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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/25/2014LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City.Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 4 November 25, 2014 Mayor Dains called the City Council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilors present: Mary Gaasch, Roxanne Grove, Denise Hawkinson, Lara Mac Lean, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant City Administrator; and Kevin Kelly, Deputy City Clerk. Mayor Dains asked for changes to the meeting agenda. No changes were made to the agenda. Councilor Grove moved to approve the agenda. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Gaasch moved to approve the November 10, 2014 City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Hawkinson moved approval of the claims totaling $89,640.84. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if any Councilors wished to remove items from the Consent Agenda. Councilor Hawkinson asked to remove the Hiring of Seasonal Warming House Staff. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the Consent Agenda as amended, thereby approving the October Financial Report, the Third Quarter Investment Report, and to adopt Resolution 112514A — Establishing 2015 Sanitary Sewer, Storm Sewer and Recycling rates and to adopt Resolution 112514B — Accepting the 2015 SCORE Grant for Recycling. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Discussion Items: Variance Request — 2345 Summer Street Bownik stated the variance request was to renovate and expand an existing garage on the property. The garage was built before the current zoning setbacks were established, so it encroaches in the setback areas. The expansion along the northern property line would continue the six inch encroachment into the rear yard setback. The construction along the western property line would continue the two foot encroachment into the rear yard setback. Bownik stated the applicant wrote the expansion was needed for storage of construction materials as well as vehicles. Mayor Dains called a public hearing on the variance request for 2345 Summer Street at 7:41 p.m. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 4 November 25, 2014 Kelly Dolphin of 1880 Pleasant Street addressed the Council. She felt that granting the variance to the rear yard setback would negatively affect their property. Dolphin stated the property owner of 2345 Summer Street has been working on the garage for the past year and materials from this work have been "flying" onto their property. Dolphin also stated that someone working on the garage used their fence as a ladder and that the property owner has started many projects over the years which haven't been completed. Mayor Dains closed the public hearing at 7:45 p.m. Mayor Dains explained the City has taken the property owners to court regarding the outside storage nuisance on the property and the garage expansion is the property owner's solution to the nuisance issue. The Council discussed placing conditions on the property owner before approving the variance request. One such condition was paving the gravel driveway on the property to meet current code standards. The Council directed staff to evaluate other conditions that would address the Dolphin's concerns. Bownik stated the Council is required to make a decision on the variance request within 60 days of receipt of the completed application. The City may extend the 60 day rule by another 60 days. Councilor Hawkinson moved to table the variance request for 2345 Summer Street. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The Mayor requested that the variance request be added to the December 9 council meeting agenda. The Mayor requested a break at 8:21 p.m. The Council meeting resumed at 8: 29 p. m. 1824 Walnut Retaining Wall Permit Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the retaining wall application for 1824 Walnut Street as presented. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 2015 Budget and Levy Butkowski noted changes to the budget including the Laipenteur Avenue snow removal costs, expanding and paving the parking lots in Community Park, cleaning services for City Hall, and returning the deputy clerk position to fulltime. Butkowski added that court fine revenue to the City is down about $8,000.00 in 2014 with no real clear reason why this has occurred. Butkowski explained the increase in expenditures of the above listed items will be offset by revenue from the issuance of the conduit bonds for the Eldercare project in Minneapolis. The budget presentation and public hearing will be held at the next meeting. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 4 November 25, 2014 Final Pay Request for Sanitary Sewer Lining Project (Visu-Sewer) Butkowski stated Visu-Sewer, Inc. sent final payment information to the City Engineer who reviewed the request. The final payment is for $17,078.15 which will come out of TIF funds. Councilor Gaasch moved to authorize final payment of the 2013 Sanitary Sewer Lining Project to Visu-Sewer, Inc. in the amount of $17,078.15. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ice Rink Attendant This item was removed from the consent agenda. There was no further discussion. Councilor Mac Lean moved to authorize staff to interview and hire seasonal personnel at $9.00/hour. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Agenda items for the next council meeting may include the 2015 budget presentation and levy adoption, storm water ordinance revisions, transfers from Fund 601 to Fund 407, no fault sewer Insurance, and a fence permit application for 1924 Walnut Street. 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. Snow Removal on Larpenteur Avenue Butkowski stated she spoke to a number of snow removal contractors who were unable to do the work due to their full client load or the Lazpenteur Avenue job not being large enough for the vendor to bid on. Butkowski received two proposals from contractors one of which was complete. 8th Day Landscaping submitted a complete application and were spoken highly of by their references. Councilor Hawkinson moved to authorize staff to approve contracting with 8th Day Landscaping through April 30 at $645.00 per month. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Public Works Succession Plan Butkowski explained that Joe Hughes, who has been the City maintenance worker for twenty years, is retiring at the end of January. As the job description needs to be rewritten to reflect new needs of the City, Butkowski ask the City Council to consider a temporary hire to get the City of LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 4 November 25, 2014 Lauderdale coverage through the winter so administrative staff can do a search for Joe's replacement. Staff will bring back a proposal to the next Council meeting. There being no further business on the council agenda, Councilor Hawkinson moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Kelly Deputy City Clerk