Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2007/07/09~ PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOT Regular Meeting Jnly 9, 2007 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 7:00 P.M. 1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL: Marty, Stigney, Flaherty, Hull, Mueller NOT PRESENT: None. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA • A. Monday, July 9, 2007 City Council Agenda MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Stigney. To Approve the Monday, July 9, 2007 agenda as amended. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. 5. PUBLIC INPUT David Jahnke 8428 Eastwood Road said he just wanted to bring to the Council attention the beautiful picture from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He then provided it to them. 6. SPECIAL QRDER OF BUISNESS None. 7. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. Continued Public Hearing to Consider the Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 790, an Ordinance Amending Chapters 3 and 5 of the Mounds View City Charter • City Administrator Ulrich explained that the Charter Commission has looked at this and Council has reviewed it at a work session and has heard it on first reading. The Charter Commission and Staff have made requested changes and recommend approval on Second Reading. Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 2 Barbara Thomas, Secretary of the Charter Commission, indicated she was present to answer any ~ questions the Council may have as Mr. Thomas, the Chair of the Charter Commission, was unable to attend. Hearing no public comments, Mayor Marty closed the public hearing. Council Member Mueller said that she read through this carefully and found no issues with it. Council Member Stigney pointed out on the Resolution in Section 5.03 and 5.04 should be left formatted to the left. Ms. Thomas indicated that it will be properly formatted when the Attorney's put the language into the Charter. Council Member Stigney said that he agrees with the City Attorney's opinion regarding the timeframe for publication and he would like to go back to the language "as soon as practicable". Cauncil Member Stigney would like to clear up the ambiguity in the petition process itself and it has to do with not having enough signatures because there could be a situation where they are short of the required signatures and they are allowed more time to gather signatures. The other issue he has is that a person can remove their name at any time up until the City Administrator delivers the petition to the Council and he thinks that they should be able to remove their name at • any time during the process. He further said that he would like to have a provision that the petitioners can withdraw the petition. Ms. Thomas said that one of the conversations among the attorney and Staff is that there are a lot of scenarios where someone could choose to cheat the system and this is to address legitimate situations of the resident. The City Attorney and the Charter Commission has agreed to look at an amendment to grant the Council specific authority to allow further restrictions on petitions and do that by Ordinance rather than the Charter. Ms. Thomas said that language regarding the City Clerk Administrator allowing removal of names there is no language regarding removal of names. Ms. Thomas said that the length of time is a difference of opinion because there is no way to have a timeline with language of "as soon as practicable." Council Member Mueller said that now an insufficient petition has a defined tim~ to become sufficient. With the cleanup of the language, the dates and the timing shown in the flow charts match. It is a change in that the charter amendment allows 'not to exceed 21 days' instead of the origina130 days. She then said that she thinks that this amendment has done a gaod job of outlining how a valid petition should be handled. City Administrator Ulrich explained that this would require a unanimous vote. • Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 3 ~ Mayor Marty indicated he could see Council Member Stigney's points. He then said that a handful of residents could petition everything and really cause issues with running the City. Ms. Thomas said that this Charter Amendment shortens the timeframe far the delay. Mayor Marty said that he would like to get this amended. Ms. Thomas said that her concern is that there is no consensus for that because it is a philosophical debate regarding the numbers needed for the petition. She further said that it is a hypothetical question that needs to be debated. Community Development Director Ericson said that he feels that this amendment does make huge progress with an issue with the Charter and he does agree that it is a good suggestion to move forward with the Ordinance as it sits and then move forward with discussions on the items raised at this meeting. He then said that he is not comfortable with the date certain for ordinances and the publication time lines. Mayor Marty said that the colored copy was easier to read on the computer than the black and white copy in the packets. • Council Member Flaherty said that he sees the level of frustration of the Charter Commission members and this is a work in progress. Mike Haubrich, member of the Charter Commission, said that there is a position of liaison from the Council to the Charter Commission. Council Member Stigney said that this is so close to being really c~eaned up he really feels bad that someone feels the need to publish it the way it is. He then said that he does not see any rush at all to get this published now. He then said that he feels that the sufficiency is part of how this should be handled and this is the time to look at this. Ms. Thomas clarified that the items outstanding are philosophical debates on how controlling the Charter needs to be. Council Member Stigney said that there is no clarity as to whether it is the first time around or the second time around and when or if signatures can be removed. He then said that someone could have only five signatures and drag something out for 180 days, plus 21 days, plus another 10 days only to determine that the whole thing is insufficient. Ms. Thomas said that she takes some offense to the disrespect to the Commissioners time that the statement of Council Member Stigney makes. The reason for delay is that they have other things that they need to do and they disagree with the timeline. They disagree at the statement of . allowing citizens a defined period of time for the petition and to take it away would be a significant taking away of rights of the citizen that they do not support. Sl~e further said that Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 4 what was called ambiguity was left to best fit the median needs of the community and any • further changes would require significant philosophical debate. Ms. Thomas said that this is at a stage where decisions need to be made and, if this does not move forward, they will put it to a vote. Council Member Mueller said that in cleaning these chapters up and developing the flow chart, the document becomes easier for residents to use. She then said that it may not be the perfect document but it is an improvement and she feels it is important for the Council to accept the hard work that has been done to this point. She further said that some of the issues raised will need to be put to a vote as they will change the intent of the Charter. Mayor Marty said that he appreciates the work of the Charter Commission. He then said that this is not perfect but it is much better than it was before. Ms. Thomas said that the Charter Commission, City Attorney, and City Staff could, if the Council had something specific on an amendment to allow the Council to make further restrictions on the petition sufficiency, bring that amendment back to Council fairly quickly. However, if that one amendment would not be enough, then it would take much more time and would require a philosophical debate. City Attorney Riggs said that the Charter Commission has done a great job and he is able to put aside his concern on the publication dates. He then said that the issue of whether there is a • petition that is sufficient and whether there should be a sentence to cover circumventing the process. Ms. Thomas said that the Charter Commission has discus5ed that but feels that it would be easier for Council to do that by Ordinance than it would be to add it to the Amendment. City Administrator Ulrich requested Staff be allowed time to work on the language to address the sufficiency issue and bring this back to the next meeting. Council Member Mueller pointed out that Mr. Thomas had asked for input from Council on things that members would like to see. She then said that she understands that a frivolous petition could delay action on an Ordinance but she believes that the body of this could be accepted now and add to the wish list for the Charter Commission to look at a definition of a frivolous petition and how to handle it. David Jahnke said that he did not think that Council Member Stigney's comment was offensive because he meant that this is so close to the finish line it should be finished. Council Member Stigney said that he would like the problem of sufficiency addressed but it could be by Staff, the Charter Commission or Council. The other two things were discrepancies between the language and the flow chart and it is important to correct them. • Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 5 • ~ Council Member Flaherty expressed his support of the proposed Charter amendment and the recommended language on timelines and sufficiency. He feels that the Charter amendment presented should be approved keeping in mind that a subsequent clarifying amendment may be in order. City Administrator Ulrich and City Attorney Riggs agreed to work on the language to present to the Charter Commission for consideration. MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Continue this Matter to the July 23, 2007 Council Meeting. Council Member Mueller said that the sufficiency information is set up in the Charter to be fair both to the City and the residents and it does not define what the petition is and she thinks that a definition is one thing but anything beyond that is something that should go before the voters. Council Member Stigney indicated that the petitioning procedure and how it is spelled out in the Charter should be corrected. Mayor Marty agreed that Council will take a vote at the next meeting, one way or the other, in order to keep this from being sent back to the Charter ovex and over again. Ayes - S Nays - 0 Motion carried. B. Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 793, an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Code to Eliminate References to the Former PF Zoning District ~ ~/ Community Development Director Ericson explained that first reading was heard on June 25, 2007. The purpose of the amendment was to clean up the PF Zoning District language and remove it from the City's Code as well as clarification that towers can be placed on City owned land, not just park land. The second amendment includes the City Forester in the plans for review. Mayor Marty opened the public hearing at 8:23 p.m. Hearing no public comments, Mayor Marty closed the Public Hearing. MOTION/SECOND: Mariy/Hu11. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Ordinance 793, an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Code to Eliminate References to the Former PF Zoning District. ROLL CALL: Marty/Stigney/Flaherty/Hull/Mueller Ayes-5 Nays-0 Motion carried. C. Resolution 7113, appointing members to the Comprehensive Plan Taskforce Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 6 Community Development Director Ericson explained that the City has advertised and talked to • each of the Commissions involved in this process and there are members to be appointed to the Taskforce. He then said that the Taskforce is open to and welcome to having any others from Council participate that would like to do so. Director Ericson indicated that Mary Mullen cannot participate leaving an opening for anyone interested in applying. MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Flaherty. To Approve Resolution 7113, Appointing Members to the Comprehensive Plan Taskforce. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. This item was stricken from the Agenda. E. Resolution 7112 Adopting a Joint Resolution of the City of Mounds View and the Mounds View Economic Development Authority Consenting to an Additional Extension for the Time Period to Remove Two Billboards City Administrator Ulrich recommended that the Council adopt Resolution 7112 allowing until • July 23, 2007 to consider negotiation of the agreement to remove the billboards. MOTION/SECOND: Flaherty/Mueller. To Approve Resolution Mueller commented that with her second is the understanding that this is the final extension. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. 8. CONSENT AGENDA A. Licenses for Approval B. Resolution 7111, Authorizing the Purchase of Festival in the Park T-Shirts for City Council and Staff Council Member Mueller requested that Item B be removed for discussion. M~TION/SECOND: Mueller/Hull. To Approve the Consent Agenda Item A. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. • Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 7 • B. Resolution 7111, Authorizing the Purchase of Festival in the Park T- Shirts for City Council and Staff Council Member Mueller indicated that there are Council Members and Staff that are already purchasing T-Shirts so they would need to be reimbursed or decide to donate the fee to the Festival in the Park. Council Member Mueller added that the purchase be for City Council Members, Staff and Festival volunteers. She then said that the good news is the approximate cost of $600.00 was based on what they are selling the T-Shirts for but, she believes, that the City could pay cost and get all of the volunteers for the $600.Q0. She further said that she thinks that there is not a need for putting the words Staff or Volunteer on the shirt. Mayor Marty said that the reason for having a ctifferent color for Staff or Council that would help the residents. Council Member Mueller said that they could achieve the result with a name tag or in another manner rather than using the Staff or Volunteer designation because they would like the shirts to be worn more than once. She then said that they could look into a different color. Council Member Flaherly said that the different colored shirts would give instant recognition for • residents who need assistance. Council Member Stigney said he is confused about whom Staff is and whether it is those that are signed up to work the Festival ar all employees that work in the City. Community Development Director Ericson indicated that the front office Staff was intending to wear their T-Shirts for a couple Fridays prior to the Festival to promote it. Council Member Stigney said that he would like to have zt state Staff on the backs of the shirts of Staff to set them out. Mayor Mariy would like the Staff shirts to be a bright neon green or something that would stand out. Ms. Thomas said that the residents will not know what the various colors mean so a single color for all would help residents with who to go to and anyone that is volunteering will know who to go to for helping lost children or for a medical situation. MOTION/SECOND: Stigney/Hull. To Approve Resolution 7111 with a Separate Color for Staff and it will State Staff on the Back and the Money will Come out of the North Metro Visitor's and Convention Bureau. ~ Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 8 9. JUST AND CORRECT CLAIMS ~ Council Member Stigney, on Page 6, security system key pad he would like to know where that is. Finance Director Beer explained that it was for the Childcare Door and it was not functioning properly. Council Member Stigney, 01055-25 asked whether the mileage for this comes out of the Cable Fund. Finance Director Beer indicated that it does. Council Member Mueller, On Page 9, she asked what a chip seal marker is. Staff explained. MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Stigney. To Approve Just and Correct Claims as Presented. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. 10. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. May 14, 2007 ~ Mayor Marty indicated he called in his changes to Staff today. Council Member Stigney, On Page 9, Line 30, correct they to she. Mayor Marty, On Page 4, Line 25 and 26 noted he corrected a comment of Council Member Stigney and read it for him. Council Member Stigney agreed with the correction as read. Council Member Flaherty said that these Minutes seem to be more than 60 days old and Ms. Crane has assured him that it normally does not take this long. MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Approve the May 14, 2007, City Council Meeting Minutes as Amended. Ayes - 5 Nays - 0 Motion carried. B. June 11, 2007 C~ Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 9 • Council Member Mueller, On Fage 2, Item 6 business is spelled incorrectly. On Page 5, Line 40, insert and was given a wrist band for $15.00. Page 6, "of the enactment" remove the second time. Council Member Mueller On Page 11, Line 29, should be public and criticize and discipline in private. On Page 15, Line 36, correct spelling of Noel's last name is Vainekka. MOTION/SECOND: Minutes as Amended. Ayes - 5 11. REPORTS Motion carried. Nays - 0 A. Reports of Mayor and Council . Council Member Mueiler noted that Festival in the Park planning is moving along nicely but they are still seeking vendors and crafters as well as additional volunteers. She then noted that, after July I 5, 2007, the price for registering vehicles for the car show goes up to $15.00. B. Reports of Staff City Administrator Ulrich noted that there were two people working in the cable booth tonight in an attempt to improve production and work on training. City Administrator Ulrich reported that Xcel Energy is putting in fiber optics on Eastwood Road and there were some issues with residential sewers and the report describes the situation and that should not happen again. City Administrator Ulrich reported that the City received 31 applications for the Cable Coordinator position and the interview process will begin next week. City Administrator Ulrich reported that the Ramsey County Fair begins July 11, 2007. City Administrator Ulrich noted that the EDA meeting will be continued after this meeting. Mayor Marty informed residents to contact Ciry HaII if they do not receive a copy of Mounds View Matters. Mayor Marty noted he has received calls in support of getting the streets repaired. Community Development Director Ericson announced that the new website is up and running. He then demonstrated the new website and its features for the Council and residents. Flaherty/Mueller. To Approve the June 11, 2007 Council Meeting • Mounds View City Council July 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 10 City Administrator Ulrich commended Director Ericson for his efforts to get the new website up • and running. Community Development Director Ericson reported that the Economic Development Specialist candidate selected did not accept the position. And, after reviewing the existing applications, Staff would like to advertise for the position to clarify that there is a range of pay involved. Director Ericson no update at this time on Mr. Perrozzi's situation beyond what was included in the Staff report. Director Ericson received major subdivision for Abiding Savior Lutheran Church that will be going before the Planning Commission. Mayor Marty would like to improve the color of the video that is rebroadcast because when he watches them the Council Members are green and yellow. C. Reports of City Attorney 12. Next Council Work Session: Monday, August 6, 2007, at 7 p.m. Next Council Meeting: Monday, July 23, 2007, at 7 p.m. 13. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. • Transcribed by: Joan Lenzmeier, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. u