600.75. Kellie Schlegel, Stantec Consultants, joined the meeting virtually to answer questions from the Council about the project. She said the project was bid with two alternates since they were uncertain whether plastic or concrete rings would be more cost effective. She believes either option will work well and recommended whichever option was cheaper. The cheaper option was the plastic rings or option #2. Councilor Dains moved to adopt Resolution No. 040825A — A Resolution Accepting Bids for the 2025 Sanitary Sewer Structure Repairs Project. The motion was seconded by Councilor Pulford. Motion carried unanimously. B. Appoint Keith Streff as an Administrative Hearing Officer The St. Anthony Police Department determines whether animals that attack other animals or humans are dangerous or potentially dangerous based on state law. Owners of dogs that are designated as dangerous have the right to appeal the designation. When that happens, the City must have an administrative hearing officer hear the appeal. Per state statute. M.S. 347.541, subd. 4 says, "The hearing officer must be an impartial employee of the local government, or an impartial person retained by the local government to conduct the hearing." Keith Streff came highly recommended as he hears appeals for about thirty cities. He also is an administrative hearing officer for topics other than animals. The City could use him for other cases if the need ever arose. Councilor Pulford made a motion to appoint Keith Streff as an Administrative Hearing Officer for the City of Lauderdale. This was seconded by Councilor Sayre and carried unanimously. C. Resolution No. 040825B Accepting a Donation for a Memorial Bench The mother of Melissa Walker of Pleasant Street died recently. Melissa inquired about purchasing a memorial bench for the park. The funds are being held by a third party that said the amount available is between $2,000 and $2,500. A bench with inscription was quoted at $2,805.00. Cities must accept donations by resolution. The resolution recognizes that the fund may not cover the entirety of the bench. Those costs would be picked up by the City. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 3 April 8, 2025 Councilor Kelly moved to adopt Resolution No. 040825B — A Resolution Accepting a Donation for a Memorial Bench. This was seconded by Councilor Dains and carried unanimously. D. Set Date for Day in the Park After discussion, the Council tentatively chose Thursday, July 10 for Day in the Park. The plan is to solidify the date at the next city council meeting after checking for any potential conflicts. Set Agenda for Next Meeting Bownik stated that the April 22 Council meeting might include the March financial report, and the annual St. Anthony police department presentation. Work Session A. Community Development Update Councilor Pulford stated that Nine North created a video article for their website about the 'Bird Man.' Pulford continued to say that the Ramsey County Environmental Center is now open and accepting discarded waste items. Finally, Councilor Kelly shared she invited all the Council members to a Northeast Youth and Family Services leadership luncheon on May 12. B. Opportunity for the Public to Address the City Council Mayor Gaasch opened the floor to those interested in addressing the Council. There being nobody interested in speaking, Mayor Gaasch closed the floor. Adjournment Councilor Dains moved and seconded by Councilor Kelly to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Gam- Geip.c Miles Cline Deputy City Clerk