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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2023/01/23APPROVED PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting January 23, 2023 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Mounds View Boulevard, Mounds View, MN 55112 6:34 P.M. 1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL: Cermak, Gunn, Lindstrom, Meehlhause and Hull NOT PRESENT: None. A. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Recognition and Appreciation of Carol Mueller and Bill Bergeron Mayor Hull read in full for the record Resolutions of Appreciation recognizing Council Member Bill Bergeron and Mayor Carol Mueller for their dedicated service to the City of Mounds View. A round of applause was offered by all in attendance. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9693, A Resolution of Appreciation for Bill Bergeron. Council Member Meehlhause thanked Council Member Bergeron for his dedicated service to the City of Mounds View and encouraged him to think about returning to service someday. Mayor Hull thanked Council Member Bergeron for his dedicated service. Council Member Lindstrom thanked Council Member Bergeron for his great passion and vision for the community. Council Member Gunn stated it has been an honor and a privilege to have Council Member Bergeron on the City Council. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. MOTION/SECOND: Hull/Lindstrom. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9692, A Resolution of Appreciation for Carol Mueller. Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 2 Council Member Gunn stated it was an honor to serve with Mayor Mueller. She thanked Mayor Mueller for being a great team member and for her dedicated service to the community. Council Member Meehlhause thanked Mayor Mueller for her tremendous service to the City of Mounds View and wished her the very best going forward. Council Member Lindstrom thanked Mayor Mueller for being an incredible mentor to him over the years. Council Member Cermak stated it was great to serve on the City Council with Mayor Mueller. Mayor Hull explained he served on the City Council with Mayor Mueller for the past 16 years. He thanked Mayor Mueller for being an excellent leader and friend. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A. Monday, January 23, 2023, City Council Agenda. MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Meehlhause. To Approve the Monday, January 23, 2023, agenda as presented. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes: January 9, 2023 B. Just and Correct Claims. C. Resolution 9686, Authorizing Vacation Carryover Extension for Certain Public Works and Police Department Personnel. D. Resolution 9691, Accepting Miscellaneous Donations for 2022. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Lindstrom. To Approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 7. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. Angela Lewis-Dmello – NYFS Executive Director. Angela Lewis-Dmello, NYFS Executive Director, introduced herself to the Council and stated she has been with NYFS since June of 2022. She discussed her work history and explained she was pleased to be working with this organization. She reviewed the services offered by NYFS and how Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 3 they were benefiting the communities youth. She believed the core part of NYFS mission was providing access to care. She commented on the relationships NYFS has with the three school districts, five law enforcement agencies and 15 municipalities that were invested in her organization. She reviewed the number of individuals that were served in 2021 and 2022, noting NYFS had 21,696 total appointments. She discussed the state of youth mental health in Minnesota, noting clients have far more severe mental health concerns than NYFS has ever seen before. She reported one in three youth have a diagnosable mental health condition, which was a significant increase since COVID. The programs offered by NYFS to serve clients included a diversion program, elderly services, community advocacy, school based, clinic based, and the NETS day treatment program. She commented on how NYFS would be working to expand community connections going forward in addition to specialized advocates and play therapy services. Council Member Lindstrom questioned how many therapists NYFS had at this time. Ms. Lewis- Dmello reported she had 12 therapists at this time and was working to recruit eight to ten more clinicians. Council Member Lindstrom asked if volunteers were ever pursued for group therapy. Ms. Lewis- Dmello indicated she does take volunteers and mentors to assist with group therapy sessions. Council Member Meehlhause shared a story an NYFS staff member shared with him regarding Ms. Lewis Dmello and thanked her for her tremendous service to the community. Council Member Cermak thanked Ms. Lewis-Dmello for having a positive impact on the youth in the community. 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. Resolution 9690, Authorizing the Resolution Adopting the Fencing Consortium Joint Powers Agreement. Deputy Police Chief Zender requested the Council authorize the fencing consortium joint powers agreement. He explained the JPA would provide the City with fencing should civil unrest occur in the City of Mounds View. He commented further on the history of the fencing consortium, which included 29 agencies and described how this group worked to protect community assets by deploying fencing in emergency situations. He discussed the amount of fencing that would be provided and noted the cost for the JPA. Council Member Meehlhause stated he understood the expense for this JPA would be covered by the Special Projects Fund for 2023. He asked how the expense would be covered going forward. Finance Director Beer anticipated this would be covered by the annual Police Budget going forward. Council Member Lindstrom questioned if the State Patrol would be assisting with this cost. Deputy Police Chief Zender reported the State Patrol would be helping with manpower, but would not be helping cover the cost. Council Member Lindstrom inquired if the City had ever had vandalism to City Hall. Deputy Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 4 Police Chief Zender explained the Community Center had been vandalized, in addition to having two other critical incidents. Council Member Lindstrom indicated the only time the City would need this fencing would be if there was a Mounds View specific incident. Further discussion ensured regarding how the JPA had requested funding from the State which would assist with purchasing the fencing and could assist with lowering the overall expense to the members within the consortium. Council Member Lindstrom noted the City would be paying for the JPA and would be paying additional fees if the fencing were deployed. Deputy Police Chief Zender reported this was the case. He discussed how the JPA was similar to an insurance policy. Mayor Hull asked if the officers within the police department supported the fencing consortium. Deputy Police Chief Zender reported the officers were very positive. Council Member Lindstrom expressed concern with the fact the Public Works Facility may not be protected if a critical incident were to occur in the community. Council Member Gunn stated she supported the fencing consortium JPA in order to provide more protection for the City’s police officers. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9690, Authorizing the Resolution Adopting the Fencing Consortium Joint Powers Agreement. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. B. Resolution 9694, Local Options Sales Tax. City Administrator Zikmund requested the Council consider submitting a desire for a local options sales tax to the Senate and House Tax Committee. He explained this was a statutory requirement. He reported the voters would make the final decision on a local options sales tax. He indicated staff was still waiting for clarification on how much a local option sales tax would generate for the City. He commented the City Council would be holding further discussions on how to fund the Community Center expansion project. He stated it was his understanding there were more and more cities utilizing this tool. Council Member Lindstrom explained he supported the City approving a local options sales tax in order to assist with funding the Community Center expansion. He reported the local option sales tax would provide funding from all people who spend money in the community. He recommended the CSL study be included in the submission to the Senate and House Tax Committee. City Administrator Zikmund reported this information would be provided to the legislature. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Lindstrom. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9694, Local Options Sales Tax. Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 5 Council Member Meehlhause reported he believed this would be the best way to fund an expansion to the Community Center. Mayor Hull asked what the term of the local options sales tax would be. City Administrator Zikmund reported the sales tax would run the length of the bond, which was slated to be 20 years. Finance Director Beer indicated the sales tax could sunset early if the bonds were paid off before 20 years. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. C. Resolution 9695, Approving Change Order #16 for replacing the Eaton VFDs with ABB VFDs as part of the Main Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project. Public Works/Parks and Recreation Director Peterson requested the Council approve Change Order #16 which would replace the Eaton Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) with ABB VFDs as part of the Main Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project. He explained the Eaton VFDs were on back order which led staff to recommend an alternative be purchased. Staff would recommend the ABB VFDs be purchased for a total of $51,695.78 and this purchase would come out of the Water Fund. Council Member Meehlhause stated he supported this recommendation noting he wanted to see the City getting the water treatment plant and wells operational. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Lindstrom. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9695, Approving Change Order #16 for replacing the Eaton VFDs with ABB VFDs as part of the Main Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 9. REPORTS A. Reports of Mayor and Council. Council Member Gunn reported on Wednesday, January 25 she would be attending a seminar in New Brighton on racial equity that was being sponsored by the LMC. Council Member Meehlhause explained he would be attending an NYFS board meeting on Thursday, January 26. Council Member Lindstrom stated the Festival in the Park met on Tuesday, January 17. He noted the Festival would be bringing in a larger petting zoo this year and would be providing a larger presence for Cops and Rodders. Council Member Lindstrom noted he attended the Pinewood PTA meeting last week and commented on the items discussed at this meeting. He stated he would be attending the Sunnyside PTA meeting next. Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 6 Council Member Cermak reported the Daddy Daughter Dance would be held at the Community Center on Saturday, February 4. She stated Princess Kay of the Milky Way would be a special guest at the event. B. Reports of Staff. Finance Director Beer reported he and City Administrator Zikmund met with Metro INET staff today. He explained staff relayed their tremendous thanks to the value this group provides to the City of Mounds View. He recommended the City remain a part of this group going forward. City Administrator Zikmund commented on the revised bills for the Community Center. He suggested two or four public meetings be held regarding this project before Morris Letterman begins their work. The Council supported this recommendation. 1. Discussion on Chicken Keeping Ordinance – Allowable Numbers. City Administrator Zikmund reported City Ordinance currently allows residents to keep eight chickens or ducks at this time. He asked if the Council wanted to reconsider this number. He noted if the Council wanted to amend the Ordinance, it would take three months to approve. Mayor Hull stated he supported this number increasing. Council Member Meehlhause supported the number remaining at eight. Council Member Gunn concurred. Councilmember Cermak stated she could support increasing the number to 10 or 12. Council Member Lindstrom commented he could support an increase as well. Mayor Hull requested staff speak with other cities to see how many chickens they allow. Public Works/Parks and Recreation Director Peterson explained chickens lay one egg every 24 hours. He commented on the conditions that must be in place in order to keep chickens laying eggs through the winter months. City Administrator Zikmund commented further on the requirements within City Code. Council Member Lindstrom questioned if the City had received any complaints regarding chickens. City Administrator Zikmund stated he has not received any complaints, but was uncertain if the City’s Code Enforcement Officers has received any complaints. City Attorney Riggs advised he works for a number of different communities and none of them allow chickens because it was a noise and compost issue. Mayor Hull stated this was good to know and noted he would like to learn more about how other communities manage chicken keeping. Mounds View City Council January 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 7 The consensus of the Council was to recommend the number of chickens be increased to 10 or 12. C. Reports of City Attorney. City Attorney Riggs had nothing additional to report. 10. Next Council Work Session: Monday, February 6, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. Next Council Meeting: Monday, February 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. 11. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8: p.m. Transcribed by: Heidi Guenther Minute Maker Secretarial