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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/08/2006MINUTES OF THE LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, A UGUST 8, 2006 7:30 p.m. Lauderdale City Hall Mayor Dains called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and asked Administrator Bakken Heck to call roll. Council member Gill -Gerbig, Hawkinson, Doherty, Christensen and Mayor Dains were present. Also present for the meeting was Assistant to the Administrator Bownik. Mayor Dains asked if there were any additions or deletions to the agenda. Council member Hawkinson requested to add discussion on the seal coating. Mayor Dains added discussion on possible purchase of a home and e-mail to the work session agenda. Motion by council member Christensen to approve the agenda as amended which carried on a second by council member Hawkinson. Mayor Dains asked if council members had any additions or corrections to the council meeting minutes of July 25, 2006. Council member Hawkinson stated the discussion on the seal coating payment was left out. . Council member Gill -Gerbig moved approval of the minutes as amended. Motion seconded by council member Hawkinson and carried. Mayor Dains asked the council if they had questions on the claims. Council member Doherty questioned the refund to the property on Roselawn. Motion by council member Christensen to approve the claims as submitted in the amount of $39,576.96. The motion carried on a second by council member Doherty. The mayor invited anyone who wished to address the council on an item not included on the agenda to speak. There being none, the mayor moved on to the next item on the agenda. The mayor asked if there are any items the council wished to remove from the consent agenda. Council member Christensen moved to approve the consent agenda item approving the 2006 primary and general election judges. Motion carried on a second by council member Doherty. Assistant to the Administrator Bownik provided information on Lauderdale's annual Day in the Park celebration. He said the event is planned for Saturday, August 19, 2006 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. He added there will be food, games, the park concept plan for the residents to view, and a waterslide. He said the Lex -Ham community band will begin at 5:00 and play until 6:00 and there will be a silent auction. He said all events are free except for the food. The council next took up items for discussion. Bownik provided background on the development of the park concept plan and provided the council with two sets of diagrams. Diagram one represents the tennis and basketball court design and the other is a possible concept plan for future improvements based on the input and discussion from the previous meeting. Stewart of Bonestroo, the city's engineering firm, described the changes made and took questions from the council and public on the plan. Jim stated the basketball courts are planned to be 70' x 60' which is smaller than the current court and comments by a resident from the previous meeting indicated that this was a much better size. Gill -Gerbig addressed the issue of the warming house / restroom facility. She said it looks as if the trail goes between the buildings. Bownik said the trail does bisect the building with one side being storage and one side being restroom facilities. Gill -Gerbig hoped the new facility would have enough electrical capacity and good facilities. Doherty said she has a concern about the warming house. Stewart said the old warming house could remain and be used as the warming house. She likes the plan as it is presented. Christensen asked about the hill and how much of it would be cut away to put in the new path. Steward indicated there would need to be some to allow for ADA accessibility. Christensen asked if the existing trail is ADA accessible. Doherty asked about the archery range and if it will have fencing or other safety features. Stewart indicated there would be general upgrades to the target area and such with some signage at various intervals but no fencing. Hawkinson asked if the new buildings could be moved to the south to accommodate access to the hockey rink. Stewart did suggest there is a possibility for the warming house to be moved to the south and to have the trial altered a bit. The consensus of the council was to have the engineering firm prepare plans and specifications for a base bid to include the tennis courts and trail improvement around the tennis courts with the alternate for basketball courts constructed with black top and painted lines. Conduit would be placed under any solid surface for possible future lighting. Council member Hawkinson requested a brief discussion on the meeting of September 12, 2006. This is the date of the primary and she wondered if the council should change the date or time of the meeting. After further discussion, the council agreed to change the 2 meeting time to 8:15 p.m. from 7:30 p.m. on a motion by Hawkinson and a second by Doherty. Motion carried with Gill -Gerbig, Hawkinson, Doherty, Christensen and mayor Dains voting yes. The council moved on to consider action items. The mayor presented resolution 080806-A- "A resolution setting fees for rental licenses and inspections." Heck stated he looked at the current hourly rates for employees who will be most involved with the rental licensing and inspection process and developed the fees based on these numbers. He also said he provided for a license fee rate for both Tier I and II houses, referred to as a base rate; an inspection fee to cover the inspection of a dwelling if it is required, and a base fee plus a per unit fee for more "traditional" rental units. Council member Gill -Gerbig suggested multifamily be raised to $100.00 base plus $2.50 per unit. Heck suggested removing the reference to a base fee and just reference the added cost of $2.50 per unit. Council member Doherty moved resolution 080806-A A -Resolution Setting Fees for Rental Housing License and Inspections. Council member Christensen seconded the motion and it carried with council members Gill -Gerbig, Hawkinson, Doherty, Christensen and Mayor Dains all voting yes. Discussion was held on the seal coating project. Heck said he spoke to the contractor and the inspector about the project and is waiting for a response. The council set the agenda for the August 22, 2006 meeting. The meeting will include possible public hearing to abate a nuisance at 1835 Carl Street, approval of plans and specifications for the tennis and basketball courts in the park, budget discussion, vegetation study, a closed session to develop a negotiation strategy, Larpenteur Avenue, comprehensive plan update and seal coating. The council moved to the work session segment of the meeting. The council then addressed the possible purchase of real property with the executor of the property. The council stated their interest and authorized staff to work with the owner to obtain an appraisal and to begin negotiations. The mayor indicated there needs to be some real discussion as to what the property would be used for. Discussion centered on why the city would want to purchase the house beyond the fact that it was discussed in the old comprehensive plan. Heck indicated there is a strategic value to the home based on its location in relation to the other city facilities. Mayor Dains stated his concern about purchasing the property and taking another property off the tax roll as the city has purchased several properties in the past. In the ideal world it would be nice to have the garage closer to city hall, but he is not sure it is the right time to do so. Christensen stated there are some negatives to purchasing the property including the loss of tax base, maintenance, or it being in the comprehensive plan. Right now he does not feel it is the right time to acquire the property. Council member Hawkinson, Doherty and Mayor Dains agreed with the comments made by Council member Christensen. Gill -Gerbig asked about placing the property on the CIP in planning for the future of the city. Wants staff to take some time in looking at options that might work on the purchase of the property. Council member Hawkinson stated she is not interested in discussing the purchase of the home but would like to help the owners with locating the property lines and such to assist with the salability of the property. John Marvin stated the driveway is one issue impacting the sale of the home. He said they are not in a hurry to sell as there is work that needs completing before the home is ready for sale. The family would like to know what the city's interest is because they do not want to invest in the home only to have the city purchase and demolish the structure. Heck commented that since it appears the council is not interested in acquiring the property, but is interested in assisting the family ready the home for sale, that the council pass a motion stating such. Council member Gill -Gerbig made a motion to pass on the purchase of the property at 1903 Walnut and direct staff to work with the owners and the city attorney to iron out the property line issues. Motion seconded by Christensen and carried with Gill -Gerbig, Hawkinson, Doherty, Christensen and mayor Dains all voting yes. Mayor Dains introduced the issue of the Larpenteur Avenue area west of Eustis. Avo, of Finn Sisu, a business at 1841 University Avenue in St. Paul, described his business products and operations. He stated he is looking for a larger building and he has no intentions of selling his building in St. Paul. His plans are for a 5,000 square foot building. He has discussed the purchase of Art Peterson's property. Avo stated he discussed the plans with the city four or five years ago and was told the structure would be possible. He discussed the possibility of using 3,000 square feet and renting the balance to someone else. The mayor clarified that he understands the intent is to develop the property rather than selling. Avo said there is quite a bit of demand for 5,000 square foot buildings but the cost to develop the parcel is pretty expensive. 19 After further discussion the council thanked Avo and others for his information and willingness to work with the city and directed staff to work with Avo and Mr. Busch. Heck commented to the council on the proposed budget indicating the overall budget will increase due to potential increases in personnel costs, the park improvements, and continued payment of road bonds. He said other issues regarding the budget are plans to replace the furnace that serves the social room and update the flooring. He stated the levy will need to go up to meet all the obligations of the city. Heck also stated it looks as if an increase in the sewer charges might be necessary to cover the costs as well as the surcharge being imposed by the Metropolitan Council. Council member Doherty asked why there appears to be several budgets or funds that show no activity or appear to be very similar to other funds. She also wanted to know why there needs to be an increase in the sewer rates if there is a current fund balance of over $500,000. Council member Doherty requested staff prepare a budget document that provides a brief description of each fund, its history, accurate fund balance, and which funds the auditors recommend closing out. Heck stated this will be completed for the next meeting. Mayor Dains stated he understands the potential need to increase the levy and said it has been several years since the council increased the levy. He agrees with council member Doherty about the fund description and history and sees this as a good idea. He also indicated that if the levy is going up, the city hold a truth in taxation hearing. Finally, he wanted to spend more time on the budget at the next meeting or to hold a special meeting. It was the consensus of the council to begin the meeting early on August 22 to go over the budget, and if necessary, continue the discussion following the council meeting. Council member Gill -Gerbig moved to begin the August 22, 2006 City Council meeting at 4:30 p.m. pending council member Doherty's ability to make the meeting. Motion seconded by council member Christensen and carried. The mayor addressed the issue of e-mail and his concern the use of e-mail not cross the line of the open meeting law. He asked staff to continue to seek an opinion from the attorney. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:38 p.m. on a motion by Gill -Gerbig and a second by Christensen.