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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2015LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 4 January 13, 2015 Mayor Dains called the City Council meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Councilors present: Mary Gaasch, Roxanne Grove, Denise Hawkinson, Lara Mac Lean, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator and Jim Bownik, Assistant City Administrator. Butkowski led reelected Councilors Grove and Gaasch and Mayor Dains in the recitation of the oath of office. Mayor Dains asked for changes to the meeting agenda. There were no changes to the agenda. Councilor Gaasch moved to approve the agenda. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Gaasch moved to approve the December 9, 2014 City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the December 16, 2014 City Council special meeting minutes. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved approval of the claims totaling $236,714.28. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if any Councilors wished to remove items from the Consent Agenda. Mayor Dains removed the donation from the Twin City's Chinese Christian Church. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as amended, thereby approving the 2015 Investment Policy; Designating the Official Depository and Investment Institutions — Resolution 011315A; the 2015 City Council Schedule; Non-union Staff Compensation; the 2015 Tobacco and Alcohol Licenses; and acknowledging the November financial statements. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Discussion Items: Appointments and Committee Assignments Mayor Dains asked for Council input on assignments and appointments. The Council decided to retain Councilor Mary Gaasch as the Mayor Pro Tem and Lara Mac Lean as a bank signatory. The rest of the appointments remained the same with the exception of Councilor Gaasch being appointed to represent the City on the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization board LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 4 January 13, 2015 with Mayor Dains as alternate and Councilor Mac Lean becoming the Ramsey County League of Local Government alternate. Councilor Hawkinson moved to appoint Mary Gaasch as the Mayor Pro Tem, Lara Mac Lean and Mayor Dains as bank signatories, and adopt committee assignments as discussed. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 2015 Fee Schedule Resolution 011315E Butkowski presented minor changes to the Fee Schedule for 2015. City Staff are working with Commercial Building Inspector Duane Grace to amend building inspection fees. Butkowski stated this information will be presented to Council at a following meeting. Councilor Gaasch moved to adopt Resolution 011315B — A Resolution Establishing License and Permit Fees and Administrative Fees and Fines for 2015. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Agreement lvith Car2Go Mayor Dains explained that Josh Johnson of Cars2Go presented at the December 9 council meeting. Cars2Go would like to allow cars to be parked within Lauderdale. In order for that to happen they wanted to reach an agreement with the City regarding the parameters of the relationship. Butkowski stated that City Attorney Ron Batty has reviewed the agreement and it is ready for adoption. Councilor Hawkinson moved to enter into the Car Share Program License Agreement with Cars2Go as presented. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed with four yeas and an abstention by Mayor Dains. Additional Items: Donation from the Twin City's Chinese Christian Church Mayor Dains noted that the City Council appreciates the Church's annual donation to the City. Councilor Gaasch moved to accept the $1,500.00 donation from the Twin Cities Chinese Christian Church. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The agenda for the next meeting may include the Storm Water Ordinance Revisions, Transfers from Fund 601 to Fund 407, No Fault Sanitary Sewer Insurance, Approval of Variances for 2345 Summer Street, Recreation Agreement with the City of Falcon Heights, and a Discussion with the owner of Finn Sisu. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 4 January 13, 2015 Work Session: Mayor Dains explained that the Council was moving into the Work Session. Work Sessions are a continuation of the meeting but not aired on community television. Mayor Dains asked if anyone wished to address the Council. No one came forward. Discussion with Shawn Punjwani, Owner of Super USA Shawn Punjwani introduced himself to the Council. The discussion focused on the former service station site the City recently acquired. He indicated interest in acquiring the property if the City would allow it to be used for certain businesses, such as a liquor store. The Council said it is still keeping open the option for a municipal liquor store. The Council said it will continue to explore possibilities and stay in touch with the neighboring property owners. Planning for Staffing Changes Butkowski said staff has been exploring options for restructuring the public works department. Among staff's goals is to find a way to have public works staff available on the weekends since the City is providing services seven days a week. Public works staff asked the Council to consider bringing Joe Hughes back part-time, for up to five years, under a Phased Retirement Plan and hire another part time public works staffer for the days Joe does not work. The Council expressed interest in exploring the seven day a week staffing concept but wanted to move ahead with a permanent replacement in the public works department. Remote Meeting Attendance Policy As Councilor Hawkinson will be unable to attend upcoming city council meetings in person, staff researched options for councilors to participate remotely. To move forward, CTV would need to install a piece of A/V equipment to make it technically possible and the Council would need to adopt a policy allowing for the remote participation. The Council discussed whether to allow council members to participate remotely. They decided not to allow remote participation. Councilor Hawkinson will rejoin the Council upon her return. Communio) Development Update The City's financial consultant introduced the Chinese Christian Church to a developer to help assess whether the building could be repurposed for housing. The developer said based on the size of the structure and remodeling costs, they felt the building would need to be raised and rebuilt to be cost effective. The developer thought senior housing might be viable in that location. The consultant also invited single-family home developers to visit the site for their perspective on the viability of new home construction. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 4 January 13, 2015 There being no further business on the council agenda, Councilor Hawkinson moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, / 1 / Kevin Kelly Deputy City Clerk