HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/06/2007MINUTES OF THE LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2007
8:00 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall, 1891 Walnut Street
Mayor Dains called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. and asked Administrator Heck to
take the roll. Members present: Council members Karen Gill -Gerbig, Denise Hawkinson,
Karen Doherty, Clay Christensen, and Jeff Dains.
Also present were staff members Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator and
Heather Butkowski, Deputy Clerk.
Mayor Dains asked if there were any additions or deletions to the agenda. Heck said there
will not be a formal recognition and graduation of the residents who participated in the St.
Anthony Police Department's Citizen Academy but one student is here to be introduced.
Heck also indicated item 7-A could be removed due to ongoing litigation. Mayor Dains
asked to have three items added to the agenda. He requested a moment of silence to honor
a request from a resident in recognition of D -Day, a discussion of funding available
through Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) and an update on the status of the BP gas
station. There being no further suggested changes, council member Gill -Gerbig moved
approval of the agenda. Council member Doherty seconded the motion and it carried.
Mayor Dains asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the May 24,
2007, City Council minutes. There being no amendments to the minutes, council member
Hawkinson moved approval. Council member Christensen seconded the motion and it
carried.
Mayor Dains asked if there were any questions on the claims. Council member Gill -
Gerbig asked for clarification on the item marked "Storm water education". Heck stated it
was for joining a metropolitan storm water protection group that does education and
promotion. There being no further comments on the claims, Council member Hawkinson
moved to approve the claims in the amount of $59,357.17. Council member Doherty
seconded the motion and it carried.
Mayor Dains asked if anyone present wished to address the Council on issues not on the
agenda. There being none, the Council took up consideration of the consent agenda.
Council member Christensen moved approval of the consent agenda approving change
orders for the tennis and basketball court project, approval of pay request #2 for the
community park project, and approval of rental housing license applications. Council
member Gill -Gerbig seconded the motion and it carried.
Mayor Dains said he received a request from a resident asking that the council have a
moment of silence for those who participated in D -Day. Following the moment of silence,
Mayor Dains recognized Mr. Bob Lerfald as a recent participant in the "Citizens
Academy" a program that gives citizens an insight into the workings of the police
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department. Mr. Lerfald outlined the content of the program for the council and
encouraged other residents to get involved with this program.
Mayor Dains told the council he spoke to a Transit for Livable Communities board
member. He said she was surprised Lauderdale did not submit an application and she
encouraged Lauderdale to submit one. The mayor stated he thought Lauderdale was going
to participate and submit an application.
Heck told the council staff met with and discussed several project options with St. Paul,
Minneapolis, Roseville, St. Anthony, Falcon Heights, and the U of M. As it turned out, St.
Paul submitted their own application and Falcon Heights and Roseville submitted a joint
application. He said staff decided to wait until the next possible funding opportunity to
submit an application as there would be a better opportunity to connect to other trails.
Heck said staff would look into this opportunity.
The council moved into their work session to discuss capital plans for Lauderdale parks
and open space. Micah Harpel and Kathy Lerfald, members of the PCIC, were present for
this discussion.
Heck outlined the memorandum and the process used to arrive at the suggestions
presented.
The council discussed the general purpose of each Lauderdale park area. All agreed there
needs to be additional emphasis on the maintenance aspect of the parks. The council also
felt the Ione and Walnut area should not have a community fire pit and felt the Walsh lake
area did not need picnic tables but benches instead.
Council member Hawkinson commented she would like to see improvements to the
hockey rink moved up to 2008. Her reason for doing so is to give kids who roller blade,
skateboard and bike a place to do this so they are not on the new tennis courts.
The rest of the council agreed with this suggestion.
Heck asked if this meant moving the playground improvements. Heck stated staff put the
playground upgrades in 2008 due to the age and potential hazards the existing equipment
poses. He also said it was the intent of staff to use volunteers to install new equipment
under the supervision of the manufacture or supplier.
Lerfald suggested both the hockey rink and the playground area be completed in 2008 if
there is a way to make the funding work.
Additionally, council member Gill -Gerbig didn't feel that only signs were enough to
identify public from private land and that some type of physical barrier, such as a split rail
fence, was necessary.
After further discussion and suggestions, Heck said staff would revise the park plan and
work the playground and hockey rink into the 2008 budget for council consideration.
Council member Doherty suggested the Falcon Heights / Lauderdale Lions as a possible
source of funding for part of the improvements for 2008. She also wanted to make sure the
items identified by the PCIC last year were included in this document.
The Mayor mentioned he and the Administrator spoke to a representative from the BP gas
station on Monday about possible plans for remodeling and expansion. Mayor Dains
stated Kirk is considering moving forward with previous plans for an expanded
convenience store and a possible coffee shop.
There being no further items for Council consideration, Doherty moved to adjourn the
meeting. Gill -Gerbig seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m.
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