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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/14/2009LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 4 April 14, 2009 Mayor Dains called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilors present: Karen Doherty, Clay Christensen, Lara Mac Lean, Denise Hawkinson, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator. Mayor Dains asked for changes to the meeting agenda. There being none, Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the agenda. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Doherty moved approval of the March 24, 2009, City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Christensen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked the councilors if they had questions regarding the claims. There being none, Councilor Hawkinson moved approval of the claims totaling $90,841.35. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if members of the public wished to address the Council. Lauderdale residents Jean Blat and Leslie Kratz addressed the Council regarding the dog park. They recommended the Council consider an alternative surface for the dog park as it alternates between muddy and dusty. Based on their research, they recommended laying woodchips over a black dirt base. They also suggested setting up a communication method with dog park, users. Council members explained their budget concerns and the need to evaluate the impact of laying woodchips in the area. The Council asked Blat and Kratz to put the request in writing for the next council meeting. Councilor Mac Lean moved the consent agenda approving a rental housing application, park use application, and cancellation of the copier maintenance agreement. Councilor Doherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski introduced the annual stormwater pollution prevention program (SWPPP) public hearing. She said the public hearing is held annually to fulfill the requirements of the SWPPP which is a part of the City's MS4 — municipal separate storm sewer system permit. The SWPPP is comprised of 55 best management practices the City undertakes'to' LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 4 improve the water quality of the area. She explained each of the six programming areas and how the City is meeting its obligations. She further explained the City would report to the MPCA on the 2008 program before the end of June. The Mayor opened the public hearing regarding the City's SWPPP at 8:05 p.m. Larry Lambert, 1803 Eustis Street, addressed the Council. He asked whether lawn sprinkling that drained into the street was a violation of the SWPPP. Butkowski responded that she did not believe so but would evaluate the question when the City prepared its illicit discharge ordinance. The Mayor closed the public hear at 8:07 p.m. Butkowski updated the Council on the status of area road projects. While Mn/DOT held an open house at City Hall the week prior, they said they anticipated westbound Larpenteur would be reopened for a couple of weeks as Xcel Energy's project is wrapping up. As . Mn/DOT will improve the Como Avenue and Broadway Drive intersections first, they, do not anticipate closing Larpenteur until mid-May. Additionally, Mn/DOT said St. Paul agreed to post no parking at the Eustis/Como intersection due to the truck traffic and they are working with the City of Minneapolis on the timing of the East Hennepin/291h Street traffic lights. Katrina Joseph, the City's prosecuting attorney, presented Hughes & Costello's plans to dissolve and the reorganization of the Costello portion of the firm with the law film of Anderson, Helgen, Davis, and Nissen. She said the service and fees would remain the same. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the transfer of prosecuting services from Hughes & Costello to Anderson, Helgen, Davis and Nissen. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The next agenda item was an appeal by the owners of 1801 Eustis Street regarding,th6ir. denial of a home occupation permit. As they were unable to attend the meeting, they asked the Council to consider hearing the appeal at the next meeting. The Councilors agreed to hear them at the next meeting but also expressed their concern in allowing a commercial property to operate in the residential area. Council directed staff to prepare a findings -of - fact resolution denying the home occupation permit based upon the city attorney's recommendation to consider at the next meeting. Councilor Hawkinson moved to direct staff to draft a findings -of -fact resolution denying the home occupation permit for the April 28 city council meeting. Councilor Doherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall - 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 4' Butkowski presented the quotes from Bonestroo for an illicit discharge ordinance, updates to the existing stormwater management ordinance, and production of an impaired waters review. These are all requirements of the City's SWPPP (Stoimwater Pollution Prevention Program) Councilor Christensen moved to approve the memorandumlquote for ordinance revisions and an impaired waters review as presented. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The Council took a break from 8:35 to 8:42 p.m. Karen Gill -Gerbig, the City's representative to the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) addressed the Council. She provided an update on the MWMO's activities and programs. She said a lot of work was being done to evaluate the surface water in the state to determine the level of pollution as a first step to cleaning up lakes'and rivers. She encouraged the City to apply for grants for stoirawater projects throughout the City even though the whole City is not within the MWMO area. The Council thanked Gill -Gerbig for her service to the City as the MWMO representative. The Mayor acknowledged the list of agenda items for the next meeting which includes the annual presentation by the city auditor, a quote from the auditor to calculate the City's OPEB per GASB 45, discussions with state representative Mindy Greiling and state senator John Marty, the stormwater ordinance revisions, the 2010-2012 police contracts, and a sanitary sewer agreement with the City of Roseville. 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 Council discussed two items related to elections. The Mayor asked staff to determine with Ramsey County Elections whether and when the City could move to even -year elections if the City Council wished to do so. Ramsey County Election Manager, Joe Mansky, provided staff with the relevant statute and explained by email that the Council could do that if an ordinance describing the transition process could be adopted by June 1, 2009. Mansky said the simplest process would be to extend the term of each councilor and the mayor by one year. The Council discussed the implications of this. The Mayor said he always supported the odd -year elections to keep big election politics out of local elections but the cost savings are significant. The councilors discussed whether they would be willing to continuing " serving an extra year. They generally agreed they would be willing. With limited notice, the councilors were concerned about getting out notice of the ordinance change and the LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 4 change in the election schedule. Staff said they would bring recommendations to the next meeting. Butkowski said staff planned to bring a resolution authorizing an absentee ballot board to the Council in the near future. An absentee ballot board allows election judges to evaluate absentee ballots in advance of an election to save time on election night and to notify voters who may have completed their voting materials incorrectly. The City Council then discussed the proposed police contract. Butkowski provided the Council a letter drafted by the Falcon Heights city administrator requesting a reduction in the cost of the contract. Butkowski wanted to know whether the letter also represented the Council's interest. The Council felt it did and said staff should notify Falcon Heights that they agreed with the letter. The Council also directed staff to request language within the contract that would allow for a renegotiation of the police contract if budget constraints impacted the ability to pay for the same level of police services. There being no further business on the council agenda, Councilor Doherty moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Christensen seconded the motion and it carried:The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Heather Buticowski City Administrator