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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/29/2005LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall Mayor Jeffrey Dains called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and asked administrator Bakken -Heck to call the roll. Present at the meeting: Council members Karen Gill -Gerbig, Karen Doherty, Moose Giannetti, Clay Christensen and Mayor Jeffrey Dains. Staff present at the meeting: Brian Bakken -Heck, City Administrator, Heather Butkowski, Deputy City Clerk, Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator Mayor Dains called for additions or deletions from the agenda. Mayor Dains requested moving the Solid Waste Ordinance item and the Eustis house to the work session agenda, council member Christensen requested addition of who residents should call when they experience a sewer problem to the additional items, administrator Bakken -Heck requested adding Fire Agreement with Falcon Heights to Consent and health insurance as a discussion item. There being no further additions or deletions, Mayor Dains called for a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Motion by council member Gill -Gerbig to adopt the agenda, second by council member Doherty and carried. Mayor Dains asked if for corrections to the Tuesday, November 15 Council meeting, there being none, the minutes passed on a motion by council member Christensen and a second by council member Doherty. Mayor Dains asked the council if they had questions regarding the claims as presented. There being none, the claims were approved on a motion by Council member Giannetti and seconded by council member Doherty. Mayor Dains announced the public comment period of the meeting and invited those who wished to speak to the council to come forward. There being none, the mayor moved to the consent agenda. CONSENT: Bakken -Heck introduced the fire agreement with Falcon Heights. The agreement is a revised version of the original agreement between the two cities drafted several years ago. The only changes to the agreement include a cost per call increase to cover wage increase for the fire fighters and a cost allocation for capital purchases. The over all agreement keeps costs inline with past years. Page 1 of 5 LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall Council member Christensen moved approval of the consent agenda approving the fire agreement between the City of Falcon Heights and the City of Lauderdale. Motion second by council member Doherty and carried. Mayor Dains introduced Mayor John Zanmiller, West St. Paul, who is currently the suburban appointee to the St. Paul Regional Water Service. Mayor Zanmiller is present to address the council and ask them for his reappointment to the Board for next year. Mayor Zanmiller is also the current Vice President of the Board. Mayor Zanmiller provided an update to the council regarding the activities of the SPRWS and the improvements being made to the water quality and efficiency in distribution. He stated the water service has invested in modernization that resulted in a reduction in the number of staff required to operate the system. Council member Gill -Gerbig asked about the water services ability to resist privatization. Mayor Zanmiller said this is an important area for him as he believes that water, like fire and police, is an essential public service and needs to be kept as a public service. He reported the SPRWS Board made changes in operations to sidestep then Mayor Colman's attempts to privatize the service. Mayor Zanmiller informed the council his term expires on December 31, 2005. Mayor Dains stated the council will take up appointment of Mr. Zanmiller at the December 13 council meeting. DISCUSSION: Bakken -Heck introduced the Walkable communities program and stated Council member Gill -Gerbig requested the item be brought to the Council for discussion. The program is a grant from the county to cities or others who want to host a workshop on malting the community, or part thereof, safe for walkers and bikers. Following additional discussion, the council directed staff to bring the idea to the Park and Community Involvement Committee (PCIC) for their review and recommendation. The PCIC's next meeting is December 6th. The grant application is due by January 6, 2006. Bakken -Heck provided the council with information on the Metropolitan Environmental Services Program surcharge for excessive inflow and infiltration to the sanitary sewer system. Beginning in 2007, the city will face a surcharge for excessive peak flow due to grey water entering the sanitary system during storm events. Bakken -Heck said there are Page 2 of 5 LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall options available to the city to reduce the amount of infiltration/inflow to the system. He indicated that representatives from the Metropolitan Council indicate the likely cause of this flow is residential sump pumps connected to the sanitary sewer system. Eliminating these connections is a good step in an attempt to control the inflow and infiltration. Bakken Heck stated more information will be provide as will the complete report on the program. Bakken Heck addressed the proposed 2006 Fee schedule. Mayor Dains asked about two fees, the tobacco/cigarette license fee and the false fire alarm fee. He believed the tobacco and cigarette fee were too low in comparison to the other cities and wanted to know more about the fees the other cities charge and if the inspection/enforcement program is part of the law enforcement contract with St. Anthony. He also wanted to know what the fee for the false alarm is for the fire calls. Bakken Heck stated the cost for the first 45 minutes is $185.06 and for 46 to 120 minutes is $370.12. The cost does not include the $15 administrative fee. Council member Christensen asked if the $15.00 covered an hour of staff time. Bakken -Heck said something short of an hour and stated a more accurate hourly number is $25.00. Following further discussion, the Council requested staff to increase the administrative fee from $15.00 to $25, to increase the Zoning Amendment fee to $250 and to increase the cigarette/tobacco license following review of the contract and discussions with other cities. The council also asked staff to amend the Animal Control Ordinance to allow for a dog or cat license to last for the term of the rabies vaccination. Bakken Heck updated the council on the proposed rates for health insurance obtained from Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Minnesota. He said the cost for coverage is lower then the county, however; the benefits are not as good. The BC/BS plan has a $300.00 deductible and several of the benefits are listed at 80% following deductible. Bakken Heck told the council the city will remain with Ramsey County and HealthPartners and staff will continue to research and investigate alternatives over the next year. The Council suggested the following items for the December 13 Council Meeting: 1) City Budget 2) Investments — Designating Brokers 3) Appointment of SPRWS representative 4) Recognition for Council Member Moose Giannetti Page 3 of 5 LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall WORK SESSION Mayor Dains requested discussion of the solid waste ordinance and the house on Eustis be completed first. Mayor Dains asked a question about the composting section and stated he felt the five (5') foot setback from the property line seemed too far and suggested a one (1') foot setback. He also indicated allowing food wastes, such as animal waste, would result in odors and depositing of animal waste be prohibited. Jim Bownik addressed the ordinance and asked the council about enforcement mechanisms, specifically the levying of administrative penalties for violating the ordinance. Following discussion, the council directed staff to assess a fine on each occurrence with the potential for non -renewal of the license for three or more violations in a calendar year. Mayor Dains addressed the issue of the house on Eustis Street and suggested moving forward with a process to condemn the structure. Consensus of the council is to condemn the house and directed staff to begin the process. Bakken Heck referred the rental housing discussion to Heather Butkowski who gathered information in response to the questions raised by the council at the meeting of November 15, 2005. She stated Falcon Heights does not have an ordinance on rental housing licenses at this time but is conducting research in to the possibility of developing one. She stated the City of Roseville is considering an ordinance at their meeting tonight (Tuesday, November 29, 2005). She said they have a couple of interesting components to their ordinance including a panel to hear appeals by the owners of buildings who disagree with the inspector. There is also a provision allowing the city to charge the tenant for inspection costs if it is determined the complaints are frivolous. The council liked the concepts presented and directed staff to incorporate the concepts in the draft ordinance. Bakken Heck provided information on the grant the city received from the Metropolitan Council for the livable communities program. He stated the grant application specified the city would prepare a master plan for the Larpenteur avenue corridor from Eustis to Pleasant. The reimbursed expenditures to date are $16,000. There has been no city match yet and the grant calls for a dollar for dollar match. Bakken Heck suggested the Page 4 of 5 0 LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall Council take a step back and refocus on a master plan for the area rather than on a specific project. Mayor Dains feels the city is not ready for a community open house, but instead should look at the complete comprehensive plan revision process as a means to create a master plan for the area. Council member Christensen agreed with the Mayor. Following additional discussion, the council directed staff to end the consulting relationship on this project with Ehlers and Associates and submit a final report on the status to the Metropolitan Council. There being no further business to discuss, council member Gill -Gerbig moved and council member Christensen seconded to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. Page 5 of 5