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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/2010LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 3 March 9, 2010 The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Councilors present: Mary Gaasch, Roxanne Grove, Lara Mac Lean, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Councilor absent: Denise Hawkinson. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator. Mayor Dains asked for changes to the meeting agenda. Butkowski added a report on the upcoming zoning ordinance update meeting with business owners. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the agenda as amended. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the February 23, 2010, City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Gaasch moved approval of the claims totaling $87,562.13. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if members of the public wished to address the Council. No one present wished to do so. State Representative Mindy Greiling addressed the Council. She said the legislature was facing the challenge of balancing the budget. With the exception of education, all of the House committees have to meet specific spending cuts. Greiling said the bills .to raise taxes, such as increasing the tax rate for those in the top income bracket, were not being heard in committees due to the Governor's pledge to not raise taxes. Councilors expressed their gratitude for Greiling's efforts. Mayor Dains said he especially appreciated that she attends Lauderdale's city events as he knows there are many demands on her time. The Council tools a 15 minute break. Butkowski noted that the Council held a public hearing on the proposed floodplain regulations ordinance at the previous meeting. The ordinance would allow Lauderdale to remain in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). As a NFIP member, property owners are allowed to purchase flood insurance from the federal government. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 3 Councilor Mac Lean moved to adopt ordinance 10-02, adding a new section 10-16 to the Code of Ordinances regarding floodplain regulations. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Due to the length of the text, Butkowski said the City Council could authorize staff to publish the ordinance by summary. In order to do so, the City Council must approve the text for publication via resolution. Councilor Mac Lean moved to adopt resolution 030910A — a resolution authorizing publication of ordinance number 10-02 by title and summary. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. At the last meeting, the Council discussed the requests for support of broadband infrastructure grants being developed within Ramsey County. Most of the suburban counties had been in contact with American Fiber Systems (AFS) while St. Paul and Ramsey County sought another private company to work with them on a grant. Since the last meeting, staff from St. Paul and the suburban cities realized that trying to meet everyone's needs in one grant application would be difficult and it was in the best interest of St. Paul and the suburban cities to provide support to different dark fiber providers so long as the two networks intersect. The resolution of support also allows the city administrator to write letters of support on behalf of the City for complementary projects, like St. Paul's. Councilor Mac Lean moved to adopt resolution 030910B — a resolution supporting Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant applications for the development of a comprehensive community network to benefit public institutions in the northeast Twin Cities metropolitan are. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Previously, Donnelly Development approached the City about their efforts to find new tenants or owners for the Eustis Street property owned by the Corval Group. They asked Ramsey County for $300,000.00 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for site remediation and preparation that would need to occur prior to redevelopment. In order to be considered, Ramsey County needs a resolution of support from the City Council. Councilor Mac Lean moved to adopt resolution 030910C — a resolution supporting an application for Community Development Block Grant funds to assist with the redevelopment of 1631 and 1633 Eustis Street. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 3 Butkowski told the Council that the employees covered by the union agreement accepted the terms offered by the City Council with the exception of the deferred compensation amount for 2011. Instead of $450/month in deferred compensation, for not electing the health care benefit, they are asking for $550/month. The Council felt the request was acceptable. Councilor Mac Lean moved to accept the tentative union agreement for 2010-2011 with consideration of the final draft of the union agreement at the next council meeting. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski reviewed the preliminary agenda for the next meeting, which included revisions to the purchasing policy and a discussion of maintenance at the dog park. The Mayor announced the City Council was moving into closed session to discuss pending litigation. The Council moved into closed session at 8:25 p.m. The Council returned from closed session at 9:00 p.m. There being no further business on the council agenda, Councilor Mac Lean moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ti Hea her Butkowski City Administrator