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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/25/2008LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 3 November 25, 2008 Mayor Dains called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. Councilors present: Lara Mac Lean, Karen Doherty, Clay Christensen, 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 additions, deletions, or changes to the meeting agenda. Mayor Dains added a discussion of Lauderdale's 60"' anniversary as a city. Councilor Doherty moved to approve the agenda with the addition. Councilor Christensen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Doherty moved approval of the November 13, 2008, City Council minutes. Councilor- Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Doherty moved approval of the claims totaling $19,845.00. Councilor Mac Lean 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 Christensen moved the consent agenda approving 2009 rental housing licenses, an updated employment agreement with Colleen Callahan, architectural brown signal posts for the TH280 bridge project, and final payment to Allied Blacktop for the 2008 seal coat project. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski provided summary budget information to the Council. She stated the general fund balanced at $1,214,740. This includes a $6,727 increase in the levy which totals $558,381. Lauderdale homeowners with a median valued home ($197,200) can expect to see a decrease in their property taxes for 2009 while higher valued homes will see a small increase in their property taxes. In addition to the levy, Lauderdale will be receiving $595,639 is local govermnent aid. This offsets the public safety budget which totals $636,849. The budget also allows for a $31,000 transfer to the 2000 debt service fund and $43,118 to the park improvement fund for planned park improvements. In addition to the park improvements, the Council LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 3 budgeted for a replacement copier, tractor with attachments, and upgrades to the audio/visual equipment in the Council chambers. Finally, the anticipated special fiends revenue is $688,499 with expenditures budgeted at $859,467. This draws down city reserves by $170,968 and largely supports the debt service payments. Following the budget presentation, Mayor Dains opened the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. No one wished to address the Council regarding the 2009 budget. The public hearing was closed at 7:41 p.m. Mayor Dains noted the budget looked complete; it was conservative and well-planned. He felt it reflected the Council's one step at a time approach. With no additional comments, the Council will set the final levy at the December City Council meeting. Butkowski reported on the smoke testing completed in the southern half of the City. It only took one day but there was a significant finding. The cover of a sanitary sewer manhole was replaced with a storm sewer grate and the area modified to drain rain from a flat roof and the surrounding area to the manhole. The city engineer is calculating how much of the City's inflow problem may be attributed to this drain. The owners of the property would be notified; staff anticipates meeting with their staff soon to discuss the issue. Butkowski introduced the Bolger Publications request. In the early 1990s, they worked with the City to divide a lot they purchased to contain contamination to one parcel. The property line they created divided a building into two portions. Bolgers now would like to renovate the building area on the second parcel from warehouse space to a production area. Per the building code, the renovation is not possible as a firewall must be built on the property line. After significant discussions between Dick and Charlie Bolger, Bolger's attorney, the city's attorney, and city staff including the commercial building inspector, an agreement was reached. The agreement allows the Bolger Publications to proceed with renovations but protects the interests of the City, namely in regard to liability and conditions of sale for the split parcels. Mayor Dains asked Charlie Bolger why he didn't prefer combining the lots. He explained that would be a property sale thereby triggering a capital gains tax. The Mayor then asked if the business was doing well. Bolger responded it was, which is the reason for the renovation and hiring of additional employees. Councilor Christensen moved to approve the deed restriction and encroachment easement agreement between Como Partnership, L.L.P., Francis Real Estate, Inc., LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 3 and the City of Lauderdale. Councilor Doherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The Mayor noted that Councilors Mac Lean and Christensen met with Butkowski to develop an employment agreement. The result of that discussion was included in the council packet along with a step schedule. Per the agreement, Butkowski would begin on step one of the schedule with a step increase after six months. Councilor Doherty moved to approve the employment agreement with Heather Butkowski as presented. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. A discussion of the city's 60`x' amliversary was added to the agenda. Mayor Dains describes how the 50`x' anniversary was celebrated including speeches from state and federal representatives. Preliminarily, the Council discussed celebrating the anniversary during Day in the Park, The Council members agreed to bring ideas for recognizing the 601h anniversary to the next meeting for discussion. Butkowski read the agenda items for the next meeting which include: 2009 budget adoption, 2009 investment policy, 2009 rental housing licenses, 2009 fee schedule, 2009 city council meeting schedule, and an ordinance amendment for retaining walls. Mayor Dains added a work session item regarding fixture lot splits. Councilor Doherty moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Heather Butkowski Acting City Administrator