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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/09/2011LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 3 August 9, 2011 Mayor Dains called the City Council meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. Councilors present: Roxanne Grove, Denise Hawkinson, Lara Mac Lean, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Councilor absent: Mary Gaasch. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator, Mayor Dains Lean asked for changes to the meeting agenda. Butkowski added a second claims batch totaling $2,744.69. Councilor Grove moved to approve the agenda as amended. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the July 26, 2011, City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Hawkinson moved approval of the first claims batch totaling $80,969.34 and the second claims batch totaling $2,744.69. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved the consent agenda appointing Nicole Johnson to the PCIC, acknowledging the second quarter investment report, accepting Infratech's sewer televising quote, and approving the agreement with the City's tree trimming contractor. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. County Sheriff Matt Bostrom addressed the Council. He plans to meet with each Ramsey County city council twice per year to provide updates and gather feedback. He explained the responsibilities of the county sheriff and how his office was being as effective as it could be within the budget it had. The Council said they were pleased with his work so far and were glad he was seeking input from the communities he serves. Butkowski highlighted the Lauderdale — Falcon Heights 5K being held Saturday, August 13. The Lauderdale Wellness Center, Finn Sisu, Bruegger's Bagels, and Lauderdale BP were sponsoring the race. Runners may sign up until the race starts. Bownik reported that Day in the Park was happening on August 20 from noon to 3:00 p.m. Hamline Autobody was sponsoring the Lazy Does it Band and Simply Steve's food truck would serve food this year. The bounce house, waterslide, and games would also be back. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 3 Bownik introduced Mike and Lindsey Gruttadaurio's request to encroach 9 feet into the front yard set back for the construction of an open deck at 1732 Malvern Street. The Gruttadaurio's said their steps collapsed. When replacing them, they would like to create a small outdoor living space. This is not possible without a variance as the house was built to the property line. They also said the deck would not alter the character of the house. This request is in keeping with the City's comprehensive plan which encourages homeowners to improve their properties. Councilor Hawkinson moved to grant Mike and Lindsey Gruttadaurio of 1732 Malvern Street a 9 foot variance to the front yard set back to construct a deck and directed staff to prepare the finding of facts to that effect. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Bownik introduced Harvey Skow's request to build a retaining wall that encroaches 8.5 inches into the alley right-of-way behind his home at 1931 Carl Street. The City agreed to a variance to the two -foot set back requirement for retaining walls during the settlement of a lawsuit brought against the City by Skow. Skow is asking for an additional right-of-way encroachment to match the alignment of the neighbor's retaining wall as measured from its western most edge. Butkowski said this was not city staff's understanding of how the wall would be aligned per the settlement agreement. As the agreement language is open to interpretation, the Council would have to decide how it would like to proceed. The Council discussed the issues with Skow including that the City was not responsible for any damage to the retaining wall if the Council allowed it to be placed in the alley. Skow said he would make a claim against the responsible party if his wall was damaged. Councilor Mac Lean moved to allow Harvey and Jeannette Skow of 1931 Carl Street to construct a retaining wall that extends up to 8.5 inches into the alley right-of-way. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Staff will prepare findings of fact to that effect for Council consideration at the next meeting. Butkowski said the Roseville Youth Baseball Association offered a couple of minor revisions to the agreement, as did the city attorney. Otherwise, the ball field improvement agreement was ready for adoption. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the Lauderdale Community Park Baseball Field Improvement Agreement between the City of Lauderdale and Roseville Area Youth Baseball. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Since the state budget was adopted, cities were notified of their state aid allotments for 2012. Lauderdale's state aid is expected to remain at the 2010 level through 2012. Staff asked the Council to consider allowing staff to continue the deputy clerk hiring process and offer the candidates up to 40 hours per week until the end of the year to cover staff absences. They would LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 3 resume the 28 -hour per week schedule starting in January. Since the position has been vacant the majority of the year, there is funding in the budget for this arrangement. Councilor Grove moved to allow staff to continue the deputy clerk search as presented. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski reviewed the preliminary agenda for the next meeting, which included parking ordinance revisions, 2012 budget discussion, and ball field improvement quotes. Mayor Dains explained the Council was moving into the work session. Work sessions are a continuation of the meetings but not aired on community television. The Mayor asked if anyone present wished to address the Council. No one present wished to do SO. Butkowski said the county was trying to calculate the changes to home values and fiscal disparities that came out of the state budget agreement. The budget reflects staffs anticipated revenue and expenditures to the best they were able to be calculated. By moving staffing costs to special revenue funds, the Council may only need a small levy increase to cover increased costs. The Council recognized that the budget presented was very preliminary and opted to discuss it further at the next council meeting. 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 8:56p.m. Respectfully submitted, Heather Butkowski City Administrator