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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/28/2008LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 4 October 28, 2008 Mayor Dains called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilors present: Lara Mac Lean, Denise Hawkinson, Karen Doherty, Clay Christensen, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, Acting City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator. Mayor Dains asked for additions, deletions, or changes to the meeting agenda. There being none, Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the agenda. Councilor Doherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Christensen moved approval of the October 14, 2008, City Council minutes. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved approval of the claims totaling $18,591.30. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if members of the public wished to address the Council. There being no one, Councilor Mac Lean moved the consent agenda approving 2009 rental housing licenses, revisions to the Skating Rink Ice Time Policy, adoption of the "Red Flag" Identity Theft Prevention Policy, and the PCIC minutes from October 6, 2008. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Bownik reported on plans for the Halloween Event. Candy and monetary donations are being accepted at City Hall. Set up will primarily be on September 29 with maze construction on October 30. All are welcome to attend and encouraged to dress in costume. At the last meeting, the Council chose a lantern style pedestrian light for the new TH280 Bridge. Butkowski received maintenance agreement information from the City of St. Paul and Wright -Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WHE). Both offer contracts on a time and materials basis. WHE quoted $110/hour. St. Paul quoted $92.29/hour for a lead electrician and $14/hour for a bucket thick. From a cost perspective, the maintenance prices were comparable. With regard to the fixtures and poles, Signature Lighting (WHE's installation partner) could provide Mn/DOT with the "Lantern" fixture also offered by XCEL. St. Paul's city -standard decorative light is of a similar lantern style. The Council reviewed the specs of both fixtures LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 4 and poles. Staff explained the City of St. Paul stocks replacement fixtures and poles so the City would not have to. With WHE, the City would have to store a pole and fixture should a replacement be necessary. Council Christensen said he lilted the St. Paul light as it is designed to direct the light downward. He also felt contracting with St. Paul made sense as the City has an existing light maintenance contract with them. Councilor Mac Lean moved to select the City of St. Paul for TH280 Bridge light maintenance. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Bownik presented on the recycling contract renewal. Mayor Dains asked whether pick-up on Monday holidays would still be moved to Tuesdays. He also asked whether weekly collection would begin on January 1. The answer to both questions was yes. Eureka will send out literature regarding changes before the end of the year. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the recycling contract amendment agreement with Eureka Recycling. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Bownik reported on a retaining wall built in the alley right-of-way that a resident refuses to move. As the City does not require a permit for retaining walls, the resident cannot be forced to delineate property lines. The burden of proof is on the City which would require surveying the alley right-of-way. The survey would not be a recoverable cost. Councilors expressed concern as the City did not survey alleys before paving them during the street reconstruction projects. The Mayor asked what a zoning ordinance regarding retaining walls would do in this case. Bownik responded it would not help in this case, but it would be worth considering a permitting process and setbacks for retaining walls as the City does for fences. Councilor Christensen moved not to survey the alley of 1816 Walnut Street but requested staff revise city ordinance to include setbacks for retaining walls. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. At the last meeting, Joe Ruebbelke of Infratech presented information on smoke testing. The Council was interested in Infiatech smoke testing the entire City this fall. Staff considered that request and felt it may not be possible, but smoke testing south of Larpenteur would be. Butkowski explained the project would take anywhere from two days to a week to accomplish. Additionally, if any sources of inflow or infiltration were discovered, staff would have to address the volume of 1/1 and potential for Metropolitan Council credit before moving on to other parts of the City. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 4 Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve smoke testing by Infratech at the rate of $210 per hour. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski informed the Council that Ramsey County's traffic engineer will not stripe crosswalks at the Spring/Eustis and Roselawn/Eustis intersections as requested. She offered to install "No Parking from Here to Corner" signs on Eustis Street if the Council desired. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve Ramsey County's installation of no parking signs on Eustis Street. Councilor Doherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski read the items on the agenda for the next meeting: Rysgaard replat project, Score Grant for recycling, and the GIS Users Group joint powers agreement. The Council then moved into the work session. Butkowski said the updated budget reflected funding for the March Dance, dog park maintenance, IT equipment, and TH280 Bridge lights (if needed). The budget also transfers $30,000 to the 2000 Debt Service Fund (302) and $42,871 to the Park Fund (404) from the General Fund. Butkowski recapped a discussion with Staci Kvilvang from Ehlers about the TIF Fund. As it is an older district, she thinks the City could use the money for streetscaping as part of redevelopment. The money, however, cannot be used to directly support businesses. Their office reviewed the City's last TIF statement submitted to the State Auditor. District revenue is expected to come in ahead of the budget set when the district was formed. If true, the City will have the option to give up those funds or modify the budget. She said modifying the budget requires a process similar to modifying any aspect of the TIF plan. This won't happen in 2009 but will need to be evaluated in 2010. Mayor Dains suggested evaluating the PCIC events with input from the council liaisons. Councilor Mac Lean suggested this be done at year end or at the annual goal setting session. As Councilor Hawkinson will not be at the November 25 meeting, the Mayor suggested discussing the city administrator and deputy clerk positions at the November 13 meeting. The Council moved to the Council Communications agenda item. • Butkowski informed the Council that staff received a draft of the Eustis Street feasibility study to review. Bonestroo asked how quickly the Council plans to act on the project. Staff asked them to present the study to the Council in 2009. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 4 • A property owner inquired about the steep slope forming from their lot line to the noise wall. Staff asked Mn/DOT about their grading plans. They will back fill to one and one-half feet on the wall side and slope to the owners' property lines. Sod will be laid in the spring. For about 6-8 properties, the slope will be one to three to one to four. For everyone else it will be one to two. The project engineer said they considered regrading yards but can't due to the gardens, trees, and sheds in residents' backyards. • Mn/DOT will be posting weight restrictions on the railway bridge (26 ton for a single truck). It will only be for this year as the bridge will be rebuilt next year. • Due to the bottom edge of the hockey boards being uneven, Bonestroo asked the contractor to install kick plates as soon as possible for the hockey season. • Mn/DOT acquired a small parcel from New Mech for the TH280 Bridge project. Councilor Hawldnson moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Heather Butkowski Acting City Administrator